voyagerL

I don’t think that’s the case as I’ve done a ‘conventional’ YC upgrade from a regular balcony before. Twice in fact. That is upgrading but not via plusgrade. Simply now, the discount stops applying thereafter.

We've pretty much always done YC cruises for the last 2 years but the change to the casino system was a bit of a gut punch! I had a couple of legacy vouchers left to use but they're now done and I have 2 of the new ones. In my mind there's two options... but I'm keen to hear what others do / have done! 1 - book a minimum willing to sail in cabin ie. Fantastica Balcony and then attempt the plusgrade roulette 😄 2 - book the highest available Non-YC cabin and then immediately upgrade to YC? Any helps/hints appreciated 🙂

Did you get a plusgrade offer in the end? 🙂

Don't take the online inventory as golden information, we’ve been plus graded into a YC Deluxe when it had showed as sold out for 3 straight weeks prior! If you don’t land a plusgrade, you can always ask for an onboard upgrade price.

This is certainly new on me but I’d rather get a counter offer than radio silence and a subsequent rejection email! Congrats and enjoy🥂

We normally receive the email more than once before sailing, especially if we’ve not submitted a bid.

We normally buy a package in any event before we cruise but the free pressing is useful for shirts! 👔

Yes, they definitely sometimes leave it quite late. This will be my last casino comp cruise I think, the new points tariff is just terrible!

We were on a casino cruise on our last sailing, we didn't get offered plusgrade until we'd checked in. Make sure you tick the 'accept emails from third parties' box. We got an upgrade to YC from comp'd balcony.

We are always given 4 free items of pressing but any wash/dry laundry is chargeable.

We’re embarking on Tuesday! Thanks for the updates 😊 can you let me know what theme nights they had during your cruise? Gala + White Night + ? Thanks in advance (helps with the luggage debacle) lol!

I just had the same thing myself! Couldn’t believe it! Enjoy!

I have to say that the casino process and service is nothing short of chaotic. Not only has the voucher degradation hit us, as we normally sail in the YC, but we find that now we have to do a lot of the work. We have to get the UK Contact Centre to raise an option for us and then forward the option to the Casino Team. We then have to keep an eye out and often call the UK centre to extend the option because the casino team don't apply the vouchers in time and the option expires, which means we have to do it all again. Friends who sail with NCL or RC showed us their casino programme online, pick your cruise, pay your taxes and off you go - a much much simpler affair!

I think the suites are undeniably beautiful, having the tub and terrace is amazing. Some friends were offered an upgrade into this suite from their YC1 on embarkation day by the concierge for £100 each which they accepted. Their only criticism was that the cabin is outside of YC itself but it didn't interfere with their experience all that much and they really loved the space.

My understanding of the Bidgrade system is that they find chains of upgrades which generate revenue. So they'll identify a chain of successive upgrades and then approve them. We sail 31 Oct 23 but got our bidgrade bid which we submitted last night, approved this afternoon. We actually bid for a YC Int which we normally book direct but this was a casino discounted cruise and the rubbish vouchers don't extend to YC anymore. However, we were very pleased to have been upgraded to a YC1 instead of an interior. For full context, we booked an interior bella with premium extra drinks. We received a comp upgrade to a Deluxe Balcony and then got a bidgrade email.

Thanks for the insight, that's really useful. Could I also ask... is it true that even if you have a drinks package, this can't be used for drinks from The Retreat? Is there a nearby bar that you could acquire drinks from and just take them back into the Retreat (if you can't use your drinks package inside it)?

I just posted a question about this actually, is it only on Arvia? My parents are sailing Britannia later this year and are planning to purchase Retreat access for the cruise. It seems odd they'd offer it on one ship but not on another? Any insights, greatly appreciated!

Good evening fellow CC'ers! 🙂 I've just booked my parents onto a 2 week Caribbean on Britannia and as we often sail Yacht Club, they were keen to know more about The Retreat. I've seen some posts stating that on Arvia there is now a selection of alcoholic drinks in The Retreat, is this the case across the fleet? It seems odd that they would offer this on one ship but not on another? Thanks in advance for your insights! :-)

Hey Slyfox, there's no matching of Casino Status from other lines and the MSC Casino Programme isn't enduring, it essentially works on a per cruise basis. Players accrue points by playing and certain thresholds trigger rewards. The whole scheme has recently changed but I think you now need around 4500 points for a free 7 night interior cabin cruise. Accruing more points beyond this will increase the range of destinations and the type of cabin you receive complimentarily. There's a useful video on the scheme here: Breaking! MSC Casino completely changes casino comps! Good news and bad news.... - Bing video Whilst you don't accrue a status which you retain for subsequent cruises per se, I have since received over 4 free cruises spontaneously owing to previous points accrual so they're definitely keeping tabs back in 'MSC Casino HQ' 😄!

Whilst the majority of my sailing has been on MSC in Europe, I have done 2 x Caribbean itineraries. We always sail MSC because we love the diversity of passengers. We're 31 and 32 respectively and always find friends with ease 🙂

Hey cjdenman! I sailed Armonia in the USA in 2020. The ship isn't like the video, it looks a little better in real life, I had the same concerns! It's a rather small ship if you've sailed on more contemporary ships / lines but I actually quite liked that aspect of it. In essence, it's not glass and chrome but they do a good job of making it presentable for sailing. The bars were all open until midnight / 1am'ish save for the casino bar which stayed open until 2/3am.

Useful video just uploaded on YouTube which covers this: This is a bit of a gutting change - headlines being: - 5000 points for 20% off now or a 7 night interior free (which is a reduction from the original 9,999 threshold) - 1200 points for 1/3 off voucher is no longer - % discount vouchers cannot be used against YC fares

You can store cases under the bed but I've also given them to the Butler before to store out of the cabin, when we travelling a little heavy on the luggage front! 😄

There is indeed, as @Cruiseforever11 says, it's just near the staircase leading into the Sky Lounge. It's very small though, maybe 8 to 10 seats but floor to ceiling glass, makes it scenic. There are cigars for sale, you purchase them via the Sky Lounge staff. If you're sailing Yacht Club, you'll also be able to smoke on the One Deck.

Despite being a loyal MSC passenger, their excursion setup does annoy me. At least once on every cruise, we have an excursion cancelled, normally given notice at 9/10pm the night before, leaving you empty handed if there isn't another you fancy. If we want to change plans however, a full 24hrs notice or the cancellation fee is 100% 😮