Have Only Sailed in Yacht Club, Considering Balcony w/Aurea Experience ... Questions

[Robkat]

We've been on 4 previous MSC cruises, on Divina, Seaside (x2) and most recently, on the Seashore.  All of them in YC.

We are considering and have been looking at the Seaside, in a balcony with the Aurea Experience.  

We do have some basic questions though:

1)  with respect to the Aurea experience, how do they work the "open dining"?  Is there a section of the MDR that is allocated to those with Aurea?  Is it truly "Open"?  Can you go whenever and get seated (at a table for two) in different areas?  Or do they try to slot you into the same table each evening?

 

2)  Does the Aurea experience come with the "Easy Plus" drinks package?  Is there a drinks number limit?  

 

3)  Which side of the ship is smoking?  We're particularly wondering about the public deck 8 ... is there a lot of smoking out on that deck?

 

4)  It seems like when you choose regular balcony, with the Aurea experience, you can only choose cabins forward on deck 9.  They look like they have lovely big balconies, but they do seem to be pretty close to goings-on on deck 8.  Has anyone been in these cabins and how did you like them?  Did you find any issues being just above a public deck?

 

5)  And finally, has anyone who is usually in Yacht Club made a change like this, and how was it?  Did you have a good time, or were you always missing being in Yacht Club.  

 

Thanks for any and all help and comments.

[RudiRatlos]

1) Usually an area of MDR is dedicated to Aurea guests, where you can go anytime during MDR opening hours. You may get the same table each evening, if available und you like it.

(If a ship is really fully booked, there might be restrictions - e.g. once on Splendida we were supposed to come the same time each evening - were asked for preferred time on embarkation)

 

2) No drink package included with aurea anymore (that's why we booked YC first time for next week´s cruise).

If you book a drink package, number of drinks is not limited.

Edited June 2, 2022 by RudiRatlos

[Morgsmom]

Here are some answers:

1.  Yes, it is open dining.  There is a section of the MDR.   You can dine when you want, with whomever you want.  The Maitre' D' will  probably want to put you at the same(ish) table each night but you can request to move.

 

2.  On Drinks, it DEPENDS on which offer you book.  If you book the All in Easy Plus with Wifi then upgrade to Aurea package you will have drinks.  There will be no limit on the # but the max amount is $9 per drink.  It is not what you were accustomed to in the YC in terms of spirits or wines.

 

3.  Can't answer on smoking or deck 8 shenanigans.

4.  Yes, they cluster the Aurea cabins together.

 

In all that I've read the Aurea experience is really, really watered down.  You used to get a massage and other perks.  No more.

 

Frankly with the exception of open seating it is pretty much the same as a Balcony with an Easy Plus package (in my opinion). If it were me, I would book the balcony with Easy Plus and Wifi then upgrade to the Premium Plus Beverage package (if that was important to you).  You'd likely still be better off by a couple hundred bucks vs Aurea which you could then spend in specialty dining for 'anytime' dining.   My opinion only 🙂

 

[JAGR]

Ditto on what Morgsmom said.  I would add, though, that one other Aurea advantage you would potentially miss with a non-Aurea room would be access to the dedicated sun deck reserved for Aurea.  That perk does allow you to not have to worry about getting up early in the morning with the
chair-hog brigade!"

[Robkat]

Thanks to all for your answers.

The most important aspect of YC (for us) was the open dining and the (fairly) quieter and more private sundeck area.  So those aspects of the Aurea experience would be very important for us.

 

We're still hoping to hear from someone who would know about where on deck 8 the smoking zones are.  Those Aurea balcony cabins look OK, and they have those lovely big balconies, but they are very close to deck 8.

 

So if anyone can tell us where those smoking zones on deck 8 are, it would help us decide if this option was for us or not.  We'd definitely not want to be effected by smoke when sitting out on our balcony.

 

Thanks again.

[Capricruiser]

We only book an Aurea suite if the ship for the itinerary we want does not have YC.  If you're accustomed to YC there is no comparison.  The My Choice dining is only for the evening meal.  For the others you're stuck with the self-service buffet.  You'll receive no coddling, no butlers, and above all, no Top Sail Lounge.  The drinks you received free in YC you pay for with Aurea.  The Top-16 or 18 sun deck is no great thing.

[JAGR]

19 hours ago, Robkat said:

So if anyone can tell us where those smoking zones on deck 8 are, it would help us decide if this option was for us or not.  We'd definitely not want to be effected by smoke when sitting out on our balcony.

Since you've sailed on Seaside, smoking areas were all on the Starboard side.  When we were on her a few times out of Florida, the outdoor smoking area on the ship was by the Seaview Lounge and outside of the buffet area on the Waterfront Boardwalk (areas we studiously avoided!).  Same held true on Seashore, where the area was by the Brooklyn Cafe.  thought that decision was made 3 or 4 years ago to use the starboard side fleetwide, but maybe someone who has sailed Seaside on the Med can clarify.

[Robkat]

3 hours ago, JAGR said:

Since you've sailed on Seaside, smoking areas were all on the Starboard side.  When we were on her a few times out of Florida, the outdoor smoking area on the ship was by the Seaview Lounge and outside of the buffet area on the Waterfront Boardwalk (areas we studiously avoided!).  Same held true on Seashore, where the area was by the Brooklyn Cafe.  thought that decision was made 3 or 4 years ago to use the starboard side fleetwide, but maybe someone who has sailed Seaside on the Med can clarify.

Jagr:  we hear you, about avoiding the smoking areas!  And, on our most recent Seashore in YC, we do remember the smoking areas being on the starboard side, so you're probably right in thinking that MSC uses the starboard side fleetwide .  Thanks for pointing that out, as it would be a determining factor in our choosing a cabin on the port side!!! 

[sidari]

We sailed on the first Mii sailing of Seaside in one of the Aft Aurea Suites, a few months later we sailed in one of the Deck 9 forward Aurea cabins with the larger balconies, had no issues other than the storage problem of the smaller wardrobe. We turned up at any time for Dinner and never had to wait and were seated by the windows at the back of the ship. At the time Aurea came with a drink package that we had upgraded to include the minibar, the Top 18 with it's bar was great. Not sure that the value is there now without the drink package.

[ddlb]

I thought the biggest plus in booking the aurea was the  thermal spa. Is it just better to book a bella balcony and pay for the thermal spa weekly pass instead of paying the difference between the two experiences?

[JAGR]

16 hours ago, ddlb said:

I thought the biggest plus in booking the aurea was the  thermal spa. Is it just better to book a bella balcony and pay for the thermal spa weekly pass instead of paying the difference between the two experiences?

If the thermal spa pass is what you value, it is no longer an Aurea perk. You get a 40% discount of pre-paid packages.

[RudiRatlos]

To my knowledge free access to the spa is still included with aurea, but you don't get a free massage anymore (just 40% discount on pre-paid, as JAGR said).

[JAGR]

12 minutes ago, RudiRatlos said:

To my knowledge free access to the spa is still included with aurea, but you don't get a free massage anymore (just 40% discount on pre-paid, as JAGR said).

Thanks.  I was thinking about the elimination of the Welbeing package.

[Robkat]

23 hours ago, sidari said:

We sailed on the first Mii sailing of Seaside in one of the Aft Aurea Suites, a few months later we sailed in one of the Deck 9 forward Aurea cabins with the larger balconies, had no issues other than the storage problem of the smaller wardrobe. We turned up at any time for Dinner and never had to wait and were seated by the windows at the back of the ship. At the time Aurea came with a drink package that we had upgraded to include the minibar, the Top 18 with it's bar was great. Not sure that the value is there now without the drink package.

 

Thanks Sidari ... this answered several of our questions about the Aurea experience.  And PS, we totally agree about the limited wardrobe space ... just looking at some of the videos and photos have me nervous!  

 

When going through a mock reservation, we can choose to have the drinks package and the wifi included, and then there is the option to choose the experience.  So, we'd have the drinks package, we are utterly indifferent to any of the spa amenities that used to be included, and we're most interested in the open dining aspect, and having the quieter and more private sundeck available.  Having never done MSC outside YC, we were wanting to hear from folks who had done opted for the Aurea experience and to hear how they found it went.  

 

Thanks everyone for all comments and replies!

 

 

[GonzoWCS]

Great information here thanks folks!

 

Cheers