Monday, September 16, 2019
Miami, Florida, USA
On the road making my way to Miami, using pretty much the same route I took when driving to Ft. Lauderdale during the last two cruises, but veering south and continuing on I-75 to Miami. Uneventful drive and pleasant weather but guess what happened AGAIN!? Ugh, these tires. And it didn't seem to be the front right one again. I checked them out and they looked okay so after one stop to fill the suspected tire I figured I'd just press on and hope for the best. Hopefully I'll not be returning to Miami next week looking a a flat tire on my car. It's parked in a parking garage literally in the smack dab center of downtown Miami.
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| My balcony cabin #1030 |
The embarkation process was swift and straightforward. The rooms were ready an hour early and the ship looked very nice. A little older but not as aged as Majesty. Here's a look at my balcony suite:
Had a couple of tall draft Heinekens and a frosty drink of the day, a combo strawberry daiquiri and pina colada called, appropriately, Miami Vice. Prices a little better than the other two cruise lines I've traveled so combine the cheap cruise fare and the more affordable drinks, and a lot of other things, and I'm quite impressed by MSC.
I called Ric from my cabin (of course using my phone while still in Miami) and he wants to do a cruise with me. I think I'll try to arrange for us to go on MSC. last time I looked (a few days ago) the prices for this itinerary on this ship right out to November are still super cheap. Oh, and speaking of these cheap cruises, you know I told you last trip why, right? The ban on Cuba travel, which this ship and RCI's Majesty were scheduled to do at least to the end of the year, messed up the plans for these trips and many passengers wanting primarily to go to Cuba cancelled so they're left with hundreds of empty cabins. And, just like the Majesty a couple weeks ago, this ship seems waaay under capacity. I'd guess half if not less than the maximum capacity of 2,600. It's 10 pm and I've already seen the same people over and over.
And speaking of the passengers, the majority seem to be non-Americans. Makes for an interesting and diverse crowd to people watch.
Of course, like the other cruises, the staff are mostly foreign, but everything on this ship seems just a bit foreign in how they do things too. They sure don't just copy-cat NCL or RCI. Everything from the announcements on the PA, the muster drill procedure, some of the rules and regulations and the night's show in the theater...all just a bit weird. But in a fun way.
The show tonight was an example of that. It was a song and dance medley touted to be "a tribute to the 80s culture phenomenon." But, most of the songs were from the 60s, including most of the costumes. During the numbers they had some of the dancers pantomiming some kind of setting but I couldn't figure out what? The set props were weird too. Rolling panels made up like windows with bamboo shades, a library setting and a ballroom decorated with Chinese red paper lanterns? You know what, I think I just figured it out. I think they were presenting the songs and scenes from the movie "Dirty Dancing." Maybe due to lack of obtaining licencing they couldn't call it as such, instead they called the show the same as the featured song "Time of My Life." And if I remember, that movie was set in the 60s so that explains the costuming and the 60s music. IDK how copyright licensing works but I would think they could have said "an homage to the film "Dirty Dancing" and they would have been fine. But who's to say.
The food is great. Very much like Royal Caribbean's food. Not a ton of selection at the buffet, but what they have is plentiful and delicious. For lunch I had penne pomodoro and some fish-stuffed rigatoni followed by a slice of marinara pizza and one of Margarita. The pizza was very much like Dimitri's back home and was my favorite. Dinner was pork tenderloin in gravy, bacon green beans and farfalle marinara with dessert of Snickers cake and fruit tart. This is an Italian line so, as expected, the Italian food is authentic and awesome. I'm in heaven.
Just like the first night on my last cruise, we are again experiencing rocky waters in the Straight of Florida so the ship is pitching pretty much the way Majesty did then. Again due to recent Hurricane activity, this time Humberto which just passed near here a few days ago as a tropical storm. Gotta love this season.