Eaglestrike

Hi friend, That is OK if YOU ARE NOT IN THE YACHT CLUB, but if you are in the YC where the Butlers/Asst. Butlers, Waitstaff etc., are treating you like a King & Queen then in my humble opinion they should be tipped and this is what they expect however will not say this. I have taken 8 YC cruises and they are all EXCEPTIONAL and everyone works so very hard to serve and please everyone. Happy Sailing & Best regards

Well said friend!!!!!! Happy Sailing & Best regards...

Hi friends, In the Yacht Club you should in my humble opinion give if deserving a Tip to people like your Butler & Asst. Butler (Cabin Steward). As well you should definitely Tip the Waiters, Asst. Waiters and others in the Dining room who work extremely hard all day everyday to serve you with excellence!. Also the Top Sail Lounge if you receive great and/or special service. The daily amount that they charge on your bill is for the team members that are not in sight like laundry or prep work in the kitchen etc., not the Butlers/Waiters in the Yacht Club. There is an old saying "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time" Don't book the Yacht Club and then have all of them treat you like a Lord or King and then stiff them! Happy Sailing friends.....

Hi friend, If you book onboard as an example you will get the OBC that you would normally get plus we received and additional 200 Euros. So our 15 day November cruise on the MSC Virtuosa netted us 400 U.S. Dollar OBC plus the additional 200 Euro OBC that we would not have received if we booked through MSC USA like we usually do. In addition you get tremendous flexibility as you can move to a different cruise as many times as you need PRIOR to making the final payment at which time you are required to stay with that cruise. In addition as mentioned you get the price guarantee and double points. All in all a very good deal in my opinion and worth taking! Happy Sailing.

My wife and I just got off the MSC Euribia last Thursday. We were in the Yacht Club and the Ship is beautiful and the service in the YC exceptional as usual. Great itinerary and although cold the sea's were very calm. You will have a great time! Happy Sailing.

Hi friend, My wife and I just finished our 8th Yacht Club cruise just a few days ago on the MSC Euribia-7 day cruise Northern Europe. You do not at all feel the embarkation/disembarkation at all. Happy Sailing!

FYI I enjoyed looking at your travel blog!!. Very nice and informative and very fun to read. Very impressive indeed that you were a Captain and thus your excellent knowledge of the seas (although I wish you would have given me better news LOL-I'm terrified now) Thanks again Andy I look forward to reading more of your excellent blog!!. Best regards and Happy Sailing friend!

Thank you kindly Heidi 13!. This was interesting and really helpful in understanding what people talk about with regard to the Bay of Biscay. Next time I will be more careful when booking a cruise and learn all this BEFORE booking. I am concerned now LOL because I can take 1 bad day but if it is for 3 full days I will be toast by the time we pull into Lisbon LOL. I will start praying to the weather Gods right now and not stop until we hit Lisbon a week from Saturday. I hope for at least 2 good days out of 3 days at this point. Thanks again Heidi 13 and Happy Sailing!.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this one Hank. Maybe the legend is overdramatized as you mention. Makes sense what the Captain said about the shallow depth and currents all coming together. I will find out very soon LOL. Thanks Hank and Happy Sailing!.

I am familiar with the fact that no one knows what the great Atlantic may or may not do on any given day. I am however unfamiliar with the Bay of Biscay and as noted we will not be sailing in it however passing it on the way to Lisbon from Hamburg. Many professional Mariners on this board that have a wealth of knowledge about these things. I guess what I meant to say is if you are not in the Bay and simply in the Atlantic passing from one stretch to the other does the Bay affect that stretch or it does not since you are not in the Bay of Biscay. Always good to learn and have knowledge about various seas and locations. We have taken around 20 cruises so we are experienced but always interested to learn. I am however grateful that the Police Dept. hired me 2 seconds before the Navy/Marines. I would not have done well on a ship permanently bouncing around at sea LOL Happy Sailing!

Hi friends, My wife and I are taking an 11 day cruise and there is a stretch of 3 days at sea from Hamburg to Lisbon. I have never cruised this particular area before and I hear about the Bay of Biscay's tricky weather. Our cruise only passes however does not enter the Bay. Is the Atlantic just outside of the Bay rougher than normal or simply subject to the usual "who knows what the weather will be" rules LOL?. FYI we took a fantastic 17 day Trans Atlantic cruise this past November/December from Marseille to the Caribbean and the weather was gorgeous for our 6 day stretch at sea. In fact when we rolled into Barbados I was very unhappy to see land again because we were having such a nice time!. Thanks again friends and Happy Sailing!.

That is exactly what I thought after I realized that we booked the last cruise before Dry dock. My wife however thinks that I am crazy to think that LOL. I figure that they may be tired and that they no longer care about certain things as many will be finishing there contracts etc., This may be very different in the Yacht club however as the service is always absolutely First Class in every aspect. We shall see and I will report back. Happy Sailing friend!

Thank you Captain (In between Master & Commander) I hope you are right and looking forward to the cruise and reporting back. Happy Sailing!

Funny thing is we took a Trans Atlantic cruise this past November/December for 17 days on the Seaside and it was the very first cruise out of Dry dock. I figured the crew will be new and fresh and everything sparkling and had no worries. It was absolutely fantastic!. Best cruise ever. To be honest you would never have known that it was the first cruise. I will report back after the cruise. Thanks friend and Happy Sailing.

Sounds like you had a great time!. Sometimes when the expectations are low the reality is a fantastic time. Best regards.

Hi friends, My wife and I are scheduled for an 11 day cruise on the Fantasia in the Yacht Club from Hamburg to Genoa. After that the ship goes into Drydock for a few weeks. I am wondering if anyone has taken a cruise like this and was the service and all activities the same? or can you notice a difference in the crew service, food offerings, shows etc., or anything that would be different than normal. The ship looks to be about 60 or 70% full and same for the Yacht Club which can be a plus or minus depending. Happy Sailing and best regards..

Hi Their, We just finished the Caribbean tour on the Seaside on December 4th. Dominica was a real surprise and extremely unique and beautiful. Only 72,000 residents but the scenery is unique. We took the waterfalls tour and I highly recommend it vs just hanging out on the beach. Also when the tour ends don't run back to the ship because they have a big parade with costumes native to there Country and music. Very unique. St. Kitts was very nice also and good to take a tour with either the ship or you will see many open air island trucks (that is what we did) or a taxi. Very unique they take you to a beautiful high lookout where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean only divided by a sliver of land-you can see the difference. Fun place. The Seaside is a beautiful ship-Have fun and Happy Sailing

Call me extremely skeptical as to the writers agenda and intent regarding there YC experience. My wife and I just finished a spectacular 17 day Grand Voyage on the MSC Seaside (November 18 to December 4th). This was our 5th Yacht Club cruise which have all been without exception terrific experiences!. I have a really hard time taking serious the writers critique on the food in the Yacht Club being the same as the fast food joint down the street?. Really can anyone seriously say that the Yacht Club food which I have always found to be extremely good was like a greasy spoon fast food joint for 7 days? No way I do not buy it. I also have a really hard time believing that the service in the Yacht Club dining room was anything short of Excellent as these people are doing everything to make folks happy so that they can get good reviews and tips. 5 Yacht Club cruises we have never experienced bad service. Don't forget that the staff are human beings subject to a bad moment or momentary lapse. Everything was always fantastic and when a mistake was made comparative to the entire experience it becomes a non event. The writer loves the room etc., but complains about the disembarkation process because the line was long and the butler brought her to the front?. Well this is what he is supposed to do. You are in the Yacht club and that is the service that many people love. Your paying for this. And what does it mean when a statement like "MSC does not care about our experience" or how the cruise worked out for them? MSC is a huge company with thousands of people and yet the writer boldly assumes that absolutely no one cared about her? I assume they do there best to make everyone happy. I don't know what the writers agenda is however there is an agenda because after all no one goes through the trouble of a big video along with hard hitting negative phrases to elicit responses without an agenda? I mean 7 straight days or more of terrible food (breakfast, lunch, dinner and awful service)?? Happy Sailing

I just finished a glorious 17 day cruise on the MSC Seaside to the Caribbean and I must say that they have an amazing lineup of Caribbean Islands. Our cruise started in Marseille France and we ended with Barbados, Grenada, Dominica Roseau (A really beautiful and inviting Island-Great!!) St. Kitts, Martinique and we disembarked in Guadeloupe. The ship for the season goes to the Eastern and Western Caribbean. The lineup of Islands seems if you take the 14 day cruise is outstanding!. In any event we had an absolutely amazing Yacht club experience for 17 glorious days. Everything was amazing, absolutely fantastic from first minute to last minute. Just got back yesterday and I will do a review this week. Happy sailing!!

Hi friend, That is unfortunate because we were given rose petals spread all over seemingly. I hope that they are still enjoying themselves on the cruise!

We were on the Grandiosa last year in the YC and they gave us the rose petal package and really surprised us because we did not order it. They do use the rose petals and congrats on your sons wedding!!

Hi friend, They do have a separate lift which says Yacht club members only, however sometimes the other elevators were faster. Best regards

Hi friend, My wife and I were on the Fantasia and in the Yacht club this past December. Prior to the Fantasia we had only been on the YC of the newer ships like Grandiosa, Seaview etc.,. The Fantasia was the first YC and the YC cabins are beautiful with dark teakwood and beautiful gold interior. Great walk-in closet space The Topsail was beautiful as well and very spacious. The YC restaurant was the real highlight. Although on the other end of the ship, the restaurant is gorgeous and you feel like you are sitting in a beautiful French restaurant. The layout and design was really spectacular. The newer ships of course have the Topsail and YC restaurants attached and so is convenient if you are having drinks before simply walking up the stairs to dinner and so you lose this if it is important to you. All in all the YC as usual is first class and the ship is beautiful as well. Happy sailing!

We are scheduled for our 5th YC cruise for 17 days on the MSC Seaside from Marseille France to Point a Pitre Guadeloupe. Your in for an amazing experience!. The service in the Yacht Club is world class hands down. I can't even bring myself to sail on another cruise line because I know it will not be close to the same experience. The Topsail lounge and the Yacht club restaurant are amazing-The butlers are fantastic and are always doing really nice things for you. The food is amazing, the service is amazing and everything is great. Here is the downside to the Yacht Club>It is like crack cocaine because once you try it you can never get away from it. Your days become unproductive because you are thinking of the next YC cruise to book and everything else becomes unimportant LOL. Have a great time and happy sailing!

Thank you friend, I really appreciate your insight because I am really looking forward to this 18 day cruise. We have done back to back however never one continuous for 18 days and especially crossing the Atlantic. it will sure be nice to just enjoy the beautiful ship on those sea days. You really put my mind at ease with the 12 hour weather solution. The Yacht Club is great for sure. Happy sailing and best regards!