mackfam

If I was willing to pay the current price for YC (around  $4000 Cdn pp when I checked earlier) I wouldn’t worry as I’d know I could always escape back to the serenity of the YC enclave, but that’s considerably higher than last time I looked so just can’t bring myself to spend that much. From what I’ve noticed, the deep discounts are on every category except YC. I was originally looking at the Euribia YC for 2024 but those rates just went up by 50% too. 
Lesson learned, if you snooze you lose!

Please report back on the ship and ports and enjoy your cruise!

 I want to avoid a packed ship if possible and was wondering if anyone can speak to the likelihood of this still being a popular week. I've checked and schools start up again this week but maybe parents don't worry about their kids missing the first week of school. Currently plenty of availability but obviously we're still months out. My main concern stems from the fact that we're looking at sailing in non YC for the first time, as no YINs left, and the price for the YC1 is almost 3x that of a regular cabin. I read some reviews from last year that the ship was packed and inside spaces congested and too small for the number of passengers.

YC has spoiled us as we have only cruised in gen. pop'n on all other cruise lines with no problems or complaints, but the many reviews that state 'only go in YC' have us scared!

5 hours ago, JAGR said:

That may have been me you referenced. 

Yes, I think it was you JAGR! 

4 hours ago, Corriegr said:

due to low capacity everyone in Interior YC cabins was upgraded to Balcony on boarding for free. 

Wow, that would be nice but I fear the days of low capacity are over!

After reading a previous thread about this (sorry I forget who the OP was), I was able to upgrade on our last cruise to a YC1 from a YIN once onboard for around $550 total. We just went to the concierge desk as soon as we boarded and asked if any upgrades were available. We were put on a list and told we would be notified after we sailed. The only down side was we had to wait until around 7pm to get into our new cabin so couldn’t unpack until then. 
We have YC insides booked for our next three cruises. Not sure if we will try and upgrade again. We loved the balcony suite but really didn’t spend much time there, so I might prefer to spend the extra $$ elsewhere.  I actually had the best sleeps ever on our previous cruise in the YIN.

I know we are not allowed to name travel agents on this site but I’m wondering if anyone has been able to get OBC from a canadian travel agent. I have always been able to get some when booking through a U.S. based agency but with the exchange rate continually getting worse, I might want to book my next cruise in cdn$.
 

9 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

You have to then go back up & click Search after entering destination and date range

I have tried everything. I select the filters I want, but will not display any cruises. Been trying for several weeks but no luck 

I have tried to search for cruises on their website and nothing happens when I select destination and date range. Is this part of the ongoing issues or am I doing something wrong?

What is the best option for getting to Newark airport following the cruise for a 1:30pm flight?

Thanks, I’ll try that

Tried to get TA to apply my son’s newly received Voyager Club number to his booking but she said she couldn’t because it says ‘personal information doesn’t match’.

She thinks it’s because on her booking it shows his first and middle name together. We are past final payment and she is telling me they usually won’t give the discount at this point anyway, though I know many posters here have had success in getting the 5% as OBC.

if I call MSC myself would I be able to add it or is the TA the only person who can do this as I booked through her?

One time when I wanted to get off the ship as early as possible I also had a butler and YC concierge tell me that YC passengers will be the first off the ship only to discover that was not the case. In my situation it didn’t impact me as negatively as in your case, but I was annoyed at the misinformation. In future I would just go down to the gangway and see for myself. Hope you are able to get some recompense from your insurance.

Thanks!

On 4/18/2023 at 11:29 AM, mscdivina2016 said:

I am a local. The space center is right next door and you don't need allot of time to see it so it's definitely doable in Two to three hours.

Considering going to the space center independently on our upcoming cruise in June. Do you have to buy tickets ahead of time, and approximately how long do you think it would take to get there from the Port?

Thanks, that’s good to know. Glad I don’t have to find room in my suitcase to bring my own!

Do they have paddles and balls available to use? Previous posters had brought their own with them

On 3/14/2023 at 8:57 PM, CruisinMaterial said:

You'd be biting your nails if you tried the public transit options to get to Brooklyn and the Uber/Lyft charges are up there.

Are you saying that taking the subway then ferry from Manhattan to Red Hook on a Sunday morning will be a problem?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CovXKAAg6Xo/

I hope the above link works, it was posted back in February after I had asked about playing pickleball on board and one poster replied that they have a tennis net and were able to use that with their own pickleball rackets. 

Enjoying your review, we will be on the Meraviglia in June in YC. A little concerned about some of the things you are experiencing. We didn’t have any of these problems when we were on her in November so not happy to hear about the apparent decline in service. Sorry if I missed this earlier, but is this a 4 night cruise or 7 day?

I think it will depend on how well the cruise is selling. Can you check a similar itinerary for this year and see how prices compare to those a year out?

36 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Don't know if corporate MSC really knows what is occurring on the ship.

Have you emailed Richard Sasso to inform corporate MSC what is going on?

Yeah, I’m not happy to hear this either and don’t understand why MSC would risk annoying/alienating their highest paying guests. I just made the final payment for 5 YC cabins for a family cruise in June, didn’t realize I could have just booked one and snuck everyone else in ( I’m being facetious). 

I will be making a lot of noise if I see this happening on our cruise and so will the rest of our party.

We caught the train from Genoa to Santa Margherita de Ligure then the bus from there to Portofino. Our original plan was to hike from Santa Margherita to Portofino (about 5km) but the train we were on broke down so we were late arriving and didn’t want to risk it, The bus got stuck in a major traffic jam (journey supposed to take 10 minutes but ended up taking 30) so we were so worried about making it back to Genoa that we literally got off the bus in Portofino then right back on and headed back to the train station. The return journey was uneventful and we made it back in plenty of time but without seeing any sights in Portofino. For that reason I would recommend a ship’s excursion in this case!

We tend to like to cruise in the shoulder season to avoid crowds and school holidays. I’ve been looking at a Norwegian Fjords cruise that leaves towards the end of September 2024, visiting Flam, Alesund, Gerainger, and Olden. I realize that days will be shorter by then and weather cooler/wetter than June through August but am looking for any advice or others experiences cruising at that time of year. 

11 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Besides interlopers there were 40  outside guests with “access”.

^^ this is concerning. It negates the whole point of paying for an ‘exclusive’ experience. 

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

   Today is our last day and is marked by the seafood extravaganza on the One Pool Deck

Is the seafood extravaganza a regular YC offering on all ships? I don’t remember seeing it advertised on either of our previous cruises (Meraviglia and Seaview).

Really enjoying your ‘observations’. Will be on the Mera in June and November and the Seascape next January.