Two Wheels Only

On Escape, there are Haven suites located on both ends of the ship. The OP is thinking of the HA staterooms for the Haven access and the large aft-facing balconies.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are "Cruise Casual" in the Haven restaurant. Shorts and t-shirts are fine for all meals.

Yes....you will hear several announcements reminding people to register their card if they haven't by the 2nd day.

The system online isn't always reliable for cc setup. It usually "forgets" that you set it up and you have to do it on the ship, anyway. Doing it on the ship is easy. You don't have to rush nor wait on line with everyone else. You can even wait a day or 2. There are several kiosks around the ship.

I found these.... ...but MDR menus can vary so much that the MDR menu on your cruise might be totally different (or exactly the same, idk). https://profcruise.com/msc-dinner-menus/ (from Nov. 2022)

The "ship-within-a-ship" concept can raise a lot of questions from even experienced cruisers. Only 1/3 of the pinned topics are Yacht Club specific.

I meant the "special" items that are delivered to cabana users, not the items from the pool grill. Our butler once brought us (4) gelato but he had to be discreet so that other Yacht Club guests wouldn't request the same.

When we had the Meraviglia RS, even on port days after an excursion, we would sometimes pop upstairs to enjoy the cabana and the rest of the sundeck. It may have seemed empty for most of the day but knowing that we could always go up there and have it waiting for us was a plus. If I was asked to release the cabana for others to use, I would've politely (but firmly) declined.

If the travel agent messed up, that would explain the lack of communication, the lack of NCL doing anything to help, and the lack of assistance from the same travel agent.

If you tell your butler that you have friends/family in the Yacht Club, it shouldn't be a problem to let them use it. However, I wouldn't expect the butler to serve food/drinks to the friends/family if the actual Royal Suite guests aren't there. If there happens to be a butler around, a butler might fill requests but if the actual Royal Suite guests are there, a butler will definitely fill requests.

Joy's Haven courtyard has 1 hot tub while Escape's Haven courtyard has 2. Joy's (larger) Haven sundeck has 2 hot tubs while Escape's Haven sundeck has 1...but both Haven sundecks are for 16 and older so that might not matter. Joy has the Observation Lounges (1 for Haven, 1 for all) while Escape does not. Escape has more deck space outside of the Haven that is available to all. Both ships have similar water slides while Joy has the (shortest in the fleet) go-kart track. Escape has a Mandara Spa while Joy does not. Escape has 95 staterooms with Haven access while Joy has 118. Of the 2 itineraries, it would depend on what you want to do excursion wise and where you have or haven't been. Both are fine ships especially when sailing in the Haven. You can't go wrong with either.

For the most part, Escape, Joy, Bliss, and Encore are physically the same. The stateroom numbers vary slightly and there are a few minor differences with Escape. Breakaway and Getaway are pretty much the same (tiny side, larger aft-facing).

I'm not 100% sure but.....

The OP booked 15 months ago (Oct. 2021?). It's possible that the terms were different then but I can't find the previous one. There were many "Covid-ish" changes made so it's difficult to pin down what was in place when the OP booked.

https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/NCL_Master_GTC_CE_ENG_11012021.pdf 10. Changes and cancellation by us (1) Pre-departure changes: a. Changes to advertised and confirmed holiday arrangements sometimes have to be made both before and after bookings are confirmed. Most changes to confirmed bookings will be insignificant and we have the right to make these. Where an insignificant change is made before departure, we will notify you in writing. No compensation is payable for insignificant changes. Insignificant changes are likely to include (but are not limited to) a change of confirmed cabin to another within the same cabin category or higher, airline, flight time of less than 12 hours, departure airport to another serving the same city, airport of destination or aircraft (if advised).

Not only does the system not know, sometimes whoever made the deck plan doesn't know. On Joy's deck plan (for ex), there are a couple of places that show an angled balcony but it's off by one stateroom. What looks to be angled isn't and what looks to not be angled is.

(Chiming in before people attack the OP)😉 There are actually locked doors that separate the areas. As previously stated, non-Yacht Club guests cannot join their Yacht Club friends in the Yacht Club areas.

Some sleep 3, some sleep 4.

In this case, the angled balconies and the standard balconies are the same classification. NCL only has to assign another in the same category or higher to be in compliance with the contract. There are a few non-angled balconies that are the same category as standard that will fit a lounger but those are probably unavailable. Unfortunately, it looks as though the balcony category is sold out for the OP's cruise. It is unknown what (if any) could become available via the bid process but at this point, the OP might want to look towards getting a VIBE pass. Another option could be trying to upgrade to a category that has larger than standard balconies. There are some in both the front and rear of the ship. I'm also very particular with stateroom choice so I can understand why the OP is upset. There are a few options to look into but nothing is guaranteed.

Ship?

My longest wait for a refund (cancelled excursion) was 5 months. However, after several cancelled cruises (some by MSC, some by me), several re-booked cruise due to price drops/added discounts, and refunded YC deposits which aren't supposed to be refundable, MSC has given me every cent that they owe me. The quickest return was 11 days. Most were around 28-31 days.

Escape. Most side balconies are deeper on Escape (Getaway's are tiny). Escape Haven has a retractable roof (Getaway Haven doesn't have a roof). Escape has Food Republic and Pincho (Getaway does not).

When NCL changed the alphanumeric codes, a lot of old information became obsolete. Searching "Escape H6..." will likely give results for aft-facing Haven Suites (the old code).

There is a section of the menu that lists what is included. If you go outside of that area, there is a discount on what you order. It varies slightly depending on which restaurant you are at.

Even with NCL being "firmer", it is still to NCL's advantage. For every person who calls after the price drop (CC users, likely 😄), think of how many people don't call. NCL doesn't "lose" anything from them. By giving FCC, NCL will get more money from the person who books another cruise. With NCL's artificially high prices, higher DSC, and reduced services, giving someone FCC isn't really "firm". NCL sees it as reeling in the fish.