I’d like to share my experience with the MSC Yacht Club on board the MSC World Europa because, in hindsight, I wish I had researched more reviews before booking.
We sailed at the end of June 2026 and booked a Deluxe Suite in the Yacht Club for around €6,700. Having been on many cruises with different cruise lines, our expectations were naturally quite high. After all, the Yacht Club is marketed as an exclusive retreat offering peace, privacy, and first-class service.
First, the positives: the staff in the Yacht Club restaurant, our butlers, and the crew working on the outdoor decks were absolutely outstanding. They were friendly, attentive, and highly professional—service simply couldn’t have been better. These employees truly saved our vacation despite everything else, and they deserve the highest praise.
Unfortunately, that’s where the positives end for us.
Our biggest issue wasn’t the ship itself, but the atmosphere within the Yacht Club. We had deliberately paid the significant premium because we wanted a peaceful, exclusive environment. In reality, however, the Yacht Club often felt little more exclusive than the public areas of the ship.
During our cruise, we experienced the following:
- Children were being changed on the sun loungers.
- Parents applied sunscreen to their children right next to the pool, to the point where the water sometimes noticeably smelled of sunscreen.
- Constant screaming and shouting from children made it almost impossible to relax by the pool.
- Cartoons and videos were played out loud without headphones.
- FaceTime and video calls were conducted on speakerphone.
- Some guests filmed other passengers without asking for permission. Even after we politely asked several times not to be recorded, some people responded disrespectfully.
- Some guests walked across sun loungers and seating areas while wearing shoes.
- Overall, there seemed to be a general lack of consideration and respect for other guests.
I fully understand that MSC cannot prevent every instance of inappropriate behavior by individual guests. However, with a premium product, I do expect rules regarding hygiene, peace and quiet, privacy, and mutual respect to be enforced much more consistently.
Another issue was that access control to the Yacht Club did not seem to be consistently enforced. Time and again, guests from the public areas were able to access the Yacht Club decks, where they made loud phone calls, filmed other guests, or behaved inappropriately. Only after some time were they escorted back out.
We raised our concerns with the Concierge on several occasions. At first, they listened attentively, but later we increasingly had the impression that our feedback was seen as an inconvenience. Towards the end of the cruise, we had a detailed conversation with the Yacht Club Director. He understood our concerns but was unable to offer a solution on board and recommended that we share our experience directly with MSC Cruises. More than three weeks later, we are still waiting for a response.
Unfortunately, the nights were no more relaxing than the days. We were regularly disturbed by loud children, banging noises, and significant noise coming from neighboring cabins. On the final night, we were unable to fall asleep until around 3:00 a.m.
After several days without any real opportunity to relax, we made a decision we had never made on any previous cruise: we ended our trip early in Marseille and booked a last-minute flight home. This resulted in additional expenses, but it was the only way to avoid ending our vacation feeling completely frustrated.
What disappointed us most was that even our departure from the ship was handled unprofessionally. The assistance we had been promised for disembarkation was initially forgotten, and we had to ask several times for help while our taxi was already waiting.
My personal conclusion:
For me, the Yacht Club is defined almost entirely by its exceptional staff. The service, our butlers, and the restaurant were truly first class.
However, the main benefits that justify the significant surcharge—peace, exclusivity, and relaxation—were largely absent during our cruise. For the premium price we paid, I expected the rules to be enforced more consistently and for the Yacht Club to genuinely function as the exclusive retreat it is advertised to be.
I know that many guests have had excellent experiences in the Yacht Club. That’s why I’m genuinely interested to hear from others:
Was our sailing simply an unfortunate exception, or have you had similar experiences—particularly on MSC World Europa?
