An NCL diehard tries MSC for the first time...

[debenson0723]

2 hours ago, Fogfog said:

I appreciate your help.

 

From booking - it doesn't specify pier..and from 

this link

https://voyagerinfo.com/cruise-faqs/where-does-norwegian-cruise-leave-from-in-new-york/

 

I am uncertain how to know which pier (s) NCL sails from. 

You might want to check the East Coast departures board on this forum for lots of information about leaving from MCT, hotels, transportation options, etc. There's really nothing to dread as it is not much different than sailing from other ports if you are informed and prepared. 

[andychris]

Have a great cruise!

[Sugar Magnolia]

Oh @PistolPete13...I shall begrudgingly drag myself over to the MSC board, but only for you.

[kenzie]

On 1/14/2024 at 12:09 AM, yankees111 said:

This should be posted on the MSC boards.

I am interested for the comparison so think is well placed here, MSC ships look nice and with the huge cuts to entertainment, I am thinking of trying this cruiseline as well.

 

[kenzie]

On 1/14/2024 at 12:27 AM, Monstica said:

I took a cruise just this past August on MSC Yacht Club Meraviglia.  I have been in the Haven and I have to say the Yacht Club beats the Haven.  The shows are where NCL shines.  I really didn’t enjoy the shows on MSC.  I can’t say how the food is on the lower levels of MSC but in the Yacht 
Club food was excellent.  Can’t wait to hear about your experience.   Have a great time!

Unfortunately NCL have cancelled most, if not all full west end shows so I wonder if your comments regarding entertainment are still valid? 

[Fogfog]

@PistolPete13

Hope your sailing is going well.

Wondering about the weather and storm system 

[cruiseny4life]

On 1/19/2024 at 7:19 AM, Fogfog said:

@PistolPete13

Hope your sailing is going well.

Wondering about the weather and storm system 

He's posting over on the MSC boards. Photos of many hockey pucks included! 

[PistolPete13]

Well, I'm back in NYC now.  

I've managed to write down most of my thoughts and will continue to add photos during the week.

 

I'd be happy to answer any NCL specific comparision questions on here or the thread over there...
 

Thank you all for the encouraging comments here on this thread!

 

[JGmf]

Hi @PistolPete13.  What's the conclusion?  Sailing MSC again or sticking with NCL?

 

 

 

 

[PistolPete13]

Just now, JGmf said:

Hi @PistolPete13.  What's the conclusion?  Sailing MSC again or sticking with NCL?

 

 

 

 

NCL definitely provided a better experience overall for me all things being equal.  The advantages of NCL for me are (in no particular order).

1. Flexible dining time options for the MDR and Taste/Savor
2. Variety of foods in the buffet and the overall quality of the foods offered

Where MSC wins out for me is:

 

1. The fun atmosphere provided by the onboard entertainment, especially the energy in the nightly atrium party.

2. The streamline shows and entertaiment in the main theaters (for the attention span challenged, shows were 45 mins).

As some of you may know, I like to sail out of NYC and right now MSC has very aggressive pricing along with constant sailings so you can grab something last minute.  MSC will definitey be in contention for me in this area.

On a side note, this sailing makes it 49 days at sea over 5 cruises in four years including the Covid pause.  All of the Caribbean ports will now become repeats for me so I have to think very carefully about the experience on board and what it means to be.  Up until now the destinations took precedence for me and I was happy to be on any ship heading that way.

[bedfordmom]

17 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

On a side note, this sailing makes it 49 days at sea over 5 cruises in four years including the Covid pause.  All of the Caribbean ports will now become repeats for me so I have to think very carefully about the experience on board and what i

Pistol Pete: why don’t you join us on the Escape TA from NYC to Rome April 8th. You just get  16 days off. So what if I don’t get vacation until next year after this cruise. Some folks can telework but not me. A NYC TA either going west or east is something to consider. Totally different ports. BTW I enjoy repeating certain ports like St Martin as there is so much to do there. 

[Greenpea2]

On 1/15/2024 at 7:39 AM, Fogfog said:

I appreciate your help.

 

From booking - it doesn't specify pier..and from 

this link

https://voyagerinfo.com/cruise-faqs/where-does-norwegian-cruise-leave-from-in-new-york/

 

I am uncertain how to know which pier (s) NCL sails from. 

Have sailed NCL for years out of NY--until 3 years ago when I moved out of the area. It was always Pier 88 but I have since heard that sometimes it is a different one now, Very strange that your documents don't list it, I would be concerned, too!!

Edited January 27 by Greenpea2

[Fogfog]

Just now, Greenpea2 said:

Have sailed NCL for years out of NCL--until 3 years ago when I moved out of the area. It was always Pier 88 but I have since heard that sometimes it is a different one now, Very strange that your documents don't list it, I would be concerned, too!!

TYVM

Too early for the docs. I was just researching to choose  a hotel in NYC.

We suspect pier 88 yet if its one of the others nearby--we are good too.

TYVM

 

[Fogfog]

2 hours ago, PistolPete13 said:

Well, I'm back in NYC now.  

I've managed to write down most of my thoughts and will continue to add photos during the week.

 

I'd be happy to answer any NCL specific comparision questions on here or the thread over there...
 

Thank you all for the encouraging comments here on this thread!

 

Looking fwd to your pics. Know it takes a lot of time to get your thoughts and all of it togehter. TYVM for sharing

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Greenpea2 said:

Have sailed NCL for years out of NY--until 3 years ago when I moved out of the area. It was always Pier 88 but I have since heard that sometimes it is a different one now, Very strange that your documents don't list it, I would be concerned, too!!

 

1 hour ago, Fogfog said:

TYVM

Too early for the docs. I was just researching to choose  a hotel in NYC.

We suspect pier 88 yet if its one of the others nearby--we are good too.

TYVM

 

99.99% Pier 88. If not, Pier 90, which is the next pier north of 88 and is also part of the same Manhattan Cruise Terminal so there's absolutely no mystery about where the ship will be docked. 

 

From NCL's website:

https://www.ncl.com/getting-to-the-pier/driving-directions#!#newyork

 

 

 

[david_sobe]

MSC has the best pricing in the industry right now. 

[njhorseman]

32 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

MSC has the best pricing in the industry right now. 

I think it's pretty clear why.

 

The cruise industry "Big Three" are burdened by billions in debt amassed during the long COVID 19 shutdown and need to set prices as high as they can possibly get away with (not to mention cut expenses) in order to pay down that debt. 

 

MSC's cruise operations have the financial backing of their parent corporation's container shipping fleet operations, which are known or at least believed to be enormously profitable, so the cruise line isn't burdened with the Big Three's high interest debt. MSC can take advantage of that absence of debt service to set lower prices and build their business by attracting cruisers who see how much less it can cost to cruise MSC than the other lines they've been cruising. Eventually I think MSC will set prices closer to the other mass market lines after they've attracted enough cruisers from other lines.

Edited January 27 by njhorseman

[Seas2mountains]

The photos on post #55 of the hockey puck hash browns are incredible and I’m amazed that @PistolPete13 can consume that quantity at breakfast and barely gain any weight. 

[graphicguy]

@PistolPete13…thanks for sharing your thoughts.  Appreciated!

 

@njhorseman…everything I’ve read and seen regarding MSC, aside fro the Yacht Club, guests have reported their cruise cuts  have been cut wide and deep!

 

I would imagine MSC cruises are under their own p&l…and not under the financials of their shipping business p&l!

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

I would imagine MSC cruises are under their own p&l…and not under the financials of their shipping business p&l!

 

For many years I worked for a company in a situation similar to MSC Cruises. The parent company was at the time the largest company in the world based on assets in its line of business. Our subsidiary company was rather big itself, but small compared to our parent. The company was not publicly traded at that time just as MSC isn't, so there was no profit pressure from outside investors. Our early objectives were primarily to build the business by putting customers on the books...customers we attracted from other companies primarily by setting prices below what many of the competitors were charging.

 

Yes, obviously we had our own P&L objectives, but our parent was quite willing to absorb substantial losses early on in order to grow our customer base. We were not under substantial earnings pressure in the short run...momma would give us any additional capital we needed to cover our red ink. Only as we matured did profit became an increasingly important objective.

 

After about 20 years momma decided we were not generating a high enough ROI (it was more complicated than just ROI, but I won't go into the details) and decided to sell our sub. I was fortunate enough to have a job where I knew this was going to happen before 99% of of the employees did. As a result when an early retirement buyout plan became available I took it...which caused a lot of head scratching in our corporate headquarters. After all I was only in my mid to late 40's and as far as most everyone knew I had a wonderful career path open ahead of me. A few months after I left the majority of the staff realized why.

[Lady_E]

Its funny I actually just finished a MSC cruise and we're booked on NCL for the first time come Christmas! 

I look forward to your review. 

[Fogfog]

@njhorseman Great pt

We really like the MSC YC product and are Black (Diamond) card holders.

We like th YC service, private lounge/private pool deck, the dining etc. 

Having lived in Italy we appreciate the nod to it roots. And when announcements are in various languages, it gives us an opportunity to try and understand from our old high school class days.

We especially like to sail when those from Europe are on board (and not US school break)

 

MSc certainly stole us away from other lines.

 

We are going to try NCL in Haven for a TA because we couldn't get a stateroom on the MSC TA we wanted.

We expect our NCL Haven room to be lovely having seen video

Food TBD.

Bar TBD.

Embarkation TBD

We already learned about differences in Service 1) MSC butlers can bring bev to cabin  which are included in YC package whereas it will be an upcharge for NCL,  and 2) YC includes unlimited wifi and we must purchase  w NCL, 3) YC includes prem plus bev package which must be purchased w NCL. 4) YC includes unlimited access to spa thermal areas.

 

 

 

[david_sobe]

18 hours ago, njhorseman said:

I think it's pretty clear why.

 

The cruise industry "Big Three" are burdened by billions in debt amassed during the long COVID 19 shutdown and need to set prices as high as they can possibly get away with (not to mention cut expenses) in order to pay down that debt. 

 

MSC's cruise operations have the financial backing of their parent corporation's container shipping fleet operations, which are known or at least believed to be enormously profitable, so the cruise line isn't burdened with the Big Three's high interest debt. MSC can take advantage of that absence of debt service to set lower prices and build their business by attracting cruisers who see how much less it can cost to cruise MSC than the other lines they've been cruising. Eventually I think MSC will set prices closer to the other mass market lines after they've attracted enough cruisers from other lines.

This guy really dives into why makes MSC the most misunderstood cruise line.  No doubt they have the best pricing.  But all kids sail for free under the age of 18 which causes ships to sail at over 1000 over double occupancy.  They don't spend much money on entertainment either.  However the value is there because they are so much less expensive than the other cruise lines.

 

[Fogfog]

19 hours ago, njhorseman said:

I think it's pretty clear why.

 

The cruise industry "Big Three" are burdened by billions in debt amassed during the long COVID 19 shutdown and need to set prices as high as they can possibly get away with (not to mention cut expenses) in order to pay down that debt. 

 

When everyone was running around like their hair was on fire in 2020, we sold the "dogs" and bought--including buying cruise line stock. Its up like 400%

[PistolPete13]

Came across this gem while processing my iPhone photos.

NCL does NOT have an exclusive with the feet on furniture observation lounge crowd.

 

Yuk!