Haven Free at Sea Promotion Extra Charges

[dexddd]

Rhett Butler was the lead character in " Gone with the Wind" played by Clark Gable where he uttered the words "frankly my dear I don't give a damn" when he was leaving Scarlett Ohara and she was asking him what she was going to do. Probably the most famous line from a movie in history

 

Thanks for the info. We missed that in HS and college films class. I remember "Rosebud" and "Purity of Essence". Speaking of which, time to talk about water again?

[dexddd]

Looks like I might find some of my NCL suite contemporaries in the MSC YC. Fun.

 

To all of you who are also going to try MSC they are still doing the loyalty match. Be sure to do it asap.

 

 

 

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Come join us in August Donna!

[NLH Arizona]

That's funny, we were just talking about prunes yesterday.

 

Plus they have pringles in the mini-bar. I'm in for a tough fight on that one as I can see our DS rolling out of bed and hitting the can of pringles before I can make my move.

You might want to ask your Cabin steward to remove all the items from the mini bar.

[lgdesign]

Looks like I might find some of my NCL suite contemporaries in the MSC YC. Fun.

 

To all of you who are also going to try MSC they are still doing the loyalty match. Be sure to do it asap.

 

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Thanks for your encouragement to get moving on applying for the MSC loyalty match... I just did it for my husband and myself! Here's hoping Platinum transfers to Black status on MSC!!!!

 

Have no idea when... or with which cruise line I'll be cruising next after our January 2018 NCL Jewel Australia/New Zealand cruise... maybe NCL, if they change their attitude to dedicated suite travelers like me and /or I find a deal with them that makes paying the promo gratuities worth it (won't be holding my breath on that one).

 

Hey, what do you wanna bet they start making Prepaid Dining Promo and Prepaid Beverage Promo gratuities one of the 4 Free at Sea offers in future? It would be better than the virtually useless (at least to me) excursion credit they've been hawking for ages.

 

Either way, with MSC Loyalty Matching Status Perks in my back pocket, it will be nice to have interesting options!!!

 

MSC Yacht Club... you may be seeing me in late 2018... stay tuned!

[DMH15]

Come join us in August Donna!

 

 

Wish I could. I like to mix up my travels with a cruise and a getaway to Red Rock in Vegas each year. I cruised Epic in March.

 

But I am delaying my Vegas getaway. My sweet pup is very ill and I don't want to leave her. It is complicated.

 

I will start looking at 2018 soon. MSC is on my radar as well as Celebrity, which I have cruised before.

 

It would have been fun though (August). I hope you will post a review!!! Have fun.

 

 

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[roddy good boy]

Bliss suite pricing is crazy to begin with so that is kind of an odd duck with them trying to see what they can get.

 

Booking early (over a year in advance) on NCL typically gave you the best prices unless you risked it and booked after final payment.

 

Now NCL seems to be throwing high suite prices out, seeing what they can get and playing the advantage upgrade program at the same time. All of this is new starting early this year so who knows how it will play out.

There is little incentive to booking early these days. You no longer get latitude points for booking early and the prices are already inflated! It doesn't matter to me if I'm risking that the prices will go even higher, since I'm not willing to pay the current prices. Perhaps they are hoping to attract unsuspecting new NCL customers. Many of us have spent the past years promoting the Haven and NCL. New customers may not know how much the value has diminished.

[DMH15]

Thanks for your encouragement to get moving on applying for the MSC loyalty match... I just did it for my husband and myself! Here's hoping Platinum transfers to Black status on MSC!!!!

 

Have no idea when... or with which cruise line I'll be cruising next after our January 2018 NCL Jewel Australia/New Zealand cruise... maybe NCL, if they change their attitude to dedicated suite travelers like me and /or I find a deal with them that makes paying the promo gratuities worth it (won't be holding my breath on that one).

 

Hey, what do you wanna bet they start making Prepaid Dining Promo or Prepaid Beverage Promo gratuities one of the 4 Free at Sea offers in future? It would be better than the virtually useless (at least to me) excursion credit they've been hawking for ages.

 

Either way, with MSC Loyalty Matching Status Perks in my back pocket, it will be nice to have interesting options!!!

 

MSC Yacht Club... you may be seeing me in late 2018... stay tuned!

 

 

I believe platinum transfers to black... even with the NCL recent tiers added. (I am plat on NCL and Black on MSC, but I signed up a while ago.)

 

For my Epic 2017 cruise I got great perks. Free grats for suites, OBC, UBP and UDP. The dining and drinks were also for our pax # 3, however she was 20 so it morped into a soda pkg but she does not drink sodas so it was n/a for us.

 

Yeah, I am not interested in excursion or photo perks. I do like WIFI but I get them as plat anyways.

 

Enjoy the Jewel. I have cruised on the Jewel twice. It is lovely.

 

 

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[lgdesign]

I believe platinum transfers to black... even with the NCL recent tiers added. (I am plat on NCL and Black on MSC, but I signed up a while ago.)

 

For my Epic 2017 cruise I got great perks. Free grats for suites, OBC, UBP and UDP. The dining and drinks were also for our pax # 3, however she was 20 so it morped into a soda pkg but she does not drink sodas so it was n/a for us.

 

Yeah, I am not interested in excursion or photo perks. I do like WIFI but I get them as plat anyways.

 

Enjoy the Jewel. I have cruised on the Jewel twice. It is lovely.

 

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Thanks much... I've been on the Jewel before as well and have enjoyed the Gem and the Pearl too. Got the prepaid gratuities on our last two cruises but was unable to snatch them for this next one as we nabbed the last non-Haven 2 bed suite after a price drop.

 

PS Glad to hear you enjoyed Antarctica as you mentioned in an earlier post. Our trip there was our favorite to date and we would love to go back. How long was your excursion there?

[DMH15]

Thanks much... I've been on the Jewel before as well and have enjoyed the Gem and the Pearl too. Got the prepaid gratuities on our last two cruises but was unable to snatch them for this next one as we nabbed the last non-Haven 2 bed suite after a price drop.

 

PS Glad to hear you enjoyed Antarctica as you mentioned in an earlier post. Our trip there was our favorite to date and we would love to go back. How long was your excursion there?

 

 

The Antarctic excursion, to my best recollection, was approx 12 hours. It included transfers to the airport and flights, which included delicious meals. Then time on the continent which included a zodiac ride to see the penguins and walking around and to the Russian church. It was cold but not miserable. I am so glad I did it.

 

 

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[lgdesign]

The Antarctic excursion, to my best recollection, was approx 12 hours. It included transfers to the airport and flights, which included delicious meals. Then time on the continent which included a zodiac ride to see the penguins and walking around and to the Russian church. It was cold but not miserable. I am so glad I did it.

 

 

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It sounds really excellent...a very exciting bucket list thing to do! How many people was the excursion limited to?

 

We were lucky to be able to cruise down to Antarctica last year... very thrilling! Looking forward to our Australia, New Zealand in Jan 2018 which will make our 7th continent (talk about a bucket list, haha). After that, you may see us in the MSC Yacht Club some day. Like you, we budget to be able to go suite class and book fairly well ahead of time, so these promo charges are extra annoying.

[NCLfamily]

Assuming this won't apply to U.K. Guests as all our cruises are AI now anyway?

 

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[CruisinHarvey]

Assuming this won't apply to U.K. Guests as all our cruises are AI now anyway?

 

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I understand it's against the law there to charge it. It's all baked into your cruise prices.

[NCLfamily]

I understand it's against the law there to charge it. It's all baked into your cruise prices.

 

 

 

Yes, that's what I thought.

 

 

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[Maraprince]

What happens if you do not drink alcohol and in a Haven cabin under this new program? In essence I would be "subsidizing" others that do but what benefit would I get from this?

 

Maraprince

[cantthinkofanythingfun]

What happens if you do not drink alcohol and in a Haven cabin under this new program? In essence I would be "subsidizing" others that do but what benefit would I get from this?

 

Maraprince

 

You can opt out of the drink package and not pay the gratuity.

[CruisinSam129]

Looks like I might find some of my NCL suite contemporaries in the MSC YC. Fun.

 

To all of you who are also going to try MSC they are still doing the loyalty match. Be sure to do it asap.

 

 

 

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See ya over there!

[back-at-it]

Well we are just off the MSC Divina Yacht Club. The service was great, all were friendly and the ship was spotless. It has it's quirts also but very nice. I was still more impressed with the Haven on the Epic when we did a Transatlantic in a 2 bedroom suite. So I too went to go look at booking another NCL and was A shocked by the new prices and B the added in extra now for the packages.

 

On MSC one night they served 7 oz Lobster tails. On NCL never saw a Lobster anywhere. I am going to play the waiting game for a last min cruise on NCL in hopes for a price drop. But it does not look good.

 

So back to a Balcony room for awhile and wait it out.

[CruisinSam129]

Well we are just off the MSC Divina Yacht Club. The service was great, all were friendly and the ship was spotless. It has it's quirts also but very nice. I was still more impressed with the Haven on the Epic when we did a Transatlantic in a 2 bedroom suite. So I too went to go look at booking another NCL and was A shocked by the new prices and B the added in extra now for the packages.

 

On MSC one night they served 7 oz Lobster tails. On NCL never saw a Lobster anywhere. I am going to play the waiting game for a last min cruise on NCL in hopes for a price drop. But it does not look good.

 

So back to a Balcony room for awhile and wait it out.

 

I think the Haven on the Epic is in a league of it's own. It was just phenomenal.

 

How did the food and service in the YC compare to the Haven?

[back-at-it]

I think the Haven on the Epic is in a league of it's own. It was just phenomenal.

 

How did the food and service in the YC compare to the Haven?

 

The food was on par .. The service was above the Haven if you can believe that. We even had maintenance workers stop say hello and open a door for us. That part was above par.

[Ranger719]

I have been in the Haven about seven times in the last three years but this last increase just rubs me the wrong way so like many of you I have booked several cruises in the Yacht Club on MSCs Divina and Seaside... I did want to try the

Bliss and tried booking several weeks ago but I thought it was a mistake what they were charging for the haven for a typical seven-day Caribbean cruise...Basic Haven penthouse for about $10,000...

I read on another thread about a month ago where someone had a discussion or dinner with the captain of the Divina where he told the guests that MSC is specifically out for Norwegians customers...they are a family owned privately run business out of Switzerland they have no Board of Directors or stockholders to report to like Norwegian....their gross income and profits are incredibly higher than Norwegian they have over 470 container ships that can easily subsidize their cruise ship department.... they brought the Divina over here to test the North American market they had to make some drastic changes after the first year... now they're bringing over the seaside which was built specifically for the North American Miami market...after that Miragvilia is on the way....all I can say is watch out Norwegian

[DMH15]

I have been in the Haven about seven times in the last three years but this last increase just rubs me the wrong way so like many of you I have booked several cruises in the Yacht Club on MSCs Divina and Seaside... I did want to try the

Bliss and tried booking several weeks ago but I thought it was a mistake what they were charging for the haven for a typical seven-day Caribbean cruise...Basic Haven penthouse for about $10,000...

I read on another thread about a month ago where someone had a discussion or dinner with the captain of the Divina where he told the guests that MSC is specifically out for Norwegians customers...they are a family owned privately run business out of Switzerland they have no Board of Directors or stockholders to report to like Norwegian....their gross income and profits are incredibly higher than Norwegian they have over 470 container ships that can easily subsidize their cruise ship department.... they brought the Divina over here to test the North American market they had to make some drastic changes after the first year... now they're bringing over the seaside which was built specifically for the North American Miami market...after that Miragvilia is on the way....all I can say is watch out Norwegian

 

 

 

Thank you for your insightful post. I see NCL charging more for less and MSC a better value, at least on paper. Looking forward to booking in the future. I am excited.

 

Is it any wonder looking to book MSC YC online says SOLD OUT. And NCL is not and going to bids. It is so obvious.

 

 

 

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[WYTinman]

Thank you for your insightful post. I see NCL charging more for less and MSC a better value, at least on paper. Looking forward to booking in the future. I am excited.

 

Is it any wonder looking to book MSC YC online says SOLD OUT. And NCL is not and going to bids. It is so obvious.

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MSC does offer another Suite Experience for those that don't want or need the "Ship within a Ship" experience.

 

On the New Builds...Seaside...Meravigila...Bellissima... They offer some beautiful Aurea Suites. Many larger than the Y/C suites. Some two bedroom suites. Some two deck suites, and many with private hot tubs on the balcony.

 

The Aurea Experience still comes with a drink package and anytime dining. So if you can live without the Ship within a ship, or are used to Princess or Carnival Suites (Few to No Suites perks). An Aurea Suite may fill in well when the Yacht Club is Sold out.

[gtaylor]

Well we are just off the MSC Divina Yacht Club. The service was great, all were friendly and the ship was spotless. It has it's quirts also but very nice. I was still more impressed with the Haven on the Epic when we did a Transatlantic in a 2 bedroom suite. So I too went to go look at booking another NCL and was A shocked by the new prices and B the added in extra now for the packages.

 

On MSC one night they served 7 oz Lobster tails. On NCL never saw a Lobster anywhere. I am going to play the waiting game for a last min cruise on NCL in hopes for a price drop. But it does not look good.

 

So back to a Balcony room for awhile and wait it out.

We recently did a back to back on Divina, and were served the lobster the first week -- TWO tails each.

 

The next week we specifically requested just one -- too much good stuff.

 

(click)

 

gary

[CarrieAP]

Sailed NCL for the first time on the Getaway in March. Fell in love with the ship and the line!! Our upgrade to the Haven via the bid system was icing on the cake. Bought a number of future cruise certificates on board so began to book a Dec. cruise.

 

I was pricing options the day the service charges were added to the Haven. Being curious, I jumped over here to get the scoop. As I scanned this thread the numerous MSC references caught my eye. Our time in the Haven felt like winning the lottery, but for us it was a once and done experience because it's not a splurge we can justify again. But.... if we could replicate the experience at a lower price....

 

I was skeptical that deals could be found on MSC, but did indeed discover reasonable prices. I surprised myself by booking the Yacht Club on the Divina instead of a balcony cabin on the Getaway as planned. It's too enticing an opportunity to pass up and I expect prices will increase down the road.

 

The Yacht Club seems to offer tremendous value at a much lower cost. It's a splurge and more than I planned on spending but doable, whereas the Haven is not.

 

NCL does have some head to head competition from MSC so it seems an odd time to raise prices with the additional gratuity cost. While not significant $ it can sway a decision because folks like to feel they're getting a deal, even if they really aren't.

 

While I anticipated staying with NCL I do plan on booking the Seaside for the spring because it looks so intriguing. No Yacht Club, but the aurea balcony seems more than adequate with included drinks, thermal suite access, spa service, private sun deck and more.

 

We'll return to NCL in Dec 2018 but feel torn knowing there are many good options to explore. The competition's heating up as more and more new ships come on line so it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out for us cruisers.

 

 

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[CarrieAP]

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