Comparison of Celebrity Vs MSC

[Raj.K]

Has anyone experienced Celebrity and MSC? Is there a comparison of the experience of the Yacht Club versus an equivalent or better experience with Princess please?

[TeeRick]

29 minutes ago, Raj.K said:

Has anyone experienced Celebrity and MSC? Is there a comparison of the experience of the Yacht Club versus an equivalent or better experience with Princess please?

Have you done a search here on Cruise Critic boards?  There are lots of posts and threads on this topic.

[mafig]

I don't think Princess (did you mean Princess) has anything like the Yacht Club.

[George C]

We are huge fans of celebrity suites, but comparing celebrity suites to MSc yacht club, I would give the edge to yacht club. No comparison at all to older celebrity ships. Edge is very close to yacht club, the suite lounge is much larger on MSc with live music from approx 5 to 11pm, the outdoor area and pool area is way less crowded on MSc. The advantage celebrity has is Luminae is superior to MSc suite dining room. 

[Beamafar]

Looking forward to experiencing the suite life on Edge, having done several YC cruises.  We had a Sky Suite on Millennium 6 years ago, at the time Luminae was introduced - we weren’t impressed!

[PTC DAWG]

• The problem with MSC and the Yacht Club begins the minute you step out of the Yacht Club.  

[alyssamma]

48 minutes ago, Raj.K said:

Has anyone experienced Celebrity and MSC? Is there a comparison of the experience of the Yacht Club versus an equivalent or better experience with Princess please?

I was a huge MSC fan, and still am in many ways. Since the restart last Aug I've done 3 sailings, and about 10 overall. I've only sailed in the YC. If you take a min to just look at the MSC board, you'll see their #1 problem is customer service. And I don't just mean long hold times, I mean cabins and even *entire itineraries* changed and no notice given to the passenger. People who booked YC being kicked out, again with no notice (they just log in and see their booking changed).

 

To say it's bad would be the understatement of understatements 🙂

 

Still, the YC is a product that I believe to be unmatched by X or Princess (and of course RCCL/CCL). Once you are there, you truly feel pampered and get pretty much whatever you want.

 

Like most things, the perks have been watered down recently (e.g., the minibar is no longer restocked for free...you just get the contents it initially has without a charge). It is also a *lot* more expensive than it once was (but still cheaper than Retreat/Haven/etc). Still, it is an amazing product.

 

I last sailed the Seashore in April, so saying this from pretty recent experience.

 

I've never sailed Princess, so can't do a comparison, but for X...wow. I will say I've done one X cruise - Apex last Feb. I now have *four* more booked (Beyond, another Apex, Edge and Ascent). We have zero MSC cruises coming up. I can't say enough good things about X. And we stayed in steerage (just normal balcony cabin), not the retreat.

 

The food I found to be superior to MSC YC (which has been very inconsistent lately), the ship design was more beautiful, the passengers we "nicer" (not that MSC pax aren't nice, but the pax on the Apex were just...better).

 

Activities were better, but in MSC's defense they have to cater to many nationalities so their activities are more watered down.

 

Entertainment is far superior on X.

 

Give the YC a try on MSC...it really is something to be experienced. But be prepared to return to X.

 

[Beamafar]

Excellent post, A.  Totally agree with all you’ve said!   After 23 cruises with MSC we’ve now tried NCL and our 2 upcoming are with Azamara (in 6 weeks) and a Sky Suite on Celebrity Edge 2 weeks after disembarking Journey.

 

MSC has lost the plot!   We have a 16 night repo booked on the World Europa next March and are not fully committed to it.  We originally booked Aurea (wouldn’t let us book YC at the time 🙄) but our cabin has now been re-categorised as Fantastica, so am expecting to be turfed out and given a less favourable location.   I doubt they’ll even let us know this til after final payment (which is due around the time of the ship’s inaugural, so won’t even be able to get info on the MSC forum about anyone else’s experience re this in order to decide if it’s worth it to just roll the dice). 

Edited June 28, 2022 by Beamafar

[Raj.K]

1 hour ago, alyssamma said:

I was a huge MSC fan, and still am in many ways. Since the restart last Aug I've done 3 sailings, and about 10 overall. I've only sailed in the YC. If you take a min to just look at the MSC board, you'll see their #1 problem is customer service. And I don't just mean long hold times, I mean cabins and even *entire itineraries* changed and no notice given to the passenger. People who booked YC being kicked out, again with no notice (they just log in and see their booking changed).

 

To say it's bad would be the understatement of understatements 🙂

 

Still, the YC is a product that I believe to be unmatched by X or Princess (and of course RCCL/CCL). Once you are there, you truly feel pampered and get pretty much whatever you want.

 

Like most things, the perks have been watered down recently (e.g., the minibar is no longer restocked for free...you just get the contents it initially has without a charge). It is also a *lot* more expensive than it once was (but still cheaper than Retreat/Haven/etc). Still, it is an amazing product.

 

I last sailed the Seashore in April, so saying this from pretty recent experience.

 

I've never sailed Princess, so can't do a comparison, but for X...wow. I will say I've done one X cruise - Apex last Feb. I now have *four* more booked (Beyond, another Apex, Edge and Ascent). We have zero MSC cruises coming up. I can't say enough good things about X. And we stayed in steerage (just normal balcony cabin), not the retreat.

 

The food I found to be superior to MSC YC (which has been very inconsistent lately), the ship design was more beautiful, the passengers we "nicer" (not that MSC pax aren't nice, but the pax on the Apex were just...better).

 

Activities were better, but in MSC's defense they have to cater to many nationalities so their activities are more watered down.

 

Entertainment is far superior on X.

 

Give the YC a try on MSC...it really is something to be experienced. But be prepared to return to X.

 

Thank you for the details. We have only cruised YC on MSC, Grand Suite on RCCL and Suite in Costa. As we have seen the YC product, services and their loyalty programme being watered down, we are considering alternatives to YC type experience on other cruise lines. 

 

Sounds like we should try Celebrity.

 

[karmamule]

We've sailed 3 times on MSC, all three in the YC. Alyssamma's post is on the money. The Yacht Club areas are lovely, the food is very good (albeit menu selection a bit too small for my taste) and the service/pampering is exemplary.

 

The ships we've been on (Seaside, Meraviglia, Seashore) have all been gorgeous. Perhaps a bit too shiny/gaudy for some peoples' tastes but they are kept immaculate. MDR and specialty restaurant food is a mixed bag. Pizza, coffee, and chocolate are consistently good. Otherwise, all over the map. (outside of YC)

 

Entertainment options are just ok. The one beautiful/enchanting show they had was Cirque du Soleil on Meraviglia but that's not been running post-COVID.

 

Overall we've had fun times on MSC but having been on other lines (RCL and NCL) we know that food quality in general and shows/entertainment are lagging. Also, as others have mentioned, their prices have risen while benefits have been pared back. We were on Haven recently on NCL Joy and, ummm, enjoyed it, but that too didn't hit as many marks for us as we hoped.

 

We're very optimistic that Celebrity could be the sweet (suite?) spot for us. We have 2 sailings booked: Apex/Caribbean in January '23 and Summit/NE&Canada in October '23. We'll see if our optimism is warranted. 🙂

[Raj.K]

4 hours ago, mafig said:

I don't think Princess (did you mean Princess) has anything like the Yacht Club.

Just wondering about the similarities or differences in service and experience for cabin categories with Princess and MSC. Also from a value perspective given the price points.

[deliver42]

The YC on MSC is fantastic. Princess can't even touch it. I don't know about the  retreat. I think it depends on the ship.

[Dolebludger]

We have been in both the Yacht Club and the Retreat. Two differences stand out to us. The food in the Luminae is much better than in the Yacht Club restaurant. And the Yacht Club is a sealed off separate part of the ship requiring a YC room key to enter, but the Retreat facilities are scattered about in the ship. The latter distinction caused us no problem in the Retreat. All in all, we prefer the Retreat.

[mac_tlc]

Since at some point, price matters (at least to us), I did a quickie comparison to the January 29, 2023 sailing of the Celebrity Beyond and the MSC Seascape. For 2 adults. 

 

Celebrity Beyond in an S2 = $9,629 with $800 OBC+PBP+grats+WiFi

MSC Seascape, YC, Deluxe Suite = $13,378, incl. drinks & WiFi

 

I would like to try the YC, but the few times I have checked there is no price advantage. Doesn't have to be cheaper necessarily, but comparable would work.  

 

BTW, in January, we booked an S2 on that 1/29/23 Beyond sailing for $5,431.

 

I'm sure YMMV depending on ship/sailing, etc. 

 

 

mac_tlc

Edited July 1, 2022 by mac_tlc

[Beamafar]

YC is now way overpriced for what it offers.  Food offerings are very disappointing and the whole experience has been downgraded.  

 

Since the introduction of YC interior cabins on the newer fleet, YC balcony cabins have more than doubled in price.  

[George C]

15 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Since at some point, price matters (at least to us), I did a quickie comparison to the January 29,2023 sailing of the Celebrity Beyond and the MSC Seashore. For 2 adults. 

 

Celebrity Beyond in an S2 = $9,629 with $800 OBC+PBP+grats+WiFi

MSC Seascape, YC, Deluxe Suite = $13,378, incl. drinks & WiFi

 

I would like to try the YC, but the few times I have checked there is no price advantage. Doesn't have to be cheaper necessarily, but comparable would work.  

 

BTW, in January, we booked an S2 on that 1/29/23 Beyond sailing for $5,431.

 

I'm sure YMMV depending on ship/sailing, etc. 

 

 

mac_tlc

Pre Covid our MSc yacht was just over 2k per person , prices definitely went up. For those who really like high end scotch and Cognac MSc allowed you to upgrade the liquor package to allow everything they sold by the glass , cost was about 18 a day extra , but this included some liquor that sells for 200 a bottle like Johnny Walker Blue and many XO cognacs, also no problem ordering a double . Also ten percent off for veterans.

[Beamafar]

2 minutes ago, George C said:

Pre Covid our MSc yacht was just over 2k per person , prices definitely went up. For those who really like high end scotch and Cognac MSc allowed you to upgrade the liquor package to allow everything they sold by the glass , cost was about 18 a day extra , but this included some liquor that sells for 200 a bottle like Johnny Walker Blue and many XO cognacs, also no problem ordering a double . Also ten percent off for veterans.

MSC has since replaced that drinks package (PremiumPlus) with PremiumExtra (which is included for YC guests) but only covers drinks up to $15. 

[carlmm]

On 6/28/2022 at 4:49 PM, alyssamma said:

 

 

Entertainment is far superior on X.

 

 

I guess that one is subjektive.

 

I regard MSC's entertainment as far superior.

The number and variety of live music on MSC is much higher.

I have been on Celebrity cruises were the last live music finished at 11, and shortly after everything was dead. On MSC you can expect many styles of music until late.

Celebrity has terrible electronic instruments instead of real strings, in MSC you might even get an Opera performance.

And so on.

[Jeremiah1212]

52 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Since at some point, price matters (at least to us), I did a quickie comparison to the January 29, 2023 sailing of the Celebrity Beyond and the MSC Seascape. For 2 adults. 

 

Celebrity Beyond in an S2 = $9,629 with $800 OBC+PBP+grats+WiFi

MSC Seascape, YC, Deluxe Suite = $13,378, incl. drinks & WiFi

 

I would like to try the YC, but the few times I have checked there is no price advantage. Doesn't have to be cheaper necessarily, but comparable would work.  

 

BTW, in January, we booked an S2 on that 1/29/23 Beyond sailing for $5,431.

 

I'm sure YMMV depending on ship/sailing, etc. 

 

 

mac_tlc

 

$13.3k for a Deluxe for seven nights? No way. You had to be looking at the 14 night itinerary.

 

In my mind my number would be about $4k all in for two for 7 nights in YC. Which is probably an unrealistic number at this point. If you think "the IT" and the customer service is bad on Celebrity, just try MSC. It's laughable it's so poor. And that's ignoring the fact that the ships are decorated with finishes that look like were pulled from a 70's Vegas casino. 

 

 

[alyssamma]

5 minutes ago, carlmm said:

I guess that one is subjektive.

 

I regard MSC's entertainment as far superior.

The number and variety of live music on MSC is much higher.

I have been on Celebrity cruises were the last live music finished at 11, and shortly after everything was dead. On MSC you can expect many styles of music until late.

Celebrity has terrible electronic instruments instead of real strings, in MSC you might even get an Opera performance.

And so on.

Well, maybe talking we're about 2 different things. You seem focused on music, I mean entertainment. Although for music, the Apex had Charity Lockhart (if you don't know who she is, google her with Aretha Franklin), an amazing Motown cover band, and many others. I put the music there FAR above anything I saw on MSC.

 

Also, when music ends doesn't have anything to do with its quality (although on the Apex music lasted until around 1am every night...it was a DJ, tho).

 

But again, I meant entertainment. Which means everything from escape rooms to comedians, to even magicians (who I generally don't like but was pretty da*n good on the Apex).

 

MSC entertainment is, by necessity, usually acrobatics, singing and dancing. Some of it is very good, but it can't compare to X imho.

 

In fact, I would go so far as to say RCCL (which includes X) has by far the best entertainment at sea. The shows I've seen on Royal ships is mind-blowing.

 

[George C]

14 minutes ago, carlmm said:

I guess that one is subjektive.

 

I regard MSC's entertainment as far superior.

The number and variety of live music on MSC is much higher.

I have been on Celebrity cruises were the last live music finished at 11, and shortly after everything was dead. On MSC you can expect many styles of music until late.

Celebrity has terrible electronic instruments instead of real strings, in MSC you might even get an Opera performance.

And so on.

I agree I prefer MSc entertainment, I am not a huge Michael Jackson fan but that show and other shows were better than MSc , they had a jazz group that played late that was excellent also. 

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

YC is now way overpriced for what it offers.  Food offerings are very disappointing and the whole experience has been downgraded.  

 

Since the introduction of YC interior cabins on the newer fleet, YC balcony cabins have more than doubled in price.  

This. Honestly, I think MSC has lost their mind. You can either raise prices or take away benefits...don't do both at the same time.

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

Since at some point, price matters (at least to us), I did a quickie comparison to the January 29, 2023 sailing of the Celebrity Beyond and the MSC Seascape. For 2 adults. 

 

Celebrity Beyond in an S2 = $9,629 with $800 OBC+PBP+grats+WiFi

MSC Seascape, YC, Deluxe Suite = $13,378, incl. drinks & WiFi

 

I would like to try the YC, but the few times I have checked there is no price advantage. Doesn't have to be cheaper necessarily, but comparable would work.  

 

BTW, in January, we booked an S2 on that 1/29/23 Beyond sailing for $5,431.

 

I'm sure YMMV depending on ship/sailing, etc. 

 

 

mac_tlc

YC prices are all over the place. You can find the odd one higher than retreat, but 99% of the time it is much lower.

 

Seashore Jan 29th sailing is $4100 for 2 in YC Deluxe\

 

Seascape Jan 8th sailing, $6800 for 2 in YC Deluxe

 

The only Seascape I saw for $13K was a 14 day cruise...

 

 

[George C]

16 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

This. Honestly, I think MSC has lost their mind. You can either raise prices or take away benefits...don't do both at the same time.

My celebrity beyond cruise went up 1k right after we book it, prices change on all lines.

just checked again and now fare for our cruise is double almost 6k per person.

Edited July 1, 2022 by George C

[alyssamma]

1 minute ago, George C said:

My celebrity beyond cruise went up 1k right after we book it, prices change on all lines.

Not sure what point you are trying to make. Of course prices change for everything - not just cruises.  Book an airline ticket today and tomorrow it might be cheaper or more expensive.

 

But we are talking about *average* prices.

 

And if you read what I said, I didn't say you can't raise prices. I said don't raise prices *and* take away benefits at the same time.

 

MSC, about 6mo ago, underwent a huge price increase for their product. At the same time, they greatly devalued that product. Couple that with their notoriously bad customer service, and I think it's a bad business move. But time will tell...