Essiesmom

I guess that you are not planning on an excursion from Gatun Lake? Because if you go on an excursion you won’t be on the ship when it goes back out. The starboard side will be the shady side going in, and the works, etc. of the Agua Clara locks are also on that side. Which ship are you on?

Why don’t you Google weather history for your ports? You might want to consider lightweight longer pants and carry a wrap, because if you are visiting churches, some require shoulders and knees to be covered. EM

Well, I think I have pics inside Westminster Abbey, know I have them from the Sistine Chapel, Taj Mahal and Neuschwanstein. Taj and Neuschwanstein were not forbidden when I was there many, many years ago…. EM

How long is your cruise? I think I have read that the longer cruises do not list all of the days… I see that your cruise is 12 nights. I think I read the app only has a 7 day cycle so may not list the last five days initially…. EM

cruise lines are limiting or cancelling the tour portions of cruise tours because the facilities in Alaska are having trouble getting staff for the hotels. Last year Princess had to not open two hotels, and it seems the problems are still there this year. EM

Yes it can, as I have booked after final payment and had to manually correct name. EM

Put an AirTag in it so you at least can see it is on the ship. EM

And currently in the US, trying to make any changes to your booking can open a can of worms and cause unwelcome changes, not what you are hoping for. EM

Bye - bye Key West

Are you sure that the sofa is a sofa bed? Also, your teen will not be able to get a key card for the balcony cabin. While that is commonly done on other lines, MSC does not do it. They do not switch cards around or issue extra keys. If you were on a newer class of ship one of the guests in the balcony could get a bracelet that would work like the cabin card and give it to the teen, but that technology is not yet on the Fantasia class. The upper bunks unfortunately are mounted on the side walls, it when deployed they are the same size as a twin. Many adults have slept in them. EM

There are not many pics yet for cabins on World Europa. However from the ones I found on cruisedeckplans.com, if you cabin has the symbol double dots, it is a couch that configures into bunks. Someone recently posted a video of a cabin steward demonstrating it. The little triangle denotes a sofa bed for one…does not fold out. The thread with the bunk video was started on April 2 by Luv2eat and it is about three pages back. so scroll back and look for it. EM

For $900 less I’m sure there will be other locations onboard where you can get a forward view going through the canal. Do you know whether she will be using the new locks? I believe there was a reason Koningsdam had to use the new locks. Maybe something about the lifeboats. Quite frankly, though interesting, the activity going through the new locks is. It nearly as dramatic as the old locks. EM

Happy Key Lime pie!

Well, I’ll take a stab at this. The general rule of thumb is that the longer the cruise, the older the demographic. That’s because younger folk do not have the money for the longer cruises, nor do they have the vacation time to take them. The more exotic itineraries also have an older following, and will be full of platinum and Diamond cruisers who have already been everywhere else. Not that the itinerary is exotic…just that for Carnival, it is. Not sure how many guests there will be in his age group, but as long as he is comfortable with older folk, he will be fine. EM

Look at balcony cabins on MSC. Some have foldout double couches, new ones also have a couch where the seat raises up and becomes a bunk, with the lower part another bunk. And some family cabins with a separate bunk alcove. EM

Queen Mary2 makes transAtlantic voyages from Red Hook in Brooklyn, not Cape Liberty, NJ. EM

Bermuda from NYC. MSC from NYC.

We enjoyed our cove balcony on the Dream. Pack for 7 days and do laundry one or two times. Carnival Dream has self service laundries. It beats lugging multiple suitcases. You might take your own detergent pods and dryer sheets, as you would be paying for those as well as the machines. I would make one packable backpack do for both occasions. Many of us are diabetic and carry snacks. It’s not a problem. For information about departure ports, there is a board here called North American Homeports, and under that you would choose Gulf Coast Departures. Since your questions involve a Carnival cruise, and I’m sure you will have many more, I’m going to ask the mods to move this thread to the Carnival board. EM

There are some cruise lines that have small ships that are cruising the Great Lakes in the summer, and to Canada. Look at Viking Ocean, Viking Octantis and Polaris. Also American Cruise Lines with cruises along the Inter-coastal waterway. EM

You don’t say where you are coming from…I see Toronto for you, but how about the others? How far would they be willing to drive/fly to board the ship? I read the suggestions on your Celebrity thread, but I suggest lookin at MSC. They will shortly have a ship sailing year round from NYC. EM

Let me make your research somewhat easier. Go to cruisetimetables.com, select Cruise ships, and scroll down to MSC. Click on each ship to see where it is currently sailing. I believe there are only three sailing ‘in US waters’, although during the winters, some sail the Caribbean without touching the US. Some may consider the Caribbean to be US waters… There are members here who are reporting on cruises from Europe. You might solicit their opinions. EM

I read the Carnival, Celebrity, Cunard, HAL, MSC, and Princess boards regularly. I see the least complaints on Cunard, not too many on Celebrity, but the folks on the others can be very vocal. EM

You might be longing for that ten days in one place after the first cruise, picking a location you would like to explore at leisure. Or you could hop around the eastern Med on the large cruise ferries that ply regular routes, usually sailing at night. Or island hop with fast ferries. Lots of options…. EM

Keep in mind that you are not sailing to third world destinations. If you underestimate the amount of diapers and wipes, there will be stores in the ports beside jewelry and souvenirs. No one wants to spend vacations time shopping for those items, but they are available. EM

That sounds like spam to me, malware? No one should ever use their email as username. EM