One of my favorite cruises ever. Pretty much number 1 or 2.only because I used yacht club instead of regular experience options. I'll definitely do this again with MSC.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We were yacht club. Which means we showed up at 10am recieved some snacks and champagne. Escorted on the ship by our butler by 10:30. Our room was ready right away. It was very easy and we were treated like upper-class. Which is what I was expecting.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Amazing food. We didn't have to use the regular buffet or the main dining room everyone else used. We had an exclusive dining room and buffet. Michelin star rated chefs. All our food and drink were Included. The director of dining stayed supervising the yacht club dining. We were not rushed and could eat when we wanted. The food was one of the best dining experiences of all my cruises. I will say we went to look at the regular buffet in the regular part of the ship and it looked a bit rough compared to ours. So glad we booked yacht club. Night and day difference between food and service.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Loved the ship. As far as activities go. We really went to shows and and relaxed mostly. We had our own pool and hit tub. And complimentary thermal spa usage so we mostly relaxed and enjoyed being pampered.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Entertainment was crazy. The shows were fun but were kinda strange. Like a dinosaur does not belong in Peter pan. Lol but it was still very entertaining. The yacht club allows us to not have to make reservations and reserves our seats in the back of all shows for us. However if we want front row center we just tell our butler and he hold the seats for us.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
We didn't bring the kids this time but it looked like they had an awesome play area.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Amazing. We had our own concierge and butler so we didn't have to wait in line for anything. They put chocolate in our room every day including chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. All the bartenders in yacht club were amazing. Other parts of the ship like the chocolate area we were escorted by our butler and it was all included. Gelato, shakes, coffees, anything chocolate drinks crepes etc.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Extremely clean and beautiful. Elegant and I think one of the most beautiful ships I have ever been on.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had a yacht club suite. It was very large. Lots of room. We had turn down services. Our room was cleaned twice a day. Or more if requested.
Ship tip
Go yacht club. Go yacht club!! You get priority over everyone on the ship. The food is 100 times better and service. You are always reading mixed reviews and this is why. Spend the money on yacht club and you won't regret it. Do the math on a drink package and the difference in yacht club and you will see. My example of service. A pair of my underwear was ruined in the salt chemical in the thermal spa. I brought them to my yacht club concierge and said look what the thermal spa does to bamboo. He said how much did they cost. Between my wife's clothes and my clothes all bamboo. 110.00. They immediately reimbursed it without question. You won't get better service than in the Yacht Club.
Too windy. Ship would not take the risk to dock. But we could see the beautiful water of the beach from the distance. The yacht club made up for it by adding extra awesomeness BBQ cookouts and dinner specials. And we felt like it could not be better off the ship anyway.
Would have been better if we would have known we had a quick way around the lines as a yacht club benefit. Our butler dropped us off in front of the line getting off the ship but after we leave the ship there was another yacht club door that would have made disembarking faster. But it still took about 15 minutes with the front of the li e skips.
We travel ONLY YACHTCLUB & Haven on ncl and msc. Yea, have been on seaside twice and she is a fun ship and the yc is nice.
Once you cruise in the YACHTCLUB on msc. Or haven on ncl , we had trouble doing anything else on these two lines again... however, we still eat at the mom yacht club buffet and we still go to do things outside of the yacht club... it's just nice to know if u need or want to have a seat reserved its avail or want to sleep in and have ur butler walk u off the ship around lines to get to ur excursion, u can do that..
You do get looked at when ur butler is walking you around lines or reserving a seat for u at a show in the front row or walking u to the spa for a massage treatment etc.. people say what ???? So for us we prefer to stay on the down low and not have the butlers do alll these extra things each cruise for us... but... the first couple times u travel in the yacht club you really soak up alllll these perks (and getting strawberries n champagne daily in ur suite or 3x ur room is cleaned...) bc it's really fun. But u do not FIND U WILL NEED IT if u travel yacht club often.
STILL A BLAST TO KNOW U HAVE THIS AVAIL THO I AGREE
We r back in yacht club in 3 weeks for 12 nights and xant wait on a diff ship but seaside we so luv alot done her ship twice
So happy u enjoyed and will be a yacht club traveler now on. It is alot of fun .
Yes I noticed the same thing. The reviews are usually in line with the experience purchased. However I do not always travel first class or book top level services. I have learned which ships have great value even in cheap rooms or inexpensive cabins. I am used to drinking expensive scotch and sitting in first class. However I have had as much fun on navigator of the seas with my family without a drink package and spent the whole time drinking tea and water and had a blast. Going into it knowing you are going to get what you pay for is important.
Glad you enjoyed it and did the research to understand what you were getting. As you mentioned, people either seem to love or hate MSC and this ship. Those that are disappointed usually book the cheapest option, but seem to expect the top-level experience and service. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for.
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