Jeal

Be sure to fill out the special needs form and indicate hearing impaired or go to the restaurant when you get on the ship and tell them your issue. They are usually very accommodating especially if you want to eat early.

As far as seeing the sodium content in the food, that might never happen. It is difficult because there are many variations of the same recipe. Things change daily on cruise ships depending on the chefs and the supplies. I know which dishes are high in sodium - salad dressing, gravies, soups, breads, prepared mashed potatoes, desserts made with baking soda or baking powder and cold cuts, bacon and ham. You would eat just as you do at home.

I have been on a low sodium diet for a long time. Celebrity is the best of the mainstream cruise lines about actually providing low or no sodium options. You can always request no salt and add as much as you would like when your food arrives if you are bothered by the no salt option. If you are truly following a low/ no sodium diet, you will need to avoid the breads and soups. They do not have a way to accommodate you. All salad dressing and sauces need to be on the side. One thing to note is some cruise lines use a salt substitute which is why I ask for no sodium and no salt substitutes. Salt substitute are harmful. Celebrity has always gone above and beyond for me. As time has gone by I have learned what to ask for - it’s fairly easy to do.

We have cruised on Princess 3 times since the restart on the Caribbean, Enchanted, and Sky. The food was terrible. As a result, we will no longer sail with Princess. The desserts were especially awful. The entertainment was good but it didn’t make up for the terrible food.

I have been on a low sodium diet for several years. Princess is the worst about providing low sodium food. I always notify them beforehand and speak to the chef and the Maitre d. They always let me pick my selections the night before. They tell me the food is low sodium but their opinion about low sodium does not match mine. You also need to be careful that they do not use salt substitutes. I think one of the problems is that they use frozen meats and fish which are loaded with sodium - look at the amount of sodium injected into most frozen chicken breasts. Usually, I give up and end up eating mostly salad, vegetables (which, as one chef explained to me are cooked in salted water) and baked potatoes. For dessert, I stick with fruit, sorbets or ice cream. Almost all bread and baked goods are loaded with sodium. I do cheat a little especially when it comes to the Key Lime Pie but I try to stick to low sodium as much as possible. I hope you are more successful with getting low sodium than I have been. Princess used to be one of our favorite cruise lines but the difficulty getting low sodium food (which is not a problem when we sail on our other favorite cruise lines) has made us have second thoughts about cruising with Princess. For the first time in years we did not book a future cruise when we sailed on the Sky Princess last year.

We have been on the Seaside twice this year and never noticed soda machines. Where exactly are they located?

On the Seaside it is soft serve ice cream - not soft serve yogurt (at least that is what they told us). It is very good ice cream served in a cone or a cup with toppings available. If you are from the northeast it is similar to Carvel.

We tried to cancel a cruise on the Seaside a couple of weeks ago. We were told that we would need to call MSC to cancel the cruise.

We just got off the MSC Seaside. We were at the Krazy Lobster last Thursday. Great day, great food and drinks and no sargassum in the water. It was a beautiful but crowded day. Thank you Mauricio!

Soooo…to get back to the original question. We enjoy Aurea. It allows us to get to the port anytime and board early along with Diamond members. We enjoy the quietness on Deck 19 (at least on the Seaside and Seashore). The huge balconies on deck 9 are fantastic. My husband enjoys going to the saunas and the relaxation areas. And, anytime dining is an added plus.

At Port Canaveral, Aurea passengers can arrive at the port at anytime. Once you are through security you will be directed to check in. You will still receive a boarding group however Aurea is called first along with Diamond right after those in wheelchairs. It is a very nice perk.

miched - park at the port. It is worth the extra money. We always park off site in Fort Lauderdale (Park n Go). We have yet to find a comparable lot near Port Canaveral. Many of them do not allow you to enter their gates until 10 am and the first shuttles begin at 10:30. They usually run a minimum number of shuttles so you may be waiting in a long line. We have tried 3 different ones since the restart after Covid and would not use any of them again.

Thank you for the replies. I think you have to book 12 months out to get double points even if you book on board.

Do you get double points when booking on board even if booking less than a year away?

Thank you KingBob. I appreciate the information.

We booked a cruise for June 2024 while we were on the Seaside in June 2023. I called about moving the booking up to this September and was told that we could not move a booking forward. However, we could move the booking further out. Is this accurate information?

You could buy insurance for your airline tickets. Many airlines offer this when booking a flight or buy travel insurance for just the airfare portion of the trip.

morpheusoftheseas - one of the best discussions I’ve ever had on these boards. We are both over 70 and we still walk 2 miles every morning so the stairs aren’t a problem for us - yet! Over 70 is definitely not the new 50. Some people call these the Golden Years, we call them the Tarnished Years. Have a great cruise!

Thank you for explaining - try Aurea - I realize it’s not YC but everyone we encountered was very nice and very respectful. We were on deck 9 - a very convenient location. We did go up to 19 a couple of times but found it very hot so we didn’t stay. Our very favorite spot on Ocean Cay was Bimini Beach - one of the most beautiful beaches we have been to in the Bahamas. It is a shame that the YC beach is not nearly as nice. And, the pushing to get on the YC shuttle described by another poster is inexcusable. Elevators are rarely an issue for us on any cruise ship because we almost always use the stairs. We are going to on the Seaside again in September. We truly enjoyed the more international vibe. It was a surprisingly wonderful change from Celebrity and especially Princess (where some of the food was inedible).

Just curious - why do you sail on MSC and in YC? It seems as if it is pure frustration for you. We sailed on the Seaside in an Aurea balcony a couple of weeks ago and had none of the problems that you are experiencing.

Homosassa - your post about the international food, clientele and staff is exactly why we loved our first MSC cruise in June. It was a pleasure to be offered tomato sauce that actually tasted like tomatoes. We loved the more European vibe on the ship and enjoyed seeing and hearing the different nationalities onboard.

We did not see any ugly cages. I do believe that in March the sargassum was wide enough and deep enough for an iguana to walk across. It really was terrible. But, it appears to be back to normal now - a beautiful place to spend the day at the beach.

We were there in March also. As we approached Costa Maya you could see many large areas of sargassum floating in the water. At that time, along the shoreline, there were several places where there were no nets so the sargassum had washed up to the shoreline. There were workers in the water with rakes trying desperately to remove the sargassum from the water. They were losing the battle because no matter how much they removed more washed in. The stench along the entire beach was disgusting. It made our eyes water and irritated our throats. We could not stay and left after 10 minutes. This time, our time at Krazy Lobster was back to the pre sargassum days. We had a beautiful day in Costa Maya.

We went to the Krazy Lobster last week and had a fantastic time - great service, delicious food and no sargassum on the beach or in the water. Many thanks to Mauricio - he is always a wonderful host.

We walk - it is a couple of miles away. Most people take a taxi. It’s very inexpensive. We always go to the Krazy Lobster. Mauricio is a fabulous host.