Dr. Cocktail

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

Heartily agree with many/most/all of the posts! Canadian consumer laws are pretty stringent and no-nonsense in certain areas - sale prices being among them. Many major retailers have been dinged - usually involving mattress sales! Basically, if something is "50% off", you have to demonstrate a reasonable time period when it wasn't on sale AND that the price being advertised is truly 50% off. That is, if a cruise is 50% off, the Regulators need to see a few weeks where the full price was being charged and then what the sale got you. I've always been amazed that no-one in Canada has called out NCL on this basic consumer fact. Ultimately, not worth the time and effort that an "official" consumer complaint takes and NCL knows it!

Without hijacking the threat, the cause of your problem has an easy answer - but no solution! NCL was/is transitioning away from Pepsi and will now only sell Coke products. They are probably just letting it run out on all ships.

I think that NCLHI was under intense pressure to do, well, something as Wall Street was getting impatient with the (lack of) results. Putting in a numbers person may make them happy. Financial markets may also be aware of the increasing intense competition facing Oceania and Regent, namely: 1) Silverseas will finally launch a ship whose interiors don't look like they came from the JC Penny Catalogue ... of 1984. 2) TBD but the Saudi's may close the deal and buy Seabourn and who knows what they would do. 3) the return of Crystal for whatever that's worth and most importantly 4) the launch of Explora who are openly targeting the "big three". They have cash to burn, a stunning ship and lots of actually new concepts targeting a younger, affluent crowd. As always, time will tell!

I have sailed on both many times and they are both very different especially as we're comparing not only different cruise lines but different classes of ships. While we loved the YC and made it work, we won't return for one very big reason - no shade outdoors whatsoever. The decks on Divina are slightly hotter than the surface of the sun whereas the Seaside class ships offer some shade if you're willing to constantly keep moving and jump when someone else moves. The Haven outdoor decks severely lack a bar but have ample shade with the pool with sliding glass roof and the many umbrellas offered. I absolutely HATE the disposable NCL plastic glasses for any drinks served outside - soooooo much waste. The Haven menu does indeed never change but while food is extremely subjective, the quality of the raw ingredients is far superior to those served in the YC. As an example, YC Prime Rib is .... likely beef cut to resemble a Prime Rib but actually ridiculously awful. Nearly everyone who sails on NCL will have a dining package and will get a few dinners out - that's NCL's brand - eat at different places at different times. I like the specialty restaurants on both. The main shows on NCL are generally Broadway lite and superb but .... there's usually only two different shows on any giving sailing. MSC offers click-tracked "extravaganzas" that have to be seen to be believed - but not in a good way. While they have many different titles, they're uniformly bewildering, noisy and frenetic. The Top Sail lounge is great in that it offers live music all evening to late at night. I also like not having to ever take out my key card or sign for anything. Again - both are great but the lack of shade is a deal breaker for me on warm weather cruises.

I'm almost certain the sunbeds are for crew .... I'm actually very impressed with the amount of deck space available ... not a lot of hull structure like the other cruise lines ....

Impressive! I'm only at 16 nights ....

And finally, do NOT touch the Very Expensive Piano!!!! https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2022/12/explora-journeys-partners-with-steinway-sons/

Now that your appetite's whetted ... literally and figuratively ... OK, this next one really tells me nothing, but still ....

Let's add some excitement to this thread and perhaps "unhijack" it by actually using it to show "what's new" as opposed to comparisons of other and defunct cruise lines! For your viewing pleasure:

Thanks for your wonderful travelogue! I am getting excited about sailing on Regent for the first time and your detailed posts have been terrific in aligning my expectations!

Thanks for your replies - they were most helpful!

Happy Thanksgiving! I was thinking on booking 14200 on Joy which is the last Haven Penthouse Suite with Balcony available that’s not under something. Do the interior Family Suites have direct access from the elevator or does everyone have to go by 14200 on their way to their Family Suite? I just don’t want noise from large family suites that strangely enough may have a lot of families!

Canadian, thankyouverymuch!!!

My pleasure! Come to think of it, couldn't Emirates pick you up from the Savoy or similar instead?

This is actually an easy one as I had done all the research for an analogous situation the following week! Forgo the Emirates pick up and use Uber or a taxi and go to South Beach and get a day pass at one of the big (or small!) resort hotels. The Savoy which is rated #1 on TripAdvisor (owner of CruiseCritic!) offers day passes for $75 per person or $105 including lunch and a cocktail. https://www.savoy-miami.com/en/beach-club/ Their website actually states complimentary luggage storage. Other hotels similarly offer day passes. Arrive at 9 or 10 in the morning, relax by the pool and have lunch and then head off to the airport!

Thanks for your response ... at least it sounds better than I feared. While I don't need nonstop entertainment, I like to enjoy a drink with a piano player or combo before and after dinner. I've been on a 200 passenger ship where there were actually two piano players on board! You just need a good CD to sort it all out and observe passenger flow. Different itineraries will have different entertainment needs. As for production shows, I don't really care - they're usually not my "thing"... As someone who considers "early" dining eating at 8 pm, there's really no way for me to see them.

All these posts are scaring me for my upcoming cruise - there really should be live music somewhere from 5 pm to 11 or so. It's funny you're saying the show is too late - if I'm having dinner at 8:30, there's no way for me to see the show. In fact, I would say it's too early! I had a similar problem on Oceania and asked the CD why they simply didn't do an early show at 7 for those eating later and a second show at 9 for those eating earlier. I mean, the entertainers are on board and nearly every other cruise line does two shows nightly. He frankly told me that "Head Office" (the same for Oceania and Regent) thought that 1/2 empty show lounges "looked bad". I asked him so, lemme-get-this-straight - the "look" of the show lounge is more important than catering to passenger's needs? I got a big smile and a nod!

Your thread is an excellent reminder for all - check ALL available possibilities! If you're determined to visit a particular area on a particular date, you choices may be limited but with a little flexibility, your choices may greatly expand. Having some upcoming cruises booked on Ultra-deluxe lines, I'm sort of shocked that my mid-level suites are actually cheaper than The Haven or Retreat on Celebrity. I lOVE the Haven and have been lucky enough to have cruises many times but .... (first world worries) I hate always pulling out my card to purchase a drink, dislike all of the tipping (just include it and pay all your staff fairly) and dislike the additional charges for specialty restaurants. I have a couple of cruises booked on a cruise line that promises to be a MAJOR disruptor in the luxury division - Explora Journeys. They are MSC's entry into the luxury division and I like everything that they're promising. I'm quite intrigued that they are under the radar of most cruisers out there ...

Here are some answers for you! (well, at least about staffing!) I have heard that they are happy/profitable at 80% occupancy…..

Delete

Even though I'm not the OP, I'm going to say "Thanks" for all the responses. I was also planning on using OBC to replenish my Scotch supply! I was kinda' surprised that there was liquor for sale as there wasn't any (albeit years ago) on the Oceania ships. Oh well, bring on the overpriced sportswear and let's go crazy on the wines!

I feel your pain and would also love an answer to the question: “ can I buy duty free on board a Regent ship?” Options include: #1 - “yes” #2: “no” #3: “what is the question again?”

10% off the Total Price minus port taxes and fees.. ie if your invoice says $1000, RSSC doesn't show the taxes .... for argument's sake, we'll say $100 So the fare would actually be $900 of which many agents will, in one form or another, rebate 10% of that, or $90. The crazy thing is that the amount of time the agent works on your reservation is not really accurately reflected in the commission. You could phone your agent and ask him or her to book the Regent Suite on a particular date after you've done the research and booked your own flights. Another client could send 18 emails, 7 text and phone 13 times because they had problems with their $399 four night Carnival cruise! Both get the same percentage commission from the cruise line for vastly different amounts of work!

Unfortunately, we will all bring our individual biases to this conversation so I think we will have to amiambly disagree! Applying logic, facts and basic science to a decision making process is giving far more credit to a cruise line than I am willing to give! As a TOTALLY unscientific observation, as final payment is days away for my sailing and just past when the rules were changed, there has been ZERO movement in the number of cabins sold. No one has canceled but ... no one else has booked. The change in rules and decisions based therein will be related to where a person lives, their socioeconomic status ,the cruise line they choose and many other influencing factors ...