Why choose MSC Yacht Club? Is it worth it?

[2cruiseluvrs]

Why try the MSC Yacht Club?

 

(written by 619deals@gmail.com -- this is not a sponsored article, though it would be really nice if MSC reached out to me... a very loyal guest!)

 

Since getting married, my wife and I have been on nine cruises, and our 10th is booked, with plans in motion for our 11th cruise to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary in a couple of years. I guess that comes out to about one cruise every two years. 

 

We have sailed on Celebrity, Norwegian, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and MSC; each was special in its own way, and we are firm believers that you cannot judge an entire company based on one ship or one cruise experience, though we do have our preferences! We’ve stayed in interior rooms, ocean view rooms, balcony rooms, and deluxe suites.

 

We tried MSC for the first time in 2016 when they were relatively new to the states. That year we sailed on Divina, and enjoyed an Aurea-level balcony room. Two years later, while trying to find a room that would accommodate our family of five, we discovered a “deal” that placed us in the Yacht Club on MSC Seaside. At the time, young kids could sail “free” and the total cost was reasonable. We LOVED the service and perks.

 

The following year, in 2019, we returned to Seaside’s Yacht Club and it felt like coming back home. (I actually cried a little when I arrived back in the Yacht Club!) At the tail end of the pandemic, we were itching to take another cruise, and we found ourselves on a non-MSC line going to Alaska, and we were in an oceanview room with no balcony. The trip itself was fine and we enjoyed the food, but we sure did miss the Yacht Club experience.

 

So now my wife and I are excited to take our next cruise, which is in the Yacht Club on MSC Meraviglia, and we are looking forward to going “sans kids” this time 🙂

 

With SO MANY people choosing a cruise for their vacation, I am sure a lot of folks ask, “What is the benefit of being in the Yacht Club? And is it worth it?” So this article will venture to answer that question. Having been in the MSC Yacht Club twice and looking forward very much to the next two times, I feel like I am in a great position to answer the question. I also have the perspective of comparing the Yacht Club to seven other cruises that were NOT in a VIP space.

 

I should also preface this article by adding that I am a very frugal person. I am in my 40s, I have been self-employed most of my life. I’ve had rich months and poor months. I buy many of my clothes second hand. I drive cars for 15+ years before replacing them. We buy a lot of generic groceries. And I always look for the best prices when shopping. And so I am pretty good at finding a good deal when it comes along!

 

As a marketer/advertiser by trade, it’s easy for me to see right through a promotion and identify the real offer versus the gimmicks. I often tell my kids that people buy “bullet points.” The more features you can include with the product, the more value the customer is going to “feel” or benefit from their purchase.

 

At its heart, in my opinion, the Yacht Club is a marketing offer that includes many bells and whistles, or many bullet points, and I have found it to be a very good value. You are essentially paying for alcohol, the thermal suite, and internet access, while also receiving exclusive service and a better experience.

 

Look at it this way… When you buy a new car, there are “trim levels” available. The entry level car has fabric seats and a basic stereo system. But the “fancy” version has leather seats, premium sound, and maybe even computerized lane detection. Sure, you can buy the cheaper car, and then later you can pay extra for leather seats, and you can pay extra to install a better stereo. But if you do those things, you may find yourself paying as much for the basic car with extras, as if you would have if you bought the “fancy” car in the first place! That’s like buying a ticket into the Yacht Club! 

 

Do I think it’s a good idea to buy the fancy car? Not always... but sometimes. 

 

When I go on a cruise, I like to have adult beverages, and I like to go to the Thermal Suite A LOT. I’ve calculated that if I buy a cheap stateroom in the general area, and then pay extra for the drink package, and then pay extra for the spa pass, it gets me really close to the cost of an interior room in Yacht Club. 

 

In real numbers, a general interior room may be $500, and the drink package is $400, and the spa is $250. That’s $1150 per person. The total for two adults is now $2300, plus tips, etc.

 

A Yacht Club interior room can be had for as little $2750 per couple plus tips, and it comes with drinks and spa, and so much more. So if I am paying an extra $450 total, what am I getting for the extra money? Well, my list of benefits and experiences is below. Granted, if you don’t drink and you don’t like saunas and steam rooms, then none of this makes financial sense for you! And if you take the kids along, it could really add up to be a bit too much.

 

Just two adults going on an occasional cruise? This is a no-brainer.

 

YACHT CLUB BENEFITS (subject to change):

 

• Arrive when you want, but not too late to miss the ship!

• Expedited Boarding, zipping right past lines and quickly through security

• Enjoy champagne and snacks while the staff prepares your ship card and wrist band…. It’s so much better than standing and waiting without snacks!

• A Yacht Club butler then escorts you onboard and directly to the private Yacht Club Top Sail lounge

• The entire Yacht Club is private and only a couple hundred guests have access to it, while the many thousands of other guests cannot get in.

• Inside of the private lounge, you can enjoy all the drinks and snacks from 6A to 2A. Just sit down on the comfortable seats and enjoy the service that comes to you! Your lounge may even have spectacular outdoor spaces with can’t-be-beat views.

• Your butler will escort you to your room and offer to put away your clothes into your closets and drawers.

• Your butler will ask you what you like to drink and eat for snacks, and then she/he will ensure these items are stocked in your complimentary mini-bar throughout the cruise.

• Your butler will make sure you like your pillows. You can choose more and different bed pillows from their extensive pillow menu.

• When you are hungry, you can go to the Yacht Club restaurant, at any time, and choose from the menu, or maybe even ask for a custom entree. Remember, drinks are included, so ask for whatever you like to go with your meal. And then ask for another one!

• If you have any questions, your butler can help you, or you can visit the Yacht Club concierge, who can book an excursion for you, provide information about your room, your billing, etc. Ask them for anything!

• You have complimentary use of the Premium Wi-Fi package for two devices per stateroom. This wifi access includes the ship’s Browse & Stream internet package.

• When you are ready for the sun and swim, head upstairs to the Yacht Club One Pool and deck, a fully private area that includes a pool, hot tubs, many open lounge chairs, embroidered towels, a full bar, and a great buffet with foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between. Staff here will clean up your dishes, bring drinks to you, etc. During the cruise, there may be a couple of special evenings with music, etc.

• At night when you want to go to a show, call your butler and he/she will escort you to the main theater, and take you directly to the front row, even if the rest of the theater is sold out or full.

• Back in your room, when you want a snack or a cocktail (that’s not already in your minibar), just call your butler, and it will be brought to you for no extra charge.

• When you want to visit other parts of the ship, your Yacht Club wristband or key card will give you no-cost access to the other bars. Just ask and it’s yours!

• Gelato around the ship may also be included!

• When using the elevators, your YC wristband gives you priority access, usually zipping you right to your desired floor, bypassing all the other folks waiting on other floors! 

• When you are at port, and you want to leave the ship, just gather your bag, and head to the Yacht Club lounge. Your butler will escort you down the Priority Elevator and out a private exit of the ship, bypassing lines of other folks who are waiting. He will see you off to enjoy your day.

• When you arrive back at the ship, often the Yacht Club butlers may offer you a cool hand towel to clean up, and some fruit-infused water to cool off.

• The butler will escort you past lines and through security, then up the priority elevator, to your room or to the lounge. Once again, you will feel like Royalty simply by skipping the lines!

• While you are visiting Ocean Cay in the Bahamas, Yacht Club guests are taken on small trams to the private Yacht Club area of the island! There, you have cushioned loungers with umbrellas for no extra cost. Enjoy private beaches, and have access to the Ocean House where you will enjoy better foods and drinks than anywhere else on the island, all included. 

• Back on board, when it’s time to relax, put on your Yacht Club robe and slippers, and take the Priority elevators down to the Aurea Spa near deck 7 or 8. You have free entry! Visit the changing room to get comfortable in your trunks or bikini, then head out to enjoy the saunas, steam rooms, salt room, snow room, heated loungers, bubble pools and more. The Thermal Suite may open as early as 8 a.m. and may close at 10 p.m.

• Sadly, when your cruise comes to an end, you may be able to stay on board just a bit longer than others before you have to leave. 

• There may be even more benefits that I have missed!

 

So there you have it. That’s a lot of extra “bullet points” for just $225 per person more! Would you pay $35 per day for that? It’s really hard to say no. Of course these are ballpark numbers on select sailings, and you’ll pay quite a bit more in a Yacht Club balcony room or better, or at peak times of the year. The point is that just getting into Yacht Club provides members with so many extra benefits that are hard to scoff at, even if you are an extremely frugal person like me. 

 

Finally, be sure you are signed up as an MSC Voyagers member to collect your points, and consider booking again at least 12 months in advance of your next cruise, to double your new points! More points give you better benefits and bigger discounts, so the doubling gets you there faster. 

 

Did I miss anything? Do you agree or disagree? Share your comments below.

 

See you in the MSC Yacht Club!

 

 

 

 

[rkacruiser]

Your list of YC advantages is excellent.  I have to say though that the quality of Butler service may vary depending on the individual.  The effectiveness of the YC wristband for priority elevator service was not dependable on Meraviglia.  I would be on the other side of the elevator foyer when the priority elevator opened its doors and I could not make it to the elevator before the doors closed.  

 

Was YC worth my booking it?  Absolutely!  Perfection is difficult for any organization to 100% achieve.  

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

We sailed in the Yacht Club and loved it!  We had sailed previously in NCL's HAVEN (love that too!), but the price point between MSC and NCL is significant.   While the price point has been getting smaller between the two cruise lines, the nod still goes to MSC.  However, I am a craps player, and MSC ships do not have craps in their casinos.:(  With the Status matching program, you can get lots of perks with MSC even if you have never sailed on her by matching to something you DO have status on.  Biggest downside of the Voyagers program is that you must sail every 3 years or lose status.  (However, I will be on MSC again next year precisely to keep my status, so I guess that is effective.!)

[2cruiseluvrs]

RKACRUISER - you make a very good point about the butlers and the elevators. I would add that the elevators may be something that is a little out of our control, and things may certainly break or not work their best. However, I would say that if a BUTLER was not doing a very good job, I would very quickly bring it to the attention of the YC Director (there is one assigned to each ship). I hate to be a "Karen who asks for the manager" but in this case, the investment should ensure good service, and I think we have the right to ask for it. Fortunately, I have only had one butler (the same amazing guy both times) and never even had one issue. 

 

HEARTH - Yeah, the Haven costs a lot more. I would love to try it, but can't afford it! And if I am not on at least one Yacht Club cruise every three years, call the police because something is wrong!

[no1talks]

2 hours ago, 2cruiseluvrs said:

That’s a lot of extra “bullet points” for just $225 per person more!

[no1talks]

57 minutes ago, Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin said:

MSC ships do not have craps in their casinos

(I've never been on a ship with a craps table, so this observation comes from casinos on terra firma.)

A craps table is more labor-intensive than card games. MSC is probably looking to keep casino labor down by avoiding a game that has (at minimum) a dealer AND a stickman AND a boxman.

Just my 3 yen.

 

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, 2cruiseluvrs said:

However, I would say that if a BUTLER was not doing a very good job, I would very quickly bring it to the attention of the YC Director (there is one assigned to each ship). I hate to be a "Karen who asks for the manager" but in this case, the investment should ensure good service, and I think we have the right to ask for it.

 

I appreciate your post.  Thank you.  I have never had a Butler and, despite of the research that I did about what to expect before I boarded Meraviglia, I just did not have the experience to make any comments to the YC Director (whom I met only once and that was close to the end of the cruise) nor to the Concierge.  The Concierge was very response to any request that I made, however.  I am used to being a low maintenance guest and, maybe I was too low maintenance as a YC guest.  

[2cruiseluvrs]

15 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I appreciate your post.  Thank you.  I have never had a Butler and, despite of the research that I did about what to expect before I boarded Meraviglia, I just did not have the experience to make any comments to the YC Director (whom I met only once and that was close to the end of the cruise) nor to the Concierge.  The Concierge was very response to any request that I made, however.  I am used to being a low maintenance guest and, maybe I was too low maintenance as a YC guest.  

 

RKACRUISER - I hadn't even thought about how high- or low-maintenance a person must be in the Yacht Club. Thanks for bringing that up. I think high-maintenance people are a real pain in the tushy. I am definitely not one of them. Now I am very curious about what your experience was versus your expectation of the butler service. 

 

I think there is a point where a passenger can be a real jerk, and disrespectful toward staff including butlers. Just because a person is staying in Yacht Club, it is no excuse to be a demanding idiot, and no reason to treat other human beings like trash, or like "servants!"

 

I think that having a butler in Yacht Club is like having a friendly personal assistant, no different than if you were a CEO of a large company and you had an assistant who really looked after your needs, and was able to take care of things for you as they come up, just to make your CEO life a little easier.

 

If you ask a butler to bring you a bowl of fruit, and she did, and when it arrived you start complaining about the fruit, and commenting how the banana has a brown mark on it... and the orange is not perfect in every way... well, you are a jerk. 

 

If you ask to be taken to the theater and the butler shows up in 5 minutes instead of 1 minute, and you yell at the butler for not being faster, then you are a jerk.

 

But in all normal cases, I think the expectation is fine to ask for a drink, ask for a snack, ask for the newspaper from a certain city, ask for help to book an excursion, or ask for a certain type of coffee to be delivered at 6 a.m. In other words, if it would sound fine for a CEO to ask of her assistant, it should be perfectly fine to ask the butler on MSC Yacht Club. And if they seem to repeatedly have problems, it should be fine to bring that to the attention of the Yacht Club Director.

[emmas gran]

I think those of us that sail YC know what we are getting and what to expect,  we personally would not sail outside YC on MSC.

[Aussie Jeep]

Thanks foryour post. I have two cruises coming up on MSC both balcony bookings.  I am not able to get a calculation like you state where if you have a cabin plus drinks plus spa to be coming anywhere near as cheap as a balcony cabin with drinks package and spa

[2cruiseluvrs]

2 hours ago, Aussie Jeep said:

Thanks foryour post. I have two cruises coming up on MSC both balcony bookings.  I am not able to get a calculation like you state where if you have a cabin plus drinks plus spa to be coming anywhere near as cheap as a balcony cabin with drinks package and spa

 

AUSSIE - Yes, if you use a Yacht Club Balcony Room in the equation, it doesn't work, usually. The balcony alone adds $1500pp in cost! But it is much bigger and nicer than interior. My math works only for interior rooms ;) However, you never know when you might find that really good deal for a Yacht Club balcony on an off season. For my next cruise, we have an interior cabin -- it will force us to take advantage of the lounge and One Pool deck more often. 

[HikingPete]

Thank you for this, I found it really interesting.

 

I'm new to MSC cruises - I have my first in November on Preziosa and greatly looking forward to it, but I'm kind of uncertain about what to expect. I haven't booked YC, and I'm starting to wonder if I should have. I don't want to be all FOMO but at the same time I have been wondering about what I would have been missing out on.

 

More things to wonder about, and bank balance to check...

[JAGR]

15 hours ago, 2cruiseluvrs said:

YACHT CLUB BENEFITS (subject to change):

 

• Arrive when you want, but not too late to miss the ship!

• Expedited Boarding, zipping right past lines and quickly through security

• Enjoy champagne (No Champagne.  You do get Prosecco, although no alcohol is currently offered in US ports due to COVID and/or use of temporary terminals until next year.) and snacks while the staff prepares your ship card and wrist band…. It’s so much better than standing and waiting without snacks!

• A Yacht Club butler then escorts you onboard and directly to the private Yacht Club Top Sail lounge

• The entire Yacht Club is private and only a couple hundred guests have access to it, while the many thousands of other guests cannot get in.

• Inside of the private lounge, you can enjoy all the drinks and snacks from 6A to 2A. Just sit down on the comfortable seats and enjoy the service that comes to you! Your lounge may even have spectacular outdoor spaces with can’t-be-beat views.

• Your butler will escort you to your room and offer to put away your clothes into your closets and drawers.  Not really a guarantee for all butlers.  We were offered unpacking only once in the last six cruises.  Not a biggie at all since we wouldn't have that done for us.

• Your butler will ask you what you like to drink and eat for snacks, and then she/he will ensure these items are stocked in your complimentary mini-bar throughout the cruise.  Sadly, this has changed.  Beer and soft drinks are replenished, but not snacks.  Also, you get one large bottle of liquor, not the small "airline" bottles.

• Your butler will make sure you like your pillows. You can choose more and different bed pillows from their extensive pillow menu.

• When you are hungry, you can go to the Yacht Club restaurant, at any time (Anytime that they are open during service hours.  They don't even like people cutting through the dining room when it is closed) , and choose from the menu, or maybe even ask for a custom entree. Remember, drinks are included, so ask for whatever you like to go with your meal. And then ask for another one!

• If you have any questions, your butler can help you, or you can visit the Yacht Club concierge, who can book an excursion for you, provide information about your room, your billing, etc. Ask them for anything!

• You have complimentary use of the Premium Wi-Fi package for two devices per stateroom. This wifi access includes the ship’s Browse & Stream internet package.

• When you are ready for the sun and swim, head upstairs to the Yacht Club One Pool and deck, a fully private area that includes a pool, hot tubs, many open lounge chairs, embroidered towels, a full bar, and a great buffet with foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between. Staff here will clean up your dishes, bring drinks to you, etc. During the cruise, there may be a couple of special evenings with music, etc.

• At night when you want to go to a show, call your butler and he/she will escort you to the main theater, and take you directly to the front row, even if the rest of the theater is sold out or full.  Sorry, but I have to challenge this a bit.  There is an area reserved for seating for YC guests, but it is usually in the upper back middle.  If you want to be seated up front you need to arrange that well in advance wo they can hold seats for you.

• Back in your room, when you want a snack or a cocktail (that’s not already in your minibar), just call your butler, and it will be brought to you for no extra charge.

• When you want to visit other parts of the ship, your Yacht Club wristband or key card will give you no-cost access to the other bars. Just ask and it’s yours!

• Gelato around the ship may also be included!  You may be able to get it for free from a kind employee, but there is supposed to be a charge now.  Miss the free gelato and crepes in the old Seaside days!

• When using the elevators, your YC wristband gives you priority access, usually zipping you right to your desired floor, bypassing all the other folks waiting on other floors! Not necessarily on all ships with YC.  Seashore, as an example is using a new buttonless system.

• When you are at port, and you want to leave the ship, just gather your bag, and head to the Yacht Club lounge. Your butler will escort you down the Priority Elevator and out a private exit of the ship, bypassing lines of other folks who are waiting. He will see you off to enjoy your day.  No private exit anymore (or at least recently).  You do get escorted past other guests through to the ID badge readers at security.

• When you arrive back at the ship, often the Yacht Club butlers may offer you a cool hand towel to clean up, and some fruit-infused water to cool off.

• The butler will escort you past lines and through security, then up the priority elevator, to your room or to the lounge. Once again, you will feel like Royalty simply by skipping the lines!  Escort service is pretty much now a thing of the past.  There is one gangway marked for YC guests, an you navigate yourself to that.  We've not seen a butler waiting for us at the entry since back in the Seaside days!  We are 'low maintenance' and can find our way around fine, though.

• While you are visiting Ocean Cay in the Bahamas, Yacht Club guests are taken on small trams to the private Yacht Club area of the island! There, you have cushioned loungers with umbrellas for no extra cost. Enjoy private beaches, and have access to the Ocean House where you will enjoy better foods and drinks than anywhere else on the island, all included.  Since you've been to OC, then you will understand my point about YC leaving and returning to the ship that I made above.  There are two gangways set up, and all passengers can use either to exit.  Coming back on, signs ask YC guests to use the forward gangway where the YC tents are.  However, non-YC guests can use that gangway if they choose.

• Back on board, when it’s time to relax, put on your Yacht Club robe and slippers, and take the Priority elevators down to the Aurea Spa near deck 7 or 8. You have free entry! Visit the changing room to get comfortable in your trunks or bikini, then head out to enjoy the saunas, steam rooms, salt room, snow room, heated loungers, bubble pools and more. The Thermal Suite may open as early as 8 a.m. and may close at 10 p.m.

• Sadly, when your cruise comes to an end, you may be able to stay on board just a bit longer than others before you have to leave. 

• There may be even more benefits that I have missed!  There are certain "benefits" we really enjoy, such as nightly treats in the room before dinner.  Turndown service with chocolates, daily newspaper delivery, and the weekly seafood extravaganza on the One Deck, among other perks.

Thank you so much for your comments.  I did take the liberty of adding some comments/clarification on your list. It is not intended to be critical.  I did it because I saw the comments on entitlement and good guest/bad guest.  I have found that some people either have unrealistic expectations, or they hear about perks that other have had and want the same or better.  As an example, back in the days in Miami when there was a true YC room for preboarding, good snacks and prosecco or wine was on offer while being processed for cards and wristbands (as you pointed out.  This last March, you went through testing and clearance en masse, then you were given credentials when called to the counter, and then you were sent to a small open area to awaiit boarding.  There, they had juice, soft drinks, and cans of Pringles and nuts.  Sitting near us was a man who went ballistic when he wasn't offered any sparkling wine.  We were on a B2B and were praying that this 'gentleman' was only on for a week.  It went downhill from there.  After being escorted to the lounge he complained about being given prosecco, not champagne.  They brought champagne (the N-F we all get), but he wanted Dom.  When they said there would have to be a surcharge, he went ballistic again.  We spent the week looking over our shoulder, worried he might sneak up on us, or worse yet have a heart attack and I would have to do CPR.

 

Bottom line is that YC is great.  It will not be perfect, but you will not want.  Before I go to the Head Butler or YC Director with a service complaint, I always ask myself, "Will I lose sleep over it, or is it worth someone being fired over it?"  I have never come upon a situation that I was able to answer 'Yes' to either question.  Thanks again for all of your insights.

[Gatordad1967]

only you can determine worth.  

[JAGR]

8 minutes ago, Gatordad1967 said:

only you can determine worth.  

Unless you are too busy preventing forest fires!  Sorry, had to do it!

Edited August 1, 2022 by JAGR

[Gatordad1967]

11 minutes ago, JAGR said:

Unless you are too busy preventing forest fires!  Sorry, had to do it!

I can multi-task, lol.....

 

[bac513]

I believe that wifi “browse and stream” is an up charge even in YC. We had to pay on Seashore. Too bad, basic gratuities are not included.
 

We have made the transition from Celebrity Retreat to YC. We feel that the YC offers more and is a significantly better value. Having experienced YC and seen the crowds elsewhere on the ship, we will only sail YC on MSC.

 

In terms of is it worth it, it is difficult to put a price on the privacy and service received in YC. However, to us, it is well worth it for what it provides. On the other hand, dealing with crowds in non YC cabins Is not worth it to us. We would prefer to sail less to be able to afford the YC experience.

[2cruiseluvrs]

5 hours ago, HikingPete said:

Thank you for this, I found it really interesting.

 

I'm new to MSC cruises - I have my first in November on Preziosa and greatly looking forward to it, but I'm kind of uncertain about what to expect. I haven't booked YC, and I'm starting to wonder if I should have. I don't want to be all FOMO but at the same time I have been wondering about what I would have been missing out on.

 

More things to wonder about, and bank balance to check...

 

HIKINGPETE - Don't let the FOMO get to you, and don't worry too much about your own trip that you have planned. It's not like the ship is bad, or the non-YC rooms are a waste of time. Not at all. You will still enjoy the ship, the entertainment, the food, the staff, etc. And again, as I originally mentioned, if you only have a couple of drinks during the day, and you'd rarely go to the Thermal Area, then it's really a ton of extra money spent on the Yacht Club that maybe would be better used toward excursions, or a new permanent gift for your household. But all of that said, just look at what your expected costs might be for your planned trip, and then look to see what the costs would be if you booked an interior room in YC. See if it pencils out for you. For me, the interior YC room works, where the bigger better YC rooms (balcony, etc) do not fit my budget at this time.

[2cruiseluvrs]

2 hours ago, JAGR said:

Thank you so much for your comments.  I did take the liberty of adding some comments/clarification on your list. It is not intended to be critical. 

 

JAGR - Thank you SO MUCH for adding this valuable insight. Our last YC cruise was 2019 and surely things have changed a bit thanks to COVID, and no double some of the experiences vary by ship just a bit. I think that between my original list and your great supplements / edits, a person can get a real valuable view on potentially booking themselves into the Yacht Club, and that overall it is just different. Maybe some good advice to a passenger is to print out the list(s) and highlight the items they are most interested in, then take that list to the concierge on DAY ONE, to see what the current / actual situation is on that ship at that time, then plan accordingly. Thanks again for chiming in and adding what you know.

[2cruiseluvrs]

2 hours ago, JAGR said:

Sitting near us was a man who went ballistic when he wasn't offered any sparkling wine. After being escorted to the lounge he complained about being given prosecco, not champagne.  They brought champagne (the N-F we all get), but he wanted Dom.  When they said there would have to be a surcharge, he went ballistic again.

 

DEAR EVERYBODY ON EARTH - Do not ever be the guy that demands Dom Perignon when you are simply waiting to get processed to go on board. Wow, what a jerk! Hey JAGR, great story and a nightmare scenario. Thanks for sharing. If we can all avoid being "that guy" then life (and all of our cruises) will be that much better.

[2cruiseluvrs]

18 minutes ago, bac513 said:

I believe that wifi “browse and stream” is an up charge even in YC. We had to pay on Seashore. Too bad, basic gratuities are not included.

 

BAC513 - Thanks for this comment. As a matter of fact, just this past week I called MSC Customer Service to bring up this very issue. Basically their YC web page "inclusions" section says you get Premium Internet, unlimited for 2 devices. But then you look through the rest of the general website and the only two internet packages offered for sale are "Browse" and the better "Browse and Stream." I asked Customer Service, "So of those two choices, which would you consider to be the PREMIUM -- wouldn't it be the better of the two?" And the gal contacted management to inquire. She got back on the line and told me to print out the screen shots. She told me that the premium was indeed the better "browse and stream" -- and I asked her to send that to me in writing, and she refused, citing a lack of ability to email me. So I asked for names and took these notes, which I will take on my trip along with the printed screenshots.

 

I called and spoke to Casey D., Customer Service on July 27th at 10:30 a.m. and she says her colleagues confirm that the "Premium Package" is the same as the "Browse and Stream Cruise Package", per Jennifer B. in management.

 

I also sent an email to our previous YC Director and encouraged him to pass it along to the powers that be... to help clear up confusion for guests. 

 

THIS IS WHAT THE YACHT CLUB PAGE SHOWS AS A BENEFIT:

 

 

AND THESE ARE THE ONLY TWO INTERNET PACKAGES FOR SALE TO PASSENGERS:

 

 

So, what YC calls Premium and Unlimited in their marketing, should be the better of the two available packages, right?

[Gatordad1967]

10 minutes ago, 2cruiseluvrs said:

 

BAC513 - Thanks for this comment. As a matter of fact, just this past week I called MSC Customer Service to bring up this very issue. Basically their YC web page "inclusions" section says you get Premium Internet, unlimited for 2 devices. But then you look through the rest of the general website and the only two internet packages offered for sale are "Browse" and the better "Browse and Stream." I asked Customer Service, "So of those two choices, which would you consider to be the PREMIUM -- wouldn't it be the better of the two?" And the gal contacted management to inquire. She got back on the line and told me to print out the screen shots. She told me that the premium was indeed the better "browse and stream" -- and I asked her to send that to me in writing, and she refused, citing a lack of ability to email me. So I asked for names and took these notes, which I will take on my trip along with the printed screenshots.

 

I called and spoke to Casey D., Customer Service on July 27th at 10:30 a.m. and she says her colleagues confirm that the "Premium Package" is the same as the "Browse and Stream Cruise Package", per Jennifer B. in management.

 

I also sent an email to our previous YC Director and encouraged him to pass it along to the powers that be... to help clear up confusion for guests. 

 

THIS IS WHAT THE YACHT CLUB PAGE SHOWS AS A BENEFIT:

 

 

AND THESE ARE THE ONLY TWO INTERNET PACKAGES FOR SALE TO PASSENGERS:

 

 

So, what YC calls Premium and Unlimited in their marketing, should be the better of the two available packages, right?

It is the browse.

 

[Gatordad1967]

23 minutes ago, 2cruiseluvrs said:

 

DEAR EVERYBODY ON EARTH - Do not ever be the guy that demands Dom Perignon when you are simply waiting to get processed to go on board. Wow, what a jerk! Hey JAGR, great story and a nightmare scenario. Thanks for sharing. If we can all avoid being "that guy" then life (and all of our cruises) will be that much better.

true....... he sounds like a clown..

 

[carlmm]

1 minute ago, Gatordad1967 said:

It is the browse.

 

As it is clearly stated.

Reading too much into marketing speech just easily leads to disappointment.

[bac513]

I have been on 2 YC sailings. Both have required an up charge to the Browse and stream. Unless I am wrong, “Premium internet” is a misnomer since the YC benefits state browse for 2 devices.  On Seashore I paid the difference between packages using the MSC FOR ME approx. $100 for 2 devices for 7 days with the assistance of the Concierge. However on Divina ( No app available), they wanted $15.99 per day per device to upgrade!!!

 

if there is a way to avoid the up charge, hopefully someone will comment.