Dr. Cocktail

Um, no .... worse than before .... But on the positive side, look at all the IT people being employed!

Thank you for actually admitting to an issue!

Exact same thing happening to me but I can't check in until next week.

When they were rolling out the "new" Haven program around when Getaway was launched (but correct me if I get the years wrong!), booking the Haven included 1) beverage package (many more inclusions) 2) gratuities 3) open dining pass (no limits on number of meals and 4) $300 obc that could be used to tip your butler and Concierge! VERY similar to what you get on Celebrity's Retreat right now. 100% agree with your comments .... but I think they're looking at their competition which does include The Retreat and RCI's Upper Suite Class and the Haven is still much cheaper than them. I don't think that they take MSC as serious competition .... yet. Totally off topic, I think that the other big 3 are very nervously looking over their shoulders at the launch of Explora ....

Yo baby! I haven’t been on since the “before !”

First off, I really enjoy (and this would throw a lot of Americans and Canadians) that the lingua franca as you're walking around in the evening is NOT English. Italian, Spanish and German predominate. As others have mentioned, the dress at night is MUCH blingier than on the usual suspects. People really do get dressed up on formal nights. Some evenings make me think of what would happen if an Italian Wedding and a Bar Mitzvah took place simultaneously in the same room! Lots of good-crazy energy! Yes - the announcements are in a million languages but again, it really makes it feel like you didn't just sail out of South Florida. Some sailings did (I'm not sure if they still do it) offer "opera" which is different for a cruise ship but it's sung to a click track and really reminds me of a SNL skit! I was vaguely stupefied by it all but the crowd seems to eat it up! As an extremely frequent recital goer, I was told I was a snob and suck it up! I think that there is a different approach to personal space but it's not as if you have a lot of space in ships in any case!

I've sailed in the Haven about 8 times and the YC three times. I really enjoy the MSC vibe - VERY different from NCL but that's what I like! YC food is nowhere near the quality of the food of the Haven - we're not talking preparation, we're talking actual quality of ingredients. But yes - the menu changes nightly and the specialty restaurants are good. The production shows have to be seen to be believed - they actually occasionally go into the "they're so bad that they're good" category. I can only imagine the hallucinogens used by the creative team .. However - lots of good music around the ship and there is live music in the YC lounge from around 5:30 to midnight. The dealbreaker for us on Divina and Seaside was simply the total lack of shade on the YC decks. No overhangs, no umbrellas - nothing. Like a blast furnace but hotter. I think that the Meraviglia class ships have a louvered glass covering on their sundecks.

We tried Stugeron on our 100 passenger expedition ship to Antarctica on our moderately rough Drake Passage crossing. An acquaintance owned a very large yacht (!) and that is indeed what the crew use if required. We're also in Canada and he just gave us some. We found it was .... OK. Not nearly as sedating as Gravol and reasonably effective. Depending on any meds you're on or any medical conditions, as mentioned above, NOTHING beats a scopolamine patch. It will make your mouth dry and can affect vision but it was truly remarkable. On the worst day, out of 100 passengers only about 20 weren't "indisposed" and the patch was a lifesaver. As bottles of alcohol launched from the bar and went sailing through the air smashing against the wall, we both thought: "Fascinating. We really should be hurling our guts at this point!" Meclizine is also excellent and superior to Gravol but no longer available in Canada. Not for safety reasons - just not enough of a market.

We were hanging out on the Breakaway Haven sundeck years ago and there was an obnoxious group partying/yelling/screaming in and around the whirlpool. They were driving us CRAZY and one person pulled out his keycard to buy more drinks. My astute, eagle-eyed friend said "it's NOT a Haven Card"! I walked down to the Concierge who said there was nothing he could do (!) so I marched down to Guest Relations. I was explaining the situation to the officer who didn't actually wait for me to finish before she called security. I headed back (got a cocktail on the way) and watched the floor show. Two very polite officers walked out onto the deck and asked EVERYONE to please show their Haven cards. About 10 (!!!) people left and we enjoyed the rest of the now quiet day. In this case, the Concierge did nothing but I concur that they are usually EXTREMELY eagle eyed and watching out for interlopers!

I booked 2 cruises when bookings opened and was debating on "downgrading" to save a few $$. My PH's are now cheaper than entry level cabins! I'm going to enjoy my "bargain" and the fact that I won't likely book a PH again in the near future!

This is straight from Explora .... if you slowly scroll down, many of the venues feature mini-animated tours! https://explorajourneys.com/int/en/life-on-explora/dining?utm_source=sfmc&utm_term=Grill_CTA&utm_content=&utm_id=81a1d9f5-4192-4b67-b892-f3e5b411cb8d&sfmc_activityid=d61c9ad4-d065-4a8c-bf2f-cafbb6249722&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=B2C_NL_ED_09012023_ENG_INT_Culinary_B

Thanks!

Really continuing to love the review and all of the various interpolations!!! A curious question - are any people wearing masks and any dirty looks, if so? We're still more comfortable in crowded spaces putting on a mask as required - can't shake our 30+ years of practice!

Many thanks! I prefer the pump stuff but my partner likes a bar - go figure. The First World sort o' question that CC is perfect for! I will make sure to raid the maid cart in the hotel the day before!

Thanks for your great review! We've been in the YC and Haven many times - I still prefer the Haven ..... Totally insane question - we're also booked in an HI on the Joy - do they still supply hard bars of soap or is it all the pump stuff?

Even if they went overboard, as long as their call continued with adequate reception, they wouldn't notice! I told my partner about your post - we're both in our late 50's and he said: "they're FaceTiming - on a cruise - on deck?????!!!!! Which ship and line is that on? That's CRAZY" Um, the ship that we're booked on .....

Thank you for taking the time to write your excellent review! Have you asked any of the deck officers to remove the items? This bad cruise behaviour is my number one button pusher!

OMG - sooooooo not offended. I don't think that you're quite reading me correctly - my partner and I are both 6 feet tall, cardiovascularly fit guys who were knocked FLAT by our respective food poisonings - both likely as a result of Staph. Let me tell you - when you spend 10 hours not knowing which end to stick into the toilet first, it will make you reconsider your behaviour! You're 100 % correct - there was ZERO way for us to protect ourselves but ... it made us think and as others have said, wherever we can mitigate risk, we will. We'll continue to eat chips, salsa and cookies (no, that is NOT a thing ....) but will give ourselves a squirt before!

I was using it as an example! Easiest way for cookes is to hold it with a paper napkin.... Just sanitize your hands when you sit down .... it will only take one episode of fomite transmitted food poisoning for you to change your mind. A bowl of chips and salsa at the Hilton in Ft. Lauderdale knocked me out - almost 100% from the chips from someone else's bowl being dumped into the bowl that I ate. My partner and I have both had this on different vacations - always fun when you feel like you want to die but yet the two of us are using our training to figure out what the cause was!

As someone who has *ahem* gotten himself in some occasional trouble with my overly fast responses, when I read this I thought that my immediate response would have been: "That's FANTASTIC! You don't look a day over 395!" And now that I have your attention, I must thank the OP for taking us along. VERY much appreciated on an extremely cold, Canadian Christmas Eve!!! I hope you have a fantastic Christmas and New Year!

Actually, even if EVERY person were to sanitize, you'd still have a problem... People eating with their hands or licking their fingers who then went back for seconds would contaminate the serving utensils. As I actually know a thing or two about chains of infection, there are two spectacularly easy answer when using a ship's buffet. 1) always eat with a knife and fork - don't let your hands touch your food and that includes cookies! 2) take what you want from the buffet and use a pocket sanitizer as soon as you're seated. Really the easiest answer. This way I don't worry or obsess about other people's actions .... unless of course, they're reaching with their hands directly into the chafing dishes!

But your OK with fraudulent advertisements by a large corporation? The government is doing NOTHING about setting the price ... they're just saying you can't advertise non-existent specials! The cruise line can charge what they want!

100% - you're selling a product in Canada in Canadian dollars on a Canadian webpage. This is simply an "item" that you're selling in Canada.Jurisdiction on a cruise is a completely different issue. Would be different if you were buying it from the NCL US site.

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There is currently a 2 category upgrade offer with extra obc for MSC Diamond Members