UPNYGuy

This was why I liked the Breakaway when it went out of NYC. The Haven complex had a magrodome. NCL started messing around with the ships and put Getaway in, that did not have a cover. I wasnt going to pay a premium to sail in The Haven and have an unusable courtyard area for 2-3 days in wintertime.

this is the best video tour of the Venezia I have found. It is in German, but you can always mute it if you cannot follow or understand. Layout will be familiar for those of us that have been a Vista ship. The last 2 minutes give an idea what the Terrace area is like *as of right now*. It does not have a pool, and just has nice seating. No idea if Carnival will change this.

exactly. The seaside is my favorite ship afloat. The design and passenger flow is the best I have encountered.

im glad Carnival isnt doing just the standard 'milk run' 7 day cruises on her. I am diamond on MSC, and this will now give me another option out of NY as both lines will be sailing year round.

not true. I tendered off of Liberty OTS to get to Grand Cayman. They tender the freedom class ships, which are definitely considered megaships.

so they are going to use a Meraviglia class ship for 3 and 4 day sailings (assumption here)? If so, they are trying to have the newest and largest ship in the short market, and go straight after Royal.

also, keep in mind that what my worst design may be could easily be someone else's best design. We don't have children, so the 'amusement park' stuff is meaningless to us, but could easily be beneficial to other people. Furthermore, there are numerous people that do not like the Havana areas on the newer ships because they are not public, but that area in particular is a major draw for DW and I. It helps to give a small ship feel to a big ship cruise.

no, that isnt the panorama. that is a shot I borrowed from the vista from another website (credit in parenthesis to the op). But I did find the pool area horrible on the panorama and horizon. Id go so far as to say the worst pool deck in 40 some cruises out of any ship. DW and I will not sail on a vista ship unless we are in a havana cabin. Havana area is a totally different experience. THAT pic I grabbed was pre covid, but from a september sailing, not exactly a peak season cruise.

For Magnifica? Out of Miami?

the most unorganized embarkation I have had was actually Oceania. It was at pier 90 before the inside was upgraded, and it was a disorganized mess. It took 2 hours to get 700 pax onboard.

NCL operates like that out of pier 88

IMO better comparison would be fantasy class vs spirit class.

I had a different issue (substitute cruise was at a very inconvenient port for me to get to). I called MSC and was told the options presented in the email ARE the options, no substitutions. So I cancelled. They refused to price match me to another cruise unless it was the single one in the email.

I dont think Excel class can tender either.

It is a double edged sword for MSC because this is going to give those that tried them on a whim a second guess about booking on them in the future if the ship redeployments continue, but at the same time they need to move assets to where they will produce revenue.

It is a double edged sword for MSC because this is going to give those that tried them on a whim a second guess about booking on them in the future if the ship redeployments continue, but at the same time they need to move assets to where they will produce revenue.

DW and I are pretty much done with MSC until this shakes itself out. I have had multiple changes and cancellations from them (even before covid) due to them repositioning ships. One was Armonia going to Tampa, than it wasnt, now the Magnifica. And I seem to recall one on Preziosa that was cancelled because the ship was replaced with Poesia (or vice versa). We love the product and the staff, but I cannot play roulette ships and not be certain. I usually have a plan B, but I book a cruise on MSC for a reason. We *will* be back with them, but it might be a bit at this point.

When Meraviglia was designed and built, it was sized with Alaska in mind. I seem to remember reading something one of the Apontes said about how Meraviglia can fit into Alaskan ports.

MSC will only price match to the cruise they offered in the email. That was stated to me by a sup in the call center. I called in for an issue with another cancelled cruise (out of Miami) and they wanted to send me out of Port Canaveral. I booked Miami for a reason...much easier to get to the port, and I vastly prefer the Miami airport than MCO. I ended up cancelling entirely.

Have you ever sailed on her before? She is a stunning ship. However, not a ship I recommend if you like lots of outdoor promenade space (no wrap around promenade). It can feel somewhat inward facing as a result. But, if you are like DW and I and go for a balcony (balcony cabins on this ship are quite nice) at a minimum, you will likely enjoy. I cannot recall what they replaced the cirque style shows with in the carousel lounge, but I do know that something has replaced them. If you are a spa person, DW feels the Meraviglia class (and seaside class fwiw) have the best shipboard spas and thermal suites she has been in.

I thought that as well. This is the Havana pool from the same sailing, and it is much cleaner and clearer. (photo courtesy jimzim.net)

thats the other thing too, and why I havent flatly said no. I know how well that went... 1) no ships above 100,000 GRT = we go on one that is 140,000 2) no Royal Caribbean = we go on Liberty of the seas 3) no Carnival = ... soon to be platinum 🤣 hence why I have given up trying to set rules. For years, mine was a no ships above 100,000 GRT, and we stuck with Holland America (and flat out refused to sail on carnival due to the reputation). After we had several poor cruises with HAL, we ventured out and found that most cruise lines are more alike than different (especially the megaship lines). They have the same end result (carry pax from place to place on a floating hotel, and provide food and drink, and entertainment).

oasis class design to me appears too inward facing. I like to feel like I am on a ship, and be able to easily look out and see the ocean. not sure if I would venture on a split superstructure ship for this very reason, but never say never 😂

because the smaller ships almost always have fewer people on it, and some (spirit class) are exceedingly spacious.

agree 100% here. we used to have an arbitrary cap at around 100,000 GRT, which is impossible out of some ports and itineraries. Try sailing a ship out of NJ or NY under that limit...not going to happen unless you actively try to. When DW and I had the foresight to realize that Royal Caribbean was correct (ships getting much larger), we went on Norwegian Breakaway in a Haven cabin just to try it...or previous cruise on a ship that was 1/3 the size. We loved it and aren't as hard nosed about ship size as we used to be.