KINGBOBOFTHENORTH

Oh, I thought she was referring to THIS tower at Port Canaveral!

Well what I said is if the OP is a regular visitor to Florida or the United States, SunPass Pro would be a good investment since he can use it on future trips. The transponder is only $14.95 + tax and can be used in 22 states.

The mainline Florida's Turnpike from Wildwood to Miami is now completely cashless. All toll booths were removed. There are other toll roads that are part of the Turnpike "system" that do still offer cash lanes. For instance, TOLL SR 528 Beachline Expressway between Orlando International Airport west to I-4 is operated mostly by the Turnpike and has one toll plaza that has a cash lane. I'm sure there are others.

I'm not familiar with a "cold seafood tower" but Grills located at Port Canaveral has an extensive seafood menu. If you get there around 4pm and sit on their outdoor patio, you can watch the parade of cruise ships depart from the port and head to sea. They sail right past the Grills' deck. (Assuming there are any ships sailing on the afternoon you're there.) Their menu can be found here: https://www.grillsseafood.com/menu/

Once a cruise is booked then the excursions being offered for that sailing have prices showing for them. I think that you're correct, that when you look at excursions ahead of any actual booking, there are no prices for them.

Correct. Their "Escape To Sea" rate is lower and does not include any extras. You definitely "pay" for all that "free" stuff.

I don't believe there are pool towels in the rooms. Per the daily program, "Pool towels are available at the License to Chill pool towel station. Unreturned towels are subject to a $20 charge to your shipboard account." Thus, it appears you can get a towel at the station and then take it with you to return later.

The Turnpike is actually cashless all the way from Wildwood in the north to Miami in the south. You pay with either a transponder (SunPass, E-PASS or EZ-Pass) or they record your tag number and bill the car's owner plus a fee. If the OP is a regular visitor to Florida or the United States, he might want to purchase a portable SunPass Pro transponder at Publix (and other places) in Orlando and then use it on Orlando-area toll roads before heading to the cruise. Any money remaining on it will still be there during a future visit. SunPass Pro is valid in the Northeast and Midwest USA too. Buying the transponder would be cheaper than paying the daily fee that rental car companies charge for use of their transponder. Details: https://www.sunpass.com/en/about/pro.shtml

Traffic is much heavier on I-95 since it is free. Florida's Turnpike is a toll road so there is less traffic. The two roads are often side-by-side along the way. If you exit south of Fort Lauderdale at I-595 eastbound, that highway ends directly at the entrance into Port Everglades. It's an easy way into the port. Then you just need to know where your ship is but there will be signs.

There are usually Sales in conjunction with holidays. So there will definitely be one around Thanksgiving/Black Friday. Wouldn't surprise me to find one around Halloween too but definitely around Thanksgiving weekend.

You can also look at cruise pricing on the internet mega-agencies such as cruise.com, cruisesonly.com, expedia.com, etc. I've always found their prices to be identical as to what is shown on msccruisesusa.com.

I'd fly. I live in Orlando and typically fly to Miami cruises since less than one hour and you're there. But we've driven it before many times too but Orlando is closer to Miami than St Pete is. We now have another option from Orlando, the Brightline higher speed train which goes from Orlando International Airport to downtown Miami. Current fares are $79 per person each way.

I sailed on MSC Seaside over Labor Day weekend and it was a lot of fun. Your cruise might not be as full as when I sailed based on the sailing date but MSC offers some crazy low fares which does help sell cabins. Obviously the weather will impact what the entertainment staff will be able to offer on deck or on the island.

Someone posted on another thread that on the northern Europe itinerary, people could usually get off the ship around a half hour after docking. Nonetheless, if SNCF sells a flexible ticket to Paris, it might be wise to buy it instead of one for a specific train with no changes allowed. For our upcoming northern Europe cruise, I've booked trains in Hamburg, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge but am renting a car at the La Havre stop.

Good to know, thanks. Other cruise lines have an option of adding a fuel surcharge but I don't recall anyone actually invoking that. So yes, that's a negative compared to the competition. As for the others, someone above posted that pizza is free if you go by the slice rather than an entire pie. Parking is on the high side but you'd have a similar expense at any port and it is valet. And bottled water is a charge on any ship too.

I usually add $5-6 tip.

The option is still there. It's just that for many cruises they've decided to not sell single occupancy and it will give you that message but for some you still can. Generally, the farther off the date to your proposed cruise date, the more likely single cabins are still being sold. But as Essiesmom describes above, there was single passenger availability still being offered on an October date which is not far off at all.

We're booked on Euribia in December. It will be COLD and we're from Florida so it will be quite the change. But wow, what a great itinerary. One question I have for those that have done this sailing previously. Each port has a listed arrival time but how long after that time are you allowed to disembark? I'm booking trains and want to make sure they depart sufficiently late enough to account for getting off the ship. Since most of the ports are within the EU, I didn't know if disembarkation is more-or-less immediate.

It's been running around $33+/- from what people have previously posted on here, plus a tip. If you plan to use a credit card to pay, confirm with your driver before you load/board that his credit card machine is working.

The drink packages have gotten REALLY expensive, even when purchased initially as part of the Drinks + WiFi promo and even more so if you try to add it on later. But if your cruise date is far enough ahead and if your deposit is refundable, you can just cancel your existing cruise and rebook it with the package assuming that package is still being offered. Make doubly sure your existing deposit is refundable before you cancel your current res.

Thanks for the report. What were "all the extras fees" that you paid for that you wouldn't have paid for on the major cruise lines? I recall they charge for pizza.

The Versailles Restaurant at 3555 SW 8th St in the Little Havana section of Miami is an institution. It's Cuban food at its finest. Head there directly from the airport because lunch service begins at 11am. Just ask for a table somewhere along a wall so you can keep your luggage nearby. Head to the port afterwards.

"Get there when you get there" is always my response to this question. I've had numerous MSC cruises since they implemented check-in times and not once has anyone asked to see the paperwork with the time on it. However and whenever you get to the cruise terminal, just drop your luggage and get in the line. No one is going to ask for your time slot.

If the aquarium has luggage storage, then that's the place to go! It's right there at the port.

I recommend the aquarium there as well but it's right next to the cruise terminals so again, luggage is an issue, it seems.