Heartgrove

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! My review of the MSC Preziosa was published in the Review section of CC. https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=706505 One funny thing that I forgot to mention was that Sue and DSIL shared a stateroom while I traveled as a single. It was to maximize points because of the way that MSC awards Voyager points. One day I received an invitation to a "Single's Mingle" on board. Surprise! Surprise! No, I didn't go. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. 😁 - Jack

We were on a MSC cruise last year to Sicily. The guide was multi-lingual and narrated the 7-hour excursion in three languages: Engish, French, and Italian. The other two excursions the guides spoke Italian and English.

We are just back from a cruise to Scotland and Ireland with DSIL using two connecting staterooms. I booked as a single while my wife booked as a double with DSIL. We had linked the two bookings with MSC. There were six ports and initially we booked five excursions. MSC had a disclaimer that for excursions on this cruise, excursions may possibly be conducted in English only. Only the excursion to Edinburgh had the addition of a German translator. The five excursions had us on the same buses together. For one port we had booked a Viator excursion for $146.00/pp as nothing was on the MSC excursion page for Stornoway. About two weeks before, I happen to check our bookings and found that there were now four MSC excursions offered. We booked the one MSC Stornoway excursion for the Callinish Standing Stones at $54.00/pp. This was a good move as it was a tender port and MSC gave priority to MSC excursion-booked passengers. When we received the tickets the night before, I was on the 8:30 am excursion and DW and DSIL were on the 11:30 am excursion. I figured it was due to the late booking that they couldn't put us together. A trip to the excursion desk didn't help but the nice gentleman confirmed for our remaining excursions we were together.A funny aside was as I was booked as a single in the stateroom, I was invited to a Singles Get Together. This was to my wife's surprise!

Vista Suites on Pinnacle-class ships are a good value if you are seeking to increase your Mariner status. We have sailed in them twice and the second time was on a Mariner-special rate which made it very attractive.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Happy Sunday! What a shame that there are people in the world that don't follow today's quote. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Just a quick comparison without going too deep into research for you. We just finished the MSC cruise that took us to Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. We paid $54.00/pp for a three hour guided excursion to see the Callanish Standing Stones and driving through a good part of the island. By comparison, Holland America in August 2024 has a four hour guided titled "Historical Lewis" excursion basically the same plus adding visiting a small remote village along the coast. HAL is charging $109.95/pp. For our cruise with six ports and six excursions of varying itinerary for each (transportation-only to guided excursions between 3 to 5 hours) we spent a total of $337.00/pp.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Have a great weekend! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Last years Thanksgiving sale was very good as far as prices went. We actually rebooked the cruise that we just finished two weeks ago. With MSC, it is a total rbooking with new deposits required. But we received the refund from the original booking in less than a week.

We have sailed twice on MSC in Europe and have found the excursion prices to be very reasonable. Compared to our regular cruise line Holland America, excursions are roughly 2/3rds the cost and just as interesting.

We prefer the Fantasia-class with only 66 YC Staterooms but will someday try the other YC ships.

We sailed on the Splendida in YC last year Italy and Sicily, and are booked again for next year on the same itinerary as yours. The YC crew found us to be a novelty being American. It seems most passengers in YC are snooty but we were very outgoing and friendly to them. While onboard we made friends with the YC Director and one concierge. Our Maitre D' and three waiters (Alan Merlot, Ibrahim, and Andy) in L'Olivio could not do more for us! Do not miss the Bananas Foster desert, and do try the Filet.

Same with us after last year's cruise in YC aboard the MSC Spendida and this year's MSC Preziosa cruise in Fantastica. This after sailing with HAL eight years and achieving 4* Mariner status! We like the Fantasia-class as they are still not mega-size ships. Because of this we have booked for Fall 2024 YC on both the MSC Splendida for Greece/Turkey and MSC Divina on the 20 night Grand Voyage. A YC that won't be overcrowded and actually enjoy having the restaurant at the rear so we can walk a bit after eating. But we go back to HAL for a Caribbean cruise in April and then in 2025, a 29 Day Japan and Trans-Pacific crossing.

Thanks for the memory of the housing market in the late '70s. My first house's mortgage rate was 10.56% - and the market went even higher than that! Sailing in Yacht Club, MSC does the same for its passengers. Last year when we did cruise in YC, the French seemed rather upset that MSC would do that for us. But this year we just cruised in Fantastica. The Germans were more accepting and orderly in line when YC passengers were moved in front.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

I agree with you. One of our attractions to MSC is the European ambiance sailing in Europe. I am leery of cruising from Florida with all the negative comments. My fear for the World America is that MSC will do what Costa did with the now Carnival Venezia and build it to a specific market (Chinese in this case.) Many of the shortcomings expressed about the Carnival Venezia seem to reflect this. We will experience this to see if it is true for ourselves next month.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Avery forthright quote for today! On our SAS flight to Copenhagen, I watched the British movie "Empire of Light" with Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, and Colin Furth (Recommended!.) The poetry of Philip Larkin was quoted twice. I now have his poetry book "High Windows" on order. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Disappointed that the 2024 turn-around port will be Piraeus instead of Trieste. We needed to book with MSC instead.

We ran into a bar waiter that we had on our Circle Hawaii cruise while on a Mediterranean cruise one or two years later. He definitely remembered us but when asked how he did it, he responded that he remembered us by our drinks! We enjoy drinking a "Brooklyn."

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! I can't say I am a fan of the author of today's quote. I can't recall if I ever named any of my cars. But I did name my tractors when we lived in Maryland. When I broke my ankle in 2015, I spent part of the day watching old Western's of my youth. I had a company on eBay produce replicas of the MD "Farm" vanity plate naming the tractors for the main characters. These were my three primary tractors, but at one time I had 14 of varying sizes. All sadly sold but one when we moved to Virginia. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack "Cisco, Poncho, and Paladin"

My DW and DSIL, when she cruises with us, just bring their normal heating pad. Depending on the ship and the outlet situation, they sometimes need an extension cord provided by the ship.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Have a great Sunday! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Have a great weekend! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Where are you seeing an April 2, 2024 schedule? The Curacao Port Authority schedule only goes to 12/31/2023.