NCteacherlovescruising

Day 6: The taxi line in Cozumel was crazy long! We’ve never had to wait like this there. We went to Nachi Cocom. Our favorite place when we are in this port. Our beach massages were wonderful! It was White Night. Most people in the yacht club wore white last night so I was happy we bought something to wear. They had a white party for us on the yacht club pool deck from 9-10:30. There was a guy singing, lots of snacks and several servers and the YC director. Turn out was pretty good but nobody was dancing.

No

What’s their names?

Day 5. Desserts were fabulous and Peter Punk was amazing! Still loving the yacht club!!

Me too, but we will be in Italy so this one is all about the ports! Are they on the Seaside?

We booked a cruise on the World Europa. Does it have all the yacht club rooms confined within the YC like the Seaside does? I’m aware there are many more cabins with the same size YC areas.

If we’ve had any on our cruise we haven’t noticed.

I don’t mind because we will be staying in Rome prior to the cruise so we won’t be in a hurry to embark. Thank goodness ours was only $200!

Day 4 was our first sea day. I loved how quiet the pool area was and most loungers were open. However, all the shade loungers by the pool were used by the time we left. My husband opted for one of those and I was in the sun. Even the kids that were in the pool were very well behaved. We had pizza delivered to our room at noon. I didn’t see why people rave over it. It was ok, nothing special. I went to the salon for an updo, then got dh to take some pictures. We haven’t had a chance to see them yet. We both had lobster tail and filet for dinner. The lobster wasn’t very warm so I didn’t like it, however he was more than happy to eat them both. Lol He did say his was better than mine. We went to Moondance in the theater, which is a Michael Buble tribute. It was my favorite so far, but I understand the two best are yet to come. I planned on going to the silent disco, but we ended up talking to another couple at Top Sail Lounge over cocktails and stayed there until we were ready for bed. Speaking of which, this has been the friendliest group of passengers! I’m thinking because you see the same people all the time since we’re all in the same area of the ship so much. Everyone we’ve spoken to agree that the service on this ship on top notch! My husband has been completely converted and neither of us ever wants to sail any other way again, unless it’s due to itinerary (like our upcoming NCL cruise).

I’d like to stay in or near the center of things. What area is that? Any hotel recommendations?

It’s 2 hours one way from where we dock to Venice? I told my dh this and he agrees we wouldn’t want to waste all that time. Our first cruise, Athens to Venice, is on the NCL Pearl. We are docking in Trieste. I talked to dh last night and I believe we will stay the night in Venice. I agree now that I realize how long it takes to get there. I agree. I think we will disembark early and stay in Venice. Our time in Venice is worth more that!

No. We get off our NCL cruise on the 12th and get on the next one in the 15th. It doesn’t depart until evening. I was asking if one day in Venice is enough to see Venice. How long does it take to get from the ship to Venice and once in Venice to the high speed train station? How long does it take to get from Trieste to Venice? If it’s too much, we can give up Florence. Rome, Venice and a beautiful winery are at the top of my list. Noted. Thanks!

Fell in love with the MSC yacht club! Those that have been following along with my ever changing mind, a decision has been made. Yesterday we decided to cancel Celebrity and keep our 9 night NCL Greek Isles cruise, July 3-12. It begins in Athens and ends in Trieste. And yesterday we also booked the MSC Europa yacht club for July 15-22. This is all next summer. It’s round trip Naples. On July 11 we dock in Trieste from 6:30 AM-11PM, then disembark there the next morning. We want to see Venice, Rome, visit a beautiful winery in Tuscany and possibly see Florence. Is the one day we’re in Venice enough or should we plan to stay in town a while the second day? If so, what on earth would we do with all our luggage? Or should we/can we just get off in Venice a day early and not return to the ship? I don’t know how long it takes to get to Venice from the port. Should we just take the high speed train from Venice to Rome, get a room there and do day trips to Florence and/or a Tuscany Vineyard? We plan to see the Amalfi Coast after the second cruise. The plan is to see as much as we can because it’s doubtful we will go back.

It didn’t take us long at all. I printed out the cruise we wanted before leaving home and handed it to her in the YC yesterday before dinner. I thought so too!

One man on our cruise forgot to bring dress pants for gala night, which is tomorrow. They asked in our dining room if he could wear shorts tomorrow night, explaining the situation, and they told him he would not be allowed in. Just something to keep in mind for gala night.

Day 3 was much like day 2, only today we slept in till almost 9:30. Then we headed to the poolside grill for breakfast before going back to the YC beach. I had a shrimp Caesar salad and filet for lunch there and dh had Ahi tuna salad and a lobster roll, plus the shrimp from my salad. We didn’t have much of a wait for the shuttle this time. As soon as we got on I headed straight to the concierge to schedule a blow out. I had just enough time to take a shower and head down. We enjoyed our dinner again. I really don’t know why so many people complain about their food. I have found it very comparable to Celebrity, if not better. Before dinner, we met with the future cruise consultant in Top Sail Lounge and booked the Europa for next summer. As I mentioned earlier, we’re doing Athens to Greece with our friends on NCL, then 4 days later we will get on this cruise in Naples. We went to the “Rock It” show at 9:15. It was completely packed with some people standing! I enjoyed it more than dh did. We headed to Top Sail Lounge for a couple cocktails after, where dh informed me I’d used up all our onboard credit and then some. However, my hair looked much better after the blowout and I also have a beautiful pair of earrings for a souvenir from our first, of many, MSC cruises. Tomorrow is our first sea day and gala night.

10 cruises in 2 years?!! That would be awesome! We’re forfeiting the $200 deposit with X. I agree!

We’re on the Seaside now. At dinner, most of the ladies have been wearing sundresses and the men have mostly been in nice shorts with a polo or button up. Capris would be fine.

Wow! How did you get so much? Always! But the yacht club rocks!!!

Nothing special as far as shows go so far, but I know some good ones are coming. I will report back on them.

Day 2 was fantastic too! It’s day 1 of 2 at Ocean Cay. We enjoyed our lunch at Ocean House. We both had the lobster rolls. I also had the crab ceviche and dh the grilled octopus. The beach was absolutely beautiful! Thank God we had purchased water shoes because it was quite rocky, but no issue with our Tevas on. We walked back up the Ocean House to get a ride back around 3:00. There was one couple there waiting and the gentleman working informed us he had already called for transport. As the minutes went by, more and more people came. He apologized and said the batteries were low. By the time they finally sent a large vehicle for us, there must have been around 30 people waiting. The employee was kind enough to get us, and the couple that were there first, to make sure we had a seat. All in all, that couple waited about an hour and my husband and I, 50 minutes. We should have just walked back, but dh said his feet hurt a bit from the sand being in his shoes. He stayed in the water almost the entire time. All in all, a wonderful day and we met some really nice people at the beach. Dinner was excellent! Dh had the seafood salad for an app, another seafood dish for his entree and rum cake for dessert. He really loved it all. He said the rum cake was the best he’s ever had! I had a Caesar salad, filet and a chocolate soufflé. Dh and the man, Shannon, at the table next to us (I’d call them cruise friends at this point) both requested to have the rum cake again tomorrow night and they were happy to accommodate. We weren’t interested in tonight’s magic show, it’s just not our thing. We are planning on attending tomorrow nights “Rock it” since we both enjoy that type of music. We watched the light show from the outside deck of Top Sail Lounge. If I had it to do over again, I would have taken our friend up on her offer to watch from her balcony. Again today, we were completely impressed with the level of service we’ve received. Dh even agrees it would be hard to cruise any other way going forward. So much so, that we sat down and discussed a future cruise before dinner. We’ve decided to cancel our Celebrity retreat Barcelona to Rome for next summer. Instead, we are booking a round trip Naples-Naples on the Europa. I’m a bit concerned with this ship, as I’ve read about the size of the YC and the amount of guests. However, given our dates and the itinerary, it’s the winner. We are pairing it with a NCL cruise we had already booked with our friends. The timing works perfectly. It’s an 8 day Athens to Venice, with a port every day. The itinerary is fabulous! We would get off that and 4 days later get on the Europa in Naples. This way we can have a blast with our friends seeing Greece, Croatia and Venice, then venture off on our own to see Rome and Florence, followed by the MSC cruise. Sounds like a perfect way to celebrate our 30th anniversary to me!

You were right! I didn’t know I could request that at the poolside grill. I don’t think we would need to change dates unless something came up and we will have trip insurance. It’s been absolutely wonderful so far! What is an ice pyramid dessert? 100% agree! I even overheard my husband say that to someone today. Thanks! You too. You are going to Love it!!

Oh no! We would be booking for next summer. I can see how! Dh was the hard one to convince but now that he’s on here he seems to be all in for the suite life! Lol It’s so quiet and relaxing in the yacht club! Service has been amazing! The restaurant, lounge, and pool deck were quiet! Very few people around and the ones that were around were super friendly. Loved getting escorted past the line at the theater last night! Hoping to enjoy day 2 as much as day 1. Dh liked the bed and pillows but I found the bed a bit firmer than I like and would have preferred a fluffier pillow. I’m going to see if I can get a mattress topper and pillow menu. At home we have a TempurPedic split king. His is firm and mine is medium so it’s impossible to please us both with the same mattress. Last night we both had prime rib which was very good. We ordered room service for breakfast. His egg biscuit was good but my waffles were cold, like out of the refrigerator cold. (Only bad thing so far) Tomorrow we’re going to either the restaurant or the poolside grill for breakfast. We are currently docked at Ocean Cay. I’ve been looking forward to this since we booked!

Day 1 was amazing! If this continues, we will most likely book our next yacht club cruise while onboard this week.

We’re on the Seaside out of Port Canaveral. We are loving it so far! They are really pampering us. The butler wouldn’t let me roll my own suitcase, nor my husband carry my bog bag on the ship. He took them from us and carried them on. The same again when our room was ready, which was around 1:00. The butler took our belongings and escorted us to our room. No worries! Thanks for the tips! So far we are loving it! We’re on the Seaside in Port Canaveral. We are! We got on around 11:30 I believe.