WHO can compare MSC YC with Celebrity „The Retreat“?

[paddy1112]

Hi

We are looking for alternatives for MSC YachtClub. Not in general but for alternative routes.

Can people done  both please comment on pros and cons compared to YC

 

Cheers Patrick  

[Fredrik]

2 hours ago, paddy1112 said:

Hi

We are looking for alternatives for MSC YachtClub. Not in general but for alternative routes.

Can people done  both please comment on pros and cons compared to YC

 

Cheers Patrick  

I think the biggest difference having done both is on MSC you have a very upscale experience that is paired with a very low end basic experience. On Celebrity you have an upscale experience on a ship that is mass market luxury. The bubble at MSC is great but leaving the bubble is somewhere between Carnival and NCL. The question is how much time you want in the bubble? On our recent cruise Celebrity Retreat was twice as much as YC. If you can afford it I would go Celebrity Retreat any day. Food is way better.

[morpheusofthesea]

We absolutely love the pre-covid "bubble" of the YC. We enjoy the short ventures from the confines of the YC and appreciate returning to its luxury. However, we  decided that for the rest of this year we are in the Retreat. Should Celebrity change to masks we will cancel and wait it out. Had a butler on the Edge last month that was comparable to butler on Seaside. Food wise we love both MSC and Luminae. Sailing today in Retreat Equinox in 3 weeks Edge  Retreat again and God willing in 6 weeks Edge  Retreat a third time. All were YC.

[Two Wheels Only]

The ships designed with The Retreat in mind (EDGE and newer) are better than the ships that added The Retreat later (Millennium, Equinox, etc.).

[morpheusofthesea]

15 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

The ships designed with The Retreat in mind (EDGE and newer) are better than the ships that added The Retreat later (Millennium, Equinox, etc.).

"Better".....???? Each has its own 'je ne sais quoi'. But I defer to you. You are the most helpful and knowlegeable poster on cc boards.

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

You are the most helpful and knowlegeable poster on cc boards.

 

I learn more from others here on CC than I give. 😉

 

After seeing The Retreat on EDGE, I wouldn't do The Retreat on the older ships. 

 

With NCL, I wouldn't do the Haven on any ship older than Epic.

 

With MSC, I wouldn't do Yacht Club on any ship older than Meraviglia.

 

I guess I like that new car (ship?) smell.

[Germancruiser]

Very interessting reads- as I have just booked my very first MSC cruise in YC. I expected that after leaving the YC to explore the whole ship I will find myself in the midst of a circus. Anyhow- I am very much looking forward to my YC experience. Also will explore the whole ship- esp. since the new ships - Seaside and younger have reintroduced the Prommenade Deck and even enhanced it.

I am planing to spend a lot of time on said Prommenade Deck enjoying the closeness to the sea.

[morpheusofthesea]

On 8/6/2021 at 8:39 PM, Two Wheels Only said:

After seeing The Retreat on EDGE, I wouldn't do The Retreat on the older ships. 

Got off the Edge Retreat July 3,2021 Sailing and then Equinox Retreat Aug 1 2021 Sailing. Most notable differences and similarities. Sun decks are the same, NO shade. Luminae more space between tables on Equinox 4 to 6 feet, while on the Edge 5 to 6 inches. Already pre-booked on Edge again, Sept and Oct 2021, but trying to waitlist the Equinox again for Thanksgiving in lieu of the Reflection which might or might not yet sail as Equinox is a sure thing and we enjoyed the Retreat Luminae spacing better.

   New is new, but older has its own charm.

Edited August 10, 2021 by morpheusofthesea
added thought

[paddy1112]

Thanks for the replys

As MSC has changed our booked October 2022 cruise to an itinerary we do not want to do we will try the Retreat on the Edge instead.

 

Edited October 8, 2021 by paddy1112
spelling error

[morpheusofthesea]

10 minutes ago, paddy1112 said:

Thanks for the replys

As MSC has changed our booked October 2022 cruise to an itinerary we do not want to do we will try the Retreat on the Edge instead.

 

This photo was taken this morning of the MSC Meraviglia sailing in besides us on the Celebrity Edge. We do not bother anymore with itinerary. We appreciate more the safer, mask free, sailing of Celebrity. Presently in the Royal Suite on Edge, but appreciate much more the spaciousness of the Royal Suite on Seaside (as well as price). Your priority presently is itinerary, ours is maskless cruising. We are booked on the Seashore in both (but not the same time)  the OS and RS, one week at a time, for 7 sailings and will change back to Celebrity should the mask wearing continue for those sailings in 2022. The rest of this year is Celebrity.

[morpheusofthesea]

Coincidently, DW just came back to the cabin. (She loves MSC YC). She just reported that from her spying on the Meraviglia in port along side us is providing their YC guests golf cart service so they do not have to walk the short distance to the end of the pier here in Nassau. 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

For those of us that have not sailed for a long time, something we all took for granted precovid, was the docking of many cruise ships in the same port on the same day. While waiting to disembark from the Edge, our Retreat Host made a profound statement to us about our final day in Nassau the day before. The highlight for the entire staff and crew that day was being in port with two other cruise ships sailing WITH passengers for the first time since the CSO. We were joined by the MSC Merviglia and the Carnival Magic. The only thing I noticed from this event was the ship to ship horn blowing at each other as they departed, completely oblivious of a  kinship and a momentous moment for these rival companies.

Edited October 11, 2021 by morpheusofthesea

[alyssamma]

20 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

For those of us that have not sailed for a long time, something we all took for granted precovid, was the docking of many cruise ships in the same port on the same day. While waiting to disembark from the Edge, our Retreat Host made a profound statement to us about our final day in Nassau the day before. The highlight for the entire staff and crew that day was being in port with two other cruise ships sailing WITH passengers for the first time since the CSO. We were joined by the MSC Merviglia and the Carnival Magic. The only thing I noticed from this event was the ship to ship horn blowing at each other as they departed, completely oblivious of a  kinship and a momentous moment for these rival companies.

LOL, I was in the Yacht Club on Meraviglia last week and saw the Edge docked in Nassau

[kidless]

On 8/6/2021 at 5:08 PM, Fredrik said:

I think the biggest difference having done both is on MSC you have a very upscale experience that is paired with a very low end basic experience. On Celebrity you have an upscale experience on a ship that is mass market luxury.  

We have sailed MSC, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. The few times on Celebrity we did not find it any different then Royal. Ships were prettier but we found no noticeable difference in service or quality. 
 

 

On 8/6/2021 at 6:06 PM, morpheusofthesea said:. Should Celebrity change to masks we will cancel and wait it out. Had a butler on the Edge last month that was comparable to butler on Seaside. Food wise we love both MSC and Luminae. Sailing today in Retreat Equinox in 3 weeks Edge  Retreat again and God willing in 6 weeks Edge  Retreat a third time. All were YC.

I wonder how Celebrity gets away with no masks. We leave in few days for our first post covid cruise. Dread having to put on a mask even to just walk from here to there. Seems so unnecessary since they now require all over 12 be vaccinated. 

[morpheusofthesea]

30 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

LOL, I was in the Yacht Club on Meraviglia last week and saw the Edge docked in Nassau

You, like us, did not realize the effect that day had on the ships and their crews.

[morpheusofthesea]

27 minutes ago, kidless said:

The few times on Celebrity we did not find it any different then Royal. 

Royal is very nice. We sail in suites on both Royal and Celebrity. We enjoy Celebrity more.  Did not appreciate the allowing of "certain people" to bring their emotional support pets into the Coastal Kitchen, even if wheeled in a baby buggy. Did not appreciate having to wait for a table because the non-suite paying Pinnacles were allowed to dine in the exclusive CK reserved for suite guests (and we are early diners). On embarkation day the hallway doors to the cabins are closed as the stewards are preparing the cabins so guests have no way to access their key cards which are needed to access the CK lounge and there are no concierges on duty to gain access to the lounge to wait. Things will have to change at RCL for us to return.

[morpheusofthesea]

I asked DW what other impression of the Coastal Kitchen turned us off to RCL. She immediately said the soiled uniforms of the waiters.

[dexddd]

On 10/8/2021 at 1:20 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

Coincidently, DW just came back to the cabin. (She loves MSC YC). She just reported that from her spying on the Meraviglia in port along side us is providing their YC guests golf cart service so they do not have to walk the short distance to the end of the pier here in Nassau. 

 

We were just there a couple weeks ago on Mera and no golf cart so that must be new or maybe for those with needs.

 

They finally tore down the terminal and straw market which was overdue

 

Edge was there and I struggled to figure out was was special area for Retreat. What I figured was the area looked to have no shade vs Mera YC lots of shade.

[Fredrik]

21 hours ago, kidless said:

We have sailed MSC, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. The few times on Celebrity we did not find it any different then Royal. Ships were prettier but we found no noticeable difference in service or quality. 
 

 

I wonder how Celebrity gets away with no masks. We leave in few days for our first post covid cruise. Dread having to put on a mask even to just walk from here to there. Seems so unnecessary since they now require all over 12 be vaccinated. 

I was comparing MSC YC with the Retreat on X. Having sailed in suites on both X and Royal I would absolutely say that Celebrity has the upper hand here. Yes it is overpriced, but still a much better experience. 

[colorado14]

No comparison. Ship and private island is beautiful. Customer service you can laugh at. Food lots of filler and boring. You get what you pay for.

[Gatordad1967]

10 minutes ago, colorado14 said:

No comparison. Ship and private island is beautiful. Customer service you can laugh at. Food lots of filler and boring. You get what you pay for.

 

[Gatordad1967]

On 10/8/2021 at 1:53 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

This photo was taken this morning of the MSC Meraviglia sailing in besides us on the Celebrity Edge. We do not bother anymore with itinerary. We appreciate more the safer, mask free, sailing of Celebrity. Presently in the Royal Suite on Edge, but appreciate much more the spaciousness of the Royal Suite on Seaside (as well as price). Your priority presently is itinerary, ours is maskless cruising. We are booked on the Seashore in both (but not the same time)  the OS and RS, one week at a time, for 7 sailings and will change back to Celebrity should the mask wearing continue for those sailings in 2022. The rest of this year is Celebrity.

Did they let you off the ship in Nassau to walk around on your own?  That's why we cancelled our Edge back in Sept.  Now we have a big credit coming, lol

 

[morpheusofthesea]

7 minutes ago, Gatordad1967 said:

Did they let you off the ship in Nassau to walk around on your own?  That's why we cancelled our Edge back in Sept.  Now we have a big credit coming, lol

 

I did a day by day, blow by blow, critique again of the Edge of our October 2, 2021 Edge cruise titled "Observations from the Poop Deck, Revisited" post #103 describes Nassau regulations.

[alyssamma]

39 minutes ago, colorado14 said:

No comparison. Ship and private island is beautiful. Customer service you can laugh at. Food lots of filler and boring. You get what you pay for.

LOL, one single note over and over. And even though people with 1000s of posts have said otherwise, you keep spewing this nonsense.

 

Other than the customer service, you are in a tiny, tiny, minority for your negative feelings about MSC.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, Gatordad1967 said:

Did they let you off the ship in Nassau to walk around on your own?  That's why we cancelled our Edge back in Sept.  Now we have a big credit coming, lol

 

Sorry, wrong thread posting. So I will retype what I posted.

     In Nassau, all guests wishing to go ashore must wear masks indoors and outdoors and must disembark on an excursion provided by Celebrity Cruises. Regardless of vaccination status, all  guests visiting main attractions must show proof of a vaccination card. ( This was in the daily planner as was the Bold type). 

  We gravitate between the suite class of both MSC and Celebrity.

  NO walking off alone.

Edited October 13, 2021 by morpheusofthesea