gizfish

Um not sure what sex therapists have to do with "woke activities." Check out what Merriam Webster defines as "woke," and since you are so off, you may want to not use that term. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woke

Ask your room steward when you meet them. There's really no way to request this before boarding.

The salt is completely removed from the drinking water on the ship. You are swelling from all the salt in the food. At home if you ate three meals a day at a restaurant for a week, you would swell from all that salt as well.

Who knows what they are thinking with regards to bid minimums. For our cruise the minimum bid from balcony to YC keeps going up and the number of cabins available in that category also keeps going up. Do they think we are stupid enough to not notice availability is increasing and just think....oh my the minimum is going up...I better bid now. Lol.

That cannot be a recent freestyle or a review of an NCL cruise. NCL NEVER has an evening dress code for the whole ship. The dress code quoted above from the NCL site is accurate. You could even skip the collated shirt and wear a tee shirt with your shorts in any dining room other than le bistro, the seafood restaurant and the one MDR that is smart casual each night (and depending on the ship they often don't require smart casual in any MDR.)

Sea lice season is from March through August and I know of people who were so affected by them at GSC that they will never visit that beach again. Is there some evidence that your issue was bed bugs?

Actually it is time as well as temperature that says when food gets discarded. This is from another topic here. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2935332-well-this-is-disconcerting…/page/7/#comment-65406577 Posted May 19 No, the USPH uses temperature control when food is held/prepared in something where the temperature can be monitored/guaranteed, like a "hot box" warming cabinet, or a reach in refrigerator. Once it goes out of temperature control, even if a hazardous food goes into the "hazard temperature zones", by discarding at the 4 hour mark, the potential for toxin growth is not great enough to present a hazard. And, once a food has gone into "time control", even if the food is not placed on the buffet line until just before closing (say 5-10 minutes), it can never go back under temperature control (meaning it has to be discarded, and not put back into a refrigerator or warming box

Your chances of winning a bid are really quite low unless you are willing to bid high. Even then, so much goes into the process that you still are not even close to being guaranteed to win. If you can afford it, definitely just upgrade to the haven. Being in the haven will make it so much easier and more comfortable for everyone in your party for all the reasons you have talked about.

OP you mention you are pricing your cruise with the WiFi and easy plus drink package, but you are not drinkers. You may want to re-price your cruise with the best value pricing as that cost may be significantly lower. It sounds like you really may not benefit so much from the yacht club perks, although the menus in the YC restaurant are very seafood heavy. Personally, I would love all the extras in YC but wouldn't ever give up my private quiet space on my own balcony at any cost to get an interior.

Actually it's named gala night and, no the suggested dress is not "formal." From the MSC site https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/before-you-go/what-to-wear Gala Night On Gala Night, dress to impress! Whether that means a tuxedo, suit and tie, evening gown or cocktail dress, or perhaps it’s your very best jeans and polo shirt, your attire should fit your own level of elegance. The only thing required is your smile.

We booked fantastica and could choose early or late, but will not know the specific time we end up getting until we get our key cards. The docs say early but also say time will be assigned on board.

You do not get a new booking number. It is an upgrade, not cancellation and rebook. The packages you paid for go with you. You don't get any new packages that are available, but you do get all the perks of the haven (butler, restaurant, pool etc.)

Does look to be a seating area of the observation lounge. It's carpeted and people don't drag the chairs around, so it's not nearly as high traffic as say the pool or buffet. This site has pics of the area. https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/Norwegian-Joy

Actually the royalty fees NCL is paying to have real, relatively current Broadway shows on board Is probably the reason they are stopping them. NCL doesn't care if we were are seeing the same shows, and they are not paying the casts and production teams enough that cutting the shows saves money in those aspects. Getting talent and production is not an issue either as many start their professional careers on cruise ships.

To further support this, sometimes the label the vitality waters have stuck to the machine say sugar free and sometimes they don't. I asked buffet staff which machine had the sugar free and was told they are all sugar free. Then they showed me the cartons where the nutritional info proved this.

At the buffet during breakfast there is orange juice, apple juice and maybe cranberry. At all other times the juice machines have flavored sugar free drinks like mango or strawberry kiwi. At all times there is coffee, hot water for a selection of tea (usually regular, decaf, chamomile, sometimes mint or English breakfast or some other selection,) hot cocoa packets, milk, lemonade, tap water and unsweetened iced tea.

Dreaded dress code question...did they allow shorts in the MDR on regular nights? What were people wearing on elegant nights?

Do you really think minimizing this again, historically low almost unheard of score is going to make it go away? While the inspection happened at one point in time, a score this low is indicative of a much larger, long term problem. And frankly you have no idea that no one got sick or a new inspection would merit 100%. The inspector was not out to get Seaside. There wasn't a conspiracy to give Seaside a low score. It's not fearmongering to bring up this serious situation. Personally, if I were booked on the very next cruise, I would not cancel because obviously the ship's officers are going to take such an awful score seriously, immediately. But a score that low certainly merits mention and discussion here.

I specifically said touching raw chicken and not washing hands meaning in that order, which doesn't cause noro. I was not referring to general not washing hands.

Norovirus has nothing to do with the things that resulted in such a record low score. Flies, improper temps, even touching raw chicken and not washing won't cause or add to a noro outbreak. I just don't get why you do not see the severity of this historical low almost unheard of score.

So enjoying this vicarious vacation....especially loving the doggos of France. Thx!

You should always buy insurance, not just because it covers cancellation, but also to cover medical treatment on board or in a foreign country, and most importantly to cover medical evacuation back home if needed.

I don't remember seeing this in your review...to clarify is free soft serve ice cream available? Do you know where and what times it was offered. I've read some info saying it was not free and others saying it was but was not self serve. I can't imagine that MSC would expect us Americans to go without our cruise ship soft serve.

Dress code info from NCL site https://www.ncl.com/faq#!#what-clothes-should-i-pack "Cruise Casual: the Freedom of Freestyle Cruising Dress cruise casual anytime during the day, in the buffet and in most specialty restaurants. For women, it includes summer and casual dresses, skirts, regular or capri pants, shorts, jeans and tops. Khakis, jeans, shorts and casual shirts are fine for men. Swimwear is acceptable at the buffet and outdoor restaurant, but a shirt or a cover-up and footwear are required. Be sure to pack a sweater — the air conditioning can be chilly. Kids 12 and under are welcome to wear nice shorts in all our restaurants. Please Note: We want you to be comfortable, but tank tops for men, flip flops, baseball caps, visors and jeans that are overly faded, with holes or tears and worn below the hips are not permitted in main dining rooms or specialty restaurants. All Decked-out: Smart Casual Dress smart casual in our more formal dining room or in our more upscale specialty restaurants. For women, it includes slacks or jeans, dresses, skirts and tops. For men, it's jeans or slacks with a collared shirt and closed-toed shoes. Kids 12 and under are welcome to wear nice shorts in all our restaurants."

Can you tell us about the soap,shampoo etc? Is there liquid soap for the sink. Is there bar soap for the shower. Are we talking the usual big wall containers in the shower? Thx!