Tag Archives: Yacht Club

MSC Cruises USA sweetens inclusives for wave promotion

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MSC Cruises USA kicked off wave season by adding perks including up to $200 in shipboard credits, beverage packages and reduced deposits to its ‘Inclusive Experiences’ pricing categories. Plus, kids 11 and under sail free on all applicable wave season bookings.

Value-added benefits are based on the Inclusive Experience category and stateroom selected.

Among the benefits for the Bella Experience are up to $50 to spend on board and reduced deposits of $100 per person for ocean-view and balcony staterooms.

For Fantastica Experience pricing, ocean-view and balcony staterooms receive up to $100 per room to spend on board, reduced deposits of $100 per person, and a drinks package consisting of 12 vouchers per person for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

In addition, Fantastica Experience customers always receive a premium location stateroom, priority choice of early or late dining, 50% off all fitness classes and personal training, free room service delivery between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. and enhanced recreational activities for children including cooking and foreign language classes.

Aurea Experience and MSC Yacht Club passengers in balcony staterooms and suites receive up to $200 per room to spend on board and reduced deposits of $100 per person.

In addition, Aurea Experience passengers always receive ‘My Choice Dining’ flexible times, priority boarding, an all-inclusive beverage package, a spa package, access to the exclusive adults-only Top 18 sun deck and all the perks associated with the Fantastica Experience.

MSC Yacht Club passengers always get an all-inclusive VIP club level experience with priority check-in and check-out, butler service, dedicated 24-hour concierge, exclusive Top Sail lounge and pool, 24/7 complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages available within the Yacht Club area and a private MSC Yacht Club restaurant.

The wave season promotion applies to select Caribbean, Bermuda, Europe, Canary Islands and trans-Atlantic ‘grand voyages’ that are five days or longer and booked between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15.

In addition, MSC Cruises USA is extending its 18% flat commission for all 2015 and 2016 Caribbean group bookings on MSC Divina to Jan. 31, 2015.

MSC Cruises USA’s Rick Sasso

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MSC Cruises USA’s Rick Sasso

By Tom Stieghorst
Rick SassoRick Sasso was appointed president of MSC Cruises USA in 2004. Earlier this month he spoke about MSC and its 3,502-passenger MSC Divina’s year-round presence in North America with cruise editor Tom Stieghorst. 

Q: Can the importance to MSC of homeporting Divina in Miami be overstated?

A: We’ve been gearing up for this for about a decade now as we started to introduce ships during the winter season only. Now we’ve made that decision to position our strongest hardware, a remarkable ship, and she’ll be very competitive here in this market. 

Q: How have agents reacted to the Divina?

A: We’ve just recently concluded an advisory board meeting, which represents about 80% of the cruise traffic that gets produced here in North America, and these very select, high-profile sellers of travel are very enthusiastic with us. They have offered their fullest support knowing that we’re bringing such a magnificent ship and we’re going to be here with some continuity. 

Q: What type of agents are you focusing on the most?

A: You have to have more than one front. You have to make sure you’re with the online producers, because that’s what the consumers are using very frequently to search for cruises, to book cruises. So you have to have your hand very tight on the big online guys. But there’s also a lot of opportunity in the group arena and the retail arena. We have done a good job penetrating the likely producers of groups and those who are looking for magnificent ships in the premium-plus category, and even those who want a luxury component, because we have Yacht Club on the Divina, as we do on the other three ships that also feature the Yacht Club. So I think we’re now able to set up a little more penetration for those who are looking for a very high-quality product. 

Q: Agents say they have to focus their business, and that means selling the cruise lines that have a big presence in North America. Your response?

A: I don’t think that’s something unusual. When you have the gorillas in the marketplace that have dozens of ships in one marketplace like North America year-round, there’s certainly a lot activity going on and a lot of relationships. But we offer an extraordinary alternative, because we are a serious group of managers, there’s incredible talent in our organization, so they like working with people they can trust. They also know that we are growing, that we have a presence in Europe, we’re the No. 1 cruise line in the Mediterranean in Europe. And that alone is a lot of source [business] in North America that’s going on for those products. 

Q: A travel agent said, “I did send some of my clients over on MSC and they came back and said, ‘This isn’t our cup of tea.'”

A: I think that was probably very, very true three years ago, not so true two years ago and a lot less a year ago, and today we have taken the steps to actually re-engineer the product. So there’s very few places to smoke on board. There is a very strong emphasis on all the culinary items that an American would want, whether they’re cruising in Europe or cruising in the Caribbean. We’ve super-trained our crew in fluent English, there is an abundance of TV channels in the cabins, and we really take quality and service as a main priority now. 

So I think we are a different cruise line than we were 12 months ago, and if you have some comments of a historical perspective, they can now start seeing the new MSC. And [after] Divina comes on Nov. 20, people are going to start talking about that

Yacht Club, infinity pool among MSC Divina’s standout features

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Yacht Club, infinity pool among MSC Divina’s standout features

By Tom Stieghorst
MSC Divina infinity poolONBOARD THE MSC DIVINA — With the introduction of the Divina, MSC Cruises continues its steady progress toward creating a cruise brand that Americans can embrace.

The MSC Divina, a 3,502-passenger ship, has checked all the boxes that apply to the large-ship category, from adults-only areas to kids’ facilities, specialty dining areas and varied entertainment.

Plus, there are a few features on MSC Divina that should help it stand out from the crowd.

Its infinity pool on Deck 15 aft is one of the first applications of that resort standby to show up at sea.

The ship’s Formula One auto-racing simulator generated buzz among passengers on a three-night preview cruise from Miami.

And the MSC Yacht Club gives the ship a toehold in the upper-premium segment.

The Yacht Club is MSC’s version of a special-access premium section, first rendered by Norwegian Cruise Line with its Haven area.

On the Divina, it includes 69 cabins and suites, each measuring 295 to 562 square feet; a 30-seat private restaurant, Le Muse; a 141-seat lounge; and a separate pool, pool bar and concierge desk.

The color scheme for the Yacht Club was brown, beige and rust, one of two palates that describe most areas on the ship. The other scheme is black, white, gray, silver and red, with a bias toward smooth, reflective surfaces. Both seem a little dark for a ship that will be doing year-round, seven-night Caribbean itineraries.

MSCDivina-SophiaLorenSuiteBut Rick Sasso, president of MSC Cruises USA, said color schemes are “always a matter of taste. We tend to focus on the tones that blend everywhere, so you don’t have dramatic differences.”

More than colors, Sasso said he obsesses about service, which in the past has been panned by some American guests as underwhelming. The Italian staff on Divina is joined by the typical international crew complement hailing from Indonesia to South Africa.

There was general agreement among those onboard that MSC has made strides with the Divina. Kris Kerns, a CruiseOne agent from Palm Harbor, Fla., said she liked the food, and that the buffet restaurants Calumet and Manitou are notably spacious.

The Eataly on the Divina is a fraction of the size of the extravaganzas in New York and Chicago, but it nevertheless offers a selection of genuine Italian goods in a market nook and scrumptious dishes in the restaurant.

The “Pirates” evening show in the main theater was a fast-paced mix of acrobatics, juggling, contortion, tumbling, magic tricks, and gymnastics.

A collection of 84 giant black-and-white prints of the Italian celebrity scene of the 1950s, including such cinema notables as Brigitte Bardot and Marcello Mastroianni, decorates the ship and gives its Italian theme a nice boost.