alyssamma

I think they were asking *why* you don't want to sail on Carnival...e.g., too many kids, too loud, don't like the food, etc... What are your reasons?

I sail X because now, at my age, it better suits what I'm looking for, Also, the price of CCL when you add in wifi, drinks, etc. the price for the 2 lines is very similar. Note, I'm talking the newer CCL ships. But that doesn't mean I don't sail CCL...sailing on the Celebration in Sept

LOL, oh the joys of text where you can't judge tone. I didn't take it as you being rude at all...sorry if *my* response came across like that 🙂 I just was trying to clarify for others reading the thread...

Your first mistake is assuming (or hoping) MSC would have something like this. Your second mistake is assuming that if they did, they'd be more competent than the phone reps (spoiler: they would not be) Your third mistake is assuming that if this magical office existed, you'd get the same answer two times in a row. As you saw with the phone reps, that isn't the case. Best bet is to google for the excursion name, or find someone who has done it. It doesn't have to be on MSC as often it is the same 3rd party doing it for multiple ships.

That's fine...but that's different than just saying one and done which gives the impression it's bad instead of it's bad *for you* There's a cruise line for everyone...sometimes two or three 🙂 Pick what you like and spend your money there. I'm 95% in your camp. I won't say I'll *never* sail CCL again, but it would have to be an amazing deal/itinerary for me to do it.

So, I'll preface this by saying X is my favorite cruise line. That being said, Carnival, when done correctly, is a lot of fun. The newer Excel class ships are amazing and the food there is great. The alchemy bar on most (all?) ships really has no equal. And if you want to party, it's the place to go. Note, I'm not in ANY way promoting CCL, just saying I feel it gets a lot of hate because people don't understand what it's for. It would be like a family with teenagers going on X and complaining because there are no water slides or activities they might like. Royal (or even Carnival) would be a much better choice. But it seems like what they are doing is a good thing.

YINs are amazing value...often half the price of a balcony. As for "too small", it all depends on what you use the room for. Do you like to sit around in the morning in bed (or balcony) eating breakfast? Do you pack a bunch of clothes and have trouble "living" out of a suitcase? Are you (excuse me) on the plus side? If any of those is "yes" then it might be too small. There is very little closet space and the bathrooms are miniscule. But...if you can live with that, then you're golden. Our first time in the YC was an inside. We have another booked in Jan because of the price. If you go to your room to sleep, they are fine. @snmathe is doing a live blog from Mera and she's in a YIN cabin. She says it's fine, but you can ask her direct Qs if you want...

LMAO, too funny. OK, so it was what I was thinking about. Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Chips Chips. No coke Pepsi. When I googles I saw a headline for Billy Goat, but didn't read the details (stupid me) so just assumed (more stupidity) it was a different skit.

lol, well, now maybe we are showing our age. I thought it was back from the *original* season with John Belushi and the Greek restaurant that always had Pepsi (and cheeseburgers and chips) and not coke. Thought it was a play on that. Didn't know about Billy Goat Tavern until I googled it. I guess that makes more sense 🙂

Great reference!

Reviews I've seen on the ship are good. I'd say book it.

Can't answer as I've never been on Poesia, but wanted to say I booked this cruise - if you mean the Sept 12th one...the price is excellent and, in a very unique itinerary, it stops at all 3 Baltic countries.

So...I have something very similar...21 day I'm taking next month. We ended up buying the laundry package for the below reasons...that being said, I was still pissed af at the huge price increase. 1) We will need to do laundry in the middle of the cruise and not the end 2) They may not (as you mentioned) offer it onboard. However, we get 15% off packages as diamond so technically waiting we could get the same pre cruise price, but the stress (and the fact that MSC may not honor the diamond discount) made us decide against that. 3) The difference in price is only $36. It's more of a "principle" thing than an actual cost thing. When you step back and think objectively about it, it isn't that big of a deal. 4) We just got back from a HAL cruise where we paid $147 for unlimited laundry and were really happy with the price. Here, again, psychology comes into play. "Unlimited" for a, relatively, low price made us happy. But the reality is we only did about 60 or 70 items (and we were sending laundry about every other day for 2 weeks). Math-wise this is a *worse* deal than the 40 for $76, Now, we could split it up, use it whenever we wanted, etc., but overall cost-wise it was about the same.

You must have AMAZING grandparents...

You'll love the YC. Much better than retreat or haven. Flam is very nice and has a nice fjord. Get up early to watch the ship navigate through it. Lots of people will tell you to take the train (if you do, book direct not through the cruise), but I think a walking tour (you can do this solo) is just as good. Either way you'll like it. I think the big problem will be the time of year and the weather. But regardless, you'll be in the YC 🙂 Copenhagen is an amazing city. You'll love that. Kiel is near Hamburg...that's a great city also. I can't comment on the other ports. I'd start looking for air now...prices are insane.

Depends on several factors. Most importantly, what are you looking for 🙂 If you want a fjord cruise then maybe not. It you want a taste of Norway with a day in Copenhagen then it's great. FWIW, I have friends who booked this today also.

You are an ambervert

Yes, this makes 100% sense and is not in dispute. I think the confusion was a) how does this work on ships...is it for the *entire* cruise or only part of it, and...b) in Europe (and elsewhere) is it *common* to keep your passport for the *entire* stay. Hotels will need your passport to record the info but then they will return them to you and *not* keep them.

Just to add...we stayed in 4034 and *loved* the room. Huge balcony, no obstruction. However, there was noise from the stage, so if you go to bed before 10pm or so you'll hear that. It wasn't very loud and didn't bother us at all - we'd stay in that cabin again - but if you go to bed early and are a light sleeper it might bother you.

This is, unfortunately, correct. People have mentioned day passes in the past, but I don't think anything like that exists anymore.

I've only sailed the NS - and I assume the K is similar. I made a list of pros and cons if you are interested...

That's fair. Pluto is a planet to me 🙂

I think the difference there was escorted land trip maybe? I have only been to Paraguay in SA. Went to many places there and no one held onto my passport. But that is my only SA country...

I don't think we are that far off 🙂 First, I never made a comment about cruises other than to a) express surprise and b) ask how it works. I've only done one cruise that wasn't Caribbean. Second, I agree in places like Moscow or Georgia you may have to do this. But that is far from "common". I would say 80+% of countries in Europe don't do this. And to be clear, I'm talking about doing it for the *entire* hotel stay. Third, yes, YMMV. It is odd we've been to the same places and had different experiences. Perhaps it is the times we went? I was in Romania, for example, maybe 15yrs ago. Travelled all over (except the capital) and didn't encounter this. Were you perhaps there earlier? Or maybe more recently and there has been a change? Or maybe it is visiting for work vs pleasure?

See above...meant Northern... smh right back at ya, lol