KINGBOBOFTHENORTH

As I've mentioned on here previously, just show up when you show up. I've never had anyone ask to see your assigned check-in time and that includes MSC cruises in the U.S., Europe and Middle East. Just get there when you get there and don't be waiting around for a later time that no one cares about.

Right? I felt the same way! On Day 3 I was starting to get the hang of it, lol.

Fla Mike, I was on this same 3-night sailing. Because it went over Labor Day weekend, I think a lot of younger people were already back in school and not on this ship. Overall, other than toddler age, I did not notice a lot of kids on the ship. The nightclub activities were well-attended though so there was no shortage of partiers but they did not go screaming down the hallways at 2AM like you might find on Carnival. If interested, I posted the parties on my Orlando-based nightlife Blog: Night 1/2: 70's Night & Others: https://www.orlandoentertainmentnews.com/?p=23598 Night 3: White Party: https://www.orlandoentertainmentnews.com/?p=23639

With a 4-night (or any even number) sailing, the ship would return on the day the original ship is over in Freeport.

I was on this sailing! Fun times!!

As you approach the terminal, there will be signs directing drivers to parking in the garage or to dropoff.

Host Jazzbeau, I'm not privy to their financials so this is just an opinion based on observations. Post-covid they were quick to be rid of one of their ships. I think if the current model works they'll stick with it and if anything, get a newer ship that still fits into Port of Palm Beach.

Essiesmom, I keep meaning to ask you. Does Essie sail with you?

Well that's what they did as Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line and it was tough for them to sell out two ships day after day. Under the current format they only have to try to sell out a ship every other day. Also, the Resort is in Nassau so one ship would have to sail there overnight and back the next night. It's feasible but requires much more fuel to make it there versus Grand Bahama which is a very close sail away from Palm Beach.

The order of themed nights will be determined by the Cruise Director and can vary depending on the sailing. You really won't know which parties will be on your sailing until the night before when the next Daily Program is delivered. However, you can ask the C.D. if you see him/her or even some of the Animation Team (Entertainment Staff) members might know. The night names' also can vary by ship. My recent Seaside sailing the 70's/80's Night was called the "Sunshine Party" the Latin Night was called the "Tropical Party" and the White Night party was called just the "White Party".

If I recall correctly, the AmeriSuites chain of hotels were rebranded as Hyatt Place hotels while Hyatt House hotels have kitchens and are designed more for longer stays. (This is in general, not specifically the Dania locations.)

The Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood is NOT near the pier but is an impressive entertainment complex including Daer Nightclub. It's home to the famed guitar shaped hotel building. Closer to the port, the Las Olas area along the Intracoastal Waterway has hotels and lots of bars and restaurants.Everywhere will be expensive in January.

Drink package for two for 17 nights............OUCH!!

To add one more data point, a friend of mine sailed on Seaside this past weekend. Her onboard roommate had to cancel last minute because of a water leak following the hurricane. My friend informed the person working the check-in desk. They deleted the second passenger and that was all there was to it.

Just got off Seaside and there was no chocolate milk and I didn't see any cocoa mix packages either. I don't see any reason you couldn't bring a not previously opened container of chocolate syrup on board. If you're flying, TSA won't allow it though.

The other cruise lines in Tampa are already doing that so why would Margaritaville try to compete with that? Sorry to be a skeptic but MAS niche in South Florida is 2-night cruises, a market that they have to themselves.

My recollection is that they are metal. I always buy the ship's magnet and then a magnet from each port of call and then put them on the cabin wall. Of course with only one port, they don't remain on the wall very long.

My 10th cruise on MSC begins.....tomorrow.

Your cruise is so far off into the future that the excursions haven't posted yet. It will be awhile longer. I did this cruise this past April, the only difference was beginning and ending the cruise in Jeddah. I just pulled my folder from that cruise and unfortunately I did not save the excursion brochure. This is what I can tell you: Jeddah: No excursion taken since this was the embarkation and disembarkation port. Yanbu: Did a fairly inexpensive excursion called Yanbu: Tale of Two Cities, I think. Wasn't that exciting but got to see some of Saudi Arabia. Looks like Sharm el-Sheikh has replaced Yanbu. Sokhna: This is the port for Cairo and the pyramids and this is where you're coming from so you don't need an excusion here. I've done Cairo in the past so had no desire to go again. Safaga: This is the port for excursions to the Valley of the Kings and Luxor. The drive is about 3 hours each way and they're pretty expensive. I did the Hurghada On Your Own tour which was about a 1-hr drive to the city of Hurghada, a few hours to hang out and then the ride back. Since I collect Hard Rock t-shirts, I took a taxi to their mall and got that and then once back downtown, had lunch at one of the sidewalk restaurants. Aquaba: I did the Wonders of Petra tour. Please note they offer two Petra tours, one a bit more expensive than the other. The cheaper tour includes a prepared on the ship box lunch. The more expensive of the two takes you to a hotel with a large all-you-can-eat buffet. I did the latter and it was worth the extra money. Petra of course is a must-see in Jordan.Both of these tours sold out in advance of the cruise so if you're going to do one, book it as far ahead of time as you can (like now if it's already posted).

But I'm wondering how they can apply this if they do desire to recalculate. In the example I gave the fare was £500 pp x 2 = £1000. The fare for 1 person, if they allowed it, was £1000. So if a cabin is booked for 2 and 1 person is a no show and they recalculate the fare, the fare is still £1000. (See what I did there. I used £ instead of $.)

Whoa, stop right there! You had me at chocolate. Is this an alcoholic drink? Is this YC only? Tell me more, please. I have fond memories of a pub crawl in Key West where one of the stops had a drink called "chocohol". It was so good and so strong!

As I mentioned above, I showed up at a cruise terminal as a single (in a cabin booked for two) and there was no fare recalculation and nothing said about it. MSC used to offer some really good fares for singles but with the huge demand for cruising, they no longer do. In the few cases where they do offer a fare for one person, it's twice the fare of two people like every other cruise line does. So if the fare for two was $500 per person x 2 = $1000, they now charge $1000 for one. So they're really not losing any money by sailing with 1 person except only taxes for 1, gratuities for 1 and perhaps less on board spending.

And that's my concern. A few months ago my wife became ill ahead of a cruise and could not sail. I sailed anyway but did not inform MSC until I showed up at the pier. They deleted her off the manifest and that was it. I think that if I had called MSC Reservations ahead of time that they more likely would have recalculated the fare.

If you call them now to report the elimination of one passenger, you might get a refund of the part of the fare based on the refund schedule. What scares me though is what if they recalculate the entire cruise fare based on just one passenger? And on many sailings, they're not allowing cabins with one passenger. What do they do then? That's why the advice I gave to helencw above was not to report that one passenger is not coming until you arrive at the cruise terminal. The people at the check-in desks have no power to redo fares. They just check-in who is there and delete the missing person. But I don't know the above will happen but it concerns me that it could happen. Once on board go to Reception to assure gratuities for only 1 person in that cabin will be billed. That's where you will save some money. If anyone has called Reservations ahead of sailing to delete a passenger, I'd like to hear what happened. My fears might be unfounded.

I moved a booking from11/9/23 to 9/28/23 and then again later to 8/31/23. So unless this is a new rule, simply call back and speak to someone else and try again. PS- Just thinking the above information through: it may be necessary to CANCEL the current booking and have them process a refund. Your new date would be a new booking with a new deposit. Terms of the refund vary depending on what you originally booked and how far out from your original departure date is.