MSC Yacht Club * VS* NCL Haven ????

I have done both and totally agree with every thing stated here.

I did the YC on the Magnifica Christmas 2016.

I had looked at the NCL Spirit for the same dates and itinerary and a suite on the Spirit was more that double the price of the YC and the Spirit doesn't even have a Haven.

Lois

There is no YC on the MSC Magnifica but the ship have Aurea suites.

Three more bookings for us - Two weeks each. NCL bookings? Zero. I think DW and I just want to suffer in silence on MSC!

Us three (3, literally). ;p:D:p

 

It's just terrible. ;)

Thanks everyone for all the responses. I think we will definitely consider the Yacht Club for a future cruise. We have the Getaway Haven booked for this fall and will be keeping it because of our teenage son. However, the next cruise will just the DH and myself so the Yacht Club is definitely a strong contender. Hopefully MSC doesn't increase their prices and take that advantage away.

Thanks everyone for all the responses. I think we will definitely consider the Yacht Club for a future cruise. We have the Getaway Haven booked for this fall and will be keeping it because of our teenage son. However, the next cruise will just the DH and myself so the Yacht Club is definitely a strong contender. Hopefully MSC doesn't increase their prices and take that advantage away.

Why not book it now? Last I checked deposit was small, and you can cancel up to something like 90 days before hand. But please double check that one!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Three more bookings for us - Two weeks each. NCL bookings? Zero. I think DW and I just want to suffer in silence on MSC!

Yep.

Still keeping NCL (but not Haven) for Bermuda in September - - for Bermuda. First visit not enough, wanted again. Got a free family promo so took it.

Doing NCL Bliss in January as we got frosted out of NY RCCL Southern Caribbean's a couple of years in a row. Great prices for non holiday, kids/colleges "in session," and good with us. Love NCL SPA - best at sea. Overall food, MDR and specialty really tops (especially compared to RCCL; what a mess), very good. The NCL Bliss is a MSC Seaside 'clone in a lot of ways.

Then back to MSC, the YC. ;p

See you in March on the Seaside. Safe travels. We only have Alaska coming up this summer.

We absolutely hate the YC. Definitely NCLers should stick with the Haven.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Agree and not only to Haven

See you in March on the Seaside. Safe travels. We only have Alaska coming up this summer.

Nice. Never done Alaska.

Have a business partner who did with his wife, inside passage.

The weather was awful; never saw anything, sometimes not even the front or back of the ship. Went salmon fishing excursion, no fish. Went sled dogging, no snow, had bogey wheels.

Know what he said? Now we've got to go again.

They had a great time anyway. Keep trying to talk them into Yacht Club.

I did an extensive review of Getaway haven over the holiday if it’s helpful. Haven’t done Msc but have been Researching so we can give it a try but has a hard tome finding available over the school holidays. https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We are just back from a week on MSC Fantasia in YC. Compared to Haven, which we tried on Getaway a while back, I would say:

- We thought the YC special restaurant (L'Etoile) had better ambient and food than the Haven restaurant. We loved that the dinner menu in YC changed every night, and that the portions were smaller (we often tried several starters/mains). But the Haven had better drink choices when it came to soda light products. Only diet coke in YC, not sprite or fanta zero etc.

- Fewer kids in YC than Haven meant a very relaxing pool deck - and more hot tub availability.

- The YC head butler (Dany) was very proactive and asked us every day if everything was all right. Our cabin butler more distant, which we personally did not mind. The YC concierge, however, seemed stressed and annoyed every time we "bothered" her with a request.

- We did not like that the YC pool was only 19C/53F. Too cool for us.

- We missed the coffee machine from our Haven suite - it quickly got old calling the YC butler every morning to get our daily fix.

- For the first time ever we were annoyed by our neighbors smoking on their balcony. We informed the YC head butler twice, but he only said it was difficult to intervene without "evidence". Not sure what he expected - to caught them in the act? It was a smaller issue for us (we just ignored it, we are not allergic etc.), but we think that MSC on the whole was a lot more smoker-friendly than expected. Especially the smoker area in the YC lounge was a surprise - it was impossible to not notice the smell whereeer you were seated in the lounge. On the YC pool deck it was a smaller problem, since it was outside.

I wrote a review after our first MSC cruise last summer. I wrote some about the differences between the Haven and the Yacht Club.

You can find my review here:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=586592

Thank you so much for all you reviews and advice. It has been great to read through. I wasn't aware they allowed smoking in the YC lounge. Unfortunately the more "smoker-friendly' attitude may not fly with my DH. We would be going on the Seaside, so I wonder if it is the same on that particular ship.

Thank you so much for all you reviews and advice. It has been great to read through. I wasn't aware they allowed smoking in the YC lounge. Unfortunately the more "smoker-friendly' attitude may not fly with my DH. We would be going on the Seaside, so I wonder if it is the same on that particular ship.

We were not bothered by smoke in the Topsail Lounge. My wife has asthma, not very severe but still, and she didn't felt anything.

No smoking inside the Top Sail Lounge on Seaside. There is a smoking area on the balcony outside on the starboard side. Also smoking aloud on the starboard side on the pool deck. We were not bothered by secondhand smoke.

Thank you so much for all you reviews and advice. It has been great to read through. I wasn't aware they allowed smoking in the YC lounge. Unfortunately the more "smoker-friendly' attitude may not fly with my DH. We would be going on the Seaside, so I wonder if it is the same on that particular ship.

Smoking in the YC Lounge? Wow, I never knew that - and I have gone on four Divina cruises and just got back from a week on the Seaside - all in the YC. Admittedly did not go over every square inch of the place - was it in the far right corner as you're facing the bar? That's the only space I didn't go into. Nonetheless, saw NO ONE smoking in any of my travels in the MSC YC.

No smoking inside the Top Sail Lounge on Seaside. There is a smoking area on the balcony outside on the starboard side. Also smoking aloud on the starboard side on the pool deck. We were not bothered by secondhand smoke.

Good to know. Smoking was permitted only in a small corner of the lounge on Fantasia, but as a non-smoker, I could definitely smell it. There were some heavy smokers in YC on this sailing, though. Many Europeans still love their cigarettes, lol. As mentioned, we were not bothered by it - but it was a difference from the Haven, and that is why I am mentioning it.

- was it in the far right corner as you're facing the bar? That's the only space I didn't go into. Nonetheless, saw NO ONE smoking in any of my travels in the MSC YC.

That is correct. We were in 15005, and it was right outside the "secret door" between our hallway and the lounge.

Just returned from cruise in the YC on the Seaside. I have traveled NCL in Haven several times. The bottom line is...They are a lot the same, however Haven has the best food, best rooms, and more preferential treatment when it comes to shows. I also think NCL beats MSC by a mile when it comes to entertainment. YC has best drink package, best spa access, best pool area, and best price. They also have the best system for butlers. In the YC, if your BUTLER is a poot, you can pretty much depend on the others for most of your needs. In the Haven, you either have a good BUTLER or a bad one.

Agree on the butler thing. Twice we have had poor butlers on NCL and it definitely impacted our trip, as you are entirely dependent on your butler. You can’t even bypass for room service! We have had one less than attentive butler on MSC and it made zero difference, all the butlers pitch in.

I do disagree on entertainment, we really liked the main shows on MSC and the ability to reserve. And we loved the classical music offerings every night in top sail lounge.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We just booked YC for the first time. The whole NCL bidding process doesn’t appeal to me. The YC price was 48% less than a comparable Haven cabin.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

While most posts indicate that the Haven and the YC have similar levels of service and amenities if you take into consideration price it's a no brainer in favor of the YC. One other thing that isn't mentioned is that with a YC room you get access to the Spa whereas in the Haven you only get it if you have a Spa Suite. On NCL it's $200 per person for spa access so there's another $400 potentially that you save.

We had the same reaction. We are just off a NCL Haven (Jewel) Cruise. There Is No Haven Restaurant or lounge. Many asked us during cruise, “you must have spa access, bottled water, free drinks and Priority MDR seating”. NO....they were shocked 😳 we paid so much for so little.

We were told of MSC and status match from others. We are now Black and have cruise on MSC already booked. (YC). 50% less than NCL. Now, I hope other join our Roll Call for Meriviglia March 14. Mediterranean 8 day. 😀

We had the same reaction. We are just off a NCL Haven (Jewel) Cruise. There Is No Haven Restaurant or lounge. Many asked us during cruise, “you must have spa access, bottled water, free drinks and Priority MDR seating”. NO....they were shocked we paid so much for so little.

I was under the assumption that Haven guests receive the beverage package? When I sailed on Pearl we had a free package, water delivered daily if needed. Yes-no spa access or priority dining but the concierge did book the times we chose for us. Breakfast and lunch served in Cagneys and the courtyard attendant made sure everyone had drinks and food all day if you wanted. I was not sure I was going to like the Haven on a smaller ship but it was fantastic. The newer 'away' ships do have the bar and restaurant and since that was my first experience-I thought not having them would disappoint. Luckily not the case for us.

Can not wait until my Seaside cruise so I can compare. Price alone has me sold. I already have an NCL booked but after my MSC cruise-if all is good-I already have another MSC in mind and will be my go-to cruise line first!!:D

I was under the assumption that Haven guests receive the beverage package?

Haven/suite guests have to option of choosing the SDP and UBP. It isn't automatic and Haven/suite guests have to pay the 20% service charge on those promos.

Haven/suite guests have to option of choosing the SDP and UBP. It isn't automatic and Haven/suite guests have to pay the 20% service charge on those promos.

TY. Guess I got lucky because Haven guests got all 5 promos when I booked both cruises. I think that same promo is going on now. Wonder if it will continue to try and keep up with MSC prices? ;) Although all the promos in the world given by NCL now still don't compare or make a dent to current MSC prices.:)

TY. Guess I got lucky because Haven guests got all 5 promos when I booked both cruises.

It used to be that suite guests got all promos and there was no charge. In June of last year, NCL started to charge suite guests the service charge for the UBP and SDP promos (which were then made optional).