wolft927

Right! Wife and I are pretty much almost done getting off in port now.

They have golf carts that transport people from the ship to the island. That walk is long!!!

My Wife and I have only sent food back one time simply because it was nothing like we expected. I tried to eat it but just couldn't. And that soup, dear lord that looks absolutely horrible. Did you try it? Not sure I would have even tried it.

So, Clam Shells are usually available through the Excursion portion of the app, if you don't see it possibly sold out already especially if there is 2 ships in. We were there Early January and was plenty of free chairs but sections with umbrellas did come with a charge and honestly i have no idea how much. As far as the good bad and ugly here we go Good Drink packages work at GSC, not like Carnival private islands where your drink packages don't work Plenty of chairs water is very clear, and where we were on the beach did not have to deal with any rocky areas getting into the water Bad (not that bad lol) Bars get very very busy about an hour or two, but if you drink beer, there are beer carts throughout the island. Buffet will get insanely busy especially if there is two ships in like we had. We waited till about 1:30pm to eat and the line had pretty much went down to almost nobody. I recommend eating a good breakfast before you get off and eat the buffet or food trucks later in the day to eliminate waiting in line If you have gone to Cocoa Cay, GSC may be a let down. It is smaller and with a lot less to do. but if you simply want a relaxing beach day it will be enjoyable We snorkeled on our own with our own gear and honestly did not see much UGLY Well honestly the only ugly thing that can be is the Tender process. So, We stayed in the Haven so we were on the first tender and did not need to get a tender ticket. But I heard people saying that they didnt even get to GSC until around 1pm, and we started tendering around 10am. When returning if you stay till the last tender time you will be in a massive line to get back onboard. The good news is NCL is getting ready to start the construction for a Dock that can hold 2 ships which will be great!

$40 to $45 a night is about the average now anywhere in Miami. Also make sure that wherever you are staying there is either ample parking at the hotel or a garage or lot close by

Priority is not walking off with your luggage...This is called Self Assist Debark. Which we absolutly always do and we stay in the Haven, its awesome, crew elevator to the gangway and cut right to the front of the line. We are odd and in our car within 15 minutes

Agreed, We do not cruise Carnival and we live in the Charlotte area. So being able to go to Bermuda and only have about a 5.5 hour drive to the port would be great

We were on the Joy Last April, our 16 year old daughter and her 17 year old friend was traveling with us. We went ashore in Harvest Cay before them and when they tried to get off the ship they were not allowed to get off without my wife or myself. Not sure about leaving them on board in port but i dont think that would be a problem .

Have not won a bid for Haven since the first few months of restart. Have paid outright for my past 4 havens

So we sailed on the Escape earlier this month in the Haven. I can tell you that the Haven was completely sold out before the 120 day mark. We have sailed the Haven 4 times in the past 2 years and every one has sold out. Never heard anyone getting the upgrade awarded. Now as for balconies, have seen alot of people going from wither inside or ocean view to balconies about 30 days out. The Haven bids I have won always were awarded about 3 to 5 days out from sailing.

Our waiter Christian on the Escape early January insisted in bring lobster tails to every meal lol. Yes sir, dont mind if i do lol

look at the Port Schedule, what date are you sailing..

I do like Princess as well. the downside for me is there drink package. It sets a limit of 15 per day. Now I know that is a lot for some people, but on a sea day where i start will bloody marys in the monring and up until 11 or 12 at night we have run out before.

Very true, So the Cheapest balcony was about $5200 for MSC for my sailing.

I just Priced the Celebrity beyond for september for the cheapest Retreat Suite, over $10k for 7 day cruise

We have sailed the Haven 4 times in the past few years, we love the service and especially the exclusivity. With that being said the prices over the past 2 years have gotten out of control that in September we are giving the MSC Seascape YC a try. Certain things we have seen that look better are as followed: 1. An actual proper pool and pool deck. Love the Retractable roof in the Haven but the pool is much to small to enjoy 2. Free Mini Bar. 3. Thermal Spa included 4. Unlimited basic internet. I check work emails every day and is also nice to simply browse the internet sometimes not worrying about the free minutes. The last is the Price! We booked the YC interior for our first Seascape cruise and it was all in $3200. Cheapest Haven same time of year was over $7,000. So IMHO if we remotely like the YC, we will most likely skip the Haven unless we can get a really good deal.

$75 per night per person?

Thanks for the info, we have won 2 upgrades on NCL Haven before and was only 600pp to go from balcony to Forward facing Haven Suite. Might be a different company with MSC. Either way I will look but perfectly happy woth my YC interior.

So Have Sailed NCL a lot lately and giving MSC YC a Try in September on the Seascape. Is the upgrade advantage program similar to NCL? Also, we have a YC interior and was wondering anyone that has had success lately? I know on NCL see a lot of success from say interior to balcony, but Haven Upgrade bids are very very scarce. We will try to go from YC interior to YC balcony, but honestly if we do not win not a big deal. Thanks for the help everyone.

They are usually availble under excursions. We went 3 weeks ago an it was not there and when I called it was becasue they were sold out. We were at GSC with the Pearl so 2 ships in and they sold out before cruise.

So we just stayed in the 2 bedroom Haven on the Escape this month. We were 4 adults and yes the 2nd bedroom is small but the bed was plenty big for 2 normal size adults ( I am 5'9 175, wife is 5'7 135) The bathroom is small but great to each have our own bedroom plus all the living space in the living room. We did the Aft facing last April and loved the huge balcony but we traveled with 2 teanagers who slept on the sofa couch in the living room, so pretty much no living room most of the time.

The Honest answer is they don't have to. Your Cruise Contract clearly states ports and port times can be altered for any reason. Now with that being said, it would be nice to know why. We had our time cut by an hour in GSC this month and our time in St Thomas added 30 minutes. No real reason was given. Only times we were given reasons for port or time changes has been due to weather.

I agree, We even got rid of the balcony and simply got YC inside. Again, it was cheaper then a normal balcony on NCL>

So $5700 is a good price when comparing it to say NCL Haven which typically is around $7k. We are trying MSC and the YC because we got the inside YC suite for $3200 all in. Now I think that is a great price for a ship within a ship concept.

So, We have sailed RCCL, Carnival, Princess, and NCL. The last 4 have been in the Haven with NCL. We are now going to Cheat on NCL with MSC YC only because the YC prices are that much better. We are booked on the Seascape in September in the YC, the cheapest NCL Haven cruise out of Florida that time frame was almost $7400 for two. We go the YC interior for $3200. No brainer for us. As long as we like the YC half as much as the Haven we will be switching to MSC more often.