Super Bowl

[EXBRIT]

MSC Opera 1/22-1/29

 

Were leaving tomorrow morning for our trip down to fll. Sailing Feb 5 Opera. Jan 22 was Western Carib right? How did you like the ports?

 

There is some uncertainty about the Grand Cayman port time. Were you at Grand Cayman from 7 - 2 or 10 - 6?

 

I would appreciate any info you have.

[trdltli]

1/23 Key West : 7:30 - 13:30,

 

We got a map from the Chamber of Commerce , ( they open at 9:00 )and tried to take the historic house tour.Visited a small botanical garden It started raining

(pretty bad,actually) We walked from the gulf to the atlantic side.

Visited the butterfly garden ,very nice.

 

Cozumel :10:00- 23:30

We had booked a dune-buggy tour. ( Not a ship excursion )

Had a great time , got back at 17:30 (hurry, hurry )shower/ change/dinner/missed the show ( stupid,stupid,stupid !!!! )this is the only show we missed ( Dummy...!!! )

Too tired to do anything else, but I heard 'Senor Frog's 'is lots of fun .

 

Grand Cayman:7:00-14-00

Booked Sting-Ray + Snorkel with Captain Bryant 8:45-12:30

Awesome !!!!!!!!!!

Got back to Tender 13:00 , got on board 13:15.

( Quick........ shower , change , Lunch )

 

Roatan : 8:00-15:00

The only ship at the pier !

Nothing booked !

Found a cab,with an o.k.price to westbay,got off at the canopy-tour ,

( boy ,was that fun !!! ) met the cab-driver on the beach , he took us to the MSC beach-party,at foster's beach.

13:15

Drop snorkel-stuff on board,go shopping .......... !

 

As you can see , we did not have a lot of time to do the usual cruise acctivities that most people seem to prefer. Mainly shopping,looking,shopping etc.............

 

Hope you can find what you enjoy the most

 

Ciao , Leonie

[EXBRIT]

Thanks Leonie the info was great. Was the ship really in Cozumel until 11:30pm? Were people allowed on shore past 6 pm?

 

Rotan does seem to be a bit of a dud as far as excursions go. We are also planning on just using cabs to see the island.

[trdltli]

We had to be back on board by 23:30 , the ship left Cozumel at 24:00 .

The next day was a day at sea.

I guess that's why we stayed so late.

 

I liked Roatan best

Nicer scenery ( Flora + Fauna,Hills ) than Cozumel or Grand Cayman.

At Foster's a Windstar Ship was tendering their passengers to the Beach.

Pretty view to have while soaking some sun und and relaxing on the beach.

Have fun

Leonie

[antcindee]

Just to get back to the topic of the Superbowl....

Front page of the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel

5 cruise ships offer 3,600 rooms that Jacksonville didn't have for Super Bowl

Posted February 2 2005

 

The fanciest places during this week's run-up to Super Bowl XXXIX won't be in downtown Jacksonville. They'll be on the St. Johns River.

 

On the Radisson Seven Seas Navigator, for example, guests will stay in water-view suites, most with private balconies. When they embark, they'll receive a complimentary glass of champagne.

 

Once at their plush suites, which range from 300 to 1,200 square feet, they'll open their suitcases and have someone press their clothes. They'll also nibble a Godiva chocolate truffle, tuck into a full-size bottle of vodka or rum or just wait for the butler to arrive with hors d'oeuvres.

 

They could drive golf balls on the top deck or visit the spa for a massage. Dinner might be in an Italian-style trattoria overlooking the river.

 

Some who shunned the idea of Jacksonville hosting football's big game thought staying on a cruise ship -- the most controversial element of the city's bid for the game -- wouldn't offer any appeal. It might become its best asset.

 

"We're bringing a resort environment to downtown Jacksonville," said Joyce Landry, president and CEO of Landry & Kling, Meetings at Sea, the Coral Gables company that arranged for the five high-end cruise ships that begin arriving today in Jacksonville.

 

The Seven Seas Navigator, Carnival Miracle and Holland America's Volendam, Zaandam and Zuiderdam are providing more than 3,600 rooms for sponsors, broadcasters and others who do business with the NFL for this week's festivities, culminating in Sunday's Super Bowl XXXIX game pitting the New England Patriots against the Philadelphia Eagles.

 

Jacksonville is the smallest NFL city ever to host a Super Bowl. Its bid, approved by NFL owners in 2000, was not only controversial, but is still criticized because of the city's reputation for lacking the pizzazz or amenities of more traditional Super Bowl locations, such as South Florida.

 

And the NFL never would have considered Jacksonville without the promise of cruise ships for hotel rooms. The city doesn't have enough hotel rooms, let alone luxury ones, for football's premier annual event.

 

Cruise ships have been used as accommodation at large sporting events, including the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, but never have played such a prominent role. The ships, which will all be docked at or within 15 minutes of downtown, each bring their own health clubs along with a total of 15 restaurants, 15 nightclubs with live music and 35 bars. Buses will shuttle guests to Alltel Stadium and other event locations.

 

"The ships really motivated the NFL to pick Jacksonville. They added restaurants and bars to Jacksonville," said Jo Kling, co-founder of Landry & Kling.

 

The rates are similar, officials said, to what local hotel rooms cost during Super Bowl week, but include meals and entertainment. In addition, Jacksonville residents can buy packages to stay overnight on the Carnival Miracle tonight or board any of the five ships for a special dinner and entertainment package. A dinner in Nick & Nora's Supper Club followed by entertainment on the Miracle runs $299 a person; or $249 a head in The Bacchus Restaurant.

 

The NFL and its sponsors will use the ships for entertainment, hospitality, press conferences, a media reception, an NFL wives fashion show and for the variety of restaurants. And no doubt the media will use their water views for stand-ups to showcase "Super Bowl on the River."

 

The Holland America ships offer the traditional wooden deck chairs for which the cruise line is known, along with the sweeping Lido deck and even teeth-whitening. The restaurants are supplemented by piano and coffee bars. White-gloved ships staff helps with luggage and directions aboard the ships.

 

Landry said interest has grown as sponsors have gotten to see the ships or learn more about them. The company was anticipating 65 percent single occupancy, but many guests decided to bring their spouses.

 

The ships will operate much as they would on their typical charters to the Caribbean or Latin America or Scandinavia, but they won't be moving. On the Navigator, docked next to the Adam's Mark hotel downtown and the closest to Alltel Stadium, musicians will entertain. Dining areas will feature starched tablecloths, 10-piece silverware place settings and several sizes of wine glass.

 

NFL banners and logos will decorate some of the public rooms and room key cards will bear the Super Bowl logo so they can be kept as souvenirs. The Navigator's reception area will become a concierge area specifically for the Super Bowl with maps and shuttle schedules. The ship's Galileo Lounge on Deck 11 will be a hospitality lounge with big-screen televisions, foosball, billiards, air hockey, darts, computer terminals and gas heaters, in case the temperature cools, Landry said.

 

"Jacksonville doesn't have a five-star hotel," said Jan Novak, the Navigator's hotel director, who will greet Super Bowl guests in his white uniform during the day; blue at night.

 

"We're going to be the best hotel in town," Novak said. "There will be different setups, operating as a restaurant, those will be new challenges for us. As for everything else, first of all, we'll be a floating hotel. We'll have no rough seas, we're praying for sunshine."

[antcindee]

Sorry for the very long post above but saw this on the front page of the paper and just wanted to pass on to everyone just how popular the Superbowl truly is:D

[JeffCoud]

I don't know that it's a reasonable expectation that MSC can/should carry the Super Bowl. First of all, there's the whole issue of acquiring the rights, which in general they probably don't carry NFL games. Secondly, while they are sailing in the Caribbean for what.....a whole 3 months this year....and the passenger demographic seems to be running 50% American, 50% not, why would one assume they're going to go out of their way to carry this? They are barely in the American market, if you go look here at this chart:

 

http://www.msccruises.com/reservations/

 

What MSC is offering is a European cruise line experience on ships which happen to be in the Caribbean for a short while every year. If you are not interested in such an experience, then why the heck are you booking on this ship???? Undoubtedly there are plenty, PLENTY of ships that will be sailing in the Caribbean that week that undoubtedly will carry the Super Bowl. So it's not like someone's being "put out" here.....if it's the Super Bowl one wants, then certainly one can book a ship that is geared to that. I have looked through the deck plans of both the Lirica and the Opera (which I'm hoping to sail in late March btw), and I must be overlooking the Dale Earnhardt sports bar, etc...... People need to adjust their expectations....this is not an American cruise line, and that's not a bad thing, it's just different. I can't help but note the top of the MSC web site say "Premium Class, with a true Italian signature". It doesn't say "Attention Walmart shoppers". I am not trying to be a snob here, just pointing out the obvious.

 

Jeff

[FloridaFun]

Jeff,

It's understandable that the cost to carry the satellite link might not be worth it to MSC. And I believe the passengers understand that. It is the anti-Americanism expressed by a few members on this board that has upset some of us. Personally, I don't care if the Superbowl is shown or not. However, I do care when you refer to people who do want to watch it as "Walmart shoppers." With tickets starting out at over $500.00US each, it has become an elitist event.

 

There are more important things in life than bickering about European versus American tastes. The world has become smaller with travel, and the real traveler enjoys the differences among people from various nations, along with accepting and enjoying the different views of people in their ownn country.

 

We can all enjoy MSC regardless of our nationalit , and we can respect each person's interests. How boring the world would be if we all had the same few interests.

[FloridaFun]

Just another thought: Since a few seem to feel that MSC clientele do not wish to see the Superbowl, why is MSC offering baseball-themed cruises? My understanding is that baseball is not popular in Europe.

[MikeWitte]

Hey FloridaFun - I am a Walmart shopper, I did not realize it was a bad thing - Actually I only go to SuperWalmarts, is that better or worse? We have one right here in ST Cloud now.

 

Walmart have some great Caribbean shirts in at the moment, round about $11, good quality, bright designs and a few $ cheaper than in the Caribbean.

 

Only thing is they charge $2 extra for Husky sizes, that's 2xl and up. Still good though.

 

If you are even bigger than that or want really bright shirts have a look in the Bigdog outlet store , higher cost than Walmart but they have some 50% sales on shirts at the moment in the ST Augustine Outlet mall on I95 and at others too I expect.

 

Just right for watching the Superbowl with a beer in the hand.

[JeffCoud]

The baseball cruises could be a full ship charter by a promotional group of some sort? In any case, is a sport played in the far east and throughout latin america. American football isn't played anywhere (and those wacky Canadians have their own version of course). In any case, the basic point holds....expect a European experience and ambiance on this ship. If the Super Bowl (or anything of that nature) is an absolute need....it might not be smart to book this line right?

 

Jeff

[EXBRIT]

guess what everyone is watching on the opera right now. you got it!

[FloridaFun]

Great to hear that the Superbowl was shown on the Opera per EXBRIT. Guess this whole thread was for naught. Now we can all unite and enjoy our future MSC cruises.

 

Mike, by the way, the baseball-themed cruises are not charters. I think that people from all walks of life can enjoy new experiences whether European, Asian, African or American (or any other not mentioned).

 

And we can all enjoy shopping at high-end stores and Walmart depending on what are our needs and wants at the present time.

[FloridaFun]

Sorry..duplicate message

[Jana]

guess what everyone is watching on the opera right now. you got it!

 

 

I just got off Opera yesterday (Saturday, Feb. 5th). The bizarre TV programming has been a result of the satellite company's failure to set the system up correctly (and when I say bizarre, I mean stations that make no sense for a cruise ship at all). The hotel manager told me they were tearing their hair out. The satellite representative was boarding as everyone was leaving... he had until 4:45 to make sure, finally, that the ship has the stations for which they had contracted, which includes CNN, ESPN and in this instance, Fox or whatever it was that was showing Super Bowl.

 

I'm glad to see that it was taken care of. I know that Mr. Sasso is too.

 

There are flat-screen TVs in all of the main floor lounges. I bet they (the lounges, not the TVs) were filled with revelers of ALL nationalities.

 

Jana

[Lilabell]

Hi everyone. Literally just walked in the house from our cruise on Lirica. Up until the last minute they did try to get it but was unable. However, as they did through the whole cruise, they did their best to please. While we didn't "see" it happening, MSC put up the internet and "refreshed". Everyone made the best of it and had their own party wondering what the next score would be.

 

We had a spectacular time on the Panama 2/4 cruise. Will post review this weekend.

[Cruiselover77]

Dear Saldick, You Should Have Been On Costa!!! They Had A Great Superbowl Party And We Had A Blast. They Do It Every Year!!!! Next Time Try Costa...