Every year, the TPG Awards honor excellence in credit cards, loyalty programs and travel. Please click here to read more about our winner selection process and methodology for the 2024 TPG Awards.
MSC Cruises sails nearly two dozen beautiful ships from home ports around the world, but its inviting sundecks can get crowded, and you’re likely to encounter queues for dinner, shows and guest services.
The trick to creating a more luxurious experience on this big-ship cruise line is to book a stay in the line’s Yacht Club. This upscale enclave within MSC Cruises‘ larger ships offers guests more spacious accommodations, butler service and dedicated restaurants and lounges — even coffee delivered to your room each morning, just the way you like it.
It’s this sort of pampering that makes passengers feel special when they sail with MSC. That’s why the MSC Yacht Club has won the 2024 TPG Award for Best VIP Ship Within a Ship.
Because of the Yacht Club, MSC can offer an inviting experience for cruisers who like big-ship cruising but crave more elevated accommodations, dining and amenities. MSC Cruises, along with Norwegian Cruise Line, was one of the first lines to introduce this ship-within-a-ship concept. Now, other popular cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean, have also adopted it.
The Yacht Club section on several MSC Cruises ships offers gated access to semiprivate dining, butler service and more, but it comes at a price. Find out how much you can expect to pay and what you’ll get for your money.
What are the MSC Yacht Club perks?
All stays in the Yacht Club include priority check-in and checkout; priority disembarkation and boarding on shore excursions days; free premium alcohol and Wi-Fi packages; a bathrobe and slippers; complimentary access to the Aurea Spa thermal suite; 24-hour concierge and butler services (dining and spa reservations, unpacking and repacking, morning coffee delivery, etc.); a free daily in-cabin newspaper of your choice, delivered; and the ability to change your cruise one time without penalty.
Yacht Club cruisers are also entitled to discounts of 10% on spa treatments, 20% on specialty dining packages and 40% on spa packages.
Additionally, passengers booked in the Yacht Club have access to their own dedicated bar, lounge and restaurant, as well as a semiprivate outdoor bar, pool and hot tubs, all on an exclusive sundeck. When ships dock at the line’s private island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Yacht Club passengers have private beach and restaurant access.
In their cabins, Yacht Club cruisers will find a pillow menu, memory foam mattresses, high-quality linens, bathrooms with marble floors, a specialty coffee maker, complimentary open minibar access, one gratis bottle of spirits (choose from a list of available options), free one-time snacks, 24-hour room service and nightly turndown chocolates from Venchi, an Italian chocolatier that partners with the cruise line.
Which MSC cruise ships have the Yacht Club?
Currently, 14 ships in the MSC Cruises fleet have the Yacht Club on board, with a 15th on the way:
- MSC Bellissima
- MSC Divina
- MSC Euribia
- MSC Fantasia
- MSC Grandiosa
- MSC Meraviglia
- MSC Preziosa
- MSC Seascape
- MSC Seashore
- MSC Seaside
- MSC Seaview
- MSC Splendida
- MSC Virtuosa
- MSC World Europa
The upcoming vessel MSC World America (2025) will also have the Yacht Club.
The largest Yacht Club in the fleet is on MSC World Europa, offering 152 suites. The second-largest Yacht Club is found on the line’s two Seaside EVO Class ships, MSC Seashore and MSC Seascape, which each have 131 suites.
MSC Yacht Club cabins
All accommodations in the Yacht Club are labeled as suites, even though some are standard cabin categories. The specific room types offered will vary by ship, but in general, they range from windowless interior cabins and deluxe balcony rooms to Executive and Royal Suites with more space, walk-in closets and bathrooms with both showers and bathtubs.
New to the fleet with the line’s World Class are 1,600-square-foot Owner Suites, which include multiroom layouts, walk-in closets, bathtubs and balconies, each with a whirlpool and an alfresco dining area.
Also new are Duplex Suites, offering two decks of space, with the bedroom and bathroom upstairs and a dining area, a living room and a guest bath downstairs. These also include two private sundecks with loungers. One of the sundecks holds a whirlpool.
How much does it cost to stay in the MSC Yacht Club?
As you might expect, the cost to stay in the Yacht Club depends on several factors, including cabin type, the length of the sailing and where you’re going and when. However, in line with the rest of the brand’s pricing, a stay in the Yacht Club is an excellent value when you compare it to stays in other lines’ dedicated suite areas or to luxury cruise prices.
I priced out several sailings departing over the next two years on some of the line’s newest and largest ships. This is what was available at press time. (Note: MSC Cruises’ website will only allow me to choose a general Yacht Club designation when booking. That means a guaranteed suite within the Yacht Club, but you won’t know what type it is until closer to sailing.)
- Four-night South America cruise on MSC Seaview: $2,457 (including taxes) for two adults, round-trip from Santos (Sao Paolo), Brazil, from March 16 to 20, 2025
- Seven-night Bahamas cruise on MSC Meraviglia: $3,567 (including taxes) for two adults, round-trip from Brooklyn, New York, from Oct. 5 to 12, 2025
- Seven-night Mediterranean cruise on MSC World Europa: $5,018 (including taxes) for two adults, round-trip from Barcelona, from May 1 to 8, 2026
- Fourteen-night Eastern and Western Caribbean on MSC World America: $14,850 (including taxes) for two adults, round-trip from Miami, from June 6 to 20, 2026
Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:
- The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship
- A beginners guide to picking a cruise line
- The 8 worst cabin locations on any cruise ship
- The ultimate guide to what to pack for a cruise
- A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines
- 21 tips and tricks that will make your cruise go smoothly
- Top ways cruisers waste money
- The ultimate guide to choosing a cruise ship cabin
