MSC Yacht Club Experience

[Kandmd]

Hi all🙂, I posed this question on another thread, but it was off topic a bit and wanted more views and opinions. 

What are my options for getting a Yacht Club Experience for the very best price, or at least a price I can live with.  My upgrade minimum offer starts at $530pp.  That's too much in my opinion.  When I do a dummy booking there are over 25 Yacht Club Cabins available.  I very much enjoy tipping well for very good service and I do not expect a free upgrade, as we started with a GTY Balcony and was assigned to a Deck 12 Aurea Balcony cabin with the free drinks and WIFI offer....very grateful for that.

Can I create an opportunity at the pier or on board?  Is it possible that I may receive another offer to upgrade that is (much) more reasonable, and is that booking route wise as the pre-cruise booking process seems to be a nightmare (so I've read). 

[mscdivina2016]

2 hours ago, Kandmd said:

Hi all🙂, I posed this question on another thread, but it was off topic a bit and wanted more views and opinions. 

What are my options for getting a Yacht Club Experience for the very best price, or at least a price I can live with.  My upgrade minimum offer starts at $530pp.  That's too much in my opinion.  When I do a dummy booking there are over 25 Yacht Club Cabins available.  I very much enjoy tipping well for very good service and I do not expect a free upgrade, as we started with a GTY Balcony and was assigned to a Deck 12 Aurea Balcony cabin with the free drinks and WIFI offer....very grateful for that.

Can I create an opportunity at the pier or on board?  Is it possible that I may receive another offer to upgrade that is (much) more reasonable, and is that booking route wise as the pre-cruise booking process seems to be a nightmare (so I've read). 

No opportunity at the pier unless you want to go full fare.

 

As far as empty cabins ....on Seashore in December b2b I bid max $1230 per person I think and I did get it but some friends of mine who bid $1000 per person did not get it. There were only 44 of us in YC. They left the rest vacant.

2 weeks ago on Seaview b2b in YC we were still half empty.

Some people we met tried to bid at $750 per person and did not get it and actually spoke with YC director to see how much it was and it was $2650 more.

[gclara]

My minimum bid was $995 per person for a 7 day cruise on MSC Seashore for the April 16 sailing (Bella Balcony for three, assigned to a regular Balcony on Deck 10). We bid the minimum and got a YC Clue Deluxe Balcony. The regular price (over 6K) is close to two times of what I paid for Bella Balcony ($147X) and the Bidding upgrade ($1990). 

[Paphillyguy]

If you think the minimum bid is too much then not really much you will be able to do.  The Yacht Club costs more for a reason.  I do not know what you paid for what you have but $600 per person does not seem like a very high bid.  

[Kandmd]

My $530pp minimum bid to upgrade to YC is for a 4 night Divina Cruise.  I think the offer amount is based on what you have already paid for your cruise fare.  If you overpay, the minimum bid is lower, but if you use your discounts (healthcare Heros, veterans, Police, FF, status match, etc) and get a great deal, your luck runs out trying to upgrade.

[Paphillyguy]

13 minutes ago, Kandmd said:

My $530pp minimum bid to upgrade to YC is for a 4 night Divina Cruise.  I think the offer amount is based on what you have already paid for your cruise fare.  If you overpay, the minimum bid is lower, but if you use your discounts (healthcare Heros, veterans, Police, FF, status match, etc) and get a great deal, your luck runs out trying to upgrade.

Ok that makes more sense $530 seems great for a 7 days cruise

[Kandmd]

On top of that, there are no sea days.  Its Nassau and an overnight at Ocean Cay.

[alyssamma]

7 hours ago, Kandmd said:

Hi all🙂, I posed this question on another thread, but it was off topic a bit and wanted more views and opinions. 

What are my options for getting a Yacht Club Experience for the very best price, or at least a price I can live with.  My upgrade minimum offer starts at $530pp.  That's too much in my opinion.  When I do a dummy booking there are over 25 Yacht Club Cabins available.  I very much enjoy tipping well for very good service and I do not expect a free upgrade, as we started with a GTY Balcony and was assigned to a Deck 12 Aurea Balcony cabin with the free drinks and WIFI offer....very grateful for that.

Can I create an opportunity at the pier or on board?  Is it possible that I may receive another offer to upgrade that is (much) more reasonable, and is that booking route wise as the pre-cruise booking process seems to be a nightmare (so I've read). 

The bid you have is fairly reasonable for the YC. You may or may not get it at $530pp, but *very* unlikely it will go below that.

 

I would suggest taking another cruise and taking an inside YC cabin. There are some negatives to this (small bathroom, little closet space), but you get the full YC experience. Inside cabins are usually about 60% the cost of a normal YC cabin....sometimes 50%.

[dexddd]

10 hours ago, alyssamma said:

The bid you have is fairly reasonable for the YC. You may or may not get it at $530pp, but *very* unlikely it will go below that.

 

I would suggest taking another cruise and taking an inside YC cabin. There are some negatives to this (small bathroom, little closet space), but you get the full YC experience. Inside cabins are usually about 60% the cost of a normal YC cabin....sometimes 50%.

They would have to take another cruise since Divinia does not have YC inside.

 

OP, I watched bookings on two trips when low occupancy and the last week rooms got filled up. Our bid email went from a small savings to way over booking outright.  Third party does the process.

[hamrag]

15 hours ago, Kandmd said:

My $530pp minimum bid to upgrade to YC is for a 4 night Divina Cruise.  I think the offer amount is based on what you have already paid for your cruise fare.  If you overpay, the minimum bid is lower, but if you use your discounts (healthcare Heros, veterans, Police, FF, status match, etc) and get a great deal, your luck runs out trying to upgrade.

If you had any of those available to you the 'no brainer' was to have booked the experience you now desire!  😉

 

The Health Heroes is essentially gone now, with a max 10% available which is often there with the Voyagers + discounts offered.

[alyssamma]

3 hours ago, dexddd said:

They would have to take another cruise since Divinia does not have YC inside.

 

13 hours ago, alyssamma said:

I would suggest taking another cruise and taking an inside YC cabin.

Isn't that what i said?

[Kandmd]

Promotional discounts cannot be applied towards bookings for YC, I was told.  I appreciate the perspectives and discussion y'all 🙂.  Snagging the Yacht Club Experience for the minimum bid would in total still be over $1100 less than booking it originally.  Still too much.

[Solent Richard]

22 hours ago, Kandmd said:

Hi all🙂, I posed this question on another thread, but it was off topic a bit and wanted more views and opinions. 

What are my options for getting a Yacht Club Experience for the very best price, or at least a price I can live with.  My upgrade minimum offer starts at $530pp.  That's too much in my opinion.  When I do a dummy booking there are over 25 Yacht Club Cabins available.  I very much enjoy tipping well for very good service and I do not expect a free upgrade, as we started with a GTY Balcony and was assigned to a Deck 12 Aurea Balcony cabin with the free drinks and WIFI offer....very grateful for that.

Can I create an opportunity at the pier or on board?  Is it possible that I may receive another offer to upgrade that is (much) more reasonable, and is that booking route wise as the pre-cruise booking process seems to be a nightmare (so I've read). 

 

An interesting discussion.

 

Having recently returned from a Yacht Club booked Virtuosa cruise I recall myself receiving a series of email from MSC encouraging me to bid for a higher grade of Yacht Club suite...

 

 

....from what was my originally booked Yacht Club Deluxe Suite.

 

It actually never crossed my mind at the time though, on reflection,  I can only assume that had I, or any other passenger for that matter taken up the offer, then it would have opened what I can only refer to as a chain reaction of bidding email invitations.

 

Well done MSC: rather a subtle way of clawing additional income from unsold cabins / suites. Of course, it's not always that simple as we all know MSC passengers embark at different ports and different dates.

 

Personally speaking though, once having set my sights on a Yacht Club experience the last thing I'd want to endure the  psychological trauma of  entering an auction to cruise in a manner that I wanted to in the first place.

 

 

[Solent Richard]

15 hours ago, alyssamma said:

The bid you have is fairly reasonable for the YC. You may or may not get it at $530pp, but *very* unlikely it will go below that.

 

I would suggest taking another cruise and taking an inside YC cabin. There are some negatives to this (small bathroom, little closet space), but you get the full YC experience. Inside cabins are usually about 60% the cost of a normal YC cabin....sometimes 50%.

 

Probably the one aspect of MSC I'll never understand.

 

Who on earth would consider lowering the ambiance and quality of one's accommodation just to experience the additional service?

 

😈😈

[alyssamma]

2 minutes ago, Solent Richard said:

 

Probably the one aspect of MSC I'll never understand.

 

Who on earth would consider lowering the ambiance and quality of one's accommodation just to experience the additional service?

 

😈😈

Because it's close to half the price. Many people don't spend time in their cabins other than to sleep/shower....so what's the big deal?

 

My first YC experience was inside and I had zero problems with it. Since then I've sailed Deluxe, but sailing Seashore in a couple of weeks inside again - for the price.

 

Balcony means nothing to me - I'm scared of heights so never go out on it anyway.

[Kandmd]

Agree Alyssamma.  I would have been very interested in an inside YC cabin, but we're on the Divina.

[Cruiser21]

8 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

 

Probably the one aspect of MSC I'll never understand.

 

Who on earth would consider lowering the ambiance and quality of one's accommodation just to experience the additional service?

 

😈😈

I do all the time. Always book Interior YC its a great value. I get everything you receive except the balcony. No brainer.

[hamrag]

14 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

....Who on earth would consider lowering the ambiance and quality of one's accommodation just to experience the additional service?

 

😈😈

Those who wish the YC experience and don't care about having a smaller cabin which has no balcony! 😉

[Solent Richard]

14 hours ago, alyssamma said:

Because it's close to half the price. Many people don't spend time in their cabins other than to sleep/shower....so what's the big deal?

 

My first YC experience was inside and I had zero problems with it. Since then I've sailed Deluxe, but sailing Seashore in a couple of weeks inside again - for the price.

 

Balcony means nothing to me - I'm scared of heights so never go out on it anyway.

 

6 hours ago, Cruiser21 said:

I do all the time. Always book Interior YC its a great value. I get everything you receive except the balcony. No brainer.

 

3 minutes ago, hamrag said:

Those who wish the YC experience and don't care about having a smaller cabin which has no balcony! 😉

 

Well there we have it then. No surprise there, basically its down to affordability or if you're 'scared of heights'.

 

I do often wonder how many folk  would choose a hotel room with no windows in order to save a few bob?

😉😂

[cruising.mark.uk]

Perhaps, Dick, you should try to exercise some empathy and emotional intelligence?  Many people who wish to experience the unique experience which is the MSC Yacht Club might be on constrained budgets.  The cabins form only a tiny element of the overall Yacht Club experience. So, well done to MSC for making the whole package - which in my experience is pretty much unmatched by any of the other mainstream cruise companies - at various different price points which make it accessible to a wider cohort of cruisers.  

[Morgsmom]

6 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

I do often wonder how many folk  would choose a hotel room with no windows in order to save a few bob?

😉😂

I would!  If I were in Alaska in the middle of summer or in Northern Europe and I wanted a good night's sleep I wouldn't care about a window in a hotel room.  In fact, on our most recent Northern European cruise we deliberately chose an Inside Cabin.  Slept brilliantly and all of the $$ we saved on a balcony we would not have used was spent doing fun things onshore.

 

To each his/her own.

[alyssamma]

8 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

 

 

 

Well there we have it then. No surprise there, basically its down to affordability or if you're 'scared of heights'.

 

I do often wonder how many folk  would choose a hotel room with no windows in order to save a few bob?

😉😂

Well, a "few", I don't know. But several thousand, probably many - other than you of course.

 

Some people just like to spend money to spend money. Others like to be smart with their money. Luckily for MSC there are people like you.

[dexddd]

On 4/8/2022 at 10:40 AM, Solent Richard said:

 

An interesting discussion.

 

Having recently returned from a Yacht Club booked Virtuosa cruise I recall myself receiving a series of email from MSC encouraging me to bid for a higher grade of Yacht Club suite...

 

 

....from what was my originally booked Yacht Club Deluxe Suite.

 

It actually never crossed my mind at the time though, on reflection,  I can only assume that had I, or any other passenger for that matter taken up the offer, then it would have opened what I can only refer to as a chain reaction of bidding email invitations.

 

Well done MSC: rather a subtle way of clawing additional income from unsold cabins / suites. Of course, it's not always that simple as we all know MSC passengers embark at different ports and different dates.

 

Personally speaking though, once having set my sights on a Yacht Club experience the last thing I'd want to endure the  psychological trauma of  entering an auction to cruise in a manner that I wanted to in the first place.

 

 

NCL has had the bid process for around 7 years and brings them extra income.  I think the longest thread there is on what people bid and what they got and if they one.  So many variables there is no guarantee.

 

People are rabid hoping to win.  Often the buy outright close to bid,

[Yinster]

On 4/7/2022 at 7:57 PM, mscdivina2016 said:

There were only 44 of us in YC. They left the rest vacant.

2 weeks ago on Seaview b2b in YC we were still half empty.

Some people we met tried to bid at $750 per person and did not get it and actually spoke with YC director to see how much it was and it was $2650 more.

NCL are the complete opposite to MSC. To them, the Haven will be filled with upgraded bids. They see it as an opportunity to entice people to the Haven in the hope next time they will pay it outright. Every sailing, the Haven is full even if the ship is at 40% full

[Solent Richard]

15 hours ago, alyssamma said:

Well, a "few", I don't know. But several thousand, probably many - other than you of course.

 

Some people just like to spend money to spend money. Others like to be smart with their money. Luckily for MSC there are people like you.

 

Well thanks for that.

 

All I can say is that personally, of all the Yacht Club passengers that I have made the acquaintance of, none admitted to being there through a bidding process. 

 

Maybe its just not 'British'. 😂