AidaStella and MSC Preziosa Join World Cruise Fleet

by Kevin Griffin writing for cybercruises.com

AidaStella sailing the Elba River to Hamburg

AidaStella, 71,300 gross tons, 831 x 106′, 2,194 lower berths
Saturday saw the naming in Warnemünde of Aida Cruises’ tenth cruise ship, AidaStella, completed recently by shipbuilder Meyer Werft in Papenburg. Last of the latest series of seven “smaller” ships, she will be followed in 2015 and 2016 by two 125,000-tonners of a totally new design from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan.

The ten godmothers for AidaStella included eight Aida employees from different countries and departments, and a representative each from Meyer Werft and naval architects Partner Ship Design. Aida of course is the German arm of Carnival Corp & plc, reporting to the Costa Cruises Group in Genoa, where former Aida president Michael Thamm is now ceo.

As seagoing “club resorts”, Aida ships have many on-board amenities and facilities that attract younger, more active holidaymakers and families. Much of the dining, for example, is buffet style.

The evening ceremony was celebrated with “stellar” fireworks, stella of course being the Latin word for star. AidaStella spent the night in Warnemünde before setting off on Sunday for her maiden voyage to Oslo, Southampton, Le Havre and Amsterdam and Genoa, where she is due to arrive on Friday.

Of AidaStella’s 1,097 passenger cabins, roughly two-thirds (722), have balconies. Included are thirty-nine spa cabins with direct access to the large spa with its glass roof. The ship also comes fully equipped with seven restaurants and twelve bars, including the Bella Donna for Italian regional specialties and gourmet restaurant Rossini.

AidaStella has her own red wine and an exclusive AidaStella beer will be available on board, in Swarovski-designed crystal-studded ‘starry’ beer glasses.

 

MSC Preziosa, 139,072 gross tons, 1093 x 125′, 3,478 lower berths.
To the south, Thursday saw STX France deliver the MSC Preziosa to MSC Cruises in St Nazaire. After a ribbon-cutting ceremony, she is now cruising by way of Lisbon, Cadiz, Casablanca, Valencia and Marseilles to Genoa, where she will be officially named.

MSC Cruises took over this ship, which was originally ordered in 2010 by Libya’s General National Maritime Transport Company, on the stocks last year. Of MSC’s own Fantasia class, naval architects De Jorio Design International were responsible for the end design.

MSC Fantasia

The fourth of the Fantasia class ships, MSC Preziosa has 100 cabins more than earlier vessels, and becomes the line’s new flagship. Like the AidaStella she also has a Swarovski feature, in her case her sweeping grand staircases. Other features include a magical “infinity” pool for adults only and a revised rear lounge arrangement, casino and disco.

Like the other Fantasia class ships, Preziosa features an exclusive, but enlarged in her case, MSC Yacht Club suite area, with dedicated facilities, private decks and forward-facing lounge on top of the ship.

Almost double the size of AidaStella, MSC Preziosa counts among the ten largest ships in the world. Royal Caribbean International has five larger, seven when Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas deliver in 2014 and 2015. Norwegian Breakaway (to enter service in May) and Norwegian Getaway (2014) will also exceed her size, as do Queen Mary 2 and Norwegian Epic.

MSC Preziosa has eleven shopping venues, including new perfumery and cosmetics shop La Profumeria and two jewellery shops, Il Gioiello for high-end jewels and the new Fashion Bijoux for costume jewellery. Fantasia class favourites include duty-free Mini Mall, designer watch and sunglass shop L’Angolo dell’Oggetto, La Boutique for men’s, women’s and children’s fashions, the Pool Shop, MSC Logo Shop, sweet shop La Caramella, Accessories Shop for upmarket bags, belts and leather goods and the MSC Photo Shop.

MSC Preziosa is due to be named on Saturday by the line’s longtime permanent godmother Sophia Loren.

MSC Cruises Offers Revitalized Buffet Restaurants Aboard MSC Splendida, MSC Fantasia and MSC Poesia

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With the help of Italian food designer Paolo Barichella from food and lifestyle designers Enocultura, the buffet area has been restyled around new concepts of presentation and service.

The redesigned buffet now includes different speciality corners, arranged with a more intuitive feel for passengers trying to decide what dishes to select. Fruit and vegetables are now sliced and diced in front of guests at the salad and fruit corner, where fresh products are arranged by colour to help people get the necessary five a day.

The carving show corner provides cuts of meat from turkey to beef, while burgers, hot dogs, chips and a selection of sandwiches, piadina wraps and traditional focaccias can be found at the grill take away corner.

Various types of homemade bread, from breadsticks to bread rolls, pretzel buns, rye bread, French baguettes, seeded bread rings, grissini,and artistic MSC logo breads, can be found at the bakery corner, and passengers can watch MSC bakers producing the daily selection of bread at the special bakery show corner.

MSC’s Margherita pizza, as well as a pizza of the day, puff pastry jalousie and stuffed calzone, can be found at the pizza corner, while the pasta station offers different pastas, including pasta au gratin, homemade stuffed pasta, ravioli and tortellini, all cooked in front of the guests.

The Mediterranean corner provides a large selection of traditional cheeses, including provolone, gorgonzola, gouda, Grana Padano, ricotta, mozzarella, brie, and camembert, as well as cuts of high quality origin-certified cured hams, Mortadella and salami, ready to be carved in front of guests.

The children’s corner offers a selection of healthy items adapted for kids’ tastes. MSC’s youngest travellers will also enjoy the dessert corner, where different sweet treats including cakes, crème bavaroises, cupcakes, puddings, tarts and mousses are available every day.

Five different dishes can be found at the daily specials corner, offering a full menu including soup, pasta gratin and sautéed pasta, rice and hot dishes with meat, fish and vegetables. Speciality recipes from a wide range of countries including Morocco, Spain, Greece, Indonesia, China, Mexico and India can be found at the ethnic corner, which offers four different choices from the country of choice each day.

Passengers can also find the perfect wine or soft drink for their meal on the tailor-made buffet bar list and at the beverage station, which offers a wide variety of hot and cold drinks. The redesigned buffet is currently available on board MSC Splendida, MSC Fantasia and MSC Poesia. The project will be rolled out across the whole fleet by summer 2013.

For more information about MSC Cruises, visit The Cruise People, Ltd.

Sunquest’s Transatlantic Programme Now on Sale

English: Cruise ship MSC Poesia IMO Number: 9387073 MMSI Number: 355931000 Callsign: 3EPL4 Length: 293 m Beam: 36 m Deutsch: Cruise ship MSC Poesia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

from travelinfo

SUNQUEST’S 2013 Transatlantic Crossing programme is now available for sale, featuring a choice of a 15- or 17-night cruise plus a choice of four post-cruise options.

Departing on April 20, 2013, travellers fly from Toronto to Ft. Lauderdale on WestJet where they are then transferred to Port Everglades to board MSC Poesia for their cruise. The cruise travels to New York, Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Lisbon, La Coruña and Dover, where the 15-night cruisers disembark, before continuing on to Kiel, Germany as part of the 17-night itinerary.
Option 1 consists of the 15-night cruise plus a two-night post-cruise coach tour in London (17 nights in total). Travellers return to Toronto via Air Transat. Prices start from $2,299.

With Option 2, travellers enjoy the 15-night cruise, disembark in Dover and then embark on a six-night/seven-day coach tour of London, Paris and Rome (two nights a piece), flying back to Toronto with Alitalia (21 nights total). Prices start from $3,199.

Option 3 also starts with the 15-night cruise and is followed by an eight-night coach tour of London (two nights), Sorrento and Rome (three nights each), and their flight back to Toronto with Alitalia (23 nights total). Prices start from $3,199.

Option 4, travellers cruise all the way to Kiel on the 17-night itinerary before embarking on a little post-cruise touring of Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Rome (26 nights total). Their return flight is aboard Alitalia out of Rome and prices start from $3,499.

In addition, when you book now, you will take advantage of up to $800 in savings. Not only will you receive a discount of $400 per couple per stateroom, but you will also receive a free stateroom upgrade – if you pay for an inside stateroom, you will automatically be upgraded to an outside oceanview stateroom; people who book an outside cabin will be upgraded to a standard balcony, and so on. This is a limited time offer, available on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

Is STX France Slightly Confused About Its Own 150-Year History?

 

The 139,400-ton MSC Divina, one of eleven St Nazaire-built MSC ships, is 1,094 feet long and carries 3,500 lower-berth passengers

When STX France handed over the MSC Divina to MSC Cruises at St Nazaire on last Saturday, she became the eleventh St Nazaire-built ship to be owned by the Naples-based cruise line. General manager Laurent Castaing was quoted as saying that “MSC Divina is the eleventh ship in just over ten years that our shipyard has built which is operated by MSC Cruises. Her sister ship MSC Preziosa, currently under construction, will become the twelfth ship.” True as far as it goes, although two of those ships had been delivered to the now defunct Festival Cruises and then acquired by MSC. Castaing then went on to say that “Throughout our 150-year history never before have so many vessels been built for one shipowner, and this is a record that deserves to be highlighted.” It’s just too bad his facts were wrong.

The 83,423-ton Normandie, one of twenty-two St Nazaire-built CGT ocean liners, was 1,029 feet long and carried 2,000 passengers

As is so often the case these days, researchers appear not to have done their work properly, putting Castaing into the embarrassing position of quoting their inaccuracies. Why? Because the St Nazaire yards built twice as many ships for the famous Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, also known as the French Line. Starting with the s.s.France of 1865 and finishing with the last s.s. France of 1962, St Nazaire built twenty-two passenger liners for CGT. These included some of the most famous Transatlantic liners of their day – Paris (1921), Ile de France (1927),Lafayette (1930), Champlain (1932) and Normandie (1935). STX France itself is the successor to two shipyards, Chantiers de Penhoët and Chantiers de la Loire, which were merged in 1955 to form Chantiers de l’Atlantique.

While MSC Cruises is a big customer for STX, in recent years the shipyard has also completed RMS Queen Mary 2,Crystal Serenity and the eight Renaissance ships and is now building Europa 2 for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

Meanwhile, for anyone wanting to cruise in a French ship these days we offer Compagnie du Ponant, with itineraries worldwide on three small ships, and CMA CGM, with cargo-passenger services worldwide on more than 65 container ships. Or, of course, you can book with MSC Cruises! For further details please call The Cruise People Ltd in London on 020 7723 2450 or e-mail cruise@cruisepeople.co.uk or in North America at 1-800-961-5536 or cruise@thecruisepeople.ca

LiveJournal Tags: MSC DIVINIA,MSC PREZIOSA,NORMANDIE,SS FRNCE,PARIS,ILE DE FRANCE,LAFAYETTE,CHAMPLAIN,RMS QUEEN MARY 2,CRYSTAL SERENITY,EUROPA 2

Miami Lands Yet Another Cruise Line

by Kevin Griffin of The Cruise People writing in cybercruises.com

MSC Cruises will change its Florida seasonal base port from Fort Lauderdale to Miami for the cruise season starting in late 2013. The Italian-based line will operate its newest ship, the 3,500-berth MSC Divina, from Miami between November 2013 and May 2014, although MSC Poesia will still sail from Port Everglades in 2012-13.

In announcing the move last week, MSC Cruises’ US president Rick Sasso also intimated that another MSC ship could well follow and that having a year-round MSC ship in North America was not entirely out of the question.  MSC Divina will become the largest ship in the MSC Cruises fleet when she delivers in Marseilles on May 26, featuring a separate 69-suite first-class zone called The Yacht Club, with exclusive forward views from its lounge atop the bridge.

This is the second such announcement in two weeks as earlier this month Norwegian Cruise Line revealed that it would be basing its own new 4,000-berth Norwegian Getaway at Miami year-round from her introduction in 2014. When she arrived, the 144,000-ton ship will become the largest ship to use Miami as her home port. Sister ship Norwegian Breakaway will be based at New York year-round from spring 2013.

Since losing Oasis and Allure of the Seas to Fort Lauderdale in 2009, Miami has been striving hard to make up for the loss of the world’s largest cruise ships. Even so, it has handled more than four million passengers for four years in a row now, a number that is expected to reach four and a half million by 2014.

Royal Caribbean’s choice of Fort Lauderdale as base port for its Oasis and Allure of the Seas ended the decades-old rule that Miami, with its 3-, 4- and 7-day cruises, was mass market while Fort Lauderdale, with its Round-the-World and Transatlantic liners, was upmarket. And the recent changes have only served to change this even more.

Three brand-new ships are set to start sailing from Miami later this year – the 3,030-berth Celebrity Reflection and 3,690-berth Carnival Breeze, operated by lines that are indicated in their names (echoing the days when tankers were all called Esso this or Texaco that), as well as Oceania Cruises’ new 1,259-berth Riviera. All three will sail from Miami this winter, and with Carnival Breeze becoming the largest ship to be based in Miami, at least until Norwegian Getaway arrives in 2014.

Also new to Miami will be Regent Seven Seas, which will bring two ships to the port next winter. Regent previously sailed from Port Everglades, but they will now share a dedicated Miami terminal with stable mates Oceania Cruises. Disney Cruise Line will also base its 1,750-berth Disney Wonder in Miami for the first time from December through May 2013, operating on 4- and 5-night itineraries. And Crystal and Cunard made the move to Miami some time ago now.

One thing going in Miami’s favour of course is that all of Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises are based there, as are Prestige Cruises’ Oceania and Regent brands.

LiveJournal Tags: Oasis of The Seas,Allure of The Seas,Carnival Breeze,Disney Wonder,Riviera,Celebrity Reflection,Norwegian Getaway,MSC Divina,MSC Poseia

Old Time Service with Modern Technology

Image via Wikipedia

The Cruise People, Ltd. now has a wonderful research tool.  Whether you are thinking about cruising for the first time or you are an experienced cruiser, we can help you find that perfect cruise.  Fun, sun, beaches, adventure, culture or sights – there is a cruise here for you.

We have over 20,000 ocean and river cruises to show you including detailed itineraries, port descriptions and useful information about your cruise ship.

You can use the Quick Search to start or choose one of the offers or other links on this page.

LiveJournal Tags: cruise research,research ships,search itineraries,search ships,search ports

MSC Cruises a Repeat Winner for ‘Best Onboard International Experience’ in Porthole Poll

For the second year in a row, MSC Cruises has received Porthole Cruise Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Award for "Best Onboard International Experience."

For the 13^th consecutive year, readers of Porthole Cruise Magazine voted via mail, fax and online in a variety of categories.

"With a great mix of guests, cuisine and entertainment on board, MSC Cruises offers a unique international ambience," said Bill Panoff, publisher and editor-in-chief of Porthole Cruise Magazine. "Our readers who have experienced the product clearly recognize this, and I congratulate MSC on its win."

"This award is especially significant because it was decided by the magazine’s readers — our guests. It is rewarding to know that our guests continue to recognize and enjoy the unique international flavour of an MSC Cruises experience," said Richard E. Sasso, president and CEO of MSC Cruises (USA), Inc.

"MSC Cruises has always prided itself on the international experience we offer our guests, from the cuisine and entertainment to the crew and overall ambiance, whether they cruise with us in the Caribbean, Canada/New England, Mediterranean, Northern Europe, South Africa or South America," Sasso said.

For more information about MSC Cruises, contact The Cruise People at 1-800-961-5536.

Not well-known in North America, MSC Cruises is a privately-held, family-owned, Italian cruise line with a fleet of 11 ships: MSC Magnifica, MSC Splendida, MSC Fantasia, MSC Poesia, MSC Orchestra, MSC Musica, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Armonia, MSC Opera, MSC Lirica and MSC Melody. Its 12th ship, MSC Divina, a sister ship to MSC Fantasia and MSC Splendida, debuts in May of 2012. The fleet cruises year round in the Mediterranean and seasonally in Northern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, theCaribbean, US and Canada, South America, the Indian Ocean, and South and West Africa.

Annual Forecast Reveals Worldwide Cruise Passengers to Top 20 Million

 

 

Cruise Market Watch has announced the results of its annual cruise trends forecast based on analysis of its proprietary cruise database.

Among the 2012 highlights:

• The worldwide cruise market is estimated at $34.1 billion
• Cruise passengers carried worldwide in 2012 is estimated at 20.3 million, a 5.6% increase over 2011
• The top two cruise companies Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Co (NYSE: RCL) account for 73% of worldwide share of revenue
• The 2012 Port Pulse^TM rankings place Miami Florida as the #1 cruise embarkation port in the world and Nassau Bahamas the #1 port of call
• Direct spending by passengers and crew at all cruise ports in the world is estimated at $15.5 billion

While cruise lines have grown annual passengers travelled at a compound annual growth rate of 7.4% since 1990 – all the cruise ships in the entire world filled at capacity all year long still only amount to less than ½ of the total number of annual visitors to Las Vegas.  Cruise passengers carried worldwide in 2012 is estimated at 20.3 million, an increase of 5.6% over 2011.

On the heals of the several new ships to be added to the market in 2012 (including the 3,690 passenger Carnival Breeze, the 3,013 passenger MSC Divina,  3,012-guest Costa Fascinosca and 2,500 berth Disney Fantasy) eight more new cruise ships will launch by 2015. These ships will generate another $2.3 billion in annual revenue for the cruise industry. By 2015, 22.3 million cruise passengers are expected to be carried worldwide.

This is not only good for the cruise industry (of which two cruise companies dominate – Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Co (NYSE: RCL) with a combined 73% of worldwide market share) but also for the local economies of ports visited by cruise passengers.  Direct spending by passengers and crew at all cruise ports around the world is estimated at $15.5 billion.  The 2012 Port Pulse^TM rankings place Miami, Florida as the #1 embarkation port and Nassau Bahamas the #1 port of call.  North America and Europe serve as the source markets for 85.9% of worldwide passengers, but other regions of the world such as Asia are growing significantly.

The new ships continue to bring attention to cruising, creating interest, additional pricing power, economies of scale and bookings of first time cruisers.  Average cruise revenue per passenger per day for 2012 is projected to be $240.13.

MSC Poesia Cruise 08 – 22 October, 2011

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The Cruise People’s Fred Cherney reports from onboard

MSC did a very good job with Express Check-In. The people behind the counter were smiling, friendly and very helpful. It was a painless process and boarding was direct with no delay. One of the girls even recognized me from a different cruise line.

There was a line of stewards awaiting passengers and escorting them to the cabins. Even the lifts, which are often clogged with baggage on other lines, were available. Baggage was relegated to staff lifts.

My cabin was clean and well laid out. Stewards were pleasant and eager to please. I have a habit of requesting the mini-bar and bottled water be locked up to avoid mistakes and this was done immediately and with no question. I also request drapes be left open day and night and this presented no problem to the stewards. It’s nice to find a cabin where the thermostat actually changes the temperature. Beds are very comfortable and cabins are bright and airy. Caution: Connecting cabin doors are NOT very sound-proof!

I had a baggage problem due to an error by the shore-side porters (nothing to do with MSC) and I quickly discovered how efficient and helpful the front desk personnel could be. My thanks to Teresa, Guest Relations Manager, and her crew for their assistance. One of the red-jacketed ladies demonstrated the extent to which they would go to be of service when she escorted a blind guest and his seeing-eye dog ashore. There was an accident and she ended up finding a plastic bag and picking up after the dog. Now that’s service!

The concierge was particularly helpful with gaining internet access. Passengers wishing to use the service are asked to bring their computers to the front desk and are shown how to gain access and, more importantly, how to log off so your time does not tick on after you quit.

Cabin stewards are smiling and thoughtful. When they learned of my luggage problem, they searched and kept watch for its arrival. It’s nice to know they really cared!

Congratulations to the ship’s crew for scoring 95% on a U.S. Health Inspection on 08 October in New York. This is a great achievement for a vessel from a foreign-owned cruise line as the U.S. inspectors are not very accepting of appliances and equipment manufactured outside the U.S.A.! This indicates a very high level of cleanliness and maintenance. 

The passengers are international. I encountered many French, French-Canadians, Germans (including a large hearing impaired group), English and other groups, mainly from Europe. They all meld together nicely and the only disadvantage is the repeating of announcements in several languages. It was quite a sight to see teams of stewards and wine stewards working together to satisfy the wants and needs of the signing hearing impaired group. Patience and good humour helped accomplish this and staff and passengers worked together splendidly.

Being a fussy eater, I pay particular attention to menus. You have quite a choice. Eat Italian if you like. Sea food and vegetarian dishes are always included and, for the carnivores, there is always red meat and poultry. It was sometimes difficult to choose among all the choices. By day three, you’ll notice many repeat dishes on the menus. Extra-cost dining is available.

If you are one of the folks who likes vinegar on French fries or fish and chips, bring your little bottle of malt vinegar as they do not stock it on the ship.

The buffet has lots for everyone from ethnic dishes to salads to light meals to a good carvary. I enjoyed the signs denoting the stations. I would like to see juices available at more than just breakfasts. Don’t miss the cook-to-order eggs and omelets! Perhaps some of us should miss the taste-tempting desserts! Caution: Hot coffee is VERY hot!

Facilities are great. If you are a movie-nut, there is the outdoor screen. Pools, hot tubs, great deck chairs with adjustable sun shields are all present. One side of the outer deck is for smokers and the other is a no-smoking zone. I’m glad to see MSC hasn’t caved in to the non-smoker lobby! If you want fresh air, choose the correct side. I heard no complaints.

High marks for the photographers on board! It has been a real delight to watch them using mime and facial expressions to get the hearing impaired to pose. 

The general condition of the ship is excellent. Constant cleaning and polishing is evident. I’ve seen brass staircases being polished before but never outdoor staircases! There has been no obvious deterioration since my last cruise a year ago.

Tendering is safe and well organized with a ticket-system and two landing stages on each side of the ship. The older and less agile passengers seemed to handle the process well.

There are several small areas with music of different types. Two ladies on violin and cello do an excellent job along with their piano accompaniment. The programme lists several other locations and types of music. A very nice change from crowded, noisy show lounges.

Not found in your daily programme:

You will note many people paying $4.00 – $5.00 (plus service charges) to purchase ice cream at the mid-ship Gelato bar. At 13:00, the free ice cream machines open at the entrance to the buffet. Strangely, I didn’t see mention of the free machines in the daily programme.

You will see people using the internet café on deck 7. You insert your card and pay a charge of $5.00 every time you sign in. This is for the first minute of a connection with additional charges for each subsequent minute. If you brought your own laptop or other device, you can use Wi-Fi in the lobby or, with a cable, internet in your cabin at much better prices. This does not seem to be advertised in the daily programme. Just go see your friendly concierge at the front desk and get your sign-in and password. Take your device along and they’ll even show you how it works. Look before you buy. The top package at $70 is a very good deal! Just sign on 14 times at the café and you’d pay that! You can also sign-up on your interactive TV in the cabin.

Tread lightly in the casino. While the staff is pleasant, the table games can dip into your pockets. Your odd of winning are much lower than in North American casinos.

Blackjack players will quickly discover the casino dealers use what they call “European” rules. I know it as San Juan style. There is no checking for a blackjack since the last card goes to the dealer. This means the actions of players can influence the dealer’s second card. It also means you can be wiped out by a hidden blackjack. If the dealer shows an ace or a 10-card, don’t increase the bet to put more money at risk. Throw away your rules and don’t double or split when the dealer shows an ace or a ten card. This dealing style gives the house a large advantage if you play your usual basic strategy rules.

The craps table is single odds, only. This translates into a larger house advantage.

Just inside your cabin door is a little box with two red lights. It appears to be designed as a safe place to keep your cruise card when in the cabin. Personally, I like the card in my pocket where I know it is safe and where I can’t lock myself out by forgetting it in a holder on the wall. I’ve never noticed this device described in the daily programme but it can be quite persuasive.

If you don’t insert your card the lights, heat, and air conditioning will quickly be turned off! I suppose this is designed to save energy when you are out of the cabin. It also signals the steward the cabin is empty with a little light over your door. It can result in a cabin which is uncomfortable\y hot or cold when you return from your wanderings. Personally, I carry a previous cruise card, business card or other card to leave in the holder when the weather requires constant temperature control. You might have to inform your steward you are out, however.

Our Fred Cherney Reports from POESIA

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Well, you all know I’m at sea (maybe in more ways than one!)

This could only happen to me .

New York has come up with yet another brainwave. No matter how many ships are sailing from Manhattan, all passengers go through the same security and then split up to the separate check-ins once cleared. Actually, that worked very well. It was fast and courteous! Pleasant surprise!

By the way, MSC’s check-in was fast, friendly and very efficient! One gal even recognized me from another cruise line. Well done, MSC!

BUT

It also means the porters are loading luggage for 3 or more cruise ships in the same place.

As I merrily cruise north to the St. Lawrence and Canada, my bag is having a great cruise in the Norwegian Jewel to Bermuda. I hope it has a super time!
NCL discovered the bag before sailing (when gangplank was in) but wouldn’t open a shell door to pass it out.

Of course, this means all my medications, electronic toys and clothes are absent from my cabin. It is hoped the "travelling" bag will catch up with me in a few days.

I can’t speak highly enough of the front desk in Poesia! Teresa and her girls couldn’t be nicer or more peasant. Really raised my opinion of front desk people!

You might get a chuckle out of this, as well. I requested a table for one so as not to be bothered with cruise "experts" teaching me about the cruise business. I tried to get the same table I had last year but there were no table numbers out – they hide them the last day of a cruise so people don’t steal them.  Not sure if the maitre d’ was upset at my looking at his computer screen to find the table but he said here was only one table he could give me alone. Boy am I alone! Surrounded by several tables of German deaf, all signing. The only sounds are the chuckling stewards chatting among themselves! I get a few looks from the surrounding folks. Actually, it’s fun watching the interaction of these folks.

Remember "assumption is the mother of all screw-ups"? Well I watched a young lady who was bubbling with enthusiasm signing a-mile-a-minute with a big smile on her face. The young man next to her kept grabbing her hands and I figured he was trying to calm her down or shut her up. Imagine my surprise when they left the table and he opened a white cane! He was reading her signing by holding her hands. Not sure if he is deaf as well as blind but it sure showed me I shouldn’t jump to conclusions!
Obviously, I have gained access to satellite internet. Feel free to send me messages but please hold jokes and forwards until the end of the month to stop me from heading to the poor house with high satellite rates.
Keep well!

At-sea Fred

LiveJournal Tags: Fred Cherney,Poesia