RICHARD@SEA

Blah blah blah - its 2024 not 1912.... A blue or grey suit is perfectly acceptable.... If you want to gussy it up a bit - wear a bow tie..they are fun & your steward can help w the tying if needed. I have tuxes, dinner jackets . dinner suits & business suits - all anyone really notices is what the women are wearing(altho the handsome officers certainly get their share of oohs & aaahs - deservedly). Go dance the nite away - it all ends up on a chair in the end!!!

PS - I always book a midship balcony cabin - the price on HAL per day was 2x as much as MSC... so for those are concerned about value / cost - relate that to your posts. I don't expect Ritz Carlton food & service on MSC - but I also won't sail HAL when its been driven down market - like a Carnival Line.

I am booked on the 2025 MSC WC - I chose MSC due to the Itinerary - I have sailed on MSC several times over the last 15- 20 years on different ships - cruises 7 - 13 days. On any ship I've been on since 1970's at one point or another I get fooded out. On MSC its nice to have choice - I'm not a buffet person - at all - & yet the salads, pizza & pasta along w guac & chips, cheeses , prosciutto , fruits, veggies - kept me well fed when I didn't want to go to the dining room or eat in my cabin. I recently was on THE HAL ROTTERDAM for a 9 day cruise(I'm 3 star w HAL). The ship was nicely decorated, service was hit or miss to really non existent. When I came down w food poisoning (for almost 3 days) from eating in the STeak House / specialty restaurant I met w the Hotel Mgr I mentioned gelato & pizza(it was awful on HAL) and she said how wonderful it is...I suggested HAL get the recipes from MSC. I won't be sailing on HAL ever again ..that is why I chose MSC.

I sailed in ROTTERDAM this past NOV / DEC - If you want a nice bar w a killer aft view & great service and drinks go to Tamarind. It was never crowded & the service was great( I can't say the same about the other bars). The billboard bar is more active / crowded. Because of the lounge setup on that deck - The Billboard is either dead because the lounge across the way w the dueling pianos(there is only a walkway dividing the 2 "lounges", no walls) or very busy when the band was playing in Billboard. It was like sitting iin Grand Central station & the service almost non existent. As far as the much loved OCEAN BAR on older HAL ships - on ROTTERDAM it is indeed just a pass through in the hallway w about an 8 seat bar & a small seating area w piped in music. The bar was full & the service non existent in the attached seating area.(this bar also serves CLUB ORANGE, Sel de Mer & Pinnacle grill. The HAL cutbacks are blatantly obvious in the service areas.

HOME LINES was perennial favorite as it sailed out of NYC to Bermuda / Nassau & the carib in the winter for longer cruises...my last was on the last HOMERIC which was bought by HAL! So I wasn't the only one spoiled!!!

the view is always better while drinking an "ADULT BEVERAGE' while exercising!!!

Many years ago I sailed on the July 4th cruise out of NYC on QE2 - I don't remember the year - but then it was a 5 day cruise w/ QE2 in NYC harbor right near the Statue of Liberty - it was one of the most memorable & certainly a once in a lifetime experiences - IT WAS THE ULTIMATE!!!! Everyone onboard was outside on the decks w the fireworks exploding above us!!! This was pre 9/11 so I don't know what security measures will be in place in future 4 July cruises - certainly being in Brooklyn would not be the same!

How many of the lines are Carnival Corp owned????

Seems you have the secret to happiness - finding what suits yourself!!! I remember sailing on QE2 , FRANCE, ITALIAN LINE< SITMAR etc - first class all the way - the luggage alone weighed almost as much a sthe ship itself. Those days are gone - so I adjusted & still love being at sea in my balcony stateroom... I hope WCB iron everything out for their enjoyment.... and the gelato was pistachio...

Oceansaway17 - sorry about the desserts - they are lacking - The Hotel Manager brought up the gelato onboard & how wonderful it was and it was made onboard - i very nicely suggested HAL get the recipe from MSC(along w the pizza). ROTTERDAM did have good apple pie at the Dutch Cafe & the coffees were better - I'm not a StarB...Ks person and other passengers & officers seemed to enjoy a variety of cakes. Cookies everywhere were blah(COOKIES are essential to a well lived life - or so I believe)

I book a cruise to escape to sea - I chose ROTTERDAM Vll because one of my favorite ships was ROTTERDAM V. I realize the quality has gone down a lot & I always find something to eat...after a few days a slice of pizza, a salad & some gelato is fine. I eat out quite often - to all types of restaurants. When ashore I research hotels w restaurants & bars. I'm not a buffet person but found the pasta on ROTTERDAM to be decent.(its the same pasta served in the Italian Specialty restaurant onboard - which really is just a section in the lido buffet). One other point about cold food - each morning I have a continental breakfast brought to my cabin...the first 2 days the coffee in the thermos was cold... i mean really COLD COFFEE - each day after I wrote on the menu - HOT COFFEE.

Thank you for this explanation...I never figured out whether it was the steak or potato. I left before desert. due to every part of the meal & service being terrible. The Hotel Manager did credit my account for the meal - but the 2 days of being sick was terrible. fact is today these large ships are serving thousands of meals to thousands of passengers 24 hours a day. The handling of food is another issue...in warm climates like Florida if the foods are not stored & handled properly certainly there are problems. the cutback in staff onboard is a contributing factor.. Obviously the Management onboard ROTTERDAM needs to be looked at & revised. For those on a world cruise w less than full capacity (or anyone on any ship sailing today) there is no reason the food should be served cold or not as ordered. After meeting w the Hotel Manager & Guest Services Manager for over an hour concerning the problems I encountered w my cabin & the food poisoning - she went quiet when I said I would take the issues up w the HAL corporate office & I would like to see the bonus package the HAL & Carnival management received this past year...maybe they are the ones that should be cutback - or at least help too serve & insure all passengers are served food at the correct & healthy temperature.

The Italian officers are the best...in many many ways.....LOVE THEM!!!

"Now it would have been nice if our mains had been delivered hot like we prefer. The dining room for the second fixed seating was not crowded at all, so why we had to wait almost an hour for the entrees is a mystery to us. After our starters, we had ordered one veal entree and one beef tenderloin dish with a baked potato. When the plates finally arrived, everything was cold, including the baked potato. Not even warm, we could not tell our waiters since they had disappeared again. Normally there is a two minute window where they come back to ask how everything is. But not tonight. Normally we do not complain, but cold is cold. When we were about done, our waiter came by and we did inform him about the cold plates. He looked surprised because he was not the one that brought them to us. Apologizing, he offered to replace them, but no way were we going to wait another hour for more food we did not need. Even when the chef came by, he was happy to hear that the food was tasty, but disappointed it was served cold. Up until tonight, the food has been very hot and the plates hot as well. Somewhere along the line, these dinners took a detour long enough to get cold. They all promised it will not happen again. " You have to be really careful w the cold food... I recently had taken a cruise on the ROTTERDAM. On the second night I ate i the steak house (extra fee) the steak, potato & veggies were all cold - like you there was no one around even tho the restaurant was half filled Well I only had a couple of bites - and left - and proceeded a couple of hours later to have food poisining that lasted for 2 days - not pretty. According to the HOTEL MANAGER, the food is precooked (in the shared kitchen w the club orange restaurant & kept under heat lamps - the potato much like the English muffin you mentioned was like a rock). I wish you luck w the rest of your voyage - but be vigilant!!! I've sailed w HAL since 1977 & after this past cruise(there were several other major problems onboard) I won't step onboard another HAL / Carnival Corp ship.

Sorry Dahling...that should of read... THE YOU TUBE VIDEOS OF PITTI UOMO in FLORENCE ITALY...its held 2 x year & its all men's fashion all the time... Roscoe - I'm sure they copied some of your looks.

And the food on MSC is better!!!

I was on a 9 day carob cruise on HAL in late December - other than the fantastic cabins stewards - teh service in bars , restaurants, lounges, lido - was pretty awful all around - including guest services(this included food poising from eatin in one of teh specialty restaurants).

They build these new ships like tin cans to be thrown away - it shows!!

Fight it w MSC Corporate I took a 9 day cruise on HAL ROTTERDAMV11 in late November - I had a balcony cabin & on the first nite I heard a pounding noise in the cabin - it continued every day & nite(sometimes at 3 in the afternoon & then usually at 5-11 pm) I couldn't sleep or get rest - I called down to guest relations - got nowwhere by the 3rd day i said I wanted to speak w the HOTEL MANAGER - that took 2 days until I said I would call HAL Corp in Seattle. She basically had an 1 hour schmooze / corporate talk w me(& another mangaer). After I told them I asked several officers I ran into in the hallway outside the cabin(there was a stairway to the bridge forward of my cabin) they investigated & found the sound speakers / sound system for the showroom was attached to beams 2 decks below, Tou could hear the noise halfway down the ship - they also said nob one ever complained or mentioned it . Corporate crap!! There were other issues - when I retuned home I called my TA - they passed on the info to HAL & sent me the names & titles of who would take care of this - I want a refund - the hotel manager asked what I wanted - I should of said what is 9 nites worth of sleep worth??? I'm waiting to hear from HAL - I won't step on another HAL / Carnival Corp ship ever again.

One of the best benefits of a cruise is the availability of various types of food almost 24 hours a day. I am booked on a January 2025 World Cruise - I like to eat in the ports for a local meal(anything from a local family restaurant to 4star restaurants & hotel dining rooms. While at sea on longer cruises I tend to get "fooded out" and so a meal in my cabin will be simpler & I also like my 4 oclock cocktail hour - where I find a chair in the aft & sit w a drink and some guac & chips, or a shrimp cocktail or a charcuterie plate...casual & some cookies finish off the meal. I go for a swim, shower and return to my a cabin for an in home evening on my balcony. Once a week I have pizza nite(w salad)(only if the pizza onboard is good) & hopefully some good gelato. Also I try the specialty restaurants & partake of special evenings in the main didning room. Instead of cakes or rich deserts I have an after dinner cordial. No need to go to the dining room every nite or when I don't feel like getting dressed. I could also fast for a day when I have enough!!! This seems to mix things enough for me -

COW BELL in PORT EVERGLADES Back in Feb 1975 as we sailed out someone in the condos on the beach facing the canal started to ring a cow bell off one of the condo balconies. For many years after I remember & looked forward to the cow bell as opposed to the horns and whistles. For the first time since 1975 & after too many to count sailings from Port Everglades I did not hear it as I sailed on the ROTTERDAM V11 in late November. Does anyone recall hearing that cow bell as you sailed out???? I missed it -

after many years of cruising on various lines i had looked forward too sailing w SS - but then they were bought ...most companies are watered down to pay for the purchase... I'm afraid the purchase has diminished my desire to sail w SS.,

SITMAR = SEX IS TOO MUCH AFTER RAVIOLI (A waiter told us that - I have to disagree)

Thank you Roscoe... your Blogs are better than SCHITTS CREEK or MODERRN FAMILY....beacause of YOU!!!! As a side note - did you ever see the You and for once we can straighten out DRESS CODES onboard....especially when we are onboard. Tube videos of PITTI UOMO in Florence Italy...absolutely fabulous & maybe some designers will donate clothes for you voyage if you see something you NEED!

We were fortunate to sail in OCEANIC many times - it was so convenient & spectacular sailing out of NYC anytime of year. - Bermuda & Nassau spring through autumn - then the winter carib sailings with longer itineraries..she was so beautiful & sailed beautifully as she was built as a TA liner - the magradome over the pools made swimming possible all year round - and that is where we had the infamous BON VOYAGE parties!!! SITMAR was another favorite - FAIRSEA & FAIRWIND were older, smaller ships w food & service was topnotch & the cruises were tons of Italian fun!!! - we did both carib & western Mexico cruises - 10 - 14 days - we never wanted to disembark - MISTER^& - aren't we fortunate!!!