Essiesmom

And both would have to have passports. Carnival (and other lines) used to allow this, but they stopped routinely approving it because is make the cruise no longer a closed loop for everyone onboard, extra paperwork, longer CBP clearance for everyone on return. EM

I need a very soft bed and the first time I asked my steward for an egg crate all she did was put an extra mattress pad on the bed. Not a solution. Next cruise I explained to the steward that I needed a foam egg crate pad. He put one on, though I think he put it on upside down, with the flat side up. But it was certainly better, but not perfect. EM

This is true, but the longer cruises can go further afield, whereas the very short cruises stay close to home. You will get tired of Nassau, Freeport, Princess Cays, Bimini… EM

The peacocks have always been there…. EM

Short cruises are notable for being party cruises. The shorter one will be more frantic, people trying to cram as much ‘fun’ into three days as possible. The 5 day is still short, a party cruise, but not as frantic. If the 3 day is over a weekend, it may be a booze cruise. People have to take more time off to do a five day…EM

Unless the menu is every bar is the same, that would be hard to do. EM

So final payment has not yet been made. How are you doing it? Can you do it online, or do you have to do it through the TA? Or is the TA going to do it automatically when it is due? If so, then the TA has the credit card number and could access it to charge the cancellation fee. Do you have more than one credit card? If so, and you can make the payment online, or even on the phone with Princess, I would do so with a card different from the one you used for the deposits. Then I would temporarily lock the card that you used for the deposit so the TA can’t charge you the fee. I think the TA should have noticed when you booked that you had double booked two cabins and straightened it out then. EM

Probably not noisy at all. Being above a venue is not usually a problem unless it is a musical venue. EM

There is a modest roll call for this cruise. First one on the Pride roll call page. EM

Absolutely. But someone reported a somewhat convoluted method to beat the system. They rescheduled the cruise forward for the time required, but in a non-YC cabin. They then cancelled that cruise for a refund. EM

I thought you left the eavesdropping to your DW…. EM

You need to go to cruisedeckplans.com and use the drag deck feature to get an idea of what is above that cabin. It appears to be under the serving area of the aft section of the buffet, no scraping of chairs. Are there more than two of you in that cabin? It’s a quad cabin with bunks on the side walls. EM

As the above poster asked…did you make final payment on all 7 cabins? When did you discover your mistake? If you paid for all of the cabins, and are past final payment, you are not going to get much if anything back if you cancel on a cruise that sails in June. Might as well just check in and spread out! EM

Yes, you can apply now. Both of you should apply as you have different accounts/numbers. EM

MExico itineraries don’t vary much, not many choices. EM

Back when cabins still had real keys…. EM

One other thing when assembling your wardrobe: every MSC cruise has a White Night, where everyone is encouraged to wear something white. It does not need to be fancy, you will see everything from white shorts with a tshirt, to fancy white dresses. Some people have a lot of ‘fun’ with it. Last year on Seaside I positioned myself for good people watching, and saw a woman wearing something like a white leotard, and over it she had a transparent white netting/tulle gathered floor length skirt. Another was a group of ladies all in white, though not identical outfits. But each one was wearing a pixie cut wig in different neon colors…pink, yellow, green, blue, etc. they appeared to be having a lot of fun. I splurge and buy the basic Wi-Fi for two devices, using my iPhone and iPad mini. I think you can use the MSC for Me app without being connected to WiFi. I prefer to take the iPad to the MDR as reading the menu is easier on the larger device. EM

Welcome to Cruise Critic. When you enter the terminal there will be a sign for Diamond and Aurea. Follow the signs or ask. There is a separate checkin line upstairs. Once on the ship, go to your cabin and drop off your carryon bags. Then go and explore the ship. I suggest you go to cruisedeckplans.com and creat a pdf of the public decks, print it off in color. It’s always a good idea to have a visual of where things are. The buffet will be open for lunch and will probably be crowded until they announce cabins are open. (When you drop off your luggage, don’t stay…). The pools will probably be open. On the Gala nights, do not stress about clothing. Long pants and a collared shirt is all that is necessary, but many will dress up more, especially the ladies, in particular those from Europe. And there will be a lot of European guests onboard. They tend to dress with more care, even during the day…if you like to dress up, by all means do so. I did this itinerary on Seashore in Dec. and did a Live from thread. I will be repeating it on the June 23 sailing and again doing a Live from. Pictures of the ship, menus…sometimes activity sheets. I have been to these ports many times so I don’t do excursions. I can’t help you with the Spa, but I’m sure someone will be along to help you out. Don’t try to do everything. A vacation should be relaxing…. EM

If that’s the Coast Guard they won’t be charged. Part of their mission. EM

If you book over the phone you can prepay them. O way to do that after you book, but I suppose you could call and have it added. EM

What we need is a phone number for the visitors bureau (or whatever it’s called) and someone to call and ask if the small coastal cruise ships dock or tender. And do that for all of the ports in question. It’s too bad there is no directory of members by locality so we could ask them for info. EM

And speaking of the hot season, it can be beastly hot in July and August, especially in the eastern Mediterranean. If looking at Greece, Turkey (Kusadasi/Ephesus) I would do them in spring or fall. EM

I start to think about it as soon as I book the cruise. EM

Venice still loves visitors, but not ships. MSC actually docks the closest to Venice of any cruise line. They dock in the industrial area of Marghera, across the lagoon from the islands of Venice proper (if there is such a thing). You would fly into Marco Polo airport. Not sure if they provide transport from the airport all the way to the ship, but I do know you check in for the ship at the Marittima terminal (where most of the ships used to dock) and they then transport you to the ship. Of course, we all recommend you come in a couple of days early and/or stay a few days after. Rick Steves also has a guide for Scandinavia and Northern Europe Cruise Ports. He tells you about the port areas, what there is to see in the area, how to do it on your own, and how much you can do in the time you have allowed. He also has free audio tours on his website that you can download. For the places he doesn’t cover, he recommends Lonely Planet. With LP you used to be able to go to their website, pull up the city you were interested in, and purchase for download only that chapter. With cruisetimetables you can search by ship, departure port, or ports you want to visit. Lots of fun! EM

Don’t know where you will be flying from, but you will probably get the most direct flights to Barcelona and Rome, although the airport for Rome (FCO) is about 90 minutes away. Research on cruisetimetables.com will show you that most cruises have a circular itinerary and board and debark guests in most of the ports. This can make embarkation less hectic, but you have safety drill announcements almost daily…but you may be off sightseeing when they occur. If you want Spain and Italy you want western Mediterranean cruises. If you haven’t already, get a copy of Rick Steves’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports, read about them and decide which ones are the most important for your first time visit. My preference is for Eastern Mediterranean, especially including Venice. You need to plan your excursions, or book cruise line excursions because you won’t find vendors waiting on the dock to sell you a tour. You know, I don’t think Ive ever been to a port talk on MSC, but any in Europe will not have shopping recommendations. No DI in Europe. Enough for now. EM