bobndee

I'm new to MSC but got status-matched up to the Gold level. Thanks to the people on this forum I learned about the 5%+5% discount. I called this morning and was able to get a significant reduction on my recent Yacht Club booking.

Thanks for the heads-up!

Been to Labadee once. Never again.

The food was cold. The only drinks available were fruity concoctions - a bartender we had gotten to know actually apologized for not being able to make a simple gin & tonic for me. Had to bribe an attendant to get a beach chair. If I left the chair for a short time they would take it back until I bribed them again. The "bazaar" had multiple vendors all selling the same "made in China" garbage.

No thanks.

11 hours ago, Chardonnay Char said:

I just saw a post about lines charging for lobster tails.  It appears that Carnival allows for 2 free tails and then has an uncharge of $5 per extra tail.  So 5 tails for about $15, and Celebrity (formerly known as the foodie cruise) is charging $16.99 + gratuity for one extra tail.

   Please tell me there is a reason for this.

Because they can. And some people will pay it.

My wife and I got our second booster (all four shots were Pfizer) in late February, just over one month prior to our trip to Paris in early April. I contracted mild COVID while in Paris and had to isolate before being allowed to fly home. My wife contracted COVID after returning home, also very mild. My take is that a booster won't prevent COVID but it probably would make it less severe.

When I saw the title of the thread I thought "That's the kind of flight I'd like to take!"

But then I realized the OP wasn't talking about airlines.

Wouldn't that make the perfect way to fly to your next cruise?

There are several on-line travel insurance companies that offer policies from a variety of companies. You can find out a lot at the Cruise Critic Travel Insurance forum:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

18 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

Let's all take a moment to be thankful that Spiders don't fly... 

     
                                                       🕷

Yes, they don't fly. But they DO drop down on you on their spider filaments when you least expect it!

We've both had both of our vaccine shots, finishing in mid-February, so we're supposedly good to go. We've booked our next cruise - March 2022. Nothing before then.

But we are going to an all-inclusive resort in May of this year. The trip had originally been booked for May of last year but they shut down so we re-scheduled for this year.

Several years ago I was on a cruise where I saw a woman who brought her two small dogs on board with her. Each day the dogs wore a different costume. She carted them around the ship in a small stroller. If someone were in the way of where she wanted to go, she would use the stroller to push them out of her way.

Our longest to date was 14 days - Ft. Lauderdale to Southhampton. We're booked on the Diamond Princess for 17 days in 2022 -  Chile to San Diego.

14 hours ago, TeaBag said:

Medical experts in London today were asked if is time to ease the COVID lockdown.

 

Allergists were in favour of scratching it, but Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

Gastroenterologists had a sort of gut feeling about it, but Neurologists thought that the government had a lot of nerve.

 

Obstetricians felt certain that everyone was labouring under a misconception, while Ophthalmologists considered the idea short-sighted.

Many Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body!” while Pediatricians said, “Oh grow up!”

 

Psychiatrists thought that the whole idea was madness, while Radiologists could see right through it.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing and Pharmacists claimed that it would be a bitter pill to swallow.

 

Plastic Surgeons opined that this proposal would “put a whole new face on the matter”.

Podiatrists thought that it was a step forward, but Urologists were pi$$ed off at the whole idea.

 

Anaesthetists thought that the whole idea was a gas, and Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.

 

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the a$$holes in politics

 

 

I shared this with my son in medical research. He has these additions:

Oncologists thought the whole idea was rather malignant, while the surgeons wanted everyone to cut it out. (yes, I know surgeons are already on the list)

15 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

That actually might be a groaner, but I do appreciate the wit....thank you for breaking the cycle...the imagery was priceless.  Appears I'm not supposed to access this thread having a 'different' sense of humour than some here and they felt the need to let me know.  BTW...I loved Bernie's mitts.  The memes were funny for a while.  Guess I bore easily...LOL. 

Yes, the memes were funny for about the first 10 times. After that it just became overkill and repetitious. That's my opinion.

I'm new to Princess - my first cruise with them is booked for March 2022. I've been curious about Medallion Class since I first heard about it. So I watched some videos on the Princess site about it. One thing that I picked up is that you can use it in the shops for purchases and in the casino for wagering. That kinda scares me. If someone were to lose their medallion then the finder could go on a shopping and/or gambling spree and their spending would go directly to the owner's account.

Saw this truck in my neighborhood . . .

22 hours ago, cangelmd said:

LOL! I started reading this thread thinking it was about having a little too much fun, but when I got to your post, I realized this is us.
We spent most of a TA at the World Bar on Silhouette. Since then, DH has acquired a truly impressive array of bitters, liqueurs, juices and all manner of weird concoctions, plus the recipe books and new herbs growing in pots on the back porch. There are even gadgets involved, and he loves gadgets almost as much as he loves me.

maybe someday we will sail together and compare notes!

Sounds like a plan.

We too have greatly expanded our drink repertoire. We used to drink bourbon exclusively. Now we have multiple gins (different gins for different drinks) multiple rums (including 15 year old for sipping), multiple scotches, vodka, brandy, various liqueurs and, of course, multiple bourbons since, at heart, we're still bourbon snobs.

Many years ago, when our kids were still young, we took them to Disney World from our home in NC. While we were sitting in Liberty Square a girl came up to our daughter and said "Hi!". It was a classmate from her school in Connecticut where we used to live before moving to NC.

I was at Sandals in Jamaica. At dinner one night all the tables for two were in use so we asked the couple behind us if they would care to share a table for four. They agreed. Turns out they were from Wake Forest, NC, just like we were. Saw them around town after returning home, too.

I haven't had that sort of trouble but here's my problem. With the premium package my wife and I get to try all sorts of liquors and liqueurs for which we wouldn't normally pay the price. Like single malt scotch and pricey digestifs. So now I have to buy single malts for me and B&B and/or Benedictine for my wife. 😄

We were booked in YC for our first MSC cruise in October 2020 cruise but cancelled it in June, before final payment, because I didn't feel that the cruise would ever happen. Even if it did sail, we didn't think it would be a good idea to cruise so soon.

Having read this thread, along with others like it, I doubt whether we will consider MSC in the future. Customer service can be a big plus or an even bigger minus.

12 hours ago, centurycruiser said:

I hate people who use big words just to make them look perspicacious.

My motto is "Eschew obfuscation."

The difference between dogs and cats :

Dogs say to themselves "These people house me, feed me and take care of all of my wants and needs. They must be gods - I must worship them."

Cats say to themselves "These people house me, feed me and take care of all of my wants and needs. I  must be a god - They must worship me."

Going through the various "when will we cruise again?" topics, I find the respondents being either optimists or pessimists.  That got me to thinking:

Pessimists can never be disappointed.

Optimists can never be pleasantly surprised.

Blacksmithing is the only profession where you can solve your problems by beating them with a hammer.

According to the Amtrak web site:

Each passenger may bring two personal items, 25 lbs. (12 kg) and 14 x 11 x 7 inches each, and two carry-on items, 50 lbs. (23 kg) and 28 x 22 x 14 inches each, onboard.

In addition, each traveler can check up to 4 bags (2 free and 2 at $20 per bag).

2 Bags Free
Up to 50 lbs. and 75 linear inches*

2 Additional Bags
$20 each

Oversized Baggage (76-100 linear inches*)
$20 each