exs2

You could be onto something with this. I think (not sure) NYC have more direct connections from EU and usually NYC seems to be "prestige" route for most of the airlines meaning better equipment flies there than "holiday destinations" like Miami. Me? I love connections or rather my BA tier point collection rules do, that is until the day comes that I miss my cruise because of those connections 😛

Promised myself to end this conversation as it is not going anywhere but did you not see what I originally wrote? " I was guided to almost empty YC section that had like 30+ places but even if the theater was otherwise full, they would not let non YC to sit there." That YC section was ONLY for YC. It was closed off from the rest of the seats with blue belt material that MSC personnel opened for YC quests and no others. It was not something that they reserve for YC and if YC don't come, they open it to everyone. No. It remained closed for whole time and anyone trying to enter it was quickly escorted away by the MSC personnel if they didn't have YC card/bracelet. So it is very much restricted for YC use only no matter if they use it or not. Morgsmom then said it was opposite of her experience as the MSC personnel didn't follow the same procedure but let anyone to sit there. What comes to question if other people should miss the show because only available places are in YC section well, that is not for me to decide. I didn't put those barriers there and shoo people away. MSC personnel did it. Should they let others to sit there? Debatable. What if YC passenger then comes just as the show is about to start and they say oh sorry, we gave the places we have reserved for you to others. I don't think that would sit well with the YC passengers in general that have paid for perks like that. Remember... it was MSC who decided to give that perk to YC passengers. It is also about perceived value. If you are given extra perks because you (usually, not always) pay more for it, it will diminish the value of product if you then give it free to people who did not pay for it. This far we have been only talking about seat in this case but as you can see in other threads, there seems to be people who think it is ok to buy one YC cabin and share the bracelet to all of their friends in Bella cabins. That makes it loss proposition for both the ship and the customers who paid for it even if you do not think anything wrong with it. This will eventually lead to perks being removed/diminished or that ship personnel will start to ask YC passengers to scan their ID everytime they get something in YC which again diminish the experience and perceived value. I could give you dozens of examples how value proposition and pricing works in industry but I am afraid you would not "get it" as you have not gotten it this far.

Funnily enough here in EU it is actually empty seat next to you in business class (intra EU). Legroom is only inches more or even same as in economy cause they keep changing business class size according to demand by just moving the curtain so no need to complain the flight attendant cause they are not going to give that middle seat to someone and I don't recall ever seeing it given to anyone for any reason. Ryan and you seem to be thinking that what is the harm of someone else using the "perks" they are not entitled to? It raises the question why would anyone pay more of YC or plane business class if anyone can and should just go there "if there is room" and lets face it, in plane the reason economy is cheap is because they get most of the revenue from the business class. One travel documenter said it well in his document when he was flying in economy. I thank each and everyone in their lovely business class seats and service because it allows me to travel cheap here. Same can be applied to many other things too be it planes, hotels, ships, concert seating, even seating... If anyone can go anywhere they please, pretty soon nobody pays the extra price and it usually means the prices go up for everyone. But I think this conversation have run its course. We agree to disagree and move on.

Having done cruises with RCI and NCL before in their normal categories: YC pricing vs similar offering from other cruise lines although it's not exactly cheap anymore even with MSC unless you find a deal or book early. Inclusivity of services. I do not have to think much about what is part of the service and what is not. Most things are covered like internet, premium drink package, SPA thermal access, priority boarding, free minibar, nice anytime dining experience with quality ingredients and yes, YC only areas are heavenly oasis of quiet in fully packed ship. I also like the included premium drink package 25% discount of bottles of wine and champagne which is quite a lot when you drink premium champagnes (making them actually cheaper than store price in my home country) and basically a bargain buy or awesome value in restaurant environment. I think only things I don't like in MSC is their IT system/website and that if you want to buy something that cost over drink package limit you have to pay the full price and not just the difference and shows are not as high quality as they are in RCI or NCL.

I wouldn't really mind, except if they keep coming and causing me miss half the show (you know people who come late to theater and make whole row to step up and move their stuff and then sit down again). At the end, it is everyone choice to pay or not to pay for services promised but if you pay for it, you kinda expect them to be delivered. You don't walk from economy to business class at planes either or you will be charged about it and it has nothing to do with snobbery. It is all to do of what you pay for. I don't know you and you don't know me so lets no presume anything about our character of these forum writings.

I would have said that "ok, perhaps I do not need to buy YC to sit in YC section at shows and perhaps that nice quiet lounge area and restaurant is ok too not to forget the pool without the YC. Thanks, you just saved me thousands from my next trip. Now can I get that in writing too?" 🙂 In more serious note if they want to keep people paying for YC "exclusivity" they should be wary of letting too many things to slip. Examples of current slips that I noted in that Seascape YC cruise in February. - No YC beverage choice in cabin was ever asked from me (my friend next door got it cause they happened to be there when YC butler came to introduce herself while I was already at muster drill) - No priority exit, entrance except start and end of cruise. They advertise that you are first off the ship and first in ship. Nope, you line with the others in regular entrance out and in. Every port they had one entrance at front with white tent but every time I tried to use it they motioned me to normal entrance that everyone was using and lining up for even when I mentioned being YC passenger. I have seen reports that this seems to be the norm (maybe they should remove the advertisement about it). Not necessarily YC issue but they are very lost with information handling. Example recent youtube video in which the couple showed a part where app said to be onboard 19:30 and they came 19:00 to find out it was supposedly18:30 and they were about to leave these two in shore with paperwork about it already completed. When they showed app, the MSC person still thought it was their mistake. One thing that it is impossible to verify from video is that did they have their clock in right time zone though. Also in our trip we needed to buy sunscreen. Well, the ships shop was closed (private island day) because one employee was sick. We said that we wont survive a day without sunscreen that we planned on buying at ship and they said that no worries, island shop have it. Well, it didn't. Back to ship and YC coincierge desk who didn't believe us and called the island who said, yep, we have ran out. Eventually they sent someone to open the ships shop for us to buy the sunscreen which I thought at the end was probably a service they would not have done to non YC passenger and was kinda nice at end but we had to fight about it. Too bad cause I really like the YC concept otherwise. Will report how it went (sailing 18.7 from Barcelona)

Thank you Ryan although the YC works bit differently or atleast it worked different in Seascape. Example I walked in when show was about to start with like 30 people outside waiting to hear if there would be room in the show and I just raised my hand slightly where the blue YC band is visible and man at front said "except you sir, you can go right away" and then I was guided to almost empty YC section that had like 30+ places but even if the theater was otherwise full, they would not let non YC to sit there. What brand was the champagne on champagne bar if you remember? Like I said it was all over the place in YC lounge area where there were three different champagnes served and none were the one they advertised 🙂 At champagne bar we got Moet although from price list point it was over the drinking package price. When I inquired about it he just said that you get Moet for the same price (free, included in package). Not sure if they had run out all the other three options or if our spree of high quality (and price) champagne had something to do about it. Would be interesting to know if tMSC still have that excellent 2012 Dom Perignon or if they have updated to 2013.LR Cristal was 2015 vintage which is a bit young to drink now although excellent nonethless.

As YC passenger, can I just walk to evening show without reservation few minutes before the show as I could in MSC Seascape? Is there YC seating section reserved for YC passengers in MSC Grandiosa as well? I have prebooked both Carousel shows in advance. Can I select the show time at coincierge desk to suitable time during the cruise? What is the current champagne on YC? (was all over the place in MSC Seascape in February, first Moet, then Pommery, then Jacquart) I assume the butler is supposed to ask what YC complimentary bottle we want? Last cruise in February I barely saw my butler and it was never offered during the cruise. Not that it meant that much as there is the drink package but still... Will be interesting to compare this upcoming cruise in two weeks to the Caribbean one I had in February. PS. If MSC IT was better they could upsell their products better. Website doesn't have all the options and doesn't show price reductions from YC or status and insist showing options you have by those as ones you could still buy. Just infuriating.

You can link your cruises together in MSC checkin page and both have to do it at their end. However it is my understanding that you have to have similar drink packages to do that.