too good to be true

[ginger123snaps]

I have booked the yacht club but having second thoughts. I am reading some really awful things about general service on MSC. The price was so good that i booked a future cruise...but now i'm having some serious doubts.

 

We like sailing in the Haven suites that NCL offers. We like the service that comes with this category. I'm worried that I will be disappointed.

 

Please don't judge...but for some reason I am picturing a stuffy and formal atmosphere on this boat....please tell me i'm wrong...we like relaxed atmosphere...not trashy relaxed...just relaxed and laid back but with good service.

[vicocala]

I'm having second thoughts because with the BOGO I am getting my first B2B cruise, my first aft balcony, my first bump out balcony, my first MSC experience, my first visit to Jamaica.

 

My second thought is why it took ten cruises before I booked the Divina! :)

Edited March 2, 2016 by vicocala

[cruiseguyinorl]

I am picturing a stuffy and formal atmosphere on this boat....please tell me i'm wrong...we like relaxed atmosphere...not trashy relaxed...just relaxed and laid back but with good service.

 

Absolutely not stuffy and formal in the YC. You describe it perfectly, "relaxed and laid back but with good service."

 

Bret

[Skier52]

I have booked the yacht club but having second thoughts. I am reading some really awful things about general service on MSC. The price was so good that i booked a future cruise...but now i'm having some serious doubts.

 

We like sailing in the Haven suites that NCL offers. We like the service that comes with this category. I'm worried that I will be disappointed.

 

Please don't judge...but for some reason I am picturing a stuffy and formal atmosphere on this boat....please tell me i'm wrong...we like relaxed atmosphere...not trashy relaxed...just relaxed and laid back but with good service.

 

You will get laid back and relaxed.

 

good service means different things to different people

 

MSC service is much more discreet and not "In your face", by which I mean you may have to attract the attention of waiting staff on the open decks , they won't be constantly asking you "Would you like a drink sir". Some guests think this discreet service is poor service, and they are wrong. it's how it's done on Italian ships.

Others mistake the fact that most for crew English is a second language, unlike RCI who recruit from The Caribbean where English is the first language for most.

This means a little patience and understanding is required, typically when dealing with guest relations.

 

Just ask yourself "How good are your language skills?" Probably not as good as theirs.

 

So in essence MSC is different, that's all, some people just don't get that.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Skier52

[baz48]

I'm having second thoughts because with the BOGO I am getting my first B2B cruise, my first aft balcony, my first bump out balcony, my first MSC experience, my first visit to Jamaica.

 

My second thought is why it took ten cruises before I booked the Divina! :)

 

 

We also did the 2 for 1, B2B, aft balcony, first time with MSC after 15 cruises. No second thoughts here. If we don't care for it, we won't book again. But you never find new fun things if you always do the same old thing, right? ;)

[SuiteTraveler]

I have booked the yacht club but having second thoughts. I am reading some really awful things about general service on MSC. The price was so good that i booked a future cruise...but now i'm having some serious doubts.

 

We like sailing in the Haven suites that NCL offers. We like the service that comes with this category. I'm worried that I will be disappointed.

 

Please don't judge...but for some reason I am picturing a stuffy and formal atmosphere on this boat....please tell me i'm wrong...we like relaxed atmosphere...not trashy relaxed...just relaxed and laid back but with good service.

 

Read this review, I think it will help you to know that essentially this will be like the Haven, only better in many ways! Stuffy and formal? Not in the least! I was blown away by all that is in this review and the enormous amount of food that is put out within the Yacht Club daily as well as the Yacht Club dining room and free drinks. Wow! NCL is going to have to catch up. I love The Haven on NCL, but it's not as good as this in terms of all the free stuff you get!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2288693

 

We're going on Divina in a week and I'll post about our Yacht Club experience when I can. I KNOW it's going to be fantastic and I'm really excited to try this cruise line!

[parallax]

For years we sailed on Celebrity but after sailing in the YC on the Divina, we have hard time doing anything but the YC. It was a fantastic experience. The service was second to none and it was not stuffy (unless you went to the afternoon tea with the white glove service). It was a very relaxing experience. It was the opposite of stuffy.

[SuiteTraveler]

For years we sailed on Celebrity but after sailing in the YC on the Divina, we have hard time doing anything but the YC. It was a fantastic experience. The service was second to none and it was not stuffy (unless you went to the afternoon tea with the white glove service). It was a very relaxing experience. It was the opposite of stuffy.

 

Thank you for posting that! We have also sailed on Celebrity many times and know how nice that line is. This makes me even more excited to experience the YC!

[Iluvcruising2]

Read this review, I think it will help you to know that essentially this will be like the Haven, only better in many ways! Stuffy and formal? Not in the least! I was blown away by all that is in this review and the enormous amount of food that is put out within the Yacht Club daily as well as the Yacht Club dining room and free drinks. Wow! NCL is going to have to catch up. I love The Haven on NCL, but it's not as good as this in terms of all the free stuff you get!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2288693

 

We're going on Divina in a week and I'll post about our Yacht Club experience when I can. I KNOW it's going to be fantastic and I'm really excited to try this cruise line!

 

Thanks for highlighting my review. I hope you have a great cruise and I certainly look forward to reading your review of the Divina! (Also curious to know how MSC has customized the Divina product to the US market, since my cruise was on the Preziosa out of Genoa, and the bulk of passengers on board were European)

[Iluvcruising2]

I have booked the yacht club but having second thoughts. I am reading some really awful things about general service on MSC. The price was so good that i booked a future cruise...but now i'm having some serious doubts.

 

We like sailing in the Haven suites that NCL offers. We like the service that comes with this category. I'm worried that I will be disappointed.

 

Please don't judge...but for some reason I am picturing a stuffy and formal atmosphere on this boat....please tell me i'm wrong...we like relaxed atmosphere...not trashy relaxed...just relaxed and laid back but with good service.

 

It is not stuffy at all. We had so much fun. In this video, we were happily watching a bar-tender making our drinks at the One Bar area. Awesome fun.

[YOUTUBE]QXW3gNUaN-8[/YOUTUBE]

[parallax]

Thank you for posting that! We have also sailed on Celebrity many times and know how nice that line is. This makes me even more excited to experience the YC!

 

I did a comparison between the two lines in the attached post. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2195596&highlight=parallax.

Still a big fan of Celebrity.

[ginger123snaps]

Thank you for that comparison to Celebrity. We really enjoyed our celebrity cruise to alaska as well. I am feeling more confident in MSC then before. My only issue now is to try to snatch a royal suite. Every sailing week that we are available to sail the royal YC 3 is sold out :(

[SuiteTraveler]

Thanks for highlighting my review. I hope you have a great cruise and I certainly look forward to reading your review of the Divina! (Also curious to know how MSC has customized the Divina product to the US market, since my cruise was on the Preziosa out of Genoa, and the bulk of passengers on board were European)

 

I thought you did a fantastic job on your review and I really enjoyed reading it! I was curious as to how MSC would be in the Med as I love cruising over there and your review showed me how absolutely great it would be! So thank you so much for all the hard work you did on your review! It was AWESOME!

 

You might look at Gambee's review for details of the changes made on Divina:

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/msc-divina-review/

 

It seems to be some menu changes mainly and possibly shows to include Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson music and removal of the Opera production (I'm disappointed about that.) I'll try to remember to take photos of the YC menus and the buffet spreads in the YC - the YC is the one thing Gambee didn't have access to.

[SuiteTraveler]

I did a comparison between the two lines in the attached post. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2195596&highlight=parallax.

Still a big fan of Celebrity.

 

I really enjoyed your review - and I can't believe all the people who were trying to put down MSC Yacht Club without having actually been on their ships or experienced the YC. Wow.

 

I'm very excited about this new experience. I expect it will be awesome!

[SuiteTraveler]

Thank you for that comparison to Celebrity. We really enjoyed our celebrity cruise to alaska as well. I am feeling more confident in MSC then before. My only issue now is to try to snatch a royal suite. Every sailing week that we are available to sail the royal YC 3 is sold out :(

 

Check daily as things happen and people cancel cruises everyday. You never know when the suite you want might suddenly come available.

[dodger1964]

Thanks for review.

 

We are elite plus on Celebrity and are trying MSC for first time in September. We are on the Splendida.

 

We are doing the "el cheapo" route. We booked the cheapest balcony cabin, with the "nothing is included" plan. We won't eat in the restaurants, just the buffet, so this cruise is really a way to see several ports without having to change hotels each night. Port intensive cruise from Southampton.

 

Our balcony room is "sideways", from what I have read. that will be a first.

 

We did get black status on MSC, I haven't quite figured out what that will get us onboard besides a chocolate ship.

 

Looking forward to trying something new

[Skier52]

Thanks for review.

 

We are elite plus on Celebrity and are trying MSC for first time in September. We are on the Splendida.

 

We are doing the "el cheapo" route. We booked the cheapest balcony cabin, with the "nothing is included" plan. We won't eat in the restaurants, just the buffet, so this cruise is really a way to see several ports without having to change hotels each night. Port intensive cruise from Southampton.

 

Our balcony room is "sideways", from what I have read. that will be a first.

 

We did get black status on MSC, I haven't quite figured out what that will get us onboard besides a chocolate ship.

 

Looking forward to trying something new

With the Bella experience you may be able to have a table in the MDR if not you will get the MDR menu with waiter service in a dedicated area of the buffet..

 

As a Black card holder you will get (the things worth having)

 

A) priority boarding at embarkation

 

B) A complimentary bottle of Spumante and chocolate coated strawberries

 

C) Complimentary towelling robes and slippers

 

D) A complimentary meal for two in a speciality dining venue. No drinks included

 

E) A complimentary gift.

 

F) A complimentary Club photo

 

G) Priority tendering

 

H) Complimentary use of the thermal area (1hr session)

 

I) Priority disembarkation or late disembarkation ( 2hrs later vacation of your cabin)

 

 

 

Pete

[Iluvcruising2]

I thought you did a fantastic job on your review and I really enjoyed reading it! I was curious as to how MSC would be in the Med as I love cruising over there and your review showed me how absolutely great it would be! So thank you so much for all the hard work you did on your review! It was AWESOME!

 

You might look at Gambee's review for details of the changes made on Divina:

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/msc-divina-review/

 

It seems to be some menu changes mainly and possibly shows to include Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson music and removal of the Opera production (I'm disappointed about that.) I'll try to remember to take photos of the YC menus and the buffet spreads in the YC - the YC is the one thing Gambee didn't have access to.

 

Thanks very much and I'm glad you enjoyed my review of the MSC Preziosa experience in the Yacht Club.

[riclop]

I have booked the yacht club but having second thoughts. I am reading some really awful things about general service on MSC. The price was so good that i booked a future cruise...but now i'm having some serious doubts.

 

We like sailing in the Haven suites that NCL offers. We like the service that comes with this category. I'm worried that I will be disappointed.

 

Please don't judge...but for some reason I am picturing a stuffy and formal atmosphere on this boat....please tell me i'm wrong...we like relaxed atmosphere...not trashy relaxed...just relaxed and laid back but with good service.

 

It is much better than NCL.

[WillyGsMom]

We just returned yesterday, was everything perfect? No, but what is? We went with an open mind and had a great time. No problems with getting drinks from bartenders or servers, just be patient, there are over 4,000 passengers.