By Karen Quinn-Panzer
Travel Matters
Karen Quinn-Panzer
Want to get pampered for four days and four nights? Try the MSC Yacht Club – the ship within a ship luxury experience where the staff ratio is nearly one-to-one.
We sailed on MSC Seaside, which offers four-night getaways from Miami, and the pampering started the minute we arrived at the cruise terminal. Met by a butler, we were whisked through security, offered a glass of champagne or mimosa and found ourselves onboard the ship before we could finish it.
Every cabin in the Yacht Club has a butler, exclusive top sail restaurant and lounge, separate sundeck and pool and exclusive bar and grill at the pool. There’s a complimentary minibar, 24/7 room service and complimentary bottle of wine or liquor.
I need to mention the butler again, because who thinks you actually need a butler?
We ventured out to go to the theater. The butler escorted us to our reserved seats. And to the spa – the butler made our reservations. The butler found me in the dining room while I was at breakfast to confirm said spa reservation. He offered to press the clothes and to do our laundry. It was only four days, so we turned him down.
In the Yacht Club, you get complimentary use of the thermal suite at the spa, including sauna, steam room, snow room and the lasso therapy pool (therapy pool with water jets that do amazing things for sore joints and muscles).
The average age of MSC adult guests is well under the average for just about any other cruise line, and I have sailed on 22 lines. The energy level on MSC is very high; many families and multigenerational families were onboard.
The neat thing about the Yacht Club for families is that they have inside cabins as well as beautiful large balconies. I saw a few families with older kids. But “kids sail free” promotions generally exclude Yacht Club cabins.
We did leave the Yacht Club (which is comprised of three floors) to go to the theater to see a Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody) cover show; to daily trivia; to jazz club performances; and to the casino.
The difference in atmosphere and guest density is huge, and the peacefulness you feel when you step back into the hallowed halls of the Yacht Club is amazing.
On the last day, we visited MSC’s private island: Ocean Cay Marine Reserve. Near Bimini, MSC redeveloped a deserted island. We walked off the ship to experience two miles of pristine beaches, a wellness spa and Ocean Cay house complete with lobster rolls (a Yacht Club exclusive).
It was tough to leave, and we are looking forward to coming back very soon.
Karen Quinn-Panzer is the owner and vacation specialist at Dream Vacations Quinn Panzer Travel in Milford.