Meraviglia YC 12004 Duplex Suite… Initial Thoughts and Photos

[def0715]

Thanks. As a first-timer I just went with it. They were good about asking which bottle of liquor I would like. Hoping I’ll feel a bit more comfortable and know the ropes on my second YC stay. Appreciate people sharing their YC and Aurea experiences. (I’ve done Bella.)

[Morgsmom]

10 hours ago, defbref said:

 

You realise with yacht club each guest gets two devices for internet access ? So if there's three of you that's 6 devices you could connect at once.

I could be wrong but I thought the 2 devices were for the 1st 2 guests in the cabin...

[defbref]

1 minute ago, Morgsmom said:

I could be wrong but I thought the 2 devices were for the 1st 2 guests in the cabin...

Ah you could be right, never had more than 2 in cabin to test.

[Nikita4]

2 hours ago, defbref said:

Ah you could be right, never had more than 2 in cabin to test.

No, 2 devices for all guests of the cabin, kids included. We are 4 and can use 8 devices.

[amygutman]

On 3/17/2023 at 11:48 AM, defbref said:

The list for the 'free' bottle of spirts/wine/champagne is not the full list of stock available. Its a limited selection.

 

So just because they may stock Aviation Gin, doesn't mean you will get it as the 'free' bottle for YC.

 

Controlling costs I assume. I also like Gin and ask for Tanqueray 10, which they stock but only get Bombay Sapphire as the bottle in the room. 

Agree wholeheartedly. 

And, sadly - no Aviation Gin to be found on board. I am not sure what a similar gin would be (vodka and rum are my drinks of choice...my inner Bermudian speaking), but they do have >6 choices. My apologies for not screenshotting a list for you. 

Warmest, Amy

[amygutman]

On 3/17/2023 at 1:49 PM, NorthernCouple said:

I have had Hendricks and still prefer Aviation but that is why we have choices. There is actually a Botanist from Canada (Quebec) and a Botanist from England that are not related. MSC stocks the English but prices it at 16$. These raises the question about the premium plus changes. The MSC webpage lists a 16$ drink limit but L1211 seemed to say that they weren't honoring it.

 

amygutman,

Since the gin connoisseurs have hijacked your posting and it is a 'booze cruise', can you try and order a Botanist drink (martini, G&T, gimlet, neat - your choice) without getting charged?

Funny you should ask - either someone was reading your post or someone was reading your mind, but I ordered my favorite Dark N' Stormy from the bar (which was deliciously prepared) next to a lovely woman from North Carolina ordering a Botanist with Sapphire Bombay - she said it was "sublime". 

[amygutman]

On 3/17/2023 at 7:45 PM, defbref said:

Ah you could be right, never had more than 2 in cabin to test.

Yep...

1st 2 in the cabin. Plus, the Concierge politely explained that as my husband and I had already used our computers as our internet "home-spots", we could not use our phone as well as our computers on the same internet code. 

Our 13 yo made the ultimate sacrifice in going without internet for 3.5 days. I'm sure everyone will be glad to know he survived. I, however, was frustrated by the slow wifi (hence, packing all of my responses into today having just gotten home). 

[NorthernCouple]

1 hour ago, amygutman said:

Agree wholeheartedly. 

And, sadly - no Aviation Gin to be found on board.

Oh, dear. Now, I am sad.

I will just have to branch out and try other ones.

Edited March 19, 2023 by NorthernCouple

[amygutman]

Just got home after a 4 / 5 star experience on the Meraviglia. Final thoughts and helpful hints:

 

The Duplex Suite was great in concept, but ultimately not something we would book again. We booked it to have 3 persons in a room / two bathrooms. The deluxe suites on Meraviglia have 2 maximum occupancy vs Seashore class deluxe suite that can hold 3. This is due to the ship size / YC capacity even though both have a similar layout (large bed + pull-out couch). It was either the very expensive Royal Suite or the Duplex for our family of 2 adults + 13 yo as we did a late booking. BTW, the NCL Haven 2 bedroom suite is hands-down a winner for layout over YC Duplex.

Duplex Suite Layout

Stairs - ok...I know why the carpet is so brightly (hideously) orange. Those stairs are treacherous and need to be clearly visualized. Narrow in width but we felt we needed to clamp-in to ascend / descend due to the stair rise angle. I was perpetually terrified I would trip and fall. A few more drinks, or a few more years on my knees would have made it impossible. 

Speaking of bathrooms - we forgot to bring our bathmat, and the upstairs tub which initially seemed like a wonderful feature, was slippery as glass plus had a sharp-edged hand-rail. We all ended up using the downstairs bathroom to shower (my 300 lb / 5'11' husband barely fit inside the round enclosure) and honestly, primarily for everything else as those stairs were scary. Below are the comparisons:

Views: The view from the balcony / upstairs bedroom - extraordinary. The lighthouse was literally right outside the window - photos below. As much as I love the breeze from an open balcony, even at full speed, we never felt more than a stiff breeze. Plus - it poured our last day at sea and we could still be in the hot-tub as it was completely covered. Our smoking neighbors were asked twice by the butler to stop smoking, and they never complied which often meant our cabin smelled like cigarettes. Security was supposed to come, and may have as Day 3 of the cruise was smoke-free.

Hot-tub: we felt like entitled idiots once we figured out how to fill / drain the tub itself without the butler. Yes, the rust was icky, but it was "clean" rust (if that makes sense). It was drained / scrubbed daily so my initial trepidation was mislaid and I apologized to our butler Heather for asking if it was cleaned prior to our sailing. Yes - the boards were loose and we were told they would be trying to fix the issue again on our cruise but it never happened. Look at the photo below: we called it the "sack-catcher" for a reason (apologies for being upside-down - can't get it to rotate).😁

Location: 12th floor was not ideal. You have to go down a hallway on 12th floor to the front-of-ship elevator bank to get up to the YC. And no...the Priority elevators never worked for us (or other YC guests we asked). It was a PIA when dripping wet to get back to our room - the stairs in the YC by the pool / Top Sail / Restaurant only go to 16, so you have to leave the YC, walk down a hallway to get to the front-of-ship stairs or elevator. Not a deal-breaker, but important to know. 

 

Service: Ah.May.Zing. Honestly - some of the best we have ever had at sea. Craig, the YC Director, Heather (Butler), Joe (room attendant) and all of the YC staff - from MeiAnn at the restaurant and her amazing waiters, to everyone at the YC pool deck / bar - could not have been more pleasant and helpful. The concierge desk was always quick on the spot to help, and except for one hiccup in communications, were perfect. 

 

Food: every meal in the YC was outstanding overall - the only miss was the nordic salad (boring on the menu, boring in taste - but definitely truth in the description). Even the room service was hot, correct and tasty. Our butler Heather brought kiddo cookies every night and the mini-bar was perpetually filled (even extra mixed nuts). Snacks in the Top Sail were strange to the point of being funny. Honestly - does anyone really eat those pearled onions? Do not miss Hola - and here is a tip: you must book lunch reservations! Thanks for fellow CC members who gave the heads up on this one. You can't just walk into Hola or Kaito Sushi like on other ships - due to the restaurants small size, you must book on the Mera. 

 

Ocean Cay: Beautiful island, but we just used the days to get our steps in and enjoy the YC on the ship. We are spoiled by the Silver Villas on NCL's Great Stirrup Cay, and find that OC just doesn't compare. It has really pretty beaches and lovely food venues (though the YC restaurant does NOT have enough seating for all YC members should everyone want lunch at the same time, beware) but after living in Bermuda for years, we are super spoiled by those beaches. Once you have pink sand between your toes, it's hard to go back. 

Internet /App: App worked great. Loved it, and it did everything as advertised. You can book dining / shows, spa on it and very user-friendly. Do not need wifi to use. It's a good thing, as the wifi was slow as molasses. Not worth paying to upgrade to browse AND stream, when you often could do neither.

 

Entertainment: Lorraine Crosby was a solo singing act - trust me, you have heard her sing a million times in the 80's / 90's (Google her and be surprised), and the hypnotist was an incredibly awesome surprise. I don't know why the Carousel Rock Show is always panned - we thought it was super entertaining (and those acrobats and crazily bendable). Casino was small, but adequate. Walked away on the "positive" side, so that was a win in my book. Spa - the pedi-mani I pre-booked was wonderful, but the spa was so crowded on most days that we never used it other than the heated loungers on one afternoon. I will say the staff was vigilant about cleanliness. 

 

Final thoughts? 133 days or so to our next MSC YC Deluxe Suite on the Seaside which will be a 5 day, 4 night, and 33 days until our NCL Haven Penthouse Suite on the Getaway. Ultimately, we love the Haven > the YC, and as the price-points are getting closer we will always go NCL. Our MSCs were great deals found by our TA for a time-frame / port that fit our son's spring break schedule, and a fun 4/5 experience. I will do my best to answer any more questions that come my way!

 

Warmest, Gutman

[amygutman]

26 minutes ago, NorthernCouple said:

Oh, dear. Now, I am sad.

I will just have to branch out and try other ones.

May I suggest a ermudian Dark N' Stormy? It's a completely different drink but it's heaven on earth. 

[amygutman]

Oh Dear G-d...my apologies for so many photos of the "sack-catcher" hot tub. 

Unsure of what happened there...

[Soron9002]

Was there any noise issues from the deck above? 

[CTGirl74]

1 hour ago, Soron9002 said:

Was there any noise issues from the deck above? 

 

I was in 12003 last week and there was no noise because the bridge is directly above the bedroom. No passenger cabins or anything esle. Loved it.

[DaKahuna]

On 3/17/2023 at 1:31 PM, defbref said:

Yeah Hendricks with a slice of cucumber is sublime.

 

I like a good cucumber martini made with Hendricks