Two Wheels Only

I believe that the beach was much nicer until a storm of some kind (tropical storm, tropical depression, whatever) washed away part of the beach leaving the undesirable rocks exposed. I've never fought for food at a buffet (or anywhere) but I can understand the desire for shrimp/lobster/crab legs. It's the BEHAVIOR that I'll never understand. 🙄

As you go through the booking process, the service charge for the kids will drop off once their ages are entered. IOW, if you had taken the promo when you originally booked, guest 1&2 (adults) would have gotten the PBP (and been charged the service charge) and guests 3&4 (kids) would have gotten nothing (and been charged nothing).

Both the shower and the bathtub have a privacy curtain BUT light does come through. How much detail a person on the balcony can see other than maybe an outline...I couldn't tell you.

I don't think that they'll actually remove the sofa for you.

See post #12

It can be done but there is a trick to it. 😉 I agree that your butler experience isn't typical. I knew that something was amiss when you mentioned not getting additional seating on the balcony even after the request. That depends on who is assigned where. Once on an overnight, our butler was assigned to the side where the cabanas (and we) were and the next day, he was assigned elsewhere and we didn't see him. Rookie mistake by your butler. Unacceptable. 😠 I would have spoken to the concierge or Yacht Club Director by the 2nd day...possibly sooner since other requests weren't being met. Charging a price (sea day vs. port day) is what used to be the case. They didn't sell very well and the price dropped. Now, it seems, MSC is going the "first come, first serve" route for the remaining Yacht Club cabanas/pergolas. Wow. That's surprising. I haven't sailed Seascape but none of my Yacht Club sailings before or after Covid shutdown had the staff issues that you describe. I'm sorry that your Yacht Club/MSC experience wasn't all that it could have been. I bounce back and forth with NCL Haven and MSC Yacht Club but I'm not a cheerleader for either of them. I point out their shortcomings when I find them so I appreciate your honest and thoughtful review.

If you ever have to do something with MSC as far as a change to a booking, do it as soon as possible. This gives you time to react to/correct whatever goes wrong.

You should be able to have the 5% discount applied to your cruise but the 5% is 5% off of the fare, not the total. Taxes and port fees would be the same. If you book a 5% + 5% eligible cruise, it is 5% off + 5% off. It isn't 10% off. For example, if the regular fare was $1,000 (not including taxes & port fees), the 5% off would be $950. The 5% + 5% off would be $902.50, not $900. There are occasions where 5% + 10% or some other combination is available but that isn't combined with the "normal" 5% off.

For 4 people, the amount of space in the aft-facing suites or forward-facing suites is fine. It's just the sleeping arrangements that are a problem for many (like the OP). My family of 4 prefers the aft-facing suite to the 2BR Villa because of the aft-facing balcony which is much larger than the side balcony of the 2BR (deck 17 balcony is deeper/larger than deck 18 balcony). It's all a matter of compromise. Nothing, not even the Deluxe Owner's Suite, is perfect for every family of 4.

"You get a discount...YOU get a discount...YOU get a...."

Another option is the Haven 2BR Family Villa. The 2nd bedroom has a sofa bed (can sleep 1 or 2) and also has a pull man bed that drops from the ceiling. The teens would be able to sleep in separate beds and would have a bathroom in their bedroom. In the aft-facing suite, the teens on the sofa bed would have their own bathroom but it would be in the hallway.

The sofa bed is for 2 people in the aft-facing suites. You can bring an inflatable mattress if needed and it can be stored (without deflating it) under the king bed in the bedroom. The room steward can set it up/put it away daily. Haven suites get twice a day service.

That's been my experience and the experience of others......so far. MSC can change (take away) things at any time.

Yes, but it depends on what is available. My brother-in-law was in an interior then he bid on a Deluxe and won. He didn't know that he'd won until just a couple of days before sailing.

Prices can fluctuate. They can go up. They can go down. The Free at Sea promos can change slightly but there will be something that is nearly identical to what you see today. Specific dates can have an impact on certain promos such as 3rd/4th free not applying to certain dates like holidays, school breaks, etc. Half price deposits (not applicable to Haven/Suite bookings) can come and go. If you see something that you like and the price is right, book it. If the price goes up, you won't care because you are locked into the price that you have. If the price goes down and you are outside of the penalty phase, cancel and rebook at the lower price. If promos get better or worse, it is a bit more complicated. You would have to determine if a better promo with a higher price is worth it or if a lower price with worse promos is worth it. People are different so what's important to one person might not be important to the next person.

Something is happening....but in a GOOD way in my case. For the cruise that I booked via the concierge service, I can now see the total, amount paid, amount due AND I can complete the payment online. Before, I couldn't see any details nor did I have the option to pay online with that particular booking. I assumed that I would have to call the person directly (I have his contact number) to make the payment for the balance as I did with the down payment. My details page was the same as the screen shot above with only the 2 options I can now handle everything online like I usually do with my MSC bookings. I did notice that when the "Cruise Details" page is loading, the "Payment and price details" isn't immediately there while the "Staterooms.......Passenger data" tabs are there (can't click until the page fully loads). When the page fully loads, the payment/price details tab just pops up in-between the other 2 tabs. This is happening with my "regular" bookings as well. My guess is that the site is being updated so the payment/price details option is inserted for all bookings like mine was inserted in the concierge booking. We'll have to wait and see if all of the bugs are corrected for others.

Strange....I just checked mine and everything is fine. For one of my booked cruises, I used the concierge service and for only that one, I can't see the payment/price. I have the confirmations for all them. I'll dig around some more to see if I can find any other irregularities on the site....any more than usual, that is.

Log in "Manage Your Booking" using "with your MSC account" (on the right), not "with booking number" (on the left). After you sign in, click "Cruise Details" then "Payment and Price Details". It will show your total, what you've paid so far, and what you owe. If you booked using the MSC concierge service, you might not see your payment and price details.

It's like an ice cream/coffee shop. Waffle cones, sundaes, cappuccinos, lattes...that kind of stuff.

If the son is 21 or older, he would have to get the PBP (alcohol included) package if taking the promo. For years, the PBP promo was only for guests 1&2. Eventually, the promo changed so that all 21 and older in he stateroom have to take the PBP promo if guests 1&2 take the promo. If the son is under 21, he would get nothing from the promo and you would be able to buy the soda package separately. If the son is under 21, you could make him guest #2 and the husband guest #3. In that scenario, the son would get the soda package and only pay the service charge ($1.99pppd) and the husband would still get the PBP while only paying the service charge ($21.80pppd). I would just get the PBP for the 3 of you. The son doesn't have to drink alcohol. The PBP covers soda just as the soda package does. The service charged is based on the retail cost of the package. If BUYING the PBP, it is $109 per person per day plus 20%. With the promo, NCL covers the $109 pppd and the guest is charged the 20% ($21.80pppd). If you buy the soda package, it is $9.95pppd plus 20% ($11.94pppd) so taking the PBP for the son is about $10 per day more. The PBP also allows non-alcoholic drinks (virgin coladas, virgin daiquiris, etc.) which isn't always the case with the soda package.

On my past 3 trips to Ocean Cay, Yacht Club guests were not charged at the Smiling Fish. There were supply issues as they ran out of certain items but non-Yacht Club guests were charged and Yacht Club guests were not. The register read $0.00 for the total for the 4 of us.

You've basically answered your own question. By taking some of those concierge class staterooms and making them Haven staterooms, NCL makes more money by charging more. Because someone else is willing to give NCL $7-8K for the same stateroom. Whether via bid or via direct sale, NCL manages to sell most Haven staterooms under normal (pre-Covid) conditions. The concierge class was mainly a left-over from when Joy was designed for the Asia market. NCL figured that those larger than normal staterooms should sell for a higher price. In order to get even more money, NCL made some of those staterooms Haven staterooms. The SC/SP staterooms are still nice and a bit larger than standard but non-Haven suite benefits aren't exactly great.

Seaside/Seaview are one size. Seashore/Seascape are a newer, slightly larger size. Seashore/Seascape are an EVOlved version of Seaside/Seaview which is why they are commonly referred to as the Seaside EVO class. Some things such as restaurant locations and a few venues have been changed on the newer ships but all 4 ships are more alike than different. Unless there is something specific that one has over the other, you might as well go based on itinerary.

Are you asking about category SP? If so, there are 2 bedrooms but there are different configurations/shapes/sleeping capacities for that category.