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.

We usually sail out of PC. Tried Tampa once, but didn't like it. The cruise was nice, but the traffic and the flow inside of the port just wasn't as good or as nice as PC.

I was able to rebook a couple of items for Oct 2024, add a couple of small items (soda package for 1, 24 Evian package) and still get a bit of a refund - so a pretty significant savings there. I was hoping that the Beach Club pass would come down more. It did, but not enough (still $150pp).

We love Chops (usually) and have been many times. The Mac and Cheese in Chops is completely hit or miss. Sometimes, there just isn't any flavor to it, but other times, it is really creamy and cheesy. It certainly could be a little more consistent, but either seemed to be way better than what is represented in the picture of the main dining "entree" from the OP. It is not a must-have, but if you are there and haven't tried it yet on a particular cruise, it is sometimes worth ordering because it can be quite different based on ship/cruise.

Thanks for posting about this. I went and found the ultimate dining package on a better sale and indeed, the Key was only $1 more per day than the just the internet was. So for the 2 of us on an 8-day cruise next October (2024), the Key only cost $16 more than internet for the 2 of us (total). I don't recall the last time the Key was that low.

It may be a one off, but we were on Mariner last week and had the beach club on CocoCay (that I bought in Nov 2022 during black Friday). I noted that every single cabana I could see was completely empty. Maybe people really aren't paying those super high prices. I wonder if they are charging the super high prices in the case that someone does pay and then they can "man" it for the day. Otherwise, they just sit there empty and don't cost anything to run. Still, they would have to keep them up - but for the short term, they may not have the staff to man them all and thus the high prices. I just thought it was interesting to see them all empty and producing zero income. Then again, it may have been just a bad day for the cabanas. As it is, we'll probably never get the beach club pass again (that is now close to $280pp/day), unless there is a mega mega sale where the 50% off doesn't still somehow work out to the same usual price.

Yes, but be aware that there can be a lag using the diamond vouchers. The bar tender on Coco Cay explained it to me just last Friday when we were there. If you have the drink package (we never do), then they can run that easily. If you want to use a diamond voucher, then they have to write up the order on an a pad and it can take until into the evening to show up as "used" on your account. He said that they couldn't charge to a diamond voucher right from the terminal on Coco Cay, they had to write it up and "settle" with the ship later in the day. It's not a big deal, but if you use your first 2 vouchers for the day, it can look like you have 4 left when you get back on the ship, but you really only have 2 (for Diamond). Later in the day or even into the evening, the ones used on Coco Cay will show up as used. Just something to be aware of.

Starry Eyes beat me to it. That is the link.

They already have it sort of set up to drive around, drop off your luggage (that is being checked, not your carry-ons) and then up the ramp to the garage. In fact, I think you can't go into the garage without going by the drop-off point.

Pretty sure it is first-come, first served for the parking garage. We have never had any trouble finding a spot in the garage. We usually drive in around 10am.

We were just there this past Friday. There were many open chairs. On another note, I was kind of glad to see that with the exorbitant prices being charged for beach club cabanas - they all seemed to be completely empty all morning - not a sole to be seen but the occasional life guards watching nobody. Maybe eventually, they will come down to earth with those prices if they continue to stay empty. Then again, we were on Mariner and it was the only ship docked, so maybe on a busier day, someone would have used them. They were certainly not cheaper in the planner running up to the cruise.