Anyone been on yacht club

[di T]

I’m looking at a yacht club cruise for next year followed by a cruise on Accent which we can board from the same port as we disembark MSC,Have never fancied MSC but the Yacht club looks good, anyone with experience of this? Thanks.

[librarylady19]

 No, bit the ever knowledgeable and thorough Gary Bembridge (Tips for Travellers) was recently and did video and posts on it. bottom line, it was decent but the ship as a whole is super crowded and hard to avoid noise, etc. 

Edited October 15, 2023 by librarylady19

[DaKahuna]

17 minutes ago, di T said:

I’m looking at a yacht club cruise for next year followed by a cruise on Accent which we can board from the same port as we disembark MSC,Have never fancied MSC but the Yacht club looks good, anyone with experience of this? Thanks.

 

Not yet.  We are booked in the YC on MSC Divina in February. 

 

@generation-x Did a review of her YC experience.  I am sure you can find it if you search for her post. 

 

[Lena11033]

I've done YC. I liked it I did Southampton to Belgium, Germany and Netherlands. I would only sail MSC for YC not the regular rooms because yes it gets really busy in the main area - which I'm ok on my terms not all the time.

 

I haven't done a B2B going MSC/X though

[di T]

7 minutes ago, librarylady19 said:

 No, bit the ever knowledgeable and thorough Gary Bembridge (Tips for Travellers) was recently and did video and posts on it. bottom line, it was decent but the ship as a whole is super crowded and hard to avoid noise, etc. 

 

Just now, DaKahuna said:

 

Not yet.  We are booked in the YC on MSC Divina in February. 

 

@generation-x Did a review of her YC experience.  I am sure you can find it if you search for her post. 

 

Will have a wee look, thankyou! 

[agape01]

11 minutes ago, librarylady19 said:

 No, bit the ever knowledgeable and thorough Gary Bembridge (Tips for Travellers) was recently and did video and posts on it. bottom line, it was decent but the ship as a whole is super crowded and hard to avoid noise, etc. 

To make things easier, this is the the video
 

 

[emmas gran]

20 minutes ago, di T said:

I’m looking at a yacht club cruise for next year followed by a cruise on Accent which we can board from the same port as we disembark MSC,Have never fancied MSC but the Yacht club looks good, anyone with experience of this? Thanks.

Hi I’ve done 7 or 8 YC cruises and love it. What ship are you looking at as the older ships have the YC restaurant at the back away from YC facilities, it’s not a big deal but something to be aware of. My most recent trip was Canaries in September and unfortunately I returned home with COVID.

I would not cruise outside YC, I find it a bit hectic. Another thing is MSC tends to treat ports like bus stops with people getting on and off at each port.

[di T]

Just now, Lena11033 said:

I've done YC. I liked it I did Southampton to Belgium, Germany and Netherlands. I would only sail MSC for YC not the regular rooms because yes it gets really busy in the main area - which I'm ok on my terms not all the time.

 

I haven't done a B2B going MSC/X though

No we haven’t and if I book this it will be a first for MSC for us. In fact although I’ve booked many b2b cruises they have always been on the same  ship and usually staying in the same cabin, I like to put together our trips myself so add hotels in the embarkation ports or at the end of the cruises, book my own flights etc.Did Oceania earlier this year and it was lovely but found the ship a bit too small and the cruise was expensive.

[di T]

3 minutes ago, agape01 said:

To make things easier, this is the the video
 

 

Thanks for that I will watch it now! 

[di T]

1 minute ago, emmas gran said:

Hi I’ve done 7 or 8 YC cruises and love it. What ship are you looking at as the older ships have the YC restaurant at the back away from YC facilities, it’s not a big deal but something to be aware of. My most recent trip was Canaries in September and unfortunately I returned home with COVID.

I would not cruise outside YC, I find it a bit hectic. Another thing is MSC tends to treat ports like bus stops with people getting on and off at each port.

Seaview it’s out of Barcelona which is a port we cruise from a lot! 

[di T]

2 minutes ago, di T said:

Seaview it’s out of Barcelona which is a port we cruise from a lot! 

Yea we came home from Reflection with the COVID and it was a lot worse than the last time we both had it! But been back 3 weeks so over it now and ready to pack for the next one in just over two weeks😃Life’s good

[deliver42]

We've done 2 YC cruises, one on the Divina, and one one the Seashore. Both times it was great. The service was excellent, the food very good, and the perks were excellent, from the premium plus drink package to the Top Sail lounge to the private pool deck and restaurant. The only down side is when you go out of the YC for shows or other activities, it feel like a Carnival ship, but much more crowded.

[Number34]

Had a 7 day Mediterranean cruise from Marseille on Seaview. Very impressed with the YC, excellent service and great foo in the restaurant. Plenty of seating in the lounge. Concierge was always available and helpful. Lots of space at the pool area as well although the food choice and timings were limited. The rest of the ship was busy but very pleasant but we spent most evenings in the YC. Price very competitive when compared to Retreat on Celebrity and Haven on NCL. Would not hesitate to book again.

[grandgeezer]

We did two 14 day cruises in the Yacht Club, on the Seaside pre pandemic absolutely loved it. At the time it was only about $200 p.p. per day, all included. This was at the time we were going to walk away completely as with the changes and cutbacks we saw no value in cruising anymore.

Post pandemic: Word is out as the prices are doubled what we paid. The value isn’t there so at home is the place to be.

[PTC DAWG]

4 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

We did two 14 day cruises in the Yacht Club, on the Seaside pre pandemic absolutely loved it. At the time it was only about $200 p.p. per day, all included. This was at the time we were going to walk away completely as with the changes and cutbacks we saw no value in cruising anymore.

Post pandemic: Word is out as the prices are doubled what we paid. The value isn’t there so at home is the place to be.

Curious as to why you are even looking at a cruise forum…?

[PTC DAWG]

Yes, twice in YC..loved both cruises. Would do it again in a heartbeat. Both this year, once on Meraviglia and once on Seaside.

[talljules1]

Yes.  We had done one YC cruise (on Preziosa) pre 2020. Prior to 2020 most of our cruises were on X in standard or concierge class rooms. Since cruising came back we have done four cruises in the retreat (1 Royal, 3 sky suites). Most recently we did a 14 night cruise in a YC Duplex Suite on Virtuosa (a room about the same size as an X Royal Suite, but split across two levels) to Iceland and Norway, a superb itinerary.  Loved it and had a great time.  There are similarities to the retreat, and differences.

 

Price - YC is way cheaper (and we were in the second largest suite category in YC) than X

 

Service - Very attentive on both. Very little between them, but having your butler escort you to beat the crowds (and having priority access to elevators) gives YC the slight edge. That said, it is more needed/helpful on MSC than on X.

 

Dining - Difficult to compare - MSC has more european menus compared to X's US style. We have had good and bad food on both. So, on food quality, I'm going to say it was even. MSC wins the category for having it's YC restaurant (and sizeable pool deck grill) open on port days as well as on sea days.  Be aware that MSC is more relaxed and casual re what you wear to dinner. Perfectly OK to wear a t-shirt and shorts to dinner (and I did a couple of times. No one seemed fazed by that)

 

Drinks package - you get a top level drinks package in both YC and Retreat, so that bit's even.  ALL rooms in the YC get an included minibar (in which water, soft drinks and beer are replenished daily) plus a 70 CL bottle of spirits per room per week.  You'd have to be in a RS or above on X to get this. Whilst the choice of spirits is fairly limited for this in YC (I got standard Jack Daniels in YC, but in a RS got Single Barrel JD), the fact that all YC rooms gets this gives YC the edge (and you are paying a LOT less for the cruise). In YC you can have a daily newspaper delivered (something you don't get in Retreat).

 

Ship excursions - same sort of things at similar prices on both. However, if you want a behind the scenes tour, we found these much better on X than on MSC - less crowded and less expensive on X.

 

Atmosphere - YC lounge wins out over retreat lounge (but only on S-Class ships) - larger space, more vibrant. Similar to Retreat lounge on Edge class ships.

 

Nickel and Diming - about the same on both. We didn't notice anything obtrusive on either.

 

Layout - MSC YC is all together. X Retreat is spread throughout the ship. Pick your preference.

 

Spa - not something we spend much time or money on. Comparable prices on both. Less upselling (in fact, don't think there was any) on MSC.

 

Rest of ship - both lines have beautiful ships. More going on on MSC - and more people. Rest of ship is certainly more crowded on MSC. We had everything we wanted in YC but did occasionally venture out ('going on safari') into the rest of the ship. Not overwhelming, and the Virtuosa is huge.

 

We have one more X cruise and we're going to see how that goes. We noticed a steady decline across our three cruises last year with X, and of course we've observed the marked hike in their prices. So, we will see how our Christmas cruise goes before we decide what to book for next year. We would certainly cruise in YC again (note: we wouldn't cruise MSC outside the YC). Not sure about X - I think that, for us, their retreat prices are at the point where they exceed what the experience is worth to us.  Also looking at lines such as Oceania etc.

 

TL:DR - YC is comparable (with differences) to Retreat, and outclasses X standard balcony/concierge class.

 

 

[George C]

We loved MSc yacht club on seaside , by far best suite perks, love the live music from about 5 to 11 in there lounge which is superior to rccl and celebrity suite lounge , outdoor area was again nicer than celebrity, never crowded dining area for both breakfast and lunch, pool and hot tubs , only thing I didn’t like about pool was it was 6 ft deep. Private island had a great area for yacht club with waiters for drinks and for lunch . Had several nice conversations with captain. 

[raino144]

We’re embarking on our 5th YC cruise next week, find it very hard to find anything comparable for the money.

 

For next summer Norwegian want £17,000 (no typo) for 11 nights in the Haven. YCD is £6,500 for 9 nights / Royal suite £10,500. 

[grandgeezer]

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Curious as to why you are even looking at a cruise forum…?

Because I can and will continue to do so. No cruises in the last four years, but 48 cruises covering 496 days and six cruise lines.

 

[PTC DAWG]

31 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

Because I can and will continue to do so. No cruises in the last four years, but 48 cruises covering 496 days and six cruise lines.

 

Fair enough… 🙂

[travelberlin]

4 hours ago, di T said:

I’m looking at a yacht club cruise for next year followed by a cruise on Accent which we can board from the same port as we disembark MSC,Have never fancied MSC but the Yacht club looks good, anyone with experience of this? Thanks.

Yes. Beautiful experience. It is worth it if you want to avoid crowds. But it comes at a price. And the larger the ship the larger the yacht club, meaning not that exclusive. Try it on the fantasia class ships. 

[Two Wheels Only]

 

Here's a mixture of some old videos and some newer videos about the Yacht Club on MSC. There are a few mispronunciations in the video but otherwise, the video is ok.

[di T]

5 hours ago, agape01 said:

To make things easier, this is the the video
 

 

Thanks that was very interesting, still think I’ll book the yacht club and give it a try! After 60plus cruises of which 50% or more were with Celebrity I am trying different brands.Hubby says just book what you want😂as long as he is paying, would be rude not to lol

[agape01]

31 minutes ago, di T said:

Thanks that was very interesting, still think I’ll book the yacht club and give it a try! After 60plus cruises of which 50% or more were with Celebrity I am trying different brands.Hubby says just book what you want😂as long as he is paying, would be rude not to lol

If that was the case, I would do a world voyage on a Ultra Luxury line. Like Silversea or Seabourn or Explora or Pognant 😁