talljules1

Yup - I did think about the currency conversion - but there's quite a difference in size between a YC1 and a Duplex.

I'm a bit puzzled at the notion of $400 pp pd for a YC1 - mostly because we got our YC Duplex for £342 pp pd for June this year. I totally get the comments re YC vs non-YC and the buffet. The difference is stark. We've so far done 1 MSC YC cruise. In the YC, it was wonderful. Outside, it was loud, crowded, chaotic. We had a couple of 'excursions' where we went outside the YC to look around the ship. It felt like visiting a zoo. We went to the buffet once and thought it awful. (We enjoyed the food in YC but watch out for savoury macarons in the YC lounge, which can come as a surprise!) After that first cruise with them we both felt we would happily cruise with MSC again, but we'd never consider sailing with them outside the YC. (Now, when we made that judgement we were not generally in the sweet suite life. Now we are, we definitely wouldn't go in MSC outside the YC.) This, perhaps, is the difference between MSC and X. If you're in the retreat on X, the rest of the ship is still nice (and quite elegant). But the retreat is far less segregated from the rest of the ship, especially on S-Class ships such as Silhouette. We've sailed on NCL and I would say that was my least favourite cruise ship - I thought it was just ugly, and the food was very hit and miss (with more misses than hits). That said, we met lots of lovely people on that cruise, and that made it a great cruise. It is the interesting thing for us - we have no interest in the onboard activities and never go to the shows. I might spend a bit of time in the casino but OH hates it. What we do both love is spending time chatting with people we meet on holiday - so it is the other people we meet that makes our cruise. We've very rarely met people we couldn't get on with on any line. I used to worry about it, but now know we will always meet people to chit chat with.

I wouldn't particularly consider NCL prestigious. We've sailed in the Retreat on Celebrity, and in MSC YC. For June this year we compared 2 cruises - 1 week on Celebrity in Sky Suite with 2 weeks on MSC in YC Duplex. MSC is cheaper. So, twice as much cruise, great itinerary (both were sailing from Southampton). MSC does the ship within a ship concept better. So, we're sailing in the YC this summer.

Thanks all! That's super! At the moment haven't settled on a season. As we've cruised Norway on larger ships, that's always been May-September. We've seen the Northern Lights before, but if I can persuade my OH, a Sept-Apr trip might be a winner. I"m sure we'd both be fine with short stops at ports (we don't always get off now at ports!) and we're good at making our own entertainment - we never bother with ship entertainment, preferring to chat to other passengers. Yup, we know alcohol (and everything else, really) is expensive in Norway, that's why we'd like a beverage package if possible. We'd be looking at a suite. Sounds like there is lots more for me to look into. I hadn't got very far with H's website, but I will persevere!

Hi all We love Norway, but we've never done a cruise with Hurtigruten. We've done the more touristy ones with Celebrity, NCL and MSC (as per signature). I'd love to go further north. I can cope if answers to the following questions is "no", but wonder: 1. Does Hurtigruten offer drinks/beverage packages? (I'm guessing no?) 2. What is there to do on board? (We generally eschew on board entertainment but wonder what there is to do in the evenings?) 3. Is vaping/smoking allowed on board (we don't mind having to go outside, of course) 4. Generally speaking, on the cruises that take you up into the arctic, how much time do you get in ports (and is it the case as in places like Geiranger, Flam, Alesund, Molde, etc) that you can get off and wander on your own? 5. What is the food like? (We eat almost anything, but I am gluten free out of necessity, and I loathe beetroot. Pretty much everything else is OK) 6. We can easily deal with layers, but do we need cold weather gear, or is it provided? 7. In general, what is the experience/atmosphere like on board? 8. We like to meet people on our trips. Will we feel isolated as English speakers? Any other hints/tips much appreciated. We'd likely be looking to book the largest room we could get. I get that these are smaller ships.

Hello all We're off to Iceland and Norway in June. One of our ports is Stornoway, and so far it is the only port with no excursions showing on MSC's website. I'm mindful it might just be too far out from the cruise. (Specialty dining, shows and laundry also not yet showing) Has anyone been to Stornoway on an MSC who can shed some light on what sorts of excursions might become available? Cheers!

That's useful to know. At the moment, laundry packages are not showing up on MSC site for our cruise in June. But when they do, I will buy multiple smaller packages for our 14 day cruise.

I'd be at the YC concierge desk, not moving until they gave me the necessary forms.

That's a good question! We've already changed our cabin via our TA from a YC Balcony suite to a Duplex via our TA (who has been on the lookout since we made the booking, because this is the room we really wanted). Does this count as the 1 free change?

Sorry, I realise this is a bit niche. On Celebrity we can get (admittedly not very good IMO) gluten free pizza from the buffet. I see posts here and on other social media re how good the pizza is on MSC. And we've had amazing gluten free pizza in Rome. I also am aware that one can order GF pizza via room service. My question is - do they do GF pizza (either in the buffet, or room service, or both!) It is not a deal breaker (we are booked, paid and increasingly stupidly excited for our cruise) - I am just trying to set my expectations. If it makes a difference (and I am not sure it would), we're in a YC Duplex. Cheers!

Excellent - thanks all!

oooo - and how do they do muster drill now? Do you have to go watch a presentation at your station, or do you watch something on your room TV and then go sign in at your muster station? (And do you have to take life jackets?)

Hi all A few random questions. We're sailing on Virtuosa out of Southampton in June in YC. 1. Are the movies on the TV in the room included, or are the pay per view? If the latter, any idea how much? Are there TV channels in English? 2. Does anyone have a recent YC room service menu? 3. Do they have clamato on the ship? (If my memory of our last YC cruise is right, the answer is no) (None of these things are deal breakers - which is good because we have paid our final balance lol - am just curious)

It's cruising on MANY LEVELS hehehehehe

And it turns out it is still cheaper than a shorter cruise in a sky suite on Celebrity.

Whooop! And today our TA, who has been watching availabilities closely, has managed to upgrade us to a YC Duplex suite.

Worth noting, however, that sometimes when they say they haven't got something it is not true. Had this in the retreat lounge on Silhouette. Hubby wanted Highland Park whisky and bartender said there was none on board. Well, we did a behind the scenes ship tour that included the provisioning areas, and there were loads of bottles of it on the shelf. We took a photo, showed the bartender and lo and behold he was able to get his preferred drink.

Indeed. On our Beyond sailing last year in the Med, we couldn't get a New Zealand Sauv Blanc at all. Supply issues apparently. They should have gone to any of my local supermarkets. Fortunately, no issue re that on either of our Silhouette sailings last year.

Thank you for this wonderful and helpful review. It is certainly making me think we made the right choice for our summer cruise. We were choosing between a week on Silhouette in a RS or a fortnight in YC on MSC Virtuosa. MSC won - twice the length of cruise, excellent itinerary (we love Iceland and Norway and our cruise takes us to both!) and much cheaper. We've been in the YC once before (Preziosa) but the Virtuosa will be the biggest ship we've sailed on by far. Good to know the food is good and the service still attentive. Looking forward to our cruise! (We have a RS at Christmas on the Infinity to look forward to as well).

Aha - those are the Bella staterooms LOL

You can enter the buffet from the back, from the upper decks, so missing the front entrance.

Lobster are bottom feeders too, and some people seem to love them. (Personally, I don't like it)

I have to say, I don't really care WHY X are doing this. What I do care about is getting less than promised when I booked. And I care about and object to being charged more and more for less and less. Degrade the experience, and it means that the value of cruising (for me at least) with this line disappears. We now sail in the Retreat on Celebrity. Their prices are on the up and up, and have reached the point where they now intersect with other premium/luxury lines. If X are not going to offer the level of service we've come to expect, then it will be time to jump ship and go elsewhere. Yes, I get that the Ts&Cs mean that X can make changes. These changes are going too far. If the food on board is less pleasant than what I can make at home, then it's not worth it for me.

I think this is a real disappointment in the retreat. OVC and mast grill is a real step down from luminae (and from porch, sushi on 5 etc) for lunch. Yes, there are burgers and sandwiches on the retreat sundeck - they've always tended to be cold, and it is not a great choice when sailing in cold waters.

Cashmere life jackets in the retreat, dontchknow?