mardavbetale

I’m annoyed we’re going on a Caribbean cruise but the first four days will be chilli because the ship has to go slow out of New York.  I expected it to be cold the first day or so but four slow sailing sea days out of New York in November isn’t good enough. We upgraded the free at sea to free at sea plus which gave us $100 per port towards excursions which we now lose.  We also purchased vibe passes which, due to the weather we won’t get the the same use out of due to 4 slow colder days  out at sea from New York. I know things change but we’ve all paid full price for a Caribbean cruise that now loses 2 port days and it isn’t going to be sunbathing weather on board the ship for the first 4 sea days.

On 3/29/2022 at 10:45 PM, nolatravelgirl said:

Here is a snapshot of the sea day dining on the Breakaway sailing a few weeks ago.

 

Thank you, this is so useful 

37 minutes ago, shof515 said:

the dinning room and buffet will be open for lunch on sea days. the specialty restaurants like cagneys and moderno do not do lunch 

Thanks for your reply. Are Wasabi,  Raw bar and the American Diner open on sea days?  Thanks again

We’re on a 14 night cruise on the Breakaway from NY to NOLA in November and just wondered which restaurants are open for lunch on sea days including any specialty restaurants. We have 6 sea days.  In the past we’ve enjoyed tapas and sushi at the speciality restaurants on sea days. Thanks 

Thanks for all your replies.  I just presumed it would be the same level as the Seaview.  I should have checked before booking.

I know that every one on the seaview and that does show on the deck plans but I can’t see it on the Meraviglia deck plans 

Many thanks for your reply. I couldn’t see it on the deck plans. 

Does anyone know if they have a bar within the Aurea Sun Deck area?  Many thanks 

14 minutes ago, Até said:

To me Divina and Seaside lack shadier areas.  I don't really like sitting in direct sunlight so thought it was better with the panels.  There are areas on the sides towards the aft of the One pool deck where there is direct sun.

Thanks for your reply.  I also don’t like sitting in direct sun for a long time so the shade will be good for me but my other half prefers direct sunlight. I also wondered if it acted like a wind brake. We’re more NCL cruisers and on their vibe deck it can get very windy. Thanks again

 If anyone has stayed in the Yacht Club on the meraviglia, what are your thoughts of the pool area?  From the photos I’ve seen it looks very shaded by the glass panels.  Thanks everyone

16 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

No.  Not only are drinks in the Yacht Club included, but drinks throughout the whole ship.  Everything except the tippy top shelf, but you get even those by upgrading to the Premium Plus package (about 17 pp pd) and drink expensive champaign, high end single malt and blended scotches, etc. to your heart's content.

 

I drink wine and have a fairly dull palate so personally I am content with the included package.

Ive just had a reply from MSC regarding this and this is their reply:

“Good Afternoon Maria,

Thank you for your email.

I can confirm the drinks package included within the Yacht Club experience is it's own drinks package which gives you unlimited beverage selection in MSC Yacht Club Area, bars and restaurants however i'm afraid there is not an option to upgrade.

Kind Regards,
Sophie Betchley
Booking Management
  
MSC Cruises Ltd
5 Roundwood Avenue
Stockley Park
Uxbridge
UB11 1AF
 

I’m not sure what to do now as we do like to have a couple of glasses of champagne most nights

Thank you. I will take a good look.   I really thought everything would have been included in the YC, but no biggy.  Beamafar, looking for to seeing you on the cruise

14 minutes ago, dexddd said:

There are several posts floating around here about this going back to when it was first announced and speculation so maybe look for those as there is recent info there.  Are you sailing in Europe or US?

 

 

Thanks for your reply.  We’re sailing the Caribbean out of New York

It’s our second Msc Cruise and our first time in the yacht club.  The last time we cruised with MSC we had the Aurea experience and we upgraded the drinks package before we sailed.  I can’t tell from any information on line which drink package will be available to us in the yacht club.  We’d like to enjoy a glass of champagne now and again and be able to use the package outside of the yacht club, would I need to upgrade the package or is everything available to us both in the YC and the rest of the ship? Thanks in advance, maria

I wasn't in any balconies on deck 15 so I can't answer to that, but I assume they are basically the same size. Staying on deck 14 reinforced my desire to avoid the deck 9 Aurea cabins. While deck 9 had extended balconies including some cover, they totally lacked privacy as everyone could look down on them from above, as well as from the side.

 

I can assure you that almost all men on this ship were not black tie on elegant nights. I would describe it as typical for mainstream American lines like RCL/NCL. Most women dressed up, many suits and a handful of tuxedos on the men. Others wore basic dresses, or men in dress shirts with no jackets. Some still wore jeans. As is often the case in the Caribbean, many opted to change clothes after dinner for the night out.

That’s great info. Sorry I misread which deck you were staying on, but the info on deck 9 was much appreciated. We’re actually booked on deck 9 but don’t fancy people looking down on us from balconies above, we had that experience on ncl escape and it wasn’t for us so I will get our room changed.

Thanks again for the info

Great review. We’re on the seaside in September and like you, it will be our first msc cruise. Coming from the UK we’re use to all the different European foods and coutures etc, so that shouldn’t be a problem for us. I’ve Just a couple of questions if you don’t mind.

The Aurea balconies on deck 14 look bigger on the deck plans than the Aurea balconies on 15, is that the case?

How dressed up do people get on elegant nights? I know all cruise lines differ on these nights so just want to make sure we don’t overdress or underdress. We’ve just come back from a p & o cruise and almost all the men wore black tie on these nights. Many thanks. Maria

I managed to get a few photos on our 25/2 Oriana cruise with my iPhone. Apparently threre is an app that’s really good but I only found out about it once we’d left Alta.

Loving your review. Can't wait to hear more :)

We are on the Escape for our Honeymoon in October! I'm all about food porn, so help a girl out and take pics of everything you eat! :)

We're on the escape for our anniversary at the same time as you. :)

Nice and calm this morning!

It sure looks beautiful

I understand your concern, and you certainly don't want to pay to go to White Bay and have to stay on the boat!

 

With calm seas they can definitely drop you and pick you up at ankle - knee depth as mentioned. However swells are not uncommon in hurricane season so they may need to have you jump off in deeper water, just no way of knowing. We've been dropped in chest-deep water and we weren't that far from the beach as it does slope quickly.

Maybe someone can confirm you can take a life vest, or better yet try contacting them directly, that's always the best option. If you just cannot get a good enough feeling for it the ferry is another option, they dock in Great Harbor at a pier and you can walk or taxi over to White Bay. Horizons ferry also has a ferry they send to pick up folks from near the ship which saves a taxi to the ferry terminal in West End. If interested in either ferry you can contact Horizons for more info -

http://newhorizonferry.com/

 

And the Soggy $ webcam to get you in the mood! Right now the water is nice and calm and the smaller powerboats are actually too close.

http://www.soggydollar.com/webcam

Thanks so much that's great info

Really wanted to visit JVD whilst in Totola but concerned as NCL's excursion info says "in the event conditions are rough, the boat will anchor just short of the beach and guests will swim the short distance to shore". Does this happen often? I'm not a very good swimmer (only learnt to swim in my 30's) and really hate being in the sea, I wish I didn't as I know I miss out so much with snorkeling et. Over the years I have tried but I Just don't like it, it panics me so much. We're visiting at the end of October, if that makes a difference.

Thanks everyone

so i just did a back to back. They have you meet in o sheehans around 930 or 10, cant quite remember the time. They walk you off the ship with your passport and then you clear customs. Once the ship has been cleared you can go back on again. You will be on before everyone else. The whole thing once walked off the ship was about 15 minutes but i think that could vary. You should have no issue getting vibe passes and then could be back off the ship pretty quick if you were meeting friends

Thanks for your reply, it's really appreciated. Hope you had an awesome cruise.

We're are doing a back-to-back on the escape and are hoping to meet with friends in Miami before our ship sets sail for the second leg of our cruise. We also want to get VIBE passes for the second cruise and wondered what the re embarkation procedures are. Do we have to get off the ship to re check in, line up for VIBE passes and then we'll be able to leave the ship to meet our friends before we set sail? Thanks for all your help, maria

Thanks everyone for all your replies. One last question. Are Ncl really stricken on the one bad check in policy? We're travelling from th uk and are staying in the usa/cruising for 3 wks and would like to take 3 cases with us.