Mikesa1721

Cruisergal,,I believe it is first come, first serve.

Ok, $110 is not quite as steep but it's still is steep enough to deter most from doing it. So while its not totally clear this is open to anyone on the ship? Or is it for purchase by YC members only?

So 10 regular passengers could buy these tickets before your cousins could, thus leaving them out of luck.Or someone's parents?

 

Or do YC members have first crack and then open to the rest of the ship.

 

It would be like an excursion on board. Gives you a day to get away and enjoy The YC I suppose. which in turn might sell the YC to more people.

I would only do this on a sea day IMO as a port day would not really be worth it. Unless I wasn't going ashore.

 

But it makes me question the $ I spent to have a more exclusive opportunity. 10 people may not be many but, its 10 more than should have been there. I would imagine not all 10 get sold very often and its those YC people who have family and friends not in the YC who tend to ask the most.

Legion,,The Yacht Club Day Pass as it was described to me is available to everyone on the ship not already booked in the Yacht Club. I'm not sure if the day pass is advertised on board or not though. I'm glad they limit admission to only 10 people a day, although on my last sailing,,that's about how many people we saw at the Yacht Club pool area on any given day.

Here's an update to this thread. After speaking with my pvc, there have been some recent changes to the Yacht Club Day Pass. First, only 10 individuals per day are allowed to purchase a day pass. Secondly, the price has been reduced from $150.00 per day, to $110.00. A Yacht Club day pass entitles those who have purchased, full use of all Yacht Club areas, Top Sail Lounge, the One Bar, including all beverages, as well as 2 meals at the LeMuse dining room. Also included is full use of the steam rooms as well.

Thanks for the review Roe. I have heard that the internet speed aboard Divina was very good, close to 6 megs down. This is good to know, as a programmer you never know when I might get a call at sea to transfer some files.

I do have my booking number, and have a number of items "reserved". However, the PDF with the coding for each item has about 75% more items to book than are listed in my options. Also, I would like to pre-pay for my packages, rather than have them in a "reserved" state, and have them hit my onboard account all at once.

Keep in mind that all packages aren't available on all ships, so the best thing to do is call MSC and find out the availability of those you wish to purchase.

We normally just pre-pay our gratuities, this way, like AmoMondo previously stated, we can receive one loyalty point for every $200.00 we spend on board. Also, if you plan to sail with MSC in the future, sign up for the MSC Club, this way you can receive 5% off your next booking.

Hi all,

 

We're currently booked on the Divina in November through our TA. I'm curious to hear from folks who have booked online AND through a TA how reserving packages is handled.

I currently have some of the online offerings "reserved" but not paid for in advance. Apparently these will be charged to my onboard account upon embarkation.

 

My main question deals with the PDF file of onboard pricing that lists many more offerings, and many more of the packages I would like to book and pre-pay for, not on my onboard account, but well in advance, so I can control the onboard spending aspect. These are not listed in my choices to pre-reserve.

 

I'm wondering if because I booked through a TA if they need to book these for me, or if I can call MSC and book and prepay all the services they have listed in the PDF by code?

 

Thanks for any info or assistance you can offer.

 

http://www.msccruisesgetforms.com/

 

Looking at the Caribbean pricing.

If you have your MSC booking number, I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to book the items you want to pre-pay for on your own.

Another question, was this day pass open to anyone or was it available to YC members only to invite non YC passengers. Sort of like you would need a YC sponser.

 

Thanks

Good question,,I only inquired about our cousins while we were on board,I'd like to know the answer to that question as well now that you mention it.

Yes that is a very reasonable option.

 

Did the $150 per day include le muse for dinner? Any meal? Or was it simply the YC areas?

The fee gave you the same privileges as any Yacht Club member, dinner at LeMuse included. I'm not sure about the use of the steam rooms though, which is a Yacht Club perk.

We are all sailing on Divina in August with basically the same stateroom accommodations. I may pay for them this next time, but they are bringing our 3 and a half year old nephew with them, so if they charge for him, that will definitely be a deal breaker.

Wow $150 per...

 

Did you guys or they pay that? That definately would be a deterient to many taking MSC up on that offer.

Legion3,,,no we didn't. We ended up inviting them to dine with us at LeMuse that night. The price was $50.00 per person, which we felt was good value considering the never ending Prosecco, free drinks and the delicious food.

We are looking at going on the MSC Divina with my parents who would want to book in the Yacht Club. We would probably book a standard cabin. Does anyone know if Yacht Club guests are allowed to bring non Yacht club guests to the pool in that area and if so how strictly such polices are enforced? Thanks for any advice!

If you would like to join your parents in the Yacht Club the fee is $150.00 per person per day. We stayed in the Yacht Club and wanted our cousins to join us for drinks at the One Bar and were given this price by our concierge.

More questions...

 

How far in advance does MSC release their schedule? I can't seem to find anything for the fall of 2015 & later for Divina.

 

Also, how does Yacht Club's dedicated restaurant compare to the specialty restaurants for quality? What alcoholic beverages are included for YC guests? DH & I have been discussing the possibility of booking YC, & it may be a great deal for us. On our last cruise, our onboard account was over $2,600. All but maybe $500 of it was for food & wine/champagne. :o Those "for a fee" balcony breakfasts & dinners, Chef's Table, & specialty restaurants add up. :eek:

 

 

 

That's definitely the way to do NCL. My one cruise with them was on a sister trip & my sisters weren't interested in paying extra for food. Sadly, it was my only cruise that I didn't look forward to meals. If my immediate sailed with them, we wouldn't make that mistake.

 

PS: We moved here from Tampa, so we're sort of neighbors. :) DH did a lot of work in Bradenton.

 

 

 

That's good to hear. It sounds like we're like minded people. I hope you can offer feedback for my questions above.

Divina will be returning to Europe in April for the summer. I'm not sure when they will release the 2015 fall and winter schedule.

Since we were only on a short 3 day cruise, we didn't partake in any of the specialty restaurants. We had dinner at LeMuse, the Yacht Club dining room, and the food was fantastic!! The Alaskan king crab salad, the risotto, and the cooked to perfection filet were all incredible. I wished I would have saved room for desert because I have heard the tiramisu is to die for!!

When it comes to drinks, you can get practically anything you want with some exceptions of course. They free pour in the Yacht Club, so you'll be guaranteed a tasty cocktail. They ran out of St. Germain though,,my girlfriend loves their Elderflower fizz.

Thankfully I was able to give up cigs after 30 years this past February but use an e-cig instead. I was able to use it everywhere on the ship except the dining rooms. The casino is non-smoking but I was able to use my e-cig here as well.

Tarheel, we stayed in the Yacht Club on Divina last week. I can assure you we were never escorted to the restaurant. Our butler Jonathan, escorted us on to the ship during embarkation, escorted us off the ship for shore excursions, and then off the ship for debarkation. He was relatively transparent unless we requested something. We are simple people who just choose to stay in the Yacht Club for the all inclusiveness of it, the other perks are just a bonus.

Take this with a grain of salt, but after speaking with my vacation consultant yesterday, he told me they have already begun cutting steel for the seaside project.

The operation on Divina currently operating out of Miami for the U.S. market appears very different and the comments above very misleading. The only 'coffee' included in the base fare across the rest of the fleet is at breakfast time in the MDR and at a self-service station at the entrance to the buffet, 24 hrs.

 

All coffees in the bars are extra charge and none is available at any price in the MDRs at lunch or dinner. Italians don't have coffee at the dinner table and neither does MSC, except on the Divina. If they have it on the Opera sailing out of Southampton for the UK market, I will find out tomorrow as I will be aboard.

 

I say 'coffee' because it does not taste remotely like there is any coffee in it. Even if on Allegrissimo, I would and do still take a jar of instant coffee with me to improve breakfast in the MDR.

 

On Allegrissimo, you tend to find yourself constantly changing venues to get the

best overall experience. Breakfast is the most complicated where one can have freshly squeezed orange juice at just one bar on the pool deck (or canned/bottled juices at the other open bars) along with the full range of speciality coffees. The best breakfast service is obviously going to be in the MDR many decks below but without real coffee or juices.

 

Breakfast: juice at the pool bar, breakfast in the MDR, coffee at any open bar.

Dinner: cocktail in a bar, dinner in the MDR, coffee at a bar, more drinks at another.

 

The flavoured sugar water served at breakfast in the MDR is as bad as the 'coffee'. CC member Amomondo and I believe what she calls the 'tomato juice' is the least bad while I agree I call it 'red grapefruit juice'. It really doesn't taste like either.

 

Either way, the terrible free 'coffees' and 'juices' should be enough to convince you of the value of Allegrissimo. If you have the free 'coffee' at breakfast you will need to wash your mouth out afterwards with paid-for coffee at a bar. If you want coffee after lunch or dinner, you can help yourself to the fake stuff in a plastic beaker at the 24 hrs drinks station in the buffet, or pay for a superb speciality coffee at a bar.

 

Allegrissimo is the way to go! A juice, two coffees, a glass of wine with dinner, and an ice cream or beer per day and you have already paid for Allegrissimo. With Allegrissimo,you could also permit yourself the occasional cocktail, ice cream, smoothie or milkshake too.

Is there a difference between MSC UK and MSC USA? According to MSC's Facebook page, Segafredo coffee is available across the entire fleet? Am I misunderstanding something here?https://www.facebook.com/MSC.Cruises.USA/photos/a.148766134891.115075.78132244891/10152477993554892/?type=1&theater

Hi Mikesa1721...is the segafredo coffee included in the cruise fare and available in the buffet or is it part of the AI package

Janny, Segafredo is used throughout the ship, base cruise fare or all inclusive. Specialty coffee drinks are available for an additional fee but are included with the AI package.

I know but if you look carefully at his pictures, you will see the word cruisetrail printed in/on them (sorry, English is only my third language). I'm no copyright expert but it must mean something.

 

Anyway, his posts do not affect me. I've been sailing with MSC since 2010, I'm almost a Black Card Member and I have never cruised with another cruise line since then.... and I don't intend to. FYI, I've cruised with Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, NCL and Carnival.

 

You should all have been here 4 years ago when we all got 'flamed' because a few of us wrote good things about MSC. ;)

Couldn't agree with you more MM42. It only took one short 3 day cruise on Divina for us to decide that MSC was the right fit for us. We couldn't be more happy with MSC's product and have no need to sail with any other cruise line.

janny, I'm a big coffee drinker while at home and do enjoy a good cup of coffee while at sea. I can tell you, the standard coffee aboard Divina was better than what I usually drink at home. I also love a cafe mocha from Starbucks and so I decided to try MSC's version,,, unbelievable!!!

MSC uses Segafredo brand coffee, and it is fantastic. If only I can find it in a K-cup now....;)

BUSTED, photos copied from internet, the YC restaurant photo is a copy of Linda Coffman's blog, the Cruise Diva!

 

BTW, The Cruise Diva, Miss Coffman's summation of the Divina Yacht Club in her review was, "MSC Divina’s Yacht Club—it’s so divine."

 

We present this case to the jury,,,,, judgement,,,,, we the jury find in this case,,,,,, TALL TALES BY THE TAIL!:eek: Fake Review!:eek:

 

The Jury is excused! Tail is to be returned to Carnival !:D

Great research American!!,,here's the link:http://cruisediva.blogspot.com/2014/03/msc-divinas-yacht-club.html

That's what we said when we passed by the sign up desk. This is the first time I've seen this.

Kat,,,when we boarded Divina last Saturday, there was a check in line for visitors. Not sure if you need to have certain credentials or if you can just show up and request a visitors pass. Once on board we did see the group being escorted around the ship by an MSC employee though.

Marco,,Thank You again for giving us a tour of your suite last Monday morning, it was very kind of you both!! Enjoy the rest of your trip!!

It depends on what each individual consider to be a great value.

It depends on the benchmrk for comparisons.

 

After experiencing YC first hand I can say that my rating of value for money for this class is 2 of 5. Divina regular product - 3 of 5.

YC experience was entertaining - let's put it in these words.:)

I will agree with the first part of your statement " It depends on what each individual considers to be a great value", but notice I used the words "OUR" and "US" in my statement, referring to myself and my family. I'm not sure why you felt it necessary to take a reply that was not directed towards you, and use it as a spring board for more of your MSC bashing. Myself and my family loved everything about our experience aboard Divina, so much so, we booked another cruise on her for January today.

Thanks American. After experiencing Divina first hand, we just felt that dollar for dollar, we received the best value for our money, and that's what is most important to us.

I cannot comment on any reviewers biases and motivation in posting a review as only the individual reviewer is privy to that knowledge. However, it is apparent MSC is a serious threat to RCL, Carnival and especially NCL. The parent company is very well funded and can bring many resources to the U.S. market if they desire to pursue this strategy. My personal experience is that MSC pricing is far superior to NCL for the same product. I booked a YC2 for an August family cruise for $6,000. A similar 2 bedroom Haven suite on NCL is $10,000. The Yacht Club amenities are also a tad superior to NCL Haven amenities. I am NCL platinum and typically book a suite for our family of four. With a $4,000 price difference, I am willing to try MSC. I presume there are many more passengers like me, and this passenger shift likely causes some serious concern with the large Florida based cruise lines. MSC's entry into the Florida market benefits all cruise consumers by bringing some serious price competition to the market.

 

 

 

 

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Mister,,I can tell you the passenger shift has begun. We booked the Grand Suite on Adventure Of The Seas for March. After returning from our 3 day trip in the Yacht Club aboard Divina last week, we cancelled our trip with RCCL and booked a YC3 suite for both legs of our b2b in April. Oh yeah,,the best part,,2 weeks aboard Divina saved us over $1,500.00 compared to the one week aboard Royal, add in the Yacht Club amenities, and the savings are even more.:D