UPNYGuy

these elevators are NOT that complicated to use. I do not understand why people moan about them. It simply assigns you the elevator that is most direct to your deck. Carnival has these installed on the Horizon and Panorama, and I vastly prefer them. I also had *zero* issues with them on the Seaside. It is when you get hordes of people that dont follow the directions that get impatient.

Divina did as well? I seem to recall Magnifica also did, but I may be mistaken.

hmm. That’s interesting.

that makes sense. That’s really no different than what other cruise lines are doing now anyway. I’m assuming suite/Haven still get 2x service if requested?

I did see that most of the broadway type shows seem to be axed.

Im also Diamond, so perhaps that plays a part, but I have never had late dining with bella.

and look how quickly they abandoned TPA.

They had Alaska in mind when the Meraviglia and Bellissima were built. There was a blurb from the shipbuilder at the time that they were deliberately shorter than the Fantasia class so they could fit into the existing docks up there. I would personally rather a Seaside class get sent up there, with all that outdoor space.

def. go for the interior y/c on the Meraviglia in this case, much less hectic. You can feel that the ship has as many people on it as it does.

unless you pre-request dinner at the early seating. DW and I have done bella and have never had 9:30 dinner seating.

If you are used to flexible dining time, this is only offered with Aurea level bookings. Or (as it has been mentioned) forgo the balcony if you can, and book in the Yacht Club in an inside cabin. You will be surprised at the level of service.

years ago, MSC had a ship based at Port Everglades (think it was Magnifica), They moved to Miami with Divina to compete with Royal and Carnival.

in what way? I’ll admit I haven’t been following NCL as much as I used to.

sorry to revive a 10 year old thread, but has Adrian left NCL? I havent seen anything about him pop up since the restart.

DW and I did a bella balcony on Seaside in 2019 and were put in an Aurea hot tub cabin. Someone realized they are leaving quite a bit of revenue on the table doing that.

Thing is, seaside feels more like a ship (tons of outside space), whereas the oasis class feels much more like a land based vacation. Keep that in mind as well. Many people do not like the oasis class because they are so large, and do not feel like ships, but floating 'vacation factories' . YMMV, but they are two totally different experiences. Even within the Royal communities, there are certain pax that will not sail on anything larger than the Radiance and Vision classes.

we are in the Eataly (was a bit ago 🤣) quite a bit.

worst charter group I have ever wound up with was the 'Holistic Holiday at Sea' group on Divina. It was a group of holier than thou vegans that thought they ran the ship, and overtook EVERYTHING. Good luck getting any fresh fruit or veggies, or even salad. They vacuumed it up as fast as it came out. Now, I actively look to avoid that group when I book.

I agree, but short booze cruises tend to attract that type of clientele.

looked at the timeframe you booked. This appears to have been a 4 day cruise. All I can say is DUHHHHH. You were on what is called a booze cruise. I usually avoid cruises shorter than 7 days on any cruise line for this very reason.

I think that was how they ended up with a top-heavy loyalty program. Lots of people booking cheap weekend cruises with the 4x points to get to platinum, and they realized it. You could have ended up platinum just by booking 8 weekend cruises with the old system of booking in advance, double points, and a suite.

you should if you are curious, especially if you like the Fantasia class. It is like a smaller Fantasia class.

MSC has been offering lower matches to hotel chains vs what they would if it were a cruise operator at the same level?

This is spot on. Longer cruises of a week or more avoid this clientele, as you experienced on the first leg of your sailing. You could take a 4 day cruise on Holland America and run into this as well. It isnt so much as 'the party crowd has found MSC" as much as it is MSC doing short cruises.

That is really what the 'upgrade' offer is, what you would have paid to book it originally.