Has FDR done anything to benefit cruisers?

[rvsullivan]

I've been looking at the MSC Yacht club, they look amazing. Far less expensive than the Haven and people are reporting that the service is out of this world. They're not stuffy, they were even offering to match NCL latitude status with theirs.

 

I wonder if you could point me to some information. I just spent about 30 minutes on the phone with MSC and the cost of a suite as close to an Deluxe Owners Suite that we usually book on NCL is several thousand dollars more on MSC for a similar sailing. The perks match is a bit strange, they value theirs by money spent it seems, and they are saying they will match my Platinum status on my first cruise. However, they can't say what the status might be, I have to book and board the ship, when I board they will let me know where they place me!! Have you gathered some info that is more specific than this. The Yacht Club looks great, but I'm not sure if it's several thousand dollars great??? :eek:

[NLH Arizona]

I wonder if you could point me to some information. I just spent about 30 minutes on the phone with MSC and the cost of a suite as close to an Deluxe Owners Suite that we usually book on NCL is several thousand dollars more on MSC for a similar sailing. The perks match is a bit strange, they value theirs by money spent it seems, and they are saying they will match my Platinum status on my first cruise. However, they can't say what the status might be, I have to book and board the ship, when I board they will let me know where they place me!! Have you gathered some info that is more specific than this. The Yacht Club looks great, but I'm not sure if it's several thousand dollars great??? :eek:

 

I just did the same, but comparing a MSC balcony to my Celebrity Concierge balcony and MSC was $500 more then Celebrity and MSC has a two for one promotion where Celebrity only has free beverage package promotion.

 

I did see something interesting. I picked the Fantastica Experience and noticed that included within the perks two that I have a question about.

1. Free breakfast in bed

2. Free room service

 

So does this mean if you don't pick the higher experience, you pay for room service. The difference the Fantastica Experience and Bella Experience is $200.

 

Bella Experience includes: Request early or late seating, preference of stateroom - in other words nothing.

 

Fantastica Experience includes: Priority choice of early or late dining, enchanted children's activities, free breakfast in bed, free room service.

 

Sure doesn't seem like much of a deal. I didn't price my NCL cruises, because of the CAS discount I get.

[SuiteCruiser]

I wonder if you could point me to some information. I just spent about 30 minutes on the phone with MSC and the cost of a suite as close to an Deluxe Owners Suite that we usually book on NCL is several thousand dollars more on MSC for a similar sailing. The perks match is a bit strange, they value theirs by money spent it seems, and they are saying they will match my Platinum status on my first cruise. However, they can't say what the status might be, I have to book and board the ship, when I board they will let me know where they place me!! Have you gathered some info that is more specific than this. The Yacht Club looks great, but I'm not sure if it's several thousand dollars great??? :eek:

 

I'm hoping Eroller will chime in here as he's gone through the process already. He's platinum NCL and was given Black as his status. He's also highly rated with another line, so not sure if that played into it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2289462&highlight=msc+level+match

[SuiteCruiser]

I just did the same, but comparing a MSC balcony to my Celebrity Concierge balcony and MSC was $500 more then Celebrity and MSC has a two for one promotion where Celebrity only has free beverage package promotion.

 

I did see something interesting. I picked the Fantastica Experience and noticed that included within the perks two that I have a question about.

1. Free breakfast in bed

2. Free room service

 

So does this mean if you don't pick the higher experience, you pay for room service. The difference the Fantastica Experience and Bella Experience is $200.

 

Bella Experience includes: Request early or late seating, preference of stateroom - in other words nothing.

 

Fantastica Experience includes: Priority choice of early or late dining, enchanted children's activities, free breakfast in bed, free room service.

 

Sure doesn't seem like much of a deal. I didn't price my NCL cruises, because of the CAS discount I get.

 

I don't think I would be switching lines to go to a balcony, it would be for the Yacht Club suite experience, which is apparently amazing.

[SuiteCruiser]

My bookings have been throughout the year, the latest being this Autumn.

 

One difference between us is that I'm not booking in the Haven. It used to be that I looked at Haven pricing sometimes as there was occasionally not much difference between mini suite and suite pricing. That is certainly not the case now as the Haven prices seem to be a lot higher.

 

By the way, I'm not saying that my prices are lower (although my last booking was 10 nights on the Spirit for less than we have ever paid for even a 7 night cruise). Generally they are a bit higher, but the promos make them better value.

 

You make a really good point. I love the suite life, but I cruise in all kinds of cabins, but used to upgrade from whatever comp I was given. The Haven prices are much higher than in the past, even close to sailing date. They shot up between January and March of 2015 and then again more recently.

 

I don't normally price out insides and oceanviews, my eyes shoot straight to the right on the pricing pages. I only have two Haven cruises this year, and they were booked a long time ago, now I accept my comp offer and don't give NCL any more of my money until I arrive at the casino.

Edited December 20, 2015 by SuiteCruiser

[NLH Arizona]

I don't think I would be switching lines to go to a balcony, it would be for the Yacht Club suite experience, which is apparently amazing.

 

I don't think I would switch over to MSC in either a suite or balcony, as they seem more expensive and their perks don't seem that great, but to each their own. I'll stay with NCL for suites and Concierge Class for Celebrity, as I feel they both offer better value for my cruising dollar, not to mentioning outstanding experiences on both lines.

[LMaxwell]

I don't think I would switch over to MSC in either a suite or balcony, as they seem more expensive and their perks don't seem that great, but to each their own. I'll stay with NCL for suites and Concierge Class for Celebrity, as I feel they both offer better value for my cruising dollar, not to mentioning outstanding experiences on both lines.

 

MSC will status match to whatever other cruise line or hotel you have.

 

In addition for some sailings they have 2 for 1 balcony deals.

 

Can book our family of 3 to the Caribbean in balcony, 7 days on Divina for just around $1300 with all taxes and fees. This includes a 5% discount they will give and I found out they will match my loyalty to their Black status (highest). I just looked and to rebook the Escape in a balcony, with two choice offers, comes out to $3000 with taxes and fees. That would be unlimited drink packages and 4 dinners. MSC status match gives us two specialty dinners though. So for $ 1700 difference I get two extra dinners in specialty and unlimited drinks on NCL versus MSC.

 

Or I could book two MSC cruises!

 

In addition to all inclusive drink packages, which is too much for me, they offer discount 12 and 18 voucher programs that bring drink prices down to about $4-5 for cocktails. Very reasonable.

 

Even if you don't plan to sail them I am glad I found out at the status match program and have applied on their website.

Edited December 20, 2015 by LMaxwell

[NLH Arizona]

MSC will status match to whatever other cruise line or hotel you have.

 

In addition for some sailings they have 2 for 1 balcony deals.

 

Can book our family of 3 to the Caribbean in balcony, 7 days on Divina for just around $1300 with all taxes and fees. This includes a 5% discount they will give and I found out they will match my loyalty to their Black status (highest). I just looked and to rebook the Escape in a balcony, with two choice offers, comes out to $3000 with taxes and fees. That would be unlimited drink packages and 4 dinners. MSC status match gives us two specialty dinners though. So for $ 1700 difference I get two extra dinners in specialty and unlimited drinks on NCL versus MSC.

 

Or I could book two MSC cruises!

 

In addition to all inclusive drink packages, which is too much for me, they offer discount 12 and 18 voucher programs that bring drink prices down to about $4-5 for cocktails. Very reasonable.

 

Even if you don't plan to sail them I am glad I found out at the status match program and have applied on their website.

What I looked at was a 2 for 1 deal on MSC versus Concierge balcony with free beverage package promotion only on Celebrity and MSC was $500 more. I'd stick with Celebrity over MSC....more perks and less expensive.

[Barb Nahoumi]

It all depends upon what you're looking for.

[LMaxwell]

What I looked at was a 2 for 1 deal on MSC versus Concierge balcony with free beverage package promotion only on Celebrity and MSC was $500 more. I'd stick with Celebrity over MSC....more perks and less expensive.

 

In regards to Bella and Fantastica; the Fantastica opens up a larger selection of rooms in better spots. So like any other cruise line, within a certain room type as you get a better spot, you pay more. MSC just bundles it with other "minor" perks such as room service being free versus having a nominal charge. If you look at it as paying for your location it makes much more sense.

 

But Bella and Fantastica has no bearing on the status match. those are simply "levels" one pays for in their cruise fare.

 

Platinum on NCL would equate to Black Card on MSC. Here is a link I found in another thread. You can see more info on the benefits as well as submit your NCL information for status match. I've submitted mine already.

 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/MSC-Voyagers-Club/Voyagers-Club.aspx

 

Edit: also make sure when doing mock bookings for pricing purposes that you select the proper promo. Whatever promos apply to the cruise you are looking at you will see a set of tabs for each promo and need to click that to see the promo pricing.

 

Their website isn't the easiest to use

Edited December 20, 2015 by LMaxwell

[SuiteCruiser]

What I looked at was a 2 for 1 deal on MSC versus Concierge balcony with free beverage package promotion only on Celebrity and MSC was $500 more. I'd stick with Celebrity over MSC....more perks and less expensive.

 

I was looking at the Feb 6th weekend, and lowest suite on Getaway for 7 Days is $6800, and suite in Yacht Club is $5500 for the same route and it's an 8 Day cruise. Yacht Club also has free drinks within the complex.

 

I haven't seen any suites on NCL that are less than MSC, I've been looking at it a fair bit because when I sail with my family, we go in a suite, and NCL's prices are too high for what you're getting now, IMO. I'll stay on NCL with my comps, but looking elsewhere for family trips now, for sure.

[NLH Arizona]

I was looking at the Feb 6th weekend, and lowest suite on Getaway for 7 Days is $6800, and suite in Yacht Club is $5500 for the same route and it's an 8 Day cruise. Yacht Club also has free drinks within the complex.

 

I haven't seen any suites on NCL that are less than MSC, I've been looking at it a fair bit because when I sail with my family, we go in a suite, and NCL's prices are too high for what you're getting now, IMO. I'll stay on NCL with my comps, but looking elsewhere for family trips now, for sure.

 

I always cruise in a suite on NCL. Is the $6,800 with your CAS discount. That is why I didn't compare NCL to MSC, because I don't think MSC can beat NCL's CAS price, with regard to what I've been paying.

Edited December 20, 2015 by NLH Arizona

[NLH Arizona]

 

Their website isn't the easiest to use

 

That's the truth!!

[hpecorari]

I always cruise in a suite on NCL. Is the $6,800 with your CAS discount. That is why I didn't compare NCL to MSC, because I don't think MSC can beat NCL's CAS price, with regard to what I've been paying.

 

I agree. I've looked into MSC as well and although they'll match my Platinum level they won't match my VIP CAS level.....nor comp me anything as far as I can tell.

 

Harriet

Edited December 20, 2015 by hpecorari

[SuiteCruiser]

I agree. I've looked into MSC as well and although they'll match my Platinum level they won't match my VIP CAS level.....nor comp me anything as far as I can tell.

 

Harriet

 

That's why I will keep sailing NCL for the comps, their upgrades for me to a suite don't parlay into too much savings, even though I'm almost Golden, so if I'm paying close to full price, it's cheaper to go elsewhere. I haven't done it yet, because I don't have any upcoming cruises with the whole family, but I'm keeping an eye out.

[SuiteCruiser]

I always cruise in a suite on NCL. Is the $6,800 with your CAS discount. That is why I didn't compare NCL to MSC, because I don't think MSC can beat NCL's CAS price, with regard to what I've been paying.

 

If it were the Dawn or the Star with the 12th floor suites, I could get a better deal on NCL than on MSC. But the upgrade prices, as you know, are not the same as looking at a balcony and paying the difference to go to a suite, so often it's not a great savings, not the way it used to be.

 

We did lots of cruises in the Haven with a 20% discount before that was changed, and that was great. Last year I paid outright for two cruises when they had the better exchange rate as well, made more sense than going CAS and upgrading to Haven and paying in USD.

Edited December 20, 2015 by SuiteCruiser

[KeithJenner]

I've been meaning for a while to actually look at how costs for my NCL cruises have changed over the past few years, and I've finally managed to sit down and look at it.

 

I've taken the cruise cost plus DSC, and then taken off any OBC that I have received and made account for the UBP if offered. With the UBP, I have taken the cost per day that we usually spend without it, which is less than the actual UBP cost.

 

I took our Spring 2013 Epic Med cruise as the base price (it was the first cruise we booked without airfare after we started cruising again), and then have worked out how much the others cost per person per day as a comparison.

 

I haven't included the transatlantics which I did solo so are more expensive, and the 1 or three night cruises on new ships. Also, I've left out when we were in an Owners Suite on the Pearl (over three times as expensive). All of these others are in Balconies or Mini Suites.

 

This is what I got:

 

Spirit 9 Day Canary Isles (Easter 2014) - 19% cheaper

Epic 7 Day Med (May 2014) - 3% cheaper

Jade 14 Day Med B2B (Aug 2014) - 17% more expensive

Getaway 7 Day Caribbean (Easter 2015) - 6% cheaper

Spirit 12 Day Med (Aug 2015) - 24% cheaper

Epic 7 Day Med (May 2016) - 4% cheaper

Star 9 Day Baltics (Aug 2016) - 19% more expensive

Spirit 11 Day Med (Easter 2017) - 57% cheaper

 

The last four of those were all booked in 2015, with the August 2015 one being cancelled and rebooked this Spring to save us over £1,000 when you take into account the perks.

 

The Spirit 2017 one is a crazy deal, and was booked a few months ago. When I last checked, the price hadn't changed much.

 

The only cruise booked this year that is expensive is the Star, but that does appear to be a fairly expensive cruise usually. I remember looking at the previous years, and the prices were similar to what we booked at. As with our Jade cruise last year, I would expect it to be more expensive than the Epic.

 

This isn't to prove anything particularly, but it does show that for those who value the UBP, there is very little in the prices we are currently paying, and if anything they can be a bit cheaper.

 

One thing that will make a difference for me is that as we are in the UK, we don't pay the gratuity on the promo UBP. This would obviously have made a difference.

[fshagan]

I actually reported in on the Escape Transatlantic, and said it was great. Not quite replacing all of the bad changes and the fees, but I do give credit where credit is due.

 

They also added usb chargers in the bedside lamps on Escape which is also great.

 

The usb chargers are probably the greatest change yet! I think we could argue that FDR may have had almost nothing to do with those, as it was part of a design that was set before he took over. I'm sure that's worth five or six pages of debate. It would be wonderful if they could retrofit the Jewel class ships with those as well, but I suspect that's very expensive to replace perfectly good light fixtures. I would love to not have an extension cord across the floor at nights.

 

The soap and lotion could be a FDR decision, though. It kind of harkens back to the old days, before NCL started nickle and diming by removing it and so many other things we miss before that new CEO, Kevin Sheehan took over! (I'm only half joking with that; I don't know if Sheehan was actually responsible for removing lotion, but I do recall many threads about the "loss" of things like the champagne at sail away, etc.)

[paiagirl]

The usb chargers are probably the greatest change yet! I think we could argue that FDR may have had almost nothing to do with those, as it was part of a design that was set before he took over. I'm sure that's worth five or six pages of debate. It would be wonderful if they could retrofit the Jewel class ships with those as well, but I suspect that's very expensive to replace perfectly good light fixtures. I would love to not have an extension cord across the floor at nights.

 

The soap and lotion could be a FDR decision, though. It kind of harkens back to the old days, before NCL started nickle and diming by removing it and so many other things we miss before that new CEO, Kevin Sheehan took over! (I'm only half joking with that; I don't know if Sheehan was actually responsible for removing lotion, but I do recall many threads about the "loss" of things like the champagne at sail away, etc.)

 

You remember those days when we got the lotion. The lotion now is not thin like the old days...thicker but don't know if it is the same size...1.0 fl. oz. tube.

[sparks1093]

The usb chargers are probably the greatest change yet! I think we could argue that FDR may have had almost nothing to do with those, as it was part of a design that was set before he took over. I'm sure that's worth five or six pages of debate. It would be wonderful if they could retrofit the Jewel class ships with those as well, but I suspect that's very expensive to replace perfectly good light fixtures. I would love to not have an extension cord across the floor at nights.

 

The soap and lotion could be a FDR decision, though. It kind of harkens back to the old days, before NCL started nickle and diming by removing it and so many other things we miss before that new CEO, Kevin Sheehan took over! (I'm only half joking with that; I don't know if Sheehan was actually responsible for removing lotion, but I do recall many threads about the "loss" of things like the champagne at sail away, etc.)

 

The USB charger ports are probably going to be standard issue before much longer, we had them at our seats on our flights to and from Europe in September (and this very well may be something that is planned for the multiple million dollar upgrade each ship is getting). It is a nice touch regardless of whose idea it was. The soap presents a logistical problem for the crew because something has to be done with all of those little soaps once they've been used but many people do like them (I like the liquid soap personally but soap isn't a deal maker or breaker by any stretch:)).

[abe3]

It's funny how people bring up things and others say "well I don't know if FDR had anything to do with it since it was probably in the works". To me if he/she is CEO or whatever his/her title is from day 1 everything is on them the good and the bad.

 

That said I think FDR is doing a good job and it's not an easy job for sure. Some things I might not agree with like Margaritaville charges, but other things like room service, using promotions very effectively, SDP is a great idea, and DSC being given credit after the cruise if you fill out the form.

[sparks1093]

It's funny how people bring up things and others say "well I don't know if FDR had anything to do with it since it was probably in the works". To me if he/she is CEO or whatever his/her title is from day 1 everything is on them the good and the bad.

 

That said I think FDR is doing a good job and it's not an easy job for sure. Some things I might not agree with like Margaritaville charges, but other things like room service, using promotions very effectively, SDP is a great idea, and DSC being given credit after the cruise if you fill out the form.

 

It's not funny at all, because it doesn't work that way.

[abe3]

It's not funny at all, because it doesn't work that way.

 

 

To me it does.

[luvtheships]

It's funny how people bring up things and others say "well I don't know if FDR had anything to do with it since it was probably in the works". To me if he/she is CEO or whatever his/her title is from day 1 everything is on them the good and the bad.

 

That said I think FDR is doing a good job and it's not an easy job for sure. Some things I might not agree with like Margaritaville charges, but other things like room service, using promotions very effectively, SDP is a great idea, and DSC being given credit after the cruise if you fill out the form.

 

 

 

 

So to follow your logic anything that happens be it good or bad is to be attributed to the person in charge at the present time?

 

That's fine with me. However that logic must be applied evenly to cruise lines...hotel chains....corporations....countries....world leaders.

[abe3]

So to follow your logic anything that happens be it good or bad is to be attributed to the person in charge at the present time?

 

That's fine with me. However that logic must be applied evenly to cruise lines...hotel chains....corporations....countries....world leaders.

 

 

Yes. They all have power and tremendous influence to change things.