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Haven or Yacht Club?


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Yesterday I came home from our first cruise on MSC, Meraviglia Yacht Club.

 

How was the Yacht Club compared to the Haven?

 

First I must say that as you can see in my signature I haven't been on a NCL cruise for over two years.

 

So how was it?

 

I think that the food in the Yacht Club was better than in the Haven but the reason can be that I really love Italian food and MSC has a lots of that. I haven't tried the new menu in the Haven but the fact that the Yacht Club has a new menu every day of the cruise really appeals to me. (I loved the fettuccini on the old lunchmenu in the Haven so I could eat that every day but I prefer a new menu every day.)

 

Drinks? Lots of drinks are included for everyone in the Yacht Club, it doesn't matter when you booked your cruise, if you are in the Yacht Club most drinks are included. They even have Champagne included, in most bars Nicolas Feuillatte was included but in the Champagne bar it was Laurent-Perrier. I have never had any kind of beverage package on NCL but think that I have seen that if you have a beverage package on NCL and want something more expensive, not included in the package, you only pay the difference, is that correct? On MSC you have to pay the full price if you want something more expensive. The exception is if you are in the Yacht Club and order a bottle of Champagne, you then get a 30% discount.

 

Service? You get more service in the Haven, sometimes too much service. The staff in the Yacht Club was there when you needed them but they didn't came to our table all the time, we liked that but other might not.

 

Embarkation. We got a glas of prosecco while we waited for the staff to do our check in. Any port where you get that on NCL?

 

Debarkation. Our butler followed us until we had collected our luggage and left the terminal.

 

Over all I must say that MSC Yacht Club wins over the Haven but of course I must let our recent experience sink in before I can really say.

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Thank you for your comparison! I have been thinking of trying MSC Yacht Club due to the price increases on NCL Suites and Haven, which unfortunately has priced me out of sailing in suites on NCL.

 

 

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Thank you for your comparison! I have been thinking of trying MSC Yacht Club due to the price increases on NCL Suites and Haven, which unfortunately has priced me out of sailing in suites on NCL.

 

 

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You will love it. The same thing happened for us with NCL. We prefer to sail in suites or not sail so the massive price increases prompted us to search for another line. Needless to say, we have found it. The service, food and quality of MSC far surpasses NCL and at the same prices we were accustom to paying on NCL before the rate hikes. We have 2 more Yacht Club cruises booked for 2018. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

 

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If we talk value for money NCL are far behind!

 

The reason why we decided to try MSC, we really love NCL, was that a similar cruise on the Epic this summer should cost more than $3000 more than our MSC cruise. We didn't wanted to pay that much more so decided to try something new.

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Thank you for posting this.

 

This Platinum NCL Suite cruiser received the MSC loyalty match to black and will strongly consider MSC for my next cruise.

 

So far though, I find their website tedious. I like to do my own booking research/comparisons. Any thoughts on this???

 

 

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So far though, I find their website tedious. I like to do my own booking research/comparisons. Any thoughts on this?

Their site is bad but doable. Just make sure you know what you want before mock booking/actually booking. Making changes 1/2 way through requires a complete restart most of the time...if the page doesn't freeze, of course.

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...So far though, I find their website tedious...

 

As a another NCL Platinum who prefers suites I matched to MSC Black a while back but have not yet booked. I agree the website is inconsistent and constantly changing, I also have received loads of bad information from the PVCs on the phone. I planned on booking an early Seaside, which looks to be an interesting ship, but cabin discrepancies have held me back, and now the poor reviews coming from Meraviglia make me think I'll wait a bit longer for the ship to settle in. An additional thing that makes booking difficult is the low (US) deposits allowing expensive cabins to book up quickly. I have noticed that both Meraviglia and now Seaside experience these cabins coming back into inventory as the deposit loss date comes up. Fine if you don't mind planning in that limited time frame.

 

 

Long term YC MSC cruisers seem to agree once you get on board it makes putting up with the erratic booking experience worthwhile. Now, if only they would create some better itineraries... how many ships can they keep in the Mediterranean and E/W Caribbean?

 

 

I keep falling back to checking some interesting NCL itineraries hoping to squeeze into a last minute deal on a suite.

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For the prices you pay for either you get a much better value on a true luxury line.

 

I guess it depends on what you value.

 

I understand that the food is probably even better on a true luxury line and I should appreciate that but to be honest the food in the Yacht Club is good enough for me.

 

What else is better?

 

I know that the smaller ships can get to other ports but that isn't important for me.

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Thanks for you review. We've been unnerved about the Haven's skyrocketing prices and the move to bid instead. I've been researching the Seaside to no end as a result. Love these types of comparisons.

 

I will write a real review as soon as possible, and it will probably be very long, and since I will compare the Haven and the Yacht Club there too I will provide a links to it on the NCL board as well on the MSC board.

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Thank you for posting this.

 

This Platinum NCL Suite cruiser received the MSC loyalty match to black and will strongly consider MSC for my next cruise.

 

So far though, I find their website tedious. I like to do my own booking research/comparisons. Any thoughts on this???

 

 

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Their website is completely useless! We could not use it for anything so our TA had to do everything for us.

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Their website is completely useless! We could not use it for anything so our TA had to do everything for us.

 

I had a question, can you eat in the dining room with a table for 2, or do you have to share with others? How easy is it to get a flexible eating time?

 

Thank you.

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We are doing YC on Divina on 8/12 and very excited about it. We haven't had any real issues with MSC website. We did book via a TA and have done some prelim registration online without any issues. Now that we are under 21 days I'll do the final registration for docs and see how that goes.

 

Other nice perks are the in room fridge with drinks and snacks and the free gelato.

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I had a question, can you eat in the dining room with a table for 2, or do you have to share with others? How easy is it to get a flexible eating time?

 

Thank you.

 

Do you mean in the Yacht Club? If yes, absolutely. Most tables are set for 2 or 4 people but if all tables set for 2 persons are taken you get one set for 4 and they take away the things you don't need.

 

As for flexible eating time in the Yacht Club that's no problem. They ask the first day when you want to eat but you don't have to go that time.

 

I don't know how it works in the main dining rooms.

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We are booked for our first cruise on NCL - the EPIC leaving Port Canaveral on 18th November this year in a Haven 2 bedroom suite. We are from the UK and previously cruised mainly with Cunard from the UK and Australia and then RCI and Princess in the Far East. This November cruise fits in with other travel plans and I looked carefully at the options. When we were on Disney a couple of years ago for a short cruise and our table mates recommended NCL from Miami or PC and the Haven experience. So for this November week - which is premium pricing on all lines - I chose NCL EPIC. Researched Carnival in detail and was not really impressed to travel such a long way for, but looked OK. Have done Holland America and found ship dull. Wanted a change from RCI and Princess - although we loved Oasis and Voyager and Diamond Princess. To be honest I pretty much discounted MSC as friends from Germany who we met on Cunard and loved Princess and Aida and even appreciated Costa tried MSC and said "we cannot really recommend this line, it has no identity". So I searched and found the EPIC. The more I researched NCL the more I can identify with EPIC. Looking foward to the variety of entertainment and dining, all inclusive package and the space of the Haven and POSH. Will report back afterwards!

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We are booked for our first cruise on NCL - the EPIC leaving Port Canaveral on 18th November this year in a Haven 2 bedroom suite. We are from the UK and previously cruised mainly with Cunard from the UK and Australia and then RCI and Princess in the Far East. This November cruise fits in with other travel plans and I looked carefully at the options. When we were on Disney a couple of years ago for a short cruise and our table mates recommended NCL from Miami or PC and the Haven experience. So for this November week - which is premium pricing on all lines - I chose NCL EPIC. Researched Carnival in detail and was not really impressed to travel such a long way for, but looked OK. Have done Holland America and found ship dull. Wanted a change from RCI and Princess - although we loved Oasis and Voyager and Diamond Princess. To be honest I pretty much discounted MSC as friends from Germany who we met on Cunard and loved Princess and Aida and even appreciated Costa tried MSC and said "we cannot really recommend this line, it has no identity". So I searched and found the EPIC. The more I researched NCL the more I can identify with EPIC. Looking foward to the variety of entertainment and dining, all inclusive package and the space of the Haven and POSH. Will report back afterwards!

 

We are on the same cruise! It is our second time cruising, and our second time in the Haven on the Epic, so that should tell you how much we loved our first cruise in March! So much, we wanted to repeat it! I have seen many reviews of MSC, but when I investigate further looking at comments/reviews, I think oh no, that is not for me. But to each their own. Right now, I'm very happy on NCL, in the Haven, on the Epic. I admit, after this cruise we might venture to other NCL ships. Maybe...

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We are booked for our first cruise on NCL - the EPIC leaving Port Canaveral on 18th November this year in a Haven 2 bedroom suite. We are from the UK and previously cruised mainly with Cunard from the UK and Australia and then RCI and Princess in the Far East. This November cruise fits in with other travel plans and I looked carefully at the options. When we were on Disney a couple of years ago for a short cruise and our table mates recommended NCL from Miami or PC and the Haven experience. So for this November week - which is premium pricing on all lines - I chose NCL EPIC. Researched Carnival in detail and was not really impressed to travel such a long way for, but looked OK. Have done Holland America and found ship dull. Wanted a change from RCI and Princess - although we loved Oasis and Voyager and Diamond Princess. To be honest I pretty much discounted MSC as friends from Germany who we met on Cunard and loved Princess and Aida and even appreciated Costa tried MSC and said "we cannot really recommend this line, it has no identity". So I searched and found the EPIC. The more I researched NCL the more I can identify with EPIC. Looking foward to the variety of entertainment and dining, all inclusive package and the space of the Haven and POSH. Will report back afterwards!

 

We have been in the Haven on the Epic twice and know that you will have a great cruise.

 

The Haven lounge overlooks the poolarea and it was great to sit there and watch the crowds around the pool!

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