Disney Concierge vs NCL Haven vs Royal suite

If you are vegetarian, then I think NCL will come up short for you in the food department. They weren't particularly veg friendly when last we sailed. The veg options are pretty much pasta, pasta and more pasta. And I noticed that they actually eliminated veg options at some of the specialty restaurants since our last time on NCL.

Depending on what appealed to you about NCL, the food might not be a deal breaker. IMO, the spa experience on NCL exceeds DCL by a pretty large margin. NCL also has some great entertainment options (and having the suite concierge to get you front of the line service for shows was a great benefit). But it really has been the food and personalized service that have kept us from returning to NCL after trying DCL.

Thank you for this! For me I care much less about the food than the service so the poor service is a concern.
It’s crazy on NCL you have a butler and a concierge and it still doesn’t measure up to Disney.
I love the things to do on the bigger ships Disney is loosing there.
I’m starting to think no matter where we go we will be disappointed.
We were looking at the new bliss of royals symphony of the seas in a suite. The bliss lounge looks amazing.
 
Amazing, thank you for your review!! So it’s the service on Disney that separated it? Would you say ncl Haven was nicer concierge area? ThE bliss haven lounge looks incredible!!
I thought there was reserved seating by pools? Maybe that was Royal. I’m getting confused.

No reserved seating on NCL other than the "reserved" seating people do at 6am when they place a book and a towel on a chair.

The Bliss sounds like there’s way way more to do than any of the Disney ships.

I haven't checked out the Bliss to see what they are offering vs. Disney.

What did your kids think of the kids clubs?

Mine definitely prefers the Disney kids clubs. NCL is very structured and doesn't have a lot of free play. She really likes to being able to hop from one activity to the next. That said, she still did enjoy the couple times she went to the NCL club. She just didn't ask to go to it nearly as much as she did Disney'.

Which ncl ship did you do?

The Escape.

Ok did you no have access to snacks on the haven lounge?

Periodically they put stuff out in the pool courtyard. Our Butler left some random snack (she seemed to try out a couple things and then bring us stuff we ate more of the rest of the trip) in the afternoon. You could order whatever you wanted from the servers at the pool though. So if you wanted a snack and there were none out, you just had to order it and they would bring it a little later.

Your friends that didn’t have a great Butler was their room lower category than yours? What room did you get? We are thinking of the forward facing penthouse suite although the two bd villas look nice they are just pricy!

We were both in 2 bedroom suites. Same class of room.

How was the embarkation on ncl? Mimosas?

Embarkation was super easy though we did wait a lot longer to get on board than we have with Disney. It felt a little more cattle cally too and they did not say the family name when you get on board (if that matters to you). We did get to board before everyone else and went directly to the Haven where we were able to order drinks at the Haven bar (which, of course, we did :p)
 
I’m going on a ncl and rccl cruise and I have been on dcl if your looking for kid friendly suites go with Rccl or dcl if you are looking go couples suites go with the haven if you just want class go with rccl symphony of the seas star loft suite
 
We are going on the Disney Magic in concierge
on April 6 2018
 


My advice is to never ever sail on MSC Yacht Club with kids. We read posts like these (written by adults who had a great time) and mistakenly booked two MSC YC cruises in the Med in close succession as they seemed quite cheap relatively and we liked the ports.

With four kids it was an utter nightmare. We got banished from the restaurant on the first boat and had to sit my ourselves in a special section in the buffet to get our YC food for dinner because we had a baby and our neighboring table complained if the baby let out the slightest sound. The kids clubs were dreadful and no English was spoken so my kids had no idea what was going on. In addition the Kids Club staff members have a quite European attitude towards appropriate behavior by children and my kids got in lots of trouble for pointing out a geographical error made by a staff member because the staff member felt they were undermining their authority. Probably the most disturbing thing was that my (rather tall) eleven-year old girl twins got hit on multiple times by staff members and I had to escort them everywhere to prevent random staff members grinding their pelvises against them especially at the deck parties.

I can see that if you are a US retired couple (who likes a drink, wines or fancy high teas) then MSC YC would be great choice. It is certainly cheap and we observed that older US couples seemed to get quite good service and having a good time. And if you don't like kids it would be wonderful because they actively discourage kids from YC. For a large US family with younger kids it was a complete nightmare and we certainly hid and did not use the public spaces much.

I have never sailed Haven, but have sailed in a Suite on smaller NCL boats and enjoyed it. The room is better than a regular disney room and we have a different vacation which is more about quietly hanging out in our room and eating than on a DCL cruise where it is all go all the time.






I'll offer another option - MSC and their concierge Yacht Club (YC). We have not sailed MSC with children but I'll say:

Pros:
Butler + Concierge
Free drinks, gelato, specialty coffees across the ship
Mini bar in cabin included and restocked how and as often as you need it
Beautiful lounge with panoramic bow windows, small plate appetizers most of the day/evening
Gourmet restaurant with rotating menus
Private pool and 2 whirlpools, poolside bar and small buffet + grill
Public pool decks better for children IMO
Multiple specialty (fee) restaurants
Great pizza
Great prices

Cons:
International, multi-lingual crew means you don't get extremely personalized service
New ship is getting mixed reviews but YC gets high rankings as per previous ships
Children's clubs do not measure up to DCL
There are more cons if you do not sail YC - for example sometimes it's almost impossible to get a drink in a bar
Crew do their jobs but we have not met those fantastic personalities we encounter on DCL/NCL

But oh, that Yacht Club!
 
My advice is to never ever sail on MSC Yacht Club with kids. We read posts like these (written by adults who had a great time) and mistakenly booked two MSC YC cruises in the Med in close succession as they seemed quite cheap relatively and we liked the ports.

With four kids it was an utter nightmare. We got banished from the restaurant on the first boat and had to sit my ourselves in a special section in the buffet to get our YC food for dinner because we had a baby and our neighboring table complained if the baby let out the slightest sound. The kids clubs were dreadful and no English was spoken so my kids had no idea what was going on. In addition the Kids Club staff members have a quite European attitude towards appropriate behavior by children and my kids got in lots of trouble for pointing out a geographical error made by a staff member because the staff member felt they were undermining their authority. Probably the most disturbing thing was that my (rather tall) eleven-year old girl twins got hit on multiple times by staff members and I had to escort them everywhere to prevent random staff members grinding their pelvises against them especially at the deck parties.

I probably won’t have the chance to sail concierge level ever, and I do not sail with children.

However, it is totally NOT okay for crew members to grind against any passengers...ever (especially not very young girls). I just find this repulsive and consider myself thoroughly warned as a solo traveler; a cruise line that would tolerate this behavior from crew would not be a cruise line for me.
 
My advice is to never ever sail on MSC Yacht Club with kids. We read posts like these (written by adults who had a great time) and mistakenly booked two MSC YC cruises in the Med in close succession as they seemed quite cheap relatively and we liked the ports.

Interesting review. What ship? We are doing MSC YC with kids and luckily I have zero concerns..... this is the first review I've read about crew being negative toward kids. Just goes to show everyone has different experiences. I am certain I'll come back with rave reviews :D
 


We sailed concierge in a Cat V for the Iceland cruise this past summer. It was amazing, of course. For our next cruise we are going to Alaska in 2020. I booked NCL because of the itinerary. It is just way better than DCL. It is a one-way with Glacier Bay. So, we can explore Alaska after the cruise. We are booked in a Deluxe Owner's Suite, which is the second biggest room on the ship. The balcony is huge and has a private hot tub. The haven has a private deck that covers both port and starboard sides of the ship.

Now that prices are out for DCL to Alaska, it turns out we are paying the same price as a deluxe family suite (non-concierge) on DCL!

You have to take everything into account. Itinerary is first to me, then amenities / price. So, I feel that what I am getting for my money is far more on NCL than on DCL in this situation. That is really what is important. I know how I feel about my decision, so I guess, maybe how you 'feel' about it is first (ahead of itinerary) :)
 

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