Seaside Yacht Club - there has to be a catch, right?

[kodesthemoose]

Having sailed YC on the Seaview in the Mediterranean for very similar reasons (originally booked Haven on the Epic in the Med; YC came in at less than half the price) I completely agree with what BermudaBound2014 says.  It is not a "catch" but mostly because YC gets to avoid a lot of the issues most commonly complained about with MSC.  The food in the YC that we had was fine, some dishes were great (risotto always a hit) and some were passable - but we talked to friends who dined in the MDR and absolutely hated it, with cold food and super slow service.  Yes, food is subjective and service differs depending on day/server but you will find those to be really common complaints with non-YC MSC cruisers.  

[Beardface]

2 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Somethings you may miss on MSc when compared to ncl- 1) howl at the moon 2) broadway production shows (MSc shows are good, but lack a theme and you may find them all similar). 3) live music in the shows (MSc uses pre recorded). 4) a venue like O’Sheehans. 5) draft beer selection. 6) exciting water slides. 

 

Somethings you may enjoy on MSc YC when compared to ncl 1) uncrowded pool. No towel games- lounge chair always waiting 2) uncrowded topsail lounge w Beautiful forward views. 3) gorgeous ship with lots of bling 4) international crowd 5) yc is total relaxation -my dh would be bored to tears with MSc, but if you are into just chilling it’s heavenly. 6) value for the dollar- even things like laundry are reasonably priced.

 

🙂

 

 

Haha, you may not have intended it but you helped sell me on MSC over NCL. 

 

My wife and I do not care at all for the shows on ships.  At all.  I like comedians and that's about it.  As for the drinks, the craft beer scene here in NC is pretty good, so when I'm on vacation I like to take in the liquor drinks and wine.  So all those plusses about NCL ring a bit hollow to me personally.

 

My wife and I went to Italy on our honeymoon and we loved it.  We've long said that if we could go on a Mediterranean cruise in the Caribbean we'd jump at the chance.  This ship appears to offer that possibility based on the clientele and country of registry.  The international flavor is a huge plus to us, and obviously the perks of the YC are a nice bonus.  As for the earlier comments about the tiny shower and lack of wardrobe space, do note that our previous experience with cruising is the standard balconies on the Oasis and Freedom of the Seas, so we are already used to, as my wife says, efficient storage options. 😂

 

As for some of the other things, do note that the Encore for NCL is a whole other beast in itself.  They have blocked off only about 1/3 of the top deck for passengers without a premium paid.  And even if you paid premiums, if you didn't splurge (and I mean 2x the cost of YC) for the Haven, there is only one pool on the ship, and the Haven pool is basically only large enough to be a lap pool for one person.  The more they unveiled about the ship, the more I was disappointed.  Yeah they had a BBQ joint, yeah they have a draft house, yeah they have a pub, but I can do all that here at home.  I want a cruise to feel like I've truly gotten away and the Seaside looks like one that will give me that feeling.  I love the look of a Vegas hotel at Sea.

[BermudaBound2014]

Excellent beardface. I wasn’t trying to dissuade you at all,  I was trying to paint a full picture. Yc is a good fit for many- my DH would be bored to tears. He likes action-, but for trips that are primarily for chilling, it’s a beautiful way to be on the sea.

[Beardface]

6 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Excellent beardface. I wasn’t trying to dissuade you at all,  I was trying to paint a full picture. Yc is a good fit for many- my DH would be bored to tears. He likes action-, but for trips that are primarily for chilling, it’s a beautiful way to be on the sea.

 

We have what will be a 2 year old daughter (who will be pawned off.... I'm sorry I mean will be graciously staying with her grandparents) by the time we sail.  Rest, relaxation, and pampering the heck out of ourselves is why we are looking to go on this trip.  We will use the excursions for any high energy fun we want to have.

 

But seriously, thanks.  For the faults MSC may or may not have, it looks like YC will allow us to avoid most of it.

[Selion]

Good.  Now that you have decided on YC, here's the real 'Gotcha':  You'll find it extremely hard to justify the costs of other lines' top offerings when compared to YC's value proposition.

[EMc&DrS]

19 hours ago, George C said:

I got ten percent discount because I am a veteran. I looked at Edge which seems similar for perks , I do like celebrity suite perks, but there price was about double what yacht club is.

Very true.  We were thinking about booking the Edge, but a YC balcony on Meraviglia was slightly less than an Aqua Class 2 on Edge during the same week in November--without the drink package or other perks that come with YC.  To get the "YC" experience on Edge, you have to book a suite.  The cost of the cheapest suite available on the Edge for the week we were looking at was a Sky Suite 3 at just over $7000.  To compare, we were lucky enough to sail in one of the two Seaside Royal Suites last year at a price of just $6000.  As much as we'd like to sail on Edge, we booked with MSC again and will save thousands.

[sverigecruiser]

12 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 but champagne on a beer budget is unrealistic

 

I agree with some of the things you said but most people say that Champagne is still included in the YC, even if I had to "fight" to get it on Divina,  so this is incorrect. You do get Champagne on a beer budget! 

[JAGR]

17 hours ago, mickey89 said:

 Spa is nearby with private elevator so showering couldn’t be easier if your cabin cubicle is too small.

Enjoy.....I’m sure you will.

I think the OP was talking about Seaside.  Unlike Divina, there is not private elevator from the YC to the spa.  It's still pretty easy, though to get to it. You need to use the main elevators outside of the YC to get to the spa on level .  You could, I suppose, try and use the elevators meant for employee use that are in the middle section between cabins 16006 and 16007, but I think that is not recommended by the staff.

[JAGR]

10 hours ago, Beardface said:

My wife and I do not care at all for the shows on ships.  At all.  I like comedians and that's about it.  😂

 

One thing I would add about comedy  MSC does not have stand-up comics, but does have a Beer Improv quartet that appear each night after the last theater show.  They are Canadian, and do a good job of comedy each night.

[Beardface]

33 minutes ago, JAGR said:

One thing I would add about comedy  MSC does not have stand-up comics, but does have a Beer Improv quartet that appear each night after the last theater show.  They are Canadian, and do a good job of comedy each night.

 

No stand-up comedian?  That's a shame, I won't be able to see the standard 'do these stairs go up or down' routine I've seen on other lines.

 

But in all seriousness, I've never found the stand-up comedians on cruise lines to be that good.  They all recycle the same jokes just in a different order, and slightly adjust based on the ship/line they are performing on that night.

[Beardface]

I have one other follow-up question, only because I noticed it in another thread and it piqued my interests...

 

I know the YC comes with what is basically the Premium beverage plan (which I believe I read to be anything $12 and under on the menu, which is most options, but certainly not all).  I also noticed that we have the option to upgrade to the Premium Plus plan for $16 or $17 per person per day (correct me if I'm wrong there) and that opens up everything else on the menu.  Is there anything that this wouldn't cover?  For example, I know Johnny Walker Blue is $25 a glass per the menu, would that be covered if we went to the next plan up?

 

And for the drink plan, if we don't upgrade, and we do order a drink that is above, do we have to pay the full price, or is it like NCL where you just pay the difference?

[Beamafar]

The PremiumPlus package will cover everything that's served 'by the glass' ... that includes the JW Blue!  (AND you can order doubles!!!)

 

If you don't upgrade you would have to pay full price for anything not included, plus 15% service charge.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Beamafar

[Beardface]

18 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

The PremiumPlus package will cover everything that's served 'by the glass' ... that includes the JW Blue!  (AND you can order doubles!!!)

 

If you don't upgrade you would have to pay full price for anything not included, plus 15% service charge.

....wow.....

 

I assume we can just wait and upgrade on the ship?  Also, is the price I said above still correct ($16-17 pp pd)

[Beamafar]

2 minutes ago, Beardface said:

....wow.....

 

I assume we can just wait and upgrade on the ship?  Also, is the price I said above still correct ($16-17 pp pd)

 

It's $17 pppd to upgrade, plus 15% if done onboard.

 

It's been reported recently that people are being denied the opportunity by MSC to upgrade with a YC booking.  However, we've upgraded for both a Med and a US-based sailing.

[Beardface]

3 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

 

It's $17 pppd to upgrade, plus 15% if done onboard.

 

It's been reported recently that people are being denied the opportunity by MSC to upgrade with a YC booking.  However, we've upgraded for both a Med and a US-based sailing.

 

Well that doesn't make any sense.  Why would they deny people who are paying extra to have exclusive access to the ship the opportunity to pay a little extra to have more access to the drinks?  If anything, I would think they would try and target YC members first and foremost for the upgrade.  Seems like easy money for them.

[Beamafar]

I've long given up trying to figure MSC out!  🙄

[George C]

54 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

The PremiumPlus package will cover everything that's served 'by the glass' ... that includes the JW Blue!  (AND you can order doubles!!!)

 

If you don't upgrade you would have to pay full price for anything not included, plus 15% service charge.

Wow , I did not know any package that included high end like JW Blue , we will definitely be upgrading 😁😁

[BermudaBound2014]

3 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I agree with some of the things you said but most people say that Champagne is still included in the YC, even if I had to "fight" to get it on Divina,  so this is incorrect. You do get Champagne on a beer budget! 

 

Haha- I thought I read they stopped serving complimentary Champaign in YC! Glad you could fight for it.

 

Gotta fight for your right to paaaaaartty!!  (Sorry)

[BermudaBound2014]

52 minutes ago, Beardface said:

 

Well that doesn't make any sense.

 

Welcome to MSC - see my#3 above 🙂. Best to just roll with these little nuances- as beam stated above there is not much hope in figuring MSC out.  And once you do, change is likely coming. 🤷‍♀️

[Beardface]

1 minute ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Welcome to MSC - see my#3 above 🙂. Best to just roll with these little nuances- as beam stated above there is not much hope in figuring MSC out.  And once you do, change is likely coming. 🤷‍♀️

 

Believe me, having been following what NCL has done the past 6 months waiting for what was out Encore sailing, I am very much used to changes right now.  Still miffed they went and artificially jacked up all drink prices to absurd levels just to price most liquors out of the pre-paid plans just to make a little more money off people who have already paid thousands.

[sverigecruiser]

 

I really like that they have live music in the Top Sail Lounge every night. They don't have that in the Haven lounge.

[Gampy1967]

On 7/28/2019 at 1:42 AM, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Or if you are/were a teacher,military/or any other civil servant you can get a 10% discount [instead of, not in addition to the above mentioned 5% loyalty discount].

I work for a county government in Texas.  Does this get me the 10% civil servant discount?  Also is this available if you book directly online or would I have to call and book over the phone?  Thanks.

[jules815]

37 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I really like that they have live music in the Top Sail Lounge every night. They don't have that in the Haven lounge.

 

They do.  And it's EVERY night, not just special days like formal nights, etc.  We even had singers a couple of nights that were performing while we were upstairs having dinner, so it would have been a little later, 8:30 or so.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 minutes ago, Gampy1967 said:

I work for a county government in Texas.  Does this get me the 10% civil servant discount?  Also is this available if you book directly online or would I have to call and book over the phone?  Thanks.

 

They seem to be flexible.  I am retired from a NYS-funded college.  I sent my TA a link to the Emeritus Professor webpage and she was able to get the discount.  This was after I had already made the booking with the 5% VC discount and final payment – they adjusted the fare and refunded to my credit card.  So you definitely qualify for the civil servant discount.  But I don't know if the website has a place to check off – because as noted I used a TA (to get an additional 10% discount!).

[capriccio]

59 minutes ago, Gampy1967 said:

I work for a county government in Texas.  Does this get me the 10% civil servant discount?  Also is this available if you book directly online or would I have to call and book over the phone?  Thanks.

 

The info below is from the MSC US website (https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/Cruise-Deals/Government-Employee-Discounts.aspx).  My DH is a US federal government retiree.  I just had to submit his annual federal retiree pay form (with all the amounts blacked out of course) as proof.  Since police, teachers and firefighters are mentioned - positions which tend to be funded by local governments - I would think you are entitled!  According to the section I highlighted, you need to call MSC or your TA can process it (our TA did it for us).

 

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