ddjwms

Just returned from cruising on the Carnival Sunshine, and we ran into the same problems we had last fall on the Carnival Breeze, so I thought I would give a heads-up to other limited mobility cruisers. In both cases, my husband was provided a wheelchair during the embarkation process, and everything went smoothly until we reached the ship. Then on the Breeze, he was taken to a chair near the purser's desk on a lower floor mid-ship and left there. We asked if we could borrow the wheelchair to get him to our room in the aft of the ship on a higher floor where a mobility scooter was waiting for him. We were told that the wheelchairs were only for rentals during the cruise, and he could not borrow one. On the Sunshine, something similar happened. Once we reached the ship, the wheelchair pusher took him to the forward bank of elevators and ask if he could stand. When he did, the pusher simply took the wheelchair away and left him to ride the elevator up and then make his way across the ship to our aft cabin. I went ahead to the cabin to try to get his scooter and bring it back to him, but it was not there. After several hours and many calls back and forth to the rental company and the purser, we discovered that it had been placed in the wrong room--01 instead of 10.

Similar problems arose with debarkation. Each ship gave a location for wheelchair assist passengers to assemble. In both cases, there were a numbers of cruisers waiting, but few wheelchairs or pushers, so there was a very long wait--v-e-r-y l-o-n-g! In fact, we waited well over an hour on the Sunshine and in fact missed a flight because of it. Apparently most of the pushers were told to go to the wrong place, and I guess that after they had sat around for an hour or so, and no one appeared, they decided to check and see what the problem was. In the meantime, the passengers needing assistance sat and waited.

Another problem on the Sunshine was that the dining room was so crowded and the tables so close together that it was hard for my husband to maneuver around even though we specifically requested accessible seating.

I don't want to discourage limited mobility passengers from cruising Carnival; this last cruise was our 8th on Carnival, so obviously our experience wasn't that bad, but the beginning and the end were a challenge--and challenges that could easily be prevented with a little thought and effort on Carnival's part and that limited mobility passengers need to be prepared for until that happens...

We are travelling in a group of 9 is there tables that will be able to seat us all together.

 

Judith

We had a group of ten and were seated together. (We were not in YC, so we were in the the MDR; I can't speak for the YC dining area.)

I think you are the first person to mention trivia and the decent prizes and happy to hear that it is an activity. On the Med cruises with so many nationalities it was not offered. I do love trivia.QUOTE]

 

There was almost always a morning trivia and often an afternoon one also, as well as what they called "multi-lingual trivia" which was pretty much the same as the other trivias, but the girl who ran it spoke several different languages,so if there were other language speakers, she would give the question first in English, then repeat it in the other language or languages--there was a German group who came almost everyday and some Spanish speakers a couple of times. She (the staff member) graded the foreign language papers, I think. They had what they called "quizzes" also. I only was there for one of them so I am not sure how they worked. The one we went to was a music one; she played little snatches of showtunes, and you had to name them. They had Scattergories a couple of times and a kind of Scrabble-like game with similar rules. I know there were other similar games also. So if you prefer brain exercise to physical exercise (there was plenty of that available, too...), you can find plenty to entertain you, with, as I said, pretty good prizes compared to what most ships have been giving lately.

I'm glad to hear a review from a non yacht club cruiser. Not that I have a problem with YC folks, just because I'm not one and for the most part everyone on this board seems to be cruising in the YC. I have been itching to know how the rest of the ship is?? How are the MDR meals. is it hard to get up on the pool deck? Is it easy to get to the shows after dinner, Ive heard they have a longer dinner so I'm worried about getting to the shows on time.

The MDR meals were okay: usually four main entrees to choose from as well as a couple of pastas. As I said in my comments, the food wasn't bad; I just found it pretty bland overall. The desserts were also a little disappointing. Most nights we just got gelato which was good. The service was fine although our waiter would try to bring everyone something each time he served a course, so people were eating all different courses at the same time. But overall, no complaints. At lunch one day (sit down), I asked for the cold soup to be served in a glass, and after asking me to repeat what I wanted two or three times, the waiter said he would have to ask his supervisor if he could do that as if it were some big deal. His supervisor must have okayed it because he brought it to me in a glass, but I thought it was all very strange because I have made that same request for years on 15 or 20 ships, and it has never been a problem before. Shrimp cocktail is great: big jumbo shrimp, and one night they had a fried seafood sampler as an appetizer that was great; I could easily have made a whole meal of it. Loved the Baked Alaska parade although the slices of baked Alaska were more like slivers...Our daughter had been dieting all week and skipping dessert, saving up for baked Alaska, so I asked our waiter to bring her another slice, and he did. Our water glass was usually kept full. Bread was only brought around once (served to you; no basket on the table) unless you specifically requested more.

The outside pool deck was always quite crowded. There were usually a few spots at the indoor pool (retractable top was opened on pretty, calm days) but even when the top was open, most of the seating was in the shade. But at least on our cruise the outside pool deck stayed pretty full all the time. As others have noted, there are chair hogs who stake out their lounges early and keep them even when they aren't there, so it makes it hard on everyone else, but overall, it was just full of people all the time...

There were two shows so there was really no problem getting to one or the other. And the shows are very, very good. Dinner (and other sitdown meals as well) do tend to be pretty slow. We have gotten used to anytime dining the last few years and really missed it on the Divina. Early seating was too early--5:45 lasting till 7:15 or 7:30 (with the late show at 9:00) and late seating was too late at 8:30 (after the early show at 7:00) It wasn't that service in the dining room drug; it just took a long time to take all the orders, serve all the courses, etc. We would have enjoyed a happy medium like eating at 7 or so.

Overall, the ship is quite beautiful and well-kept, and we had no complaints about the service. We thought everyone went out of their way to be friendly and helpful. My husband has difficulties with mobility, and it seemed as if everyone rushed to help him even when he didn't need it! We were very impressed with the staff's eagerness to be helpful.

I think you will enjoy a cruise on the Divina. It's not perfect, but what is? We had no big complaints and would not hesitate to sail her again (in fact, we have already been considering a cruise on her later in the year; I consider that a pretty positive recommendation!

Just back from the Divina and thought I would share a few quick observations. We were in a balcony cabin, but not Yacht Club, so I guess you could say we were in with the crowd. I had read a lot of different opinions on the Divina on these boards and found I agreed some and didn't with others.

First, food: I think that is very, very subjective. I found that to be true even within our own group. Some were quite happy with food; others were not. I personally was disappointed in the pasta and pizza; I thought since this was an Italian ship that it would be better than it was. I tried several different pastas and found them boring; not much taste at all. As for the pizza, I guess I am used to the Meat Lover's Special or a Supreme here in the US. I found the pizza on the Divina pretty bland with pepperoni about it for meat toppings (oh, I remember wiener pizza one day--no thanks...) and other pizzas with a few veggie toppings; not bad, just nothing to rave about. Same with the desserts: I was so-o-o disappointed with the tiramisu, usually one of my favorites: again, it was not bad, just flavorless.

The buffet always seemed to have a good variety, but was always very crowded even though we followed the advice to go to the back (and the back is a lo-o-o-n-g way from the front!) Others have already commented about the lack of an omelette station. They did have premade omelettes (dry and overcooked with one or two choices of fillings) and precooked fried eggs (hard to tell whether they were over easy or well done), but these were only at the very front line. I skipped the omelettes after a couple of tries, but my husband who is usually pickier than I am was quite satisfied with the fried eggs. And I will say that I fell in love with their chocolate chip twists--yum!!! We tried sitdown breakfast a couple of times, and the omelettes were better, but service was so slow that they were not very warm when they got to us. In fact, it took nearly two hours to complete a sitdown breakfast; thanks, but I have better things to do with my time...

We had no problem with service most of the time; in fact, most of the staff seemed to go out the way to be friendly and helpful, including our cabin steward who was always eager to please. And yet, for several days, he left the same glasses by the ice bucket, just putting the lids back on them even when they were half full of melted ice! Seemed like something too minor to mention, and yet it bugged us.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned (I didn't read every page of the comments, so I might have missed it...) is how HARD the beds are; reminded me of some we had in Beijing: hard as a board! I asked our steward to bring us an extra comforter to go under us to try and add some padding, and he promptly complied, making the bed up with the extra comforter under the sheets and apologizing profusely that he couldn't provide anything better.

The shows were great; we enjoyed them all. The dancers rivalled or even surpassed the Jean Ann Ryan (???) companies from Norwegian who, by far, surpass the dancers on any other line IMO, and the tumblers and contortionists were superb. Beautiful costumes, sets, etc.--it was all spectacular. The theater is very well-designed also with few columns blocking the view.

Games like Trivia had great prizes (caps, t-shirts, little day packs, etc), much better than the pens and keychains that seem the norm on other lines these days. However, the staff members that ran games nearly started riots several times by not setting up clear rules from the start, and then by brushing off disputes by saying, "It's just a game; it's just a game!" You and I may accept that it is just a game, but if you have cruised much, you know that not everyone feels that way! They could really do themselves a favor by having clearcut rules spelled out in advance!

Some people complained about all the kids on the ship; can't say much because we were there with six of our grandkids (who did complain about a lack of activities that they were used to on Carnival and Disney), and I thought the staff went out of their way to be kid-friendly and accommodating, especially in the dining room, although the kids' menu selections didn't have much variety (or taste, from the looks of them...) and didn't seem to appeal to our younger ones. As for the pre-made, pre-wrapped burgers and hot dogs in the buffet, the less said, the better...

Would I go on MSC again; yes--it wasn't my absolute favorite, but it was an excellent value for the very good price we paid, and the service and entertainment were quite good. Would it be my first choice if the price were the same as the other major lines: (which I am sure it will be eventually) not necessarily, but it wouldn't be my last choice either. It was a good middling experience, equal to most other lines--better in some ways, needing improvement in others. I'd go again...it was better than doing my own cooking and cleaning--much better!!!!

Does anyone know the procedure or who to contact to set up a Meet and Greet on an MSC ship (Divina) ? There are several of us interested in setting one up for our cruise, but we are not sure how...Thanks.

It is easy to learn to use Rome's transportation system in a day. You might want to pick up a map that shows bus, subway routes. There are lots of little stands outside the Termini that have them. You can also buy day passes there.

To get back where you came from, you usually can just cross the street and catch the same number bus going the other way. Most busses and subways have maps inside showing their stops, so it is easy to count ahead and see where you are and when you will want to get off. Just reverse that when you are going back to where you came from.

All busses and trains in Europe are pickpocket heaven--as is the area around any major tourist attraction. Use a neck wallet or money belt under your clothes, and you'll be fine. Carry small amounts of money in a front or inside jacket pocket. Don't carry more money than you will need for the day. Lock the rest (along with your passport) in the safe at your hotel. Avoid crowds (impossible to do on public transportation, but try to get a seat or keep your back to the wall; stay away from the door: pickpockets like to get on and off fast...). If people--kids, for example, crowd around you--or act peculiar (a guy was crawling around my husband's feet on the Paris Metro as if he had dropped something and was trying to find it; my son realized that was a distraction while the guy's partner tried to go after my husband's wallet and warned my husband), figure they are pickpockets.

That said, we have taken the train to Pompeii three times with no problems whatsoever.

We had copied off the same directions about the train from Piraeus to Athens Acropolis. Only thing I would add is it is a farther walk from the ship to the Metro than we imagined--not horrible, but we kept thinking we had passed the station; squares weren't very clearly marked. We kept stopping people on the street and asking. They were all very polite and kept telling us to keep on going. You actually keep on curving around the harbor until you run out of street and then turn right. The train station is a big yellow building about two blocks on the right.

Rick Steves guides are good because they walk you step by step through attractions, tell you what you are seeing, etc. They often tell you exactly what bus to take and which stop you exit at. I figure you can never have too much information...

Quote from KCSungirl: "I would love for you to help me with my itinerary:

Rome (City tour and Vatican tour in 3 days), Naples (day trip to Capri), Athens (Acropolis, lunch, and Plaka), Santorini (Lunch and beach), Corfu

(Lunch and Beach), Venice (Canal tour and dinner), Mykonos (lunch and beach), Rhodes (lindros?), dubrovinik (lunch, poke around, beach), Kusadasi (Ephesus)"

KCSungirl:

If you have three days in Rome, you can easily see everything you want on your own using public transportation. Just buy a good guidebook: I am a Rick Steves fan myself--and enjoy. Your hotel or B&B will also likely provide you with any info. you need. Rome is very easy to navigate via bus and subway. If you want a more guided tour, there are those on and off double decker busses. Then we have used Stefano Constantini <allagrande@hotmail.it> when we wanted transfers or a guide with commentary. He speaks excellent English and is quick to respond to e-mails. He can put together almost anything you want for a city tour. It is easy to get money from an ATM in Rome. Pickpockets are a problem: my 6'4'', 250+ lb. husband was hit the first time we were there, but since has learned to use a neck wallet and has had no problem in a half dozen or so return trips.

Athens is also easy by public transportation. The Plaka is close (easy walking distance or bus) to the Acropolis (which is easy to reach by subway) Again, just buy yourself a good travel guide and follow its directions. Most people in Athens (anywhere in Western Europe for that matter) speak at least some English and are very friendly about helping tourists.

We had a great tour to Ephesus with Sisan Tours <www.sisantours.com> a couple of weeks ago: our guide spoke excellent English, and I recommend them highly. We paid less than half of what the ship's excursion would cost, yet went everywhere they did, but with individual attention and service. It was easy to use US dollars or euros in Turkey.

Everything in Mykonos (a beach, a number of restaurants) is an easy walk from the pier unless you want to go to one of the outlying beaches; then get a taxi or rent a motorscooter from the waterfront.

In Naples, if you aren't ruin-fatigued (it is easy to get ruin-fatigued and cathedral-fatigued in Europe!), I would take the train to Pompeii or Herculaneum. Easily done, and much more memorable than Capri...

If you are used to traveling on your own in the US, etc., you will soon get used to the same thing in Europe. We only take ship excursions when there is a long distance involved and no readily available alternatives: to Marakkech, Alhambra, and Alexandria to Cairo have been our ship excursions in four Med cruises. They have always been rushed, but better than nothing. But whenever we can go on our own, we do it.