Cruising with a Butler Aboard MSC Cruises

Twenty-one minutes.

As I reflect on my eight days on the MSC Cruises Yacht Club, an upgraded, exclusive “ship-within-a-ship” cruising experience, I keep coming back to those 21 minutes.

That’s the amount of time that elapsed between when my wife Pam and I got out of our Uber at the cruise terminal in Brooklyn and when we were seated in the exclusive Top Sail lounge aboard the Meraviglia, condensation gathering on the sides of a glass of bubbly in our hands.

In between those moments, our luggage had been spirited away by dedicated Yacht Club porters, and we’d been guided by a series of gentlemen holding Yacht Club paddles from the parking lot to the front of the long lines of sweaty, frenetic people snaking through the terminal. The Meraviglia holds over 4,000 passengers, and they all seemed to be queuing up at the same time.

We were briefly detained in a quiet private lounge, where we were given Yacht Club wristbands and offered a spread that included a curious selection of champagne, macarons, and Pringles.

We were then guided past throngs of less lucky guests packing the gangway, nudged briskly through the ship’s security, and elevated to the lounge, where icy beverages were offered on silver trays by black-coated waiters who were literally wearing white gloves.

Sure, we’d gotten dirty looks and comments, like the guy in one of the lines who’d hissed, “Yacht Club privilege!!!!” as we passed. It’s true we’d been swerved around families with strollers and crying babies. Old people using walkers. Innocent, well-intentioned customers who’d been at the cruise terminal for hours.

Yes, but: 21 minutes.

We hadn’t done anything on our cruise yet, but I was already beginning to understand the value of upgrading to MSC’s Yacht Club experience: shockingly efficient, personalized service that spares you many of the indignities of contemporary big-ship cruising.

Twenty-one minutes into our cruise, life was good. For the most part, it would remain very good for the next eight days.

The MSC Yacht Club Experience

Our butler’s name was Carmille. Of course, we had a butler. Carmille’s assistant was Martin. She was from the Philippines, and he was from Kenya. They were both absolutely delightful, A-list hospitality professionals.

The service they provided, along with that of nearly all of their colleagues, was what you might expect at a five-star hotel.

Attentive and Personalized Service

On day one, when I needed an extension cord for my sleep apnea machine, Carmille promptly brought it, along with two bottles of distilled water necessary to fill the water chamber, unasked.

When our phones had trouble connecting to the ship’s Wi-Fi, she set them up for us. She offered selections from the Yacht Club’s “pillow menu” (memory gel for me, a somewhat mysterious “oxygen pillow” for Pam). She also offered to unpack our suitcases, which we were too surprised to accept.

Continuous Room Maintenance and Thoughtful Touches

Carmille and Martin were nearly always available, sometimes eerily so, when we needed them. They tended to our room at least twice daily without fault. Fresh fruit would sometimes appear unbidden. Daily newspapers of our choice were left on our door handle. Sweets in little Lucite cubes materialized in the evening. The mini-bar was refreshed to our whims.

Exclusive Escorted Experiences

Carmille offered to escort us whenever we left the confines of the Yacht Club, as if to protect us from what lay beyond, in the hectic main ship, where thousands of passengers roamed.

She put on her long black coat and white gloves whenever she did. At ports, we could disembark whenever we wanted rather than by numbered group and were personally escorted to our excursion departure points.

The Yacht Club: An Elevated Cruise Experience

MSC Cruises, a European company working to develop its presence along the U.S. East Coast, is a significant promoter of the ship-within-a-ship concept. Norwegian Cruise Lines got the ball rolling in the early 2000s with its Haven offering, and MSC Cruises entered the niche in 2008.

Most big cruise lines today offer some version of the upgraded luxury experience in their large ships, but perhaps none has done so as enthusiastically and successfully as MSC Cruises. Fourteen of its 22 ships have Yacht Clubs (15 of 23 as of April 2025), and all new ships will have them going forward.

Cost of the Yacht Club Experience

Of course, customers pay a significant premium for a Yacht Club experience. Pam and I were on an eight-day cruise from Brooklyn that included calls in Miami, a private island called Ocean Cay, and Nassau in the Bahamas, along with four days at sea. The retail cost of our package was about $7,000 for two (like all cruise prices, not all people pay retail, and prices vary by season; more on this below).

What’s Included?

That price includes a dedicated 24-hour concierge, access to three exclusive Yacht Club decks, which comprise a luxe coffee-and-cocktail lounge enhanced by a hushed pre-rock soundtrack and tasteful live music in the evenings; a dedicated restaurant with seriously excellent food; and a pool/hot tub/sun deck with nearly all-day grill service that represents the Yacht Club upgrade of the main ship’s standard buffet.

Yacht Club facilities are separated from the rest of the ship, accessed through glass doors controlled by a wristband fob. They seal shut like airlocks once you enter.

This is in addition to a premium drink package, omnipresent canapes, access to the ship’s premium shows with VIP seating, unlimited trips to the thermal spa, and two Wi-Fi connections per passenger. I got four of my garments pressed for free. The bathrooms are marble, and the shower is a rainfall walk-in.

Plus, the whole butler thing.

In addition, Yacht Club cruisers have access to all the activities and facilities available to the “gen pop,” to use the inelegant term the industry sometimes assigns to a ship’s general cruising population.

If Pam and I had been cruising Gen Pop, a similar package — upgraded room, food, drinks, and activity access, but without the Yacht Club’s personal, high-touch service, easy-on/easy-off access, and lovely seclusion — it would have cost less than half as much.

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So, Is the MSC Yacht Club Worth It?

On the first day, three of our fellow Yacht Club cruisers said what I’d hear versions of throughout our trip: “If you do Yacht Club once, you’ll never go back.”

These were experienced cruisers, veterans of many cruise brands, some of whom had tried other lines’ exclusive upgraded experiences, including Norwegian’s Haven.

One of them said that she’d recently been offered a comparable upmarket sailing on a different cruise line for $17,000, but it would still require additional charges for Wi-Fi and various petty annoyances.

All-Inclusive Pricing Benefits

Yacht Club pricing is all-in, except for excursions. The price includes a 16 percent service charge, which you may want to add to for your cheerful butler and assistant.

As the days passed, I heard other responses. Some guests had booked a standard cruise and had been offered the opportunity to bid on a Yacht Club upgrade (the club was at about two-thirds capacity the week of our sailing, late-ish in what might have been hurricane season but wasn’t).

Two people had scored the Yacht Club for $2,400 for two this way, which they agreed was a fantastic deal. They said they might book the club outright in the future if they could afford it since upgrade bids are not guaranteed. With their eyes opened to the Yacht Club, they didn’t anticipate gen pop cruising with as much joy.

Some Contrasting Opinions

However, one guy in the general population I met in the cold room of Meraviglia’s Thermal Spa — a must-do experience included in Yacht Club fees but costs $80 for others — responded very differently. He sounded like he might have been one of those guys who’d hissed at us on the gangway.

“I tried it once, and I’m not going to do it again,” he said with a cocky Brooklyn accent. “I’m a normal person. Those aren’t my people.”

When I told our fellow clubbers about this, they were baffled.

Two guys who run a cattle farm in Virginia shook their heads. “Nobody puts on airs here,” one of them said.

The Yacht Club Atmosphere: Casual Yet Luxurious

T-shirts and sandals were the normal dress. One guy had a selection of New York Yankees hats in different colors. Gala Night attire ranged from a mix of jeans and a nice buttoned shirt to cocktail dresses. I think one guy might have worn a suit with no tie.

Reflecting on what the Brooklyn guy in the cold room had said, I think he might have meant he wasn’t comfortable with the level of service one receives in the Yacht Club.

That’s fair. If you are sailing the MSC Yacht Club, you have to be prepared to withstand unusually personal attention.

Eating at the MSC Yacht Club

Eating is to a cruiser what praying is to a monk: an activity undertaken with a sense of duty and a firm belief in the righteousness of the cause. And while dining at the Yacht Club may not be a religious experience, it is at least elevated.

Quality of Food: Exceeding Expectations

In Pam’s and my assessment, and in that of our fellow Yacht Clubbers, the food is very good, and not just if you’re grading on the cruise ship curve.

One night, the sea bass was plated on a dollop of curry sauce; it was cooked perfectly and compared favorably to the sea bass we’d had anywhere in any terrestrial restaurant. Another night, tender slices of pork were layered with an Asian barbecue glaze and surrounded by swirls of hoisin brightened with lemongrass and ginger.

On the final night, an Italian extravaganza, the servers wore vests bearing the colors of Italy’s flag, and the lasagna bolognese was rich and meaty and touched with fresh herbs.

On Gala Night, the escargot starter, intense with butter and garlic, was a treat you don’t expect on a cruise ship. The filet mignon entree, presented in a pool of jus, was among the most tender and flavorsome. (Filet mignon was, somehow, available every night.)

Each dinner menu included a different vegetable bisque; the pea version was a knockout. The pistachio ice cream was, improbably, the best I’d ever had anywhere, and I get it a lot.

That said, there were some clunkers: On Gala Night, the lobster was overcooked and tough, and a replacement came out the same. The breads were mostly standard cruise ship fare, doughy and dense.

No Reservations or Set Dining Times

One wonderful feature of Yacht Club dining is you never have to make a reservation or abide by a set dining time. You just show up when you want, and there’s a table for you. (When the club is sold out, and you arrive at prime time, I was told, you might need to cool your heels in the lounge with a drink and canapes for a little while. That didn’t happen during our cruise.)

The dining room is full of generously spaced tables covered with white tablecloths. Broad windows provide sweeping, 140-degree views from 17 decks above the sea. (Though it’s labeled the 18th deck. The number 17 is unlucky for Italians as 13 is for others.)

Impeccable Service

The service is at a level you’d expect in a restaurant hungry for a Michelin star. Menus are opened in front of you, and napkins are laid on your lap. Silverware is refreshed between courses. Crumbs are run discreetly away. Water and bread service is always at the elbow.

The servers, like all cruise lines’ delightfully international crew, were cheerfully frank in making recommendations on which selections to make.

They got to know us over the course of the week, inquiring about Pam for two days after I showed up solo one night, reporting she was a bit woozy from rough seas. The sommelier (of course, there was a sommelier) got to know our wine selections and made pairing recommendations.

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Drinks On Board

Speaking of drinking, this is one area where the Yacht Club falls short. The by-the-glass wines are fine but mostly mass-produced (they do a lot of business with Robert Mondavi).

Pam’s go-to became the worthy Cotes de Rosé, and I discovered a Chilean carménère, a dense, spicy red that had none of the vices of the Mondavi Cab on offer. Bottle offerings, for which there is an extra charge, are better.

Spirits included some premium brands like Hendrick’s Gin and Martell Cognac. But the only vermouths were middling Martini & Rossi, and the rarest bourbon I could spot on the shelves was Maker’s Mark.

The bar staff could use some rigorous training: One martini I ordered came back with the addition of lemon juice and five olives rolling around in the bottom of the glass. Another time, when the bartender couldn’t find the Plymouth gin I’d spotted in a different Yacht Club bar, he sent out a vodka martini instead.

I realize this makes me sound like a terrible snob, maybe like one of “those people” the Brooklyn guy in the cold room didn’t want to hang out with.

As a journalist seeking a reality check, I kept asking other Yacht Club guests about their disappointments. They usually came up blank. Maybe a missed turn-down or approaching the concierge desk when a butler couldn’t be found.

Most deferred to contrasting the experience in the general cruise experience outside the Yacht Club doors. They would recite what became almost a Yacht Club devotion:

“I’ll never go back.”

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Beyond the Yacht Club

On the excursion to Ocean Cay, MSC Cruise’s Bahamian private island/nature preserve, there is a separate Yacht Club beach and restaurant with dedicated service, with a tram to whisk you from the ship to the remote location. The driver beep-beeps others out of the way. One of the people walking along gave us the finger.

We got a cabana for the afternoon on the Yacht Club beach (that requires an extra charge). It had comfy couches, a fan spinning lazily in the ceiling, and a cooler to hold our bottle of rosé.

Carmille, still our butler but now wearing beach khaki shorts and long white socks, brought me whiskey and a luscious burger whose patty was made from brisket, short rib, and chuck. We had a selection of snacks on a small table.

I felt like I’d stumbled into Leonardo DiCaprio’s vacation by mistake.

Third-Party Excursions

Still, at other ports of call, there are no Yacht Club-dedicated excursions, which means you’re subject to the vagaries of big-ship trips, which, as on most cruise lines, are managed by third parties and often not very well.

In Nassau, we took a hot, joyless jeep ride through dense traffic, stopping only for a perfunctory lunch, a small, wet, undescribed, and unimpressive cave, and finally, a beach without towels or umbrellas for an hour. We killed the time at one of the few bars we could find that had air conditioning.

Later, I was told there are plans to develop more exclusive MSC Yacht Club excursions.

Rocking With Gen Pop

With four full days at sea in addition to the port days, the Yacht Club experience did get a bit samey, as the Brits might say. Up and down the same glittery staircase that connects the club’s decks. Similar musicians playing in the evenings in the Top Sail lounge. The same views from the same decks.

This repetition is either something you like or not. Pam loved it. So did many clubbers, who snoozed in the sun or shade on the 19th deck or read their books with a glass of wine in the lounge as Ella Fitzgerald quietly sang. Some even abjured the excursions. But I got a bit itchy.

On Deck Entertainment

To address this First World dilemma, some features of the Meraviglia outside the Yacht Club cocoon may offer an outlet.

There are Broadway-style shows (as a Yacht Clubber, you get escorted to a VIP area; the premium shows in the Carousel theater and impressive Cirque-de-Soleil-style affairs are free to you). There are specialty restaurants, but you’ll pay for them, and they are not cheap. The Butcher’s Cut Meat Palace was excellent; the Ocean Cay seafood restaurant was a disappointment.

Elsewhere on the Meraviglia, there’s a sufficient but crowded gym (the Yacht Club lacks its own), and the thermal spa experience, a reservations-required (free to Clubbers) series of rooms that includes a hot-cold-hot-cold human car wash feature, a salt room, two dry saunas, two steam rooms, two hot tubs of different temperatures, and a bracing cold room.

It’s a corporeal thrill. You can get massages, pedicures, and haircuts for a fee.

Out on the ship’s deck, there’s a walking track. There’s an aquapark at the top for those traveling with kids, and there are kids and teen spaces inside. (They allow kids in the Yacht Club.)

But frankly, it is entirely possible, and for some maybe entirely prudent, to spend all of your time cosseted by the Yacht Club — its comfortable rooms, its persistent calm, its amiable staff, its endless efficiencies, its all-day sweet and savory treats, its afternoon tea.

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The Yacht Club Promise

The implicit bargain of big-ship cruising is you don’t invest much to book your cabin, spend as much as you can bear on extras, and tolerate — or even enjoy — the nutty bustle of bingo, Name That ABBA Tune, daily shopping specials, and that really loud singer on deck six trying to do Simon and Garfunkel.

You agree to withstand the lines and the mass feedings in the name of a budget vacation that exposes you to various ports of call.

The explicit offer of the Yacht Club is you pay more to avoid all that and get the kind of personal attention to your needs that you wish you had in your daily life.

The Meraviglia’s Yacht Club Director Hugh Gibb told me about a British couple bringing their daughters on an MSC Yacht Club cruise. The day after the family disembarked, Gibb got a call from the mother. Apparently, the girls now refused to clear their dinner plates.

“Why can’t we have a butler at home?” they wailed.

When Pam and I got home, we knew how they felt.

Author Bio: Craig Stoltz, former travel editor of the Washington Post, is a freelance journalist specializing in travel, food, and drink. He’s previously written for GoWorld Travel on 1 Hotels, the quiet side of Barbados, and the Spanish missions of San Antonio.