Seas2mountains

We have received excellent service for all meals at Le Muse and the food has been delicious. We are enjoying a relaxing day at sea and we are not disappointed about missing a stop at Ocean Cay as we took advantage of the time by getting time to relax and sleep. While it’s a little cold out low 60’s, it’s not stopping people from using the pools, outdoor bars and hot tubs. The indoor pool area is especially crowded.

I’m sorry for all the typos in my last update from late last night. The butler in Top Sail who didn’t see us or missed serving us apologized several times and we know he is human and we are not sure what happened. He provided us with excellent service after this was pointed out. He even brought us each a glass of wine to our room so we could enjoy it before going to bed. @St Pete Cruiser an announcement was made at 8:30am from the captain and cruise director to report that the winds and current were too strong to dock at Ocean Cay. This was not a surprise to us either as we were aware of the front. We are expected to be able to dock at Ocean Cay tomorrow from 9am-6pm. I’ll try to post some dailies and photos. My iPhone which was used for the update last night can’t seem to upload the Cruise Critic webpage. I’m using a different device now.

We had a fabulous experience boarding the ship, enjoying hot tub time, getting some snacks at the One Pool, and lunch in Le Muse was great. We enjoyed sitting in One Pool while it rained for a short period of time. After the muster drill, we needed a nap as with the late flight and getting up early making sure we had as much time on the ship as possible, We woke up from the nap to find the ship was moving and it was close to our dinner.time of 8pm. Dinner in Le. muse was excellent. That tomato soup is amazing. We both had the filet mignon which is on the available daiLy menu. It was cooked perfectly.along with the veggie and potatoe sides. After dinner, we checked out floods 6 and 7 of the ship looking for entertainment. We decided to go back to Top Sail lounge where they have a talented piano player. We sat down at a table and waited and waited. After seeing a butler go to other tables for drink service, we expected to be eventually served. After being ignored for 20 minutes, my husband went to the bar to get us a glass of wine. For the next two hours, the butler who was getting drinks for the 4 other couples in YC ignored us even though we had dirty dishes from snacks. He asked the couple next to us and then walked past us to take an order from someone who was a past guest. The only way we could get San Peligrino or wine refills was to go to the bar. Thus was while we watched everyone around us get served. I finally complained to the concierge. This meant the butler on duty did finally refill our wine glass and bring us more San Pelegríno but that was it.

Here are some photos of the YC check-in and YC One Pool area.

We booked this cruise one week ago when we saw the projected weather for our land based weekend vacation did not look great. We arrived last night on a flight that was on schedule from the western US. We left our hotel at about 10Am. We arrived at the YC white tent about 10:40am. The porter grabbed our bags and the escort/butler quickly got us on board the ship by 11am.

We are thankfully in the YC, too. This is our 2nd MSC and the last time was in YC, too. We love the One Pool area and the Top Sail Lounge is so nice and convenient. We have not been on this ship but I have heard great things from past Divina YC cruisers. thank you @styles27 for getting the count and for generously giving of your time to post such a great review! Enjoy your last day!

@styles27 Thank you for the updates! Are you able to ask the same manager how many pax are expected on the Jan. 13-16 Divina cruise?

Thank you for taking the time to not only provide wonderful updates and great photos but also the time involved with researching the answers to many questions. I’m already looking forward to hopefully reading about your next cruise. Have safe travels home!

Never say never. I did not think we would cruise MSC again based on our previous Yacht Club experience as we love so many amenities provided by NCL. But the weather for the land vacation we picked for next weekend did not look good and was unseasonably cold. So we checked out available cruises and picked MSC Divina for 01/13/23 -01/16/23 in Yacht Club. Very excited to cruise and looking forward to hopefully will be two days at Ocean Cay. I might do a live review.

Thank you for doing a live review and for posting the dailies. It is greatly appreciated. We are getting on the ship on 01/13 when you disembark. Looking forward to your updates this week.

We also cruised Getaway Haven with Alex. We agree with you - he is calm, professional and remembers to follow-up. We definitely appreciated him.

@YVRteacher as previously stated, I love your live reviews. Thank you for taking the time to share all the fun details about your experience and all the funny things your Dad says. I picture my Dad saying similar things before he died of Covid in April 2020. He loved cruising, too. We haven’t been on a ship with Leo, but did you get to hear D’Revelation or the other smaller venue performers? We have really liked D’Revelation on previous cruises. We don’t tend to step foot in the theater so I wasn’t sure if you had a chance to hear the other performers who aren’t in the theater.

We have been on 4 NCL Alaska cruises in the past 7 years. I agree with The Bird that Glacier Bay is so much better than Dawes Glacier (if the ship can actually get close to it). For Glacier Bay, a Park Ranger gets on the ship early in the morning and you will see several glaciers in the park throughout the morning until after lunch. For Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier, while it is beautiful in the passage getting to the glacier, on both attempts we did not get very close to the glacier and turned back. Passengers who were on an excursion got to see more and were able to get closer. If you plan to go back to Alaska on future cruises, either will allow you to sample Alaska. But if this is the only time you will get to go and can afford the extra expense (watch for prices to drop before final payment), I’d choose the cruise with Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier if Glacier Bay isn’t an option.

We were on the Getaway in the Haven in mid-September. @cruiseny4life was on the cruise before ours and let us know in a live review about ordering shrimp cocktail “off menu” for dinner. They will ask how many shrimp you want. @cruiseny4life it looks like you are having an amazing start to your cruise! Love the photos and updates! 😁 Is there any way you can find out what is going on in Syd Norman’s with the band and if there is one this week? There apparently wasn’t one last week. I know on our September cruise, the band played maybe 3 out of 10 nights. Now there are several posts on CC about Syd Norman’s with many guesses about the plans for the venue. Thank you if you have time to get info on this! Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

@BirdTravels has a very detailed live review of Prima including the thermal spa. if you go to post #88, you will see that Bird mentioned the jets in the thermal spa warm pool are now working.

@Ohio boomer has a live review on the Epic and posted a daily with two music events tonight in the Cavern Club. @CruzinMel has a live review on the Escape and I’m sure can give an update. And @cruiseny4lifehas a live review on the Getaway starting today and can maybe get more info?

Bon voyage! Thank you for taking the time to share the details. I’m looking forward to your updates. That is too funny about two in your party forgetting swim suits. Lol. I’m also curious about how all goes with your no show Mom vs. doing a cancelation. Have a wonderful vacation!!

Loving your review as usual! You absolutely did the right thing at Teppanyaki. I’m sorry to hear you and your Dad were put in that awkward situation. Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

We did try MSC Yacht Club before Covid. We have been on 17 NCL cruises in the past 7 years for reference and will likely not cruise again on MSC. We liked the food during the day but honestly the Haven restaurant was better IMO especially for dinner. Night time snacks on MSC were disappointing but some people on our cruise loved the high tea service each afternoon. The lounge area was beautiful and while they did bring in nightly entertainment, we like going to entertainment options on NCL better. We were not fans of the other entertainment options on MSC. The MSC thermal spa while it was nice, it seemed more crowded than NCL thermal spas. We loved the outdoor grill on the Yacht Club pool area for breakfast and lunch. Their outdoor pool area is much better than the older NCL ship Haven areas. I highly recommend trying MSC Yacht Club to see if you like it. Some former Haven cruisers prefer it and don’t go back to the Haven. And some like us tried it but won’t go back on MSC. We have been meaning to try Celebrity but keep going back to NCL for various reasons. We have also tried Princess and HAL but likely won’t cruise with either of them again.

I’m really looking forward to your review, @cruiseny4life! I wish my husband and I were getting on the ship after your cruise ends like in September. Are you in the Haven again? If so, enjoy being spoiled by the amazing Haven staff. We enjoyed the off the menu shrimp cocktail and the yummy lobster tails with dinner. So jealous. Lol. Sounds like you do have a great husband to spend time with your Mom this week. Have safe travels!

This change will have no impact on our choice to cruise with NCL. We tend to reuse our towels for 2-3 days and don’t accumulate much garbage. The sheets don’t need to be changed for a few days. inflation exists and prices for all products and services are increasing. Why are some acting so alarmed that the cruise industry is doing what restaurants and hotels are doing? Hotels are not always providing daily service.

Excellent review! It’s great to read that you and your Dad are having so much fun! To use up the onboard credit, how about a massage or spa service? Specialty dining? We tend to use the onboard credit as soon as we board by waiting until we are on the ship to get unlimited Wi-Fi. Photos?

@Sthrngary created a great thread on this topic. We have done the Plus upgrade on the last two cruises in June 2022 and September 2022. We found value in trying wines we might not have tried without the package and definitely took advantage of ordering San Pelegríno and cartons of water throughout the day and evening. My husband enjoyed trying premium spirits. We have done the FAS + upgrade for our next cruise.

Thank you for your wonderful review, @CoffeeGoddess! The Bliss is also one of my favorite NCL ships, too, for some of the same reasons you mention- OL and the District. The entertainers in the District are so much better than the tip hungry piano entertainers in Dueling Pianos on Breakaway and Getaway. I’m so glad to read that you had a great cruise! Thanks for the photos and details. The hat and sword purchase is so funny - I hope you enjoy having both.