Our First MSC Experience (Pros and Cons of Yacht Club vs. NCL’s Haven)

[Imasima752]

thank you very much for your extensive comparison. although I will not be able to afford a haven suite, it was nice to see what it could be like!

 

 

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You're very welcome Plucasana. You never know what the future holds :). Quite honestly, as much as we enjoy the Haven, I'm really just happy to be able to cruise at all.

[Imasima752]

Thank you for the comparison.

 

 

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You're welcome.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Imasima752]

Thanks for the effort of putting up this review 😀 I will be having my first suit experience this September on MSC. I'm very excited about it after reading your post 😀

 

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I hope you'll have a wonderful cruise :)!

[Imasima752]

Interesting read. Thanks.

 

 

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Thank you Wellard.

[Imasima752]

A very measured, pragmatic review. Thank you. Having a great time on a cruise, not unlike real life, means not sweating the small stuff. Makes life so much easier!

 

Your experience seems to mirror ours though our point of reference is somewhat different (traveling with a 5 year old). We used to prefer NCL suites and the Haven but having tried Divina once, we like both brands equally, for different reasons (some of which you have outlined).

 

We are doing a 14 night on the Preziosa in July (to the arctic), again in the YC. We'll see if they continue to work for us.

 

Thanks again for your review.

 

You're welcome OzCanuck, and thank you! I would love to do an arctic cruise one day, though if DH has his way next up is probably going to be Iceland or another river cruise. I hope you'll have a wonderful time and can stay warm :).

[Imasima752]

Yes, today I got the other photos and saw the Haven Lounge. The only one I saw was the whole lounge and the buffet type picture. Sorry if I jumped the gun. Still looking forward to our Oct. Divina cruise. I was shocked that the "Sophia Loren" suite had such a normal suite bathroom. I guess I was expecting more opulence. We were in. Haven Spa suite on the Escape and our bathroom didn't have a tub, it had this double-sized walk-in shower. Our tub (whirlpool) was in the room. We loved the suite, did not like the Escape. Could've been it was because we were on a sailing right after a norovirus outbreak and everything was less "special". We didn't have menus, we had paper. All mirrors were streaked with disinfectant. No salt and pepper shakers, you had to ask for the little packets. Don't get me wrong, we appreciated all of the precautions, but because of all of them, service was lacking and more disgruntled employees.

 

 

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No worries at all Rojoand8 :). You should definitely look forward to your Divina cruise and I hope it will be a great one! I'm so sorry to hear about your Escape cruise. I haven't been to the NCL board in a while and didn't know about the outbreak. I hope you'll give the Escape another chance one day. Oh and if you eat up by the YC pool on the Divina, just know that you'll have the little packets of salt and pepper and unless you put your used packets under your plate, they will blow away with the wind :).

[Imasima752]

Thanks for such a comprehensive review.

 

You're welcome Lupy48!

[Imasima752]

Thanks for the comparison... you have reminded me to do the same re: our last cruise in the YC on the Divina.

 

I have sailed in the NCL Haven on every ship that has one.. and found the YC to be quite a bit better in almost every respect.

 

Of course, your 'cons' are personal and subjective... and, that you are allowed. ;)

 

Most of the issues could have been resolved easily onboard...

e.g....we got our favorite canapes and much more every day in the cabin, simply by giving the butler a list of what we wanted on the first day.

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise, but our 'Con" list is quite a bit shorter... :cool:

 

You're welcome and thank you for allowing me my Cons :). We liked our butler who really wanted to do anything to please us, but we decided to forget notes after our notes about the grapes :).

[Imasima752]

I appreciate your comparison! We have sailed in the Haven on the Breakaway and will be sailing on the Divina in 16008 next month. I am sad about the bathroom, too, but I will live.

 

Were you able to enjoy the balcony at all? I'm a bit concerned it not being very functional.

 

 

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I hope you'll have a great cruise! I think if I had seen photos of the bathroom beforehand I wouldn't have been as disappointed. It was very clean which I forgot to mention as a plus :). We both used the balcony, but there were times when it was just too windy. We didn't use the loungers which were toward the front,

 

 

 

opting to just use the chairs and stool at the side by the door. We tried to keep them towards the corner to avoid the wind. I'd share a photo but I don't have any without DH!

[Imasima752]

Thanks for the review.

 

You're very welcome Riclop!

[Imasima752]

Thank you for your extensive review. I enjoyed it. Having found strangers in your suite for a tour is not just "not cool" I would have flipped out!

 

 

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You're welcome and believe me, I wasn't happy and neither was our steward. Fortunately, they did not get beyond the living room area when our steward heard them.

[AEckhardt]

Thanks for posting pics of the balcony!

 

Another question I had was regarding dining. You mentioned in your list of cons that you miss Freestyle dining and don't like having a set dinner time. It was my understanding that in the YC you could go to dinner as you pleased, not needing a set time. We also prefer eating when we like and adjusting it to our schedule.

 

 

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[tonytone68]

Thanks for your review. Like you, we've sailed the Haven on the Epic and the Getaway. We're sailing the Pearl in November out of New Orleans in the Haven. However, we're seeing the NCL's prices for the Haven are approaching those of Luxury cruise lines. We booked a reservation on the Breakaway in the Haven Courtyard Penthouse for 2018 and we cancelled it and booked the Royal Suite on the MSC Seaside instead.

 

We're hoping MSC designed the Seaside with it's American consumers in mind. I can see how the design and service might have been different that what you've seen in the Haven. Having been to Europe many times, I have found that Europeans tend to live and travel in tighter spaces that what we're used to here in the US and the service is also very different. I guess that's partly why I've never really looked at MSC before. Given the price difference between the Haven and the Yacht Club, we're willing to try the Yacht Club on the Seaside next year.

 

Thanks for your comparison and also for your tips. We will definitely look at pre-purchasing as much as we can before our MSC cruise.

[Danbee46]

Thanks for posting pics of the balcony!

 

Another question I had was regarding dining. You mentioned in your list of cons that you miss Freestyle dining and don't like having a set dinner time. It was my understanding that in the YC you could go to dinner as you pleased, not needing a set time. We also prefer eating when we like and adjusting it to our schedule.

 

 

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You are correct. We have sailed in the Divina YC three times and always were able to show up whenever we pleased. They did ask that we tell them in advance when we would arrive, but that was not a requirement. On two of our cruises there we asked for the same waiter and assistant waiter and they complied. Every night one of them watched for us and immediately took us to one of their tables.

[RN Cruiser1]

Thank you for your extensive review. I enjoyed it. Having found strangers in your suite for a tour is not just "not cool" I would have flipped out!

 

 

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Thank you for your review and pictures and I am in agreement, I would have been :mad: !

[ginger123snaps]

Thanks for your review. Like you, we've sailed the Haven on the Epic and the Getaway. We're sailing the Pearl in November out of New Orleans in the Haven. However, we're seeing the NCL's prices for the Haven are approaching those of Luxury cruise lines. We booked a reservation on the Breakaway in the Haven Courtyard Penthouse for 2018 and we cancelled it and booked the Royal Suite on the MSC Seaside instead.

 

We're hoping MSC designed the Seaside with it's American consumers in mind. I can see how the design and service might have been different that what you've seen in the Haven. Having been to Europe many times, I have found that Europeans tend to live and travel in tighter spaces that what we're used to here in the US and the service is also very different. I guess that's partly why I've never really looked at MSC before. Given the price difference between the Haven and the Yacht Club, we're willing to try the Yacht Club on the Seaside next year.

 

Thanks for your comparison and also for your tips. We will definitely look at pre-purchasing as much as we can before our MSC cruise.

 

We feel the same way. Love the Haven 2 bedroom suites but their pricing has really increased over the past year. We are also trying MSC yacht club for the first time next feb 2018. Looking forward to it.

[seadude]

Thanks for the review, we are going to sail on YC in less than 3 weeks and this review makes me a little bit more anxious. Its the first time that we are going to be on a suite so this makes even more special the cruise. I originally had a booking on Royal Caribbean for a regular balcony but found the YC suite on the Divina for the same price than a regular balcony and that was the perfect excuse that I was looking to jump the boat. Got the Black Card as they matched my status on Royal Caribbean and all in all we are just counting the days....

[Ember50]

Hi there, I am sailing in RYC3 on the Splendida in August with my family.

 

We are also used to either the NCL Haven Family Villa suite or Celebrity Penthouse Suite (but found both ridicously expensive this year). So looking forward with interest to the MSC RYC experience.

 

Was you balcony just windy whilst at sea? In port I assume it was calmer and more usuable?

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you'll have a great cruise! I think if I had seen photos of the bathroom beforehand I wouldn't have been as disappointed. It was very clean which I forgot to mention as a plus :). We both used the balcony, but there were times when it was just too windy. We didn't use the loungers which were toward the front,

 

 

 

opting to just use the chairs and stool at the side by the door. We tried to keep them towards the corner to avoid the wind. I'd share a photo but I don't have any without DH!

[AEckhardt]

Hi there, I am sailing in RYC3 on the Splendida in August with my family.

 

We are also used to either the NCL Haven Family Villa suite or Celebrity Penthouse Suite (but found both ridicously expensive this year). So looking forward with interest to the MSC RYC experience.

 

Was you balcony just windy whilst at sea? In port I assume it was calmer and more usuable?

 

 

 

In port, it was fine! (Obviously, it depends on the weather) It's very narrow with the railing, but you can slide the ends on the loungers under the railing to give you more room. We took naps out there one day [emoji4]

 

 

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[CRAustin]

Thanks for the review booking Divina YC after 16 cruise w NCL including Haven. I'm platinum w NCL what level will they match me to? Thanks for the comparisons was just in the Haven on Escape.

 

 

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[mexico8]

Thanks for the review booking Divina YC after 16 cruise w NCL including Haven. I'm platinum w NCL what level will they match me to? Thanks for the comparisons was just in the Haven on Escape.

 

 

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Good news!! You will be status Black on MSC if you are Platinum on NCL. We just did the match and that's what we got