omarchs

We were in the Haven at the end of November and there was talk of them adding back lobster to the Haven menu in the new year.

Maybe you may have this addition if you missed lobster like many others.

Thanks very much for the feedback! We don’t sail until May, but will be watching the feedback closely since this will be our first time on MSC.

Can you provide any information on smoking around the top sail pool area? Seem to be many concerns that they aren’t very restrictive on smoking in other areas of the ship. NCL Haven areas nicely segment smoking/non-smoking on their sundeck but the top sail area looks much larger.

Thanks ang glad you had a great trip!

i Haven’t seen an updated map with names on our last few visits, but the closest to the tender doc has been named the patron beach where there is a section with just clam shells. There are just rows and rows of them that they open up when you ask for one.

The next beach over has been named Bacardi beach and there is another section of clamshells here. This area is closest to the lunch buffet.

There are other further beaches from the tender dock where the large cabanas are also located and then lastly where the smaller cabanas are located. These areas are usually less crowded since they are quite a walk. They are creating more of a paved walkway area that will making the walk easier. We didn’t see the any trams yet moving people. Probably will be operational once the lagoon area is finished which is the furthest area from the pier. This will be for the Haven guests, but there is also talk that others could buy a pass there. This area is fenced off and still not close to being finished.

There were also clamshells in the cabana beach area but you are pretty isolated down there but nicer if you want to avoid the major crowds. You can’t really walk the beach from one end to another since there is a rocky area that juts out after the Bacardi beach.

The clamshells used to sell out fast, but they were still available on the day of our visit. I believe they now have more with the expanded beach areas plus there is more shade so some people may not see the need for them anymore. We still feel they are a good deal and you have at least a guaranteed spot.

You can’t set them up next to an uncovered lounger or you would need to buy two clamshells and have them not put up the clam piece on the next set ( or maybe a big tip instead) I just got a clamshell on the end and took a longer in the sun on the aisle next to the clamshells. Works if you are there early.

Clamshells are a good option that we have used. The used to assign you to a particular beach, but now they are first come first serve anywhere on the island.

They have also planted a lot of additional trees during the ongoing renovations and there are many more shaded options for loungers than in the past so you could also go this route if You get over to the island Before the big crowds get there.

Was doing the same comparison out of NY/NJ for next holiday and noticed the same thing.

Felt Royal had been higher for a while, but Royal was now cheaper even adding the xtra dollars for ncl included perks.

You do have to be careful with Royal since they do have a cheaper rate with a non-refundable deposit. Royal was much cheaper with the non-refundable rate, but still hundreds less on the refundable.

Hopefully ncl will run the promo in January with free port taxes since this deal has some of the best deals I have seen.

The show lounge is small compared to the number of passengers. I never go to the shows so it doesn't bother me. Also, it is unusual that the chairs are not bolted to the floor and can be moved around.

There wasn’t really a good seat in the lounge and it was sub zero in there. John Heald held a QA on our voyage and he even admitted he expected them to change the liquid setup on future ships since it was one thing that didn’t really work on the ship. They tried to make it more multi-purpose, but it was a fail.

Wouldn’t stop us from booking, but other new ships out there I want to try next year before the Horizon.

Thanks was wondering about this also. I don’t mind tipping extra for service, but annoyed with Ncl with the Haven where the Butler/concierge aren’t included.

Everyone feels obligated to tip them even if you don’t really use them since they aren’t included in the daily.

One odd thing to me is how they advertised this as a warm weather ship and connecting people to the outside, but I don’t see any outside dining.

I was expecting something along the lines of the Ncl Breakaway class waterfront drinks/dining areas. All the drinking/eating places on the lower decks look all inside and glassed in. This is disappointing to me if this is the case since I love the Breakaway waterfront concept and was hoping for something similar here.

Yes, just there last week and there is a roped off area of loungers beyond the patron bar for Haven passengers. More of a convenience than a prime location. You are off first from the haven so you really have your choice of locations and these only help if you go over late. There is both sun and shade.

Walked over towards the lagoon haven area but you can’t get anywhere close since it is all behind fences.

From a distance you can see that the cabanas/bungalows are just shells at this stage. Nobody was willing to estimate a date for completion. They were working on them along with some multi-story story observatory near the water.

One thing that i saw in various articles about the ship was the comment that the casino was non-smoking. I would have thought that this would have been mentioned quite a bit if this was the case since you don't see this on ships and some people may be angry while others will be thrilled.

In some of the communication regarding the Seaside, i thought i saw them indicate that the Meraviglia wasn't coming to the US until late 2019. If that is the case, then you wouldn't see a Bermuda season until 2020 if this was the boat. Maybe they might release exact details on the timing/routes once the Seaside is christened on the 21st.

A friend just told me today that their sailing to Cuba in October 2018 was switched to the Majesty of the Seas

Thanks for taking time out from your vacation to provide us with the great info/photos!!! We sail in 33 days!

Do you have a photo of the regular liquor brands that would be included in the beverage package? You had posted the O'Sheehan's menu of drinks/Super Premium brands, but didn't see the regular brand page. Your Dark and Stormy posting reminded me that Goslings was listed as a super premium brand not too long ago and you had to pay extra with the beverage package for one. NCL seems to routinely shift brands to various classifications so curious what is included these days.

Thanks again!

We are on the Breakaway Nov 26 and we haven't heard anything yet. Have seen others getting bids accepted for December dates but I haven't specifically seen the Breakaway mentioned in these posts.

Thanks again for all the valuable info everyone!!

I guess NCL has achieved their purpose of not letting any of us see a pattern. Many with lots of supply close in and not accepting bids while others at the 80 mark immediately being accepted on big ticket cabins.

Don't see much rhyme or reason as to their programming logic. Would have thought our fair bid for late November would have been long ago accepted with the amount of inventory out there/low season, but we are still waiting..... We still can't complain compared to the many people a week out and still waiting.

End of November shouldn't be that bad weather wise so don't think it really matters that much. I would give the advantage to the Anthem during the true winter months since there are two large covered areas and would always book over the Breakaway during this period.

Congratulations! We are waiting on our similar offer in November. Did you feel that you got one of the better H5 locations in your perspective as one of the first H5s accepted or do you feel they are still holding back better locations hoping for higher offers?

Has anyone received the upgrade offer when they have booked within the 80 day window that the notifications seem to get sent out?

We booked exactly at the 80 day mark and wondering if we should still expect an upgrade offer.

Thanks for all the info! Looking at a last minute cruise on it for my birthday in a few weeks and there are next to no cabins left.

Being an older ship, did anyone feel more motion especially on the upper decks? There are some spa cabins just past the upper level above the pool on deck 10. Realize might get some noise at night from the deck parties, but not sure how much motion we might feel in this location.

Only other option is deck 6 in the front, but you are above the liquid lounge and would expect plenty of noise/vibration plus possible motion there.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Leaning towards deck 10 if we do it. Doubt any other cabins will pop up this close to sailing.

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone on this thread for their feedback! It is extremely helpful!

I believe i have seen this,but just want to confirm. We are looking to book a mini-suite due to the low cost in November, but have sailed in the Haven the last two times and would like to upgrade when we receive the mail.

Sounds like people are being offered specific categories within the Haven to upgrade rather than a generic class of rooms within the Haven. We don't want a category H7 front-facing since afraid of the movement in the very front of the ship and wouldn't want to just bid on a guaranteed Haven room instead of individual room categories.

Can someone confirm you get to bid on individual Haven categories rather than a guaranteed Haven? We would be within final payment if we book and we don't want to pay the 3X rate for a Haven, but don't mind bidding since there is huge inventory in the Haven the week we are sailing.

Was on the Anthem for NYE. I don't remember any reserved tables in the Esplande, but many venues had champagne/table packages that were "limited"

We walked into 270 which had a Latin-themed party and just about every table/chair was reserved and we had a good laugh when one of the staff said take a seat where ther isn't a reserved sign ;) Don't remember the prices, but they weren't cheap especially if you don't drink champagne.

We were on when they still had dynamic dining where there wasn't a ship wide formal night, but the majority of people did dress up regardless.

GSC is still currently being renovated, but the majority of the work has been complete. One of the last pieces is making the former lagoon area into a Haven area. It is due to be complete later this year so stay tuned for details, but it sounds like it will be very nice.

Did the Anthem NYE cruise a few years ago. There were signs on tables in most venues regarding "limited" champagne table packages. Essentially they were limited to how many they could sell. We walked into a few venues and were told feel free to sit anywhere there weren't reserved signs. There were reserved signs everywhere.

Don't remember the package prices, but they were not cheap and we felt this was gouging passengers who already paid double to sail this cruise. We have done other cruise lines at NYE and haven't seen this tactic.

Needless to say we were not happy at won't do another Royal cruise over NYE. Have seen other postings that this is standard practice on all Royal ships over NYE.

Hi everyone, first time in a Suite on Royal. Should we pre-book dinner times in Coastal Kitchen on the Anthem or can you just walk in?

Was on the Anthem in a regular room before and you definitely needed to reserve dinner times in the My Time dining or you had long waits.

I do agree that many of the cruise lines have raised drink prices substantially when low drink prices were a huge plus to cruising. Business for all lines has been great lately and cruise lines are still looking to increase profits even more and this looks like one more idea in addition to the non-refundable deposits like Carnival.

I have felt Royal has become more expensive than some of the other lines lately and this would just add to the equation. We solely go for the best overall value for any trip now since we don't feel any particular mainstream line is that much better to justify paying extra.