Yacht Club Experience - Divina or Seaview

[Kmkub]

We are planning our first trip on MSC, in the YC. Our 10th is Jan 2020, so really looking for anything between November & February. I was thinking Seaside was the way to go, but now I'm not sure.

 

The YC is going to be THE treat. We've never done suite life, hotel or at sea. Heck, I've never even flown first class! This will be special;  may never get to do this again, or, it will be quite some time.

 

I'd love to hear comparisons. I looked around; lots of comparison threads, but I couldn't find this particular one.

[js]

I sail suites on other lines and Seaside was my first MSC cruise and I had a chiice between Seaside and Divina. Most here seem to really like Divina. But what swayed me to book Seaside was that the YC suites are right in the YC proper along with restaurant, bar, etc. On Divina, I believe you have to walk from one end of the ship to the other to get to the YC. 

 

We loved the Seaside YC last year, booked for next month and again next February although we still sail other lines. 

 

Let us know what you decide. 

[Kmkub]

26 minutes ago, js said:

 On Divina, I believe you have to walk from one end of the ship to the other to get to the YC. 

Thank you. That may be a deal breaker. It's not the walking, but if we're going all-in, we may as well get the all-inclusive experience. It really does does nice to just be a few feet away from everything! 

Edited January 17, 2019 by Kmkub

[Fredric22]

I have enjoyed both, but I would have to agree that the proximity of everything definitely makes the Seaside YC a bit better.  Also, I like the Seaside's pool deck a bit better as it feels larger and now has shaded areas to sit.  Honestly, you can't go wrong with either one though. 

[helen haywood]

I’ve sailed YC on Divina but not yet Seaside.  I do definitely think the Seaside having the restaurant inside YC is a big plus.  It’s not that I mind the walk aft to Le Muse on Divina but she does have a lot of bottlenecks if you take the elevator down and walk through the ship.  And walking outside looks feasible but the wind is a hairdo killer...and then your “entrance” to Le Muse’s vestibule is through the smoking section of an aft pool.  You are dressed up and walking past people in wet bathing suits.  And if your table is not ready there is nowhere there to wait.

 

On Seaside you could just wait in the Top Sail Lounge to have a waiter notify you when the restaurant upstairs is ready for you.  Also the outside seating in front of the Top Sail Lounge is something Divina doesn’t have.  

 

One last note, the shower on Divina has a European half shower door which always winds up with a lot of water on the floor.  (I don’t know what I’m doing wrong that the Europeans are doing right...). Seaside has corrected this with a full shower door.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

4 hours ago, Kmkub said:

We are planning our first trip on MSC, in the YC. Our 10th is Jan 2020, so really looking for anything between November & February. I was thinking Seaside was the way to go, but now I'm not sure.

 

The YC is going to be THE treat. We've never done suite life, hotel or at sea. Heck, I've never even flown first class! This will be special;  may never get to do this again, or, it will be quite some time.

 

I'd love to hear comparisons. I looked around; lots of comparison threads, but I couldn't find this particular one.

 

You have posed a good question.  I know some people who would swear Divina is the way to go and others would swear by Seaview.  At any rate, I don’t think you will be disappointed either way.  

 

I do do not know what all the fuss is about with the walk to Le Muse.  The best way to get there is going down to one of the main decks and walking through the various clubs and public rooms...always an entertaining jaunt.  Maybe it’s the fact that you must leave the inner sanctum or the YC in order to get there.  It never bothered us in the least...Divina is a beautiful ship.

[Hlitner]

We recently did our first MSC cruise and it was 21 days in the Divina's Yacht Club.  We met several other passengers who had also been in the YC on the Seaside and we heard pros and cons about both ships (in the YC).  Just keep in mind that while the YC cabins are referred to as "suites"....most are not real suites but simply slightly larger balcony cabins.  That being said, we would have had no use for a huge suite since we spent much of our waking time out of our cabin in the other YC facilities or even outside the YC.  

 

As to the Divinia's walk to Le Muse....we found the exercise quite nice :).  There are a couple of decent routes...including just doing the outside walk (fine in decent weather) or going down to one of the main public decks, walking through, and taking the elevator up to Le Muse.  We "hated" the Divina YC experience so much that we booked another Divina cruise (in the same cabin) before we even finished our 21 days :).  What drove our decision was the timing and itineraries.

 

Keep in mind that while the YC is, in a sense, a sanctuary from the rest of the ship..there are reasons to leave and "go with the masses."  On some port days, when we chose to stay aboard, we preferred deck chairs at the regular pool (outside the YC) because we could find a shady spot (tough to find at the One in the YC).  We also spent a lot of evening time outside the YC because we preferred to live entertainment in other parts of the ship.  The truth was that the YC's Top Sail Lounge was generally quite empty...so we assume that most of the other YC passengers were also out and around the remainder of the ship.  On most evenings after 10pm there were fewer then 10 passengers  in the Top Sail Lounge...even though there was usually some kind of sedate entertainment.   But we loved that the Top Sail Lounge was there when we wanted it.. and our friendly bar tender usually had my favorite drink poured before I even sat down.

 

Hank

[CruisingFox27]

7 hours ago, js said:

 But what swayed me to book Seaside was that the YC suites are right in the YC proper along with restaurant, bar, etc. On Divina, I believe you have to walk from one end of the ship to the other to get to the YC. 

 

 

All of the YC facilities, pool, bar etc and cabins are with in the YC enclave on Divina except the restaurant, which is at the other end of the ship.

 

We enjoyed having a walk around the ship to dinner in the evening, although there can be a couple of bottleneck areas as mentioned. An outside walk is nice if the weather is fine. If we just wanted to go straight to the restaurant without people watching we just used to walk across using one of the cabin decks.

 

I don't think you'll be disappointed whichever ship you choose.

 

[Teacher42]

Dear Km,   We ate all our meals in Le Muse, breakfast, lunch and dinner and we do not tour. So we were on the Divina quite a bit. Being this last Christmas cruise, the ship was packed with a lot of inconsiderate cruisers. Leaving the YC enclave, decks 15 or 16 and walking outside on deck 14 for lunch in Le Muse you might find it impossible to navigate the deck. The inconsiderate lot of sun bathers like to rearrange their lounges blocking your path on this deck. I am not one to meekly keep quiet and climb back up to deck 15 and find another route. I voiced my indignation to these loungers that there was not other route around them, without going back up the stairs and over to the other side. It was the first and last time we tried the outer deck at lunch time when at sea. We do not go on  any cruise to become upset or trip over sunbathers lounge chairs. This was our first MSC voyage and aside from this incident we booked 4 more MSC cruises on the Seaside and Meraviglia, all YC.

[dexddd]

On Divinia to LeMuse simply go down to first cabin deck, go aft and then up aft stairs a floor or two.  Very simple, no hassle.

[Teacher42]

Dear dex,   I tried that route just once. 'Lady Aster' was adverse  to using it again. She felt uncomfortable in the narrow hallway, having to stop and go, allowing other guests to get by, whether they were walking faster than we were or coming from the opposite direction. No conversation so as not to disturb cabin passengers.  And,of course, always getting in the way of stewards cleaning cabins with their carts in the hallway.

[deliver42]

On the Divina, go to deck 7 and walk to the back of the ship, and take the elevator up to 15. Le Muse is right there on your left.

On the Seaview and Seaside, Le Muse is up front in the YC.

[Simon1902]

We are on the the Divina in August and 2 days later are on the Seaview both in YC so will be interesting to compare then.

[Beamafar]

Haven't been on either Seaside or Seaview, yet (not sure from your thread title and OP which you're actually considering), but, from what I've read of these ships, sounds like the YC experience is more enhanced than on Divina.  The restaurant location has been mentioned already, but it sounds like the grill offerings on the YC pool deck are much better than what's offered on Divina.  You can also choose a YC inside for a lot less money - something you don't have the chance to do with Divina.

[Teacher42]

The recommended way to go is by deck 7 to Le Muse. On the first outing to Le Muse on Divina your butler will escort you and show you how to use your key card to hijack the center two elevators on deck 7 under Le Muse deck 15.

[Teacher42]

Any YC cabin is more advantageous on deck 15 for calling an elevator. Being on deck 16 YC and calling the elevator we found that it would pick up those YC guests on 15 first and immediately  descend to deck 7 without calling on deck 16. We would have to wait for the next elevator and it happened a second time, stopping to pick up deck 15 and descending to 7 without calling on 16. As long as someone on deck 15 pressed the descend button they had priority. We got frustrated and took the stairs from 16 to 15 to catch the elevator. This is on Divina.

[Kmkub]

Thank you for all the replies. I appreciate it.

 

If it's only the dining room, and not the entire YC, we will reconsider the Divina. So, the rest is there with the rooms? The bar, the pool, the buffet, etc?

[Teacher42]

Dear Km,   Bring with you attachable to lounge chair umbrellas should you wish to enjoy shade on the One Pool deck. Also bring 'Boca Clips' or something similar to keep your towels from blowing off your lounge chairs. Some enterprising YC guests were able to provide for shade by 'clipping towels' to the glass wind partitions on One Pool deck.  We defer to others to report to you on bars and buffets which we shun on any cruise ship.

Edited January 17, 2019 by Teacher42

[CruisingFox27]

1 hour ago, Kmkub said:

Thank you for all the replies. I appreciate it.

 

If it's only the dining room, and not the entire YC, we will reconsider the Divina. So, the rest is there with the rooms? The bar, the pool, the buffet, etc?

Yes, the pool, Top Sail Lounge, The One Deck - bar and buffet, are all situated inside the YC enclave with the YC cabins. There is also a secret elevator to the spa.

[markf]

One  other point---the  pool in YC  on Seaside is a  constant  6 feet deep not very  user  friendly .

On Divina  it is  a normal depth pool .

In addiiton the ladder on Seaside is somehwat difficult to maneuver to get out of the pool 

[Hlitner]

Regarding walking from the YC to Le Muse on the Divina, we found staying on deck 15 the easiest (and fastest) route unless the outside wind or weather made this a bad choice.  One simply walks down the port side of deck 15, past the Garden Bar, and then around the bar there is a "secret door" into the elevator foyer next to the Le Muse entrance.  No need for elevators (although we sometimes enjoyed doing the indoor route via Deck 7) and we usually enjoyed the outdoor stroll on deck 15.  After dining in Le Muse we also found it handy to make the trek back to the YC via deck 14....which by some miracle took us past the Gelato place :).

 

Hank

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for all the replies as I wondered about other ships including Divina. Seaside will be our first but not last MSC sailing.

[Nymich]

8 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Regarding walking from the YC to Le Muse on the Divina, we found staying on deck 15 the easiest (and fastest) route unless the outside wind or weather made this a bad choice.  One simply walks down the port side of deck 15, past the Garden Bar, and then around the bar there is a "secret door" into the elevator foyer next to the Le Muse entrance.  No need for elevators (although we sometimes enjoyed doing the indoor route via Deck 7) and we usually enjoyed the outdoor stroll on deck 15.  After dining in Le Muse we also found it handy to make the trek back to the YC via deck 14....which by some miracle took us past the Gelato place :).

 

Hank

We were in YC on one of the first US cruises for the Divina in 2013.  I do remember that walking deck 15 at times was quite windy especially with my wife in heels.  Will be on the Seaside later this year and glad to see it is in the same YC area similar to our experience in the Haven.  Divina remains the prettiest ship we have seen with the best production shows.  Back then they were very confused about the US market and were even asking us questions about what Americans like.  

[Hlitner]

54 minutes ago, Nymich said:

We were in YC on one of the first US cruises for the Divina in 2013.  I do remember that walking deck 15 at times was quite windy especially with my wife in heels.  Will be on the Seaside later this year and glad to see it is in the same YC area similar to our experience in the Haven.  Divina remains the prettiest ship we have seen with the best production shows.  Back then they were very confused about the US market and were even asking us questions about what Americans like.  

They are still somewhat confused about the American market, but do certainly try hard.  To be clear, our entire Yacht Club experience was amazing (especially considering the price) and it would be hard to fault anything in the YC except the lack of cushions on the sunbeds up in "One" and the lack of more lunch options at the "One" grill for lunch...which essentially was only pasta (with a couple of mediocre buffet things).  It would have been a simple matter to allow the chef/cook who manned the grill (at lunch time) to also prepare a few other items such as burgers.

 

Our major problem (which we have mentioned in other posts) had to do with the service we received, outside the YC!  In some bars one would have to bet to get any waiter service (to buy drinks).  We tend to befriend members of the crew and quickly realized that many of the staff (outside the YC) were on their first cruise contract with minimal training prior to being put "on the floor."   While any cruise ship will have some first contract personnel, on the Divinia it sometimes seemed like everyone we met were on their first contract.  Within the YC, the staff was generally more experienced...either on MSC or having worked on several other cruise lines.

 

Hank

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Our major problem (which we have mentioned in other posts) had to do with the service we received, outside the YC!  In some bars one would have to bet to get any waiter service (to buy drinks).  We tend to befriend members of the crew and quickly realized that many of the staff (outside the YC) were on their first cruise contract with minimal training prior to being put "on the floor."   While any cruise ship will have some first contract personnel, on the Divinia it sometimes seemed like everyone we met were on their first contract.  Within the YC, the staff was generally more experienced...either on MSC or having worked on several other cruise lines.

 

Hank

 

With MSC's large number of new ships on order, isn't this likely to be a continuing problem?  They must be adding staff at a very fast pace.  It seems that they are (rationally) focusing on have the best staff in YC [and probably specialty restaurants] – that means the rest of the ship gets a high concentration of newbies.