Explora or msc yacht club?

[steve thfc]

Anyone sailed both and provide feedback?

Been loyal to virgin voyages. Usually have rock star cabin . Prices for 25 and 26 doubled and drinks package taken away. 

 

Like different foods. Food on virgin is great but becoming boring after 4 cruises. Like wine. Like peace and quiet not kids everywhere. Not that fussy with shows. Like the idea of private pool and butler on msc yacht club.

Any feedback? Thanks.

[Hlitner]

We have sailed both and it is an Apples to Kumquat comparison.  So lets go through a few factoids which might focus on differences.  The Yacht Club (YC) is a "ship within a ship" and I have sometimes described it as an upscale enclave located on a Carnival/RCI quality large/mega ship.   The YC (a favorite of ours) gives some of the advantages of a luxury ship experience with easy access to a large mass market ship and its many amenities (such as multiple entertainment venues)   On our YC cruises, we have found the service and staff to be outstanding (the equal to what we have found on the small ship luxury lines).  The downside to our YC experiences has been the uneven quality of the cuisine found in the YC's dedicated restaurant.  

 

Explora Journey's, on the other hand, is a relatively new small ship (900 passenger) luxury line.  We have only cruised on the EJ1, but that ship is drop-dead gorgeous with interior designs reminiscent of a high-end resort.  EJ has also emphasized cuisine with its 4 main restaurants (no one particular main dining room) 2 of which require advance reservations.  IMHO, the lido buffet, on EJ1, did some things very well while falling short in some respects.  

 

As to "kids"  (a topic raised by the OP) one should keep in mind that both MSC and EJ do welcome families with children/teens.  Whether or not you would find yourself on a cruise with "kids everywhere" is more a matter of luck, timing, etc.  If you avoid cruising during school vacations, the odds improve that there will be fewer kids.

 

Your comments about Virgin (one of the lines we have never cruised) is interesting because it goes to a pet peeve in that some cruise lines tend to stick to a formula rather than constantly evolving.  Menus tend to fall into this "sameness" culture and this creates some controversy.  You will find cruisers that love certain items and want to see them on cruise after cruise.  Then there are those of us who quickly tire of the "same old same old" and prefer to see culinary changes and innovation.  A downside to EJ  seems to be a philosophy where everything is micromanaged from Geneva and innovation is stifled by corporate policy.  I could turn this into a lighter topic by speculating that if on EJ and asking for mustard on a hamburger they might get a response that "mustard on a burger is not authorized by Geneva."  Compare this to Seabourn where they might say, "we have no more mustard by we will quickly get some mustard seeds and make some for your burger!"  Yes, an exaggeration but it points out the differences in philosophy where the "customer is always right" versus the corporate office is always right and passengers (and crew) must adhere to their wishes.

 

I will end by saying we would cruise on either line (MSC - Yacht Club or EJ) given the right price and itinerary.

 

Hank

[Sthrngary]

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We have sailed both and it is an Apples to Kumquat comparison.  So lets go through a few factoids which might focus on differences.  The Yacht Club (YC) is a "ship within a ship" and I have sometimes described it as an upscale enclave located on a Carnival/RCI quality large/mega ship.   The YC (a favorite of ours) gives some of the advantages of a luxury ship experience with easy access to a large mass market ship and its many amenities (such as multiple entertainment venues)   On our YC cruises, we have found the service and staff to be outstanding (the equal to what we have found on the small ship luxury lines).  The downside to our YC experiences has been the uneven quality of the cuisine found in the YC's dedicated restaurant.  

 

Explora Journey's, on the other hand, is a relatively new small ship (900 passenger) luxury line.  We have only cruised on the EJ1, but that ship is drop-dead gorgeous with interior designs reminiscent of a high-end resort.  EJ has also emphasized cuisine with its 4 main restaurants (no one particular main dining room) 2 of which require advance reservations.  IMHO, the lido buffet, on EJ1, did some things very well while falling short in some respects.  

 

As to "kids"  (a topic raised by the OP) one should keep in mind that both MSC and EJ do welcome families with children/teens.  Whether or not you would find yourself on a cruise with "kids everywhere" is more a matter of luck, timing, etc.  If you avoid cruising during school vacations, the odds improve that there will be fewer kids.

 

Your comments about Virgin (one of the lines we have never cruised) is interesting because it goes to a pet peeve in that some cruise lines tend to stick to a formula rather than constantly evolving.  Menus tend to fall into this "sameness" culture and this creates some controversy.  You will find cruisers that love certain items and want to see them on cruise after cruise.  Then there are those of us who quickly tire of the "same old same old" and prefer to see culinary changes and innovation.  A downside to EJ  seems to be a philosophy where everything is micromanaged from Geneva and innovation is stifled by corporate policy.  I could turn this into a lighter topic by speculating that if on EJ and asking for mustard on a hamburger they might get a response that "mustard on a burger is not authorized by Geneva."  Compare this to Seabourn where they might say, "we have no more mustard by we will quickly get some mustard seeds and make some for your burger!"  Yes, an exaggeration but it points out the differences in philosophy where the "customer is always right" versus the corporate office is always right and passengers (and crew) must adhere to their wishes.

 

I will end by saying we would cruise on either line (MSC - Yacht Club or EJ) given the right price and itinerary.

 

Hank

@Hlitner Wow. GREAT. Thank you.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[JonoBhoy]

We have cruised a number of times within MSC YC and love the product it offers, we have not sailed EJ yet but are booked on EJII in January 🙂 .

 

As @Hlitner covered off, the overarching difference with MSC YC and EJ is MSC YC offers a ship-within-a-ship experience on a luxury mega ship versus EJ offering an ultra-luxury experience right across a mid-sized ship.

 

I cannot speak to EJ experience yet until I have sailed, but certainly the noises I have heard from CC and videos on YouTube seem positive and I look forward to making my own mind up. As for MSC YC; the experience within YC is largely fantastic with excellent amminities including a very enjoyable pool deck, great alfresco breakfast/lunch, great piano/bar experience in the YC lounge, an overall good-to-great food experience in YC restaurant (although not without the odd bad experience or course). The issue with MSC I have is the experience on the rest of the ship especially when it comes to food and drink. Their ships are beautiful but my experience is when you venture out of the sanctum of the Yacht Club the drop off in experience is significant, not terrible, but to the point where I would not want to sail MSC without being in YC, and returning back into the YC after a couple of hours out in the population reminds me of that. 

[Waltershipman]

2 hours ago, JonoBhoy said:

We have cruised a number of times within MSC YC and love the product it offers, we have not sailed EJ yet but are booked on EJII in January 🙂 .

 

As @Hlitner covered off, the overarching difference with MSC YC and EJ is MSC YC offers a ship-within-a-ship experience on a luxury mega ship versus EJ offering an ultra-luxury experience right across a mid-sized ship.

 

I cannot speak to EJ experience yet until I have sailed, but certainly the noises I have heard from CC and videos on YouTube seem positive and I look forward to making my own mind up. As for MSC YC; the experience within YC is largely fantastic with excellent amminities including a very enjoyable pool deck, great alfresco breakfast/lunch, great piano/bar experience in the YC lounge, an overall good-to-great food experience in YC restaurant (although not without the odd bad experience or course). The issue with MSC I have is the experience on the rest of the ship especially when it comes to food and drink. Their ships are beautiful but my experience is when you venture out of the sanctum of the Yacht Club the drop off in experience is significant, not terrible, but to the point where I would not want to sail MSC without being in YC, and returning back into the YC after a couple of hours out in the population reminds me of that. 

When do you sail in January 

[Dr. Cocktail]

I have really enjoyed @Hlitner's posts but we have different views of the YC experience. Full disclosure: I haven't sailed in the YC in over 5 years so there might be some changes.

 

The positives are many. MSC has beautiful ships and the YC areas on the Seaside Class ships with their bar and dining room are particularly impressive. I love the live music and atmosphere in the bar and as stated the staff are generally fabulous.  Cabins are good and very obviously part of the Explora lineage with similar colours and finishes.

 

The rest of the ship is a bit chaotic but can be fun in limited doses!

 

My two major reasons for not returning are: 

 

#1. A complete and total lack of shade on the YC deck. Like ZERO. It is supposedly even worse on Seashore and Seascape. I tried taking my own chair umbrella after my first Seaside cruise but they  wouldn't attach to their deck chairs. This is where I first heard the story of Mrs. Aponte not wanting umbrellas on open decks!

 

#2) While breakfasts and lunches are OK, the food in the dining room is often, um, lousy.

Really cheap cuts of beef and far too many misses.  It is mitigated by the great staff but that can only go so far. We ended up dining in the Specialty restaurants for most of our dinners.

 

But .... we all have different views!  Were they to put umbrellas on the pool deck, I would find a go-around with the food. But the two together are a "do not pass go" for me.

[LostAtSeaForever]

We have sailed both and love both….but they are different.  Explora is much more laid back and relaxing. Explora Journey blew us away. It is so beautifully appointed and has a very spacious feel. Staterooms are beautiful with lovely details. Night lights are motion sensors for late-night trips to the toilet, where you'll find heated floors! Comfortable beds with exquisite bedding. The food is out of this world! It was the best we ever had on any cruise. We also found cocktails fairly consistent and properly made at various bars. Don't expect any nighttime activities. We found most entertainment to be of the elevator variety. Venues for dancing were hard to find and usually empty. We have found very few children, but you'll probably find more if you cruise during school breaks.

 

Yacht Club has a more energetic vibe, although you get a lot of elevator-type musical entertainment in the Topsail lounge. However, you can venture out into the central part of the ship. For dancing, live entertainment of the non-elevator type, games, shows, and other entertainment. Including a good-sized casino. The food is not always consistent. We have had some great meals in the YC dining room and some not-so-great. It just depends on the chef at the time. Cocktails also can lack consistency, especially when leaving the yacht club to other bars around the ship. There are more children in the Yacht Club. We stopped cruising in the summer because we found them out of control and lacking parental supervision. 

 

One pro with Yacht Club is that we find it so much easier to meet and make new friends, as it's a smaller area in which everyone is.  You’ll see the same people several times a day. Explora Journey, even though it's a smaller ship, it is more spread out. 

 

It just depends on what you want for your vacation and ports of calls you are interested in. 

[no1talks]

9 hours ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

We ended up dining in the Specialty restaurants for most of our dinners.

Most YCers these days are loathe to go to a specialty spot for dinner due to fear of missing out on a delish YC meal. In fact, it is fairly common for Diamond cruisers in YC to take their comped specialty meal as a sea day lunch. YMMV.

[JonoBhoy]

15 hours ago, Waltershipman said:

When do you sail in January 

5 Jan

[JonoBhoy]

14 hours ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

I have really enjoyed @Hlitner's posts but we have different views of the YC experience. Full disclosure: I haven't sailed in the YC in over 5 years so there might be some changes.

 

The positives are many. MSC has beautiful ships and the YC areas on the Seaside Class ships with their bar and dining room are particularly impressive. I love the live music and atmosphere in the bar and as stated the staff are generally fabulous.  Cabins are good and very obviously part of the Explora lineage with similar colours and finishes.

 

The rest of the ship is a bit chaotic but can be fun in limited doses!

 

My two major reasons for not returning are: 

 

#1. A complete and total lack of shade on the YC deck. Like ZERO. It is supposedly even worse on Seashore and Seascape. I tried taking my own chair umbrella after my first Seaside cruise but they  wouldn't attach to their deck chairs. This is where I first heard the story of Mrs. Aponte not wanting umbrellas on open decks!

 

#2) While breakfasts and lunches are OK, the food in the dining room is often, um, lousy.

Really cheap cuts of beef and far too many misses.  It is mitigated by the great staff but that can only go so far. We ended up dining in the Specialty restaurants for most of our dinners.

 

But .... we all have different views!  Were they to put umbrellas on the pool deck, I would find a go-around with the food. But the two together are a "do not pass go" for me.

 

7 hours ago, LostAtSeaForever said:

We have sailed both and love both….but they are different.  Explora is much more laid back and relaxing. Explora Journey blew us away. It is so beautifully appointed and has a very spacious feel. Staterooms are beautiful with lovely details. Night lights are motion sensors for late-night trips to the toilet, where you'll find heated floors! Comfortable beds with exquisite bedding. The food is out of this world! It was the best we ever had on any cruise. We also found cocktails fairly consistent and properly made at various bars. Don't expect any nighttime activities. We found most entertainment to be of the elevator variety. Venues for dancing were hard to find and usually empty. We have found very few children, but you'll probably find more if you cruise during school breaks.

 

Yacht Club has a more energetic vibe, although you get a lot of elevator-type musical entertainment in the Topsail lounge. However, you can venture out into the central part of the ship. For dancing, live entertainment of the non-elevator type, games, shows, and other entertainment. Including a good-sized casino. The food is not always consistent. We have had some great meals in the YC dining room and some not-so-great. It just depends on the chef at the time. Cocktails also can lack consistency, especially when leaving the yacht club to other bars around the ship. There are more children in the Yacht Club. We stopped cruising in the summer because we found them out of control and lacking parental supervision. 

 

One pro with Yacht Club is that we find it so much easier to meet and make new friends, as it's a smaller area in which everyone is.  You’ll see the same people several times a day. Explora Journey, even though it's a smaller ship, it is more spread out. 

 

It just depends on what you want for your vacation and ports of calls you are interested in. 

Both of these responses are consistent with our experience. Although seeking shade (coming from Scotland) is not as big a deal given we see the sun for 5mins per annum, so the ball in the sky is welcome!

[LostAtSeaForever]

5 hours ago, no1talks said:

Most YCers these days are loathe to go to a specialty spot for dinner due to fear of missing out on a delish YC meal. In fact, it is fairly common for Diamond cruisers in YC to take their comped specialty meal as a sea day lunch. YMMV.

This has not been our experience at all. We cruise 6-8 times a year in the yacht club and know many fellow frequent cruises. There is definitely a difference in chefs. 

[momofmab]

On 9/24/2024 at 3:30 PM, Hlitner said:

The Yacht Club (YC) is a "ship within a ship" and I have sometimes described it as an upscale enclave located on a Carnival/RCI quality large/mega ship

 

This is how I would describe YC as well. Loved the YC product, didn't love the experience outside of YC. Although we cruised during what I believed to be an unpopular week, with most U.S. schools in session, there were many kids running amok outside of YC and a bachelor/bachelorette-party atmosphere that drove us back to the serenity of the YC for most of our week. I didn't mind being relegated to the YC but really wanted to utilize the rest of the ship without so much of the chaos.

 

This led us to bump up to Explora for an upcoming cruise for what I hope is a YC-like experience, ship-wide.

 

YC food was mostly good, although we must have had a week with sub-par filets in the YC restaurant (filets in Butcher's cut on the other hand, were delicious). The pool side buffet scored big points with my husband. Staff and service in YC were both excellent.

 

I wouldn't necessarily rule out another YC cruise depending on time of year, price and itinerary, now that I know what to expect from an MSC experience.

Edited Thursday at 10:08 AM by momofmab

[LostAtSeaForever]

2 hours ago, JonoBhoy said:

5 Jan

Ditto

[no1talks]

1 hour ago, LostAtSeaForever said:

We cruise 6-8 times a year in the yacht club and know many fellow frequent cruises.

 

I suggest you and the cruisers to whom you refer should post more reviews on Cruise Critic because, of late, the Yacht Club reviews are trending mostly towards wonderful.

[LostAtSeaForever]

24 minutes ago, no1talks said:

 

I suggest you and the cruisers to whom you refer should post more reviews on Cruise Critic because, of late, the Yacht Club reviews are trending mostly towards wonderful.

We have had excellent meals in Yacht Club, but some are mediocre. We have had filets that melt in your mouth and some that are chewy. On our recent European YC cruise, the lasagne, in my opinion, was delicious filled with yummy cheeses that ouzed out. My DH didn't care for all the cheese and found the lasagne on Seascape several months ago more to his liking as it was filled with much more meat than cheese. Plus, food is subjective, and the quality of the product can vary from different reqions. JMHO 

[Waltershipman]

5 hours ago, JonoBhoy said:

5 Jan

Enjoy we sail January 28

 

Enjoy

[chill6x6]

It's kinda funny how I rarely even think to remember to consider MSC when looking at cruises.  

[BDL]

10 hours ago, LostAtSeaForever said:

Ditto

My husband and I will also be on board on Jan 5th.  Really looking forward to comparing it to YC.

[LostAtSeaForever]

2 hours ago, BDL said:

My husband and I will also be on board on Jan 5th.  Really looking forward to comparing it to YC.

In my opinion, there is no comparison. Two very different products.. We love both.

Hope to meet you on board 

[momofmab]

20 hours ago, Waltershipman said:

Enjoy we sail January 28

 

Enjoy

We are on the Jan 28th sailing as well!  Looking forward to it!

[Waltershipman]

3 hours ago, momofmab said:

We are on the Jan 28th sailing as well!  Looking forward to it!

Looking forward to connecting

[parallax]

The dining room in the YC on the first night is usually a mess.  Things settle down for the remainder of the cruise.  As a result, we usually go to the steakhouse.  

[Hlitner]

On 9/25/2024 at 11:57 PM, no1talks said:

Most YCers these days are loathe to go to a specialty spot for dinner due to fear of missing out on a delish YC meal. In fact, it is fairly common for Diamond cruisers in YC to take their comped specialty meal as a sea day lunch. YMMV.

We have been underwhelmed by the cuisine on MSC, be it in the Yacht Club or the various alternative restaurants.   That being said, we find the YC an amazing value when compared to the luxury lines (which we also cruise).  DW and I cruise on many different lines (luxury, premium and mass market) and adjust our expectations.  When we cruise on Seabourn we expect unlimited caviar, huge shrimp at lunch and dinner, excellent beef, etc.  On MSC, we hope to get a few excellent meals but know that. for the most part, the food is OK.  

 

A agree with another poster that an issue with the YC is the lack of shade on its sun deck.  But this is not unique to MSC, as many cruise lines (even the luxury lines) tend to lack shady areas for folks who want to enjoy outside without being roasted alive.  

 

Some folks, who may not ever cruise on luxury lines, may not be aware that prices can easily exceed $1000 per passenger day (although $600-$800 is more common).  The service and suites in the YC do compare favorably to what we have had on some of the small ship luxury lines.  Cuisine is where the YC lags, but we do give consideration that we are usually saving hundreds of dollars per day when compared to some of the lines with much better cuisine.   On the other hand, the quality of booze that is included in the YC is better than what we get on some luxury lines.  Consider that on Seabourn, the included cognac is only Courvoisier or Hardy VS!  No VSOPs,  no Remy.  And that is just one example.

 

Hank

[TrinaLC]

On 9/25/2024 at 11:57 PM, no1talks said:

Most YCers these days are loathe to go to a specialty spot for dinner due to fear of missing out on a delish YC meal. In fact, it is fairly common for Diamond cruisers in YC to take their comped specialty meal as a sea day lunch. YMMV.

Honestly, we have found the fare in the YC restaurants to be sub par.  We love the staff and atmosphere (especially on Divina) but realistically the food is often below where it should be. Does anyone expedite plates and look at what they put on them before they send them out?

 

And the lack of shade is a problem, and the fact that in the new Explora ships they have again ignored this is so shortsighted. 
 

But we love the YC overall and look forward to trying Explora in a few months. 
 

(At least in Divina the pool staff bring up shade tents, wind permitting. )
 

 

Edited yesterday at 12:58 AM by TrinaLC

[TrinaLC]

On 9/26/2024 at 7:32 AM, no1talks said:

 

I suggest you and the cruisers to whom you refer should post more reviews on Cruise Critic because, of late, the Yacht Club reviews are trending mostly towards wonderful.

Are you a paid YC cheerleader? 😃