We sailed with MSC Cruises on board MSC Virtuosa.
Largest cruise ship we have ever sailed on having completed in the region of 36 cruises in the past. . Thankfully we were in the Yacht Club which overall was a great experience. However, we wouldn’t sail again with MSC if we weren’t in The Yacht Club. The main part of the ship was too busy, loud, manic and really unwelcoming but The Yacht Club gave us a calm, peaceful, exclusive and very professional experience. All the facilities in the Yacht Club were overall very good – the restaurant, top sail lounge and the upper deck with bar, restaurant and pool etc were spot on. Food 98% of the time excellent – incredible wines recommended and served to us by the great sommelier – excellent bar/lounge area and various snacks available at all times of the day and evening. Out Duplex Suite was lovely although a very small outside balcony, but the negative was that it was located outside of the Yacht Club, meaning we had to go out and down 4 decks to reach our suite amongst many cabins not attached to the Yacht Club.
Whilst promoted as an ‘Exclusive Experience’ there was a few small issues that seemed so petty, so why not just include them? e.g; Basic internet access included but you had to pay a further £100 if you wanted full access – really? Also, very basic champagne included and it wasn’t good! Very limited wine list included, anything else you had to pay for although as mentioned above the Sommelier really looked after us! Very cheap products in the Suite (body wash, shampoo and conditioner etc). Small things that did detract from the ‘Exclusive’ experience they market. If people are paying Yacht Club prices I doubt they would even notice another £100 or more on the cost of their cruise and know that then everything truly is all inclusive.
However, the main positive thing about the Yacht Club was the staff. Absolutely brilliant! In all the cruises we have done, the staff in the Yacht Club stood out as the very best! Professional, extremely accommodating, so very friendly, charming – totally amazing!
So all in all a very good cruising experience within the Yacht Club – outside of it, definitely not!
