Recent Haven vs. Yacht Club comparisons?

Looking for anyone who has recently sailed in the Haven and the Yacht club for some comparisons. We absolutely loved the Haven on the Epic, and are looking for a similar, upscale experience. Thanks!

Just sailed in the Epic 2 bedroom suite this January. I have sailed in the Haven about 6 times and the Yacht Club twice. Both are excellent experiences. A lot depends on what you are looking for in a cruise to determine which one is better, but below is a brief summary:

Room size: Unless you book a YC2 or 3, Haven rooms are typically bigger.

Dining: Both exclusive restaurants are excellent; however NCL has more alternative dining venues than MSC.

Lounge: The Topsail lounge is bigger and better than Haven lounges. Great views at the front of the ship.

Embarkation: MSC wins this one easily. You are met at the curb, escorted to an exclusive check in area and on the ship in no time.

Service: I found the MSC butlers and concierges to be more knowledgeable and attentive to guests needs.

Ships: The Divina and Splendida are more elegant ships than say the Escape. However, the Escape, Breakaway, etc. have much more top deck activities than MSC ships. This may change with Seaside and Meraviglia.

Price: We got an outstanding deal on our recent Epic suite, but typically the Yacht Club is less expensive than the Haven.

Bottom line I would give the edge to MSC for total cruise experience in the Yacht Club versus the Haven. However, both are great cruise experiences. We are booked this fall in the Yacht Club on the new Meraviglia, and it appears that ship might be our best Yacht Club experience yet.

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Not sure when you are looking to go, but I can tell you late August as it will be our first YC. So far MSC is looking better except for room size.

Thank you!!

mistertoaster.....thanks. I have similar opinions to yours regarding Haven vs YC. Curious, you mention Epic "deal" in the Haven. Any details you can share?

GG: My wife and I have flexibility on our travel dates. We typically take a warm weather cruise every Winter as we live near Chicago. Since I have date flexibility, I look for pricing anomalies that crop up from time to time. In this case, the Epic had an abundance of two bedroom suites on the January 21 cruise which they started discount about one month before the sail date. I called my T/A, and booked a Haven 2 bedroom for $3,700 which included about a 5% discount off NCL's price of around $4,000. The week before and the week after we're both over $6,000 for the same room.

I am not sure why this week was discounted. It may have something to do with scheduling issues that arose from the Holy Ship charter a week before our cruise, or perhaps, all Winter breaks had expired and passenger load was light. It may also have something to do with NCL's new auction process. Perhaps NCL was looking to sell as many 2 bedroom suites before they opened them for bid. Anyway, not sure of the reason, but it worked out well and we enjoyed the Haven as usual.

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GG: My wife and I have flexibility on our travel dates. We typically take a warm weather cruise every Winter as we live near Chicago. Since I have date flexibility, I look for pricing anomalies that crop up from time to time. In this case, the Epic had an abundance of two bedroom suites on the January 21 cruise which they started discount about one month before the sail date. I called my T/A, and booked a Haven 2 bedroom for $3,700 which included about a 5% discount off NCL's price of around $4,000. The week before and the week after we're both over $6,000 for the same room.

 

I am not sure why this week was discounted. It may have something to do with scheduling issues that arose from the Holy Ship charter a week before our cruise, or perhaps, all Winter breaks had expired and passenger load was light. It may also have something to do with NCL's new auction process. Perhaps NCL was looking to sell as many 2 bedroom suites before they opened them for bid. Anyway, not sure of the reason, but it worked out well and we enjoyed the Haven as usual.

 

 

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Thanks....that's a great price for a 2 bedroom suite in the Haven. I was able to snag a Haven Spa Suite for $4,800, but that was the best I was able to do. But, was able to get $300 OBC from AMEX and an additional $275 from my TA. So, that mitigated part of that cost.

We have sailed in the Haven many times , but this June will be our first YC experience (on the Seaside). As such, we have many questions for those with experience.

Is the minibar included for YC passengers?

Do we have the classic or deluxe drink package?

Do YC guests get spa access?

Are there any other perks that YC guests get that may not be common knowledge (such as Haven guests eating at Margaritaville free for lunch on the first day)?

Anything else you think would be helpful would be appreciated. Thanks!

We have sailed in the Haven many times , but this June will be our first YC experience (on the Seaside). As such, we have many questions for those with experience.

 

Is the minibar included for YC passengers?

Do we have the classic or deluxe drink package?

Do YC guests get spa access?

Are there any other perks that YC guests get that may not be common knowledge (such as Haven guests eating at Margaritaville free for lunch on the first day)?

 

Anything else you think would be helpful would be appreciated. Thanks!

1. Yes.
   
2. Deluxe (premium).
   
3. Yes
   
4. Your choice of daily newspaper delivered to your cabin every morning.
   

Your butler will pack/unpack (you must be there when this is being done!)

Your butler will shine your shoes for you.

The only included dining venues for YC guests are the dedicated YC restaurant (which is open for breakfast/lunch/dinner) and the buffet.

1. 
    
   
2. Yes.
    
   
3. Deluxe (premium).
    
   
4. Yes
    
   
5. Your choice of daily newspaper delivered to your cabin every morning.
    
   

Your butler will pack/unpack (you must be there when this is being done!)

 

 

 

Your butler will shine your shoes for you.

 

 

 

The only included dining venues for YC guests are the dedicated YC restaurant (which is open for breakfast/lunch/dinner) and the buffet.

Thanks so much Bea. I’m reading another review of yours right now (YC on the Meriviglia). You are extremely in-the-know! Thanks!

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1. 
    
   
2. Yes.
    
   
3. Deluxe (premium).
    
   
4. Yes
    
   
5. Your choice of daily newspaper delivered to your cabin every morning.
    
   

Your butler will pack/unpack (you must be there when this is being done!)

 

 

 

Your butler will shine your shoes for you.

 

 

 

The only included dining venues for YC guests are the dedicated YC restaurant (which is open for breakfast/lunch/dinner) and the buffet.

A few other questions that just popped into my head:

Can YC guests dine in the MDRs (as well as the buffets)? Your response above made me wonder.

Can children in the YC get smoothies/shakes at the bar? My kids really enjoyed getting a smoothie per day at the Haven bar. (They were GREAT with our kids).

On a side note, do you feel the specialty dining package is worth the money? I’m sure the YC restaurant would be sufficient for my wife and I, but our girls (11 and 8) really enjoy more variety.

Thanks!

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Thanks so much Bea. I’m reading another review of yours right now (YC on the Meriviglia). You are extremely in-the-know! Thanks!

 

 

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Thank you for taking the trouble - it was my first ever review (it was our 16th MSC cruise so I suppose I'm pretty familiar with their set-up now!). I was posting 'Live' using a new phone and the CruiseCritic app which was quite a challenge at the time. I prefer using a laptop on the forum.

We love the YC experience and I hope your experience will be the same! Have you done the Status-Match?

A few other questions that just popped into my head:

 

Can YC guests dine in the MDRs (as well as the buffets)? Your response above made me wonder.

 

Can children in the YC get smoothies/shakes at the bar? My kids really enjoyed getting a smoothie per day at the Haven bar. (They were GREAT with our kids).

 

On a side note, do you feel the specialty dining package is worth the money? I’m sure the YC restaurant would be sufficient for my wife and I, but our girls (11 and 8) really enjoy more variety.

 

Thanks!

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1. I've never felt the need nor desire to eat in the MDRs, my thinking being "Why would you want to eat where the menu and quality of offerings aren't at the level of the YC restaurant?" so I don't know, TBH. I've seen that question asked on here before, though, and don't remember ever seeing it being answered. I have read that some have been able to order items in the YC restaurant from the MDR menu, but, again, I personally haven't done this, so can't comment.
   
2. I've never cruised with kids and I generally avoid the subject on here. I've looked back thru' my photos to see if I had any pics of YC bar menus to see if there are smoothies/shakes listed. Unfortunately I don't. However, I'd be surprised if they don't have them.
   
3. I've never paid for dining in the Speciality restaurants. We've been Black Card holders for a number of years, now, so we get complimentary meals. On Meraviglia, we dined in Butchers' Cut for our 2 nights (we get a complimentary meal for 2 - each). The 'Dining Experience' menu is the one available for Black level members. I believe it's $39 pp on Seaside. I reckon it's very good value. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and service there.
   

You can always discuss your kids' preferences with the m'D of the YC restaurant. They really do do their best to make you happy and accommodate any requests you may have.

Thank you for taking the trouble - it was my first ever review (it was our 16th MSC cruise so I suppose I'm pretty familiar with their set-up now!). I was posting 'Live' using a new phone and the CruiseCritic app which was quite a challenge at the time. I prefer using a laptop on the forum.

 

We love the YC experience and I hope your experience will be the same! Have you done the Status-Match?

A couple other things - the DSC is the same on MSC and not higher for suites like NCL.

You can order room service pizza from the concierge- it is great.

Smoothies for kids are free at the bars unlike NCL where you get charged plus the 20% fee for your convenience of course. Gelato is also free at the various venues - note on Seaside there are some different venues for food that we got some initial reports in one of the other threads so there may be some places that do charge on Seaside for gelato.

For us, we did have option for free dining in the speciality but the food was great in Le Muse so we skipped that option.

Thanks!

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I just got off the phone with MSC customer support. I had a number of questions, and a got a number of confusing answers.

First, I was told that all YC guests have the classic drink package, but that we could upgrade to the deluxe package for $112. Does that seem right?

Also, we are interested in the specialty dining package. The “trio” package seems to work best, but only if one of the restaurants we get to eat at is the Teppanyaki restaurant (in addition to the steak house and Ocean Cay). The customer service rep said that was the case, it didn’t seem sure at all. Is this the case?

I’m used to NCL, and they have some sketchy customer service answers, but MSC seemed really confused by everything I asked.

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I thought Yacht Club got the upgraded (Premium, just without the *s) drink package.

I might be wrong (or right, who knows)>

Yacht club does get the premium drinks package, the only excluded drinks are the ones with 2**.

Very strange. The rep even went to check with a supervisor and asked if I wanted to upgrade to the premium drink package while I was on the phone.

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We have sailed the last 6 cruises on Crystal. We love Crystal but thought we would try MSC. Will let you know what we think. Sailing 1/25.

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