toledo_cruiser

11 hours ago, mahdnc said:

In terms of Power Up Point activities, the frequency used to be once a month.  However in 2023, it dropped off to about once every two months. 

 

Surveys usually are worth 1-2 Club Points while webinars are worth 5 Club Points, but sometimes just 3.  That might help you figure out the answer to your question about webinar frequency.

 

Thank you very much. A few of the webinars will help. 

4 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

How long did it take you to read through it all?  😄

 

Even I am not that much of a masochist! 😂I picked a few pages from the end and started there. 

My points were added overnight. Quick question, how often does Celebrity have the webinars? Are these done randomly? This is one long thread. Whew!

On 12/19/2023 at 11:21 AM, HUNKY said:

The balcony on the Regal Princess class ships are quite small.

 

So true. I was quite surprised and very disappointed at the size as my wife and I spend lots of time on the balcony. Made me appreciate the older Princess ships more. 

Jim

50 minutes ago, Kelownadon said:

I phoned Celebrity and had them deduct the $6.99 upgrade cost off of our onboard credit allowance. Saved about $200. 

This worked for me. I just did it on the website. It even offered to use OBC which I took advantage of as I didn't need the OBC. Thank you CC.

Jim

On 4/8/2023 at 5:32 PM, Two Wheels Only said:

You can wait to take the photo. Even the people who successfully upload a photo sometimes end up having to take another one at the port. 

Yes, we also ended up having to take the photo at check in. Don't know why they bother asking for it pre-cruise. 

8 hours ago, surfjock27 said:

 

Update: I called MSC and found a competent agent! She was able to get the package upgraded and paid for within 10 minutes. $20 per person, per day, $280 total for two, from Easy Plus to Premium. 

It took my rep about 20 minutes, but that was because I had linked my booking with my adult daughter's booking. My daughter had been told she couldn't upgrade from Easy Plus to Premium. Once the bookings were unlinked it took only a few minutes. As others have said, it is hit or miss whether you get a competent rep. I have to commend my last one as she worked the problem until it was resolved. 

7 hours ago, KKB said:

Different cruise lines have different sized luggage tags, and we aren't brand loyal (tho we have our preferences).

Plus one more thing to pack, gotta remember to print the tags. I'm good.

I had to PRINT boarding passes for my Divina cruise this week. 

I do not remember the last time I did that!!! Been using cruiseline apps for several years.

 

Sailed on Carnival in October and Norwegian in January. I used the same luggage tag holders for both cruise lines. The MSC tags are slightly smaller, but I will still use my existing holders. I do have really narrow tag holders for those cruise lines which use them (MSC tags are too wide for those). My tags go right into the upper zippered luggage pocket immediately after getting to our room so I always have them available for the next cruise. Just got tired of trying to staple the cruise tags around the handles and never felt secure with that method. But use whatever works for you. 

Cheers!

Haven't cruised out of Miami since pre-Covid. On my last two cruises there I was able to walk out of the cruise terminal and catch an available shuttle back to the airport. I know I can hire a prearranged shuttle, but that wasn't necessary the last couple of times. I don't mind waiting until a free seat becomes available as I have a late afternoon flight home. Thoughts?

23 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Seems NWS and all followers over played this storm for days.

LOL Last night when I put the garbage cans out it was 40F and raining. This morning when I had to pull those cans back because collection had been cancelled it was -4F with a 50mph wind. Our local forecasters were spot on with this one. Most of the counties in NW Ohio are at level 2 or level three this afternoon because of the high winds and blowing, drifting snow. Fortunately we did not get the heavy snow my daughter in Minneapolis got (even colder there). My other daughter was lucky. Her flight from Charlotte, NC to Detroit was cancelled before she got to the airport.

But I agree frequently the weather is overplayed. When it's 80F and sunny there is little reason to lead with the weather on a local newscast. 

On 12/19/2022 at 7:08 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

  Now that they are off the payroll, we are free to explore more "extravagant" cruising options.  We like Celebrity ok but not gonna lie, MSC is our new go-to..

I agree. I've only had one MSC cruise (pre-Covid), but I enjoyed it to the point I want to go back. Just got off the Mardi Gras and it was okay, I just wasn't overwhelmed. Too many people.

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Norwegian emails the passenger directly. TA's do not receive the flight information. 

I have a friend who does not have a computer and does not know how to use the smartphone her children gave her (yes, such people exist 😀). Her TA emailed her flight info to me and I printed and gave the info to the friend. It may have been a special case, however due to this person's special needs.

Quick question. Did MSC extend its three year cruise requirement to keep status during Covid?

Please try different lines. You might find you like some things better on different cruise lines. I was hesitant, at first, to try NCL, but have had great cruises since the first NCL cruise. I think demographics will play a big part of the experience. We still sail Carnival, but only if it's a group sail or to try a new ship. Once we branched out to different lines it enhanced our enjoyment of cruising. Kept things from getting stale. If we want to be around younger folks, we'll choose Carnival or NCL. For an older crowd we'll choose Celebrity or Princess. These aren't absolutes, but just general observations. We have NCL up next, but would like to try MSC again in the Spring. 

10 hours ago, phillygwm said:

I know it's no longer mandated but I wouldn't dream of boarding a ship without the latest COVID booster and flu shot.  I got both about 2 weeks before my sailing and added the Prevnar 20 for good measure 🙂  And OP is absolutely correct about having trip insurance with generous medical limits.

 

As much as I love cruising, viruses are always going to be a hazard.  I know there's no absolute guarantee, even with all the shots, but I choose to mitigate the risk as much as possible.  

 

 

I just returned from a cruise Oct 22. Up to date on all my Covid boosters (including Omicron variant), but I still ended up with Covid. Didn't know I had it. No symptoms at all. So yes, you can get it even with all the necessary shots. Just completed a series of vaccinations for an international cruise early next year. And we always get insurance. 

On 9/23/2022 at 5:22 PM, karmamule said:

Yeah I watched that video before we chose our cabin. He was booked on an excel aft corner on deck 9 which is right above some public locations. We're on 11 with other cabins directly above and below and that should be much better. He posted in the comments below that he was going to book another similar cabin on a higher deck in the future.

 

In general regardless of type of cabin it's essential to be aware of what's directly above and below you so you can set expectations on noise levels etc and decide if you'll be happy with your choice.

We're on the 11th deck as well. I agree, look at what's above and below. We like the longer balconies at the rear. 

On 8/31/2022 at 7:54 PM, Frank12 said:

That's how we did it.  #10 was on the Inspiration 12 years ago.  #35 will be on Freedom in December.

 

When the change over to the current sytem took place, Carnival gave everyone a year to complete the 10 cruise threshold for Platinum. I had nine in the books so I just added one additional four day cruise during that year to make it. I thought that was a nice gesture by Carnival to accommodate those cruisers who were on the cusp.

Thanks, I hadn't considered getting tested aboard Carnival two days earlier.  I'll check that option out.

This would involve Carnival and MSC. I'm thinking of joining a family cruise aboard the Carnival Conquest out of Miami in March. Four days is too short for me (flying from Ohio). I'd like to extend my cruising time by adding an MSC cruise after the Carnival cruise. What I'm reading is that I need a negative Covid test two days before the potential MSC cruise. If I understand this correctly, getting a post-cruise test aboard Carnival would not be sufficient to enable me to just hop aboard MSC and I would need to stay two extra days in Miami. Miami seems to have plenty of Covid testing sites so two or even three days would not be a deal breaker. Does this seem correct. I haven't booked either cruise yet, just exploring my options. Thanks in advance.

toledocruiser

On 5/21/2021 at 3:48 PM, marshhawk said:

I know it is a trick of the eye, but when i see all that blue at the bottom of the ship, I think it's sinking.

 

I see what you mean. But I'm sure I'll get used to it. Heck, Norwegian has had funky hull paintings for years and it never bothered me. LOL

On 1/3/2020 at 9:27 PM, ilya12000 said:

It's the first time in our numerous cruises I see such inactive Roll call forums like MSC roll calls. We have cruise starting on April 26th from Venice and NO ONE answer on roll call to my starting post. Usually we use roll calls very actively and found them very useful - both for sharing information, and for organizing non-ship small tour groups. It is our first time on MSC cruise and I'm just curious why these forums are so inactive. Does anyone has any explanation?

I don't know if it's just MSC cruises. On my last three cruises, MSC, Norwegian & Carnival, I found the CC roll calls to be slow. Although it was somewhat more active on that mega-forum we're not supposed to mention. We had to encourage those members to also join and post on CC as some didn't know about this forum.  Perhaps some of the potential CC members were siphoned off to competing forums. I really think you need a ram rod to push the conversation along on the CC roll calls. Someone has to keep posting to keep the roll call active. And perhaps the more experienced cruises just lose interest over time and don't participate. I can't comment on the European aspect other than many posters here are from Europe. 

I will say my Seaside M&G was one of the best I've attended. There were fewer attendees that I expected from the roll call participation, but the ship response was awesome. Usually we get some minor officers who drew the short straw, but we had a full complement of ship's officers, including the captain. Drinks and food aplenty. 

Jim

On 11/1/2019 at 8:48 AM, Beamafar said:

 

🤣🤣🤣 Geez ... how observant are you?!!! 😁

 

 I'm also left-handed  😂(sinister, as they used to say 😉). 

 

I always would say there's something sinister about left handers, but that was only because of two painful years of Latin aeons ago. Few people today get the reference. 😀 I think my Latin teacher was a contemporary of Cicero. 

My apologies for going off the rails. To get back on topic, I'm trying to convince my wife to try an MSC cruise as she was unable to sail on my April Seaside cruise. I would like to try the Seaside again before I try the Meraviglia.

Jim

36 minutes ago, RumRunning said:

We wanted to upgrade our beverage package. We were on hold for an an hour and 15 minutes, only to be told that we have to do it through our travel agent.

 

And our travel agent doesn't have time for us because of their volume. Yay!

When I upgraded my drink package in early December, my TA told me I had to call MSC directly. She already had had to deal with a long wait time for a relatively minor issue on my booking. LOL 

As I recall it was a relatively short wait time, but I did have to call back a second time because the first agent couldn't process the change. The second agent was awesome. Understood my issue and took care of it immediately. 

Jim

Finally had to call MSC Customer Service. It turns out the info I entered to join Voyager and what my TA entered to book didn't match. Darn middle name was the culprit. The CS agent had it cleared up toot sweet.

Debde, I hope you got yours straightened out.

Jim

I sailed aboard the Seaside April 27. I just checked my account and I don't see that cruise credited yet. Is this too soon? Obviously, I can contact MSC, but if this is just a time issue I won't bother.

Thanks,

Jim