Greenhopster

It's being offered to me for $80 and it's value is $140.

To miss St Petersburg is a big loss. It is a fantastic port to visit. Seeing the palaces and museums was the best.

I think Nachi is just trying to survive. Where would the refund money come from? No tourists for a year plus. You might get a refund when they start earning it. The whole Caribbean is suffering. 

Will all the shops and business be back up and running this summer and fall. These ports took a terrible hit with no ships for many many months. How did the vendors survive? What to you think?

With the U.S. having trouble getting people to work, help wanted signs everywhere, do you think the cruise ships will get fully staffed when the time comes? I know they use a lot of international employees, but will they get it going by the time the US starts cruising again?

Fellow cruisers, I'm just pondering out loud, but think about it. The Business has been crushed with this virus. With no income how do you expect to get a refund. They are probably using whatever cash reserves and cash flow they have to keep the doors open and try to stay alive. It's unfortunate but you will probably be waiting for refund until business resumes.

Dec 13th is a slow week. I would wait as long as I could. MSC drops prices alot to fill ships. I booked MSC Meraviglia 4 months out for a Feb 2 Western Caribbean, and got a Bella balcony for $625. Then I see 3 or 4 weeks out they offered balconies for $379. I will try to wait for the big drops in the future.

I sailed on the Feb 2 MSC Meraviglia. 4 hours to board the ship. 4 TSA Scanners to handle 4000+ cruisers. 13 clerks upstairs to check in 4000+ cruisers. They tried to blame temperature testing for corona virus. That was very fast. One bright note. We made some great friends in the TSA line and enjoyed their company many times on the cruise. Would not sail out of Miami again if it can be avoided.

Snorkeling in front of the Grand Roatan Hotel is second to none. Amazing reef structure right off shore. And a neat wall to snorkel near. Bring dog biscuits, they hold up well in the water and the fish love them.

Hi Michele, You're going to be very happy with Oceania. I've done several cruises with them and they do it right. One side dish in the steak restaurant is the lobster mac-n-cheese. Yummy. Free water bottles when leaving ship. Grill in the buffet room offered Steak and Lobster every night.  The food was tops! Great happy hours.

Enjoy,

Jim

Has anyone noticed if any of the bars on the Meraviglia were showing live sporting events? I am hoping to see the Superbowl on Feb 2nd, embarkation day.

Thanks, Jim

Both shows are on Youtube. Check them out and decide.

Wow! Thanks! You're tops!

Jim

I was wondering the individual cost of the Formula 1 or Flight simulators in the amusement area  on board the Meraviglia. Is the $100 for a fun pass worth it. I only anticipate trying these things a couple of times.

15 hours ago, ray98 said:

 

Why?  That is commonplace in the business world on any news worthy incident.  Why would you want 1k random employees discussing an incident based primarily on hearsay and facts that are beyond the area of expertise for 99% of them. 

11 hours ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

Interesting that Glory is still moored in port

Checking this morning, it appears the Glory left COZ around 1:45am est. Combined with the picture of a small hoist next to the damaged area, I would bet they chose to debris as much as they could and still make NO on time. They are running 23 knots now. Hope future cruises go off on schedule or very close to schedule.

Ray98 you are dead on. Get information from the people in the know. And I'm pretty sure it will be accurate when released. Some folks are like today's media, trying to make more out of it.

Everyone should stop guessing. https://www.myshiptracking.com/ Shows Glory docked. I'm fairly certain assessment and decisions will occur before it moves again. So probably tonight or at the latest early Saturday morning Carnival will be notifying folks of the plan. Carnival is certainly concerned that 3000 passengers scheduled for the 22nd sailing need info fast. So be cool.

I know what a stressful situation this is. I've done 23 cruises all over the world and know that all the pieces have to fall in place. All the prepaid stuff, from cars, planes, dog sitters, and etc are important. Also the time. The job might not lend itself to a vaca until next year. So my thoughts are with all the passengers in waiting to get some good news. P.S. A ship in port for 8 or so hours can get alot of debris removed and temp fixes in place.

My best recommendation for Grand Cayman is Soto's Cruises, https://www.sotoscruises.com/. Stingray City and Coral Gardens snorkel. We used them 4 or 5 times. Small group of 12 or 14. Very professional. Pickup and drop off at the pier. They give you sardines to feed the stingrays. The rays are like big puppy dogs. They come around begging for snacks. Not mean or dangerous, just slippery.

Thank you for the fabulous posts and pictures. My wife and I are doing this same itinerary in February. Would it be possible to post the Daily from Wednesday? Thanks again and enjoy Ocean Cay tomorrow. Regards, Jim

Followup, I just checked https://www.cruisemapper.com/ and The Meraviglia is tendering in Belize and my itinerary on my account page says docked. So not sure the docked in Coxen Hole is accurate. I'll wait until tomorrow and check cruisemapper again the see the ship.

Well, I followed DCGuy64's recommendation and checked my account on the MSC website. The itinerary says that we are docked in Coxen Hole Roatan.

I will be on Feb 2nd Cruise that is scheduled to arrive in Coxen Hole, Roatan on Thursday February 6th, at 9am. My research shows the RCL Harmony of the Seas in port at 7am.

Will we be tendered in or has the port increased the dock space to accommodate more that one ship?

Carnival's Mahogany Bay requires you to meet the independent tour operators outside the gate but they will return you to the port and reducing the walk. Victor Bodden's tours are solid. I've used them 4 times. If you want to hold a sloth at Victor's Monkey jungle you must get there before 11am. The sloths retire after that. They are very sweet and don't weight anything.

Hope this helps. Cirque du Soleil Carousel Lounge 450 seats, including 120 for dinner guests 45 minutes long
Viaggio    Mon 18:00 and 21:15 Wed 18:15 and 21:15
Sonor    Sun, Tues, and Thurs. 18:00 and 21:15
Doors close 20 minutes after opening time. 

Go visit Maya Chan. If you get off ship right away, you can be on the beach by 8. Enjoy 3 hours then come back to the port village for a look around and trinkets.