Fogfog

Correct Your Haven does not include your bev package and you will pay grats on any bev package you purchase.. There are multiple levels as well (unless you get say a "free" at sea as a perk when you book. Still you will pay the grats unless its also "perk'd" The $25 per day pp fee does not include your butler and concierge and prior to disembarkation they also leave a letter in your room to remind you to tip both as they do not share in the daily fee. All this before discretionary tips at the end of sailing. We just recently got off of the Prima (TA) It was a good experience. We used to sail X often. Left them for MSC YC. Tried Haven (Prima). Nice product. Adds up $$,$$$.

Th YC pool is small and is pretty much an adult stand around thing Take advantage of the Water slides and other bigger pools on the ship. The water slides are great fun for adults too!! Also, if you are going to Ocean Cay, maybe do an excursion. Or bring your own snorkeling gear and snorkel at several of the beaches. You do not have to use only the YC area beach. Have you sailed with the kids before, or will this be your first family cruise? Don't want to tell you stuff you already know

What does the POA have to do with MSC YC and NCL Haven? This thread is in the MSC boards for MSC folks who sail YC and are considering NCL YC These posts about POA are off topic and have nothing to do with the title/subject and purpose

@Sugar Magnolia Just followed and will catch up on the shenannighans @mking8288 Gatwick So transport car from Westminster hotel to Gatwick PU 8:20, At Gatwick 9:40. We were at the gate by 10:25. That includes checkin- boarding passes-luggage and walking to the gate. The longest part was the check in Jet Blue (Mint) as there was a line for reg pax and a pax whose booking or something was problematic had both agents working on it. One stepped away from him to handle our check in and luggage. We were prepared for security. One baggie with chapstick, eyedrops and a lip gloss. I had everything else went checked) And the cords for my tablet/phone in another baggie. R's tech - not my monkeys (ha) WELL...At the gate -- yikes.... THEN a bunch of security came through and announced they were rechecking every single passengers boarding docs, passports etc. THEN yours truly was one of the lucky bunch to be randomly selected to have my carry on and my person checked again, inspected, shoes off, coats off, tablets out, electronics, cpaps out, wiped etc. We had already been through security to get to the gate. Well, here at the gate the problem is the young trainees didn't seem to know what to do. I literally stood there, asking.. "where to you want this?" (carry on) And being confused said "I don't know what to do, and none of them spoke " Because no one was giving me instructions. I am just standing there with like 6 of them standing around (and maybe another 6 lucky pax in the same situation as me) One of the pax on the Prima (Dublin folks) had warned me that they use A LOT of trainees at Gatwick and Heathrow for this...and sure enough--I had thought that's what we ran into...but then Boston Logan Arrive in Logan and Global Entry runs smoothly. Literally through Immigration in minutes as the facial recog - the agent in the booth sees us on their screen as processed faster than we can see it/read it at the kiosk and move on. We are at baggage claim and wait forever for bags amongst many other flights. IDK where Logan rates on baggage claim-- I can say it felt slow, congested, dark and confusing. Claim and recheck our bags-- Head to next terminal to go back through security for the domestic leg home. What a mess for domestic security In spite of having Global Entry and supposedly qualified for TSA etc and the ticket says Priority Security--the lines are slow. The agents are not giving us bins in our line and I have to call to them, asking for bins. No directions given. The whole pt of our TSA Global Entry/interviews etc is that we aren't supposed to have to take off shoes etc. There was no difference in our line-- everything off. No directions about electronics. Seemed short staffed. In fact.. Boston Logan gave me a hard time with the cpap... making me take it out of its case, and disconnect hoses etc re-xray it again. I am one the "completed side" having the cpap rescreened" and he is stuck on the start side yet all of his stuff is in bins xrayed with people walking by. I had been over at benches putting shoes on etc, and thought he was right behind me--Someone could have picked up his phone/wallet/etc and walked off!! R. was stuck.. They just tell him to wait behind the ribbon. It was crazy. I said to the agent who had my cpap etc..this is my husbands stuff and he's back over there-- (for like 10 min and no one seems to care there is this drop in best practices) There are just so many pax and so few TSA agents. He's stuck over there asking what to do--and they say--just wait, and someone will come.... IDK what the deal is with "Priority security" vs TSA precheck and how that differs and what's changed. All we saw was a shorter line "priority" line yet the screening/requirements/shoes off etc were all the same. Maybe worse. Honestly I wonder whats going on. In other news... As our flight goes to back up from the gate at Logan we hear a loud BANG and sudden stop. We "hit" something. Sure enough an emergency vehicle had gone behind the plane as the tow vehicle was moving our plane. Our tow vehicle stopped suddenly. And --yes, damaged caused. So we had to go back to the gate. It had to be inspected. Then they had to repair it. And then text the repairs and records it for FAA regs etc before we could fly. So our last flight was delayed. We were grateful to arrive safely

We had wanted to sail MSC YC for this TA and couldn't get what we wanted. So tried NCL and Prima We- like you, we found that price difference is shocking. The Prima Haven was lovely. We hope MSC YC continues to be a fairly priced product. And the YC wine improves to what it had been 😉 Loved our Seashore sailing and Melanie is amazing.

We just flew in last night. and while my better half is able to sleep, my time body is awake thinking its in the UK right now. am certain I will be paying for it this evening. Do want to pick up a few loose ends on some thoughts on Haven vs MSC YC at the risk of being repetitive. On Haven: We went in with doubts as we are MSC YC pax most often. Having sailed the last 8 sailings in MSC YS Yet Haven on Prima delivered more than we expected in many ways, had a few shortcomings and certainly cost $$,$$$. We like the Prima Haven space and staff. It is decorated in wood tones and is pretty. She is a new ship and her decor is current, tasteful and subdued. The Lounge area is divided into smaller gathering places with large picture windows facing the ocean so on those TA sea days one could sit there with a cup of coffee and read a book. There has been discussion on the NCL boards about the lounge not having snacks. The Prima Haven does not have the small plates that the MSC YC ships have all day. So no pastry/panini/cheese/olives etc to pick up and have with a drink in the lounge. That said, the butler does deliver sandwiches, cookies, snack foods of all types to the rooms daily that are before any room service orders. The Haven Dining room is flanked by glass windows down its length so whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner, you have view. And yes, weather permitting, you can eat outdoors in the extended aft dining space. We had lunch on embarkation day (NYC/April '24) and ate dinner at sail away from Amsterdam as the in-ceiling heaters kept the chill off and it was lovely under cover. And during a cold windy sea day we did go use a large round lounger in a protected aft areas to get some sunshine as our balcony was on the windier and shadier side of the ship at the moment after lunch. The stateroom was very nice. Plenty of space. Pretty decor. Thoughtfully laid out plugs/electrical. Storage drawers under the beds and a large space to store the luggage (we had a 2 br/2ba suite w sitting room) We were happy with the type of suite we chose for such a long sailing and the extra bathroom The lighting is nice and the drapery is controlled from switches on the walls. It is intuitive.. arrows in/out etc. And there are master switches for lights on in rooms. The 3 room suite had 3 flat screen TVs and 3 separate thermostats Our Butler was fabulous, professional and friendly, as was our room steward. The room was spotless. Snacks appeared on a regular basis and we were sad that we just couldn't possible eat all they brought, as we were also eating 3 meals a day (when we normally only eat maybe 2) We did note the carpeting in the sitting room has taken a beating (had a stain) and needs replacing if shampooing won’t fix it … Will note that on post sail survey if NCL has space for noting that. We had a nespresso coffee maker and made coffee/tea in the room. Had a small fridge which had pitchers of juices (pre sail concierge asked re preferences) Dining turned out to be great once we got the hang of it, knowing what flex we had since it was a long sailing. We believe the flex we had was because this was a 15 day sailing, it was based on decisions made by the exec chef on the ship and by the chef for the Haven kitchen. They also added a daily "special" in the Haven menu for lunch and dinner which was one of the entrees that was similar to what was being offered on the ship elsewhere because of the length of the sailing. We had been worried about being bored in 15 days. However from the regular menu--there are plenty of excellent choices for a one week sailing. The quality of food and bev was great. Only a few lunch entrees were just ok. YC. We did miss the Italian flair and cuisine of the YC dining. Yet we made a special request for something to approximate a beloved Italian dish and the chef was able to prepare it for us. Though we did note they put us at an unobtrusive corner table - so perhaps to not draw attention. Our Haven Staff in dining was excellent. The Maitre D, Hostesses, and Waitstaff were all excellent. You scan your card going into every meal which among other things I suspect helps them track usage, and also prevents interlopers. Food is subjective so ymmv. The Haven Bev package is superior as are the Wine offerings. There were also a lot of lovely wines onboard and a somm who would look after you. He was quite busy in Haven. MSC YC had the best Bev package and wines when we sailed in Feb 2020. Then in '22 things had changed. This spring, '24 I had a disappointing time with wine. Wine that wasn't chilled. Wines that were low quality. Was told on a Divinia sailing a wine didn't exist yet 2 other pax had it in the dining room. I realize that from ship to ship things vary. That said, having just done 2 MSC YC sailings (Feb/March ) and then NCL Haven.. the Haven takes this one. The Prima Haven was well stocked both in bar and wines . Initially we were finding the bartenders not very engaging. There seemed to be some aggressive pax bar flies that seemed to know the "system". And certainly some of them monopolized the stools and bartenders. The few "servers' walking around did not offer suggestions to those of us sitting in the lounge areas, they just took orders and if you approached the bar, bartenders didn't engage you to offer a craft cocktail. The Haven bar menu and "schtick" for the Haven bar is very "craft" oriented" so for the first week we were pretty disappointed to not be getting this service. Finally one night I said something to the lead - asking "how does one find out about the "secret" drinks we have heard about etc"... as we had been on the ship a week already. Specialty Dining With status on MSC we use our perk for Butchers Cut and always enjoy a nice meal. With our cruise package with Haven we had 3 specialty dining per person. We used one night in Le Bistro (French) and two nights in Palomar (seafood) All three were good. Haven Laundry: We sent laundry out twice and things came back as expected. Haven and the Donna Show: We saw the Donna Summer show which was excellent. These reservations are hard to come by and the Concierge handles it onboard for the Haven pax. We thought the talent was extraordinary. Haven pax have to be at the Theater 35 min before the show and in seats. Timing of shows can interfere with your dining plans Haven and Syds: We stood in line 3 times for Syd Normans-- the "coffee house" venue for rock shows. …I get the small venue coffeehouse vibe. Yet to my count it holds like 80. That was a lot of time to stand in lines …and then wait….45 line, 45 wait for show to start, and then 90 min show for "Rock the Pour House (1 & 2) and (45 min Rumors). There is no preference for Haven pax to get a seat for this venue. On a 15 night sailing it worked out fine for us. Of the 3 shows, my fav was the Rock the Pour House 1 over 2. And if you grew up with a Rumors LP on your turntable, its a nice show Just be prepared to wait 45 on your feet, 45 in a chair after the rush to find a seat, for a 45 min show. Again shows/dining can be tricky Haven pax and Prima Theater: do get priority seating in the prima theater for the other shows IF you go and line up 35 min before the show. You go to the designated area and a Haven concierge meets the group. There is a person with a Haven lollypop. You must have your room key--and they do scan it to be certain you are a current Have pax-- not just bringing someone else's old card to wave at them. They scan the card and see your face. You get seated. We Skipped the other shows in the Prima theater. There were many comedians, magicians, and late night dance parties. And the bars all had many singers, duos, solos. So many choices around the ship. If you were bored, it was your choice. Gym: Spouse used gym on sea days. Was crowded as this was a cold weather cruise, lots of sea days and 15 day long sailing. So although it could be crowded, was able to use the gym as planned without trouble. On some MSC sailings when the gym has been so crowded, spouse has taken to running a large empty stairwell... The Haven pool was heated based on ambient air of the sea day/port and spouse used the pool (yes in the cold foggy weather-- during the crossing to Iceland) For several mornings he was the only one at the pool or hot tub after his work out. Haven position related to public decks: There has been a lot of discussion on NCL boards about the ships design. We liked the Prima boardwalk wrap around concept. The art, the places to sit and gather. The attempt to break up the hoards of pax into smaller groupings and give groups traveling together places to mingle maybe more privately. Walking around the boardwalk on a seaday was quite nice even on a cold day (sunny hours) Suite Position: We do wonder if we’d have a lot of noise on our balcony from that boardwalk deck 8 pool and such on a Caribbean sailing. With the restaurants and bars that have have boardwalk- al fresco dining space on several public decks--The Haven suites above are aft and the balconies then look out and down over that board walk in part. So we did wonder about that. The slides. It was quite on this cool weather TA and while they did use the Drop slide on the port side of the ship during the sea days - it wasn't a disturbing noise. It ran for maybe an hour or so at a time Whether Haven being Aft, or MSC YC being Fwd, we like to full ship within a ship experience. So we liked the Prima having Her Haven all together, as we liked Merav, and Seashore's YCs similarly. Priority Disembarkation: Haven pax did get priority Disembarkation at some ports. So we were first to the van for a private tour at a port. That was easily accomplished coming down the private Haven elevators and out. Other ports, all disembarkation was out one door. And we had arranged to meet with other CCers at a central place on the ship and left together which worked out fine. NO Priority Embarkation Coming back in. We'd get back to the ship and there would be 3000+ of our new friends at every port stop--(and this sailing we had large groups of non-english speaking travelers acting like they didn't know the drill to put bags through the xray. Scan sail cards etc. (Groups of say 30 women, all carrying shopping bags and pushing through --the security officers repeatedly telling them to come through 1 at a time-- it was crazy.) And no Haven line to escape to... And there was no Haven line to get back on the ship. No Haven butler to smooth the way... Not shorter line. No way around the chaos. At the end of our Golden Circle tour we are standing in the sleeting rain at 11pm outside... just trying to get under cover. Coming back on the ship after long tour days was tiring and we'd then just slog our way back- from the main entrance-- through the closed casino to the private Haven elevator in the aft. Disembarkation Day: We had breakfast in Haven. They were open early. Which was good as we were able to get grats envelopes to folks that we had not seen the evening before. We did do self assist and rolled off at 7:30- very easily (*the UK does a present yourself Face to Face enroute on a sea day to Immigration. On that day Haven pax are first thing in the am- so like 7am. The rest of the ship is called by deck all day long) So at disembarkation in Southampton you literally roll off the ship and head to your ground transportation. We left Haven at 7:30 and were in our van and on the road at 8am. At our London hotel by 9:30am. NCLs Haven product on Prima is nice... yet it comes at a very steep $$,$$$ then you add on the bev package, the wifi package, the grats for your butler and concierge since they are not included in the $25 a day pp service charge, any spa and thermal, specialty dining, and touring... before you add on your discretionary gratuities. Haven is far more $$,$$$

Hi @mking8288 We just flew in yesterday.. Exhausted. Have several things to share re Gatwick, Boston Logan, Jet Blue, the incessant coughing brough on brough onto the ship etc and so on. 5am here and my body thinks its 10. The rest of the household is nicely asleep. Am certain I will be paying for it by 7;;30p this evening. Will read up. And also post pics. And in the port specific areas. How is our fav party girl @Sugar Magnolia faring?

R. Has been keeping track of our exercise. Walked about 6 miles the one day in Iceland when we got off the ship early. Now I know why I was so sore. Avg about 4 miles on several days. He’s got us walking all over London while we have decent weather. FWIW the pollen count has been very high in several places we stopped. It’s true there were some coughed, yet they could be folks like me with allergies/ asthma. Thankful for Zyrtec and inhalers. @mking8288, did your airline send you a pre board contact trace email? Just curious. Assume it’s mandatory. Though I don’t know how

Thanks. We will check our airline and ticket restrictions. Have shifted so much around. One pair of shoes is going in the trash as planned. Have not purchased anything. Hadn’t even thought about them weighing carrying on… So sad to hear the news about the pax and Iceland…as we all knew, NCL made that decision to change timetable etc because of critical care and did all they could. 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Same. Took 45 min to throw it into bags to disembark, paying for it while in London. Should probably unpack a bit to be civilized. We use Intl Friends for transfer. Had seen them mentioned on CC boards. Nice driver. Express trip. Clean vehicle. We were at hotel by 9:30ish. We will need a transfer to Gatwick at the end of the week from central London…Recs? Did changing of the guard. We decided to skip lunch and did the BigRed Bus blue route ..staying on..to get view of city. Weather yesterday was very sunny and warm. When we got off at the a Tower of London we transferred to the boat that then goes down the Thames, giving great views of the Tower Bridge and many sites from the water. On Haven and so on We went in with doubts as we are MSC YC pax most often. Yet Haven on Prima delivered. We like the Haven space and staff. The stateroom was very nice. Plenty of space. We were happy with the type of suite we chose. Our butler was fabulous, professional and friendly, as was our room steward. We did note the carpeting in the sitting room has taken a beating and needs replacing if shampooing won’t fix it … Will note that on post sail survey if NCL has space for that Dining turned out to be great once we got the hang of it, knowing what flex we had since it was a long sailing. We had been worried about being bored. The quality of food and Bev was great. Only a lunch entree or two were just ok. Food is subjective so ymmv. Staff in dining was excellent. We sent laundry out twice and things came back as expected. We saw the Donna Summer show which was excellent. We stood in line 3 times for Syds…I get the small venue coffeehouse vibe. Yet to my count it holds like 80. That was a lot of time to stand in lines …and then wait…. Skipped the other shows etc. Spouse used gym on sea days. Was crowded as this was a cold weather cruise, lots of sea days and long sailing. Spouse used both slides and said the Drop was disappointingly slow. Liked the other paired one better. We liked the Prima boardwalk wrap around. The art, the places to sit and gather. We do wonder if we’d have a lot of noise on our balcony from deck 8 pool and such on a Caribbean sailing. Met some great folks. Enjoyed the M&G, Pub Crawl and the private excursions put together with other CCers. NCLs Haven product on Haven is nice..yet comes at a very steep $. Glad to hear everyone is traveling safely. Advice to get from central London to Gatwick? @mking8288 TY re carry ones. Good reminder re 3 1 1 and electronics

Been so busy I’ve been behind in posting. In LeHavre we along with 4 other CCers went to Mont Saint Michel. left about 8:45 and were back to the ship at 8:45. 2.5 hrs each way. Had a great guide and it was a fabulous day. Had just a bite for dinner as we had eaten such an amazing lunch. Packed and was sorry to not have the energy to visit with folks. Had just been touring a lot the last several port days. We were up early. had breakfast, and the rolled off at 7:40 to our transport. Arrived at out London hotel by 9:30. Managed to see the changing of the guard.💂 Going to get a bite of lunch. Will have more to share here later. Great to meet so many and to have shred tours and meals Shout out to @mking8288 @Sugar Magnolia @Slyfox16 @Raybancop @Taxvp More later. best fog

Wish we could extend a week. Feel like we all just got started.

@dexddd are you on MSC ? Check out my thought MSC Yacht Club Loyalist Tries Haven thred

Showing my age🥰 In 1985 I was in Brugge as a student ..spending the summer in Strasbourg studying French Bought 2 small copper plate etchings on paper..framed. 1 colored, 1 plain…as well as some bobbin lace trimmed placemats and napkins. Whats notable to me is that I am comparatively young and don’t hear folks talk about buying original art or handcrafts in European ports now. guess I was that weird kid. I still own those items I have German tagged Christmas ornaments,a French Bacarrat decanter, all thing I bought with baby sitting money saved up and used on that trip. And more then 40 years later still have those things. Point being.….…...I hope you all find treasures whether as memories of events, meals or pieces to pass on from our sailing. Fog

@Sugar Magnolia Wasn’t able to get into the article about the whale. From the title it sounds horrific. One would think a species that’s normally deep sea would be sick or injured and the remains just got caught on the bow ball or whatever they call that… am I guessing correctly? also..above..I meant..canal ride back to bus..then 45 min to port.

No clever enough to add text. Above is a pic of one of the panels of the Ghent Altarpiece. Had a great tour today. Ghent is a great visit if you have been to Brugge before. 45 min ride, 2 hour walking tour, very informative. 2 hours free..we choose to go get Thai food for lunch, then a canal ride back to the port. Tom is Le Havre…we are headed to Mont Saint Michele.

For those considering this route, we’ve had good experiences at the port stops. We came in early at NYC and were glad to do that, Sail away from NY is magical..and if you are one like me with roots there, I was so glad to be seeing things from the river in such a special way. Halifax, we used Paul. We found him through the CC Halifax boards. Small van. Historical tour Got lunch across the area so we were looking at our ship and avoiding the big bus crush. Iceland, we used the free bus to walk in town for several hours before a private Golden Circle tour. We were 12 and able to have a nice casual dinner at a gastronomic pub before being back on the ship. Used a ship tour for local stuff the next so as to not be pier runners. Amsterdam, we used the very easy, clean, efficient trams. I bought museum tickets online about a month out. We didn’t use any package tickets as we were not going to be in Amsterdam long enough to make use of it. More port thoughts later. On the Haven lounge snack debate…no one is going hungry…and I know from first hand experience, they bring so many lovely options to your suite daily..on top of lots of options for 3 meals daily. We just don’t eat it. And my fellow pax are not deprived in the waist line I wonder if not having open snacks saves from food waste…and germs. We have been offered little bowls of spiced nuts or such with cocktails on occasion. Gotto go. We dock shortly

We noticed the same thing. Have thoughts I’ll share back channel

We noticed this Not a bicycle helmet anywhere..none. Not on adults nor kids We got blessed on weather for sail away and into the lock tonight, sunset. Looking fwd to the posts of pics

Some debate during sail away if any of those paged here in Amsterdam were among the ones paged..ie former pier runners in Iceland. Best line of the day was..”they should have not been allowed off the ship at the next port” ha Great sail away weather, dinner, views

In other sad news..our..” you will be leaving soon” folder is on the bed. Good thing the second load of laundry came back yesterday. We did Van Goh and Rojksmuseums and lunch today ..left as soon as ship cleared. Used tram system which is clean, efficient and easy. Lunch out…carrot soup, cheese, cabbage, watercress sandwich. Headed out in a moment for more touring… so we earn dinner and dessert. ha

No one by that name at the Haven concierge now. The posse that has been there early are band groupies..no one I recognize from Haven and we have been to 3 different shows. With lots going on today, long port day tom and Sat, we really don’t expect to go again...then again last night was a wild hair decision

Where were those 20 or so private boats headed? Officer on the Amacerto shouted we are headed the wrong way 🤣 Changed over from US$to EU Good Morning Amsterdam

Light breakfast and skipped lunch yesterday in prep for salt crusted sea bass at Palomar last night. delicious. enough for 4. salt crust made w egg whites as per waiter. not breading though it’s brown after baking. Idk if it’s gluten free. We’ve seen cookies twice. Brought to room. Haven't been to buffet so do not know if there or Starbucks, Indulge etc. Food waste is a real issue. Servings are large and a lot more goes to waste. Went to Syds for Rock the Pour House II. Stood in line at 830 for 930 show I don’t think band should be bringing in their posse to sit in prime seats before doors open when paying traveling pax stand outside, Have seen it 3 of 3 shows now. Tired this am as we got up at 5:45am to watch the lock transit. We are headed to Van Gogh museum Rijskuseum. and a canal tour. Bought the museum tix about 6 weeks ago. Finally some sun a sun and green. Haven’t seen green since NYC.