MSC Meraviglia Review
Is the Yacht Club worth it? A resounding, "YES!"
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Being an avid cruiser and a loyal RCI customer (Royal, Celebrity, Azamara), I was getting curious about the MSC's new Yacht Club product. Everything I was reading indicated this was the standard of cruising my husband, in particular, would enjoy. He's not that keen on ocean cruising, particularly if it involves older ships, tired itineraries, average food and constant nickel-and-diming (i.e. the average cruising experience in Australian/NZ waters.)
Upon seeing a special price for a YC Deluxe cabin on a 7-day West Med sailing in early December 2018, we decided to check it out. It was not our first trip around the Med, so we were comfortable with the fact it was going to be cold (for Queenslanders!) and we would probably find ourselves onboard more than usual, rather than remain on shore until last call as is our usual MO.
A big bonus with MSC is their status-matching with other cruise lines' loyalty programs. Based upon my Captain's Club level with Celebrity/Azamara, we were automatically assigned MSC Black, which is the highest grade in MSC's loyalty program. This was a very attractive incentive that other cruise companies should explore and gave us some very appreciated additional perks.
Cabin Review
Yacht Club Deluxe Suite
Excellent! Spacious, modern, great storage, comfortable bedding with optional pillow menu. The bathroom was the best I've ever seen for the money we paid. Frankly, this product leaves the other cruise companies floundering when it comes to value-for-money. As an example, I've paid the same money to cruise on Azamara and been assigned a cabin with a shower that would barely fit a large child. On Meraviglia, there was room to dance around the shower cubicle if you were so inclined (I resisted!).