Nashna

I had heard Virgin was on the wild side.  The Ice Cream shop name indeed confirms it.  A friend of mine sailed them recently and had your reaction as well.  Richard Branson is not known for being subtle.  On our Celebrity roll call in January, one poster suggested we play a "key" game onboard one night.  The poster was asked to explain the game.  Crickets.  The only response a few days later was, "Celebrity is not Virgin."   

The photos look amazing.  The side mirrored storage area will work well with all of our stuff.  

I have enjoyed the all-inclusive concept on other cruise lines such as Azamara, Regent & Seabourn.   Hopefully, if O Life does expand, O will allow previous bookings to take advantage of the new program.

I like the menu as well.  It is nice to have the option to dine more casually once in awhile.   

The menu looks rather casual.  Is this the dinner or lunch menu?

2 hours ago, Rainbow3fe said:

  What does MSC Yacht Club have to do with Oceania?  Oceania treats every passenger equally. No special treatment for those who pay more.

    The Vibes on Oceania are quite different from those large ships with lots of noise.

I only replied to a post that had given incorrect information regarding MSC YC's service.  I enjoy many different experiences while cruising.  

On 5/6/2023 at 9:56 AM, ak1004 said:

 

I talked to enough people who experienced NCL Haven or MSC Yacht, and I sailed on enough big ships to know the facts. Nothing that I said was inaccurate. What was inaccurate was your interpretation. I'm well aware that suite passengers get priority embarkation - my comment was about getting off and on the ship in ports of call as I mentioned in my previous comment. 

 

What else was inaccurate? The fact that outside your little paradise, you are still on a big ship, with lots of children, and completely different demographics compared to lines like Oceania or Silversea? The fact that typical size of O excursion is 25-30 people while big lines fill buses to capacity?

 

My main point was that there are areas that it simply doesn't matter that you are in a suite. We will just need to agree to disagree..

My experience in debarking ports and returning to the ship in the Yacht Club was outstanding.  Our butler approached us the night before the port call to offer his assistance getting to our excursion.  When we told him we knew our meeting point, he told us we did not need to go to the meeting place. Instead, we could have an extra 30 minutes having coffee in the lounge. Then, he would take us directly to the bus.  We arrived at the bus, where the group lined up to board.  Our butler introduced us to the tour guide, who invited us to board the bus.  While we did feel awkward boarding at first, we enjoyed the special treatment.  Every time we returned to the ship, there was a special boarding area for Yacht Club passengers.   At MSC's private island, we disembarked in a special section, then boarded a special shuttle to the YC Beach.  There is a reason why so many of us enjoy sailing MSC's Yacht Club.  

Everyone has a different view of cruising.  None of the issues that the OP stated would be major to me.  Pre-covid, MSC's safety drill was horrible.  Waiting for late arrivals, listening to the safety instructions in multiple languages, rude passengers talking during the instructions, crying babies, and then enduring the crush of the dispersing crowd made it intolerable.  What the OP experienced seems to be a vast improvement.  We try to use the wifi as little as possible, typically get the higher-grade drink package, and stay in YC.  Deal breakers for me are service, meal quality, the ship's ambiance, and entertainment.  

Hi DCGuy64 Neighbor!

I get your reaction to your first O cruise. We were there 20 years ago after a rather dull HAL cruise. We enjoyed the cruise but needed just a bit more action. We then found our niche for about six years on Windstar. We tried a few Regent cruises and enjoyed them when their pricing was still doable. Searching for the right fit, we sailed on Princess, Cunard, NCL, and Seabourn. We thought we had found a good option in Celebrity, but two recent cruises have us switching to O.   Based on our ages and interests, we expect O to be a good fit for us. We enjoyed each sailing (even an awful Costa experience). So we don't have unrealistic expectations for O. I look forward to reading your review.  

Jamie, you are a hoot!  I'm glad you are getting your money's worth from the drink package and putting that jacuzzi to good use.   Thanks for sharing your adventure with us.  Cheers!

It looks like the e-muster is back.  To me, e-muster was the only positive result of Covid.  

10 hours ago, Quietquail said:

Hi Neighbor, I’ll let you know our experience as we are sailing in September, several O cruises and looking forward to this new ship, 

Looking forward to hearing all about it.

49 minutes ago, lcpagejr said:

If your an experienced cruiser...why even bother with a TA?? Ive booked directly through online agencies atleast 20x since 2000...Ive only had to call them 2x. Its easy peasy and you get alot of OBC.... Im getting $800 for a YC cruise on Seascape in November.

I've sailed on 61 cruises, so yes, I am experienced.  I also know that a TA has much more clout than one passenger.  My TA is a Virtuoso Agency, a luxury travel consortium member, which gives me the power of hundreds of agencies.  On my upcoming Oceania cruise, the consortium offered free gratuities on that sailing, combined with a $400.00 shipboard credit from my TA; this gave us over $1,000.00 in savings on that one sailing.   I know from my thirty years of dealing with travel providers that their travel agency partners are their lifelines.   This is why cruise lines pay 10 to 18 % commissions.  By the way, those Online Booking Sites are earning commission from the cruise lines and are considered to be travel agents...they just aren't accommodating if you need assistance.      

DCGuy64... From a Haymarket, Virginia neighbor (who is also a 30-year retired travel agency manager), don't sweat it.  The weather forecast on Monday is outstanding, no storms are predicted, so you should have easy flying out of Dulles.  Since your flights are set in stone, I advise you to get off this post, finish packing, and don't let the "what ifs" spoil your pre-trip excitement.  Have a wonderful vacation.  Please come back and let us know how well you did!

Civilization went downhill once men stopped wearing bows on their shoes.  

I have never had my dining experience on any cruise ship impacted by what others wore.  When I first started cruising, tuxes were everyday attire, and many ladies used the formal night as an excuse to bring out the Mother of the Bride dresses for a repeat performance.  It was pretty entertaining to sit and watch the parade going into dinner.  I do miss that spectacle.  But, that was years ago and times change.  

My TA has always gladly taken my MSC cruises that I book myself and then transfer over to him. Since I booked in YC, he would get at least a 10% commission.  This would earn him   $430.00 on a 7-night cruise.  Mine always gives me a $200.00 shipboard credit.  If his company does more volume with MSC, then his commission and perks for booking would be much higher.  When MSC first entered the US market, they were much more difficult to deal with.  Perhaps, this TA had a bad experience during that time.   

I was pleased that they extended it once.  I advise anyone who needs to cancel to be persistent.  Another of my arguments to MSC was that I wanted to go on their itinerary, but if I did not have the deposit funds extended, I might choose another cruise line for my Canada/New England trip.  It doesn't make business sense to alienate a client who wishes to spend $8600.00 on a trip for $398.00.  If there is some reason that I can't take the 2024 trip, I would not expect MSC to extend the deposit funds again.

I just changed my October 2023 to September 2024.  It is the exact same cruise, only a year later.  At first, my TA was told that it was non-refundable, and the one change for YC bookings was to be booked on another cruise departing in 90 days.  I then called MSC and spoke to a very nice agent who said nothing could be done.  I explained that I had to cancel due to surgery, and by the time I was ready to sail, the 90 days would be up.  I said I wanted to book the same cruise only in 2024 when I could medically go.  She said she would check with a supervisor, and I was on hold for about 30 minutes.  She finally returned and said that transferring the deposit over to my 2024 cruise was approved.  She noted the record, and my TA called and officially asked that my deposit be transferred.  I don't know if I was allowed to transfer because it was medical and I offered to have my surgeon write a letter or because I was so insistent that I wanted to go.

I would do the YC.  We sailed for five days in a 1 bedroom Aurea Suite, then 7-days in YC.  Although the pool is small in YC, the lounge area is large.  Having the buffet by the pool for breakfast and lunch was delightful.  We found the Aurea sun deck to be very windy; there was a rather small bar up there where you walked to get your drinks and very few people.  We much preferred the atmosphere around the YC pool.  While dinners in the Aurea section were very nice and a big improvement over the regular MDR, breakfast is in the MDR, and it was not great.  One morning we went to the buffet for breakfast, which was crowded and noisy.  If you can swing it, the extra service in the YC is worth it. 

16 hours ago, pinotlover said:

A shame indeed. I conducted a six week wine seminar starting in January ending before my Marina cruise. First night out, everyone blind tasted a pour of apple juice, pineapple juice, coconut juice, and grape juice in an attempt to hone their concentration and distinguish flavors. Amazing the number of older participants that hadn’t a clue on what they were sampling. The younger students nailed everything.

 

A lot of discussion here on food quality and tastes by those that would probably fail my simple blind tasting.

I would love to take your course.  At a recent baby shower, we were given samples of baby food arranged and numbered on a plate to taste and determine what they were.  It was amazing how many people got them wrong... myself included.    

I am hoping this long shot works.  How about contacting MSC directly with this info?  Perhaps they can send someone to locate it.

I'd like to know this, too. 

Amias...did you find a reputable car service?  If so, what is the cost?  We are returning to Penn Station as well.  

Is E-muster watching the video without going to the muster station?  If so, I would still visit the muster station for my protection.  I thought watching the video and visiting the muster station to sign in was preferable to the old way.