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

[Linda the Book Lover]

On 7/27/2019 at 4:52 PM, Beardface said:

Is there any gotcha that we wouldn't know through the online documents?  

The only gotcha is you will want to book another cruise in a MSC YC.

[Linda the Book Lover]

And yes, there is a military discount, submit a copy of your DD214 to your TA. 

[jules815]

One thing I want to mention is how much we enjoyed lunch in the YC dining room.  We had lunch there the first day, and then a couple times thereafter.  It was a really nice experience.  Never crowded, and service was outstanding each time.  There were often officers, even the captain, having lunch there.

 

I like that it's available on port days as well, which isn't always the case on other lines.  

 

 

[dexddd]

On 7/28/2019 at 12:49 PM, jules815 said:

 

 

Nice!  I was looking at Meraviglia, but there was nothing at all for the week we need (Apr. 18).  Is Meraviglia moving to a different port mid-April?  

Not sure when she is moving but in 2020 back in Europe.  We have a March trip booked on Mera out of Miami.

[dexddd]

5 hours ago, Beardface said:

 

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.

Six months?  They have been declining the customer experience and jacking prices for close to four years, for your convenience, of course.

[George C]

11 hours ago, Beardface said:

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

 

10 hours ago, George C said:

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

Upgrade is 32 a person per day , but I think it’s worth it at least for us , since wife is picky on wine , for most people upgrade most likely is not needed.

[CarrieAP]

On 7/28/2019 at 1:49 PM, jules815 said:

 

 

Nice!  I was looking at Meraviglia, but there was nothing at all for the week we need (Apr. 18).  Is Meraviglia moving to a different port mid-April?  

 

Yes, she’s heading back to Kiel 4/12 for the summer season, alternating weekly cruises to Northern Europe and Norway. Will be returning to the US in September. 

[Beamafar]

6 hours ago, George C said:

 

Upgrade is 32 a person per day , but I think it’s worth it at least for us , since wife is picky on wine , for most people upgrade most likely is not needed.

 

Sorry George, but the upgrade is $17 pppd.  Premium is $62 and PremiumPlus is $79 - a difference of $17. 

[hamrag]

On 7/28/2019 at 12:52 AM, Beardface said:

So as of this morning my wife and I were booked on the Norwegian Encore next summer but after watching the YouTube videos by Sean and Stef IRL on the Seaside, we realized this ship is exactly what we want and booked.  What is curious to me is that even though we were booked on a simple balcony on NCL with no perks, we still came out saving a bunch of money booking a YC interior room.

 

Am I missing something here?  YC appears to be as close to all inclusive you can get on the open Seas and I can't believe how reasonable a price it is compared to these US based lines.  Is there a catch I'm missing, because this looks like an incredible experience we just stumbled into.....

 

I am also trying to answer a couple of other points raised throughout this thread. 

 

There is absolutely no doubt that a YIN cabin is the best value at sea! Yes, the cabin is a little tight and the shower area requires good management....I am 6 feet tall, weigh 200ish pounds, and had no difficulty....a little more space would be good, but by no means necessary given the value offering. 

 

For our first YC experience, we sailed the first 12 nights in a YIN, on a B2B cruise totalling 18 nights, with the final 6 days in a Deluxe i.e. YC1 cabin....which was fab, and much bigger than YIN.  Without a doubt, with a YIN offered at it's normal price point we would always choose that over the more expensive YC1 because the only difference is the cabin.

 

Is the YC experience perfect? Of course not, nothing is even on the luxury lines, but for us it is excellent 95% of the time. With regard to the Premium Plus package, and JW blue....we can report that it is freely available because, on our most recent YC cruise a couple we encountered most nights had it and were drinking JW blue because it was the most expensive drink on the ship. He confessed to me one night that he preferred Macallan Oak Select, available in YC, but because JW blue was the most expensive drink he wanted to get 'value' from their package....go figure!!

 

Sverige mentioned the availability of Nicolas F champagne in the YC. It is available, albeit not listed, so you need to ask for it. My experience was that some of the lower end Connoisseur range of drinks, officially only available on Premium Plus, are available with the YC package e.g. Macallan Select Oak single malt whisky.

 

You will not regret your decision to try MSC YC, believe me, it is a fabulous (albeit imperfect) all round experience.

 

[Simon1902]

Bea, this is the reply I got today from MSC over upgrading the drinks

Dear Mr Measures,

I hope this finds you well.

Please be advised that as now the Yacht Club has got a specific drink package, there is no need to upgrade.

Should you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Elisa Pani
Booking Management

[hamrag]

8 minutes ago, Simon1902 said:

 Bea, this is the reply I got today from MSC over upgrading the drinks

Dear Mr Measures,

I hope this finds you well.

Please be advised that as now the Yacht Club has got a specific drink package, there is no need to upgrade.

Should you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Elisa Pani
Booking Management

 

Yes, that is standard .MSC speak for 'we haven't a clue'. I absolutely agree there is no need to upgrade to Premium Plus, and we do not, but it is definitely possible to do so.

[Beamafar]

Simon ... that is someone who doesn't have a clue!  If you're not already fed up to the back teeth pursuing this, you could respond by saying that YC guests do not enjoy the Connoisseurs' Selection items and that you would need to upgrade to code #699 to avail of them.  Add that others have already done so!  Advise that her colleague, Alice, knows more and may provide assistance.

[Beamafar]

1 minute ago, hamrag said:

 

Yes, that is standard .MSC speak for 'we haven't a clue'.

 

Hahaha ... I was typing the same response when you posted, G.

[Beamafar]

Simon ... don't know if I've posted this before, but here is how the upgrade is showing on the MSC invoice:

 

 

Feel free to email that to MSC!

[Beamafar]

1 hour ago, hamrag said:

 

With regard to the Premium Plus package, and JW blue....we can report that it is freely available because, on our most recent YC cruise a couple we encountered most nights had it and were drinking JW blue because it was the most expensive drink on the ship. He confessed to me one night that he preferred Macallan Oak Select, available in YC, but because JW blue was the most expensive drink he wanted to get 'value' from their package....go figure!!

 

 

We'll certainly be giving it a try ... but no way would we continue to have it just for the sake of it!  If I know DH, he'll revert back to Jameson (if he's not drinking draught Heineken - the Prem+ package will be wasted on him!  Though he is partial to a glass of Moët ... so all is not lost).  Personally, I'm looking forward to trying Martell XO as I haven't had it before;  if I don't care for it, it'll be the Remy Martin XO which is what I'd always enjoyed with the old Deluxe package before MSC removed it!

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Simon ... don't know if I've posted this before, but here is how the upgrade is showing on the MSC invoice:

 

 

Feel free to email that to MSC!

I'm looking forward to Bea's report when she returns. My wife and I don't drink Scotch or brandy, but we both love sparkling wine (Prosecco, Cava) and champagne. We also enjoy wines 🍷 and cocktails 🍹. At this point I think we'll stick with the Yacht Club selections, maybe pony up for the good champagne 🍾a couple of times. We're not sailing on the Meraviglia for another 4 months so we have plenty of time to decide whether to upgrade to Premium+ (if that's even possible-reports are conflicting). We've never gone thirsty on a cruise so I'm sure it'll be a wonderful time. ☺️

[Beardface]

3 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

I am also trying to answer a couple of other points raised throughout this thread. 

 

There is absolutely no doubt that a YIN cabin is the best value at sea! Yes, the cabin is a little tight and the shower area requires good management....I am 6 feet tall, weigh 200ish pounds, and had no difficulty....a little more space would be good, but by no means necessary given the value offering. 

 

For our first YC experience, we sailed the first 12 nights in a YIN, on a B2B cruise totalling 18 nights, with the final 6 days in a Deluxe i.e. YC1 cabin....which was fab, and much bigger than YIN.  Without a doubt, with a YIN offered at it's normal price point we would always choose that over the more expensive YC1 because the only difference is the cabin.

 

Is the YC experience perfect? Of course not, nothing is even on the luxury lines, but for us it is excellent 95% of the time. With regard to the Premium Plus package, and JW blue....we can report that it is freely available because, on our most recent YC cruise a couple we encountered most nights had it and were drinking JW blue because it was the most expensive drink on the ship. He confessed to me one night that he preferred Macallan Oak Select, available in YC, but because JW blue was the most expensive drink he wanted to get 'value' from their package....go figure!!

 

Sverige mentioned the availability of Nicolas F champagne in the YC. It is available, albeit not listed, so you need to ask for it. My experience was that some of the lower end Connoisseur range of drinks, officially only available on Premium Plus, are available with the YC package e.g. Macallan Select Oak single malt whisky.

 

You will not regret your decision to try MSC YC, believe me, it is a fabulous (albeit imperfect) all round experience.

 

 

Thank you for this information, it helps reaffirm our excitement over this booking.

 

I'm really not worried about the cabin shower of the Interior YC cabin.  If any of you have sailed Royal Caribbean in recent years, you know just how claustrophobic the showers on their standard balcony rooms can be.  In fact, from pictures, it looks like the Interior showers in the YC might be a slight bit larger than what we have grown used to.  In fact, my wife has only sailed on the Oasis and Freedom on standard balconies with the tiny bathroom, and the only concern she had when looking over the room plan for the YIN is 'does the shower have a lower rail so I can shave my legs like on Royal'.

 

As far as the drink plan...  We have 7 months to figure it all out, but for only $17 pp pd (if that still is the price), to have the option to drink whatever we want whenever we want is... intriguing.

[Beardface]

17 hours ago, dexddd said:

Six months?  They have been declining the customer experience and jacking prices for close to four years, for your convenience, of course.

 

So I have heard.

 

Truth be told, we've been out of cruising for about 4 years now.  My wife and I like to rotate annual trips between a cruise and a week in Europe, and with the birth of our first daughter back in 2017, we've had everything put on hold for a while.  We only looked to book another cruise about a year ago, pulling the trigger on the Norwegian Encore back in November.  And even since then, the changes that we've seen to nickel and dime have been eye opening, to say the least.  And we booked NCL because it appeared to be the more financially reasonable offering than RCCL.  I mean it might still be, but at least RCCL is up front with how much they are knifing you before you step foot on the ship.

 

The one thing I've seen as a consistent complaint about MSC is that it sounds like the crew is always trying to sell you on something when you're on the ship.  I'm kind of used to saying 'no thanks' just from the constant people knocking on my front door at home, but I assume this kind of solicitation is avoided when you're in the YC?

[Beamafar]

51 minutes ago, Beardface said:

 

 

The one thing I've seen as a consistent complaint about MSC is that it sounds like the crew is always trying to sell you on something when you're on the ship.  I'm kind of used to saying 'no thanks' just from the constant people knocking on my front door at home, but I assume this kind of solicitation is avoided when you're in the YC?

 

Not sure where you got that impression from.  While MSC has increased its sales promotions tactics over recent years, they are certainly not 'in your face' about it.  However, you are quite correct about YC - there is NO solicitation in the enclave.

[George C]

Thanks will pass this to my travel agent , I have read a few conflicting things on yacht club and drink package, neither me or my new travel agent is knowledgeable on msc . 

 

4 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Simon ... don't know if I've posted this before, but here is how the upgrade is showing on the MSC invoice:

 

 

Feel free to email that to MSC!

 

[Beamafar]

9 minutes ago, George C said:

Thanks will pass this to my travel agent , I have read a few conflicting things on yacht club and drink package, neither me or my new travel agent is knowledgeable on msc . 

 

 

 

George ... that's from a booking for a Med cruise.  Here's the confirmation on our Meraviglia, US sailing (the price quoted is in Euros and is for a 23 night cruise, which is why the cost seems so high):

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by Beamafar

[sptrout]

11 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

 

Not sure where you got that impression from.  While MSC has increased its sales promotions tactics over recent years, they are certainly not 'in your face' about it.  However, you are quite correct about YC - there is NO solicitation in the enclave.

I agree. We never noticed any hard sales push while on the Seaside last December; probably much less than other cruise lines. Since the YC experience is the most "all inclusive" of cabins, just the mention of us being in the YC while roaming the ship usually ended any sales questions.

[Beardface]

13 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

 

Not sure where you got that impression from.  While MSC has increased its sales promotions tactics over recent years, they are certainly not 'in your face' about it.  However, you are quite correct about YC - there is NO solicitation in the enclave.

 

I figured as much.  We've seen some videos where people stress about it, but I don't think it'll be a big deal to me.  After RCCL, I'm used to the line trying to passively upsell drink plans, meal packages, and the like.  As long as they aren't too pushy about it, I highly doubt we'll notice.

 

Probably the biggest thing we're going to have to decide on during the trip is how often we want to venture away from the Yacht Club Restaurant to hit up places like the Butchers Cut and Ocean Cay

[Beamafar]

9 minutes ago, Beardface said:

 

Probably the biggest thing we're going to have to decide on during the trip is how often we want to venture away from the Yacht Club Restaurant to hit up places like the Butchers Cut and Ocean Cay

 

The one venue I'll have no problem tempting me away from YC to is Butchers' Cut!  We've enjoyed it 3 times on 2 different ships and will definitely have another 3 visits, minimally, on our next 2 YC sailings on Seaview and Meraviglia.  Almost all reports about BC on here have been very favourable.

[Griller]

On ‎7‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 2:27 PM, mickey89 said:

Yacht Club inside cabin YIN, is probably the best value deal on the seas, but........you need to be aware of some of the drawbacks and plan accordingly. Goto Youtube and view the many videos of the cabin layouts.  The lack of wardrobe space and a very small shower cubicle are the main issues.  

 

The laundry packages are fantastic value and include ironing (40 items washed, dried and ironed for £39)  - that should alleviate some of your wardrobe needs and the 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.

 

We were just looking at Meriviglia on a 23night out of NY on Oct 18th this year, an inside was $1600 and a YC inside was $7000.

Is it really worth the difference or is there some other way to add a drinks package which is mostly what we would be interested in?

I am on the MSC website but it doesn't seem totally clear to me.

 

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by Griller