Markanddonna

We went to butcher's cut this past week. Steaks were excellent as was the waiter.

Look at a website called cruisedeckplans.com Go to the public view and then hal. You can slide the decks to see what is above and below your cabin. Like others said, go lower and toward the center of the ship for minimum movement. Most newer ships have great stabilizers which are effective 99% of the time. Don't book the bow.

We have been on two ncl cruises , the latest one in November that went from Rome to Israel. We stopped in several Greek ports. It was a wonderful way to see a lot. We stayed in Israel a week

A previous poster mentioned that Americans are a small minority now on Msc cruises out of Florida. Not true. English speaking (as their primary language) North Americans are a minority. Many Americans speak a different language, so the composition can seem like these Americans are from another country. Large groups traveling together have been negatively impacting the atmosphere. Can't say I am enjoying the seven day I am presently on. Running out of foods and drinks started on day seven...and other cutbacks. The dining situation described by the OP was horrible! I would have been furious

It was terminal E even though two csrs told me F. The website and tech really needs to improve. Everything else has gone very well.

Number one through three are their website, IT, and customer service. I found their CSRs to be pleasant but they are saddled with no answers much of the time.

I would book a cruise that started or ended in Haifa and then do the touring on your own or with a tour guide. Like others have said, the ship excursions are large groups following a guide with a paddle. You will feel overwhelmed. All cruise ships essentially book tours with the same companies.

January 20 Msc Divina. It wasn't on the cruise documents.

Some of us were told E and others F. Does anyone know for sure?

Have you been to Israel before? It depends on your interests. I would try to book to arrive at least two days prior. Remember, it starts to get dark around 4:30-5:00 at that time of year. Don't be lured by the supposed cheap airfare if it is going to restrict your time in that wonderful country!

Another factor is the creep back to COVID restrictions. A few days ago, my fellow roll call members on an upcoming Celebrity TA mentioned that new COVID rules were posted for selected sailings. I always loved the TAs and TPs as a wonderful way to get back and forth from North America but now wonder if it is less stressful to just fly to my target destinations.

Tampa to Barcelona

It appears that the first people to hear just recently were those whose travel agents alerted them. We just paid for the cruise in full and they have my email, but Celebrity didn't send me this update.

I just received notice from a person on our sailing's FB page that we are now required to be fully vaccinated and tested for COVID before the sailing. Go to the top of Celebrity's website to find out if your sailing is affected. It appears that all transatlantic and transpacific sailings are among those. Here's just a screen shot: Vaccines In order to sail on a Transatlantic or Transpacific crossing with us, we will require all guests ages 12 and older to be fully vaccinated. COVID-19 booster vaccine shots are not currently required to sail but are highly recommended to ensure a smoother vacation experience. Guests are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if 2 weeks have passed since their second dose in a 2-dose series (such as Pfizer or Moderna vaccines); or, 2 weeks after a one dose series such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine. Vaccines approved and accepted by the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) will be considered valid. Guests with a mixed series of any two of the following vaccines taken within a minimum of 28 days between doses, will also be considered fully vaccinated: Pfizer/Cominarty Moderna/Spikevax Johnson & Johnson/Janssen AstraZeneca/Covishield/Vaxzevria Sinovac/Coronavac Sinopharm/BBIBP-CorV Covaxin Nuvaxovid Any guest who has received one dose of a vaccine (other than Johnson & Johnson/Janssen) will not be considered fully vaccinated. Documentation of full vaccination must be provided at the terminal as a condition for boarding. Please plan to carry your vaccination documentation with you at all times while in port should local authorities or businesses request it to help facilitate entry and/or experiences. Testing Requirements Pre-Arrival Covid-19 Testing All guests ages 2 and older must present a digital or physical copy of a supervised, negative COVID-19 test result at check-in to board their sailing. Guests must present a negative antigen test result taken within 2 days prior to sailing and no more than 2 days before their sailing. Accepted tests are PCR or antigen tests taken in person, supervised virtually, or unsupervised self-administered. Proof of a negative test can be the printed or digital results, a clear photo of your self-test result, or your actual self-test in hand. Guests who have recently recovered from COVID-19 may present a Certificate of Recovery and proof of the positive PCR test result taken between 11-90 days prior to the sail date in order to board. In addition, a vaccination card must also be presented. We will not accept a Certificate of Recovery in place of a vaccination record. Additionally, please be aware that some ports of call do not accept a Certificate of Recovery for the purposes of debarking and enjoying the destination. If applicable to your itinerary, you will be advised of the latest requirements leading up to departure.

I was on a F2B on the Seaside at the very beginning of COVID in Feb 2020. The first week was quite nice with a manageable number of passengers but the second week was a nightmare. It was President's Day week and many schools had off. So, a cabin for two (which is how the industry measures capacity) often had four people since MSC has many "kids sail for free offers." Besides, the pool being like people soup and the hot tubs filled with kids, so many young parents used those large strollers onboard the ship. I have never been on a ship where I wanted to wrap myself in bubble wrap (other passenger's poor hygiene) and get off the ship early. Based on that experience, I can see how easy it would be for a ship to go far above capacity.

Last cruise, not on MSC, I asked for no evening turndown. It worked great.

I would do the Jerusalem tour on Monday. Churches often close for mass. The day of the week for the Dead Sea tour won't matter. Also, if you go on Sunday, you might be competing with lots of pilgrimage groups who reserve churches for mass. That can happen on any day, but Sunday would seem more likely. I'm not an expert, but I wonder how many local Christians go to mass in these churches? Since the number of Christians is quite small and the Messianic congregations have their own churches, I'm guessing there aren't many in attendance.

Styles27. We will be on the B2B Jan 20-Feb 6 Divina cruises. If you hear any news about numbers of passengers, I'd sure appreciate it!

Oh, MSC... About a year ago, my account was frozen and when it was restored my name had my last name also as my middle name. like Jane Doe Doe. I knew that would cause problems as it didn't match my passport, so IT said it would reset in about a month. Nine months later, nothing has changed. MSC loves to blame the IT situations on their office in Europe.

What are you hoping to do in Israel? I would try to find an excursion to Caesaria Maritima and that might be easier from Tel Aviv.

This past cruise, I did not set up a CC group but did collect the names and info of the people on the tours I arranged. I didn't post them on CC or FB, but set up a group email and gave it to only these people. I also agree it isn't wise to post so much info about ourselves!

I arranged a M&G on our last cruise and was not happy that the person who tended to be difficult and a complainer during the cruise was also so at the meeting. I cringed with the rudeness. If you have a complaint, ask to speak privately to the staff. The amount of good info on Cruise Critic boards is far superior than any other site.

Good to know, but reps from a different country are asking you to surrender it and allow them to research you. We don't need our passport to travel in the USA.

I've had to show or register my passport at European hotels. They never took it away for a short or long period.

Many cruise lines are faced with this problem of wildly fluctuating passenger counts. Some continue to sell cabins and reduce the prices to just fill up cabins. Others don't reduce the price in the last month. I noted NCL didn't reduce the price of our 12 day Med cruise in November. We sailed at about 50%. I really thought there would be a price reduction, but it stayed steady. The result was great service. MSC seems to want to fill every cabin knowing their staff is overwhelmed.