Ever since we sailed an facing suite with NCL years ago, thats the only way we go now. Its a walk to get to the haven, but we dont mind it for the HUGE wrap around balcony we get.
Just came back from a week on the Bliss in the Haven. Incredible experience and you all categorized it very well.Had our grandkids with us so never went to the top deck of the Haven cause of age restrictions. Haven experience was incredible. Appreciate your comparison cause my wife and I may try a 5 day cruise in MSC yacht Club and your insights are very helpful!! Thanks again.
We hope you enjoy it! Definitely has some pluses as well as some negatives. But always good to try different lines so you know what works best for you! Thanks for watching have a nice week!
I think I'd give MSC a shot! Good late night pizza is a bonus! WOOHOO! I love it when people get the giggles. Looks like Jack has seen it many times! 🤣
You missed out one of the greatest benefits in Yacht Club (I don't know, if the Haven offers that as well): Priority boarding and disembarkement on every port. If your doing an excursion or just want to go into town, you meet with your butler in the lounge and he brings you directly out of the ship to your bus or outside the port building, passing by every queue. That's just great and very relaxing (although I felt a bit guilty some times, when we passed long queues and were just seated into the next shuttle bus before anyone else...).
I took the Prima back in April and comparing the Haven on that ship vs. the Breakaway was like night and day! I didn't meet my butler until the next day. The room was not cared for the same way that it was on the breakaway. The bed was hard as a rock, then we realized they hadn't put the normal padding on the bed! There was 2 days on the Prima that the soap and lotion was not refilled until I asked on the third day. The room had a foul order because the attendant didn't rinse the drain one day which meant he only half cleaned the room. The butler didn't refill items unless we asked and then we finally gave up! The fast track to get on tour buses was NONEXISTANT! The escort back on the ship was non existent. After experiencing the breakaway, the prima was disappointing. Not sure if it was even more staffing cuts or management. I suspect it was management because there were other areas on the ship that looked like they collected employees that didn't work hard. Ironically, the service outside of the haven was better than inside of it. I would take the breakaway in a heart beat, but never again would I spend extra for the Haven on the Prima! But both the Prima and the Breakaway have a sauna, so that's is something on a cold day.
@@rosey312 Sapphire level here; If my service was that bad ( doesn't matter what ship ) I would have seen the concierge about it...and their tip would have show the lack of service.
@@tommac5891 The concierge was part of the problem. They were the ones that were supposed to provide the escorts and off the boat! There were so many issues that I only hit the highlights! I only tipped 3 people and 2 of those were bartenders!
Thx for the thoeough review. I've done 4 cruises, 1st on Carnival, other 3 on NCL. I had plans to do Haven on a future NCL booking, but it seems like the MSC YC is way better. Decisions decisions 🤔
Such a great video! Thanks. We are both DCL "Platinum" (wife is Marriott Titanium) and we did our first non-DCL cruise in a decade on NCL last Fall. Non-Haven. It was good, not great. We are trying another NCL on the Getaway this Fall. Yes Haven, as price diff for the Balcony wasnt too large. After booking, now learning about MSC Yacht . . . hmm. Neither of us drink. I am devoted to Diet Dr Pepper and wife loves her gourmet laté's. NCL loves the upcharges (Disney has very few), so we'll see what is truly "included" and what their Butler can really do. I think we'll know by the middle of the cruise whether we book NCL's new announced CanadaPhilly route or investigate MSC and our transferrable status. I will report back.
We would suggest asking for the menu at the Yacht Club bar and order off that specific menu. They just aren’t as well trained as the mixologists in the Haven. But not a bad selection of liquors and wines in the Yacht Club.
We just got off the MSC Seascape last week and the Yacht Club bartenders were more than capable of making any mixed drink we requested. I'm not sure why you stated that they are mostly only capable of wine, beer, or shots of straight liquor.
Having experienced both the Yacht Club and the Haven on several ships, the Yacht Club is by far superior. NCL is really penny pinching their Haven guests.
Great review we have done both as well and agree with every point one thing about the suite pool area on breakaway class is even though it is indoors it is kind of like a fish bowl where you feel like you can be “People watched” not only by the people surrounding (which is normal) but the feeling that the people in the rooms surrounding the pool area can be watching you as well. A few people mentioned that as well while we were on board as far as that being a thing that bothered them. Did not stop us but I guess people that may feel self conscious could have a concern there.
We've done Yacht Club twice now (last year and two months ago) and will pick YC over Haven every time from now. Yes, the experience wasn't as "bougie" as Haven, but, if you lower your expections accordingly for what you get with the price difference, we think YC is a no-brainer.
Appreciate your thoughts and comments on Yacht Club vs Haven. I wish you would have experienced Yacht Club for more than a 3 day cruise as I think your short cruise did not give you the opportunity to get a full YC experience. It's somewhat unfair to compare a 3 day experience with a 7 day experience.
We have done a 4 night in the Haven and the 3 night with Yacht Club. We wish would have had more time in Yacht Club but it gave us a good taste to compare.
I went on MSC Seascape Yacht Club a few months ago and I was told you get one hour a day in the thermal spa with sea days needing a reservation. I went almost everyday on my cruise. Maybe something changed since I went.
We sail primarily NCL and except for our 1st two back in 2004 always pampered and spoiled in the Haven. Last year we opted to sail MSC hoping for a similar experience. We loved the MSC Meraviglia. Loved the Yacht Club Restaurant, the Top Sail Lounge, etc. We found the food to be geared more to the Europeans rather than American cuisine which I enjoyed but not so much my wife. If I forgo the major functional issues (A/C & hot tub) with our Duplex Suite and the fact that the only time after day one we received any service from our butler was on Ocean Cay, huge disappointment, we truly enjoyed our cruise. Comparing MSC Yacht Club and NCL Haven should be limited to the larger and newer NCL ships. e.g. NCL Joy. Most of the older and smaller ships do not even have a dedicated Haven area and are limited to only the perks e.g. NCL Dawn. I did, however, very much appreciate your well discussed opinions and comments video. Thank you
I tried MSC YC because the price was right and I figured I might as well give it a shot. 😮Sadly, it was not my vibe. But it was a clarifying experience as it confirmed that Celebrity Retreat and Disney Concierge is where I belong. 😂 I’ve never sailed NCL, but helpful to hear your opinion!
Would love to know how it was not your vibe. I am about to do my first MSC-YC in September. (Treat yourself to NCL one of these days....just for the food!!)
@@eld4726 I think you should form your own opinion. But I will say I did not feel the experience was up to the standards of other suite experiences I’ve had. However, it was also a third of the price. But I’d rather pay more to get an experience that I prefer. Not interested in NCL Haven but I don’t doubt that it’s a wonderful experience.
@@PiaAdora Thanks for the response! I, too, would rather pay to get the experience I want. I should try Celebrity one of these days. Friends have spoken highly of it. No real interest in Disney.
First MSC booking in YC after sapphire in Haven.... time will tell which is better. Found out they charge for pizza in room but when saving 35%+ I can live with that :)
I’m getting interested in the Explora I ……. that is a new cruise ship in the luxury division of MSC. It competes with other luxury cruise lines like Regent and Silversea….. so instead of a luxury space tucked inside a premium cruise line like NCL, the Explora is all suites and all included with no off limit ship within a ship areas. Any thoughts on Explora Journeys? I’m just trying to find out more information and I was wondering if you had ever considered it
We will be doing a cruise on Explora I later this week! Probably going to have a live this weekend with our initial thoughts and definitely episodes in the future! We are excited to try that level of luxury for so affordable!
Wow! That’s what I call good timing. I think Explora I looks amazing….. I love the Retreat on the Celebrity Edge ships but for approximately the same money I can have a smaller ship luxury experience with fewer crowds. Seems intriguing to me
We have done the Haven several times and Yacht club several times. Yacht Club is so much better, Haven is boring, same food everyday, no outside bar like the One pool deck and I totally disagree with the food being better in the Haven. As far as overall experience, Yacht club wins hands down. Not sure if this has changed but Haven has no priority boarding unit you get thru security, which means you have to wait on line and then go into the haven waiting area. Yacht Club has a separate area to board only for yacht Club and you bypass all the lines, same getting off.
Americans love pizza, I have noticed. My husband is American and on our recent celebrity cruise, he kept talking about pizza and looking for it. This was an important point for you to mention that helps my future decision-making lol.
Haha! We are not huge pizza people but it is definitely nice once in a while! It’s definitely the best pizza we have had on a cruise. I will also have a comparison between Celebrity Retreat and MSC Yacht club in about a week. So keep an eye out for that! Thanks for watching!
I think this was a great summary of the two products. Honestly both are super nice in our experience and anyone would be fortunate to sail on either. We have future bookings on both. I personally find the room variety on the Haven nice and gives you flexibility especially if you’re traveling with little ones the extra space is nice.
