Lars997

Thank you for all your comments. 

As always - no clear answers but I receive input which hits our taste and favors quiet well. We still didn’t make our mind up, from ship we absolutely would be the "Muse" folks, but the itinerary on the Whisper is more to our liking. We will make up our minds! Thanks again!

We are considering SS Muse or Whisper for our Japan tour in 2023. We never been on a SS ship, but had around 40 cruises on NCL The Haeven, MSC YachtClub and Suites at RCL and Disney. As the SS are typically smaller ships, we are wondering if those who have experienced SS would tend to the rather smallest SS (Whisper) or to a larger one (Muse). Iteneraries are equally well, so the dividing factor are really the ships. Also - I read that the Whisper was refurbished, but all pictures I find, that ship is still looking old. Furnitures in the rooms seem never been updated (beside a wall-isolation) - can you confirm that?

Thank you for your help!!! Lars

We booked with three families for a Caribbean cruise in April. All diamond members. We try to re-schedule. Too many uncertainties. Especially we also have to travel from Europe to the US in order to get on board. We rather delay our trip. Many of our group are doctors, pharmacists, etc. we are not scared of the virus but of the hassle. 

No cruising for the next couple of months 😞

Counting nuts - well isn't that a common pattern 😉

I'm sure you will have a blast. The Meraviglia is even more beautiful than the Seaside! ::D

You can buy cocktails for kids. They will give them a non alcoholic cocktail.

Dinner wasn't good and it is served 1 hour prior to the show. We recommend cocktail

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Oh yes, very right. We learned this the hard way. We try not to go on a ship younger than a year!

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... and I'd add that the pub on Meraviglia is an English one - the Brass Anchor - not Irish.

Oh wow - I never thought that there is any difference ;p;p

I first missed the YC pre-concierge, too. Loved it on RCCL an NCL. However - most things I could quickly address once we have been boarded. Nevertheless - some other things I would have loved to be able to pre-book. Especially massage appointments - the MSC Concierge doesnt help you with reservations. And - as the ship embarks people on every single port, you might have the problem that all relevant SPA-times are already gone once you are on baord. Other than that - great Concierge service at MSC

Been last december and the only flaw was the food and food quality. Everything else people complained was more or less solved. Been in April/May on the Seaside, food was a bit better but the rest was a flawless cruise. Will be back in 3 months - if it would have been bad I would not have booked again. Go for it, its a beautiful ship.

I wished they would change their food quality. It is the lowest in the industry

I wished they never would change building those magnificent beautiful mindbreaking cruise ships.

Don't misunderstand me. Speciality restaurants are good. But I say if you are in the Yacht Club you don't really need it, it's not much better. In example, the speciality restaurants on the RCCL are in our opinion better. And the filet mignon in the YC stands up to the one in the butchers cut.

And you are right, Venchi is on the Seaside. But Meraviglia has the Jean Phillipe chocolate bar which was in our opinion better. You could make custom chocolate bars.

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Been on both ships. The Meraviglia is the more beautiful ship. Also the pool is much more usable than that rear deck layout of the seaside (which is overcrowded).

We have been on both ships. And we will be back to both. We always go YC.

Meraviglia is the more beautiful ship hands down. Has more things to do in the evening, too. I like the irish pub, the park soleil, etc. There is the Venchi downstairs. On the Meraviglia you get free fresh fruit smoothies, you cant get on the Seaside (only milky ones). The food was better on the Seaside, the rest the same experience, not much difference. The rooms are a bit better on the Seaside. The layout with the wardrobe and bathrooom on the Meraviglia is super tight and awkward. But still - its ok.

Cirque soleil was superb. Will watch it again. However - dont book the dinner experience. Its not that the food is served during the show, it comes ahead to the show. Means, you are 1h prior to the show in the theater. Once you are done with the food, people which only booked show, are entering the theater. So - safe your money, watch the show but dont get the food (its not very good and you cant use your drink package in the theater).

Also - speciality restaurants are not worth it. The food in the YC is of the same good/bad quality. If one at all, I would recommend the butchers cut or on the Seaside the Ocean Cay. Sushi on the Seaside was better, the Eatly fine dining was a catastrophy - we went right after dinner to the YC and started all over. If one thing is weak on MSC its the food. It is not on the level of NCL or RCCL

I would not book the forward cabins. Wind is nasty and makes cabins noisy. I dont know how they are regarding the windows, but we had those kind of cabins and didnt enjoy it that much. The side cabins are great. Avoid rooms with walk through doors. They are noisy on MSC (had it on both ships)

Ask me what you like to know. We are frequent sailers (6 cruises a year) - so we have a pretty good overview.

We have been multiple times on the Meraviglia and Seaside (similar layout). YC is very quiet. Avoid a room with a pass-through door (if you can - we had to take it as nothing else was available). 16th is great - close to the Lounge, close to the pool. Very well connected!

We have been last year for NYE on the Meraviglia YC. You could feel that the ship was new. The crew didnt play well together. The food was terrible. The ship was beautiful and beside the food everything else was very enjoyable. Butler was amazing The weather was very good for this time of the year. All southern ports been excellent. Had up to 20C in Barcelona. Been back on MSC in April on the Seaside. The food was a bit better., the team too. BTW - The premium restaurants are not worth it if you are in the YC. However - beside the rather good experience last year we are going back this year. Its a great place for NYE. And - I hope that since the ship is a year old the food improved, too.

We are sailing on March 24th with a daugther 8yrs. Anyone there which would like to match up their daughter with ours?

We been for New Year on the Meraviglia and will be for Easter break on the Seaside. Both trips are in the Yacht Club. We are cruising 6 times a year and usually always in the suite class. We booked both cruises to check out MSC. While we loved the ship we have to admit that it was the worst thinkable food experience we ever had. No herbs, no salt. low cost ingredients. Low class meat, etc. Even if you pre-book premium-dining they ask you again in the specialty restaurants to pay more for better ingredients (i.e. if you want to have filet instead of a lower class meat it costs you extra.

And by the way - that room service in the Yacht Club is a joke. They give you can-soup and they might serve an old sandwhich. But you can't order anything fresh nor breakfast eggs (no eggs are served in the suite). Come on - why would you need a butler if there is not any sandwhich to be served? And if you order waffles, they send you a waffle, without any decor, nor sauce, cream, etc. You will receive kind of a spongy piece of waffle, not enjoyable at all.

So - whatever is said negative in regards of food - at least form our experience, we can underline it. It was the first cruise we all lost weight (we are between 35 and 45 and very sporty/fit - usually our weight never changes). So - go on the cruise for the weather, the ship, maybe the cocktails (they been delicious) - but in regards of food, hope for the port days and go off to eat!

I'm writing this out of our owner suite on board of the Navigator. We are very disappointed. The Navigator feels outdated, thw carpets are old, the furniture broken. The suite experience is not any better than a stateroom. The Concierge Lounge smells terrible, doesn't have any Windows and is only operated some hours around breakfast and dinner. We are Diamond Plus on RCL but we are very dissapointed how this cruise line developed. Everything is about cost saving and making revenues. The only officer you can tell to be on board is the head of revenues.

We just booked NCL Haven and two MSC Yacht Club cruises for kater this year to see if we would like the other lines better.

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Lars, Today the rates went down for our Dec. 23, 2018 cruise and we rebooked and saved a couple hundred $. Not sure about yours, but worth checking.

Thanks for letting me know Jack. Same rates on our cruise. However, we can't rebook in Europe, we have different cancellation terms.

Again, thanks!

thanks to all for the information. Yes, we are looking at the Meraviglia for Dec 23, 2018 out of Rome. We are not necessarily sun and beach folks, so we would be open to a bit colder weather for a new experience as well.

Hi Jack,

in that case you guys are a week ahead of us. I think it will be a great but different cruise experience. I can't wait to sit in that Spa Sauna and look outside towards the cold sea. And - they for sure thought about all that when building this beautiful new ship for the mediterean winter.

Enjoy the waiting time - Lars

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Weather might be misty, rainy but also sunny. We live in Europe and we experience any kind of weather in that time and area. In example - the last 3 Christmas eves we had around 15 degrees Celsius. But - if you are looking for the Meraviglia, it seems that ship is build for that. So, just having a relaxed cruise might be also beautiful when not having sunshine and the chance to get a tan. We booked the new year cruise and we are looking forward to this "different" winter med experience.

Thank you! this thread can be closed, I got the address I was looking for.

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Does anyone know the email address of Scott Mikelonis?

Maybe the eMail-Syntax of NCL might help, too?

Would be happy receiving it by PM.

Appreciate your support, Thanks!

My understanding is that it is one per stateroom.

 

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Thank you for the quick answer ;)