Difference Between Yacht Club Med Cruise vs Carib Cruise?

[floridian1]

We have a med YC cruise planned for the new Grandiosa in March roundtrip from Rome (civi). We sailed in the yacht club on the Seaside this summer and really enjoyed the experience.

 

Is there any differences in service and experience between a Yacht Club Caribbean cruise and a Mediterranean cruise?

 

I had read on here a few months back that YC cruisers get seats saved for them on buses with MSC excrusions on a med cruise? 

 

Looking forward to reading your feedback.

[floridian1]

Looking forwarf to hearing from those that have experienced both.

[SirWolf]

I can not compare since I have not sailed the Caribbean with MSC but sailed Western Mediterranean on MSC Seaview and MSC Bellissima in Yacht Club. YC guests meet in the Top Sail Lounge and get escorted by a butler via VIP ‘hijacked’ elevator and expedited security to the bus. Once handed over to the tour guide you are on your own. No seat reservation for YC guests as per my experience.

[floridian1]

8 minutes ago, SirWolf said:

I can not compare since I have not sailed the Caribbean with MSC but sailed Western Mediterranean on MSC Seaview and MSC Bellissima in Yacht Club. YC guests meet in the Top Sail Lounge and get escorted by a butler via VIP ‘hijacked’ elevator and expedited security to the bus. Once handed over to the tour guide you are on your own. No seat reservation for YC guests as per my experience.

thank you for the feedback. So it looks like YC guests dont need to go meet up where the excursion meets up before exiting the ship (like in the theater) That's a big plus and I enjoyed the same type of service with NCL Haven (taking us right outside to the tour guide). thank you. By any chance did you do an MSC excursion in Malta, Palermo, Barcelona, Genoa or Marseille that you recommend?

[SirWolf]

14 minutes ago, floridian1 said:

thank you for the feedback. So it looks like YC guests dont need to go meet up where the excursion meets up before exiting the ship (like in the theater) That's a big plus and I enjoyed the same type of service with NCL Haven (taking us right outside to the tour guide). thank you. By any chance did you do an MSC excursion in Malta, Palermo, Barcelona, Genoa or Marseille that you recommend?

That is correct. You will find the information for the time of meeting in the Top Sail Lounge with your excursion vouchers the night before in your cabin. Once in the Top Sail Lounge you register with the butler in charge of excursions and receive a round sticker with your tour number. They offer bottles of water for the excursion. The groups of YC guests were usually small, between 6 and 12 guests per excursion.

We did not book any MSC excursion in Barcelona and Genoa since we embarked/disembarked in these ports.

Valletta, Malta, tours:

- Valletta and Mdina (4hrs) bus&walking tour

- Essential Malta (4hrs) bus&walking tour

both excursions were equally interesting.

Marseille, France, tour:

- Aix-En-Provence (4hrs) bus&walking tour

nice little town with charm, very idyllic.

We were never disappointed by any of the tours booked with MSC. 

[hamrag]

1 hour ago, floridian1 said:

thank you for the feedback. So it looks like YC guests dont need to go meet up where the excursion meets up before exiting the ship (like in the theater) That's a big plus and I enjoyed the same type of service with NCL Haven (taking us right outside to the tour guide). thank you. By any chance did you do an MSC excursion in Malta, Palermo, Barcelona, Genoa or Marseille that you recommend?

And it is the same in Med or Caribbean...we have sailed YC Med on Mera and Caribbean Prez...both were fabulous experiences!

[sverigecruiser]

8 hours ago, SirWolf said:

YC guests meet in the Top Sail Lounge and get escorted by a butler via VIP ‘hijacked’ elevator and expedited security to the bus. 

 

My experience, both in the Caribbean and in the Mediterranean, is that sometimes the escort is to the bus and sometimes just to the back of the line where other people are already waiting for the excursion.

[Norwich Cruiser]

We’ve found very little difference.

Think it really depends on the ships staff.

[hamrag]

11 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

My experience, both in the Caribbean and in the Mediterranean, is that sometimes the escort is to the bus and sometimes just to the back of the line where other people are already waiting for the excursion.

That has been ours too. TBF, for us the 'escort' is part of the YC experience and very nice not to have the frustrating and generally lengthy theatre wait routine... but the tour line at the pier should be the same for all as we pay the same price for that tour i.e. back of the line!

[JohnJayJotaJames]

We had excursions on the  MSC Seaview (June 2018) in Marseille, Genoa, Naples & Valletta. We met the butlers in the Top Sail Lounge, given water and number then escorted to the bus. One day there were several different tours and various butlers escorting more than one group so we had to pay attention to which butler was escorting our group! Butlers were waiting to greet YC guests to bring them back aboard after our excursions. Impossible for the butlers to recognize all YC guests so they sometimes send you to the general boarding. YC wristband makes it easier for them to offer priority re-boarding. This was a nice perk that wasn't offered on MSC Preziosa (December 2016).