frank808

22 hours ago, Stockjock said:

But don't you have to pay extra for this coffee?  I really like Lavazza and their espresso and cappuccinos are included with my Easy Plus package.

Sailed in YC, so no charge for the drinks. There was a charge for the food (pastries, macaroons, etc.)

On 8/10/2023 at 6:47 AM, sverigecruiser said:

 

Go to Coffee Emporium on deck 8 for great cappucino! It's worth leaving the YC!

My wife would go there at least once a day for their coffee. It was her favorite place to get a coffee. She also loved the tea room on the 7th deck. I loved the martinis served next door.

Went to the juice bar (by the spa) once a day for their fresh squeezed juices usually before or after spa session.

In June on Europa and Divina just passport and e ticket. Much smoother check in on Europa in Genoa than Divina in Rome. Was surprising to me as I would figure the opposite as Divina was the smaller ship. But had a lot of staff that we knew from Seashore the previous year on Divina.

22 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

That’s good to hear! Your beautiful state is on my bucket list of places to visit. We are Disney Vacation Club members so we have always wanted to visit Aulani. Would like to combine it with a cruise to or from Oz or Vancouver.

 

mac_tlc

Aulani is a great place with the grandkids. They will have a blast there doing all the activities. If just you and your wife I would suggest the Marriott Ko Olina beach club for your stay. Much more relaxed and not as loud.

Wife and I are doing our first trans Pacific. In about 3 weeks we are taking Brilliance on her last Alaska sailing of this year. Then staying on for the trans Pacific and getting off in Honolulu. Great to only have to fly one way! In 2024 we are thinking of doing the same Alaska to Honolulu but stay on all the way to Oz and then cruising and touring Oz and New Zealand before flying home.

See you two on a future cruise.

On 8/12/2023 at 5:37 AM, mac_tlc said:

Off topic, but was thinking of you and your family as we see the wildfire devastation. Hope you were unaffected and doing well.

 

mac_tlc

We are doing fine as we live on Oahu.  Prayers to all those that are on Maui.

Just found out or trans pacific stop is no longer going to Lahaina Maui. I wish RCL would stop in Kihei. The stores and people for the rest of the island need visitors and their spending. Just not in Lahaina.

8 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I had the same thoughts as you, until we saw this Gusti. Did not think there could be another Gusti. But there is, perhaps MSC promoted the wrong Gusti we both know and love ? Yes, the Gusti we know lives in Bali, Indonesia. I think even Dempasar. Told him were there just before the bombing at a night club in Kuta Beach. The ship we were on was the Marco Polo docked or anchored at Dempasar over night. We spent the night at the Bin Tang Bali hotel and got back to the ship the next day since Kuta beach was 2 hours from Dempasar. Took our passports with us in case we missed the ship. (We were daredevils in those days).

OK it is not the same Gusti then. I was chit chatting with him and asked him if he wanted to become head butler since he has so many years with MSC. He mentioned that he has been asked a few times to become head butler but he has turned it down. He went on to say that he likes the personal interaction immensely and would be sad to give it up. Also said that he does not like to do all the paperwork and what not in the back of the house. The head butler on Davina was a Russian woman that was on Seaview last year in June. I think her name was Yanni.

On 7/22/2023 at 3:11 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

yes.

   

It all depends on your service. What would you feel you would appreciate for the service you provided if the shoe was on the other foot?

I was unsure about a lot of things, so I went in search of information and found this university study on tipping. "The common feature of all forms of tipping is the voluntary and discretionary nature of the tip: the consumer is free to choose how much to tip, if at all. This definition excludes service charges, imposed gratuities, and imposed tips which have nothing in common with voluntary tipping."

  Being one's first time with no past experience of what to expect from a butler it can be a challenge. Let us take the example mentioned here. Some of us have experienced the assemblage of YC guests meeting in the TopSail Lounge for a 'group' escort off the ship to "fend for themselves" on the pier, while others are approached the night before by their personal butler (a good one) asking one's plans and setting up an appointment to be picked up at one's cabin and escorted (without a group) personally to one's seat (coach or private car). The group butler hardly deserves much of a tip unless it is from the spouse of a late straggler holding up the entire group waiting in the lounge. The "good" butler goes above and beyond and deserves at least $20 per day. We only travel 7 day cruises and tip $200-$400 depending on the level of service provided. One cruise we only tipped our butler $20 for the week, we did not get the service we had grown accustomed to (spoiled by) from other butlers on MSC.

12 sailings with MSC in YC and we have only experienced group escorts off the ship. Our past 2 cruises last month in YC on Divina and Europa, we have finally experienced the personal escort to your bus/car. I thought butlers only did personal service in Europe till your post.

On 7/19/2023 at 5:24 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

Here is a photo of the Aurea Top 19 access door to the left of the yellow cone  from the YC One Pool Deck as in post #98. There is an identical access door on the starboard side as well.

MSC solved this problem on Europa. No other entrances to YC from the outside pool deck. Seems like YC has taken what used to be Aurea areas. No problem of interlopers anymore.

On 7/19/2023 at 6:46 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

We have a new Head Butler on board. He is a 23 year veteran butler most of us have had recently and this is where MSC chooses to listen to our raves. They promoted Gusti to Head Butler. It is fitting really well, haven't seen him, still hiding behind the scenes?

Is this the same Gusti that is a skinny gentleman from Indonesia with a big smile? Just saw him on Divina in Europe a month ago in June. Met him for the first time on Seaside and then he was on Seaview last year.

8 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

 Passengers are cargo and that's how they treat you.

 Great product lousy CS and IT.

So true, that is how MSC got their start. Hauling containers around the world on their cargo ships. Unfortunately for us, those containers never complain and do not care where they are put on the ship!

14 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

Great to hear from you Frank! When it’s just the two of us, we have gravitated to X and the Retreat. Now, Royal and X suite prices are crazy. Plus with Royal seemingly going all in on 3/4 nighters, we have expanded our view.

 

Considering MSC YC, although those prices are creeping up also. 
 

Also looking at Oceania and maybe Viking (for the itineraries and lecturers). 
 

Hope our paths cross again!

 

mac_tlc

We have MSC Euriba for 3 weeks in Oct 2024 out of Hamburg. Have MSC America booked 5/24/25 to 6/21/25 in Miami if you are looking at booking a MSC cruise 🙂.

We will be boarding Brilliance on Sept 17 in Vancouver for her last Alaskan cruise and then stay on for our first trans pacific to home to Hawaii. 

On 7/9/2023 at 10:56 AM, Mark_T said:

... and in my case it is entirely a result of Charla's previous live thread that we ended up on Divina last month... ... and now have another Divina reservation for next Feb.

We were on Divina for a week this past June 9th. Were you onboard then?

Wife and I prefer the Seaside class YC. Divina was a little to small and not many snacks in YC. We sailed Europa the next week and while the ship is large, the YC pool deck and hot tub is laughable for a ship with that many YC passengers. Divina did not have a nice spa like Seaside class ships, so that was a disappointment to us. While the Europa had a nice Spa, you had to make a reservation for a 1 hour slot in advance. I liked the Seaside class where I could walk in anytime it was open and enjoy.

On 7/7/2023 at 11:56 AM, mac_tlc said:

I’m in!!

HI Mac! How are you and the wife doing? I see you have more celebrity cruises booked. Starting to do that more than Royal?  Wife and I love Royal but the price for CLS are starting to be more money than we think it is worth. We are planning to cruise more in late 2024 and forward when wife retires. Hopefully we get to meet up again. I sure miss those cruise critic meet n greets and MSC had the best one.

Are you planning to try MSC YC or have you sailed on them? The price and inclusions of YC compared to Sky on Royal cant be beat. That has made the road to P longer with Royal. I love RCCL for the camaraderie and meeting other cruisers in the D lounge and on long sailings. It is great in the Top Sail Lounge but most wont be as ardent cruisers (we have only run into one couple that we have cruised with before on MSC).

Have wonderful time on your sailings and cant wait till our cruising paths cross again.

On 7/6/2023 at 9:47 AM, topnole said:

If you cruise enough it can make it worth it.  But owning 5 figures in stock to get $100 obc here and there isn’t a great strategy.   Basically the obc is like a tax free dividend.  You have to determine how much downside risk to assume to want that dividend.  I’d rather be in a growth stock and not in a company that is losing money and loaded to their ears in debt.  But we all have our own preference and financial strategies.  To me royal is not a good long term buy relative to other companies and if you buy it for obc, you need to be a long term buyer. 

I look at the first 100 shares bought at $19.50 as cruise OBC. We have already gotten back out initial 100 share purchase in cruise OBC with the 20+ sailings. The credit we receive for our future RCL cruises is just free money. I don't know of another investment that I enjoy so much which rewards me at least 5% ROI for each cruise.

I am surprised Jose likes the larger ships. One thing I miss with the larger ships is the shaded sea views from the different decks. Also the larger ships feel more like a shopping mall but there is a lot more to do on those ships (lot more crowded also). I have liked every ship that we have been on. The smaller ships I like because of the nice cruisers we meet.

Did you guys sail on Seashore last June/July? 

See you two onboard.

On 5/20/2023 at 4:17 AM, mafig said:

I have to admit the similarity between these names has me confused.  I had to check my records.

 

I have been on Seaside and Seashore.  Looking at a cruise on Seascape.  What are the differences between these ships?

We were in the Yacht Club and will probably do the same if we book Seascape.

Which is the newest ?

 

 

How are you two doing? Have you gone back and cruised RCL? We will be boarding Divina and World Europa in Italy next month. We have been cruising on Navigator out of LA last year and early this year. Missed you on Seashore last June, I think you boarded a two cruises after we got off Seashore.

Hope to see you two on a Royal or MSC cruise again. Stay safe and happy cruising.

On 5/11/2023 at 6:35 PM, Europeantraveler1 said:

Add me to your growing followers!!  Our group of six (our daughter; son-in-law and two older teenagers and my hubby and I) are sailing on June 19th on the World Europa (Yacht Club) out of Naples.  We originally booked our 50th wedding anniversary celebration cruise for the spring of 2020 but, as everyone knows, Covid came..

So now here we are three years later and we’re all so excited!  I’m very much looking forward to your reporting!!!  

We will be on the same ship and sailing. I will be onboard with my wife. Want to meet up in the top sail lounge or on pool deck for sail away? First sailing on this ship but have sailed seaside, seashore, meraviglia and divina.

On 5/16/2023 at 2:57 AM, kelleherdl said:

Arthur is usually contracted on the newer ships to enter the US Market. He is such a favorite of US Yacht Club passengers. We first met him on the Seaside during her first season out of Miami. He was our YC Restaurant server on that cruise. I think we can reliably predict he will be on the World America for her initial US sailings in 2025.😀

Was hoping to see him on Seashore and Meraviglia out of Miami but I believe he was in Europe on a smaller ship.

Will be sailing Europa next month and I guess we will not see him then.

Hope to see you two the next time we cruise out of Miami or Port Canaveral.

I would also like to know where Arthur is. We will be sailing in June out of Civitavecchia (Divina) and Genoa (Europa) and hope to see him again. If he is on Seascape will miss him again.

Thank you

This was in Denali. Maybe the shuttle was paid for by the town merchants? Just that there was a pretty regular shuttle on a small school type bus from hotel into town.

On 4/14/2023 at 4:38 AM, cruiselvr04 said:

How did you get into town from Denali to eat?  I figured we’d be trapped at most of the places we’re staying without other options.  
 

Good to know about the drive to Chena hot springs. We’ve rented a car to do that, coming in the day before the cruise tour starts. 
 

It’s also very helpful to know about food costs for planning.  When we booked this trip we had no idea how expensive one way airfare would be or excursions in Alaska. We’ve done Europe for a lot less.  However, it’s all good and we getting excited to go! 

On 4/14/2023 at 5:39 AM, Vagabond Knight said:

 

Is there some kind of bus, taxi, Lyft or Uber service available to get into town and back?

There was a shuttle provided by the hotel that did roundtrips to town and back until a certain hour. The hotel that Royal uses also has a restaurant. Across the highway from the hotel, there were some lunch trucks you could buy food from.

On 3/24/2023 at 8:11 AM, cruiselvr04 said:

The optional land tours are posted on Royals site.  Very hidden.  Search cruise tours and you should find it.  I’ve read on CC we can’t book the extra excursions on the land portion until we get there and meet with the tour guide the first evening.  It may help to see them prior to know what you want when you meet up.  It will also give you an idea as to the extra cost.  I have no idea as to the number of people on these so hoping sign up isn’t a zoo.  

I’ve asked on the Alaska board and was advised that a couple spent an additional $600 on food cost on the land tour since it’s not included.  I’m sure it will vary but it’s a guess. We ride the dome trains but I don’t think meals are included on those but I know they have food to purchase.

I’ve received nothing in communication from Royal but assume I’ll hear more after final payment including about luggage. I’m not sure if there are restrictions on that or not. I doubt we’ll know times of anything until we get there.  

If others have done it, please enlighten us. 

Yes we were not able to book any of the extra excursions until we met our guide. Son, wife and I did two different UTV tours, Zip Line and White water rafting during our 6 night land cruise tour with Royal. Our bush plane excursion to the North Pole got cancelled because of the forest fires. So that night, we rented a truck and drove to Chena Hot springs and spent two nights there at the lodge. It was a nice drive back and forth from Fairbanks. Saw more wild life on that drive than our Tundra Wilderness tour in Denali. 

Most we spent to eat was in, Denali, where we spent 2 nights. Royal does not include any meals (except for the box lunch included in Tundra tour) so we ate in town instead of the lodge that royal uses. Fairbanks and Anchorage was not that bad to find places to eat. The train ride dining came out to a little over $100 each meal for the 3 of us.  We had 2 meals on the train. 

37 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

Royal are not perfect either 

They take a $99.98 charge as a hold per cabin, removed form card after 5 days

 

MSC take $250 per person in cabin 

$750 on one of ours and $500 on another 

took 30 days to drop off and the other 14 days

 

 

Hmm I have only ever left $250 per cabin on all our MSC cruises. Wonder if they hold more on CC than with cash?

45 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Please pardon my ignorance but how does one go about leaving cash in the place of registering a credit card?  I would much rather put up $250 cash!

Just did it this past June/July on the Seashore with the concierge in YC. I tried leaving $1000 for our two cabins for a B2B but the concierge said I would need to come and settle out the first week. Then leave a deposit again. Sailing in YC there are not many things to cover besides the DSC. Luckily we do not purchase much on board.

We just leave $250 cash as the deposit and settle it that way. Have never had a problem with credit cards on MSC. This coming June will be leaving 250 euros as a deposit for our cruise out of Rome and then get whatever is left after the DSC is taken out. Then will repeat it a couple days later for our cruise out of Genoa.

I have stopped leaving credit cards with cruise lines after our second cruise. Royal added mysterious charges, like being billed for mini bar items or missing pool towels. I would call back and they would remove the charges but it was a waste of my time. Now I just use cash and have everything settled the night before disembarkation. No more mysterious charges to deal with.