Two Wheels Only

You won't see a balcony directly in front of you but you might see one if you look down from the balcony.

Joy has more deck plan errors than other NCL ships. It has gone through many changes since it was built but the PrivaSea symbol errors freak people out the most.

An angled balcony is not obstructed nor is it PrivaSea. An angled balcony is about 50% larger than standard but doesn't cost more. Neither 12936 nor 12938 is PrivaSea.

It's even worse if a chair is unattended for 30 minutes, the person returns for 5 minutes, then the person leaves for 40 minutes. Does the "unattended" clock reset after the person returns? 🤔

You're probably worried about nothing. The only 2 actual PrivaSea balconies on Joy are Haven Suites that are directly under the bridge (13108/13708). NCL has the PrivaSea symbol in many places on the deck plan where it isn't actually PrivaSea.

NCL has also shown... ...so it's best to know what is in effect. If they've gone down to 15 minutes for every ship, that's fine.

We've done Grand Cayman multiple times with the Yacht Club and each time, we got priority tender in both directions. If you are returning early, you won't need priority since there won't be many people. If returning later when everyone else is also returning, either go to the Yacht Club line or walk to the front of the line. A MSC officer will be at the front of the line and if asked, just show that you are a Yacht Club guest.

If 15 minutes is now fleet-wide and is currently stated in the dailies, that's great. It would be an example of NCL being consistent and hopefully enforcement is also consistent. I have dailies from previous cruises that have the different time limits.

There is a time limit that NCL will state in the dailies. If an item is left in a chair beyond that limit, have NCL staff remove the items. When the person returns, tell them that the staff member removed the items after the time limit was reached. The dailies will also state where the items were taken. The time limit stated in the dailies can vary by ship and even by cruise. It can be 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes. No matter what, removing someone's items after "5-10 min" would be wrong on your part.

Celebrity made the Retreat after MSC had success with the Yacht Club and NCL had success with the Haven. The "ship within a ship" concept is very similar for all of them including for Princess who has joined in on the trend. To a lesser extent, RCCL's Suite Neighborhood is similar. I'm also booked in a Duplex on World America and fully expect my Yacht Club experience to be just as good as my other Yacht Club and Haven experiences. Read as much as you can about the Yacht Club in order to help you maximize your enjoyment when you cruise.

I confess that I like the bad reviews...because they keep people away. "Stay with Carnival...." is the best way for a bad review to end.

Costa and Carnival are a bit more "love it or hate it" but MSC is up there, too.

The Sanctuary Collection section does look nice. Princess also does the slow-motion walking, laughing, eating, dancing, and stretching scenes in their advertisements like MSC does with the Yacht Club, NCL does with the Haven, and Celebrity does with the Retreat. Maybe that's why dinner service is so slow....😲

Kipland Ronald Dynamite aka Kip aka LaFawnduh's husband. "Peace out"

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/msc-promo/homepage M-F someone will contact you. They're pretty good at calling you at the time/day that you select.