gmbhardy

On 2/20/2024 at 1:00 PM, shof515 said:

how is the observation lounge crowds with the reduce size? 

Our transatlantic cruise was only about half full but since it was a cold weather cruise, it was essentially packed all day. I can only imagine the crowds when sailing at full capacity. I think they need to rearrange the furniture so singles don’t take up areas intended for multiple people.

13 hours ago, princevaliantus said:

Was Joy upgraded to Starlink now ?  How is the speed and streaming?

It sucks.

On Joy right now. Officer confirmed gone, fleet wide.

So those of us who sailed in Sky Suites without butler service over the last little while were shafted. Par for the course in the cruise industry.

As an earlier poster explained, Posh is the Haven sun deck and at least during our sailing was seldom used. It does not have hot tubs, Vibe usually has two. Vibe usually has dedicated bartenders and servers who get to know you and your preferences. During our sailing in Posh, the bartenders were rotated daily, so there was little opportunity to build a rapport with them and no shot o’clock. Hard to explain it, but there’s no vibe in Posh (no pun intended, well maybe). If you’re staying in the Haven and using it as an included perk, it is what it is, but I would never pay extra for it in steerage. 

Vibe is worth it, Posh isn’t.

On 12/26/2023 at 10:56 AM, schmoopie17 said:

Truth be told, we barely even look at the dailies when they get delivered to our cabin. 

 

How then do you know when the bars open😜

2 hours ago, alexandria said:

I've got three luxury cruises booked so far this year.  All booked in the past two months for travel in 2024.  Two are just under $200pp per day, one just under $300pp per day.  But you have to have flexibility in your travel schedule to regularly book at those rates.  As a retiree, I enjoy such flexibility!

‘Luxury’ cruises for $200pp per day? That’s unbelievable, literally. Are they on the S.S. Minnow?

The price difference between a balcony cabin and club balcony cabin on the new ships is significantly more than on the breakaway class ships. Has anyone been successful getting a diamond perk upgrade on either the Prima or Viva.

24 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’m curious if you gave feedback to anyone who was not on the ship?

No, and frankly I don’t care. I just posted, based on my own experience, to provide clarity on the issue.

Just got off the Beyond on Friday, staying in a Retreat Sky suite. I can confirm that there is no butler service for this room category, regardless how management spins it. Had a conversation with the head butler and he said if you want butler service you need to move up to a higher room category.

On 1/3/2024 at 3:24 PM, LXA350 said:

The ones making the biggest fuss about this are probably the ones staying in Sky Suites which are Junior Suites and should be excluded from the Retreat and also with limited access to Luminae. A full dedicated personal buttler only makes sense from Edge Villa and above and even for Celebrity suites there should be a buttler service team and not an individual peron in charge. This would also require X to market the different suite products differently and not give people the feeling as soon as you are in the "Retreat" you are surrounded by buttlers that to everything for you, which we all know is not the case.

Congratulations, you’ve made my top ten list of the most condescending posts on CC.

14 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

funny you mention that.  This definitely falls into the "everyone is different" category.  I see people say all the time that they share 4 items.  If I came out of there after sharing 4 items, I'd still be starving.  While the sushi rolls are full size, everything else is tapas style.  It would take 4 of their bowls of pho to equal half a usual small bowl 

We can barely finish three, but we manage to drink a bottle of champagne with it 😁

Sorry, my bad.

We’ve cruised on the Joy eight times. It’s our favourite ship. As Bird says, the ship will be refurbished over the winter so there will be some changes, good and bad. A new thermal spa should be a big plus, as will the expansion of Vibe and the addition of Starlink for internet access. A big negative will be the elimination of some space in the Observation Lounge to add more cabins.

Haven.

8 hours ago, yankprintster said:

 

I know Onda is different from La Cucina, but the last time I went to La Cucina (about two months ago), they were now considering the pizza an entree.  That was different in the past.  I used to be able to both the pizza and entree no problem.

That was our experience too.

19 hours ago, wncretired said:

My wife and I have the 21 day booked on the Encore on the April 7, 2024 sailing. 
I think we got a good price. Balcony, mid-ship, 14th deck, drink package, airfare, trip insurance and all other taxes, fees, 3 speciality meals ( each), 300 min. internet each,  service charges, etc. for $8,100. 
 

Since it is a 21 day cruise, I will probably purchase 3-4 additional specialty meals. Still plenty of time to figure all that out! 

We are also on the April 7, 2024 cruise and are also staying on the ship for a seven day Alaska cruise. We have Vibe booked for the 21 day cruise but not Alaska (too cold). Looking forward to this endurance test, just hoping my liver can hold up for 28 days.

35 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

The YC experience always includes the Premium Extra drinks package and a 2 device surf WiFi package each, so not sure what those somewhat cryptically described packages are charging extra for...

 

When you go through the MSC website you often start by selecting between a deal with or without a drinks package and those have a different price, but by the time you've picked the YC experience it doesn't matter as the price is the same no matter which you picked as your starting point...

That is correct.

I’ll give you one specific example. I booked a cruise on board the ship, but realized when I returned home that week would not work for us. You’re allowed one booking change but when my agent attempted to change the booking to a week earlier, they would not allow it. They said the policy would allow a booking change forward but not back. Weird. Another example, my son transferred a booking he made on line to a travel agent. It was considered a rebook so he lost his OBC.

29 minutes ago, dunedinmaiden said:

Thanks so much for your insight.  We have been considering the MSC Yacht Club as well.  Unfortunately, not all travel agents work with them. The only thing that discouraged us from booking was their horrible, land-side customer service reviews.  How was your booking experience, accuracy, any issues?

I suggest finding an agent that has a track record of working with MSC. Like others have said, they have a lot of weird business practices that make no sense from a practical perspective. We are sailing in the Retreat next month for the first time. We have eight YC  and a dozen Haven cruises under our belt, but based on what I’ve been reading about the current watered down experience in the Retreat,  I’m questioning my decision. By the way, we prefer the YC over the Haven.

Glad someone started this thread because I have a bone to pick with onboard booking and need an explanation as to what the perks really are. Price Match - not sure what that means, where are the terms and conditions. It does say at the bottom of the promo sheet that full details (related to the price match offer) are available at the future cruise consulting desk but why aren’t these derails disclosed on the promo sheet. Flexibility - again, what are the terms and conditions. I recently booked a B2B on the Seascape for next fall when I was onboard last month. When I returned home, I attempted to move my reservation back one week, wasn’t allowed. I would have lost my deposit and onboard credit. Three MSC agents told my TA that  you could move it forward but not back - why. Double Points - I believe this is correct. Reduced Deposits - the deposit I paid on board is the exact amount I pay when I book online. The onboard sales agent also told me the fare included the daily service charge. I assumed it was a perk, but when I looked at my cruise confirmation the amount was added to the fare as an extra charge. 

On 12/4/2023 at 11:06 PM, DebbieCruises said:

I was confused about the "Beverage Service" being included in this when I read it.  What does the 20% gratutity charge on the beverage package cover?  Are we expected to get our own drinks and the 20% is for the privilege of drinking their liquor? Sarcasm aside... I was stunned when I read that the night before we disembarked in a letter delivered from the concierge on our cruise on the Getaway in November.  I even took the letter to the service desk for further explanaton and was told that, of course, I should "just know I should always be tipping extra for every drink when it is served."😵

I find it hard to believe that guest services would tell you that you should always tip extra for every drink. I would demand an explanation from a senior officer.

3 hours ago, Melody7 said:

OK, not to revive an old topic...but I'm reviving an old topic. 

 

I saw from a recent review of the Viva that an extra dry prosecco was listed under the premium plus package by the glass - it's NCL's own '66 brand. Has anyone tried it? What other brand would you compare it to?

 

I’m not answering the question, but I see they still have ice wine available - beauty eh.

On 11/22/2023 at 8:00 PM, go.without.you said:

Ok, thanks for validating my experience. I don't want to come off as a Negative Nancy.

Why would anyone think that.