mcoler181

We are on Virtuosa end of June, so will be following along closely.

2 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

If you haven’t done it before I’m sure you will enjoy it.

 

If you like little snacks then there are also “surprises” delivered to you suite ever night. There are also snacks left in your fridge, a coffee machine, a full mini bar and don’t forget to select your litre bottle of spirits for the room and your daily newspaper.

 

Room service is complimentry and if you like pizza and calzone then it’s some of the best available on a cruise ship. 
 

Don’t be restricted by the YC menus in the restaurant. If you want one of the excellent pastas or risottos as a smaller portion starter or intermediate course rather than as a main then just ask. Any reasonable request is considered. Want cheese after pudding, there is a nice cheese trolley to choose from and add a nice liquor or dessert wine - all included.

 

We only found YC by accident a few years ago when a cruise on another line was cancelled at the very last minute due to an engine. We have used it many times since and always had an enjoyable cruise. I hope you do too.

 

 

Thanks for the advice, really looking forward to it. 

21 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

It depends on the ship you are on. Virtuosa for example has a cold area where they set out snacks that do change throughout the day.

 

Early morning things like small fruit plates, filled croissants etc. . Later in the morning small savoury and sweet snacks like olives, arancini balls, coristi, melon with l’arma, small sweet cakes. Later in the day mini sandwiches and bigger cakes (afternoon tea also available). Night time back to savoury snacks and really pretty Pettit fours and chocolates.

 

On Euribia the snack area was replaced with a massive wine rack. You could still request snacks but they were imo boring and the same all the time. Nothing like as nice. You could request nuts and crisps etc as well.

 

Whichever ship you are on the YC service is great and you will not starve.

 

 

Thanks. 

Its Virtuosa in 6 weeks time, not that I'm counting.

Don't ask me why but I am really looking forward to the snacks in the Top Sail Lounge.

Am I right in saying they change throughout the day? What sort of things can I expect on there?

We will be in YC for the first time in about 6 weeks, I was going to say I don't know how I would feel about pushing queues etc with the butler but then as Morpheus says its just like paying for fast pass in a theme park I guess, you have paid for an available service. 

3 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Appears you beat us Americans at our own game in two categories.

Interesting that Morpheus, as a Brit when we holiday in the US I always find the whole tipping thing a bit stressful, who should I or shouldn't I tip, how much etc. I would say in the past I have always tipped Restaurant and Bar servers, hotel porters and taxi drivers, I'm always thankful when the bill comes and it has the suggested gratuities on, makes my life easier.

Off topic a bit, but I do find the percentage of the bill thing a bit odd for the tip amount. For example say a party of 4 who have all had a steak and a couple of bottles of wine between them compared to a party of 4 who all had a happy hour bowl of pasta each and a coke. The steak table would be paying a much heftier tip for the same level of service.

9 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

This is exactly my point. We wouldn't pay anything extra for the experience for 50 years. But now in our 70's and reading daily obituaries of well known contemporaries, you too will come to a realization 'It is now or never'. You all will come to this conclusion one day.

 P.S. Also we learned "Do not complain about growing old. It is a privilege denied to many."

Mark Twain

Oh I totally agree and no doubt in the future when there is more disposable we will be YC regulars 😀 

On 5/11/2024 at 6:20 AM, Stockjock said:

I've not done YC.  I can afford it, but choose not to.  Maybe some day I'll give it a try.  While it seems to be a better value versus other cruise lines' suites, here's my attitude.

1. It's considerably more expensive.  For example, on an upcoming Norwegian Fjords cruise, the price of YC deluxe is roughly 3.5 times the price of my Fantastica veranda.  Do you get more?  Of course.  3.5 x more?  Doesn't seem that way.

2. Not only do I not want a butler, but I think I'd find them to be annoying.

3. Obviously, an upgraded dining experience is nice, but 3.5 times nice?  To some, sure.  To me, probably not.  That said, on a recent cruise, we got 4 speciality restaurants for $100 USD per person.  3 of the 4 were part of a $200 package.  The 4th (2nd in Butcher's Cut) was a loyalty reward for being a Diamond member.  So 4 of 7 nights in a specialty restaurant for $100 each?  I consider that to be a great value.

4. I do like some of the privacy of YC, but again at 3.5 times the price?  Nah.

5. I don't like the fact that YC deposits are typically non-refundable.  While I don't book with the intent of cancelling, non-YC cabins can typically be cancelled without penalty up to 90 days before the sailing.  Not the case w/YC.

I also don't fly first or business class.  I'd love to do it.  I can afford to do it.  I simply don't want to spend the money.

Nothing wrong w/YC.  I'll try it one day.  But for now, you'll find me in a Fantastica veranda, or perhaps an Aurea suite, but only if the price is right.

I'm a bit like yourself, we are a family of 4 (two daughters) who like to travel as mush as possible if we chose to do things like YC it would restrict the amount of things we would be able to do.

That being said we have actually booked YC for the this June out of the UK for just me and the wife for our Anniversary, for comparison an inside Fantastica was £1350, YC inside was £2164 which we didn't think was too bad, but when we took into account the included Wifi and also the fact we wont do any specialty restaurants being in YC it seemed like a pretty good deal.

I certainly wouldn't pay 2x, 3x the price for the experience.  

ABPMSC22 gives you 15% if sailing MSC.

I believe it is only draught on the easy package and from memory Heineken was the only draught available on Seascape. 

Massive choice of bottles/cans on the Easy Plus package if you can upgrade. 

3 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

We sail Sunday on the Seashore but cannot access our luggage tags. We are checked in and have our boarding passes in the app on our phones. I checked with our concierge and he said not to worry as we are in YC. They will take care of it when we check in.

Our luggage tags were on the last pages of the boarding passes etc. 

Is it the same menu/food served in the Aurea restaurant as the MDR?

I'm sure we received ours 2 or 3 times from memory. 

23 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

I’m curious about this as well. We have been invited to upgrade on some cruises but not on others.

 

Seems to be no rhyme or reason to it.

I suspect it depends on how full the sailing is and what sort of cabins are selling well at that particular point.

We are in a YC interior in June which have sold out, there are quite a lot of YC Balcony Suites left and we have been offered an upgrade to one. 

10 hours ago, ajoneen said:

The dock not support 2 ships

Am I right in saying that Ocean Cay is currently closed or due to be closed for some work to be done? The assumption was that it was to increase the dock capacity so World America could dock there, could it be that increased capacity will allow two ships to dock there? I hope not as it would make the island very busy. 

Does Seaside have a pizzeria? Seascape didn't, shame.

Virtuosa holds about 1300 more guests than Seaside but is 30,000 tonnes bigger and has 400 more cabins

25 minutes ago, maclover said:

Starting a trip with hopes of a free upgrade seems like setting yourself up for disappointment. With a 99% likelihood that it won't materialize, you're better off settling into your original plans from the get-go.

Not sure how you took that as me hoping for a free upgrade, not really too bothered about cabin category. We pretty much always go for the cheapest option as we use the cabin for sleeping and getting ready.

If they did upgrade us for free though, I would certainly accept it. 😂

17 minutes ago, Até said:

Moving from a YC interior to YC balcony often requires a bid that is more than if you booked the YC balcony in the first place (early).  The minimum bid is frequently just a few hundred less and not worth the loss of cabin choice and getting the least desired cabins.

 

Those YC balcony cabins will be awarded to bidders from regular balcony cabins where the bid amounts are more reasonable, especially for those who booked without drinks, internet, etc....

 

There's a small chance corporate won't 100% fill the YC so it may be worthwhile to ask the concierge as soon as you board.

Yeah the lowest bid plus what we have already paid is actually more than the current advertised price. 

We are booked in an YC Interior for 5 nights, I had an upgrade offer for a deluxe suite. The lowest offer is £770 in total so we aren't going to bother.

Question though, when I looked there are still 19 of these cabins available to book, if they don't sell out is there the possibility of a free upgrade or would they just leave the room allocations as they are?

2 hours ago, Itaybre said:

Hi,

I have never been to a cruise so I am inexperienced here, but I have already decided on the dates for the cruise.
But when I try to buy it from the local MSC site, they are enforcing travel insurance and not the best payment methods.

 

I have checked out other sites, and such insurance is optional and since I already got one for my trip, I don't event want theirs. Is there any issue if I book through other MSC site?

We are English but booked through an American travel agents site, once booked we could add excursions etc through MSC's US website

I just priced one on Seascape 2026 and it was nearly £11k, which is about $14k, owners suite that is.

I don't know why the staff would be concerned about what price a product is being sold for? 

Not that I can imagine it will be ever in my price range, but what are you talking, ball park figure for a week?

We have booked Aurea for next year on World America, assuming its the same as World Europa...

1, Jacuzzi's x 2 (I think) and a bar.

2. Looks a lot more spacious and less crowded.

3. Not Sure.

We also went for it as it was only about £600 more for the Infinite Balcony Room for a family of 4 compared to either inside or ocean view, cant remember which. I also liked the idea of anytime dining in a dedicated restaurant. 

1 hour ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

Thanks - that's really helpful to know. It's only a five day cruise so I have to book on the first day or I won't be able to fit them all in. 😆

Not until October. I've sailed on her 3 times before, but this is the first time not in Yacht Club. 

This will be our first time in YC, looking forward to it.

On 4/11/2024 at 9:57 PM, Momto3girlsintheCarolinas said:

This post will stir up trouble, but I am curious about what people think.

 

My partner and I will take our first MSC cruise in about a month.  We've sailed other lines, but not MSC.  I want to keep an open mind and remember that being unhappy on a cruise should be tough.

 

I understand that MSC is cheap and that one should keep their expectations realistic, given the low-cost fare.  Rarely can one enjoy Kobe beef at a cheeseburger price.  However, it occurs to me that there should be some minimum standard that guests can expect.  Otherwise, it seems like gaslighting guests and justifying poor food and service.  

 

I think it is important to have reasonable expectations for the price one pays, but when I read reviews that talk about inedible food and rude crew, that seems to go beyond the pale.  

 

If MSC sells cruises even with awful food and service, what motivates them to improve?  There is none, I guess.  It seems unfair that people should be able to get reasonable service at a fair price.  Like, even the cheeseburger should be edible. 

 

What if a family can't afford other lines?  Shouldn't they get a quality experience, too?  Or should they not cruise at all or put up with this standard of food and service?

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, so please play nice.  I am interested in what others think.

I have only done one MSC cruise, 2 weeks on Seascape, staff were excellent across the board, may have encountered one or two that weren't the most friendly but never rude.

Food was more than acceptable, found the buffet to be a typical buffet, I had read reviews stating dinner was no different to lunch but the one time we did have dinner in the buffet there was definitely more choice.

MDR was really good, smallish portions but never left hungry and you can always get multiple starters or desserts if you wish. We had maybe one or two meals that weren't fantastic but never had a bad meal

Specialty(Butchers Cut, Teppanyaki and Hola) were all really good, no complaints at all.

The food and service is certainly not awful but then maybe we have lower expectations than others

Only done Royal before x 4 and MSC were half the price, Royal MDR food was maybe a bit better form memory (last two were 2019 and 2012) but I have also heard that the food has gone downhill on Royal so maybe they are now on par.