GomezAddams

I've done many cruises in the past, but only one prior MSC cruise. I've never had an issue taking a non-surge protected outlet strip onboard, but I'm hearing a lot of noise about all cruise lines banning these.

Anyone know for sure if MSC allows non surge protected outlet strips? I'm cruising on the Seashore if that matters.

You get a ding sound.

But it is unreliable. I just sailed on the Glory and the hub app chat was working maybe 50% of the time. And even when it was working, chats could be delayed 20 minutes or so.

If I book two cabins for a 7 day cruise, can I get 14 points on my VIFP? Carnival seems to automatically create a VIFP number for whoever I put as the first person in the second cabin.

We loved the idea of the Carnival Hub app to chat with each other while on our cruise on the Glory. Unfortunately, the chat function spent more time trying to connect than actually being connected. Just wondering if this is a one-off problem, or if Carnival doesn't quite have the bugs worked out.

Other functions mostly worked fine. We did notice that of our group of 5 people, 3 of us could never view the "Wall of Moments". Just got a blank page the entire cruise.

And yes, we stayed connected to the Glory's wifi the entire time. It didn't seem to matter if we were in our cabins or out in public spaces. I even tried standing while standing right underneath an access point in our hallway.

Any good deals on hotels that have a park and cruise?

Doesn't have to offer shuttle service - we can Uber.

2 hours ago, Noreen411 said:

Hi

 

were there bathrooms, changing rooms, rinse off showers available?

 

thank you

There is nothing there except the bar. It had decent bathrooms. I *think* there were showers beside the bar, but I don't remember for sure.

13 hours ago, GreyFeathers said:

where is this in relation to the clothes-optional side of the beach?

 

MSC's St Martin excursions list has a note that says all of the beaches on the French side are clothing optional.

At Orient beach, I didn't see anyone topless, let alone naked at the area of beach by Bikini Bar. The wife and I walked the quarter mile or so down to the area where the remains of Club Orient are, and past the pile of rocks we did see about a dozen nude sunbathers. However, as we were walking back, we did pass a nude couple walking towards us about 100 yards on the "wrong" side of the pile of rocks.

33 minutes ago, SMNYCruise said:

Thanks everyone for your continued help!

Now leaning toward a DSLR because I am worried, if I catch the photography bug, I will want a more flexible camera. 

Costco has a very well priced bundle: Nikon D3500 with 2 lens, case, extra battery and 32GB memory card for $599.

My concern is that it doesn't have Wifi, only Bluetooth tooth app called snap bridge. 

Thoughts?

Nikon kit lenses tend to be meh at best. The longer lens in that kit is non VR (no image stabilization), which is a questionable choice because long zooms are *precisely* where you need image stabilization. I've no direct experience with the lenses in the D3500 kit, but of the two lenses that came in my D3200 kit, one is mediocre at best, the other little better than trash.

If it were me, I'd put $150 with your $599 and go for Best Buy's Sony A6000 two lens package. You'll get a more capable camera and better glass. In fact, I'm doing just that - I'm replacing a Nikon D3200 with the A6000 (but I am waiting for black Friday to see if the price drops).

The A6000 has wifi.

Why the A6000? The biggest point is that it is small - the A6000 and 16-50mm lens fits in a jacket pocket or fanny pack. 

What's wrong with the D3200? There's nothing particularly wrong with the camera body itself. But like I said earlier, the lenses are lacking. I could go buy new glass for $500-$600, but I'd still have a bulky camera that doesn't work with Nikon's latest lenses. I'd prefer to go the mirrorless route.

On the other hand, if you go the Nikon route, I think you'd be happy with the D3500 body. But I also think you'll be looking for new glass pretty quickly.

And before anyone feels the need to point out that the A6000 is three generations old, yes, I know that. If the prices drop enough on black Friday, I may go for an A6300 or even an A6500.

We've always stayed at the Metairie Holiday Inn and used their park and cruise option. You get a couple of free drinks as well as parking and shuttle.

Head over to dpreview.com. They have a nice section for helping you pick a camera.

Do they still have the instant coffee packets in the buffet on Seaside and Divina? I prefer to make my own coffee.

Thanks,

Tony

I was just on the Seaside a couple of weeks ago, and I don't remember seeing instant coffee, but then again, I wasn't looking for it, so take this with a grain of salt.

They did have an assortment of teas, and in one of the buffet restaurants (deck 16, I think), they had hot chocolate mix.

american coffee is available 24/7 in the buffets and is also served for free in the restaurants

espresso-based drinks are also available in all buffets/restaurants, but must be ordered/paid for (depending on class of service)

the venchi drinks are only available at venchi, but they are truly amazing

But at least on the Seaside, the deck 16 buffet is not open except at meal times. They don't fill the coffee pots unless the buffet is open. Often the outside glass doors are locked, and the inside entrance is blocked off.

Wrap your stuff up in a disposable diaper. No one is going to steal it.

The buffet on deck 8 has drinks 24 hours (I think). However, the couple of mornings I got coffee early (6:00am), it wasn't very good - I got the impression it had been out all night.

There is a card for breakfast room service in your cabin that you can fill out and hang on your doorknob before you go to bed. You specify what you want, and what time you want it, and they'll deliver in the morning. You can get coffee that way.

What sort of venue is used on seaside? The first one we attended on Divina was very sociable as it was in the silver (or Divina) bar. But the second one in Eataly was more insular as everyone had their own table.

The Meet and Mingle on the Seaside for the week of Sept 15 was in the Haven lounge. There was no mingling - everyone sat at tables.

I was on the Seaside the week of the 15th, and it certainly seemed like MSC had the kinks worked out. There were a few minor annoyances, but I wouldn't hesitate to go again.

I submitted a review, but it apparently hasn't been approved yet.

I asked for coffee right after being seated, and the waiter brought me a cup.

It appeared to me that Seaside locks your wifi to two devices.

DOn't know about the airport part, but the Holiday Inn in Metaire will shuttle you to the cruise ship terminal.

At the bikini bar, do they take credit cards there or just cash?

They take cards, Euros, or USD.

Maho beach is small and crowded.

Orient beach is larger and there weren't many people there when we went last week. There's a nice bar/restaurant there that rents beach chairs ($5 per person for the day, if memory serves). There's plenty of taxis waiting around to take you back to the terminal.

How much is a taxi from cruise terminal to Maho Beach for 2 people?

One way is $8 per person, IIRC.

Plan on staying at Maho for maybe an hour or hour and a half. It is very crowded, and once you see a jet land, you don't really have any reason to stay.

I'd recommend going from there to Orient beach - that's another $8 per. There are plenty of taxis hanging around Orient beach to take you back to the cruise terminal

We've done a few Carnival cruises out of NOLA. On one of them, we could not board until late in the evening because the ship didn't dock until noon (I don't remember why - fog, I think). Certainly unusual, but it does happen.

I understand that logic, but I have been in St Maartin and had them take the US and EUR even, at par (price in the menu was in EUR but cost the same if paying in US currency). Which would be a significant savings if I were to pay cash over converting the EUR to US.

 

That is why i was wondering if anyone experienced converting. :)

If they'll take a buck for a Euro, that's a great deal!

Maho beach is small and VERY crowded. Go for an hour or so and watch a few planes land. Then, head over to Orient beach.