Markanddonna

Right before the pandemic, we sailed on the Grandiosa's maiden voyage. One third of the passengers were from mainland China so they added Mandarin and Cantonese to the six languages for announcements, making eight. As far as new people coming onboard at several ports, the ship always had a group of new people looking quite lost. It was probably the least friendly group of passengers (except for the south American crowd from Miami) we had ever traveled with.

MSC certainly has some holes in their practices and products. I found the customer service experience to be very good on all. I always approach the desk with a smile and treat them respectfully and their demeanor has always been pleasant and helpful. However, their food is another story. Their pasta is incredibly dry with little sauce. I witnessed a young woman at another table showing her server how the pasta could be picked up by her fork in one clump. That's how dry it was. I asked our server (the worst one we ever had on a cruise taken this past month) if we could have a small bowl of sauce to repair our dry pasta and she never brought it. It was a very inexpensive cruise, so I keep that in mind. I got what I paid for.

All MSC customer service reps have a sign above their desks telling them to say "The website has a little glitch. The tech support in Geneva reports the website will be normal by Monday" This is, of course, my supposition based on numerous calls.

The ports do seem to make a difference. Leaving out of Fort Lauderdale has been a good experience with a friendly vibe. The absolutely worst was out of Miami on a 10-day Panama sailing with a very large number of Central and Southern Americans. They, as someone else noted, tended to be on the wealthy side and treated the crew and other passengers terribly. This was the only time I saw a fight on the cruise, with tempers flaring on sea days (sense of entitlement). We avoid Miami now. We found Galveston to be a very friendly crowd and were embraced by the Texans. They were a hoot. Of course, sailings on MSC in Europe tend to have many Europeans. The atmosphere there is a bit chilly. I had a back-to-back MSC:NCL in the Med, and the passengers were like night and day.

Have you considered using Logan Air? We are doing the reverse and the fare is very reasonable and a lot less time.

It depends on where I am going. The Caribbean—No. I think my children and grandchildren have received their fill of gifts from various places in Europe. Now, I tend to buy things only if it is a really exotic or very new place for us—like Israel or Australia. I might buy items that reflect our family's heritage and maybe a non-breakable Christmas ornament.

If the conditions are okay for docking, they will. Perhaps part of the day can be salvaged.

Just check in on their website and get the paper document. It seems that photo is such a problematic issue on the app. I wasn't allowed to skip it, so I just used the old fashioned paper docs.

It depends on the demographic onboard. Good dance bands learn which genre gets people dancing. Poor ones have their own sets and don't do very much. The officers are roaming around to check out the interest and the number of people in venues. Maybe the band wants another contract, may they don't care. On our last cruise (not Celebrity) the venue that was supposed to be for dancing took a break every 10-15 minutes! We saw NO one dancing for the entire cruise (except for us on the third level in an out-of-the-way place.) On our last Celebrity cruise in January, it was rock and roll, twist, and slow dances. Very little Latin.

Oyster Card. Oyster Card.

The train from London to Hampton Court Palace is easy peasy and included in the fare of your Tube pass. Other trains require regular train tickets. Once off the train, turn right for the short walk to the palace and don't forget to stop for your tickets and headphones. As far as luggage, consider that trains aren't ideal unless you are very strong and can manage a large piece on your own. I would only take a carryon bag.

Nice that Celebrity allows check in online without taking that security photo. Not all cruise lines allow that.

We had a private tour with about 12 others. We were dropped off near the ticket office. Unless you were royalty, I doubt there is a way to get to the top without walking. Be careful! Even in dry weather, some stones have been so worn down that they are like ice. My DH, who has COPD, paced himself and was successful.

BTW, MSC, as an Italian cruiseline really needs to work on their pasta. I observed a diner at a different table complain to the server about their spaghetti. She could lift the entire clump easily just using her fork. It was hard and all stuck together. They also need to use more sauce on their pastas. We asked for a small bowl to add to ours and our server seemed confused and ignored the request.

The Seashore may vary, offering two or three shows depending on the total number of passengers. We had two shows each evening at 35 mins. Our sailing was what I consider the very beginning of spring break with increasing numbers of passengers. You can reserve the show in the late evening for the next day. I believe they wait until after the final show to put reservations on line. The Yacht club has designated, but not reserved seating. At the beginning of the show, the YC ushers take down the ropes and allow anyone to sit amongst the YC folks.

Have to say I feel a bit sorry for the singers and dancers. They performed five out of seven nights. Esp the dancer with the short hair who was fabulous and featured much more than the others.

That was my experience also. I was the only one of the four traveling together who took the selfie. You are correct that they will retake the photo at the port. Why go through this online in the first place...RRR MSC's poor technology. In reality, you can go whenever you wish to the port. Three years in a row (last time March 3) and no one asked to see the time on the docs. As someone else reported, the Seashore's muster drill is insane, with EVERYONE required to watch the video at the exact same time, call on the phone, and then run down to your muster station to verify. The crowds were insane and dangerous on the stairs as the elevators were locked/controlled. MSC needs to observe how other lines calmly stagger the muster throughout the day.

I was on the MSC Seashore right before this one. Mine was a seven day to the Western Carib. There were only TWO theatre shows and they were packed and "sold out" within hours. Perhaps they went to three shows from now on or maybe only for the shorter cruises? You could register for them in the evening before.

We had different boarding times: 1:30 and 3:00 PM. We arrived around 10:30 and NO ONE asked to see the confirmation. Doing so would mean extra personnel which means extra costs for MSC.

It was supposed to be amazing with a special surprise. Here is what it really was. A video of women employees on MSC, about 40 msc female employees lining the staircases in the Atrium, followed by the senior officers toasting them with champagne. Did the workers get a glass or some small gift? No they did not. They got applause and then went back to their jobs and likely had to make up for lost productivity. What a waste of everyone's time.

I have been on only one Carnival cruise. It was an 8 day eastern Caribbean. Actually, everyone was well behaved but it past after Thanksgiving which produces a calm crowd.

If you are Protestant and capable of conducting a service, contact the CD as soon as you get onboard. We have had music crew play the piano, sing, and one even gave a Sunday message! We have been part of a Bible study that met onboard on sea days.

No, but it seems most cruise lines don't concern themselves with religious services. They may bring on a priest. I would call and ask but doubt they will you

I didn't see a priest on our only two Celebrity cruises. I have seen a priest on HAL, NCL, and Royal. Sabbath services are self led. Protestants have to find their own leaders. We held a church service on board a few years ago. On a transatlantic.

You can't bring irons. Hair styling devices are okay. Never had a problem. Put it in checked.