wcook

Time doesn’t matter. Only days. If you sail on Saturday, any test on Thursday, Friday or Saturday counts as “two days.”

You wanna argue Oceana is a more pleasant experience than mainstream lines - at least for your tastes - cool. But to state as a fact that once you pay for the stuff that’s included on Oceana mainstream lines are “almost always” the same price or higher than Oceana? Nope.

I’m convince that’s MSC’s official design philosophy. “Borrow” from RCI and throw in just enough MSC sparkle so it’s not obvious. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

BwaHahahahahaha. No.

Almost always? Nope. In my experience, it’s close to never. My last cruise was a standard one week western med cruise out of Barcelona. Inside cabin, solo supplement, with internet and drink package for $730. I could have added speciality restaurant package for <$100. R/T flight out of Boston was $500. Cheapest week I can find on Oceania anywhere, anytime is 4238€. That doesn’t include flights. Granted it’s a balcony room, but I’m sure I can find the equivalent on a mainstream line for a fraction of that price.

I am prone to sea sickness. Every cruise I’ve been on has had at least one day where I would have felt sick if not for medication. With medication, I feel nothing and really enjoy the motion. Meclizine works great for me, but you can test others out to see what works best for you and your family. It terms of “slam into the walls as you walk down the corridors “ rough seas - pretty rare. But I hate to say it, you never know.

Nah. Cruising is awesome.

Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen washer and drier specifically listed on the prohibited list. Guess it falls under heating elements.

Which are we tracking here : 108 days until flight; 106 until I get in the boat.

As with many things, my advice to you is to start drinking heavily! Side note: someone above mentioned Bonine (Meclizine). I swear by this drug. Note that it can be bought cheap off Amazon.

Flatbush is one of our most articulate and informative posters. But - speaking only for myself - when I price things out I find it much cheaper to book on a mass market line with extras compared to an ultra lux line where everything is included. I encourage everyone interested in such cruises to price things out for themselves.

Even on the cheaper lines, you can have that all-included experience by paying in advance.

I blame Tom Brady

Not trying to be argumentative here - genuinely curious. Why would I need to be medvaced home from Greece or Alaska?

I took my mom on a cruise once. She would have been devastated if my father got sick and she had to choose between cancelling (and my losing money) and leaving my dad while he was sick. So I bought insurance that specifically included that coverage. Other that that, I’ve never bought insurance unless it was required. Because the loss I’m insuring just isn’t that big a deal. In general, you get insurance to cover devastating losses.

Anything you happen to find on room service trays left in the hallway.

The MSC thing where you have the option of booking days 1-14 of an itinerary, or days 2-8, etc is not common, especially in North America. if your goal is book a longer cruise while friends/family book only a portion, one solution is for you to book a back-to-back cruise while the others book only one of the segments.

Will monkey pox lead to government restrictions on cruising? I don’t think so. But for me personally, it’s yet another reminder that communicable diseases exist. The jam packed pool, dance floor or hot tub? I think I’ll skip.

Sweet (suite?) pictures of Ocean House. This is the first time I can remember seriously thinking about Yacht (Yatch?) clubbing.

Mars bars expire???

Sure. Just keep in mind there’s no dribbling in your room between 10:30 pm and 7:00 am.

Dress codes

It’s an Italian cruise line. Maybe they made the manager an offer he couldn’t refuse?

Love that show. Note that it was filmed ten years ago; Canadian drug laws have changed. But, yeah, you can get in serious trouble bringing pot into foreign countries, even countries that seem to have a high tolerance for personal use. If you choose to risk bringing pot on a cruise (1) go with edibles; nothing that needs to be smoked (2) keep it on ship.

For a board overview, check out Rick Steve’s Mediterranean Cruise Ports - either the book or the YouTube video.