Live from the Musica

[Kelownabccan]

Medical Insurance....

 

In Canada fairly inexpensive....keep the bills and when get home send them in and presto you get all your money back....cost for two weeks....probably less than half your doctor bill

 

our plan here is $20 a month and that covers us for unlimited trips of up to 35 days at a time....part of our retired teacher's package...

[AmoMondo]

Medical Insurance....

 

In Canada fairly inexpensive....keep the bills and when get home send them in and presto you get all your money back....cost for two weeks....probably less than half your doctor bill

 

our plan here is $20 a month and that covers us for unlimited trips of up to 35 days at a time....part of our retired teacher's package...

 

Completely agree. I have an annual worldwide travel insurance policy but won't be claiming on it as the encases is about what I paid out

[Kelownabccan]

Completely agree. I have an annual worldwide travel insurance policy but won't be claiming on it as the encases is about what I paid out

 

I am assuming that is what you mean....ours has zero deductible which is nice....my sister did the cruise in the Black Sea about three years ago on Costa....and quite liked it.....that is another area in the world to put on our "bucket list"....have a great time as the cruise must be nearly over....

[AmoMondo]

I am assuming that is what you mean....ours has zero deductible which is nice....my sister did the cruise in the Black Sea about three years ago on Costa....and quite liked it.....that is another area in the world to put on our "bucket list"....have a great time as the cruise must be nearly over....

 

Yes, last morning just waiting to be told I can get off. Not that I'm in a hurry as I don't fly home until tomorrow and check in time at my hotel is after lunch. Should be off by around 10.

[AmoMondo]

Well here is my last report about the cruise. I'll try to upload photos of the ports when I get home. Hopefully won't be too complicated to do it from an IPad (I've got a SD Daptor that allows me to load the photos on to the IPad in minutes, it's the attaching them on a post that I've never tried before! but I'll give it a go!)

 

On our last day, I got my luggage labels and daily programme listing the order for groups disembarking before lunch time. This was much earlier than usual, it's normally very late afternoon or even into the final evening before you know when you'll be getting off. Consistently throughout this cruise the daily has been delivered before dinner rather than after.

 

It was quite a pleasant day and I spent a good few hours enjoying the sunshine before heading down to tackle the packing. Luggage needs to be outside your a in by 01.00. I wanted most of it done before the show, so that I'd only have a few things to put in after dinner.

 

The final show was Classical Concert 2 and really enjoyable again. I only made it to 3, the 2 classical ones and a classical and variety combined. Others at my table went to almost all and said they were all good apart from one juggler who dropped his indian club (twice).

 

So at our final dinner, the conversation turned to people's. Jews of the cruise and MSC. One couple had cruised with several different lines and wanted to book a repositioning voyage with MSC to South Africa, so Thai trip for them had been a shorter taster for them before taking on a 3 week journey. Their view was that they'd be doing to SA with MSC. They'd been pleasantly surprised at how much they'd enjoyed their experience. The highlights for them had been the ship itself and they thought the food each evening was good to excellent. They also were pleased with their cabin. Thy were not so keen on the scrum at the buffet at times! another couple had also had an excellent time, but it was their first cruise so had nothing ele to judge it by. The elderly couple were a bit non committal. They didn't complain but they didn't say they liked anything either. The trip had been tiring for them and they both had health issues. Most nights MSC sent someone with a wheelchair to help them get down to dinner.

 

For me, well it's no secret that I enjoy MSC, but this really was one of the best trips. The ports had not been as amazing as some of my previous voyages but the upbeat atmosphere onboard and the great table companions really made it a fantastic trip.

 

So did I like absolutely everything? No, of course not. The weather was very disappointing and contributed to many of us being ill. Yalta and Constanta were places I can say I've seen, but I would not return to. As for the ship, it is due for a 3 week refurb T the end of its current 11 day sailing. The only things that I saw that needed fixing were:-

- The 1 button on my safe was a bit dodgy, it was hard to get it to work, it either didn't register or it registered 2 or 3 of them - no big deal, I chose another combo that didn't include 1

- the button on the cabin air conditioning to reduce the temperature was very worn and a bit tricky to operate it worked but barely.

Other than those 2 things, not sure what else they are going to do. Aspects were. It showing any wear or tear in public areas, nor was the upholstery. Guess they'll be giving it a thorough clean and fixing a few minor things.

 

I was allocated a priority disembarkation and our meeting time was 8.45. People at my table had been given the same one because they had the 11.35 flight to Gatwick which hopefully they would have made. They want you to leave your cabin my 7.00 but in reality they can't be cleaning all cabins at once. Those in the earlier groups need to get up anyway and have their breakfast but it never is a problem if you don't leave until a bit later. I got out at 7.45 and it was no problem at all. The stewards were all busy at the other end of the corridor working on those cabins. I had a leisurely breakfast in the MDR before briefly going to my meeting point - there were no seats left, so I went up a deck to another lounge. You need to know that if you do this, you will not hear your colour being announced as they don't announce it throughout the ship, only in the lounge for that colour. I was not bothered and deliberately did not go off until almost an hour later. It was a really long walk to the. Agave hall from the ship. If you have difficulty walking longer distances, then ask for passenger assistance. This may not be usual as I don't recall having such a long walk before at Venice. Anyway luggage was easy to locate given there were only about 6 cases left in the light blue section. Outside the terminal is pretty chaotic. It's a reLly busy port with many berths and people chRging about everywhere. I could see signs for water buses and taxis abut not normal taxis nearby as well as car parks and coaches. I asked a port official and he directed up the road to my right. For once there was actually a queue of people waiting patiently. I joined the end and it started to drizzle. I'd only waited a few minutes before a mini car driver approached and offered to take me to Mestre for a flat fee of €35 which was €5 less than what I'd paid from my hotel and it was a slightly further journey. So I took him up on his offer. I reached my hotel Antony at just before 11am. It is in a quite residential area and nothing in the vicinity was open. Got into my room at 1pm and it was. Dry pleasant with sea views of Venice. Dinner in the restaurant was very good last night. However trying to use the card to order breakfast in my room has not worked. I was about to call them to say it had not been delivered yet Nd checked the door and the card had not been collected. So I'll now. E heading down to the restaurant. Grrrrrr!

[treesah]

It was such a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for sharing your port side balcony with us. My pictures are beautiful but then again, Venice is the most photogenic of cities. Sorry I did not contact you, mainly because I'm aware you prefer to do things on your own and also my Significant Other got sick. Oh, yes, the same crud that was circulating around. I never got sick even though I was exposed to it 24 hrs a day. I was afraid that I could be the carrier without actually being sick. There was a lot of heavy duty coughing everywhere especially during the shows.

 

This was our first cruise on MSC. We've cruised on Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America, Costa and Carnival. The MSC Musica is a beautiful ship. Our cabin was very comfortable. We had a very enjoyable experience for the most part. We are not foodies and love pasta so no complaint about the food. The fresh fruit was tasty and abundant. We had wonderful dining companions. The staff was attentive and polite and their English could not be faulted. We enjoyed the ports especially Odessa and the beautiful architecture. I was surprised at the lack of English speaking people in Ukraine. I speak Spanish and can muddle along in French and Italian but it was a struggle to communicate. Yalta was very pleasant but we were disappointed in not being to visit the Livadia Palace and the fact that we saw Swallow's Nest from a distance. I was hoping to climb up to the top but we ended at an overview 1/2 mile away.

 

Loved the Greek ports. Just sitting in those seaside cafes, drinking wine or ouzo or coffee (and the free wifi), soaking in the Greek sunshine and looking at people's profiles was a treat. Some of them looked like they belonged on a coin or a mosaic.

 

Had a great time in Venice. Finally made it to the Jewish Ghetto and took some great pictures. No crowds. Lovely. Yesterday we flew from Berlin to Los Angeles. Twelve hours of semi-torture.

 

Again, thank you for your hospitality. If you are ever in Southern California please let me know. I can provide some chauffering, gratis, of course.

 

Teresa