GA Dave

I almost always sail solo and, when not in Yacht Club, I sail in regular Fantastica interiors. They have plenty of room for a solo and if I really want to see the water, I just go out to decks 15-18. The attached is a photo of an interior cabin on Meraviglia that I was in, which is a sister ship to Grandiosa.

The Diamond perk includes one appetizer, one main, and one dessert per person from the "Dining Experience" section of the menu. You can "upgrade" your choice with any other item on the menu for 50% off the listed price. I usually do this at Butcher's Cut since I love their 20-ounce Ribeye.

Wow! That new parking garage is going up quick!! When I was last there on March 31st, they had just started installing the vertical pilings for the structure. Hopefully, they will complete the construction and have it open well in advance of the published November 1st date. For my cruise in two-and-a-half weeks, I am using Park Port Canaveral (PPC), so I don't have to sit and wait for the garage to open. I already have a 10:00 AM shuttle reservation from the PPC lot, so I will be at the terminal long before the garage opens. And, with the discount code I had, it is saving me $45 from what the terminal parking would cost.

I never worry about my dining assignment when sailing gen pop as I very rarely eat in the MDR. I prefer the flexibility, both food wise and schedule wise, of the buffet, and the variety of food there is much more than I have ever seen in anyone's home kitchen. As a Diamond member with MSC (earned with actual $$$ spent, not matched from another line), I always do at least my Diamond dinner in a specialty, and on longer cruises, will pay for a second specialty dinner as well. Maybe someday they will change to everyone having anytime dining like NCL, but then people will just complain about having to wait for a table.

My understanding is that only Security personnel can directly deal with unruly passengers. Other crew members are instructed to report it to them.

It is very interesting to me that someone would leave that stroller in the last photo out in the hall. My daughter and SIL have exactly the same brand/type and it collapses down very easily, and we were able to just slide it under their beds on the Seashore cruise we did together back in February.

I am on Seascape B2B on 1/25/25, and then Seaside B2B on 2/9/25, and would also love it if the new terminal is already open by then. I am sure it will make my B2B walk off/walk ons easier since I will have to do that twice.

I received an email and a text from MSC the night before my cruise from Miami letting me know which terminal. I also verified the information by looking at the Port Miami webcam site that morning before I arrived. PortMiamiWebcam

As a solo cruiser, I always look at the all-in price per night with drinks and wifi included for all my cruises. I checked out the noted "sale" prices last night for several cruises in March - May next year and the all-in pricing per night was actually higher than what I just saw last week. So, yes, a bit of smoke and mirrors. I will just continue to do my research and book when I am comfortable with the all-in cost for me.

Everything on the ship is priced in US dollars, so I do not believe they are set up to take Euros on cruises based out of US ports.

I have only seen them on Carnival, both in the terminals and on the ships.

My cruise and the person who I had seen that originally posted it were both departing from Port Canaveral, FL.

Not sure if anyone has noticed, but MSC has clarified the prohibited items section of the Useful Guide to highlight the prohibition of all illegal drugs, including marijuana, and the consequences. This is for my cruise in a few weeks.

I saw someone mention on Facebook that they had received an email about it. I logged into my December cruise on the website and looked at the Drinks offerings in the menu bar (Excursions, etc.) and it had the regular priced packages listed, but also had the 40% off packages.

For anyone that booked a cruise without the drink package, MSC has a limited time 40% off deal running. I had booked my December 2024 seven-night cruise without the "bundle" deal, but just added the Easy Plus for $301, which comes out to $43/night. Much less than the current price onboard (see photo) and will only need to drink four alcoholic beverages each day to make it worth it

I believe they are only offering the 2-specialty dining package on the short, three- or four-night cruises now.

Just sailed past it last month. The terminal and garage structures are completely enclosed and they are actively working on the interiors. The big work seems to be with dredging the area immediately in front of the pier. This terminal is being built to handle three megaships at a time and the pier is very long, so there is a huge amount of work to be done to get this area completed. When I get home later, I will posted a few pictures.

Port Canaveral Parking Additions

Just an FYI: The garage has not been opening to new passengers until at least 10:30 AM for several months now due to the new garage construction going on. If you get there too early, they will not let you queue in front of the garage. In February, they started allowing people to line up around 10:15, in March it was more like 10:25.

MSC bar menus and drink prices 2024

This is one of the most frustrating parts of cruising for me. You have 5000+ people wanting to get their cruises started and one or two selfish people can hold them all up. People need to understand when they book a cruise that it is based on the number of nights only. I hate when someone says, "I booked a three-night, four-day cruise". That last "day" is not a day to enjoy the ship. It is a day to get your butt up and off so the people waiting to board can at least have part of their "day 1".

I am not sure if you are a member of the site I linked below, but I sold them photos of 18029 that they have posted there. I became a member after selling them photos and I've made a few bucks now doing it after every cruise. CruiseDeckPlans

For me it is dependent on the length of my drive and what else is happening that day. Usually, when I sail out of Canaveral, I stay on until 9ish, which still gets me home around 1:00 PM. But there were a couple of times where family events around noon had me in the first wave getting off. If I am sailing out of Miami, I am in the first group off as it is a seven-hour drive and I want to get on the road so I can get home at a reasonable hour.