Nashna

On 2/22/2023 at 5:46 AM, tring said:

 

That is a lot.  We visited about seven years ago, in June and no more than 600 on our ship.  Times are certainly changing and not for the better.  The ship we arrive on in Sept takes about 1,800, so that itself is still three times our previous experience.  I think we are the only ship in though.

 

Previously we just strolled round, but also visited a walk round display about the formation of Canada with audio guides.  Quite a bit about political ins and outs, so probably more suitable for Canadians, but I found the costumes of the time a interesting.  I do not know if it is still there.   We were more or less alone in there, but perhaps not of particular interest to the British passengers on our ship - we sailed from the UK to Montreal and back.  This September we will be sailing from UK to New York and back, a nice leisurely journey.

 

 

It sure is.  I'm afraid it will overwhelm the port.

On 2/23/2023 at 9:22 PM, rdmurray said:

There's definitely places in the north end that still only take cash.  Have some on hand just to be safe, you wouldn't want to miss out on a delicious pastry. Take the silver line to South Station and hop over to the red line at Park street. Walk out of the T and you'll be right downtown on the common.  Looking at the State house, Boston Common, Public Garden, statues and things, all free.

 

 

Thanks for your suggestions.  I have not been to Boston in many years and are not familiar with the pier area.  I have been to most of the tourist stops, so looking to hit Fanuiel Hall and, Boston Common.   How easy is it to get to the T from the pier?  

1 hour ago, JAGR said:

Don't know if you smoke or not, but be aware that when we were on MSC Meraglia, the Bamboo pool area allowed smoking on the port side (different from the normal use of Starboard side for MSC).  There is a tendency for the area to fill up with overflow from the buffet area.

That is good to know.  I'm not happy being around smoke.  I wonder if MSC allows this when the roof is open.  I can't imagine they would allow smoking if it were a totally enclosed area.  We shall see...

Drats!... I figured that would be the case.

2 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Right, it is the Bamboo pool.  We were on ending last week in YC.  It didn't seem too busy or noisy when we went through a few times but ymmv.  We just stuck to YC pool area.  Ship had 4,800.

 

They run fans just inside by the elevators but watch for slippery marbel by the elevators.

We enjoy hanging out by the YC pool.  However, the weather in Canada and New England will be too cool to use the outdoor pool.  Thanks for the elevator tip...don't need a slip to ruin our vacation.

We are booked in a concierge stateroom on the Vista, Windward Islands, January 31st sailing.  Does anyone know if this sailing is included in the sale?

20 hours ago, GPPhilly said:

I think you might be confused as to what the Solarium is.  May I ask exactly what you are looking for?  The indoor pool?

The Bamboo indoor pool is located in the solarium according to MSC's Meraviglia deck plans.  

19 hours ago, nednrom said:

 

The Solarium is on Royal Caribbean Ships. There is an indoor pool and hot tubs on the Meraviglia with a retractable roof which is a family pool and it has two levels.  An area with only hot tubs and sunbeds is Top 19 which is only for Auera cabin guests with key card entry and it is outdoor area

Thank you for your reply. My first MSC cruise was in an Aurera suite, and I used the top deck on that Divina sailing.  I am also familiar with Celebrity's solarium as I recently spent hours on a rainy sea day in one.  The Meraviglia calls the indoor pool area you referenced the Bamboo Pool, which is located in the solarium.  I was interested in finding out more about the use of the solarium as our stateroom is in the YC on the 16th floor, just outside of the solarium area.  It would certainly be convenient to use.  

7-days out of Miami last July, I can't remember which one of the Seas he was on. He was not particularly upset at the ruckus the passengers caused.  He and his wife are in their forties and travel quite a bit. He actually said it brought the other passengers together as they exchanged the latest gossip provided by the potty-mouthed girlfriend regarding her lout of a boyfriend.  MSC handled it well by immediately isolating him away from the other YC passengers.       

We will sail on the Meraviglia to Canada and New England this fall.  Since October will be cool and we have several sea days, we think the pool Solarium might be a nice way to spend part of the day.  Has anyone used the solarium onboard Mera?   Are there any restrictions as to age?  Is it heated?  How crowded can this get?  I noticed that there were only loungers on the second floor, is it a problem securing one?  As always, I value your input.

They were so good.  I'm sorry to hear they are no longer in the mini-bar.  

My son had an unruly passenger onboard with him last July.  The man was seen at the White tent lugging a large, empty Coleman cooler.  He asked for ice and a case of beer to be brought to his room every morning.  On day two, he and his girlfriend got into a huge fight, and he had to be restrained by security.  He was under house arrest and could not leave his stateroom until disembarkation.  The drunk's girlfriend had a potty mouth and attempted to elicit sympathy daily from other YC passengers in the Topsail lounge.  My son, his wife, and most of the passengers kept a wide berth away from her.  As you can imagine, this was the talk of the cruise.   

I got the impression that the other folks had visited Halifax in the past.   

6 hours ago, Ashland said:

Sorry to hear that...Personally I think those that opted to go to Peggy's Cove are up for a disappointment.

On a recent Caribbean cruise, we met several Canadians who had visited Peggy's Cove; they all said it wasn't worth the travel time and there were too many other interesting things to do in Halifax.  

That's odd.  We were on the Edge in January, and no tender tickets were needed.  The Edge was using both sides of the ship for the local tenders.  Perhaps if it is windy, the tenders are limited.

15 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@Nashna Your comments is quite nice, thank you.  Truth be known, I studied many cruise brands.  One of them was a very well known Ultra-Luxury Brand.  In that study, I was still on FaceBook which I deleted about four years ago.  The Ultra-Luxury Brand loyal guests were quite rude to me on FaceBook.  They could not understand why I was asking so many questions and thought I wanted to injure the brand. I made my decision that day to delete facebook and never consider that brand.  

 

I have found that the Oceania guests on this and other Oceania blogs are not only quite helpful, they are very realistic.  The seem to embrace not guest like you and I as we venture in to the brand they love so much.  My guest is that many current and future Oceania Guests are like you and I which is a benefit to all.

 

Social media gives all of us a choice.  The high or low road.  My goal and the people I gravitate to seems to mostly choose the High road.  That is my take on Oceania Guests.  Hope that makes sense and thank you again.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

I can take a guess as to the ultra-luxury brand you referenced.  While we totally enjoyed sailing on Regent, Windstar, and Azamara in addition to our mainstream cruises, our Seabourn cruise was not as enjoyable.  Fortunately, we did meet some fantastic fellow passengers on CC before the cruise.  These lovely people made up for some of the entitled folks we encountered onboard Seabourn.  

On 2/19/2023 at 6:12 PM, Sthrngary said:

@Woodrowst You know, your question/comment is very fair and I want to give you my perspective on it.  I don't think the way I feel is the way everyone feels however it might be, so here goes.

 

My cruise vacation experiences started four decades ago.  At first, it was just having a nice vacation.  When you grow up poor, you dream about having a nice vacation.  My first cruise was my honeymoon, 44 years ago.  Prior to that cruise, our only vacation was visiting my family.  Doing that was something to really look forward too and all we knew.  That first cruise was so "over the top", it got me hooked on cruising.  

 

My life, like many had a career that got better and better.  This allowed my wife and I to go from an inside cabin with bunkbeds to a port hole.  Life financially got better so we were able to get a very small balcony.  This led to suites and we had a family where my then very young children could join.  Mostly Mainstream cruising out of Miami to the Caribbean. When you start with nothing, then life gives you opportunities, for what every reason, you look to enhance that experience.  Over decades that is what we did.  Not saying always looking for improving the experience is right or healthy for everyone. 

 

About 10 years ago, my wife explained to me, she she would love to have a bottle of wine in the cabin for for night time private time on the deck.  The Mainstream drink packages only allowed you to have one glass at a time which was ok.  But my wife deserved more and I always was very cost focused. We knew we could bring bottles onboard with some rules different brands had in place. Then I started to study cruise brands drink packages, I looked for ways to get every bit of value from the drink packages that I could.  NCL had an enhanced program that gave you bottles of selected wine at meals that allowed you to take the remain bottle back to your stateroom. I found that this special upgraded drink package would allow me to have very high end spirits I would never have allowed myself to have at home.  So I splurged. When you started out poor, you always feel like you will never have enough because your remember your humble beginnings.  Again, this is just me and very personal. 

 

Every time from that point forward we upgraded our drink program and to be frank, it made us feel like we were kind of like "Rock Stars".  Every time we ordered wine or a drink, we had to show our stateroom card to access those drinks.  For us, that was just the way it was, so when folks say, "Yes, but you have to show your card for a drink every time", it is just what we are used to.  The only exception was our very first and only "Luxury" (Not ultra-luxury) and cruise on Crystal Cruise where the drink package was the same for everyone and no need for showing your stateroom card.  It was nice, I must admit.  

 

Our choice to cruise on Oceania Cruises was to again, to enhance our cruising experience now with our best friends joining us. At mid-60's we no longer needed waterslides, go-cart tracks, and laser tag. We just wanted a much more relaxed and classy experience that would provide much better ports to adventure. That was our evolution. My approach is to work within the cruise brands policies.  Showing your stateroom card for every drink is just the rules. My wife understands the bottles of selected wines is a "No Go" and she is fine.  I know, shots of tequila 1942 is not going to happen on this cruise. 

 

If I know the rules, I accept them so I learn them and embrace them.  My use of the term "Convenience" is much more about creating the impression of an "All Inclusive" experience on brands that are NOT "All Inclusive".  Convenience for me is simply not having a HUGE bill on my stateroom portfolio at the end of the cruise.  That mistake only happened once and we learn from our mistakes. 

 

So we pay a premium to have the best drink package available based on what is provided by the brand.  In this case the brand is, Oceania.  We accept from day one that we are over paying.  We fully understand this adds revenue to the cruise brand.  We accept that and understand it as well.  For our friends joining us, they are really pushing their budget to join us. They have never cruised before so for them, they are thrilled to show their card to gain a drink and know that for the most part, the cruise fare and the Prestige package allow them to have a drink or wine anytime they want which is again for them, "Rock Star" status. The $600.00 fee (10 day cruise) is actually less then the cost of the enhanced drink package received on Mainstream Brands like NCL. 

 

With cruises, for us and especially for our friends; this will be very special.  You see it is all relative to the experiences one has in their life time.  To go to a nice lounge/bar, with a well trained staff in a lovely atmosphere and for the most part order what you want on a ship forced on personalized service, enhanced dinning and drinks is all we can ask.  My choice of words may not have expressed accurately what we are receiving.  My choice of words was poor but I hope that makes sense. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.  

Taking our first Oceania cruise next January...I hope you are an example of the type of passenger who sails on Oceania.  

On 2/20/2023 at 8:27 PM, TommyD3 said:

Even the beef in the specialty restaurants has gone downhill.

Here is what my son's prime rib looked like in Fine Cut on Apex a few weeks ago:

 

On the Edge in January, my prime rib looked identical to your son's.  It was tough... definitely not a prime or choice cut.  We decided to splurge in Fine Cut to get a good meal.  My husband's filet was great, so at least one of us enjoyed their meal.  Charging $65.00 per person, Celebrity should be making enough to provide a decent cut of beef.  

Enjoy every moment...we all deserve to be pampered every once in a while.

On 2/19/2023 at 9:31 AM, Rfemle said:

Just curious which Celebrity ship and room/class did you sail in?

A 7-day Apex and an 11-day on  Edge in January 2023.  The Retreat was sold out for both sailings.  We sailed in a Sunset Veranda.  We have done Aqua in the past but chose to have a large veranda over the infinity balcony.  We had sailed Apex in January 2022, so our comparison was recent.  We absolutely enjoyed the entertainment on both ships.  Captain Tsos was fantastic on the Edge.  Where X has really gone down is in the poor food choices and quality.  They did not offer filet mignon; lobster was tiny and $9.95 for a second one, tilapia over swordfish, no more prime rib, and the sirloin steaks were thin. Room service continental breakfast was complimentary anything else was $9.95.  Bar service was slow as they were understaffed...I counted three in the packed theatre.   We ate in the specialty restaurant to get prime rib, and it was tough... not prime or choice.  The prime rib was perfectly cooked, it was just a cheap cut.   We had planned a 2024 cruise on The Beyond but cancelled that one and booked Oceania instead.  Celebrity made these changes on January 1st, 2023.  From the numerous complaints we heard onboard and on CC, Celebrity has a problem.  

The YC Concierge will take care of all that once you board.   The concierge will greet you by name and offer to make all those arrangements.  We found them to be delightful. 

You are in for a treat.  We had booked an excursion before boarding.  Our butler knew we were going on an excursion and offered to escort us to the bus. Passengers going on the excursion were to meet in the theatre; our butler said we could save time and just meet the tour outside the ship.  So instead of spending 30 minutes waiting, we sipped mimosas.  Our butler was in contact with the excursion officer who called when the passengers were leaving the theatre.  Our butler took us off the ship, directly to the bus to board, introduced us to the guide, and ensured we were the first on the bus. 

This is another example of how the butlers work for you...One night, I ordered a glass of wine in the Topsail Lounge, and we decided to have our drinks on the veranda instead.  I picked up my glass and left the lounge when another butler saw me.  He was aghast to see me carrying my own drink, asked what I was drinking, and said he would deliver it to our room.  He showed up within a few minutes with a full bottle of wine and two glasses.  We didn't think we needed a butler...until we had one.   

Good to know.  I wish MSC were still embarking from Manhattan.  We are taking Amtrak into NYC and are staying in mid-town.   

We are sailing a Canada/New England cruise from Brooklyn in October.  What setup do they have in Manhattan?

We use Marriott points and did stay at the Marriott Biscayne Bay in 2022.  I wasn't that thrilled with the hotel's restaurant choices.  We did get upgraded to a higher room category and could see the cruise ships through our window.  This time, It looks like we will be staying at the newly renovated Marriott Marquis.  

How is the MSC terminal in Brooklyn?  Do YC passengers have a special drop-off area?