Yacht Club Excursions

[jlkeeling]

I'm considering bidding on an upgrade from an aft-facing Premium Suite Aurea to a YC Deluxe Suite on our upcoming northern European cruise on the Euribia.  Bid ranges are $645 to $805 x 2.  I'm stuck on giving up both the selling points of the current cabin which are the bunk beds for our 14 year old son and we were looking forward to our first time in an aft-facing cabin.  Looking at the pros and cons: We already have an internet package and Easy Plus.  We wouldn't get much benefit if any from the Premium Extra drink package as we're fairly basic drinkers; maybe a beer or 2 after excursions, wine with dinner, and typically move to Beam and diet after dinner. We won't be using the pool mid-October in northern Europe so those added benefits are meaningless.  I noticed that one of the listed benefits of YC is the "Possibility to organize tailor made excursions".  Does anyone have any experience with this?  We do enjoy private tours and have a handful booked ranging from $500 to $1,200 for the three of us.  I'm curious if YC curated excursion pricing would be more competitive than what we already have booked.

[CruisingFox27]

We asked about this once and the Concierge offered to book the excursions for us,  that was about it. Some cruisers have reported the occasional private tour being offered but largely the YC excursions benefit is a bit of a myth I'm afraid. 

[emmas gran]

2 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

We asked about this once and the Concierge offered to book the excursions for us,  that was about it. Some cruisers have reported the occasional private tour being offered but largely the YC excursions benefit is a bit of a myth I'm afraid. 

I agree never seen/heard about it before on a ship just the  questions here

[sverigecruiser]

9 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

 the YC excursions benefit is a bit of a myth I'm afraid. 

 

But they do mention it in their brochure.

[jame_g]

There are some "excursions" that may be limited to Yacht Club, but you'll also pay a premium price for them, they aren't really something included. Like the YC Cabanas, a YC ship tour, or a private limo excursion for a group. $$$$$

 

Also, we upgraded from an Aurea aft suite overlooking the adult pool area. But MSC and their upgrade vendor screwed up the upgrade even after billing us for it. (not much of a discount over booking YC directly either). So we were forced to take the original room. Halfway through the cruise corporate verified the error and told them to move us. While we enjoy the YC benefits and have sailed twice since in YC, the actual switch in rooms was a disappointment. That aft suite was sweet and the YC room suite really wasn't any improvement. We almost refused the upgrade after being in the aft suite, especially since the cruise was already half over. But MSC did eventually make it right and we got a satisfactory refund a few weeks after the cruise.

[dexddd]

They also mentioned private shopping.  Never seen offered.  Still on website last week.