Markanddonna

I will be visiting family, a friend, and a priest in Poland in May. Does anyone have any great gift ideas that don't weigh a lot?

The first one has been harder during the pandemic as we are hesitant to get in smaller groups. Still, we generally love our tablemates. I love a cruise where people greet one another going down the hallway or in an elevator. Our last two cruises were polar opposites. The one out of Port Canaveral was a jolly bunch and the 17 day out of Miami carried a rather crabby, irritable crowd. I saw my first fight onboard a ship in Feb!

The people we meet while traveling are like the icing on the cake. People like the Messianic Jewish taxi driver we encountered in Jerusalem was one of my favorites. He stopped while we were walking in the Kidron Valley and told us to hop in for a free ride up the hill. He said God told him to do this. Random, unexpected encounters like this are memorable. Another taxi driver in Fiji invited us to his home for tea and dessert. I probably have a hundred stories like this.

One captain changed the times at noon. He felt it gave his crew more sleeping time and that they weren't constantly sleep-deprived.

Cruisers going to Europe might want to "take the temperature" regarding protests on May 1 each year. I encountered one in Barcelona that started off interesting and became a police action chasing protesters, blocking off roads, etc. Smoke bombs set off at Eiffel Tower, etc.

MSC has given up its Italian influence on most ships. I cruised with them when they would do an opera night. I guess that didn't go over well with the North and South Americans. I've discovered that the ships are very different, and you can't really say anything for sure. For example, in 2019, the announcements were in SEVEN languages on the Grandiosa (we had 2,000 Chinese guests aboard). This past Jan and Feb, there were four languages. I just disembarked yesterday, and only English was spoken on the announcements, probably because 95% of the passengers were from the USA and Canada. The Divina was very crowded, and they did not have enough seating on the pool deck. The Meraviglia had lots of seating, with the ship also at capacity. The Divina had an angry vibe with the passengers (a fight also broke out on the pool deck), and the Meravigilia had perhaps the most pleasant group I've ever traveled with. Lots of conversations with strangers, no fights. Night and day.

We just got off the MSC Meraviglia and we saw a woman in a thong bikini without a coverup- walked right past us. Yikes...not a pretty sight either. In the MDR was a 400+ lb woman in "short shorts." Another egads! No standards on MSC anymore.

My account disappeared about two years ago. When it reappeared, my last name was repeated as my middle name. Msc couldn't fix it. They swear my name is correct on my Voyagers club and they said that's all that matters. Their IT is infamous for being horrible.

Less than 1% dress up with tuxes and gowns. Don't let that stop you.

Look under the Voyager program to apply. There is a chart on the ms board that gives you an idea of what you will match to. You have to sail within three years to keep your status. The free dinner is nice for diamond.

I believe travel insurance from the cruise line might be an option for those over 80. Not as good but not age based.

See if you can book the same cabin. We did that on a B2B, and it was easy. Like others have said, MSC gives you instructions for B2B a few days before disembarking.

The best reason to print those critical pages is MSC's IT issues. I have a paper copy of my e ticket because their website shows I haven't finished my check-in. I am one of those who needed to call for an eticket.

A three-year trip might be fine for those who have no close relations with family, friends, hobbies, etc. A cruise would allow you to pretend the crew is your family.

Checking in with customer service allows you to customize your cake. Not needed if you don't care, though.

Go to customer service. We were able to order the complimentary cake there and choose some of the flavors and the writing. It was very good!

Check to see if that price is really not refundable. I would book it now if it is refundable. You will get an extra discount, and that cabin has a good chance of selling out.

We had one last March on the Meraviglia. It is a sofa that converts for only one person.

This is a great way to view MSC. The question is the tipping point is different for all of us.

Your sparkling wine, macroons, and chocolate bar should be in your cabin on the first day. Yoy might need to remind them about the robe and slippers. For your dinner, just make a reservation. The hostess will ask if this is for your diamond dinner. You will also be invited to a diamond cocktail party.

You might not even get accurate info once onboard. We got numbers ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 on a recent cruise in Feb. The ship felt VERY full, but part of the problem was because of the insufficient number of crew. The crew tried very hard and were pleasant.

One thing that is seldom researched by most is how many ships will be in port when yours arrives. You might be arriving on a ship with 2,000 others, but parked next to you are five megaships with 20,000 new friends who are competing for the cable cars, tendering positions, taxis, tours, etc. There are several websites that can inform a cruiser about their "competition" at port.

Nice video. I suppose I am comparing hippodromes like the one at Caeserea Martima. If you have only one cruise day in Istanbul, I still contend the Hippodrome is farther down on the list.

We were in Istanbul on a cruise day with NCL in Nov. My first piece of advice is to learn how to take the tram and just walk around on your own. The port traffic is often a gridlock, whereas the tram just whizzes on by. I've traveled quite a bit, and never saw anything like it. We hopped off our van and walked to the ship. I understand that you can get tour guides who will meet you at the port and go with you by tram. We went to Topkapi Palace in the morning, had lunch at the Pudding Cup Restaurant, and then went to the Hagia Sophia. The line wasn't moving, and most in our group of 25 didn't want to wait. The tour guide recommended we give it time as he said the line is stopped for various reasons and then just opens back up. From what we could see, there was no way to get a quick entrance EXCEPT to have an insider cut in line with a friend. It appears some tourists who know whose palm to grease managed to do this, and one was right in front of me. "They are a friend of our bus driver." Hagia Sophia really was worth the wait. The Blue Mosque, as others mentioned, was under renovation and should be avoided until it is really open. Don't waste your time on the Hippodrome, which is nothing more than a monument and a modern park. The Grand Bazaar was only mildly interesting.