shipgeeks

The dress code might not require a higher standard, but in actual practice, we thought that overall, passengers dressed much better than on other mainstream lines, certainly way better than on NCL.

But there are so many of us who have never had any problems like his. Ever.

I like reading anything about cruising. I read one Points Guy article that was featured on my news page, and vowed to never read any more. The writer was so naive, or as Perakcruiser so aptly put it, clueless. But they are very good at writing titles that draw people in! I hesitate to honor them with even one more "click", so might skip reading this one, unless my curiosity gets the better of me. FWIW, We have done two more recent MSC cruises, in Bella level, as well as one in 2002, all out of Florida. We greatly enjoyed them all. The food, our cabin, the shows were all more than fine, and the service from all departments was outstanding. Reading some of the quotes above, all I can say is "huh??"

What I found helpful in his guide was the distance from port to a number of attractions, whether one could walk there, etc. Just the basic nitty-gritty; a good start.

There is a lot to see and do right in Portland. Have a look at some of the previous posts about what to do. We've been there several times, and always enjoyed it. I never heard of a beach in the area.

Does it appear that we can use our freebie government home tests?

Why is it called Egg Cream if there is no egg?

Jayson was in Diamond Lounge when we were aboard in February, and in Concierge Lounge during our June cruise. I don't recall if he said what his future schedule would be. We would love to see him again!

Apparently there is a petition to disallow cruise ships in the future, but no immediate stoppages will happen. You can see discussion of this here on CC, under Ports of Call: Canada/NewEngland.

What ports do you watch? My DH looks at Nassau most days, to see the ships arriving in the morning.

There are signs asking pax to not use the cold drink dispensers to fill personal water bottles directly, for hygiene reasons. We take wide-mouth bottles for this reason. The recommended method, as noted above, is to get a glass(es) of water and pour it in. We can also do this in the cabin, from the bathroom tap, or ice bucket.

We pack for the entire trip, no matter how long. However, we do not go to the gym or otherwise get overly sweaty. Our daytime and evening clothes have never felt too dirty to rewear, as the ship is so clean (and we've been fortunate to have never spilled coffee or pasta sauce all over a shirt). We pack enough undies for the duration, but if we feel like we need more, we just wash them in the bathroom and hang in the shower to drip dry.

Could be because Bermuda citizens have to pay it, too, every time they leave on a trip and go back.

There have been recent news reports that the Northern Lights could be visible as far south as SW Pennsylvania in the days to come. Any similar forecasts in the areas covered on a C/NE cruise (as far north as Saint John, in our case)?

Yes, I wondered if perhaps she is a college student, boarded in sweats or similar, and saw men in long pants and shirts with collars...and considered that "formal". At least her review was quite positive, so that's a good thing, and I'm glad you appear to have had a good experience, too.

That's it; thank you.

Smoke from where??

For anyone cruising to or from Pittsburgh, with an interest in seeing bald eagles: We live about 6 miles from the Port of Pittsburgh, above Lock #1 on the Ohio River (Emsworth L&D). We have been seeing two bald eagles soaring, mostly just north of us, for most of the summer. Yesterday we saw what appeared to be seven of them! If you are on the Ohio River, within about ten miles from Pittsburgh, look north, above the trees, and you just might see them.

Here's an interesting development. An article appeared on my news page today; a reprint of a review of part of this trip, by an intern at a Pittsburgh newspaper. It was a positive review, especially regarding lack of crowds, and leisurely pace. She had previously done one ocean cruise, which she reports was so crowded that she hid in her cabin a lot of the time. She warns that eating in the dining room on the riverboat is like being invited to the Captain's Table on a cruise ship: formal wear required every night. (??) The menu choices were so overwhelming that she panicked and ordered the first thing she saw. She ate dinner in the buffet the next night. She reports that the food was quite good at both. She was amazed to learn that crew live on the boat for weeks at a time! Did any of you meet this young person? Is she as naive as she appears in print?

Have any of you done this? Is it worthwhile? Do you go beyond the area we have probably walked while exploring Portland on previous visits?

But wouldn't this still be the case if you became ill while travelling independently on land out of your own country? IMO, even worse, because then I would have to find a hospital/quarantine hotel on my own, and make my own return travel arrangements, within each country's guidelines. Personally, I will feel more comfortable about having a ship's doctor be involved in any decisions about my illness, and whether it can best be treated onboard, in a quarantine cabin, or at a hospital at a port we will be sailing to. I've read a number of positive reports of cruise lines being involved in further contact and arrangements for passengers who were transferred ashore for medical reasons.

Presumably there were some positive reviews as well?

We have had two cruises this year on Enchantment. Both were excellent. The only lack was the cutback in production shows, due to cast illnesses. Dining service was outstanding. Foodwise, the more I shop for groceries here, the more I appreciate what RC is able to provide. All of our shipboard meals were good, and I didn't find any items missing. At the store here, one day I find milk but no cereal, potatoes but no meat, yogurt but no fruit. And the prices keep going up and up. We have three more cruises booked on Enchantment in the coming months. Looking forward to all of them. I no longer read reviews, be it cruises, restaurants, products.

Walking around without a plan is what we have done in all of those ports. Sydney was the least interesting, but all have enough things to allow us to visit again, walk some more, and see new things of interest.

Re the speed of the process, we figured out afterwards that what made it long was that a number of passengers walked in a back door of the lounge where we were to meet, and did not check in with the crew at the door. So we waited, and waited, for all pax to show up (kind of like muster drill attendance). So if you do it, be sure to check in!