Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 12 Author #26 Share Posted July 12 This is for those that have trouble at the port getting passed the traffic guard at the terminal and want to drive right up and unload luggage at the white tent. I have two, one for the dash and the other for DW to hold up rolling down the window and waving in the guards face. Then afterwards hide them under the car mats so one's car isn't vandalized by lowlife. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnocket Posted July 12 #27 Share Posted July 12 7 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said: The wood is just decorative. There is still a metal railing that it is attached to. That makes sense. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bgwest Posted July 13 #28 Share Posted July 13 On 7/11/2024 at 6:03 PM, morpheusofthesea said: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh8eb_ACLl8 Thought we start out on the right foot ! with a little Chubby Checkers "Let's twist again like we did last summer." It never gets dull in the Yacht Clubs. We leave again this Saturday. Can't get enough Royal Treatment. I think MSC is trying to lure us off the ship with their new enhanced, exclusive, Yacht Club only excursions. DW is never thrilled anymore with packed sardine bus tours. Have to see if there are really any excursions not found on the regular list of usual suspects. This is interesting. Read that two of our favorite people in the YC are gone, unexpectedly. They are both too good not to turn up again. My hero is back!!!!😃😃😃 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 13 Author #29 Share Posted July 13 9 hours ago, Bgwest said: My hero is back!!!!😃😃😃 Chubby Checkers, "Who's that flyin up there?" "Is it a bird ? Is it a plane? Noooo.... It's the TWISTER ! " Yeahhh ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 13 Author #30 Share Posted July 13 Got to tent at 8:30am. Waved our priority signs and drove right up. Unloaded luggage drove over to parking garage and got available spot going up ramp to avoid flooding. Had a treat at 8:45. A police van pulled up to the YC tent and parked, two male officers got out. A second patrol female officer in a suv pulled up. They went into the terminal. Out they come with a young woman in handcuffs, no luggage not even a pocketbook. Into the paddy wagon and they drove away. Been told by our YC porter that his boss the head of his stevedore company was just given a tour of the new MSC terminal. The hope is that MSC wants to open it this November (latest January). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobndee Posted July 13 #31 Share Posted July 13 17 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said: I am actually a very late bloomer. Having spent the last 50 years booking inside cabins for $100 pp per day and living below my means building up a nest egg.. It was covid that woke me up and hitting 70 years old, wondering if we would make it to 71. Started booking suites only. Tipping has always been a way to get preferred treatment on land or sea. Call it advanced tipping or bribery tipping, I could care less. It works. I learn from my peers. I do not mind divulging my secrets because 'one cannot teach old dogs new tricks'. Most tune me out. These old dogs just go around complaining about the food and what godawful time they are having in steerage or Yacht Club. We had great times in steerage, even being invited to the Captain's table for dinner in those days ( I was known as Mr. Tipwell). Was even told by a Cruise line VP we met, that our surname was used during training sessions at their call-in center as VIPs. Cruise line has since gone defunct, might have been more affective had my surname been Smith? She went on to become president of one of the big 4 luxury cruise lines. I understand - I'm in a similar situation. After 40+ years of saving, and some scrimping, to build up our nest egg and raise kids, it's hard to turn around and start to spend more freely. We began by going to Sandals, always in the lower category rooms, because tipping was discouraged. Eventually we booked only butler suites where tipping of butlers is expected. We now get the same butler for every visit and have developed a friendship, to the point of having her home email address for between-visit chats. Then we tried cruising and found we like it more than we expected. So, now we have booked our first Yacht Club cruise, which we are very much looking forward to. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonsterJoe Posted July 13 #32 Share Posted July 13 (edited) 1 hour ago, bobndee said: I understand - I'm in a similar situation. After 40+ years of saving, and some scrimping, to build up our nest egg and raise kids, it's hard to turn around and start to spend more freely. We began by going to Sandals, always in the lower category rooms, because tipping was discouraged. Eventually we booked only butler suites where tipping of butlers is expected. We now get the same butler for every visit and have developed a friendship, to the point of having her home email address for between-visit chats. Then we tried cruising and found we like it more than we expected. So, now we have booked our first Yacht Club cruise, which we are very much looking forward to. We've been talking about taking a year or two off from cruising after next year...(in my mind) to do an AI resort. How would you compare them? I love cruisi g, but I also like the idea of flying to where we want to go and to not have to think about pre/post hotels and ubers Edited July 13 by MonsterJoe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobndee Posted July 13 #33 Share Posted July 13 7 minutes ago, MonsterJoe said: We've been talking about taking a year or two off from cruising after next year...(in my mind) to do an AI resort. How would you compare them? I love cruisi g, but I also like the idea of flying to where we want to go and to not have to think about pre/post hotels and ubers The only AI I've been to is Sandals, so I can't speak to others. I've been to every Sandals in Jamaica except the new Dunn's River (trip coming up in November) plus Sandals Royal Bahamian. So, obviously we like them. We like going to Jamaica because it is a three hour non-stop flight to Montego Bay from Charlotte. There are 18 Sandals resorts on 8 different islands. Here are what I see as plusses: - Large rooms with tubs and/or showers. Even the lowest category rooms have more space that most cruise ship high end suites. Butler suites usually have separate living & sleeping rooms. - Free shuttle to/from airport. - Truly all-inclusive. All meals, all beverages, all resort activities, all the time. Tipping is forbidden under pain of employee dismissal (except for butlers). - Lots of space on property. You can usually find a quiet nook if desired or you can party around the pools with the swim-up bars. - Multiple restaurants to choose from with no extra fees but some require advance reservations for dinner. Negatives include: - You're always in the same resort, same beaches. - Evening entertainment & shows not up to cruise line levels. - Food is good but not fine dining levels, except at specialty restaurants. - Like an older cruise ship you can see some wear and tear in places. Their resorts get a lot of use. Hope that helps. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 13 Author #34 Share Posted July 13 Didn’t get through checkin until 11. It is a very pleasant feeling being back on board a MSC sea class ship in the Top Sail Lounge. Had a first class escort on board by our personal butler at 11:05. Dropped off our carry on luggage and had to see Yacht Club Director Marcello to make sure we could have our same YC personal butler who made our last trip so grand. Looks like things are really running top notch. Just bumped into the head honcho himself on board, Robbie S. In the TSL. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DaKahuna Posted July 13 #35 Share Posted July 13 @morpheusofthesea Sounds like you are off to a very good start. We'll be in a Grand Suite on Deck 19 in September so am going to be following your everyword as usual. Only our second MSC cruise so we are still very new to YC and eager to learn the tricks from an old hand such as yourself. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnocket Posted July 13 #36 Share Posted July 13 1 hour ago, MonsterJoe said: We've been talking about taking a year or two off from cruising after next year...(in my mind) to do an AI resort. How would you compare them? I love cruisi g, but I also like the idea of flying to where we want to go and to not have to think about pre/post hotels and ubers We tried an adults-only all-inclusive resort in Cancun a few years ago. We enjoyed it so much we returned the next year to try a different AI resort. I've avoided Mexico for decades, but these vacations worked out great as, other than the private car hire for transportation between the resort and airport, we were totally content within the resort grounds. If you're a "the ship is the destination" type of person, you may find adult-only AI resorts work for you too. I do think it's important to stick with adults-only resorts, and to seek out the higher-end (albeit more expensive) properties. The two I've tried are.... Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya , Official Website (valentinmaya.com) and All Inclusive Adults Only Resort in Cancun | Excellence Playa Mujeres (excellenceresorts.com) With these sorts of things, advice from others only goes so far. You never really know if it's a good fit for you until you give one a try. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 13 Author #37 Share Posted July 13 Actually the tent at the terminal is blue. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 13 Author #38 Share Posted July 13 After a leisurely lunch in the YC restaurant we decide to go down via the elevator and have our cruise cards scanned for muster drill. Here are the two muster station staff waiting eagerly to find some passengers to scan. Went back up the elevator to our cabin to watch video and call number indicated. Done. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 13 Author #39 Share Posted July 13 Here are the head honchos on board for this cruise. On the left is Robbie S. MSC head of all YC Directors and YC Director Marcello. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonsterJoe Posted July 13 #40 Share Posted July 13 (edited) Wow I was looking forward to Mustafa, but now I'm so excited to see robbie. He was our first yc director and we loved him. And also...tra la la....no identifying badges...he has risen. Edited July 13 by MonsterJoe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Georgia_Peaches Posted July 13 #41 Share Posted July 13 40 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said: Here are the two muster station staff waiting eagerly to find some passengers to scan. So have they done away with everyone going to the muster station all at once? More of a go at your leisure as long as you go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 13 Author #42 Share Posted July 13 30 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said: So have they done away with everyone going to the muster station all at once? More of a go at your leisure as long as you go? Correct. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 13 Author #43 Share Posted July 13 6 hours ago, bobndee said: We began by going to Sandals We tried the best of the best resort while traveling the Bangkok, Bali, and Beyond itinerary on the Marco Polo cruise ship. We had a friend that worked on board and his favorite thing when the ship overnighted in some exotic port we would grab a private car and go to the most exclusive resorts and stay overnight. We had many memorable 'one night stands'. Found them to be one and done. Villa at the Four Seasons in Bali. Found the food at the world famous Sail's Restaurant in Auckland paled compared to the food on the ship. Learned many things and decided not worth to fly to exotic destinations not worth the time and trouble. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 14 Author #44 Share Posted July 14 Started the evening’s entertainment in Le Cabaret Rouge and were treated to a couple very good acts. An adagio couple and Jessica Domenicus. Will post a couple short clips. This is Jessica’s only Le Cabaret performance every cruise. The rest of the week she performs with the Chora Theatre troupe. We opted to leave Le Cabaret Rouge to catch the Chora Theatre performance of Imaginocean. Will sit on end in back YC section to leave early and beat the crowd to Loft Cafe for the BBJazz quartet. That’s the plan for the rest of this evening. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 14 Author #45 Share Posted July 14 4 hours ago, mnocket said: 6 hours ago, MonsterJoe said: We tried an adults-only all-inclusive resort in Cancun a few years ago We were checking into a five star hotel in Singapore for a pre cruise stay. When I got to the room I put the key to open the door just as our room phone rang. Was expecting a call from our friend on board. I inadvertently left the key in the door. When I went to retrieve it it was gone, At that moment the phone rang again. It was a porter that saw what I had done and had taken my key, he ws on the phone pretending to be the front desk asking me to return to the lobby on some pretense. I knew leaving my room whoever had the key would now rob my room while I was in the lobby. I latched the door so I wouldn't be intruded upon and called the front desk. They sent up a security team to my room and I confirmed with the front desk it was really security at my door before I opened it. They changed my room and caught the culprit, by forcing him to go through a telephone voice line up with me at the other end and the others repeating the original phone call to my room. I told security that I could not distinguish one voice from the other and they thanked me as the culprit broke down and confessed during the line-up. The lesson taught us that the security screening on ships is better than on land. We feel safer aboard cruise ships than we do on land. Guests do not go through security screening at these resorts that they do at ports. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 14 Author #46 Share Posted July 14 This morning, while waiting inside the terminal for security screening to commence, in one corner is a pick up booth for confiscated items from the prior cruise. Noticed one gentleman was picking up an electric plug in hot plate. What was he planning on cooking in his cabin? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no1talks Posted July 14 #47 Share Posted July 14 2 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said: What was he planning on cooking in his cabin? Bouillabaisse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 14 Author #48 Share Posted July 14 2 hours ago, no1talks said: Bouillabaisse. Yeah, he probably read from some posting that the MDR food was cold and with an extension cord he could reheat his meal at the table. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 14 Author #49 Share Posted July 14 (edited) 14 hours ago, MonsterJoe said: And also...tra la la....no identifying badges...he has risen. Come to think about this statement and you are right. This is an unwritten modus operandi of the big wigs we have bumped into on MSC. First was Mr. Sasso, pretending to be a regular passenger talking to me and my DW on the One Pool deck, showing me pictures of his carwash. Then on Explora 1 was the civilian dressed VP making the rounds in open shirt no tie barking out low key orders to staff. And now Robbie S in his civvies looking like a passenger with no distinguishing features to novice guests. Edited July 14 by morpheusofthesea 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare morpheusofthesea Posted July 14 Author #50 Share Posted July 14 There is plenty of entertainment last night. One must strategically map out one's entertainment game plan with the aid of the daily planner. Our focus was on four venues. We began after an early dinner with getting seats at the sparsely attended first night at Le Cabaret Rouge. It is little known that the first night is really the best night at LCR. There can be only one performance per cruise on this first night because the two top vocalists on board the ship are cast the rest of the cruise in the Chora Theatre productions. They did not disappoint. Then there was this new adagio duo that did a great non-stop 15 minutes of action and illusion, worth seeing again. Next we left to catch the late Chora Theatre production of Imaginocean sitting in the back on the end to zip out before the finale to beat the crowd to the Loft Cafe for the great BB Jazz Quartet doing great American standards like "Fly me to the Moon". Even though we turned the clock back one hour and gained more time, it was a long first day with unpacking DW's 8 suitcases and we are not as young as we used to be and missed another favorite venue the Uptown Lounge featuring the popular Star Band. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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