shipgeeks

Why would we not? Have done so many times. The crewmember said either way is fine, when we asked her. (In this case, we were also using OBC, which our final account noted we had relinquished by not using it.)

We returned from a wonderful cruise on Enchantment a few days ago. At that time, we received an email with our final account information, not available onboard. Unfortunately, the $75 additional gratuity for a special crew member, that we had requested on the submission form, was apparently changed to $15 when it was passed on to her. I am concerned that she is wondering what she did wrong, to deserve such an insulting amount, as well as the fact that she did not get the money. I have tried calling and emailing, with no success. Any tips on getting through to someone who can resolve this for us?

Very interesting perspective! And I loved your final comments. We find the auctions very aggravating. The room they are now using, on Enchantment, is one of the nicest public rooms on the ship, yet we never got to enjoy it, as the easels and prints were set up there for the entire cruise, blocking the windows, the lounge chairs, and any passageways within the room. I hope more people read your post, and realize that there are options for acquiring art. Your description of the bidding process sounds like a timeshare presentation that people are required to attend in order to pick up their tickets for a "free" cruise. Ugh!

CruiseDancer, Have you danced in the Southwest(?) Lounge? (Deck 6, beyond Schooner Bar.) Wooden floor; smallish but nice. Sadly, it had hundreds of easels for the art auction set up for virtually our entire cruise. I think there were one or two sessions of recorded music for ballroom dancing. There were always a few people dancing in Centrum, evening music sets as well as a number of exercise type classes. The floor there is hard, too! And when we sailed ships with no Bolero's, we usually went to VC and asked the DJ for Latin music. The downside there is that the floor is hard, and worse, it has metal strips across it which always tripped me up.

We have done three cruises this year, with two more booked, and intentions to continue with four a year. We are enjoying them all. The biggest stress was the pre-cruise testing, with concerns of the testing site cancelling at the last minute, more than whether we would test positive. The biggest difference we notice now is not the onboard service/food/entertainment, but the extent of the slide into casualness that passengers exhibit, after two years at home in pajamas. The overall feeling of a cruise being something special has greatly diminished, IMO. Just another day at the mall or farmer's market. I miss the festive feeling of "We are so fortunate to be here".

After a number of years on RC ships with no Bolero's, we are now sailing regularly on Enchantment. The two groups aboard have been fantastic! Latin Dream, earlier in the year, were wonderful, and are now on another ship. Son del Rio's, currently on Enchantment, are so good that we passed up all the shows and other evening events just to be there. Interesting background. They are from Uruguay, and got this gig after winning a contest there. The percussionist is apparently well known in that country. The singer, and the keyboard player, are also excellent. What bands are on other ships? How are they? How are the crowds? Do they attract many dancers?

Our deck 4 cabins are in the vicinity of being under Bolero's, but we've never heard anything from there. Party band in Centrum is always much louder, but that hasn't been a problem, either, especially once the glass door is closed.

No receptions that I am aware of since the restart, due to distancing. But there have been two Formal nights on our 8 night Enchantment cruises, and two plus a Dress Your Best on the 12 night.

I agree with the above; we have done April/May transatlantic cruises several times, and they were excellent. The only downside we experienced was each May 1 weekend, when thousands of Europeans do a long holiday weekend, and crowd many popular destinations to uncomfortable levels. However, it sounds to me like you are tending towards Alaska, and I think that might be your perfect choice.

Maybe we are of the opposite opinion of "best". We went in June. Took the tram around the circuit to get a look at the options. Everywhere we went the music was loud, the areas looked built up, the foliage closed everything in. We had expected a bit of serenity, the way Coco Cay was before all the amusement park stuff was added. We rode back to the pier and returned to the ship for the day. Very disappointing. We are sailing there again in November, and want to give Coco Cay the benefit of the doubt, so will try again, but I'm not yet convinced it still has any appeal for us.

We sailed out of Philadelphia twice, many years ago. One was on Celebrity, one on RC, small ships. I think one went to Bermuda; not sure about the other; probably Caribbean. We were welcomed back by Mummers.

Our TA's site stores our personal profile, and when I do a search I usually get a notation of discount based on one of the factors that apply to us (state, veteran, repeater, over 55). Whether it is a significant discount I don't know.

It did not appear to be in operation last week. During one of our previous cruises, technicians were working on it, but apparently not entirely resolved. Several movies were shown in the theater at various times.

I would call that "Classic", not old.

We are not even beach people anymore, but we found OC just so beautiful and magical. We've been to the "larger ports" so many times; no longer interested in passing a Caribbean KMart to get to a beach, or being surrounded by taxi stands, noise, vendors, or day resorts with unlimited drinks. OC is quiet, and free of all the commercial stuff. Just turquoise water, white sand, palm trees, and sky. I do have other favorite cruise destinations (Naples, Italy would be one); but as far as beaches/islands/Bahamas or Caribbean ports, Ocean Cay is at the top for me.

On 9-22 departure day masks were not required of passengers. I believe at least some, if not all, of the staff there wore them, and a few of the passengers did.

OP, I hope you did not cancel! We were in port with you in Boston and Bar Harbor. The weather was fabulous! We sailed from Baltimore on 9-22, and had grey skies and rocky seas between there and Boston. From then on, all four of our ports had perfect weather; cool and crisp and even, with mostly sunny skies. Perfect.

Saint John has a new development right next to the cruise terminal, the Container Village. Food stalls, artisan and other shops, occasional entertainment, etc. A very nice setup. There are also pubs and eateries very close to the port.

We just returned from a similar itinerary. Everything we saw was still 100% green.

We just returned from our CNE cruise, and I was happy with all the clothing choices I made. On sea days I wore a short-sleeve plus long-sleeve athletic type shirt, and if chilly, a light fleece over that; long athletic pants. On port days I wore a light wool jersey plus cotton jacket. One day I added my raincoat over that, as I thought it might be too cool out. Either way would have been fine. I made use of my brimmed Tilley hat while ashore.

And the band in Bolero's now is fantastic!

Thank you! Baltimore is correct, and the ship is Enchantment of the Seas, to Canada and New England, one of our favorite itineraries. One of the highlights of the cruise will be that a good friend of many years ago, when I lived in Sydney, has just arrived at Harvard for a six-month sabbatical. She and her husband will meet us at the Boston terminal for the day. Perfect timing all around! She and I worked, and toured, together for four years, so we shared many "interesting" meals, as well as experiences.

OP, I keep going back to your original statement that "the cabin I booked is no longer available". That says to me that you do still have that cabin. It doesn't explain all the other stuff you are being told, but it is a sign, I believe. It seems that MSC keeps getting two groups of passengers: those who have not a single problem along the way nor onboard, and those whose bookings hit snags, usually, but not exclusively, after trying to make a change. We are in the first group, and I hope you soon will be, too.

We sail for the onboard experience, and for that we choose the smaller ships such as Enchantment. We have no interest in amenities such as flowrider, inside promenade, water slides, ice rink, etc., just a real ship with views of the sea and sky, places to eat and perhaps dance, and the chance to interact with fellow passengers and crew members.

We are now on Cruise Eve, with one day at home to eat what is left in the fridge. I predict some odd combinations, as is usually the case. Are we the only ones who might end up having oatmeal for dinner?