Eastern Caribbean Cruise - Sea Day (01/25/25)

 

One thing I noticed about MSC is that they tend to be low cost for most things - including medical supplies.  Today, RQS had to see about getting a walking cane to help get around.  (She left hers at home before the cruise.)  So she went to the medical center, and they rented one for $60 - which will be refunded on return to the center at the end of the cruise.  This is much better than NCL's $35 rental fee which she would have incurred had she rented one when injured on our first Bermuda cruise. (She ended up buying one in Bermuda for $30 when in port.)

With the above being said, I've noticed big differences in service in each of my 3 cruises on this line.  So far, both RQS and I have noticed a decline in service quality between our 2 cruises together.  On our first cruise, wait staff tended to be very attentive, making sure we had bottled water at our table and wines of our choice, refilled as desired.  On this cruise, we found out that this was our waiter's first sailing - and the mistakes he made were that of a good natured rookie. However, I won't excuses made at brunch, where the entire staff was inattentive.  Normally, a wait staff member would come by with either juices or pastries before orders were taken.  This did not happen until we were finished with our main courses.  RQS wanted to order a Cappuccino, while I wanted my 2 Diet Cokes, and the waiter didn't want to take that part of the order, passing it to someone else from the bar staff.  When our drinks were delivered, I had to ask the waiter to return my cruise card.  To make things worse, our desserts were delivered before we had much of a chance to start our main courses.  (It could have been worse - a lady at an adjoining table never got her second omelette.)  On top of that, RQS's utensils were taken away, and I had to shout to gain the attention of the wait staff to get these utensils replaced.  

Luckily, dinner service gradually improves with time.  As wait staff gets to know you, they will anticipate some of your needs.  For example, the waiter assumed we'd be having wine with dinner and knew to ask us what we'd be drinking with our meals.  Wait staff was concerned about our table mates not showing up for dinner, but we informed them that the issue had nothing to do with the food or service, it had to do with things going on at home.

Last night, we had reservations for a 9:30 performance at the ship's theater.  In the past, crew members checked to see if people had reservations for certain performances, and put unreserved people on a wait list to be admitted.  We arrived at the theater, and there were no capacity controls - anyone could get in, resulting in overcrowding.  Given that last night's show had performers using the aisles in their performance, this could have resulted in a very dangerous situation.  I'm glad that RQS and I decided to leave, as we'd have never enjoyed the show under these conditions.

In many ways, you get what you pay for, and on MSC, you are paying for a crew that may be learning new skills while on the job.  I'm hesitant on making complaints aimed at individuals, as we were told that MSC tends to either end contracts early or declines renewals if even a single complaint is made, not giving individuals time to learn their craft fully.  But I plan to make complaints regarding specific departments on the ship, making sure to also mention the things that the cruise line is doing right.

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On other matters....

Our new friends from our dinner table met us in the atrium today, on their way to lunch.  The gentleman mentioned that he was in contact with his son all morning, as there was a water line break which flooded his dining room.  This will be a cruise to remember, all for the wrong reasons.

All sorts of things can happen while one is away from home.  I can still remember something that happened to my former cruise partner towards the end of one cruise, something that affected her property.  On another trip, there was a death in her family.  Seasoned travelers have trusted people looking after their affairs while they are away.  And yet, things will go wrong at times.  I once left a car unlocked in an airport's long term parking lot, and was lucky that no one broke into the car.  So I say, expect the best, but prepare for the worst....

 

 

By the time you read this, I'll be back from my cruise.

 

I've been alluding to this cruise for a while.  However, for purposes of safety, I didn't want to start talking about it until I returned.

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When we booked this cruise, I was thinking of how RQS and I could spend some time together in a warm climate, while I presented as Marian for a few days.  Over time, we settled on the above 10 day cruise.  But the idea of me spending time as Marian went by the wayside, as I couldn't get information from the DR regarding whether I'd have problems with a gender presentation which conflicts with my legal ID.  In addition, we had a snowstorm the weekend before we left, followed by sub freezing temperatures until the day we were to board the ship.

After the holiday season, the thing I wanted to do most was to hunker down inside for a few months and come out of hibernation when spring comes.  Instead, I ended up having to plan for a trip I wasn't completely excited about taking.  About the only thing that interested me about this trip was the possibility of visiting historic sites in San Juan, something which was impossible when I made port there on an NCL cruise which arrived after 4 pm.

As I've mentioned in this and my other blog, I am not a fan of cruise lines "hot docking" their ships, so that multiple ships can be in port on the same day.  I feel that this is a disservice to cruisers, as one is often unable to have a chance to properly enjoy a port. In fact, I chose an Alaska cruise with one of my criteria being whether the ship spent a full day in each of the Alaskan ports where the ship docked.  Our January cruise does not "hot dock" at any of its ports, but it will spend 6 days at sea (including Embarkation day) on a 10-day cruise.  We made a trade-off to have full port days and extra days at sea to have our 10-day getaway.

Given that we are sailing on MSC in a sub-optimal inside cabin below the entrance to the buffet, I expect that we'll have to deal with noise coming from the deck above. Neither RQS nor I are impressed by the quality of MSC's entertainment.  Yet, it is good enough for us to have considered sailing the line again.  The same goes for the food.  Unlike what we got used to on Princess and NCL, MSC's specialty dinner package offerings do not give the same bang per buck. On this trip, we opted NOT to buy specialty meal packages in advance and to enjoy the food served in the main dining room, with the possible exception of going to the on-board taco joint..

MSC is a line known for low priced cruising.  It also has some of the most reasonably priced shore excursions compared with similar excursions offered by NCL  Both RQS and I feel that NCL's excursions have been excessively marked up by the cruise line.  Contrast this with MSC, where we get good excursions at a very reasonable price.  On our past Bermuda cruises, NCL was charging $140 for a tour that visited the Crystal Caves, while MSC charged $80 for a similar experience.  (I may be comparing apples to pears here, as NCL offered an extra stop on its tour.)  Yes, MSC does a quite bit of nickel-diming, but in general one will get decent value for money spent.

While I'm cruising, I'll be writing posts about the cruise that you'll be seeing here over the next few days. Hopefully, you will enjoy our exploits.  One thing I am certain to do will be to ask the people at the pier whether "My Sister" (as I refer to myself when presenting as Mario) will have trouble at the port if she presents as Marian, but presents Mario's ID.  (It worked in Bermuda, why not elsewhere?)

Cruising - A great way to chill and disconnect

 

The above is a typical Northbound East Coast cruise itinerary.  And it is the one that RQS and I wanted to take this Autumn, but exceeded this year's travel budget if we did so.  It would have been the perfect cruise to take with me presenting as Marian, as I had done this route as Marian several times before.

Every time I cruise, I find that the time I spend away from home allows me to chill out and relax.  Where I have problems staying focused enough to read anything at home due to the numerous distractions that I allow to get in the way of my reading.  This doesn't happen on a cruise ship, as I can't flip between channels until I find something temporarily interesting to watch.  Nor can I get the latest information drop on my cell phone which triggers another rabbit hole exploration.  

When I cruised with my former cruise partner, she'd often be playing cards in the casino while I was reading in the cabin, or being entertained elsewhere on the ship.  (She often gets comped by the cruise line's casino program to get free cruises because of her gambling on the ship.)  Now that I cruise with RQS, neither of us are found anywhere near the casino, save when we must walk through it to get somewhere else.

After 7+ days on a ship, I feel refreshed by the time I get home.  But I wish I could take another cruise shortly afterward.  This year, I will have taken 4 cruises, 2 on Princess, 1 on MSC, and 1 on NCL. The latter 2 cruises will have the same basic itinerary, and I'll be able to make an apples to apples comparison of 2 cruise lines.  Hopefully, I won't be bored with Bermuda by the time we finish the second cruise. Even more, I hope to be able to visit Bermuda as Marian on the second cruise.

Right now, I am packing for the first of the 2 Bermuda cruises.  Hopefully, I'll be done packing before RQS arrives tomorrow, as I'll be driving her home and leaving my big suitcase there for ease of travel.  By the time we're done with cruising this year, RQS may have as many cruises with me under her belt as I did with my former cruise partner.  Hopefully, my former cruise partner is having as good a time as I am on my cruises....

The end of a long weekend

 

It's the end of the summer, and both RQS and I have the itch to cruise again.  Neither of us want to wait for our late autumn cruise to Bermuda to get away again.  So, over the past week or two, I've been looking for cruises we could take on a small budget.

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I dropped RQS off at the train today, then went back to the apartment to chill a bit.  But I never ended up leaving the apartment again like I intended to do.  Instead, I started doing things like paying bills (Ouch!) and again searching for cheap cruises we could take..  If we had known about our future plans, we would never have scheduled an NCL cruise to Bermuda.  Instead, we'd have taken the opportunity to schedule an MSC cruise to Bermuda, and taken either a Princess or NCL cruise to New England / Eastern Canada.  This way, I could present as Marian when sailing on the East Coast, and still get a cheap way to visit Bermuda as Marian.  But this did not happen.

Tonight, I presented RQS with an option: We take both the MSC and NCL cruises to Bermuda and compare both of them.  On MSC, we will have a balcony cabin, drink package, Wi-Fi package (maybe, I had one last time as part of the fare), and probably buy a 4 meal specialty dining package.  On NCL, we will have a balcony cabin, a drink package, 150 minutes of Wi-Fi, 4 specialty restaurant meals. I'll be able to do a true apples to apples comparison of both lines, as we will be doing virtually the same route from 2 different NYC cruise terminals.

Is this the best thing for us to do?  Maybe.  But I will be able to ask the security people at the Bermuda pier whether I could travel there presenting as a female and not get hassled when I return to the ship.  And that might be the best benefit of all for doing 2 Bermuda cruises so close together.

Looking at new vacation options

Lately, I haven't been able to dedicate as much time as I used to for this blog.  So, I apologize if the quality of my entries has suffered a little bit.

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For a couple of months, I've been tracking the prices of several cruises.  The April ones on my list have barely moved, and I don't expect to see any significant price drops.  However, I expect to see movement in the cruises scheduled for the second half of the year.  So I will start pruning this list, so that I can have more room for other cruises I might want to take.

Recently, MSC has announced a group of 2023 sailings out of the Red Hook, Brooklyn cruise terminal. Normally, I would not consider traveling to Brooklyn for a cruise, given the headaches of getting to the terminal from where I live. However, MSC will match the loyalty status of customers from other cruise lines as a tool to get them to start cruising MSC.  Since I expect to graduate into NCL's Platinum loyalty level with my upcoming Hawaii cruise, why not consider doing the loyalty match sometime next spring, and seeing if I can take a cruise with a new line?

My vacation options are not limited to cruising.  I am also looking at doing another cross country trip by train.  My nephew lives in the Pacific Northwest, and I've been looking for excuses to visit both Seattle and Portland.  So this might be a trip that hits two birds with a single stone.  In the Fall, I could see myself taking a trip to Chicago, onward to New Orleans, then back home - all on Amtrak.  Each leg on Amtrak could be done in coach, and my big expenses would be food and lodging in the two cities.

Lastly, I have friends from my Texas zoom meetup that I have yet to meet in person.  This is the least likely of my trips, as I'd have to do more traveling as Mario than I would like.  Since I am not enamored of the climate in Texas in regard to being transgender, I am not sure whether I'd be safe there in Marian mode.  Hopefully, one (or two) of them will make it up to NYC for one of their vacations soon....