DCGuy64

Wow, $1,000 is not chump change, well done. That's quite the savings. I hope you had a nice cruise.

A lot of it depends on the carrier. As others have said (correctly), it is often possible to upgrade or make special arrangements with the airline once you have been ticketed. The key word, though, is possible. Not guaranteed. We only used the NCL airfare once, and it was a great experience. We saved money and, due to our relationship with the airline, we were able to upgrade our seats for free. If you're saving money, and that's important to you, then go with NCL. But if you're the kind of person who likes having more control, and you're willing to pay extra for it, then I'd say book it yourself. Since I don't know you or your travel preferences, it's hard to say. But we had a great experience.

Classy! And this, dear reader, is why we like the Yacht Club!

January 14.

Thank you very much, I'll check out the review from @Essiesmom, as well. We are no strangers to MSC: we started sailing with them in 2018 and this will be our 4 cruise (but first time on the Seashore). We love MSC because it feels very European to us. We especially like the Yacht Club because they offer a nice experience at a reasonable cost. EDIT: it should be our 5th MSC cruise, but the 2020 Preziosa cruise was cancelled for obvious reasons.

Thank you for the review! We're doing a short cruise next month on the Seashore and it's so nice seeing pictures of the ship.

Just curious if the long delays are for ANY vehicles, or just if you're driving yourself and parking. We are taking a taxi, and hoping delays aren't too bad. Thank you in advance!

Please don't trust bad reviews. They AREN'T typical at all. Before our first MSC cruise in 2018, we also read many negative reviews of our ship (the Seaside). It was a fantastic cruise and we're hooked on MSC because of it. Just keep in mind two things: 1. Ships like the Seashore host 1,000s of passengers every sailing, and the vast majority don't write reviews at all. 2. Those who do write reviews, are likely the ones who have an axe to grind. We are booked on the Seashore next month and can't wait. 😃

Haha, I hope they can get the Negroni Sbagliato correct. (the word "sbagliato" means "wrong, messed up" in Italian).

Interesting to hear that. We saw the MSC World Europa last month while docked in Malta, and it's gargantuan! Our upcoming cruise next month is on the Seashore, which I think is the same size as the Seaside (our first MSC cruise, in 2018). World class might also be too much for us.

MSC always seems to offer a good variety of foods. HOWEVER, and without wishing to put a damper on your expectations, it's just possible your picky son won't like what they have. I don't know how many times I have read of people's disappointments with cruise lines' food offerings, only to find out later that they were extremely picky. If your son ends up not liking what they serve, then it might be because they tend to favor European flavors. In my view, NO ONE should expect any cruise line food to be just like home. It's just not possible-1,000s of passengers with different food preferences, how can you prepare food individually for that many people? (With that said, my wife and I love MSC exactly because it's not like home, that's the whole point,)

Thank you for pointing this out, it's helpful to know your background and expectations. Hoping things get better for you as things progress!

Great! I guess your TA wasn't too far off. Glad you received your refund. 😄

Well, hindsight is 20/20. Given how long we waited for the cable car, walking up the path actually would've been faster. One person I met on the cruise said she made it up hill in 30 minutes. That's much faster than the 2 hours it took us using the cable car (and walking is free!). I'm not a big fan of hash browns. I'll eat them if they're already part of a breakfast dish, but I don't seek them out. My wife asked at the Garden Café and was told they didn't have them. We didn't starve. 😉

I'm almost 60 and, compared to some cruisers, I'm also a youngster, LOL!

No, if you re-read my earlier reply to you, I was very clear about saying that using food delivery services on a regular basis (not as a treat from time to time) to one's own home is, in my view, foolish. I wasn't talking about being away from home and staying at a hotel. It's not practical, or even possible, to prepare fresh meals in a hotel room (at least, not the kind I stay in - I never, ever, ever travel for work, though some people do, so I don't stay in the mini-apartment kind). When we were in Spain last year we stayed in an AirBnB, and there we did buy groceries and prepare our own meals.

It was very nice, there seemed to be a lot of space. They closed the spa for several days towards the end of our cruise, for maintenance reasons. I suspect that means it'll be even better now than when we were there. They have 2 saunas: one is cooler but has more humidity, the next one is drier but hotter. They also have a salt room which is kept around 75 degrees Fahrenheit, which I enjoyed after sitting in the hot sauna. We spent time in the Thermal Spa every day.

Also, I know from personal experience that grocery stores do home delivery, and even with a modest delivery fee, it's STILL far cheaper than ordering fast food from UberEats, Grubhub, DoorDash, etc. Cooking your own food is always cheaper (assuming you're not eating truffles and filet mignon, of course), and even people with kids and/or those who've had too many, can get groceries delivered. Yes, even in Chicago.

Correct on all points. I chose to refrain from commenting directly toward that person because he/she was grasping at straws... But you are 100% correct, both in what I meant and in inferring that anyone with a functioning brain should know better than to drink and drive. Well said.

🤣

Anytime I have unlimited food and drink just steps from my bedroom is a good cruise! 😄 My review was already pretty long, so I didn't mention that I thought the food in the Garden Café was pretty decent, especially things like the pizza, Indian and Chinese food, carving station, and more. Drinks were consistently tasty, if occasionally weak in the alcohol department. The food in the free restaurants at dinner was quite good. We have another, shorter cruise in about 6 weeks and I'm already looking forward to that one! (not with NCL, however, next one is on MSC)

Same here. I like having options, especially when it means I can choose NOT to pay for something I don't want. I just know from the many threads on Cruise Critic that there will always be some segment of the cruising public that will say "forget all the add-on's, I just want to have it all rolled into one," but as soon as that were to happen, another segment would cry foul and demand the opposite. 🤷‍♂️ Not sure there's ever going to be a marketing strategy that pleases everyone.

Exactly. And as sure as the sun rises and sets, the minute NCL decides to bundle everything (and charge more in the process), people who complain about the "nickel and diming" will be the ones howling from the rooftops about not being to opt out of things they don't want. I guarantee this would happen. (I'm not an NCL cheerleader, BTW, just an increasingly curmudgeonly skeptic.)

Right? Same thing I was thinking.

On one of these boards some months ago, someone claimed that NCL actually told him that "free at sea" referred to the convenience/freedom factor, not the absence of cost. So it may depend on one's definition of "free," since it has several meanings. 😄