Yes, I'm still alive--well, mostly so--thank you for asking. Across the board, MSC tends to get poor ratings. Having explored the entire ship, I can somewhat sympathize. Thousands of passengers vying to eat, to shop, to see a show--the list goes on. The Seascape is built to accommodate about 5,700 passengers (4,700 were on board for our sailing) and with that many folks gathered together, there are bound to be problems. But I'm not here to write about problems, but rather, the lack of them. Peg and I sailed for a week in MSC's "ship-within-a-ship," The Yacht Club.
As you may remember, we have taken a few previous cruises together, but not on MSC. It's an Italian line, privately owned. When you don't have investors to please, you can do things your way--and indeed they do. Add the Yacht Club's elevated food, service, accommodations plus a long list of other amenities, and it is indeed an experience second to none.
"Just how much does all this cost," I hear you ask. For the most popular cabin--Deluxe Balcony--it's around $3,200 per person. Interior suites (over 200 sq ft--about the size of balcony cabins on other lines) are around $1800 per person. I have made a study of similar packages on other cruise lines and they are from about $10,000 to $22,000 per person.
So, what are the amenities? Private lounge, restaurant, pool deck (with breakfast and lunch buffets), solarium, Thermal Spa access, Premium Drink Package, internet for two devices, butler and concierge service, room service at no charge and more! Lest I forget--one of the "horrors" of cruising is the elevators. Wait, wait, wait! Wait for them to come, wait for them to stop at multiple decks before yours. But we placed our wrist bands under the call station, pushed the deck we wished, the elevators zoomed to us; we stepped in and we were whisked to the deck we chose without stopping at others along the way--express service!
Trust me, I could go on and on--you know I could!--but I won't. As you know, both Peg and I are not easily impressed. But after only two days on board, we signed up for another Yacht Club cruise. Same ship, same itinerary--doesn't matter, we don't care about excursions--we just want to be in the Yacht Club again!
If you truly want to "get away from it all," consider a voyage in the Yacht Club. Although we sailed from Galveston, many American and European ports have ships with the Yacht Club. Yes, it is more expensive--stop whining and save up for it. You will not be disappointed!!! read more