shipgeeks

We were totally satisfied with our non-YC, Bella standard cabin on our two cruises just before the lockdown. Will be doing the same on our future MSC cruises.

I just fold the few wet items over the line. If I need more drip space I put things over the shower head and/or shower basket. I've never wanted magnetic hooks.

Yes, there is a drying line in the shower.

MSC cruises from the US seem to have a lot of good dance music, and participation. RC, at least on the smaller ships such as Enchantment, always have a band in Centrum, as well as a Silent Disco once or twice, and DJ late at night in Viking Crown.

The taxis at the port are at the far end of the port and shopping area, several minutes walk including the long pier.

There was a post about this subject fairly recently, but I haven't since found it. Could be here, or on RC, or Carnival. No resolution that I found. It does seem strange, as Baltimore has secure, fenced parking, with access only on ship days, presumably. It might be worth doing a search for the previous posts.

Re which direction to choose: We always do eastbound. I stress enough about flying to Florida for departure, even with going at least one day early. The TA part gets us nice and rested for the Med ports. After the grueling flights home at the end, we can recover at home. If we did westbound, I don't think the stress of flying there would be worth it to us, and then with jet lag we wouldn't be able to enjoy the first few days in Europe, nor the port days there. We don't mind the few shorter days. Either way, the body and brain adjust appropriately. Obviously we are all different.

We sailed on MSC Melody in 2002, from Florida. I don't do reviews, and I never read reviews, but if anyone is curious, I'd be happy to go back to my journal and try to answer any questions about what my MSC blast from the past was like. (Yes, MSC was sailing here much further back than many think.)

She is now in Baltimore as scheduled. The explanation is that some new parts had been installed, and were being tested while out at sea. No problems.

Does the package include fresh squeezed OJ at breakfast? I got one from my D+ drink allotment every day, and it was delicious.

There have been a few reports in past months/years of Dyson brand hairdryers not working on ships, or being disabled when plugged in. Different technology than other brands perhaps? If yours is a Dyson, it might be worth a search of earlier posts on the subject.

"Balconies always better"? Not in my opinion. We have always chosen OV for crossings, and thought they were perfect. (We prefer OV for all our other cruises, too.)

We used the Celebrity air when we did our three TAs. Buying a one-way would have cost us over $4,000 each; theirs was under $700. All good. We were able to choose our seats after our bookings were made, not on the initial booking.

On a HAL cruise several years ago, Fort Lauderdale to Montreal, we were seated at dinner with a lovely mother and daughter, Canadians from the west coast. The next day we ran into the daughter, who said Mom had broken her hip at bedtime. She was held and treated in the ship infirmary until we reached Boston, a number of days later; she was then transferred to a hospital there, and after a number of days there, was flown home. All arrangements were made by HAL; reportedly all were well done. When I visited the mother in the infirmary, it struck me as being like a miniature hospital. Private room, a number of medical personnel in attendance. Just not the hustle and bustle, nor police presence, of a big city hospital.

Couple of hours? For us it is always around 5pm (Diamond Lounge) through late bedtime, after our final dance of the evening. And that applies to the two or more formal nights on our cruises.

Yes, I think her post has led to some unnecessary worry. She is now reporting that they are moving along as planned. Last week we slowed down a few times as we were ahead of schedule, and then waiting for the Chesapeake pilot. It could be as simple as that.

We do! (Some do not.) DH always wears his tuxedo. I don't do photos, but on recent cruises I have worn cocktail dress, velvet pantsuit, long sheath dress, etc. I agree, we enjoy the festive feeling of the evening, at cocktails, dinner, show, music and dancing.

On the earlier cruise she was escorted by tugs, not brought in by tugs, after a rope was caught in one of the thrusters. No issues last week, and we saw one day that all new ropes were ready to be installed.

If I'm going to a new port, I always read through the cruiseline excursion listings, just to get an idea of what types of things might be available there. I agree with the above re old posts still being relevant.

Besides being prohibited (I see them on the claim table at departure), I've never needed to iron anything I packed for a cruise, including DH's suits and dress shirts, nor my linen slacks and dresses. I have a packing method. Open suitcase. Take first large item (suit jacket/ long pants) and lay half of it into the case, with half hanging out on the bed/table. Add more items in the same way, with the outside parts going in different directions. Then, when about half full, start folding items over each other. There will be no sharp creases on any of them. Oh, and I leave all those items on their hangers. As soon as we unpack, it's easy (not daunting) to just hang right away, not have to fiddle with the hangers built into the cabin closet.

Have you been checking on the Ports of Call section of Cruise Critic? There is usually some good info there; some might be older (keep scrolling through more than page 1). The Caribbean section has separate sub-sections for each island. Personally, I don't read reviews (if that is what you are actually looking for), but rather the posts I mention above, with exchanges of information as well as opinions of good/bad experiences.

Cabin towels will be replaced as often as you need more. It is typical to put used towels on the bathroom floor if you want them replaced, or put back on towel rack if you don't. Pool and Ocean Cay towels are separate, probably a different color. On the island, as well as the buffet, there are food trucks with burgers, brownies, etc.

And that is one of the things we enjoyed most on Seaside. It really felt more like being "away" rather than just spending time with only people from our tri-state area.

Wouldn't this concern also apply to any foreign or distant travel? If we were in Aruba/South America/Asia on our own, and had a serious medical concern, we would be on our own to find a doctor or hospital, work around a language barrier, pay up front, not know the credentials of people treating us, etc.

Hard.