Essiesmom

Disclaimer…I haven’t sailed in YC. But I do know that the first class to have YC - Fantasia class…the YC restaurant is located outside of the YC proper. And that class does not have any inside YC cabins. There are two YC window cabins that out outside also. Also that on the latest class, World, they have double the number of YC cabins without increasing the amount of common spaces. Otherwise, I guess it is itinerary, layout, departure port…. EM

Have you asked on the Ports of Call board for Hawaii? Also, is there a roll call for your cruise? Folks there might be organizing independent tours. EM

Is this a fly cruise package from P&O? If so, I understand you are allowed to remain on the ship until buses will take you to the airport. Just. It in your cabin. If you are on the Arvia TA are they offering a flight package? I would check on the boards here for P&O-UK, and look for a roll call for your cruise. EM there is an active roll for this cruise and there is a lot of discussion about return flights.

Since you are coming from a hot place, and haven’t visited Bermuda before, I would go with that one. A day on the ferry to St. George’s, another day the ferry to Hamilton, and still time for a beach if so inclined. EM

You get them at the photo gallery desk. EM

Just Google seastreak ferry.

I’m developing a theory/strategy when booking with MSC. But this only works if you just want to be on the boat and are not particular about cabin type and location. When my sister traveled with me I booked balconies as she liked to sit out and read. But as I am sailing solo again, type doesn’t matter. Back in 2018 for a 2019 cruise on Seaside, I looked at the deckplans and realized there were only 80 OV cabins, equally split between Bella and Fantastica. And 1300 balconies. I gambled that if I booked a fantastica OV gty I had a good chance of an upgrade to a balcony. And we were. This time, again onSeaside, I booked Fantastica inside gty and got balconies. On Virtuosa there are 120 OV cabins, and 1300+ balconies. I am booked on Seashore for 10 days in December in a Fantastica OV. Not offered a gty this time, so I have a chosen cabin, much further forward than I would like, but my Fitbit will be happy. I’m way forward, all the food is way aft. Since I chose my cabin, I don’t know if I will be given an upgrade, but if I am offered the opportunity to bid on an upgrade, the only class I would bid on is YC inside. EM

There is no pier checkin for the second cruise. They will give you a transit pass to return to the ship after zeroing down, you just have to go through security. If there are enough B2B cruisers, they will do the process onboard and you don’t have to go into the terminal at all unless you want to. EM

You got an upgrade. I booked B2B both Fantastica inside gty and got balconies for both. Not the same cabin, though. EM

It depends on what ports and what you plan to do in them. I have not sailed MSC in the Mediterranean so I don’t know how they handle ship excursions. They have a tendency to bypass lines…but you sound as if you are arranging your own agenda. Part of the disorganization may be that they appear to board new guests at three ports on that itinerary. In a way, that makes the initial boarding easier because of smaller crowds. I am never in a hurry to get off in a port unless I have an early excursion. If you can have a leisurely breakfast and wait an hour after the gangways are opened, it might not be so hectic. EM

As long as you are each only using one device, the two device package should work. EM

You will get a paper in your cabin (hopefully) the last night of the first 7 days. It will tell you the procedure for the turnaround day. It will include a credit card sized piece of paper that says consecutive cruiser pass and if you choose to leave the ship for an excursion or other reason, that gets you back in the door without waiting in lines. I was on a B2B so one longer cruise could have slightly different instructions. I will find out in December when I am on a 10 day that is also a 3 & 7.

There’s an itinerary some dozens of pages back. EM

If they have your booking as 14 days, you will have one cabin, not have to change. If you booked an Aurea experience, that is what you will get. I decided to modify a cruise last week and called their number 877-665-4655. Have your booking number available. They were very helpful for me, and should be able to explain what you currently have. EM

In that pdf will be your luggage tag. Nice to have your info on your tag, but you can also get tags from the porters at the port. EM

I beg to differ with a few things listed by Mum2Mercury. First, I am not aware of any ship that Carrie’s diapers onboard for kids or adults. Now, unless you have stops in Africa, your stops are not in third world countries and if you find yourself running low on diapers, you can usually find diapers in port, though they may not be your favored brand and you might have trouble figuring out size. But, who wants to spend port time shopping for diapers…. And if you are on a TA, you may go seven days without a port. Now, most ships require tots to be potty trained to use the pools and splash pads. However there are a few that do not, and I believe they are on Disney and Royal. EM

There is also a board here for OZ/NZ cruisers, and they might have some thoughts for you there. It is much further down the main boards page. EM

You can sort of do this using cruisetimetables.com. Choose ‘cruises from’ for your port, then your month, then know which dates are Thursday, or Monday, or…. EM

The mention of closing one dining venue for dietary requirements screamed kosher to me. EM

Will your transit use the original locks, or the new locks?

Not in US or Caribbean. Don’t know about EU. EM

Go to cruisedeckplans.com and use the drag deck feature to get an idea of what is above and below. EM

Chances are you in Bella or Fantastica. Do you have a cabin number? What type cabin? Likely you will have assigned dining. I don’t know if World Europa has two or three dinner seatings. But there will be a notation in the dining times on the initial program when you board. Also likely you will be assigned a shared table. But note the dark print on the dining time picture I am posting. This is for Seaside, which has three dinner seatings.

You won’t find any inside cabins with a sofa area. You will be lucky to find any with a comfy chair, although I did see some on MSC Divina. Finding a TA with following Caribbean cruise may be a challenge. And are you planning to fly back? You might look at P&O-UK ships Arvin and Britannia that do TA itineraries to Barbados and then continue with southern Caribbean cruises. EM

Perhaps, in theory. But it will be easy to get another fare at the second terminal. And few take a cab to the airport…in Orlando 40 minutes away. EM