Opera Transatlantic 12-27-05?

[Dicks70]

Hi Pujro,

I just got notification of the following - this cruise leaves SF every 10 days until Feb 8 2006 - Dawn Princess

 

Brochure Inside$1,729Our Inside$1,029You Save40%Brochure Oceanview$1,859Our Oceanview$1,159You Save38%Brochure Balcony$2,099Our Balcony$1,399You Save33%

The prices shown are US dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. They include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees.

ITINERARY

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART SunNov20San Francisco, CA 5:00pmMonNov21Catalina Island, CA 1:00pm7:00pmTueNov22At SeaWedNov23At SeaThuNov24Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 7:00am6:00pmFriNov25Mazatlan, Mexico 7:00am5:00pmSatNov26Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 8:00am5:00pmSunNov27At SeaMonNov28San Diego, CA 8:00am6:00pmTueNov29At SeaWedNov30San Francisco, CA 6:00am

[love to cruz]

Thanks for the heads up on the credit card fee with your final payment.

We made our final payment yesterday and I specifically asked our travel agent about this fee which is horrible. She will be talking to MSC cruises in Florida to insure we will not be charged. She did say your payment should NEVER have gone through Italy and implied that perhaps your agent dropped the ball. But that was never said clearly. Again I am greatful you informed us so I could check into it with my travel agent. Now I must wait until my credit card bill comes in to be sure we are safe.

On a lighter note is everyone counting the days yet until we get on board? I have gone to the mall already to purchase a few last minute must haves. Also, did some ordering through a catelog store as our son is 6'9" and we do not just go to a mall to buy shirts or he cannot tuck them into his pants and the sleeves are far too short.:eek: At 26 he is close in age to the Animation Team so I am sure he will have a great time with them on the ship.

Gentle reminder first "staff meeting" after fire drill in the Cotton Club.

[but292]

e are John and Maggie from England and we are on this cruise too. We fly from Manchester to Heathrow and then to Milan and then by coach to Genoa.

We haven't cruised with MSC before but we have cruised with Costa several times and quite enjoy the Italian style of cruising.

[love to cruz]

Welcome John & Maggie:

I was beginning to wonder if we were the only people going on the Opera, as there have been so very few postings. If memory serve me right there are now about ten of us meeting up for cocktails after the lifeboat drill.

Is everyone getting excited now that we are under 45 days? Ladies, are you out shopping for the must have new clothes?

[but292]

We are going to get some practice in for this cruise by doing the transatlantic trip from Genoa to Miami on 28th November on the Costa Magica.

 

Looking back on the posts in this group everyone seems to be meeting just after lifeboat drill but in three different places!

[love to cruz]

It seems most of our little group has become very quiet lately.

BUT292: I suggested the Cotton Club Bar on Deck 6 because of the weather. The high temperature today was only 60 degrees in Genoa and we still have a month to go until we sail. The pool bar had previously been mentioned but I am afraid it will be quite chilly to stay outdoors. We are happy to be meeting each of you and do not care where we meet. Let's have a group conscience and make a group decision as to where and when to meet. 41 days to go, but who is counting?

[bonita bugman]

See you all at the Cotton Club

[but292]

I think meeting indoors is a good idea because it will be cold leaving Genoa. Cotton Club is fine by me.

[love to cruz]

Hi to our happy little Opera group:

Where is everyone lately? Our board has been extremely silent the last two weeks.

Just think only 27 days to go until we are all on the ship waiting to set sail.:p Ladies, are all of you out shopping for your last minute must haves for the cruise? Men. are you decorating your homes for the holidays?

After nearly twenty years of going on cruises I am still like a child when the date draws near to leave for the ship. I can hardly wait!!

Has anyone been to Funchal or Valencia before? This is our first time to both ports so we have no idea of the must see sights in either port. We have been to all the Caribbean ports more than once, with the exception of Isla Margarita.

Caruso Lounge sounds like the wiser choice, so I guess we are set to meet there after the fire drill on the 27th.

[Dicks70]

Hi

I'm somewhat confused at this point as to where we're meeting. The first place was the bar near the pool but that was deemed to be too cold as the temp will probably be in the 60s. So the next place was the Cotton Club, but now I see in Love to Cruz's post above that the meeting is to be in the Caruso Lounge. I need to be enlightened.

Dick & Julie

[love to cruz]

Hi Dick:

I guess cruise fever is getting to my brain. Please do not "fire" me before our first staff meeting as I do want to be part of the staff. You are absolutely right we are to meet at the Cotton Club. I do not think the Caruso Lounge even opens until after dinner, but last April we spent nearly every evening in this lounge. I am so sorry for the confusion. This is what happens when I get too excited, I mix things up.

I am glad to see a little of our group is coming back on line.

26 days to go!!!:D

[Dicks70]

Hi Love to Cruz

You have enlightened me - thank you...........the Cotton Club it is. It is getting close to departure time and things do start to get a little hectic. We're flying to Paris then to Genoa on the 24th - staying at the Jolly Marina hotel the 25th and 26th. Hope to see a little of Genoa before sailing.

Dick & Julie

[bonita bugman]

Dick & Julie we forgive you but what is the fire drill? I've always heard it called lifeboat drill? Is this the same thing?

[love to cruz]

Dick & Julie:

Perhaps we will bump into you both while in Genoa. We fly via New York to Milan, Italy. Then catch the Eurorail to Genoa. We fly out Christmas afternoon and get into Milan around 8:00am on the 26th, should be in Genoa around noon on the 26th. We are staying at the Jolly Plaza Genoa Hotel, in the central downtown area.

What are our other little groups travel plans?

23 days to go and counting.:cool:

[Dicks70]

Hi Bonita Bugman

I had always heard the drill that everyone must attend prior to a ship leaving port was called a lifeboat drill. But looking at several of the preceeding posts here it was called a fire drill so I stayed with the terminology. You're right it really is a lifeboat drill.

[Adrian59]

Hi there,

 

We (Anna & Adrian) are going on the transatlantic cruise. First time we have cruised - so a bit apprehensive. Booked the cruise through lastminute.com. Not sure if this is a good idea since there has been a distinct lack of information - received the air tickets and thats it!!. So don't know anything about dress code, how we get from airport to ship, what happens in Ft Lauderdale (I think we have to spend a night in a hotel as we are not flying until Sun night). I've been given a phone no. to call (because Lastminute.com "just act as booking agents") but any info you have will be useful.

 

Hope to see you all after Xmas.

[love to cruz]

Welcome Anna & Adrian:

Please do not be aprehensive as you will have a fabulous time on the Opera.:p We sailed her on her eastbound transatlantic cruise last April and loved every minute of the trip.

There were four formal nights during a 17 day sailing, so I anticipate the about the same number this time. The passengers did dress up with quite a few men in tuxedos and most women in cocktail dresses or long gowns. It was like a veritable fashion show. All the other evenings are resort wear which means nice shirts & slacks for the men (although a few men did wear suits) and for lack of a better description Sunday or a nice dinner out type clothes for the women.

Since I do not know where you are flying into to get the ship I will make this comment broad. Opera offers a shuttle bus from Milan to Genoa on the day of the cruise, and I heard it was about $60.00 per person last April. However, you must make reservations in advance directly through MSC. Or you can do like we are and take the Eurorail. (depending on where you fly into.) If you are flying into Milan the Eurorail has a stop at the airport. You then go to Milan Principale and get the train to Genoa Principale. From the station the ship is about a five to ten minute walk, or you can take a cab.

AAA offers a vacation packet of Euro's which we tend to get that way we have enough money to pay for a cab, tips, etc.

Did you book your air directly from MSC? If so perhaps they will do a post cruise package which basically means booking your hotel. If not you will need to book your own hotel.

With MSC none of us will receive our cruise documents until one or two weeks prior to leaving for our big trip. You will know when the documents have been mailed out as our fellow C.C.'s will start doing the "document dance" online letting us know their documents came.

If you have any other questions I will be happy to answer them for you. We look forward to meeting you at our little "staff" meeting after the lifeboat drill.

Carol G. "Luv to cruz"

[kitchenqueen]

Hello there,

 

My friend and I will be on the Opera for this cruise. It's my 3rd cruise but I havent been on one since childhood and am not sure what to expect???

 

Can anyone tell me what it is like for single people - is it mostly couples?

 

Also, I am a little confused as to what to bring to wear - do people mostly dress up for dinner irrespective of whether it is a formal night or not?

 

Any tips or info would be great!

 

kitchenqueen

[goodclicks]

I was on my first cruise in September on the Opera and was travelling alone. There seemed to be very few solo travellers but MSC, thankfully, sat most of us English speaking travellers together for dinner. However this may not happen for you unless you have a cabin to yourself. I am sure you could place a request with the maitre'd though. There is a singles gathering early on so don't miss that - if only for the free champagne!

 

You will get a different mix of passengers on your longer transatlantic journey than on the week long cruise I was on so other people will be better placed to answer your other questions.

 

I am very envious of you all on this thread. A week was not long enough on the Opera and so I'm planning a transatlantic jaunt some time in the future.

[love to cruz]

You are sharing the same concern our 26 year old son has expressed. Be sure to meet all our little Cruise Critic group after the fire/muster drill as previously mentioned in these posts. The Cotton Club in back near the bar area. This way you will know several people right away. We found last April on the eastbound transatlantic sailing the passenger mix was from all over the world, with many passengers able to speak English. Since we were on the ship for 17 days we got to know various passengers rather well.

The Europeans do tend to dress better on a cruise ship. Formal wear does tend to mean tuxedos or suits for the men and cocktail or evening gowns for the ladies. My guess is there should be four formal nights. The rest of the cruise wear something you would wear to dinner on vacation in a resort or a nice dinner out at home.

Welcome to our little group and we look forward to meeting you on the ship.

13 days to go, but who is counting?

[kitchenqueen]

thanks guys, that is really helpful and yes, we will definitely meet you all after the drill.

 

Counting the hours....:)

[bonita bugman]

We received our docs today. Flying from Atlanta on Delta to Paris than Genoa on 12-26- anyone else?

[love to cruz]

Hi Bonita Bugman:

Oh how I envy you in getting your documents already. We are still waiting to do the document dance. We are especially anxious to get our doc's as we are booked outside guarantee and want to know what our cabin number is (in other words what deck are we on?)

We fly out Christmas afternoon via JFK and will be in Genoa the afternoon of the 26th. We like going a day early as this time of year we never know what weather delays there may be. Also, with a six hour time change we know we will be exhausted our first day in Italy.

Where are the rest of our happy little Opera "staff"? Our board has been very quiet.

Well only 10 days to go until we all get to meet. I can hardly wait!!:p

[but292]

We're back from are transatlantic cruise on the Costa Magica from Genoa to Miami that left on the 28th November. The Opera was docked next to us in Genoa. A lot of people on the Costa Magica had coughs and colds, when I arrived home I had a cold that went onto my chest and it took 4 days to get over it, in fact I'm still recovering. It was so bad there was a time when I thought I'd have to cancel this trip on the Opera.There was an emergency medevac by helicopter in the atlantic for someone. So if I can give advice, take extra remedies with you for cough, colds and flu because they seem to be widespread in Italy.

Hope to see you after lifeboat drill.

 

John and Maggie

[bonita bugman]

Have a Merry Christmas and a safe trip to the ship. See you all at the Cotton Club. John & Shirley