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Great song. I was humming it as soon as I saw the thread title. I just hope the next post isn’t “Sorry folks, San Juan is closed. Moose out front should have told you.”

No no no. Us normal folks sail Bella. The pampered and entitled said Fantastica 🙂 Confession time: I’ve booked Fantastica for my next cruise. I’m (cue music) Movin’ on Up. To the port side. To a deluxe apartm… er, to a inside cabin on the 10th deck. Yeah I’m movin’ on up

No one knows. But I recently cancelled a land trip to Japan scheduled for October 22. I see little reason to hope for change anytime soon.

The dress code on gala night is…. whatever the hell you want to wear. Dressy is good, sparkly is better, but whatever makes you feel dressed up and looking fabulous

Twenty factorial? That’s a looong time.

Siri says it’s a hundred and fourth two days.

This is just me, but I wouldn’t sail in the Gulf during hurricane season. If a storm comes while you are there, you are screwed. But I’d have zero problem sailing in the Atlantic or Caribbean. If a storm is coming, there are a ton of options. Just be prepared to be flexible.

How cool would that be? Cutting things a bit too close for my anxiety, but for other people, talk about having a great story to tell…

Good thing you clarified that 🙂

But did you spend One Night in Bangkok before your cruise?

I’ve often suspected that the cruise lines themselves are behind all the “pier runner” videos. I should point out, however, that I have an official diagnosis as paranoid, so maybe I’m not the best source on these issues.

Andales (Andale Andale) is fine, but I prefer Arriba Arriba.

Imagine you are hanging out at Señor Frogs when you spot the ships captain downing a Devil’s Margarita.

On July 4th I booked a cruise leaving Cairo November 2022. The booking engine said travel insurance was mandatory for my cruise (US resident leaving out of non-US port.) Of course, this is MSC we are talking about. The rule could have changed and nobody bothered to update the booking engine.

This brings up a philosophical question. I just booked a cruise leaving from Cairo, Egypt. Now I’m obviously also going to explore Cairo while I’m there. So am I traveling all the way to Cairo from New England for my cruise? Or am I traveling to Cairo for its own sake, then traveling the 100 miles to the actual port for my cruise?

I think the correct answer is “yes dear.” And try hard not to visibly roll your eyes.

I’ve gone snorkeling a few times. Had fun, but I’m very casual. Pretty much just “look, fishies.” Just booked a cruise which will have one (maybe two) snorkel stops. But then remembered that all my snorkeling was done back when I wore contacts. I switched to glasses a few years ago. I am quite nearsighted (-7.0) so I have to do something. Option #1: Visit doctor and get some contacts. I’ve been thinking about doing this anyway. But I’m lazy. And cheap. Option #2: Buy a prescription mask. Again, been thinking about buying my own mask/snorkel anyway in this post Covid world. Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated

Just my opinion, but when it comes to first cruises: Rule #1: Get your butt on the boat. Read through all the paperwork, have whatever documentation you need, shots, Covid tests, etc. Know when and where you are leaving from, how you will get there… Rule #2 : There is no rule #2 You’ll find about a million tips and “things you need to do” on the internet. It’s good info (usually) but (again, IMO) nothing that’s critical. Have a great trip!

When we do some thing “risky” on a trip I think through what happens if something goes wrong. Often the answer is “we’ll have an adventure.” We came close to missing the boat once in Barcelona. The downside would have been “forced to spend a few days in Barcelona.” I was almost sad when we made it back in time 🙂

I just booked a cruise last night, and according to the booking engine insurance is required for US citizens sailing out of non-US ports. Recommended, not required out of US ports. Of course, the rule could have changed July 1 and the booking engine not yet updated. This is MSC we are talking about.

Sounds like an amazing place. Oh, and completely off topic, but Gqeberha would be an amazing (if illegal) Scrabble word.

Beautiful ship, wonderful cruise. Go and have a great time. If you want to second guess something, I wouldn’t worry about cruise line, but I would think about a round trip out of Seattle or Vancouver rather than one way cruises that start or end near Anchorage. Unless you particularly want to visit Anchorage or the interior before/after your cruise of course. Note, whenever anyone insists on only picking a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay, be sure to read it with a snooty British accent overemphasizing their belief there are three syllables in Glacier.

Also keep in mind ship excursions are willing to schedule later returns to the ship.

I always try to do “everything” on a cruise and often come back dead tired. My last Med cruise had a couple forced “sea days” (thanks COVID) and while I was disappointed to miss what I planned to do ashore, I “vacationed” - relaxed, actually read the books I brought to read, etc. It was nice. Going forward, I’m going to limit myself to four port visits in a week, regardless of the actual number of stops.

Both would be amazing and are more similar than they are different. Me? Kotor is the port I most want to visit, so I’d take that itinerary.