Essiesmom

Reminds me of the cathedral in Rio. EM

Is the Aqua Spa cafe open on embarkation? EM

Just a reminder to anyone who buys an expensive item onboard from EFFY. EFFY is a US company, the stuff is made in NYC, so no duty owed. EM

Maybe I missed it in my enjoyment of your travels…but are you fluent in French? EM

Which ship? Some ships have a separate dining room for Aurea, others have Aurea is a separate section of one of the MDRs. EM

All of the OV cabins have large rectangular windows with rounded corners. The majority of them are on deck 1. There are very few on the other decks. Those on 10 & 11 are forward facing. If you have concerns about what cabins look like, I suggest you purchase a membership in cruisedeckplans.com. It’s quite reasonable and you can earn back the fee by submitting your own pictures. All the pictures on the website are taken by the owner of the site, or members. EM

The contracts say that one of the original people on the booking must sail. As long as one of those is still on the booking, the second person may be changed out. If all of those booked are changed, that is essentially selling the cruise to someone else, which is not allowed. EM

Insurance does not cover not having the proper documentation. EM

We have a board here for that. It’s called Florida Departures, located under North American Homeports. Lots of hotel info there. EM

Is there not a ‘use by’ date on the box or package?

If you get the bracelet, you can leave your card in the slot. That’s what I did. In 2019 it had to be a card from that ship. My old cards from Divina did not work. EM

She will be going back home with the parents.

Drydock is scheduled in September 2024.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Per forum rules requests for tour shares can only be within the roll call for your cruise. This is the main MSC board. You need to go to the roll calls board, select MSC, then your ship, and look for a thread with the dates for your sailing. EM

The class of ships Poesia belongs to does no have Yacht Club. Fantasia class is the first to have Yacht Club. EM

Disagree about two buffets. There were/are two on Seaside and Seaview, but not Seashore and Seascape. Not on Divina, which means there probably are not on the other three of that class. not on Armonia, which means not on the other three of Armonia class. So far that is ten of 23 ships without…. EM

One ‘scratch your head’ decision on MSC…they have random balcony cabins that have the tub/shower…but they are only for two people. The tub takes up a bit more cabin space so there is no third bed. EM

That seems very magnanimous, but there is a problem with it. The purpose of assigned times is that not everyone shows up at once. But if all of those with built in priority choose later times, so that others can choose the early times…but plan to show up early anyway, then double the crowd could be showing up early. If you plan to show up early, choose early. EM

I look at it as a lack of education, or a particular cultural environment. I once stood on deck for a muster drill, and a couple of young fellows in front and to my left were talking and frequently inserting the F adjective. I asked if they didn’t know any other adjectives. They apologized and I didn’t hear another F word. EM

Also keep in mind the average temperature in the area, and whether you would be comfortable sitting out in those temps. EM

In regards to the configuration of the room, if you book a room that will hold 3/4 guests, the head of the bed will be under the window. I’m fact, on most older ships, the bed is always under the window. If the cabin only holds two, the beds are often on the side wall, so you can stand by the window. And the windowsill is deep, so you can store things on it. But the windows are most often too high to offer a good view if you are sitting in a chair ( unless you are really tall). An exception is some newer cabins on deck 3 on the M class ships. They were created from conference rooms, and have extra large round windows. These are cabins aft of the atrium. Not all cabins with round windows are portholes. EM

Move to MSC board

Yes, you need to make arrangements with the ship…but they are in Europe. Last port was a Schengen port, so are the remaining ports. No customs or immigration until you leave the Schengen area, which is probably when they fly home. EM

Edge partial transit April 3, 2023. Agua Clara locks

People who think the shows on cruise ships are ‘Broadway style’ have never seen a Broadway show. Only the largest NCL ships offer an almost Broadway show. The others are more a Las Vegas review. I have done Alaska twice, 14 days each time, in an inside cabin on Princess. I chose them because of price and booked on short notice, maybe 5 weeks out. I would advise a cruise that visits Glacier Bay, which is usually Princess, HAL, and NCL. I would look for a ship with an open promenade deck, very good for viewing wildlife. You will get many recommendations from folks who won’t do any cruise without a balcony. I’m not one of them. It can be too cool or rainy to sit on your balcony and watch Alaska go by. And chances are when the captain or naturalist announce wildlife sightings, it will be on the opposite side of the ship. EM