Any info on the Custom excursions for seaside Yacht club passengers

We are sailing in the yacht club in November. I noticed one of the perks was the ability to book customized shore excursions through the YC concierge .Does anyone have any information on this or has anyone done this. We often book our own excursions but some of the ports are fairly short visits so would consider a cruise excursion but dont like crowds or crowded excursions. Does anyone know, for instance , if they can set up sailboat excursions or snorkelling excursions that have fewer people on them? If so that would be a great option

Looks like this might not be something anyone has experience with?

Hmm. I’m skeptical that they do this, but worth inquiring. When we asked for an excursion in Costa Maya they walked us through the regular options and made a recommendation. We did not ask for a custom trip though so can’t judge from that

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Thanks TrinaLC. Maybe that’s why no one has mentioned it! I’ll keep my eye on these boards to see if anyone does arrange a custom excursion.

On the Divina I did inquire and was told that they do not do that.

I also inquired about a custom shopping at the ships stores and was told they do not do that either.

My guess is it is different on some ships and itineraries.

I cannot comment on the ability of booking custom YC excursions but i was able to book a private excursion with a tour operator for next week in Ocho Rios. Will be in YC on Seaside next week. I'll try and remember to ask.

Like you, I'm not into large crowds and jokingly start 'mooing' like a cow to my wife when we're in a situation where we're being herded like cattle.

Thanks. Sounds like maybe it is a perk that is listed by doesn’t exist! If you find out differently that would be great to know We usually do just book a private excursion but thought it would be easy if the YC concierge had ability to arrange something less crowded

No such thing.

No such thing.

Are you saying they don’t say they offer this? Or that they just don’t provide it? Because this is from the MSc website where they say they DO provide custom shore excursions. I was just trying to find out if anyone has done this. It seems no one has

Our tailor-made shore excursions

The MSC Yacht Club’s dedication to service extends from our ships to every port of call, enabling you to explore the world in the same style, privacy, luxury and comfort.

As an MSC Yacht Club guest, you can not only select any of the acclaimed MSC excursions and guided tours, but also design your own tailor-made excursions, benefiting from the personal advice of our Butlers and Concierge Staff to ensure your experience at every port of call meets your preferences precisely. How could you not take advantage of our all-inclusive cruises with this fabulous experience?!

I call BS on this. [emoji3]. I just think no way, no how. Marketing got ahead.

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I call BS on this. [emoji3]. I just think no way, no how. Marketing got ahead.

 

 

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Seems like it. That’s too bad as it was a good idea. They should probably remove it from the list of YC perks on the website

FYI they do offer this , i just got off this Saturday , in costa maya we didnt know what to do so we went to the concierge and they had a sheet from YC only tours , one was a semi private tour to the mayan temples , it was for only 30 people no more and was a more private way to do the tour , also they will help with the shore excursion desk to try to make a " not on the paper " type of excursion , but that was harder to do, they also had where you can rent a private yacht in grand cayman , was a little pricey though , anyways talk to the concierge when you get on the ship .. so to answer , yes they do have some private excusrions , oh and it was only $20 more then the normal excursion in costa Maya to go with the YC one

FYI they do offer this , i just got off this Saturday , in costa maya we didnt know what to do so we went to the concierge and they had a sheet from YC only tours , one was a semi private tour to the mayan temples , it was for only 30 people no more and was a more private way to do the tour , also they will help with the shore excursion desk to try to make a " not on the paper " type of excursion , but that was harder to do, they also had where you can rent a private yacht in grand cayman , was a little pricey though , anyways talk to the concierge when you get on the ship .. so to answer , yes they do have some private excusrions , oh and it was only $20 more then the normal excursion in costa Maya to go with the YC one

That’s great to hear. Thanks for letting me know. I will definitely look into it on our cruise

That’s great to hear. Thanks for letting me know. I will definitely look into it on our cruise

Any recent updates on this from YC? Sailing YC at the end of June (Eastern) and would love to hear about options.

Any recent updates on this from YC? Sailing YC at the end of June (Eastern) and would love to hear about options.

we did one in Rio as felt safer - it is a private excursion - you tell them what u want and they put together - its not cheap (so dont think it is a bargain) - all they are doing is setting up a private tour for you with a driver - that about all it is....we did it in Rio as we did not want to waste time / energy to discuss with driver on land side what we wanted - so they set it all up for us - escorted us off of the ship, direct to our driver for the day -

we probably paid about double the price than those that went off the ship and negotiated with a taxi driver, but being where we were, we felt much safer what we did - and of course the driver and the experience was all wonderful and went off without a hitch......

On the Divina I did inquire and was told that they do not do that.

I also inquired about a custom shopping at the ships stores and was told they do not do that either.

 

My guess is it is different on some ships and itineraries.

I've seen the custom shopping mentioned in on-line materials and videos. It was never mentioned to us although I doubt we had much interest.

When I traveled on Divina I inquired about the exclusive shopping offer and the excursions for Yacht Club members, but was told they do not do such things. I imagine like most everything else to do with the MSC marketing it is hit and miss.

Have been on the Divina six times, concierge private tours were available but the concierge offered other recommendations that were less expensive and met all our requirements and expectations.

The ship shops will bring merchandise and recommendations to the YC lounge when you request. We had EFFY bring a sampling of jewelry for us to review and discuss based on what we told them we were interested in discussing and learning about.

I will be on Seaside late Oct., and will ask to have a private showing of the Liqueur Store, so I can spend my $400+ onboard credit!

We were on the Divina in the Yacht Club and a member of the excursion team came up and had a private meeting with us. We were looking for excursions and inquired about private ones. They will put them together for you with whatever you want. They are not cheap though. We ended up doing a semi private group excursion that was fantastic.