gizfish

2 hours ago, scar4711 said:

i would pick Virgin…i may do one next year 

Virgin does not allow children which OP says will be sailing with them. Check out MSC.

With regards to the two shows in the Carousel Lounge that have a fee, it is $12 per show if purchased before sailing and $18 per show on board.  There is some sort of discount if you have purchased a dining plan. The shows are both cirque style, one being about Houdini, and the other being a rock music show.  The rock show was really, really good.  I thought the Houdini one was just meh.  You get to choose a drink from two signature drinks (a mocktail is also available) at each show.  I have heard they leave additional drinks out during the shows, so some people have reported having addition drinks.  But I have no personal experience with that.  

11 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

actually, I've read that "TIPS" stands for "To Insure Proper Service" so that would seem the logical way would be to tip ahead of time. I dont, just thought I'd add to the discussion with what I've read about the history of tipping

That's actually a fallacy.  Tip is not an acronym.  https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tip-sheet/

3 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Haha, that's why (NCL conspiracy) Cagney's do NOT like (want) to see you walk out with dessert (and other uneaten food) after your meal there ??  Especially if this is confirmed to be the same 7 layer cake. 

 

BTW, going by my old brain power alone as NCL never emailed our last/most recent final onboard invoice to us ... it's $4.95 plus 20% for breakfast, at least the 3 hot items are included at no extra charge. Just make sure you add juice, coffee & other items - with an itemized quantity, otherwise - if you write 1 sugar ... they will sent 1 (small) packet of sugar on the given order, LOL.  Otherwise, room service delivery is $9.95 plus 20% ... even if it is for 2 pots of coffee (free)  As usual, it is still common practice to cash tip the person delivery a little bit, $3 to $5 depending on the quantity & size of the total order, i.e. like 3 or 4 adults with a healthy appetite.  

The 20% IS the gratuity.  If you want to tip on top of the tip that NCL has already charged you, that's your choice.  I don't know how true the statement as usual it's common practice to tip actually is, now that the gratuity is already included.

You are correct that the chairs are not something you would want to sit in for very long.  

If the fitness center was above you, you would risk hearing the treadmills and weights dropping.  You shouldn't have a noise issue being on the same floor.  If you are prone to motion sickness, take something to prevent it.  Doesn't really matter where you are on a ship if you are one who gets seasick.  That being said, yes, the higher and more forward one is, the more obvious the motion.  Yet the Haven always sails full, so people do find the motion tolerable.  We had a Haven spa cabin once, and agree, the lack of seating due to the in room hot tub is an issue.  I would never book that again as I want a place to comfortably sit during the day other than on the bed.  I don't know what you mean by creatively using the space since it's not like you can request a sofa or fill the tub with pillows lol.

11 hours ago, SugarStar00 said:

is it possible to request it ahead of time? 

No

15 hours ago, jenngirl said:

Hi! We all have different experiences and I am so happy you had a great experience onboard. I see you mentioned that you had room service twice a day. That’s actually something I didn’t have. There wasn’t room service twice a day, our waited told us he didn’t have time to bring coffee with dessert the first few nights, meanwhile we were the first people in the restaurant. I am by no means saying I’m an ultimate authority on this it’s just I had a different experience this time around! Im glad to see you had some great experiences onboard. 

To clarify, the room was serviced twice daily.  This is the norm on all MSC cruises, and the female stewardess uniform was literally a French maid style complete with black pantyhose and lacy apron.  Sorry, still can't get past that one lol.  But back to the point, if your room was not being serviced twice a day (cleaning early and then turn down and tidy at night) you should have complained.  I also would have complained if the waiter told me he didn't have time to complete a reasonable request like after dinner coffee. 

BTW I did find the MDR staff to be disorganized and not up to standards I am used to on other lines.  I don't know if it was a bunch of new contracts getting acclimated, but I think it may have been poor management and training from senior dining room staff.  I didn't mention it in my previous post because it wasn't a bid deal to us getting a spoon instead of a fork with dessert or little things like that.

We cruised in September 2023, and I did not experience most of those issues.  While I agree that the cabins are poorly planned for storage, our standard balcony cabin was equivalent or even larger in size than other cruise lines.  For instance the sofa in the room could easily seat four people, and the pass through area at the foot of the bed was wider than in other lines cabins.

It might be that we arrived at the port later, around noonish, but we had virtually no wait to enter the parking lot and actually got a pretty good spot.  There was no wait to clear security, and while the check in line snaked around a lot, it moved relatively quickly and we boarded within about twenty minutes at most.

While late night snacks were limited to burgers and hot dog type of things, I was happy there was some sort of food available at all times except maybe for a few hours overnight.  NCL for example has stopped any buffet food after dinner and only has a relatively small sit down restaurant that is open late. And no line can compete with MSC's always available pizza.  Also, the buffet desserts are deceiving.  They look like the usual cruise buffet desserts, but OMG most were delicious.  The buffet desserts surpassed any mainstream line desserts in their MDR or buffets, and I have been on them all except Celebrity.  Keep an eye out for the chocolate panicotta.  It will look very plain in a silver foil dish.

We did not have any issues with portion sizes in the MDR.  While the portions were not as large as one would get at a regular restaurant, where you often take some of that home, they were certainly appropriately sized.  The temperatures for us were not cold.  However, some dishes were over salted.  Also while the buffet coffee was the best I have ever had on any ship,  The one time I succeed in getting the MDR waiter to bring me a cup after dinner, it was lukewarm and tasted like it had been diluted by more than half.  The MDR food in my opinion, surpassed NCL's by far.  I agree that Hola was an excellent choice with reasonable prices and portion sizes, especially since they packed our food to go and we enjoyed it in our cabin.

Since MSC is pretty much the only line sailing year round from NY to places other than Bermuda at a more than reasonable price, the Meraviglia is our new go to.  The fact that they are offering pre-covid service (no one else is cleaning cabins twice a day anymore for example) at a price point much lower than the other lines $1200 or more on a trump beautiful ship, makes MSC an even better choice for us.

3 hours ago, TrinaLC said:

Bad knees - cannot do stairs. Anyone know the drill (pun intended) for that?

There will be staff all over the ship at muster drill time.  Let them know you are unable to do stairs, and they will accommodate you.

A lot of the time they retake the picture at the pier.  So you may not want to bother with that since you can complete on line check in without it.

The passport not expiring within 6 months rule is specific to foreign countries. It is not a U.S. regulation.  The countries requiring this don't want you sticking around long, and if your passport were to expire while you were there, they fear the issues of the U.S. not letting you back in. U.S. customs will accept you back in the country as long as your passport has not expired. So as long as your passport is current through your cruise there should be no problem. 

And if for some reason you are stuck in a foreign country long enough for your passport to expire, I'm thinking you have problems more major than that issue.  The only reasons I can think of that would make someone be detained for any amount of time in a foreign country are legal issues (which would probably negate travel insurance kicking in), and a medical issue.  With the medical issue, travel insurance would most likely have you expedited home before a passport were to expire.  And if you were so ill that you couldn't be flown home for so long that your passport expired, again, your issues are more major than that, and that certainly wouldn't be your fault.  I have yet to see a travel insurance plan that requires a passport not expire within six months of a trip.

These issues do speak to the fact that when traveling out of the country a passport is a good idea even if it's not required.  It makes entering the U.S. by air that much easier should one have an emergency.  

The info at MSC's site does not say passports must be valid for six months.  It says that is preferred.  https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/before-you-go/travel-documents-visas 

"Domestic Cruises Only for United States Citizens, U.S. Residents and Canadian Citizens:

U.S. Citizens sailing on cruises departing and returning to the same U.S. port will be able to enter or depart the country with proof of citizenship such as a passport, US birth certificate or US naturalization certificate, along with a valid, un-expired government issued ID. Traveling with a passport that is valid for at least 6 months after the cruise ends, is preferred. This travel document will provide the best embarkation and disembarkation experience, while also providing guests the ability to travel by air to or from the United States, if needed."

10 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

No one is trying to shame anyone, except perhaps you who seem to want to shame considerate individuals in the Haven.

 

The rest of your post wreaks of Karen-like entitlement from start to finish. When you shell out the price for the Haven, you pay for what the Haven offers, not for what it normally doesn't, but you want it anyway.

 

You are correct that you're paying for what the Haven offers, and part of that is an ultra high level of service.  The level of service you are paying for, the "ship within a ship" idea as it is marketed, does mean one can certainly ask for things that are not on the list of things you think are "normally included."  The gummy bears, bar mix and M and M's so many talk about is not on your imagined list.  Maybe we should stop inconveniencing the butlers with that?  People asking the maitre'd to make arrangements for something to be brought from elsewhere is not going to cause a complete collapse of service in the restaurant.  Asking if the chef can make you a burger instead of what's printed on the menu is not going to cause the other diners to starve or even have to wait longer for their food.  And if it truly is a problem for your request to be accommodated, they will tell you no.  Asking for any of this when you are not a Haven guest is "Karen" behavior.  But in the Haven, you are paying for special service. It is not at all inconsiderate to make a request. I wasn't encouraging anyone to make a demand.

20 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

One cabin cleaning per day appears to be the standard now among all mainstream lines.

MSC has not made that downgrade in service...yet.

OP, ignore the people trying to shame you for your request.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with requesting things from the MDR menu in the Haven restaurant.  There is also nothing wrong with requesting something off menu to be made for you if it's something they would have the ingredients for in the Haven restaurant galley.  Yes, my comment sounds entitled.  But paying the price for the Haven comes with this entitlement.  If for some reason they can't accommodate you, they can tell you no.  But you are paying for yeses when you plunk down that Haven cabin money.  If it's possible, you can contact the Haven maitre'd earlier in the day to notify them of your request.  Sending a runner, butler or even a waiter to use the staff elevators and passageways to obtain your special request is not going to wreck havoc on the dinner service for the Haven restaurant.  If it's a dessert you want, a good idea is to have your butler get it and leave it in your room to have for "second dessert" later.

19 minutes ago, CRUICE CNL said:

Ok. I have the myNCL homepage which shows my room number, my names and everything as well as a check mark showing online check in is complete. 
 

My current embarkation time is 12:30pm for a 4pm departure. Do you think it’s crucial for me to get their sooner? 

Stop. Breath. Back in the day before everyone had printers people were still able to check in and board.  NCL has all your info.  Technically those Edocs are for you.  They will be able to process you with no problems.  Just tel them you couldn't print them.   Bring a copy of any other documentation like the page showing your room, etc. and something that shows paid in full just to be safe and for your peace of mind.  No it certainly is not crucial for you to arrive sooner.  But, they don't look at assigned times, and if you want to get there earlier, you may be able to board sooner.

14 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we tried that and were told there was definitely going to be a fee. it will probably depend on your waiter team, but I wouldn't just straight up tell people that it will definitely be free.

 

Just an FYI for first time cruisers, these every day pastas are pretty tiny. You can see pics in my review (link in signature).

Since the Italian tradition usually includes a pasta course, personally I would have spoken to a supervisor if they refused a starter size portion of pasta (if they insisted the fee was for the pasta as a main).  Our experience on Meraviglia with portion size was totally different.  While the sizes of the pasta dishes were not as large as one would get from a restaurant in the U.S., They were definitely a reasonable dinner sized portion and not nearly as tiny as your pictures.  Also the salad portions were larger than what you experienced.

Not sure if the $5 surcharge is per each extra entree or a blanket fee for all extra entrees as the wording is confusing, and no one here had personal experience with ordering more than one extra the last time I asked here. Keep in mind that there are multiple pasta dishes available in the every day section, and there is either a pasta or risotto dish every night in the section of the menu that changes each night.  Ordering any of those as a "starter" will get you the meal sized portion with no extra fee.  Also, most nights there is an entree salad which should also have the same results.  You can order as many items as you want from the starters and desserts with no restrictions.

I don't know if you can order off the dining experience menu without a dining plan, as the no choice of restaurants in the plan thing is new.  However, I do think I remember the menus having a prix fix option that may have been the same as the plan menu?  You do have to wait until boarding to make reservations for dining and shows.  You may be able to reserve some of that while waiting to board if the MSC app is working in the terminal.  

You will find out your assigned dining time once you are issued your key card.  The daily planner will tell you where and at what time you can go to request changes.

On Meraviglia everything, and I do mean everything was Med for MSC.  The shampoo and body wash, the liquid soap by the sink, and pretty much every breath we took, all Med for MSC.  At the beginning of your cruise, sniff the room diffuser for sale in the gift store.  From that point on, you will be aware that Med is everywhere.  You will notice it in the hallways, the theater, even near the elevators on the pool deck where they have the fans drying the floors.  And now, it's even in my living room, because it's actually a very pleasant, not at all intrusive scent, and we just had to buy the diffuser for home.

30 minutes ago, K_S said:

Thanks for the update.  It certainly clarifies one of the smaller details I was unclear on.

 

As a side and unrelated note, meals in the room were mentioned.  We are staying in the Founders w/Large Balcony.  As I understand it, that is the one room where you can have any restaurant deliver a meal in the room.  If true, and if we have specialty dining available for the room meal, do we still have to pay for in-room dining?  Or is that just an added 20% gratuity?  (or am I just way off?)

All Haven rooms allow food delivery by your butler from any restaurant.  You will have to use a meal credit or pay for whatever you order if it is from a specialty restaurant or normally incurs a fee (e.g. an item from the MDR that has a surcharge or a catering type item).  If you use a dining credit, you have already paid the gratuity and will not be charged more.

1 hour ago, K_S said:

Thanks for the read everyone.  1st NCL cruise here in a few months and only second ever (Disney being first and very different).

 

We have prepaid gratuities.  Per the post above, can someone explain the Haven staff breakdown a little?

 

Butler ==> Person bringing specialized XYZ items whenever we call them?

Concierge ==> People helping book things?

Room Steward ==> Cleans room/turns down beds?

Porter ==> Self Explanatory

Wait Staff / Bartenders ==> Paid by prepaid gratuities, but always good to tip your waitstaff if they are good!!!

 

If we don't call for much or require too many specialize accommodations, have booked our own shore excursions and restaurants ahead of time, would we adjust this scale above to maybe reward the steward most? 

 

Obviously, porters/wait staff/bartenders are always on a per basis anywhere you go.

 

Thanks in advance.

The room steward is already included in the DSC.  

Tipping is personal.  Just because someone here states with authority how much they supposedly tip means absolutely nothing.  The one thing about tipping is that etiquette wise it is done at the end of the cruise.  Tipping before a service is not a tip.  It's a bribe, and may actually come across as insulting to a good butler.  It may be looked at as you feel they will not perform their job to the best of their abilities if they are not bribed to do so.

FYI, Meraviglia has the classics favorites menu.