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Experience yacht club luxury like this couple who is relaxing in the solarium pool area, attended by a dedicated butler serving refreshing drinks and ensuring a premium level of comfort and service.

MSC YACHT CLUB

Step into the MSC Yacht Club, an exclusive private sanctuary onboard only accessible by key card. Here, you can discover elegance with luxury suites offering a 24/7 butler service. Enjoy curated menus in a private restaurant and unwind on the secluded pool deck. An elevated experience awaits you on a vacation that’s a step above.

msc yacht club experience

WELCOME TO A WORLD OF LUXURY

A MSC Yacht Club butler in white gloves serves cruises guests tea and coffee with delicious pastries on a tiered.

Experience unparalleled service from the moment you check in. Gain access to priority embarkation and disembarkation, your own concierge team, a dedicated butler available 24/7, and premier room service delivered to you at any hour.

This is the private Yacht Club pool onboard MSC, featuring a spacious pool with easy-access stairs set against a vibrant blue sky with intriguing elements like a dinosaur figure, horses, and more, creating a unique and leisurely atmosphere.

Enjoy access to areas that are exclusive for MSC Yacht Club guests during your cruise vacation. Delight in fine dining at our dedicated restaurant, unwind on a private sun deck, and admire captivating sunsets from the Top Sail Lounge.

A man and woman each hold a glass of complementary champagne as they relax in their luxurious stateroom and enjoy their ocean cruise views through their balcony window.

When you choose MSC Yacht Club, you unlock unique exclusives, all-inclusive packages, and VIP access available only to you including entry to Ocean House Beach on Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, our private island in the Bahamas.

Allow us to indulge you

Step into a world where your suite is just the beginning and where every detail is meticulously attended to.

AT YOUR SERVICE

Our butlers are prepared to meet your needs, whether that be bringing a late-night treat-or turning down your room. From the minute you step on board, your dedicated butler will be by your side for a memorable experience.

Ask your MSC Yacht Club concierge to secure the best reservations at all our incredible venues, including specialty restaurants, and consider it done. Revel in VIP seating for entertainment, partake in private shopping trips, and enjoy curated excursions.

Your journey with us is tailored to perfection, guaranteeing every moment is marked by exceptional comfort and convenience.

A MSC Yacht Club Butler in a distinguished black suit and white gloves serves tea with finger foods to a couple in a private yacht club area. They relax on a couch, savoring the moment while enjoying breathtaking ocean views.

EXTRA TOUCHES

Allow our dedicated MSC Yacht Club team to bring your ultimate cruise vacation to life. We prioritize every detail, from the perfect pillow selection from our exclusive Dorelan® menu to a fully stocked personalized mini bar at your fingertips.

Any questions you may have can always be answered by our 24-hour concierge service, available to you from the moment you step on board.

Young couple entering the Yacht Club's front lobby, where they enjoy the perks of luggage delivery and personalized service from the butler, catering to their cruise needs.

EXCLUSIVITY AWAITS

Immerse yourself in elegant spaces and experience elevated design in a beautiful setting.

In the private Yacht Club lounge, a couple enjoys cocktails, while in the background, a woman sips her drink while listening to a man play the piano on an MSC cruises.

TOP SAIL LOUNGE  

The Top Sail Lounge is the ultimate place to rest and relax after shore excursions or days at sea. Throughout the day, take in crystal-clear panoramic views of the ocean while enjoying crafted drinks, gourmet finger foods, and desserts. At night, relish in exclusive access to live music and after-dinner drinks.   

When you visit the Top Sail Lounge, you'll have the time to unwind and watch the world sail by.

Experience luxury in the exclusive Top Sail Lounge, a private retreat for Yacht Club members on MSC Cruises. The lounge features plush white leather sofas, abundant natural light, and stunning panoramic views.

PRIVATE SOLARIUM

Recharge on a sundeck featuring dipping pools and whirlpool baths where you can cool off and lounge for total relaxation. Take in the sun and the ocean breeze with your preferred poolside beverage delivered right to your chair.

Indulge in the Yacht Club's exclusive Private Solarium on MSC Cruises, where a couple is pampered by a butler, offering personalized service for drinks, food, towels, and more. The image features a crystal-clear, elevated hot tub, epitomizing luxury and relaxation.

YACHT CLUB RESTAURANT 

With a dedicated restaurant on each ship, the MSC Yacht Club offers an elevated menu. Enjoy fine dining served with five-star service and a selection of beverages and wines from around the world.  

You can savor the finest flavors in a space meant for you—no reservations needed.

An elegant moment at the Yacht Club restaurant on your luxury cruise, as a delighted woman smiles while being served a gourmet dinner with a red and white wine pairing by the attentive Yacht Club staff, epitomizing the essence of dining and indulgence in luxury.

MSC YACHT CLUB’S OCEAN HOUSE

The MSC Yacht Club experience continues on land at the private Ocean House Beach on Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. A serene space with ocean views, beachfront cabanas, and complimentary amenities.

COMFORT AWAITS

MSC Yacht Club offers guests luxurious onboard accommodations for the ultimate in comfort. Explore our wide range of staterooms to enhance your MSC Cruises luxury experience.

The Owner's Suite on World Europa offers opulent luxury with a spacious balcony featuring a sofa, hot tub, and breathtaking ocean and sunset views, providing the ultimate in privacy and indulgence aboard MSC Yachts

The Owner's Suites feature a spacious living area, a walk-in closet, a large balcony with a private whirlpool, and a panoramic glass wall. 

Step into the luxurious Royal Suite on Seascape within the Yacht Club, featuring an inviting living room adorned with green couches and a TV, offering an exclusive and opulent experience.

Every Royal Suite has a separate living area and all the comforts you would expect in first-class accommodations. 

The Deluxe Suite on Euribia, is a well-lit and stylish indoor space in varying shades of grey exudes a modern and minimalist vibe. Notable features include a staircase hinting at spaciousness, a versatile table with chairs, and ample natural light through a window, creating an inviting atmosphere for your cruise vacation.

These two-deck suites offer a separate living space with a double sofa bed, walk-in closet, and a balcony with a private whirlpool. 

This inviting indoor living room is part of the Executive Family Suite on MSC Divina. It features a warm brown color theme with two comfortable couches surrounding a central coffee table with a television for everyone to enjoy on your family cruise vacation.

These suites are ideal for families with children. They come with a separate sitting area and a bathroom with a bathtub.

The Deluxe Suite on Seashore, is a well-lit and stylish indoor space in varying shades of grey exudes a modern and minimalist vibe. Notable features include a staircase hinting at spaciousness, a versatile table with chairs, and ample natural light through a window, creating an inviting atmosphere for your cruise vacation.

These suites have also their own private balcony and all the comforts you expect in first-class accommodations. 

An interior stateroom on MSC Europa, featuring a room with a bed and a mirror, a mattress, pillows, and a grey floor with white lines, with no faces or objects detected.

Guests on our newest ships can enjoy all the comforts of the MSC Yacht Club with an interior suite.

ALL-INCLUSIVE, ALL THE TIME

An elegant moment at the Yacht Club restaurant on your luxury cruise, as a delighted woman smiles while being served a gourmet dinner with a red and white wine pairing by the attentive Yacht Club staff, epitomizing the essence of dining and indulgence in luxury.

PREMIUM BEVERAGE PACKAGE

Our Premium Extra Package is included as an MSC Yacht Club benefit. Delight in a wide selection of beers, cocktails, wines, top-shelf liquor, and an array of non-alcoholic beverages.

Stay connected while cruising with MSC as a passenger surfs their cell phone using an onboard internet package, ensuring seamless connectivity and convenience during the voyage.

HIGH-SPEED INTERNET

Stay connected with a premium internet package from anywhere on board, an exclusive benefit for guests. Unlimited Wi-Fi allows you to browse on up to two devices.

Indulge in serene spa moments on MSC Cruises, as a woman in a plush spa robe sits by a window, savoring ocean views and relaxation in the tranquil spa setting.

THERMAL SPA ACCESS

Experience ultimate pampering at the MSC Aurea Spa, where you can enjoy complimentary access to the serene Thermal Suite, enhanced further by an exclusive 10% discount on all treatments.

explore further

Discover the best of both worlds as a guest of MSC Yacht Club. Enjoy VIP access to amenities throughout

your journey, from dining to captivating entertainment, while experiencing the personalized touch that

extends from your suite to every corner of the ship.

SIGNATURE DINING

Savor the flavors of exquisite specialty restaurants such as Butcher's Cut, Kaito Sushi & Teppanyaki, HOLA Tacos, and Ocean Cay.

Elevate your dining experience with exclusive perks like priority reservation times, premium seating, and the luxury of a personal butler escort if you choose.

An image of a couple delighting in an a la carte sushi dining experience at the premium dining venue in the MSC Yacht Club, savoring a delectable selection of sushi dishes.

TOP-TIER ENTERTAINMENT

As an MSC Yacht Club guest, there’s always more to discover. Get priority access to our show-stopping Broadway and Vegas-style shows brought to you by Carousel Productions at Sea.

Plus, you can always explore the myriad of entertainment areas on board, from thrilling water parks to trying your luck at the state-of-the-art MSC Casino.

Captivating top-tier entertainment in the MSC Yacht Club, featuring an acrobatic performer executing mid-air splits while suspended by fabric, delivering a mesmerizing experience.

PREMIUM WELLNESS

Unleash your active side by checking out our sports facilities, including outdoor walking tracks, basketball courts, and a fully-equipped gym boasting Technogym® equipment.  

For those seeking an even more tailored experience, indulge in specialty classes and personal training sessions, reserved by your MSC Yacht Club concierge team.

Enjoy a premium fitness experience on MSC Cruises as two individuals work out on treadmills in the well-appointed gym, offering scenic views of the ship and the expansive ocean beyond.

discover more

Journey to the ultimate destinations on board the MSC Yacht Club, whether it’s crossing places off your bucket list or delighting in quick weekend getaways.

CARIBBEAN CRUISES

MEDITERRANEAN CRUISES

NORTHERN EUROPE CRUISES

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I tried a ship-within-a-ship cruise experience and it was worth it for the endless perks—here’s why

The MSC Yacht Club affords travelers a totally different cruising experience, but you’ll have to splurge.

Erica Lamberg

I heard tales of luxury from people about the ritzy MSC Yacht Club , the ship-within-a-ship concept where discerning passengers enjoy their own area of the cruise ship that includes a dedicated restaurant, private lounge, separate pool and sundeck as well as private butlers and concierges to take of any whim while cruising. The elevated Yacht Club boasts priority everything while sailing MSC.

I sailed on a four-night cruise on the new MSC Seashore, a glitzy ship with Italian flair intermingled with references to New York City at every turn. Although the ship was well-appointed and had amazing dining, drinking and entertainment venues, and a bountiful Top Sail main buffet, thousands of passengers made the ship feel crowded at times, elevators were slow, and as I strolled through the general pools, they were boisterous and crowded.

RECOMMENDED: 10 things about cruising on an adults-only ship that might surprise you

Switch gears to MSC Seashore’s Yacht Club, passkey-protected for lucky guests, and is a 180 from the ship’s general spaces. Once you scan your handy Yacht Club wrist badge, or your room key, you’re instantly given entrance to a breathtaking retreat of 131 staterooms and suites. All this luxury does come at a price. Cruise fares will vary based on destination, time of year, and cabin category, but generally speaking you can expect to pay double for the Yacht Club. And from my experience, it’s worth it. Read more about why you should splurge.

You’re fast-tracked through everything

The Yacht Club’s exclusivity and impeccable service standard started from the moment I got dropped off at the Port Canaveral cruise terminal. There were hundreds of people waiting to board at 1pm on embarkation day. I saw in the distance a canopy that said MSC Yacht Club. My husband and I wheeled our carry-on luggage to the representative under the canopy. I gave her my name and within two seconds, she gave me a sticker to wear and up we ascended on the escalator to check in. Just five minutes later, I was directed to the dedicated check-in area for Yacht Club guests. To my right, I saw about 1,000 people serpentine through ropes to do general check-in. I felt a sense of relief; who wants to wait in that line? Five minutes later, a butler from the Yacht Club insisted on wheeling my luggage to board the ship and I was in my room in a total on 12 minutes from the time I stepped foot out of the car to my stateroom in the Yacht Club.

Relaxing and streamlined

In addition, Yacht Club guests have the freedom to get off the ship first for excursions. Your butler will happily escort you off the ship with a smile. Guests also can disembark on the last morning first, which is a big convenience. Your butler walks you right to the place you disembark, bypassing crowds and hassles. Port Canaveral is about an hour away from Orlando International Airport, and we took a 10 am flight home. We didn’t have to linger around until the afternoon for our flight home.

Another perk is that there’s a special seating area in the theater for shows. All the shows were excellent during my voyage. All other ship passengers have to make reservations in advance for shows but that’s not the case for the privileged Yacht Club passengers. As long as you arrive about 10 minutes before any show you choose, a crew member from the Club will allow you entry into a special roped-off section. Again, no rushing through dinner—you have the flexibility to plan your evenings your way.

MSC Seashore

Your Yacht Club package is packed with remarkable value

The price tag may sound daunting, but there’s lots of value there. All Yacht Club cabins and suites include a premium drink package that covers beverages up to $15. You can use this perk both in the Yacht Club and throughout the ship. In addition, your package includes a two-device Wi-Fi package, which worked well during my sailing. Finally, you get access to the thermal spa suite, which is a place to indulge after a day in port or a sea day. Commonly, there’s a taboo regarding mini-bars, but not in the Yacht Club. It’s stocked each day with the beverages you want; just tell your butler and consider it done.

You get perks ashore too

If your sailing includes a call to Ocean Cay, MSC’s private island, Yacht Club guests get an elevated experience there too. Yacht Club guests enjoy a private area, and a dedicated restaurant called the Ocean House. While other ship guests were hosted to a buffet of predictable fare, I enjoyed a lobster roll, and my husband chose carne asada. In my opinion, one thing that could be improved was the tram service to the Yacht Club’s private area. We were told the last tram back was 3:30pm if we didn’t want to trek a 15-minute walk in the heat. Since we were docked in Ocean Cay for the evening and weren’t sailing, I was a bit dismayed by this logistical quirk. I felt like I was keeping an eye on my phone to make sure I didn’t miss the last tram.

You have private areas with curated food and drink and outdoor spaces

Within the Yacht Club complex, there’s the Yacht Club Restaurant, Top Sail Lounge and the One Pool Buffet, which are all exclusive to Yacht Club guests. Obviously, the food and service are steps above other dining venues of the ship, I can vouch for that. Although the food is delicious, if you don’t want to pay extra to dine at the specialty restaurants or fuss in the main buffet, eating three meals a day in the Yacht Club restaurant can get a bit monotonous. The breakfast is the same daily, and lunch and dinner offer a menu with daily specials plus a few standby selections like a hamburger or pasta each day. Although the Yacht Club Restaurant concept is desirable, I would strongly suggest dining in other venues on board, especially for dinner. I thoroughly enjoyed specialty dining in Ocean Cay Restaurant, Butcher’s Cut, and Kaito Teppanyaki. I also want to mention that late afternoon high tea is offered daily at the Yacht Club Restaurant. It was one of the nicest I have experienced at sea.

MSC Seashore

Also available exclusively to Yacht Club passengers is the Top Sail Lounge, which offers panoramic water views and has chef-curated selections from morning through late night. We enjoyed popping into the lounge at all hours to try finger foods and sweets. The One Pool Buffet offers a more casual option for breakfast and lunch by the pool. The buffet has grilled fish, sandwiches and lots of delicious options if you want to dine outside.

There’s also an exclusive area with a private pool and two whirlpools for Yacht Club guests only. The sun deck loungers are very comfortable and I never had to worry about finding a lounger, there are ample. One issue I had was that there was almost no shade on the sun deck; there were shaded day beds for Royal Suite and Owners Suite guests, but beyond those, I couldn’t find any shade, which was disappointing.

You can justify the price at the end of your cruise

Overall, the best way to explain my enthusiasm for my MSC Yacht Club experience is this: it’s better to book an interior stateroom in the Yacht Club than a luxe cabin outside the Yacht Club. It’s worth the splurge and you return home feeling truly pampered and it’s money well-spent. And I make this prediction: Once you try a ship-within-a-ship concept like the MSC Yacht Club, you won’t want cruise any other way. Bon Voyage!

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

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How MSC’s private island experience is different for cruisers in suites

Ashley Kosciolek

Do you enjoy large cruise ships but still want to feel like you're in the lap of luxury? Passengers booked in MSC Cruises' Yacht Club cabins and suites have access to high-end amenities – both on the ship and off.

Butlers, exclusive dining and a private pool delight guests on board, but perks also await on MSC 's private island, Ocean Cay Marine Reserve , in the Bahamas. You can expect dedicated trams, towel service and a chance to book the nicest cabanas on the island, among other extras.

msc yacht club experience

Read on to find out how the MSC Yacht Club Ocean Cay experience differs from that of the average cruiser.

For more cruise guides, news and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter .

MSC Ocean Cay Yacht Club beaches vs. regular beaches

msc yacht club experience

MSC's Ocean Cay Marine Reserve private island is home to seven (soon to be eight) beaches, and all are public, except one — Ocean House Beach, which is the Yacht Club's exclusive swath of sand. Beyond its exclusivity, the beach has a few other differences from the island's regular beaches.

There, use of lounge chairs and umbrellas is free. Chairs at the other beaches are also free and available on a first-come, first-served basis; however, umbrellas come with an extra cost.

Passengers must sign out towels on board the ship before heading ashore to Ocean Cay's main beaches. Yacht Club passengers can skip that hassle and ask for towels at the towel tent found on Ocean House Beach.

msc yacht club experience

Interestingly, I found that several of the public beaches were less crowded than Ocean House Beach. At the latter, chairs were positioned much more closely to one another. If you're willing to walk or hitch a ride on one of the island's trams, you'll find fewer crowds on the farther beaches than if you stick close to the ship.

MSC Ocean Cay Yacht Club food vs. regular dining

msc yacht club experience

Free lunch is included for all cruisers who visit Ocean Cay. For Yacht Club travelers, the Ocean House Restaurant — an exclusive waiter-served dining venue where passengers enjoy their meals on a shaded porch — exudes upscale beach vibes.

msc yacht club experience

During my visit, the menu included starters like crab ceviche, charred octopus and a salad with romaine, tomatoes, jicama, a poached egg and candied bacon in a citrus dressing. Mains featured locally sourced blackened mahi-mahi, lobster roll, carne asada, a grilled portobello mushroom sandwich and one of the best burgers I've ever tasted during a cruise — a blend of Angus chuck, short ribs and grilled brisket with red onion jam and Monterey Jack cheese. Desserts consisted of creme caramel, mango cheesecake and chocolate cake with coffee sauce.

msc yacht club experience

The meals at Ocean House are definitely superior to the fare found at the Seakers buffet, which is where cruisers not staying in the Yacht Club can go for a beach barbecue that serves hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, macaroni and cheese, red beans, roasted potatoes and a slew of salads, drinks and desserts.

msc yacht club experience

The food is tasty, but lines can be long. An alternative is to head to one of several food trucks throughout the island. Some are free and dole out the same items offered on the buffet but with shorter lines. Others sell entirely different menu items — lobster grilled cheese, fried calamari, shrimp with watermelon, Caribbean ceviche and octopus salad — with the cost charged to cruisers' onboard accounts.

msc yacht club experience

Additionally — and also for an extra fee — a stand near the ship offers specialty coffee and ice cream. (If you're a coffee lover, trust me when I say you won't want to miss the Coco-Nilla Latte.)

MSC Ocean Cay Yacht Club cabanas vs. regular cabanas

msc yacht club experience

There are three types of cabanas on Ocean Cay: Ocean Cay Beach Cabanas, Ocean View Yacht Club Cabanas and Beachfront Yacht Club Cabanas. All three types are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

They can hold up to six people each and include cold water, beach towels and chairs, as well as floating mats for use in the water. As the prices increase, so does the number of inclusions. The last two types are only available for booking by Yacht Club passengers.

Ocean Cay Beach Cabanas, found on South Beach, North Beach and Bimini Beach, are the most affordable on the island at $250 for the day. They've got walls on three sides, and they're outfitted with cushioned couches. They include the basic amenities mentioned above, and anyone can rent them.

Next up are the Ocean View Yacht Club Cabanas, which cost $400 for the day and also entitle you to free lunch and drinks, as well as fresh fruit skewers, four sets of snorkel gear and four floating mats. They're found on the Yacht Club's private Ocean House Beach, so they're off-limits to non-Yacht Club guests.

msc yacht club experience

The most expensive, however, are the Beachfront Yacht Club Cabanas, located in a different section of the Ocean House area. They carry a $450 price tag but offer all the same extras as Ocean View Yacht Club Cabanas.

The draw? They're closer to the water and, therefore, have better views. Although they aren't on the main part of Ocean House Beach, they are still in the exclusive area, near the restaurant, so you don't have to go far to grab food.

Ultimately, the only thing being in the Yacht Club affords you in this case is the option to book more expensive cabanas.

MSC Ocean Cay Yacht Club trams vs. regular trams

msc yacht club experience

At 95 acres, Ocean Cay is sizable. If you're fit, you can walk from one end to the other in about 15 minutes, but if you don't have great mobility or if you're easily overheated, reaching some of the island's more remote beaches can be difficult on foot. That's why MSC offers tram shuttles.

Passengers in standard cabins will find tram stops with shaded waiting areas throughout the island. However, waits can be long, especially if many other people are also in need of a lift.

Yacht Club cruisers can take advantage of trams exclusively for the Yacht Club. They run between a special tent (with free cold water to sip while you wait) set up just inside the entrance to Ocean Cay and the Ocean House beach and restaurant area.

You can make special requests for stops, which the regular trams usually won't accommodate. For example, you might ask to go straight from the tent to South Beach for a volleyball game without stopping anywhere else first.

MSC Ocean Cay Yacht Club activities vs. regular activities

msc yacht club experience

This is the one category where the island's public spaces beat the Ocean House area by a mile. If you're looking for something to do other than eating, drinking or lazing by the beach, you'll have to head back toward the ship because there's not much going on in the exclusive areas.

Everything from massages, lighthouse tours and water sports equipment rentals to beach parties, volleyball games and shore excursions takes place elsewhere. However, perhaps that's by design. The Yacht Club is generally quiet, even on board, and the line likely prefers to keep the raucousness to other locations.

Bottom line

msc yacht club experience

The MSC Yacht Club experience is more exclusive than the standard one at Ocean Cay, with extras like butler service, dedicated trams, towel service, access to pricier cabanas and a private beach and restaurant with better food and shorter waits.

However, all of the action — shore excursions, pickup volleyball games, beach parties, the lighthouse show — happens in the areas that are accessible to everyone, which significantly levels the playing field.

Additionally, items like specialty coffee, ice cream and for-fee food truck orders cost extra for everyone — even Yacht Club passengers.

Overall, Ocean Cay offers a great day for anyone who enjoys the beach, regardless of cabin type.

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Travel Addicts Life

MSC Splendida Review: MSC Yacht Club Experience

We just got back from a seven-day cruise to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan on board the MSC Splendida, and today we will tell you all you need to know about MSC Yacht Club Experience! Is it really worth it? Watch us until the end, and you will find out! 

Today we will tell you all about our experience on board the MSC Splendida Yacht Club. But first, if you like travel-related blogs like this one, now is a great time to hit the subscribe button so you will never miss any future blogs.

Let’s begin: 

What is the MSC Yacht Club?

The MSC Yacht Club is an exclusive section of some of MSC’s cruise ships that offers passengers a unique, all-inclusive cruising experience. Some people refer to it as a ship within a ship or a luxury cruise to other luxury cruises.

The MSC Yacht Club section is typically located at the top of the ship, and it’s reserved for guests who are looking for a little extra luxury and a private club. It can only be accessed with the cruise card.

MSC Yacht Club

When you book a trip with the MSC Yacht Club, you’ll have access to a range of exclusive amenities and services. For example, you’ll have a dedicated concierge who will be available to help you with any requests you might have.

They’ll even walk you to wherever you need to go! You’ll also have access to a private lounge, which serves complimentary drinks and snacks throughout the day.

But that’s just the beginning. The MSC Yacht Club also offers passengers exclusive access to a range of private spaces, including a private pool area, an MSC Yacht Club restaurant, and a bar. This means that you’ll be able to relax and unwind in your own private sanctuary, away from the hustle and bustle of the main ship.

But perhaps the best thing about the MSC Yacht Club is the level of service you’ll receive. The staff in this section of the ship are highly trained and attentive, ensuring that your every need is taken care of. Whether you need help with your luggage, want to book an excursion, or simply need a drink, the staff at the MSC Yacht Club will be on hand to assist you.

Our next topic for the Yacht Club Experience is:

Boarding MSC Yacht

One of the great perks that we noticed right away was priority boarding. In fact, when we arrived at the luxury cruise terminal, a butler was waiting for us and took us straight through immigration, check, and on the ship skipping the extra long line that other passengers had to do. Also, the butler explained to us how to use the dedicated elevator reserved for Yacht Club passengers. With this elevator, activated by our cruise card, we could go right to deck 15 or 16 without stopping on any deck in between.

Once we arrived at the dedicated MSC Yacht Club Lounge on deck 15, we were greeted with a glass of champagne while a very nice concierge lady explained to us all our Yacht Club benefits. We have to admit that the priority boarding process was incredibly smooth and efficient, with a very nice personalized touch.

Let’s move to our next topic of the MSC Yacht Club experience, and we will talk about:

We booked a Yacht Club Deluxe suite on deck 16. The cabin was quite nice, wide, and well laid out. The room had a nice couch and a little desk beside the private balcony.

MSC Yacht Club Cabin

The bed was very comfortable. We had a very nice walk-in closet with a lot of space for clothes and shoes, which we really liked.

The bathroom was wide and quite nice, with a bathtub. In our opinion, a nice big shower is better than a tub, but we know that a lot of people like to take baths. 

MSC Yacht Club Bathroom

The private balcony was nice, not the widest but big enough.  We noticed a couple of things that could be improved in the cabin. First, there were no electrical plugs by the bedside tables to charge the phones.

In fact, the only plugs available were by the desk, and there were two European and two American plugs there. Second, the wood paneling in the room made the room feel a little dark. Other than those minor details, we really enjoyed our cabin.

The next topic in our Review of MSC Yacht Club is

The Yacht Club Lounge 

On MSC Splendida, the Yacht Club lounge is on deck 15 all the way to the front. The area is really nice and well-designed. There is a concierge desk that takes care of all the yacht club passengers’ needs; more about that later.

Next to the concierge, there is a great big lounge with couches and tables. In the lounge, there are snacks available all the time. In the morning, they serve a light breakfast with cereals, sandwiches, and toast, and jam.

MSC Splendida Yacht Club Lounge

The lounge also has a nice big bar with complimentary drinks. We really enjoyed this area, especially on sea days we used it to work because it was really quiet and comfortable. It was also the best place for a pre-dinner aperitif.

Moving on to our next topic of the MSC Yacht Club experience:

The Yacht Club Pool

The MSC Yacht Club Pool is called “one pool” and is located on deck 18, right above the lounge. It is a very nice space with a pool, two jacuzzis, a lot of sunbeds, a bar, and a small buffet area where they serve food for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea. On our cruise, during sea days in the buffet area, the head waiter of the Yacht Club restaurant was cooking fresh pasta and other lunch items in a buffet they set up by the pool. 

MSC Splendida Yacht Club Pool

We really enjoyed this area sunbathing, especially during the sea days. It is never super busy and always has sun beds available for us away from the huge crowds of the main pools on the ship.

The MSC Yacht Club Pool area is also incredibly private. In fact, we asked the concierge if it was possible to invite guests, and the answer was no. The area is for Yacht Club members only.

One Pool - MSC Yacht Club

Next, we will talk about:

The Yacht Club Restaurant 

On the MSC Splendida, the Yacht Club’s dedicated restaurant is called Olivo, and it is located on deck 15 all the way aft above the main buffet. We heard that on newer ships the MSC Yacht Club restaurant is located above or below the yacht club lounge, but on this particular ship it was outside the exclusive yacht club area. That’s probably because the MSC Splendida was the first ship to get retrofitted with the yacht club.

MSC Splendida Yacht Club L'Olivo Restaurant

The restaurant is open seating, and Yacht Club passengers can go anytime during opening hours. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

The specialty restaurant’s ambiance is excellent, very intimate and wide, with a lot of natural light. The service is absolutely impeccable. Every waiter is perfectly trained, knowledgeable and really friendly. 

Yacht Club L'Olivo restaurant service

In this restaurant’s menu, there are always one or two items that are not available on the menu in the main dining room; for example, on the second formal night, they served lobster that was not on the menu in the main dining room.

Moving on to our next topic of the MSC Yacht Club experience, we will talk about:

The Service for MSC Yacht Club Guests

The service at MSC Splendida Yacht Club is impeccable. The MSC Yacht Club perk is that a 24-hour butler service is available, which is really nice.

MSC Splendida Yacht Club Butler

We did not ask our butler to unpack and pack for us, but that is one of the butler services that they provide. We can totally tell that the butler service takes great pride in providing stunning service and that they genuinely care about their MSC Yacht Club guests.

Our butler Augustine was incredibly friendly and attentive, always available but never intrusive. Very well done! 

The concierge desk was there to take care of passengers’ needs. They were there to help with almost every aspect of the MSC cruise, from excursions to billing. 

This came particularly helpful the day before arriving at the port of Sokhna when the Egyptian border agent came on board to stamp everyone’s passports. We did not have to go to see the agent, but the concierge took care of this step for us to avoid the long lines. 

Also, the future cruise consultant was available at the concierge lounge by appointment for MSC Yacht Club passengers. Really stunning service. 

Our next item to review about the MSC Yacht Club review is:

What is Included in MSC Yacht Club?

One of the best benefits of MSC Yacht Club perks, aside from the amazing service, is the fact that it is a truly all-inclusive experience. In fact, when you book a yacht club cabin, you have the Premium Extra Drink Package included. The MSC Yacht Club offers a package that includes drinks up to €13 euros.

Now one thing to consider is that if you order a drink that costs €14, for example, you will be charged the whole amount, not the €1.00 difference as other cruise lines do. It also included is the premium internet package, with unlimited use for two devices per passenger.

Another thing that is included is unlimited access to Thermal Suite in the MSC Aurea Spa, even though on this voyage, people at the spa told us that we had to make a reservation before going. Now we brought this up to the concierge, and they said that it wasn’t true. We did not have to make a reservation. 

MSC Splendida Spa

The MSC Yacht Club offers gratuities and 24-hour room service. Basically, the only items not included were the excursions, spa treatments, onboard shopping, drinks over 13 euros, and the Casino.

Moving on to the next topic of our MSC Yacht Club experience, we will talk about:

Yacht Club passengers have priority access to shore when going on an excursion. Basically, we had to meet our own personal butler at the sail lounge at the time specified on the excursion ticket, and he then took us to the gangway skipping all the lines for security, passport controls, etc.

MSC Excursion in Petra Jordan

Same thing on the way back from excursions. A butler was always by the gangway escorting us to the front of the line and back to our lounge. Now, this service is excellent because it allows Yacht Club Passengers to skip all the long lines, but there is a downside.

Since we were always the first passengers on the bus, we then had to wait on the bus for all the other passengers to arrive. Sometimes the wait was up to an hour. Now considering that some excursions on this itinerary required two and half hours bus ride, an extra hour before departure was quite long.

In our opinion, it would be better if MSC reserved the seats on the bus for Yacht Club passengers (they already know who they are) and let them off the ship when the bus was almost ready to go. 

MSC Cruises Ships

MSC Cruises is getting bigger and better. There are a lot of special things to discover on each MSC cruise ship when you go sailing with them as a member of the MSC Yacht Club.

Their huge fleets include:

MSC Seashore

MSC Seashore is like her sister ships, MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview. Most of the places people go on the ship are different than before.

MSC Seashore has new places to play, eat and hang out outside. There are also more rooms for people to stay in and more space for everyone.

You can sit back, relax, and enjoy all that MSC Seashore offers. MSC Seashore is the first of two special ships. It has technology that helps it use energy more efficiently.

The MSC Cruise has been fitted with the fleet’s largest and most luxurious MSC Yacht Club, with almost 3,000 sqm of space, including a bigger solarium and a panoramic whirlpool.

MSC Seashore’s 13,000 sqm of outdoor spaces, from pools and lounge areas to Speciality Restaurant seating areas, bring guests closer to the sea than ever before, making them truly.

MSC Meraviglia

You can experience the ultimate sea adventure on MSC Meraviglia. This magnificent ship boasts incredible features such as gourmet dining, amazing entertainment options, panoramic areas, an ocean-view lounge, a two-deck “inside promenade” complete with an LED dome, and an amusement area attached to an outdoor water park.

Best of all, MSC Meraviglia features late-night and overnight stays on MSC Cruise’s exclusive private island.

MSC Virtuosa

The name MSC Virtuosa is from the word virtuoso which means someone who is very good at something. MSC Cruises gave it this name to honor the people who designed and built the ship. They are very talented and skilled.

This new cruise ship is one of the biggest in the MSC Cruises fleet. It has lots of special features that work together to give you the best vacation ever! Moreover, it’s the MSC Grandiosa’s sister ship.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the Yacht Club on board MSC is really excellent product. It not only allows passengers to enjoy a ship within a ship but also provides a great service that is much more personalized and attentive than what you’d expect with a standard MSC product.

The MSC Yacht Club allows passengers to avoid long lines for embarkation, excursions, or even restaurants. The downside is the price.

msc yacht club experience

The cruise costs almost twice as much as a regular balcony cabin. Everything is indeed included, but the price difference is quite steep. In fact, when you’re looking at this price point, luxury cruise lines now become comparables.

We really enjoyed our week on board the MSC Splendida Yacht Club and will do it again for sure, maybe next time on a different itinerary.  

We hope you enjoyed our blog, and as usual, if you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

Rick and Andrea

In March 2017, Rick and Andrea started Travel Addicts Life as a way to share their travel photos and videos with the world. And boy did it ever grow!  Today, we are proud to offer content here on Travel Addicts Life, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

Thanks for reading!

Rick & Andrea

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The MSC Meraviglia Yacht Club Experience Review

Picture of Doug Parker

Doug Parker

  • February 3, 2024

Doug talks with Mark and Rocky of TheCruiseLife this week about their nine-night cruise aboard MSC Meraviglia.

They dive into their bougie MSC Meraviglia Yacht Club experience, from exclusive embarkation to dedicated amenities like a butler, private lounge, dining room, and sun deck. They discuss the superior dining options, including specialty dishes and a unique cheese trolley, and the benefits of their status-matching loyalty program status.

One of MSC Cruises’ larger vessels , Mark and Rocky also touch on the onboard entertainment, the ship’s atmosphere, and ports of call, including a visit to MSC’s private island, Ocean Cay.

Find Rock and Mark’s coverage of MSC Meraviglia :

  • ThisCruiseLife YouTube channel features their cruises across all lines.
  • The MSC Meraviglia playlist has several videos from their sailing.
  • Read the MSC Yacht Club experiences on ThisCruiseLife website .

MSC Meraviglia Review Transcript

MSC Cruise Ships by Age

Doug (00:01:01) – Mark and Rocky had just returned from a nine-night cruise aboard MSC Maravilla. It was out of New York City, in the Bahamas, Florida area, and staying in the yacht club. They join us on the line right now. Hey, guys, how are you?

Guest (00:01:16) – Good, Doug.

Doug (00:01:17) – I’m excited to talk about this because we haven’t had an MSC Yacht Club experience in a long time. We’ve had the ones that were like three-nighters and were fast, but I’m excited to hear what it’s like spending extended time beyond seven nights in that yacht club. So what we’ll do here before we get started, we’ll get some pre-cruise thoughts. You’re in the Phoenix area. What made you want to take this nine-niner out of New York City.

Guest (00:01:40) – Honestly, it was just the idea of getting to check out a new cruise line. We’ve been looking at MSC for a long time, and the idea that sailing out of New York in the heart of January, when it is very cold outside, uh, the pricing was very lucrative to get ourselves onto that ship, as well as to fly across the country to New York.

Guest (00:02:01) – So all the stars aligned and just made it worthwhile for us.

Doug (00:02:04) – Now, there were some, uh, a little bit of weather going through the country about the time when you all boarded. It might have missed you by a day or two. Did that impact your flights going into Manhattan?

Guest (00:02:14) – It did not impact the flights at all. It did impact sail away a bit. Um, as you can imagine, uh, the storms, uh, it was pretty rocky on the seas. Uh, it was really cool because it was the first time ever.

So we’ve been to Alaska several times, but it was the first time ever we’ve actually seen snow on a cruise ship. And so to see the crew, it was the first time many had seen snow on a cruise ship. And they were out running out, uh, TikTok ING and taking selfies. It was a really special experience, uh, being able to see that snowstorm.

Doug (00:02:48) – That is so cool.

Doug (00:02:49) – So did you any pre cruise time in the city before boarding in Brooklyn?

Guest (00:02:57) – You know, we always suggest that the best way to do it is to fly a day ahead of time. Uh, this time we flew in two days in advance to take some time and explore Brooklyn, because that’s where the cruise terminal is for MSC. And then we also took the subway into Manhattan and just kind of hung around Times Square, went to a couple of bars, a couple of restaurants, and, uh, just kind of got ourselves situated in New York before we set sail. We met up with we met up with one of, uh, the solo’s that I met on board, uh, Norwegian Cruise Line. So I did a Norwegian cruise line earlier in 2023. Uh, we met a bunch of solos in our solo cabins, and we actually met up with them to hang out, and they showed us New York, which was a ton of fun.

Guest (00:03:36) – You see.

Doug (00:03:36) – You never know what connections you’ll make on a ship, right? Right.

Guest (00:03:39) – Exactly.

Doug (00:03:40) – Yeah. It’s it’s so awesome. So you make your way to Brooklyn the following day and you go to embark MSC Maravilla. How was that embarkation process? And, did you get any kind of special treatment embarking since you were in the Yacht Club?

Guest (00:03:54) – Goodness gracious. It was an embark like none that I’ve ever experienced. We’ve all been through embark. We know the lines, we know the queues. We know all of the seating areas. Um, the moment that we got there, immediately there was signage for yacht club. And so the, the, the porter, the luggage porter whisked us over and tagged our bags with yacht club tags and pointed us to his colleague standing at the door with a yacht club sign. They literally escorted us through the terminal to our own dedicated security line for yacht club. Um, they didn’t have a they didn’t have us waiting in the general queue.

Guest (00:04:28) – And so we went through that security queue, uh, very quickly. And another, yet another Yacht Club representative whisked us to our private lounge, where they did one on one check ins with us, um, and then handed us glasses of champagne and canapés and sparkling water. Um, and it was a private area, very quiet, very secluded from the rest of the terminal. And we enjoyed mimosas and, uh, sparkling water, uh, that as we waited to board the ship.

Doug (00:04:57) – How long did it take you from curb to ship, then?

Guest (00:05:00) – It took us about an hour and a half. So unfortunately the the sailing before ours was the New Year’s cruise. And so they had a lot of passengers to disembark from that ship. So they were slightly delayed on clearing the ship down to zero counts for us to start the embark process. So yeah, about an hour and a half from when we arrived. Fortunately, the lounge was great. We had butlers in there waiting on us, so it was a really pleasant experience getting to stand around and wait until the ship was ready.

Guest (00:05:28) – Literally. Butlers, butlers, refilling our champagne glasses, walking around with bottles of champagne, saying, oh, would you like a refill on your champagne? Well, okay. Yes, we would love that.

Doug (00:05:38) – It’s like being stuck in an airport and being able to be in an airline lounge instead of in the regular common area, right? Just kind of, uh. Yeah, yeah, living it up in there. So you make your way on board the ship. You’re mentioning this was your first time on the ship. So what were your first impressions of MSC Meraviglia?

Guest (00:05:54) – So it’s kind of funny you ask that we didn’t actually get to see the whole ship for the first four hours that we were on board when they when the yacht club boards, we get priority boarding service. So they bring us into the main atrium, and that’s about the most of the ship we get to see. From there, we walk down a corridor of rooms to the very forward of the ship, where they have elevators that they can badge in, giving you priority access to the elevator.

Guest (00:06:21) – They loaded us into these elevators and took us up to the 16th deck where the topsail lounges, which is the exclusive lounge space for the top or the yacht club. Uh, and they put us in there with, again, more champagne and more canapés and live music that was being performed for us. So we spent most of the first four hours on board in that topsail lounge. Well, they took us from the Topsail Lounge. Then they opened up the Topsail Restaurant, the exclusive restaurant for yacht clubbers. And so we literally went from canapés and champagne up to the lunch in the Topsail restaurant.

Normally we run around taking pictures and exploring the ship. We literally were just kind of in the lap of luxury those first several hours onboard. Oh, we met our butler as well during that time. And so we didn’t actually leave the yacht club as Rocky mentioned, until about four hours after boarding.

Doug (00:07:12) – So a lot to unpack here. So I want to actually take a step back.

Doug (00:07:15) – And I want to ask, um, we were chatting before we started recording here, and you mentioned you had an upgrade offer. So how much of a premium, um, once you accept that upgrade, is it for the yacht club against just staying in a regular balcony cabin?

Guest (00:07:29) – So that’s exactly what we had booked. We booked a balcony cabin and received an offer to bid on an upgrade. Now, because we had already booked that balcony and paid for a balcony, the upgrade amount was not wildly expensive. I think it was. We we could have started the upgrade process offer at $300 per person. Wow. And Rocky was like, okay, should we just start there? And I was like, how often will we get to stay in the yacht club? We are maxing that bit out. And so I think we each maxed our bid out at about $600. So for another $1,200 or so plus tax and all of that stuff, um, we could move from the balcony we had into.

Guest (00:08:09) – We actually dug and bid for an interior yacht club cabin because we were like, okay, we’re just gonna make sure we get into this thing. Well, they were they must have been sold out because our dreams were answered. We got the upgrade and they put us into a deluxe suite.

Doug (00:08:24) – I love it. Let’s discuss that deluxe suite in the yacht club and give us all the details.

Guest (00:08:30) – As you walk in, the first thing that meets your eye is the size of this cabin. I would say that this cabin is the same depth as your standard balcony cabin that you find on any cruise ship. However, the width is probably equivalent to one and a half to anywhere up to two times the width of a standard balcony cabin. Huge space, um, between the foot of the bed and the credenza and wall units that they had where all of the minibar was located. There was probably a good 4 to 5ft of space between those two areas. Um, inside the bathroom, it was upgraded amenities.

Guest (00:09:05) – You had marble tile throughout, a very large, spacious walk in shower with a rainfall head, uh, or the rain shower head. Um, the balcony was the same width as the room, so it was a pretty sizable balcony. They only put two chairs and one side table out there, but you could have easily had another two. Uh, very large and spacious room.

Doug (00:09:29) – So the question is, how do you use the butler on your cruise? Well.

Guest (00:09:33) – You know, because we often have butlers on our cruises. Uh, I kid, um, it was the first experience. And so literally the butler introduced himself. We were in the room. He he knocked and came in and he said, what questions do you have for me? And we said, well, we don’t even know what questions to ask. And so he’s like, well, let’s start with your pillow selections. Are your pillows up to your liking? And Rocky joked, he’s like, well, we’ll sleep on him tonight and let you know.

Guest (00:09:59) – Um, but but the. Butler took care of our minibar, so he asked us specifically for our preferences in terms of sodas, juices and beers.

He asked for our liquor selection because the yacht club comes with a bottle, comes with bottle service, a single bottle. And so we, uh, we shared our, uh, bottle selection with him, and then he just let us know that he would be the person that would escort us to dinners if we wanted. He would escort us to the theater for shows.

He would arrange our bookings if we wanted to go to any specialty restaurant. And so it was, you know, Rocky and I asked as we were getting ready, we’re like, is this just going to be an upgraded room steward, like a room steward that wears a suit? Um, and no, it was it was significantly more than just a room steward. In fact, we had a junior butler as well and, and a third person who helped service the room.

Guest (00:10:50) – So there were three people servicing the room. But that Butler experience was really unique and new to us. Yes, I love it.

Doug (00:10:58) – So you were on there for nine nights. Was there enough space in your room to put everything?

Guest (00:11:01) – Yeah, there was um, I think one of the challenges that we discovered when we were unpacking our room was the closet space was a little bit smaller than what we’re used to on some of the other balcony rooms that we’ve had in the past. Um, the way it’s set up, you walk in and the, the closet space is your entrance to the bathroom.

And so it’s kind of a strange layout. We discovered that there were some challenges with that. However, there was a three-drawer storage space in the main room area that was part of the main. I don’t know what you call it. Credenza. Yeah. And so that actually made up for some of that lost space. And fortunately, these beds were designed to hold luggage under or suitcases under them.

Guest (00:11:41) – It was easy to unpack our room and get moved in for those nine days. Oh, and don’t forget both of the nightstands next to the bed. So there were additional storage tables next to the bed as well. And so there was plenty of storage. But to Rocky’s point that the closet seemed to be a little bit smaller than than other rooms.

Doug (00:11:59) – ThYacht Club is like Norwegian’s Haven, a ship within a ship concept. So outside of your room, what amenities did you have within your ship?

Guest (00:12:07) – I’m telling you, they design it so you don’t have to leave the yacht club. They tell you when you’re going through the booking process. They say it’s exclusive and it’s private. And that is very true. And so the entrance to the yacht club on each of the floors are glass doors. Truly. They look out into the elevator bank. I think MSC has designed it so that people can see in and you can see out, but you have to badge in and out to get in.

Guest (00:12:33) – And so the spaces are beautiful. They’ve got those crystal staircases. What are those crystals? The Swarovski, Swarovski, uh, staircases, the spiral staircases. So we would leave our room and take the staircase up to the next deck. Uh, the 16th deck, which is where the concierge was at the Topsail lounge. Topsail lounge was windows all at the front of the ship.

The view of of New York, we commented that was probably the best view of New York we’ve ever had in that topsail lounge. Oh yeah, the canopy. Like, there’s just so much to unpack in that, um, the full bar.

And then again, you take up another spiral staircase and you are there at the exclusive restaurant, and then one more spiral staircase up, and you are at deck 19, which is your dedicated, uh, lounging space, pool, and hot tub. There’s a daily buffet that they put up there for, for just yacht club guests, along with a bar.

Doug (00:13:23) – Let’s talk about some of the food on MSC Maravilla.

Doug (00:13:26) – Once you get out of your haven complex and go to the buffet with the common folk, how was the buffet and the food throughout the nine days?

Guest (00:13:34) – So we didn’t discover the buffet area until that first night. It was the second day that we discovered it. Yeah. Uh, now that I think back on the experience, um, we like to refer to those areas as Jen and Pop. And, uh, as we walked in to the buffet, we were we kind of felt like we were in someone else’s place. We didn’t feel like we knew that our way around, because we had spent so much time on the ship before we found the buffet. But once we did find it, I’ll tell you, Doug, we spent a good amount of time there, especially for late-night buffets. Uh, this was the first time that we’d really seen a cruise line dedicate a late-night buffet to its passengers consistently. Every night from midnight until 2 a.m..

Guest (00:14:14) – They served food. And we’re not just talking about just, you know, a quick little grab here and there. They have their pizzas available. They have little small sandwiches that you could grab. They had burgers and hot dogs. They sometimes had nachos. Sometimes, they would do a breakfast with some scrambled eggs and bacon every night. I think I got scrambled eggs and bacon every single night of the cruise.

They had the healthy corner like they had salads. And so it wasn’t even just that fried stuff that you sometimes find on the late night buffet. They had salads in a healthy corner. I mean, it was the largest. So we’ve seen late night buffets right on Carnival. We’ve seen it on, uh, we’ve seen it on the other lines. This was the I mean, it was the size of a regular buffet at from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m.. It brought me back to old days of cruising.

Doug (00:14:57) – Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sounds like it. So for your main. You were mentioning.

Doug (00:15:01) – You had your dining room in the topsail area. So how was the dining in the yacht club, and was there much of a selection like, do they rotate the menus? How does that play out?

Guest (00:15:12) – Very much a dedicated menu for the, uh, those that were in the yacht club. Um, the options that they, they had on the menu, there was some mirroring that happened to the main dining rooms on the ship, but they were elevated to a different level with the offerings and the types of food. Uh, there was a selection of classics that were served every night.

For example, you could get your classic filet mignon, or a salmon would be available. And I think they also had a lobster on that classics menu. On the classics menu, you had lobster and filet mignon. I mean, this is this is next level here. Right. And then uh, for the regular offerings every day they had a rotation of several different items. Usually there was a daily result of that was available.

Guest (00:15:53) – There was also a different daily lamb that was on the menu. Uh, so definitely a higher caliber of food offerings on the menu. And the way that they were prepared and plated were very beautiful. Uh, you had, of course, your main waiter and then you had your, your waiters’ assistants and they would all work in harmony together to deliver your breads, appetizers, entrees, and desserts.

Speaking of desserts, don’t forget that the maitre d would flambé the dessert. So we had cherries jubilee one night where he flambé and served that, um, they, they did the cheese trolley where they would literally, they literally had a cheese trolley where you could choose the cheeses and, and jams and jellies that you wanted as part of your dessert option. It was it was definitely. Where do you find a risotto on a cruise on the difficulty to actually prepare that correctly for the masses. Um, you can’t do that. But you can in a private small restaurant that’s dedicated to a subset of your passengers.

Doug (00:16:53) – And how were the lines up there?

Guest (00:16:57) – We don’t know what you mean by lines.

Doug (00:17:00) – Fair enough.

Guest (00:17:02) – Yeah, because there was such a small capacity within the yacht club itself on the ship. Right. And because you only have those people that have access to it, our dining times for dinner was available from 6 p.m. until 830.

That was when you could get seated, and it was open to your time. Whenever you wanted to go in, you would show up. There was one knife that I can think of, and I believe it was the second gala night. We had to wait maybe three minutes, maybe get seated. Yeah. Um, overall, the amount of seating that they have both in the lounge and the restaurant are ample for the number of people that are in there, and they know that they’re going to turn over tables throughout the evening from guests that are doing early versus later dining.

Doug (00:17:42) – Did you enjoy any specialty dining on board this one?

Guest (00:17:45) – So this sailing specifically, we chose to stick to the yacht club so that we could capture each of the menus and actually record some reviews each dinner. We actually are right now looking at booking, uh, another MSC cruise, we committed to ourselves that we would do a yacht club and we would do non-Yacht Club. And so that is where that’s sailing, where we plan to actually explore some of those additional, um, upstairs upcharge specialty restaurants. But for this sailing we literally stuck to the Yacht Club restaurant. That exclusive restaurant.

Doug (00:18:16) – I meant to ask you, before you sailed, did you do the status match with them?

Guest (00:18:20) – Yeah, both of us actually ended up doing status match. Um, with Mark having diamond status with Carnival and I have platinum status, we were both able to match into their gold status or gold level with the Voyagers club.

Doug (00:18:33) – So you stepped right into gold. So do you know, like what that gets you compared to just being a first-time MSC cruiser?

Guest (00:18:39) – Great question.

Guest (00:18:40) – Because, uh, MSC is not known for their loyalty program having the strongest perks, but what it did get us is it it got us a welcome back reception where they had cocktails, which when you’re in the yacht club, it doesn’t really have a huge impact. Uh, because we had champagne up and up in our private lounge.

We also got a little gift. It was a little backpack or drawstring backpack that we got. There’s also when you’re part of the when you’re part of the loyalty program, you get a discount on sailings with MSC, and on future sailings with MSC. And so I think it’s a 5% discount that you get as, as a member of that level. And so there are some perks.

They don’t actually do priority. Like many lines have priority boarding and don’t do that until you hit their very top level, which is diamond. And that’s the only group with priority boarding and demarcation. So that’s our goal. My goal is to hit Diamond on Carnival and MSC.

Guest (00:19:36) – We’ll see how long it takes.

Doug (00:19:37) – Double diamond. There you go.

Guest (00:19:39) – I like it I like.

Doug (00:19:40) – That. How about around the ship like you mentioned Carnival. So we’ll stick with that. Uh, they have the guys burger joint, which is complimentary dining. Does MSC have anything like that around the ship? Kind of a grab and go type place. Yeah.

Guest (00:19:52) – So, uh, it was kind of surprised. And that was one of the conversations that we had at Post Cruise is the fact that there really aren’t those. Types of grab and go quick serve restaurants on board. You do have the buffet, which is very well divided. They have their ethnic corner and they have their pastas, and they have a pizza spot and some burgers, but it’s really only confined to that area as well as the main dining restaurant restaurants. Aside from that, everything is upcharge. They have a Mexican place that’s an upcharge. They have, uh, I can’t remember all of them. There’s a there’s a couple other ones.

Guest (00:20:27) – One thing that I would call out that was unique, that I’ve never seen before on any of our sailings, is they had a kid’s buffet, a dedicated buffet for the kids so that they didn’t have to be in the main area of the buffet. And then the only other kind of separate areas that they had were out on the lido deck.

They had that kind of they had like side buffets. It was the same buffet food on the inside of the buffet, but it was just right outside on Lido, so you didn’t have to go in. But there was no you know, I think about even Celebrity Apex had the burger and fries station and Carnival and all of their side restaurants that they have that are included. None of that. It is focused on the buffet and their and their main dining room for the included options.

Doug (00:21:10) – Let’s discuss the entertainment on board Maravilla. I know that MSC gave up the Cirque partnership located at the back of the ship. What’s going on back there now?

Guest (00:21:22) – So I will say that we were pleasantly surprised with the show performances that were put on in the main Broadway theater, which is their main theater in the forward of the ship. We actually attended one of the Meet the cast type of, uh, presentations, if you will, and we had a really great interaction with them.

We found out that all of the shows in that forward lounge were designed specifically for that cast and this ship. So in all, we were very impressed and enjoyed all of the shows we saw in that forward lounge. Now, going to your question about Cirque du Soleil partnership, you can see that there still is some residual, um, design with the shows that they have in that back lounge that does still exist, they still do aerial acts, and we very much enjoyed those performances. But one thing to be aware of is MSC still continues to consider that an upcharge and add-on type of experience.

Guest (00:22:20) – So if you buy it on the ship, it’s $18 a person to get into one of those shows. The nice thing is they sweeten the deal because they throw a drink at you that you can enjoy during the show, but it’s definitely a bit different of an experience than what we’ve seen on most of the other cruise lines.

Doug (00:22:37) – Gotcha. And did you guys, uh, like, what kind of show was you mentioned? It was like an acrobatics thing, but it was just an MSC-branded show.

Guest (00:22:47) – Yeah. So they put on a magic show. Houdini is the name of the show. And so there’s a lot of singing, dancing, acrobats flying through the air, and a little juggling and jumping out into the audience. And so definitely had, I would say Cirque vibes, but just not with the branding. But to Rocky’s point, they’re still charging that upcharge for the Cirque like show.

Doug (00:23:10) – Gotcha. Okay. Historically, MSC Cruise Entertainment is more visual and less like comedians because of the international audience. Is it like this on MSC Meraviglia?

Guest (00:23:22) – Actually, no. I feel like there was a lot, a lot of the presentations that we saw were done primarily in English, surprisingly. Okay. Uh, the one thing that caught us off guard was the overhead announcements.

Anytime the captain would make his announcements, it would always be done by the captain. Again in Italian. Uh, during the safety briefings when we were on the embark day, they were doing announcements in both English and Mandarin. For safety reasons, there were so many Mandarin-speaking passengers on board. But overall, most of the shows were done and performed in English leading up to the show’s start.

They would do a couple of announcements in Mandarin and Italian and English and German. So they did do several pre-calls for those shows. But overall the actual shows themselves were primarily in English, if there was any speaking at all. Yeah, it turns out it turns out those songs are universal. You know, the journey is universal across all languages.

Doug (00:24:19) – Let’s talk about the sea days. As far as crowds and congestion, I know that you were up there in the yacht club for probably most of it, but as you made your way further south, you mentioned the snow on the sail out, but that it eventually warm up once you got around the Carolinas or Florida.

Guest (00:24:36) – Warmed up is relative. Uh, it was warmer than than the snow, but we there weren’t a lot of folks spending time out on deck or making use of of the water slides. Um, it was still pretty chilly until, honestly, the nicest day we had was in Nassau. And so it took us, uh, five days into the cruise before the weather was, was to a point where you would want to actually be out on deck or layout, you know, you could be out. I mean, we were like, jackets and jeans, uh, throughout the sailing. Uh, but but it wasn’t it didn’t get really warm until we got down into the Bahamas.

Doug (00:25:07) – As far as the crowds and congestion around the ship, was there any of that since everyone was inside?

Guest (00:25:16) – Really? Honestly, the only crowds we experienced were in the Meraviglia Galleria Meraviglia, which is a domed area. If you deck six and deck seven, it’s a two-story area. They’ve got a beautiful dome, similar to the Fremont Experience in Las Vegas, where they’ve got that led that runs almost the entirety of the ship. That’s where they would do many of their dance parties and events, because it was too cold up on deck to do it.

We didn’t feel that space was designed to host those parties. And so it’s a throughput for traffic on the ship. And so you’ve got people trying to make their way throughout the ship and people dancing and singing. And that was really the only time we felt like we were crowded, or that we were kind of annoyed a little bit by the traffic flow of the ship. Otherwise I would I would tell you, we didn’t feel crowds, even the buffet, the buffets, were sometimes a little bit busy, but but not to the point where we’ve seen it wear on other lines.

Guest (00:26:12) – What did you think of that promenade area with the ceiling that lights up?

Guest (00:26:15) – Beautiful. Uh, we were stunned by the design and how gorgeous that space was, and they really maximize the usage of those LED screens throughout the sailing, including on Embark day, when they’re showing you where all of the different muster stations are located. But overall, that space was beautiful.

It was definitely wide enough to walk through it when there wasn’t an event happening, you could easily take yourself up onto the next deck up and look down from the mezzanine and really enjoy the sights and the and sounds and even the smells coming from the chocolate factory. As you were sailing along, so it was very enjoyable.

Speaking of speaking of those multi-use screens, remember, even on the welcome back party, they played the Welcome Back video that that that MSC sizzle reel. They played the video thing. Welcome back. I appreciate your loyalty. They played that up on those screens. And so literally everyone at the Welcome Back party headed to the sky watching them talk about what a great experience MSC is.

Doug (00:27:11) – The casino. How was that as far as the smoking situation in and around it?

Guest (00:27:17) – They had a smoke-free casino. It appears that it was an afterthought based on our conversations with the other passengers on board. The smoke-free casino was nice. However, they didn’t have any gaming tables for the smoke-free gamblers.

Now, the exciting thing was the placement of the Cirque theater. You have to walk through the smoking casino to get to the theater, which was kind of a strange setup, but the way the casino was set up. They put the main bar in the center of it. So you’re not diving into the main casino itself. Overall, the casino seemed like a pretty ample size, comparable to what we’re familiar with on some of Carnival’s Vista ships .

Doug (00:27:59) – Okay. Very cool. So, let’s talk about the ports of call you hit on this nine-night cruise. And what we’ll do here is hit the first one, give us a highlight, then we’ll go to the next one and so on.

Guest (00:28:10) – The first cruise port we visited was the exotic location, Port Canaveral in Florida. We had something else arranged. We have some really good friends that we’ve also met through going on cruises who live in the Orlando area, they ended up picking us up, and we had a fun day at SeaWorld for the day. So, it’s definitely a little bit different. We didn’t book anything through MSC because we’ve been to Port Canaveral before, so we wanted to check it out through the locals.

Doug (00:29:01) – So what was after Port Canaveral?

Guest (00:29:04) – Next was Miami and the day was unexpected. Icon of the Seas was scheduled to arrive in Miami the day before.

However, due to the weather, they kept her out for an extra day. And so we literally got to see icon of the seas sail. And we did a live, uh, we did a YouTube live where we streamed her sailing into Port Miami for the first time. We watched her turn around in the basin, return, and dock at the Royal Caribbean Terminal. There.

We got off the ship, and we hiked our excursion that day. We hiked about a mile up to the Royal Caribbean Terminal, climbed up to the very top of the parking garage, Royal Caribbean parking garage, and we just took pictures and filmed a bunch of stuff up there because it was like such a wow moment for for a couple of cruise nerds.

Doug (00:29:53) – Yeah. No, definitely. So after Nassau, you headed over to the Bahamas. Uh, what was the first Bahamas port?

Guest (00:29:59) – We first stopped at MSC’s Private Island, MSC’s Ocean Cay Marine Reserve. It’s a beautiful private island destination.

You can tell that MSC put a lot of thought and consideration when they were designing this port. It’s huge. It is massive, huge. And it’s nice because the ship can dock directly onto the port there, instead of you having to do a water shuttle taxi service to get in.

It is a very large and sprawling island, with tons of places for people to go out and lounge and layout, grab food, and have a nice relaxing day. Now. Now they don’t have, you know, big water parks and they don’t have hot air balloons that go up in the air like some, you know, private islands do. But but I mean, it had everything that you could want.

Guest (00:30:48) – It had many different beaches. Uh, to Rocky Point food trucks, uh, included food trucks throughout the island, as well as some upcharge food trucks where you could get, you know, seafood, you could get your lobster rolls and some of that fresh seafood.

Doug (00:31:00) – You were in the yacht club, right? So I know they have that yacht club area on the other side of the island, like on the other side from where the ship docks. How was that space, or I guess, did you utilize that space? And would you think of it if you did?

Guest (00:31:12) – Yeah, we actually, uh, as soon as we got off of the ship via escort from our butler. It’s just fun to say that. I’m sorry. Uh, we were escorted over to the yacht club’s meeting point, where they picked us up by golf cart and drove us to that exclusive area. It just made it a little bit easier to get there so we can maximize our time. Uh, the area is referred to as the Ocean House.

And so that’s actually where they serve lunch. And it’s a lovely, large colonial-style building. Uh, the lunch there included amazing bites from a lobster roll to crab ceviche. The ceviche was so good. The beach was delicious. Uh, they also had your standard fare of burgers on the menu, and then a couple of salads and other options.

Overall, it was a great area. As you approached it, there was signage, so you knew it was reserved for the yacht club guests. Uh, there was a private beach. And that’s the one downside that I would say about the exclusive area is the Yacht Club’s Ocean House. The beach is probably the least nice of the beaches that are found on the island.

It’s a little bit rough. Uh, there’s some larger sand bits, if you want to call them that. Uh, so getting in the water makes it a bit tough. And due to the weather that we encountered, we really didn’t even touch the water because we touched the water.

We just didn’t get into the water. It’s it’s rocky, says sand. But I would say sharp rock. So the folks that had been there before had water shoes and were in the water. That was a that’s a great tip. If you’re going to Ocean Cay and in the yacht club, make sure to bring water shoes because. It will make your day better.

Doug: .That’s a good tip. There are a lot of beaches around the island so you get to explore most of them?

We did. We met people on the cruise, as we always do on cruises. And so we went out and we got to explore a little bit with them. In hindsight, I wish we had done the exploration first because it started to pour. Uh, it started to downpour and it was a cold downpour in the Bahamas. And so we we didn’t get to explore as much as we’d like, but we got to see several of the lagoons.

Guest (00:33:15) – We got to see the lighthouse. We got to enjoy one of the food trucks. We did eat at one of the food trucks just so we could say we, you know, ate with our friends. Um, Rocky. Rocky always says we ate with the common people. Um, and so we enjoyed the food on the mainland. And then there’s shops, there’s shops, there’s you can buy ice cream cones and various things on land as well. Before we headed back to the ship. And, and unfortunately, that was the only we were this point spoiled us, Doug. Um, we were looking for our butler escort back onto the ship, but but there was not one on to the ship. And so we had to wait in the rain with the rest of the ship that had all run back to get onto the ship as well.

Doug (00:33:55) – Oh, no. Horrible. Did you get to stay at night to see the lighthouse lit up? Yeah.

Guest (00:34:01) – Back on board wasn’t scheduled until 8:00 that evening. Uh, most of the passengers had embarked on the ship by about 330 or 4 due to the weather, but we stayed docked there, and we were wondering about that lighthouse show because we’d heard about it. And so we went to the concierge, who gave us a great recommendation on where to go to view it, so we could also hear the music playing through the show.

Uh, and so we had the opportunity to watch it and it was impressive. We enjoyed it. And hopefully, we’ll be able to return to Ocean Cay again in the future, where we won’t encounter poor weather. We can be on the beach and see the light show from the ground.

And because of the concierge tip, we know the crew smoking area on MSC Meraviglia. And so it was a great tip and we got to hang out with crew as they watched the light show.

Doug (00:34:54) – He probably know this, but if you’re ever feeling energetic or you want to work out, you can climb that lighthouse. It’s like $15 or 20 maybe, but you got some great views up there and there’s quite a few steps, so, uh, yeah, pack your energy. Yeah.

Guest (00:35:06) – No. And that’s another reason why we want to go back. You know, I don’t think, uh, the weather was really in our favor to be able to do that type of an excursion, but definitely in the books for us to do it again.

Doug (00:35:16) – So your final port of call was Nassau. How was your day there?

Guest (00:35:19) – Nassau was great. Uh, as Mark had mentioned, it was the best weather that we saw on the entire cruise, and we were a little bummed that it was our final port day, but we made the most of it. We were docked in Nassau with four other ships. So a standard busy Nassau day. Uh, nothing unusual there.

Guest (00:35:36) – Uh, we have a tradition whenever we’re in Nassau, where we go visit a rum distillery in a little bit deeper into town. And so we decided to do that at this time. We took the trek and walked around and checked out the updates that they made to the port of Nassau, because that was our first time there since they did all the construction since they finished the construction.

Yeah, we’ve been several times during. Yeah. And then from there we walked up to the distillery and enjoyed a little tasting up there before returning to the port and getting on the ship. It was a pretty quiet day, but we’re looking forward to the opportunity to get to lay out on deck on the cruise ship before sail away took place.

Doug (00:36:12) – Yeah, perfect day for it. So you leave Nassau for a couple of days and you head back to Brooklyn. How were your sea days going up?

Guest (00:36:19) – The weather, I will say, was more cooperative on the way back, but. So it wasn’t as bumpy and rocky, but there were times when you would sleep at night and roll on or you would.

Guest (00:36:31) – You knew you were on a ship. You know, when Rocky and I first boarded, one of the things we commented as we were sitting in, I think it was the topsail restaurant. After spending time in the lounge, we said, we don’t feel like we’re on a cruise ship, but you just felt like you were almost at an all-inclusive resort.

We knew we were on a cruise ship on the sea days out and on the sea days back. The weather was left, the ocean a bit rocky. We had some. You saw some gale-force winds. There were some swells, but they had the magnetic, uh, bags out, the thick bags out in the elevator banks. They had those out for, for all of the passengers. We did talk to several folks who said they might not sail again in January, but but we liked it. But I know the sign us up.

Doug (00:37:18) – So it’s time to get off the ship in Brooklyn.

Doug (00:37:20) – Was the process as smooth and bougie as that embark?

Guest (00:37:25) – I love that you say the bougie because it continued through. Uh, we always go for a very relaxed, dark morning. We try to stay on the ship as long as possible.

We book later flights knowing that there’s always the possibility that a ship could be delayed returning to port. Uh, and fortunately for us, the ship did arrive on time, however. We didn’t end up disembarking from the ship until much later.

We we decided to go down and have breakfast down in the main restaurant, the topsail restaurant, in the yacht club area. And once we were done eating there, we went down to the lounge and enjoyed a quick beverage and a couple of little canapés. You know, just trying to get our last bits in and chatted with the bartenders.

The bartenders were tremendously friendly the entire sailing, and we just hung out with them and enjoyed some coffee and drinks. Yep. And then once we were ready to get off of the ship, we went to the concierge and actually, we ended up seeing our butler at the concierge desk, and he offered to help us get off the ship.

Guest (00:38:26) – And so he took Marc’s two suitcases that he was carrying from his hands and wheeled them to the elevator, took us down to the lower deck, and wheeled us over to where they take you off the ship. Or they scan your card to say you are officially disembarked from the ship. So we continued that experience as long as we could.

And the cool thing about the luggage program, if you decide to put your luggage out the night before the cruise ends, all of the yacht club luggage gets delivered to one specific spot, so you’re not rushing to get off.

You’re not rushing to go find where your luggage was placed. When it’s in that terminal building, it’s very easy to locate and get to pick up your suitcases and you’re on your way. Once again, those yacht club signs. Right this way. Um, a dedicated area, even for your luggage.

Doug (00:39:16) – Awesome. Very cool. Does Brooklyn have facial recognition for the dark?

Guest (00:39:21) – Yes they did. We were very excited when we saw that we’re getting off the ship.

Doug (00:39:25) – Yeah. It sure makes a difference. Looking back here as first-time MSC cruisers and in the yacht Club, do you have any first-time tips to offer anyone sailing MSC or sailing out of Manhattan?

Guest (00:39:39) – Uh, goodness gracious. If you get that upgrade offer and it’s within your means, you bid that upgrade offer up. Suppose you can get into the yacht club from a balcony. That would be my biggest tip because not only does it include all of those amenities that we’ve talked about. They grant you into the premium drinks package as well.

So the premium drinks package on this sailing would have been 790 a person, a person. We paid less for the entire yacht club experience, including those premium drinks. It included Wi-Fi on each of our devices, and it included all of those exclusive amenities that we’ve talked about.

And so that would be my number one tip is if you get that offer to upgrade to the yacht club, really look at what it would cost you to have that experience and just individually and take that for serious take.

Guest (00:40:29) – Be serious about that. And if you can get that upgrade and it’s in your means, do it. Yeah, absolutely. And then I would also say the other thing is that this cruise ship departs out of the Brooklyn terminal.

So instead of paying the 60 plus dollars that it would cost to get an Uber or a lift, you could take the subway, and the train system, all of which will be super easy to get over there. And there’s a water taxi or ferry. Ferry, I guess it is, uh, that takes you from Wall Street.

If you were to go into Manhattan and stay the night out there, you can quickly get onto the ferry from Wall Street over to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Easy. And it’s quite cost-effective.

Doug (00:41:09) – Yeah, that’s one thing I’ve heard over the years is that a lot of people who are doing cruises out of either Brooklyn or Manhattan, they kind of get taken by surprise how much it actually cost to get from the airport to the cruise port.

Doug (00:41:20) – But a little extra research can save you quite a few bucks, and it’s not that bad. I think it’s.

Guest (00:41:25) – Scarier being in New York traffic. Quite honestly. When we the Uber, we took an Uber from the hotel to the cruise terminal. I think that was scarier than the subway was, you know, the night before when we had flown in. And so, yes, I think it’s great.

Doug (00:41:41) – Well, looking back, what was your biggest highlight of this cruise?

Guest (00:41:56) – I would say the biggest highlight was probably being in the yacht club. What a treat it was for us to be able to experience that. Um, it was so exciting walking into the Topsail Lounge in that exclusive yacht Club area, no matter how many times a day we walked in there, we always discovered new canopies that were waiting for us to try.

Guest (00:42:17) – The bartenders and servers in the topsail lounge were all very friendly. They started to get to know us, what drinks we enjoyed the most, and they would start making recommendations based on the spirits we were drinking to make our journey that much more enjoyable. I think for me, um, one of the best bites of food I’ve had on a cruise ship was, uh, in the Eden restaurant onboard Celebrity Apex.

And I would say fast forward. That was a couple of years back now for Thanksgiving. But fast forward to this. To have that daily rotating risotto to me was a surprise and delight that menu in Topsail restaurant. You just don’t see food like that on a cruise ship. And it was fantastic.

And it was included in that experience. It wasn’t we weren’t, you know, dropping 150 for the meal. It was included in that yacht club experience. That, to me was a surprise and delight.

Guest (00:43:10) – I did not expect how good and high-quality that food would be.

Doug (00:43:22) – Well, uh, in closing here, your final thoughts of MSC Maravilla.

Guest (00:43:27) – the MSC Meraviglia is a gorgeous ship. MSC did a great job in designing and developing this class of ship. The size of it was great. We did have a lower capacity on the ship during our sailing, but we still managed to have a great time. We met a lot of great friends.

We found places to call our own that maybe we’re not in the yacht club specifically. Still, we discovered the Sky lounge as a great place to meet people and to be able to enjoy the company of others that were not a part of the yacht club, and really just kind of put ourselves with the rest of the population that was sailing. Very good. The Champagne Bar was another one of my favorites. That the Edge bar.

Guest (00:44:09) – The champagne bar, you know, that looked out over the water as the ship was sailing. That was great. Those champagne cocktails were excellent. And that’s the beauty, right? When you have. We would flash our yacht club bracelets and I will tell you, I joke. I’ve made this joke now lines would disappear and people would just randomly appear.

Servers would appear, you flash that yacht club bracelet and it didn’t matter what bar we were at, if we were at the horizon bar, after the champagne bar, or at the Sky lounge, they just showed up and took such great care of us. You can tell that even the rest of the ship is trained to pay attention to yacht club guests, because it was just such a fantastic experience.

I’m excited to go back on MSC Meraviglia in in the in the standard amenities in the non-yacht club amenities to be able to experience it truly and compare and contrast to be able to talk about what does that value look like and how it feels to sit down in the main dining room each night for dinner versus in your dedicated restaurant? And so I am excited to get back on the ship.

Guest (00:45:10) – We’ve looked we’ve booked on the inaugural on MSC World America, World America. And so it was it was a great experience and great sailing. And so MSC gets a lot of bad rap out there. There’s a lot of negativity about people who love or hate it. And I will tell you from our experience where we’re looking at booking two more already. So it was it was in it was in a really good category for us.

Doug (00:46:34) – Awesome. We’ll link to it also in the show notes at Cruise Radio dot net. Mark Rocky, thank you all so much.

Guest (00:46:40) – Thank you so much, Doug.

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  • MSC Cruises

MSC Preziosa - Comprehensive Yacht Club Review

Solent Richard

By Solent Richard , March 26, 2020 in MSC Cruises

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Solent Richard

Three weeks ago my wife disembarked from our first MSC cruise, 14 nights Yacht Club onboard MSC Preziosa around the Caribbean.

I have now written what I consider a full, frank and comprehensive review on our experience. Here is the link...

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2020/03/25/msc-preziosa-yacht-club-experience/

1800771824_MSCPreziosaFeaturedImage2.jpg.db89b7bfad750eec4b7c8918a4585b5c.jpg

I'd be delighted to answer any questions.

Thanks

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portofrome

Thank you for your great review and photos!

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Thanks Richard and Barbara. Very comprehensive and useful.

:classic_biggrin:

WOW!!  Great review.  Very thorough and insightful.  Loved all the pictures. We were to do YC Prezioza this June but, had to cancel until next year. Still looking forward to doing our cruise. Now, we are more excited for next year.  Thank you so much for taking the time to post such a wonderful review.

1 hour ago, phissy said: WOW!!  Great review.  Very thorough and insightful.  Loved all the pictures. We were to do YC Prezioza this June but, had to cancel until next year. Still looking forward to doing our cruise. Now, we are more excited for next year.  Thank you so much for taking the time to post such a wonderful review.

So pleased I could give you a glimpse of 'the light at the end of the tunnel'.

Skier52

48 minutes ago, Solent Richard said:   Good morning Pete (as in Skier).   Long time no speak and hope you are well.   Now for the confession. It was your review, all those years ago, that gave me the original inspiration and idea to take my wife to Guadeloupe: I'd filed it in the memory bank.   Had you not appeared here I would have asked Wansbrough to pass on the link and thank you.   And as you probably noted from my review, we've already booked another MSC cruise.   Keep safe.   Richard      

That's an endorsement for MSC if ever I saw one.

it is heartening to see and  partly makes up for all the bashing i got on C.dot for flag waving for MSC .

CGTNORMANDIE

Wonderful review...wished I was there. 😀

On 3/27/2020 at 9:02 AM, Skier52 said:   That's an endorsement for MSC if ever I saw one.   it is heartening to see and  partly makes up for all the bashing i got on C.dot for flag waving for MSC . Pete

A yacht Club experience would have been out of their depths Pete.

Thank you so much for your wonderful review.  Feeling kind of low these days, what a pleasure it was.  I shared it with my husband and he also enjoyed it.

We have our first Yacht Club experience coming up in October and are looking forward.  Thanks again!

Hi Solent Richard........read your review with interest as we were aboard the Preziosa a month before you , 21st January.  Our reflections were somewhat different although I would agree that  Marie-Pierre and Summit were excellent, they were our butler and restaurant waiter as well.  We were fortunate to stay in 15031 just up the corridor from you, next time try to get one of these large square cabins as they are 50% bigger than the one you had, we even had a sun lounger on the balcony as it is so much bigger.

I would double check that your Virgin flight from Gatwick to Barbados was a charter.  Our MSC / Virgin Flight was a Scheduled flight (VS029/VS30) as MSC this year were taking a block of seats not the full allocation.  It is important as you will be able to claim Virgin Flying Club Air miles which we did, Premier gave us 8432 air miles (worth about £125).

We cruised Preziosa last year as well and the difference was astonishing, for the worse. The quality of the meat in La Palmeriae was extremely poor and like yourselves we dined in Butcher's Cut where the meat was superb but boy-o-boy did we all suffer in the YC restaurant, even 'Summit' advised us not to have many dishes as the complaints were endless.  

The Gazebo you mentioned was erected due to the complaint about the food on offer at the One Pool during our cruise. You benefited from the change of YC Directors, the new YC who change midway though our cruise (Thierry Fnu) made many changes which improved the situation.  The problem is you don't know which YC Director you are going to get, some are a disgrace to MSC.  

We also booked for Yacht Club 2021 and have subsequently cancelled, just not worth the money anymore.  

Cool Cruiser

Just thought I would add some feedback from our recent cruise.

My better half and I were on the cruise following Solent Richard, 3rd – 17th March in the YC. Flew VS29 ex-Gatwick – I will agree with Mickey89 that the flight is part MSC booked, but not completely as I noted several Virgin Holidays tags on baggage. We were heat tested before we entered the terminal at Barbados airport. No issue, quick and first of several such tests during the next fortnight.

Our view of the cruise was it was overall fantastic and we would both book it again in a flash. The itinerary leapt out of the page when we spotted it over a year in advance; so nice to see smaller islands and not the run of the mill ex-Miami mainstream ports.

We sailed Divina in YC in 2018 (Med 7 day cruise) and felt that the YC restaurant on Preziosa exceeded comfortably that we experienced on Divina. Sumit was out waiter too and a credit to MSC. Food taste is subjective, but when I read Mickey89's feedback I thought I was on the wrong ship. Maybe the change in TC Director impacted the food standard too, as it was pretty faultless.

We have travelled quite often in the Haven and our experience on Divina clearly awarded the restaurant medal to NCL, but on Preziosa we felt it was materially improved and at least equivalent to Haven, but with a far better choice as each day offers a new selection. Preziosa also offered three “everyday” options not listed including spaghetti bolognaise and filet.

One Pool chef always had a gazebo erected. We always breakfasted either at One Pool or TSL, never the restaurant. Lunch was normally at One Pool when not ashore. Always a good choice and always chef specials.

We too are Death in Paradise fans and took a tour with Merva, as mentioned by Richard in his report. An excellent day and one of our favourite private tour experiences without a doubt.

St, Kitts, Dominica, St. Vincent (Bequia) and St. Maarten we really enjoyed too.

The cruise had no Italians on board when we joined (some 550 would typically have been on board), but MSC had already reacted to the CORid-19 outbreak it seems. The first 11 days went as planned, but on the second weekend both Martinique and Guadeloupe only permitted disembarking guests to leave the ship at the end of their cruises. No new guest’s joined that second weekend. Transit guests were not permitted to leave the ship. Each day there were less remaining guests St. Lucia was cancelled and we had a slow sail to Barbados sea day on the last Monday. We have no issue with this, what else can MSC/ports do in such circumstances. My only issue would be the lack of communication from the captain – being more familiar with NCL we are used to daily dialogue from the captain, even in normal circumstances. It was notable the captain never delivered such daily updates, either during the normal phase of the cruise nor during the latter agenda impacted phase. Strange.

As I stated above we would rebook the YC without a doubt – we would book the same cruise again and same ship. The YC versus Haven is an interesting debate often seen on CC; we like both and both have pro’s and con’s we feel. I like the TSL, my wife less so; we both like the One Pool bar/eating area; Haven has more room options and is more family focussed (family suites), but generally is a lot more expensive; champagne included in the YC is a nice bonus. First world problem, but both being nice to experience.

  • 4 weeks later...
On 3/30/2020 at 4:34 PM, mickey89 said: Hi Solent Richard........read your review with interest as we were aboard the Preziosa a month before you , 21st January.  Our reflections were somewhat different although I would agree that  Marie-Pierre and Summit were excellent, they were our butler and restaurant waiter as well.  We were fortunate to stay in 15031 just up the corridor from you, next time try to get one of these large square cabins as they are 50% bigger than the one you had, we even had a sun lounger on the balcony as it is so much bigger. I would double check that your Virgin flight from Gatwick to Barbados was a charter.  Our MSC / Virgin Flight was a Scheduled flight (VS029/VS30) as MSC this year were taking a block of seats not the full allocation.  It is important as you will be able to claim Virgin Flying Club Air miles which we did, Premier gave us 8432 air miles (worth about £125).   We cruised Preziosa last year as well and the difference was astonishing, for the worse. The quality of the meat in La Palmeriae was extremely poor and like yourselves we dined in Butcher's Cut where the meat was superb but boy-o-boy did we all suffer in the YC restaurant, even 'Summit' advised us not to have many dishes as the complaints were endless.     The Gazebo you mentioned was erected due to the complaint about the food on offer at the One Pool during our cruise. You benefited from the change of YC Directors, the new YC who change midway though our cruise (Thierry Fnu) made many changes which improved the situation.  The problem is you don't know which YC Director you are going to get, some are a disgrace to MSC.     We also booked for Yacht Club 2021 and have subsequently cancelled, just not worth the money anymore.  

Thanks for your input Mickey. Much appreciated.

I hear what you say about Thierry Fun, the YC Director, I got on with him like a house on fire.

On 3/31/2020 at 6:00 PM, Had01 said: Just thought I would add some feedback from our recent cruise.   My better half and I were on the cruise following Solent Richard, 3rd – 17th March in the YC. Flew VS29 ex-Gatwick – I will agree with Mickey89 that the flight is part MSC booked, but not completely as I noted several Virgin Holidays tags on baggage. We were heat tested before we entered the terminal at Barbados airport. No issue, quick and first of several such tests during the next fortnight. Our view of the cruise was it was overall fantastic and we would both book it again in a flash. The itinerary leapt out of the page when we spotted it over a year in advance; so nice to see smaller islands and not the run of the mill ex-Miami mainstream ports. We sailed Divina in YC in 2018 (Med 7 day cruise) and felt that the YC restaurant on Preziosa exceeded comfortably that we experienced on Divina. Sumit was out waiter too and a credit to MSC. Food taste is subjective, but when I read Mickey89's feedback I thought I was on the wrong ship. Maybe the change in TC Director impacted the food standard too, as it was pretty faultless. We have travelled quite often in the Haven and our experience on Divina clearly awarded the restaurant medal to NCL, but on Preziosa we felt it was materially improved and at least equivalent to Haven, but with a far better choice as each day offers a new selection. Preziosa also offered three “everyday” options not listed including spaghetti bolognaise and filet. One Pool chef always had a gazebo erected. We always breakfasted either at One Pool or TSL, never the restaurant. Lunch was normally at One Pool when not ashore. Always a good choice and always chef specials. We too are Death in Paradise fans and took a tour with Merva, as mentioned by Richard in his report. An excellent day and one of our favourite private tour experiences without a doubt. St, Kitts, Dominica, St. Vincent (Bequia) and St. Maarten we really enjoyed too. The cruise had no Italians on board when we joined (some 550 would typically have been on board), but MSC had already reacted to the CORid-19 outbreak it seems. The first 11 days went as planned, but on the second weekend both Martinique and Guadeloupe only permitted disembarking guests to leave the ship at the end of their cruises. No new guest’s joined that second weekend. Transit guests were not permitted to leave the ship. Each day there were less remaining guests St. Lucia was cancelled and we had a slow sail to Barbados sea day on the last Monday. We have no issue with this, what else can MSC/ports do in such circumstances. My only issue would be the lack of communication from the captain – being more familiar with NCL we are used to daily dialogue from the captain, even in normal circumstances. It was notable the captain never delivered such daily updates, either during the normal phase of the cruise nor during the latter agenda impacted phase. Strange. As I stated above we would rebook the YC without a doubt – we would book the same cruise again and same ship. The YC versus Haven is an interesting debate often seen on CC; we like both and both have pro’s and con’s we feel. I like the TSL, my wife less so; we both like the One Pool bar/eating area; Haven has more room options and is more family focussed (family suites), but generally is a lot more expensive; champagne included in the YC is a nice bonus. First world problem, but both being nice to experience. Stay safe.

Good afternoon HAD.

Humble apologies for not responding sooner and many thanks for your comprehensive addendum: it made very interesting reading, particularly the comparison with NCL's Haven.

Up till this cruise we were ardent Cunard Grills fans and while I'd never abandon them entirely we thoroughly enjoyed our 'Maiden' MSC. The real advantage for us is the wider itineraries on offer with MSC.

So pleased you gave Mirva some business and I trust you enjoyed Sainte Honore as much as we did: You'll never believe the 'brownie' points I received from my wife.

Funnily enough we were due to fly to Split this morning to join an Emerald Waterways cruise along the Dalmatian Coast. Just so pleased we made the full Preziosa when we did.

Take care and thanks again for your input. 

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msc yacht club experience

FIVE REASONS WHY THE MSC YACHT CLUB IS THE ULTIMATE WAY TO CRUISE

The msc yacht club offers a variety of luxurious accommodations, such as suites with ocean views, private balconies with whirlpool baths, and lavish amenities. exclusive access to the top sail lounge, private sundeck with pool and bar, and panoramic views is included in the msc yacht club experience of cruising. additional privileges offered by the msc yacht club encompass a dedicated 24-hour butler service, priority check-in and check-out, vip services, exclusive shopping sessions, private excursions, and complimentary utilization of the thermal suite and msc aurea spa. furthermore, guests also have private-access opportunities to destinations such as msc ocean cay marine reserve and sir bani yas island..

Geneva, Switzerland – October 19 2023 – The MSC Yacht Club ‘ship within a ship’ concept offers an exclusive holiday sanctuary on board many of MSC Cruises’ ships, providing guests an unparalleled cruise experience with complete serenity, added exclusivity and privacy within a world of choice. This privatised, key-card access area of the ship is only accessible to MSC Yacht Club guests, offering stylish facilities, lavish accommodations with a host of dedicated amenities, such as a panoramic lounge, high-end restaurant, elegant pool and secluded sun deck. Guests staying in the MSC Yacht Club benefit from a range of privileges and personalised service, that is sure to make them feel pampered. These perks are available around-the-clock and are designed to cater to their specific needs and preferences, ensuring a seamless luxury experience at sea. The MSC Yacht Club also offers a myriad of dedicated leisure and entertainment possibilities, allowing guests to enjoy the exclusivity of a private club while also having access to the countless recreation and entertainment options available throughout the larger ship. Whether guests are looking for a relaxing escape or a lavish holiday, the MSC Yacht Club provides an exclusive haven for guests to savour the sophistication and elegance of a luxury cruise experience, ensuring the utmost privacy and comfort where every detail is designed to surpass guests’ expectations and create memories of a lifetime. MSC Yacht Club is available on more than half of MSC Cruises’ modern fleet, allowing travellers to experience the same level of exceptional, personalised services across many destinations. Highlights of the MSC Yacht Club benefits include:

1. 24-HOUR PERSONALISED SERVICE

MSC Yacht Club’s all-inclusive experience is fully personalised with a dedicated 24-hour butler service and concierge, making the cruising experience truly personal and tailored to each individual guest’s needs. The butler service will quickly get to know each guest’s personal preferences, providing the highest level of customised service to ensure all guests feel pampered and relaxed. From shoeshining to 3 a.m. room service, no request is too small. Meanwhile, the dedicated concierge is on hand to facilitate any request, from organising shore excursions and making reservations for the spa to arranging for the newspaper to be brought to the cabin each morning.

2. PRIVILEGED ACCESS

MSC Yacht Club is sure to exceed expectations with a host of privileges that create an effortless experience, from the moment guests step on board to the moment they depart. This luxurious cruise experience offers a dedicated priority check-in and check-out, ensuring a seamless embarkation and disembarkation, so guests can start enjoying their holidays as soon as possible. They will also receive the full VIP service with a variety of offerings including the possibility to organise a tailored shopping session in the onboard boutiques outside regular opening hours, embark on exceptional private excursions or take advantage of the complimentary use of the Thermal Suite and MSC Aurea Spa to decompress and rejuvenate while at sea. These private-access areas extend ashore in a number of destinations:

  • MSC Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, The Bahamas – MSC Cruises’ private island, founded on a strong commitment to the preservation of marine resources and the conservation of coral reefs and marine life. Northwest of Ocean Cay lies a private beach area exclusively reserved for guests of the MSC Yacht Club, with privileged access to enjoy sunbeds and cabanas with butler service as well as a dedicated restaurant to relax, sip a cocktail and enjoy a 3-course dedicated lunch surrounded by sea breezes.
  • Sir Bani Yas Island, United Arab Emirates – A beach lover’s paradise just off the southwest coast of Abu Dhabi, offering guests a stunning tropical oasis to unwind. The island features a MSC Yacht Club zone with premium sunbeds and dedicated transportations, barbecue lunch and bar service to ensure the utmost comfort and privacy for guests during a day ashore.

3. PRIVATE AND LUXURIOUS LEISURE AMENITIES

Designed to provide the utmost in service and comfort, MSC Yacht Club guests have exclusive access to a range of private and elegant spaces to enhance their cruise experience. From the dedicated Top Sail Lounge, offering panoramic views for guests to sit back and relax in a sophisticated setting while indulging in an array of gourmet finger foods, delicious drinks and high tea service, as well as enjoy live music every evening. The club’s private sundeck, complete with a private pool, whirlpool, sundeck and bar, will offer guests the chance to soak up the sun and enjoy complimentary refreshments in complete comfort while taking in the best views on board across the bow of the ship and out to sea.

4. LAVISH ACCOMMODATION

Experience the finest luxury accommodation with the MSC Yacht Club’s wide variety of suites to meet all guests’ preferences. The stylish and spacious accommodations set themselves apart and include options with stunning ocean views from the cabin’s private balcony, as well as suites like the Duplex Suites, Royal Suites and Owner’s Suites, offering a private whirlpool bath on the balcony. From sumptuous Myform Memory mattresses and crisp Egyptian cotton bedding to an indulgent Dorelan pillow menu, luxurious marble bathrooms and complimentary minibars, the MSC Yacht Club offering will surely provide unparalleled comfort for an unforgettable holiday.

5. CULINARY DELIGHTS FROM DAY TO NIGHT

With a dedicated restaurant, the MSC Yacht Club offers guests the opportunity to enjoy the pleasures of an exquisite fine-dining experience with five-star service. Offering sophisticated cuisines with an à la carte menu, guests can savour an array of the finest dishes served exclusively for them from a dedicated kitchen staff, accompanied by a spectacular selection of drinks, including fine wines from around the world with a dedicated sommelier available to further enhance the food and wine pairing experience. The private restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner where guests can dine at any time that suits their needs. This is on top of MSC Yacht Club guests having a premium drinks package included as standard. From the finest whiskey or vodka brands to glasses of champagne – toast to total relaxation.

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Exclusive Butler Service in MSC Yacht Club

MSC Yacht Club

Welcome to a world of ultimate luxury at the MSC Yacht Club. Accessible only by key card, guests will enjoy lavishly appointed accommodations and refined service, private dining, lounge and pool areas, free drink package, access to the Thermal Suite, and more exclusive benefits. Discover a ship within a ship, a place where you can savor exclusivity and privacy in a world of choice. Indulge in the luxury of a private club while enjoying access to a myriad of recreation and entertainment possibilities that the ship has to offer. Lavishly appointed suites, exclusive 24-hour butler service and a dedicated concierge are just the beginning of these exclusive cruise experiences. The MSC Yacht Club also boasts a range of superb private areas, from the elegant Top Sail Lounge, stylish restaurant, and the One Pool Deck complete with private swimming pool, whirlpool baths, sun deck and bar.

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Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve

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*Terms and Conditions

Cruise Privileges Program Cruise Privileges Program (“CPP”) benefits are valid only for new CPP bookings made with participating cruise lines through American Express Travel. CPP benefits are valid only for eligible U.S. Consumer and Business Platinum and Centurion ® Card Members (Delta SkyMiles ® Platinum Card Members are not eligible). CPP bookings must be made using the eligible Card. CPP benefits are non-transferable. Participating cruise lines and program benefits are subject to change. The benefits of an onboard credit and amenity are valid for new CPP bookings of at least five nights and require double occupancy; the eligible Card Member must be traveling on the itinerary booked; the total cost of the CPP booking must be paid using an American Express ® Card in the eligible Card Member's name. Onboard credits and amenities cannot be combined with other offers unless indicated; blackout dates, category and fare restrictions may apply. Onboard credits and amenities may not be available to residents outside of the 50 United States. Onboard credits and amenities apply per stateroom, with a three-stateroom limit per eligible Card Member, per cruise. For new CPP bookings with Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Royal Caribbean International, eligible Card Members receive an onboard credit (in USD) of: $100 for inside and outside staterooms, $200 for balcony, verandah, and mini-suite staterooms, and/or $300 for suites. For new CPP bookings with Cunard, eligible Card Members receive an onboard credit (in USD) of: $300 for all Queen Mary ocean-view staterooms category EF or higher, and/or Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth ocean-view staterooms category FA or higher. For new CPP bookings with Ama Waterways, Oceania, Regent, Azamara, Seabourn, Silversea, Uniworld, Windstar and Explora Journeys, eligible Card Members receive an onboard credit of US$300 for all stateroom categories. For new CPP bookings, Centurion Members receive an additional US$200 onboard credit on Explora Journeys, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seabourn, and Silversea. Onboard credits will be applied at checkout upon completion of the cruise; credit amounts in local currency may vary due to foreign exchange rates; credits are subject to cruise line terms and policies; credits cannot be used for casino charges, gratuities, or other similar charges. Any unused portion of a credit is non-refundable and is not redeemable for cash. Other restrictions may apply. Onboard amenities vary by participating cruise line and are not available on Silver Explorer, Silver Galapagos, and Silver Discoverer. Onboard credits and amenities are not available on Celebrity Cruises Galapagos sailings.

Extra Membership Rewards ® points: CPP-eligible Card Members that are Membership Rewards program-enrolled will receive one (1) extra Membership Reward ® point per eligible dollar spent on new CPP bookings made with participating cruise lines through American Express Travel; separate airfare and other charges associated with such bookings are not eligible. CPP bookings must be made using the eligible Card (described above). The extra points will be credited to the Card Member’s Membership Rewards account 8-12 weeks after completion of the CPP cruise. For more information visit membershiprewards.com/terms .

Platinum Destinations ® Vacations Platinum Destinations ® Vacations (“PDV”) benefits are valid only for new bookings made with participating suppliers through American Express Travel. Participating suppliers and PDV benefits are subject to change. Benefits cannot be combined with other offers unless indicated. Benefits are valid only for eligible U.S. Consumer and Business Platinum and Centurion ® Card Members (Delta SkyMiles ® Platinum Card Members are not eligible). PDV bookings must be made using the eligible Card and eligible Card Member must be traveling on the itinerary booked. PDV-eligible Card Members that are Membership Rewards program-enrolled will receive one (1) extra Membership Reward ® point per eligible dollar spent on PDV bookings; separate airfare and other charges associated with PDV bookings are not eligible. Extra points will be credited to the Card Member’s Membership Rewards account within 8-12 weeks after completion of the PDV travel. For more information visit membershiprewards.com/terms.

Membership Rewards Program Terms and Conditions for the Membership Rewards ® program apply. Visit membershiprewards.com/terms for more information. Participating partners and available rewards are subject to change without notice.

The value of Membership Rewards points varies according to how you choose to use them. To learn more, go to www.membershiprewards.com/pointsinfo .

American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. is acting solely as a sales agent for travel suppliers and is not responsible for the actions or inactions of such suppliers. Certain suppliers pay us commission and other incentives for reaching sales targets or other goals and may provide incentives to our Travel Consultants. For more information visit www.americanexpress.com/travelterms .

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COMMENTS

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