YC upgrade through Concierge

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, Best Cat Mom said:

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.

Just hoping one Specialty restaurant would remain open to take care of passengers that come back to the ship or remain on the ship to enjoy a sit down, air conditioned, served to, meal.

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Just hoping one Specialty restaurant would remain open to take care of passengers that come back to the ship or remain on the ship to enjoy a sit down, air conditioned, served to, meal.

If anyone can make this happen, I feel certain it's you!  Here's another vote in favor of keeping Hola Tacos open on the PI day!  Tell them Georgia Peaches thinks it's a good idea too and between the 2 of us, I think we can get this done!  

[DaKahuna]

2 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

If anyone can make this happen, I feel certain it's you!  Here's another vote in favor of keeping Hola Tacos open on the PI day!  Tell them Georgia Peaches thinks it's a good idea too and between the 2 of us, I think we can get this done!  

 

 I hope so -- I am pretty sure we'll go ashore, weather permitting, on our first stop at Ocean Cay but not sure yet about the second stop.  

 

 Although I bet the food at the Pool Grill or even a pizza from room service would be delicious, a nice comfortable chair and waiter service would be much nicer !

 

Edited September 10 by DaKahuna

[Georgia_Peaches]

Just now, DaKahuna said:

 

 I hope so -- I am pretty sure we'll go ashore, weather permitting, on our first stop at Ocean Cay but not sure yet about the second stop.  

 

We actually enjoy the PI very much but I'm with @morpheusofthesea, I'm not in love with the Ocean House menu.  I would definitely entertain the idea of spending the morning on the island and then returning to the ship for some nice tacos...I guess it's not cost effective to keep the venue open or you bet it would be!

[Best Cat Mom]

27 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

a nice comfortable chair and waiter service would be much nicer

The Ocean House restaurant does have sit-down table service, with food served course-by-course by the usual YC servers and assistant servers. Most tables are in the shade and there are also 3 in the air conditioned building. If it is a hot day, it can be uncomfortable even in the shade with the breezes off the ocean. We have always braved the weather for a surf and turf combo of burger and lobster roll as our entree. The calamari salad is my favorite starter. It is unfortunate that the Ocean House menu is unavailable elsewhere, unless the visit to Ocean Key is cancelled after they've already prepped all the food. Then they serve it in the Top Sail Restaurant -- with air conditioning for all! We were pleased the day we missed docking at Ocean Key due to the high winds since we had the food in the better TS restaurant location. But the non-YC guests were ready to stage a mutiny. It was quite ugly outside of the YC that day. 😞

 

[morpheusofthesea]

40 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

If anyone can make this happen, I feel certain it's you!  Here's another vote in favor of keeping Hola Tacos open on the PI day!  Tell them Georgia Peaches thinks it's a good idea too and between the 2 of us, I think we can get this done!  

I just report the news. I don't make the news. We no longer sit near the front of any stage anymore as we are usually picked on to become part of the entertainment as well. We go on a cruise to be entertained , not be the entertainment. I did my part as I went to the Specialty restaurant Manager, Alesandra, and expressed our dismay at closing every restaurant on Ocean Cay Day. Got home and wrote in two email surveys of our displeasure with exactly this. Don't really expect one or two guests have any influence on MSC policy, but if my reporting hits a chord with more and more of us....maybe ?

[DaKahuna]

4 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Don't really expect one or two guests have any influence on MSC policy, but if my reporting hits a chord with more and more of us....maybe ?

 

 If it still that way on our B2B I'll be sure and complain about it as well.  

 

[morpheusofthesea]

47 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I guess it's not cost effective to keep the venue open or you bet it would be!

I was under the impression that Hola Tacos was the only Specialty Restaurant that was independent owned and operated, like the Venchi kiosk on the ship ?

[no1talks]

12 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"...but if my reporting hits a chord with more and more of us....maybe ?

Except the CC "us" is a vanishingly small fraction of the overall MSC passenger base. 

This sort of thing will only get worse as more new ships compete for a smaller global pool of service professionals. Even more dire, I suspect, will be the competition for competent musicians/entertainers.

[BoundForSea]

On 9/6/2024 at 1:53 PM, eagletwo said:

We sailed on the Seashore in July in a YC interior. Asked the Concierge about upgrading the morning we boarded. After sail away, we received a call and was told the upgrade was available for $1900 to a Deluxe Balcony. With the price of the interior plus $1900, this would have been the same price we could have paid at the time of booking. We declined. Our Butler told us that they had 4 Deluxe Balcony's empty the entire week. As others have observed, maybe MSC is trying to be fair to those who paid full price?

 

In Oct of 2022, we sailed on the Meraviglia out of Port Canaveral. We had booked a Fantasica Balcony and put in a bid for a YC Deluxe Balcony using the on-line bidding system. Two days before departure, we received an email that our bid had been accepted. We ended up getting the YC Deluxe Balcony for the price of a YC interior cabin. Great deal!

As a Titanium member at Marriott I'm offered complimentary upgrades when they have space. Other cruise lines do the same for their loyal members. It wouldn't kill MSC to put a Diamond in a Deluxe. It costs them nothing. It brings back loyal customers and builds brand loyalty. Like so many things MSC they could give a you know what less. It's unfortunate. Now upgarding into YC no. That waters it down.  But for diamonds with alot of points like us this only makes sense. If you're butt hurt that someone got upgraded and you didn't and the cruise line does it then sail more. Same with the hotels then give them more business. 

Edited Tuesday at 12:01 AM by BoundForSea

[SirWolf]

MSC marketing/sales strategy (referring to bidding and free upgrades to YC) is focused on passengers who have not yet been in the YC.

MSC didn’t give a damn about loyal passengers with 2-digit numbers of YC sailings.

That is unfortunate but maybe MSC will realize that it takes 2 - 3 cabins in Bella category to generate the similar revenue as 1 cabin in YC.

.. and maybe MSC will realize that YC passengers have a choice of other cruise line companies.

 

MSC could promote the YC by offering a “Early Bird” discount previous YC passengers for certain itineraries (off-season?).. or include some additional services into YC prices (specialty dining, excursions, spa treatments, etc).

 

IMHO .. MSC should stop the whole bidding and free upgrades nonsense.. it doesn’t pay on the long run .. they only “water down” the YC concept and experience of loyal YC passengers.

 

( I/we are loyal MSC YC passengers since 2018 with sailings in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Baltic Sea and upcoming Dubai/Middle East .. we like the YC experience in general )

Edited Tuesday at 04:23 PM by SirWolf

[DaKahuna]

@SirWolf Yours is one way of looking at it.  Another, and how I see it, is that this could be a very smart move on MSC's part.  Why offer YC upgrades to those that have sailed in the YC before but are not on a current cruise.  These passengers know what they are missing and have opted not to pay additional to sail on YC.  However, by offering an upgrade, either free or at a lower cost, to those who have never sailed in YC before, they are giving them a taste of the experience in hopes that they will enjoy the experience so much that their future bookings will be in the YC.  Thus bring additional revenue to the company.. 

 

Full disclosure - we have sailed once on MSC and that was in the YC.  We have a B2B starting 9/21 and those will also be in YC.  We only book YC on MSC. 

 

[SirWolf]

@DaKahuna  ..agree.. You are describing the marketing/sales strategy of MSC.

It can lead to “Why book YC ? Just wait for a bidding offer or free upgrade” mentality among passengers.

 

The prices of YC have increased over time..

There is no benefit of being a loyal YC passenger (except Voyager’s Club status). I have never seen discounted fares for YC.

 

Instead of prioritizing bids or free upgrades, MSC could discount limited numbers of YC staterooms to include previous YC passengers in taking advantage of the offer.

 

YC Experience is still a good product and we will probably be loyal to MSC .. but there is nothing wrong with feeling better (as in saving money) while making a reservation.

 

[DaKahuna]

7 hours ago, SirWolf said:

The prices of YC have increased over time..

 

 What of value has not increased in price over time? 

 

7 hours ago, SirWolf said:

Instead of prioritizing bids or free upgrades, MSC could discount limited numbers of YC staterooms to include previous YC passengers in taking advantage of the offer

 

 Even as a previous YC passenger, I do not see any fairness in this.  Why should any one previous YC passenger get an advantage over another previous YC passenger.  As long as the price of the YC cabins are determined by supply and demand and I and my neighbor are paying a fair market price, why should someone be able to by their cabin at a discount versus offering everyone the discount. 

 

Here is a chart of the prices for the sailing I will be embarking on Saturday.  As you can see the Price for YC has varied over time and the realization that most frequent cruiser have that booking as soon as a sailing becomes available usually results in the best price appears to hold true. 

 

 

You want to save money, book early.  

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 02:05 AM by DaKahuna

[SirWolf]

@DaKahuna .. where is the fairness of paying fair market value (full price) and my neighbor getting his bid accepted for $$$ less ?

My remarks are just pointing out that MSC has no loyalty program for YC passengers in place (except Voyager Club which applies to all Experiences) .. not talking about when the best time is to book full price fares.

 

[RichYak]

24 minutes ago, SirWolf said:

where is the fairness of paying fair market value (full price) and my neighbor getting his bid accepted for $$$ less ?

Risk. You pay a premium for locking in the cabin you want at the time of booking. Your neighbor accepts the risk that his bid won't be accepted and he'll be shut out of YC.

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, SirWolf said:

My remarks are just pointing out that MSC has no loyalty program for YC passengers in place (except Voyager Club which applies to all Experiences)

 

What cruise line does?  Other than Celebrity's recently introduced cruise fare only rate for their Zenith members sailing in the Retreat, I do not know of any other cruise line that offers anything others like you are saying MSC should do.  

 

1 hour ago, SirWolf said:

where is the fairness of paying fair market value (full price) and my neighbor getting his bid accepted for $$$ less ?

 

@RichYak Answered this perfectly.  Also, in not every instance is your neighbor paying $$$ less.  I've seen the Move Up price bids and they are not really a significant savings.  If that were the case, then why would you not be booking a lower fair and getting a YC cabin through move up every one of your cruises?  Oh wait - there is no guarantee your lower bid will be accepted over someone who has never sailed in YC and bid more for the same Move Up than you.  So sorry.  

 

 

[SirWolf]

I am out of this thread..

being blessed to have sailed 2-digit number of sailings in YC .. and more sailings in YC coming up.. 😁

[chrisgp999]

19 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 What of value has not increased in price over time? 

 

 

 Even as a previous YC passenger, I do not see any fairness in this.  Why should any one previous YC passenger get an advantage over another previous YC passenger.  As long as the price of the YC cabins are determined by supply and demand and I and my neighbor are paying a fair market price, why should someone be able to by their cabin at a discount versus offering everyone the discount. 

 

Here is a chart of the prices for the sailing I will be embarking on Saturday.  As you can see the Price for YC has varied over time and the realization that most frequent cruiser have that booking as soon as a sailing becomes available usually results in the best price appears to hold true. 

 

 

You want to save money, book early.  

 

 

While this is an interesting discussion it is also totally irrelevant.  MSC, like almost every other business enterprise, will set their price based on what they predict their target market will accept.  They will also adjust their price as market conditions vary.  I for one, hope that MSC is able to maximize their profit and thus continue to offer a quality product.  If at some future point in time I reach a situation where MSC's price is no longer attractive or affordable to me, I will make adjustments to my travel plans as required.

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

I've seen the Move Up price bids and they are not really a significant savings.

To further illustrate this, I recently looked to see if there were any Owner's Suites available for our Seascape sailing in November as   there weren't any available when I initially booked.  There was one room so I guess someone had to cancel.  I contemplated upgrading but decided to look at what the move up opening bid was before making my decision.  Opening bid was $7225 per person.  I could have simply upgraded the room for just over $6k outright by just calling my TA.  Still not wrapping my head around this math.

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, chrisgp999 said:

While this is an interesting discussion it is also totally irrelevant.

Sorry, not understanding how it's irrelevant.  While what you have said is true, so is the notion that booking early saves money.  It just does.  Confused.

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 9/17/2024 at 2:20 PM, SirWolf said:

YC Experience is still a good product and we will probably be loyal to MSC .. but there is nothing wrong with feeling better (as in saving money) while making a reservation.

Completely agree!  But knowing that MSC will likely not be looking to discount their rooms any time soon, finding a good TA who will offer a nice refundable OBC is, IMO the next best thing.  It feels like a discount, albeit after the fact...but still nice to get that check in the mail...and use it to make the next cruise deposit 😊. 

[no1talks]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

but still nice to get that check in the mail...

Hold on, GP; don't you cash out your TA's OBC in the casino? I couldn't wait for a check, since I use the cash for tip envelopes.

[Georgia_Peaches]

11 hours ago, no1talks said:

Hold on, GP; don't you cash out your TA's OBC in the casino? I couldn't wait for a check, since I use the cash for tip envelopes.

No, I haven’t done that!  What’s the process?

[MonsterJoe]

19 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

No, I haven’t done that!  What’s the process?

Put credits on a slot machine from your room card - it will automatically use OBC first if they're there, then immediately cash out.  Bring it to the teller and get your cash. Some ships have little kiosks where you can cash out (up to a certain amount in the hundreds) and you don't even have to talk to anyone.  

I use this method extensively throughout the cruise to get money for tips, or to have some walking cash in the ports.