DrProfessor

Also, it is subjective (all of this is to some extent), but on Mariner, you see the ocean a bit more almost everywhere you go. On Oasis class ships, when you are in the "inside", there are many parts of the ship where you cannot see the ocean including in the specialty dining (those based in the Central Park area). It never really bothered me, but my wife liked the views better on Mariner.

Love Mariner. We've been on and love both. One thing to note if you do specialty dining (UDP), Allure has more options than Mariner. Mariner is not bad - Chops, Jamie's, Izumi and Playmakers. Allure adds a few more options like 150 Central Park (probably our favorite on Oasis class) and Wonderland. Oasis class also has CK for suites where Mariner doesn't. I think we just lean toward Freedom and Voyager classes a little more, but we have been on Oasis, Harmony and Allure and enjoyed them all.

This is all good to hear for us. Our next cruise is Oct on Adventure to the ABC (minus the B) islands. We've never been on Adventure, but Mariner is one of our favorite ships, so this should be pretty close (although Adventure doesn't have Playmakers).

We were on this same sailing in an interior YC (originally booked that way) - 2/25-2/29. While we didn't have everything the first night, we DID eventually get the Pringles, mixed nuts and Toblerone bar in our cabin along with a bottle of wine. We had Venci (sp?) chocolates each night and a couple of other surprise treats in the cabin at times. We used the TS lounge bar and they never had a problem coming up with the drink we asked for, although, we are admittedly not that sophisticated (peach on the beach (my favorite), mojito, wine to take to dinner, etc.). I completely agree with the YC boarding process - that was uncomfortable - and we waited in line for the parking to open at 11am (that was very strange in our PC experiences). We didn't think the ship felt all that crowded, but this was our first MSC cruise coming from exclusively Royal ships, which, to us, can feel very crowded. We usually avoid the buffet at all costs just because of too many inconsiderate people. We always ate in the YC restaurant and loved it. Just another perspective - realizing that since it was our first MSC experience ever, we did not have the OPs frame of reference. Even so, we seem to have had a few extras that the OP did not get on the same exact sailing and room type.

Whenever we (wife and I) have done Playmakers with the UDP, it doesn't really matter who eats what - we have a $40 credit.

We faced something similar and wanted to get to diamond before a longer cruise. Ended up going on a 5-night JS on a smaller ship for 10 points and then a 3 night inside weekend cruise to get us over the line. As others have said, there are a number of ways, but for us, this appeared to be both the most economical and enjoyable way.

We got a RoyalUp from a suite guarantee to an OS on Jewel. It was a first (and only) time above a JS. I wish I could justify the extra cost now just to get to GS. It was a wonderful vacation but at those rates, we would only be able to cruise once every couple of years. Or maybe we could get an inside room on Icon or Star for the same price these days...

Same here for our Oct 2024 cruise. We were not going to get it but for an extra $8 (8 night cruise) over the internet package, it was a no brainer. Since there are two of us it would have been slightly cheaper to purchase a two device internet package than the Key for both (about $270 total vs $300). For the extra $30 total, it was an easy decision. By the way, that price only came up about a week BEFORE the Thanksgiving sales. Once those sales started, the Key went back up to $24.99 (on sale). We would not have purchased it at that price.

Thank you - we definitely expect it to be different. Specifically, we are going on Seashore and those who have stayed in YC recently on Seashore say they are way understaffed and often run out of things. We'll enjoy it either way because that is how we do vacations, and I realize that for every person that complains there are probably a hundred that don't.

We are doing the same. Our first non-Royal sailing is with MSC in YC this coming Feb. From the reviews I've read, things can be hit or miss, so we'll see. We still have a few booked with RC into 2025, but we are testing the waters with MSC simply because of the pricing.

We have a 4 night YC Seashore cruise coming up in Feb as our first MSC tryout. If the experience is like this, we probably won't be back - although prices of the other lines may keep us hovering. Still, I don't want to shell out some money for a vacation and not enjoy it. We have always enjoyed our cruises and are easy to please, but every time someone review Seashore, it seems pretty bad.

8-night cruise in Oct 2024, it is still on the "cyber-Monday" sail for $239pp. Of course, it is a smaller ship with basically 3 specialty restaurants, so that might affect the pricing as well.

True - I forgot about Icon. The original poster mentioned Anthem, so I was questioning the answer they got from the third post.

Is there a central park balcony on Anthem? I thought those were only Oasis class.

If you are past the 30 day window, you can also request it when you get on board from the room steward or guest services. We had to do that once for my mother who was in her own room and they took care of it.