Life on the Cruise Ship

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Life on board the ship:

This was our first cruise vacation and overall we really enjoyed it. We found it to be very restful to let someone else do all the ‘driving’, not having to haul all our luggage to a different location every night or two, not worrying about transportation, not having to search out good restaurants and not worrying about the costs of the meals because we had already paid that weeks before embarking. We also liked that the ship gave the boys lots of contained freedom. They could go play basketball, go to the game room, leave early from dinner if we were taking too long…
The nightly shows were also very enjoyable, a couple of nights the dancers were too immodestly dressed for a family cruise show and we noted that in our comments. We all enjoyed the magician, juggler and gymnasts very much. The meals were all five-course set down affairs unless you were interested in the offered buffet meal. We ate most breakfasts at the buffet offering but it was the very same food every morning and after 10 days we were tired of it. There were three gala nights that required really dressing up-the boys didn’t enjoy that too much, in fact Ethan and Dustin opted to stay in their room and not eat one night rather than deal with the hassle of dressing up!

We didn’t like the way they ‘nickel and dime’ you over every coke and water you drink on board. We purchased coke and water coupons before boarding but it was a hassle and we would rather the cost of the cruise be all-inclusive. We liked that this particular cruise line took out a designated amount for tips so we didn’t have to worry with all the calculating and figuring of tips for all the service people.
The service was really amazing. I left a comment that I would have really enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of the ship. How in the world do they feed that many people (about 4500-counting all the staff) three times a day, five course meals? Just thinking about the number of dishes that had to be washed, the linen that was washed, the food that had to be stored on board somewhere, really it was quite the well-oiled machine from our perspective. Someone was always polishing the glass, vacuuming and serving with a smile. Most of our staff were from Indonesia in fact our dinner waiter has worked with MSC for 12 years and is retiring in April. He has an 8 year old daughter and wife who he sees about every 6 months. He gave us his contact information because he will be a tour guide after his retirement in April in Bali-we hope to visit there in April for a scuba diving trip and he seemed excited that he could see us again and be our guide of the island. He should have an excellent future as a tour guide-he speaks five languages and has serving tourists down to an art. (Most staff at a minimum spoke three languages-not only the head staff but even the housekeepers and busboys!)

It seems like it would be a grueling job serving that many customers, nonstop. When we disembarked on Tuesday at 10 a.m. they were set to sail with a new boat-load of people that afternoon. There was entertainment from 8:30 a.m.-after 2 a.m. every night! We played bingo one day, the boys entered a basketball tournament, there was trivia, language lessons, board games, dance contests, full time day-care…We would usually attend the 9 p.m. cruise show and be in bed by 10:15, we were exhausted after a full day of excursions and sight-seeing.

We specifically chose this cruise because of the location of the stops and the timing. We’re not sure we would enjoy a cruise that you just lounge and sun on. Some cruisers chose to stay on board rather than take advantage of the stops that were made. We hit it hard every day and very much enjoyed coming into our familiar room that had been so nicely cleaned and our 6 p.m. standing dinner reservation. We really had a great time-thanks to Janette Nash, our wonderful travel agent and all her assistance in making sure all the details were taken care of-let me know if you need a good agent, she lives in VA and took care of planning our trip long distance. Many, many thanks Janette and much love!

We arrived home last night to the heat of Thailand after a 10 hour layover in Doha, Qatar-MAN! We’re glad to be home, to shower and be in our beds!!