Nikodemos

Did World Europa in June in the YC. While we did go to the shows (most were ok, especially the singers), play pool at the Master of the Seas pub, and do the 11 deck Venom dry slide, we mostly stayed in the YC during our port-heavy Med cruise. We did a couple of specialty restaurants, but none were good compared to what we have in the Bay Area for Asian, Mexican and Steak. What makes YC a hit is the service. We ate at the same table just about every night in the YC restaurant, and thus had the same stewards. They knew all our desires by heart by the second day and so the service was awesome. In the Top Sail Lounge, I would walk in and they would greet me with "Would you like your signature Woodford's Manhattan, sir?" I haven't had that sort of treatment even at the couple of times I've gotten deals to stay at the Four Seasons. Outside the YC, the pool and buffet can be a madhouse in the afternoons on sea days. At those times, I would retreat to the YC to the available lounge chairs in the shade at the private pool, followed by canapes and drinks in the late afternoon in the TSL. I can understand some of the comments by folks not in YC or who like to make multiple changes to their itinerary. We used a travel agency, didn't make any changes, and had zero issues with MSC. We plan to do more YC MSC trips in the future using the same strategy and expect to have a great experience.

Currently I see that Meraviglia only shows cruises up to April 20th, 2025. When can we expect cruises to open up for June 2025?

We were on the World Europa in June out of Barcelona. Since we were in YC, we didn't have to wait embarking or disembarking, and we were escorted on and off the ship by the butlers. I highly recommend staying in Barcelona a few days before to enjoy the city. Not being time bound on a visit to the Sagrada Familia is really nice. We spent evenings on Las Ramblas and on one night attended a Flamenco dancing dinner and show there which was wonderful.

I believe the demographic issue was just due to the TransAtlantic crossing. When we were on the World Europa this summer in the western Med, the demographics were the most equally age diverse among all the cruises I've been on. Granted, our previous HAL cruises skewed older and the Disney cruises were family focused.

I had been looking at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos, so it's good that you had confirmed that other Hyatt Ziva's have good VIP service.

We just experienced our first MSC YC trip on the World Europa, and we loved the superior personalized service offered with the butler and in the YC restaurant, Top Sail Lounge. Has anyone experienced a similar level of customer service at an all-inclusive resort or hotel? My wife sorely misses being pampered like this. We'd go on more YC trips if they had a ship on the US west coast, but alas, we'd have to travel to Florida or NY for the nearest MSC ships.

I know now how I missed this. This Western Caribbean 7 day itinerary is only offered in 2023. I couldn't find 2024/2025 cruises with this same route. But it sounds like a great itinerary with a combination of nice beach days and a cultural port in Costa Maya. There is an 11 day itinerary on the Seashore, but that's just a back-to-back 6 and 5 day cruises, which attracts the booze cruise crowds.

We went to a total of three shows (Diva, Elton John tribute, A Night on Broadway). We registered for these shows in the afternoons before the shows and then would show up 10-15 minutes before the show. Most folks showed up 5 minutes before the show, so we had our pick of seats. What 7 day itinerary has the two days at Ocean Cay?

Barcelona - Sagrada Familia at Sunset Sagrada Familia Stained Glass Pompeii Gala Night in Top Sail Lounge

Just for future reference, here was our itinerary:

That's what we were told when we embarked. We could use the thermal, but obviously it had to be scheduled due to the expected demand from the rest of the passengers.

On our cruise, they escorted small groups to the TSL. I guess the advantage of being early is starting TSL cocktails earlier and ordering lunch in the YC restaurant or grill earlier to make sure that those cocktails don't go too much to your head 😉

We had lunch in the YC restaurant on our embarkation day for our Med cruise, but for the cruise we were one there is no standard embarkation day (e.g. folks could embark from any of the cities Barcelona, Marseille, Genoa, Napoli, Messina, Malta) as the ship goes into a continuous circle around the western Med. Thus, from a YC restaurant perspective, there is no difference between any of the days. You have the option of both the YC restaurant and the YC grill.

I haven't heard about special shore excursions for YC guests. It's just that you have priority on getting off the ship for the excursions which are happening that day.

We had the ability to schedule the thermal area for 1 hour/day, but I never took advantage of it. If there had been more sea days, I would have.