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! Back today for a second cut of the grass to it's usual length. Rain forecast this afternoon through Sunday. Have a GREAT weekend! 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 finally cut my grass today. Last week while we were gone the growing conditions must have been perfect. But it has been wet and overcast until today since getting home. I will need to make two passes just to get it down without clogging the mower deck on the tractor. I hope everyone can have a wonderful day. @aliaschief Happy Anniversary Bruce and Sue! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Roy, 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 need to do my MSC cruise survey today. Certainly will be full of glowing remarks! Last evening I tried to do a CC Review but there was some glitch that prevented me from posting it. Frustrating after working on it for an hour. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Most likely not the Captain's fault as someone in the Corporate office in Seattle actually plotted and made arrangements (pilots, ports, etc.) for the route. It was explained at a "Captain's Talk" onetime after the Costa Concordia disaster. Any deviation and the captain is sent a message. If they don't immediately respond they receive a phone call! The Captain was gracious for accepting responsibility. Fault onboard would fall to the Navigation Officer not recognizing the mistake sooner.

In Europe, you still must vacate your room but can sit in the lounge until later in the morning. More than likely this is because of "bus stop" boarding at each embarking port. In Genoa we had a train at 10:00, and Hamburg a train at 12:30. We have only sailed MSC once in the USA and it seemed like you must be off by 9 or so. Offsite parking cuts off usually by 9:30 from Port Canaveral.

Just off the Seashore and DW had a small battery-powered heating pad onboard without a problem. Last year on the MSC Preziosa departing from Hamburg, DSIL had a regular size heating pad onboard without a problem. The room steward even supplied an extension cord. European bag checks may not be as strict.

Most cruise lines have problems with their website regularly. No big deal.

Back from our Seashore cruise. Very enjoyable and without a major complaint. Due to the increase of passengers in the YC, the restaurant gets a bit loud when full. Otherwise no problems. We had a YC1 Deluxe Suite. Missed having the walk-in closet that the Fantasia-class have but still very comfortable. The balcony is wider and longer than the Fantasia-class. I am not sure if there would be enough room but I wish that they had put a pair of lounge chairs there as well. YC service was excellent with a very attentive Butler and Junior Butler, Anton and Sonji. The restaurant offerings were very good and cooked to perfection. It must have been good as I gained four pounds! All in all, it surpassed our expectations as I was skeptical of USA vs European MSC sailings.

We just got off the MSC Seashore on Sunday and had chosen Ocean Cay Restaurant as our complimentary Diamond meal. Most would probably choose "Butcher's Cut but we had been in YC where a filet is offered every night. Like @8420PR mentioned, it is very Mediterranean focused. The Crab Cake appetizer was full of lump crab meat (we lived in Maryland for nine years so know crab cakes) and was really excellent. For our Mains, DW had the Black Cod and I had the Wild Clams with pasta. Portion sizes were sufficient. For dessert DW had the Tiramasu and I had the Creme Bruee. We would definitely eat here again.

@richwmn Welcome back, Rich!

Thank you Rich, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! We returned home late afternoon yesterday. It was tempting when we got in the car at the Port Parking Space parking facility with the Navigation telling us that we could be home by 10:30 pm Sunday. Of course that doesn't include pit stops, filling up, and eating. I was very impressed with Port Parking Space and will use them again at some point. Our cruise was so nice! It seems that MSC had special pricing for a few cruises as their private island is undergoing renovation to accommodate their newest megaship ship, MSC World America. So nice to be pampered for eight days! I was disappointed that I couldn't post photos this cruise. The food was excellent (I actually gained four pounds even with all my walking which is more than I gain on a HAL cruise!) and I was only disappointed with one meal. The chef and I disagreed on how Lasagna Bolangnese should be. Luckily the fallback is a filet mignon which was done to perfection. We elected to have our complimentary dinner in "Ocean Cay Seafood Restaurant" which was delicious. I managed to have fish everyday with at least one meal. The last day at sea we had a Seafood Buffet for lunch. Not official and not announced but they will be sailing from LA late 2025. According to the LA Port schedule for October 2025, the MSC Bellissima will be sailing weekly. We were in Kiel in 2017 on our Baltic Sea cruise aboard the Zuiderdam. It was our first port of call after leaving Copenhagen. That day we actually did our own excursion to Lubeck. Those that have been there will remember how to follow the Blue Line from the cruise terminal to the Kiel Hauptbahnhof. The other option would have been the 1-1/2 hour train ride to Hamburg. So glad that we did that cruise then as the highlight was two days in St Petersburg! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack HAL Zuiderdam in Kiel The Fantasy Line ferry to Oslo. Kiel is the submarine base for the Deutsche Marine. Kiel Hauptbahnhof

@summer slope Happy Anniversary, Dixie and George!

Thank you to those that organize the Fleet and Daily Report. Our last day aboard the MSC Seashore. Today we had a seafood buffet for lunch up on the YC Pool Deck. We had another nice conversation with our butler and found that he is Indonesian. He is so proud of his three children back home. His Father was a long term employee for Holland America and retired from them! We have noticed a small number of differences from sailing on MSC in Europe. I was a bit reluctant sailing in the US after reading MSC posts on CC. But as far as we are concerned it has been very enjoyable and will book a sailing in the US again. I will add that this cruise was very reasonable priced! Stay safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

@1ANGELCAT I am so sorry to hear the news concerning Houdini.

Thank you to all that organize the Fleet and Daily Report. Back onboard after walking a sunny, hot pier in Cozumel. We just walked to the shops nearby as we felt we would just have an easy day today. Once again I had a craving for MSC pizza so ate at the Marketplace Buffet. Tonight we have our complimentary dinner as Diamond Voyager members. We decided on the onboard seafood restaurant “Ocean Cay” this time. Stay safe, and prayers for those in need! - Jack

Than you to all that organize the Daily and Fleet Report. I had an “Operator Problem” today trying to log into CC. Multiple tries and still not recognizing my login and password. Then I noticed the address ended in “UK!” Duh! Off course, we are anchored in the Georgetown, Cayman Islands harbor. I came very close to changing my password. We had a very interesting tour guide today. He had been born on Cayman but went to school in the US. Came back and spent 40 years in the International Banking industry. 11 children and four wives, retired, now occasionally driving a tour bus. We drove the along the South Shore after visiting the Tortuga Rum Cake factory. Tonight we have a “Tropical Pool Party” on the Yacht Club Pool Deck. Currently we just left Georgetown enroute for Cozumel tomorrow morning. Stay safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank to all who organize the Daily and Fleet report. Today we have been in Montego Bay, Jamaica with an overnite sailing to Georgetown tonight. The cruise has been without any incident and one of our best. Yesterday at sea we had the Senior staff make an appearance to have a toast. Huge kudos to MSC Seashore for also holding a Veteran’s Celebration yesterday that recognized the five Armed Forces. I was the only Coastie. I always said that the Coast Guard were very selective! Also was a few veterans from other country’s veterans. An indication of the size of the ship is that I am averaging 10,000 steps per day, and as I write this I am at 14,400 steps for today! @USN59-79 Ray, I wonder if you would have come across my ship and it’s sisters that were handed over to the Vietnamese Navy? We decommissioned in May 1972 in Apra Harbor, Guam along with two others. Knowing the condition of these WWII ships it is possible. Stay safe, and prayers for all in need. - Jack

It should not be a problem. Let the room steward know what your plan is after you board. The key cards won’t match but that shouldn’t be a problem.

Good morning while approaching the Eastern shore of Cuba. Presently cruising at 20 knots for an ontime arrival in Montego Bay, Jamaica tomorrow morning. Clocks were setback an hour last night. Tomorrow will be a test of sailing with 5,500 other passengers, although sailing in Yacht Club we have skip the line privileges and are escorted by a YC butler. Food has been excellent! We have a complimentary dinner Friday night at the seafood specialty restaurant. Thank you for all that organize the Daily and Fleet report! Stay safe, and prayers for all in need. - Jack

Just boarded the MSC Seashore a few hours ago and have yet to form an opinion. I will try to follow up later this week. Speaking of our cruise on the Preziosa to Scotland and Ireland, I didn’t see any advantage to Aurea on a Fantasia-class ship on a Northern Europe cruise. Perhaps a Mediterranean cruise with warmer weather may make a difference for being out on deck.

Thank you Sandi, thank you Roy, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Looking forward to embarking tomorrow! We arrived early enough today in Port Canaveral to get to “Fishlips Waterfront Bar and Grille” for the afternoon cruise ship parade. That is the Carnival Vista over my shoulder. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Sandi, thank you Roy, thank you Tina, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Leaving shortly for our two-day drive. Have a great weekend! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Yes, that is what we have experienced on our previous MSC cruises. The final documents, including boarding passes, still come up as an error. The website is just not working for this cruise. But not a problem as we do have our boarding passes on our phones.

We sail Sunday on the Seashore but cannot access our luggage tags. We are checked in and have our boarding passes in the app on our phones. I checked with our concierge and he said not to worry as we are in YC. They will take care of it when we check in.

Thank you Sandi, thank you Roy, thank you Tina, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Our last day to prep for our cruise nest week. We are hoping to get an early start tomorrow. Still need to pack. Changed the oil yesterday and need to cut the grass. Upper 80's today for the forecast. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack