publicpersona

This isn't news but worth mentioning again for those that enjoy their wine who may be cruising MSC for the first time and considering a package. If you like a wide variety of pool drinks and cocktails, the drinks packages are an excellent bargain. Easy Plus gets you a long list of contemporary classics cocktails and mocktails. Even the Easy package gets a Long Island Iced Tea or similar. There is much more labor involved with these drinks than pouring a glass from a bottle, so I don't understand the discrepancy. For someone that enjoys wine, the packages don't offer much if any variety. The Easy package consists of the bulk table wines that they get for about $2-$3 in quantity. No specific wineries here .. just something to pass as a table wine in a few popular varietals. One would think the Easy Plus package would have some choices to make. Yes, these are $7-$11 grocery stores wines but still can be interesting to compare and contrast. But here you generally only have one choice per varietal, and not a wide range either. At the Cocktail Bar for example, they have 14 wines by the glass to choose from. But how many of these are available on Easy Plus? Zero. A selling point of Easy Plus over Easy is ability to use the package in specialty restaurants. But wait .. how does that do you any good when Butcher's Cut's only wine by the glass for Easy Plus is a Pinot Grigio. There are no red wines on the menu at the steak specialty restaurant that falls into Easy Plus. In both cases, though, I was able to get a Robert Mondavi chardonnay and a cab sauv, but unless you question about the menu, you won't know they might do that. The Wine Cellar on Seashore appears to be mostly for decoration. There aren't any wines served there except from a vending machine. No one working in there, nor any draw for guests to gather. Strangely, the best wines I had all week were at a $22 for six decent pours wine tasting, but that was held in MDR. There were other wine tastings in the $200 price range. What's the takeaway then? Well, if you really want a drinks package and you're primarily a wine drinker, you might have to consider the top tier premium package. If not, you almost can be as happy with Easy as Easy Plus. The boredom of drinking the same table wines all week can not be much different from having just a very limited palette to choose from.

As a positive, Terminal C does have facial recognition for CBP so you move through fairly quickly.

As far as I know, eMed doesn't sell its proctoring service by itself. You purchase a different kit from eMed or Optum that includes the proctoring - Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test with eMed Telehealth Services. There are at least two proctoring services that sell just the proctor session - http://onpoint-testing.com/ and Rapid COVID-19 Tests with Documentation Online at Home (rapidtestandtrace.com). They have been discussed here and other forums and I've not seen anyone report on issues with either, but haven't (yet) used them personally. With these services, you use any FDA authorized COVID home test (there's no such thing as an FDA approved COVID home test).

I disembarked this morning and had a heck of a time getting an Uber to come to Terminal C East shared ride island where we stood for about 45 minutes. Two drivers cancelled due to traffic, and two others told me I was at the wrong terminal for Seashore. One told me there was no Terminal C (I think he was thinking airport) but my pickup request was Port of Miami.

When boarding Seashore last Saturday, it appeared to me yet again that boarding times were ignored. The terminal was jam packed cheek by jowl starting at 11:00 until boarding actual boarding began about 12:40 PM. Remember that checking in is not the same as actually having access to the ship.

During the post-pandemic startup times, wristbands on the Meraviglia were used by everyone without charge. I found it to be no more convenient than using a card. I don’t know why anyone would pay to use one.

I hesitate to say it, but since you specifically said “voices”, I do want to point out that the tenor and soprano leads (which were outstanding) were the only vocals that were sung live. All other parts as well as all the music were a recording. The strength of the two leads were so good that it was easy to set the other aside and enjoy the show. It was still solid and unique entertainment.

Awesome. But it does appear you have to have a Virgin booking already in order to get status match. Or can you leave Booking Reference blank?

On Seashore this week. I was unable to connect to the Two Devices package yesterday. It did not recognize my username/password that I had been using with the app (yes, the instructions say to use those credentials). I tried resetting my password and it told me my Internet ID as printed on my room card didn't exist. So I attempted to create a new user and it told me my Internet ID already had an account. I finally braced myself for the very long wait in line for assistance. We got it going, but the guy said the problem was that I had started using the MSC app before registering for the package. The explanation made no sense to me but was what I was told. I skeptical that was the issue. Anyway, regarding two people in a stateroom booking under free wi-fi/drinks, the first person on the booking gets the two device package as promised. The second person gets squat. So the first has to give up one of their devices to the other.

Compared to the days when you had to stand in the hot sun with a life jacket on for 30 minutes, just about anything is simple. I think maybe @LatinaInTexaswas just opining that it could be just a little bit simpler if you could complete the video at your leisure (once at the port) and scan during some two hour window, as it is done on some other lines. But perhaps MSC has figured out that compliance goes way up if everybody does it at the same time, and if so, good on them for figuring that out. The people who fail to do anything at all are going to spoil it for everybody.

I do see now and retracted my comments above.

OK .. I see, This is a change that must have come down with the Sept 4 changes but applies to cruises before Sept 4.

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It will be in the cruise docs when you receive them. It asks things like "Have you coughed in the last 14 days"?

Sometimes a connecting room has a loveseat where there would ordinarily be a sofa. And the argument could be made that connecting rooms (and staterooms with pullmans) appeal to families and thus receive some more wear and tear. But honestly .. if you got a stateroom in a good location, I wouldn't sweat the small stuff.

9222 balcony is the last one on the "inset" of balcony staterooms. It does have a larger balcony so that's nice. But there is also a solid wall on the left side looking out that occludes looking down the side of the ship towards the front. See red arrow

Ya think? It is possible that a 64 square mile area is the cay and surrounding ocean which has some sort of designation as a marine preserve, rather than referring to an actual building.

Refer to this thread. Let's not duplicate it in a new thread. TL;DR version: If you think about what the cruise industry is doing right now, the idea that MSC would be banning rapid antigen tests is almost certainly not what is meant. Heck, Royal/Celebrity now say you can proctor your own test. But also, what they have always asked for a CLIA lab certified result, which the eMed tests (and probably OnPoint and RapidTestAndTrace) certainly does provide.

Enjoyed reading your perspective, and I agree with just about everything you say. I continue to sail MSC for the value proposition. Since you are a professional musician and that leads you to be critical in that area, I'm surprised you didn't mention the canned music for the production shows. I prefer Royal/Celebrity in this regard because they historically have made sure they had live musicians for their production shows (that, unfortunately, is no longer the case for some of their newer shows).

Don't scare me like that. It is still there. From MSC Voyagers Club - Membership Benefits | MSC Cruises (msccruisesusa.com)

We kinda like the bag o' laundry we get on Royal/Celeb but you are right about the damage it does to the clothing. We call it the Boil 'N Bake Laundry. One time, I sent a suit to be dry cleaned and it went through the Boil 'N Bake but I didn't notice it until I got home.

Is nobody going to comment on the statement that the constructed center will be about 8 miles by 8 miles in size? > start of construction of the 64-square-mile centre,

The context of this thread are changes going into affect next Monday for MSC. Nothing discussed here changes what you need for your Saturday Seashore departure. Your CVS rapid antigen test or any proctored home antigen test is fine. See you Saturday!