YC - Meraviglia vs Seaside vs Seashore vs Seascape vs Divina

[CruisnDeb]

I am an experienced cruiser (14 so far and 2 more on the books.) I’ve cruised (at least twice on each line) NCL, Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and MSC—so I am familiar with the quirks/differences with each cruise line outside of the suite areas (I’ve not experienced the suite life yet.)  I’ve cruised in interior, oceanview, and balconies. 

 

I am hoping (fingers crossed) to try my first sailing in the Yacht Club sometime next year.  I would be sailing out the USA, so looking at Meraviglia, Seaside, Seashore, Seascape, and Divina. Ports aren't as important to me (I've been to most multiple times) so I'm looking at trying the ship within a ship experience.  

 

Any cruisers who have sailed on more than 1 of these ships, could you tell me which Yacht Club you liked better and why?  I’m looking for information like how the YC pool was, service at the YC pool, YC restaurant, stateroom info (ex. if you had an interior, how convenient was it to get to the YC pool deck), etc.  I might be overthinking it, but just curious to know if any are better than the others.  TIA for your insight 🚢

[Two Wheels Only]

I would eliminate Divina since the Yacht Club restaurant isn't within the Yacht Club enclave.

 

Seashore/Seascape are practically twins with very minor differences between the two Yacht Clubs.

 

Seaside Yacht Club is close to the EVO ships (Seashore/Seascape) but is a bit smaller. It does have fewer people in the Yacht Club, though. The Seaside Yacht Club pool does not have a shallow side while the EVO ships do. 

 

Meraviglia Yacht Club was very nice but I prefer the Sea*** ships. There's more shade on the Meraviglia sundeck thanks to the partial coverage from the glass panels. There's also no shallow end of the pool.

 

Food/beverage service is great for all but a shorter walking distance for the Sea**** ships. There are also more cabanas/pergolas on the Sea**** ships. They can either be rented or first come/first serve depending on ship. Meraviglia only has 3 cabanas but 2 of them are reserved for the Royal Suites. The 3rd one  can be reserved.

 

Getting to the sundeck is easy. There is a dedicated elevator (inside of the Yacht Club) that will take you to the lounge, restaurant, or sundeck if your stateroom is on a different deck.

 

After being on all of the classes that you've listed (other than Divina), I put the EVO ships tied for first, Seaside class third, and Meraviglia class fourth. I haven't sailed on a Meraviglia Plus ship since they aren't in Florida. I prefer the TSL/restaurant setup on the Sea****  ships over Meraviglia. It's brighter/more open on the newer ships.

 

I'm booked on World America for next year but I don't know if you plan to sail before or after it arrives. That could also be an option for you.

 

 

 

[CruisnDeb]

Thank you @Two Wheels Only.  I appreciate all the details 😀

[CruisnDeb]

Bumping this so it's back on page 1.  I appreciate the post from Two Wheels, but I'm hoping to get a few other opinions and experiences. 

[psmarkle]

Two wheels gives good info and details. You won't go wrong on any of them! 

 

Having said that, we have sailed the Seaside, Seashore, Meraviglia, and the Divina last month (still working on my cruise review). DW and I stay on the ship at most ports and hang out at the YC pool. She's a shade chaser, so based on that data point, The Mera wins hands down with the shaded glass canopy over the pool area.

 

Now, our least preferred...won't say least favorite because it's still the YC, after all, is the Divina. As Two Wheels points out, the YC restaurant is outside the YC area at the back of the ship, plus I felt it was small and very hot for me. I'm bald and my head would be "glistening" at dinner each night. DW and I describe it as "the entry level YC experience." The Topsail Lounge also feels more confines vs the 2-story ceilings on the other ships. Still great, but there is greater out there to be had.

 

Now, we also liked the promenade and LED ceiling on the Mera and would join in on the nightly dance parties before hitting the Casino for the rest of the night. We really enjoyed ourselves and have booked her for next April 2025 out of New York as it's a "stay on the ship" kind of itinerary for us. Heck yeah!

 

I do prefer the Seashore to the Seaside as MSC corrected some things like the specialty dining restaurants. On the Seaside, they're right outside the YC area, so you either have to go down to Deck 15 or up to Deck 18 if you wanted to go to the rest of the upper decks of the ship. On the Seashore, they moved them down to Deck 8?? with the shops and promenade.

 

So, based only on my experience:

 

1. Meraviglia

2. Seashore

3. Seaside

4. Divina, but I really would look at other ships first before going back on her

[CruisnDeb]

Thank you @psmarkle.  Your details and insight are much appreciated 🙂 

[markwfpb]

My two cents having sailed Divina YC three times and Seascape YC once -

I don't mind the walk to and from Le Muse now that we figured out how to avoid the smoking bar just outside. The service seemed more personal too. But the downside is the cabins - they are dark and small - definitely not a step up from a standard balcony cabin. 

The Seascape restaurant and Lounge are bright and airy. Sometime too bright (sun in your eyes) if you're having dinner on the west side before sunset! But the servers seemed frazzled - not as relaxing an experience for us. The cabins are a big step up - bright, spacious, decorated well. 

[CruisnDeb]

I appreciate the assessment @markwfpb. 

[jean87510]

I have only been on Divina and soon will be on the Seashore.  If I can make an observation if flying, Miami is usually cheaper to fly into than Port Canaveral *MCO.  If the sea*** are that close, use that to factor.  HOWEVER, the Seashore includes the overnight now on her 4 day sailings at Ocean Cay.  She is out of port canaveral. 

 

One thing I will note Divina has terrible shade for those of us shade chasers.

 

We were just choosing sailings for a 3 day in November to balance out a land trip and we actually opted for the Magnifica with no YC but much smaller ship, Aurea, and Key West and Ocean Cay.  Leaves out of Miami.  No specialty dining other than a sushi restaurant I believe.  Probably not what you are looking for though.

[CruisnDeb]

1 hour ago, jean87510 said:

I have only been on Divina and soon will be on the Seashore.  If I can make an observation if flying, Miami is usually cheaper to fly into than Port Canaveral *MCO.  If the sea*** are that close, use that to factor.  HOWEVER, the Seashore includes the overnight now on her 4 day sailings at Ocean Cay.  She is out of port canaveral. 

 

One thing I will note Divina has terrible shade for those of us shade chasers.

 

We were just choosing sailings for a 3 day in November to balance out a land trip and we actually opted for the Magnifica with no YC but much smaller ship, Aurea, and Key West and Ocean Cay.  Leaves out of Miami.  No specialty dining other than a sushi restaurant I believe.  Probably not what you are looking for though.

Thanks for your input—I love hearing everyone’s experience.  I actually didn’t realize the Magnifica doesn’t have a YC—I had eliminated that ship for other reasons but good to know. 
 

The Divina was my first MSC cruise. We managed to get an Aurea corner balcony at the front of the ship—it was a lovely room with a separate bedroom, large walk-in closet, large balcony and was back when Aurea included a one hour massage for each guest. I feel the Aurea experience has been somewhat downgraded since we took that cruise and I’m not sure the price is worth it to us anymore. 

[Best Cat Mom]

13 hours ago, jean87510 said:

One thing I will note Divina has terrible shade for those of us shade chasers.

I would disagree with you here. The pool on Divina is mostly in the shade and there are more dining tables in the shade by the bar.

 

We've been on Seaside and think that the YC One Pool deck has way more -- and too much -- sun for us.

 

I guess it depends on your perspective of where you want your shade -- loungers or tables/pool.

[jean87510]

2 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

I would disagree with you here. The pool on Divina is mostly in the shade and there are more dining tables in the shade by the bar.

 

We've been on Seaside and think that the YC One Pool deck has way more -- and too much -- sun for us.

 

I guess it depends on your perspective of where you want your shade -- loungers or tables/pool.

I wasn't talking about eating outside.  I was talking about sitting outside.  If you want shade, there are no lounge chairs in the shade.  Only shade is where the food is.  I was on in December and January and could not find a shaded spot to lie down in that area.  Umbrellas would have been nice.

[Heartgrove]

We have sailed on the MSC Splendida (sister ship to MSC Divina) in YC in Italy. The Top Sail Lounge was very nice due to the YC with it's smaller capacity of only two decks with staterooms. Having the restaurant in the rear of the ship was actually nice as we could walk around the ship after eating. This weekend we sail on the MSC Seashore in YC so we'll be in a position to compare.

[TrinaLC]

We love Divina. The restaurant is lovely and the walk to and from is nice. Much smaller, more intimate, great service. You really get to “know” the staff and they are lovely. 
 

Lots of seated shade, and typically a number of lounges are lightly shaded by the tinted glass. We don’t typically sail in the summer though …

 

Anyways don’t count the Divina out!

 

 

[CruisnDeb]

13 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

I guess it depends on your perspective of where you want your shade -- loungers or tables/pool.

Good point.  Thanks for the response.

[CruisnDeb]

56 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

We have sailed on the MSC Splendida (sister ship to MSC Divina) in YC in Italy. The Top Sail Lounge was very nice due to the YC with it's smaller capacity of only two decks with staterooms. Having the restaurant in the rear of the ship was actually nice as we could walk around the ship after eating. This weekend we sail on the MSC Seashore in YC so we'll be in a position to compare.

Thanks.  I agree that the YC restaurant being outside of the YC is not a big issue, but good to know going forward to make a decision.  

 

I'm making lots of notes.....thanks everyone for all the details 🙂 

[CruisnDeb]

42 minutes ago, TrinaLC said:

Anyways don’t count the Divina out!

Thanks @TrinaLC.  I love getting people's perspective on what they liked and didn't like about their personal experiences--then I can make notes on those things that would bother or not bother me to make my decision.  I've not counted any ship out yet.  🙂 

[RichYak]

This is a great thread, highlighting the differences in YC across MSC ships. Thanks @CruisnDeb for starting it.

[Heartgrove]

18 minutes ago, CruisnDeb said:

Thanks.  I agree that the YC restaurant being outside of the YC is not a big issue, but good to know going forward to make a decision.  

 

I'm making lots of notes.....thanks everyone for all the details 🙂 

 

I have to add that we enjoyed the MSC Splendida so much, we had booked a nine-night cruise on it for this Fall and also the 22-Night Grand Voyage on the MSC Divina to sail home. Unfortunately MSC made the decision to have the Divina remain in Europe and cancelled the Grand Voyage. With that, we needed to cancel both cruises and on to Plan B.

[CruisnDeb]

25 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 

I have to add that we enjoyed the MSC Splendida so much, we had booked a nine-night cruise on it for this Fall and also the 22-Night Grand Voyage on the MSC Divina to sail home. Unfortunately MSC made the decision to have the Divina remain in Europe and cancelled the Grand Voyage. With that, we needed to cancel both cruises and on to Plan B.

Awww....so sorry for you.  I know it stinks when you have a plan and it falls through.  But plan B's can sometimes turnout to be even better than you could have imagined.  Happy planning.

[CruisnDeb]

34 minutes ago, RichYak said:

This is a great thread, highlighting the differences in YC across MSC ships. Thanks @CruisnDeb for starting it.

Absolutely.  I'm loving getting all the perspectives of everyone and the likes and dislikes.  Everyone will have a different opinion as to whether those things are good or bad.  It all comes down to knowing so you can set your expectations accordingly.  

[CruisnDeb]

Thanks everyone for your contributions to my question--you have been awesome with your opinions and details.  I've made lots of notes and hopefully the time will come soon when I will need to decide which ship I want to try my first YC experience on.