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Free Upgrade Fantastica to Yacht club will we get any Benefits included?

glittergal1

By glittergal1,
in MSC Cruises

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glittergal1

glittergal1

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5 hours ago, Beamafar said:

There were 5 cabins upgraded to YC on Seaview yesterday and the concierge was adamant that they would not receive the benefits.  He said that the photos are in the system so the crew will know who the people are who are not to receive them.

oh dear then this is very disappointing to hear

because that would mean  the only benefit of the up grade would be  a slightly bigger room  But in a worse location than we originally had and in an area of the ship where we cant access  any  of the amenities close by  bars/ restaurants/snacks/sun loungers  etc But we can see everyone else doing it . We can look but not touch :classic_sad:

 

Well only way round it then is to bring my wig and wear my sun glasses and hat , they wont recognise me then. 

 

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Captain-John "Live from...." Rare

Captain-John

Posted
Posted (edited)
11 hours ago, Beamafar said:

There were 5 cabins upgraded to YC on Seaview yesterday and the concierge was adamant that they would not receive the benefits.  He said that the photos are in the system so the crew will know who the people are who are not to receive them.


Yikes! The problem I have with this is the totally inconsistent application of policy across the fleet, or perhaps even sailing-to-sailing on the same ship.

 

What if these passengers already had a drinks package - would that not be honoured in the TSL?

 

9 hours ago, Bossa Nova said:

WOW. If that is correct, then in some cases there are people “upgrading” from large balcony suites to inside YC cabins with ZERO change in amenities. That can’t last long.

 

Indeed. I would not be happy about being moved from a B3 or S3 to a YIN but denied all of the YC amenities.

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Georgia_Peaches "Live from...." Rare

Georgia_Peaches

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If they are going to offer the upgrade, then it should be in full...period.  Can you imagine being the one who has to memorize the pictures of those who have been upgraded so that you can deny them access to YC amenities?  Terrible position to be in.  OP, I would give MSC or your TA a call and find out first hand what the deal is so you can go into your vacation with eyes wide open.  IF they are not offering the full experience then perhaps you might want to remain in the category you booked originally and enjoy whatever perks you had with that booking.  

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Até

Até

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From what I can tell MSC doesn't move people from cabins with balconies to cabins without balconies unless they ask for the upgrade.  On the Fantsasia ships those hard to sell forward Aurea suites with no balcony are often given to ocean views as upgrades.  The only case I've heard of a balcony going to a YC interior was through the voluntary bid program. 

 

Beamafar posted what I've personally seen now on several sailings, unsold YC cabins going as free upgrades.  I wish MSC would stop playing this pricing game with the YC.  I can see them not wanting to discount them last minute, but the newest strategy seems to be inflate the price unreasonably last minute.  I've tracked many sailings where YC prices are reasonable for several months after the sailing first becomes available and most, if not all, YC cabins book up.  Then when MSC gets cancellations as final payment approaches the cabins are put back into inventory at 50% to 75% higher prices than they were originally booked at.  End result is unsold YC cabins at sailing and this whole free upgrade & bidding mess. 

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Beardface

Beardface

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9 minutes ago, Até said:

From what I can tell MSC doesn't move people from cabins with balconies to cabins without balconies unless they ask for the upgrade.  On the Fantsasia ships those hard to sell forward Aurea suites with no balcony are often given to ocean views as upgrades.  The only case I've heard of a balcony going to a YC interior was through the voluntary bid program. 

 

Beamafar posted what I've personally seen now on several sailings, unsold YC cabins going as free upgrades.  I wish MSC would stop playing this pricing game with the YC.  I can see them not wanting to discount them last minute, but the newest strategy seems to be inflate the price unreasonably last minute.  I've tracked many sailings where YC prices are reasonable for several months after the sailing first becomes available and most, if not all, YC cabins book up.  Then when MSC gets cancellations as final payment approaches the cabins are put back into inventory at 50% to 75% higher prices than they were originally booked at.  End result is unsold YC cabins at sailing and this whole free upgrade & bidding mess. 

 

Moral of the story:  Book early... We booked our Feb 2020 cruise on Seaside a couple months ago and the prices blew anything we could see on the other lines out of the water.

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glittergal1

glittergal1

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17 hours ago, Beamafar said:

There were 5 cabins upgraded to YC on Seaview yesterday and the concierge was adamant that they would not receive the benefits.  He said that the photos are in the system so the crew will know who the people are who are not to receive them.

All day Ive been thinking about the upgrade and was thinking that of course the concierge would say that those with a free upgrade wouldnt get benefits because it would annoy those who have paid thousands for the same thing .  Im going to go with the mind set that we will have access to the YC areas simply because it would be too difficult to police the area and keep an eye out for stow aways such as us.   

 

 

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Haworth

Haworth

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22 minutes ago, glittergal1 said:

All day Ive been thinking about the upgrade and was thinking that of course the concierge would say that those with a free upgrade wouldnt get benefits because it would annoy those who have paid thousands for the same thing .  Im going to go with the mind set that we will have access to the YC areas simply because it would be too difficult to police the area and keep an eye out for stow aways such as us.   

You could try contacting

 

antonio.paradiso@msccruises.co.uk

He is the MD of the UK business and a very approachable guy

22 minutes ago, glittergal1 said:

 

 

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BermudaBound2014 Great Review Rare

BermudaBound2014

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On 9/5/2019 at 5:49 PM, Beamafar said:

There were 5 cabins upgraded to YC on Seaview yesterday and the concierge was adamant that they would not receive the benefits.  He said that the photos are in the system so the crew will know who the people are who are not to receive them.

 

I foresee another MSC blunder in the making. At the very least, a consistent policy across ALL ships in every market is warranted here. How hard could that be?

 

I also wonder how MSC will define 'benefit'? If it's dining in the YC restaurant, IMO people aren't missing much (other than my choice dining). We all know that I don't find the butlers anything more than glorified room attendants. We aren't elevator button pushers., etc... 

 

However; access to the 'enclave' is entirely different! By denying benefits, are they going to deny guests access to top sail? One pool? Are they going to allow upgraded guests to sit in top sail but slap their wrists if they sample the pistachios? The upgraded guests will have a key to these areas, will they tell them they are allowed to use the YC hallways only?? Seems pretty ridiculous.

 

For me, the only benefit worth noting in  YC is access to top sail and one pool. Those areas are heavenly. If I were given an upgrade to YC and granted full access to these areas I'd be a happy camper.  

 

 

 

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glittergal1

glittergal1

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5 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I foresee another MSC blunder in the making. At the very least, a consistent policy across ALL ships in every market is warranted here. How hard could that be?

 

I also wonder how MSC will define 'benefit'? If it's dining in the YC restaurant, IMO people aren't missing much (other than my choice dining). We all know that I don't find the butlers anything more than glorified room attendants. We aren't elevator button pushers., etc... 

 

However; access to the 'enclave' is entirely different! By denying benefits, are they going to deny guests access to top sail? One pool? Are they going to allow upgraded guests to sit in top sail but slap their wrists if they sample the pistachios? The upgraded guests will have a key to these areas, will they tell them they are allowed to use the YC hallways only?? Seems pretty ridiculous.

 

For me, the only benefit worth noting in  YC is access to top sail and one pool. Those areas are heavenly. If I were given an upgrade to YC and granted full access to these areas I'd be a happy camper.  

 

 

 

Access to the YC areas like the Bar and  lounge plus the Sun deck are  what I am hoping for , If we get them I will be thrilled We already have a drinks package and have never had time to visit the spa  so dont mind if these are not included So as you say if all we get is access to the hallways is a bit ridiculous. If they do say we cant access the sun deck and bar  areas I might just do it anyway Ive never been forcibly thrown out of anywhere before so that could be a first   

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blordos

blordos

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Congrats ! I am one of the lucky people that got a free upgrade from Fantastica inner cabin to YC inner cabin. That was on the Meraviglia. I received the full YC perks. The only exception was no free drinks outside the YC enclave as our cards shows Fantastica experience. That was not a problem. If we want to drink just head over to the YC bar. We stay most of the time in the YC enclave. Almost no-one swim in the One Pool. It was like a private pool 🙂

Edited by blordos
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  • 2 years later...
Flynns600

Flynns600

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I'm in the same situation for May 2022 sailing - downgraded from a grand suite to the (2 rooms 377 sq ft.) to a YC deluxe grand suite (266 sq ft. glorified balcony) when I call I'm told no perks, when my son calls they say they can't differentiate so we would at least have access. I don't the resolution for glittergal.  Anyone have this issue post-COVID?

 

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TrinaLC

TrinaLC

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Feb 2022. I’m in YC and just asked the Concierge. She confirmed that anyone upgraded has full use of YC facilities (restaurant, drinks, pool). Some specific unfacility items do not carry over. She specifically mentioned free WiFi. It is also possible that drink package may not apply outside of the YC. But within the YC (and private island) you will have access to everything (and the escorts/preferred boarding and similar). 

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TrinaLC

TrinaLC

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10 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

The most important thing with MSC, is what "experience" you are booking.  If you book Bella, being upgraded to a suite, will not change your experience level: YC is only YC Experience, if you book it as such.


That is not correct for YC. YC is a geographic part of the ship. When in YC even if you got there in an upgrade you have the pool area, YC dining, YC drinks, butler etc. There are a few not very (IMO)  important exceptions. See my previous post. 
 

 

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ddlb

ddlb

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Are we talking about winning a bid to upgrade to a YC cabin or being upgraded for free? I won a bid to upgrade to a YC deluxe balcony and got everything the yacht club experience included on the Mera. Cost me $1080 total for 4 nights. 

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TrinaLC

TrinaLC

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I am staying in the yacht club right now. I confirmed with the concierge that anyone who is upgraded into the yacht club, whether through a bid or otherwise, gets full use of the yacht club facilities, restaurant, drinks, beach at the private island. That would be whether it was a paid for upgrade or a random stroke of luck. There are some incidentals such as “free” Wi-Fi that would not be included. I am not clear on whether drinks outside of the YC would be included or not.

 

The concierge noted, as others have in this thread, that there would really be no practical way to exclude someone who is staying within the confines of the YC from partaking in those benefits short of turning the lovely staff into police …

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