Waterboy13

Try using this link to search for Yacht Club specific sailings. https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/Cruise-Deals/MSC-Yacht-Club-All-Inclusive-Cruises.aspx

IMHO, NCL has a more diverse set of cabin types and the quality of their food in the Haven restaurant is better. 

MSC has a much better selection of food choices, better food offerings throughout the day, better common areas in the YC vs Haven and you get everything in your mini-bar at no extra charge. 

Lastly, MSC delivers a lot more bang for the buck.

You should also check with your specific cruise line on their policies. For example, MSC lets you get cash for gambling directly from your credit card with no fees. It does not code as a cash advance with your credit card company. Then the only potential issue you have is declaring any amount in excess of $10K. In the US I've never had an issue bringing money back into the US from a cruise.

Seaside also has 2 Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em tables. That's my main game, so I made sure to check before going. For those not familiar, this is not Player vs Player Texas Hold 'Em. All players play against the dealer. It is also different from Texas Hold 'Em Bonus.

They have Ultimate Texas Hold Em, not Texas Hold Em Bonus. (Just got done playing it on the Seaside)

No PokerPro on Seaside in mid-April. Back on in a few weeks and will look again.

There is Ultimate Texas Hold Em - players play against the dealer. There is no Texas Hold Em where the players play against each other. UTH is not a bluffable game. It's all based on the rank of the hands vs the dealer.

I think my budget of 100$ per day for slots is very acceptable, most people don't even gamble. I am hoping to win every 2nd pull so if have to spend 100$ on 250$ worth of play through a day to earn 100 points ... even if I do this everyday all cruise that' only 700 points. I' have to play through 400$ a day on slots to qualify even for 30%?? You seriously don't see anything wrong with that ? No one is going to gamble through 400$ a day all day everyday unless they are a millionaire and those are a few per ship.

 

Like I said I am 34 and I am a perfect candidate for a free cruise the people who blow 500 on slots don' need a free cruise but I do. That is why msc needs to re consider the point allocation.

 

To get a free cruise apparently you need 9999 points which is about 25000$ play through. No one I repeat no one would reach this and if they say they do they are lying. Basic math the most expensive slot machine is 5$ per pull, in order to play through $25000 you will have to execute 700 pulls of 5$ per day on a standard 7 night cruise. That is insane amount considering most the vast majority of machines are 0.30 per pull and are penny slots up to 1$ per pull..

 

Who the hell plays 5$ per pull? It's infuriating that some old geezer on their 60th cruise is getting a free cruise for blowing money in the casino when young up and coming professionals like me at 34 years of age can benefit from a free cruise way more. Think about that.

I love everything in this post. It would be so enlightening to meet you on a ship sometime so I can soak up a bit more of your thoughts, views and observations about life. I sometimes feel that I have observed most of the possible human behaviors out there, but I sense you can add some aspects I haven't encountered.

We booked the Couples Golden Jasmine package - 3 massages and 1 facial each for $550 I think. This was too great a value to pass up, though I’m not sure my husband will be excited about a facial! I’ll post a spa review after we sail in June.

Do you get to schedule the 4 treatments at different times or is it one appointment with 4 treatments?

You'd probably have to go to the airport. No stamps coming or going on the ship. That said, you'd have to find a way to get past security at the airport and present yourself at the immigration desk airside.

Phillip and Lyndon were kind, attentive and fun. They were stationed on the port side of the YC dining room. Arthur was on the other side.

We absolutely hate the YC. Definitely NCLers should stick with the Haven.

Hmmmm. Methinks someone is talking smack about the YC to keep the NCLers away, eh? :D:D

I did not see any specialty BJ games. The BJ tables I saw started at $10 minimum and went to $25 minimum. They have a side bet called Dream Pairs that pays 50:1 for Suited Aces, 25:1 for other suited pairs, 10:1 for pair of the same color and 5:1 for any pair.

You can buy in at the tables or on the slots using your sail card / room key. There are no fees for this. The only limit on buying in is the credit limit of the card you have on file, and you can add another card if you do hit the limit..... not that you ever want that to happen. (Just back from a MSC Seaside cruise and did my buy-ins using this method.)

Thats interesting... Last month on Seaside I asked the YC Concierge for some envelopes for extra gratuity (and I did state they were for gratuities)...gladly gave to me plus asked if I would like some stationary to leave a note.

Same here.

When I play in the casino, my drinks are included (via YC and via casino) and I always tip a $1 or so to the waitress. Gladly given and happily received.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. A few of my own:

1) It's great that Arthur has such a large fan club. I ate most of my meals on the other side and had Phillip and Lyndon. They were professional, courteous, friendly and a real joy. Nothing I asked for was a problem for them, and they also offered seconds on lobster. (I can't believe I turned it down, but I was full.)

2) Giuseppe was great. He introduced himself the first time I went into the dining room and told me to let him know if there was anything I needed or if there were any issues.

3) Lobsters in shells. A non-issue for me as I was brought up in New England. Based on the quality of service I saw throughout the cruise, I imagine that a simple request to the waiters would have yielded deshelled lobster tail.

4) Shufflers in casinos. They're pretty much everywhere nowadays. The few exceptions are Mohegan Sun in CT and some higher limit games (e.g. $50 min BJ)

5) As mentioned, your cruise card is your player's card. Their slots are $2.50-$3.00 coin in for each point. Table games are all kind of opaque. I played tables every night and earned a free Bella oceanview for 2. I had met the casino managers/hosts at a reception they had earlier in the week, and simply asked what the process was to find out if my play had earned me anything. They told me yes, and brought me an envelope with two documents in it - one was a general cert stating what I had earned, and the other a numbered certificate that is good for one year.

6) Boarding process: It's amazing how screwy this is... to me. There is no signage anywhere for the YC. If you take a taxi, Uber or Lyft they have to let you off at the far end of Terminal F and then you have to hike back through all of the departing and arriving passengers to get to the YC baggage drop-off. Just a few signs would make this a lot more clear. I kind of knew what to expect after reading reviews on here, but it was still a cluster.

7) A food / dining tip - Bring some non-iodized, coarse grain Kosher or Sea salt with you. I've found most cruise companies underseason their food, and US customers tend to like their food saltier than Europeans. This makes sense as you can always add spice, but you can't take it out. Large grain Kosher / Sea salt packs more of a flavor pop than table salt. Using some of it, plus a little butter can make a bland dish a lot more flavorful.

Very nice review. I appreciate the attention to detail.

The lowest dollar tables have the 6:5 payout. The tables that start at $15 (and up) are 3:2. This is what I observed during a late Oct17 trip on the Getaway.

Yea, that airline scenario could not be considered "theft of service" by any stretch of the definition.

Politely beg to differ. It used to be that the FAs would often announce that everyone was on the plane and the doors were closed AND people were free to change seats.... within their class of service. This has all changed in the past 7-10 years. Within the coach cabin, there can be premium seats, seats reserved for elite frequent fliers, exit rows, bulkhead rows, etc. etc. etc. You are no longer allowed to just decide you want to go sit in the exit row, and you certainly aren't allowed to upgrade yourself to FC. As those are discrete products that the airline sells, or unilaterally decides who can sit where, if you were to just go sit in FC, you would be stealing from the airline. It's not a discrete product, like the actual seat itself, which would be very hard to actually take with you when you left the plane :D, but rather a service - transportation from point A to point B, in a certain class of "service".

Anyway, if you don't purchase The Haven or are not granted access to it through some sort of upgrade, upsell, donations to the casino or elite status, then I don't believe you should be in The Haven.