MSC Preziosa - Comprehensive Yacht Club Review

[Solent Richard]

Three weeks ago my wife disembarked from our first MSC cruise, 14 nights Yacht Club onboard MSC Preziosa around the Caribbean.

 

I have now written what I consider a full, frank and comprehensive review on our experience. Here is the link...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2020/03/25/msc-preziosa-yacht-club-experience/

 

 

I'd be delighted to answer any questions.

[portofrome]

Thank you for your great review and photos!

[HappyInVan]

Thanks Richard and Barbara. Very comprehensive and useful.

 

Looks like a great trip. 

 

 

[phissy]

WOW!!  Great review.  Very thorough and insightful.  Loved all the pictures. We were to do YC Prezioza this June but, had to cancel until next year. Still looking forward to doing our cruise. Now, we are more excited for next year.  Thank you so much for taking the time to post such a wonderful review.

[Solent Richard]

1 hour ago, phissy said:

WOW!!  Great review.  Very thorough and insightful.  Loved all the pictures. We were to do YC Prezioza this June but, had to cancel until next year. Still looking forward to doing our cruise. Now, we are more excited for next year.  Thank you so much for taking the time to post such a wonderful review.

 

So pleased I could give you a glimpse of 'the light at the end of the tunnel'.

[Skier52]

48 minutes ago, Solent Richard said:

 

Good morning Pete (as in Skier).

 

Long time no speak and hope you are well.

 

Now for the confession. It was your review, all those years ago, that gave me the original inspiration and idea to take my wife to Guadeloupe: I'd filed it in the memory bank.

 

Had you not appeared here I would have asked Wansbrough to pass on the link and thank you.

 

And as you probably noted from my review, we've already booked another MSC cruise.

 

Keep safe.

 

Richard

 

 

 

 

That's an endorsement for MSC if ever I saw one.

 

it is heartening to see and  partly makes up for all the bashing i got on C.dot for flag waving for MSC .

Pete

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Wonderful review...wished I was there.😀

[Solent Richard]

On 3/27/2020 at 9:02 AM, Skier52 said:

 

That's an endorsement for MSC if ever I saw one.

 

it is heartening to see and  partly makes up for all the bashing i got on C.dot for flag waving for MSC .

Pete

A yacht Club experience would have been out of their depths Pete.

😄😈

[Muushka]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review.  Feeling kind of low these days, what a pleasure it was.  I shared it with my husband and he also enjoyed it.

We have our first Yacht Club experience coming up in October and are looking forward.  Thanks again!

[mickey89]

Hi Solent Richard........read your review with interest as we were aboard the Preziosa a month before you , 21st January.  Our reflections were somewhat different although I would agree that  Marie-Pierre and Summit were excellent, they were our butler and restaurant waiter as well.  We were fortunate to stay in 15031 just up the corridor from you, next time try to get one of these large square cabins as they are 50% bigger than the one you had, we even had a sun lounger on the balcony as it is so much bigger.

I would double check that your Virgin flight from Gatwick to Barbados was a charter.  Our MSC / Virgin Flight was a Scheduled flight (VS029/VS30) as MSC this year were taking a block of seats not the full allocation.  It is important as you will be able to claim Virgin Flying Club Air miles which we did, Premier gave us 8432 air miles (worth about £125).

 

We cruised Preziosa last year as well and the difference was astonishing, for the worse. The quality of the meat in La Palmeriae was extremely poor and like yourselves we dined in Butcher's Cut where the meat was superb but boy-o-boy did we all suffer in the YC restaurant, even 'Summit' advised us not to have many dishes as the complaints were endless.  

 

The Gazebo you mentioned was erected due to the complaint about the food on offer at the One Pool during our cruise. You benefited from the change of YC Directors, the new YC who change midway though our cruise (Thierry Fnu) made many changes which improved the situation.  The problem is you don't know which YC Director you are going to get, some are a disgrace to MSC.  

 

We also booked for Yacht Club 2021 and have subsequently cancelled, just not worth the money anymore.  

Edited March 30, 2020 by mickey89

[Had01]

Just thought I would add some feedback from our recent cruise.

 

My better half and I were on the cruise following Solent Richard, 3rd – 17th March in the YC. Flew VS29 ex-Gatwick – I will agree with Mickey89 that the flight is part MSC booked, but not completely as I noted several Virgin Holidays tags on baggage. We were heat tested before we entered the terminal at Barbados airport. No issue, quick and first of several such tests during the next fortnight.

Our view of the cruise was it was overall fantastic and we would both book it again in a flash. The itinerary leapt out of the page when we spotted it over a year in advance; so nice to see smaller islands and not the run of the mill ex-Miami mainstream ports.

We sailed Divina in YC in 2018 (Med 7 day cruise) and felt that the YC restaurant on Preziosa exceeded comfortably that we experienced on Divina. Sumit was out waiter too and a credit to MSC. Food taste is subjective, but when I read Mickey89's feedback I thought I was on the wrong ship. Maybe the change in TC Director impacted the food standard too, as it was pretty faultless.

We have travelled quite often in the Haven and our experience on Divina clearly awarded the restaurant medal to NCL, but on Preziosa we felt it was materially improved and at least equivalent to Haven, but with a far better choice as each day offers a new selection. Preziosa also offered three “everyday” options not listed including spaghetti bolognaise and filet.

One Pool chef always had a gazebo erected. We always breakfasted either at One Pool or TSL, never the restaurant. Lunch was normally at One Pool when not ashore. Always a good choice and always chef specials.

We too are Death in Paradise fans and took a tour with Merva, as mentioned by Richard in his report. An excellent day and one of our favourite private tour experiences without a doubt.

St, Kitts, Dominica, St. Vincent (Bequia) and St. Maarten we really enjoyed too.

The cruise had no Italians on board when we joined (some 550 would typically have been on board), but MSC had already reacted to the CORid-19 outbreak it seems. The first 11 days went as planned, but on the second weekend both Martinique and Guadeloupe only permitted disembarking guests to leave the ship at the end of their cruises. No new guest’s joined that second weekend. Transit guests were not permitted to leave the ship. Each day there were less remaining guests St. Lucia was cancelled and we had a slow sail to Barbados sea day on the last Monday. We have no issue with this, what else can MSC/ports do in such circumstances. My only issue would be the lack of communication from the captain – being more familiar with NCL we are used to daily dialogue from the captain, even in normal circumstances. It was notable the captain never delivered such daily updates, either during the normal phase of the cruise nor during the latter agenda impacted phase. Strange.

As I stated above we would rebook the YC without a doubt – we would book the same cruise again and same ship. The YC versus Haven is an interesting debate often seen on CC; we like both and both have pro’s and con’s we feel. I like the TSL, my wife less so; we both like the One Pool bar/eating area; Haven has more room options and is more family focussed (family suites), but generally is a lot more expensive; champagne included in the YC is a nice bonus. First world problem, but both being nice to experience.

Stay safe.

[Solent Richard]

On 3/30/2020 at 4:34 PM, mickey89 said:

Hi Solent Richard........read your review with interest as we were aboard the Preziosa a month before you , 21st January.  Our reflections were somewhat different although I would agree that  Marie-Pierre and Summit were excellent, they were our butler and restaurant waiter as well.  We were fortunate to stay in 15031 just up the corridor from you, next time try to get one of these large square cabins as they are 50% bigger than the one you had, we even had a sun lounger on the balcony as it is so much bigger.

I would double check that your Virgin flight from Gatwick to Barbados was a charter.  Our MSC / Virgin Flight was a Scheduled flight (VS029/VS30) as MSC this year were taking a block of seats not the full allocation.  It is important as you will be able to claim Virgin Flying Club Air miles which we did, Premier gave us 8432 air miles (worth about £125).

 

We cruised Preziosa last year as well and the difference was astonishing, for the worse. The quality of the meat in La Palmeriae was extremely poor and like yourselves we dined in Butcher's Cut where the meat was superb but boy-o-boy did we all suffer in the YC restaurant, even 'Summit' advised us not to have many dishes as the complaints were endless.  

 

The Gazebo you mentioned was erected due to the complaint about the food on offer at the One Pool during our cruise. You benefited from the change of YC Directors, the new YC who change midway though our cruise (Thierry Fnu) made many changes which improved the situation.  The problem is you don't know which YC Director you are going to get, some are a disgrace to MSC.  

 

We also booked for Yacht Club 2021 and have subsequently cancelled, just not worth the money anymore.  

Thanks for your input Mickey. Much appreciated.

 

I hear what you say about Thierry Fun, the YC Director, I got on with him like a house on fire.

[Solent Richard]

On 3/31/2020 at 6:00 PM, Had01 said:

Just thought I would add some feedback from our recent cruise.

 

My better half and I were on the cruise following Solent Richard, 3rd – 17th March in the YC. Flew VS29 ex-Gatwick – I will agree with Mickey89 that the flight is part MSC booked, but not completely as I noted several Virgin Holidays tags on baggage. We were heat tested before we entered the terminal at Barbados airport. No issue, quick and first of several such tests during the next fortnight.

Our view of the cruise was it was overall fantastic and we would both book it again in a flash. The itinerary leapt out of the page when we spotted it over a year in advance; so nice to see smaller islands and not the run of the mill ex-Miami mainstream ports.

We sailed Divina in YC in 2018 (Med 7 day cruise) and felt that the YC restaurant on Preziosa exceeded comfortably that we experienced on Divina. Sumit was out waiter too and a credit to MSC. Food taste is subjective, but when I read Mickey89's feedback I thought I was on the wrong ship. Maybe the change in TC Director impacted the food standard too, as it was pretty faultless.

We have travelled quite often in the Haven and our experience on Divina clearly awarded the restaurant medal to NCL, but on Preziosa we felt it was materially improved and at least equivalent to Haven, but with a far better choice as each day offers a new selection. Preziosa also offered three “everyday” options not listed including spaghetti bolognaise and filet.

One Pool chef always had a gazebo erected. We always breakfasted either at One Pool or TSL, never the restaurant. Lunch was normally at One Pool when not ashore. Always a good choice and always chef specials.

We too are Death in Paradise fans and took a tour with Merva, as mentioned by Richard in his report. An excellent day and one of our favourite private tour experiences without a doubt.

St, Kitts, Dominica, St. Vincent (Bequia) and St. Maarten we really enjoyed too.

The cruise had no Italians on board when we joined (some 550 would typically have been on board), but MSC had already reacted to the CORid-19 outbreak it seems. The first 11 days went as planned, but on the second weekend both Martinique and Guadeloupe only permitted disembarking guests to leave the ship at the end of their cruises. No new guest’s joined that second weekend. Transit guests were not permitted to leave the ship. Each day there were less remaining guests St. Lucia was cancelled and we had a slow sail to Barbados sea day on the last Monday. We have no issue with this, what else can MSC/ports do in such circumstances. My only issue would be the lack of communication from the captain – being more familiar with NCL we are used to daily dialogue from the captain, even in normal circumstances. It was notable the captain never delivered such daily updates, either during the normal phase of the cruise nor during the latter agenda impacted phase. Strange.

As I stated above we would rebook the YC without a doubt – we would book the same cruise again and same ship. The YC versus Haven is an interesting debate often seen on CC; we like both and both have pro’s and con’s we feel. I like the TSL, my wife less so; we both like the One Pool bar/eating area; Haven has more room options and is more family focussed (family suites), but generally is a lot more expensive; champagne included in the YC is a nice bonus. First world problem, but both being nice to experience.

Stay safe.

 

Good afternoon HAD.

 

Humble apologies for not responding sooner and many thanks for your comprehensive addendum: it made very interesting reading, particularly the comparison with NCL's Haven.

 

Up till this cruise we were ardent Cunard Grills fans and while I'd never abandon them entirely we thoroughly enjoyed our 'Maiden' MSC. The real advantage for us is the wider itineraries on offer with MSC.

 

So pleased you gave Mirva some business and I trust you enjoyed Sainte Honore as much as we did: You'll never believe the 'brownie' points I received from my wife.

 

Funnily enough we were due to fly to Split this morning to join an Emerald Waterways cruise along the Dalmatian Coast. Just so pleased we made the full Preziosa when we did.

 

Take care and thanks again for your input.