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What's everyone's recommendations for managing multiple staterooms across multiple families? I'd prefer to book directly, but hoping not to run into issues with customer service, who doesn't seem to have a way of marking someone as the trip's "primary".

I'm not sure I understand the question? Are you suggesting that of course MSC would make it difficult because their IT/customer service isn't great? I just think it's frustrating that many of the unique stateroom options look "sold out" but it's only because you've selected the wrong starting port. I assume this impacts upgrade availability as well. And it wouldn't be specific to YC either, it would also impact Aurea availability, though less of an issue generally with Aurea because there tends to be more cabins in each category. However, even if there are 3 2-bedroom Aurea suites on the Seashore/Seascape, if there are 6 ports where passengers are picked up, that means at 3 or more of those port locations you wouldn't likely be able to select the 2-bedroom Aurea suite, it would always show as "Sold Out".

One other annoying aspect of this is that some room types are not bookable from some cities. For instance, the YC Owners Suite on the Seashore is only bookable in Marseilles, and the Seashore YC Royal Suite is only bookable in Genoa. Is there a way to see ahead of time which ports are mapped to which cabins/floors?

I noticed this as well, seems really strange. I think it's because of pricing uncertainty that far out with the inflationary environment we've been in. But I don't know why anyone would book these without knowing what you're getting.

I'm trying to get info on this right now. We're checking in with guides at ToursByLocals to understand the logistics of the coffee plantation tours.

Has anyone tried this lately? Specifically I'm curious about Ocho Rios, seems like many of the resorts have actually closed down in this area? Tough to get up-to-date information since COVID

And I think in another thread maybe? Someone ran the math on the number of YC rooms on the World Europa/World America type of ships, and the YC restaurant on Ocean Cay already can't accommodate that many YC guests, much less an entire Explora ship of YC-level passengers. So it seems likely that some changes will be made at OC, even if they are not able to or ever plan to add room for two ships at the same time.

I think that's the trick. You need to book with 4 in the room, can't book with < 4. I'm guessing it's a no-no to add fake people to your booking so that you can get these rooms?

Has anyone ever had any luck booking these connecting YC rooms on the Meraviglia class ships using the MSC website? I've never seen these rooms available, which I assume means they're only bookable if calling or working thru a travel agent?

Which port is that on the map? I only see one terminal even remotely close to Ocho Rios, so I'm not sure which one you're referring to

Is there a chance two ships could be docked at Ocean Cay? Maybe a non-YC ship and an Explora ship could both be there at the same time.

Well, I yolo'd with the upgrade request.

The only exclusive benefit I've read about is that the Royal Suite (but not Owners Suite?) gets a reserved cabana on the YC sundeck.

So, we do have an option to upgrade to a Royal Suite, but only because MSC has a "comedy of errors": The upgrade site believes that the Royal Suite has a capacity of 5, so even though the main MSC website won't let us book the Royal Suite for all 5 of us, we can backdoor into the Royal Suite thru the upgrade process. But I'm guessing that this issue would eventually be flagged and then I have no idea what would happen with our upgrade money at that point. Anyhow, the YC Grand Deluxe Suite is the largest suite available in YC, and it'll still be very cozy with the 5 of us. No other larger options available in YC on the Seashore/Seascape, and there are no connecting YC rooms on these ships.

Not what I asked. I'm happy to pay YC prices; it's not a cost factor for us. In fact, we originally booked a YC Grand Deluxe Suite but I downgraded us when a 2-Bedroom Aurea Suite because it's really difficult to imagine all 5 of us in under 300 sq ft. YC Grand Deluxe Suite has a sofa bed + a pullman bed. Our kids are young, so they'd probably think it's cozy and a fun setup, but it would mean two kids sharing a bed and also all three of them fighting over who gets the cool "bunk" bed from the ceiling. In the 2-Bedroom Aurea Suite, there are 3 beds + a sofa bed, so each kid could have their own space. Also we parents would have our own room. I'm having trouble understanding how the YC experience is significantly better. Aurea on the Seascape has its own dedicated sundeck, both experiences get access to the Thermal Spa. Aurea has its own dedicated dining space in the MDR, and our kids will probably live off of snacks from the buffet anyway. As lovely as the canapés in YC sound, they'd be wasted on our kids. We do have a second cruise booked: one in a Seashore YC Royal Suite. It doesn't sleep 5, so we're instead bringing along relatives and then we'll split up our group. But the Royal Suite--like the Aurea rooms--offers space and separation. That 2nd cruise is an anniversary trip, so we're excited to splurge a bit on the YC experience, but even then, I'm mostly excited about the Royal Suite itself (+ its dedicated cabana), not the Yacht Club.

We're booked on the Seascape. Have the opportunity to upgrade to a YC Grand Deluxe Suite from our current Aurea 2-Bedroom Suite (14001), and the cost of a "Strong" or "Excellent" offer is very little compared to the original cost of booking the room outright. Traveling with 3 kids. I'm thinking the extra bedroom and bathroom in the Aurea suite will definitely outweigh any YC benefits, but I'm curious what others think. I really wish there was a way to simply upgrade our existing booking to YC status.

Not sure if related, but only 2,200 passengers boarded the inaugural Seascape cruise. Could be a bit different since they will pick up additional passengers before heading to NYC, no? And maybe for the inaugural they don't want an entirely full ship anyhow.

It's pretty clear that OP meant forced masking of crew. So it's not telling crew what to do; making masks optional is actually dictating less. But I suspect the recent posters already knew this and so are not arguing honestly.

Seascape YC uses pullman beds for the 5th guest

@raino144 did you have concerns about the safety of the balcony with the little ones? We have two cruises planned, one on the Seascape this February at the front of the ship with the higher glass, but then traveling again on the Seashore next Summer in a Royal Suite. We'll be traveling with kids 7, 5, and 4 and to realistically understand how safe the balconies are with kids that like to climb.

I had missed that: the Meraviglia class ships do have a couple of connecting YC rooms, looks like 14014-14016, 14015-14019, 16009-16011, and16024-16026

Yes, this is accurate. Also suites 18018 and 18019. 16020, 16027, 18018, and 18019 do not have a walk-in closet, but they have large amount of space around the bed and couch. 18018 and 18019 also sleep 5 with a pullman bed above the couch. 19025 and 19028 are not only wider but also longer and also have the walk-in closet. Annoyingly, though, these two suites do not sleep 5.

Just to add: we are trying MSC for the first time with two cruises, one on the Seascape and one on her sister ship Seashore. We're trying a 2-bedroom Aurea suite for the first and a Royal Suite + a nanny/auntie/grandparent suite (not connecting) on the next, since the Royal Suite will not allow us to fit all 5 of us, so we've invited family along for another deluxe suite and we'll split our family up between the two suites. I think the 2-bedroom will work better for our family, but we're trying both to see how it works. The hassle of not having connecting rooms seems worth it for us compared to the high prices of the NCL Haven (though I will say that some of the 3-bedroom NCL Haven suites are relatively inexpensive when traveling with a large group).

This is correct, Divina-era ships have 2 connecting YC suites and otherwise HA are the only options. Seaside class does have some YC rooms that sleep 5, if that helps.

Sounds like the delivery of the Explora 1 was delayed, which could also have an impact on the routes that MSC is choosing. I'm assuming that MSC and Explora treat their demand pool as a combined one, meaning that MSC will not try to cannibalize one line over the other and will always try to make the two complementary. Of course, the reasons for these itinerary changes could have nothing to do with Explora.