kelleherdl

I’ve been amazed at the ‘success’ of sailings from the Gulf ports; Galveston, New Orleans, Mobile. NCL, Carnival, RCCL, and even Disney have stayed in that market, even though the Gulf of Mexico itineraries are bleh. I heard a comment from a DCL employee that it does relate to the high percentage of ‘drivers’ in that region to keep the smaller and older ships sailing there.

Everyone will be getting off the ship (zero count) and any back-to-backs will reboard before any new passengers are permitted to board. 9:00 does appear to be very early. I would wait for the inevitable update texts/emails from MSC changing your checkin time.

Go with the latest texts/emails that you are getting from MSC. The original boarding time on you eTicket more reflects an early estimate. If you are YC show up anytime after 10:00. Otherwise, I would recommend 1 or 1:30 if you prefer to just ‘walk thru’ checkin. These early season Seaside sailings may have minor issues. New ship classes in new homeports generally have them. The Seaside is the first ‘Sea-class’ ship to sail from Port Canaveral.

Excursions are up for the Iceland to New York, but not the pre-cruise hotels in Reykjavik or transfers from KEF.

On MSC your actual ‘boarding pass’ is your cruise card (room key) which you receive at checkin. This will be scanned at the gangway to go aboard. This is different from some cruise lines where you cruise cards are in your stateroom. Depending on when you checkin you will be given a boarding card number for sequential boarding. Once open boarding is called you may board the ship immediately.

When you board just speak to your butler, or the Concierge Desk, or the YC Restaurant Manager and let them know your preferred dining time and type of table; that’s it. Or you can just show up. Anytime, means anytime, in terms of ‘assigned time’ for YC guests. There is generally a few couples waiting at the door when the restaurant opens. We always ask to have the same table and same servers every evening. Dining times can vary by ship. But in the US sailings generally open at 6:00 till 9:30/10:00 ish. European sailings can be later closing.

Oh. I agree. If you write it in it should not be a problem. At least I hope not. MSC needs to fix it.

Correct.

My understanding is that the full 10% Military Discount can only be applied to YC Interior staterooms. It’s limited to 5% for any stateroom above YC Interior. At least be able to get the status match discounts. So get your status match as you will then be eligible for the sailings that have the hefty % + promotions. The deal may be over, but Explora Journeys was offering a cross-line incentive sizable promotion for MSC Diamond members.

The email is YCDirector@mscmeraviglia.com

Consider alerting the YC Director by email. I think the email is YCDirector@mscmeraviglia.com. I will confirm today. The Butlers, concierge staff, Junior Butlers and the YC Restaurant Manager will be happy to make the cruise special.

Sailing out of the US for Caribbean sailings dress in the YC Restaurant is largely country club casual. I’m avoiding the term ‘resort casual’ as shorts for dinner are not acceptable (sorry, you may see them, but they are not ‘suggested attire for dinner’). You will however see folks who ‘dress’ for dinner. We do, but we are in a distinct minority. Formal night can be more dressy with at least jackets for gentleman. Depending on the itinerary I may bring my tux. There I will be a very distinct minority. If you have a higher ratio of Europeans on the cruise (mostly out of Miami or French Antilles) you will see a definite upping of the dominant dress. Dennis

When you register your credit card using the onboard kiosks you do have the ability to register your accounts individually. The way it works is you scan your cruise card, the screen shows the people in that stateroom and you select the people to be included on your card, then you register your card. You can register a separate card for every person in the stateroom.

No

Here’s just a partial list of the things that can go wrong to delay commencing new passengers boarding beyond 10:30. 1. Medical emergency on the ship or dock. Port operations come to a standstill. (this one really causes havoc with luggage offloading) 2. Delayed ship arrival. Screws up all sorts of timing, but is actually pretty rare. 3. IT breakdown at gangway, slowing exiting guest disembarkation. 4. Same thing if IT ashore for CBP clearance gets backed up 5. Any sort of Coast Guard, PHS or CBP inspection. 6. Disembarking passengers who refuse to obey the orders to leave the ship on time. and the most frustrating of all to ship’s crew, port staff and passengers 7. A back-to-back passenger who is nowhere to be found, who ignores their letter on back-to-back procedures and completely infuriates their fellow passengers, crew and everybody waiting in the terminal. 😟

I can speak for US sailings. There will be no penalty for arriving later than your assigned time. Dennis

You may show up anytime after 12. It’s not a ‘window.’ The caution about arriving too late is real. If you have any issues with your travel documents there needs to be time to get them resolved. In my experience, 1:30 to 2:30 is a sweet spot if you don’t like lines.

I think these discounts were offered through the Explora Journeys Travel Partners. It happens that our travel advisor is one of them. Sorry, but board rules prevent mention of specific travel professionals. You won’t see the discount if you visit the Explora Journeys website. I did book another cruise as the discount was so good. I actually dropped a 14-day MSC YC cruise to book a 15-day Explora I cruise.

With that Diamond Voyager hurry up and find a Travel Partner with Explora Journeys. There is a great discount now on selected Explora I sailings for 2023 for MSC Diamond Voyager members. It is very generous!

You will have no problem with ADA access in the YC. Pool One and YC Beach are accessible for pool and spas.

Ocean Cay is very large and the paved ‘roads’ are extensive. The ONLY design flaw I know for Ocean Cay is there is no bridge across the north end of the lagoon from North Beach to the helipad on the extreme north side of the island. It keeps you from doing a circular route around the island. The paths can be quite congested around the bars and food venues. Dennis

Absolutely agree with you on the Divina Executive RS. We were courtesy upgraded on a cruise last year. We both agreed we would have rather stayed in our Deluxe Grand Suite. The Executive RS Suite on Divina needs a complete redo badly. Dennis

The cruise cards themselves are still RFID on the smart ships. All MSC blank cruise cards are pre-punched so folks won’t ruin the RFID. Dennis

No. It is not an ATM.😀

Yes to the question of loading to room account.