Are everybody Black card members?

The Black Card priority disembarkation merely gets your bags down to the terminal ahead of the others but it doesn't help you get through the line of disembarking passengers who all think they should be first off. The only real priorty disembark is for Yacht Club members who are escorted to their bags by their butler, bypassing all the others in line.

That is so cool of the YC. What if one wants to linger on the ship as long as possible.? Can that also be arranged through YC?

Cheers.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

That is so cool of the YC. What if one wants to linger on the ship as long as possible.? Can that also be arranged through YC?

 

Cheers.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We've never had a problem not going with our disembarkation group and hanging round til a time more convenient for the train to our next destination. That's not on a YC experience either :cool:

Just go and get your luggage from the area with the colour of your group and all the rest has gone so no searching.

We've never had a problem not going with our disembarkation group and hanging round til a time more convenient for the train to our next destination. That's not on a YC experience either :cool:

 

 

 

Just go and get your luggage from the area with the colour of your group and all the rest has gone so no searching.

Yes I understand. Maybe I should rephrase. What I meant is if one as YC level, can stay after regular guests must vacate the ship? Can YC level guests use their cabins way after regular check out times?

Cheers.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Yes I understand. Maybe I should rephrase. What I meant is if one as YC level, can stay after regular guests must vacate the ship? Can YC level guests use their cabins way after regular check out times?

 

Cheers.

Depends on the itinerary. In Europe many ships have rolling embarkation, so there are always passengers on board. It basically never zeroes out.

One of the Black card benefits is late cabin check-out on disembarkation day, and there may be something similar for YC. But they still need you to leave, it's not like you can stay in the room until lunchtime… :D

We did the loyalty match program but after 2 cruises with MSC we will continue to sail with them even if they took away our Black Card. MSC is a very good product and their prices can't be beat, as long as they continue to give us an excellent cruise at good prices, they will be our line of choice for the foreseeable future.

We just came back yesterday from the Divina and we booked 2 more cruises while on board.

Another thing is MSC does not gouge like other lines, everything is fairly priced from the drink packages to the photo packages to 3 dollar Blackjack from 11AM to 3 PM on sea days. We were on a RCCL ship in February and the minimum Blackjack bet was 15 dollars all day long, that's insane

Yes I understand. Maybe I should rephrase. What I meant is if one as YC level, can stay after regular guests must vacate the ship? Can YC level guests use their cabins way after regular check out times?

 

Cheers.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I wouldn't consider staying in the YC cabin any longer than any other cabin due to the time involved for the butlers to do the turn around for next pax. We wait in the Top Sail until our butler is ready to escort us off the ship.

We did the loyalty match program but after 2 cruises with MSC we will continue to sail with them even if they took away our Black Card. MSC is a very good product and their prices can't be beat, as long as they continue to give us an excellent cruise at good prices, they will be our line of choice for the foreseeable future.

We just came back yesterday from the Divina and we booked 2 more cruises while on board.

Another thing is MSC does not gouge like other lines, everything is fairly priced from the drink packages to the photo packages to 3 dollar Blackjack from 11AM to 3 PM on sea days. We were on a RCCL ship in February and the minimum Blackjack bet was 15 dollars all day long, that's insane

Absolutely agree with you. The cost of drinks packages and internet on lines like RCI, Celebrity and NCL is daylight robbery. If MSC keep their prices competitive and don't try to rip us off for the add-ons, then they will have our loyalty. To be fair, the Black card doesn't actually give you too much, not like the free bar in the evening with RCI, but the MSC drinks package is such a good price anyway, and we can drink where we want, when we want. I think they've got it right. Hope it stays that way.

It's ridiculous for someone to feel slighted because they cruised more on MSC to get to be black and now status match gives black to a first time MSC cruiser who has probably been on more cruises than you.

Its a marketing ploy and all businesses use all kinds of marketing ploys. That platinum NCL cruiser that just got his MSC black card on his first MSC cruise may cruise 5 times a year where you only cruise once or twice a year. This is the kind of passenger that MSC is trying to get. Give him the perks and he may cruise 5 times a year with MSC instead of with NCL.

This is wise marketing strategy.

Do you also complain when the person in the cabin next to you got his cabin $200 cheaper than you paid for yours because he got a senior citizen discount and you were too young to get one?

How about if the cabin next to you got a discount that you didn't get because he lived in a different state?

How upset are you when a cruiser waits to the last minute to book and gets the same type cabin as yours but $500 cheaper because they lowered rates to fill the ship at the last moment?

If you take a flight to the port you should ask the person sitting next to you how much they paid for their ticket. There is a very good chance it was much less than yours. Prices vary on supply and demand.

Most of the MSC prices I have seen lately are a couple hundred dollars cheaper than other comparable lines going the same itinerary. Are you going to quit MSC and pay hundreds more on another line because you now get $100 less perks than you used to get?

This gripe is second only to the one on Carnival about people saying they are going to quit cruising on Carnival because they won't let you bring bottles of soda on anymore, just cans of soda.

You're on vacation. Lighten up and enjoy the cruise...........

It's ridiculous for someone to feel slighted because they cruised more on MSC to get to be black and now status match gives black to a first time MSC cruiser who has probably been on more cruises than you.

 

Its a marketing ploy and all businesses use all kinds of marketing ploys. That platinum NCL cruiser that just got his MSC black card on his first MSC cruise may cruise 5 times a year where you only cruise once or twice a year. This is the kind of passenger that MSC is trying to get. Give him the perks and he may cruise 5 times a year with MSC instead of with NCL.

This is wise marketing strategy.

 

you missed the point that not only seasoned cruisers, but also someone who has never set foot on a ship, can get a BLACK CARD just because they have stayed in some hotels chains.

if it was restricted to matching cruise lines loyalty schemes then you have a very valid point

Pete

you missed the point that not only seasoned cruisers, but also someone who has never set foot on a ship, can get a BLACK CARD just because they have stayed in some hotels chains.

 

 

 

if it was restricted to matching cruise lines loyalty schemes then you have a very valid point

 

 

 

 

 

Pete

I take it this is referring to me maybe?

I am a frequent traveller so is my husband it just happens to be in hotels.

If someone is offering you a status match to try a new product who is going to say no?

And for the record we now have a third cruise booked with MSC so in our case their market strategy worked.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I take it this is referring to me maybe?

I am a frequent traveller so is my husband it just happens to be in hotels.

If someone is offering you a status match to try a new product who is going to say no?

And for the record we now have a third cruise booked with MSC so in our case their market strategy worked.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I don't really think that people think that anyone shall say no to the statusmatch.

I can understand why loyal MSCcruisers don't like the statusmatch, I know that I shouldn't like it.

I can understand why regular MSC cruisers are not happy with the status match program, especially since it diluted the benefits of the black card (from a 20% discount to a 5%). However it is a smart marketing move on MSC's part. I considered taking them a long time ago (7 or 8 years in the past?) because the schedule/itinerary of one of their cruises fit well into one of our European trips. But the reviews I read here on Cruise Critic were so poor that I immediately dumped the idea. It took someone on the Princess board mentioning status match for me to consider it again, and learn of MSC's new ships and of Yacht Club. And now I am booked on Seaside and looking forward to a fabulous cruise!

And if my cruise is what I am expecting, I suspect we'll be booking more on MSC. And then Princess and Celebrity (we are Elite on both lines) will lose our business. MSC has a chance to impress me, and I'm betting they will. As such, they gained a family who cruises regularly.

....................if my cruise is what I am expecting, I suspect we'll be booking more on MSC. And then Princess and Celebrity (we are Elite on both lines) will lose our business. MSC has a chance to impress me, and I'm betting they will. As such, they gained a family who cruises regularly.

As a black card holder earned by sailing regularly with MSC, I hope they do and that you have a wonderful cruise on what looks like being a terrific ship.

I've said it before when this subject came up and I'll repeat it again here. Most of us who are regular MSC cruisers bear no ill-will toward those who status-match nor begrudge them the benefits they're receiving as a result. Our gripe is with a company who, we feel, are not valuing their loyal customers and showing them due respect in return. Personally, I'd prefer if they stopped referring to it as a "Loyalty" programme - 'cos it really isn't one.

]I take it this is referring to me maybe?[/color]

I am a frequent traveller so is my husband it just happens to be in hotels.

If someone is offering you a status match to try a new product who is going to say no?

And for the record we now have a third cruise booked with MSC so in our case their market strategy worked.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Nope

I was just referring to the possibility under the scheme rules, not to any person in particular

what they should have addressed is keeping their black card holders , by dint of sailing with them, in a special status which recognises their loyalty and not just removed all the best perks.

There were precious few of us so it would have been entirely feasible to have done just that. like a "super black" member they could have closed it to new members and so have a finite cost going forward.

It would still be possible to do it now.

Pete

So if you're monitoring these boards MSC how about dong something like that

for the record I have cruised with them on 15 occasions

with a total of 151 nights on board

with 3 cruises booked

I can understand why regular MSC cruisers are not happy with the status match program, especially since it diluted the benefits of the black card (from a 20% discount to a 5%). However it is a smart marketing move on MSC's part. I considered taking them a long time ago (7 or 8 years in the past?) because the schedule/itinerary of one of their cruises fit well into one of our European trips. But the reviews I read here on Cruise Critic were so poor that I immediately dumped the idea. It took someone on the Princess board mentioning status match for me to consider it again, and learn of MSC's new ships and of Yacht Club. And now I am booked on Seaside and looking forward to a fabulous cruise!

 

And if my cruise is what I am expecting, I suspect we'll be booking more on MSC. And then Princess and Celebrity (we are Elite on both lines) will lose our business. MSC has a chance to impress me, and I'm betting they will. As such, they gained a family who cruises regularly.

We compared the price for a week on Norwegian Epic and for a week on MSC Meraviglia and MSC costed more than 3000 USD less, Haven compared to Yacht Club, and that was our reason to try something new.

The statusmatch was nice but not at all important for us.

We compared the price for a week on Norwegian Epic and for a week on MSC Meraviglia and MSC costed more than 3000 USD less, Haven compared to Yacht Club, and that was our reason to try something new.

 

The statusmatch was nice but not at all important for us.

I agree, the status match was nice, but didn't clinch the deal. BUT I would never have even looked at MSC if I hadn't seen someone talking about status match on the Princess boards. So it got me to actually look at and price out the MSC cruise.

I agree it's a great deal though. We sailed a 7 day Caribbean cruise on Princess in a suite in 2014 and that cost us $3.5K more than our YC cabin in 2018. Sure, the cabin is smaller, but the YC extras more than make up for the difference.

We "loyal" MSC cruisers with many thousands of points beyond Black are still waiting for the announcement of a platinum (or whatever) Voyagers Club level that will give us back the perks (and more) we lost last year. An automatic upgrade into Yacht Club would be nice!

We "loyal" MSC cruisers with many thousands of points beyond Black are still waiting for the announcement of a platinum (or whatever) Voyagers Club level that will give us back the perks (and more) we lost last year. An automatic upgrade into Yacht Club would be nice!

.............. or, at minimum, the 20% discount! The current 5%+5% or 5%+15% Voyagers Club discount on some sailings are a joke as the starting prices for the selected itineraries are inflated to begin with. The same cruises often work out cheaper in the main body of the website.

I do like your suggestion, CC. One of the perks that was removed was a free upgrade to the next category - subject to availability. That could become a perk along with a better discount than is currently offered to Black. I wouldn't be too pushed about the Prosecco being upgraded to champagne, etc. I'd prefer if they didn't tinker with minor things. Make the perks worthwhile to aim for.

I remember being flamed on here when the perks were withdrawn/watered down soon after I'd achieved the Black level. Posters were going on about why would you be loyal to any one company and itinerary was what mattered etc etc. Now some of those who status-matched are saying that that's a great marketing ploy. Well, yes it is! and you're getting the immediate benefit. When we began cruising with MSC the big marketing ploy was: "cruise with us regularly and look how we'll reward you for your loyalty!" We cruised for years and spent a lot of money with them and look how that's turned out. Perks withdrawn just as we were at a level to attain them!

Bea ...The one reason I refused to jump and book advance cruises when they decided to withdraw the benefits, there was no point in rushing to get Black card status even though I have only been one cruise away from getting it.

Why give them advance money when they were shafting people who had remained loyal to them, in your case and Pete I could understand you guys booking because you still got the 20% for advance bookings before you were also stitched up.

After our September cruise I go beyond the points needed for Black but it no longer means anything other than just reaching Black, the benefits watered down so much that I personally no longer care what they are other than maybe Priority boarding. As for a chocolate ship what an insult.

When we began cruising with MSC the big marketing ploy was: "cruise with us regularly and look how we'll reward you for your loyalty!" We cruised for years and spent a lot of money with them and look how that's turned out. Perks withdrawn just as we were at a level to attain them!

You could make that statement about pretty much any cruise line. We have about 400 days at sea, and were loyal to some cruise lines for a while, but came to our senses as we've had the rug pulled from under us a couple of times. :) MSC gives us a good product with a few Black card perks, but we will not be loyal to any cruise line merely to amass points. We want a good cruise at a fair price. Any extras we will pay for.

After our September cruise I go beyond the points needed for Black but it no longer means anything other than just reaching Black, the benefits watered down so much that I personally no longer care what they are other than maybe Priority boarding. As for a chocolate ship what an insult.

There have been some posts on here where people have been given Black status, matched from lower level tiers on other cruise lines. Good luck to those people, however, it seems unfair to me that anyone at Select level on Celebrity (for example) can go straight onto MSC with a Black Card. That is the equivalent of a Silver MSC card holder being upgraded to Black (on MSC). That's not going to happen is it. Looking at it that way, it's understandable that MSC cruisers that have earned there points, cruise by cruise, are annoyed as they have to continue that way to get to Black. There is no fast track for them. Hardly fair is it. Can understand MSC trying to attract customers, but they should at least have a fair system for the status match.

The first four levels on these lines (not including entry level).....

Celebrity - Classic, Select, Elite, Elite Plus

RCI - Platinum, Gold, Diamond, Diamond Plus

MSC - Classic, Silver, Gold, Black

Existing Voyagers Club members are also eligible for Status Match, if they have also built up status in another cruiseline/hotel loyalty program. So a Silver Card member can jump to Black through Status Match. They just have to have something to match.

Bea ...The one reason I refused to jump and book advance cruises when they decided to withdraw the benefits, there was no point in rushing to get Black card status even though I have only been one cruise away from getting it.

 

Why give them advance money when they were shafting people who had remained loyal to them, in your case and Pete I could understand you guys booking because you still got the 20% for advance bookings before you were also stitched up.

 

After our September cruise I go beyond the points needed for Black but it no longer means anything other than just reaching Black, the benefits watered down so much that I personally no longer care what they are other than maybe Priority boarding. As for a chocolate ship what an insult.

................. I wouldn't mind but it's not even nice chocolate. It's inedible as far as I'm concerned.

As for priority boarding - basically you can pay for that by booking a higher end cabin, so it's not an exclusive benefit as such.

Existing Voyagers Club members are also eligible for Status Match, if they have also built up status in another cruiseline/hotel loyalty program. So a Silver Card member can jump to Black through Status Match. They just have to have something to match.

Yes, I understand that. What I am saying is, you can do a few cruises on another line and jump straight to Black on MSC. Do the same amount of cruises on MSC and you will be at a low level. The only options available to you are to do an awful lot of cruises to get to Black. Or jump to another line for a few cruises to do the status match. Just doesn't make sense for existing customers.