YC inclusions - possible newbie

[Travels with Lisa]

hi

I am thinking of booking my first MSC cruise in the YC.  Is laundry included in the YC perks?  Are you able to get into the shows without a reservation?  I've read that there may be inconsistencies with the included beverages.  Is there anything else I should be aware of?

 

thanks!

 

Liz

[shipgeeks]

Are you considering a particular ship?  Region?  

[Até]

Laundry is not a perk for YC guests.  The best pricing is for packages that are available before boarding and once on the ship, 20 pieces are about $30 and 40 pieces are about $50.  You can also just pay by the piece.

 

Reservations for the shows are only needed on the newer, 2017+ ships - Meraviglia, Seaside and plus ships.  Most all YC ships reserve a section for YC passengers but you have to go past the people checking your reservations first.  I'm pretty sure if you showed them your YC sail card they would let you in, but it's easier to just make the reservations and go in like everyone else.

 

MSC has a tendency to suddenly change drink prices which can have consequences to what you thought was available because all the drink packages have a dollar limit outside the YC.  Inside the YC any drink or item with a price on the menu is not covered and is billed at full price.

 

[Travels with Lisa]

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Are you considering a particular ship?  Region?  

yes, I'm looking at the Med on the Virtuosa.

 

thanks in advance

 

Liz

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, Travels with Lisa said:

hi

I am thinking of booking my first MSC cruise in the YC.  Is laundry included in the YC perks?  Are you able to get into the shows without a reservation?  I've read that there may be inconsistencies with the included beverages.  Is there anything else I should be aware of?

 

thanks!

 

Liz

 

Good questions.

 

2 hours ago, Até said:

Reservations for the shows are only needed on the newer, 2017+ ships - Meraviglia, Seaside and plus ships.  Most all YC ships reserve a section for YC passengers but you have to go past the people checking your reservations first.  I'm pretty sure if you showed them your YC sail card they would let you in, but it's easier to just make the reservations and go in like everyone else.

 

 

Never made a reservation for a main Theater show as a YC guest.  Always was admitted; never was questioned by a staff member at the Theater's entrance I recall a separate YC "lane";  always had plenty of YC seating in the Theater; this was aboard Meraviglia.  I did, of course, make a reservation for the Cirque show.  And, I did utilize the services of a Butler for escort and seating at that Theater.  The YC seating area was excellent!  I was in the second row on an aisle from the stage.  

 

Drink prices?  Never was charged for any beverage that I ordered out of YC nor in the YC.  Outside of YC, the bartenders made very generous pours when they realized that you were a YC guest.   

[JohnJayJotaJames]

Our butler on the MSC Seaview escorted us to the theater most nights, I think he enjoyed "escaping" the YC for a few minutes. One day concierge got confused and deleted our theater reservation for a sold out show. They explained that our butler would be able to walk us into the theater without a reservation!

We were served free french champagne every night in the champagne bar. Then on the last night of cruise a charge appeared for the two glasses of champagne on our last evening. Concierge explained that the champagne was over $12 and so the charge was correct. We questioned why we were not asked to sign for the charge. Once they discovered that they had no signature for the charge, it was removed.

[Captain-John]

1 hour ago, JohnJayJotaJames said:

Our butler on the MSC Seaview escorted us to the theater most nights, I think he enjoyed "escaping" the YC for a few minutes

 

Maybe that's why ours on Preziosa insisted on escorting us to the restaurant at the back of the ship every evening, despite us knowing the way and telling him not to bother. He would repeatedly ask what time we were dining so he could turn up at our door and escort us - I did wonder why he was so insistent but perhaps he enjoyed escaping the YC too.

[dexddd]

On Seaside never needed reservations for main show.  Butler would escort us down.

 

Virtuoso not out yet, should start hearing about it late April fingers crossed.  

[JohnJayJotaJames]

1 hour ago, Captain-John said:

 

Maybe that's why ours on Preziosa insisted on escorting us to the restaurant at the back of the ship every evening, despite us knowing the way and telling him not to bother. He would repeatedly ask what time we were dining so he could turn up at our door and escort us - I did wonder why he was so insistent but perhaps he enjoyed escaping the YC too.

So we were lucky on the Seaview and you were lucky on the Preziosa! On our first day on the Preziosa we asked for directions to the YC restaurant hoping for an offer of an escort... no such luck, for us! We were given directions and told it's easy to find!

[George C]

We loved our seaside YC cruise last year, it came with premium drink package which was good for drinks anywhere on the ship. But we did upgrade drink to premium plus which includes everything sold by the glass including some very expensive scotch like Johnny Walker Blue and high end champagne and XO cognacs.  Can’t wait to cruise msc yacht club again. Butler escorted us to shows and off the ship at ports, the private island had great food and waiter service and drinks were included.

[Linda the Book Lover]

We are planning on enjoying the YC again march 2021 on the Meraviglia. If it is canceled which I am hoping not then we will just rebook. We only walked ourselves to the specialty dining one night and the rest of the time the escort was really pleasant. The concierge moved times for us for one show since we needed the extra time Top Sail to relax from our busy day. She was always easy to work with and along with our Butler was always attentive to our requests.  We did purchase the laundry pre-cruise, since we do a few days port time pre-cruise. Excellent laundry, all hung up and put away when we returned to the cabin. You can't go wrong with the YC. I miss the wonderful people who work so hard to make your stay so enjoyable. And yes, when I sail on on the lines with the adult children and their children I do miss the YC.

[Shippy]

   INCONSISTENCIES,,,

YC3 on SEASIDE

 

Although not written anywhere...our butler told us that for YC3, all laundry was included.

We sent most everything out & had free one day service.

Our next YC3 reservation on the SEASIDE, the confirmation showed a cabana on the private island was complementary although we had not seen that in writing anywhere before we booked.

   Our next YC3 cruise is for this September but they switched ships.

Will we get free laundry ??? Our confirmation for this cruise does NOT say we get a complementary cabana on the private island so I do not know.

I called MSC & they said those types of perks usually are not in writing & can differ from ship to ship.

So....the first thing I am going to do if this cruise goes...is ask the butler if there are any 'secret' perks    :O)

[Linda the Book Lover]

4 hours ago, Couple-Somerset said:

The No.1 best YC perk we've experienced was when we ended 2 Med cruises.

 

We had a leisurely breakfast in YC, then grabbed our cases (we never put them out on any cruise).

 

A Butler then got 6 of us in a small group and we grabbed a lift.

 

When we got to the correct floor, we encountered hoardes of passengers queuing around the ship waiting to disembark - we think it would have taken a good 90 minutes for some to get off.

We were led straight to the exit and given a final farewell, saving us all time and frustration.


I also think the Butlers love to escape the YC which is why they are keen to take you to the theatre, the separate YC restaurant or even just to carry your drink from the lounge to the sun deck lol

We loved the escort off of the ship as well. It sure made disembarkation nice. 

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, Linda the Book Lover said:

We loved the escort off of the ship as well. It sure made disembarkation nice. 

 

Yes, until I got into the Terminal in Miami with a double long line to clear Customs and Immigration.  

[Linda the Book Lover]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Yes, until I got into the Terminal in Miami with a double long line to clear Customs and Immigration.  

We had luck and when we grabbed our bags the Customs guy in the luggage area must have liked my old lady smile because he waved us through the first area and then we walked out through the US line with only a handover of the passport and another old lady smile. Seriously though I think they check the passports prior to disembarkation and saw we had global ID's and just waved us through after verifying our picture. I like the old lady smile scenario better of course. The husband, got to go too because of my dazzling smile! LOL

 

[rkacruiser]

1 minute ago, Linda the Book Lover said:

I like the old lady smile scenario better of course. The husband, got to go too because of my dazzling smile! LOL

 

 

🤣

 

Whatever works!!!!

[sverigecruiser]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Yes, until I got into the Terminal in Miami with a double long line to clear Customs and Immigration.  

 

We could pass the first line in the terminal because our luggage was located in a different place.

[dexddd]

Obviously things in Miami can vary.  From YC to curb last time maybe 10 minutes.

 

Then the fun begins.

[Nunagoras]

On 1/1/2021 at 7:54 PM, Travels with Lisa said:

hi

I am thinking of booking my first MSC cruise in the YC.  Is laundry included in the YC perks? (No. But you can find some promotional packages for a set number of pieces at a relatively competitive price) Are you able to get into the shows without a reservation? (Yes. YC guests have free access to the main shows. Depending on your ship/sailing you'll might to have an YC section on the theater as well. You'll need to book the Cirque du Soleil or equivalent show, if you want and when available. I've heard they added it as a perk in certain sailings, but no confirmation.) I've read that there may be inconsistencies with the included beverages. (The YC's "main ship" package, whatever else its name, terms and conditions will give you access to pretty much everything sold aboard, apart from some very top notch and very expensive wines and liquors alike. Don't worry so much on that one, unless you're very interested on such a particular of those items) Is there anything else I should be aware of? (Currency aboard Med cruises will be the Euro. If you are from another region you'll need to pay the conversion taxes according to you local currency and your credit card terms and conditions).

 

thanks!

 

Liz

Welcome aboard the MSC forum!...

 

I answered your questions in green alongside the quote. Be aware that this advice comes from before the pandemic. Current terms and conditions may vary at any moment.

[Até]

On 1/1/2021 at 6:43 PM, Travels with Lisa said:

... I'm looking at the Med on the Virtuosa.

The Cirque shows are not included in any cabin class fare, you can purchase these before or during the cruise and online you sometimes are able to pick the show, date and time.  Frequently even if you pay and reserve a time in advance you must still confirm once on the ship.  YC usually has a better seat section in the Cirque theater.

[Nunagoras]

58 minutes ago, Até said:

The Cirque shows are not included in any cabin class fare, you can purchase these before or during the cruise and online you sometimes are able to pick the show, date and time.  Frequently even if you pay and reserve a time in advance you must still confirm once on the ship.  YC usually has a better seat section in the Cirque theater.

I have heard that at least in certain sailing they've joined all the YC guests together for such a private circus dinner show time... Don't know if complimentary or paid for. Maybe they just had enough bookings for such a session at that particular sailing.

 

Indeed: Unfortunately, as far as I can understand, Cirque du Soleil has gone bankrupt during the pandemic. In a Grandiosa recent video it seems they're using the circus lounge as a Latino music bar just to spread out the crowds. Hope that when things come again to the normal MSC can be able to find adequate shows at the same caliber that Cirque du Soleil was previously delivering!...

 

Have a nice day!...

[Norwich Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Até said:

The Cirque shows are not included in any cabin class fare, you can purchase these before or during the cruise and online you sometimes are able to pick the show, date and time.  Frequently even if you pay and reserve a time in advance you must still confirm once on the ship.  YC usually has a better seat section in the Cirque theater.

The Cirque dinner show on Bellissima was included in our cruise fare.

[rkacruiser]

39 minutes ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

The Cirque dinner show on Bellissima was included in our cruise fare.

 

No! No!  Don't let inconsistency of product and service affect MSC as such management issues have impacted the cruise product and service of HAL.  

 

I believe that such began when HAL became too large of a fleet for it to be  properly managed from Seattle.  MSC going in that direction?  

 

When a book a cruise on a ---dam, I expect a product quality/consistency that is much like what I have experienced.  I will expect such, as well, when I book a MSC...cruise.  

[Até]

1 hour ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

The Cirque dinner show on Bellissima was included in our cruise fare.

 

34 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

No! No!  Don't let inconsistency of product and service affect MSC as such management issues have impacted the cruise product and service of HAL. 

For a limited time MSC offered a promotion where all bookings made in that time frame, under that promotion included a Cirque booking.  That promotion and all the sailings that were booked under it are now long over, so until MSC offers it again as a promotion Cirque shows are an additional fee for all passengers.

[rkacruiser]

3 minutes ago, Até said:

 

For a limited time MSC offered a promotion where all bookings made in that time frame, under that promotion included a Cirque booking.  That promotion and all the sailings that were booked under it are now long over, so until MSC offers it again as a promotion Cirque shows are an additional fee for all passengers.

 

I appreciate your reply.  Thank you.  If there is any one thing that has irritated me over the years regarding my cruise experience is the inconsistency of product/service by the same cruise line.  I realize that "promotions" offer value for those that take advantage of them.  But, then, as a fellow cruiser who was unaware of such or who was not able to take advantage of such, how does that make me feel?  I know.  A response to what I have just written is something on the order of "life's tough".