Azamara frequenter tries MSC Yacht Club

[uktog]

HI

 

I have posted this review also on the Azamara Board.  Certainly not a competition between the two lines, just our reflections after7 days on the Virtuosa - our likes and dislikes.  We welcomes the status match but were very disappointed to discover that equated to a chocolate ship and a plastic mug as "recognition"  However it was the "thought" that counted I suppose

 

So DH wanted a cruise and a UK staycation cruise was all we could have.  As Azamara was not offering them and Celebrity itineraries were heading to where we know too well we looked around at other lines.  We have often heard people who try Azamara or Celebrity (in suites for that line) say to us we should try MSC.  We discovered MSC were offering 7 nights round trip cruises starting out of Scotland so that gave us an ideal opportunity to test their Yacht Club.

 

Rather than a blow by blow account of the cruise, I will pick up on what we liked more or less on MSC than Azamara.  Of course, this is like comparing a melon with a grape….. but as we stayed most of the time in the Yacht Club that looks after around 260 guests will concentrate on that and not the range of shops, bars etc – prices per day were slightly less on MSC by the way

 

What we liked on MSC Yacht Club

 

*a little thing, but we found their sun loungers were far more comfortable and well spaced out with a little table for every lounger – so a very pleasant experience on Deck 19 front

*the pool servers were really quiet when they come round, they do not wake you up shouting bar service

*the range of included drinks were on a par with the extra cost Ultimate Beverage package on Azamara and the included wines were superior

*the seats in the Yacht Club lounge and restaurant are much more comfortable (and easier to move into place) than Azamaras

*the food is always piping hot on service, they don't haul out towers of meals from the galley that sit around whilst the waiter works out the orders from several tables so service was really slick and calm - even slicker than the Azamara specialities and none of the OTT services you can sometimes be given

*the towels in the suite were a decent (larger) size and much thicker and nicer

*the pillow chocolates were really divine every night and much nicer than the Azamara “cake squares”

 

What we liked less on MSC

 

*the toiletries are not a patch on Azamara, and a little thing, no tissues or shower caps provided in suites which really surprised us

*Our butler was a dud and not of the calibre of Azamara butlers, though talking to others it sounded like we had drawn the short straw

*Maitre d’s and restaurant supervisors do not interact with the guests -its like they have a belief everything is perfect so they don’t need to ask (generally it was very good by the way but it would have been nice if they had shown more interest in feedback)

*they do not handle food allergies well, could not offer any adaptations or show you the menus in advance to help with decisions, no meeting with the chef or maitre d to discuss your needs

*On a 7 night cruise, there was only 6 menus, one was repeated, on Azamara there would have been 7 unique menus

*You never hear from the captain – no noon updates or information when they are changing sail away times (ok no one was ashore but departing over an hour early so you miss the pier side music in Liverpool was a disappointment)

*You have no idea who the senior officers onboard are – no names or little bios etc, none of that information is shared

* You cannot get away from the fact as soon as you leave the Yacht club it is a very busy ship (and it was sailing at 65% occupancy so I am certainly not sure about what it is like full) geared to family fun – so kids running around, staff pass you and do not greet you like they do on Azamara and certainly no “welcome home” security – its more like airport security with the shouted instructions etc.

*The ships app and on screen TV are a constant source of misinformation very much worse than Azamara. Everyone was talking about errors on their bills, staff response always was “it happens it will come right in the end”.  Yes ours did but not reassuring when your DH has not been out of your sight virtually all of day 2 but he has run up a £300 bar bill that only corrected itself at disembarkation!!  Bizarrely we had prebooked our excursions using my credit card before boarding but two got cancelled, however they advised that the Finance Director had told them we could not have the refund to our card and we had to have cash and pay that into the card ourselves.  We asked for an escalation but never saw or heard from the mythical finance director.  

 

Where there is no real difference

 

*precruise communication was hit and miss and at times confusing, it drove our agent mad.  It sounds like the back office was similar to what many report as their experience with Azamara

*the level of service by the waiters and bar staff – both lines offer great attentive friendly service

*although the ship is newer, the deluxe balcony suite is no better appointed than a Club Continent suite

*the entertainment – ok MSC have a larger theatre with better sight lines and a full production company but the quality of the singing/dancing was about the same as Azamara and the sound reproduction quality was worse.  Due to covid restrictions there were no guest entertainers so cannot compare what difference that might have made

*we expected a new ship to have a better wifi connection speed, it was actually about the same as Azamara, it was free of charge though for Yacht Club guests.  However you have to designate what two devices you are using you cant switch between your devices as you can on Azamara which would be an issue on a longer cruise when I usually have my laptop, ipad and phone.

 

So in some ways the two lines are comparable.  Will we be cruising MSC again? – well certainly not before we experience Azamara a few times again over the next year or so.  Yacht Club is a very different experience, a ship within a ship, there are things to like and things not to like.  So future booking with MSC is not a definite yes, but its also not a certain no.

[travellerin1984]

Thank you for sharing your experiences! We cruise mostly with Celebrity and we liked the MSC experience last and this week. I agree your comment about the captain and officers. It is so different compared to American cruiselines. The service is good but they are not as personable as in other cruiselines. We dont really mind because we are used to more anonym service at home but you can notice the difference.
 

 

[kernow]

Thanks for the comparison, we've often thought of trying Azamara so it was interesting.

Like you we really missed hearing a few announcements, I did wonder if they are just turned off in YC as one time when we were 'out' in the main ship I heard one. We also said it would have been nice to see some of the officers but I think that may have been a Covid thing, as on past MSC cruises they have been at the parties.

 

Our butler was amazing so I think you may have just been unlucky there.

 

[travellerin1984]

5 minutes ago, kernow said:

Thanks for the comparison, we've often thought of trying Azamara so it was interesting.

Like you we really missed hearing a few announcements, I did wonder if they are just turned off in YC as one time when we were 'out' in the main ship I heard one. We also said it would have been nice to see some of the officers but I think that may have been a Covid thing, as on past MSC cruises they have been at the parties.

 

Our butler was amazing so I think you may have just been unlucky there.

 

Our butler in YC inside was almost unvisible. We didn’t meet her until day 3. My husband saw her name on the visit card in the cabin and day three we saw a butler near our cabin and my husband noticed her name to be the same as on the visit card. We talked to her couple of times after that. We didn’t need her services so it wasn’t an issue. Most questions we handled directly with the concierge which was easier. On the other hand our friend had a great butler who really made the cruise better for him (and  forus! 🙂 ) She made suggestion about pre-dinner drinks with cheese on the balcony, came with extra wine for our friend and handled the laundry extra quickly and hang it in the wardrobe etc.

[kernow]

13 minutes ago, travellerin1984 said:

Our butler in YC inside was almost unvisible. We didn’t meet her until day 3. My husband saw her name on the visit card in the cabin and day three we saw a butler near our cabin and my husband noticed her name to be the same as on the visit card. We talked to her couple of times after that. We didn’t need her services so it wasn’t an issue. Most questions we handled directly with the concierge which was easier. On the other hand our friend had a great butler who really made the cruise better for him (and  forus! 🙂 ) She made suggestion about pre-dinner drinks with cheese on the balcony, came with extra wine for our friend and handled the laundry extra quickly and hang it in the wardrobe etc.

It's strange how they can be so different. We were introduced to our butler in the terminal and even though one of the other butlers escorted us onto the ship she came and found us in our cabin and asked how we were settling in. From then on it seemed like almost every time we left the cabin she or her assistant would be in the corridor asking if we needed anything. She would leave a tray of cocktails and snacks in the cabin every night and always wanted to escort us to shows and restaurants. I asked how many cabins she had and she said 6, I have no idea how she was so attentive to everyone and always so friendly with a smile on her face(behind her mask)!

[Paphillyguy]

1 hour ago, travellerin1984 said:

Our butler in YC inside was almost unvisible. We didn’t meet her until day 3. My husband saw her name on the visit card in the cabin and day three we saw a butler near our cabin and my husband noticed her name to be the same as on the visit card. We talked to her couple of times after that. We didn’t need her services so it wasn’t an issue. Most questions we handled directly with the concierge which was easier. On the other hand our friend had a great butler who really made the cruise better for him (and  forus! 🙂 ) She made suggestion about pre-dinner drinks with cheese on the balcony, came with extra wine for our friend and handled the laundry extra quickly and hang it in the wardrobe etc.

Our upcoming cruise will be our first with MSC.  We will be in the Yacht club.  We have sailed in the NCL Haven 3 times and have had a similar experience.  Our first cruise our butler was excellent always checking in on us, but not intrusively.  Our second our butler was good but not the same as our first and the third was barely around.  However, our room stewards on all 3 were excellent. 

[uktog]

We met our butler about 1600 (about three hours after boarding). His card was in the cabin but he said it was preferable we did not call him but call the concierge if we wanted anything. We are so low maintenance we never had need to call. We sensed though he was saying things to ensure he had an easy ride. For example he advised against room service breakfast claiming they could only do cold continental- day five another couple confirmed this was not entirely true, we could have had many other warm items though not a full cooked breakfast. I’m afraid his attitude did tarnish our overall view of MSC. 

[Huntingdon1701]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

We met our butler about 1600 (about three hours after boarding). His card was in the cabin but he said it was preferable we did not call him but call the concierge if we wanted anything. We are so low maintenance we never had need to call. We sensed though he was saying things to ensure he had an easy ride. For example he advised against room service breakfast claiming they could only do cold continental- day five another couple confirmed this was not entirely true, we could have had many other warm items though not a full cooked breakfast. I’m afraid his attitude did tarnish our overall view of MSC. 

 

Wow. That's so counter to what mine did. He was definitely taking you for a ride. Sorry you had that experience. 

[uktog]

1 hour ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

 

Wow. That's so counter to what mine did. He was definitely taking you for a ride. Sorry you had that experience. 

We realised that the last day after talking with others in the lounge.  We just thought they weren't allowed to be like Azamara butlers.  If we go back next time, we will know!

[Toofarfromthesea]

OP, how did the price compare to a comparable Azamara cruise?

[uktog]

36 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

OP, how did the price compare to a comparable Azamara cruise?

Per day Yacht Club is about the same as an Azamara verandah

[kernow]

11 hours ago, uktog said:

Per day Yacht Club is about the same as an Azamara verandah

Do all levels on Azamara get a butler?

[uktog]

No they do not now. However everyone has an attendant and an assistant and the attendant is very close to an MSC butler. Given the Azamara ships are so much smaller there’s many things an MSC butler appears to do that you don’t need (eg escorting you). 
Only the suites have three people with a butler as well

Edited August 7, 2021 by uktog

[hamrag]

On 8/5/2021 at 7:36 PM, kernow said:

....We also said it would have been nice to see some of the officers but I think that may have been a Covid thing, as on past MSC cruises they have been at the parties....

Indeed! Whilst I understand the desire of OP to make comparisons, it does seem to me somewhat disingenuous to compare a cruiseline under Covid-19 restrictions to one fully functioning pre-Covid -19.

 

Personally, I have sailed both cruiselines pre-Covid-19 and IMHO Azamara does not come close to MSC Yacht Club in terms of quality....personal interaction between crew and passengers, yes I would agree....and that seemed to us a huge part of what Az cruisers are looking for....that particular aspect is not important to us. YMMV.

[uktog]

I appreciate Covid affects things but to call out a genuine reflection as disingenuous is not valid.
 

Covid doesn’t explain the lack of communication over an address system about changed timings, the app being so factually incorrect or a Maître d who sees a serious problem ten feet away from him and does not come and check the guest is ok.  (The same person did spend a long time chatting at some guests tables so was inconsistent and other guests who had tables adjacent to us and were MSC regulars also remarked that he was selective).  We would not have (for Covid reasons) wanted much interaction but when they were screwing up handling food allergies and giving out wrong information that impacted on guests health and enjoyment some interaction would have been nice. 
 

Actually in our comparison there was a lot we could have said but cut them slack because of the situation. And some things we liked (eg spacious layout on Deck 19) could actually have been helped by Covid distancing rules and not always be as good, who knows but we gave them credit nevertheless.  

 

This was actually our second cruise sailing under Covid protocols and we hope in the Autumn to see how Azamara handles things, but our take home from MSC rightly or wrongly is that communication onboard is not one of their strengths.