Just back from the inaugural December 11, 2022 MSC Seascape voyage in YC Deluxe Suite: the good the bad and the very ugly

[Av8tor]

Thanks for the review & video,  We have our first MSc cruise booked for next month in YC.  Your posts brought up a few questions:

 

1)  Is there a kettle in the cabin for heating water or can the Nespresso machine do that?

 

2) Cabanas on the YC pool deck:

 

           a. Are they really no charge & 1st come, 1st serve?

           b.  Did you experience cabana hogs "reserve" one with a few belongings and never really use it?

 

Thanks

 

 

[Stockjock]

My GF and I are addicted to Nespresso, so a non-functioning machine would have been a huge issue if we were paying YC prices.

It seems that you got a nice room assignment.  Did you think Yacht Club was a good value for the price?  In our case, it's more than double the price of our balcony cabin.  We went back and forth about the upgrade process, and since we're about to sail, we'll likely stick with our Fantastica veranda.

[alexirina]

22 minutes ago, Av8tor said:

Thanks for the review & video,  We have our first MSc cruise booked for next month in YC.  Your posts brought up a few questions:

 

1)  Is there a kettle in the cabin for heating water or can the Nespresso machine do that?

 

2) Cabanas on the YC pool deck:

 

           a. Are they really no charge & 1st come, 1st serve?

           b.  Did you experience cabana hogs "reserve" one with a few belongings and never really use it?

 

Thanks

 

 

Hey Av8tor,

1. We only had the Nespresso machine (and plenty of coffee pods, as well as tea bags they provided). As I eluded in my sarcastic captions in the video, Nespresso machine never worked for us even after they replaced it (and they DID replace it, not just said they did). That machine theoretically provides hot/boiling water, so if it works, it can be almost as good as a kettle

2. 

a. Cabanas on Decks 20 and 19 (deck 19 on the left/port side) are indeed at no extra charge for YC. They are 1-st come 1-st serve. Two (out of total of about 10) cabanas are reserved for the owner suite guests. 

b. Yes, very unfortunately, many folks throw their books/bags in cabanas at 0745 (right after I did the walkthrough :)) and are nowhere to be seen. That being said, we managed to enjoy cabanas 3 times on a 7 night sailing (without hogging, as I do believe that what goes around comes around :)), so it is not as bad as it may seem. 

 

Overall Deck 20 experience worked out well for us, the main YC pool is reasonably deep and large, plenty of loungers outside of cabanas. There are several hot tubs around and 2 bars (bar on the port side on deck 19 is not busy at all and mini-cabanas there are quite nice as well)

 

Cheers, enjoy your vacay!

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, alexirina said:

You made me look at a deck plan 🙂 I think I happened to had a glance at 19033 (I remember because it was at that weird corner deal they have close to elevator) and that suite looked way too wide. Almost not kidding: there can be such thing as too much room in your stateroom

 

That one is wheelchair accessible. It's not as long as yours was but it is wide. 19025 is about as wide as that one but as long as yours...best of both worlds. 19033 does have a larger balcony and bathroom (needed for wheelchair access).

[alexirina]

4 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

My GF and I are addicted to Nespresso, so a non-functioning machine would have been a huge issue if we were paying YC prices.

It seems that you got a nice room assignment.  Did you think Yacht Club was a good value for the price?  In our case, it's more than double the price of our balcony cabin.  We went back and forth about the upgrade process, and since we're about to sail, we'll likely stick with our Fantastica veranda.

I love Nespresso coffee as well and we were quite disappointed that MSC folks never made it work for us even after replacing the machine. They eluded to some "onboard power weakness", but as an engineer I'm not sure I buy that... Bottom line, very unfortunately we never had a single cup of in-room Nespresso (and coffee at the YC lounge is very meh).

As for the value for the money: we are still on a fence on how to answer that question for ourselves. On one side, we paid for the YC room about what we paid for the Wonder of the Seas Balcony (Inaugural earlier this year). Give or take 500 depending on how you count tips, drinks, etc. YC is indeed twice as expensive as a regular balcony on Seascape (even more, I'd say).

 

All of that said... If I knew what I know now, I would not have sailed on MSC to begin with. If I was forced to sail on Seascape 🙂 then I would have picked YC again. There are enough small things about YC that were worth it for us. 

- Priority disembarkation. Disembarkation is a joke on Seascape. 1 security dude to check out 5000 guests on the last day... With YC you ask a butler to walk you out (as silly as it sounds!) and you get to cut the line.

- Dedicated seats in the theater. Shows did not work out for us, but it was nice to have an option to just walk in and get decent seats

- YC lounge up front is neat

- YC deck 20, private pool and free cabanas are nice

- Getting to the thermal spa any time you want is nice too

 

Cheers, enjoy your cruise!!!

 

[Two Wheels Only]

16 minutes ago, alexirina said:

Two (out of total of about 10) cabanas are reserved for the owner suite guests. 

 

The Owner's Suites and the Royal Suites each have a cabana (pergola) reserved. 

[1kaper]

5 hours ago, alexirina said:

Thank you so much for your kind thoughts! Just to let you know, our videos are not sponsored or monetized, so either way we appreciate your input!

Honestly it’s not just you.

It’s my own preference.  I read quickly.  
i have found that I just prefer to read over having a video tell me which is why I prefer this forum. It is the same with news. 
just a personal thing. 

[styles27]

9 hours ago, 1kaper said:

Honestly it’s not just you.

It’s my own preference.  I read quickly.  
i have found that I just prefer to read over having a video tell me which is why I prefer this forum. It is the same with news. 
just a personal thing. 

Same! I find if I do watch a video I’m constantly fast forwarding it lol 

[morpheusofthesea]

 "A picture is worth a thousand words" is an adage in multiple languages meaning that complex and sometimes multiple ideas can be conveyed by a single still image, which conveys its meaning or essence more effectively than a mere verbal description. Wikipedia"

[PTC DAWG]

Wife and I have one of those aft Suites booked in July, way up high..the view looks pretty cool to me.  

[Suzieanna]

I would prefer if people made their comments here and not just provide a link to their You Tube channel

[hamrag]

51 minutes ago, Suzieanna said:

I would prefer if people made their comments here and not just provide a link to their You Tube channel

Ditto, there is no way I'm giving anyone clicks!

[sidari]

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Wife and I have one of those aft Suites booked in July, way up high..the view looks pretty cool to me.  

Had one on Deck 14 on the Seaside Inaugural out of Miami, great views and very little noise from anywhere.

[sabres431]

3 hours ago, Suzieanna said:

I would prefer if people made their comments here and not just provide a link to their You Tube channel

 

2 hours ago, hamrag said:

Ditto, there is no way I'm giving anyone clicks!

So you're both completely ignoring the fact that he also included comments in the post with the video and has followed up with comment throughout this post.  Give the guy a little bit of credit.

[luv2cruisekc]

Found the new crowded elevator system terrible at least 1/3 rd of the time.  My husband came home with covid, probably from the elevator. 

[alexirina]

5 hours ago, sidari said:

Had one on Deck 14 on the Seaside Inaugural out of Miami, great views and very little noise from anywhere.

We did not have any noise issues. Deck 19 is the topmost deck with staterooms and right above us is a YC pool area, so all was quiet. Views from the balcony are much nicer than from anywhere on Deck 20 in our opinion, as naturally all public areas have very high glass barriers above railings...

[alexirina]

8 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

 "A picture is worth a thousand words" is an adage in multiple languages meaning that complex and sometimes multiple ideas can be conveyed by a single still image, which conveys its meaning or essence more effectively than a mere verbal description. Wikipedia"

Thank you very much! We all have a preferred way to absorb information. Irina and I happen to like watching cruise reviews vs reading, so we are contributing to the chaos that's out there. 

[alexirina]

3 hours ago, luv2cruisekc said:

Found the new crowded elevator system terrible at least 1/3 rd of the time.  My husband came home with covid, probably from the elevator. 

I'd say elevators were unreasonably slow/busy/non-functioning any time of the day except in the very early AM hours. Real shame that MSC decided to go with this approach (outside call buttons) for elevators. It sounds like a minor nag, but it really is a major inconvenience on a ship this size... May be a reason enough to consider booking a lower deck so that walking stairs is more practical...

[alexirina]

4 hours ago, sabres431 said:

 

So you're both completely ignoring the fact that he also included comments in the post with the video and has followed up with comment throughout this post.  Give the guy a little bit of credit.

Thank you, sabres431. Cold blasts honestly don't not bother us: I'm not making money from my videos, we are very aware where our videos are compared to some professional reviewers out there. This is just a hobby and it feels that quite a few folks here and on the Tube 🙂 found them helpful, so that's all good! Thank you for staying in the spirit of holidays! 

[sidari]

49 minutes ago, alexirina said:

We did not have any noise issues. Deck 19 is the topmost deck with staterooms and right above us is a YC pool area, so all was quiet. Views from the balcony are much nicer than from anywhere on Deck 20 in our opinion, as naturally all public areas have very high glass barriers above railings...

Ours was on the very back of the ship overlooking the stern and not towards the front.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

2 hours ago, alexirina said:

it feels that quite a few folks here and on the Tube 🙂 found them helpful,

we certainly did!

Thanks for the video!

I booked Seascape for next November, but in steerage class. 🙂 Will also bring our parents with us - my poor dad has mobility problems and will have to "enjoy" the elevators...

[alexirina]

54 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we certainly did!

Thanks for the video!

I booked Seascape for next November, but in steerage class. 🙂 Will also bring our parents with us - my poor dad has mobility problems and will have to "enjoy" the elevators...

Thank you so much, we are glad we have been able to add just a small layer of cruise anticipation experience for you! We love that feeling ourselves, we read tons of reviews and watch way too many videos, but it is all part of the experience to some of us! I'm sure you and your family will enjoy the cruise: from what we see, most of the companies do work kinks out in the first few months! Despite of a few acidy things we said, this ship has a lot to offer! Cheers and Merry Christmas!

[PopcornDK]

11 hours ago, alexirina said:

I'd say elevators were unreasonably slow/busy/non-functioning any time of the day except in the very early AM hours. Real shame that MSC decided to go with this approach (outside call buttons) for elevators. It sounds like a minor nag, but it really is a major inconvenience on a ship this size... May be a reason enough to consider booking a lower deck so that walking stairs is more practical...

When evaluating the impact of the "outside call button" system (typically referred to as "Smart Elevators") in elevators, it is important that you consider the time form you call the elevator, till you exit it at your destination deck. It is correct, that in busy periods, you will need to wait longer for the elevator to arrive, but the time spent inside the elevator, will be significantly shorter. You have to calculate both the wait time and the ride time. In buildings with 10-20 floors, the average total time is typically cut by between 20% and 40%. Very busy buildings are seeing cuts at 50% and more, by upgrading to smart elevators.

 

People typically only considers the wait time, forgetting that they are experiencing a shorter ride time.....

 

[alexirina]

2 hours ago, PopcornDK said:

When evaluating the impact of the "outside call button" system (typically referred to as "Smart Elevators") in elevators, it is important that you consider the time form you call the elevator, till you exit it at your destination deck. It is correct, that in busy periods, you will need to wait longer for the elevator to arrive, but the time spent inside the elevator, will be significantly shorter. You have to calculate both the wait time and the ride time. In buildings with 10-20 floors, the average total time is typically cut by between 20% and 40%. Very busy buildings are seeing cuts at 50% and more, by upgrading to smart elevators.

 

People typically only considers the wait time, forgetting that they are experiencing a shorter ride time.....

 

Thank you and agree with your point. I have heard similar comments from fellow guests. Unfortunately, on Seascape they have not fine tuned the algorithm and car would stop on just about every floor. Especially noticable on the long rides. I feel silly complaining about such a small thing over and over again, but it is a significant enough annoyance that would make me consider picking a stateroom on lower deck so that we could use stairs... Next time I'm picking deck 17 on MSC 😉

[Av8tor]

On 12/22/2022 at 4:20 PM, alexirina said:

Hey Av8tor,

1. We only had the Nespresso machine... 

2. 

a. Cabanas on Decks 20 and 19... 

b. Yes, very unfortunately, many folks...

 

Cheers, enjoy your vacay!

Thanks for you reply