amygutman

Cruised on the Getaway in April and can vouch that the buffet was wonderful - especially the Indian offerings. Kiddo thought the pizza was better than MSC, and gave two thumbs up for the fries (considering how many plates he ate of them, I think he can give an honest review). 

Never ate in the MDR though, but hope that helps. 

Warmest Amy

2 hours ago, Nikita4 said:

Butler-Letter:
A Butler is a better room steward not more on MSC. When you want really have a real butler you have to cruise with a real luxury brand cruise line, not a mass mark cruise line.

 

When I am a butler i were shocked about a letter like that, for me that is too much. When all guests want things like that, that is not working for the butler on a MSC Ship.

We always have good butlers, otherwise we speak with them and all our YC cruises were good - very good. We speak with the crew and the officers and so it always goes well.

@Nikita4 Respect your opinion, but also respectfully disagree. Perhaps it's because we've never sailed with true luxury lines, but on both MSC and NCL in the YC and Haven, we have had outstanding personalized service. Although some have different experiences, we've always had a positive response from our butler letter (and from the comments on @Sthrngary's postings, it seems to be the consensus). 

For a true butler experience, I suppose that relates to what your definition of a butler actually is. According to https://www.britannica.com/topic/butler-servant, the definition of a butler is: "chief male servant of a household who supervises other employees, receives guests, directs the serving of meals, and performs various personal services. The title originally applied to the person who had charge of the wine cellar and dispensed liquors, the name being derived from Middle English boteler (and various other forms), from Old French bouteillier or “bottle bearer.” 

On our non-luxury line cruises, this seems to fall well within the realm of what the butler staff actually do - some better / more successfully than others. Perhaps we just have more reasonable expectations as we are not paying double or triple the price as we would on Regent, et al. We love the personal attention - and yes, it truly is personal so we will stick with our modus operandi. 

Feedback much appreciated, though!

Warmest Amy

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Sorry, I'm not as 'hip'. What is funky bud. beer?

@PompeySailor and I must have spent too much time at Woodstock. 

'Tis another term for marijuana, among many others 

4 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@Nikita4 my online name is Sthrngary and I am the community member that originally wrote the Butler Letter.  I did it because my butlers were hit or miss.  This includes NCL Haven, Celebrity Retreat and yes MSC Yacht Club.  The problem as I have now found out was the number of staterooms each butler had.  It did not allow them to learn the guest needs as they would on a Luxury Brand.  

 

When I handed them the letter, initially they seemed shocked.  They left the suite and came back within 15 minutes with a smile on their faces.  To the butler, I got a thank you and was told their lives would be so much easer if they were not having to have a crystal ball for their new guest needs.  

 

My goal was to gain an improved cruising experience without being "That GUY!!!!!".  The person that is mean, rude or super demanding.  This little letter created instant engagement with the butler who from that point forward, could not do enough for me.  

 

After 40 years of cruising, I have learned one simple rule.  Be nice, be kind, be understanding and be a GREAT communicator.  Almost anything is possible.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

@Sthrngary Your advice has made cruising so much easier and stress free for so many people. Unlike the person in the bar you most recently met claiming to be your dear friend 🫢 I would love to meet with you and buy you a drink plus your favorite almond croissant.

Perhaps our paths will cross but know that we appreciate you and I'm sure if the YC cruises headed over to your NCL Haven thread would also appreciate your great advice on the suite-within-a-suite and "Haven-Lite" experiences.

Warmest Amy

3 minutes ago, P2l said:

Fire risk from unattended charging devices more likely.

Agree completely. 

Thanks!

7 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Seascape. Our insight is rather limited to just a few ships leaving from South Florida ports nowadays.

  Try the word ' the Continent'... it's more exotic. "Now ladies and gentlemen, it is the distinct pleasure of the management to present to you the evening star attraction. Here they are, back after their threes year exclusive tour of Europe, Scandinavia, and the subcontinent. Won't you welcome from Calumet City, Illinois the show band of Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues. The Blues Brothers!"

LOVE THIS!!!!!

I hopped onto your Seascape Poop Deck posting. Have to admit i'm disappointed in your current staff's response to the hordes of people interloping into the YC. We were lucky to have the exact opposite experience.

Any funky bud yet?

Warmest Amy

7 hours ago, Nikita4 said:

Your Butler-Letter ist real?
You know your Butler in the YC had to serve 10-12 cabins and can't read Letters from all guests. It's easier to speak with the butler and say what you wan't. And the YC isn't a 6 Star Hotel like in Dubai or so, MSC is a mass-market-cruise-line, and the YC perhaps a 4 star superior product not more.
 

And for the kids club, at MSC ships are a lot of european people with kids and teens, they all speak englisch but also in the mother language like spanish, Italien, french or german. Yes normally there are a lot of teens they like to dress up and to improve to others, but this is normal in this age but perhaps not for a child in the spectrum.

@Nikita4 Not only is our letter real, it has always been read and responded to within a day. Yes, each butler has a large group of cabins and you will often seen them writing down specifics of you and your family, but this written letter has always been greeted with a positive response. 

We cribbed the body of the letter from @Sthrngary on his "Haven 2022" thread over on the NCL Boards and modified it to our family's needs. On NCL, the pre-concierge is way more involved in pre-planning than on MSC, but still a real-time "hey, this is who we are and what we like, and thank you in advance for working so hard to give us a fantastic vacation" is so helpful on any cruise.

Agree re: cultural and language differences in the Kids Clubs. Heck, I'm an awkward introvert in my 50s and could not imagine being thrust into a similar situation as a 14 yo, spectrum or not. 

Hope you have a great cruise!

Warmest Amy

11 hours ago, V8cruiser said:

Thanks so much for this!!! Will also have guests on the spectrum, myself included, I have one that looks forward to his peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the main dining EVERY NIGHT. Please tell me this is possible????

@V8cruiser 100% possible. There was not a single request that was not honored (or at least attempted to be honored). Even to the point of offering to take our family in the service elevators to shows / trivia as kiddo doesn't do well in crowded spaces. 

I think the only difficulty you would have in ordering a special meal is perhaps in the steakhouse as it's unlikely they have easy access to PB&J. But maybe if you called ahead?

Having been on Disney, RCL, NCL, Celebrity and MSC, I have to say that MSC and NCL treat these cruisers and families very well. The only difficulty is in the Kids Clubs (for every cruise brand we have sailed with), but by no fault of the staff (who are all very well trained, and most have 4 year education degrees, some specializing in special needs populations). It's honestly the challenges in overcoming the often overwhelming task of meeting new kids who already may have their own social group / family group, who may speak a different language, and may not share the same interest. 

Have a wonderful time - can think of no better way to experience a family vacation and see the world!

Warmest Amy

On 8/5/2023 at 12:06 AM, no1talks said:

There is also the best-left-undiscussed "upside down" pineapple hair bow, sometimes seen on cruises.
😵

 

@no1talks THIS IS FREAKING HYSTERICAL. 

Not to hijack at all, but on our Seaside YC last week (seems like a year ago) an older woman accidently grabbed my husband's tush in the pool. She was not mortified at all, and as we all were laughing about it I asked her in jest "Are you one of those pineapple people?" and her answer, straight-faced was "No, but my husband is.". 

We almost drowned laughing. Life apparently does get more interesting after 70!!! 

Warmest Amy

On 8/4/2023 at 10:54 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

Been reading disconcerting experiences on board MSC ships of slow service, poor food, rude fellow passengers, over crowed pool decks, long elevator wait or no elevator service, amateurish production shows, and now illegal pot smoking in cabins. Yet with all this the ships are running over 100% capacity out of Miami. So popular that MSC for next year will be positioning 3 ships sailing from Miami; Divina, Seaside, and Seascape. We will be sailing the Seascape this coming week and hope to report back the 'picture' from our prospective. Summer vacation is coming to an end in some states and this might just impact the situation to the positive. We shall see.

@morpheusofthesea Interlopers, Weed and Velociraptor Pirate Shows OH MY!!!! Not our favorite class of ship, but I do love a good Morpheus review. Following happily!

Warmest Amy

1 hour ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

I’m guessing you have to wait until you get your e-docs to know which terminal your ship is assigned to. Does anyone have photos of the Port Canaveral Haven areas?

I'm sorry - no recent ones. I will say it's been very well marked where you have to go. You can go to www.portcanaveral.com the day before (or even the morning of) your cruise to see where your ship is docked. The best indicator of which dock is eyeballing the ships whilst driving in - just look up 😁. All the ships are very well marked and it becomes immediately evident where you are boarding. If taking a shuttle from a parking lot, they will take you directly to your specific port. 

Another poster here also noted the much newer and bigger Miami terminal which I believe has even a bigger and shinier NCL area + the older and smaller secondary dock. Due to influx of so many ships daily, RCL "brands", NCL "brands" and other groups of ships may have rotating docks. 

Sorry to not be more helpful, Warmest Amy

28 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Smart move. (they will also never 'browbeat' a RS/OS guest about leaving an old key card in the power slot all the time). Also the cabin we are in presently was stifling hot when we arrived. The two thermostats were on one red each and nothing in the power slot. The array of windows in the front of the ship makes the cabin extra hot. This cabin definitely needs to have a constant card in the slot.

@morpheusofthesea Great to know. I remember how much you like the RS and thought - what the heck. It's kiddo's first trip to Europe (good Lord that sounds bougie), and with the exception of Paris, none of our family have been to the other ports. So, splurging on a trip that already is quite expensive to ensure that everyone is happy and comfortable is worth it to us. Knowing the room will be warmer is actually a bonus to me: I routinely wear long-sleeves in the Florida summer whilst hubby would happily walk around in a speedo in the upstate NY winter. 

Curious - which ship are you on right now? You always have great insight into ships, rooms and experiences. 

Warmest Amy

On 7/31/2023 at 12:52 PM, omahabob said:

I should like to note for any newcomers that embarkation perks and amenities for Haven guests do vary by port. NYC and Miami seem to have the best. Some other ports have less, sometimes considerably less.

 

The "New" NCL terminal at Port Canaveral is wonderful for both Haven and Suite guests. Smaller / older NCL ships are often relegated to one of the older Carnival terminals (still with the delightfully garish signage) if the port is busy. Although the "secondary" terminal has the same priority line / waiting area, it is small and not adequate for the number of Haven / Suite area guests. 

Apologies for not recalling the secondary NCL terminal number. 

Warmest Amy

On 7/31/2023 at 10:12 AM, knscruiser322 said:

Morning fellow CCer's.

 

Just got back yesterday from my first Haven experience on the Joy going to Bermuda from NYC. I'll try to keep my review short (lol) but detailed for those who have questions. This was a cruise with the Mrs.

 

We decided to arrive at the terminal around 9AM. Dropped luggage off at the porter and saw early cruisers like us already there waiting. The wait was only about 15-20 minutes before they opened up check-in and I have to say it was GREAT to be in the Haven line. The non Haven line was piling up and getting ridiculous. We were 2nd in the Haven line. Breezed through check-in, got our keycards, etc. and then waited in the lounge. Had light refreshments and snacks. A bit later the ships Concierge, Mr. "X", he liked to be called came in and greeted us and told us once the ship clears we'd be the first group to board the ship.

 

We boarded the ship around 11:20AM as it seems there were a lot of people leaving the ship last minute. Once we started boarding, we were greeted by the NCL Haven staff, butlers were assisting escorting groups up to the Horizon Lounge. The Haven Bar was already prepping drinks for everyone who was being escorted up to the lounge. We didn't stay in the lounge for long. Once you were escorted into the lounge you can just explore the ship. We decided to have lunch at the Haven restaurant.

 

A quick review on the Haven restaurant overall for all (3) meals (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Dessert). The hostess that greeted us pretty much every meal was Marivic. She always tried to seat us at the same table at all (3) meals with the view. It was nice to come into the restaurant every time and not have to show your keycard or have them ask for your name. Another great service we noticed in the Haven. Everyone tries their best to make the experience exclusive for Haven guests.

 

Our best meals at the Haven were at breakfast. Lunch was just OKAY, and dinner I have to say was nothing out of the ordinary. Yes we have access to great cuts of meat and lobster, but one thing I noticed consistently and my wife as well is there is NOT enough seasoning in certain dishes. My wife tried a surf & turf the first night and the filet was definitely not seasoned enough. Cooked great but not enough flavor. I had the prime rib and I also noticed the flavor wasn't there. I do have to say that the Garden Cafe Prime Rib is DEFINITELY better than the one in the Haven. I noticed the Garden Cafe Prime Rib still maintained the same consistency in flavor and texture similar to my last cruise on the Escape almost 3-4 years ago! 

 

Throughout the length of the cruise, we pretty much tried every item on the menu at the Haven. And consistently the dinner menu was again nothing amazing. Breakfast was always consistent and great. At lunch, (2) items always got my wife's approval and it was the Seafood Fritto Misto and the Mushroom Flatbread. I do want to note that the Haven at least cooks the NY Strip Steak better than the filet. Flavor was definitely better than the filet.

I did try the "OMG" cheesecake mid week for dinner and all I have to say is "LOL". I'm from NYC and I know a good cheesecake when I taste it. Wife agreed and said there was no cheesecake taste and it tasted more like cake texture than that of a cheesecake.

Also want to note that the French Press Coffee was one of the best cups of coffee I had on the cruise, next to the ones in the Horizon lounge. I believe both use the same type of beans.

 

I'm going to fast forward my review and keep the parts much shorter now. The sundeck and courtyard were great areas to stay in. Although we didn't have a chance to go into the pool or hot tubs, we do recommend that it is a great amenity in the Haven compared to the crazy stuff happening on the general pool deck. I wanted to check out the hot tubs in the sundeck but it was HOT and I mean HOT up there from the beaming sun. We had our fair share of water fun at Horseshoe Bay on port day so that made up for everything.

 

The Horizon Lounge was the best place to relax, read a book, grab a quick snack or just admire the view. @Sthrngary, I had a couple of Almond Croissant's just for you. Was the best snack in the morning with a nice cup of coffee. My wife enjoyed the nice mini tarts they had there.

 

Haven rooms were available pretty early. I believe the ones in the Haven Proper were ready after 1PM and I do recall ours being ready after 2PM, might have been sooner, didn't keep track. Our stateroom was nice and roomy. We stayed on deck 14, outside of the Haven proper. We had a Haven Penthouse Suite. Wife enjoyed the spacious balcony, although we didn't frequent it much. She definitely loved the walk in closet space and she loved the robes and the crisp bedsheets, lol.

 

Our butler was Jayson. He was very attentive and I did present him with the butler letter in a seal envelope with his gratuity. I didn't expect I would utilize our butler that much on the cruise, but towards a few days in, we did request more room service and he did frequently bring more snacks etc. in for us. He was a great conversationalist and always kids around with both of us. At the last sea day of the cruise, I gave him an additional tip sealed in an envelope with a small note thanking him. Our room steward was Royal. Although I didn't see him much, he cleaned our room promptly and was spotless. He greeted us each time if we did run into him, but I can see how much busier they are now managing much more rooms and cleaning Haven rooms twice a day. I also gave our steward a tip on the last sea day in a sealed envelope with a note thanking him for his hard work.

 

Although we didn't utilize the concierge at all, the team lead by Mr. "X" seemed to be keeping up with Haven standards. I want to note that we did not tip the concierge team. Nothing against the team but we honestly didn't utilize the team at all. And most of the time we never see Mr. "X" at all. I always see only the assistants on the team.

 

I am not a big drinker so I didn't utilize the Haven bar as much as most guests did. I did however tip the bartender on the first day for (2) drinks. 

 

Since this was a Haven review, I am not going to note any Bermuda references except that Horseshoe Bay was amazing.

 

As the cruise comes to an end, we arrived back pretty early in NYC. The ship definitely docked at around 6AM I would say. We self carried our luggage off the ship and was the first group off the ship since Haven has priority debarking as well. We were off the ship at around 7:30AM and settled back into our normal routine quickly.

 

I want to wrap up this review with a couple of things I noted while cruising in the Haven. I noticed a lot of guests who stayed in the Haven only limited themselves to the Haven. I'm talking literally staying in either the lounge or courtyard and probably sundeck.

We also noticed that a lot of the guests who stayed in the Haven had certain "personalities" if you would call it. The "I am better than you" personality.

We didn't limit ourselves to the Haven at all, in fact most of our time was always in the Atrium similar to our last Escape cruise as we always like to see what is always happening around the ship. The Haven exclusivity and perks are definitely a plus, but we both didn't understand why some guests stuck to the mindset of "Ship within a ship" and not leave the Haven. I felt like the fun part was exploring the ship and discovering something new. We found out that there were fist fights in the general pool area over lounge chairs!

My wife said cruising in the Haven definitely changed our way of cruising. Once you go Haven you never go back as a lot of noted.

 

Thanks again to @Sthrngary for providing this amazing thread of information and everyone else as well who contributed. Sorry for the long winded review!

 

Lovely review - Really appreciate the balanced nature and honest opinion re: your experience. 

Warmest Amy

One final critique that actually caused me to change an upcoming MSC booking. The YC Deluxe Penthouse had NO outlets by the bed or couch. None at all. If you wanted to plug in your devices, you had to use the desk area across the room and / or obtain an extension cord. Inconvenient for us, but if you are someone who needs a CPAP this would be very difficult. 

We looked everywhere - honestly, thought there may be some hidden plugs but no luck. Very bad design flaw. On the desk there were 2 plugs (American) for which we used our cruise-compliant multi-six. There was another plug by the near side of the desk (European) for which we were able to use an adaptor. Apologies for no photos of the set-up. 

It was frustrating as even though we don't have a lot of electronics (3 lap-tops, 3 cell phones, 1 camera), we spent a lot of time fighting for plug space even with 5 charging slots + USBs. The old "put a hotel card in the room slot to keep the electricity on" did not work as the butler specifically asked us to not do that; he and the room attendant had both been instructed by the YC director to remove any cards in unoccupied rooms (perhaps for energy-saving?).

Long story, but we ended up changing our YC Deluxe Penthouse to @morpheusofthesea's favorite Royal Suite on our Feb 2024 Euribia European cruise. The RS has plugs everywhere (at least on the YouTube videos of the Meraviglia RS which has a similar layout) plus kiddo will have his own desk / more private area for the longer cruise. And yes...have to admit that the hot tub on the balcony will be lovely in the cold European winter weather, but that is more of a perk than a reason to book the RS. Still baffled at the lack of at least a second 1/2 bath in such a big space. Was able to parlay a casino credit into a decent discount that our TA used to re-book our original room (the casino credit had to be used for a "new" booking). 

So that is the end of my review, and once again, thanks for the kind comments and happy to help out if any questions do arise. Wishing wonderful and safe cruising to the lovely folks we met on board. 

Warmest Amy

14 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

The COVID restart prices were reminiscent of post 911 when everyone was afraid to fly and being on an e posed target made cruise occupancy very low.   Well, the prices seem to have recovered but we did book a lot of cruises while they were down..  we are driving distance to Galveston and Royal and Princess have been having some excellent rates.  Booked a large balcony cabin on Princess Friday for $500 pp with some OBC thrown in.  We’ve not sailed PC in a fifteen or so years so I’m looking forward to a change of pace.  We’ll see. 

@MagnoliaBlossom Have never sailed Princess but had been looking at them for Alaska prior to choosing NCL. Apparently they caused quite the kerfuffle this week when they changed a lot of the previously free dining options on the ship and radically changed the drinks and wifi packages. Quite a lot of the cruise vloggers are commenting on this negative change and how it could cost hundreds if not thousands of unexpected charged for those with current bookings. 

Just a heads-up, because it sounds like you got a heck of a deal and I hope it works out well for you. 

Warmest Amy

10 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

And that would detract from the appeal to us.

@shipgeeks I agree. Although Ocean Cay is not our favorite island (layout and amenities of NCL's Great Stirrup Cay make that our favorite place), one of it's charms we do enjoy is the unspoiled nature without a "theme park", well, theme. 

Will be interesting to see what actually happens.

Warmest Amy

@elliotlake12 Have never seen them on the buffet. We usually bring our own travel mugs but I've seen people ask for "take-away" style cups + lids at the main restaurants or Starbucks. Most are pretty sturdy cardboard and can be used more than once. 

Warmest Amy

On 8/3/2023 at 11:00 AM, jules815 said:

I sure hope they don't turn it into a Coco Cay.

@jules815 and @morpheusofthesea a number of our waiters on our Seaside cruise this past week said that they were planning to install a slides area and a recreational area for kids in the center of the island. I'm not sure this will ever be on the level of Coco Cay or Great Stirrup Cay but it sounds like they are making at least one part of the island a more kid friendly area. 

Warmest Amy

On 8/4/2023 at 5:30 PM, TPgal said:

I'm in Seattle and we can "zip up to Victoria" for long weekends, the four hour stop is only worth it if you have a specific spot in town that you want to see.   Victoria is best explored (even in the rain) on long walks and making time to visit the museum & garden.   We chose not to bother on our first Alaska cruise, and on the one that leaves in eight days we booked a specialty restaurant to celebrate our last night, and won't leave the ship.

It's unfortunate because Victoria is so charming.

We are disappointed about the short stop in Victoria as well, but will make the best of it with a Beaver Tail or two. My bet is that the bottomless pit stomach my 14 has will be able to take down a full one without taking a breath!

Warmest Amy

5 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

My mum used to pickle up around 20 mason jars around July time, so come Christmas time we had some very strong onions.🧅

 

Traditionally you’ll find them on a Ploughman’s lunch with crackers and cheeses 🧀 

 

 

@PompeySailor Ohh dear Lord... are those raisins with pickled onions? @JAGR This is worse than gooseberries next to onions!!!!!!

On 8/3/2023 at 2:35 PM, JAGR said:

I thought that as well, but then I saw the post was from Europe, and growing in Ireland, I remember having gooseberries as a dessert and snack.

@JAGR Gooseberries rock. Pickled onions...let's just say that if I thought I was biting into a gooseberry and got a pickled onion instead I would be unhappy. Let's not give MSC any ideas because putting a snacking plate of gooseberries next to a plate of pickled onions could lead to chaos in the YC. Would be highly entertaining however! 

Warmest Amy

On 8/2/2023 at 10:08 AM, 8420PR said:

 

 

I'm enjoying your review.  Greetings from Europe 🙂

 

@8420PR Thank you for the kind words. I Will humbly say in all of my travels I have never seen such vocal and photographic support of the lowly pickled onion. I feel like I may just buy a jar of them to keep in my refrigerator so I'm kept in good company with the clearly much cooler Europeans like you, @Daniel A and @PompeySailor

Warmest Amy

On 8/2/2023 at 8:08 AM, Seas2mountains said:

Thank you for doing a live review, Amy! I’m enjoying following along with you! 😀

 

Are you using iPhone to take your photos? If so, make sure the volume buttons are facing down when taking a photo if you are trying to capture a landscape shot. 
 

Enjoy your final days! We tend to cruise mostly on NCL but have cruised twice in MSC YC on Seaside and Davina. We do have NCL and MSC YC cruises booked in the future. 
 

How is the entertainment in the YC? Are things a little crazy when you leave the YC? 

@Seas2mountains Great advice regarding the iphone. Will try that on my next cruise. We love NCL And especially the Haven and have 4 more lined up in the coming two years plus one more MSC YC in February. It just takes so much of the stress away.

On the last post with final thoughts I summarize the entertainment. It's hit or miss, but super weird, not bad weird necessarily just... for any show that puts pirates and velociraptors together you've got to give kudos to that creative team for the sheer trippiness.

Warmest Amy

1 hour ago, PompeySailor said:

I can vouch for Amy

Being from the UK they are 100% pickled onions (just small ones)

But not pickled UK style, more pickled  cocktail onions 

 

I have both in my fridge - here you go 

UK Strong pickled onions to the left and Pickled cocktail onions to the right 

cocktail onions use a white vinegar and UK Style use a Pickling vinegar 

 

Proof is in on the manufacturers labels 

 

 

These are most popular in fish and chip shops along with pickled eggs 

The fact that you have not just one but multiple types of these onions is freaking hysterical.

Clearly, I'm an American heathen without any taste in snack-food. I do approve of the jalapenos however...🥰

Warmest Amy