corinna_paula

hello my wife and our 7 year old daughter have booked with MSC Musica for a 8 day East Europe cruise Aug 2017.

It's our first cruise so we don't have any idea what to expect.

Looking for tips and tricks and dos and donts.

We have upgraded Aurea in a balcony room on level 15.

Looking to take advantage of any insider tips on the following

 

Kids club

Meal times

Shows

What to pack

Drinks package inclusions and exclusions

Tipping

Getting on and off the boat.

Room space for 2 adults 1 x child

Thanks in advance

We will also be on Musica in August for the sailing of 20th out of Venice and we are taking our 5 year old son with us. We booked a suite AUREA on 15 th deck.

We have a previous experience on Divina but in Yacht club. I am a little nervous because this is a downgrade for us but, for Eastern Europe itineraries, there are no MSC ships with yacht club.

To answer your questions:

For the kids club - it depends of the child. Some adore it, others don't. Our son didn't want to stay at the kids club at all when we were on Divina in April. We were counting on it as we read so many good reviews about it, but he simply didn't want to go. We went once with him over there but he refused to enter.:confused: He said he prefered to stay with us....I think your daughter should try it, maybe she will enjoy it there as they do lots of fun activities.

Meal times: for AUREA guests, I don't think there is an imposed time for dinner in the MDR. In our reservation is written "open seating" and I know it is in a dedicated part of the MDR. You can always go to the buffet whenever you want :)

Shows: the shows on Divina were great and we loved them! I think it will be the same for Musica. They are twice, at 19.00 and 21.00. We used to go for the 2nd one.

About packing : just summer casual clothes but also some nicer dresses/pants for evenings. On Divina we had 2 gala nights - I think on Musica it would be at least one - and people were really nicely dressed. And I don't refer just to yacht club but all over the ship. It is not imposed though. My husband wears suit every day at work so during vacation he wasn't in the mood to wear suit as well but he had nice pants and shirts. I had cocktail dresses.

Drink packages : for AUREA guests, all drinks are included.

Tipping: there is a standard amount per day added automatically to your account. If you are happy with the service during the cruise, you can tip extra - it's up to you. We were in yacht club and had butler as well. We loved the service we had received so we gave him and his assistant an extra tip at the end of the cruise. We also tip at the restaurant and in the lounge. The service was simply amazing and I hope it will be the same on Musica even if there is no yacht club.

Embarking and disembarking : for AUREA you have priority boarding and it goes pretty fast. I don't know about disembarking though. For Yacht club, we left the boat around 9.30. We could choose the time. We could have stayed until 10.00. I don't know how it is for AUREA - maybe someone else will answer that.

Room space : there is plenty of room for the three of you. You have a sofa and the bed is big enough.

In general you will spend time outside your cabin so you don't have to worry :)

Have a great sailing, great time in Europe and maybe see you onboard if you are going for the same cruise as us ;):)

It,s great you go on Meraviglia. We were not so interested in western Mediterranean but my husband would like to go to Le Havre for the baptism on June 3 rd. I think there will be lots of people :rolleyes:.

Sounds so like the same Jacques - an absolute darling. And such an amazing, genuine smile that you can't help but fall in love with! He was on Divina when she returned to Miami from the Med and it seems like he's been on her for all his contracts since. Looks like I'll have to consider a stateside cruise if I've any chance of seeing him again. That won't be for some time as our next 3-4 cruises are on ships other than YC ones.

If he prefers to have contracts on Divina, then he would come to Europe as Divina will be replaced by Seaside to sail the Carribean. In any case, it would be good if you could inquiry about him if you would like to see him again.

We also have the next cruise on MSC Musica and we booked an AuREA suite. I liked the itinerary so didn't have a choice with another vessel... I wonder how it would be after we sail In YC...

I'm sorry to hear that Jacques was on Divina last month. That means he won't be on Meraviglia when I board in 5 weeks time! :mad: :loudcry: :eek:

Oh Bea, if he is the only Jacques from Madagascar, yes, he was on Divina when we sailed 1st - 8th of April....He was always coming to talk to us when we were in the lounge - the only place we met him during the cruise. We also liked Marie from Madagascar - she was also in the lounge. She and Jacques used to speak French to my little one and making jokes with him. We loved them both....

But next time you sail in YC, ask for him in advance. When we booked our cruise for December on Fantasia, we asked for Victor, our butler, in comments to MSC. He told us he normally finishes this contract in September and he would also try to be on Fantasia for his next contract as of November...

We were on deck 16 at the bow. Those were his cabins. Is that where you are? I'm hoping for you!!

 

There was also another wonderful butler who went out of his way to help us whenever he saw us. I wish I could remember his name. He was from India. I'm so bad with names. I wish I wrote them all down!

It's possible you are referring to Victor :). He is from India and he was our butler on Divina this year In April. We loved him! After one day he knew what we like, what my 5 year old son likes and was there for every wish we had. We will be in YC in December on Fantasia and made a request at MSC to have him as a butler again.

Bea was referring to Jacques from Madagascar. He was there as well - very nice guy. Always coming to talk to us when we were in the lounge and he liked to make jokes with my son. Very nice people, we felt wonderful and we were so sad when the cruise was over..

YC is indeed amazing. For us it was the first cruise ever and we had a wonderful experience. Before that, I couldn't imagine I would like cruising so much but now we have 2 more cruises booked with MSC for this year but only one in YC because for one of the itineraries, the vessel is smaller and doesn't have YC. So we have chosen AUREA...

We were treated very very nice in YC and our butler was great!! In fact, everyone there was very nice, polite and willing to make our vacation unforgettable. We cannot wait to sail again in summer and then for NEw Year's Eve in YC again ❤️❤️❤️

Aren't you at least curious if you would get better service if you don't advance part of your tip at the beginning of a cruise?

 

YC prices are steep enough that service should be consistent for all guests and not elevated on account of bribery.

Totally agree with you Bea, BUT we are talking about people that sometimes don't go that extra mile if you don't let them know that they would be rewarded.... Sad but true...

Thanks for all the response, I believe we will wait until the end of the cruise and take care of everybody like suggested. This is our first yacht club experience, and excited to see how it compares to princess. If everything comes true what we've read the yacht club might be what we cruise on from this point forward.

And you will certainly continue with yacht club!;) We booked already another cruise for New Year's Eve on Fantasia in yacht club and another one in summer but Aurea experience. For summer there is no yacht club on the ship, unfortunatelly... It is an amazing experience, the first cruise ever for us and before that, I wouldn't have imagined we would sail again twice this year...

Have a marvellous and divine cruise! :halo:

Thanks for the information. I want to take my son the Maho beach when we get there but $30 is pretty steep each way. Was that total the cost pp?

Sorry for interfering, I also recommend the butterfly farm since you go with your son. It's small but beautiful, our 5 year old enjoyed it a lot. We rented a car (~ 100 dollars) and went first to the Maho beach where we spent about 3 hours and then we drove to the French part of the island to visit this farm. I really recommend it.

How on earth has he managed to dismember it on a ship with 2 young children in tow and cleaned up the blood etc?

 

 

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Simply horror!!! I don't want to imagine! Poor children......

Thank you all for advices!!

I know it is a subiect discussed before and I even found some threads about it but from a few years ago.

Can someone who sailed recently on Divina (and in the Caribbean) in the yacht club tell me how much are the tips? I know the service charge per person is 12$/day, added automatically to our account but what about the tips for butler, waiter, concierge. Are these tips given at the end of the cruise or every day?

Thank you!

Also very easy to get appointments!

 

 

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Thanks for the info!!:)

This was from January I had the hot stone massage which was really good.

 

 

 

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Nikki, the discounts are mostly on port days or they have them as well during sea days?

YOU HAVE THE BEST CABIN ON THE SHIP !

I hope you have it held. You usually have to book way ahead of time to get a YC2 or YC3 because there are so few of them.

We usually stay in 12001. The cabin next it is much smaller and is a connecting cabin to 12004.

The only reason we took a YC3 for later this month is that we are getting really old & it is a bit of a hike from the YC2 to the Top Sail Lounge on deck 15. You will be on deck 12. We will be right up the stairs from the lounge.

I definitely prefer the YC2 although no balcony, you will have floor to ceiling windows in both rooms with a fantastic view.

Leave the drapes open at night & you will be able to watch the sunrise from you bed.

Your bathroom will be twice the size of ours with a separate shower & tub plus 2 sinks.

You will have doulble the closet space and the dressing vanity table will be in its own space unlike the YC3 where it is in the bedroom.

Both of your rooms will also be bigger. They close off with solid doors so you really will not hear anything from the other room.

Wow! Really? We'll be in that cabin at the beginning of April! I am happy to read such nice things about it. We are even more impatient now!! Especially since this is our first cruise ever.....

Some cruisers think that MSC Yacht Club and NCL Haven guests are stuck up snobs like Rose's mother in Titanic. Those same people think that "steerage" passengers have all of the fun (like Rose dancing below deck) while the "pinky in the air while sipping tea" crowd in the Yacht Club is the epitome of boring.

LOL, you killed me with this comparison as I was thinking about it last time I watched Titanic - after booking our YC suite on Divina. I was thinking about the scene when a mother in the rich people section was teaching her young daughter how to sit straight at the table while sipping the tea gracefully. And I was picturing myself with my 5 year old son, teaching him how to act like a gentleman :)

Of course, nowadays it's not the same but I imagine some people that are not in YC or Haven tend to think this way.....

For us it will be the first time ever on a cruise now on the 1st of April and we booked directly YC as other cruise lines are way more expensive for the same services. But, at the beginning, when we started to think of cruising, we were considering balcony, not knowing what YC brings along.

The Azipods were fine on the Feb 18th-March 9th cruise. I am not onboard for the present cruise, but I figure no news is good news. I am due back on March 27th-April 16th Dubai to Venice. So the Star will be in Venice on April 16th ready to start the European season.

Keep us posted!!

We were also thinking about this itinerary on Celebrity as of 3rd of April but then we considered it too long for our first cruise. Enjoy!!

Anyone heard how Star is since the azipod incident off Melbourne. When is she due back into Europe and will she make it without further problems?

Just asking for reassurance before our cruise from Venice in September.:cool:

I am actually interested in this as well since we booked a cruise out of Venice but in August.... We haven't paid it all yet cause I am waiting to see how things go since it had problems in December and January. We have though the plan B in case there are problems before our sailing but still I would like to go on that cruise...

That is the way they said it would work. It is a new system since the last time I was on the Divina..

Then we'll be looking forward to meeting cruise critic members. :) I read though that, if there are not enough people - whatever enough means :o- this meeting won't take place......

They send luggage tags to everyone on board, but trust me, they will just tear them off at the white tent and replace them with Yacht Club tags.

It sounds logic :)

In any case they are in my file.

I called them today to ask exactly and the opinions are different. The MSC agent told me I have to attach them though only to the suitcases...Anyway, we will see there but what you say seems logic for me as we have the priority for boarding and it should differentiate somehow the luggages....

I know it was a discussion here about free drinks outside the YC. I asked about that as well and he confirmed it will start as of 1st of April. We'll see....

If you are sailing Yacht Club, no need to put luggage tags on your bag! Go to the white tent, you will be met by butlers who will check you off on the list and attach special tags to your bags and have them delivered to your room. Then you will escorted to check in Lounge. Also you will be taken on board to the Top Sail lounge, do not check your hand luggage with Guest Services, not necessary for Yacht club. Usually, your room will be ready when you board, and if not, hand luggage may be checked with the Concierge in the Yacht Club.

It's even easier then, thank you! I was wondering though,why the MSC agent sent me the label for the bags in the same time with the E-Docs...Maybe just in case.....

I would like to know as well.

Me too :)

To have the YC experience on your first cruise is going to spoil you forever doing anything less!!

Bea, so I've heard :D

We are also in one of the the executive and familial suites which I've read it is great even if it doesn't have a balcony and it is on lower deck. For us it is perfect because we don't have to worry for our son who would like to hang out on the balcony all the time :confused: A stress in minus!

Corinna Paula, come join our roll call for this cruise. We have a meet and greet set up for the roll call.

 

Re your question about hand luggage: you carry it on board yourself. If you do not wish to carry it around with you until the cabins are open, you can check the luggage at Guest Services when you board.

 

You must reclaim the luggage and bring it to your cabin yourself.

Thanks for the info. I'll do that!

About "meet and greet", I already subscribed but I don't know how it works. I understood I would receive a note in my cabin if the party takes place, is this right?

You're welcome. I remember the first time I went on a cruise - I had no idea what to expect. I envy you your first-time experience with everything being new and different.

 

Bon voyage :D

Thanks a lot! We've been looking forward to it since last year in October when we booked the plane tickets to Miami. At that time, I had no idea how exciting it could be on a cruise but after discovering this forum, I am simply addicted to reading it every day and looking forward to our experience in the YC on Divina.

Initially we wanted to go on a 16 nights repositioning cruise from UAE to Venice because a very good friend of ours is a nurse on Celebrity and we would feel more comfortable to have someone close to us onboard for the first time we go cruising. Then we thought that 16 nights would be too long for the first time on the sea and we discovered MSC and its great prices comparing to other cruise lines so we wanted to try that. After all the reading on this forum, I am confident that we would have a good time! :)

And indeed, everything seems to be different and exciting. The only annoying thing for me is that, on the port days, we arrive there quite early and during holidays I am not at all a morning person :cool: