An MSC newbie with some basic questions

[Ommadawn]

Hello!

 

I have never sailed on MSC. I almost always sail Celebrity and have Elite status on that line. However, I thought that I would try something different. I saw somebody over on the Celebrity board rave about MSC, so I thought that I would look at it. I like The Retreat in Celebrity (although it may be becoming too expensive for me), so I thought that I would try The Yacht Club. I found a really interesting cabin with a bedroom loft and a two story balcony. I want to try that one. However, I can't seem to find that particular cabin on all of the ships. I have a lot of questions, many of which are probably fairly basic. However, since I was going to ask other questions, I figured that I would ask them all.

 

Thanks so much in advance for any and all answers.

 

1. What is the name of that two story cabin with the loft bedroom and the private whirlpool on your own balcony?

2. How can I tell which ships have that particular cabin?

3. I am looking at the ships and their itineraries. Unlike Celebrity, the ships seem to stay in their area year round. Is this true?

4. Do any of the ships go out of Amsterdam? I haven't found this one as of yet.

5. What are the benefits of the Yacht Club? Does it come premium drinks and wi-fi like Celebrity's Retreat?

6. I have already filled out a form for equal tier status on MSC. It looks as if that will give me Gold status. Is this a good level? What does that give me?

7. How do the specialty restaurants work on MSC? How much do they cost? Is there a level of cabin wherein which they are included?

8. How does this line compare to Celebrity in terms of size of ship, number of passengers, number of children?

9. What are the general perks for The Yacht Club?

10. Are there any other differences between the two lines of which I should be aware?

11. Is there a casino?

12. The ships have fun names. However, the different decks seemed to be named as well and many of their names are the same as the ships. This is confusing to me, but am I correct? I could be on the Fantasia deck of the Fantasia ship?

13. Are there different classes of ships? How do I tell them apart? What are the different benefits?

14. Is there anything that you would recommend that I must try to do on the ship?

15. Do they carry Bumbu Rum?

16. Do they have formal nights (or some variation thereof)?

17. Is there a library on most of the ships?

18. How is the Buffet?

19. How is the room service?

20. Is the boarding process different from what I am used to at Celebrity?

21. Is there a Move Up bid process like at Celebrity?

22. Are there any promotions of which I should be aware as a first time cruiser with them, as a (hopefully soon) Gold member with them or any sales of which I should be aware?

 

Thanks so much in advance!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[notley-cruise]

Have you reveiwed the MSC Website ?  The vast majority of your questions are answered by the information free available on their website.

[alserrod]

Hello:

 

I haven't traveled on YC but I'm fresh from an MSC cruise in Europe. I will try to answer some of your questions

 

3- MSC has 18 ships spread around the world. Some do the same itinerary throughout the year (or two different itineraries alternating) and others do a summer and a winter itinerary in different areas. The transits are sold as Grand Voyages and are really interesting. Leaving South America and ending up in Europe. Or leave Europe, cross the Suez and the Indian Ocean and end up in South Africa

 

4- MSC does not operate from Amsterdam. If you want the Netherlands, you do it from Rotterdam. They have a boat that leaves from there every Tuesday. Rotterdam - Brugge - Le Havre - Southampton and Hamburg plus two days of sailing. You can board at any of these ports without distinction.

 

5- There are two types of Wi-Fi, in YC they offer you the basic one (enough to surf the internet but not to make video calls or watch Netflix. You should pay the difference).
MSC has three tiers of beverage packages. In YC the superior is included. Practically all the drinks on the ship are included there (except whole bottles of wine, some champagnes, etc...)

 

7- No specialty restaurants are included. The menus have been uploaded through this forum. Depending on the boat you want, it will have one or the other. I come from one with a steak restaurant, sushi, teppanyaki, French cuisine and tapas buffet.

 

8- Depending on the boat. With 18 ships in the fleet, the smallest barely has 2,500 passengers and the largest exceed 5,000.
In YC there are only about 120 passengers per boat

 

9- In YC there is a swimming pool and solarium, bar, restaurant, buffet, reception... all of this exclusive for the 120 passengers and different from the rest of the ship. Butler and assistant service.
If you wish, you can go to other parts of the ship. (here other travelers who have been to YC have commented on which parts of the boat they have used)

 

11- Yes (and quite big for the size of the boat, you have to do business)

 

12- I never got clear about the names of the covers. In my case they all had the name of a sea or an ocean. Luckily they always said the cover number and that was what I noticed. That is to say... consider it as if it were part of the decoration and that's it.
Ah.... so you don't go crazy, there is no deck 17 on any MSC ship. It is because it is a company of Italian origin and in Italy that is the unlucky number. The 18th floor is immediately above the 16th floor

 

13- Search on Wikipedia. The newer and bigger the more things... but all the ships that MSC has, if they offer YC, are very standard

 

14- Go to the theater shows. There are three shows. If you are at YC and ask at reception, they will reserve the front row for you and a butler will accompany you.
Try the slides in the aquatic area. In my case there were four slides and they surprised me. For being on a boat they were pretty good. I did not expect.
Go to the parties they organize in the common area. There is quite a bit of animation.
Try different bars on the ship. So you can see different environments. Live music, sports atmosphere, games,...

15- I'm afraid not.
I have looked in the files I had. These are the prices of the different Rum drinks

Bacardi 8 Years € 10.00
Bacardi Superior White € 8.00
Captain Morgan Spiced € 8.00
Flor de Caña 4 Years € 8.00
Flor de Caña 7 Years € 11.00
Malibu €8.00
Myers's €8.00
Rhum Agricole de la Martinique J.M. XO €14.00
Rum Zacapa 23Y € 14.00
Santa Teresa 1796 Old Solera Rum € 12.00

16- In my case (I did not travel in YC) we had
Casual, casual, white, casual, fancy, elegant, tropical

And the party they had on a white night was the best of all. I had already read it here and I affirm it.

 

17- Yes, but no idea where. It was in boat specs.
Also a gym. My brother visited him. He told me it was pretty good.

 

18-
Outside of YC there are two buffets that lacked service (product replacement) but the food was quite good and very varied.
I don't know about YC

 

19-
In my case, it was what I valued most about the cruise. We got an extraordinary cabin attendant from Thailand.

20- It depends a lot on the cruise and the port where you start.
But one thing to keep in mind at MSC (and Costa, if you're comparing). It's "multi-boarding." That is, in the case of the Northern Europe cruise that you have seen, you can board at any port. (Almost all cruises always allow more than one port but there are cases where they reach five).

That is to say, only 20% of the passengers board on average every day, not all of them. In some ports it may be 40%, but in others it will barely be 10% of the passengers.
Being fewer passengers the process will be very fast.

 

In my case, I did it in Barcelona. If we take into account the ports that are not in the state of Florida, Barcelona is the port with the most passengers in the world (and the next is Civitavecchia). It has more passengers than New York and the different ports in the Caribbean, for example.
However, the process was very fast. A very long line that moved very, very fast. He thought it would take longer.

If you go to YC there is a specific counter and the butlers wait for you right there.

twenty-one-
In my case (and in that of all the people with whom I discussed the topic) approximately a month before the cruise they sent me a message offering to increase the category. Be careful, it is an auction system!!!!
That is, suppose I go in category 2. They offer me category 1 "from 300 euros" (to give an example). That means that I can say how much I am willing to pay for category 1, with a minimum of 300 euros. If there are 10 cabins and 20 people bid, the 10 who have offered the most get it.
In YC I suppose they will do it the same (not all cabins will cost the same)

[Ommadawn]

Thanks so very much for the long and detailed reply. This helps a lot. 🙂

 

[Ommadawn]

18 minutes ago, notley-cruise said:

Have you reveiwed the MSC Website ?  The vast majority of your questions are answered by the information free available on their website.

 

I am looking at it right now, but, not being used to it, it seems somewhat counter-intuitive to me. I was hoping to save a good bit of time for myself (and maybe others) with this thread.

[alserrod]

19 minutes ago, Ommadawn said:

Thanks so very much for the long and detailed reply. This helps a lot. 🙂

 

 

 

Another thing you should keep in mind about a cruise in Europe (and not necessarily with MSC) is that travelers do not consider the ship as a destination so much as the ports themselves.

Most travelers get off at each port doing the excursions they want. Each cruise has some really interesting ports and some little gems unknown to many. I believe that no stopover should be left unvisited.

MSC will offer you excursions. If you are in YC you can contact reception to reserve them and you can even ask them for a specific solution for you in a port. If you want to visit something very specific, tell them and they will find an option for you.

Also keep in mind that
- Southampton is 2h30min from London
- Le Havre is 3h00min from Paris
- Civitavecchia is 1h30min from Rome
- Trieste is 1h15min from Venice
- Livorno is 1h00min from Florence

 

Keep this in mind whether you want to visit them (or prefer an option in the area) or if you have to board there.

 

For example, if I were on a cruise through Northern Europe, I would never do the Paris excursion from the port of Le Havre. That's a long time for a very, very quick visit. But of course, I have been to Paris several times. If you come from the other side of the world and don't know if you are going to return, you may be interested in an excursion even if it takes many hours by bus.

 

Other ports are in front of the city and it takes as long to get there as it takes a taxi to leave the

port area. Barcelona, Palma, Marseille, Naples, Athens, Rotterdam, etc...
In some there may be some small displacement. Brugge for example.

I'm writing a chronicle of the cruise I took.
I invite you to visit it. You will have more information about MSC

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3016057-msc-seaview-review-june-22nd-to-june-29th-from-barcelona-visiting-cannes-genova-la-spezia-civitavecchia-and-palma/

[Essiesmom]

MSC has several classes of ships:  

Armonia/Lirica class are the smallest and oldest

Musica class come next, followed by

Fantasia class

Seaside class

Meraviglia and Meraviglia plus

World class

If you pull up cruisedeckplans.com and select MSC, you can look at each ship, or filter by class

Armonia and Musica class do not have Yacht Club

There is no duplex YC suite until Meraviglia class

Edited July 10 by Essiesmom

[JamieLogical]

I believe the cabin type you are referring to is the Duplex Suite. They are forward-facing cabins on the Meraviglia and Meraviglia Plus class ships, so the Meraviglia, Bellissima, Virtuosa, Grandiosa, and Euribia. The have a hot tub on the balcony and a two-story cabin with two bathrooms.

 

This site is your friend! It will have all of the ship deck plans, you can view ships by class, and you can see lots of photos and videos:

 

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/cruiseline.php?line=MSC

 

[Até]

You mention a two story balcony.  On Meraviglia, Bellissima, Grandiosa, Virtuosa and Euribia they have forward facing Duplex suites with private hot tub but there is only one balcony connected to the lower level.  These Duplex cabins are on lower decks and were originally not part of the Yacht Club and thus are not physically connected to the Yacht Club public areas.

 

 

 

 

On the Newest World class ships there are two types of Duplex cabins, one type is forward facing with a two deck balcony with private hot tub and the other type is side facing with a one level balcony and no hot tub.  Both are within the Yacht Club complex.

 

[notley-cruise]

5 hours ago, Ommadawn said:

 

I am looking at it right now, but, not being used to it, it seems somewhat counter-intuitive to me. I was hoping to save a good bit of time for myself (and maybe others) with this thread.

 

Breakdown of ships https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/msc-ships-by-size-age-class/

 

Deck plans and port information https://www.mscbook.com/shop/WelcomePage?catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=10254

 

Classes https://www.msccruises.co.uk/cruises/msc-experiences-cabins

 

YC benefits https://www.msccruises.co.uk/cruises/msc-yacht-club

 

Voyager club benefits https://www.msccruises.co.uk/manage-booking/msc-voyagers-club/members-benefits

 

[lahlah57]

8 hours ago, Ommadawn said:

Hello!

 

I have never sailed on MSC. I almost always sail Celebrity and have Elite status on that line. However, I thought that I would try something different. I saw somebody over on the Celebrity board rave about MSC, so I thought that I would look at it. I like The Retreat in Celebrity (although it may be becoming too expensive for me), so I thought that I would try The Yacht Club. I found a really interesting cabin with a bedroom loft and a two story balcony. I want to try that one. However, I can't seem to find that particular cabin on all of the ships. I have a lot of questions, many of which are probably fairly basic. However, since I was going to ask other questions, I figured that I would ask them all.

 

Thanks so much in advance for any and all answers.

 

1. What is the name of that two story cabin with the loft bedroom and the private whirlpool on your own balcony?

2. How can I tell which ships have that particular cabin?

3. I am looking at the ships and their itineraries. Unlike Celebrity, the ships seem to stay in their area year round. Is this true?

4. Do any of the ships go out of Amsterdam? I haven't found this one as of yet.

5. What are the benefits of the Yacht Club? Does it come premium drinks and wi-fi like Celebrity's Retreat?

6. I have already filled out a form for equal tier status on MSC. It looks as if that will give me Gold status. Is this a good level? What does that give me?

7. How do the specialty restaurants work on MSC? How much do they cost? Is there a level of cabin wherein which they are included?

8. How does this line compare to Celebrity in terms of size of ship, number of passengers, number of children?

9. What are the general perks for The Yacht Club?

10. Are there any other differences between the two lines of which I should be aware?

11. Is there a casino?

12. The ships have fun names. However, the different decks seemed to be named as well and many of their names are the same as the ships. This is confusing to me, but am I correct? I could be on the Fantasia deck of the Fantasia ship?

13. Are there different classes of ships? How do I tell them apart? What are the different benefits?

14. Is there anything that you would recommend that I must try to do on the ship?

15. Do they carry Bumbu Rum?

16. Do they have formal nights (or some variation thereof)?

17. Is there a library on most of the ships?

18. How is the Buffet?

19. How is the room service?

20. Is the boarding process different from what I am used to at Celebrity?

21. Is there a Move Up bid process like at Celebrity?

22. Are there any promotions of which I should be aware as a first time cruiser with them, as a (hopefully soon) Gold member with them or any sales of which I should be aware?

 

Thanks so much in advance!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like you I status matched and recieved Gold and will be MSC newbie come September. I googled MSC yacht club and lots of youtube videos came up with info and reviews. Went to the most recent dated ones.

Also searched for MSC Cruise travel agent who is actually a loyalist.

She just got back from her recent cruise and loved yacht club.I booked thru her so I could get the best deal.

I've done HAL, Celebrity and Princess but I felt bored.

Going with MSC for the adventure factor, something different and will take whatever comes!

You have very detailed questions.....maybe pick the top 5 info points that are important  to you and take the rest as an adventure as it comes.

Back in the day 28 years ago before internet my husband and I did a carnival cruise with porthole window cabin to the Mexican riviera.

We didn't know what to expect with very little info than what an agent 

mailed to us. That cruise was more fun than imagined!

Sometimes you just gotta have that sort of spirit when traveling. 🤗

 

[MonsterJoe]

I feel no need to eat at the specialty restaurants when I'm in YC because I wouldn't want to miss a night in the YC restaurant.  Its buffet is also much better (albeit smaller) than the main buffet(s)

[lahlah57]

3 hours ago, MonsterJoe said:

I feel no need to eat at the specialty restaurants when I'm in YC because I wouldn't want to miss a night in the YC restaurant.  Its buffet is also much better (albeit smaller) than the main buffet(s)

Most likely the .majority of the main buffet isn't even worth eating?

[Essiesmom]

I feel no need to eat at the specialty restaurants because I get more food that I can comfortably eat in the MDR and I would be paying for even more food than I could eat.  I have never used my Diamond dinner.  In addition, I already look upon the MDR as ‘eating out’, or the buffet as the Golden Corral, for instance.  I usually do breakfast in the buffet but have yet to eat dinner there.  I might nibble in the afternoon.  Although I don’t eat a huge breakfast, I can’t fit in a regular lunch if I have 5pm dining time.  EM

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I feel no need to eat at the specialty restaurants because I get more food that I can comfortably eat in the MDR and I would be paying for even more food than I could eat.  I have never used my Diamond dinner.  In addition, I already look upon the MDR as ‘eating out’, or the buffet as the Golden Corral, for instance.  I usually do breakfast in the buffet but have yet to eat dinner there.  I might nibble in the afternoon.  Although I don’t eat a huge breakfast, I can’t fit in a regular lunch if I have 5pm dining time.  EM

 

Specialty dining isn't about getting MORE food than you can get in the MDR, it's about getting BETTER food than you can get in the MDR. I highly recommend using your Diamond dinner at Butcher's Cut one of these days. I skip the entree and usually just get two appetizers and a dessert instead. Never eat more than half of each, but it is VERY good.

[MonsterJoe]

5 hours ago, lahlah57 said:

Most likely the .majority of the main buffet isn't even worth eating?

I enjoy the main buffet, too..even when in YC...off the top of my head, they've got a lot of pastas and curries that I enjoy. The roasted chicken is always moist and tender, there's a carving station, the amazing pizza, and a serious charcuterie offering.

Edited July 11 by MonsterJoe

[Tierun]

As far question #10, although the YC is very similar to the retreat on X, the rest of the ship will be more akin to RCCL. Lots of kids/ families. Water slides, and ropes courses. The passenger mix will be much younger than Celebrity.

[Até]

One thing to add about the Duplex cabins is the floor plans don't relay how much of the balcony is taken up by the air lock vestibule to prevent cabin pressurization while underway.  Also, on the World ships the second level balcony is not accessible from inside the cabin.  You must go outside on the first level and then up the exterior staircase.

 

 

[Ommadawn]

15 hours ago, Até said:

One thing to add about the Duplex cabins is the floor plans don't relay how much of the balcony is taken up by the air lock vestibule to prevent cabin pressurization while underway.  Also, on the World ships the second level balcony is not accessible from inside the cabin.  You must go outside on the first level and then up the exterior staircase.

 

 

 

But they make up for the lack of room on the first level of the balcony by having the second level. 🙂

 

If I can ever afford it, I would love to have this cabin for a week. 🙂

 

[Ommadawn]

O.k... I have been looking at the Yacht Club in MSC as a (supposedly) cheaper alternative to Celebrity's Retreat. However, I am not finding the cheaper fares. I keep comparing MSC Yacht Club cabins to Celebrity Retreat cabins and, unless you are only talking about the Inside Rooms in the Yacht Club, I cannot seem to find the savings. Is this what people are talking about? Personally, a suite should, at least, have a balcony. I can't see having an inside room like that without it being really, really cheap (or, unless you have a sleeping disorder which requires the complete absence of light).

 

Can y'all give me some examples of the savings in the MSC Yacht Club with a balcony as compared to Celebrity's Retreat?

[Tierun]

I wanted to make as best a comparison as possible so same departure port and similar itinerary, and same time of year. This what I came up with.

 

Celebrity Equinox on Dec. 3, 2024 Port Canaveral > Bimini > Nassau > Port Canaveral Aqua Sky Suite came out to be $3,787. Double occupancy.

 

MSC Seashore on Dec. 1, 2024 Port Canaveral > Ocean Cay > Nassau > Port Canaveral Deluxe Grand Suite priced out at $3,510. Now with the VC discount the fare is reduced to $3,341.

 

These cabins are comparable in size and both include thermal suite access. 

[Ommadawn]

On 7/31/2024 at 1:39 AM, Tierun said:

I wanted to make as best a comparison as possible so same departure port and similar itinerary, and same time of year. This what I came up with.

 

Celebrity Equinox on Dec. 3, 2024 Port Canaveral > Bimini > Nassau > Port Canaveral Aqua Sky Suite came out to be $3,787. Double occupancy.

 

MSC Seashore on Dec. 1, 2024 Port Canaveral > Ocean Cay > Nassau > Port Canaveral Deluxe Grand Suite priced out at $3,510. Now with the VC discount the fare is reduced to $3,341.

 

These cabins are comparable in size and both include thermal suite access. 

 

Thanks so much for the response. However, I am specifically looking at Celebrity's Retreat and MSC's Yacht Club. There are people in the Celebrity threads saying that they switched from Celebrity's Retreat to MSC's Yacht Club because the Yacht Club was cheaper.

 

Here is what I have found, lots of deals like this:

 

Celebrity Cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Flordia on January 12th, 2025 heading to Nassau and their island, 4 nights for $3,297.70 (I included gratuities to make it fair). This is all inclusive of premium drinks, wifi and gratuities.

 

Compare that to the almost exact same cruise out of Port Canaveral, Florida on January 12th, 2025 on MSC in the Yacht Club with a balcony (the basic balcony in the Yacht Club), for four nights headed to Nassau and their island for $3,350. This includes premium drinks, wifi and gratuities.

 

They are almost the same cruise, on the same date, with the same benefits, at almost the same price. I cannot find the savings of which others spoke.

 

Edit: The Celebrity cabin is a basic Sky Suite, the bottom of The Retreat (it does have a balcony and is the equivalent of the basic balcony in the Yacht Club).

Edited August 1 by Ommadawn

[Tierun]

1 hour ago, Ommadawn said:

 

Thanks so much for the response. However, I am specifically looking at Celebrity's Retreat and MSC's Yacht Club. There are people in the Celebrity threads saying that they switched from Celebrity's Retreat to MSC's Yacht Club because the Yacht Club was cheaper.

 

Here is what I have found, lots of deals like this:

 

Celebrity Cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Flordia on January 12th, 2025 heading to Nassau and their island, 4 nights for $3,297.70 (I included gratuities to make it fair). This is all inclusive of premium drinks, wifi and gratuities.

 

Compare that to the almost exact same cruise out of Port Canaveral, Florida on January 12th, 2025 on MSC in the Yacht Club with a balcony (the basic balcony in the Yacht Club), for four nights headed to Nassau and their island for $3,350. This includes premium drinks, wifi and gratuities.

 

They are almost the same cruise, on the same date, with the same benefits, at almost the same price. I cannot find the savings of which others spoke.

 

Edit: The Celebrity cabin is a basic Sky Suite, the bottom of The Retreat (it does have a balcony and is the equivalent of the basic balcony in the Yacht Club).

What I quoted was for the Celebrity Retreat and MSC Yacht Club. Celebrity’s Aqua Sky Suite is the next level above the regular sky suite in your example (I also included the gratuity), and for my MSC quote I used the Yatch Club Deluxe Grand Suite, again the next level above the YC cabin in your example. 
 

You used the same date but different embarkation ports for your comparison, while I used the same port within the same time frame. The big differentiator will be using the status match to get the Voyager Club discount for the best pricing on MSC. That will cut between 5% - 15% off the price.

[chrisgp999]

13 hours ago, Ommadawn said:

 

Thanks so much for the response. However, I am specifically looking at Celebrity's Retreat and MSC's Yacht Club. There are people in the Celebrity threads saying that they switched from Celebrity's Retreat to MSC's Yacht Club because the Yacht Club was cheaper.

 

Here is what I have found, lots of deals like this:

 

Celebrity Cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Flordia on January 12th, 2025 heading to Nassau and their island, 4 nights for $3,297.70 (I included gratuities to make it fair). This is all inclusive of premium drinks, wifi and gratuities.

 

Compare that to the almost exact same cruise out of Port Canaveral, Florida on January 12th, 2025 on MSC in the Yacht Club with a balcony (the basic balcony in the Yacht Club), for four nights headed to Nassau and their island for $3,350. This includes premium drinks, wifi and gratuities.

 

They are almost the same cruise, on the same date, with the same benefits, at almost the same price. I cannot find the savings of which others spoke.

 

Edit: The Celebrity cabin is a basic Sky Suite, the bottom of The Retreat (it does have a balcony and is the equivalent of the basic balcony in the Yacht Club).

morpheusofthesea has developed a veery detailed list of the Yacht Club benefits.  You get a lot more than just free drinks and free wifi.

[Nunagoras]

On 7/10/2024 at 8:18 AM, Ommadawn said:

Hello!

 

I have never sailed on MSC. I almost always sail Celebrity and have Elite status on that line. However, I thought that I would try something different. I saw somebody over on the Celebrity board rave about MSC, so I thought that I would look at it. I like The Retreat in Celebrity (although it may be becoming too expensive for me), so I thought that I would try The Yacht Club. I found a really interesting cabin with a bedroom loft and a two story balcony. I want to try that one. However, I can't seem to find that particular cabin on all of the ships. I have a lot of questions, many of which are probably fairly basic. However, since I was going to ask other questions, I figured that I would ask them all.

 

Thanks so much in advance for any and all answers.

 

1. What is the name of that two story cabin with the loft bedroom and the private whirlpool on your own balcony? - Maybe a "Duplex suite with whirlpoool"? I don't know but i would be a duplex suite whatever the commercial name may be.

2. How can I tell which ships have that particular cabin? - The younger the ship the more likely to be that one. As far as I understand only the ones Meraviglia and Seaside class onward have the "fancy" suites. The World class ships have those cabins for sure.

3. I am looking at the ships and their itineraries. Unlike Celebrity, the ships seem to stay in their area year round. Is this true? - Yes, by the most part. Some ships would move on a summer and a winter regions.

4. Do any of the ships go out of Amsterdam? I haven't found this one as of yet. - Back in the day they used to, but not lately as far as I know. Maybe from Rotterdam?

5. What are the benefits of the Yacht Club? Does it come premium drinks and wi-fi like Celebrity's Retreat? - Yes! Pretty much all inclusive except for some over the top spirits.

6. I have already filled out a form for equal tier status on MSC. It looks as if that will give me Gold status. Is this a good level? What does that give me? - Despite the levels the biggest advantage is the up front discount of at least 5% from catalogue set price.

7. How do the specialty restaurants work on MSC? How much do they cost? Is there a level of cabin wherein which they are included? - No inclusions for top cabin holders. Bear in mind that if you want a dinning package you'll have to chose from a set experience menu which is not the full venue menu, so it might not be compensating, depending on what you really want. As far as I know, by the most part, YC restaurant works at specialty restaurant dinning level so no real need to spend extra money, unless you want a special environment for a once on a lifetime moment, JIMHO.

8. How does this line compare to Celebrity in terms of size of ship, number of passengers, number of children? - Never gone on X myself, but from what I read I can take MSC as somewhat an "X lite" experience outside of the YC, even better than X on the YC. There will be lots of kids once they're very family friendly and the largest difference would be demographics: While on X you'll find a predominantly English speaking clientele, on MSC you'll be surrounded with some dozens of nationalities all of them speaking their languages. Expect announcements being done in some 5+ languages, even though they'll have very few of them!

9. What are the general perks for The Yacht Club? - Ship within the ship like the suite enclave on X! There's a pool area, a dedicated lounge and restaurant, a dedicated lounge, butler service and dedicate concierge are the main ones.

10. Are there any other differences between the two lines of which I should be aware? - Italian versus US centered line which makes clientele demographics to be different. I answered that above while answering question 8.

11. Is there a casino? - Yes and it is the smoking inside area.

12. The ships have fun names. However, the different decks seemed to be named as well and many of their names are the same as the ships. This is confusing to me, but am I correct? I could be on the Fantasia deck of the Fantasia ship? - Huh!... Oh, yeah!... You know... Decks are numbered, you'll be fine despite the actual deck names!...

13. Are there different classes of ships? How do I tell them apart? What are the different benefits? - The 8 older ships don't have an YC. You won't bother with them if YC is what you want. Benefits are the same fleet wide. US sailings may have some aspects tailored to the US market but that's it.

14. Is there anything that you would recommend that I must try to do on the ship? - To attend the Opera or classical music show if there is one on your sailing. It used to be of a quite high caliber actually!...

15. Do they carry Bumbu Rum? - Don't know, sorry!

16. Do they have formal nights (or some variation thereof)? - They have a formal night per week, but it not "that" formal: Trousers and collared shirt for man and a cocktail dress or trousers and a top for ladies suffix.

17. Is there a library on most of the ships? - No.

18. How is the Buffet? - Divided in 2 parts with stations that repeat each one by part of the buffet. Pro tip: Search for the far back part of the buffet where there will be more likely chances to find an open table. YC has a small buffet grill experience by the pool area for themselves.

19. How is the room service? - On YC? They've a big menu. You can even ask for premium Pizza delivery at certain parts of the day!... Ask your butler for your current sailing's offering!

20. Is the boarding process different from what I am used to at Celebrity? - They have a white tent for YC guests at embarkation port. From there butlers will to guide you.

21. Is there a Move Up bid process like at Celebrity?

22. Are there any promotions of which I should be aware as a first time cruiser with them, as a (hopefully soon) Gold member with them or any sales of which I should be aware? - At least a 5% upfront discount unless you're part of a partnered group with proper promotions. Nothing else of special note for YC.

 

Thanks so much in advance! - Hope to have helped a little bit. Have a wonderful sailing!...