BoundForSea

That’s exactly what we’re going to be doing. Off the NCL Getaway the last week of October (don’t recall which day). Thanks!!

Thanks JB for the info. It wasn’t clear to me so I just stayed away from it just in case. So for clarification, Waterloo to Southampton Central is fine. We were going to book a private auto transport, but if the Rail is clear we will go back to that plan. Thanks again!

I was looking at the South Western line for London to SoHampton and there are many days of track maintenance which will require disruption and bus connections on the line. I was looking around Oct 21-22

How was your experience with them in Lisbon? Looking into it ourselves.

Recommendations for a booked car service to go from Hotel in London to the port of Southampton? October 2023. Recent good experiences appreciated. Planning morning of embarkation.

To add a pool the structure would need considerable modification for the weight per square foot. That would require tearing out structure below the new Spa Area. So no they won’t put in the pool.

Cruised several times on both (YC/Haven/Mainstream) I’ve posted probably 20-30 times on this topic right up until recently. Here’s my super consolidated summary: Spend the extra money (it’s not cheap) and go NCL Haven. If you are a ship within a ship person or family. It’s just a better product and worth the extra $$ esp if you only cruise occasionally and can’t afford a bad experience (which I’ve had in YC a few times) As far as mainstream experiences: Again, spend the extra money and go NCL 10000%. MSC’s mainline product IS NOT comparable to NCL or RCL. It’s probably somewhere hovering around Carnival (their older ship and short cruise experience) and other budget lines worldwide. (although Carnival Mardi Gras class ships offer a better product closer to RC and NC). On NCL you can book spas, vibe, speaicalty dining, etc and have an amazing experience. As for Food: NCL 100% all day long. All stop. now, MSC in the EU and outside the US, different story all together. I’m merely talking North America. Oh and how can I forget the shoreside customer service. If you enjoy getting beat up and hours on the phone and need some stress in your life, yeah go with MSC and make some changes and cruise moves. It gets really fun. Especially when they take your money, or don’t give it back and cant tell you why, where it is, or they just simply hang up on you (this is a VERY TRUE story, I’ve been a passenger since 2019 and been through he double hockey sticks and back with those folks)

This is American Diner in 2015. This is what existed before Margaritaville at sea and was original to the design by Kevin Sheehan. This is the last time that space was complimentary. the food was pretty much the same!!

I’ve found consistently now post Covid, that 3-4 ni sailings are far worse than 7+. Add to that low prices (Interior for two for less than 300-500$) and the market and it’s inevitable. Prior to and during Covid we did 4ni cruises from Port Canaveral on MSC and a couple on Celebrity. No more. There are a lot of first time cruisers that truly are looking for a booze cruise. Venezia is offering 3-4ni sailings out of the NY market fkr the first time for the market, Id probably pass. Of course, YMMV.

Thank You. We will not be purchasing the Starbucks package and just using the app onboard to earn stars to use on land. Thx!!

Hey all, what’s the latest on paying for Starbucks on board Breakaway or Getaway using the Starbucks App? also if anyone if on Getaway or Breakaway and can snap a pic of the current menu on the wall that would be great. Thanks!

“Seascape June 11-18 review. Warning, it isnt pretty...” SHOCKER….. 🙄 Your review is spot on. When cabins are going for 199$ for a week, this is what happens. Sailed a 4/3 ni b2b from PC on Mera in March. Same experience you had. 7 sailings IN YC later I’ve walked away from MSC. Combined with the issues you described, they just can’t or won’t figure it out. I’m done spending my money and wondering if this time they finally got it right. My money goes a lot further on NCL, HAL, and Celebrity. If I ever came back it would be in the YC in Europe. You just have to get out of the FL market with MSC. NY even seems to be better based on reviews I’ve read.

It is what it is…. You either make the change within 90 days of the original or lose it. and just give up on contacting MSC management, not gonna happen. Even if you did, they don’t want to talk to you. They don’t care. After several years of dealing with this company, and many many nightmares, Im done. I myself surrendered 198$ deposit to them recently and walked away never to ever return.

7k$ for a week in the Haven on a BA+ is a BARGAIN these days esp from NY. Here’s what we can’t answer though. What’s more important to you, luxury attentiveness and accommodations, upscale food, Private quiet areas, so on or…. FUN. This is the best way I can put it. These are two very different experiences and such thats really the choice and nobody here can determine that for you! if you don’t take the Haven for 7k$, I’ll grab it! Haha.

Having sailed Haven and YC both like 5 and 7 times respectively I’m going to keep this very short. At this point I’ll sail NCL non Haven in a Mini Suite (or whatever they’re calling them these days), with extras like Vibe Passes, Specialty Dining for most nights (after free at sea and Platinum freebies I’ll buy the rest of the nights), and Spa passes before I sail in the YC again. Last sailing I was frustrated with the issues we had on board and of course the shoreside booking issues with MSC. I’m just over it. Been dealing since 2019. The quality of YC has slid significantly since 2019. (Although post covid world of sailing has been watered down as a whole as well, and NCL with boy wonder running it now will slide even more). Sailed Haven on Bliss in Alaska in April of last year and man it was such a breath of fresh air after many YC sailings. If the price is within a reasonable range for me I’ll book Haven however this is now rare to impossible. I’ll take a reasonable upgrade. They say YMMV, well with this topic your mileage WILL vary. I’ve learned this is such a subjective topic. Well whatever you do, it beats being home and at work!! Enjoy.

Thanks guys. Glad I asked!

Hey all. This one is really super quick. Vibe passes still being sold first ckme first serve at Guest Services upon embarkation or have they charged this in any way? We’re sailing out of NY in July. We’re Platinum and if need be I’ll still head right down to GServices for them. Thx!!

I have one simple answer for you!!! Yes you’ve found the secret!!! Haha. Now I used to eat alot. My wife and I would go, use one credit each and have enough food sent back to the room (Haven so they took it back for us other wise I don’t think you can take it??? Dunno tbh) for the next three days. Anyway yeah. Share. They wont say anything.

Great review. Thorough and to the point. Sailing July so thank you was concerned about the feeling of it at capacity. Care to share any “tips” on maneuvering to help it feel less crowded? Love to hear them!

We watched that play out in February, it made for good entertainment...HAHA

WOW. Never saw that before, not even close.

Personally, I hope to NOT see him on a ship and hope he is with his family back home for a bit off contract…. That man works hard and deserves it!

NCL and X are my go to lines now. Both are great for their own reasons. We’re in our mid 40s and kids are grown and don’t cruise with us anymore (was exclusively NCL then). We dumped MSC this year because it’s not worth my time or money anymore. Both lines have a different culture and vibe and we enjoy those differences actually. We plan to try Oceania next year, but to be honest we see ourselves staying with NCL and X. Figuring three cruises a year; one a year on each, plus a third being a toss up, and alternating. Here’s my take on NCL ships: BA class and Escape are my faves on NCL. Escape is the sweet spot in my opinion. Bliss close second. Why you ask? Glad you did haha… Escape has Spice H20 still, an adults only bar and pool area at the aft of the ship which is amazing, Bliss does as well. Lots of free deck space for outside lounging on both. Bliss you gain the Observation Deck and the Haven has the same which is beautiful. You lose good space with race track and VR. The best for us on Escape and Bliss is the District Brew House and Food Republic. We LOVE those venues. I did the Innaugural TA on Encore and won’t be back on it. No Spice H20, most upper outside deck space is extra $$ in Vibe and there’s alot of VR space taking up free public space. As for X we’ve only been on M class. Looking forward to two sailing on Equinox this and next year and adding an Ascent in there next year as well. Bottom line: Why choose when you can have both!!!

I agree 100%. Thanks Cheng. I make a living in safety oversight in Transportation. This is completely and utterly unacceptable. Period. I don’t care about the excuses and the downplay. Read the write-ups. They’re like the OP said, disconcerting at the very least. This is how ship wide Illness happens. This is MSCs lack of training, accountability to and through its supervisory ship side staff and officers, lack of product quality management, lack of safety management systems effectiveness, and quite frankly a culture of money and rapid growth over service and quality and SAFETY. I draw a hard line with this. After 7 cruises with them I’m always finding myself somehow swallowing hard and saying well they’ll get it right next time, or they’re trying hard blah blah. No more. This is a family of very very very wealthy owners that have the human capital and resources to execute a safe and quality product. They choose not to after the last 5 years of ‘trying’. I take this very seriously and won’t step foot on an MSC ship ever again. Period. All stop. Let me leave you with this…. If they cut corners with food and hygiene on board, due to a cultural dysfunction and problem people, what do you think happens with other aspects of the company’s safety management of the ship’s operations and maintenance? Do you think there’s a magical fence that stops it there? Is the general lack of concern for customer service and satisfaction an isolated issue? No. When you combine that culture with the results of this inspection and the findings write up it systemically says that growth and money take priority over passengers and their satisfaction and well being. There are many other cruise lines that care about safety and consistency of safety and passenger satisfaction where I will spend my money and not have to make excuses for in my mind every time I walk down the gangway disembarking. …as they say on Shark Tank, “and because of that I’m OUT” ✌️

We were on HAL last October on nearly same itinerary. We packed fall and it was low to middle 80s and humid! We were dying doing walking tours! So yes by all means get your passes!