max996

Yep. Beyond the cabana and the great space - nothing more. The staff really don”t know if ur in a YC inside or YC Royal Suite as all created equal in YC. We had for 2 weeks in February and have 2 more weeks this upcoming December. Mind you - we did throw some awesome parties with the help of the Butlers and Concierge. Enjoy, very hard to come by. The space is worth every additional penny.

 

 

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Hey awesome - parties! My wife and I have the port side Royal Suite (16037) for a Seaside voyage next summer and we'd like to throw a Sail Away party with the others in our group (4 other YC suites) on embarkation day. Did you plan any of your parties pre-cruise, or did you arrange them after you were already on board?

One elevator allowed you to continue to choose floors after using the touch pad on the inside of elevator. It normally only lets you choose a floor for 5 seconds after you tap the reader with your band or card. Then it locks out and everyone in that elevator will go up to the floor you chose.

 

We only brought an elevator with someone on twice over the course of 2 weeks. We used override every time we were on an elevator.

 

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Is the override function only available on the forward bank of elevators? On Divina it was available to YC passengers on the forward & aft bank of elevators (2 in each) because Le Muse (YC restaurant) is on Deck 15 Aft. But now that the Top Sail restaurant is forward inside the YC enclave, I was wondering if they restricted the override function to the forward set only.

We've been cruising MSC for the past 5 years or so, and before our first cruise aboard MSC Divina some years ago, you could book a YC suite a month before departure. But now that the word is spreading about the value that a YC cruise brings to the table, it is very hard to get a YC suite within 6 months of departure. I scored the Royal Suite aboard MSC Seaside for a June 2019 voyage in November 2017! There are only two RSs on Seaside and they all sold out for every voyage on the calendar probably within a few hours of release. There are always cancellations, so I'd recommend that you just keep checking - or find a good TA you can use to do the research for you.

They are very discrete about it but they do sell passes to the YC. They sold them to a non YC couple who had parents in the YC while I was there. It was a little over $100 per person and they got a cabana and meal in the YC restaurant.

And one other note on this subject {from someone who has cruised MSC Yacht Club several times}, they only sell the passes to the YC enclave when the capacity is low. During the busy summer travel season when she's sailing with a full passenger manifest, they will not offer that to non-YC passengers. They have the Top 19 Solarium for that purpose.

The amount of shade of course depends on the time of day, the direction the ship is pointing, etc. Also on the cabanas, the passengers in the Royal Suite get complementary use of a cabana at the Yacht Club Pool deck.

I haven't cruised every MSC ship equipped with Yacht Club amenities, but I'd have to say either Divina or Meraviglia. I've cruised Divina in YC and my family and I had a great time. We've got Seaside booked, but from the reviews from YC cruisers I'm hearing that Seaside YC isn't staffed to the level that Divina is (apparently by design). This is having an affect on levels of service for those who have experienced Divina. But for someone who hasn't yet cruised MSC Yacht Club, I don't think it's a big problem. MSC's Yacht Club offers the most affordable luxury in the cruise industry and my wife and I love it.

Thank you! We've been on 6 cruises with 4 different companies and this was our favorite. The ship is stunning and the staff is overwhelmingly attentive.

 

We had the Bella interior. We were expecting to feel like peasants but our room steward was amazing (we saw him 5+ times a day and he always answered all our questions). They even accommodated our early dining requests after being assigned late 9:30 dining. Would definitely reccomend interior for the value...5th floor felt close to everything.

 

Kids were a bit loud at times but it seemed to be limited to the jungle pool area. (There were kids spraying people walking by with the water park cannons at a point). Other than that, very calm and relaxing, especially in the thermal suite.

 

Would definitely recommend the Seaside if you haven't been on it already!

My family and I have a Seaside cruise on the books for June 2019. Still several hundred days away, but we just got off Divina a few months ago. We're looking forward to it nonetheless. Our cruise aboard Divina in the Yacht Club was fantastic! MSC's affordability makes it easy to cruise in style.

The Seaside is a little less formal than Divina. "Smart casual" is perfectly acceptable for formal nights on Seaside. For men that'd be a pair of slacks and a collared shirt. About 20% are in full blown tuxedos, with the bulk in shirt and tie. I wore a tux (with white dinner jacket) on the first formal night, and a pair of slacks and collared shirt the second formal. Had a blast both nights.

Hi we were on that cruise in the Yacht Club too! This is Fred from Virginia.

I'm looking for Chris and Suzie.

That is a very difficult question to answer. Every one of us sees the world around us with our own individual set of culturally biased "glasses." Having said that, I'd answer by saying you should give them a try. If nothing else, than to try something different. For me the costs were the primary factor. My family and I have cruised Royal Caribbean, Disney, and Carnival, but gave MSC a look initially based solely on the price and were not disappointed!

It is true that MSC is an Italian cruise line working to break into the American cruise market. That its staff is primarily foreign, but dare I say that any cruise line operating from American ports has a lot of non-American workers serving the needs of the passengers aboard their vessels. This has never lessened the experience for me. When I'm on vacation, I'm not looking for faults in people around me - I'm simply looking to have a great time.

MSC Cruises is offering some fantastic pricing options for would-be cruisers looking for a great time in familiar Caribbean ports with some Italian flare thrown into the mix. I don't think that's a bad thing; and if you approach the vacation with an open mind towards meeting & mingling with a slightly different clientele, with the goal only to have a great time then I think you'll be fine with that.

(and please don't read any emotions into this reply - I'm just trying to articulate an appropriate answer to your question)

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Just because my husband and I don't want to lug the formal clothes with us on a cruise (we have plenty of occasions at home to get "gussied up), doesn't mean I should be relegated to eat at the buffet. I will be dressed in slacks and nice blouse and my husband will be in khakis and polo type shirt and we will be dining in LeMuse on the Divina in October. I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but "formal" is only suggested.

I agree with your opinion too. Our vacations are just that - a vacation! And nobody should be made to feel uncomfortable about any of this stuff. As long as we are all having fun, enjoying the moment, and making the most of the money we've invested to generate the memories that will live with us for the rest of our lives, who cares?! Everybody have a great time! My wife is going to be so lovely in her evening gown that I probably will not see anybody else anyway.

I enjoy the opportunity to wear my tux more than once a year - normally I only wear it to see the Nutcracker during the holidays. So on those years we cruise the Caribbean and I get an opportunity to jazz it up with a white dinner jacket, I take the opportunity to do so. But, that's just me.

The formal gala nights are one of the best parts of cruising in my opinion. Gives you a date night that is extra special. However, it is quite a bummer to be dressed formal and then have a family in flip flops and t shirts seated at your table, ruins your pictures and takes away from the enjoyment of Formal Gala nights. Embrace it, get dolled up or handsome whichever, and have a night out on the "town". If you don't want to dress appropriately, remember, you can always eat at the buffet or get room service!

I agree with your take on it. I wear a suite everyday to work, but my wife and I still enjoy getting G'd up for formal night in a tux and nice evening dress. I'm wearing a white dinner jacket this year - makes for some great pictures and memories.

Hi. Does anyone have any pictures of the new island they are building. We are booked for Seaside Yacht Club for February 2019. Will there be cabanas and/or a Yacht Club area? Will the beverage package work on the island?

Thank you all!

Yes, Yacht Club amenities extend onto Ocean Cay! From the sounds of it, it is going to be spectacular! Here's an article from 2015 that talks about Ocean Cay; but you can google it and find tons more. Ocean Cay will be twice the size of Castaway Cay (which is my favorite island paradise on Earth), but it's yet to be seen if they will be able to match the Disney magic.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/tourism/fl-msc-cruises-ocean-cay-island-20151217-story.html

Last I heard was that MSC broke ground on the island back in January 2017 and that it is scheduled to open for business in November 2018. Our next cruise will be aboard the Seaside in summer 2019 and I can't wait to step foot on Ocean Cay. As of right now, Disney's Castaway Cay is the best port of call in the Caribbean; but I think Ocean Cay will top that.

https://www.porthole.com/msc-cruises-breaks-ground-on-ocean-cay-msc-marine-reserve/

We used a private shuttle through QLS Transportation. No need to hail a taxi; the driver was there at the baggage claim area with a sign that had our name on it. We introduced ourselves, he helped us with luggage, and we were off. No fuss. $95 for a family of (5) with luggage for a week long cruise.

I encased my luggage tags in clear packaging tape one time.

But, I still didn't put them on until we got our bags off the airplane. That seemed to work just fine.

What day do they usually conduct these events?? (1st day of the cruise? 2nd day?)

I've learned through many cruises to bring a few old fashioned wooden clothes pins to clip wet bathing suits to the loungers on the veranda at night so that they can dry and not get blown overboard. I also bring fresh dryer sheets (in a zip lock bag) to put into the suitcase that gets used as the dirty clothes hamper throughout the week.

Yacht Club! No question in my book.

That is going to be so AWESOME! I can't wait to take a voyage on that beautiful vessel!

MSC do have a kids card scheme, I dont know the full details but you can use that with a limited amount of credit to prevent runaway spending

Thank you 5th Ave! Somebody on Facebook also just told me that MSC has a "Teen Card" just as you described, so that I can set spending limits for one of my kids (age 17). Our oldest daughter is 19 though, so I'll have to get the AMEX gift card and attach it to her key card since she's no longer a minor.

He also told me where to find the information on MSC's website:

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/Discover-MSC/Family-Cruises.aspx

This question pertains to attaching a gift card to your MSCkey card. Is it possible to attach a gift card (like an American Express or VISA giftcard) to a child’s card? I’m using my credit card for my wife’s key card andmine, but I don’t want to extend that my kids so that they don’t get themselvesin trouble buying everything on board. So I’m thinking about getting AMEX giftcards (or something like that) to attach to their key cards so they can have alittle spending money to buy something from the candy shop or the MSC Logo shop.Has anyone done that?

Or can we attach spending limits to specific cards??

Another thing I noticed about the design - On the Divina, Le Muse (the restaurant for Yacht Club guests) is located on the aft end of the ship. On the Seaside, they've moved it forward so that it sits directly over the Top Sail lounge. That's going to be great; so now all the YC stuff is enclosed in the same general area.

Thanks Jim! Very nice piece on the Seaside. My wife and I are too looking forward to our cruise on the Seaside with the private hot tub - I think we're going for the Royal Suite though. The price is just too nice to pass up.

I just finished reading your review of your January 2017 cruise on the Allure of the Seas. The "balcony club" - LOL that's funny.

BTW, our fiftieth anniversary is coming up in 2019 and we are going to splurge and do a cruise with the Aurea level and maybe even the Yacht Club.

Thanks for the review. For the 50th you've got to go all the way for the Royal Suite! That's a monumental achievement and it only happens once in a lifetime!