MSC Yacht Club - "uninvited" guests

[markwfpb]

Hi,

I've seen various references in different posts about "interlopers", officer family/friends and plain old sneaky people finding their way into the Yacht Club.

Having sailed on the Divina three times over the past five years, I've never noticed it all. But we'll be on the Seascape early next year and it sounds like it's a whole different ballgame on that class of ship.

So I kinda want to know what to expect to level my expectations - do the Top Sail and pool areas get overly crowded? Is there a wait in the dining room? Do kids take over the place?! I know every experience is different (YMMV) but is there a consensus if this issue really affects the YC experience for the average passenger?

It seems like if the ship's officers and families are there, it's a perk of the job (I don't know if that's the case), but people just strolling in seems like a different thing altogether. 

Thanks!

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

We had some teenage "interlopers" try to enter the YC who were apparently looking for a friend.  They were immediately asked to leave and never made it past the concierge.  Additionally, all the outside access doors to the YC on decks 16 and 18 (off the cabin hallways) were disabled, forcing entrance through the main doors and past the concierge desk.  This cut down unauthorized access to next to zero.  This was on Seaside in August.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, markwfpb said:

Having sailed on the Divina three times over the past five years,

We sailed the Divina as well December 2018 in the Yacht Club. While out on deck to view the lighthouse display we were inundated by a group of interlopers that broke the lock to gain entry and crowded us out of our viewing area. By the time a butler saw what had occurred the 'display' was over and they all left and the butler reported the broken lock which we witnessed was forced to the point of breaking.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, markwfpb said:

So I kinda want to know what to expect to level my expectations - do the Top Sail and pool areas get overly crowded?

Only on Seafood Extravaganza lunch day at the OnePool deck. It got so bad with interlopers crashing, that paying YC guests gave up waiting in line in the hot sun and did not partake. Many YCers gave their wrist bands to friends and family outside the YC to get in. Last month the Seafood Extravaganza was eliminated rather than find a way to curb the interloper situation. We witnessed only one pool attendant ask to see a room key card and even then he let them finish their meals. On Seascape.

Edited September 19, 2023 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, markwfpb said:

Is there a wait in the dining room?

The YC restaurant is a little better, hostess asking for cabin #. But there is still a wait which is leisurely in the TopSail Lounge below the restaurant with nice live music starting at 6:30 most evenings. Because MSC over books the YC with move up bids and it usually sails with over 300 guests. (131 YC cabins X 2 = 262 guest 100% occupancy).

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, markwfpb said:

but is there a consensus if this issue really affects the YC experience for the average passenger?

No, because newbies do not know the difference. The interlopers look just like the rest of us. They figure this is just the way it is. One finds out when the interloper is smoking right next to you in a nonsmoking area. We had seven of them lounging near us smoking, we walked over to an attendant and complained. He 'carded them' and they all snuck into the YC. When asked to leave one offered him money to stay. 

Edited September 19, 2023 by morpheusofthesea

[no1talks]

2 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

When asked to leave one offered him money to stay.

Little did the they know, you offered him money to have them thrown out! 🤣

[DaKahuna]

Makes one wonder if they penalize YC guest who ‘loan’ out their wristbands to others?  Maybe they should and I bet that practice would come to a halt. 

[no1talks]

10 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

"Makes one wonder if they penalize YC guest who ‘loan’ out their wristbands to others?"

[joeyancho]

38 minutes ago, no1talks said:

Is that picture from a Carnival Cruise?    

[morpheusofthesea]

5 hours ago, no1talks said:

Little did the they know, you offered him money to have them thrown out! 🤣

"You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."

[Essiesmom]

I think if guests are caught loaning out wristbands, the bands should be confiscated.  And no reissue if they claim they were ‘lost’.  Perhaps they should install facial recognition for entry into YC.  EM

[young_k92]

We are booked on our 1st MSC cruise next month. We have been complimentary upgraded from Interior GTY to a Deluxe Balcony on 13. Bella experience. We have had the opportunity to upgrade bid to a YC Interior for 2 weeks at what is an excellent price. But due to exactly this issue, we have refrained from bidding. We just can't justify losing our own private balcony space (that we were blessed enough to receive) for an interior, even in YC, if MSC doesn't do a better job of keeping interlopers out, per several recent posts here on CC. We plan to spend the equivalent of the lowest YC bid on "extras" to enhance our balcony experience. I understand the benefits of YC. And it's been tempting. But privacy on our own balcony versus paying to upgrade to what should be an exclusive experience and having to deal with jerks willing to cheat was more than I could handle. MSC really needs to nip this in the bud. Quickly.

[RandomUser123]

YC is not that impressive, they don’t have their own waterside. They need to join us commoners if they want to go down the waterslide 🙂

[morpheusofthesea]

Just now, RandomUser123 said:

YC is not that impressive,

I only wish it wasn't so impressive. Then no one would try to sneak in.

[morpheusofthesea]

2 minutes ago, RandomUser123 said:

They need to join us commoners if they want to go down the waterslide 🙂

Not really. From what I understand ones butler can butt one to the front of the waterslide ride too.

[JAGR]

13 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

We sailed the Divina as well December 2018 in the Yacht Club. While out on deck to view the lighthouse display we were inundated by a group of interlopers that broke the lock to gain entry and crowded us out of our viewing area. By the time a butler saw what had occurred the 'display' was over and they all left and the butler reported the broken lock which we witnessed was forced to the point of breaking.

Was that really a year before guests were allowed on the island, or did you mean 2019? I assume the latter, since you are cutting edge, but that would have been interesting! 😉

[morpheusofthesea]

11 minutes ago, young_k92 said:

if MSC doesn't do a better job of keeping interlopers out,

Yeh, and keep all them interlopers out and in the rest of the ship.

 

[morpheusofthesea]

8 minutes ago, JAGR said:

Was that really a year before guests were allowed on the island, or did you mean 2019? I assume the latter, since you are cutting edge, but that would have been interesting! 😉

All I remember was watching something that everyone wanted to get a good view of at night on the Divina and a group of gate crashers actually forcing and breaking the lock to over run us. A butler did come to our rescue and chased the 'horde' back through the broken gate.

Edited September 19, 2023 by morpheusofthesea

[JAGR]

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

All I remember was watching something that everyone wanted to get a good view of at night on the Divina and a group of gate crashers actually forcing and breaking the lock to over run us.

That makes sense.  Ocean Cay opened December 2019, so I thought you might have been a year off.

[young_k92]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Yeh, and keep all them interlopers out and in the rest of the ship.

 

Yes, please do! I'm not paying for YC on my upcoming cruise, so I have no right to be there. Please, by all means, keep me and everyone else paying for steerage out of YC!

[young_k92]

Steerage. Lol.

[markwfpb]

2 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I only wish it wasn't so impressive. Then no one would try to sneak in.

 

Thanks for all your responses and everyone else's as well! On Divina, we enjoyed Top Sail and the pool but it's not like they were THAT amazing that it would be worth breaking the rules (let alone a lock!). I think the Yacht Club can have such a buildup that people may expect it to be much more than it really is. All things being equal, I'd rather be back in a HAL Neptune suite on the Nieuw Amsterdam where's nothing "extra" to even break into other than the Pinnacle Lounge with no windows or real reason to hang out in! We loved the crows nest, music row, restaurants, etc. - all of which could be accessed by anyone! Maybe my opinion will change after sailing Seascape!

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, markwfpb said:

 rather be back in a HAL Neptune suite on the Nieuw Amsterdam

To my DW, just the mention of Holland America's "Nieuw Amsterdam"will trigger her into a violent outburst similar to "Niagara Falls" "Slowly I turned".......

We made the mistake of booking the Pinnacle Suite for Spring break in March of this year. It had a 94 CDC health sanitation rating. She is a germaphobe and the second to last day came down with covid and norovirus. Let us just say that "Poppy's a little sloppy." She feels safer on the MSC Seaside with a CDC score of 67 and will NEVER sail another Hal ship again.

[markwfpb]

Aha. I don't blame her with that double whammy! Especially being in the nicest cabin on the ship!

We had the opposite - 

Sailed the Nieuw Amsterdam in fall '21 when passengers and crew all had to be vaxed and have a negative covid test 48 hours before the cruise (remember those days?). Then we were tested every 4 or 5 days on board (it was a 17 day Panama Canal). No masks needed! Never felt so safe as that bubble - even packed into tour buses. It was almost eerie feeling that freedom at that time in the middle of the pandemic - like we were on another planet. 

Cut to last March on the Divina. From the flight there (including a terminal change in Atlanta) and all the time on board, virtually no one wore a mask. We did mask due to caregiving duties back home - didn't want to return with anything. But after three years of avoidance, we both got it. Both were relatively mild cases, but it was a terrible way to spend our one week of vacation for the year!

I must say it was nice being in the Yacht Club at least - spending some time on the balcony.