CruisinShips

For me, it's like thinking of someone who has never driven a luxury vehicle. You're fine with what you are used to driving, but once you sit inside that plush leather vehicle with all the bells and whistles and the smooth, quiet ride, you aren't quite as excited to get back into your older Toyota.

We made the "mistake" of sailing in suites years back, and I just haven't been able get myself to not book one since. I agree with others who say the Edge class ships really do provide a pretty elevated experience all around, but we love Luminae, enjoy the relative quiet of the Retreat Lounge, and the location and overall feel of the Retreat Pool Deck.  The butler service is also nice as you have pretty much ultimate flexibility on booking and changing reservations, and the Retreat staff is typically pretty amazing.

But if those things aren't a big deal to you...then give the Beyond a shot without it.

23 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

If you havent got an email about moving up yet  

you probably wouldn’t get one 

we just got our email and our sailing is Nov 21 

I have had a couple of bids in place for a while.  Just wondering if there is still a chance for one to be accepted if the ship shows no cabins available.

Is it a pretty safe bet that there won't be any MoveUp upgrades coming?  Or do they hold back some suites so they can maneuver some upgrades around?  Does anyone have any insight into this? 

15 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

I mean no disrespect towards the OP, it just seems that indirectly asking for a brand you like on the forums is pointless.  Email the exec offices which is probably just as pointless.  They already use vitamin water as it's under the Coca-Cola umbrella and therefore is probably a very cheap option for them

 

Did you read my initial post (or any subsequent posts) that I asked X for the brand?  I'm pretty sure I simply asked if anyone has seen any on the ships.  I don't care enough (nor am I arrogant or entitled enough) to reach out to Celebrity and ask them to provide it if they don't already. FWIW it pretty much sells out of my Publix constantly and over the past year as it's popularity has really grown....so I thought I'd check before our upcoming cruise.

51 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 What do you like about hint that you don’t like about other flavored waters?

Not that I have tried too many other brands, but it’s just more subtle and less artificial tasting than anything else I’ve tried. 

1 minute ago, OrtonPark said:

I thought Hint Water might be a person 🤣

Starting quarterback for Northwest Minnesota Tech State University.

13 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Hint is primarily based on a monthly subscription model and uses fancy marketing (which you pay for)

 

Far cheaper zero sugar/sweetener/calorie alternatives exist and therefore would guess X would go for the less pricy option

Personally not a fan of carbonated water.  And you can get Hint by the 12 pack on Amazon (non-subscription)

1 minute ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Have you heard if X will be providing Hint Water or wishful thinking that they do?

Just the latter.  They carry Vitamin Water, so I was just hopeful they would expand to that as Hint gets more popular.

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

Is that when the bartender hints you might want a water instead of another double? 
 

Honestly, I haven’t heard of hint water..

Funny.  Highly recommend.  No calories, no artificial sweetener.  

Perhaps not the most important post ever made here, I know.

With all due respect to Laura, so many of these responses are coming across as patronizingly empty.  I know it's obviously not an option to answer a question like this one with something more direct like "because we need to focus on our bottom line and we are betting on enough people still paying the outrageous prices regardless".  Sadly, I have been one of them...but with a typical 7 day standard Caribbean cruise in a Celebrity Suite now coming out to around $14,000 for a couple, plus gratuities and in person tips...we are re-evaluating our future plans rather than continuing our 2 or 3 such cruises a year.

Many of us are just hoping the "because we can" business mentality will hopefully have a reasonably short shelf-life, and the cruise line will realize the pricing is short-sighted.  That's my hope, anyway.

FWIW, we sailed on the Apex for the first time in February, and while on board, booked the same cabin for the same time next year.  Great ship and crew!

4 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Google is your friend!

 

A few weeks ago, my stepdaughter called in a panic that, while driving, that notification popped up on her phone.  She was (understandably) very freaked out.  She has two small children and was in a panic.  They scoured her car and found nothing.  Finally, they opened the baby stroller and found that my wife (her mom) had left her wallet in a pocket in the stroller earlier that day (she keeps one in her wallet).

16 minutes ago, di T said:

That’s great! Did you have your status match when you booked? 

I did not.  I believe the status match page asked for a booking number of a future or past MSC cruise.  So I booked the cruise, signed up for the status match, and then handed it to my travel agent and he called about the status match discount.

FWIW, my TA just notified me that MCS gave me a 5% discount based on my status match (Gold) on a 7 night YC booking.

Hi all.  We just booked our first MSC cruise.  I completed the status match application and (quickly) got back confirmation that I am deemed Gold level.  My question is this:  Do I have to do the same thing for my wife?  Or is there a way to link status between members (she has not yet signed up for Voyagers Club), or does it not really matter if she has status match since we cruise together?

Thanks in advance!

I just watched a good review of the Beyond (non Retreat) from a you tube channel called Cruise News and Booze.  You may want to check it out.

6 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

We have not yet tried MSC Yacht Club but tempted to follow the crowd at some point.

 

We have done a Crown Loft suite twice on Royal on Oasis-Class ships (Symphony and Harmony).  It might be a consideration.  They are in a small enclave deck (17) just with other CL suites.  Just down the hall on 17 is the Coastal Kitchen suite restaurant and the Suite Lounge.  But to get to the Suite Sun Deck you need to go down a deck and cross over.  

We too have stayed in Crown Loft suites...rear facing ones on the Oasis, Allure and Symphony, and liked them very much.  I agree the 17th floor being suites only with the Coastal Kitchen/Lounge is a very good setup. We could easily do without the butler we enjoy in the Retreat, the a CL was exactly where I was leaning before this thread convinced me to try MSC YC.

That being said, a week cruise in a CL is no great bargain either....

4 minutes ago, italnsd said:

It does indeed takes time to press repeatedly the Source button on the side of the TV to go from the input selected by the last passenger to the one where the standard cruise programs are. A highly technical task that cannot be left to the cleaning crew. Especially in these old models that used to cycle through all the inputs and not just the active ones. Much better to deactivate the Source button and stimulate the passengers' fantasy in cooking up alternative solutions whose inventiveness, I am sure, will never tire IT personnel.

I can't believe you're not satisfied with one or two news stations, some form of ESPN that shows sporting events one never knew existed, a channel or two that show nonstop cartoons, an onboard infomercial, or the view of the ocean ahead.  What more do you need?

I was on the Eclipse last October (west coast) and the wifi was so bad, nothing would stream.  Hopefully that had to do with cabin location, ship location, or both.

21 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

I do hope that MSC YC at least meets your expectations (or even exceeds them).   Which ship did you book?

Thank you.  We booked the Seascape.

So, since starting this thread, we have booked a cruise on MSC YC.  I will say we have absolutely LOVED our two prior Retreat experiences...first was the Eclipse last October, and then that experience was eclipsed by an absolutely wonderful cruise in a CS on the Apex in February.  We enjoyed that one so much that we booked the same cabin on the same ship for February of next year.  So while we now have two Retreat cruises booked, the pricing and the reviews I have read right here in this thread have motivated me to try MSC.

I agree with many others...we live in South Florida and really love the convenience of Caribbean cruises, so the ship is more important to us than the ports...that's why the smaller ships just aren't appealing for those itineraries.

Anyway...this has been a VERY enlightening discussion, and I sincerely appreciate all of the great feedback so many have provided.

I've had some real frustration with the online Status Match form page. 

#1 it requires you to upload a "membership card" from the other loyalty club...I am not sure about anyone else, but I don't have a membership card from Royal or Celebrity;

#2 To get around that, I uploaded a screen cap of my loyalty number and status from Celebrity.  When I finally got that finished, and hit confirm to submit the completed page, I got an error message.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar, and do I need to call them?

Thanks

9 minutes ago, voyager1964 said:

Suggest asking this question on NCL board - you will be surprised how they assess the Retreat

Can’t you save me the trouble please….how would they assess the Retreat?

13 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

He was being tongue-in-cheek.  The point being that the less people know how good YC is, the less chance that prices will rise along with the increased demand.  

OK...I deserve to be smacked for missing that.