shipgeeks

Good to see! I've been wondering why she wasn't listed anywhere.

I can't comment on the Yacht Club questions, but I imagine it is less likely that you would have daily trivia on an MSC ship, as so many of the passengers are not English-speaking, or at least not as their primary language. Likewise, the shows are less likely to be language dependent. On the plus side, we enjoyed our MSC cruises to a large extent because of the mix of passengers and experiences. It just felt more like being "away", rather than at a local entertainment/food venue.

That's what we did when we sailed to AK, on Princess. For us it was lovely having more sea days before and after, and, of course, a longer cruise overall.

RK, You asked why double-toasted at Panera's. I think we learned to ask for that because they are so fresh (straight from the back room bakery) that if untoasted, or toasted once, they still felt doughy. We like a bit of crispness, I guess. We also double toast our English muffins, at home. But on the other hand, when I tried making a BLT for myself, at breakfast, on our recent cruise, I found the toast a bit too dry, but perhaps it was sitting out too long. So many fine points!

I'm always so glad to see that the crew have long-sleeve rash guards to wear. Mine is ready for our cruise next month.

I'd be interested in a comparison of Thomas' bagels and Panera bagels (esp when double-toasted, and eaten in-store with cream cheese). It hadn't occurred to me to think of Thomas', although I like their English muffins. I spent a year in a Jewish dorm, and a few years in a Jewish neighborhood with a wonderful bagel bakery. Now I haven't had a bagel for years, thinking I probably wouldn't enjoy them. Panera's is the closest I've come. What do you think?

There is a cosmetics shop with perfume, Clinique, etc.; a clothing and accessories shop; liquor shop; logo shop; plus what I gather are some higher-end jewelry and electronics shops.

We were all forum beginners at some point! Just keep asking, don't be shy. We have never bought a beverage package, as we are not big drinkers at all. The decision comes down to the number of drinks a day you might want. Maybe some others can share figures on this. Will this be your first RC cruise? Are you a member of Crown & Anchor? If you eventually do lots of RC cruises, someday you will qualify for several free drinks a day.

We were given our Enchantment block while on the cruise, but were disappointed to see that the picture is pre-stretch version. No swoopy bridge above pool deck, which is a feature we really like. Oh well, it's still a nice block.

On our recent cruises we've seen beautiful lox, with cream cheese, capers, and onions; but having tried ship bagels a few times, I keep passing them up.

For those of us who sail from the Port of Baltimore, we have an opportunity to see Savannah each time we sail. She is docked on our port side as we depart, not far from the port. Nice-looking ship.

While you are in Sydney, you might be offered the chance to do the "Bridge Climb". While I'm sure it is spectacular, it is also very $$$. But if you are able to climb some steps, and then walk on a safe, protected walkway, it is well worth it to walk at least partway across the Harbour Bridge, especially on a nice day. And it is free, with no reservations required. Fabulous views of the city and the harbour.

Thanks, that's good to know. Wanding is not a problem. I've been patted down in a couple of airports; it wasn't all that traumatic.

In that case (as opposed to going no further than Halifax, for example) you should probably be prepared for some cold.

Yes. We used our account to add an extra tip for her on a previous cruise. We mentioned it to her; she pulled out her phone and confirmed that it had been added in full to her personal account.

I remember a scene in a movie in which the young lady stepped off her plane from Europe wearing a leather jacket with multiple zippers, buckles and studs, pants with metal trim all over, a fancy belt buckle, and boots with zippers and studs. She might have looked fashionable, but I thought Wardrobe was not being very realistic using that as her travelling outfit, lol.

Tips were prepaid. The form I submitted was for an additional $75, which would use OBC that was on my account, and then my credit card for the balance.

My husband always has to remove his belt when going through Security at our home terminal. I have been asked to remove a jacket with 4 or 5 brass buttons. Now I have a pair of slacks with 22 metal buttons down the sides, and I'd love to wear them for the trip (drive) to the port, and for boarding. How does Security deal with a dilemma like this? I don't think I'll be asked to remove them right there, lol, but what, if anything, might happen? Anybody have experience with a similar situation?

redwave, How far does the cruise go? Several years ago we did a repositioning cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal; I believe it was in May. When we got to Boston it was chilly, and Halifax was chilly and blustery that day. Beyond that, it was cold. In Sydney, many of us went to a nearby thrift store to buy additional sweaters. In Quebec there was snow on the ground, although many of the school kids out and about were wearing shorts and hoodies. I wore a down jacket most of those days, and felt the cold. We had many lunches in the solarium-type space. I recall seeing a man in a robe topped with a down vest. The outdoor hot tubs were bubbling away, but I never saw anyone in them.

Yes, a number of times. A few of the times, the message said "offices are now closed, please try on another day".

Not reported by the crewmember. Our account said "gratuities $15".

Why would we not? Have done so many times. The crewmember said either way is fine, when we asked her. (In this case, we were also using OBC, which our final account noted we had relinquished by not using it.)

We returned from a wonderful cruise on Enchantment a few days ago. At that time, we received an email with our final account information, not available onboard. Unfortunately, the $75 additional gratuity for a special crew member, that we had requested on the submission form, was apparently changed to $15 when it was passed on to her. I am concerned that she is wondering what she did wrong, to deserve such an insulting amount, as well as the fact that she did not get the money. I have tried calling and emailing, with no success. Any tips on getting through to someone who can resolve this for us?

Very interesting perspective! And I loved your final comments. We find the auctions very aggravating. The room they are now using, on Enchantment, is one of the nicest public rooms on the ship, yet we never got to enjoy it, as the easels and prints were set up there for the entire cruise, blocking the windows, the lounge chairs, and any passageways within the room. I hope more people read your post, and realize that there are options for acquiring art. Your description of the bidding process sounds like a timeshare presentation that people are required to attend in order to pick up their tickets for a "free" cruise. Ugh!

CruiseDancer, Have you danced in the Southwest(?) Lounge? (Deck 6, beyond Schooner Bar.) Wooden floor; smallish but nice. Sadly, it had hundreds of easels for the art auction set up for virtually our entire cruise. I think there were one or two sessions of recorded music for ballroom dancing. There were always a few people dancing in Centrum, evening music sets as well as a number of exercise type classes. The floor there is hard, too! And when we sailed ships with no Bolero's, we usually went to VC and asked the DJ for Latin music. The downside there is that the floor is hard, and worse, it has metal strips across it which always tripped me up.