sidari

Explorer 1 is likely to head to Alaska at some point.

29 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Just heard a story from a passenger - will be interested to hear if it’s true.   
 

He was having coffee in the Emporium and a waiter there told him that, when the ship begins its Med sailings, drinks packages will no longer cover the coffees.  This is (apparently) because so many Italians - who drink a lot of coffee - are expected to be onboard.  What he was told was that only YC guests will be covered.  

Will that be the same for ex UK sailings Bea ? Ten days ago MSC removed all mention of drink packages from bookings online and on the app.

30 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

We did get caps before;  not great quality.   Mr B was gifted even better ones by a very obliging CC member on our Mera New York cruise.   He loves them.  😆

The ones we got on the inaugural Seaside sailing out of Miami were really good.

On 4/8/2023 at 2:39 PM, Beamafar said:

Something to note: if you’re walking along deck 8 from the aft (promenade area) you need to walk along the Fizz side as it’s a dead end at the Garden Kitchen. 
 

The weather has turned colder since we entered the Med.  Everyone is in jumpers, jackets etc and we had a spot of rain earlier.  As a result, all indoor spaces are packed.  We went to have Afternoon Tea in the Raj Polo and there wasn’t a table to be had. 

Hope the weather has improved for you Bea.

5 hours ago, hamrag said:

Their ships, their rules! 🙄

Their Stupidity also.

On 4/6/2023 at 12:22 PM, Belgian cruiser1 said:

My wife and I have been on many MSC Cruises, but always booked the Yacht Club - but it seems that people who don't book this level, often have a long list of complaints. Have to add that - no matter the ship - it will always be the crew that make the biggest difference. Because our upcoming sailing on World Europa is one of 4 cruises we're doing this year (each with a different company), we decided it would be our first sailing that is NOT in the YC. Like the infinity verandas in Aurea, especially now that Aurea has it's own restaurant Les Dunes ... so we'll soon find out how many of the often heard complaints ring a bell with our upcoming experience this june. Fingers crossed, but for half the price of the same sailing in YC ... I am willing to "experiment" (and having free access to the thermal area is always a good idea if you sail in Europe 😉

Did you Aurea Infinite Ocean view cabin ? If so the Dining room is Bubbles, Le Dunes is for Aurea Suite guests only.

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

Again, for research purposes, we ordered a glass outside of our package - Moët.  The server (who doesn’t normally work at this venue, but was drafted in to help out) originally said that the upcharge would be €3.45 - fine

 

 

 

However, she returned shortly after to inform us that you cannot pay the difference on drinks here. 

Yet more MSC stupidity.

Why not just cover the bottles up? Everything the hard way with MSC.

1 hour ago, Nunagoras said:

The WE works differently. They have no "grand atrium", instead they have what seems such a shopping mall promenade with shops, restaurants, bars and the likes. The calming piano bar seems to be Raj Polo, the tea house (I don't know how that would work here in Europe)... Badly compared the WE seems like a pizza place at Starbucks!... Some of the concepts are great... But the general feeling of the ship seems a clear departure from the whole brand's identity. MSC has never had a so big differentiation on their ship's identity, apart the atrium's use for rock bands on some Seaside class vessels, especially if they sail from the US, hence me to be on the fence regarding the actual full ship's concept success here in Europe. It will be a success the day they can put one of those in the US, on that I've no doubts!... Oh; and believe me: If I could to do a cruise this year, it would no doubt to be the WE!...

Copying oasis class but sadly second best, instead of doing their own thing as before.

1 hour ago, Nunagoras said:

The WE works differently. They have no "grand atrium", instead they have what seems such a shopping mall promenade with shops, restaurants, bars and the likes. The calming piano bar seems to be Raj Polo, the tea house (I don't know how that would work here in Europe)... Badly compared the WE seems like a pizza place at Starbucks!... Some of the concepts are great... But the general feeling of the ship seems a clear departure from the whole brand's identity. MSC has never had a so big differentiation on their ship's identity, apart the atrium's use for rock bands on some Seaside class vessels, especially if they sail from the US, hence me to be on the fence regarding the actual full ship's concept success here in Europe. It will be a success the day they can put one of those in the US, on that I've no doubts!... Oh; and believe me: If I could to do a cruise this year, it would no doubt to be the WE!...

Copying oasis class but sadly second best, instead of doing their own thing as before.

Our cruise is the end of April and believe the currency will be pounds sterling.

4 hours ago, Beamafar said:

We haven’t been to dinner in the MDR for the last few nights, so I decided to ring this afternoon to book the window table we’d had for the earlier nights, only to discover that the planner indicates La Foglia on deck 5, as the Aurea venue, for tonight. 
 

Never known them do that before.

Worse than politicians and a somewhat pointless thread.

Can MSC get any worse? The Crew clearly don't know the rules. Had this sent to me by a friend who is onboard Seascape this week.

On MSC Seascape this week two lots of people bid on the upgrade to AUREA they were told it didn’t include the perks ,but they stood their ground and ended up receiving any time dining and the deck access.

From the MSC Terms and Conditions. 17. The Upgrade does not include any additional promotions. Guests whose upgrade bid is accepted will receive the experience level included with their original reservation. "The exceptions will be in the case of a Winning Bid in “Aurea” or “Yacht Club” Experience. In these cases, the Guests will also be guaranteed all the benefits relative to the new experience"

18. All services that have been purchased and / or prepaid before the Winning Bid event for an upgrade in "Aurea" or "Yacht Club" experience will not be refunded if the same service, of the same or higher quality, is included in the new experience resulting from the Winning Bid.

3 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Similar security arrangements have just been announced by the captain.  We have armed security onboard. 
 

Bea ... It was the same on Orchestra plus all the Fire hoses were laid out ready.

3 hours ago, JAGR said:

Well, if I ever came across a darlek, I would be nervous.  If it's a run of the mill dalek, however, no  worries.  I always carry a can opener! 😉

Be careful or a Dalek might make an appearance on here ... 😱

9 hours ago, RBrowny said:

Fingers crossed, although won't be too upset if it's not. 

I seen this on Facebook, looks pretty scary to me. Stay safe!

We had to do the same going the other way on the Orchestra, the promenade deck was closed for three days and the doors were locked so no one could get out.

Bea ... Now you see me, Now you don't ... 😁 Looks like Bea is still having issues getting on the boards.

So, today, we received our Aurea Welcome bubbly and a chocolate bar with the Aurea logo on the (navy) box. This was after I went to Guest Services yesterday to enquire if we were going to get one. I’d also mentioned that we had only received one chocolate Diamond bar, despite us being entitled to one each. Well, we received 2 (black boxes). along with the Aurea Welcome items. As a result, we now have 4 choc bars. “

Take note of this photo, folks. It’ll feature in an update I’ll post later.”

Answers to those Questions from Bea.

“Thanks for following along, folks. Appreciate the kind comments. G - our POCs are Muscat Jeddah, Naples and Civi. However, we’ve been to Aqaba and can’t recommend Petra highly enough (if you haven’t been). Be prepared for a 2km walk (if memory serves - which it normally doesn’t ) over very uneven, broken, rough terrain, before you finally come to the Treasury.

Pompey Sailor - we will do Butchers Cut (as usual - I’m too picky an eater to try anywhere else).

Foxy - now that you mention it (Dalek, that is . Hadn’t seen it that way till now. Thanks a bunch for image.) As for Dave - Mr B said he feels like he’s on holiday with him. Believe me, you haven’t experienced the flush on these loos.

I am getting emails containing the first few words of the posts on here since I managed to contribute personally lol, so, if anyone wants me check anything out, forget the niceties and just keep it to simple words.”

Europa Itinerary.

Graham ... Bea said that she won't be commenting on the port stops, no idea if they have any tours booked on the Europe side, have passed on your comment.

Muscat/Oman.

Once again Bea has no external wifi so not able to comment herself.

It seems that there are changes to the cabin A/C, also it appears that the sliding window is locked for some reason. The control panel doesn’t indicate the temperature for setting. Just a dial to turn from cold to hot. The cabin doesn’t cool done much during the day at the lowest setting.

Next Instalment ... 

Something to note for those who are booked to sail WE. The shampoo is impossible to get a lather from so you might want to consider bringing your own. I never normally bother as I find it doesn’t matter, as the ship’s water deadens my hair no matter what I use.

Also, the soap dispenser at the sink is badly designed. The nozzle is directed towards you so you get splashed with it. You have to cover it with your hand when using. It should really be on the underside of the pump”.

“This is a little delicate: The automatic flush on the public loos is extremely sensitive and flushes while in use, so you get almost sucked in with the vacuum - and a wash at the same time. ”

“Just to add - the bodywash foams up nicely on a sponge”.

Today's Update from Bea.

“We are very happy with our room steward. He has looked after our requests such as face flannels, missing robes, missing aroma room diffuser (he said they were in short supply but would seek one out for us ). He even thoughtfully got extra ice to put in the bucket for the bottle of bubbly and put the bottle back into the ice bucket (I had taken it out to dry off the bottle). He’s everything we like about a good room steward. Oh …. I had pre purchased the ‘Back home clean again’ 10 piece package, hoping that I could use it to get our clothes ironed. When I asked him if it would be possible to use it for that purpose he said he would try. And he did! The package was €22, one shirt costs €4.90 to get ironed. We got great value using the package.

“I love the cabin layout. The divider between the bed and couch and the lovely desk set-up on the other side of the bed Lots of storage space and the shower is fabulous.”

“There’s a make-up mirror - with a light - on an adjustable arm at the desk. The drawer contains the hair dryer - a lovely spot to work in when getting dolled up, tucked out of the way”

 

 

43 minutes ago, Captain-John said:

Also, do you have any idea of how full she is and does she 'feel' full so far or is there enough room for everyone to spread out?

CJ ... Bea says that the ship is at full capacity.

2 hours ago, RBrowny said:

What we like to hear! Yeah, my partner is a bit fussy and we've heard that like the chicken curry has bones in, is this something you've noticed? The food sounds absolutely lovely though

Bea ... said that there are no bones in the Curry ... Mr had a Thai chicken curry today and there were no bones in it (we’re back onboard the ship so no CC.