alohayall

48 minutes ago, Smokey Mountain Tim said:

Will our assistant waiter bring us a Coke Zero if asked for every meal?

 

A good assistant waiter will only be asked at the first meal - and then automatically bring it the rest of the cruise.  Especially if you tell them that’s your drink of choice.  (This is not a demand; it’s what I have experienced on every cruise line.). They really treat us so well.

6 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

We’re just packing up at the Hilton Garden Inn now. We’ll have a light breakfast and then Uber over to the port.  I’ll check back here in few hours and let you know how it all is going.

Can you give me an estimate how long it took from ordering Uber to arriving at port?  I’m booked at the HGI and have a 12:30 port arrival time.

Hope you have a great week+ !

Okay, that was actually already answered.  

From RC website.  I read this to mean it starts with cruises departing Feb 15 onward (unless revised again).  Not totally mask-free, even for vaxxed, as we wear them where it is a mixed vaxxed / unvaxxed crowd. 

On 2/10/2022 at 9:40 AM, hollon said:

what time does the buffet start and end?  I'll be on jet skiis around 11:30 and wondering if they'll be open afterwards, what all free food is avail?

From a Feb 2022 Freedom of the Seas Compass (found on RC cruise blog)

I used a iPad with a folding/ stand up cover.  For the length of time involved, holding a phone should be doable. 
 

My proctors were very easy to work with; they let me know when I got the box, my ID, … in the right camera position.

As for eMed v Optus for purchasing - If you want a quantity less than six kits or they are out of stick, eMed suggests you go to the Optum Store.  It really doesn’t matter on which site you start shopping.  The price is cheaper per kit when you buy a 6 pack.  

From my experience and others’ reports, kits arrive quickly - mine was 3 days, even during the post-Christmas package back-up.

On 2/7/2022 at 3:59 PM, Ray4Fun said:

When I google emed, I see back in summer 21 the wait times for the proctor was an hour plus. Has anyone here taken the test with emed recently? What was the wait time?  

End of November - I don’t remember waiting; so probably <2 minutes.  Same timing after the 15 minutes of test incubation done.  And results were essentially instantaneous.  So easy and love getting results on the spot. 

23 hours ago, cindyscruise said:

Did you know that you can download the Royal app now, select the current sailing on the Odyssey and you will see the daily menus for all dining venues? Actually looks like they have them all up to the middle of May. 

Fun! It looks like it has menus for my actual sailing - with lunches on Sea Days. The days are numbered 1-9 (8-night cruise), starting with dinner on Day1 and ending with breakfast on Day 9.

Whether this our actual set of menus in 3 weeks or not, it is a pretty good idea of what’s for dinner.

Thanks for the info!

I consider this a “You’ve Been Warned / Notified” requirement; if you can’t stand sailing with a mask, don’t book a cruise during this period.

If case numbers and deaths really improve, they can always drop the requirement any time they like.  Although that would probably cause consternation among some who enjoy the extra layer of precautions.  

Best of success. They should book you an OV Balcony (or better, if unavailable) at the rate that was offered on your date of booking.  Especially if it is on tape that that is what you were requesting.  Pretty straight forward.

I hope this doesn’t sour your anniversary cruise. 

Pizza.  I was on the Seashore early December.  I fell in love with their marinara pizza on whole wheat crust.  No cheese.  I had read where people would ask for specific pizzas at MSC buffets, so I tried that approach when I didn’t see the marinara pizza on Day 2.  So I asked.  Then asked how many slices I wanted.  Ten minutes later, a worker brought it to my table.  This happened most days, as I had two slices each day for the entire week.  
 

The Butcher’s Cut is an excellent choice of Specialty Dining for your complimentary Diamond meal.

My cruise was my first with MSC.  I matched Diamond from Disney.

I never found soft serve ice cream. Let us know what you discover; I sail Seashore again in October.

Have a great cruise.

Make sure you enter your Voyagers number for extra savings (and perhaps some onboard bonus).  That sailing shows a discount when I try a booking.

Good luck.

I’d nab it.  It could be a glitch in their system, or just an effort to book more cruisers.

If you have internet service, you could use the Binax Ag card telehealth test.  The actual test is the one sold for at home use, but you perform the test while online.

The results are given as soon as the test is complete.

The website for the test is eMed.  If they are out of stock, they should refer you to Optum Store.  I have seen them sold in batches of 6 for $150.  Sometimes available in 1, 2, or 3 boxes.  Each box contains one test - unlike the unmonitored kits.

I have done this for a pre-Cruise requirement.  It is an antigen test.  Saves you having to find a test location and getting everyone there.

Par for the course since I have had two cruises booked on MSC, November 2021 and January 2022.  
 

Waiting to get final check-in and paper work completed does not happen on time, either.  It’s perfect for a procrastinator; awful for Type A / ducks in a row retypes.

2022 Aurea benefits, per MSC website:

Priority boarding & luggage drop off

Complimentary access to the Top Exclusive Solarium

Relaxation amenities in each stateroom (including bathrobe and slippers)

Pillow menu

Access to thermal area (for adults only)

40% discount on a prepaid dedicated spa package

10% discount on all spa treatments purchased on board

Based on experiences posted in CC, there is a chance that any room selection you have made can be changed by MSC.  If you passed on the upgrade in hopes of keeping your big balcony, you could lose out anyway.  It sounds like the cost of the Thermal Spa might be the deciding factor.

Have a great cruise.

Large aft balcony.  And the space on the deck above is the Top Sail lounge, not a pool deck, so no early morning sounds of deck chairs being moved around.

If you have been to Miami and seen the large variety of taxis and vehicles at the curb, you might be surprised at the scarcity in Port Canaveral.  

When booked for an inside, I got offers for ocean view, balcony, and YC interior.

The theater on Seashore early December 2021 - seats blocked off for social distancing.

13 hours ago, dwade1901 said:

Thanks - I suspect your right. I think my Travel Agent just worded the 'all drinks' incorrectly...

 

I'm wondering if well drinks include different types of Whiskey such as bourbon, scotch; likewise with White Rum and Dark Rum etc...

Based on the menu posted above, it looks like you can get Jim Beam (Bourbon, right?) or any of the base alcohols used in the $/€6 cocktails.  If needed, just ask to leave out the coke, tonic…

On 1/11/2022 at 4:07 AM, dwade1901 said:

Hey @Beamafar I'm confused - my travel agent confirmed that the easy package includes 'all drinks up to 6 Euros (we're going on the World Europa from Barcelona August 23), yet on the comparison chart, energy drinks are not circled, neither are soda cans (or 1 Litre water for that matter).

 

Further to that, the kids package (we have kids with us) does say that energy drinks are included in that package

 

Have you heard anything that clarifies this?

 

Thanks 🙂

The online published chart does show canned sodas, energy drinks (which are usually in cans) as NOT being included in the Easy Package.  You can get fountain soda.  And there is no limit on how many bottles of water you can get a day, but the smaller bottles will probably not be the same brand as the liters.  Even the beer is limited to draft - no cans other than Heineken 0% (unless that comes in draft, too).

If deciding if / which package to purchase, I would base it on the published info, not on hoping they include cans and liter bottles of water.  

And think 6€ as just pertaining to the cost of cocktails (and house wine).

Check out this thread: “Used 48 hr flexible booking option and now the cruise I moved to doesn’t exist.”

I think it’s a corollary to your problem.  The dates of several Seashore cruises in November have shifted and selecting rooms was very iffy.

11 minutes ago, Fla Mike said:

Some more info, please

 

What date?

What experience did you book originally?

What are you trying to get upgraded too?

Are you looking to get comped or pay?

 

I'm guessing that if you know your deck, you are at least Fantastica.

If you booked a bit out, you should get a bid offer.

 

 

Based on his post and the Meraviglia schedule, they are cruising tomorrow, Sunday, Jan 9.

OP - I’ve got no experience upgrading on MSC, nor during this pandemic.

Hope you have a great time.

On 1/5/2022 at 7:32 PM, cheeseheads4ever said:

Can you flex again down the road or is it a one time shot. Meaning if I flex my Jan  Cruise to September can I flex from September to or beforeMarch 31 of 2023?

If MSC offers drink pkg down the road after I flex will they add it on if I call?

While moving my cruise date for a cruise one week out, I asked if I could move my date an additional time.  There was not a firm answer - it would depend on the conditions set out for my cruise.  Huh? In other words, she didn’t know.  Except that Bella experience most likely would not have a free change.  
 

If you look at current descriptions of Fantastica, it spells out “1 free cruise change.”  My current change was their current COVID related flex change up to 48 hours before sailing.  

I think you have a good chance to move it one more time - but maybe do it within the normal penalty time parameters.

Can you normally add the drink package you want before PIF date?

Right now, drinks + WiFi + OBC are part of the New Years Sale.  And autumn dates are getting Voyagers 15+5 discount (at least mine did for Oct 1 Seashore).