KarimaJ

We were on a Crystal cruise last year and spent the day at resort world. Really nice pools, beach and ocean!

I am happy to hear this about the food. I find it all too salty. You can alway add it but can’t take it away. I think that will be a plus for us. Thanks!

Great thanks! This would be a 4 day bahamas cruise to get us away from the cold during my daughters spring break. I would rather a bunch of kids vs college kids puking and being crazy 😜 I think we will go ahead and book!

This is all very helpful thank you. We don’t mind reserved crew, will just be a little different then what we are used to. How is the ocean cay private island?

Hi all, hoping a few questions can be answered quickly. We are thinking of booking a 4 day cruise on Meraviglia in March for my daughters spring break. We usually cruise NCL and Celebrity. We love the happy staff and service on these lines. I hear service is not as good or friendly on MSC, is this true? Also how does the food compare? We can always find something we like and are not foodies. But we hated the buffet on carnival. Is there any Indian food on the MSC buffet? Do you think this will be a crazy spring break party ship with people puking, etc..? is the wifi that come with Fantastica package for every person in the cabin or do we have to share? thank you!

This is really silly, but for the life of me can’t figure out how to add more ships to my Cruise Critic signature. I’ve done it before obviously but don’t see the option anywhere in my Profile. Help!

That was my experience. It smells all throughout the atrium up and down as well. I hear they may be going smoke free like other cruiselines, I really hope so.

We were supposed to have on our cruise a couple weeks ago. The flyer said go here on the first day to get the day/time of the reception. When we did that they said they weren't having it due to Covid. But I guess all the other events going on were OK? Annoying.

We had similar happen to us for our January Bahamas cruise, only about 1.5 weeks ahead.

I believe we got there around 12:00. The train was 9:30-11:30 give or take.

This was a trip that had several changes. The original itinerary included Argostoli, we were notified that it was removed a month after we booked. Disappointed, but one sea day is OK with us, we don’t like a lot of sea days on our cruises. The second change was the embarkation port move from Venice to Trieste, another wrinkle. We decided to try the NCL BOGO airfare deal since prices from Boston to Venice was $1200 each. We took the 1 day deviation and flew in the day before so we could explore Venice. It worked out well, taking the red eye in to be there the morning before the cruise. We bought the Airolo eSim card for the European ports and it worked great and very cheap. The morning of the cruise we took the train from the Santa Lucia station to Trieste along with many others on the cruise. Nice and easy and only $30. Then a cab to the new Trieste port. We showed our vaccination cards, negative Covid test and boarded rather quickly. We went to our Club Balcony room and dropped off our backpacks. Off to the garden cafe for lunch. One thing to note, it was HOT, like 90 and humid hot. I probably wouldn’t go in August again. We did another Med cruise same week a couple years ago but it wasn’t quite as bad as these ports (except Rome). Food and Service: The buffet was good as always, we enjoy the Indian selections on board every cruise. Lots of shrimp every day. We ate at Orchid twice and thought it was very tasty. The dining room was mostly good, but I feel like the fish selections were a little dry this time. Not quite as good as usual. The drinks were hit or miss, not as good as usual. Sometimes Moscow Mule was made well, other times it lacked the candied ginger and watery. They had no mint the first day so mojitos were out. They advertised frozen blush rose wine but they never had it. Service was fabulous as usual, staff were always happy and greeting everyone. The room steward pulled in a lounge chair for our balcony which was so nice. Day 2: Kotor Montenegro 2:00-8:00pm The cruise into Kotor was beautiful, such nice scenery. We had a 2 hour tour to Lady of the Rock/Perast booked with Montenegro Submarine at 3:00pm. Got our tender tickets that morning and got tender Group 3. The area we walked to was very close to the port and we got there with 20 minutes to spare. For $20 each couldn’t beat this tour. Lady of the Rock had really nice views and Perast was nice to walk around for 45 minutes. We then explored Kotor town and really liked it. So quaint with lots of shops and restaurants. The tender back was another story. In line for an hour waiting, NCL decided to move the ship closer since it was taking so long to tender people back. There was also a lot of boat traffic in that harbor as well. But there was no communication from NCL as to what was going on and people were upset, others were trying to cut the line. etc…A little communication would have gone a long way with us folks waiting in line. Day 3: Corfu Greece 10:00-4:00pm We were going to book a Corfu taxi tour but were too late and it filled up. There was 1 taxi company at the port but lots of people were in line talking to them and it would have been $200. So we walked to the Hop On Hop Off bus. Stopped at the palace, it was OK but nothing special. Walking up to the palace was hot. Got off at Old Town and walked the mazes of Corfu. It was a nice port but a taxi tour would have been better I think. Day 4: Santorini 1:30-10:00 We had a NCL tour booked to avoid the cable car. We got off right at 2:00 and they put us on the tender to where the bus picks us up. We stopped at a local winery and sampled a few wines and had snacks. Really nice views from there. Got back on the bus and went to Oia. The tour guide showed us where to take panoramic pictures showing the blue domes, of course lots of others were doing the same. We walked around for a while then boarding the bus to head back to Fira. Walked around Fira and went to this really good bakery next to McDonalds that we had heard about. It was worth going to, we had iced coffee, baklava and a flaky bread with cheese and olives. Shopped around and then went to the cable car around 7:30. The line wasn’t too bad at that point. The tenders here were much better, looks like they used local boats which were much bigger and held more people then the NCL tenders. Day 5: Mykonos Ahhh now this was another big disappointment. The morning we arrived we were told we were not docking due to high winds. I had a tour lined up with WCM Mykonos tours. Apparently we were the only ship that did not dock, folks were upset. During the captains Q&A people asked him about it and he said there were high winds and tenders wouldn’t be safe. Captains decision. The tour company said since it was a captains decision and the port authority did not have a ban in place, this was typical for Aegean Sea so I would not get a refund. I can use it later if we ever go back, that is unlikely. Most tour companies I have booked with do refunds if you don’t make it into the port. So I am not happy with them and also have a feeling NCL didn’t try very hard here. So another sea day, ugh. Day 6: Sea Day Typical sea day Day 7: Dubrovnik 6:00-2:00pm We bought shuttle tickets for $15 (shore excursion credit covered one of these). Another poor communication from NCL here. The Daily sheet said shuttles to the port would be starting at 6:00am. Well, lots of people were outside at 6:30 waiting for the buses to start running. The bus company said they weren’t starting until 7:00am, unhappy folks again including us. We wanted to walk the walls and see the sights before the heat rolled in. So after getting to old town we walked to some of the Game of Throne sites, really enjoyed this before the crowds poured in. We then walked the walls right at 8:00 when they opened up. This was a highlight as well, was not too strenuous and offered gorgeous views. Then we walked around town, had a snack (chicken inside a long stick of pastry) and coffee. Probably my favorite port. We took the NCL bus back to the airport in Venice, pretty uneventful.

Those are great ports and times in port as well. We just got off NCL and Kotor was 2-8 and Dubrovnik 6-2. Not the best. I cruised Med on Celebrity as well. I liked Celebrity best. But with the Med ports it is a very tiring vacation, at least for us it was running around in the heat to see everything. I have cruised Carnival once and I would say the only drawback would be the food. I find that the other cruiselines have better food on the buffet and dining room. But Carnival IMO has the best desserts and I liked the Five Guys and Mexican cantina a lot for lunch. I think you will generally enjoy your trip.

I hope they all Go smoke free. I loved the casino on Celebrity and Crystal. It certainly did not prevents people from gambling. The Escape was awful, you could smell it in the whole atrium area and right in the Asian restaurant as well.

Burn the Floor is still my favorite cruise ship show to date.

Just got off the Gem. In Kotor we had a 3:00 excursion, we docked at 2:00 and had no problem getting there on time. I got tender group #3 and the meetup location was very close to the port. In Santorini we did the NCL excursion to make it easier. Didn't want to wait for the cable car. Got off first at 2:00. The tour companies keep an eye on the arrivals and may wait a bit if others are joining from your cruise. But I would leave enough time to get there.

We just got back from Venice and used the BOGO deal. It saved us $1200. We had red eye from Boston to Venice (Delta/KLM) connecting in Amsterdam. On the way back we had a 3:00pm flight from Venice to Boston (Air France) connecting through Paris. We were able to login in the airline websites and pick our seats, and upgrade to more legroom seats. The layover in Amsterdam was only 1.5 hours which was shortened due to small delay. However, we didn't have much time at all, had to hoof it quickly through the airport and customs. We walked quite a distance to the connecting gate and they had just started boarding. The return was a 2 hour layover which also got shortened a bit. It went pretty well for us.

We just got off the the Gem, mediterranean cruise. I think you will like the Spinnaker lounge at the front of the ship. Tends to be quiet (except when events are happening), and very comfortable cushy seating. Glass windows all around the front and sides to watch the water go by. The Jewel has this lounge as well.

Hi. I’m considering MSC after cruising with NCL and Celebrity primarily. How would you rate the buffet compared To the other lines? Also, did you notice if there is Indian food on the buffet like on NCL?

I just had crème brûlée in the main dining room Sunday night on the Gem.

Our plan was to take the ferry to Capri. BUT the seas were rough and after 2 ferries they stopped running them 😞 So we did a last minute decision and took the train to Sorrento. We really enjoyed wandering around Sorrento and having lunch. But still really want to get to Capri!

I don't think that is always true. I got my tickets on June 7 for my July 31 cruise. I even logged into Delta and picked my seats.

I would call.

Hi. Is the packed train the same one that goes from the Santa Lucia station on Venice island? We are booked on that one since it’s near our hotel.

This was a few years ago so I goggled it. I think we took the Blue Bus Shuttle. I really don’t remember how much it cost though, maybe $20 each way?

In Juneau we took a cab up to Mendenhall glacier. We hiked the easy trail to the waterfall, it was beautiful. Took a cab back and wandered around town a bit. In Skagway we took a 3rd party tour up the Klondike to Emerald Lake, made a few stops and saw some bear cubs with mama.