Mrs_Tiki

Yikes! Like you, I am a Chardonnay girl. Sailing on Seascape on Sunday and hope they are better provisioned. (But glad to read that they made a favorable substitution for you!) Loving this review, thank you for taking the time to post during your cruise.

So excited for another Charla review, with the extra bonus that we will get to meet her in person on the Beyond next month! I wholeheartedly agree with Charla’s (and others’) comments about knowing your child when planning a cruise experience. My parents took me on a transatlantic on the QE2 when I was 13 and made very clear their expectations regarding my behavior. Fast forward, our daughter enjoyed her first cruise at the age of 5 on Sea Princess, and we never looked back, choosing the right line for the right time in her life. Princess>Disney (one and done!)>Royal Caribbean>Celebrity>SeaDream. Small digression here - early in her tween years, our dear daughter called us out for our involvement with CruiseCritic meet and greets. We had always told her that it was dangerous to meet people online and then arrange to meet up in person in real life. She noted that we were doing exactly that when we arranged sail away cocktails and shared shore excursions. (Good point, but always turned out great for us!)

I have only one experience with Move-Up, but mine showed pending until Friday morning before a Saturday sailing when I received an email notifying me that my bid was not successful. Hope that your luck is better!

Have been following all day and adding my wishes that you make it in time! Go Peaches go, from another Georgia girl!

We are on that one also. Can’t wait to meet all of you!

So excited for another live with GenX review! It will help pass the time until we can be live with Charla for real on the Beyond!

I so understand! We are sailing on MSC Seascape on March 19 and had not planned on another cruise until the fall when the ships return from the Med. But this is too good to pass up. We are pretending it is a back to back with a two-week intermission! Having followed along on several of your "live from" reviews, I look forward to the opportunity to meet you and raise a glass together. I will be looking for the map dress in The Retreat Lounge on embarkation day!

Thanks to the OP for alerting us to this bargain fare! Although I didn't catch on early enough to get the fare he quoted, I did snag an Aqua Sky Suite for $5,612 for two, just a bit over the per person fare on other sailings! DH (Tiki_Man) and I love the Sky Suites and Retreat on Edge class ships, but actually prefer Blu to Luminae, so this might be the best of both worlds for us! (Wonder why Aqua Sky Suites were less expensive than regular Sky Suites?) An added benefit is the opportunity to sail with other CC members that have provided such helpful and entertaining posts over the years. Generation X, NorthStarStateCruiser, and mac_tlc, I'm talking about you! Headed over to the Roll Calls to see who else is on board!

For us, absolutely yes! We have sailed in a Sky Suite on Apex and Royal Suite on Edge, and our experience in The Retreat on both ships was fantastic. We would likely not spend the extra money for anything beyond a Sky Suite in the future, as the Royal Suite was a splurge for a special occasion. Last November, we returned to Apex and sailed in Aqua Class. While we loved Blu, we missed the quiet and extra TLC we had received in The Retreat. Just booked an Aqua Sky Suite on Beyond and expect that will be the best of both worlds!

It is great to hear that you are having such a fabulous time! I share your enthusiasm for the libraries on the S-class ships. One of my favorite memories is running out of my own books brought on board, most recently having finished The Paris Wife, a fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway’s marriage to his first wife (who happens to share a name with our daughter). While perusing titles in the library, I came across a compilation of his letters and was able to read his own words from that same era about that relationship. Wow, rereading that makes me realize that I am a real nerd! But I do love Hiassen - SkinnyDip is my favorite, in large part due to its cruise theme!

So much fun to follow along, as always! Are the MSC luggage tags similar in size to X?

Charla, I am so excited for another one of your awesome reviews! Especially because we are trying MSC for the first time in March. Can’t wait for your comparison.

Eden Cafe was only open on sea days on our November 2022 Apex sailing. We had lunch in Le Bistro, but there was a $30 pp cover charge.

My most recent experience on the November 12 Apex sailing was that X was very stringent in enforcing boarding times. As reference, ours was 11:00-11:30, and pier staff was very aggressive in corralling people arriving at Terminal 25 into time- specific lines. (And I use the term “corralling” intentionally - was not my favorite boarding experience!)

After being long-time X cruisers, DH and I had a disappointing experience on Connie in 2015 and gave Windstar a try, then went even smaller to SeaDream, which became our new cruise line of choice. Then COVID restrictions made it difficult to travel to SD’s embarkation ports in the Caribbean, so we gave X another try. Our first cruise in The Retreat on Apex in late 2021 lined up with Windstar in terms of price and service, but by November 2022 we were paying Windstar prices for AquaClass, and The Retreat pricing had reached SeaDream levels. (In between those two, we splurged on the Royal Suite on the Edge, which was incredible, but at a much higher price point!) While The Retreat experience is elevated, it in no way compares with SeaDream. We just can’t justify spending what X is asking these days and have a cruise booked in the Yacht Club on MSC Seascape this spring to check it out.

Also, on recent cruises on Apex and Edge, disposable headphones were available in the gym.

Yes, you are right! It must have been 29.

hcat, I know that you post often, enjoy readying your posts, and value your contributions, but I have a bit of a different take on this one. Our Retreat boarding experience was awesome in Terminal 25 at Port Everglades but terrible in Terminal 19, so I think that the terminal makes a big difference! In November 2021, we embarked Apex from Terminal 25. The only hiccup was totally my fault. This was back in the days of extremely low passenger counts, so I breezed right in the main terminal door, not seeing the special entrance for Retreat guests. The port employee at the top of the escalator had limited English and no idea that there was a separate suite area. But once we found the “magic door,” all was awesome. The lounge was beautiful, and I have some recollection of beverages and light bites, but we were checked in and whisked aboard so fast that we never partook. Totally different experience on our Edge sailing in March 2022. Another ship had some mechanical issue that required it to dock earlier at Terminal 25, so we were notified via text as we made our way the the port that Edge would be using Terminal 19. Especially when compared to 25, it seems like a drafty, dingy, old warehouse. As we made our way to the Retreat line, the computers went down, and we stood at least 30 minutes before it began to move and we could enter the building. Once inside, suite passengers were crammed into the small waiting area with airport gate-like rows of seats as port employees did their best to get people checked in using some alternate system. (The handheld devices did not work, so they had to take our passports and paperwork to the few agents with laptops.) The kicker for us was that we were in a Royal Suite, and once checked in, they instructed us to remain in the terminal until someone could come to escort us to our suite. After 15 more minutes, no one came, so I politely asked someone from the ship if we could walk on ourselves. I know that they were trying to provide us with extra attention, but it kind of backfired!

( Sorry I forgot to mention it was Port Everglades. There were lines marked with signage for every other boarding time (no idea why not for each time - that added to the confusion), and people were getting in line as soon as they arrived at port. So yes, there were hordes of people arriving to the port in advance of their times.Many were indignant that they were not allowed to enter the terminal and verbally abusive to port employees and other passengers. I think that part of the reason that boarding was slow was that many of us were unable to complete the health questionnaire through the app, and it had to be done by agents once we entered the terminal. Hopefully, that is not an ongoing issue. The funny part was that my husband had gone to park the car, so I got in our line by myself initially. (At the direction of the port employee - she said that he could join me when he got back, just to let others go ahead if he wasn’t back by the time it started moving.) He jogged up just as the line began to move, and we barely stopped as we completed check-in and waited just a few minutes to board. His comment was, “that wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be.” Ha, he missed all the drama and stress!

No priority disembarkation for Elites on November 12 Apex cruise, just the lounge in Tuscan. Our assigned time was 8:50, and we were called right in time. As for embarkation, they were strongly enforcing times. We had 11:00-11:30, arrived at 11:05, had to queue and wait for earlier group to clear before our line started to enter terminal 25 around 11:30, then another wait inside. I don’t mind waiting in an orderly line, but I was put off by the fact that it took a Port employee with a bullhorn to try to keep order among the crowd. It was very stressful and reinforced the value of The Retreat for future cruises.

Thank you! How did I miss that?!

I would like to contact a concierge to assist with my booking, but I don't see the form that you mention above. Where can I find this?

Eden Cafe is only open on sea days (no charge), Le Bistro is open for lunch everyday ($30 charge).

Your review is wonderful and is a great way to relive a great week! We did have a nice cruise, although work encroached for me a bit. Others might be interested that Premium Internet Package performed very well for sending/receiving emails EXCEPT for the last sea day, when it was almost inoperable. The first sea day was a Sunday, so I wasn't trying to work then, but my experience was that the best time for internet usage for me - pre-Starlink - was in the mornings when the ship was in port. Sadly, I was not as fortunate as you with avoiding COVID. I started feeling a bit "off" yesterday and took a test today as a precaution before traveling to see family. I was disappointed to get a positive result that has derailed Thanksgiving plans, but grateful that I feel OK so far.

We are on this sailing and have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Carolina Yankee. If we don't cross paths, I wanted to say that this interaction is an example of the kindness of strangers that seems to have gone missing from our culture. Warms my heart!