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This past January I took my first ever MSC Cruise on the MSC Divina out of Miami and it was so bad I considered getting off the ship mid-voyage. The food was, not just bad, but gross. The service was a joke. Our cabin smelled like a cigar bar – point being I am never sailing MSC again as a “normal” passenger.
However MSC, like the NCL Haven concept that I have sailed many times, has a members only area on the ship. MSC offers more perks than the Haven as Yacht Club guests automatically get a free premium beverage package and fast Starlink wifi included.
NCL Haven guests, once they leave the Haven area, are mixed in with the rest of the guests and for shore excursions that means you are escorted to the bus or meeting point and then you enjoy the excursion and once you get back to the ship are met by a butler shore side to again escort you back into the Haven, MSC offers the same but wants to give members more.
Latte Luxury News notes that MSC is introducing over 90 shore excursions for Yacht Club guests only! They share:
“From the MSC Yacht Club, guests will have priority disembarkation and then move into private transportation for extra comfort during travel, ensuring a feeling of relaxation with all the details taken care of.“
Thus not only will you have an escort off the ship but then you will not have to subject yourself to a packed tour bus with the rest of the guests onboard. They go on to say:
“The experiences fall into a number of categories to suit all guests tastes and range from authentic culinary experiences to learning about local artistry to visiting architectural treasures or getting involved in upscale adventure activities.”
This means one of the “pain points” of the ship within a ship concept is removed and is a bold move to motivate the affluent cruisers to pick MSC over other cruise lines that offer similar space onboard. Plus the excursions themselves will be much more private and a very different experience than what is offered to other guests.
Does this upgrade from MSC move you to consider booking the Yacht Club over other lines with similar offerings? – René
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What MSC claims they offer and what they actually offer are two very different things… I would not trust a word they say about these supposed “Yacht Club Excursions”. As someone who has spent over a month on MSC boats this year so far, it blows my mind how incompetent the onboard crew is compared to what they advertise online. If you thought the Divina was bad, you have yet to see the incompetence of other ships. The Divina sucks, but the staff is actually better than onboard their Megaships.
At the end of the day though, the price with MSC can’t be beat… So we will keep putting up with their nonsense.
Even if it did motivate me to spend kore with MSC, the company will still not sell a premium cabin to a solo traveler. if I wanted to buy a Yacht Club cabin and only have one person travel in it? Nope, they won’t sell it to you.
So I guess I won’t find out if it’s better.9