ready2cruzagain

It only has 4 food items on it. The Sir Burger, a Hot Dog, a Cheese Burger and Fish and Chips.  Maybe the Nachos and Wings were on a different ship at the Sports Bar? We loved their wings but then they started charging for them. If I remember correctly, the Mera does not have food at their sports bar.

In January we were on the NCL Epic and it docked in Amber Cove, not Taino Bay. On our itinerary it stated Amber Cove, DR. We are booked this December and it just says Puerto Plata, DR so Taino Bay it will be this time.

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

It adds 2 meals per person for a cost of $82.80 per person (not 1). 

 

If you want to go to some specialty dining, it is a really good deal. Here's an example cost of a meal for two if you pay cash. 

 

 

@JandC_Cruising No. It shows that the OP has 1 specialty dining that came with their room. And asks if they want two more.  You have 2 meals that came with your room.

Thank you!! This makes sense. I read it as one and then as two. We do have one and then we will have our Sapphire 2 so wanted to add a couple more. 

Is the following for 2 extra meals for each person or 1 meal pp?  I am confused as it says 1 Meal Specialty Dining Package then says by adding two extra meals for only $69.

On 3/6/2024 at 5:28 PM, xtremegk said:

Does anyone know when MSC generally releases their holiday cruises? Interested in 2025, but they've only released through October (with the exception of Seascape). Most other lines are already open for booking.

MSC now has their Caribbean 2025 2026 cruises out of Miami and PC. Must have posted them late yesterday because they weren't there yesterday morning.

The points keep adding up but nothing over 10,000 points extra. 

12 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

You SAW him order that much?

I sure did. 

8 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

This is a strange hypothesis. I know of absolutely no one in my fairly large circle of acquaintances, friends, and family that seeks out, or highly desires, Tilapia. It is exactly the same as it was when you grew up -- a trash fish.

 

The only reason anyone willingly eats Tilapia is because, a) it is tasteless and they don't like fish, or b) it is dirt cheap.

 

And I find it fascinating that you think salmon is "out of favor" when it's on nearly every.single.menu of nearly every single respectable restaurant in the US.

 

Strange.

 

 

 

 

Very well said! 

2 hours ago, david_sobe said:

MSC now charges for any second entre in the MDR.   You can still order another appetizer or dessert but a second entre is $5.00.  I can see all cruise lines doing this soon.

At first this bothered me when MSC did this but then I thought about it. Rarely have we ever ordered more than one entree but one cruise on MSC I seen a guy order a large amount of lobster entrees (7 or 8 ) and only eat a couple. The amount of food wasted was pathetic. NCL does not serve lobster in MDR and hasn't for years but I doubt anyone would order multiple Tilapia but if one is still hungry when dinner is over I would suggest O'Sheehans.

12 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

I would not consider trimming down the appetizers or desserts MAJOR cuts,  Also I have never had them limit how much I can order.  Much ado about nothing.

Would you consider the fact that the menus now are all cheap fish, Hoki, Talapia, Bluefish nothing? How about how much pork there is on the menus? I agree to disagree. 

12 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

Thanks.. unfortunately I am in an AFT balcony 

Maybe you will get lucky. Been to OC 8 times and twice we had the port side facing the island.

9 hours ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

Nope.

 

It has to be a certified copy of your birth certificate and an Enhanced DL and only on a closed loop cruise.

This is not correct. It has to be a state certified copy of your birth certificate and a Government issued ID. It does not have to be an enhanced drivers license.

OP I agree! We had these menus on the Epic in January and was very disappointed. Also, notice the fish choices, cheap fish (Hoki, Bluefish,etc). A lot of pork also. We have 22 days booked on NCL in December then going back to MSC. Love their menus.

48 minutes ago, AH91284 said:

Hello, 

 

I want to book the Wave Runner tour at Ocean Cay for our cruise in June. The description says 1 driver and 1 passenger, and that riders cannot switch positions. We both want to drive, so we want to book 2 wave runners. Do you know if this is allowed since the tour says 2 adults on each wave runner? If it is allowed, do we just book it twice and use a different driver name on each reservation? 

Yes it is allowed. You might have to call them to book it. Not sure if the website would separate them and allow you to book two different ones. 

8 hours ago, Cruising Lynne said:

 

Our inside cabin on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas had a small couch. This is a Radiance Class ship. I do not know about the other classes on Royal.

Never been on RCCL so no idea. Just mentioned the cruise lines I have been on. 

Never had a chair or couch in an inside cabin on Meraviglia, Seaside, Seashore or Divina. Just off of the NCL Epic and no chair or couch in inside cabin.  Most inside cabins I have been in (59 cruises, most in inside cabin) do not have a chair or a couch. There isn't enough room. Princess and Celebrity had chairs but they were tiny, thin and slid under the desk. Definitely not a comfortable chair to sit in.

4 hours ago, Tierun said:

Isn’t Amber Cove owned by Carnival? Or is it just that only their cruise lines (i.e. Princess, HAL) dock there.

Amber Cove is owned by Carnival but other cruise lines do go there at times. We were on the NCL Epic this year and it went to Amber Cove. NCL is not owned by Carnival.  But to OP, MSC goes to Taino Bay

Regular folks here. We have never sailed in the YC and probably never will. We can cruise for 3 to 4 weeks (and we do) for the price of one week in the YC.

I have not been on MSC boards much because we have been sailing NCL lately. Love MSC and miss it! Looking to book our 2025/2026 cruises on MSC but the Caribbean cruises have not been posted yet. MSC's food is awesome in the MDR. Compared to NCL, MSC is definitely a cut above in the food department. 

14 hours ago, shanefm3 said:

Not the case onboard . I don’t like to book all my excursions until i see the weather or how I’m feeling . I don’t think one should be able to book thru multiple ways onboard yet have to visit the desk to receive your discount 

 

i prepaid one excursion and did not receive my 15% discount . I just double checked my bank account .

 

I booked on the app on the Epic in late January and it worked just fine. Received my $50 and 10% (15% if Sapphire or above). I know the faqs says you have to go to the store excursion desk but we didn't have to.

You need to contact NCL's Special Needs Department and they will give you the answers you need. Here is the link with all their information  https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising

10 hours ago, Smcg4 said:

Just did it in Curaçao, the beach they brought us too was Pirate Bay Beach Club. Water is beautiful but was not what I was expecting

Thank you, what exactly was wrong with it? 

10 hours ago, kruisingkitty said:

I saw made or order omelette station in January on Meraviglia.
It was allllllll the way in the back, facing the doors to the outside . So unless you circled all the way around the buffet, you would not see it!
So the people saying it was not there, possibly just did not see it. Also, I dont know the hours it was available, and likely was only open during a very specif time-frame.

Must be something they started recently because it was not there last year when we went. I know because that is where we went to eat everytime we ate in the buffet.

21 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

@dbrown84My husband confirmed, no made to order omelet station on Mera last week.  We were in YC, and I had my omelet up there at 7:30 am.  He sleeps much later than me so his breakfast was in the main buffet (open "almost always") about 11 am...and he had the pre-made ones.

 

Another point of interest pertaining to buffets; I don't know if you care...but MSC's does not have those cabinets full of desserts/pastries or 8 kinds of ice cream with toppings!  MSC is very frugal with ice cream.   

Oh but they have the best Coconut Ice Cream I have ever eaten. 

I just want MSC to put out the 25/26 winter schedule for the Caribbean. I am sure it will be the same ole thing but missing MSC.

13 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

The NCL buffets (all 3 meals) have unlimited options.....never had a bad meal there.  On MSC the buffets are "ok" but with limited choices...there were a few really "not good" things I tried.

However, nobody beats MSC when it comes to pizza.  There was a large bowl of sphagetti by the pizza; I didn't try it so I won't comment.

IMHO...if you're cruising for the buffet, NCL is the way to go. 

 

On the Epic in January we hated the buffet and much prefer MSC's over NCL's buffet. There was a pasta station, it was not made to order, they made 2 dishes when it started to get low, put them out and went away until more was needed. Never made red sauce that I could find out of the 3 weeks we were on the ship.

Also, the buffet was so limited and small. I will take MSC's buffet anyday over NCL's. 

OP, there was no omelet station on the Meraviglia that we could find last year on our 11 day cruise. They had pre-made omelets.