Here's a question for those who have been on MSC ships with and without Yacht Club.

[no1talks]

As I understand it, MSC still has eight ships from pre-YC days.

 

Compared to the  non-YC baseline on the ships that offer YC for those who wish to book it, how is the baseline food & service on the ships that cannot offer YC? Or, put another way, if you are not going to go for YC, are you better off for food & service on a ship that doesn't have YC in the first place?

If the F&S experience on a ship without YC, is no better than non-YC F&S on a ship with YC, what is the appeal for someone who is more interested in onboard experience than the list of ports?

Or, is just a case of the ships without YC being placed on itineraries that are heavy on the ports and you spend far less time on the ship anyway?  

Thank you in advance for the replies.

[Essiesmom]

We have sailed on ships with (Divina, Seaside) and without (Armonia) YC.  But we have never been in YC.  We did not find the food or service any different.  As a ship without bells & whistles, Armonia had a much more sedate atmosphere.  EM

[alyssamma]

38 minutes ago, no1talks said:

As I understand it, MSC still has eight ships from pre-YC days.

 

Compared to the  non-YC baseline on the ships that offer YC for those who wish to book it, how is the baseline food & service on the ships that cannot offer YC? Or, put another way, if you are not going to go for YC, are you better off for food & service on a ship that doesn't have YC in the first place?

If the F&S experience on a ship without YC, is no better than non-YC F&S on a ship with YC, what is the appeal for someone who is more interested in onboard experience than the list of ports?

Or, is just a case of the ships without YC being placed on itineraries that are heavy on the ports and you spend far less time on the ship anyway?  

Thank you in advance for the replies.

This is an excellent question and I am looking forward to the answers. I can tell you this...I'll be sailing my first non-YC in July on the Poesia...a ship w/o YC. I'm ok with this because there is no YC, but I could never sail a YC ship and not be in the YC. I'd spend my time thinking about the people who *are* in the YC, and how I'm not one of them.

 

It would start when I get on the ship and I don't have a special lounge. It would continue whenever I went to a show and there wasn't a special reserved section for me. It would annoy me to no end to have to wait in line to get on and off the ship at each port. And so on and so on.

 

So this isn't an exact answer to your question because I haven't yet sailed both, but this is my personal feeling about not sailing in YC on a YC ship.

[no1talks]

28 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

This is an excellent question and I am looking forward to the answers. I can tell you this...I'll be sailing my first non-YC in July on the Poesia...a ship w/o YC. I'm ok with this because there is no YC, but I could never sail a YC ship and not be in the YC. I'd spend my time thinking about the people who *are* in the YC, and how I'm not one of them.

 

It would start when I get on the ship and I don't have a special lounge. It would continue whenever I went to a show and there wasn't a special reserved section for me. It would annoy me to no end to have to wait in line to get on and off the ship at each port. And so on and so on.

 

So this isn't an exact answer to your question because I haven't yet sailed both, but this is my personal feeling about not sailing in YC on a YC ship.

Well, accumulating Silver, Gold, and Diamond benefits softens the harsh reality of a ship without Yacht club.

[alyssamma]

16 minutes ago, no1talks said:

Well, accumulating Silver, Gold, and Diamond benefits softens the harsh reality of a ship without Yacht club.

Oh, it does indeed...and the only reason I'm sailing the Poesia 🙂

 

But in this case I'm also sailing for the itinerary. I usually don't get off the ship in the Caribbean. The Poesia is a northern Europe cruise...I'll do the ports there.

 

[korpo024]

Never had the pleasure (and money) for YC. Only thing I would pay the extra money is for more personal space. 

Even now on Grandiosa with 50% capacity (hahaha not) it's much too crowded. Especially Italians and people from Spain do not care for your personal space. They scrub against you everyway they can...

And this itinerary is just Italy and Spain....so....it's crowded and it feels crowded. But still...there are spaces that are not overcrowded. There the north European people are found...

And I guess the loudness of the music is a bit less in YC. Everywhere on the ship the music is so loud...maybe because of all the people do seem to have hearing issues...because they shout all the time. But maybe this is cultural...

We eat in all specialty restaurants because the MDR is overcrowded and the food is soso...and even in the specialty restaurants people are listening to music on their phones...without headphones...that's another thing...don't Italians and people from Spain have headphones? They play their personal music loud so everyone must listen... really strange...but maybe it's cultural.

But nevertheless it's good to be on a cruise again. It's been too long.

If YC had the premium plus drink package and a few specialty restaurants included I would pay the extra money. But for now I have to learn to live with loud Italians and rude Spaniards.

If you can't take a joke...just don't read my comments.

[styles27]

4 hours ago, korpo024 said:

Never had the pleasure (and money) for YC. Only thing I would pay the extra money is for more personal space. 

Even now on Grandiosa with 50% capacity (hahaha not) it's much too crowded. Especially Italians and people from Spain do not care for your personal space. They scrub against you everyway they can...

And this itinerary is just Italy and Spain....so....it's crowded and it feels crowded. But still...there are spaces that are not overcrowded. There the north European people are found...

And I guess the loudness of the music is a bit less in YC. Everywhere on the ship the music is so loud...maybe because of all the people do seem to have hearing issues...because they shout all the time. But maybe this is cultural...

We eat in all specialty restaurants because the MDR is overcrowded and the food is soso...and even in the specialty restaurants people are listening to music on their phones...without headphones...that's another thing...don't Italians and people from Spain have headphones? They play their personal music loud so everyone must listen... really strange...but maybe it's cultural.

But nevertheless it's good to be on a cruise again. It's been too long.

If YC had the premium plus drink package and a few specialty restaurants included I would pay the extra money. But for now I have to learn to live with loud Italians and rude Spaniards.

If you can't take a joke...just don't read my comments.

Yikes that is just plain rude that they’re playing music on their phones out loud at the restaurants. 
We sailed out of Rome in 2019 and thankfully didn’t experience this but we were upgraded to YC and very rarely went to the public areas of the ship. 

[SpeedySal]

Hmm, have our first MSC cruise booked on Grandiosa mid October and thank you, korpo, for reassuring me that YC was going to be the best choice for not feeling too crowded on board. I thought MSC were supposed to be sailing with restricted capacity…….

If YC does not include the Premium Plus drink package, does anyone know what it does include, please? Thanks in advance.

[rkacruiser]

11 hours ago, korpo024 said:

But for now I have to learn to live with loud Italians and rude Spaniards.

 

There are other nationalities that can be inconsiderate as well.  Including mine.  

[hamrag]

1 hour ago, SpeedySal said:

If YC does not include the Premium Plus drink package, does anyone know what it does include, please? Thanks in advance.

It sits between Premium and Premium Plus, inasmuch as it includes some of the lower end P+ drinks. It's not specific, but rather than the Premium max of 10 per glass, it tends to include some up to 12 or 13. 

 

Within the YC areas it is clear on the drink menus, outwith YC it can sometimes be as clear as mud! 😉

[SpeedySal]

Thanks very much for that clarification, hamrag.Looking forward to  enjoying a nice cocktail or aperitivo pre dinner and I am hoping for a decent glass of vino with the ‘gourmet dining’ as MSC are promising in the ‘exclusivity’ of YC!

Depending on the capacity onboard, of course we will be wanting to explore the whole ship and try out at least some of the speciality restaurants or bars. I am sure DH will be keen to check out the Master of the Seas pub. It sounds as if finding out what beverages included with YC we can choose from may be a bit of a challenge.

 

Just really hoping we will get to cruise again as the situation is still far from certain. Mid October isn’t so far off but no doubt other kind people posting on this board who are cruising between now and then  will fill us in with what is going on at embarkation and onboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CruisingFox27]

On 8/28/2021 at 3:54 AM, no1talks said:

As I understand it, MSC still has eight ships from pre-YC days.

 

Compared to the  non-YC baseline on the ships that offer YC for those who wish to book it, how is the baseline food & service on the ships that cannot offer YC? Or, put another way, if you are not going to go for YC, are you better off for food & service on a ship that doesn't have YC in the first place?

If the F&S experience on a ship without YC, is no better than non-YC F&S on a ship with YC, what is the appeal for someone who is more interested in onboard experience than the list of ports?

Or, is just a case of the ships without YC being placed on itineraries that are heavy on the ports and you spend far less time on the ship anyway?  

Thank you in advance for the replies.

 

We've sailed on ships with YC, both within YC and outside of YC and we've sailed on non YC ships. We've found the food and service to be excellent in both scenarios when not in YC. A ship having YC hasn't impacted on the service we've received when not being in YC. If you're not in YC it's irrelevant to your sailing and hasn't had any impact on our experience. 

[Beamafar]

Here is what MSC says is included for YC (see at the very bottom of the pic):

 

[sidari]

Bea ... It could mean drinks up to $12 outside of the YC ?

[alyssamma]

4 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Here is what MSC says is included for YC (see at the very bottom of the pic):

 

And here is the beauty of MSC and the YC. That $12 isn't really $12. There are definitely drinks more than $12 allowed. I had this happen on my 8/20 sailing. Seen it happen on almost every YC sailing I've been on.

[Beamafar]

3 minutes ago, sidari said:

Bea ... It could mean drinks up to $12 outside of the YC ?

Yes - the asterisk is for the item on the list ‘Complimentary drinks in all onboard bars and restaurants’. 
 

If there’s a price against an item on a menu in YC, then you’ll be charged.  There are no prices next to included items. 

Edited August 29, 2021 by Beamafar

[SpeedySal]

Thanks to all here for further explanation regarding YC drinks package. I have just asked a question specifically about the wine available in the YC restaurant and the choice and quality on another thread as I hadn’t seen these recent postings above.

By the way, is any champagne included?
Thanks all

Sal

[alyssamma]

15 minutes ago, SpeedySal said:

Thanks to all here for further explanation regarding YC drinks package. I have just asked a question specifically about the wine available in the YC restaurant and the choice and quality on another thread as I hadn’t seen these recent postings above.

By the way, is any champagne included?
Thanks all

Sal

You won't know until you get on the ship what is and isn't included and even then it will vary by day and bar 🙂

 

Joking a little, but not really. Inside the YC service will be pretty consistent, but outside you might find yourself in a bar where they tell you something isn't included - and you might have had it included in that bar the day before or another bar that same day. It's annoying af.

 

This is really only for the high end stuff, which is mostly wines and champagne. Sometimes bourbons or tequilas tho. Just be persistent.

 

I was on the 8/20 Meraviglia and got into an argument with a bartender about a tequila not being included in the YC package. He kept telling me it wasn't because it was more than $12 and I told him it was because I had been drinking it. I then asked him how long he had been working here and he said one month. That kind of made me laugh. Another bartender came over and rung it up and lo and behold it was free under the YC package.

 

The first bartender apologized and was very cool after that so no hard feelings. But the point is service is inconsistent and you sometimes need to "insist" you should have something.

 

 

[SpeedySal]

Thanks for that advice. I intend to enjoy it all and just have fun!

[Beamafar]

55 minutes ago, SpeedySal said:

 I have just asked a question specifically about the wine available in the YC restaurant and the choice and quality on another thread as I hadn’t seen these recent postings above.

By the way, is any champagne included?
Thanks all

Sal

I’ve been searching back through a couple of my reviews to see if I could find a wine list photo from one of our sailings but haven’t come across one. 
 

Despite there being a list, they tend to offer 2 reds and 2 whites “chosen by the sommelier” every night and changing the offerings each night. 
 

Nicholas Feuillatte is the champagne offered in YC. 

Edited August 29, 2021 by Beamafar

[SpeedySal]

That’s great to know and thanks very much. It is really nice to have a choice of wine and the odd glass of champers will go down a treat. Cheers!

[Beamafar]

I found the following;  it’s from a cruise a few years ago but it might give you an idea of the types of wine included.  The selection will differ slightly on a US based itinerary but not much:

 

[Beamafar]

Apologies to the OP.  This thread has turned into yet another one solely focussing on YC. 

 

To address the original premise of the thread:   We’ve been in non-YC cabins on ships both with and without a YC onboard as well as sailing many times in YC.   We’ve experienced better food and/or service outside of YC on many occasions but have also had exceptional service and some delicious dishes in YC.

 

I’ve found that if you treat the crew with respect and, especially, friendliness, you tend to get it reciprocated in spades.  However, now and again you may come across a crew member or two who are unhappy in the job or maybe have personal issues that cause them to be surly. Just keep in mind that most are far from home for very long stretches and it can’t be easy for them having to smile all day. 

[SpeedySal]

Thank you very much again Beamafar fiar all this great info which really is appreciated and really helps a lot.

I do apologise to all as well for deviating from the original thread here. I hope in the future after I have some experience with MSC cruises to be able to contribute more fully to specific topics.