jcathers1

1. 
    
   
2. Yes.
    
   
3. Deluxe (premium).
    
   
4. Yes
    
   
5. Your choice of daily newspaper delivered to your cabin every morning.
    
   

Your butler will pack/unpack (you must be there when this is being done!)

 

 

 

Your butler will shine your shoes for you.

 

 

 

The only included dining venues for YC guests are the dedicated YC restaurant (which is open for breakfast/lunch/dinner) and the buffet.

Thanks so much Bea. I’m reading another review of yours right now (YC on the Meriviglia). You are extremely in-the-know! Thanks!

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We have sailed in the Haven many times , but this June will be our first YC experience (on the Seaside). As such, we have many questions for those with experience.

Is the minibar included for YC passengers?

Do we have the classic or deluxe drink package?

Do YC guests get spa access?

Are there any other perks that YC guests get that may not be common knowledge (such as Haven guests eating at Margaritaville free for lunch on the first day)?

Anything else you think would be helpful would be appreciated. Thanks!

We have never sailed with MSC before, but will be on the Seaside in June. We are in the Yacht Club, and I know that drinks are "included", but would that be the classic or deluxe package? And what are the distinctions between them. Are most drinks available in the classic package, and the deluxe is more high end liquors?

Thank in advance.

This will sound like (and probably be) a dumb question, but don’t stingrays...sting? I thought the ones you typically find at aquariums to pet have had their barbs removed. How are these wild ones safe? Thanks!

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Thanks for the great info, Bookbabe.

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Poorly behaved kids are usually the product of poorly behaved parents.

This, exactly. If you see ill-behaved children, your issue is really with their parents.

I always laugh at the number of people who seem to think kids ruin cruising. Our children have been on 5 cruises (with 2 of them being in the Haven on NCL). They are extremely well-behaved and respectful, because they understand the expectations for them. Our rule is "have as much fun as you can, but never so much that you ruin someone else's fun".

The number of adults who get drunk and abusive, are disrespectful, gluttonous, crass, classless, etc. bothers me more than any child ever could.

We received an upgrade for the 9/16 sailing of the Escape.

Our accepted bid was $1530pp ($3060 total) for a Haven 2-bedroom suite. The recent price of the same room is approximately $9,000. Our total was approximately $6300.

We had the same room type last September on the Escape, and badly wanted one again (but could not justify spending $9k). Our total was around $6500 last year. We made what we felt was a competitive offer.

We love the Haven (3rd time staying there), but the price increase has been dramatic. We are sailing in the MSC Seaside YC next June for the first time.

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Any word on what Western ports the rerouted Escape Eastern itineraries will visit?

 

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As I understand it, the western ports suffered no damage.

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Port Everglades has been cleared to accept shipping later today, but nothing moving yet. 3 cruise ships, 3 tankers, 2 container ships waiting.

 

 

 

Sounds like Miami may be even later, so some ships may divert to PEV and then dock space needs might force Escape to go out and run circles.

Thanks for the update. I know you are someone who knows what he's talking about. What is your best guess for the 9/16 Escape sailing? Does it sail as planned?

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According to Marine Traffic, Escape is due back to Miami Sep 13 2017 0500 local time.

I wonder what the Escape will do between Wednesday and Saturday. Will the just return to sea empty?

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We have always printed the luggage tags and adhered clear tape to the front and back. This makes them durable and water proof. On The morning of the cruise when we check out of the hotel, we ask the front desk for a stapler and attach them to our bags.

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Isn't the CC store closed right now?

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Hello All,

 

Cruising on the Escape in Nov. Will I be able to make an 11:05 flight out of Miami. I think we get off ship around 8:00? is that right?

 

 

 

Thank you in advance for any help.

Yes, it's possible. But you have no control over TSA security, and the Escape disembarks on a Saturday, so keep that in mind.

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Unfortunately I'm already booked on the MSC Divina for that date.

Huh?

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Agreed about the misleading (and click-baity) thread title. People are right to be concerned and anxious about their vacation plans (especially when they involve flying into an area that was just devastated by a hurricane). This doesn't make them callous or unmoved by the plight of those who live in the affected areas. The sermonizing and virtue signaling is unnecessary.

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I agree. NCL's reaction to this has been top-notch. There always seems like there's plenty to complain about (consistent with companies of similar scale), but in this case, they have put the needs of their customers first. Bravo.

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I'm wondering how (or whether) this will affect the next sailing of the Escape (9/16). We are on that sailing.

Will they leave the ship empty for the week of 9/9 and simply divert it away from Miami to keep it safe?

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14 days out and one of my bids has changed to processing and the banner is gone from the login. Not sure what that means yet...

This sounds hopeful. What room category was the bid for?

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Or better yet, just book the stateroom that you really want and there would be no conversation....

Excellent point. In fact, I got exactly the stateroom I really wanted based on extant prices at the time of booking.

However, if other rooms were available at a price-point below what is listed on the website (perhaps even for a price I get to choose myself), I might be interested in those options.

Hey, wouldn't it be nice if a system like this existed?

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I agree with your assessment. I did some digging the other night as I was curious about the operations of the program (the corporate lawyer in me is always interested in these things).

 

I was able to locate promotional material sent my NCL to its TA partners discussing the program. The program is pretty clear. First, to even be eligible for consideration by the algorithm, two things MUST be true on the date of the program launch. First, you must be paid in full. Second, at that time you must have a valid email address in your pre-registration.

 

Assuming you meet both these requirements, you are then eligible for consideration. NCL makes very clear that not everyone gets and invite and that selection is based on numerous criteria ("[g]uests are selected and sent an email to bid based on a variety of factors including but not limited to what they already paid and the type of cabins available for their sailing.").

 

Some additional digging turned up some interviews/articles that provide a bit more color. In sum, the program is more complex then it appears. In addition to the above, it also takes into account your sailing history (with the less sailing experience weighted more heavily), the cabin/location of your current cabin, the availability in higher categories, demand for your current category, and several other factors. The key factor seems to be what you paid for your original cabin (there is a revenue yield component that weighs heavily on the algorithm).

 

To OP, is it possible that you did meet the criteria on final payment date, but had not loaded a valid email address into MyNCL? If so, maybe they are trying to find a way to fix that for you, because the computer would have rejected consideration without and email address? Just guessing.

 

My point here is that people should resist the urge to oversimplify this program by assuming everyone is eligible once they pay in full. It is clear they are not. This offer is on NCL's sole discretion.

 

 

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Thanks for the research. Very interesting, indeed.

That said, it seems like NCL's standard line to customers should be "not every customer is eligible for an upgrade", rather than "you qualify and you should have gotten an email, and we will try to fix the issue". Had I gotten the former response, that would have been the end of the conversation.

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Maybe.

 

 

 

Or maybe they do have a good hold and there is some "rational" reason some people are not getting the bid option. Some random reasons I could think not everyone gets the option:

 

 

 

* only a few cabins available, so they only give a few the option

 

* booked under some special rate code - passenger may not even know they are under that

 

* TA has opted out

 

* Home location of passenger

 

* something in reservation changed around time of emails being sent out - again passenger might not even be aware of it

 

* passenger did not have MYNCL set up on the date they sent first bids out

 

* staff decided not to alert everyone to avoid too many bids

 

* and something we have no idea of

The point of this program (once would safely assume) it to maximize revenue and sail with ships as full as possible. As such, NCL would want to email every customer, even if there was only one available cabin. Since they would have no way of knowing which one may be willing to pay the most, it would be beneficial to cast the widest net. "Too many bids" is the exact opposite of what they would desire.

Additionally, with the possibility of late cancelations, they actually do not know which cabins will be available until the ship sets sale. If customers bid on a mini-suite, even if none is available, if one opens up through cancelation, NCL can simply slide a bidder into that cabin (and the resulting chain reaction of cabin openings).

Further, an email address is required to booking, so myNCL does not need to be established.

That said, yes, there may be some mysterious rationale for why some get bid opportunities and others do not. But if there is, this information is not even available to the representatives who handle this department within the company, which does not seem reasonable. Or, they are lying to customers, which doesn't seem reasonable either.

NCL is an enormous bureaucracy. It is far easier for me to believe that they have simply not maximized the benefits that this program could provide them (read: ineptitude).

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When we sailed on the Breakaway a couple of months ago, we did NOT get an email.

 

We got a MyNCL message and a banner on MyNCL exactly 80 days prior to sailing. For unknow reasons, the banner came and went (not displayed) a few times. But eventually stayed up until week of sailing.

 

In our case, it was cheaper to just pay for the Havens room and get all of the perks than bid (i.e., the cost to pay for the higher room was cheaper than a poor-fair bid).

Very strange. It doesn't seem like they have a good hold on the process thus far.

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I do not know why some get it and some do not so I can not answer that question with any real conviction. On our up coming cruise many have not received an email including myself but found it in their MyNCL mail. You already said you did not find it there either so that is mute but a few have mentioned that the email went into their spam folder in their email. Have you looked there? Just a thought.

Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I have been checking my spam mail folder (although I assume that the email and the banner on the MyNCL page are redundant to one another). All in all, it doesn't seem like a very robust system at this point.

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See "Upgrade Advantage Program Terms and Conditions." Condition 3 provides, "[f]irst, as a prerequisite to the ability to make an Offer, you must receive an invitation ("Invitation") from

Norwegian Cruise Lines. Sending an invitation to anyone at any time is entirely within Norwegian Cruise Line's sole discretion."

 

 

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This is prototypical indemnity language to shield NCL from a lawsuit from someone who feels wronged that they did not get a bidding opportunity. And while this may legally/technically be their position, in reality, the upsell department believes everyone who qualifies should be receiving a bid opportunity. I'm being told that there is a "glitch" that is causing me to not receive the link to bid. Ergo, my question was seeking those who may have had a similar situation and had it resolved favorably.

You don't necessarily have a right to bid on an upgrade. You can call the upgrade department and asked to bid, but they don't have to allow it. The real way to proceed is to be happy with the cabin you book when you book it.

Please substantiate your claim that "they don't have to allow" anyone to bid on an upgrade. Do you have some in-depth knowledge of the bidding process? Or was this just a particularly unhelpful opinion.