Do you get pleasure from massive cruise ships however nonetheless wish to really feel such as you’re within the lap of luxurious? Passengers booked in MSC Cruises’ Yacht Membership cabins and suites have entry to high-end facilities – each on the ship and off.
Butlers, unique eating and a personal pool delight company on board, however perks additionally await on MSC’s non-public island, Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, within the Bahamas. You possibly can anticipate devoted trams, towel service and an opportunity to e-book the nicest cabanas on the island, amongst different extras.
Learn on to learn how the MSC Yacht Membership Ocean Cay expertise differs from that of the typical cruiser.
For extra cruise guides, information and suggestions, join TPG’s cruise publication.
MSC Ocean Cay Yacht Membership seashores vs. common seashores
There, use of lounge chairs and umbrellas is free. Chairs on the different seashores are additionally free and out there on a first-come, first-served foundation; nonetheless, umbrellas include an additional price.
Passengers should signal out towels on board the ship earlier than heading ashore to Ocean Cay’s primary seashores. Yacht Membership passengers can skip that problem and ask for towels on the towel tent discovered on Ocean Home Seashore.
Apparently, I discovered that a number of of the general public seashores had been much less crowded than Ocean Home Seashore. On the latter, chairs had been positioned far more intently to 1 one other. When you’re keen to stroll or hitch a trip on one of many island’s trams, you will discover fewer crowds on the farther seashores than if you happen to stick near the ship.
MSC Ocean Cay Yacht Membership meals vs. common eating
Free lunch is included for all cruisers who go to Ocean Cay. For Yacht Membership vacationers, the Ocean Home Restaurant — an unique waiter-served eating venue the place passengers get pleasure from their meals on a shaded porch — exudes upscale seashore vibes.
Each day Publication
Reward your inbox with the TPG Each day publication
Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists
Throughout my go to, the menu included starters like crab ceviche, charred octopus and a salad with romaine, tomatoes, jicama, a poached egg and candied bacon in a citrus dressing. Mains featured regionally sourced blackened mahi-mahi, lobster roll, carne asada, a grilled portobello mushroom sandwich and top-of-the-line burgers I’ve ever tasted throughout a cruise — a mix of Angus chuck, brief ribs and grilled brisket with crimson onion jam and Monterey Jack cheese. Desserts consisted of creme caramel, mango cheesecake and chocolate cake with espresso sauce.
The meals at Ocean Home are undoubtedly superior to the fare discovered on the Seakers buffet, which is the place cruisers not staying within the Yacht Membership can go for a seashore barbecue that serves sizzling canine, hamburgers, hen, macaroni and cheese, crimson beans, roasted potatoes and a slew of salads, drinks and desserts.
The meals is tasty, however strains will be lengthy. An alternate is to move to one among a number of meals vans all through the island. Some are free and dole out the identical objects provided on the buffet however with shorter strains. Others promote totally totally different menu objects — lobster grilled cheese, fried calamari, shrimp with watermelon, Caribbean ceviche and octopus salad — with the price charged to cruisers’ onboard accounts.
Moreover — and likewise for an additional charge — a stand close to the ship affords specialty espresso and ice cream. (When you’re a espresso lover, belief me after I say you will not wish to miss the Coco-Nilla Latte.)
MSC Ocean Cay Yacht Membership cabanas vs. common cabanas
There are three kinds of cabanas on Ocean Cay: Ocean Cay Seashore Cabanas, Ocean View Yacht Membership Cabanas and Beachfront Yacht Membership Cabanas. All three sorts can be found on a first-come, first-served foundation.
They will maintain as much as six folks every and embody chilly water, seashore towels and chairs, in addition to floating mats to be used within the water. As the costs improve, so does the variety of inclusions. The final two sorts are solely out there for reserving by Yacht Membership passengers.
Ocean Cay Seashore Cabanas, discovered on South Seashore, North Seashore and Bimini Seashore, are probably the most inexpensive on the island at $250 for the day. They have partitions on three sides, they usually’re outfitted with cushioned couches. They embody the essential facilities talked about above, and anybody can hire them.
Subsequent up are the Ocean View Yacht Membership Cabanas, which price $400 for the day and likewise entitle you to free lunch and drinks, in addition to contemporary fruit skewers, 4 units of snorkel gear and 4 floating mats. They’re discovered on the Yacht Membership’s non-public Ocean Home Seashore, in order that they’re off-limits to non-Yacht Membership company.
The costliest, nonetheless, are the Beachfront Yacht Membership Cabanas, situated in a distinct part of the Ocean Home space. They carry a $450 price ticket however provide all the identical extras as Ocean View Yacht Membership Cabanas.
The draw? They’re nearer to the water and, subsequently, have higher views. Though they don’t seem to be on the principle a part of Ocean Home Seashore, they’re nonetheless within the unique space, close to the restaurant, so you do not have to go far to seize meals.
In the end, the one factor being within the Yacht Membership affords you on this case is the choice to e-book dearer cabanas.
MSC Ocean Cay Yacht Membership trams vs. common trams
At 95 acres, Ocean Cay is sizable. When you’re match, you’ll be able to stroll from one finish to the opposite in about quarter-hour, but when you do not have nice mobility or if you happen to’re simply overheated, reaching a few of the island’s extra distant seashores will be troublesome on foot. That is why MSC affords tram shuttles.
Passengers in normal cabins will discover tram stops with shaded ready areas all through the island. Nevertheless, waits will be lengthy, particularly if many different persons are additionally in want of a elevate.
Yacht Membership cruisers can reap the benefits of trams completely for the Yacht Membership. They run between a particular tent (with free chilly water to sip whilst you wait) arrange simply inside the doorway to Ocean Cay and the Ocean Home seashore and restaurant space.
You can also make particular requests for stops, which the common trams normally will not accommodate. For instance, you would possibly ask to go straight from the tent to South Seashore for a volleyball recreation with out stopping wherever else first.
MSC Ocean Cay Yacht Membership actions vs. common actions
That is the one class the place the island’s public areas beat the Ocean Home space by a mile. When you’re on the lookout for one thing to do aside from consuming, ingesting or lazing by the seashore, you will have to move again towards the ship as a result of there’s not a lot occurring within the unique areas.
Every part from massages, lighthouse excursions and water sports activities gear leases to seashore events, volleyball video games and shore excursions takes place elsewhere. Nevertheless, maybe that is by design. The Yacht Membership is usually quiet, even on board, and the road seemingly prefers to maintain the raucousness to different places.
Backside line
The MSC Yacht Membership expertise is extra unique than the usual one at Ocean Cay, with extras like butler service, devoted trams, towel service, entry to pricier cabanas and a personal seashore and restaurant with higher meals and shorter waits.
Nevertheless, all the motion — shore excursions, pickup volleyball video games, seashore events, the lighthouse present — occurs within the areas which are accessible to everybody, which considerably ranges the taking part in subject.
Moreover, objects like specialty espresso, ice cream and for-fee meals truck orders price further for everybody — even Yacht Membership passengers.
Total, Ocean Cay affords an important day for anybody who enjoys the seashore, no matter cabin sort.
Planning a cruise? Begin with these tales:
