kelleherdl

I can speak for US sailings. There will be no penalty for arriving later than your assigned time. Dennis

You may show up anytime after 12. It’s not a ‘window.’ The caution about arriving too late is real. If you have any issues with your travel documents there needs to be time to get them resolved. In my experience, 1:30 to 2:30 is a sweet spot if you don’t like lines.

I think these discounts were offered through the Explora Journeys Travel Partners. It happens that our travel advisor is one of them. Sorry, but board rules prevent mention of specific travel professionals. You won’t see the discount if you visit the Explora Journeys website. I did book another cruise as the discount was so good. I actually dropped a 14-day MSC YC cruise to book a 15-day Explora I cruise.

With that Diamond Voyager hurry up and find a Travel Partner with Explora Journeys. There is a great discount now on selected Explora I sailings for 2023 for MSC Diamond Voyager members. It is very generous!

You will have no problem with ADA access in the YC. Pool One and YC Beach are accessible for pool and spas.

Ocean Cay is very large and the paved ‘roads’ are extensive. The ONLY design flaw I know for Ocean Cay is there is no bridge across the north end of the lagoon from North Beach to the helipad on the extreme north side of the island. It keeps you from doing a circular route around the island. The paths can be quite congested around the bars and food venues. Dennis

Absolutely agree with you on the Divina Executive RS. We were courtesy upgraded on a cruise last year. We both agreed we would have rather stayed in our Deluxe Grand Suite. The Executive RS Suite on Divina needs a complete redo badly. Dennis

The cruise cards themselves are still RFID on the smart ships. All MSC blank cruise cards are pre-punched so folks won’t ruin the RFID. Dennis

No. It is not an ATM.😀

Yes to the question of loading to room account.

I was just informed by my TA that she can see it for cruises booked by her. So I guess for us to choose it must be a non-TA-controlled booking. Not a problem for us as she will give me all the options and I can still see if I can find anything better and book myself. I will be curious mostly for airfares. I know on HAL I could always see things myself even if the booking was controlled by my PCC. Dennis

From the time you check in the terminal the butlers know guests who belong in the Yacht Club. It is incredible how quickly the whole YC staff will recognize you. I personally would not want to place any YC staff member in the position of noting the entry of non-YC guests. This question is asked often on this forum.

Please don’t wait until 3PM. You will be throwing away a whole half day up at One Pool. 😀 But seriously, Yacht Club guests can check in at will. We have always done so. Another hint I learned from other folks, not Yacht Club, never arrive so late in the afternoon. I have been in Terminal 10 at 1:30 and 2:00. You will virtually breeze through checkin and boarding. Plus if you have any issues with travel documentation there will be time to get things corrected. The horror stories of folks arriving late in the afternoon and not being able to get docs corrected and not being able to sail are true.

I have to agree. If I ever gave a complete novice to cruising a recommendation on a first cruise I too would suggest an Alaska 7-day on either HAL or Princess. You can do those cruises in just run-of-the-balcony cabins and not have to worry about some of the elements of mainstream cruising that may turn you off from further cruises. The ships are smaller and do tend to cater to a more sedate vacation. Plus you get to experience some pretty amazing country. My wife and I are 4-Star HAL Mariners and sailed all over the world with them, but we sail almost exclusively MSC Yacht Club now. It’s just a choice of product that we have grown to enjoy. HAL and Princess are pricier than MSC, but they will give you a fairer appreciation of the relaxed experience of cruising.

Thanks both. Anxiety level back to minimal. 😀

Yes

Where are cruise ships going to homeport in New York now? It looks like the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal has been turned into the migrant facility for the City of New York. I’m concerned about MSC Meraviglia and Explora Journeys, but there must be other lines impacted as well.

Absolutely not. All the Yacht Club areas are spacious enough that your cruise can be as private as you wish. Based on the offer I’m assuming this is a 4-day cruise? If you count up all the things you will not be paying for in the Yacht Club the upgrade cost is lessened some. Be warned. Once you sail Yacht Club you will be torn each booking to only sail Yacht Club.

What experience did you book? If you booked a Bella experience that’s a pretty good assignment. 12253 is a very nice aft-facing deluxe balcony stateroom. Dennis

The Aurea and Diamond check-in line is just outside the YC entrance podium. Just have them follow you until you get to the YC podium. They won’t have escort stickers on, but you can just tell anybody that asks that you know the Aurea guests will be split off before entering YC check-in. Dennis

Yacht Clubbers have access to the whole ship not just the Yacht Club, and based on my experience will receive better service throughout the ship. The YC cruise card does have cache beyond the glass doors of the Yacht Club. Non-Yacht Clubbers will not have access to the Yacht Club, like to eat with you in the Yacht Club restaurant, Topsail Lounge and the One Pool and Bar and Grill. But we all understand it’s a personal choice. Dennis

Yes, you can log into another country website, but doing a successful booking on the public website of the other country did not work for me. Maybe the travel agents using their booking engine can bypass borders. 😀 I tried to book a cruise I know to be popular with our UK friends, but the UK site reminded me to go home.

If nothing unusual happens with disembarkation, YC should be boarding first around 10:30. We’ve found the lounge to be limited in the terminal, but the wait will not be long. The YC area in the terminal has the typical bubbly and snacks. We were let in the terminal first starting around 9:30. The port staff at the YC tent at the terminal entrance were very helpful. Denny

My understanding is that is when before and after cruise options will be available as well.

We booked our second cruise, Dubai to Mumbai, under that promotion. But the two category ‘upgrade’ for us was not that big a deal. OT-1 to OT-3 is only a deck change.