New to MSC

[Gordoncruickshank]

We have booked our first MSC for October this year. We are on the Preziosa in the Yacht Club out of Barcelona. We have flights booked from the UK the day before and the day after the end of the cruise. We are travelling wit another couple who are also in the YC.

 

We are not new to cruising, we have done the last 20 cruises with Celebrity and another 8 before then and probably the last 12 in some sort of suite.

 

We thought we would try MSC as their pricing compared to a suite on Celebrity is night and day. 

 

Does anyone have any advice or tips for us?

I think MSC still have formal nights. Am I correct in that and if so, how many would be on a 9 night cruise?

 

[emmas gran]

Hi

welcome to MSC, another X cruiser trying YC I do recognise your name from Celebrity boards. We did 2 weeks on Preziosa Jan/Feb this year in the Caribbean and MSC is a lot less formal than X, I love the YC and all it gives us as no chair hogs lots of space on the One Pool deck.We have also done 4 weeks Dubai to Tokyo on YC

It is very nice being looked after as unlike Michaels Club there is plenty of room in the lounge area. The butlers offer a great service, however we have found the food not to be up to Blu or Luminae levels. Hopefully this will change soon with the new head of F&B coming from Celebrity.

 

Prices for YC have increased considerably recently maybe due to the status match they run, as Elite Plus we got the top level Black Card.  Voyagers Club give 5% discount on your cruise .

 

There are others who will be able to give you advice, my last X cruise was B2B on Equinox last October/Nov with Capt Kate and Jill was HD (Jill has joined Virgin cruises so I have read)

Liz

Edited June 26, 2019 by emmas gran
Addition

[Beamafar]

The last time we did a 9 night cruise (late 2017) there were 3 'Elegant' nights.

[mickey89]

We also experienced Preziosa for the first time last February, 14 nights flying Gatwick to Barbados with no sea days in their yacht club. We experienced many X cruises probably our last and final X Cruise was Silhouette in Dec 18.  

 

Many people comment that MSC is a glorified ferry service in that they pick up and drop off their Passengers at almost every port. In the Caribbean they had 3 turnaround ports, believe the Med cruises are operated in a similar fashion. The only problem was the constant Muster drills with their dreaded multi language announcements, on the plus side you don’t get the typical embarkation day that you probably experienced on X. The yacht club is definitely better than anything available on Celebrity S class ships and the YC included drinks is significantly better than the Premium Celebrity drinks pkg.

The Top Sail lounge on Preziosa is fabulous and had no smoking in the Caribbean, not sure if they apply the same rule during Med cruises, maybe others can comment.

The One Pool is a sanctuary, plenty of sun loungers (no cushions), very quiet with no drumming music or silly pool games. Again the only negative is that there is little or no shade which we found disappointing.  Their operate a self service breakfast and limited lunch facility from the One Pool bar area which has tables with parasol cover.

Your Preziosa deluxe YC1 cabins are not of a similar size to what you experienced on X, the cabins are more similar to normal X balcony cabins but fixtures are of better quality.

 

You probably realise that the Preziosa YC dining room is the other end of the ship, that’s a big disadvantage as it’s a really long trek in the evening, their newer ships are better designed. We found the food to be more variety than X and when we didn’t like the menu offerings the Maitre’d went out of the way to provide alternatives. The main disappointments was the One Pool lunch - really second rate, better to take the walk to the restaurant which is open for all meals whether at sea or in port unlike X.

 

Goto Youtube, plenty of videos to explain most things..........

Edited June 26, 2019 by mickey89

[hamrag]

6 hours ago, Gordoncruickshank said:

......Does anyone have any advice or tips for us?

I think MSC still have formal nights. Am I correct in that and if so, how many would be on a 9 night cruise?

 

 

You  will not need to rush off on disembarkation day and, by arrangement with the Head Butler or YC Director, will be allowed to stay onboard until up to 2 hours before the ship departs from Barcelona. That includes meals, snacks and drinks right up until you disembark!

 

MSC do not have formal nights as such, rather elegant nights where some dress up in semi-formal gear. Most don't, so you will not look out of place either way. Preziosa is a fantastic ship, we sailed YC in the Caribbean earlier this year.

[mickey89]

If you prefer a shower to a bath you maybe disappointed.  On Preziosa the shower is above the bath with a smallish glass screen which is inadequate to contain the shower spray. The wardrobe is a walk-in style, plenty of storage space with many mirrors.

MSC love mirrors, they are everywhere..........

[Gordoncruickshank]

Can I thank you all for the replies which are very helpful. 

 

It will be different for us having sailed exclusively Celebrity for around 7 years and done around 3 cruises a year but often a change gives the opportunity to see what else is available. 

 

I had been looking at what cruises were available in 2020, although we are all booked up with cruises up to Spring 2021, and it looks like MSC do not do much in the Med that is longer than 7 nights and pricing looks a bit higher than what we paid for this cruise. Is that what everyone is finding?

 

We do prefer a proper enclosed shower rather than the in bath ones that are in the Celebrity Sky and Celebrity Suites which feel quite dangerous if the ship is moving in poor weather but we will cope with whatever is there. Getting some practice in late next month with a two week spell in Gran Canaria which has the same sort of shower arrangement.  

[Epos Man]

MSC in the med is nearly always 7nights as the way they operate is to drop off and pick up at the shore stops.

 

So for instance a cruise will start at Barcelona and finish at Barcelona but if you wanted to board at say Genoa you could do and you would get off at Genoa.

 

The pricing for a 7 night can change at each port due to the port charges

[Chade5772]

We just sailed on  the Bellissima in June. We have cruised Celebrity many times, but the price difference pushed us into the YC with zero regrets. I know food is subjective, but the food on X is better. We are foodies, but the YC and specialty restaurants were good, and kept us very happy. The service and overall experience beat X’s suite service more than X beat MSC’s food. The overall YC experience was the best overall service we have had on a cruise. So much so we booked a 14 day in 2020. Looking outside the YC...imo, it would not be a very good cruise. Would not consider this outside the YC especially if you are a former X cruiser. 

[Beamafar]

1 hour ago, Chade5772 said:

 ...The service and overall experience beat X’s suite service more than X beat MSC’s food. The overall YC experience was the best overall service we have had on a cruise. 

 

Couldn't agree more!  We were extremely disappointed with our 'Suite' experience on X (as well as the overall cruise - couldn't wait to get back onboard an MSC ship after it!).

[Haworth]

We switched to MSC YC about 3 years ago and it is still an excellent product for all the reasons given above, If the weather is good we like the stroll on deck and back to the restaurant, generally before we go we get the concierge to call and check that they have a table free and ready and then wander down.

 

Enjoy, I m sure you will

[Gordoncruickshank]

On 6/29/2019 at 9:02 AM, Beamafar said:

 

Couldn't agree more!  We were extremely disappointed with our 'Suite' experience on X (as well as the overall cruise - couldn't wait to get back onboard an MSC ship after it!).

We have done suites on both Royal Caribbean and Princess before we found Celebrity and what Celebrity offers suite guests is a huge step up from the others. I am looking forward to trying something new and different.

 

We still have 4 Celebrity cruises and one Azamara (also our first time) booked over the next two years. I suspect that, as we will be almost at Zenith on Celebrity after what we have booked they will retain a good bit of our custom in the future but change is always good.  

[citizenfrank]

On 7/1/2019 at 8:00 AM, Gordoncruickshank said:

We have done suites on both Royal Caribbean and Princess before we found Celebrity and what Celebrity offers suite guests is a huge step up from the others. I am looking forward to trying something new and different.

 

We still have 4 Celebrity cruises and one Azamara (also our first time) booked over the next two years. I suspect that, as we will be almost at Zenith on Celebrity after what we have booked they will retain a good bit of our custom in the future but change is always good.  

I made a similar statement to Mrs Frank recently ...My face is still ...well basically inside out! 😂

 

Enjoy YC and MSC ...you will for sure