Yacht club question

[keithm]

A quick question. Never sailed MSC. Some friends have & felt their experience was pretty standard compared to other cruiselines.  We're interested in Yacht club accommodations on the Seaside next Jan.(2020)The price of a standard yacht suite is more than we want to pay. We notice there's a few "inside suites" that are Yacht club listed. I kind of think they are standard size inside cabins, but with all the yacht club amenities, incl. butler. Does anyone have any info.(such as booking one of these cabins on another ship)and do you feel it's a decent price for all the "perks",(price is about $3K p/p) if in fact you do get all the Yacht club perks.

Edited January 8, 2019 by keithm
additions

[Cruisergal1208]

Yes you will get all of the YC amenities. Never booked an inside but others I’ve spoken to say it’s doable. Most of your time is spent in the lounge, One Pool,or other parts of the ship. 

[kodesthemoose]

Are you sure about that pricing, $3,000 per person in YC inside suite?  I looked up a Jan 18, 2020 sailing and it's $1,539 pp for YC inside, and $2,069 pp for YC deluxe (balcony).  

[helen haywood]

Maybe they are looking at a 14 night itinerary.

[modes]

The inside YC rooms are standard size with a small shower and there is nothing "suite" about it. Yes you get all the amenities that go with the YC.

'

[Host Jazzbeau]

Here's an earlier thread on this topic:

 

[hamrag]

12 hours ago, keithm said:

A quick question. Never sailed MSC. Some friends have & felt their experience was pretty standard compared to other cruiselines.  We're interested in Yacht club accommodations on the Seaside next Jan.(2020)The price of a standard yacht suite is more than we want to pay. We notice there's a few "inside suites" that are Yacht club listed. I kind of think they are standard size inside cabins, but with all the yacht club amenities, incl. butler. Does anyone have any info.(such as booking one of these cabins on another ship)and do you feel it's a decent price for all the "perks",(price is about $3K p/p) if in fact you do get all the Yacht club perks.

 

Firstly, I would agree that the standard MSC experience is broadly similar to the other mass cruiselines....although we did not experience dining in either MDR or buffet, so cannot comment in that regard.

 

We sailed YC for 19 nights, B2B cruises of 12 and 7 nights. The 12 night cruise was YC inside and, yes, it is on the small side but larger (172 sq feet) than some of the insides we have used on other lines. It is more than adequate given the fact that ALL the YC amenities are available, including butler etc. The beauty of YC on a mega ship is you get the best of both worlds....the rest of the ship is there for you when you wish, and then you get to retreat back into the amazing luxury of YC whenever you choose!

 

Within the YC enclave there is no preferential treatment, all passengers receive the same amenities and service.....perhaps the Royal Suite occupants receive a little more pampering, but not regular deluxe suite occupants.

 

We had a deluxe suite for the 7 night leg, following the inside and it is a much better alternative....but also costs 35-50% more. For us, the inside with all the YC perks is a no brainer given the price differential to the deluxe suite.

Edited January 9, 2019 by hamrag

[mickey89]

9 hours ago, kodesthemoose said:

Are you sure about that pricing, $3,000 per person in YC inside suite?  I looked up a Jan 18, 2020 sailing and it's $1,539 pp for YC inside, and $2,069 pp for YC deluxe (balcony).  

I checked US, UK and EU sites which I use frequently and the price differences are :

Seaside 18th January 2020 - 7night cruise out of Miami.

US Big Box - $3372 with $275 obc  = $1548pp for a YIN (inside YC)

UK discount site - $2665 with no obc = $1332pp for YIN

EU site - $3132 with no obc = $1566pp for YIN

All would be less 5% with MSC Loyalty discount.

Edited January 9, 2019 by mickey89

[keithm]

16 hours ago, kodesthemoose said:

Are you sure about that pricing, $3,000 per person in YC inside suite?  I looked up a Jan 18, 2020 sailing and it's $1,539 pp for YC inside, and $2,069 pp for YC deluxe (balcony).  

Sorry for the confusion, this was to be a 14 day B2B. We're currently booked for 14 days on the Oceania Riviera & loved the 10 days we did last year. Being in the food industry & hard core foodies. Oceania certainly did NOT disappoint in the culinary area. We kind of wonder how the food is in the YC restaurant. I certainly would hope it's much better than in the main dining room(s).

Edited January 9, 2019 by keithm

[dexddd]

Yeah, I can say after being in Royal and kids in Deluxe there isn't any special treatment or different things (other than possibly a free cabana) for Royal other than what is in the room itself.

Edited January 9, 2019 by dexddd

[Cruisergal1208]

17 minutes ago, keithm said:

Sorry for the confusion, this was to be a 14 day B2B. We're currently booked for 14 days on the Oceania Riviera & loved the 10 days we did last year. Being in the food industry & hard core foodies. Oceania certainly did NOT disappoint in the culinary area. We kind of wonder how the food is in the YC restaurant. I certainly would hope it's much better than in the main dining room(s).

Being in the food industry & hard core foodies, you will have to decide for yourself about the food in the YC restaurant. What you may like, someone else may hate!!  You will read all kinds of good and bad comments about the food.  My take is, if you don't like something, order something else. Just don't sit there and accept what is served if it's not up to your standards.  Never been on Oceania so can't offer comparisons.  We never go hungry in the YC for lack of something to chose. 

[keithm]

3 minutes ago, Cruisergal1208 said:

Being in the food industry & hard core foodies, you will have to decide for yourself about the food in the YC restaurant. What you may like, someone else may hate!!  You will read all kinds of good and bad comments about the food.  My take is, if you don't like something, order something else. Just don't sit there and accept what is served if it's not up to your standards.  Never been on Oceania so can't offer comparisons.  We never go hungry in the YC for lack of something to chose. 

Basically, Oceania food is akin to eating in the Grills on Cunard. I would hope the YCT food quality & variety is much better than the standard dining rooms on board. For the price premium I would hope so. A quick question on the showers in those cabins. Are they enclosed, or do you have the pleasure of a wet shower curtain kissing you butt?

[Cruisergal1208]

10 minutes ago, keithm said:

Basically, Oceania food is akin to eating in the Grills on Cunard. I would hope the YCT food quality & variety is much better than the standard dining rooms on board. For the price premium I would hope so. A quick question on the showers in those cabins. Are they enclosed, or do you have the pleasure of a wet shower curtain kissing you butt?

We find the shower in the regular YC very nice with a door closure and no curtain. Rain shower head.  Even has a built in bench Not sure about the shower in the interior YC cabins.  Perhaps someone will post about that.  There may also be videos/pictures of them on YouTube or Google.  Never eaten in the MDR on Seaside so no comment.

If you search for MSC Seaside reviews look for this one.  Pretty complete on the YCI.

Two week Eastern & Western Caribbean in a Yacht Club inside cabin

MSC Seaside Cruise Review by Boschmann

 

Edited January 9, 2019 by Cruisergal1208

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks for the review info.  Googling the complete title brings it right up!  Detailed and balanced, help prepare us for our Seaview cruise in the fall.

[DMH15]

11 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

Firstly, I would agree that the standard MSC experience is broadly similar to the other mass cruiselines....although we did not experience dining in either MDR or buffet, so cannot comment in that regard.

 

We sailed YC for 19 nights, B2B cruises of 12 and 7 nights. The 12 night cruise was YC inside and, yes, it is on the small side but larger (172 sq feet) than some of the insides we have used on other lines. It is more than adequate given the fact that ALL the YC amenities are available, including butler etc. The beauty of YC on a mega ship is you get the best of both worlds....the rest of the ship is there for you when you wish, and then you get to retreat back into the amazing luxury of YC whenever you choose!

 

Within the YC enclave there is no preferential treatment, all passengers receive the same amenities and service.....perhaps the Royal Suite occupants receive a little more pampering, but not regular deluxe suite occupants.

 

We had a deluxe suite for the 7 night leg, following the inside and it is a much better alternative....but also costs 35-50% more. For us, the inside with all the YC perks is a no brainer given the price differential to the deluxe suite.

As a solo I decided to book the YC inside on Seaside.  My last cruise was the DOS on NCL Epic.  Am I in for a shock?  I already heard the shower is tiny.  

[Boschmann]

Here's a link to my YC inside review.

[hamrag]

12 hours ago, DMH15 said:

As a solo I decided to book the YC inside on Seaside.  My last cruise was the DOS on NCL Epic.  Am I in for a shock?  I already heard the shower is tiny.  

 

Of course you are in for a shock, if the Deluxe Owners' Suite is your benchmark....you already know that, I suspect!!

 

The shower is small, but enclosed....I am 6 feet tall, weigh 14.5 stone (203 pounds) and had no difficulty. You need to understand the trade-off inasmuch as the MSC Seaside YC deluxe suite costs between 40-50% more than a YC inside; the NCL Epic DOS costs more than 3 times the YC inside, and is the top end suite i.e. equivalent to MSC Royal Suite, so is in no way a fair comparison.

 

What you will find is that, outwith the cabin, the YC facilities are far superior to NCL Haven so a real incentive to minimise your cabin time. Go with all of these thoughts in mind, and you will not experience shock....indeed, I expect you will rather enjoy yourself! 

Edited January 10, 2019 by hamrag

[DMH15]

2 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

Of course you are in for a shock, if the Deluxe Owners' Suite is your benchmark....you already know that, I suspect!!

 

The shower is small, but enclosed....I am 6 feet tall, weigh 14.5 stone (203 pounds) and had no difficulty. You need to understand the trade-off inasmuch as the MSC Seaside YC deluxe suite costs between 40-50% more than a YC inside; the NCL Epic DOS costs more than 3 times the YC inside, and is the top end suite i.e. equivalent to MSC Royal Suite, so is in no way a fair comparison.

 

What you will find is that, outwith the cabin, the YC facilities are far superior to NCL Haven so a real incentive to minimise your cabin time. Go with all of these thoughts in mind, and you will not experience shock....indeed, I expect you will rather enjoy yourself! 

LOL.  It is funny how I ended up in the DOS on Epic.  I usually book aft PH suites on NCL, and I originally booked one on Jade... then NCL pulled out of Houston, so we re-booked the same suite on Jade for Tampa, then that cruise got chartered by Sixthman.  NCL offered to price protect us on Dawn or Epic only.  I had been on Dawn and wanted something else, so we chose Epic.  Problem is that we were three adult ladies, myself, my sister and her daughter.  They were not willing to slot us into a 2 bedroom suite without additional payment, but offered us one of those suites with the round bed and an inside across the hall.  Even with them offering to guarantee my niece in the inside full suite priviledges in advance in writing wanted to be all together.  So, ultimately we decided to pony up for the DOS, which was ended up being just a little bit more than the 2 bedroom.  So, that was how that happened.

 

When I booked Seaside I figured that the inside was fine as I was solo.  I also thought with the way everyone raved about the common space in the YC I could get out of the room and utilize those spaces.  My first cruise was an inside on the Norway with a roommate and I had said "never again", as I am a bit claustrophobic.  But I am giving this a go.

 

I am definately looking forward to YC as I have read so many great things about it.  Thanks for your comments.... much appreciated.

[hamrag]

20 hours ago, DMH15 said:

....I am definately looking forward to YC as I have read so many great things about it.  Thanks for your comments.... much appreciated.

 

One thing we did in our YIN cabin, which helped a bit was to have the coffee maker and large tray removed from the small table....out of the cabin altogether! Gave more space to lay useful things on this table, and if you want a coffee/tea the best place is the top-pool bar, followed by top-sail lounge.....or room service. We noticed the YC wait staff were particularly attentive towards solo travellers, a touch we thought lovely to see.

 

There is also a wicker chair, which appears out of place (more akin to a poolside item) and we found a less obtrusive area to place it in the cabin. This resulted in a little game of 'place the chair' for a couple of days with the cabin steward, who placed it in the 'proper' place and then we moved it again....he gave up eventually! Again, if you wish this removed from the cabin, just ask the steward to remove it.