1st Mediterranean Cruise in 5 months - MSC Grandiosa

[FamilyCruiserUK]

The buffet reminds me of my deployments. Queue up for food and it's put on your plate. I have no issues with that at all and hopefully will also reduce the amount of food I see wasted on some people's plates.......

 

Deffo baby steps but it's a start and everyone looked happy. 

On Anthem of the seas they have proper wash stations in the buffet, sinks taps etc all controlled by sensors.

[livingonthebeach]

11 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Good to see masks on the Mom, Dad and little girl but why not the boy? 

 

Right -- that's a lapse in policy if you ask me.  Maybe they don't require them if you're six feet apart from anyone other than family you're cruising with?  The self serve drinks should be revisited as well -- not a great idea.  

[suzyluvs2cruise]

48 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Right -- that's a lapse in policy if you ask me.  Maybe they don't require them if you're six feet apart from anyone other than family you're cruising with?  The self serve drinks should be revisited as well -- not a great idea.  

 

Agree about no self-service drinks. My understanding is that masks are required in public areas except when you're at a table eating....and, for now, that's how it should be. 

Edited August 18, 2020 by suzyluvs2cruise

[nelblu]

Sailed Sunday at 70% capacity.  C19 tests required prior to boarding.  7 days sailing the Mediterranean.

 

https://www.afar.com/magazine/first-mediterranean-cruise-sets-sail-with-mandatory-coronavirus-tests?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=081820 SouthwestPoints&utm_content=Final&utm_term=Daily Wander (Have opened newsletter before)

Edited August 18, 2020 by nelblu

[rockmom]

3 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Right -- that's a lapse in policy if you ask me.  Maybe they don't require them if you're six feet apart from anyone other than family you're cruising with?  The self serve drinks should be revisited as well -- not a great idea.  

I wondered about no mask on the boy as well.  Self-serve drinks not a great idea, but better than using a pitcher or some sort of utensil that everyone handles.  Maybe someone is there wiping down that area and any 'buttons' that need to be pushed to dispense drinks?  

[Iamcruzin]

17 hours ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

That video was really helpful to get a better idea of what the buffet will be like. I’m fine with it that way during this time, except for the self-serve drinks. Wouldn’t that undo all of the precautions they took in the buffet??

I agree. Self service stations are still not being used in fast food restaurants here.

[Sunshine3601]

In watching the buffet video I didnt like seeing some of workers only wearing plastic shields.   They can easily have droplets exit thru bottom of the shield onto food etc.  The workers should wear masks.

[islandwannabee]

Holy crap, nothing like picking apart the video, someone was nice enough to post. 

 

I can just see it now when cruising begins here, all the videos ,photos etc. Look little Johnny is not wearing the mask correctly and so on. I guess the chair hogs and dress code threads are a thing of the past and these will be the new ones.

[TravelerThom]

16 minutes ago, islandwannabee said:

Holy crap, nothing like picking apart the video, someone was nice enough to post. 

People were pick on things people were doing (or not doing) in the video. 
I don’t see people picking apart the video or the videographer. BIG difference. 

[sandebeach]

CruiseRadio is reporting that a family broke away from their ship-organized excursion yesterday in Naples, and was not allowed to reboard the ship because MSC says “they broke the bubble”.  I am glad that MSC is sticking to their safety/health protocols. 

[Oxo]

+1 Enforce the rules from day one. Great!

[HBE4]

3 hours ago, islandwannabee said:

Holy crap, nothing like picking apart the video, someone was nice enough to post. 

 

I can just see it now when cruising begins here, all the videos ,photos etc. Look little Johnny is not wearing the mask correctly and so on. I guess the chair hogs and dress code threads are a thing of the past and these will be the new ones.

 

Probably be a combination of both types of threads, like wearing a disposable mask to the MDR on formal night or hogging of chairs with face shields or masks. 😄

[livingonthebeach]

2 hours ago, sandebeach said:

CruiseRadio is reporting that a family broke away from their ship-organized excursion yesterday in Naples, and was not allowed to reboard the ship because MSC says “they broke the bubble”.  I am glad that MSC is sticking to their safety/health protocols. 

 

Yes -- it was also on USA Today that a family broke away from the organized excursion and went off on their own.  They got booted off fast. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2020/08/19/msc-cruises-cracking-down-passengers-who-break-covid-19-regulations/5605867002/

[rockmom]

2 hours ago, sandebeach said:

CruiseRadio is reporting that a family broke away from their ship-organized excursion yesterday in Naples, and was not allowed to reboard the ship because MSC says “they broke the bubble”.  I am glad that MSC is sticking to their safety/health protocols. 

It's these kind of people who feel like the rules don't apply to them, that will keep cruising delayed.  If you have read all the rules and know you don't want to abide by ALL of them, then don't get on the ship. It's that simple.  🤦‍♀️🙄

[Luckynana]

Yup..."entitled" people that feel they can do as they wish.  Amazing the people that feel once they're on the airplane, they can take off their masks, as being reported in the news.  Thankfully, the airplanes aren't taking off until the passenger is removed.  Unfortunately, there've been some ugly scenes, but the airlines are sticking to their policy.    

[Iamcruzin]

7 hours ago, rockmom said:

It's these kind of people who feel like the rules don't apply to them, that will keep cruising delayed.  If you have read all the rules and know you don't want to abide by ALL of them, then don't get on the ship. It's that simple.  🤦‍♀️🙄

 

2 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Yup..."entitled" people that feel they can do as they wish.  Amazing the people that feel once they're on the airplane, they can take off their masks, as being reported in the news.  Thankfully, the airplanes aren't taking off until the passenger is removed.  Unfortunately, there've been some ugly scenes, but the airlines are sticking to their policy.    

Let's face it they are no different than the people who throw a hissy fit in Walmart by tearing up a store because someone approaches them and asks them to wear a mask. I am honestly not surprised that this happened. This is why I won't cruise until the limitations are over. There is always someone who thinks that they will get away with not following the protocol that was is in place. The cruise lines have too much to risk and I'm happy to see that they are enforcing the rules.  

[Luckynana]

Ditto👍

[TheMastodon]

14 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

 

Let's face it they are no different than the people who throw a hissy fit in Walmart by tearing up a store because someone approaches them and asks them to wear a mask. I am honestly not surprised that this happened. This is why I won't cruise until the limitations are over. There is always someone who thinks that they will get away with not following the protocol that was is in place. The cruise lines have too much to risk and I'm happy to see that they are enforcing the rules.  

 

Blows my mind.  Just wear the damn mask and be a part of the solution - i enjoy wearing my mask because I feel as if its a group effort by all of society to win the battle against this virus.  Southwest Ohio (cincinnati/dayton) as a whole is doing a great job wearing masks from what I see daily.  

[little britain]

https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/first-cruise-ship-to-return-to-malta-on-friday

 

 

Come on MSC... we’re all rooting for you! 

[livingonthebeach]

Oh no.... MSC Magnifica restart delayed apparently due to additional testing imposed on Italian residents traveling to Greece.

https://www.worldofcruising.co.uk/msc-cruises-delays-restart-of-msc-magnifica-until-end-of-september/

 

[Biker19]

^ not sure that will impact the planned start by Tui on 9/13 from Crete.

[mek]

On 8/20/2020 at 1:19 PM, TheMastodon said:

 

Blows my mind.  Just wear the damn mask and be a part of the solution - i enjoy wearing my mask because I feel as if its a group effort by all of society to win the battle against this virus.  Southwest Ohio (cincinnati/dayton) as a whole is doing a great job wearing masks from what I see daily.  

Agree - everywhere I go the majority of people are wearing masks and our numbers are going way down in Hamilton County.

[TheMastodon]

38 minutes ago, mek said:

Agree - everywhere I go the majority of people are wearing masks and our numbers are going way down in Hamilton County.

 

Too bad the taxes aren't going down!!!

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, livingonthebeach said:

Oh no.... MSC Magnifica restart delayed apparently due to additional testing imposed on Italian residents traveling to Greece.

https://www.worldofcruising.co.uk/msc-cruises-delays-restart-of-msc-magnifica-until-end-of-september/

 

This is due to greece seeing spikes in virus since they reopened to tourists.  I recently read on a travel site Greece does not require a full mask.  They are ok with mouth only covered.  

[livingonthebeach]

14 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

This is due to greece seeing spikes in virus since they reopened to tourists.  I recently read on a travel site Greece does not require a full mask.  They are ok with mouth only covered.  

 

Yes, and due to the spike, there is speculation that Greece may close its ports to cruise ships.  Hopefully, this won't happen, but there is that possibility.

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/calls-for-greece-to-reconsider-cruise-permission-due-to-covid-19-cases