pirate4me2

Thanks for the quick replies!

Hello everyone! After sailing on 25 Carnival cruises, my next sailing will be aboard an MSC ship. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by knowing NOTHING about this line since I know my "usual" line like the back of my hand! I am sure as my sailing gets closer I will have a few more questions pop up, but for now can you all help put my mind at ease with the ones weighing heavily on it? 1. We are staying in the YC, and have a drink package. On Carnival they make you sign a receipt for every single drink....does MSC do this as well? 2. I see the YC has it's own special restaurant....do we HAVE to eat there, or can we go to the regular dining room if we don't like the YC menu one night? 3. Do they have regular bottled water in the YC area that would be included with our drink package, or do we need to bring our Yetis to refill from a bar/buffet? 4. Does MSC allow you to sit at the edge of the pool with your legs dangling in if you have a drink in your hand, or are they a strict "no drinks at the pool" type of line? Thank you for any info you can provide!

Hello fellow cruisers! After 25 Carnival cruises, I have taken the plunge and booked cruises with 2 different cruiselines in the next 2 years. One line that has intrigued me has been NCL, and while feeling brave the other day I finally took the leap of faith and booked a sailing for 2025 on the Getaway. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed though, as I know Carnival like the back of my hand, and now I know NOTHING about Norwegian....can you all answer my list of questions that are weighing on my mind? 1. We are in a Haven stateroom, and I see that we have a restaurant just for that area. Does that menu rotate daily, or is it a set menu for all 7 days? If it stays the same and we get bored with it, or if it rotates and we do not like the options one night, can we go to the regular MDR, or are we only allowed to eat in the Haven restaurant? Also, will they expect us to eat at a same time each evening, or can we come and go as we please? And is it formal/dressier than the regular MDR, or casual? 2. We have the highest-level drink package (we like our drinks!)....is there a limit on the number per day like on CCL? And will we be handed a receipt we have to sign for every single drink like on Carnival? 3. One of our ports of call is Roatan, and I know NCL docks at a different area than CCL. Is there a nice free beach area at their dock like Carnival has? 4. The Free at Sea package we booked under includes 2 free specialty restaurants, which would you reccommend a first time NCL cruiser try?? We sail on the Getaway, so choose your favorites from there for us! 5. Does NCL allow you to sit on the edge of the pool with your legs dangling in if you have a drink, or are they a strict "no drinks at the pool" type of line? I am sure I will have so many more questions as we get closer to the sailing date, but these are the ones weighing heavy on my mind right now. Thanks for any info you can provide!

Oh man, the pics from Hola! are making me hungry....is it lunchtime yet? Lol. I may have to try that on my cruise!

I am absolutly loving this review, thank you! That goat cheese from BC looks freaking amazing.

Loving your review so far, thank you for taking the time to do it. I hope I enjoy MSC as much on my first cruise with them come August!

Absolutly! I will be doing a full live review on the MSC pages (internet permitting) and a live-ish comparison on here, again internet permitting. 🙂

Thank you for doing this comparison! I have branched out and have my first non-Carnival cruise booked for August, on MSC, and like you it will be after 25 CCL cruises. It will be interesting to see how I like it.

I have quite a few.... *Sailing out of NYC at dusk, and seeing the lights. It was beautiful. *Sailing Breeze in 2013 and meeting some people onboard that we have sailed with again, and they introduced us to another couple that we have sailed with quite a few times....we have cruising family now! *Sailing on Vista during Hurricane Irma in 2017. This is a bittersweet memory, but I think it may be one of my favorites even tho it's painful. It was my mother's first cruise, a 6 day turned into 10. We overnighted in Cozumel, and seeing Glory and Vista all lit up at night from the port was beautiful. It was a fantastic cruise, and my mom fell in love with cruise vacations. As we finally sailed back into Miami, there were cheers for the ship as it came into port from people on land waiting for the return. The only damper on the experience was getting the call at 2 a.m. as I was driving home that my soul dog had passed away suddenly, unexpectedly. Every time I see Vista now I smile and tear up from the memories. It will be a bit emotionally overwhelming when I sail her again next year. *And of course....this one may actually take first place...the Dysfunctional Family Vacation aboard Dream from NOLA in 2019. Taking my father and 2 newly single uncles on their first cruise was a blast, and we all bonded and learned so much about each other. Plus, on the way home we picked up 2 rotten Rotties for mom and dad and a fluffy little brother for Divya. What a trip!

HAHAHA I did not notice new roads. They were pretty rough, but nothing horrible. The shuttle driver did his best to dodge the holes and to slow down for the "speed bumps." I will also be returning in September!

I will be following along! I pulled the trigger last week and booked my first sailing aboard MSC, I’m excited to try something new in August. Thank you for doing this review.

I always asked for mine with vodka, and that’s what I have been using.

I'm so glad you got to enjoy the creamy coconut martini!! We cruised on Celebration end of Fed/beginning of March, and I tried ordering one there....and it just wasn't the same. I was so sad! I am trying to master it here at home, but so far no luck.

Oh my gosh, its a good thing I didnt see any bugs, or we would have been outta there!!

Hello everyone! I thought I had read a while back that the pool at Paradise Beach Club was closed to be worked on; has anyone that has been recently able to tell me if it has reopened? Debating on booking there or Mr Sanchos for our cruise in August (a ways off, I know) and if the seagrass is bad we would like to have the option of a pool to cool off in. Thanks in advance!

Love the Spirit class ships, and can’t wait to sail on Spirit in November. The layout is easy, and they are just the right size. Maybe they don’t have all the bells and whistles of the Excel class, but I still love cruising on them!

Now I’m a tad concerned…we booked directly with them thru their website. Eeek. Would they really downgrade us???

Chris is an amazing CD, had him twice, most recently on the Celebration. He does a great job getting the energy going!

Oh I do have Prime, I will search for that! Thank you!

Hello! I just booked a mother/daughter cruise for August 20 aboard MSC Seaside, and need for you seasoned MSC cruisers to tell me all about what I have to look foward to! I have done many Carnival cruises (25, with more on the way) but wanted to break out and try something "new." We were originally going to try MSC back in 2020, but obviously that trip was canceled, so here we are! I did do the status match (thank you MSC for doing that!), and we are booked in the Yacht Club. What can you all tell me about the ship and YC? What are some not-to-miss things/meals/drinks? What drinks are actually included in our YC package? Thanks for all you can tell me, I am super excited about this trip!

Great review so far! Thanks for taking time to do it.

I read an article about it the other day, they made it sound awful. It would be interesting to see from a ship!

As others have said, it sounds more intimidating/difficult than it really is. We have done it 3 times and found it easy. Just watch the TV until it's your zone to go!

I'm glad I am not the only one who does this. 😂

After having a foward facing one last week, I would say hands down I want an aft one next time. That balcony was useless for a few days due to wind, and was so dang narrow!