YC upgrade through Concierge

[MsTabbyKats]

17 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Ninety percent of all social media are postings of people wiping our noses in it.

P.S. I, on the other hand, am affronted annoyed bent out of shape boiling cross displeased enraged fighting mad fit to be tied fuming furious hopping mad hot huffy in a tizzy incensed inflamed infuriated irate irritated livid mad maddened offended outraged peed peeved pissed provoked raging riled sore steamed steamed up steaming storming t'd off ...when I over pay for a cruise like Regent Seven Seas and get treated like steerage.

 

It's all relative.........

 

I did some research on Regent Seven Seas....and wow....$35K is steerage on that line!  What does one get for $120K on a 10 day cruise????

 

Stay with us peons who opt to sail MSC....and get treated like royalty!

[morpheusofthesea]

5 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Stay with us peons who opt to sail MSC....and get treated like royalty!

No truer words have ever been spoken.

[no1talks]

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

"What does one get for $120K on a 10 day cruise????"

 

Well, depending on which luxury line one is examining (Crystal, Siverseas, RSS, etc.) there are many included services that may or may not be significant to a cruiser:

 

• Broader wine list.

• More premium liquor.

• In-room, course-by-course dining from regular menu and specialty restaurants.

• Included excursions.

• Guest speakers who aren't trying to sell jewelry or wall art.

• Laundry and sometimes dry cleaning.

• 2nd bathroom.

 

What it comes down to is a cruiser's budget and what adds value the the cruise experience for that cruiser.

 

It's okay to say, "Meh. Those amenities don't mean a thing to me. I'll be more than fine with Yacht Club."

 

It's also okay for cruisers to say, "Yacht Club is quite nice, but it takes more than letting me cut in line on the rest of the ship to make a truly luxurious experience."

[MsTabbyKats]

@no1talksThe 2nd bathroom sounds nice!

 

[no1talks]

23 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

"The 2nd bathroom sounds nice!"

 

I still scratch my head over MSC's omission of a 2nd bathroom in Owner's and Royal suites. I wouldn't book one.

 

We will, however, have a go at a YC duplex suite in 2026. Two bathrooms and enough space to have another couple visit for an evening of card games and pizza.

Edited September 8 by no1talks

[MonsterJoe]

16 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I am in the presence of another Skynyrd fan !!! I feel honored. 

 

I am also a huuuuge Skynyrd fan

Edited September 8 by MonsterJoe

[morpheusofthesea]

On 9/7/2024 at 8:57 PM, lahlah57 said:

Is it jiffy pop time?

Most definitely.

[morpheusofthesea]

20 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

What does one get for $120K on a 10 day cruise????

 

Squat.

[morpheusofthesea]

19 hours ago, no1talks said:

• Broader wine list.

• More premium liquor.

• In-room, course-by-course dining from regular menu and specialty restaurants.

• Included excursions.

• Guest speakers who aren't trying to sell jewelry or wall art.

• Laundry and sometimes dry cleaning.

• 2nd bathroom.

 

19 hours ago, no1talks said:

It's also okay for cruisers to say, "Yacht Club is quite nice, but it takes more than letting me cut in line on the rest of the ship to make a truly luxurious experience."

Yes, we each have our own little peccadilloes. MSC does have a wine bar with better vintages for an upcharge and I shall look into more premium liquors which am sure are hidden away for the most discerning cruiser willing to pay extra. Remember that MSC is 1/3 the price for its RS and OS suites compared to the competition. Find their excursions the biggest source of displeasure of all passengers, but to alleviate this only for Yacht Club guests, are their new YC only excursions for a charge. (I hate to pay for all inclusive as we seldom partake, having to scrape and claw our way to the back of the bus should we decide to even take a tour anymore).

  This second bath for most of us traveling alone(just the two of us) is wasted space. DW is germaphobe and disinfects the regular bathroom after every steward visit, seeing that the stewards do not change their gloves from one cabin cleaning to the next. That would be like a dentist not changing his gloves from one patient to the next. Having a second bath to sterilize is just more work for her. We would just opt to keep this bath door closed the entire cruise.

  Here again are our list. 

A lot has to do with which ship in the MSC fleet one has chosen. Next is who the Hotel Director is, followed by Yacht Club Director, Head Butler, Maitre d' and Chef of the YC restaurant. Our latest cruise was April, June and is now July 2024 on the Seascape and these last 3 are the best cruises we have had in 50 years of cruising. Never sailed on a MSC ship in a cabin outside the Yacht Club. We can list now all the things to look out for when booking any cruise ship.

 

#1 E muster drill is better. Seascape was to take elevator, scan any time after 11:30, watch video, call#.

 

#2 Two cabin cleanings per day

 

#3 No % charge for gambling if using credit card

 

#4 No extra charge for can sodas vs fountain drinks, all included.

 

#5 Reserved seating in the theatre for all shows

 

#6 Complimentary bottled water (not ship distilled with unsanitary reusable bottles)

 

#7 Reserved or ability to reserve pergola/cabanas on pool deck (avoiding chair hogs)

 

#8 'Cushioned' pool lounges

 

#9 Escorts on and off ship avoiding long lines. Group or personal escorts.

 

#10 First to use tenders off the ship at ports that tender

 

#11 Dedicated restaurant that is so good one need not book Specialty Restaurants

 

#12 Service that does not involve 2 hours to complete a meal

 

#13 An attentive butler is not hard to find when needed to be escorted to the front of ANY line (queue). Depends on the guest ($). 

 

#14 Cabins ready upon embarkation/ key cards in hand at check in

 

#15 Dedicated restaurant OPEN port days

 

#16 Dedicated buffet to only suite guests

 

#17 Dedicated pool and sun deck only for suite guests with ample lounges

 

# 18 All the advantages of a mega ship with the exclusivity of a gated community

 

#19 walk-in shower not low profile tub/shower combo

 

#20 No non-suite paying Pinnacle/Zenith/Diamond passengers taking up prime real estate in the Yacht Club

 

#21 Elevator override key cards for suite guests

 

#22 Pristine out island with NO bugs crawling all over cabanas

 

#23 short distance between cabin and restaurant decks

 

#24 At least a 100 sq ft balcony accommodating a cushioned lounge chair

 

#25 A reserved table for 2 for all meals in a dedicated restaurant with the same waiters for 'most' every meal

 

#26 More options for nightly entertainment besides theatre show productions, Loft Cafe, Uptown Lounge, Le Cabaret Rouge, Atrium, Dueling Pianos Times Square, and Top Sail Lounge.

 

#27  The complimentary WiFi, Premium Drink Package, mini bar and  full bottle of your choice liquor. 9-12 bottles in RS & OS to take home. (Thanks Fissues)

 

#28 A price for a Yacht Club Royal Suite cabin that is 1/3 the price of Regent Grandeur GS without being treated like steerage and NOT a butler that escorts one to the END of any line but to the front like YC butlers.

 

#29 Option to book exclusive excursions

[Gordoncruickshank]

3 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

 

Yes, we each have our own little peccadilloes. MSC does have a wine bar with better vintages for an upcharge and I shall look into more premium liquors which am sure are hidden away for the most discerning cruiser willing to pay extra. Remember that MSC is 1/3 the price for its RS and OS suites compared to the competition. Find their excursions the biggest source of displeasure of all passengers, but to alleviate this only for Yacht Club guests, are their new YC only excursions for a charge. (I hate to pay for all inclusive as we seldom partake, having to scrape and claw our way to the back of the bus should we decide to even take a tour anymore).

  This second bath for most of us traveling alone(just the two of us) is wasted space. DW is germaphobe and disinfects the regular bathroom after every steward visit, seeing that the stewards do not change their gloves from one cabin cleaning to the next. That would be like a dentist not changing his gloves from one patient to the next. Having a second bath to sterilize is just more work for her. We would just opt to keep this bath door closed the entire cruise.

  Here again are our list. 

A lot has to do with which ship in the MSC fleet one has chosen. Next is who the Hotel Director is, followed by Yacht Club Director, Head Butler, Maitre d' and Chef of the YC restaurant. Our latest cruise was April, June and is now July 2024 on the Seascape and these last 3 are the best cruises we have had in 50 years of cruising. Never sailed on a MSC ship in a cabin outside the Yacht Club. We can list now all the things to look out for when booking any cruise ship.

 

#1 E muster drill is better. Seascape was to take elevator, scan any time after 11:30, watch video, call#.

 

#2 Two cabin cleanings per day

 

#3 No % charge for gambling if using credit card

 

#4 No extra charge for can sodas vs fountain drinks, all included.

 

#5 Reserved seating in the theatre for all shows

 

#6 Complimentary bottled water (not ship distilled with unsanitary reusable bottles)

 

#7 Reserved or ability to reserve pergola/cabanas on pool deck (avoiding chair hogs)

 

#8 'Cushioned' pool lounges

 

#9 Escorts on and off ship avoiding long lines. Group or personal escorts.

 

#10 First to use tenders off the ship at ports that tender

 

#11 Dedicated restaurant that is so good one need not book Specialty Restaurants

 

#12 Service that does not involve 2 hours to complete a meal

 

#13 An attentive butler is not hard to find when needed to be escorted to the front of ANY line (queue). Depends on the guest ($). 

 

#14 Cabins ready upon embarkation/ key cards in hand at check in

 

#15 Dedicated restaurant OPEN port days

 

#16 Dedicated buffet to only suite guests

 

#17 Dedicated pool and sun deck only for suite guests with ample lounges

 

# 18 All the advantages of a mega ship with the exclusivity of a gated community

 

#19 walk-in shower not low profile tub/shower combo

 

#20 No non-suite paying Pinnacle/Zenith/Diamond passengers taking up prime real estate in the Yacht Club

 

#21 Elevator override key cards for suite guests

 

#22 Pristine out island with NO bugs crawling all over cabanas

 

#23 short distance between cabin and restaurant decks

 

#24 At least a 100 sq ft balcony accommodating a cushioned lounge chair

 

#25 A reserved table for 2 for all meals in a dedicated restaurant with the same waiters for 'most' every meal

 

#26 More options for nightly entertainment besides theatre show productions, Loft Cafe, Uptown Lounge, Le Cabaret Rouge, Atrium, Dueling Pianos Times Square, and Top Sail Lounge.

 

#27  The complimentary WiFi, Premium Drink Package, mini bar and  full bottle of your choice liquor. 9-12 bottles in RS & OS to take home. (Thanks Fissues)

 

#28 A price for a Yacht Club Royal Suite cabin that is 1/3 the price of Regent Grandeur GS without being treated like steerage and NOT a butler that escorts one to the END of any line but to the front like YC butlers.

 

#29 Option to book exclusive excursions

Thanks for such a full list. One of the things that really irritated us in February on Celebrity was the fact that not only was the suite restaurant closed on port days but the also decided to close the Porche as well on those days. We were in a RS with free speciality restaurants who found our choice of food on port days restricted to either the buffet or the Succinct on 5, which we don’t like, you could order room service but the choice was pretty dire.

 

We didn’t know if closing the Porch was a fleet wide decision or restricted to the Silhouette. Suspect it was just on the Silhouette.

[morpheusofthesea]

16 minutes ago, Gordoncruickshank said:

We didn’t know if closing the Porch was a fleet wide decision or restricted to the Silhouette. Suspect it was just on the Silhouette.

This just happened on Seascape as well on Ocean Cay Day. Having experienced dining at Ocean House we opt to go back to the ship for lunch in air conditioned splendor at Hola Tacos for lunch. Well in July, starting with our cruise the Specialty manager decided to close Hola Taco along with all the other restaurants for those wishing to stay aboard. This includes the staff as well, who would take the opportunity to dine with their friends at Hola Taco. So we make it pizza delivery lunch day to our cabin instead. We wrote in our email survey card our displeasure of not keeping just one restaurant open Ocean Cay Day. Will see next week if our low rating on the survey had an effect ?

P.S. Is worth while to note that before Mustafa K. became YC Director he was Specialty Restaurant Manager keeping Hola Taco open?

Edited September 9 by morpheusofthesea

[GPPhilly]

We were just off the Meraviglia and our cruise was a capacity as they announced when we boarded.  There were no upgrades available due to sailing full.  This week's sailing was sailing pretty under capacity and from what I saw online there were many bids to the YC that were not accepted despite the YC only being well under capacity.  Guess MSC has decided they will not accept low bids as to not cheapen the product.  

[morpheusofthesea]

5 minutes ago, GPPhilly said:

Guess MSC has decided they will not accept low bids as to not cheapen the product.  

That is one way to put it.

[Gordoncruickshank]

37 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

This just happened on Seascape as well on Ocean Cay Day. Having experienced dining at Ocean House we opt to go back to the ship for lunch in air conditioned splendor at Hola Tacos for lunch. Well in July, starting with our cruise the Specialty manager decided to close Hola Taco along with all the other restaurants for those wishing to stay aboard. This includes the staff as well, who would take the opportunity to dine with their friends at Hola Taco. So we make it pizza delivery lunch day to our cabin instead. We wrote in our email survey card our displeasure of not keeping just one restaurant open Ocean Cay Day. Will see next week if our low rating on the survey had an effect ?

P.S. Is worth while to note that before Mustafa K. became YC Director he was Specialty Restaurant Manager keeping Hola Taco open?

Is the YC restaurant open on Ocean Cay Day?

Edited September 9 by Gordoncruickshank

[GPPhilly]

51 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

That is one way to put it.

It was how it was said to me by an MSC staff member last year.  

[no1talks]

1 hour ago, GPPhilly said:

"Guess MSC has decided they will not accept low bids as to not cheapen the product."

 

They already do a fine job of cheapening the product on their own. No lowball bids necessary. 😆

[GPPhilly]

10 minutes ago, no1talks said:

 

They already do a fine job of cheapening the product on their own. No lowball bids necessary. 😆

I noticed at some of the things that were missing on our last YC cruise were back.   Snacks out in the Top Sail lounge all day and not having to request them.  Better on and off the ship with the YC.  Our last few this had been very scaled back.  

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, Gordoncruickshank said:

Is the YC restaurant open on Ocean Cay Day?

No. But the YC One Pool deck buffet is open. Again not air conditioned.

Edited September 9 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, GPPhilly said:

It was how it was said to me by an MSC staff member last year.  

Yes, much more diplomatic than 'keep the cheap stiffs out'. Similar to the great tourist cities of the world wanting to limit the number of cheap tourists that clutter and despoil the streets searching for that souvenir kitchen magnet before returning to the ship. Instead of the tourist that spends an entire week dumping thousands $$ on hotels, fine eateries, and shopping their high end boutiques.

[Gordoncruickshank]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

No. But the YC One Pool deck buffet is open. Again not air conditioned.

Thank you. We will be there twice on our b2b.

[morpheusofthesea]

10 minutes ago, Gordoncruickshank said:

Thank you. We will be there twice on our b2b.

Since you are in the Royal Suite, might I recommend you have your personal butler reserve you one of the three tables inside the air conditioned Ocean House.

P.S. There really should be 4 tables, but there are not, for the 4 top suites.

Edited September 9 by morpheusofthesea

[rrraydon]

On 9/7/2024 at 1:35 PM, MsTabbyKats said:

When I get a great deal.....I don't tell anyone. Let them think I'm rich!

Nobody needs to know that beautiful shirt they just complemented me on cost $5 on Temu...lol

I just bought a half dozen dress shirts and 3 outfits for my cruise in 2 weeks off of temu for less than $75! Woohoo!! lol

[DaKahuna]

10 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Will see next week if our low rating on the survey had an effect ?

 

 I am hoping they do have something open onboard, especially if the YC restaurant is closed when visiting Ocean Cay.  We embark after you get off, as you may recall. 

 

[GPPhilly]

10 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I am hoping they do have something open onboard, especially if the YC restaurant is closed when visiting Ocean Cay.  We embark after you get off, as you may recall. 

 

Last week the YC restaurant was NOT open while at Ocean Cay for Lunch.  

[Best Cat Mom]

Yes, that is the usual process. The YC staff are mostly all at Ocean House to serve guests. I believe @morpheusoftheseawas hoping the specialty restaurants would go back to staying open on the ship for lunch.