BoundForSea

Ok. Keeping this simple and to the point. Has MSC ever upgraded you at checkin or on board to a higher category - complimentary or Have you ever been able to pay an upcharge and upgrade on board to a higher category? We’re staying in an Interior YC and just wondered if there were still Deluxe available at checkin or boarding or on the prev sailing on a B2B if we could ask to upgrade or if they’ve ever offered? I’m guessing that’s a big fat no but figured I’d ask. If they have please chime in. Thx! *And yes I’m very aware of the bid program and no, I’m not submitting a minimum bid which is the same as just paying for the category upgrade outright (the case for both of the B2B segments)

Or, you could have just told me, but thaaaaaaaanks!!! Sometimes the love and warmth of our brothers and sisters here is just overwhelming! ❤️

It might be because of me guys. When they were comp’d in YC I used to have a Choc Martini #2 daily. Maybe two! Those things are amazing. A discount would be nice if they could even take 25% off. anyway try the Choco Martini #2. Worth the cost.

This is the problem for YC. You can’t cancel bc the deposits are always non Refundable in YC so if you want to reprice, it’s impossible. anyone know what the penalty is now for moving a booking more than once? It used to be unlimited without penalty now you get one free move then they debit a penalty. Anyone know what it is?

There is some bad history with this Content Creator and MSC. If you go back a couple of years he did a sailing on Mera and absolutely blasted them. Im remember because that was the last time I watched any of his content due to the reasons and level of negativity from him. He purchased a balcony as I recall as part of one of the balcony upgrade deals and it was very inexpensive. He was clearly VERY upset at the end of the voyage due to some issues with Guest Relations, etc. At that time maybe it was his second cruise on them. That was over a year ago at least. Now he’s back again and same. For someone who has a history of really disliking this product and brand, he really does come back an awful lot - for free……. 🤔 MSC I believe brings alot of views from people on YT due to their love them or hate them reception and reputation in North America. I think for views MSC will definitely bring more interest from the average viewer than say just another RCCL or NCL bland review. Ill come here for opinions. I go there for just objective ship tours which some do a great job with.

~~YAWN~~ Another One…… So you didn’t like MSC… 🙄 SHOCKER The Red and Blue Whale Tail Funnel called and they want you back.

Embarkation Day. Actually my wife just reminded me that we had to specifically ask for it after day two. Not sure if it was just an oversight or maybe it’s a don’t ask don’t offer thing to save $$. I couldn’t tell you.

We were on in I September I think on a 4ni and we had a small bottle. No longer are they larger bottles and the selection was cut down to basics- and not top shelf. We’re back on in a couple weeks and will Update if I remember.

YC prices are aggressively on the rise. I was looking for a good deal for summer and such a thing doesn't exist. Those prices are approaching Haven and luxury lines. Not quite the yet but getting closer for sure. It was only a matter of time.

Every Cruise Line is cutting back all benefits in all areas across the board. Maximizing revenue. NCL, Celebrity (alot), Princess, HAL, etc. They’re focusing on new cruisers for the money grab during this unique time with this temporary (in my view that is) high demand from new vacationers. We the loyalists getting the kick in the head during this time period. When the pendulum comes back the other way and they need us we will see what they do.

Thanks for this report. Of all the times we’ve been in the YC, somewhere like 6 or so, one of the things that is consistent, is the inconsistency of the Butler staff performance. We have been on sailings where it was just beyond amazing and then there were the times where I felt like I needed to file a missing persons report like in your case. I’ve been told repetitively by YC Directors to report these issues early in the voyage so he can address them. Sometimes it’s a brand new Butler and they just don’t get what the job is. Other times it’s just burnout or laziness. So next time if this happens just go find the YC Director and share it with him or her in the first day or so. the reason why you were sitting around waiting to disembark is because your Butler was supposed to ask you the day before when you wanted to go down and follow up in the morning and then meet you in the Top Sail or your room and bring you down at your desired time. So those two experiences were actually the same root cause. so glad you had a great time. We will be back on Mera in a month on a B2B and it’s the first time in Mera since Feb of 2020 (Divina and Seashore after that since) so interested to see how things are. It seems the majority of issues come out of Mera these days.

Because they don’t have the revenue to sustain them. They aren’t making money for the investors and the entire CCLC needs to cut losses to try and stay afloat for their investors. All of the lines are cutting back benefits and inclusions for passengers while raising prices. Look at RCCL and Celebrity- Celebrity just took delivery of three going on four now very very expensive ships. Every commercial break on some networks is the X commercial which in years past wasnt a thing. They need desperately to bring in revenue to make the bottom line start looking appealing to their investors. This is where MSC has the edge. No pun intended of course haha.

So with so much talk about how awful the food has been in MDR and the buffet, what’s your family’s opinion been? What lines have you sailed in the past?

Has anyone’s upgrade minimum cost been around the same as the cost to just upgrade?? My sailings in a Feb are. Its bazaar. Why even have the program? I’m curious what your min bid amount is compared to a paid category upgrade cost?

MSC wants to replace CCL as the largest cruise line. Their mainline product is about the same in terms of quality and culture and quantity over quality. The addition of YC Ship within a ship and the YC Luxury ships bring the option of Luxury and expedition to the product. I believe they will run over CCL however ONLY if they can provide a product that is lower cost and high quality. Their Miami terminal will berth 3 vessels. That speaks volumes to me. I believe the safety of MSC surpasses that of CCLC significantly. Their attention to safety, regulatory compliance and the environment far far surpasses that of CCLC. We shall see!! There is a distinct advantage not having to answer to a bunch of bean counters. Its a massive advantage in my opinion. Ciao!!

They “Chose Fun” sorry couldn’t resist

Here’s some worthless history and trivia: When the island first opened the YC Beach was smooth as glass under water. Then a hurricane went through shortly after the opening (I forget when, we were the second cruise to arrive in the island in like 2019 I think) and it faced the inflow current from the storm. The island used to be a stockpile of rock and shell for cement mix, most of that ‘rock’ was dumped off shore to form reefs and just really spread out on the ocean floor. Well most of all that got pushed back in and replaced the fine beautiful sand that was there. They never fixed it after that. Well that’s your worthless MSC info and trivia for the night. Ciao!

Divina YC is really a great product. Although the YC isn’t as advanced or large as a Sea**** or Mera class the service and experience is really great and we have found it more personal and the quality to be better. Maybe it’s just how we hit it, not sure. We’ve been on her twice. we will be sailing 7ni in YC on Mera again next month. It will be interesting to see the difference. Enjoy. I like Le Muse. It may be a bit of a walk but that’s ok, after dinner it’s good to get a few steps in!!

Sailed on a 14ni Greece in October on HAL Volendam. I got food poisoning in a very bad way due to what I later learned was from a batch of lobster that was refrozen after the last 14ni that didn’t get used and rethawed and reserved to me, among others along with some other items like Key Line Pies. I KNOW darn well the Exec shef and Rest Managers know you can’t do that. Its culinary 101. Someone gave the order to do it anyway. I came close to having to get off and get to a hospital. Then Thanksgiving came on Celebirty on a 4ni from Miami that was a Carnival long weekend booze cruise equivalent. I’ts the new norm. Its a temporary money grab. Look at the advertisements on the major networks from X. Here in FL they play every commerical break almost. That tells me they are trying to suck in newbies that don’t know any better and if they never knew what was a lot better, they will just be happy with what they have. We are the ones that the new Upper Executives of RCG (keep in mind that Richard Fein is gone and his understudy is a numbers guy) don’t want around. That’s why she laughed. She has the big picture and knows what’s going on but can’t say anything. X is in debt up to their eyeballs. These Edge class ships cost a fortune each and back prior to Covid they signed on the dotted line for all 4. Have you noticed all the sudden that the Edge revolution of the M and S classes suddenly halted? Hmmm. Wonder why? Now they have to pay for them and try at ALL costs to not to show the shareholders a scary story of predicative spending based on forecasted revenue (from us btw, the loyalists) that never evolved. So now they turn to the 149$ interior fares, drop the bennies, and become a parallel brand to RCCL until the bottom line gets better. In other words sell your soul to make the bottom line. Let’s just all hope that this changes as this wave of travel eventually subsides. A return to Dec 2019 would be a welcome change. cheers all.

Based on my TGiving sailing on Summit and from what I’m reading I’ll tell you without a doubt that RCG has narrowed the gap between Celebrity and RCCL. The brands are beginning to assimilate and look very similar as do the passenger demographic. What isn’t narrowing is the prices and the product is becoming watered down. A price in an Iconic suite is close to that of a full Yacht Charter. Veranda and Concierge rooms can run as much as close to 10k$ for two. I believe the industry is changing. I’ve heard similar reports about Carnival narrowing the spread in product to Princess. to receive the product that Celebrity and Premium lines used to be pre-covid I believe you have to step up to a Luxury line like Silver Sea or Azamara (or similar) which to be honest, doesn’t cost too much more than what X is charging for an AquaClass (never mind Retreat) If you’re a customer of X pre-covid and you’re looking for the true X expeirence, I think we (myself included) need to either choose a very specific sailing on an M class (moreso) or S class in Europe or a theater other than Caribbean, or switch to the semi-Lux lines like Oceania. just my $0.02. I’ve read threads over and over on all lines on this board from us the mostly tenured and experienced cruisers complaining about the same thing. There is a temporary wave in cruise travel from newcomers to the field and I believe the lines are positioning themselves for the money grab while the going is good. The newcomers don’t have anything to compare it to, the losses in service or inclusions or even the overall quality of the products. again YMMV as they say! Safe and happy sailing gang.

I believe the cruise industry and the clientele is changing these days. We’re MSC repeat clients and been in Divina a few times. We will be on in Feb. we sailed Celebrity on Thanksgiving on a 4ni out of Miami. Same sailing as last year for my family. The crowd was not the typical X client base and it was a loud obnoxious s*** show for 5 days. It really upset me at the time as it was a harsh wake up call to the reality of the new normal… With the mass demand for leisure travel being the highest in decades now, at an unprecedented level we are seeing a wave of new cruise clients. The best cruising ever was and probably ever will be, was from June 2021 (we were first Americans back at Sea on Celebrity out of SXM) through first quarter 2022. My opinion of course. I remember being on Divina with 400 guests on board. Only a handful in YC with us.. This travel wave of short timers will subside and when it does us the loyalists of long tenure we be left and the cruise lines will again need to raise the bar and meet the level of service demanded. They lower the bar of service because they can. The crew and staff are treated worse now than ever and it’s very hard on them compared to 2019 and prior. The cruise lines are making up for lost time and revenue through quantity and harnessing the demand of this wave while its here. for now despite the cruise line you may be traveling if you’re a veteran cruiser, we will just need to either stay away until the wave clears or just be patient and take it for what it is…. I’m a little nervous to be taking Mera in Feb for 7ni, we travel in YC only, and even so I’m just a little nervous after our experience on Celebrity over Thanksgiving. Ciao!

Thanks all! Good info. I called shoreside and they said the records don’t need to be noted or marked as B2B. They said the ship will know. Mmm I know how those “should” things go on MSC (Again the C in consistency!). The process for CBP makes sense. I’m sure they will let us know. It seems very standard. We like to enjoy those few quiet minutes on board between zero count and boarding. Its a little perk of the B2B! thanks again. Feel free to keep the info coming as this can serve to help those in the future with B2B planning. We are embarking in Port Canaveral. That’s usually pretty smooth (at least it was on Divina the three times we sailed on her from there in past years) thanks

We are doing a b2b in Feb and was curious on how they handle it. I’m assuming we don’t have to disembark and re-embark? Any info on how they manage this appreciated and any suggestions of what we can do ahead of time to make it go smoother? We’re on Mera in YC.

Thanks. So it sounds like the YC Elevator comes down to 14 so that’s a good thing. I just didn’t want to go out to the main elevators to get back up to the other YC floors and then back in again. Its hard to tell by the deck plans. Thanks!!

For anyone who has stayed on deck 14 on Mera in the YC, were you ok with it? I’ve only stayed on 16 and they’re all booked on 15-18, did a last minute buy and 14 is all that’s available. Can you access the YC by private elevator in YC or the staircase or do both of them end on 15? Is 14 not behind card access doors like 15-18? Thanks all