Two Wheels Only

I meant the Haven Observation Lounge. I forgot the name. If there is one (Joy, Bliss, Encore) I'd lean more towards the Courtyard suite. If there isn't one (BA/GA/Escape), I'd lean more towards the Forward-facing suite. If Joy, Bliss, or Encore, the deck (17 or 18) will have different depths for the balcony. That could also be a factor. If the OP can score deck 17, that tips the scales more toward the courtyard.

Which ship? The Observation Lounge or lack thereof would sway my decision.

That's been going on for a long time. Cabanas used to only be for Royal Suite guests or paid extra by guests. The free for all "first come, first serve" for cabanas came later. MSC used to charge a lot for cabana rental but prices have dropped substantially. Unlikely. It's more likely that the other lines are over charging guests. When the tax burden is spread out over thousands of guests, the amount per guest is negligible.

In Miami, technically, yes. It's part of the Food and Beverage tax. I don't know how NCL handles non-alcoholic purchases while in port since I've never purchased a non-alcoholic beverage in port. 🤪

Using Miami as an example, the cruise line is charged a tax based on guest occupancy. Let's just say $10k for simplicity. MSC uses money collected by guests who paid to cover that expense just like paying for fuel. A guest who never drinks alcohol pays some of that $10k. The guest doesn't "see" it but the guest still pays it. On NCL, guests who drink while in port will see an 8% tax added to their drinks even if the drink is covered by the PBP and the guest has already paid the 20% service charge on the PBP. That $1.xx tax goes into that pot to help pay that $10k. Anything remaining is paid by NCL using money from the paying guests fare. MSC, Celebrity, etc. aren't being nice and covering the tax for you while in port. You've already paid it. NCL is using the drinkers to pay a larger percentage than the non-drinkers but both groups are paying that tax.

No, the guests pay the taxes one way or another. How the cruise lines go about it can differ but the guests pay the taxes.

I think that he is agreeing with you. I've only had one instance of a price increase after booking but it was eventually corrected. The price that I agree to when making a deposit is the price that I pay....unless the price goes down and I have my price adjusted to the lower price.

Which ship(s) are you considering?

I started from zero and sailed my way to diamond/black. Asking MSC to differentiate between "earned" and "matched" is just asking for trouble. There's also the category of those who matched but then sailed enough to earn the highest level, anyway. Where would you put those people?

Looking forward to some photos of the YC staff. Hope to see some familiar faces.

Yes. There are the angled balconies that are larger/deeper than standard for the same price as standard. - Click HERE (this is Bliss but you get the idea) There are also the last side-facing balconies that are larger/wider than standard for the same price as standard. - Click HERE

Think of the stateroom type and the "experience level" as 2 separate things. Someone could have a suite with Aurea experience. Someone could have an interior with Yacht Club experience. MSC uses "experience" as a way of ranking the levels like airlines use coach, business class, first class, etc.

The way that ship A/C systems are, the neighbor keeping the balcony door open could cause a problem for you no matter the ship. You can't really ding Seashore for that. I've never sailed Divina but have sailed on ships that were built after Divina. I enjoyed them all and I have Seascape coming up soon. I'm jumping back on Seashore again before Seascape but those 2 are practically the same. I enjoyed Meraviglia more than I thought that I would but I put the Sea___ ships ahead of Meraviglia.

It's more like "...don't do it and you have nothing to worry about...". For whatever reason, NCL doesn't (or at least, didn't) want them. Guests should abide.

Are they allowed? No. Is the ban always enforced? No. Does it still happen? Yes. For a time, it was stated in the dailies that the decorations were not allowed.... ... but recent dailies don't always state that the decorations are not allowed.

You can download THIS (pdf) and put it on your phone. It's not the same as paper but it might help.

Encore 12310 is bed near balcony. The listed square footage numbers aren't exactly correct since the numbers don't take into account the differences in width but 12310 is a pretty good one.

I found this.... https://www.miamidade.gov/medicalexaminer/search_results.asp ...is there any other info?

I met him on Seaside and have seen him on TV specials/documentaries many times. Here's a recent clip.....

I debated the same 2 stateroom types and decided on the Royal Suite. I had already booked the Royal Suite and once MSC made the Duplex a Yacht Club suite (it used to be Aurea), I thought about switching. We're also a family of 4 and the 2nd bathroom was tempting. Neither balcony is great (the initial renderings for the Royal Suite balcony were much better) but I give the edge to the RS. Plus, you get a cabana on the sundeck reserved for you with the Royal Suite.

A valid point that was deleted. 🤨

The food doesn't go to waste. It is ground up and released into the ocean for marine life to eat or (on some ships) it is turned into fertilizer to help grow food on land.

On paper, it's one drink per transaction. I know that NCL has gone back and forth with the "1 drink per vs. 2 drinks per..." in their terms but in reality, 2 drinks per transaction is not a big deal. If needed, the bartender can just swipe the card twice.

OK, the "thinking logically" mentality is going to cause a lot of headache when dealing with MSC. Most of us on the board have adjusted our brains to "think MSC" instead of thinking rationally when it comes to finances and MSC. It can be painful for experienced cruisers who have a reasonable expectation of how things should be handled. I've also gone through the MSC grinder when it comes to money matters. Sometimes, it's as little as $98. One time, it was over $3K. One time, MSC returned what they owed me in 11 days. One time, it took MSC 5 months to return what they owed me. I started sailing with MSC in 2018. I began with zero Voyager's Club points. I've never done any type of status match. I've reached the highest level of loyalty (Black/Diamond) just by sailing. One would think that I might be classified as a cheerleader but they would be wrong. I've had cruises canceled by both MSC and by me. I've had ships changed from the one that I booked to a completely different class of ship. I've had embarkation/disembarkation dates changed by 1 day (not a big deal since I drive to port as opposed to having to fly). I've had itineraries changed. I've had price increases after I had booked (the $3K increase which I didn't pay). In addition to all of the Covid changes with vaccination requirements/restrictions, excursion restrictions, etc., THE CRUISES THAT I HAVE BEEN ON HAVE BEEN GREAT. The kicker is, at least in my case, everything down to the penny that MSC has owed me has been returned to me. It may take time and some forum members have waited much longer than I have. Some are still waiting. I suggest not thinking of MSC as 1 entity. Think of MSC "when not on the ship" as one frustrating thing (website issues, app issues, package purchasing issues, etc.) and MSC "when ON the ship" as another thing. The two things don't know what the other is doing and that's just the way that it is. I understand trying to get things taken care of before the cruise so that things go smoothly on the ship but the "2 things" aren't connected. Sometimes, everything is great before boarding but the onboard experience is messed up. Much more common is that things are messed up before boarding but the onboard experience is great. In the words of George Carlin...

Correct...usually. I know that I'm not giving a straight answer but the reality is that there is no straight answer. I've seen people asked to finish their drink before entering the theater. I've also gotten drinks for 4 and carried all 4 drinks into the theater. I knew that during the "Thriller" portion of the show, different performers (dressed as zombies) would walk the aisle and sneak up on guests. My kids had seen the "Thriller" music video hundreds of times on their tablets so I knew that they would enjoy the zombies. The performers even reach out and "grab" unsuspecting guests. We saw one woman actually jump out of her seat and scream....which might be why drinks aren't allowed in the theater. 😅