Homosassa

You need to talk to NCL. There may be issues at the port where you wish to carry off several suitcases and will need to go through immigration and customs for clearance. I and C may not be available without prior arrangement at the port.

Is there a limit on "Christian" names as opposed to "Jewish," "Muslim," "Buddhist," "Hindi" or any other names that might be used by a passenger? Do you really mean first name, second or third names, and surname?

Unless the cabin is a rare one with a bathtub, get the little ones used to standing or sitting in the shower to be washed.

Were you at Ft Wadsworth to take the pictures of the ship under the bridge? The view of the ship in the harbor looks like the view I had from the top of Grymes Hill for four years.

Yes.

Before covid MSC had wonderful itineraries that covered many different ports and lasted longer than seven days. We were on an eleven night Armonia cruise when we notified at dinner on the Friday before we were due to return on Monday that cruising had been suspended and that we were on the last cruise until cruising restarted. We, too, are waiting for the return of the wonderful itineraries and longer cruises we enjoyed on MSC before Covid. One change we will have to make is no longer booking a Bella cabin as Bella is now only a guarantee category.

My credit card is the same way. However, I learned after having the card rejected for a cruise ship authorization, to call and ask for a representative and have a specific notation made on the account for any unusual or very large charges. I also let them know if I will be traveling without my husband, that charges may be appearing for the same days in distant sections of the country.

It is not ok to be late. You are usually given 10 - 15 minutes leeway for arrival. After that you may not be able to enter the dining room for your seating. Also, if you are on a table with others, the waiter will often wait until everyone is present to take the table's orders.

When is the cruise? Is it this summer or did you book a cruise far in advance ( example, a year out), when schedules and itineraries may change as the final itinerary is schedules with the ports?

Currently looking in mirror to see if menopause made that big of a difference in me....

Until you decide to cruise on MSC and the request comes in from the French bank that MSC uses....

I have always booked Bella on MSC and have always been able to request and receive wash cloths (also a box of tissues). There may have been a language problem - try asking for jelly at breakfast and see the confused expressions. Hint: ask for jam even if it is jelly that you want. The fall back "English" is British English and it helps to know a few basic terms in that version (jam for jelly, lift for elevator, etc).

But as I mentioned in my first post on this thread, did you tell the credit card company to expect the hold request from the cruise line? This is the non-routine type of charge that will often cause the authorization to be denied by the credit card holder.

If one is cruising on MSC, it does not matter what other cruise lines may do. MSC has closed the "no show" loophole in their "Terms and Conditions" and "Conditions of Carriage" on their website. I suggest you everyone read and understand the cancellation penalties (no show is considered a cancellation with the loss of that portion of the cabin fare) and an assessment of a single supplement for the remaining passenger in the cabin. It may not happen, but at least be prepared and realize that it is written in the T&C and Conditions of Carriage that one agrees to when booking a cruise.

Just a note about embarking or debarking in the Caribbean from a closed loop cruise from the US (and this experience is just about as old as this thread 😉😞 It is possible to embark at a different port other than the US port. On our Divina cruise back in 2016, one of our party booked a cruise departing Miami, only to find out that he was a speaker at a conference on embarcation day. With prior arrangement with MSC, he was allowed to embark in Jamaica. He does have a pass port. When we arrived back to Miami, he was required to go through the Immigration and Customs procedure that is done for non-US citizens.

Remember that any arrival and departure time (or even the date of that port visit) that may appear on a ship's itinerary is a schedule made up months (years) in advance of publishing the information on websites. It is the itinerary that the cruise line plans on doing. However, any schedule can change, whether it be arrival and departure times or even visiting the port at all. The change in itinerary for ports may be given to you far in advance or while on the cruise (can be when the pier is in sight, but water and weather conditions cause the docking to be delayed or cancelled). That being said, the Meraviglia has just recently started the sailings from NYC. It is too soon to know the general pattern of arrivals based on experience. Hurricane season in which you are sailing, can cause disruptions in the ship's itinerary. ( Helpful hint for those sailing from northern ports on itineraries heading south in hurricane season: Always pack a sweat shirt and a pair of long pants, you may find you are cruising to New England and Canadian ports when you board the ship.) The following is my opinion based on years of cruising and familiarity on how things affect certain type of shore excursions: Blue Lagoon: I looked at the Blue Lagoon excursion on the internet and see that it involves an approximately forty five minute boat ride out to the island. If anyone in your party has the least bit of problem with motion sickness, this may not be the excursion for them. Traveling across the open off shore waters of the Atlantic in a boat can be a problem( guaranteed if there is a tropical system anywhere within several days that may be causing higher waves traveling out from the system). Other than that, going on the excursion depends on the ship's planned departure time from the port and the time duration of the excursion. The travel time to and from the ship is included in that excursion length. And, yeah, I would only do this excursion on a ship's excursion because of the distance by boat from the port. Kennedy Space Center: It will be open until 5PM. Is it worth going? It depends on what you may wish to do there. If you only want to do the basic tour that is included in a ticket, it will take a minimum of one hour to scurry through the exhibits. When we have gone (not on a ship's port call), we have happily spent four hours on more (including lunch break) just walking around and doing one of the optional tours. If you have never visited the Kennedy Space Center and have any interest in the space program, it is worth a visit, even a short one.

It looks like Donald is a snapping turtle. They are known to be aggressive.

Yes, FDA approved labeling for Paxlovid includes the statement that a doctor-patient relationship should exist where the doctor knows the liver and kidney functions of the patient. If unknown, tests for liver and kidney functions should be done before use of the drug. The approved labeling also includes a long list of drugs that are contraindicates the use of Paxlovid. Many of the drugs are used by heart patients where Paxlovid interferes with the metabolic pathway of the different medications which can lead to life threatening drug interactions. HIV positive patients are another group that need careful evaluation. Paxlovid is a drug that should only be used in limited circumstances after a thorough medical evaluation by a physician. A primary care physician that knows the patient's history would not need to prescreen for the contraindicated conditions and medications. A physician meeting a patient for the first time who does not have access the patient's medical history, needs to screen for liver and kidney function plus all the drugs that contraindicate use of Paxlovid (many for heart disease and HIV positive patients). For some, including some cardiac patients, patients need to be closely monitored while on the drug. There is a good reason why a ship doctor may wish to do prescreening tests before prescribing Paxlovid. It is surprising. IMO, that any ship's doctor would consider providing Paxlovid considering all the possibilities of problems with administration of the drug. For those who may wish to educate themselves on the use of Paxlovid, I have linked the FDA package insert below. Please note the restriction on pharmacists prescribing Paxlovid. https://www.fda.gov/media/155050/download

The "R" between the "A" and "S" is a Maryland accent - "Warshington"

If you read my previous post (#4), you know I feel your pain. It as only been in about the last fifteen years that I have problems with only Mary showing on records. I think it is because computers can not handle there being a space between the two names in the double first name. There is also the know-it-all who informs that me that Mary is my first name, the second name is my middle name. That argument is usually resolved by asking their first name and then promptly calling them by a similar name (example, Allison for Alicia). When they correct me, I tell them they only think their name is "X," I have decided it is "Y." When they insist it is "X," I ask them why they think I don't know my name (repeat my name with the statement it is a double first name) when I have had the name since birth.

US and European folks is a blanket generalization. It would be more accurate to state travelers who are aware of different practices outside their local area vs those who are limited in experiences, no matter their national origins.

There seems to have been a problem with the authorization and hold the cruise line would have put through at the start of the cruise. Did you notify your credit card that you were traveling (not just the countries, but also that the request would be from a cruise line)? Some credit card issuers are very particular about authorizing request from a business that is not a business that shows in your normal day to day transactions and if the name does not match their records. While my husband is a "Bob" to me and many others, he is a "Robert" to his charge cards, government issued ID's - driver's license, passport, social security, etc. - and a Robert to anyone receiving a credit card from him or other business transaction. His signature always reflects the name used for identification documents and other transactions. Of course, it is important that the name be the same for the credit card company, any ID used and the cruise line booking records (which may or may not appear on the room key (my double first name frequently is reduced to just the first part on my key card, but all booking information matches).

I did read your post. You stated that you received "meds," non specified. The medical centers on board ship have routinely provided medication such as acetaminophen and cough syrup for Covid and other treatments for symptoms (such as nebulizer). Did you receive Paxlovid? If so, I am surprised that screening was not done and that the cost for all treatments were only approximately $1000. As for you receiving a prescription for Paxlovid from your primary care physician, you received the prescription from a physician who knows your medical history and can prescribe Paxlovid without carefully screening for any contraindications. At the time, the cost of the drug in the US was also still being subsidized by the US government. You are probably unaware of the unsubsidized cost of the drug as it would be charged on a cruise ship. I would expect my primary care doctor (and possibly my local pharmacist who also knows my prescription drug use history) to do the same (although she, the pharmacist and I all know that while I could probably take Paxlovid without a problem, it would not be a needed treatment given my health status).

This is the explanation I received on MSC. MSC has the standard toilet paper that can be handled by the ship's plumbing. When tissues were placed in the bathroom, passengers would use the tissues and not the toilet paper and cause plumbing clogs. Tissues are not provided unless requested by a passenger and then they are placed in the cabin area and not the bathroom. On other lines, the tissues are now in the cabin area and may be tucked away in one of the drawers.

At least not that we know. Last week my local state park where I volunteered had a problem with a local "wild" alligator (as opposed to those that are enclosed by fences in the park) that was strolling along a walkway that park visitors used. Hey - it happens - we are in Florida and alligators, snakes, bears and bobcats (at least in my area), and various creepy crawlies (spiders, scorpions 😬) are to be expected. Yesterday, Rangers and Volunteers were looking for two lost small children (how does a parent lose two small children that should be firmly under the control of the parents, but won't go into that rant here. I didn't suggest that the alligator pond and Florida panther areas be checked first. Never heard if the kids were found before I left.