Cancelled my bid to upgrade to Yacht Club. Is it going downhill?

[TwoAdriftAtSea]

The menu's in the YC do not tempt me in the least, having diamond I already get the priority line. But I did bid on a YC upgrade upgrade to balcony/"suite" on our upcoming Nov 4th Divina cruise if nothing else just to say been there done that got the tshirt. I received the email two days ago that my bid was accepted and given a YC room number. So I will post my thoughts post cruise on the matter.

[Stockjock]

15 minutes ago, TwoAdriftAtSea said:

The menu's in the YC do not tempt me in the least, having diamond I already get the priority line. But I did bid on a YC upgrade upgrade to balcony/"suite" on our upcoming Nov 4th Divina cruise if nothing else just to say been there done that got the tshirt. I received the email two days ago that my bid was accepted and given a YC room number. So I will post my thoughts post cruise on the matter.

Do you mind if I asked how long the cruise will be and what bid they accepted?

[TwoAdriftAtSea]

10 day cruise, my bid was $2600. I had my wife & I booked in a balcony cabin so by going the upgrade route we saved about $3000 vs rack rate.

[morpheusofthesea]

19 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

I was surprised on Parodeejay’s video to see that loungers in the YC pool area didn’t have cushions

Perhaps Paro... got up very early to video. Many times the deck boys put the cushions undercover over night if rain. The cushions take too long to dry out because they are so thick. Had to have my pergola lounge cushions double towel one morning and it still was damp.

[deliver42]

All the lounges on the Seashore were padded, no matter where in the YC.We bid on the YC on the Seashore for$1500.00 for a 7 day cruiser which was accepted. We originally booked Fantastica balcony. We've also been in the YC and a fantastica balcony on the Divina, and booked another YC balcony on the Divina while on the Seashore. To us, outside of the YC on MSC is just like Carnival, which we stay away from. I don't care about the wines in the YC as long as it's drinkable at dinner. I drink JW Black, which is no problem. In any case, we love the service and the ambiance of the YC. Never had a problem in 2 YC sailings.

[morpheusofthesea]

Last three cruises July , September and October 2022. Took these photos to disprove reports of cut backs on board. Also have photos of soap and conditioners, etc.

Edited October 26, 2022 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

23 hours ago, Stockjock said:

What do you think?  Has Yacht Club gone downhill?  Does it still represent a reasonable value for the product delivered, or not so much?

No. But you have a good point. It still is the best deal in the cruise industry. I recommend you put your bid back in and perhaps increase it a bit. Better yet just pay the full tariff price and assure yourself of a YC cabin. In a couple of months things will be back to normal.

  The advantages of Diamond are not that great. We would rather be first timers, silver? in the YC than Diamond outside the YC in any category. However you all may still be too young to be spoiled so early in life. Take it slow and easy. Work your ways up to the best life has to offer. Too much of the best in life at an early age can damage your pysche later on. Do not recommend doing the Yacht Club too early in ones life, especially grandparents bringing their grandchildren. Unless these grandparents set aside a nice inheritance for them.

Edited October 26, 2022 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

3 hours ago, Paphillyguy said:

I have stayed in the YC 3 times the last was just last week.  I feel that the lack of detail in service and lack of training is a valid point.  

You 'hit the nail on its head'. But still the YC has the best of the some of the best still on board ? or at least until they reposition to Brazil. Then I will like to see the reports. We are switching to the Seascape in December.  Of course I am referring to only my experiences on the Seashore.

Edited October 26, 2022 by morpheusofthesea

[Stockjock]

FWIW, I did reinstate my bid, for now.  As mentioned, mixed feelings about it.

Here's what I have at present.  While this is a different ship, it's basically the same layout.  As you can see, the balcony is massive, not only deeper than normal, but about 3 times as wide as a standard balcony.

The GF is making a fuss about the big orange boats outside of the window (I call it "our big orange friend"), but I don't find that to be a huge deal.  Especially considering that we had an oceanview cabin, so this was a nice step up, imo.  Plus, it will be winter in Northern Europe, so I can't imagine we'll be spending too much time on this, or any, balcony.

https://youtu.be/dmzgZa6q1QU?t=265

 

Edited October 27, 2022 by Stockjock

[lcpagejr]

Keep those negative reviews coming...Perhaps more YC cabins will open up....Best value in Cruising. Ship within a ship concept is brillant. Cruised 2x on Seaside YC and out of our 22 past cruises on numerous lines...best of the best both times. 

[kernow]

9 hours ago, Stockjock said:

FWIW, I did reinstate my bid, for now.  As mentioned, mixed feelings about it.

Here's what I have at present.  While this is a different ship, it's basically the same layout.  As you can see, the balcony is massive, not only deeper than normal, but about 3 times as wide as a standard balcony.

The GF is making a fuss about the big orange boats outside of the window (I call it "our big orange friend"), but I don't find that to be a huge deal.  Especially considering that we had an oceanview cabin, so this was a nice step up, imo.  Plus, it will be winter in Northern Europe, so I can't imagine we'll be spending too much time on this, or any, balcony.

https://youtu.be/dmzgZa6q1QU?t=265

 

Don't forget the YC balcony cabins themselves are noticeably bigger than regular balconies, more like junior suite size with much nicer bathrooms too. Even if you lose a bit of balcony space you'll get a much nicer cabin.

 

YC is about so much more than all the individual components which seems to be what a lot of people who have never tried it find hard to understand. It's the whole experience which you have to try for yourself.

[Georgia_Peaches]

12 hours ago, Stockjock said:

The GF is making a fuss about the big orange boats outside of the window

I'm in the GF's fuss camp regarding the orange boats.  Not a pretty sight.  If you think you won't spend much time on the balcony due to weather then you won't really need a room with such a large balcony anyway.  Admittedly, the size is nice.  And regarding the video, the woman narrating the video has a nice voice but everything was a close up...would have loved a wide angle view of the room.  Maybe I just rushed through...anyway, I hope you YC bid is accepted!

[frank808]

On Seashore in June/July and did not see Don Julio tequila as an option for bottle of liquor.  Since we dont drink champagne much, we gave them to the butler and Jr butler. They were happy to each get a couple of bottles (1 bottle for YC and 1 bottle for being diamond) when we got off the B2B.

[morpheusofthesea]

9 hours ago, frank808 said:

On Seashore in June/July and did not see Don Julio tequila as an option for bottle of liquor.  Since we dont drink champagne much, we gave them to the butler and Jr butler. They were happy to each get a couple of bottles (1 bottle for YC and 1 bottle for being diamond) when we got off the B2B.

I used to drink everything.Now that I stopped I find I have time to report to all on social media. Requested these on July 2022 sailing which was B2B for our travel agent. Don Julio was available.

[phissy]

12 hours ago, frank808 said:

On Seashore in June/July and did not see Don Julio tequila as an option for bottle of liquor.  Since we dont drink champagne much, we gave them to the butler and Jr butler. They were happy to each get a couple of bottles (1 bottle for YC and 1 bottle for being diamond) when we got off the B2B.

Interesting….

are Diamond guests in YC supposed to receive a bottle of sparkling wine for each?   
Our butler said we only got 1 per cabin for Diamond. Nothing for YC.

[hamrag]

On 10/26/2022 at 3:04 AM, lovemycruisetoo said:

....Just a question if you don’t mind, by your constant telling everyone of your high powered job (???) why do you complain about price?  I’m curious. I’ll probably not see your response as I have chosen to ignore your posts from now on. Why don’t you sail another line that you might be happier with?

 

 

Yep, we all know he is self obsessed....and the ignore button works very well. 😉

[frank808]

6 hours ago, phissy said:

Interesting….

are Diamond guests in YC supposed to receive a bottle of sparkling wine for each?   
Our butler said we only got 1 per cabin for Diamond. Nothing for YC.

We got one bottle for diamond and one for YC each week. B2B we were able to give Jr butler and butler 2 bottles each. You should have gotten one bottle for sailing in YC each week.

[GOLDENBONNY]

On 10/25/2022 at 10:04 PM, lovemycruisetoo said:

I have chosen to ignore your posts from now on.

 

I do it for a long time. Its amazing how much time person have and how annoying one can be. 

[Stockjock]

11 minutes ago, GOLDENBONNY said:

 

I do it for a long time. Its amazing how much time person have and how annoying one can be. 

Bye.

[Laserjock]

Hi there…I am not prone to posting reviews because we are still cruising noobs relative to those on here who have tons of cruises under their belts and are multi-star/diamond etc.  We are jealous of those who sail so often…so cool for those who can.  So I will give my thoughts on YC value.

 

This was our second MSC cruise (Oct 24 bahamas cruise), both on MSC, both on Divina and both in YC.  We have sailed HAL in what is now the Neptune suites as well. I am 60 and my amazing wife is 57…we love anything Carribean.

 

Our final message is we would not sail MSC unless it was in the Yacht club.  Embarkation is such a breeze even though the Terminal B experience this past Monday was a bit of a disaster though once we finally did get on the ship and through the doors of deck 15 all was good!

 

First let me hit the pluses for us.  Once we stepped into the YC areas it was immediate relaxation. I have to say every single person we encountered on the ship was enthusiastically helpful and cheery.  The YC lounge is a gem of a place to relax and just let stress fall to the floor.  The pool area was great…had the BBC recommended to us day 1 (Banana Baileys Colada…OMG) and it was never that busy the whole cruise.  This was our first time to Ocean Cay and we loved the YC beach again as it was relaxing snd service was good.  Rocks are bad at that beach and one couple walked over to an adjacent beach and said was much more comfy and sandy.  We floated so were fine.  Beautiful island that place is.

 

Now the things we felt were somewhat underwhelming.  Our butler, who will remain nameless as we debated whether he was new and just not on his game, was just not great.  He took preferences once he found us after embarkation but things never showed up until Day 3 and some things were never delivered, without any follow up why.  Nothing that affected our fun but just felt like we didnt have that typical butler experience which is a YC differentiator.  Example…disembarkation we go to the lounge as he told us once they announce clearance he would come get us and escort us out.  We sat and watched several couples and groups come and go with their butlers…some by the same butler…some butlers kept checking in the lounge for folks.  Ours…nope.  We went to the concierge and they had to call him.  We had another butler about to offer to take us down when ours showed up.  What’s worse is I don’t think we saw but one another couple coming or going from our side of the ship the whole time.

 

We were disappointed in the restaurant in general.  Could not get a filet cooked correctly at any sitting though I did have good salmon and seafood soup.  We are not “foodies” or wine drinkers but the food was not on par with our first cruise.  Maitre d’ was very attentive and talked to us quite a bit…was impressed by that staff there.  An older couple next to us was heard talking with him about this being their 28th cruise on MSC, 18th on the Divina (the maitre d was the one calling out their numbers) and they said this was their 90 something cruise they had taken!  Made my heart warm listening to them. The maitre d’ talked to us like we didn’t have cruise noobs on our foreheads LOL. That impressed us.

 

Well I rambled too long and more than planned.  Final conclusion is we will never sail MSC without being in YC.  Overall value is too good…amenities we look for are there and we had a blessed time feeling looked after and the staff on all levels were great.

 

We will be back no questions asked.  Thanks for listening.

 

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by Laserjock

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, Laserjock said:

 

 

Well I rambled too long and more than planned.  Final conclusion is we will never sail MSC without being in YC.  Overall value is too good…amenities we look for are there and we had a blessed time feeling looked after and the staff on all levels were great.

 

We will be back no questions asked.  Thanks for listening.

 

 

No you didn't.  Appreciate your comments.

[gmbhardy]

On 10/28/2022 at 11:37 AM, phissy said:

Interesting….

are Diamond guests in YC supposed to receive a bottle of sparkling wine for each?   
Our butler said we only got 1 per cabin for Diamond. Nothing for YC.

It depends on the ship. None on the Meraviglia. This inclusion should be standardized in all YCs but like everything MSC, it’s consistently inconsistent.

 

[AviationInScale]

Yacht Club is the bomb. Stay in steerage if your Stock Jockeying isn't proliferating from the current administration.

[AviationInScale]

On 10/26/2022 at 12:39 AM, Stockjock said:

I too will be ignoring your posts.  I think you are extremely rude.

To ask whether YC has gone downhill is a legitimate question.  I backed it up with comments from the cruise that I just got off of. Those are not my comments, but remarks from others who just sailed in Yacht Club.  I'm further quantifying the concerns from what is shown in the video, the fact that they're serving $10 bottles of wine, the food presented in the YC restaurant, etc.  And of course, phissy just shared that the YC gift, which was previously 2 nice MSC hats, has now become a 5 cent ballpoint pen.  

All put together are reasonably suggestive that, perhaps, they have lowered the YC standards in different ways.  It certainly seems like a subject worth discussing.

Nobody like to ***** and moan more than a Cruise Critic.

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, AviationInScale said:

Yacht Club is the bomb. Stay in steerage if your Stock Jockeying isn't proliferating from the current administration.

I've always had a great time, even in "steerage".  And certainly we can afford whatever we want to, within reason.  But as mentioned, I do wish to get value for my money.  I think that the points I've raised are worth discussing.

That said, as also mentioned, I've reinstated my bid, which isn't at the lower end of the Bid-O-Meter.  It may turn out to be a moot point, as it's a NYE cruise that appears to be sold out.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Stockjock