sailco

Look forward to reading your daily reports. Bon voyage!

All the best Bea. 

13 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

......  I think you will find a new 'home' on the oceans, but worst case you will have had a great itinerary.

Only if that itinerary isn't altered so much the original cruise is no longer recognisable 🙃

Looking forward to reading your review. We loved our cruise on the Seaview a few months ago. I've also poured a glass of wine to toast your departure 🍷 Bon voyage! 

4 hours ago, pjfnme said:

Hi all.  We will be visiting Barcelona for the first time next May - 3 days/2 nights pre-cruise.  There are 4 of us -  2 adults and 2 20 year-olds and we would like to all stay together.  I've noticed that most of the hotels only accommodate 3 adults (although we are considering the family suite at Hotel Jazz) and was considering an apartment from VRBO, Airbnb, etc.  I know very little about Barcelona and would like to book in an area that was safe for our two kids to walk around and sight-see on their own.  What would be the very best areas for me to look for?  I've been reading through all of the forums, but at this point I feel like I'm drinking from a proverbial fire hose in trying to sort it all out.  Any advice would be much appreciated!!  

 

Thanks!

Anywhere on or within a block of Las Ramblas or close to Placa Catalunya would be perfect. We stayed at the Citadenes Apartments this year. It's in an excellent position for easy walking to almost all the major city attractions and heaps of fabulous bars, cafes and restaurants. Your 20 year olds and yourselves would find the location fabulous.

5 minutes ago, Pirokp2 said:

I am so thankful it was finally fixed.  

I bet you are.

6 hours ago, flyingshoes said:

On Quest.  Toilets were out of order for quite awhile yesterday.  Captain just announced they were plugged by handiwipes and a HAND TOWEL!  Sigh.....

The whole ship? Or just cabins on one section if one deck?

Have sailed Princess, Celebrity, NCCL and were status matched to a Black Card on MSC. Our Mediterranean cruise on the Seaview was wonderful. The ship is huge but never felt crowded, the food was fine especially in the buffet and the easy drinks package covered decent wines and beers, coffees, water,  juices and worked very well for us. The crew were always available to help, the ship's excursions were the best we've ever been on, the cabin was spacious and spotless (balcony not yacht club), room steward excellent, shows short and of a very, very high quality. We're not big on cruise director activities and didn't really notice them happening. The central bar was very busy and made enquiries at the services desk difficult. Overall we loved our first MSC cruise and we'll definitely be back.

Sorry you were disappointed. We did two separate cruises on the Infinity earlier this year and had none of your issues although I will admit getting bar service in the buffet was unusually difficult. The aft bar waiters were reluctant to leave the bar area to take orders, but overall we had two very enjoyable cruises. The Infinity is an older ship heading into dry dock soon for a major update so maybe you were expecting something more modern?

We prepurchased the light internet package. It was reasonably priced and more than sufficient for email, social media and some general browsing. We had data allowance left over at the end of our seven night cruise and best of all it was the fastest internet we've had on any cruise line.

Thanks for reporting back Petunia. Pleased your family enjoyed the cruise.

Yes. We used both and found the commentary on the red City Sightseeing bus far superior. Both buses follow a similar route but managing your sightseeing is easier with just the two routes. Both companies have heaps of buses. The most we waited was about 10 minutes but there was a line at Sagrada Familia.

6 minutes ago, StevenMar said:

Hello, can someone help me with my dining related questions for my upcoming cruise on the Connie:

1/ Is a table for 2 available for both select dining as fixed time?

2/ When or where should I specify I prefer to have a table for 2?

3/ Would you recommend select dining over fixed time? I can imagine it's less busy and stressed?

 

Thanks!

1. Yes, but very hard to obtain for fixed time dining. Track down the Maitre'd and make a request on the first night.

2. If you have select you can phone using the number on the daily planner or simply ask at the door to the MDR.

3. Everyone prefers something different but in our opinion you should always request select dining for flexibility.

Our cruise called at Cannes during the film festival this year. It's a tender port and the town is easily walkable. It was busy but exciting. Lots of 'beautiful people' everywhere you looked. Ship's shore excursions were very popular as the Monaco Grand Prix was on too and streets on the circuit were barricaded weeks in advance. Most people we spoke to either stayed in Cannes or took one of the numerous ship's tours on offer but if you're staying overnight a private tour would be easy to arrange.

On 7/17/2019 at 1:31 AM, cosine4 said:

We just got off the Seaside, and I was very disappointed in the food. The prime rib night was the only night I left dinner not disappointed and hungry. Even the desserts were lacking. One day at lunch they offered a bunch of cakes/desserts that were really good, unfortunately every other day was cream puff and jello. Add on the lack of ice cream in the evenings, which in all reality was only open a couple hours a day (or not at all on port days) and they wouldn't even fill the cones. In my opinion the food wasn't even in the same ballpark as the people they are competing against (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, etc). We will not sail again on MSC. 

I think you may have problems with something else, and you're taking it out on the food. Sorry your cruise was so disappointing.

Thanks for your very thoughtful comments. Do you know if the Diamond has overcome the issues with her air conditioning in the mid aft cabins?

We will be following along.

7 hours ago, Banjo said:

 

I guess you were on a European cruise on the Reflection. Surprised you did not have some "Beyond the Podium' speakers.

We did two Med cruises just recently and there were Beyond the Podium speakers on both. They weren't all that great. One only had about 30, maybe 50 people at each talk and the CD was always trying to drum up business for her including asking people to sit down the front to make it more intimate. Quite embarrassing really.

Have you joined your roll call yet? There's usually lots of helpful advice and planning happening. Also, the Ports of call boards are very helpful.

We're in Australia and have been receiving a lot too. I thought it was because we have a FCD about to expire.

Mdina is lovely but 3.5 hours would be a very long time.

Just taken our first MSC cruise after about 400 nights at sea over a few cruise lines....initially we sailed Princess and made elite but haven't sailed with them since?????? Celebrity who we love, a few RCCL and after a couple of aborted Azamara due to their constant itinerary changes we tried MSC. We booked a  Fantastica experience and bought our own easy drink package. Wow! We loved it, food, drinks package, cabin, shore ex, entertainment and all. Forget the others MSC is our new cruise line favourite.

The blue tubes were OK for a quick wash but my hair feels sticky using the new stuff in the black bottle. The body wash is OK I guess, but we still used the beautiful soap in both the shower and basin.

We also travel with photo copies of our passport. Some ports ask to see proof but in the Med you might be in all EU countries. What's the cruise Petunia?

3 hours ago, petuniaflower said:

Thx;)

 

Rather, could each person get 2 drinks on their own card at one time?

Not really. Strictly speaking this is mot allowed but if the waiter gets to know you they'll sometimes do a double.