JustAPilot

That’s to bad, NCL had some great itineraries especially in Europe. More tourists trap sailings to Costa Maya and what ever that Dominican stop is and sitting with thousands of others in a lazy river is not my forte. 

Probably not, ships are sailing at or over capacity these days and Haven rooms get booked out for full asking by cash. Since this is the Joy I’m guessing this is a Bermuda cruise which is already in demand to begin with. $50-$75 over min bid doesn’t move the needle, people pay close to full asking to even score an upgrade for Haven. 

I like these threads, from reading the comments here it’s like NCL is paying you to take a cruise with them vs you spending thousands of dollars with them for a vacation and letting things slide vs sharing your concerns and holding them accountable.

And yes this is a vacation, so large crowds and over crowded pool bars do affect my vacation. If the pool bars are overcrowded then bring in more bartenders to serve the guests or setup more bar areas around the pool deck. 

Also keep in mind the time of year you are going is going to be HOT especially the south of Spain, locals actually leave those places because of the temperatures. I do like your optimism though but I think after the first 2 ports you’ll realize your just sleeping and eating on the cruise because you're exhausted if you try to fit everything in.  

34 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

We were on the Seascape a few months ago and the concierge in the YC was 'aghast' that a guest was able to get the Royal Suite for $5000 total. The staff are upset because it took them years to get to the highest positions within the MSC organization, those within the Yacht Club.  For their services to be 'discounted', as management is currently doing, is an affront to their hard earned efforts. I recall early on a YC director boasting that the Owners Suite was now commanding $14,000 for one week. They took pride in this. The same suites are commanding double this on other supposedly luxury cruise lines. We are testing these 'others' out and so far only Explora Journeys comes the closest to Yacht Club treatment (as one would expect from a sister organization).

I’ll be in YC this summer on a Med cruise and it was a few thousand dollars cheaper then the Haven which is why I booked it. Either MSC is cutting them selves short or supply and demand and Haven is in demand more than YC. Either way from your reviews excited to try the product.

So much for Del Rio’s refined luxury experience idea with the Prima and Viva. Cram them in as much as you can on those Caribbean Miami departures. 

Bird I always appreciate your live reviews on just sticking to the features and options on the ship rather than showing me pictures of your family dining out or on the beach to a bunch of internet strangers. 

49 minutes ago, hgrant said:

 

Because I already know some of our group will not be in Haven so I am asking a question about ship rules.  If you don't want to answer, please feel free to move on.  I was just curious if others faced this and what they did about it.  We have decided not to book Haven or a suite for this trip so we can hang out with our friends and relatives.

This question has been brought up before and the answer is you are allowed to have guests in your Haven room and the butler will even bring snacks for everyone to enjoy but your guests are not allowed to use any of the Haven facilities. 

They are also tip motivated and the more you give the friendlier they are, until the next set of passengers come onboard and they forget who you are. 

Please compare YC to Haven! So far I’m happy to have booked YC this summer, Haven is getting watered down more and more with price increases to boot. 

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

I did the same.  I do faux bookings all the time to compare fares, on all cruise lines.  I get calls and emails from all of them.  Until, I sent a written email to all of them requesting I be removed from their email list and to be put on their "do not call" list. 

 

I'll call them if I need them.  

 

Haven't received anything from any of them since.

Same thing brother, I made the mistake of being signed into my account when I was making faux bookings and got two calls hours later from two separate PCC’s telling me they are my personal consultant lol. I was like wow I have 2 of them at my whim?? Since then I don’t sign in to just browse bookings.

At the end of the day you have the actual TA’s who have connections with the brand and can pull strings for you and then you have the ones that just click the submit button on your behalf. 

My biggest grip is watering down the Haven experience and nickel and diming for things like lobster tails while raising the prices across the board. Granted ships are sailing full and not having to share space with 3,000 others by the pool is priceless? 

We are doing YC for the first time this summer on our annual Med cruise and from what I’m reading most of the complaints about YC, butlers ect are coming from your US cruises. Does MSC bring the “A” team in YC for their Euro cruises or is it just Europeans don’t complain as much? (lol) Anyone done both and can compare? 

I also noticed the “slower” months of cruising, January and February are sold out or priced sky high, revenge travel is still a thing. 

If this is your son’s graduation gift maybe ask him what ship and itinerary he prefers? Personally I would pick the ship with more port stops as those 4 day cruises are essentially booze cruises anyways and I’d rather be on land then be surrounded by huge group of partiers taking up the pool deck. 

Btw talking about coffee, how can they continue to serve that garbage. I’ve had some shitty diner coffee’s but NCL’s free coffee is plain disgusting.

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

I have done many live reports with pics and posted here.  Posting pics takes a long time with typical internet speeds.  And, aside from the time involved you are using your minutes to post.  I hope some of my posts are useful to others.  I'm just trying to figure out how useful old dailies might be.  Same with crew and management.  I kind of understand knowing who a particular concierge or Butler is on board, as they get personal and have something of a reputation people want to know about as they CAN directly affect someone's cruise in the Haven and/or Suite.

 

I personally have been chastised in a live report because I couldn't find who the crew are to post it in the review.

 

This was when I was on a Celebrity cruise a few years ago, but someone in the Celebrity threads wanted me to track down a particular waitress for them to deliver a message as they allegedly became close and fast friend while on board.  Waitstaff move from venue to venue.  So, finding this person was like finding a needle in a haystack.  By happenstance, I did note this particular waitress by her name tag.  When I mentioned the guest who wanted to communicate with her, she had no idea who I was talking about.

 

Point being, waitstaff are paid (monetarily, recognition, promotions, etc) to engage and be nice to guests.  

I’m actually legit laughing out loud. Are you telling me the Philippino waitress wasn’t actually interested in seeing pictures of my family skiing in Aspen, laying on the beach  in Costa Maya and seeing pictures of my dog?? Oh wait maybe it’s because I kept tipping her $5 for every drink she brought.. but we were legit best friends!! 😂

8 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

• Not meant to be snarky, but I've always wondered why someone would want the Dailies from past cruises?  I mean, generally speaking, if anything changes, it changes from cruise to cruise, so past Dailies wouldn't be helpful.  Plus, those things that don't change (e.g. trivia) never changes and would be the same.

Additionally, the dailies are always available once you board.

 

So, what is the purpose of posting past dailies?  I do want to understand.

Eh, it’s like the same as asking members to post who the senior officers are on the cruise, like who cares? Captain so and so isn’t going to remember Jane Smith and her husband from Wichita Kansas who sailed 2 years ago to the Caribbean. 

Pretty much, you’re paying another $500 to drink NCL branded Prosecco and are happy with this change? Vs a proper champagne house.. Next up Kirkland branded vodka to replace Grey Goose on the P+ and you’re going to tell me it tastes like Goose? Lol. 

Epic main pool bar that serves liquor gets busy, they have another bar by the pool but I think it only served beer and no cocktails. So yeah unless your in Posh or planning on going indoors for a proper cocktail good luck by the main pool bar on a prime season cruise. Regardless Epic is old with rust stains showing in public areas, personally NCL needs to scrap everything older then getaway and escape.

If I had a passenger be vigilant with me about a request when they’ve already been told no I would have them offloaded on the spot and authorities waiting for them at the gate. Don’t care if your a million miles flyer. 

Pretty much this, your sailing on a mass market cruise line that so happens to have a separate section on the ship for guests willing to pay extra for a dedicated area. Get over yourselves thinking that you’re sailing on the Ritz ship or Ponant. We chose YC because of not having to fight for loungers by the pool and having a more 1 on 1 service. You dressing up in a tuxedo or dress is not going to impress me anymore or change my vacation.

The Cunard forum is leaking into others again, back you go 😂. We will be sailing with our toddler in YC, I will make sure to pick out his finest onesie for the top sail. 

Trigger word Cunard has been activated, paging @RocketMan275. We will now cover another 3 pages on how dare Cunard would make you wear a coat and tie for dinner on a cruise ship! 

4 minutes ago, The Med said:

Thank you but for  logistics we wanted to cruise from New York. 

Take a look at MSC and their Yacht Club rooms leaving from New York also. YC is the same concept as Haven so your own private ship within a ship concept and their interior YC rooms are priced competitively and much cheaper then what NCL wants for Haven.