GA Dave

7 minutes ago, kristapb said:

Thanks GA Dave and coscab.  And we'll do our best to dodge that nasty virus when we're on the Meraviglia in a couple weeks!

I just cruised on Divina three weeks ago.  Did everything I wanted to do, including dancing in the nightclub, dining all over, etc.  The following weekend, my daughter and I went to a jam-packed Universal Orlando.  They were filling every attraction as tight as back in 2019, with no open seats, etc.  Tested every day for the week after both the cruise and Universal.  No Covid.

I believe that is a hold-over from the European requirement that they had to get re-vaccinated after six months.  I have not had any issues cruising on MSC this year and my last booster was quite a while ago (I was in the first groups to receive booster #2).

17 hours ago, GonzoWCS said:

Well they still at sea for a bit so the Customer Service folks might sort it.  Be nice to know but not a show stopper.  We getting on anywho!

 

Cheers

Just an FYI:  I am on the October 13 three-night cruise and we have a very active FB group.  Someone who said they are currently on the trans-Atlantic quoted crew members as saying that the Oct. 13 three-night is expected to have 5,200 passengers and the following cruise is expected to have 2,200.

I loved the food in YC restaurant on Meraviglia and Divina.  Butcher's Cut and Kaito Teppanyaki were both very good on Meraviglia, but I found the YC restaurant to be better.  They even fulfilled a special order for three of us on my March cruise.  Both plates were mine!  😁  Desserts were incredible too.

YC Lobster Roll.

4 hours ago, Seadweller001 said:

We sailed 4 months on a competitor starting in MIA,  to SA, thru the Panama Canal, up the coast of Calf, to Hawaii, to Tahiti and surrounding French Polynesian Islands, to Australia (all over the continent), to New Zealand, Isle of Pines, Vanuatu, to Indonesia, (Bali) , Viet Nam, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and a few more places (mid Oct 2012 to mid Feb 2013).

 

We planned our 120:days for a year prior to boarding.  We had so much luggage we had to fly First Class since the extra 4 suitcases were extremely expensive.  First Class has it luggage privileges. 
 

Unfort, we did not have the same suite on all cruise segment but the Butlers took care of everything making the move seamless.

 

It was exciting everyday visiting many cities in countries we have never been too.  We took 4500 pics.   
 

We used a discount TA who netted 50% of the commissions against the fares.

 

It was a once in a lifetime experience.

 

Since Covid we have 14 cruises repeating the same PC to OC to Nassau to Cozumel to Costa Maya ad naseum but its better than being home.  Just a let down when we think about our 2012 late retirement celebration cruise.

 

Was it worth the cost of a new 911 Turbo S?   1000% yes.  The memories are indelible and will stay forever.

 

Poster, dont procrastinate, have a great time! 

 

 

Thanks.  It sounds like you had an amazing adventure.  And I know exactly what you mean about the PC to OC to Nassau ad naseum.  Five of my last six cruises have been three days just like that!  Unfortunately, with my current work situation, I can only do three-day weekend cruises, which really limits your port destinations!

I am dredging up this thread as it seems to be the closest existing thread to what I have to ask. 

I am looking at booking at least 90 - 120 days on an MSC ship out of the USA for when I first retire.  Due to the length of time I am looking at, I obviously would not be looking at a YC stay (if I had that kind of money, I would charter!).  Does anyone know if that is even feasible with MSC's systems?  Would this be something you would try and do via the website, via their call center, or via a TA that usually handles MSC reservations?  Still a ways off, but I am trying to get some preliminary plans started.

Any previous experience with B2B2B2B2B2etc. planning is appreciated.

17 hours ago, KyleClark said:

So if I sail on Saturday I have to be tested anytime from Weds or Thursday?

Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.  Theoretically even Saturday would work.  My last test was a Zoom meeting, test took ten minutes for the test and I had the pdf of my test report fifteen minutes after that.

MSC Health & Safety measures | MSC Cruises (msccruisesusa.com)

Beginning August 8, 2022:
 

• For fully vaccinated guests sailing 5 nights or less from U.S. ports, COVID-19 testing within 3 days of embarkation is recommended, but not required.
   
• Fully vaccinated guests sailing 6 nights or longer from U.S. ports must show proof of a lab-administered negative COVID-19 viral test (NAAT or antigen) taken within 3 days of embarkation.  MSC Cruises recommends vaccinated guests to test within 1 day of embarkation, when possible.
   
• Unvaccinated guests 2 years and older must show proof of a lab-administered negative COVID-19 viral test (NAAT or antigen) taken within 3 days of embarkation for all cruises from U.S. ports. MSC Cruises recommends unvaccinated guests to test within 1 day of departure, when possible. These guests may undergo an additional COVID-19 test at the terminal prior to embarkation provided by MSC Cruises, free of charge. The only exception is that no pre-embarkation or embarkation testing is required for guests under 2 years of age. 

2 hours ago, F27TW said:

That they should have sections for smoking-permitted on balconies.    I completely understand nonsmokers not wanting to smell smoke coming from the balcony next to them, but if they just had one section of cabins together, say, on the rear of the ship that allowed balcony smoking, that  would be a nice thing. 

 

 

The ban on smoking is not really about bothering other cruisers, it is a safety rule put in place by SOLIS.   

I go to the pool at sunrise when it's empty (see photo).

I never attend the ship's sail away party, usually held at the main pool.  I always find a place at the aft or forward end of the ship for this (see second photo).

11 hours ago, negn said:

Noticed your balcony had a port hole and door but not a sliding door.   Is this the usual set up for the Sky?   Never saw anything like that before

Yes, it is.  The only balcony cabins are on decks 9 and 10, and the balconies were added after the ship was built and floated in 1999.  It originally started construction as the Costa Olympia, but the shipbuilder went bankrupt, and Costa walked away from the partially built ship.  NCL bought the partial and had it completed as the Sky.

12 hours ago, CruisinMaterial said:

I think COVID was the death blow to Cruise Critic. Before COVID a lot of people were setting up ones on other social media sites. I have always enjoyed a lively roll call but it seems social media has killed this site quite well. It still has it's regulars (me being one of them) but not as many new people or it's a question answered and to never be seen again. Sad because this used to be a fun place to check daily...

100% agree.  For several years I virtually lived here on CC and never joined any cruise related groups on That Other Site.  But, due to too many people being openly hostile to people expressing their opinions, and never having anything done about it when reporting it to the Site Administrators, I dropped off of here right before the pandemic hit.  I am slowing starting to come back to CC, but the bulk of my cruise discussions are now on That Other Site.

8 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

Thanks for the review and great photos! We haven't been on the Sky yet or to GSC so it was nice to see them. The ship looks like the kind we like: not too big, and the Great Outdoors area looks wonderful.

 

Was there a shelf under the sink in the bathroom?

Was your lunch in the Cabana specific to the Cabana service or could you get it at a kiosk? ( looked pretty yummy).

 

Strange to see such empty beaches and restaurants! But all of the food and drinks looked good; must have been fun to be spoiled in this odd time of  cruising with everything half empty!

There are a few small shelves on each side of the vanity mirror in the bathroom, as well as one or two small shelves below the vanity countertop.

There was a food truck located right next to the cabana area that contained the foods noted on the menu pictured (post #14 above, photos 2 & 3).  There was a large "picnic" pavilion located at the first large beach near the island entrance that had a more diverse menu, plus several more of the food trucks located around the island.  I found the food to be very good.  The Bahamian Rum Cake was excellent!

My son was with me on Divina last month and we had the internet package included with the Yacht Club, which I believe is just the basic, except we could each log in two devices.  He was able to Facetime with his girlfriend in KC later in the evening.  As with all publicly used systems, during busy times the speed slowed down quite a bit, but early in the day and after 9:00 PMish, it seemed pretty solid. 

Just a word of warning.  My disembarkation yesterday in Miami on another cruise line did not happen until well after 8:00 AM.  I was the very first person in line to disembark around 7:00 AM.  A man and his teenage daughter walked up at 7:15 and asked the Security person handling the line when they could leave.  She told them she had no idea, as we had just tied up to the pier and now it was up to CBP.  He seemed a bit upset so I asked "early flight?" and he said "yeah, 9:15".  As I said, I was the first one off the ship and I was pulling out of the garage in my car at 8:17. 

I don't think he made his flight.

12 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

There is nothing wrong with what you are doing...UNLESS...you are using CC and/or CC's connections to set up your M&G and then inviting people outside CC to attend. However, if you contact NCL and tell them you want to set up a Facebook (yes, you can say the name on CC...you just can't provide links to, or direct people to join your group there) M&G and they agree to do so, there is nothing wrong with doing that.

My M&G's have all been completely independent of the ship and CC.  We just pick a nice spot with a bar and tell everyone to meet at a specific time.  It's worked out great.

I may have wiped them out of Pina Coloda mix this past weekend on the Sky!  Kept tipping and received bigger and bigger floats of dark rum!  😛

And the Rebellious Fish ingredients are probably a little light too!

I have been on CC for quite a while.  Met some really nice people from here on cruises prior to the pandemic.  Noticed the changes happening during the shutdown and started researching chat pages about cruising on That Other Site.  Once I starting cruising after the restart, I noticed significantly more activity on That Other Site vs CC for specific sailings.  I actually have held a few M&G's from both CC roll calls and specific pages on That Other Site the last few cruises.  98% of the people who attended were from That Other Site.  Most I spoke with had never heard of CC.  The last M&G I held was a rousing success, with 70-80 people participating and lasting well past sail away.  Another I did not host but attended that was only advertised on That Other Site had a great M&G, slot pull, and cabin crawl.  I will continue to promote anything I host on both sites, but just expect the majority of people to come from That Other Site.

The Great Outdoor Cafe, The Local, and a beautiful wake shot taken from the Outdoor.

Empty pool deck on Nassau morning and a variety of beverages.  My favorites are the Rebellious Fish and the Pina Coloda with the dark rum float.

The current ugliness of the Port of Nassau.

My lunch at the cabana and other sites in the area.

My cabana, the empty beach and beautiful waters of GSC, and me trying to look relaxed.  😂

My MDR dinner, the empty MDR, entry onto GSC.