Two Yacht Club Questions.

[Stockjock]

1. If you book YC, I understand that the deposit is non-refundable.  So if you can't make that sailing, do you simply lose the deposit, or is there an opportunity to kick it forward to a different sailing as a Future Cruise Credit?

2. If you had a short cruise for 5 nights, which of the following options would you choose:

A. Unobstructed balcony w/Easy Plus drinks and wi-fi for $1,385 USD.

B. Yacht club deluxe balcony for $3,385 USD.

[phissy]

YC deposits are non refundable. But, not always the case.
We had a YC cruise booked and received notice that itinerary had a change. It was one port that changed . One of the options given was cancel and receive refund of deposit. This was before final payment.

We had 20 days to notify them and/or TA notify them of our decision.

 

With the one change MSC is now offering, you could move deposit to another cruise. Move must be within 3 months of original cruise.

 

As to you deciding between two options you listed…..?
 

I only know what we value in a vacation and we would choose the YC.

[Até]

22 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

2. If you had a short cruise for 5 nights, which of the following options would you choose:

Ship and itinerary would make a difference to me.

[Stockjock]

12 minutes ago, Até said:

Ship and itinerary would make a difference to me.

 

27 minutes ago, phissy said:

YC deposits are non refundable. But, not always the case.
We had a YC cruise booked and received notice that itinerary had a change. It was one port that changed . One of the options given was cancel and receive refund of deposit. This was before final payment.

We had 20 days to notify them and/or TA notify them of our decision.

 

With the one change MSC is now offering, you could move deposit to another cruise. Move must be within 3 months of original cruise.

 

As to you deciding between two options you listed…..?
 

I only know what we value in a vacation and we would choose the YC.

I look at a lot of different things and just something I'm considering.

We usually do European cruises to France, Italy and Spain.  We hadn't been to London, but we took a 1 day tour there from Southampton.  Unfortunately, it was the day that the Queen's coffin arrived, so many streets were closed, plus the bus ride was something like 5 hours roundtrip.

GF thought it might be nice to consider spending maybe 5 or 6 days in London and then we could do this short cruise on the backend before returning home.  Might happen, might not.  

Just mulling over options.  I could be wrong, but they may have a sale that would improve pricing.  We're also considering a 10-night out of Hamburg that visits quite a few ports in Ireland & Scotland.

Here's the itinerary of the short 5-night cruise.

Southampton,
Rotterdam,
Cork,
Falmouth,
Southampton
5 Nights

[Heartgrove]

29 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

 

Just mulling over options.  I could be wrong, but they may have a sale that would improve pricing.  We're also considering a 10-night out of Hamburg that visits quite a few ports in Ireland & Scotland.

 

 

We are on the September 2023 MSC Preziosa sailing out of Hamburg. Looking forward to it as originally we had a 14-day HAL cruise that was much more expensive for just two of us. We sailed in YC last year aboard the MSC Splendida but doing Fantastica Experience as we are now traveling with DSIL (two staterooms) as well. Currently trying to decide which MSC cruise (or 2) before our HAL Transatlantic in 2024.

[sverigecruiser]

2 hours ago, Stockjock said:

2. If you had a short cruise for 5 nights, which of the following options would you choose:

A. Unobstructed balcony w/Easy Plus drinks and wi-fi for $1,385 USD.

B. Yacht club deluxe balcony for $3,385 USD.

 

$3,385 each for 5 nights is much but I should still choose the YC.  

[Stockjock]

That's a total price for 2 passengers.

[emmas gran]

I would never cruise outside YC, just my opinion of the busier cruises.. You take the risk GF will only want to do YC if you book it.

[8420PR]

4 hours ago, Stockjock said:

2. If you had a short cruise for 5 nights, which of the following options would you choose:

A. Unobstructed balcony w/Easy Plus drinks and wi-fi for $1,385 USD.

B. Yacht club deluxe balcony for $3,385 USD.

 

I would go with the normal balcony cabin - though I think that is still a bit overpriced.  It is impossible to justify spending an extra $400 per night on a yacht club balcony cabin.  

[kernow]

It would depend to me on how you are looking at the cruise. Is it just an add on to a holiday to see a bit more because it's a good price or is it a big part of the holiday to add a bit of relaxation and pampering (that's how I view YC). Also what time of year is the cruise? If it's in school holidays I wouldn't even consider sailing from the UK outside of YC, that's when you read all the horrific reviews about long queues, bad service and no seats around the ship.

BTW not many big ships visit Falmouth (which is near me) so quite a nice itinerary.

[kernow]

1 hour ago, 8420PR said:

 

I would go with the normal balcony cabin - though I think that is still a bit overpriced.  It is impossible to justify spending an extra $400 per night on a yacht club balcony cabin.  

That's a good price for a UK itinerary for 2 people, we don't get the bargains like the US do.

[insidecabin]

38 minutes ago, kernow said:

That's a good price for a UK itinerary for 2 people, we don't get the bargains like the US do.

Book through the US if you like their prices.

 

Headline prices 

UK use the premium extra drinks and  include gratuities and taxes.

 

US easy+  with  grats and taxes extra.

 

Both YC get premium extra

 

If that is the 29th May Virtuosa there is decent discount over MSC price for that YC $4258 in tax but not grats

 

MSC UK is £3398($4128)  Inc tax and grats.

 

Both before TA discounts.

 

Seen £3058($3798) through UK TA.

 

[kernow]

8 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

Book through the US if you like their prices.

 

Headline prices 

UK use the premium extra drinks and  include gratuities and taxes.

 

US easy+  with  grats and taxes extra.

 

Both YC get premium extra

 

If that is the 29th May Virtuosa there is decent discount over MSC price for that YC $4258 in tax but not grats

 

MSC UK is £3398($4128)  Inc tax and grats.

 

Both before TA discounts.

 

Seen £3058($3798) through UK TA.

 

I usually book through UK TA offering a discount, upcoming YC was booked direct through MSC UK when they had a 20% discount code. I think the prices OP quoted are decent for a cruise out of Southampton, I meant that cruises from Southampton do not usually see prices (in UK or US) as low as prices for cruises from Florida.

[Morgsmom]

12 hours ago, Stockjock said:

A. Unobstructed balcony w/Easy Plus drinks and wi-fi for $1,385 USD.
 

Given the fact that it's a port intensive cruise I'd go for regular balcony.  If it were 5 days floating in the Caribbean it'd be a different story. 😉 

[KennyFla]

Another consideration is how much of a balcony person you are.  I did a comparison of an Aurea balcony with a drink package vs a Yacht Club Interior.  For 2 people the difference was $300 total.

 

I like a balcony but am not one that sits on it for extended periods.  For that difference I did YC.

[sverigecruiser]

16 hours ago, Stockjock said:

That's a total price for 2 passengers.

 

Then I think that is very cheap and even easier to choose the YC.

[Stockjock]

4 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Then I think that is very cheap and even easier to choose the YC.

Looks like overnight they increased this price, and many other cruise prices, by a lot.  Not sure why that happened.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Port intensive European itinerary means I’m off the ship morn than I’m on. So I’d go with the balcony stateroom. 

[Ryan82]

I'm from UK. The itinerary sounds really boring to me. If I chose that cruise it would be to experience the ship and not really the ports. 

 

I've never chosen yacht club. That's because I think the core ship experience meets what I want from a holiday.

[insidecabin]

4 hours ago, Ryan82 said:

I'm from UK. The itinerary sounds really boring to me. If I chose that cruise it would be to experience the ship and not really the ports. 

 

I've never chosen yacht club. That's because I think the core ship experience meets what I want from a holiday.

Its actually not that bad all three are decent stops.

 

The better value for just ship time on Virtuosa have been the 7n.

 

Last year there was a YIN available for £100pppd which is a bargain for what you get, you can still do the main ship its not like you have to stay in YC.

[Ryan82]

I realise when you're from a destination you sometimes can lack appreciation for what you have. I did look at that cruise myself but decided if I booked it it would just be for the cruise experience and not even remotely the stops. 

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, Ryan82 said:

I realise when you're from a destination you sometimes can lack appreciation for what you have. I did look at that cruise myself but decided if I booked it it would just be for the cruise experience and not even remotely the stops. 

There's something to that.

I'm from San Diego, one of the top tourist destinations in the USA.  But I've lived here for so long that when I go on holiday, I go elsewhere.

[kernow]

11 hours ago, Stockjock said:

There's something to that.

I'm from San Diego, one of the top tourist destinations in the USA.  But I've lived here for so long that when I go on holiday, I go elsewhere.

San Diego is one of my favourite cities in the world😄