sealynx

12 hours ago, Captain Rhone said:

Well the most recent report I have pulled back up so far indicates the 13, of which we only know 9 of the ships right now, unless you include the two that are now going into layup (Imagination and Fascination) which I am sure will probably not return to the fleet anyway and I'm sure will eventually just be sold. So atleast 2 new ones if not 4 more will be announced by October.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23218-carnival-corporation-to-sell-13-cruise-ships.html

 

There are more reports out there that I will have to dig back up.

If you read that article closely it says:

"Carnival said these agreements are in addition to the sale of four ships, which were announced prior to fiscal 2020." and "In total, the 13 ships expected to leave the fleet represent a nearly nine percent reduction in current capacity."

So, there you go.

Just a quick wrap up. Carnival announced 13 ships to leave the fleet. So far they've named: Costa Mediteranea, Costa Atlantica, Pacific Area, Pacific Dawn, Costa Victoria, Costa neoRomantica, Oceana, Maasdam, Veendam, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Fantasy and Inspiration. So, I guess we won't be getting any more bad news. That is good news as well, isn't it?

Since I still don't understand why with Mardi Gras they forget the Carnival-prefix, I hope they will bring that back. It might have been a good idea to distinguish a new flag ship, but any new ship is the future's golden oldy. Just like the Grand Princess, once the biggest cruise ship afloat, now not so much. They could almost change her name to Medium Princess for that matter. Personally also not a fan of the useless -e on the end of Carnivale, Festivale and Tropicale (like those malls that call them selves 'east towne mall' or so, it's just wrong and looks horrible). So all in all Carnival Carnival could do, but that is just weird. So if they want to recycle an old name Carnival Festival (actually a kids ride in a Dutch theme park 🙂) or Carnival Tropical would do. But my own personal favourite would be Carnival Jubelee, because it is also the name of a London Underground line.

On 10/31/2019 at 11:06 PM, need2cruisesoon said:

Very cool..

Does anyone else agree that the removal of the white swoosh over MSC logo is a shame for the design? It used to kinda break the rather boxy appearance of the rear end of the superstructure, but on newer renderings they seem to have left it out.

We had a Bella cabin on the Seaview last summer. The price difference was €100,- p.p. to Fantastica cabin. The service difference came down to free room service (which we don't use), 'better' cabin location and a solid rather than a glass balcony railing. For us the location of the cabin was perfect (cabin 14009) because it was on the end of the corridor high on deck 14, so a very quiet part of the ship (no through traffic), perfect for our daughter who went to sleep early most evenenings (with a phone in case she needed us). And this particular cabin has a 1/3 glass balcony railing, and the balcony is in the shadow of the bridge wing (again, perfect for us, because we're not a fan of baking). And the distance to the buffet meant we'd burn extra calories going there, meaning we could eat more :-).

13 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Actually, due to basic hygiene  concerns it appears top sheets are making a comeback, even in Europe. 

 

Personally, I think the absence of a top sheet is disgusting. I do not believe that the duvet covers  are washed weekly and will pay close attention on my next turn around. The policy of no top sheet makes no sense because duvet covers cost more than top sheets so they can technically get away with fewer washes if a top sheet is used.  It literally gives me the shivers thinking of all the skin cells on the duvet cover/comforter; from a stranger no less.

 

 

Duvet covers are always washed when occupants of a room change, whether it be a hotel, a cruise ship or a holiday park. It might take more time, space and water to wash duvet covers than it does to wash top sheets, but since making the bed is less of a hassle I'm sure they save a ton of money by using duvet covers instead of top sheets. Personally I think top sheets are less hygenic than duvet covers: since top sheets keep shifting and never stay put, the comforter is more likely to touch ones skin than with a duvet cover.

I understand but we all can not "pick-n-choose" perks of different Experiences.

Unfortunately I have to pay sometimes for a more expensive package, even some of the perks in

this package are not important to me. It applies to airline fares, hotel rooms, rental car categories, etc.

Not quite true, can't think of a single airline where you don't have to nickel up for everybit of extra. Same for rental cars, and many hotels. Although I do agree that that would really kill much of the cruise ideal. Still I don't think a bit of variety is such a weird thing to ask.

Simply because the Aurea experience is a few hundred euro's more expensive, for amenities which are (other than the flex dining) of no added value for me.

True that, although for me it's more the place/table, and not so much the time slot.

Good suggestion, but I think we'll always have lunch in port, since we don't have sea days in this cruise.

This fixed dining is really something that bugs me about cruising. Why have two or more main restaurants, when you'll always assigned to just one? Or maybe that stimulates passengers to opt for speciality dining more often, to gain more income for the company.

I guess I'll just ask the maitreD every day if he maybe has a different table available. Perhaps from people went to a speciality restaurant that day.

Hello, I have booked my first real cruise on the MSC Seaview for next summer. No

I'm very excited and can't wait to get to Genua to board.

Since I'm new to cruising I have a question about dining. We will get a fixed (same every day) table in one of the main dining rooms. Will it be possible to change that on a daily basis? Different table/different restaurant every day? I'm a huge fan of variety, so I like a different view every day.

A while ago MSC announced more flexible dining options, but I can't find anything about that anymore.

Hello, me and my partner are doing a course to become educated wall climbers and certified belayers. Will this allow us to freely use the climbing wall (without help from a crew member I mean) on a RCL ship? Or will it always be a crew member doing the belaying?

Going from Amsterdam to Rotterdam you donot need to go through the locks. Only when sailing from/to Northsea going to Amsterdam.

Well, if you go by cruise ship from Amsterdam to Rotterdam v.v., then you definitely will need to go through them locks. By train of course you don't.

If the Amsterdam cruise terminal will or might be closed in a few years there will be a new terminal along Northsea canal at another point.

That's the whole point, the new forming local government has announced they do not want to open a new terminal along the North Sea Canal.

Dutch media have announced that the new forming local government of Amsterdam has the plan to close the PTA (Passenger Terminal Amsterdam). So far this is not new. The PTA would be moved to make place for a bridge (far too low for cruise ships) for peds and cyclist to the north part of the city. A new terminal would be build further to the west of the city (possibly close where the old Scania terminal used to be). New is that no alternative terminal will be build at all. Citizens of Amsterdam and the local government are tired of the many tourists coming to the city and removing the terminal is one of the many measures proposed to slow down growth.

This will leave the Netherlands with just two cruise ports. The closest to Amsterdam would be IJmuiden. That would take a one hour drive by coach to the centre of Amsterdam, however, coaches will also be banned from the city. The only major cruise port left would be Rotterdam, a city still happy with tourists.

What would you rather do? Book a cruise that will skip the Netherlands completely, and opt for Germany of Belgium (though many cruises port at all three countries anyway)? Book a cruise to Rotterdam and visit our country's second city? Or book a cruise to Rotterdam and take a train to Amsterdam?

Just last week I made my first ever cruise. After I made several mini-cruises on ferries from the Netherlands to the UK, I was now looking forward to the 'real thing'. As a try-out offer, MSC offered a 2 night cruise from Amsterdam to Hamburg for only € 200,- (indoor cabin), an offer I could not refuse.

Check in was smooth. As it was only a two night cruise, we only had carry-ons. It took just a few minutes to get the boarding cards, get our picture taken, our credit card matched with the boarding card, and to make one of those pictures in front of a huge photo of the vessel (I can't believe anyone would actually buy that :confused:).

First impression of the vessel was very good. The interior was perfect. And to my great surprise, we had an free upgrade to a balcony cabin. I never expected a balcony was worth the extra money, but I must admit I found it wonderful to have one. Just to read a book, or breath off fresh air early in the morning.

For lunch we went to the buffet restaurant. Actually, there are two buffet restaurants, but when you are there you wouldn't know the on from the other. They might as well give them one name. The food was just ok, nothing special. Since many people were at that time still visiting Amsterdam, we had no trouble finding a empty table.

Next we went for a strole around the ship. The Magnifica has four decks filled with restaurants, bars, pools, and other entertainment-venues. Deck five, six and seven share the atrium, which even has a three story waterfall. In the bow one can find the theatre. I never expected it to be that big, and the star-like lighting made it beautiful.

To rest a little we opted for reading a book on our balcony, with which we drank a cup of the we got from the buffet. Dinner was in one of the two main restaurants. I was kind of afraid to be stuck with straingers, but happy to find out we got a two-person table. The food was again just ok, I had expected more of it. But then again, I did read about the poor food quality in many MSC reviews, so I guess I was warned. We did buy a wonderful bottle of wine with our meal, which we later took to the Tiger bar to finish.

The tiger bar is one of the two largest bars. From quite early live-music is performed, and soon many people were dancing. Later on in the evening the entertainment team pulled more people to the dance floor. It seemed everyone was having a good time, and so were we. We took a quick look in the theatre, but the show was just horrible. After just three songs we went back to the bar for some more dancing.

After a good night sleep, and some poor quality breakfast (they didn't even have normal break, just buns :(), we arrived in Hamburg. This is where most passengers disembarked. Just a few were transfer passengers from Amsterdam like were were. That afternoon new passengers would embark for a short cruise to Amsterdam (and then back to Hamburg again).

After a fun day in Hamburg we were back on the ship. Before dinner we went for a swim and rested a little in the whirlpool, as was a group of German soccer players who had their anual team weekend. Later we found out that there were several of these groups on board, which I believe is not the average cruise-passenger, so that might have influenced my first cruise experience.

Then we just had to wait for dinner, and soon boredom kicked in. I expected a lot of entertainment on the ship, but apart from the pool, a few football tables, and shuffle board, there wasn't really a lot of things to do. I guess on a longer cruise I might have went to the fitness centre for a few hours, but still I couldn't help being a little disappointed.

The second evening was quite like the first one. We had a great time in the bar with live music and dancing, the theatre was better this time, but still far from broadway-style, and the food was again not what I would expect in a restaurant. The service (speed) in the bar could have been much better, but the cocktail and beer tasted like they should.

So, all in all, how was my first cruise experience? A slight disappointment in a. food quality, and b. things to do while on board. Possitive is the intior design, it gave me several decorating ideas for my own home, and the evening entertainment in the bars. Will I ever cruise again? Possibly, but not likely with MSC. How does a cruise compare to a mini-cruise on a ferry? I believe a company like DFDS Seaways offers product just as good as a 'real' cruise. Ofcourse a ferry's initary is somewhat boring, but at least the food is much better.

Hello all,

Soon I'll make my first ever cruise on MSC Magnifica. After several mini-cruises onboard ferries, I'm really looking forward for the real thing.

Just a few questions about the dinners though. I've heard that we'll be having the same table in the same restaurant with the same waiter and same table company for every night during the cruises. Is that true? I hope it is not, why would they do that? They have 5 restaurants onboard, I'd rather change restaurant every night, and when I need to use a restaurant twice, I'd rather be on the other end to taste it's asmophere from a different viewpoint.

And if this is the standard procedure, would there be any way to make request for change? And is it possible to get a table for just me and my husband, no-one else?