NCL Joy 7/1/23 vs MSC Meraviglia 7/9/23 Review for consideration

[Donoilman]

 

 

NCL JOY

 

    First, This was our Third NCL Joy Haven cruise in 12 months.   My applause to the crew aboard the Joy.  My experience in the Haven the first week in July was interesting.  Most of the situations on board were due to changes in policy from NCL head office.....Are you listening?  We always purchase the premium upgrade on the beverage package due to our taste for good Champagne.  Champagne being French Brut.  None in the Haven....discontinued serving Veuve at the haven bar...OK what do you have?....Rose Champagne.  Ok...supply problems we were  told.  My problem is that you sold me a premium beverage package that on your web site said Veuve was available also Moet Chandon....no notice about changes were sent.  The second problem I have is that the officers aboard have no clue about customer service.  They might be good at managing their job but as far as communication and good customer service they are lost.  The beverage manager, on the first day onboard told my wife and I he would get back to us with a solution...which he did after we mentioned to the Haven Maitre D' about the situation.  His response was "I was waiting for time".  WHAT!  No one likes to wait for bad news, nothing he can do.   The sommelier in Le Bistro took time to explain what the problem actually was and how they are working on it. He had impeccable customer service.  One of the best aboard in my opinion.   This started a week that we both noticed cuts in food quality....thank God not crew quality!  Our Butler, Jane, was one of the best we had experienced on NCL.  Also our room steward Raju, was fantastic.  We are casino players so the casino is part of our vacation.  I can say the casino staff is top notch and always has been since Gareth took over the casino department.  The dealers and pit crew are second to none.  The casino host and his staff....as with our last cruise on the Joy...useless.  Answering questions without listening to the question.....who trains these people.  

    The Haven experience....the staff is excellent.  The menu in the haven restaurant does not change at all.  They do make requested items.  This got old as the week went along.  Another problem, this is sold as a luxury experience yet for dinner, people dressed in shorts and flip flops, young ladies dressed like they are going to a rage, hats worn by men throughout dinner.  May sound a little elitist, My intention is to draw attention to the slipping of policy.  Food was always cooked as requested and served hot to warm.  I think that some things brought out stayed on the Pass too long.  Staffing issue or chef issue...not sure.  The sun deck was mostly mobbed.  Inside pool area crowded and loud.  I know its school vacation and we booked outside the Haven proper because of that.  That being said, If I paid $5500 per person for that week I would feel like I got ripped off.

    A note to NCL.  Lee Iaccoca once said about business " There are those that lead, those that follow, and those that get left behind".  NCL has to decide which one they want to be...not in their head but in their product.  Another quote from a most respected business man "Don't give your customers a reason to look elsewhere".  We have been loyal NCL  (sapphire) cruisers for quite some time and what keeps us coming back are the people....the policies enacted due to economic restraints are causing us to look at other cruise lines.  

        Le Bistro continues to be our favorite restaurant......what do you know.....we can get Veuve there by the glass.  We ate in Le Bistro three nights.  Food Republic is also a hidden gem on the Joy. In the Local, food was served cold and not hot 2 times, chicken wings and eggs. That is not acceptable.

     We were disappointed with our latest NCL Joy experience.  Will we do another NCL cruise...yes after they get their situation sorted out. 

 

MSC Meraviglia

 

    This was our second experience in the Yacht Club.  The first was the MSC Seaside out of Miami September 2019.  I wrote a review at that time and was very disappointed with that week.  WOW....MSC has totally turned things around.  Right from the start, The yacht club exuded "We get the luxury experience on big ships".

    The ship is absolutely beautiful.  The Galleria was a spectacular two floors by day shops and eateries...by night a party like I've never seen on a ship.  The bands and music we heard that week were the best on the sea so far.  Gelato that is really gelato....Holas Taco's not to be missed.  In the Yacht Club...different chocolates left next to the bed at night....nice touch.  The only negative for one week...the ship seems to have a design flaw that in semi rough seas the bow has a" right to left " shimmy and it sounds like air gets caught in the bow thrusters that creates a slight bang sound from time to time.

 

    The Yacht club...talk about a complete 360 degree turn a round.  The staff was amazing.  The concierges had it going on...requests taken care of with impeccable customer service.  The restaurant menu changed every day for dinner.  Food was amazing.  One note...the cheese trays....oh that parmaggiano that we can't get in the US....best I've ever had. 

    This brings me to the staff.  Every single staff we encountered were top notch.  Obviously trained in impeccable customer service...never once did I hear the word "NO".  Gracious and engaging and anticipating what you would like.                                                                                                                                                                                               The Yacht club restaurant on day one lunch..I ordered a simple pasta with marinara...I figured I would get a feel for the rest of the week....I was not disappointed the whole week.  The Maitre D' was fantastic...great conversationalist.  My gold star goes to Rudolph the Sommelier  He was everything I didn't know I wanted...his choices for wine were spot on, special attention to the cheese plate every night before dinner..diverse and special selections that were over the top and he was everywhere all the time.  My wine glass never...never got to the bottom.  The wait staff and assistants were again...over the top.  The last night was Italian night...right up my alley being in the restaurant business.   I was excited to find a menu diverse with selections.  My test dish "Eggplant Parm"...Just five words "The best I've ever had!"      

                                The Yacht Club Bar again...staff over the top.  The bartender in the morning saw me coming and had started Two Latte's before I ordered.  The wait staff kept the buffet area stocked with really good selections all day long.  Comfortable lounge with compatible music at night.

                                The pool deck.  Very crowded being summer vacation season.  There has been chatter about people outside the Yacht Club sneaking in or on our cruise Yacht Club guests bringing in outside people.  Not cool during such a busy time. Never the less we did enjoy the sundeck but did not partake of the Bar and Grill upstairs.  Always fresh towels and a sun glass cleaning station...what a great Idea.

                                The casino was on the small side.  The staff was adequate and started loosening up after the first day.  We meet two people from MSC Corporate from the Casino.  Both very engaging and welcoming...My special thanks to Borkay for sitting in on  my Wifes hand during her bathroom break...a man of his word!!!!.  The dealers tried to make loosing money fun.  Special note to Lucky the Casino Host.  Absolutely the best casino host I have ever experienced on land or sea....no doubt about it.  The drink servers were a little slow, probably needed a couple more.  One side does have smoking at the slot machines, occasionally you could smell it on the other side. 

        

Final Assessment

 

    We came off the Meraviglia elated with the prospect of sailing again.  We have cancelled two NCL cruises in the Haven for next year and booked MSC Yacht Club in April.  I am gleefully admitting that MSC has captured our hearts for a true Luxury Experience on big ships.   As for the private islands, MSC Ocean Cay was docked with a private section for the Yacht Club.... where NCL Great Stirrup Cay was tendered and if you want their Haven on the island, get ready to fork over some bucks.     Not once during Meravaglia week did we see anything but spotless silverware and glasses, not so on NCL Joy, constant lipstick stains on glasses.... soiled silverware and dirty napkins all over the ship.   I believe that MSC Yacht Club is leading with NCL Haven being left behind...not following but left behind!  My intention is not to "dog" NCL...but you gotta wake up.  I would not buy NCL stock after what we had experienced the first week..if its share holders who they are listening to and not Hospitality....my condolences.  The policies enacted make it very difficult to see value for that expense.  MSC keep doing what you are doing....amazing week.

[kernie968]

Agree with everything you said. We have traveled in the Haven and loved it, but as the prices rose we opted for a regular balcony and the Vibe Club. We live Vibe because no children allowed.

 

I had been waiting for MSC to come to NY.  We managed to book a YC inside room for the same price as a balcony on the NCL Joy.  We will never go back to NCL. The YC experience was amazing. The way all of the crew in the YC work together made it the best cruise ever. We hardly saw any of the rest of the ship!

[morpheusofthesea]

Had the same experience (practically word for word) comparing our Haven on NCL Breakaway versus MSC Seaside, Seashore and Seascape in Yacht Club. Cancelled our cruise on NCL Joy Haven and lost $1800 deposit after experiencing the new Seascape Yacht Club, it was that good.

[Brighton Line]

We have sailed the Haven both in the proper and rear-facing suites. Had our first Yacht Club and first MSC cruise in June and agree 100% with your review. At this point in time, not going back to the Haven and our next cruise is on the same Meraviglia just two cabins down from our last in YC in November and will be booking a third while on board. 

[Two Wheels Only]

7 hours ago, Donoilman said:

Another problem, this is sold as a luxury experience yet for dinner, people dressed in shorts and flip flops, young ladies dressed like they are going to a rage, hats worn by men throughout dinner.  May sound a little elitist, My intention is to draw attention to the slipping of policy.

 

In all fairness, shorts, t-shirts, and open-toe shoes are allowed in the Haven restaurant for all meals. A hat is on the prohibited list, however.

 

I enjoy Haven and Yacht Club so I have nothing against either line. I've never had a bad (or even mediocre) cruise on either line and will continue to sail both on their newer ships.

 

The supply problems are a big issue especially for people who pay for the Premium Plus Beverage Package. NCL has no valid excuse for that. Hopefully, as more people bring light to the issue, NCL will fix the problem.

 

I've also sailed Seaside and Meraviglia and enjoyed both tremendously. I'm glad that you gave MSC another shot and enjoyed your cruise.

[Morgsmom]

Oh, man... we are going on our first NCL cruise (and on the Joy) in a few weeks.  Now I'm leery. Actually I have been since I found out that I can't get a bottle of water or espresso with our beverage package...  To note, the Veuve issue on NCL is not a supply issue - the menu was re-written to exclude Veuve.  It's not like it's listed and they say it's out.

 

As far as Rudolf on the Mera - sorry, but I've cruised with him twice and had exactly the opposite experience.  He actually challenged me to a blind tasting once when I refused to drink from a $3 bottle of Mondavi that he produced.  

[karmamule]

We've been in the Haven on Joy and YC on Meraviglia too. While our Joy experience was more consistently good than the OPs we'd still agree with the overall conclusion that YC is better and definitely DEFINITELY a far better value. (We typically see Haven prices consistently several thousand more than the equivalent MSC/YC prices)

 

@Morgsmom, to give you some good things to look forward to: In general we thought YC dinner was better than Haven restaurant dinner but the Haven desserts were really tasty. Breakfast in the Haven restaurant was always delicious. We also liked the specialty restaurants on Joy more than those on MSC. (Food Republic and Q were favorites) We also REALLY liked having a (close-to) 24-7 food option with The Local restaurant on the Joy. The food was nothing special but at 2am it's great to have a real restaurant with menu rather than just a pizzeria. We had the premium beverage package on the Joy and got our money's worth from Starbucks alone 😁. The District Brew House has a great selection of beers and was a favorite stop of ours as well.

 

If money weren't a factor we'd probably be just as tempted to go on the NCL Joy again as we would the Meraviglia, but at current prices we'd choose the Meraviglia any time. (And would probably plow the difference into the casino, but that's a whole other topic 😉)

Edited August 1, 2023 by karmamule

[knscruiser322]

Nice review as I literally just came back this Sunday off the NCL Joy in the Haven. First Haven experience as well and first time on the NCL Joy as well so it was great as firsts for both.

 

The Mrs. loved the Haven and wanted to try another cruise line with similar amenities and I recall reading about MSC's Yacht Club and the prices were better than what NCL charges. We have only cruised with NCL (3) times so would love to try another cruise line with similar amenities.

 

 

[mikefromny]

Just booked Meraviglia YC out of NY for early 2025. Being Loyal to Royal, we were hesitant but figured we'd give it a try. Reading this helps a lot. Thank you!

[cruisebeachgirl703]

On 8/1/2023 at 5:08 PM, knscruiser322 said:

Nice review as I literally just came back this Sunday off the NCL Joy in the Haven. First Haven experience as well and first time on the NCL Joy as well so it was great as firsts for both.

 

The Mrs. loved the Haven and wanted to try another cruise line with similar amenities and I recall reading about MSC's Yacht Club and the prices were better than what NCL charges. We have only cruised with NCL (3) times so would love to try another cruise line with similar amenities.

 

 

Sailed the Joy Haven 3 times in a row. July 2022 March 2023 and July 2023. With the decline of the P+ beverage package, 1st sailing butler MIA, unappealing dress code in Haven restaurant at dinner allowed, Haven prices "very high", and the feeling of just cutting back to please shareholders we cancelled 2 upcoming NCL cruises. Booked MSC YC next April. We went from loving the Haven and P+ to feeling ripped off. Glad you had a positive experience.

[bundtkate]

I would be nothing short of thrilled if our forthcoming experience in YC on Seascape exceeds our NCL Joy Haven cruise. While there are always things we could complain about  (and I did some in the review I wrote), we overall loved the Haven, especially at the price we managed to pay (~ $7.5k total for 2 people for 14 days). You'd think the non-rotating menu would get old after 14 days and perhaps it would have were it not for the 3 specialty dinners included with our fare and the Haven restaurant choosing to add daily specials for the second week. We actually stuck with standard menu items because we ate in the MDR with our traveling party twice and specialty restaurants 4 days leaving us with only just over a week in the Haven restaurant and found there was adequate variety for that week. Haven breakfast is to die for. I ate the french toast literally every day after I first tried it and had no regrets whatsoever. We even tried to replicate it when we got home and will have it for brinner (breakfast for dinner) from time to time.

One top tip for NCL in general is that if you are a sushi fan, using your free at sea meals at Food Republic is a great value. If memory serves you get 4 rolls + dessert for each meal and the rolls are huge. My husband and I had not problem sharing one person's allotment between the two of us. As another poster mentioned, The Local is also a pleasant surprise. The Rueben always needed extra sauce, but they're happy to give you a side of it if you ask and it's delicious if sauced properly.

That said, I think some of the complaints about the Haven didn't particularly bother us. Our butler was attentive, but definitely not omnipresent (our stateroom was outside the Haven proper) which suited us just fine. If we needed anything, we could call him from the room or the cell phone they give you and he'd make sure to take care of what we needed. Honest, the thing we asked him for most was breakfast delivery. We're not early risers so often wouldn't be up in time to go to the Haven for our french toast fix, but if we called him 10 minutes before closing and ordered it to our room, it would generally show up right as we were ready to face the day allowing him to set us up for a nice meal and cappuccinos on our balcony. If that were all he ever did, I'd probably have been thrilled.

 

I definitely expect YC to exceed in some aspects. For one, the YC sundeck makes the Haven sundeck look like it was built for ants. The Top Sail lounge also seems to dwarf the Haven lounge and on Seascape the design of the lounge is on another level and puts the Haven to shame. I know the Haven on Joy has the Observation Lounge too and that was certainly a boon for our Panama Canal crossing, but overall it wasn't a super usable space beyond the crossing and there was no entertainment in the Haven ever so I see YC scoring better on that front as well. The value is definitely better for a 7 day in YC since we're in a YIN. The Haven was an amazing value for our 14-day, but I think that's very much the exception and not the rule -- we got lucky and we couldn't possibly book a similar Haven cruise for the price of our YIN.

Finally, I think MSC does a much better job outside the YC. I might be the minority in holding this opinion, but our first MSC was non-YC on Mera in 2021 and we loved it. This was shortly after restart so the lack of crowds definitely made it a non-standard experience, but even ignoring that part the MDR food was better on MSC (NCL MDR was the one time I've had inedible food on a cruise), the entertainment was better, the design of the ship was beyond better (so many bottlenecks on the Joy and of course photographers are making every one of them worse), and MSC has pizza that just so happens to be darned tasty. NCL might have had pizza, but if it did, I didn't find it and it certainly wasn't available at 2am when I wanted it. MSC always had my 2am pizza covered.

 

Folks going on the Joy, if you're in the Haven I think you'll have a great time. Certainly things change as crew do and it's all very subjective, but we loved our cruise in Dec 2022. We probably wouldn't pay today's Haven prices for it, but it's far from a bad experience and if our YC experience only meets that same bar, then we're in for a treat too.

[GOLDENBONNY]

2 hours ago, bundtkate said:

non-rotating menu would get old

so its true that NCL have same menu every day? omg

[bundtkate]

1 hour ago, GOLDENBONNY said:

so its true that NCL have same menu every day? omg

In the Haven, yes, but it's more extensive than what you'd see each day in the MDR. You can find what claims to be the current dinner menu here. One thing I tended to do was order multiple apps instead of a main at times which probably helped add variety. Also, most NLC cruisers do take the "free at sea" package, which includes at least one specialty dinner, so that's at least one less day you're likely eating in the Haven (NCL's specialty restaurants were excellent in my experience). It feels like enough variety for a 7 day, but I get the complaints on longer cruises, even with the added daily specials, and for frequent Haven cruisers I'd wager coming back to the same menu time and again gets tired pretty quick.

[xcell]

Also, Haven "free at Sea" only applies to the 1st two passengers, so if you travel wihth a family of four, 3rd and 4th pay.  This includes the drink package...

 

I prefer the YC to Haven, especially when the price point of Haven...

[Glitchlo]

I issued a similar review of Haven vs Yacht Club. Haven had some advantages BUT agree with all of your statements. 

 

[Two Wheels Only]

7 hours ago, xcell said:

Also, Haven "free at Sea" only applies to the 1st two passengers, so if you travel wihth a family of four, 3rd and 4th pay.  This includes the drink package...

 

For FAS, the dining package is only for guests 1&2 but the drink package is for all in the stateroom who are 21 or older.