Essiesmom

He’s on Magic, not Miracle. I’ve sailed a lot of lines, and few have decor as memorable as the ships by Joe Farcus. His last Carnival ship was Magic, and I realized there was nothing memorable about it. It was dull. The feature I like on Spirit class is the interior promenade forward on deck 3. It wraps around the bow, and there is seating where you can sit by the large round windows and watch the ocean go by. Many people never discover it, but it good for getting away. On Miracle it is Gatsby’s Garden. On Spirit it is The Jungle…and full of giraffes.

Omelet with cheese, onion, peppers, tomato was heavy on the tomato. Juice was very watered down. I mix grapefruit and orange. I am still undecided if it was really grapefruit or pineapple. One of the trees has gained some packages.

Up early, bEd is too hard and my hips are sore. I watched us back in from my window. The guys setting the lines were right outside my window. I’m trying the mdr for breakfast. They are only open until 0830. Port day, but I think they should be open until 0900 at least. Not impressed with the service so far. The waitress came, I asked for juice and she said someone else will come by for that. She tapped her paper ‘food, madam, food’. I’m an old lady but I’m not senile. So far they have been twice to offer pastries, but no water or juice. After 10 minutes.

Yes they are charging $5 for each extra entree. It is noted in tiny print on the menus I posted. I stayed through the entire karaoke. Some were very good, some good, some okay and a few…. Well, one young fellow had excellent expression, but he was pretty much a monotone. I am back in the cabin charging my iPad any the phone will need it next. Watching the tv on the Bride channel. There is a g missing…Ocean Cay tomorrow.

If you tell us which two cruises you are considering we can give better suggestions. EM

No excitement yet today. Yes, they still do the muster that way. The drill was. O longer running on my tv but they announce the number to call. I think it is the same on all ships. I came back and fortunately they let us board the far forward gangway. I fiddled around in the cabin, then washed my hair. The shower was being difficult and not giving hot water but the sink was so I managed. I later fiddled with it some more and finally found hot water. It’s white night, so it’s white capris with a white T-shirt with big red poinsettia. Dinner menu included below. I had the guacamole with chips, three of them for a lot of guacamole. And the grouper. I am trying to avoid beef…. I passed on dessert to have my first gelato of the trip. I’m still exploring the ship. I tried to get into Cabaret Rouge but there was a private party on until 8. So I searched and found the Uptown Lounge and watch Majority Rules…which is a rather lame game. Now we have karaoke.

I’m back from a brief sojourn off the ship. Just to get in some steps and walking time. Didn’t leave the port area, browsed the shops, didn’t buy. Has been temperate with a breeze so comfortable. Time to shower and dress white.

Took a nap and now up on 16, had a salad. Washcloths in room. Rona and slippers delivered today. Following my Panama Canal ships. Did not go into town. Doors did not close in 3”.

Everyone eating on the mdr gets the same menu. EM

We have just pulled into Nassau, not docked yet. Had breakfast in buffet, carb and cholesterol heavy. Lines were crazy. Stitch a nice Florida couple from Melbourne, on the 3 day, first MSC. They have done a lot of Crystal. Didn’t know about YC. Will do more walking when the crowds get off. A trip to the little girls room is in order.

A sunny morning. I slept pretty well, considering the bed is too firm for my comfort. I noticed yesterday when I was unpacking and napping that my room appears to be beneath the stage. There was a lot of thumping bass, and when it stopped I could hear hurrying footsteps. By the time I was back in the room after midnight it had stopped. It wouldn’t keep me awake. Tonight is a comedian so maybe no bass. Christmas decor. A little. MSC, you can do better. A few varied trees, something up on a post. There is one type of gold tree that would collapse into a flat coil. Bet they bought hundreds for across the fleet. Pics at the bottom. I realized at dinner that my card did not show my loyalty status. So one of my late stops after my nap was to guest services. No line! They issued a new card and while I waited, another couple came up with the same problem. A few random pics of decorations, theater, hallway on deck 5…. My watch is about charged and it’s been an hour since my pills, so time for breakfast!

After dinner I wandered a bit, never knowing where I was. Seems bigger than Seaside, more confusing. I didn’t go to the show, too tired and achy. Came back to the cabin and had an evening nap. When I woke I loaded up on Motrin, emptied my suitcase, then went out to walk the decks as my Heartline program required more walking time. I found the sports bar in time to see the Steelers lose. Like Seaside this ship has a lot of uncomfortable chairs. I prowled the shops. A people watching observation. Even though it was the first night there were a lot of women dressed up. One foursome were all in green. They said tomorrow is white and Saturday will be blue. There are also quite a few children for the week before Christmas vacation. And I guess MSC does not have a young age restriction because one family has a baby maybe 3 mos old. Most lines require six months, but last time I saw a very young baby I searched the website and couldn’t find any age limit.

One thing I noticed that was not present on Seaside is a magnifying mirror in the bathroom. And it is mounted low enough you don’t have to be six ft talk to use it. I met my cabin steward Ali from Mauritius when he delivered my bag just before I went to dinner. He has 25 cabins. I was the first at my table for 8. I was joined by a couple from Pittsburgh, and a little later by a couple who divide their time between Arkansas and Florida with his sister. All on casino comps. The menu was one I recognized. I had Caesar salad and lasagna with pineapple sherbet for dessert

More pics:

My cabin is quite spacious. It might actually be larger than my last hotel room, except for the bath. It has a bunk sofa. The sofa is one reason I booked an OV. There is about a foot of space between the arm of it and the bulkhead, three feet between the nightstand and the other arm. Plus about three feet between the bed and closet. Much more than my Aurea cabin on Seaside. There is a usb port on one side of the bed. At the desk are two US outlets, two EU outlets and two more usb.

Wow, it’s been a long day. I didn’t leave the hotel until just before noon. Traffic was not bad but it was still two hours until I was parked. I was able to drive by and drop off my bag, then head back to the garage. They have a real racket going. If you are on a cruise that can be sold as two, you have to pay separately. In August I paid for the four, then the three. But you pay for the turnaround day twice. This time I paid for the first three day, and he said I would pay for the 7 day on the way out. We’ll see. The garage was pretty full so I’m near the top, but not far from the elevator. Please bear with me as I am using my phone as I couldn’t get the server to come up on my iPad mini. I dragged my carryon to the terminal. The big rush was over but still some line. Got the docs checked, then security. Then thru the diamond line to check in. Got my card and then it was board the ship. I had to take a short break first to eat a Hershey nugget, as I was feeling my sugar was low. Fortunately it is not a terribly long walk, only two ramps and not steep at all. You board on deck 6, and I went straight down to my cabin on 5. Unpacked my carryon and changed my shirt to short sleeves. Essie claimed the deep windowsill. My assigned dining time is 5:15 in Central Park which is also on 5, but aft. I’m all the way forward. I watched the safety video endlessly until time to call, then went up to my muster station C to get scanned. By then it was after 4 pm and too late to grab a snack in the buffet. I did go up to fill my water bottle with iced tea. Since people were still boarding, they still had salad and sandwiches available even though they had been supposed to close at 4 pm. I’m going to split this up, to save everyone’s eyes.

I just asked, and it’s a stray. It has adopted them.

We once had a cabin on Celebrity, Infinity, I think. I kept hearing an elevator ding but we weren’t near elevators. But one day the service door opposite our cabin was open, and there was an elevator there which was what I was hearing. EM

I have multiple Kindle paperwhites, but they are all old. That's because the original Kindle and up to the 6th Gen had two word games that my sister and i played incessantly. But when they upgraded the OS for Gen 7 they didn't upgrade the games, so they won't play on newer ones. We read a lot, too, but those games don't suck up your attention that you tune out your surroundings. My cases were really worn, so I got a new one, and in particular one that says Kindle on the front, so noone would mistake it for a tablet. My sister once left hers in a cafe onboard on another line, and it was turned in. EM

Apparently the hotel has a resident kitty: And my faith has been restored. Last cruise, on Elation, I used an airtag for the first time. It was still in that suitcase until I transferred for this trip. But when I was away from the house, I never got alerted. I finally figured out it was because my niece, who lives with me, also has a iPhone and it was picking up the tag. But I got this notice last night when I was in my room with my carryon and the case was still in the car.

I slept some last night. Bed is pretty good, but not perfect. My other 'job' started early. I follow cruise ships through the Panama canal for another forum that specializes in the Panama Canal. And NCL Joy was due to transit. It was very nearly a night transit. She got her peeps up early, in the channel, under the Bridge of the Americas and into the first of the Cocoli Locks before 6am. If you want to see what I saw, go here: Down to the lobby for the usual free hotel breakfast. The bacon could have been crisp...the omelets had cheese, and I helped it out with hot sauce. A small yoghurt and a touch of OJ and I was good to go. Chilly here this morning. Almost up to 50 now.

I'd prefer a Bloody Mary. EM

If you are seriously interested, there is usually a Live from thread on the HAL board by Bill and Mary Ann who do the world cruise every year, and sometimes long cruises between. Here is a link to another thread about a long cruise: Many cruisers on these long voyages...and all voyages take advantage of the opportunity to sample local food in ports. You need to visit the boards here for the cruise lines that do world cruises and ask your questions there. I don't know all of them, But HAL, Cunard, Viking Ocean, Seabourn, Silversea, Regent, P&O-UK are a few that come to mind. EM

After a few days 'vacation' the webcams are back up in time for NCL Joy to have her picture taken. Not a night transit, but she got a really early start. 0604 and already in the first lock. Lots of folks at the rail. Hope that coffee is strong! From Miraflores cam From Pedro Miguel cam

They will not serve the same menus every week. Items may reappear but in different combinations. There is a board here for world cruises. You might want to do some reading there. EM