Becci

I had a similar situation a few years ago when I called to add the last future cruise voucher I had left. It was added and the rep said I was good to go, paid in full with credit on top of that.

Over the next week or so I couldn't access my booking online. Apparently there was a computer glitch that had cancelled my cruise when I added the voucher. Took a few hours and some frustration to get it settled but we went and had a fabulous cruise!

So now if anything weird happens online I call and confirm that all is well.

Someone forward to me? Please and thanks!!!

beccilynn27@yahoo.com

I look forward to reading your review benji. Somewhere our email forwarding chain got broken! Lol. [emoji4]

Can someone forward the funtimes to me as well please? I leave for alaska in 32 days! Thanks in advance! beccilynn27@yahoo.com

Call them! I had that happen once and it was a computer glitch that had cancelled my cruise. Took forever to get it worked out. It did get worked out but was a huge hassel.

I would also be very thankful to see the fun times for Legend to Alaska! We leave in 40 days!!

If you get an inside cabin with out the couch and the room only has one Pullman you will be given a roll away. Very close quarters!!! We take turns using the showers in the spa when 4 of us travel that way. There's just not enough room for 4 women to get ready for dinner all at once. Lol

Definitely park by JAX. It's expensive but always been safe for me in my travels. Don't try to drive in the quarter. All the streets are narrow and crowded.

Do have the original Cafe Du Monde! The lines are sometimes long but move amazingly fast. Totally worth it. If you keep walking along Decatur past cafe du monde you will come to the French Market. Directly a crossed from cafe du monde is Jackson Square and all the art vendors around it. Behind Jackson Square is the cathedral and as long as there isn't a service going on you can go in and look around. It's beautiful. Also if you want a sneak peek at the ship climb the stairs next to cafe du monde and you will see the river walk and the ship docked. The quarter is one of my fav places ever but it can be treacherous with uneven sidewalks, dirty puddles, and street urchins. Bourbon street is famous but may not be suitable for the younger kids ( lots of nudity).

Have a good time!

I had basically the same thing happen november of 2013. Booked and completely paid for a cruise. Remembered that I had a $100 voucher from a previous trip and called to add it. A few weeks passed and I checked my booking online to find that it was unavailable. When I called to find out what was going on I was told that I had cancelled my cruise and there was nothing they could do. After about 3 hours on the phone, 4 supervisors, and a lot of frustration I was given a lesser room and told that it was all they had and that I must accept it. No refund. No credit. Nothing. May I point out that I am a platinum cruiser not some beginner that did something silly with my booking. I love carnival but they do need to work on their policy when it comes to computer glitches and other situations like this.

I hope it works out better for you than it did for me.

My husband and I went on our first cruise together almost twelve years ago. The trip was his idea and he was a good sport but from the time we got to the port he was uncomfortable with the crowds and the heat, he is not a people watchers and didn't much enjoy the lido deck since it's too loud for him.

I was instantly hooked! Totally addicted from the moment I seen that huge ship. I love the crowds and the heat, the lido and the music!

So now he goes on fishing trips with the guys and I go on cruises with the girls. It works out for us!

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/qas.html?mobile=nocontent

From the CDCs website: How long does Ebola live outside the body?

Ebola is killed with hospital-grade disinfectants (such as household bleach). Ebola on dried on surfaces such as doorknobs and countertops can survive for several hours; however, virus in body fluids (such as blood) can survive up to several days at room temperature.

The fact is that ebola can live outside the human body both in a liquid or dry state for a number of days. There is nothing wrong with educating yourself and practicing safe behaviors while in public places like airports. While I have no plans to let paranoia ruins any of my vacation time I will also not be touching everything I come across and then picking my nose. Just be smart and have a good time!

Metairie is closer to New Orleans than the airport so the cab should be slightly cheaper. I know that some of the hotels out in Metairie have shuttles but I would check with your hotel to make sure.

If you like the nightlife I would think about a hotel in the central business district as it is still within walking distance to the Quarter but not as expensive as hotels actually in the Quarter. Plus you will save on cab fare and it's closer to port.

In Piraeus we took an excursion to the Acropolis. The bus picked us up and took us to the ruins. We were there very early and beat the crowd which was nice. However, we had the worst guide I've ever had in all my travels. Seriously, the worst! She spoke English quite well but the only bit of history she had to tell us was that the Olympics had been held in Athens in 2004. She must have told us this 20 times. When we got to the site her group left her standing there talking and we all found each other later at the bottom of the hill. I don't see how she didn't know she was losing everyone. A better guide would have noticed. Aside from the guide the Acropolis was truly breath taking. It is even bigger than I had pictured it to be. Also the views from the Acropolis of Athens are endless! We went next to the Acropolis Museum where they had some really cool artifacts,some with paint still attached. The actual Caryatids are in the museum not at the ruins. The ones there are replicas. The bus took us around Athens and back to the ship. Athens is like a giant anthill in that it's so crowded and busy. I thought Chicago was hard to drive in! Lol

Our last excursion was St Jacobs beach in Dubrovnik. We were taken by boat to the Old City harbor and allowed nearly an hour to look around the medieval city. It was just like a fairy tale place you could imagine from a story book. Very cool! Then we got back on the boat and went to the beach. It was a pebble beach and was situated so that you look directly at the Old City. My favorite pictures were from there. The beach had rest rooms, a small place for food and free wifi. It was a great way to end our vacation!

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WA girl- Corfu was very easy to get around. The shuttle took us to old town. There is a fortress on top of the hill for some sightseeing. It was a bit of a climb to the top but the views from up there were really pretty. There is a little cafe on site with free wifi. Across from the entrance to the fortress is blocks and blocks of shopping. We spent a few hours looking around and them caught to shuttle back to the ship.

Excursions are one of the things I thought MSC did really good with. We went to Ancient Olympia in Katakalon. The bus took us to the excavation site which is still a working site by the way. Our guide spoke both English and French as the two languages were grouped together. After the ruins we went to a restaurant for traditional Greek food and folk dancing. I wasn't expecting this part of the trip. I guess I focused on the ruins part and didn't realize there was more to it. It was so much fun though! They had a dance troupe that did a show then invited us up to dance with them.

In santorini we had planned to see the ruins at Akrotiri but it was cancelled due to lack of interest. So instead we booked an excursion to a black sand beach to swim in the caldera. The black sand was so pretty but so hot on our feet. The water was cold though so we were happy! Across from the beach we had a gyro at the restaurant were the bus picked us up. After that the bus took us to the top of the island overlooking the ship below to the town on Fira. We got some beautiful pictures and more shopping at we climbed up to the cable car. The line for the cable car was terrible by te way. We waited for at least two hours to get down the hill. The only alternative is by foot or by donkey though so we waited.

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KirkNc- Thank you! We enjoyed it very much! Well worth it.

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Bra_BE2014- So Sorry! I can't answer this one. I didn't visit the spa while on board. I know that they did have some good sales throughout the week though.

WA Girl- There were shuttles i believe in all the ports to take you to the touristy parts of town. Except for possibly Santorini where you would take the cable car instead. The shuttles were between 5-10 euro pp. this is one thing that i think MSC could do better on. Carnival has shore talks with maps where the cruise director tells you what there is to see on your own and how to get there if you choose not to do an excursion. MSC has shuttles and maps that they show you (not printed where you can take with you) but very little info.

We took the shuttles in both Corfu and Bari to do some shopping and stretch our legs.

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Norwegian Cruiser- Fantasia is a beautiful ship. I can see why she would be your favorite!

All the ports were great for different reasons. I am a big fan of a port intensive intinerary and this one really kept us busy for sure!

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Though I haven't time yet to post a full review I would like to answer any questions you might have about the ship or ports of call. We had a fantastic time and wish others a great experience on this beautiful ship. Let me know if I can help with anything. :)

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Thank you for the heads up. We are in Chicago now on our way to Toronto then Venice for our cruise leaving Sunday the 6th. We will make sure to get there very early!

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I will also be a commoner and new to MSC next week though I am an avid cruiser on Carnival. I'm not too worried about the YC. I'm not a fancy person and would rather spend my money on fun rather than luxury. The front of the ship is normally too windy for me anyway and the main dining room will serve food that I'm sure will be edible. What I'm most looking forward to is seeing new places and meeting new people!

Not sure about MSC but on Carnival the pool at the very front if the ship is for the crew though very few of them use it as their boss looks right at it from the bridge. Lol

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I booked directly with MSC via phone. The website is a little hard to navigate and seems to be missing some important features like ability to make payments online but I'm gal that I found this particular info. I am a super early planner and was worried about having yet to receive the cruise docs!

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So I was looking at the MSC website today. I signed in to my dashboard and added my booking number. Then there was a link that said "request cruise documents" or something along those lines. I clicked it and the docs were sent to me via email instantly! The best part is that they have changed my cabin from an interior to a porthole! 9 days and counting. 😄

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So glad you got them Steph! 15 days and counting for me. Have a great trip!!!

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Thanks from me as well! We are leaving out of Venice on the MSC Fantasia the day of the race. I'm really feeling good about our decision the stay at a hotel near the P. Roma.

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