kelleherdl

Arthur is usually contracted on the newer ships to enter the US Market. He is such a favorite of US Yacht Club passengers. We first met him on the Seaside during her first season out of Miami. He was our YC Restaurant server on that cruise. I think we can reliably predict he will be on the World America for her initial US sailings in 2025.😀

The Yacht Club check in area of Terminal 10 at Port Canaveral is not purpose built. MSC sails from an older terminal that never had a proper VIP area. Please don’t let that turn you off. If you arrive at Terminal 10 after about 10:00 you will not be spending much time there. As soon as the ship is open for boarding you will be promptly escorted to the Topsail Lounge on the ship. The Terminal 10 area does have light refreshments, including sparkling wine, if you desire, for the short stay there. If you see the design concepts for the new MSC constructed terminal at Port Miami you will be wowed by what MSC will have for YC guests. Those of us who often sail MSC from Port Canaveral can’t wait for the announcement that MSC will build its own terminal there. Unfortunately, it looks like Galveston will get the next new MSC terminal in the US.

No cruise line can ‘guarantee’ that you can be off the ship and out the door by 9:00 AM. There are just enough things that can go wrong. That said it is reasonable under normal circumstances for a YC guest to do this. YC luggage will almost always be the first luggage brought ashore. You can of course increase the probability of success by doing ‘self walk-off, early departure.’ YC guests will be escorted to the front of the line. But even then I have had that not work. There was a one-off glitch in securing one of the gangways that was used for YC guests.

Just curious. Which 3/4 day party hard cruise never leaves the USA?

Just like the US Vice President I like Venn Diagrams. 😀. Let’s explore a Venn Diagram of this thread. The first circle is the population of North Americans; the next circle is the number of North Americans who take cruise vacations; the next circle is the number of cruisers who routinely sail MSC Cruises; the next circle is the number of MSC cruisers who read Cruise Critic. That is the population that is interested in this thread. I would propose that this intersection would actually be aware of ‘Time to Say Good-bye’ and the song does elicit fond memories of past cruises.

Don’t say you weren’t warned. One YC cruise and you will be hooked.

It’s not played out of Port Canaveral at all. It must be a licensing thing. 😀. Up in Yacht Club we play it on our smart devices. 😀. All the regular Yacht Clubbers and the staff smile. If Hubert is bartending at the One Pool bar he will sing it. He’s quite good. I think he may be on Divina out of Miami now.

You will get your cruise cards at port checkin. The cards are ‘active’ when you get them. They get you on the ship, into your cabin and charge against your onboard account with them. In order to assign a credit card against your shipboard account you have options. You can register a credit card on your booking during the online checkin process. Some have experienced difficulty in doing this due to unfortunately notorious MSC website issues. You also have the option of registering your credit card once you board. MSC cruise ships have credit card kiosks in public areas of the ship. The process is very straightforward as the kiosk walks you through. You have the ability to select which persons in your cabin may charge against that credit card. Every person in a cabin can register their own card. You can also register your card against other cabins.

The masseuses know how to effectively manage the sheets and are discreet when you are asked to adjust your position on the table. There is no need to wear anything, other than arrive for your appointment in your robe and slippers. To be honest, even wearing very skimpy underwear could hinder the masseuse. I’ve never been asked to wear underwear for a massage on a cruise.

What happened to the format beginning on page 3. It’s expanded double wide. Very annoying.

If you booked through a travel agent email a scan of your dd-214, or scanned active/retired ID to the agent. They will request the Military USA discount booking code and forward the documents to MSC Cruises. If you booked through an MSC agent or online you should have been directed to email a pdf of your scanned dd-214 or ID’s to MSCexistingreservations@msccruisesusa.com. Your subject line should be the ‘booking number’ US Military Discount. I always put names, booking number, cruise ship, and sailing date in email body. Attach the pdf file as an attachment. That has worked for me every time.

I think we have all been waiting for your appraisal chengkp75. I for one broadly interpreted your assessment of the report to be that there a quite a few officers on the MSC Seaside, in pardon the pun, ‘deep doo-doo.’

Too long out of the US, too long between inspections. The Health and Safety Officer clearly did not have the staff prepared to return to US sailings and the scrutiny of the CDC. So much of this report was stuff you would expect to see in a poorly maintained hospitality/food service operation ashore; inexcusable on a cruise ship. It will be interesting to read the Corrective Report from Seaside when it’s posted on the CDC website.

I’ve never personally seen parties broken up. I trust this will not start another series of posts about abusing ‘privileges.’ You shouldn’t have a problem, particularly if you check in as a group. Depending on the terminal setup the Special Assistance checkin may be located away from the Aurea/Diamond checkin.

You will board with Diamond members after Special Assistance guests. There should be a dedicated Aurea/Diamond checkin line as well. Ask, once you get through security.

US NCL sailings do require Alien Registration Card (green card) presentation at checkin. I’ve always been told alien permanent residents need to have their ARC’s to re-enter the US. I’ve travelled with alien permanent residents and both their home country passports and ARC’s were scanned by the checkin agents.

When you check in at the port your passport will be scanned. The computer or tablet app will adjust the date format based on the region of the cruise. The ship’s sailing manifest is generated off the data scanned at embarkation. Don’t worry about it.

For closed loop (embark and disembark from the same US port) US sailings you may sail with your US birth certificate (which includes US Consular Certificate of Birth Abroad) and government issued ID card. This has been stated correctly many, many times. The goal is to prove US citizenship by birth. A US Naturalization Certificate is used the same way, but they already have a photo so they are good to go. If the names do not match due to marriage it is covered very nicely with the marriage certificate, just in case. But even that can be worked around. The port agents know how to do this. They work with it every sailing. Now different last names for children can get tricky until final adoption papers (I.e. newly issued birth certificate) show the current last name of the adopted child. But I have even seen that worked through even on a weekend. Always make sure you have some sort of court document that connects parent and child for adoptions if the last names don’t match. but please get a passport. Your cruising life will be so less complicated.

I have to agree. When you think about it, if prices change or plans change, they only need to change the numbers. Far less chance of a translation or composition error for our friends in MSC IT. 😀

One thing to add. The GoPort busses depart Terminal 10 at Port Canaveral from the left side terminus as you exit Customs/Immigration. There is a sign directing you to the left. All other shuttles and MSC shuttles are to the right as you exit the terminal.

In the US at least, the ‘bar pour’ can be off-branded at most bars and restaurants (Ambassador is one that comes to mind). I have not found that to be the case on any cruise line I have sailed. Yes, there will be a lowest priced selection for each type of liquor, but it will be an internationally recognized brand. I would not expect to call any of the pours on cruise ships to be ‘generic rot gut.’ They all have international contracts with the major liquor companies.

You do not need the eTicket/boarding pass to check in. You will be able to check in. It will take longer. Some data will need to be entered manually, the kids will need to complete the health questionnaires at the desk and they will need to have a copy of the booking to get through security. The check in agent’s job is to do everything to get passengers on the ship, not try to keep them off. Yes, it is preferable to have the eTicket printed out, but it is not ‘essential.’ It will just take longer at the desk. You really don’t even need to know your cabin number, it can be looked up.

And horrors upon horrors. It used to be said ‘the floors are so clean you could eat off of them.’ Not anymore, with all the bare feet.

Just a slight note of caution….. The checkin agent at the cruise terminal may see that a 17 year old is in a cabin alone and they may alert a supervisor. Just accept that the agent is doing their job as trained by that cruise line. Don’t assume it won’t be allowed. Please be patient if the question is referred to the port agent supervisor or the ship’s immigration officer. It will only take a few minutes if referred.

Just one more thing you need to consider is the length of your cruise. On US 3-night sailings you currently CANNOT purchase a drink package on board. To get a drink package it must be included in your booking.