Two Wheels Only

If you give your luggage to the standard porters, they are supposed to take it to the Yacht Club tent section once you tell them that you are sailing Yacht Club. This happened to us once in Miami when the port police had blocked part of the loading/unloading area.

Yes. You can do that, too. I've done both.

The same happens with us and some other forum members. There are many weird pending amounts that don't correlate to actual charges but in the end, the correct amount is processed. I use a card that has a zero balance so in the end, I know that my total matches what is actually charged to the card.

The names and acronyms have changed slightly over the years but in reality, they act pretty much the same on the ship. The Premium Plus is newer and includes more things over the Open/Unlimited/Premium version.

As far as NCL ships, Epic is......unique. 😉 It's the only ship of its kind. It's not the prettiest ship on the outside. Some say that it will be the ugly emeritus of the cruise industry for all of eternity. The "bathroom" layout of the majority of staterooms can be a problem for many. Some people feel that it is interior-focused with less of an "outdoors" feeling since it lacks a Waterfront area that later ships have. However, the Haven on Epic is considered by many to be the best in the fleet plus it has more normal bathrooms. As for NCL overall, you should really do a lot of research so that you will know what is included and what isn't. With NCL, many things are optional and that leads to many people feeling "nickled and dimed". It's not really that but many people use that term. Think of it like picking and choosing what you want and ignoring what you don't want. In many cases, there are included things as well as pay as you go optional things. The biggest, most often discussed topics are the Free At Sea promos and their associated (20%) service charges and the DSC (Daily/Discretionary Service Charge) which is $20/$25 per person per day depending on stateroom type.

I've seen it maybe once or twice on Ocean Cay. One group was turned away near the bridge and another group managed to sneak in. The interlopers eventually got the message and left when the Yacht Club guests gave them the evil eye. 😠 Other than that, I haven't seen it happen. Nobody has ever tried to piggyback when I enter the Yacht Club....probably because they didn't think that I would be able to enter in the first place. TBH, I see more people try to piggyback when I sail NCL Haven.

The way that the ships are set up, it is easier to sneak into the Yacht Club than it is to sneak into the Haven. MSC could easily make it more "secure" as far as stopping interlopers and if more Yacht Club guests speak up about the problem, I would hope that MSC will take corrective action. In a perfect world, MSC will hire NCL's Adrien Bica and have him implement a fleet wide standard operating procedure to secure exclusive areas of the ship. It won't happen immediately (nothing MSC does is immediate) but I hope that it does happen.

Of course. There is plenty to do both inside the enclave as well as the rest of the ship. They enjoy going to the Top Sail Lounge and getting their own snacks and drinks. The bartender will get to remember what the kids want. The kids can enjoy the pool, the sundeck, the hot tubs, etc. There is no age restriction for any of the Yacht Club areas. If the kids just want to sit in a corner and use a phone or tablet, they can. If the kids want to do the water slides, bowling, arcade, kids Club, etc., they can. The Sea**** ships have much to see and do.

Kids are more than welcome in the Yacht Club. Mine were 7 and 5 on their first Yacht Club cruise.

NCL banned door decorations in 2019. The ban used to be stated in the dailies but I haven't seen the ban mentioned in recent dailies. As with many things, enforcement is inconsistent to the point that some people have no problem putting decorations up while others have their decorations removed.

No need. You will each "pay" however you want at the restaurant.

Pffft...$700? MSC once tried to jack my cruise up by $3,000 after I had booked. It was an FCC application that I tried to use for a cruise that I had already booked (deposit was cash). Long story short, MSC eventually corrected everything and I sailed exactly as planned paying exactly what I was supposed to pay. All of my FCC was used correctly. My out of pocket cost was actually lower than pre-pandemic cost. The cruise was fantastic. Yes, MSC makes things difficult at times when it comes to returning money/making corrections but so far, every refund, deposit, price correction, etc. has been handled correctly to the penny.

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/msc-voyagers-club/status-match

On Bliss, the Garden Café is in the front. The Spa is above the highest aft staterooms and the sundeck (Spice H2O) is above that.

With bidding, you won't have a choice of stateroom. In the aft, stateroom choice can be a huge difference.

Balcony depth will differ depending on deck, there are differences in balcony width within each deck, and bed location can vary (near balcony vs. near closet). It can be an issue or it can be a non-issue. There are too many factors as to whether there will be a noticeable amount of soot on the balcony. I've never had a problem larger than a dime or quarter sized drop of soot and even then, it was maybe 2 drops over a 7 day cruise. Some people have had their clothes stained by sitting on dirty furniture but that hasn't happened to me. You might feel an occasional shimmy from the azipods but I don't think that motion sickness is an issue. The sound from the water churning in the aft is soothing to some, annoying to others. The late night music from Spice H2O can bother some people who are on the higher decks. These are things that only you will be able to determine if they are a problem.

Meraviglia only has 3 cabanas and 2 are reserved for the Royal Suites but Meraviglia has much more shade than the Sea**** ships. As for the price, it differs depending on sea day vs. port day. I'm thinking $99 and $59 but that's just from memory and since I didn't pay, it isn't an amount that I really remember.

Is it 130 or 150?

I agree on both and have expressed the same opinion based on multiple cruises. It's just the way that each line does things. On NCL, the concierge has more power than the concierge on MSC. Butler service is more of a team effort on MSC. If your butler isn't available on MSC, another butler will gladly assist. On NCL, if your butler is nowhere to be found (as reported by many on the forum), no other butler will serve you. In fairness, I've never had a bad butler on either line and actually have had excellent butlers on both MSC and NCL.

IMO, getting the plan is better. More often than not, the total for à la carte dining is more than the price per meal when buying the SDP. Obviously, you know better than I how much/little he will eat so if you look at the menus and see the prices, you'll have a better idea if he will go over $50 (if 2SDP) per meal. If you plan on going to Cagney's, it's probably guaranteed to be over $50 pp.

Since Club Balcony "Suites" aren't actually suites and don't get much more than a standard balcony, the only real suites on Breakaway are Haven staterooms. The Club Balcony rooms might have robes standard (mixed results from some forum members) but I believe that a robe can be supplied by the room steward upon request. Even then, the robes aren't the same ones (looks/quality) as the Haven robes.

It's not really possible to time it exactly but if you arrive between 11a and noon, you'll likely board without having much of a wait while still being among the first. The people in the Yacht Club generally don't wait once boarding begins.

You can get there even earlier but you won't board until the ship gets the all clear.

Show up whenever you want. If you get there early enough, you can be among the first to board. The time assigned doesn't really matter to Yacht Club guests.