Always available items in YC

[CruisingFox27]

We had Nicolas Feuillatte on our most recent Mediterranean cruise. I have seen others mentioned, it's definitely region dependent. 

Edited October 16, 2023 by CruisingFox27

[DisneyJen]

Thanks @jcpc and @CruisingFox27 🍾

 

@DJ's DHhas worked in Supply Chain all of his professional career.

 

When he "retired" he started teaching it at our alma mater ... Penn State😀

[Stem to Stern]

4 hours ago, KittyCruz said:

Mozzarella sticks add a little something to the shrimp cocktail and wine diet I had planned for our upcoming YC cruise, thanks for the tip!

Are there onion rings available in the Yacht Club?  

I think these would be a nice addition to this diet.

I am being good pre-cruise so I can indulge in all things naughty when I get on board.

By the way our baby looks just like your kitty.  So handsome.

[di T]

On 10/14/2023 at 5:13 PM, insidecabin said:

Worth checking UK prices they include the gratuities(and taxes).

 

Also worth checking for non YC as the promotion is premium drinks(no WiFi) on all cabins when available.

Do they include gratuities when you book through a travel agent?

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, di T said:

Do they include gratuities when you book through a travel agent?

UK bookings should all include gratuities regardless of the method of booking.

 

We booked one via the MSC website and one onboard, both in YC and both have gratuities included...

[Brighton Line]

15 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

We had Nicolas Feuillatte on our most recent Mediterranean cruise. I have seen others mentioned, it's definitely region dependent. 

When you take a galley tour they explain it is based on where you are sailing. A Canadian cruise is not going to have a lot of watermelon. 

MSC is a little different for their cruises out of Brooklyn NYC to Florida and the Caribbean they do not provision in Brooklyn but take on stores in Port Canaveral or Port Miami. 

They might get fresh fruit/vegetables but then again they order that by ripeness as will as type and let the item ripe while in storage too. The ship carries weeks of food two to three voyages not just for the current sailing. 

 

Article on provisioning mega-ships: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/cruise-ships-food-supplies/index.html MSC Bellissima compared to NCL Blis and Royal Symphony of the Seas

[di T]

17 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

UK bookings should all include gratuities regardless of the method of booking.

 

We booked one via the MSC website and one onboard, both in YC and both have gratuities included...

Thankyou for the info

[CruisingFox27]

1 hour ago, di T said:

Do they include gratuities when you book through a travel agent?

Yes. We've booked through a UK TA and MSC direct. Both now include gratuities. 

[jules815]

On 10/11/2023 at 9:04 PM, jcpc said:

But easy solution......stick to YC enclave until you want to venture out for shows or specialty dining.

 

Yes, and it's easy enough to do too. I don't think a lot of people understand the size of the YC enclave. The private pool area with the buffet throughout the day, the bar, etc., is worth it alone to us. Never having to worry about getting a nicely padded lounger. We were on Seascape in the YC last month for two weeks and it was heaven. We feel the same way you do though about the rest of the ship though. If we were doing a cruise for ports and weren't going to go with a suite, we'd go with Celebrity. We're trying HAL next year (a transatlantic in April). (Thought we were going to go with a standard balcony room and ended up booking a Neptune suite. Was a little surprised to find out that the larger bottles of water we got with YC aren't included with our suite on HAL. And we have the highest tier of drink package. Oh well. Still looking forward to trying another line.)

[jcpc]

On 10/16/2023 at 9:16 PM, Stem to Stern said:

Are there onion rings available in the Yacht Club?  

 

An onion ring was on the plate on the first day lunch.  I would imagine you could get as many onion rings as your heart desires!!

 

 

Edited October 18, 2023 by jcpc

[Stem to Stern]

6 minutes ago, jcpc said:

An onion ring was on the plate on the first day lunch.  I would imagine you could get as many onion rings as your heart desires!!

Sorry, but how was the burger?  Cooked to order?

[jcpc]

1 hour ago, Stem to Stern said:

Sorry, but how was the burger?  Cooked to order?

Yes, burgers in both YC restaurant and YC Buffet on the Pool Deck on Meraviglia are cooked to order!

[DisneyJen]

I see burgers and onion rings for lunch in @DJ's DH future 😀

 

Current situation ... watching "Mighty Ships ... MSC Meraviglia" on Smithsonian Channel.

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, DisneyJen said:

I see burgers and onion rings for lunch in @DJ's DH future 😀

 

Current situation ... watching "Mighty Ships ... MSC Meraviglia" on Smithsonian Channel.

 I see the same in my future too. 
 

 I have seen it twice. It could be an hour longer in my opinion. 
 

[Stem to Stern]

17 hours ago, DisneyJen said:

Mighty Ships

Best.  Show.  Ever.

[kelleherdl]

21 hours ago, DisneyJen said:

I see burgers and onion rings for lunch in @DJ's DH future 😀

 

Current situation ... watching "Mighty Ships ... MSC Meraviglia" on Smithsonian Channel.

Find the video on the MSC Seaside. It takes you through a whole cruise with a lot of time on ‘turnaround’ day. Patricia, the MSC Port Operations Manager in Miami, is a gem and star of that show.

[CruisingFox27]

On 10/18/2023 at 5:52 PM, jcpc said:

An onion ring was on the plate on the first day lunch.  I would imagine you could get as many onion rings as your heart desires!!

 

 

Ooooh! I have a weakness for onion rings. I wonder if I could order that without the burger and chips 😂

[DaKahuna]

7 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

Ooooh! I have a weakness for onion rings. I wonder if I could order that without the burger and chips 😂

 

But of course you can order it.  

 

[Basketball wife]

YC gratuities were mentioned in an earlier post. Are they the same as the regular cabins or are they more? (I read a The Points Guy review of the Meriviglia yacht club and the writer said that the gratuities were included in the fare🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️.)

[actuarian]

On 10/11/2023 at 10:27 AM, DisneyJen said:

Thanks @jcpc!

 

Good to hear about the comparisons about your X versus MSC experiences.

 

Do you know if there is much of a service difference in levels of suites on MSC like there is on X? I have researched quite here on CC and on the MSC site but can't find much difference balcony suites.

 

 

On X, every room that is classified as a suite (including the junior suites that X calls Sky Suites) is part of the retreat. While the upper suites (Royal Suite and above) do come with a few extra perks, all of the suites on X share the same Retreat Sundeck, the same Retreat Lounge and the same Luminae restaurant. The result is that, on the newer ships on X (the Edge Class ships), 12.0% of the rooms are part of the Retreat. By contrast, on the newest MSC ships (the World Class ships), 5.8% of the rooms are part of the Yacht Club. This makes it almost impossible for X to provide the same level of service in the Retreat as MSC provides in the Yacht Club. That is mostly because there are no accommodations on X that are comparable to the MSC Aurea Experience suites. That means that all of the suite accommodations on X get clumped together. The result is that the MSC Yacht Club feels much more exclusive that the Celebrity Retreat.

[CruisingFox27]

4 hours ago, Basketball wife said:

YC gratuities were mentioned in an earlier post. Are they the same as the regular cabins or are they more? (I read a The Points Guy review of the Meriviglia yacht club and the writer said that the gratuities were included in the fare🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️.)

The charges are the same, regardless of cabin experience. 

It depends on your location if they're included. If you're booking from the UK, they are included. I don't think they are if you're in the USA, but I'm not totally certain there. 

[DaKahuna]

5 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

The charges are the same, regardless of cabin experience. 

It depends on your location if they're included. If you're booking from the UK, they are included. I don't think they are if you're in the USA, but I'm not totally certain there. 

 We are booked in YC on MSC Davina in February and the gratuities are separate.  I had our TA pre-pay ours so I would not have to keep track of them onboard.

 

[sbcs5390]

6 hours ago, actuarian said:

12.0% of the rooms are part of the Retreat. By contrast, on the newest MSC ships (the World Class ships), 5.8% of the rooms are part of the Yacht Club. This makes it almost impossible for X to provide the same level of service in the Retreat as MSC provides in the Yacht Club.

Also, a much smaller fraction of suites on X are “in” the complex on E class. This has a service impact as butlers are scattered all over. I was told by a stateroom attendant I couldn’t have a handtowel for the guest half bathroom in a Royal Suite on X, because they don’t give them enough. The RS was just another room he cleaned to him along with many “regular” rooms. Another time in an aft corner Sky Suite, one butler was responsible for the aft cabins on I believe 8 different decks. He was always running up and down. Of course now they have eliminated dedicated butlers entirely for Sky Suites on X. 
 

I want to spend some more time with this thread as I have a lot of opinions about the Retreat vs. YC experience. YC was leaps and bounds better and a fraction of the cost. 

[sbcs5390]

On 10/13/2023 at 12:08 AM, DaKahuna said:

Does MSC do hot water pots in YC staterooms or only coffee makers?  My DW and I both enjoy tea more than coffee and would like to have a hot water or tea kettle in the room. 

You should ask. I bet a kettle may turn up. The Nespresso will also produce hot water if you don’t put in a pod but might take a couple runs to get the coffee remnants out. 

[DaKahuna]

10 hours ago, sbcs5390 said:

You should ask. I bet a kettle may turn up. The Nespresso will also produce hot water if you don’t put in a pod but might take a couple runs to get the coffee remnants out. 

 

We've had that issue with Nespresso machines, not to mention how noisy they are.  We much prefer the tea kettle.  Will definitely ask our Butler / assistant butler about it first thing as I know we'll be wanting green tea sooner rather than later.