Yacht club - ok for 4 children?

[ChicagoCruisin]

Hello!  Considering Yacht club on MSC, but wondering if its the right choice for us.  We have a 4 year old.  Are the public spaces in YC kid friendly?  Or would non-YC cabin be a better choice?

Thank you VERY much for your thoughts and opinions!  🙂

[emmas gran]

I would agree with the previous poster, there is a kids club outside YC which is very good. Maybe book Aurea now and see how it goes for a future cruise .

[hamrag]

1 hour ago, ChicagoCruisin said:

Hello!  Considering Yacht club on MSC, but wondering if its the right choice for us.  We have a 4 year old.  Are the public spaces in YC kid friendly?  Or would non-YC cabin be a better choice?

Thank you VERY much for your thoughts and opinions!  🙂

 

Having sailed YC three times, I cannot recall anything in the YC area that could be described as 'kid friendly'.....other than the chocolate goodies and snacks! The pool is very small, and designed really for adults. That said, there is NOTHING to stop you taking a 4 year old and the YC crew will be more than welcoming towards a child....we have witnessed that, and interacted with the parents who said it was working well for them.

 

As parents of 3 (now adult) children, we would not have chosen the YC with them.

Edited October 19, 2020 by hamrag

[Norwich Cruiser]

2 hours ago, ChicagoCruisin said:

Hello!  Considering Yacht club on MSC, but wondering if its the right choice for us.  We have a 4 year old.  Are the public spaces in YC kid friendly?  Or would non-YC cabin be a better choice?

Thank you VERY much for your thoughts and opinions!  🙂

We’ve cruised with our pretty well behaved grandchildren in yacht club without any troubles whatsoever.

 

Never had a problem from staff or fellow  cruisers plus there are usual we’ve found on certain sailings other children in there.

 

When they want a swim or play in the water park etc we simply exit the yacht club and go with them or there parents go with them to the larger pools and play areas never had any issues.

[Tapi]

I’m raising two small children. It truly depends on what your 4 year old kid is like. If he can be entertained, and his behavior doesn’t hinge on traditional kid activities, he’ll do well in the YC public areas. If he needs the type of stimulation that more kid friendly areas provide, then not so much. 

 

Keep in mind that you’ll still have access to the kids club even if staying in the YC, so you can always drop him off for a few hours at the club so that he can have his kind of fun while you have your kind of fun at the YC. 

 

The more you cruise with your child, the more you’ll figure out what he likes and dislikes. With my kids, I’ve learned that they don’t necessarily care about the more traditional type of kid programming found on some family friendly cruise lines, and they actually prefer a more low key, less crowded atmosphere.
 

One thing that we did learn on our last MSC cruise is that, when traveling with small children, it’s better to get a larger stateroom or suite that may not have YC benefits. We had the choice of a smaller YC stateroom or an Aurea suite, and we went with the Aurea Suite. BEST decision. The extra space with small children was heaven sent. And while we didn’t have all the perks and exclusivity found in the YC, we thoroughly enjoyed all the perks that did come with the Aurea Suite.

 

No matter what, have a great cruise!

Edited October 19, 2020 by Tapi

[Two Wheels Only]

It really depends on how the children behave and what they are used to. My (then 7 years-old and almost 5 years-old) kids had a great time in the YC and we currently have 3 more YC cruises booked. We've also sailed in the NCL Haven multiple times including when one was as young as 2 years-old. She wasn't even the youngest in the Haven at the time. 

 

The staff enjoyed having the kids around. Never received an unusual look from any of the guests. 

 

HOWEVER, if one is the type of parent who allows their child to climb on furniture in the lounge or scream/yell which will obviously annoy others, please stay away from the MSC Yacht Club and the NCL Haven. 

[emmas gran]

6 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

It really depends on how the children behave and what they are used to. My (then 7 years-old and almost 5 years-old) kids had a great time in the YC and we currently have 3 more YC cruises booked. We've also sailed in the NCL Haven multiple times including when one was as young as 2 years-old. She wasn't even the youngest in the Haven at the time. 

 

The staff enjoyed having the kids around. Never received an unusual look from any of the guests. 

 

HOWEVER, if one is the type of parent who allows their child to climb on furniture in the lounge or scream/yell which will obviously annoy others, please stay away from the MSC Yacht Club and the NCL Haven. 

 

Just what I wanted to say, some people think everyone else should put up with a screaming or badly behaved child, I book YC to escape that. 

[Norwich Cruiser]

3 hours ago, emmas gran said:

 

Just what I wanted to say, some people think everyone else should put up with a screaming or badly behaved child, I book YC to escape that. 

We’ve never seen any badly behaved children in any of our yacht club sailings.

[emmas gran]

1 hour ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

We’ve never seen any badly behaved children in any of our yacht club sailings.

 

As I said I book YC to avoid it!!

[ChicagoCruisin]

Perfect thank you all for the feedback, that is exactly what i was looking for!  

[CruisingFox27]

15 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

It really depends on how the children behave and what they are used to. My (then 7 years-old and almost 5 years-old) kids had a great time in the YC and we currently have 3 more YC cruises booked. We've also sailed in the NCL Haven multiple times including when one was as young as 2 years-old. She wasn't even the youngest in the Haven at the time. 

 

The staff enjoyed having the kids around. Never received an unusual look from any of the guests. 

 

HOWEVER, if one is the type of parent who allows their child to climb on furniture in the lounge or scream/yell which will obviously annoy others, please stay away from the MSC Yacht Club and the NCL Haven. 

 

Stay away entirely. I don't want it on a relaxing holiday, regardless of the experience level chosen. Although the same can apply to adults behaviour....

[Toofarfromthesea]

7 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

We’ve never seen any badly behaved children in any of our yacht club sailings.

 

I have.  On our 5/19 Meraviglia Baltic cruise we had the girl from hell in the Yacht Club.  This kid (maybe age 8) literally screamed in her grandmother's face at dinner and ran rampant in the lounge and no one in the family (parents, grandparents) did a thing about it.  It made it very uncomfortable for the staff.  Fortunately they got off after the first leg.  Relief at them leaving was the topic of a lot of conversations the first day of the second leg when we realized they were gone.

 

Let me add that there were several kids in that YC who behaved fine, and were not a problem.  So I don't think the problem was with kids in general, just this little girl.  And there is the fact that different nationalities have very different notions of child-bearing and what is acceptable behavior.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Toofarfromthesea

[Toofarfromthesea]

1 hour ago, CruisingFox27 said:

 

Stay away entirely. I don't want it on a relaxing holiday, regardless of the experience level chosen. Although the same can apply to adults behaviour....

 

Yup, like the bozo on our last YC cruise that thought it was fine to have a loud Skype conversation in the lounge that was impossible to filter out.  

[Norwich Cruiser]

3 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I have.  On our 5/19 Meraviglia Baltic cruise we had the girl from hell in the Yacht Club.  This kid (maybe age 8) literally screamed in her grandmother's face at dinner and ran rampant in the lounge and no one in the family (parents, grandparents) did a thing about it.  It made it very uncomfortable for the staff.  Fortunately they got off after the first leg.  Relief at them leaving was the topic of a lot of conversations the first day of the second leg when we realized they were gone.

 

Let me add that there were several kids in that YC who behaved fine, and were not a problem.  So I don't think the problem was with kids in general, just this little girl.  And there is the fact that different nationalities have very different notions of child-bearing and what is acceptable behavior.

That’s awful.

 

Got to blame the parents.

[rkacruiser]

On my MSC Meraviglia cruise in January, I was surprised to see a family with two young children of elementary school age.  Well behaved.  Once the family was seated at a table next to mine at dinner so I could directly observe.  Their table manners were better than some adults; they handled fine dining exceptionally well.  The staff gave them extra attention; Maitre d' Arthur in particular was very kind to them.  

 

As others have said, the YC facilities are not designed for children, but nothing to prevent them from using the children's facilities and programs elsewhere on the ship.  I found myself spending more time outside of the YC enclave than I expected simply because I wanted more variety of public spaces and entertainment than the YC provided.  

 

I thought the YC Suite with balcony was plenty roomy for two adults and one or two small children.  If the weather is OK and more "room" for some reason is needed, utilize the balcony as a place for the children to "play" or for a parent to "escape to" for awhile.    

[Toofarfromthesea]

26 minutes ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

That’s awful.

 

Got to blame the parents.

 

Yeah, but you get into rocks and shoals when the family is from a different culture.  IAC, as retired Junior High teachers, my wife and I can pretty well handle anything.  And we never let anything ruin our cruise.

 

But we were still delighted when we found out they weren't on the second leg.

[Norwich Cruiser]

7 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Yeah, but you get into rocks and shoals when the family is from a different culture.  IAC, as retired Junior High teachers, my wife and I can pretty well handle anything.  And we never let anything ruin our cruise.

 

But we were still delighted when we found out they weren't on the second leg.

That’s very true.

 

We would have been delighted also.

[Tapi]

13 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

We’ve never seen any badly behaved children in any of our yacht club sailings.

We’ve taken our 8 and 10 year old kids on 5 different cruise lines. One thing that my wife and I have noticed is that, on higher tier cruise lines and accommodations, there are considerably less children but they tend to be considerably better behaved and monitored by their parents. 
 

When we’ve sailed on some more family friendly cruise lines like Carnival, not only are there more children, but at times it seems to be a free for all, with hordes of kids roaming the ship, many unattended taking over public areas (more prominent on pools, hot tubs, elevators and buffets), some terrorizing other passengers, without an adult in sign willing to curve that behavior. 
 

On the other end of the spectrum, we’ve taken our kids on more adult, less family friendly lines like Holland America (our last cruise was on them), where there have only been a handful of kids onboard. But even though the kids program is less elaborate and the kids activities are considerably more limited, the kids we did see were always with their parents, well behaved, adjusting well to the more adult atmosphere, and abiding by established protocols. 
 

With that said, I do consider that MSC provides a very good experience for the entire family, with a well developed program for children. Of all the cruise lines we’ve sailed on, we rank their kids program at the top (even better than what we’ve experienced on Disney).
 

One thing to keep in mind is that MSC caters to a more diverse and international crowd than its Americans competitors, so you do need to sail on them with the understanding that fellow cruisers will have diverging ideas on what expected behavior should be. Do embrace the differences rather than be annoyed by them. Our last MSC Cruise was in the Mediterranean, and a big reason why it was so enjoyable was exactly because of the very diverse clientele on that sailing. 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Tapi

[CruisingFox27]

5 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Yup, like the bozo on our last YC cruise that thought it was fine to have a loud Skype conversation in the lounge that was impossible to filter out.  

I'll raise you the group shouting and singing in the jacuzzi all afternoon, which they continued in the restaurant in the evening. As this was on Seaside it ruined the evening for everyone in the restaurant and TSL. The poor Maitre'd and concierge were besieged with complaints. 

 

I like to sit next to the loud telephone/video conversation people and point out interesting features and start randomly laughing loudly 😁

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

On 10/20/2020 at 5:38 AM, Norwich Cruiser said:

We’ve never seen any badly behaved children in any of our yacht club sailings.

 

I wish I could say the same.  Sadly, I can't.

[dexddd]

You are going to see responses both ways similarly whether it is MSC YC or NCL Haven.  For YC, as pointed out, there really isn't anything geared towards kids other than food (not kid type food necessarily, just an abundance and variety).  

 

We've done three - the first was Divinia during the summer time.  There was an extended family there with one of the families consisting of Octomom.  Whenever we ran into them, they were all over the place doing things that should have been corrected by parents.  They even let the diapered kid into the YC pool.  Even outside the YC, the dads were trying to track down the kids who had gone several floors up the stairs and kept going.  We spent a lot of time in YC areas and luckily this family wasn't too much which made it tolerable.

 

Second trip was during March and there weren't many kids surprisingly during spring break time.  Third time was again during the summer and there were quite a few kids, even younger.  All were well behaved.  Many were always out by the pool just chilling in the loungers or pool (note their pools are pretty deep in YC).  The TSL really doesn't seem to appeal to them much when there is so much else around the ship.  We only saw one instance where three kids were running around in the TSL while parents were there.

 

Both MSC and NCL in some ways promote these areas for families so ignore any cranks who say no kids should be allowed since both lines allow it.  Obviously though, it is on the parents to be parents which as you go about doing things where you live, you see that not always happening.

 

Bottom line, you'll probably spend quite a bit of time outside of the YC but the YC does offer (normally) a very quiet and less crowded area with great services.

[rkacruiser]

On 10/20/2020 at 4:49 PM, Toofarfromthesea said:

as retired Junior High teachers, my wife and I can pretty well handle anything.

 

Also a retired Junior High/Middle School teacher who has been known to put my "teacher hat" on during a cruise for a variety of reasons.  

 

On 10/20/2020 at 6:58 PM, Tapi said:

 Do embrace the differences rather than be annoyed by them. Our last MSC Cruise was in the Mediterranean, and a big reason why it was so enjoyable was exactly because of the very diverse clientele on that sailing. 

 

The diverse clientele aboard my January MSC Meraviglia cruise was something that I expected and did find it to be a refreshing experience.  The most difficult of that experience was during the M&G when I managed to choose a couple with whom to sit who were Russian whose English was minimal and my Russian is non-existent.  Sign language partly helped, but, needless to say, there was no discussion of "how's life in Moscow or in Washington these days."

[StolidCruiser]

On 10/20/2020 at 7:03 PM, CruisingFox27 said:

 

I like to sit next to the loud telephone/video conversation people and point out interesting features and start randomly laughing loudly 😁

 

I do the same to people who think it’s acceptable to have loud cellphone conversations in public. 

 

Sometimes they’ll interrupt their conversation to give me the stinkeye.  I am simply equally as vocal in expressing how fascinating their conversation is and how appreciative I am to get to listen to it. 

 

Same goes for those who meander the aisles at stores conversing at top volume into their cellphones while they pick through the shelves. I follow them with an intent listening ear since they seem to be fine yammering about in public while thinking everyone else should avoid them.

 

People who do this will continue to do so if others are simply too afraid to calmly and reasonably address the poor behavior.  

[DMH15]

All, with many NCL Havens and 1 MSC YC, which I loved btw... I think my next cruise will be on Virgin.  The “21 and over” really appeals to me.  Curious.  Balcony with hammock too. 
 

That being said I have not had a bad experience  with unruly kids but have read about them.  I love well-behaved kids and enjoy seeing them have a great time.  It is their vacation too. 

[Tapi]

41 minutes ago, DMH15 said:

... I think my next cruise will be on Virgin.  The “21 and over” really appeals to me.  Curious.  Balcony with hammock too. 

I have my eyes on Virgin also for my 20th wedding anniversary coming up, not so much because they don’t allow children, but because I think that the price point will scare off the bargain hunter, beer bucket, party till you drop clientele, which in my experience can be more annoying than misbehaved children. I may be wrong, but I envision a bit more sophisticated, contemporary young adult clientele. 
 

One thing that is giving me a bit of pause is their  stateroom configuration (with no real beds, but with a day sofa that converts to a bed at night). If I do it, I’ll probably be looking at one of the Rockstar Suites that do come with a real bed. Would love to try a Mega Rockstar suite but those are beyond what I’m willing to pay. 

Edited October 25, 2020 by Tapi