Relaxing & Preparing to Vlog

Today was a day where I didn't do much of anything, save for laundry.  It's becoming more common these days for me to be a couch potato.  So, I don't mind excuses that get me out of the house and doing things.  If the Yonkers meetup group met every Thursday as it once did, I'd have gotten up and did more before the end of my day.

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RQS was right.  As soon as I got my new sofa, I'd find myself falling asleep there during the day.  But this leaves the bed available for night time use.  In the daytime, I'm more likely to be watching YouTube videos or reading books.  Last night, I finished Romney, A Reckoning, by McKay Collins.  I found out about this book a while back, and it paints a damning picture of what today's GOP has become.  I highly recommend this book to those people who have any doubts regarding Trump's (and the GOP's) unfitness to govern.  Although I have started another book, I'm not sure if I'm going to finish it on time.  Since it is in high demand, I must return it at the the end of its 14 day lending period.  This means that I may just have to request it again after a few weeks have passed.

On other matters, I am starting a YouTube essentials course on the basics of Vlogging.  There are several topics that I plan to talk about and I hope that others find my Vlogging of interest.  However, I am not likely to use my authentic transgender identity until I go 24x7 in the world.  Instead, I will likely Vlog as Mario, as I still can present as a decent looking male when I need to.

Recently, RQS sent me information from 2 Vloggers who discussed the trip I recently took, and a solo cabin that is just like the one I stayed in on my December cruise.  I'm glad that others have similar feelings to what I have about travel on this ship.  Given what I have written in my cruise blog, I have confirmation that I can report on a cruise line, a cruise ship, and a cruise itinerary with an objective eye.  Hopefully, I will be able to maintain my objectivity as I develop the skills to Vlog on topics I choose.  And when I do so, I may post some links here for my readers to view my Vlogs.

Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 8 - Debarkation & Cruise Thoughts

 

We're finally home!  As much as I enjoyed being by myself for a week, I missed having RQS by my side and couldn't wait to meet her at Grand Central.  

But first things first....

I didn't much get sleep, and I ended up watching the ship's virtual porthole TV channel as the ship was about to go under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge around 4:30 am.  Although I tried to rest a little more, I was unable to do so and proceeded to get ready for the day.  After showering, making up my face, and getting dressed for the last time while on the ship, I packed up all my gear, double checked that I was leaving nothing in the room, and left my cabin for the last time around 7:00 am. Then, it was off to my last breakfast on the ship, where I was seated next to a couple who drove to the pier from Canada.  (I can only imagine what their drive home will be like.)  We struck up a conversation and found out that they had similar feelings to mine in regard to this cruise.  All too soon, they had to leave, and I finished my breakfast at a leisurely pace.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stall things any longer, and proceeded to an area where I could sit and kill a couple of hours - the main dining room.  Although it was a staging area for people who needed assistance in leaving the ship, I was welcome to hang out there as the buffet area upstairs was already mobbed with people trying to get their last ship board meal.  

Around 9:30-9:45 am, my group number was called, and I finally got off the ship.  Although it was a long walk to the baggage claim area, my suitcase was waiting for me there.  Since we cleared customs while in Miami, there was no reason to stop for an ID check when debarking at Brooklyn.  So I took another long walk with my luggage to the ferry, walking through slow moving people and around vehicles picking up passengers for their rides home.  Unfortunately, I just missed the ferry as it was leaving the dock, and I had to kill an hour before the next ferry came.

Around 10:35 am, the ferry came, and I was off to Grand Central.  I texted RQS to let her know that I'd be in Manhattan by 11:00 am, and would likely be at Grand Central's waiting room by 12:30 pm. Instead of walking to the subway station on Wall Street, I decided to do a shoreline walk to South Ferry.  It was a nice day, and I could use the exercise. So, after 15 minutes or so, I caught a uptown bound train and made it to Grand Central ahead of time. 

As I got to the waiting area, I noticed that the women's room line was out the door.  Winter tourist season had begun, and Grand Central was much busier than usual.  After taking care of business, I picked up a sandwich downstairs and proceed to wait for RQS.  It wasn't a long wait, as we were able to make the 12:23 train to Croton with a few minutes to spare.

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Would I take another cruise on MSC in the future?

I'm just as ambivalent on this as I was before taking the cruise?  MSC is a cruise line for "value oriented" (price conscious) cruisers.  If Carnival is the Walmart of cruise lines, then MSC is aiming to be the Target of cruise lines. Nothing shouted "Don't cruise with us again" or "I can't wait to cruise with you again."  Instead, everything said "I don't care if I cruise with MSC again or not."  Everything seemed to be a notch below that of other lines I've cruised with, save for the glitz in the public areas of the ship.  That was often over the top.

The other day, I watched a cruise Vlogger whose main gig is being a Travel Agent. One of her clients noted that they tried MSC and told her empathically that they would never cruise with MSC again.  Another said, "No, I will never cruise with MSC again," but was attracted to cruise with them twice because of MSC's low prices.  Yet, this travel agent wouldn't be honest with her viewers about this cruise line, trying not to say bad things about them, so that she could collect her fees when booking people on this line.

MSC provides decent value for the money spent for their cruises.  But I wouldn't expect a top notch experience unless one has spent the money to enjoy their Yacht Club experience.  (Like most cruisers, I can't afford that experience.)  It's a line I might cruise on again of the price and itinerary was right.  So far, I haven't seen any future cruises that would get me to take another cruise on this line.

Crusing without RQS? (a short post)

 

I won't go into all the details of why I want to take this cruise - especially when RQS wouldn't be with me when I sail off for a week. But RQS approves of my reasons, and I want to see about whether it makes sense to try out a new cruise line.

With the above being noted, I have my concerns about sailing on an MSC ship.  Almost all the Vlogggers I watch have made comments on the food found on MSC ships - and they say that the food is middling. Although I can accept middling food, RQS will not do so. So, it's in my interest to try out this cruise line, as we might want to consider it as an option for a Norwegian Fjord cruise.

Assuming I book this cruise, I will take it presenting as Marian.  Of course, this means that I will NOT get off the ship in Nassau. And there is nothing I want to do at Port Canaveral, so I will stay on the ship there as well.  But what about MSC's private Island, Ocean Cay?  Will I have a problem being gender non-conforming?  I do not have my former cruise partner backing me up anymore.  Nor would I want her to do so, even if we were still friends.  

Whatever I choose to do, I will make that decision soon.

Second Cruise - Day 7: Sea Day.

Day 7: Sea Day.

RQS and I awoke to bright sunshine, setting our clocks back an hour as we entered American waters. It feels strange, as we will be setting our clocks back again tonight due to the switch to Eastern Standard Time.  As a result, we ended up rising sooner than usual, and reached the buffet while breakfast was being served on both sides of the ship.

After breakfast, it was off to the onboard store to see what “junk” was included in their $10 sale.  (This is a good way to burn off any cruise credits one may have received for booking the cruise.) There wasn’t much of value here.  There was the usual t-shirts, the usual cheap costume jewelry, and other things that one could get for $5 on Amazon.

I’ve sailed on at least 4 NCL ships so far: the Gem, the Joy, the Escape and the Breakaway.  The Gem is a mid size ship for this fleet, and the ship I have cruised on most.  It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles found on the larger ships, but it has an intimate feel that is lacking on the larger ships.  The Escape and the Joy are among the larger ships in NCL’s fleet, Breakaway plus ships.  The Joy has all the bells and whistles one could want, including an on board go-cart ride and a pair of multi-story water slides.  Its size is impressive, and I am amazed at how many people the ship can handle on a single cruise. Last is the NCL Breakaway itself.  It is smaller than the Joy, but is still a large ship.  Although it doesn’t have the go-carts, it has almost all of the bells and whistles of the Joy, while retaining a semblance to NCL’s past ships.

When I last sailed on the Gen in December, the photography store was still selling some small cameras in addition to the usual collection of on-ship photographs taken by the ship’s photographers.  On the Breakaway and Joy, one could find a few SD memory cards, but no cameras.  People now use their cell phones to capture images, and no longer buy small, special purpose cameras when cell phones can easily perform the same function.  The newer ships are geared to sell more profitable products such as jewelry, high end watches and both duty free liquor and cigarettes.  Even then, I found it impossible to buy a liter of amaretto, and had to settle for the last bottle of Grand Marnier.

Each iteration of ship classes has their pluses and minuses.  I am a fan of NCL’s “Jewel” class of ships.  Others are fans of the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus classes of ships.  However, NCL has decided to go with a smaller, more intimate ship with their Prima class.  This is not a ship I plan to take any time soon, as cruises on newer ships tend to be more expensive than those on older ships.  Yet, if I see a great bargain, I’ll take a cruise on the Prima and see if the criticisms of Vloggers I watch are true.  Until then, I’ll keep my mind open about this ship.

Lately, I've been watching cruise videos for entertainment.

 

Lately, I've been watching cruise videos for entertainment.  Yes, there are several cruises I'm planning to take in the next few years, a Hawaii cruise being one of them.  It'll be strange to get out and about to see parts of the world I've never been to before.  Yet, this is part of the process of breaking out of my shell.

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There are several Vloggers whose videos I watch.  Two of the Vlogs I watch most are "Tips for Travelers" (TFT) and "Emma Cruises" (EC).  Both Vloggers are British, but focus on different experiences.  TFT focuses both on the basics and on high end cruising.  EC focuses on some of the basics, but more on value oriented cruising. There are others, such as Life Well Cruised that give travel hacks, and La Lido Loca that focuses on cruise industry news.  All of these Vloggers proviide valuable information, and their videos should be watched before planning a cruise.

Why do I mention these Vloggers and their Vlogs?  Well, to give one example, I have learned which cabins I should book if I want a "smoother" trip in stormy weather.  Several years ago, I was on a cruise where the ship hit stormy seas.  Normally, I don't get seasick, but I could have gotten so in a storm which made walking through the corridors feel as if I was riding a roller coaster.  If I had his advice, I might never have been in the cabin I was in, had I been traveling alone. As I write this entry, one of these Vloggers is discussing the best cruises to take during each month of the year.  And from my experiences so far, this Vlogger is on target with his advice.

Vlogging earns these people good money.  But to achieve this, these Vloggers must provide real value in their videos.  So far, I'm finding that there is a small number of Cruise oriented Vloggers that know each other and support each other.  It's a friendly competition, as they know that viewers like me will want to see what each of these Vloggers have to say and form our own opinions based on information they provide.

So, if you are planning a cruise, you could do worse than to watch these Vloggers' posts....