Pat

It seems like it is almost impossible to avoid a "spring break" now. The states are all doing their breaks at different times. It used to be okay to sail in March because the Elementary, middle and high schools were on break in February and April and the colleges were on break in April........now it doesn't seem to matter what week I pick in March or April, some schools are on break.

If you book onboard and get the additional on board credit and immediately have your booking transferred to your usual travel agency, would you expect to get the OBC that your travel agency offers also?

March 24

I have noticed that, that's why I keep checking. Do TA's sometimes hold a group of cabins for 24 hours after a rate reduction then release them the next day?

No, as two seniors. As an aside, I was never given an opportunity to bid on an upgrade and I was hoping to snag one of the YC cabins at the new rate.

I wonder if anyone might be able to satisfy my curiousity. I periodically check to see how many open cabins there are on my sailing on MSC Merigvalia. Last night there were multiple balcony and YC cabins available, This morning I looked and the prices had gone down by around $300 in each category, but there are NO open cabins on the whole ship. Can anyone tell me why or how this might have happened in less than 12 hours? Just curious.

For me this time, the minimum bid for me for a YCI to a YCD is $980 and the amount to upgrade is $1000 when there are 30% of the YCD cabins left 3 weeks before the cruise. This seems weird to me.

The last two times we've sailed from MCT there were a bunch of porters right after you were checked into the parking lot by the "puppy". You could drop your bags and passengers right there, one person could go park the car and come back to go a floor down to check in. Easy Peasy.

Thanks to all you experienced NYC drivers. I appreciate the info, I believe we will stay in Stamford and leave there early enough in the morning to get the BCT in plenty of time. As always I appreciate all the good information.

We will be crusing from BCT on MSC in April. We will be traveling from NH to NY by car. We have frequently gone out of MCT on NCL and are familiar with that route. We are older and do not enjoy rush hours or heavy traffic. We need to spend one night somewhere outside the city and drive in the next morning for embarkation at BCT. For those of you that know, what do you think would be our best travel/hotel options for reaching BCT mid morning. If you had a choice and lots of time, would you go down through Connecticut, stop around Stamford and spend the night and drive down Hutchinson River Parkway in the morning (a Saturday morning) or would it be nicer for us to make our way to Yonkers, spend the night and drive down Rt. 9 in the morning? When we are going to MCT we usually stay in Stamford. Way back when someone posted a great route guide to the MCT with step by step instructions. Anything like that out there for the BCT? TIA (sorry to be so long worded...........) Pat

There is only one pier for cruise ships to dock at BCT. The exact address is 72 Bowne St. Brooklyn

Well we're not experts by any means, but we know what we like. For instance, I see Oberon is available for $15 in Butchers Cut, but I don't see it listed in YC. We like Oberon and would be very happy with that, the ones listed in YC I'm just not familiar with and appear to be all Italian wines. I'm happy to try new ones, but want the taste that I enjoy. I am also disappointed that we can't just pay the difference in price for a more expensive by the glass wine, it doesn't make any sense to me. If MSC wants to be more present in the US market, I believe they will have to make a few changes to their drink packages. Included or not, its the perception of value that will be important to people, particularly those booking the YC.

We are wine drinkers and I'm a bit concerned about the reports of very limited supply of wines. There are a couple of wines, by the glass and under the $15 that are on the Butchers Cut menu. Does anyone know if YC bartenders have access to these wines? I suspect not, but I hope yes! TIA

I absolutely have to agree with you, and your analogy is right on. My guess is that everyone legitimately in the YC would have clapped for the YC Director doing his duty, I know I would have quick with a thank you!

I can't understand why the YC Director would have had to bribe the young men to leave, I'm sure MSC has security. The only incentive needed, I would think, is "leave or security will be called". I understand not wanting to offend, however, it's not the YC Director that's being offensive, it's the one in violation of the rules. Again, (sorry to bring up the Haven again, but,) in the Haven, the staff would be well aware of who belonged and who didn't.

I am new to MSC and new to the YC, but have sailed NCL Haven many times. Aren't the doors to the YC only accessed with your key card? How are the non YC paying guests getting in? I'm not opposed to others using the YC as long as they are paying for the extra amenities.......like are they getting free drinks because they are in the YC, are they not showing their card? I know it sounds extreme, but if the issue doesn't get taken care of you can go on up the chain...........I would think the Captain wouldn't appreciate having to deal with this issue, but he CAN put the rude offenders off the ship.

I recently applied for and received a MSC "Gold" status match from my platinum status with NCL. I will be taking my first cruise on MSC in April. Does the number assigned by the status match become my past passenger number? Does this happen after my first cruise on MSC or before? Thank you for the information! Pat

Thank you both!!

New to MSC. We usually cruise NCL Haven but are considering a change to MSC Yacht Club(Meravilgia out of NYC)this year. Can anyone tell me if you can use non-refundable onboard credit for the daily service charge and if the charge is still $14/pp/pd(even if you're in the YC) if you don't prepay I'm sure this has been covered multiple times, but I can't seem to locate the info. You are not allowed to use non refundable OBC for daily service charges on NCL. TIA. Pat

Well I can tell you how it worked for us. When we left there was no snow in the lot, when we returned it had snowed a fair amount. They had plowed the lot and there was a substantial amount of snow piled behind the parked cars, plus the snow that had fallen off cars. Plus it must have rained too as our car was frozen to the ground. Luckily we have a 4WD and my husband just floored it and plowed through. Lots of people were trying to shovel their cars out with little or no resources to do so. It wasn't pretty. But I still think parking at the pier is the way to go..............just remember to pack a shovel if you're leaving in the winter!!

Don't worry about parking at the terminal. We have done this lots of times and have never had a problem finding a parking spot no matter the arrival time(even when we've gotten there prior to the ship debarking its passengers from the last cruise). There is plenty of parking at the terminal and lots of signage and people to direct you to the appropriate entrance. Absolutely no worries there. We have about a 12 hour drive from home, so we try to stay somewhere out of the city and then drive in early the cruise morning, lots cheaper and less stressful. Easier to manuever through NY on a weekend morning earlier in the day, on a weekday its easier later in the morning after the rush hour. Hope this help, Pat EDIT: I forgot to mention, there is alot of information on parking in NY on the East Coast departure forum.

Just prior to the pandemic we were on the Escape and had an exceptionally wonderful waiter in Haven. He actually gave us, on request, an email address that allowed us to directly send our comments to his supervisor. We did so while still on board and he mentioned that his supervisor had commented in one of their staff meetings that he had received it and told the waiter in front of everyone. It pleased him to no end. Maybe that is a way to go for exceptionally wonderful service.

I don't know why everyone has had such a different experience, but this video was very close to the experience we had in October, 2022. The only difference is that there was a little popup canopy at the bottom of the escalator. We got there fairly early (maybe 9:30), we were let off the Budget car rental shuttle under the long covered area, left our luggage with a porter there and asked about a Haven checkin, a very nice disembarking passenger told us she had just passed the sign back up the left side of the building, we found the popup canopy marked "HAVEN" waited with about 6 other couples until a NCL checkin person met with us,(maybe 10 minute wait) checked that we were indeed in the Haven, she led us up the escalator and thru security. Haven had their own line through security and then to a smaller room where there were other NCL staff doing Haven check in. It was one of the most efficient Haven checkins we've been through and we've done them in Boston, New York, Tampa and Miami. Funny how everyone's experience is different.

Thought I would let you all know how we ended up. I kept checking the budget rental site for PC and FINALLY got an available notice, so I booked right away. It is not cheap to do a one way rental. Around $100 for the day. We stayed at an airport hotel (Wingate) which was great for an overnight stay, very clean, very quiet and restaurants within walking distance. We took an early morning Wingate shuttle back to the airport (it appeared that lots of people do that, either to catch another flight or to access shuttles, and picked up our reserved car, drove to Cocoa Beach, toured around, went to the beaches and basically just sightseeing. We checked into our Cocoa Beach hotel (checkin time was 4 and check out was 11 which doesn't give you much time to enjoy the hotel amenities if you are only there for a one night stay. The Hotel/resort was noisy and crowded, trying to check in was particulary bad, it was after 4:30 before we were able to check in and get a room. The room was very dated and just plain shabby for over $200/night. There was a child (not a baby) screaming in the next room until after 11 p.m. (and I mean screaming at his parents, very nasty.) We got up the next morning and returned our rental car and rode the Budget shuttle to the pier, very easy but very crowded. When we returned from our cruise we had another car reserved and waited for the Budget shuttle back to the agency for 2 1/2 hours (YES you read this right) and that was with 3 calls asking where it was, turned out the driver didn't show until late. The agents at Budget in PC are not friendly. Anyway, we drove back to Orlando, did some touring there and caught our evening flight out (the overcrowding and disorganization at MCO is another story, next time I will try to fly into the smaller airport in PC. Anyway that's how it all turned out!!!!!!!!!

The hotels are already booked, so no option for changing the locations. I just had a thought, it seems like the lack of cars is at MCO, so maybe if I Uber to another location Friday morning I can reserve a car there. I'll go have a look see......