Up next in 10
I test out cruising in Yacht Club, a limited access “ship-within-a-ship” on MSC Cruises, to see if it really is better than cruising as a “regular” passenger and if it is worth paying the premium for the experience and the perks.
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ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 101 cruises I have done to date.
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00:00 Start
00:45 What is MSC Yacht Club?
03:31 Escaping the Whirlwind
04:55 Crowds
09:13 High-End Service?
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0:00
so many Cruisers are contacting me
0:02
saying they're getting really frustrated
0:04
because so many areas on cruise ships
0:06
are being closed making them only
0:08
available to select group of passengers
0:10
and what the lines are calling ships
0:12
within ships and throwing exotic names
0:14
at them like the retreat The Haven and
0:17
the yacht club
0:18
these are eye-wateringly expensive
0:21
starting at 800 700 pounds per cabin per
0:24
night making them out of reach for most
0:26
cruises but curiosity got to me so
0:28
raided some savings and booked myself in
0:30
the yacht club on Embassy virtuosa on a
0:33
seven night Norwegian fjords cruise to
0:35
see what their ship within a ship is all
0:37
about and if you've got the cash if it's
0:40
actually worth it here's what I
0:43
discovered now the yacht club I
0:45
discovered covered several decks high up
0:47
in the front of the ship my cruise card
0:49
granted me access through these big
0:51
sliding glass doors on Deck 16 inside
0:54
were all the yacht club cabins a guest
0:56
services concierge desk the top sell
0:59
lounge and bar with snacks all day
1:01
afternoon tea and live music in the
1:04
evenings the MSC Yacht Club restaurant
1:06
with open seeded dining for all meals
1:09
and a dedicated menu and kitchen by the
1:11
way a large Deck with plunge pool hot
1:14
tubs bar and a grill serving breakfast
1:16
and lunch but
1:18
I also got added perks including premium
1:22
drinks package two devices streaming
1:25
internet a butler a pillow menu a
1:27
welcome bottle of Prosecco and
1:29
chocolates uh daily canapes and various
1:32
treats access to the Spa's thermal suite
1:35
and some other perks that I'll come to
1:37
which actually helped me navigate my way
1:40
around the crowds and the lines around
1:42
the ship which are pretty important now
1:45
unlike other lines shipped within the
1:46
ships your Club has a big difference
1:48
it's not only sweets this means there
1:52
are even some more affordable ways to
1:54
get into this ship within a ship versus
1:56
other lines it had 15 inside cabins
1:59
alongside as you'd expect two Royal
2:01
Suites eight duplex Suites and 77 Deluxe
2:05
Verandas which is what I had booked now
2:07
this cabin was probably the size wise
2:10
more like a mini Suite or many large and
2:13
mid-sized ships that I've been on though
2:15
it was probably comparable in size to
2:17
Suites I've stayed in on small smaller
2:19
shift luxury lines like Seaborn silver C
2:21
and region 17. so not a massive kind of
2:24
cabin more of a big Veranda cabin the
2:26
decor was fairly neutral was probably a
2:28
little bit Brown had a good sized
2:30
bathroom it didn't have well-known brand
2:32
atologies that you'd expect in a premium
2:34
place but it just had dispensers for
2:36
example in the shower which was labeled
2:38
body wash and shampoo no fancy brand
2:40
names one big plus was the cabins are
2:44
well away from noisy and busy venues and
2:47
my cabin was incredibly quiet I would
2:49
say my cabin is probably one of the
2:51
quietest if not the quietest I have had
2:54
on any Cruise ever because the ship is
2:56
so modern and new even the air
2:58
conditioning was very quiet so that was
3:01
a big plus now as the yacht club is in
3:03
the front of the ship and high up the
3:06
restaurant had incredible views out of
3:08
the vast windows I had the most gorgeous
3:10
scenes of the Norwegian fjords sitting
3:13
at my table in the restaurant
3:15
so far I'm sure you're thinking this
3:18
mostly sounds pretty exotic and rather
3:21
wonderful but let me now talk about some
3:23
other sides to the ship within a ship
3:25
experience it raised more doubts and
3:28
issues MSC ships are big MSC virtuosa
3:32
when full has 6 300 passengers it's a
3:35
jam-packed boisterous and noisy ship all
3:38
over the place one big plus the yacht
3:40
club gave me was a less busy and a more
3:43
calm place to escape the manicness of
3:45
the ship it felt like stepping out of a
3:48
whirlwind of activity and noise into an
3:51
immediately more sedate and a quieter
3:53
space without hordes of people packed in
3:55
although it was not totally quiet uh
3:58
because it wasn't just actually an adult
3:59
space only MSC is unashamedly
4:04
family-friendly line and so though for
4:06
example there's 102 cabins in yacht club
4:08
which means about 202 people a double
4:10
occupancy because most of those have
4:12
sofa beds and so on they could be 70 to
4:14
even 100 Kids in there at really peak
4:17
times now marcelling was not within the
4:20
school holidays so there were only a
4:22
handful of families but they still did
4:24
often kind of take over the small pool
4:26
the kids would run around during
4:28
afternoon tea they would moan and cry
4:30
basically kind of big kids at meals
4:32
which did wind some people up I probably
4:35
unnecessarily since it's a family line
4:37
secondly although it's supposed to be an
4:39
exclusive area clearly people staying in
4:41
the yacht club were traveling with
4:42
friends and family who weren't in the
4:44
yacht club and so would bring guests in
4:46
mostly heading up to the deck but
4:49
sometimes also in the lounge and a blind
4:51
eye was basically turned to this in my
4:53
experience I do feel though an even
4:56
bigger Yacht Club Plus was all the
4:59
things designed to get me around those
5:02
crowds on the ship for example
5:04
check-in was incredible considering the
5:08
many thousands of people that they kind
5:09
of have to check in uh to board the ship
5:12
on the day I embarked I could check in
5:15
at 10 A.M 10 a.m so early there was a
5:18
dedicated spot to Hand by suitcase in
5:21
before I was then whisked past the lines
5:23
for security I was shown again escorted
5:26
to a special seated check-in area where
5:28
I was offered drinks and snacks whilst
5:30
checked in at my seat then I was
5:32
escorted and whisked by a butler right
5:34
straight through up to the yacht club
5:36
Lounge I was in that Lounge I would say
5:39
probably 18 minutes at the most after
5:40
pulling up at the terminal
5:43
another was avoiding the crowds for
5:45
excursions instead of having to join
5:48
hundreds and hundreds of people meeting
5:50
in the various venues to depart I just
5:53
had to wait in the yacht club Lounge
5:54
once the tour bus was actually ready to
5:56
depart a battle would then whiskey down
5:59
through security right out to the bus or
6:02
the port side departure and your Club
6:05
guests got priority for example in flam
6:09
we were LED right at the front of the
6:11
many hundreds of people queuing for the
6:13
scenic train so we got to board it first
6:15
we get got to choose the very best seats
6:17
in Alden for example I was led by Butler
6:20
right up to the shuttle bus to the learn
6:22
Skylift I boarded that first so I was
6:25
able to give great seed off really fast
6:26
and onto the Skylift quickly seeing
6:28
shows in the theater also meant skipping
6:31
crowds and lines now as the MSC virtuosa
6:33
theater holds way fewer than a thousand
6:36
people they ran three shows every night
6:38
and so your kind of regular Travelers
6:40
had to book and so some of the shows got
6:42
sold out so guests also still had to
6:45
wait in long lines even if they'd booked
6:46
to get scanned into the theater but
6:49
there was a dedicated Yacht Club seating
6:52
area meaning no booking and I could also
6:55
get whisked down if I want to buy battle
6:57
I passed all those lines if I wanted to
6:59
so even sold out shows for everybody
7:01
else like the talent show the opera
7:03
shows anybody in your Club wanted to see
7:06
those absolutely could without booking
7:09
for the Cirque du Soleil style shows in
7:12
the Carousel Lounge again we Yacht Club
7:14
guests were escorted down by Butler past
7:17
the lines and we got to choose our seat
7:19
before the other passengers did
7:22
the art Club concierge desk also was
7:25
meant there was no waiting in the
7:27
afternoon long lines of guest services
7:28
too so that was really good
7:30
the lounge and bar meant no fighting in
7:33
the evenings to find a seat in the other
7:34
bars which were always busy or waiting
7:36
for ages to get a drink which could
7:38
happen in the other bars in The Yacht
7:39
Club Lounge it was always space to sit
7:42
and there was also live music performed
7:44
there too in the evenings dining also
7:46
offered a way around the crowds none
7:48
Yacht Club guests were allocated one of
7:51
the three dining times 5 30 7 30 or 9 30
7:53
PM few options for Anytime dining or
7:56
even changing the time you're allocated
7:58
it was busy and hectic in the main
8:00
dining rooms tables tightly packed
8:02
together in the yacht club it was open
8:05
for breakfast lunch and dinner it was
8:07
open seated dining so I could go anytime
8:10
I wanted when it was open I could have a
8:12
table by myself or I could choose to sit
8:13
with others if I met other people if I
8:15
wanted to so lots of flexibility on the
8:18
yacht club deck they served buffet style
8:21
breakfast and lunch so again there was
8:23
no need to battle the many crowds in the
8:25
very popular Marketplace Buffet on this
8:28
embarkation day I could meet the lounge
8:30
and and the minute the ship was cleared
8:33
we Yacht Club guests could get off
8:35
because our bags were taken off first
8:37
again I was whisked down by Butler
8:39
jumped the cues the ship was cleared by
8:41
the way at 6 30 a.m I was in a taxi
8:44
heading to the train station to head
8:45
home within 15 minutes for me probably
8:49
the biggest plus of the yacht club was
8:52
how it actually helped me avoid the
8:54
downsides of the crowds skip all the
8:57
lines on this big Resort ship in fact
9:00
some of the premium and the pampering
9:02
aspects that I expected were going to be
9:05
the highlights were actually less so
9:07
rather than these so let me explain a
9:09
little bit around that now I have
9:11
cruised on some high-end lines in the
9:13
past like celebrity Retreat sweets
9:16
Cunard Queen's Grill and even on luxury
9:18
lines like Seabourn and region 70s and
9:21
many people who asked me during and
9:23
after if the yacht club was that kind of
9:27
experience was it that premium now I
9:29
think it missed in two striking ways
9:32
first of all the service and attention
9:35
to detail was pretty good but it was
9:37
varied it was erratic at times and it
9:40
definitely wasn't very personal or
9:42
personalized something that the more
9:44
luxury high-end lines kind of Master
9:46
that's almost their point of difference
9:48
as you were so even though I was on
9:50
there for a week the concierge or the
9:52
rest of the crew in Europe have never
9:53
agreed to me by name which of course is
9:55
the norm on those other lines it's much
9:57
more personal getting to know you many
9:59
on the desk they didn't even greet me
10:01
they sort of didn't make eye contact and
10:03
I had to fight to attract attention at
10:05
times the Butler Service personally I
10:08
found erratic and it seemed to be very
10:10
much varied based on you know who you
10:13
were allocated rather than kind of a
10:14
consistent service now I did have a less
10:16
optimal experience because my partner
10:18
disappeared for a couple of days off ill
10:20
they weren't substituted they weren't
10:22
covered by another Butler So my poor cab
10:24
Institute sort of had to sort of try and
10:25
do some battling duties and all their
10:27
cleaning duties so I didn't find the
10:29
overall service in the restaurant or
10:31
across the yacht club matched the
10:33
high-end line but it was definitely
10:36
faster than across the ship overall so
10:38
it was better than the rest of the ship
10:39
another example of how that kind of
10:41
promise and reality of premiumness did
10:44
not match was I was in a very beautiful
10:45
email before the cruise asking me to
10:48
submit all my preferences like the type
10:50
of pillow the mini bar items what's
10:52
Daily Newspaper I wanted to deliver they
10:54
paid absolutely no attention to it and I
10:57
did see several people going to the
10:58
concierge desk and saying whatever
11:00
happened to those requests we were asked
11:02
to submit and the concierge didn't seem
11:04
to know anything about them secondly I
11:06
thought the food was good and I enjoyed
11:08
it and your Club did have a different
11:10
menu to the main dining room but I did
11:13
not find it as elevated as on other more
11:17
premium lines in their equivalent
11:19
restaurant like Queen's grill or
11:21
celebrity luminai though to be fair
11:23
those also charge dramatically more so I
11:27
feel I had to consider this when really
11:29
assessing kind of the state of the food
11:31
now I was actually concerned at my very
11:34
first meal which was lunch on
11:35
embarkation day because the salad looked
11:37
very kind of basic didn't look very
11:39
attractive and they had lettuce that was
11:40
all kind of wilted and brown on the
11:42
edges however over the week I did find
11:45
that was an exception the yacht club
11:47
ingredients seemed pretty good and the
11:49
menus had a decent Choice a good pasta
11:51
especially that probably lacked some of
11:53
the Finesse and the Flair are more
11:56
premium lines so it was good but it
11:57
wasn't of the same scale I always found
12:00
dishes that appealed and after that
12:02
initial reservation I didn't really have
12:04
any other issues I would say though the
12:06
gala night dinner menu which had beef
12:08
wellington was the highest of the week
12:11
and I do actually think to be fair that
12:13
the chocolate volcano cake dessert which
12:15
many lions get horribly wrong was
12:17
probably the best that I've had at Sea
12:20
the yacht club was good value for what
12:23
it is and I decided that for anybody who
12:26
wants the benefits of the buzz and
12:28
excitement of a big ship with the
12:30
ability to dip into water box rope
12:32
climbing Production shows and so on it
12:34
was good but if they also wanted that
12:37
but wanted to be able to escape the
12:38
noise and the hustle and the bustle and
12:40
her ways of mitigating the crowds then
12:42
the yacht club is a plus but it's not of
12:45
the same scale of other premium lines
12:47
for me though it was not enough because
12:50
MSC itself had issues that I think you
12:52
also need to consider if you're thinking
12:54
of the art lab so watch this video we're
12:56
gonna dive into all of those starting
12:58
with the biggest misconception about Ms
13:00
cruises see you over there
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