postnobills

I just tried to cancel a "free included" post-cruise tour in Iceland next year. My TA contacted Regent and was told no credit would be issued if we cancelled. Totally opposite to their policy of giving you a credit if you don't use their "free included" airfare.

Bo, It's not that simple, unfortunately. A thin patty gets overcooked and dried out very quickly. Stacking two just gives you a thicker dried-out and over-charred well-done sandwich. You've got to start with a thicker patty to retain juiciness and flavor. It's just like the steaks - two of X's notoriously thin NY strips does not equal one thicker one that can be cooked to a perfect interior rare or medium-rare.

I fully agree with Kteacher! OTOH, the hopelessly cynical side of me can't help but wonder if MSC realizes Charla has a huge fan base on CC and is going out of their way to give her extra special attention, realizing what great free marketing of their product they are getting. Charla - any thoughts on this? If this is truly representative of life in the Yacht Club we too are thinking about moving on from X and giving MSC a try.

We spent several days on Tokyo after our cruise back in 2019 and had an absolutely wonderful private guide. She is bookable through a website called gowithguide.com. Search for Tokyo, then at the top click the button "local Guides" and scroll until you find Kahoko K. We used her for two days and felt like we saw and understood Tokyo in a way we could never have achieved on our own.

Jim- We were in 1118 in early September and loved it, except for the non-working whirlpool tub on the balcony; hopefully they've fixed that by now.

I was on Solstice back in September and while the color scheme/furnishings are starting to seem outdated, the ship itself is in great condition. I can confirm that the beds have been swapped out for new ones; we watched about 400 old mattresses get offloaded in Seattle.

Really enjoying following along on your trip report, especially since we are on the return trip to Europe next spring. Do you know if there is a way to connect a laptop to the TV in the stateroom in order to play movies stored on a PC (or to stream from a phone/ipad). The ship's collection of provided movies seems pretty dreadful.

Our Butler, Glenn, was okay. We didn't ask much of him, but what we did ask he did well. However, he did nothing much proactive, either. For example, champaign icer was removed after first day and our bottle of champaign just left standing on counter (he could have offered to re-chill the bottle on another night or see if we preferred to exchange for a bottle of wine. Never offered to serve us dinner from a specialty restaurant in the suite. Never asked if we wanted a coffee machine (or kettle) in the suite. Small things, yes, and we certainly could have asked for these things, I'm sure, but in my experiences on Azamara and Regent our butlers were always much more proactive in finding ways to assist us. OTOH, our room attendant, Jay, was top-notch in every way.

1118. Tub filled just fine, but whirlpool jets shut off after about 1 second.

Just off the Solstice this morning from a week in Alaska. As others have said, the public areas are generally in good condition. We were booked in a RS. Our suite was definitely in need of some TLC. Sofa in living room was saggy and uncomfortable. Several lights were not working properly. Whirlpool on our balcony did not work. Doors to bedroom and bathroom had to propped open with cheesy plain wood wedge doorstops. OTOH, they just replaced the mattresses so that was a plus. Michael's Club furnishings are tired and visually outdated, but service by Retreat staff was top-notch. Dining rooms were in good condition and service in Luminae, Murano and Tuscan Grill was excellent at all times. If anyone has any specific questions, fire away!

How early can you embark at Pier 91? We have an assigned check-in time of 1:00 pm, but we are in a suite and I've been told that allows us to check-in at any time.

We are leaving from TPA exactly two weeks behind you on the same itinerary, so definitely looking forward to following this!

DW and I are sailing on Solstice in a few weeks, embarking at Pier 91. Does anyone now if there is a separate check-in area for suite passengers? Also, any guesses on how early we can get on the ship? I recall reading somewhere that suite guests can embark earlier than their pre-assigned time. TIA!

These are overhead costs associated with providing this feature. Insulting to think they then expect customers to essentially reimburse them for these costs.

Wow, glad I stumbled onto this thread. We are disembarking in Seattle in early September and trying to catch an 11:45 a.m. flight. Does anyone have suggestions for a reliable car service that can meet us at the port?