dcrambler

On 2/26/2024 at 7:04 PM, no fuss travel said:

It's not only Oceania that has problems fixing things.  We were on HAL, and they could not stop the leak that kept the carpet sopping wet the entire cruise.  They told each day it was fixed but when my husband got up in the morning, wet feet again.  All cruise lines are having problems and unfortunately  if we want to travel we have to accept the bumps and roll with them.  We still laugh about the wet carpet and as the ship was almost full, they were willing to give us an inside cabin instead of the suite that we had paid for.  We put up with the wet carpet.

Did HAL offer you some consideration without your asking?  They should have.

On 3/2/2024 at 10:14 AM, ORV said:

Concerning the port fees. For those of you that don't know. This was settled in a Florida court 10-15 years ago. Oceania doesn't list them as a separate line item on the invoice so therefore doesn't have to refund them when ports are missed. But good luck to anyone that wants to take them to court again.

Business decision to not separate the charges to increase revenue.  The way around having to refund when a port is missed.  As long as one knows up front this is the case all is good.  Seems most if not all mid to luxury lines follow this practice.  All about expectations.

On 3/3/2024 at 11:37 AM, laudergayle said:

Just now driving home from a short 3-day cruise out of Port Canaveral on MSC Seashore.  We’ve been very loyal to NCL since we started cruising again in 2021.  We are Platinum on NCL and we really enjoy the 2 Specialty dinners.  Our last NCL cruise was n November on Bliss.
 

This was our second quickie MSC cruise.   Sold out cruise.  We are now huge fans of MSC.  The service is exceptional.  Fully staffed everywhere.  Two x daily room service. $16 pp pd DSC. No charge for morning continental room service if booking Fantastica experience or above.  Coffee is excellent everywhere on the ship.  Water included in drink package.  Buffet food selection and quality surpasses NCL. Quality of beef (burgers, entrees, NY strip on MDR) all cooked to temp and tender.  Pasta and pizza delicious.  Entertainment on par with NcL…no big productions.  Entertainment around ship in lounge venues on MSC has much better choices in larger venues than NCL. Internet included for 2 people, one device each unlimited on MSC, 

price/value equation on MSC much better.  
 

We have 2 future cruises on NCL and will continue to book NCL with a good value/itinerary.

 

Bottom line:  MSC is solid. NCL is good, but no longer good enough to keep us from searching for and booking other cruise lines.

 

if the Joy timing and pricing works for you…my thought is you will be fine doing the cruise to Bermuda.  If will just make you appreciate the extra nice touches  of MSC.

We too are NCL onlys.  About to become platinum so expect it will be even harder to move away with the free laundry, embark preference and 2 additional dinners.  However we do have a MSC Yacht Club cruise in N. Europe next year.  Want to try it out as have heard good things about YC experience and price point looked good.

Yes.  Loved it.  Better for warmer weather ports though as so much is outside.

If YC, the only true benefit worth discussing is the 5% to 10% discount but that applies to any member.  Would not sweat at all in moving up the MSC status chain if booking YC.  Just become a member and work to get the 5/10% pricing discounts.

Dress matters as does etiquette and both of these are slowly being eroded - especially in the US.  It's all about comfort and ease - bordering on laziness.  Personally, I don't want to dress up for a nice dinner with my DW and see a grown man's feet and pot belly bursting out from a t-shirt.  Have some respect for yourself and others.

23 hours ago, LloydJr said:

I've gotten great service all over the NCL ships, regardless of card color.

Agreed - service has been excellent sans having to wait a bit for a table to open on a few occasions when we were dining in the Manhattan Room without a reservation.