The Pros and Cons of the Yacht Club.

[sverigecruiser]

2 hours ago, MarkusToe said:

Thats quite expensive.... I found about 2700eur...all incl

 

€2700 is almost exactly $3200 so that is the same price!

 

But that also depend on what you mean with all inclusive.

Edited June 24, 2021 by sverigecruiser

[At Sea At Peace]

Even some things you can't (aren't supposed to) eat.  Previous pics from Seaside.  Believe these from Meraviglia YC.  First couple at YC Grill and Bar, last on at bread table entering YC restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

[At Sea At Peace]

1 hour ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

€2700 is almost exactly $3200 so that is the same price!

 

But that also depend on what you mean with all inclusive.

 

When we've booked future cruises while on board we've been consistently fortunate.  Since 2020 was a 'no go we couldn't do that and the booking was more.

 

Here's the 2019 PP Seaside YC and the 2021 PP Seashore YC, similar Deluxe Staterooms.  We still consider 2021 a bargain though for what we get.

 

 

 

[hamrag]

15 hours ago, jules815 said:

Nothing like the pool deck in the YC! We enjoyed the fresh made pasta dishes they served at lunch time, grilled lamb chops, shrimp, etc.  It's not your typical cruise ship grill, although they did have tasty burgers too.

 

That's the beauty of it for us, excellent quality fare with no burgers please!

[JAGR]

10 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

We will pay $6400 for one week on Seaview next summer. I consider that to be a good deal (less than $3500 each).  

That is high.  We have a B2B for 14 days total in YC on Seashore for $6100 total for the cruise.  That is Caribbean, though; and in late February and early March next year.

[sverigecruiser]

1 hour ago, JAGR said:

That is high.  We have a B2B for 14 days total in YC on Seashore for $6100 total for the cruise.  That is Caribbean, though; and in late February and early March next year.

 

That's supercheap and during the best time to cruise in the Caribbean, I think.

[JAGR]

45 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

That's supercheap and during the best time to cruise in the Caribbean, I think.

It is indeed.  Nice thing it is a little before the American Unis have their Spring Break!  That's a plus!

[sverigecruiser]

8 minutes ago, JAGR said:

It is indeed.  Nice thing it is a little before the American Unis have their Spring Break!  That's a plus!

 

It's also the best time to stay away from Sweden!

[DFMW]

6 hours ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

Yep.  Fun times.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing these pics. I'm getting more excited for my Mera cruise every day.

[At Sea At Peace]

4 hours ago, JAGR said:

That is high.  We have a B2B for 14 days total in YC on Seashore for $6100 total for the cruise.  That is Caribbean, though; and in late February and early March next year.

 

That's a 2018 value deal.  Nice scoop.  👏

[Shippy]

On 6/22/2021 at 5:24 PM, Stockjock said:

I'd like to try YC one days, but the prices seem pretty high, typically at $2,000-$3,000 per person and up.  Are there ever good deals on these cabins?

   We would pay about $2200.pp for a YC 1.  Booking through our internet agent, they usually through in Gratuities and a few hundred OBC.

   Remember, you do not have to buy a drink or internet package. If you add those expenses to to your regular cabin, I am sure you would be getting close.

  Seems that prices go by where you live. We are in California.

[eagletwo]

We were on the last sailing on the Meraviglia last March, 2020. Our Yacht Club experience was awesome. Yeah, Arthur made eating in the YC restaurant special. The food was not 5 star, but it was very good and the entire YC staff were just great.  Never crowded anywhere in The YC areas. Being escorted to the Cirque du Soleil by the Butler was nice as was being escorted off the ship for your excursions. The Private island with the Yacht Club area was phenomenal. Food was very good. Yacht Club beach could use a lot of sand to cover the dredged rock mixture on the beach. Bring water shoes. 

As a YC guest, we were treated very well on the entire ship. Never a problem getting a drink anywhere. I did like the YC band that could override some of the elevators to take you straight up to the YC floor. "Snob" maybe, but this is a perk for YC guests. 

Wife and I have cruised Carnival twice (interesting), and Princess 6 times, from an inside cabin, mini-suite, Club Class mini-suite, full suite and and Owners Suite.  MSC YC was the best so far. After the Yacht Club, you will not want to book a regular cabin on MSC. It does cost more, but dang, not much more than our Princess Club Class mini and there is no butler.

[Selion]

55 minutes ago, eagletwo said:

As a YC guest, we were treated very well on the entire ship. Never a problem getting a drink anywhere. I did like the YC band that could override some of the elevators to take you straight up to the YC floor. "Snob" maybe, but this is a perk for YC guests. 

We were on the Fantasia, an older ship similar to Divina, in 2019.  On that ship you don't just override the elevator for YC.  It has dedicated elevators that can only be called with YC room cards.  And we thought we were special on the Seaside overriding elevators...

 

Excuse me.  Snobiness is definitely showing now.  🤣

[sverigecruiser]

5 hours ago, eagletwo said:

Being escorted to the Cirque du Soleil by the Butler was nice as was being escorted off the ship for your excursions. 

 

We were not escorted by a butler to the Cirque du Soleil but I'm sure they had done it if we had asked for it. I think they should offer it without anyone asking.

 

The escort off the ship for excursions is excellent sonetimes and not so good sometimes. We have been escorted to the bus before anyone else arrived, great. We have also been escorted off the ship and then the butler has pointed out where the end of the line for our tour was and that's not a good perk. 

[hamrag]

7 hours ago, eagletwo said:

 

....I did like the YC band that could override some of the elevators to take you straight up to the YC floor. "Snob" maybe, but this is a perk for YC guests....

 

6 hours ago, Selion said:

.....And we thought we were special on the Seaside overriding elevators...

 

Excuse me.  Snobiness is definitely showing now.  🤣

 

We love Yacht Club, and 99% of its perks. That particular perk is one we never use, we feel it shows disrespect to fellow passengers on the ship....we are not the types to shove our perks in the faces of others!

[dexddd]

9 hours ago, eagletwo said:

We were on the last sailing on the Meraviglia last March, 2020. Our Yacht Club experience was awesome. Yeah, Arthur made eating in the YC restaurant special. The food was not 5 star, but it was very good and the entire YC staff were just great.  Never crowded anywhere in The YC areas. Being escorted to the Cirque du Soleil by the Butler was nice as was being escorted off the ship for your excursions. The Private island with the Yacht Club area was phenomenal. Food was very good. Yacht Club beach could use a lot of sand to cover the dredged rock mixture on the beach. Bring water shoes. 

As a YC guest, we were treated very well on the entire ship. Never a problem getting a drink anywhere. I did like the YC band that could override some of the elevators to take you straight up to the YC floor. "Snob" maybe, but this is a perk for YC guests. 

Wife and I have cruised Carnival twice (interesting), and Princess 6 times, from an inside cabin, mini-suite, Club Class mini-suite, full suite and and Owners Suite.  MSC YC was the best so far. After the Yacht Club, you will not want to book a regular cabin on MSC. It does cost more, but dang, not much more than our Princess Club Class mini and there is no butler.

We missed sailing last year by one week and our third denial to OC.  As far as island, what was seating at restaurant like and bathroom?  Not many have been there but reports were not enough seating and only one bathroom with a possible outhouse added.

[Two Wheels Only]

6 hours ago, hamrag said:

We love Yacht Club, and 99% of its perks. That particular perk is one we never use, we feel it shows disrespect to fellow passengers on the ship....we are not the types to shove our perks in the faces of others!

 

I disagree because I look at it this way....

 

If there was a "Yacht Club Only" elevator right next to the other elevators, would you use it? Most Yacht Club guests would use it. Think of hijacking the elevator as a temporary "YC Only" elevator. 😁

[jules815]

7 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

 

We love Yacht Club, and 99% of its perks. That particular perk is one we never use, we feel it shows disrespect to fellow passengers on the ship....we are not the types to shove our perks in the faces of others!

Same. But if we were alone and calling an elevator, we'd give it a try.

[At Sea At Peace]

7 hours ago, dexddd said:

We missed sailing last year by one week and our third denial to OC.  As far as island, what was seating at restaurant like and bathroom?  Not many have been there but reports were not enough seating and only one bathroom with a possible outhouse added.

 

We've been wicked lucky to get all of our OC stops.  Love the place.  

 

They YC beach area is nice, near one end of island.  The restaurant is appropriately sized.  However, the appetites of cruisers, including YC'ers, seems to be insatiable.  😲  So, the rush to the YC beach and grille ends up with a heavy load on the restaurant and seating. 

 

Plus, some aren't planning any sunbathing at all and use the seating for drinks, apps and possibly food for almost their entire visit to the island.

 

"The" bathroom was a funny issue and story.  One.  On the right of the entrance.  About 4 tables right around it.  Not pretty to use or to sit next to.  Hopefully, they've figured out new facilities somewhere abutting the YC area.

 

Some pics from the phones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[phissy]

2 hours ago, jules815 said:

Same. But if we were alone and calling an elevator, we'd give it a try.

We did use our MSC Meraviglia bracelet to take over elevator to YC deck ...when we were the only ones in it.

It probably bypassed others waiting on other decks but, I'm sure  it quickly came back down for them.

[jules815]

1 minute ago, phissy said:

We did use our MSC Meraviglia bracelet to take over elevator to YC deck ...when we were the only ones in it.

It probably bypassed others waiting on other decks but, I'm sure  it quickly came back down for them.

 

Yes, we figured it might bypass other floors with people waiting. I know there was one time that we had just called the elevator using our card, and another couple came running to get in with us. We apologized that it was going to go straight up to 16, but they didn't care.  And even that time I don't think we were even sure it was going to work. Sometimes it would, and then most of the time we figured we were doing something wrong.

 

 

[Beamafar]

It doesn’t always work.  We tried it once and were highly embarrassed when an announcement came over the tannoy on the elevator telling everyone to get off when it stopped at one of the decks as there was “an emergency”.   Heard that a number of times on different cruises (on Fantasia-class ships).  

[rkacruiser]

12 minutes ago, jules815 said:

Sometimes it would, and then most of the time we figured we were doing something wrong.

 

That was my experience on Meraviglia.  Couldn't reliably "call" the elevator and even if that succeeded, the YC Express Elevator turned into the YC Local Elevator more often than not.  I probably was doing something incorrectly.  

[rkacruiser]

18 hours ago, eagletwo said:

Arthur made eating in the YC restaurant special.

 

Arthur is the human embodiment of the Energizer bunny!  Very guest oriented, outgoing, friendly, welcoming, and he knows his wines.  

 

18 hours ago, eagletwo said:

the entire YC staff were just great.  Never crowded anywhere in The YC areas. Being escorted to the Cirque du Soleil by the Butler was nice. The Private island with the Yacht Club area was phenomenal. Food was very good. 

 

I really didn't know what to expect from my Butler or the others as well.  First time with such a crew member, so it was a learning experience for me.  Other than the YC bartender whom I found to be too reserved/quiet for such a position, the other staff were excellent.  

 

I used the escort to Cirque du Soleil and was glad that I did so.  

 

Ocean Cay is great.  The YC area was surprisingly a special island experience for me.  My Lobster Roll at the restaurant there was excellent!

 

2 hours ago, At Sea At Peace said:

They YC beach area is nice, near one end of island.  The restaurant is appropriately sized.  However, the appetites of cruisers, including YC'ers, seems to be insatiable.  😲  So, the rush to the YC beach and grille ends up with a heavy load on the restaurant and seating. 

 

Plus, some aren't planning any sunbathing at all and use the seating for drinks, apps and possibly food for almost their entire visit to the island.

 

I arrived at the YC area/restaurant after what should have been prime lunch time.  The restaurant was packed with a wait list.  After a short time, the Head Butler asked if I would be willing to be seated with another couple who had finished their lunch and was just "sitting".  It was a coffee table, sofa, and chairs arrangement.  I agreed, enjoyed my lunch and conversation with them.  But, clearly, they and many others were simply "hanging out" with no intention of going on the beach.  I feel that the facility is not large enough and needs expanding.  As to the restroom questions:  I had no need to use one; no experience, therefore.  

 

18 hours ago, eagletwo said:

As a YC guest, we were treated very well on the entire ship. Never a problem getting a drink anywhere.

 

My experience as well.  I patronized the bar in the Meraviglia Lounge and the mid-ship's pool bar.  When the bartender recognized me as a YC guest, my drink appeared quickly.  At the pool bar one afternoon, I ordered a Bloody Mary.  I watched as he poured the vodka into the glass and was wondering if there would be any room left for the Bloody Mary mix.  Best darn Bloody Mary I have ever had!  

[dmccadden]

If you gamble and earn 1500 point you will get a 30% discount for you next cruise add the additional 5 or 10% and you can get a yacht club balcony for under $1500 pp. we have done it several time and we never spend close to the Cost difference, we have left winners more than once!