psmarkle

Yes, this is our third YC cruise booked with the 30% casino voucher + 5% Voyagers Club. You have to reach 1200 points to earn the voucher. On slot machines, it will tell you how many points you have earned. I play 3 Card Poker and just ask the dealer for my points total. Once I hit 1200, I throttle back my playing, if any more at all. Interesting note, on our last cruise on the Seashore in April, a fellow player and I were discussing the discount. He got a free inside cabin offer from the Casino Dept. He then paid to upgrade all the way to the YC. We did some rough cocktail napkin math, and it seemed the 30% discount was the better deal for booking the YC. YMMV, but food for thought.

Boarding in a couple of hours! Sunday, 20 Nov 22. I failed to do a complete review back in April, but aspire to contribute on this cruise. Can't wait to see the white YC tent and those golden luggage tags!! It's the little things 🙃

YC all the way! For us, a group of 4 on most cruises, it works out to around $3K off the cruise. You can also stack your Voyager's Club 5% discount with it! Instead, of $9,600'ish for a YC1 cabin, we paid right at $6,500 for a group of 4. Then, with the big box travel agency we use, they give a 10% back of the cruise fare as obc, so that more than covers our gratuities and DW's casino $$! Boarding in a couple of hours!!

I'll definitely post about it. For us, DW wanted her own bathroom, so that settled that! 🙂

We board the day you guys get off on the 20th for a 7-day!

Really looking forward to this stop. Have gotten in contact with the co-located kite surfing school and have set up lessons for our bunch...can't wait!!

We have reservations here in Nov! Originally, we booked it in Spring 2020...ummm, yeah, thanks Covid! Then we re-booked for Spring 2021...that cruise got cancelled as well. So, here we are 2 1/2 years later and the owners e-mailed back saying they will still honor our $125 deposit from 2020...what great customer service! We opted for 1 of the 2 VIP upper decks since we have a larger party going. Which appetizers do you recommend?

Dusting off this thread, if that's OK. Back in April 2022, we booked an OV Cabana and stopped by the YC Concierge desk to request #7 which is the closest Cabana to the Ocean House. You still have to walk around Ocean House to get to the beach area...which DW did not like! So, for our upcoming Thanksgiving cruise, I've booked a "non-oceanfront" Oceanfront Cabana...I call them that due to all the regular loungers and umbrellas that are between the cabana and the beach. So, does anyone know which # Cabana is right by the access way in the middle of the chairs to the beach? I know I don't want to ask for #6 as that is right by the path up to the Ocean House with people/waiters consistently passing by. But, I don't know if I should ask the Concierge for #3, 4, or 5 to be right by the beach access-way. Can anyone please advise? Many thanks!

On our April Seashore cruise out of Miami, I did not put any tags on beforehand. When we got to the YC ten t, they slapped on those glorious gold luggage tags that started our great week ahead!

We, too, status matched to MSC Diamond off our NCL Platinum back in the day. We were NCL Haven fanatics until it got way too expensive! Now, it's no problem for us to maintain our Diamond status as we have only been sailing MSC YC, and the 5% definitely adds up which we also stack with the Casino 30% discount.

For our cruises, I always bring extra cash for tips even though the daily tips are charged to our account. I was talking to the incomparable Vishnu in the Seaside YC about working on different ships, and he stated that he only wanted to work on the Seaside (sailing out of the US at the time) because the staff make much more. He continued that "American" passengers are a lot more work than in Europe, but Americans tip extra that he sends home to his family. Last I heard (I believe it was on these boards), after Covid he opened up his own restaurant in Mauritius. Good for him!!

When we sailed on Seashore back in April, we rented that exact Cabana behind the distinguished gentleman; it is called an "Oceanview YC Cabana" vs "Oceanfront" which is to the right, on the described rocky beach. Oh, and they're not exactly oceanfront as they are behind all the rows of open chairs and umbrellas for YC guests. Once you board, you can request a specific Cabana # with the YC Concierge. They don't guarantee it, but we got the one we requested. I plan on requesting Cabana #4 or 5 in Nov. The one above is #7, btw. From this area, the Bimini Beach is a very short walk and is, indeed, sandy and smooth and very open. We all went swimming there after trying to navigate the rocky YC beach! Snorkel gear is included in the YC area, just go to the Ocean House and sign for them. The port-a-potties are the nicest I've ever seen, seriously! Wood laminate flooring, sink area, small counter area, etc. It's more of a half bathroom in a regular house. Lobster rolls...I ordered 2 and then double stuffed one roll with the meat. Yum! Also put the overflow lobster meat on my salad which I also ordered. Returning on the Meraviglia and have reserved one of the oceanfront cabanas this time as wifey did not like having to walk around the Ocean House to get to the rocky YC beach. Happy wife, happy life!

Try calling 1-844-MSC-PLAY, that's their casino reservations line. I find the agents to be much more knowledgeable.

We just booked the Mera for Nov 20th sailing! Have only sailed Seaside & Seaside EVO Class ships on MSC thus far, so excited to explore the Meraviglia Class ships! Planning on Divina out of Rome next July, another first for us on MSC, finally sailing Europe (becoming empty nesters).

Disclaimer: this post is only based on my personal observations from earning the 30% Casino discount on my past 2 MSC cruises; it's not official MSC guidance or whatever! OK, we've sailed the MSC Seaside twice and had a third cruise booked until...well, covid-agedden which disrupted everyone's lives, sadly. And we just sailed the Seashore in April, and booking the Meraviglia in Nov using the 30% discount from the Casino. We're not big fish players to earn a free cruise, although I have sat at the tables with those who have earned them (or maybe "pre-paid" for the "free" cruise with their playing! 😬). The big question up front: I bring $1,500 cash onboard with me as our casino budget...and have yet to even come close to using it all. DW and DSIL play the penny slots on roughly $200 for the week each. They play together all night after the shows until the casino kicks them out at 4:30/5:00am! As they come back to the room, I'm usually getting up to have coffee in the YC Topsail Lounge and then wait outside the fitness center doors eagerly waiting for them to open at 6am...yes, I am one of THOSE people! I have issues, I know.... So, back to the lucrative Casino 30% discount. Prior to discovering the cost and service advantages of MSC's Yacht Club, we were big NCL Haven sailors, using casino free inside room offers to pay the difference to upgrade to the Haven. I say this, because I stumbled across MSC YC while comparing cruise prices, and our first Seaside YC cruise was around $3,000 cheaper than the comparable NCL sailing...say what?! 😲 And this was before we had earned a 30% discount. So, we have our usual cruise routine of dinner, catch the show(s), then DW and DSIL "go to work" on the penny slots in the Casino while Dad (Me) and DD hang out, head to comedy shows/white dance parties/etc, then I drop her off at the cabin around 11/11:30 (she's 16, btw, so no child services calls, please!). She then orders YC room service pizza which is different than regular room service pizza...yum-o! and watches a movie before dozing off. I'll get to the Casino around midnight and check in on DW and DSIL to see if I need to take out a home equity loan yet, then head over to the 3-card poker table to buy in. I play 3-card poker as MSC ships do not have my preferred game of choice, Craps. Craps is a predominately American market game and MSC is an Italian-based cruise line catering more to Europeans. So I learned 3-card poker, instead. My first buy-in is $500. Just slide the cash and your room card over to the dealer and they then log you in and start tracking your play. With slots, you put your room card in the machine and it automatically starts tracking DW and DSIL's play. My average bet is $10 on the Ante and $15 on the Play spot. There is also the "pairs plus" bet that would be an additional $10, but I learned a good lesson from the Pit Boss this last cruise about not playing that bet. On our first MSC Seaside cruise, a Casino hostess found my DW and DSIL on the second night of playing and had them fill out a casino rewards registration. MY DW later told me that she filled out mine as well since the Hostess had it readily available. Then, on the last night of the cruise, our Butler placed the 30% "Willie Wonka Golden Tickets" on all 3 of our beds! They are actually letters in envelopes, but you get the idea of the excitement we felt when we saw them! This is consistent with our last 2 cruises on MSC, on about the second night, the Hostess comes finds you based on where you're logged in, has you fill out the registration, and assuming you play every night like we do, then the magical envelopes show up on the last night on your pillow so you fall asleep dreaming of 30% future cruises! One key caveat, the discount is only valid from 9 months from the month you sailed, so it forces you into 2 cruises'ish a year if you're chasing this offer...oh darn, throw me in that brier patch! Oh yeah, the Casino Dept also sends you a box of Venchi chocolates to your room for free, sweet! So, MSC awards X# of points based on your time and level of play. The key number is to hit 1,200 points in their system to trigger the 30% threshold. I cannot tell you how many bets DW and DSIL make per hour, but they are playing penny slots. For this past April's cruise, I played from 11pm-1/1:30am betting $25 on the Ante and $25 Play bets, no Pairs Plus this cruise as I l studied my statistics. The Pit Boss and I chatted about that. In his broken English he said betting Pairs Plus made it about 70 to 30% in the house's favor, but just betting the Ante and Play bets made it almost 50/50. Smart playing he said! Based on my stated play, I hit my 1,200 points on my fourth night. Finished the cruise $100 ahead AND got the coveted 30% discount letter that is worth $2-3K when booking 4 people in the YC! Also, I have found MSC's Casino Reps to be SOOOOOO much better and knowledgeable that their regular customer service reps. No long hold times, but they're only avail M-F, 9-6pm EST at 1-844-MSC-PLAY. Again, this is just my experience, but glad to answer any questions y'all may have. Out of 43 cruises so far, I have found MSC's Casino Dept to be the best. I'm glad to answer any questions...fire away!