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YC Drink Package Changes?

marcoigna

By marcoigna,
in MSC Cruises

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jules815

jules815

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, Debde said:

Just off the Seaside in YC. I will do a review soon but here's the deal:

mini bar-yes

milkshakes-yes

gelato-yes

no problem with any drink I ordered.

Absolutely fantastic cruise!!

 

Welcome back!  Great to hear.  🙂

 

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dexddd

dexddd

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, sidari said:

Dr C ... When it comes to £5,000 for two people for a 7 night YC cruise without hotel and flights the pricing has gone beyond being sane.

Virtuosa in 2020 has the same pricing for each week of November and December apart from Xmas and New Year, something not normally seen in MSC pricing.

Since MSC has employed ex RCI and NCL people the changes have all been one way and that is downhill as seen by the Downgrading of the Aurea experience. While prices to you in the US may still seem reasonable, to us in the UK and Europe prices are increasing and as Bea says the value for money will soon be gone.

Bringing in recent NCL employees IMO will bring about fees for everything and constantly increasing.

 

Any idea what key positions they are in?

 

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rojoand8

rojoand8

Posted
Posted

I booked our July 2019 Seaside YC back in Oct of 2017 for six of us, my DD, her DH, 16yr old DD and her 14yr old DS. For over a year all the kids were talking about is the free gelato. So for me, they can take away any alcoholic drinks, but leave the gelato, milkshakes and crepes. 

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Debde

Debde

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Selion said:

According to my conversation with a concierge on 11/30, Venchi will not be included in YC in the future to bring it to fleet standards.  He did not explicitly state a date when that will occur, just that Venchi is being removed from YC.

I'm confused on this just being off Seaside. What is the package that YC passengers are going to be offered in the future? Specialty coffee will be gone too?? i did not get that impression from the concierge but I did just ask if it was included in my package and yes was said immediately. Mind you my main concern was milkshakes and gelato.:classic_smile:

What is fleet standard now??

 

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Beamafar Great Review Rare

Beamafar

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Debde said:

What is the package that YC passengers are going to be offered in the future?

 

 

A poster named Todd posted on another thread that the concierge in YC on Seaside told him that YC guests will get the new Premium package.

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Selion

Selion

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Debde said:

I'm confused on this just being off Seaside. What is the package that YC passengers are going to be offered in the future? Specialty coffee will be gone too?? i did not get that impression from the concierge but I did just ask if it was included in my package and yes was said immediately. Mind you my main concern was milkshakes and gelato.:classic_smile:

What is fleet standard now??

 

Since we were on the same cruise, we received the same inclusions: drinks, gelato, milkshakes, and crepes at all the Venchi bars.

 

My question to the concierge on 11/30 was specifically for future cruises in YC, as I was considering putting a future cruise deposit down or booking one.  That never happened because I can't seem to be able to find the future cruise lady at the right time at the correct location.  But I digress...

 

As I mentioned earlier,the concierge said Venchi had already started charging YC passengers before our 11/24 sailing.  Why they rolled it back to be included?  I didn't ask since they gave it to us.  He said Venchi will not be included to bring Seaside to fleet standards.  Since this was my first time on MSC, I have no idea what the practices are on the rest of the fleet. 

 

I also made a comment about the drink packages changes and he kind of groaned at it and hinted at those changes are confusing to everyone.

 

Looks to me MSC management needs a lesson in change management: lots of lead time with frequent and clear communication to staff and customers.  Is it me, or these changes just got dropped with very little notice?

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Beamafar Great Review Rare

Beamafar

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, Selion said:

 

Looks to me MSC management needs a lesson in change management: lots of lead time with frequent and clear communication to staff and customers.  Is it me, or these changes just got dropped with very little notice?

 

Totally agree about the lack of lead in time to allow for crew (and customers) to familiarise themselves with the changes.

 

I wonder how they will be able to 'grandfather' the old packages into the future for those of us who have cruises booked right into late 2019 (and beyond).

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Beamafar Great Review Rare

Beamafar

Posted
Posted

It seems hard to imagine that a whole year will pass of the new packages in place and yet the old ones will still be honoured???

 

We upgraded to Deluxe for our Jan cruise;  I'm expecting that to be OK as it's not too far off.  Our other 2 cruises in Aug and Oct are in YC, so not too concerned about them at the moment.  Plenty of time before then to learn of others' experiences.

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Debde

Debde

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

 

A poster named Todd posted on another thread that the concierge in YC on Seaside told him that YC guests will get the new Premium package.

Does anyone know what this includes? I thought milkshakes and gelato and my caramel latte:classic_wink: is included in that?? Those come from Venchi-correct??

thanks Selion but seems to me they are making this very confusing,  but still the best deal at sea!! :classic_biggrin:

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Debde

Debde

Posted
Posted

thank you Beamafar. Specialty coffee seems included but doesn't that come from Venchi? That's why it gets so confusing. I'm willing to go with the flow no problem, but just tell me where the flow is going!! LOL

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Até

Até

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

deleted

Screen Shot 2018-12-02 at 22.22.26.png

That sure adds up fast for a 23 day cruise.  $2852 for a mediocre drink package is insane.  I've got 25 days booked in 2020 with no drink package and based on the current rates I won't.

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sidari

sidari

Posted
Posted (edited)

Ate ... After our Xmas 2019 cruise on Meraviglia we will have to rethink our drinking habits and maybe return to just buying the odd drink here and there and seeing as Aurea has been downgraded will have to work out if the massage and spa use is worth the extra cost.

Maybe they could name the next ship MSC Inconsistent!

Edited by sidari
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Beamafar Great Review Rare

Beamafar

Posted
Posted (edited)
9 minutes ago, Até said:

MSC US seems to be hiding this now.  I still don't know what YC will get.

 

Nov 2018 Drink_Package_Comparison_Guide.pdf

 

Until we know for definite what YC will get (and I find it hard to believe that it'll be the Premium+ - up 'til now the top shelf drinks with 2 asterisks weren't included.  I doubt that MSC has changed that policy.   Especially as everything else is being dumbed down.

 

Thanks for the link!

Edited by Beamafar
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Debde

Debde

Posted
Posted
Just now, jules815 said:

 

This has gotten so confusing!  I swear I thought I saw a comparison chart the other day that had (Yacht Club) in the heading for the Premium Plus column.

 

 

Yes-I saw that too. It does exist. Like the M&M guys say!! LOL

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Beamafar Great Review Rare

Beamafar

Posted
Posted

Dave ... when looking at Aurea prices, I used to always compare them with Fantastica, plus adding the cost of the drinks package.  As long as it was in or around €130 more I thought that was well worth it (more times than not that was the price difference).  The most important benefit of Aurea for me is MyChoice dining.  (We only had to book a Fantastica suite on Armonia for MyChoice; plus the old Allegrissimo was included, which we upgraded to Deluxe).

 

As Até has pointed out, the difference between Bella balcony and Aurea is ridiculous - especially where the 'Easy' package is being included for all bookings.  I've checked out a couple of prices over the last couple of months (and prior to the introduction of these new packages) and even here in Ireland, the gap between pricings is huge. 

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