Should an experienced cruiser try MSC?

[Oxo]

1 hour ago, odyssyus said:

No one on this board knows anything about you or your likes/dislikes.  Asking random people on the internet for their 'recommendation' of anything is silly.  Making your own informed decision is probably best.

Excellent response! I could not have said it any better. Really, how can anyone decide what another person should do or not do? Unless a life is in danger.

[Stem to Stern]

7 hours ago, RCFirstTimer said:

Right?  I made it before our first ever cruise, but now I can't change it.  I assume you have to get a moderator involved or some special request - which is too much trouble...

The process is really quite simple.  I emailed a moderator with three choices for my new handle.  She picked one and swapped out my old handle for the new one.

[Newleno]

15 hours ago, odyssyus said:

No one on this board knows anything about you or your likes/dislikes.  Asking random people on the internet for their 'recommendation' of anything is silly.  Making your own informed decision is probably best.

One gets information to make informed decisions, information from people with experience helps.  Would you prefer a rap concert or classical concert?

[Gatordad1967]

16 hours ago, odyssyus said:

No one on this board knows anything about you or your likes/dislikes.  Asking random people on the internet for their 'recommendation' of anything is silly.  Making your own informed decision is probably best.

my favorite are the "is it worth it?" posts.  nonsensical.

 

[seacruise9]

3 hours ago, Newleno said:

One gets information to make informed decisions, information from people with experience helps.  Would you prefer a rap concert or classical concert?

Hi, 

 

Yes, because I have never set foot aboard an MSC ship, I wondered how people who have sailed on MSC ships in Yacht Club would compare this experience to sailing in a standard stateroom on Celebrity or Princess. I have been a member of Cruise Critic since 2000 and have learned a great deal from fellow cruisers. I thought one of the purposes of these boards was to exchange information. In my initial post, I indicated my age and that I place an emphasis on food, service and entertainment when choosing a cruise.

 

I certainly made my own informed decision regarding MSC (I decided to book a four-day cruise on the MSC Seashore in Yacht Club to try the experience), but I am interested in hearing the opinions of cruisers who have actually sailed in Yacht Club. I greatly enjoy discussing cruises with fellow passengers while I am on a cruise. Although everyone is different, I think there is value in hearing about other peoples' experiences. If I hear numerous positive comments (or complaints) about a particular ship or cruise line, this is one factor that I will consider in selecting a cruise. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by seacruise9

[heatherb1958]

23 hours ago, RCFirstTimer said:

Right?  I made it before our first ever cruise, but now I can't change it.  I assume you have to get a moderator involved or some special request - which is too much trouble...

 

All you need to do is e.mail CC with what you want to change your username too , so long as it isn't a name already taken it will be done for you. I and a friend changed ours years ago, mine was just a digit and hers was a complete new name , no problem in either case . 

Good luck 

[jules815]

58 minutes ago, seacruise9 said:

Hi, 

 

Yes, because I have never set foot aboard an MSC ship, I wondered how people who have sailed on MSC ships in Yacht Club would compare this experience to sailing in a standard stateroom on Celebrity or Princess. I have been a member of Cruise Critic since 2000 and have learned a great deal from fellow cruisers. I thought one of the purposes of these boards was to exchange information. In my initial post, I indicated my age and that I place an emphasis on food, service and entertainment when choosing a cruise.

 

I certainly made my own informed decision regarding MSC (I decided to book a four-day cruise on the MSC Seashore in Yacht Club to try the experience), but I am interested in hearing the opinions of cruisers who have actually sailed in Yacht Club. I greatly enjoy discussing cruises with fellow passengers while I am on a cruise. Although everyone is different, I think there is value in hearing about other peoples' experiences. If I hear numerous positive comments (or complaints) about a particular ship or cruise line, this is one factor that I will consider in selecting a cruise. 

Hi Seacruise, I see you're from Chicago. 🙂

We've sailed on Seaside (similar to Seashore) and Meraviglia. Prior to that, many cruises with RC and Celebrity. I've only sailed in suites on X, and I would compare the balcony staterooms in the YC, YC1, to be similar to a Sky Suite on X. It will definitely be larger than a traditional balcony on either Princess or Celebrity. We prefer the YC to suite class on RC and Celebrity. The ship-within-a-ship concept is really nice. You kind of get the best of both worlds. You have the exclusivity of the YC enclave, but still have the rest of the ship to explore and enjoy. You're really going to enjoy the One Pool deck. 

 

Hope that was helpful. 

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

Thanks to everyone who provided comments regarding their experiences with MSC and the Yacht Club. As indicated in my prior post, I decided to book a short cruise and try the Yacht Club. I am also looking forward to visiting Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. 

 

Chuck

[karmamule]

We've had a retreat suite on Celebrity, a Haven suite on NCL, and a sky-class suite on RCL. All were lovely experiences, but our 3 cruises in MSC's Yacht Club were still our favorites. Our Celebrity sailing is neck and neck with MSC (it was in an Edge Villa on the Apex), but if you factor in MSC being a fraction of the price that breaks the tie.

 

The "ship-within-a-ship" facilities are the most comprehensive and enjoyable and the butler service / YC staff are top notch as well. Their rooms may not be quite as lavish as some of the alternatives but the overall experience is still superb. Absolutely worth a try IMO!

 

 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

8 minutes ago, karmamule said:

...Our Celebrity sailing is neck and neck with MSC (it was in an Edge Villa on the Apex), but if you factor in MSC being a fraction of the price that breaks the tie.

...

 

 

 

Interesting - that speaks volumes. I have not yet tried the Edge class, and have been looking at the Edge Villas on the Beyond (though they're several thousand more than I've ever paid for a cruise).

 

Tom

[karmamule]

8 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Interesting - that speaks volumes. I have not yet tried the Edge class, and have been looking at the Edge Villas on the Beyond (though they're several thousand more than I've ever paid for a cruise).

 

Tom

 

The Edge Villa was spectacular, our favorite cabin of all time. However we still prefer the YC restaurant's food over Luminae, and the YC lounge, restaurant space, and pool deck plus buffet were better than the Retreat's equivalent areas as well. Being in an "upper suite" on an Edge class ship you'd also have all specialty restaurants included in your room charge and they were all excellent.

 

But, yeah, that price. We just booked a 14 day YC cruise in a Deluxe Grand suite on the Seascape and it is literally 1/2 the cost that our 7 day Celebrity cruise was. 

 

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by karmamule

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

1 minute ago, karmamule said:

 

The Edge Villa was spectacular, our favorite cabin of all time. However we still prefer the YC restaurant's food over Luminae, and the YC lounge, restaurant space, and pool deck plus buffet were better than the Retreat's equivalent areas as well. Being in an "upper suite" on an Edge class ship you'd also have all specialty restaurants included in your room charge and they were all excellent.

 

But, yeah, that price. We just booked a 14 day YC cruise in a Deluxe Grand suite on the Seascape and it is literally 1/2 the cost that our 7 day Celebrity cruise was. 

 

 

 

Yep - the specialty dining perk of the upper suites on X are nice. We've had a RS perhaps 4 times, and a PH 3 times. And, now you get that "fancy" ship card so everyone you hand it to will know you're in an upper suite, LOL.

 

I have also not been impressed with meals in Luminae. Great service, but just lacking otherwise. I've enjoyed the Haven restaurant much more.

 

Looking forward to our quick trip next month. I went ahead and booked a B2B (4+3) in the YC for our office cruise next year (well, my staff will only be on 1 leg 🙂 ). We opted for the RS there. I was a tad disappointed when they said you could not enjoy the 10% military discount on a YC3 cabin. Oh well, we'll have a great time nonetheless.

 

I was considering a longer sailing for the fall of '24 with MSC, but most of what I could put together would be screwy B2B's, or B2B2B's. I'd rather not come back to the homeport and then revisit some ports of call. Oh well, it's a work in progress I'm sure!

 

Tom

[karmamule]

Our last MSC trip was in a Royal Suite on MSC Seashore and it was an excellent room and I hope you both enjoy your trip as much as we did ours!

 

That 14 day we've booked on the Seascape will be a nice 7 days western / 7 days eastern itinerary with 2 days in Ocean Cay, which we love. All the other ports are 'been there done that' so many times. We'll probably be ship-centric except for Ocean Cay and San Juan, which we always enjoy.

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

I am very impressed with MSC so far. After booking my cruise online, I had difficulty getting my reservation to link to my MSC Voyagers Club number (they provided me with a Diamond level status match). The problem seemed to be due to the fact that my name did not match exactly ("Jr" was listed after my name on my reservation but not my Voyagers Club account). I sent an email to the Voyagers Club late yesterday requesting assistance and they resolved the problem within two hours. This is some of the best shoreside service that I have ever received from a cruise line! 

 

Chuck

[jean87510]

On 3/8/2023 at 10:21 AM, Gatordad1967 said:

my favorite are the "is it worth it?" posts.  nonsensical.

 

As long as we are on the subject, I hate posts that start with "tell me about the Seascape" or "tell me about the Seascape, Go"  

[Gatordad1967]

22 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

As long as we are on the subject, I hate posts that start with "tell me about the Seascape" or "tell me about the Seascape, Go"  

agree 1000%  what am i, your trained poodle?

 

[Hutcha]

As long as we're on the subject, I hate posts where people complain about other people's posts! Don't like a post? Move on! If you've been here long enough to get aggravated about a type of post that comes up often, you've been here long enough to know that it's not going to change. JMO... 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

3 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

As long as we're on the subject, I hate posts where people complain about other people's posts! Don't like a post? Move on! If you've been here long enough to get aggravated about a type of post that comes up often, you've been here long enough to know that it's not going to change. JMO... 

 

We have someone on one of our roll calls who posts every couple/few days:

 

Only 246 days left

 

Only 241 days left

 

Only 239 days left

 

 

.. and that's pretty much all they ever say...

 

I finally clicked IGNORE (or something along those lines). All of a sudden I started getting way fewer notifications for that roll call. However now I'm left wondering, if they ever post something useful, that I might miss it, darn it!  This might be a good use for AI one day - "intelligent" IGNORE.

 

Tom

[Oxo]

On some posts it seems like a person books a cruise without doing any research! Then asks after they book, do I get this, that or what? SMH

[KennyFla]

On 3/8/2023 at 10:21 AM, Gatordad1967 said:

my favorite are the "is it worth it?" posts.  nonsensical.

 

This is a discussion board.

[Gatordad1967]

12 minutes ago, KennyFla said:

This is a discussion board.

Discussion on "is this worth it?" is moot.  

[KennyFla]

2 minutes ago, Gatordad1967 said:

Discussion on "is this worth it?" is moot.  

In your opinion.  Others may have a different opinion.  I like hearing other's experiences and thoughts about the different programs and such, helps me make decisions.

[Hutcha]

4 minutes ago, Gatordad1967 said:

Discussion on "is this worth it?" is moot.  

I would disagree. I'm doing research to find out if RCI's "The Key" is worth the price to me. I'm searching different post to make that decision, but the most useful are the "Is it worth it posts". In these posts, people discuss the pros and cons of having The Key. From there a person can make an educated decision on the product.

[Gatordad1967]

1 hour ago, KennyFla said:

In your opinion.  Others may have a different opinion.  I like hearing other's experiences and thoughts about the different programs and such, helps me make decisions.

it's like saying which ice cream flavor is best.  the posts are nonsensical.  

[mizLORInj]

On 3/6/2023 at 7:33 PM, seacruise9 said:

Hi, 

 

I am an experienced cruiser (99 cruises) and my favorite lines are Princess, Celebrity and Cunard. I am in my late 50s and began cruising as a child back in the 1960s. I recently cruised aboard the Celebrity Beyond and had a wonderful time. I greatly enjoy the food, service and entertainment on the newer Celebrity and Princess ships.

 

In Puerto Plata, the Celebrity Beyond was docked next to the MSC Seascape. I am very interested in ship design and was impressed by the exterior of the ship. 

. . .

Chuck

Might've been the same early February Beyond cruise I was on too.   Beyond looked like Seascape's baby when you saw them both from the dock at PP!   

 

I'm trying MSC in the fall just to see what it's like.  Bonus that it's in Brooklyn, NY, so no flights are involved for us. 

 

I still like and will cruise more with Celebrity, Royal, Princess, NCL and Carnival.  Oh and Virgin.   Maybe adding MSC to the mix; we'll see!