Recently I was able to take a Mediterranean cruise in the Yacht Club section of MSC, this is similar to “first-class” and provides a middle-ground for those cruisers who want upscale amenities and services, but find some of the other ships a bit to geriatric. This would be a great solution for the younger luxury traveller. They have the higher end product and amenities but can head “downtown” to enjoy the rest of the large ship amenities when they wish to do so.
I also think it is an excellent fit for multigenerational family travel. Parents of older or adult children could stay in the Yacht club and the others in the regular section. Or they could all stay in the yacht club section but the younger set could head “downtown” for nighttime activities as well.
The cabins in the Yacht Club section are very nice. They are a good size and have great amenities. The linens are high quality and beds comfortable. The butlers come in a few times a day to freshen things up and stock up any water or mini bar items consumed and replenished fresh fruit bowl throughout the day.
Speaking of butlers in the Yacht club section when you do a shore excursion you are taken by your butler to the coach before the other passengers, which is a very nice touch.
This cruise in the Yacht Club section of MSC and the food was extremely good. We had a separate dining area from the regular dining and buffet that was exclusive to Yacht Club guests. Each night the Chef presented a completely new menu with wonderful choices. I do not eat red meat and there was plenty of choice for anyone who is vegetarian or pescatarian. Vegan might be an issue but I didn’t look into that.
The food was beautifully presented, fresh and tasty. Of course being an Italian cruise line there was a lot of pasta served which was lovely.
The private dining room was beautiful and the wait staff rivals any I have had anywhere. The wine that was available was Italian and very nice.
The private lounge area had daily continental breakfast, afternoon tea and light snacks throughout the day for those who did not wish to have a full meal.
There is a ton to do on this ship and they offer a nice selection of shore excursions. They had a 2 star Michelin chef on board for cooking demos, a large casino, wine bar, tons of areas for relaxing, coffee and ice cream centers etc. The Spa and gym are top notch and there was also a Turkish bath area (although watch out for naked Europeans if that offends you!), sauna and hot tub area.
The kids club provides a very interesting multicultural educational component for parents wishing their children to be exposed to other languages and children from other countries. Additionally there were plenty of activities for teenagers.
Overall I thought it was a very good experience and would not hesitate to recommend it, especially to those travellers that want to have the best of both worlds (luxury cruising with a slightly younger crowd).