MSC Yacht Club buffet

[IDidItAgain]

we are going on our first MSC cruise, on the Virtuosa, i have read the food isnt great, we've booked Yacht club.  We always like to start a cruise in the buffet as normally board early when its quieter however i have read (but cannot find any reviews) on the Yacht club buffet.  

Is it a decent buffet with lots of choice or just a few items to choose from? wondering if we should head to Yacht Club buffet or main buffet.

any tips greatly appreciated.  

[MonsterJoe]

1 hour ago, IDidItAgain said:

we are going on our first MSC cruise, on the Virtuosa, i have read the food isnt great, we've booked Yacht club.  We always like to start a cruise in the buffet as normally board early when its quieter however i have read (but cannot find any reviews) on the Yacht club buffet.  

Is it a decent buffet with lots of choice or just a few items to choose from? wondering if we should head to Yacht Club buffet or main buffet.

any tips greatly appreciated.  

In my experience (not on Virtuosa) the YC buffet is a small selection from the main buffet along with some special made to order items (scallops, seabass, etc .) and a carving station.

 

The draw is not so much the food (while tasty enough in general), but the serenity 

[morpheusofthesea]

Here is the YC Breakfast Buffet on Seascape. 

Edited September 4 by morpheusofthesea

[jame_g]

For breakfast, the buffet has plenty of choice in my opinion, plus they will generally make an omelet or eggs to order, waffles, and pancakes. For lunch, there is a nice, but limited choice compared to the main buffet. They will have a carving item and will make burgers and hot dogs for you, plus have a choice of meats, cheeses, salads, veggies, and desserts. Overall I prefer it to the main buffet for breakfast and lunch. I wish they would have the YC buffet open most evenings for dinner for a couple hours. This was something we experienced in our first stay in YC, but have only seen it open for dinner once or twice since. 

[IDidItAgain]

thank you for coming back to me so quickly, the video and oppinions are great.  i think as the ship will be (hopefully) quiet when arriving we'll probably head to the main buffet then and leave the YC buffet to when the ship is busy for the serenity.  Thanks guys

[Best Cat Mom]

On embarkation day, the main YC restaurant is open for seated dining. You should peruse the menu that is displayed in Top Sail Lounge and see if the items are of interest to you. We love the beef tournedos on the first day's lunch -- it's a filet mignon lunch portion and we never want to miss it.

[The Dad]

I agree the beef tournedos the first day for lunch was very good and tender as can be.   

[Georgia_Peaches]

Heading to the main buffet kinda defeats the purpose of the premium you pay to be in the YC. I urge you to at least check it out before plunging into the chaos of the other areas of the ship, which I don’t think will be as ‘quiet’ as you imagine. Just my two cents 😊. 

[Sharon_and_TC]

I can only speak of my single Yacht Club experience on the Seascape this March - with the Yacht Club being  under the care and supervision of Mustafa.  The buffet in the Yacht Club is so much more than standard buffet fare.   

 

Breakfasts are pretty standard - but then again it's breakfast.   Eggs to order, various breakfast meats, lots and lots of fresh fruit.  You can also get waffles, pancakes, breads, etc.  Go to the buffet, order what you want, and sit!  It will be delivered if you choose not to wait.  One definite thing to remember - if you want CRISPY bacon, ask for it to be crisped up - otherwise it will not be that way.  Of course breakfast tastes much better on the deck with the fresh air and wonderful ocean/sea views.

 

Lunches were a different story and were very elevated buffet fare.  We suffered through such offerings as beef tenderloin, roast suckling pig, freshly carved turkey, various seafood dishes, lamb shanks, etc.   Definitely NOT what one would expect when they hear "buffet" on a ship.

 

 

[George C]

On one lunch chef made a pasta sauce in front of us in buffet area , it was really good and I am picky about my Italian food be raised Italian in New York City.

[cellfree]

On 9/4/2024 at 8:57 AM, IDidItAgain said:

thank you for coming back to me so quickly, the video and oppinions are great.  i think as the ship will be (hopefully) quiet when arriving we'll probably head to the main buffet then and leave the YC buffet to when the ship is busy for the serenity.  Thanks guys

 

4 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Heading to the main buffet kinda defeats the purpose of the premium you pay to be in the YC. I urge you to at least check it out before plunging into the chaos of the other areas of the ship, which I don’t think will be as ‘quiet’ as you imagine. Just my two cents 😊. 

Agree 100% with @Georgia_Peaches, and I would suggest the Main Buffet on Embarkation Day can be the most chaotic of the week.

[MsTabbyKats]

7 hours ago, George C said:

On one lunch chef made a pasta sauce in front of us in buffet area , it was really good and I am picky about my Italian food be raised Italian in New York City.

As a fellow New Yorker....was it a red sauce?

[MsTabbyKats]

YC buffets are my favorite part of YC.  Of course...the weather has to cooperate. 

[George C]

32 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

As a fellow New Yorker....was it a red sauce?

Yes it was , I was amazed on how good it was considering when we cook ours we let it cook for about 8 hours.

[luckyinpa]

the YC buffet is one reason i booked a cruise right after my 1st YC cruise. it's not huge but we ate virtually every bfast and lunch there.  if i ever got bad weather in the future it would be sad to miss it. we never even went in the regular buffet not even to explore. maybe next time

[DaKahuna]

45 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

we never even went in the regular buffet not even to explore. maybe next time

 

 We walked through it twice on our cruise and only stopped for the pizza once.  Trying to find a seat was ridiculous we when we found one we at a couple of slices of pizza and then back to the YC we went.  

 

 Next time we wanted pizza we ordered it from room service. 

 

[MsTabbyKats]

29 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 We walked through it twice on our cruise and only stopped for the pizza once.  Trying to find a seat was ridiculous we when we found one we at a couple of slices of pizza and then back to the YC we went.  

 

 Next time we wanted pizza we ordered it from room service. 

 

We went "off peak" and never had a problem finding a seat. There were a few good things....a few not too good things.  But the quality didn't compare to YC buffet.  

[IDidItAgain]

Thank you all. Very helpful with everyone’s opinions.  Sounds like YC BUFFET wins Weather permitting. Thanks a lot. Am a little anxious over the food as only been celebrity and royal Caribbean before and I haven’t heard favourable things about MSC`food. So best to start YC BUFFET by sounds of it. 1 of us is vegetarian though so hopefully that’s still ok.