Markanddonna

You will have a slightly better situation than we had on deck 6 as our view looking down was slightly obstructed. I thought it was a wonderful room, but then we are just thrilled to have the privilege of traveling, not cooking and cleaning. You can sit out and enjoy the veranda, enjoy the fresh ocean air, see the weather outside, use your balcony to dry clothes (carefully), etc. The room was lovely and we had no problem with any movement that is sometimes described in a forward cabin. I think you will be very pleased. I would snatch one of these up in a heartbeat.

We had assigned dining but were placed at a two top with no one around us. After that, we chose to go to any of the four dining rooms whenever we wanted. It worked out fine but to be honest, we tired of the need to introduce ourselves every night. Much prefer dining at a 6-8 top with the same people.

It depends on where you are going. We are in our early/mid seventies, and that was probably the average age on the Apex transatlantic. Lots of canes, walkers, scooters. The one comedian referred to the passengers as "dusty," which was a pretty good description. Most just sat in the lounges at night, listening to music and staring into the air as they enjoyed their drink package.

Ephesus: Book a tour with a private company. There are several to choose from. We have been there twice, and the ship tour was fast-paced. The guide was ignorant, passing off myths and inaccurate information to those who didn't know better. (I study Biblical history and archaeology, so I was aghast.) I assume you will go to the ancient city of Ephesus. Unless you are Roman Catholic, try to skip the House of Mary, which has little/no historical basis to it. Avoid the carpet and jewelry salesmen at the port. Just walk past and don't allow yourself to engage. I would also use a private company in Santorini. To see how busy the port will be, check a website that tells you how many ships are in port that day. In Naples, you can take the train to Pompeii or Herculaneum. We took the Red Sightseeing Bus Company's special bus that goes to Pompeii, and it worked out great. Plenty of time to see the site. Don't feel like you are a cruising newbie who must take ship tours. While cruising is somewhat different in Europe, I think your experience will be superb, and you will be hooked.

We always get it. A cruise that ended with COVID and two trips to an ER in Europe resulted in a premature trip back home. Our travel insurance paid for everything, including the $2,000 flight adjustment for the rebooked flight.

I'd say some folks are perfect candidates for a two-top. We're all different, and your preferences should be respected.

We were in 6114 on the 2024 TA. We were in a veranda but it was the "port hole view" which was very nice. Your location is a good one- mid ship and close to a lot of venues.

Whew, pretty negative, but I agree with the more relaxed dress codes. To us, it is more of a luggage issue. I don't recall seeing men or women stuffed into their tuxes or dresses. How awkward is no conversation at a table. It is only problematic when one or two people monopolize the conversation. Generally, the people we ate with for 7-23 days have met have positively added to our lives. You don't get the same vibe on the cruises for less than seven days. We have only once asked to be moved from our assigned table: one couple was a no-show, two French Canadians who said they spoke no English, and an elderly couple where the woman was angry/crabby and her husband was silent. I wasn't going to tolerate that for 23 days on a TP.

This was on a Celebrity TA.

Yes, you can still share but with different people every night. We became weary of giving our summaries each night. With a fixed group, you can talk about your day, tomorrow's port, family, other things.

I think you will discover these things: - passengers have isolated themselves more and are often on their electronic devices. The cruise lines apps are partly to blame. - rules and guidelines are now made to be broken. You have a hard time keeping up with them because they are always in the state of flux. The old rules may now be just suggestions. The MDR experience is often disappointing, not just with the food but also with the idea of socializing. Many passengers want to avoid interacting with other passengers, so you will likely see lots of two-tops. - the dress code is just a suggestion. We have seen some pretty outrageous things in the past year. One cruise had a single male furry (had no companions) who walked around the entire Caribbean cruise in his hot skunk furry costume. The staff made him take off his mask as it was scaring people. People increasingly wear their bathrobes to breakfast (Celebrity...) and swimwear with no cover-up to lunch in the buffet. No one says anything. The positive: more choices

Most info here is credible and rebuked by others if in error. The most difficult issues seem to resolve around dining arrangements since cruise lines are offering so many options and things are fluid

If you want to book on an expensive cruise line or book a suite or above, consider an agent. They may have more to offer because of the profit they are making. Otherwise, book direct and be diligent to check frequently. Don't expect much or anything after the final payment is due. I have benefitted numerous times by calling when I notice the price decrease.

I have never seen a service led by the cruise director. I doubt I would attend that unless I knew his/her background. Protestant services don't require anything from the cruise line. One ship required that the Protestant leader be ordained clergy which only the mainline denominations consider as important.

I rapidly clicked through it. As an author, I have played with AI, and most new articles seem to be generated by AI. As an experienced cruiser, I find them not at all helpful. It is interesting that anyone can generate a pretty good article that is mostly true by just putting a well-thought-out prompt into an AI generator. I fear that is our future. Fiction, on the other hand, is pretty horrible. They use five swarmy, sloppy sentences where just one would suffice.

Totally agree. I thought it was a valiant effort to tackle an irritating problem. This was the nastiest group I have ever traveled with. I'm just saying that the guard was the tipping point to this group of entitled bullies.

On one of my cruises, there was a pool chair policeman in the adult area. I saw a very heated discussion with a man who wanted to claim multiple chairs at 6:30 AM. The crew member was large, and I doubt many wanted to mess with him. He won that round. The end result was a hostile group of passengers, and for a few days, it was like a mutiny on the bounty. People were angry.

I cannot understand why the ship wouldn't post a notice in the daily. Once again, the Jewish self-led Shabbat services are posted. I understand the frustration of some clergyperson who offers. They are giving up their vacation time and the room will be empty because on one knows.

My husband needed an IV drip because of illness and dehydration. MSC didn't charge a thing for any of his medical services. Nothing was there fault. We had travel insurance but never received a bill. He was in the medical center numerous times and we became quite friendly with the two wonderful doctors and their staff.

We have about 10 transatlantic, transpacific, and two weeks and longer sailings under our belt. We enjoyed the ones pre pandemic, but now it seems so many people become ill as the cruise progresses. On both of our last two TAs (Celebrity 2023 and 2024), a great number of people became progressively ill with that cruise cough. Posting on our roll call indicated several tested positive for COVID and quite a few people whose post cruise experiences were ruined. We both eventually succumbed. Fortunately, my COVID was very minor, with no fever, coughing, or sneezing. I tested positive once home. It was irritating that so many people with obvious serious respiratory problems would come to the packed theatres. We have decided that this environment just isn't worth it anymore. Our only COVID experiences have been the result of these two TAs. Actually, we haven't been sick at all except for cruising. From now on, we will stick to land travel and shorter cruises, which haven't been a problem for us. No more TAs.

Our last Celebrity cruise was supposed to be fixed dining. We assumed we would be seated with a group of strangers which usually works out very well. Not this time. We were put at a two top and no one was seated next to us until the very end. We sought the advice of the staff and they said to just show up at any of the four Apex dining rooms and we would be seated. Most of the time, that worked out quite well, but we found it tiresome to introduce ourselves to new people each night. Each night, for two weeks, it was a new set of people. We enjoy having the same group at the MDR each night. Instead of the trivia of getting the basics on people, you can focus on what exciting things they did in port and their plans for the next day. One of the nice features of traditional dining has now been replaced with a much inferior experience.

The excursion described in Maruzel's post sounds like it would be a very nice experience for Roman Catholics. I've been to the House of the Virgin Mary, and it is something Catholics would appreciate despite the lack of real evidence that it is based on history or real archaeology. The site is based on a 19th century nun's vision.

On some cruises, the balcony might be well used. Not really the case on a TA. It was nice to have a place to check the weather and the scenery.

We were recently on a transatlantic on the Apex and had this type of room. I believe they may only be about 8 of them on each side of Deck 6. They were wonderful and the cost was around $1,160 pp. These were not the infinite balconies and I am having a hard time finding them again. I noted they are now included in the veranda category for a higher price, similar to a regular veranda. There is a balcony with chairs and a table but the view is not full like a regular balcony. We don't use a balcony much on a transatlantic, so this was perfect. Recommended if you can get it for a lower price. The category is p2.

Here is the website that provides Catholic priests. It is the Apostles at Sea Program. I find it interesting that the ships often assume that Protestants would be okay with a priest conducting their service. On one cruise, a member of the entertainment staff gave the message during a joint service onboard. He was phenomenal and quite dynamic. I felt sorry for the priest who had to co-officiate with them. Summary: A Sunday mass would require a priest to officiate, and there is some cost involved for the cruise line. Protestant services cost nothing except the use of a room. https://www.aos-usa.org/store/pg/40-About-the-Cruise-Ship-Priest-Program-clone.aspx