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The one who contacted me gave me his direct contact info

Thanks Pat! So glad you had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was not so great, my husband tested positive for Covid the day before. He had a bad cough for two weeks but kept testing negative prior. We had 14 people coming for the holiday, all food and drink purchased and much preparation already done and we had to cancel. I tested positive two days ago. It’s our second go round with Covid. Ironically we had our next booster scheduled for the Saturday after Thanksgiving thinking we’d be all set for our cruise. Well I guess we’re really all set now lol Ugh! This time around it’s like a bad sinus infection and very achy all over. So the tour in Cartagena you guys did is the one we booked. I’m disappointed to hear that there was so much walking, that’s not what the description says. Also was hoping to see the important sites listed in their description. We aren’t going to Costa Maya, you’re right. We’re going to Nassau and two stops in Ocean Cay with one overnight. We decided not to get off the ship in Colon after your earlier report and someone my husband works with just got off Divina and he said the same thing about Colon. They got off walked around a bit, felt very unsafe and went right back on the ship. Costa Rica is another port we’re unsure of what we should do. Would like to go to a beach if the weather cooperates. I think we’ll just grab a taxi if it’s nice out and go that route. I appreciate all of your great advice, you’re always spot on with your recommendations! Wishing you all a very happy and healthy holiday season as well! Thanks again! Deb

Our first MSC cruise was a Mediterranean cruise from Civitavecchia (Rome) Everything on board was in English and Italian. The cruise director would first speak in Italian and then repeat it in English. We didn’t attend trivia as we were in port every day. Not even sure they offered it. Music at night was a mix of English and Italian. The tours we chose in all 3 countries (Italy, Spain and France) were in English. The only tour guide who struggled with English was on our tour to Avignon. Even though we chose the English tour she spoke mostly in French. It wasn’t a huge deal as we had the option to use headphones so we ended up wandering off on our own and then meeting back up with the tour for the next stop. I never felt like an outsider at all. Most people on the ship could speak English even if it wasn’t their first language.

Hi Pat, I hope you and Frank and your family had a great Thanksgiving! Was the tour you’re describing in Columbia the Cartagena Sightseeing Tour?

I’m happy others are having the same experience I’ve had with great reps. I always book directly myself and when I was researching our cruise a rep reached out to me by phone and email and offered to be my MSC cruise consultant, so they do offer that. I guess they keep track of our “searches” when we do mock bookings which is how he knew I was planning to cruise soon. I declined as I like full control of my vacation.

I’m glad you got it sorted out so quickly. I’ve had to call MSC two times in the last couple of weeks for changes I wanted to make to our upcoming Divina cruise and both times I won the “MSC customer service rep” lottery. lol These two young ladies were by far the best I’ve gotten since cruising with MSC. Both times they waited on the phone with me until I received confirmation emails and made sure the changes were correct. I hate to jinx it but dare I say they’re finally training (some of) their CS reps properly? 😬

Wow I guess the local didn’t know to never mess with a marine. I’ve seen reports that this port isn’t safe but then again not many are nowadays.

That’s good to know that there are some things to do right at the port. The excursions they offer don’t seem very exciting lol

Shoot I posted too soon. I had a similar situation with our cruise this past January. Went in to check on my reservation and the dates had changed. I had not been notified by MSC and if I hadn’t checked my reservation I wouldn’t have known until I printed our docs. This was only a few weeks before our cruise. MSC offered us a full refund because they changed our dates. It worked out perfectly because Omicron was bad at that time and we wanted to cancel anyway. Our flights were also non refundable but that didn’t mean we couldn’t change them to another date/location which is what we did. If your original cruise is still available just check with your airline to see if you can change the return flight. Non refundable doesn’t mean you can’t make changes. Good luck!

Have you checked with the airline to see if you can change your return flight? Is the cruise paid in full?

That’s strange. Maybe they have changed their policy but we dined with friends who didn’t have the package. We had done the “travel with” thing before cruising. It used to be that everyone in your room must purchase the package not everyone you wish to dine with. Easyplus includes all drinks $9 and under. We’ve had it twice and again next month. It’s a good package.

Hi Recent cruisers, any recommendations for excursions at this port? The “ports of call” boards aren’t very active on here.

Sounds like you booked Feb 2023 if they’re demanding full payment

To add to what has already been stated. we had a drink package and our waiter would give us large liter size bottles at dinner which we put in our mini bar. (We asked our room attendant to empty the mini bar on the first day so we could use it for the water bottles) The liter size bottles came in handy on excursions to refill our stainless bottles we always bring and fill at the buffet.

If you order wine for your room they will bring glasses with the bottles of wine. We did this on our first MSC cruise without issue.

We’re on for 14 days Dec 30th and we feel the same about not a big deal if we skip a port. We love Divina it’ll be our 3rd time on her. We also chose this itinerary because the ports sounded interesting however when I heard that the long excursion to the Panama Canal had police escort from the ship that gave me pause. In our 30’s and 40’s we were a little more adventurous but I can’t run as fast as I did then lol All kidding aside, unfortunately even the police in these countries will rob you so having them escort our tour didn’t give me much peace of mind. I will definitely report back after our cruise (probably during it as well as I usually do a live review)

Thanks so much for your input it’s greatly appreciated! In Cartagena it sounds like there are plenty of taxis right outside the ship that we could take to the old city without doing the hop on hop off bus. It’s getting back to the ship that worries me but I’m assuming there will also be taxis to take us back. I think Colon will be a stay on board day for us. I haven’t heard one good thing about that port which makes me wonder why they bother stopping there (besides the canal of course) but I think we will book another cruise that actually goes through the canal. That poor man that fell, I hope he was okay!

Someone on another social media site mentioned damage to an area of OC from one of the hurricanes so maybe that was it.

No I don’t mind at all. We decided not to get off the ship in Colon after reading some reports on here from members on this cruise a couple of weeks ago. They said the port had a heavy police presence and someone on board from another area of Panama said she wouldn’t get off the ship in Colon that it wasn’t safe. So I decided to do my own research on this and I’ve read some things about Colon that are unsettling to say the least. Even the US Gov website has warnings about traveling there. Maybe things will change by the time you sail but you may want to do some reading about it before you book anything.

Same here in RI, some of the fast food restaurants have never reopened their dining rooms since Covid. Our Walgreens pharmacy is closed on Saturdays and Sundays because they can’t get enough pharmacists. I’m also seeing a lot more “seniors” working in retail and restaurants in jobs that teenagers used to have.

Doesn’t hurt to phone MSC and ask. We upgraded our room on our upcoming cruise on Divina from obstructed view balcony to a premium however we booked Fantastica so we had chosen our first room. When I noticed an aft balcony became available I wanted it so I used that as my “1 free Fantastica change” It was $275 less than our original room which they honored. It was before final payment though.

So true about staffing problems everywhere. We have friends who own a few fine dining restaurants here in RI. They have a fourth restaurant ready to open since the Spring but it remains empty because they can’t find the staff to open it. In speaking with friends who have younger kids than we do (ours are in their mid 30’s) their kids in their early 20’s are not working in “conventional” jobs like we and our kids did while in college. My kids worked in restaurants and retail. Many of the late teen early 20’s population nowadays are “self employed” as Uber drivers or the like. They work when they want to work and for as long as they want to work and they don’t have to be stuck in retail or restaurants nights and weekends. It’s a real problem and one I’m thinking is only going to get worse. I wondered how long it would take before we saw the cruise lines have staffing issues and unfortunately it’s here. By the way @quattroheadits nice to see you back on these boards. Haven’t seen you in a while!

Haha right! I made sure I let her know what a rare gem she was and I wish I could get her again if I need to call. That makes sense then. She said there are a lot of empty rooms on our sailing but they’re not selling them because they can’t get the staff. I think MSC is focusing on keeping Mera, Seashore and Seascape fully staffed (or as full as they can be).

I wonder what the draw is to RCL…higher wages?

I wonder if it’s just on Divina seeing she is the oldest and smallest ship from FL the demand may not be there.