davy jones

Will the lane be able to accommodate his bowling ball? Some lanes at sea are not full size.

True. MSC pretty much showed all NFL games in the room. Much more than any other line that I have been on. I imagine that Sunday's game will be pretty much everywhere that has a TV.

On a B2B, you have to go through an embarkation day mid cruise. US ports will require you to disembark and clear customs in FLL and you can not reboard until everyone has disembarked. It is also another embarkation day, with the usual first day bottlenecks and muster drill. Because of the turnaround day, 14 day sailings can offer more and different ports than a B2B. Princess Plus does add an interesting dynamic. Since it is two sailings, you should get the specialty meal benefits on each, doubling the benefit.

I am not a mariner, but I suspect that a wind blowing to port or starboard presents more problems than a wind blowing to forward or aft. The side of the ship would act as a giant sail pushing the ship toward the edge of the channel.

They will adjust prices based on demand. If bookings are slow, prices will drop to fill the ship. If booking are active, prices are adjusted to maximize income. Therefore, it is hard to predict. Often prices will be adjusted after final payment, due to cancellations. Check then.

Meraviglia. The water park and ropes course were small compared to the newer ships on the other 3 mass market lines. (At least I thought so when passing by.

The previous post was our experience with easy plus. Some brand spirits are included in easy plus. I suggest that you check the bar menus to see if easy plus works for you.

We sailed MSC out of NYC on a 10 day in the fall. It worked for us and we would go again on a similar cruise at the right price. Some of what I say may not be applicable to you, since you will be travelling with children. We sail as a couple, typically off season to avoid the peak season crowds. Most of our cruises these days are in the 10 to 14 day range, which tend to be less crowded. We don't need many of the bells and whistles of some large lines and will retreat to our balcony if it is crowded on sea days. We had the Fantastica experience and purposely chose an "obstructed view" balcony because it was beneath the pool deck overhang, thus insuring shade at all times of the day. Here are my general comments about our cruise. 1. We did not see many of the reported issues like crowding and difficulty getting drinks. That may be due to our sailing which also had a number of travel agents. 2. We prefer to choose our dining time, but did not want to pay the Aurea premium to get it because we weren't interested in the other features. We made do with early seating. 3. Overall, we found the food to be pretty good. It not on a level with Celebrity, Holland, or Princess, but definitely better than our recent Royal sailings. 4. The entertainment was generally good. It tends to be production shows and travelling headliners. Don't expect Broadway type shows on some other lines. Note that reservations are advised for many shows. Daily activities were pretty typical for a mass market line. (Side note. Trivia prizes are better than average. I won a bottle of bubbly for a trivia game. Others won t-shirts, backpacks and other branded items larger and more useful than a key chain) 5. The ships are beautiful and our cabin was well maintained. 6. The often offered Easy-plus drink package works well for us as we tend to soft drinks with an occasional beer or boat drink.. Upgraded coffees available at many bars. 7. The ship was not overly crowded, but I did see the potential for it during peak season sailings. 8. We found the service to be acceptable. Dining room service varied day to day. Cabin steward was fine and customer service followed up on a problem that we had. There were youth programs and a small water park, but there were not many children on board and the majority were preschool. There may be better kid options.

Been there on both HAL and Carnival. Imo, it has the best beach of the private islands that I have been to. There are plenty of free loungers. The further that you walk down the beach, the less crowed it will be. HAL serves a better lunch than Carnival. Down side is that you have to tender to the island.

Are there loungers and umbrellas by the pool?

Mine is Yuengling lager. If you walk into a bar where I live and ask for a lager, that is what you will be given. I like it better than Sam. It is available on MSC, but I haven't seen it on any other cruise line.

I am not a "beer snob" or craft beer aficionado. My go to brew is mass produced, but not listed. Therefore, I must seek other beers. I also like to try new beers when on I have a beverage package.

I don't recall ice cream in the buffet on Meriviglia. There is soft serve by the pool, but the hours are limited (1 to 5 PM) compared to other lines. You can get scooped ice cream for dessert in the MDR.

We will be sailing on Enchanted Princess. Looking at the menu below, the beer selection shows a list of mass market beers. I can find a couple to drink on the list, but are there any venues with more interesting options?

It all depends on your tastes and preferences. We can make Princess Plus work for us, but not Premier. Using round numbers, tips and wifi cover about half of the $60 cost. One or two boat drinks/ beer per day and a couple of fancy coffees probably make it a break even for us. The rest is a bonus. If you are a foodie and wine buff, then the better wines and specialty restaurants could make it worthwhile for you.

It is grossly overpriced mass market jewelry sold on cruise ships with a lot of come ons and "deals". IMO, it is best avoided unless you have a huge amount of nonrefundable OBC that you have to get rid of.

Thanks. I think that I will wait until at least March.

We are booked for November. I see that you must request dining preference through the Princess app. Is it prudent to download the Princess app now or wait until after final payment

There are a number of very nice embark departures, but IMO NYC (Manhattan, not Brooklyn or Bayonne) is best. Bonus points for Manhattan at night.

I know that the pub had football games on. There was a game where you could reserve a table in the pub, but I don't think many did. You could still go in on your own to watch. It appeared that most games were broadcast on my Meraviglia on the cabin TV. It seemed to be much more than other lines.

Take it with a grain of salt. This guy's video list comprises of Cunard, P&O and MSC. Comparing two luxury lines with a mass market line tells me that he has not done his homework. Perhaps he should do the same on the monster ships on the other mass market lines.

Just off Meraviglia (first MSC Cruise). Here are my summarized thoughts. 1. MSC, NCL, RCI, and Carnival are similar in concept, but different in execution. The differences may be more important for you than us. We are a semi retired couple who look to relax and go to the shows. We also use the onboard gym for exercise. 2. It was overall a very good cruise. No line is perfect, so we adjust to the differences between lines and will retreat to our balcony at times for quiet sea viewing. 3. I saw very little, if any, of what is mentioned in the bad reviews. The ship was no more crowded than the previously mentioned lines, perhaps less. Service, including bar service, was good and IMO, the MDR food quality is better than the above three. Now to your questions. 1. There are kids clubs, but I can't speak about them In addition, off season cruises do not attract very many school aged children. The kids pools, water areas, ropes courses, etc. are better on the other three lines. The water slides and ropes course seemed a bit smallish and less elaborate than other lines. Also, there is no mini golf on Meraviglia, which is good for kids and adults alike. 2. Meraviglia seemed about the same as the other lines out of NYC for the time period during which we sailed. That said, all ships out of NYC are much more crowded and have a younger crowd than the sailings that we typically sail while school is in session. 3. I doubt that they will issue "extra" keys, but you could go to guest services after boarding and they will switch room keys for your family members to meet your desired arrangements. You could also just book the rooms with the passenger arrangement that you desire. Good luck.

Baltimore or Bayonne because I can easily drive there.

No problems at all. We went in the walk off group in a successful attempt to beat any unnecessary delays. We went across the Brooklyn Bridge, and through the Holland Tunnel. We arrived at our home in PA at 9:00 AM. The drive home took 90 minutes. The drive to the pier took 3 hours, with most of the delays in the Newark area.

I watched the video two days before embarking on our first MSC cruise. I was encouraged because of many of the "reviews" have many complaints about MSC food. After eating MSC food for 10 days, I pretty much agree with the video. MDR food is generally good, definitely better than recent MDR food on their primary competitors, NCL, Royal, and Carinval. Some meals have been better than others, but overall, it has been a pleasant surprise. Buffets are a little more hit or miss, but they are comparable to the previously mentioned lines. Note that we are not in YC, so I am referring to the food for the common folk. One thing that could improve is the choice of "starters". Appys are OK, but soup and salad selections are sparse, except for the everyday Caesar salad. Most salads are offered as entrees and many are similar to starter salads. I usually get one of the pastas as a starter. Our only foray into specialty dining was a dinner at Hola. The food was fine and the dining experience was good compared to a standard US Mexican restaurant."