MSC Seascape 3/12 Yacht Club Review

[TampaGambler]

We just got off the Seascape, we were in cabin 18019, which was a Grand Deluxe YC suite... Compared to our last yacht club experience, we were disappointed with the service. I will try to break things down by category. FYI - we went as a group and had 5 rooms. 

 

Terminal - This was a cluster, although not MSC's fault. We arrived to the port around 10:30 and security had already closed off direct access to everyone going to the port through the tunnel. So, we had to go all the way down to the end of the port, turn around, and then merge in with the folks taking the normal route to the terminal. Once at parking lot C, there weren't any signs saying where to go for the yacht club. Also, once you find the yacht club tent, on the east side, it wasn't anything special, but we were escorted to the ship fairly quickly. 

 

Room - Don't have any complaints about the room. The room was clean when we arrived and was spacious. Couldn't used another outlet, but at this point I'm nit picking. 

 

Room Steward- Amazing, this guy was extremally nice and did everything we asked. Granted, we only asked for extra water, diet coke and nuts, we were loaded up with all three. 

 

Butler - Horrible, I wouldn't even consider that we had a butler. We saw him on the first day and then maybe once or twice the rest of the trip. We didn't receive our bottle or liquor, nor were we informed about it. However, the good news is this was not the case for all rooms. Out of our group, 3/5 had bad butlers, some worse than others. However, 2/5 were amazing and we we all made sure to tip him since he was doing extra work. 

 

Yacht Club Restaurant - The food was great, but the service was horrible, so slowwwwww. The drinks from the bar took 45 min and food came out slow. Once you got the food thought, it was great. Spoke to the YC manager, who said the whole ship is understaffed and they are just looking for warm bodies to hire. 

 

YC Pool deck - This was some of the best food on the ship. Arnold, was great and gave amazing service, however, he only has 10 days left on his contract. His sister is getting married and he is going home to help plan, etc. When he wasn't at the pool deck, drinks were hard to come by unless you went to get them yourself. 

 

Elevators - HORRIBLE, the worst of all cruise lines. During busy times you will hit the call button and it will say "unable to allocate elevator"... Also, when you are escorted off the ship by a butler, you are taking the same elevators and they cannot call an elevator directly, so you don't receive priority like on NCL. 

 

Shows - The comedy show was amazing, but some of the other shows were boring. Gone are the days of the michael jackson dance show, cirque or the amazing shows. 

 

Venchi - Best news on the ship..... While the YC concierge said venchi wasn't included, John Hope and others there would give us free venchi for being in the yacht club. We tipped him the first day and he always ran to us when we walked up.

 

There is a lot more, but I'll answer any questions or provide more detail if anyone desires.

[Two Wheels Only]

39 minutes ago, TampaGambler said:

However, the good news is this was not the case for all rooms. Out of our group, 3/5 had bad butlers, some worse than others. However, 2/5 were amazing and we we all made sure to tip him since he was doing extra work. 

 

It's that inconsistency that causes so much confusion when people read reviews about MSC before sailing. I guess I've just been lucky as all of my MSC butlers have been great. 

 

41 minutes ago, TampaGambler said:

Spoke to the YC manager, who said the whole ship is understaffed and they are just looking for warm bodies to hire. 

 

This is a common complaint with the industry but hopefully, the situation will improve. I haven't personally cruised with an understaffed/overworked crew but many reviews across many lines point to the same issue. 

 

 

[Captain-John]

I have also personally experienced the butler inconsistency, but I am pleased to note you were happy with the quality of the food, if not the service, as it can often be the other way around or both at fault!