LIVE SIDE-BY-SIDE Celebrity Summit Retreat & Seascape Yacht Club 12/9-21/2023 ~ 1st MSC vs Farewell (?) X Suite Experience

[Cruise a holic]

17 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I've done PH, RS, & SS (and regular cabins) on Summit and MSC Yacht Club on Seashore 2X.  The food is far better on the Summit and the service more professional and polished.  I enjoyed Seashore, but their prices have risen along with everyone else's.  And I hate sailing out of Miami.  I'm just off 10 nights on Silhouette out of Fort Lauderdale.  The service and food were excellent (with the exception of the lobster mac & cheese at The Lawn Club which was absolutely dreadful).  And I was not in a suite this time.  I would never do that on MSC.  With them, it's Yacht Club or nothing.

Never did MSC.  Like you have been in all types of cabins on Celebrity, except PH.  Including Aqua (meh).  I have a close nephew and his spouse trying MSC Yacht club.  They have tried most cruise lines and cruise at least 6 times a year- Waiting for his review.  

IMO if you ever sail on NCL also like you said about the Yacht Club- either the Haven or skip the cruise.  We enjoyed the Summit, M-class , Solstice class ships and three times Edge class.  Loved it.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Cruise a holic

[ecslady]

Looking forward to your comparison as I've sailed on many X ships including Summit, but not MSC yet. Enjoy your B2B cruises.

[riredsox]

1 hour ago, Stem to Stern said:

I have not researched this.  

Can you share what the cost was for upgrading MSC's WiFi that is included with the YC experience?

MSC has premium WiFi in YC.  I have been on Davina,  Seashore and Seaside. Will be on SeaScape in May and I am looking forward to your review.  I was a Celebrity only girl until I tried YC now I look at both lines.  The only thing I miss on MSC is the World Class bar.  On MSC the last night they had 25% off in the liquor store and that is where I used my OBC.  

Edited December 8, 2023 by riredsox
Needed to add a comment

[RichYak]

41 minutes ago, riredsox said:

MSC has premium WiFi in YC.  I have been on Davina,  Seashore and Seaside. 

That's different from what my confirmation says.

 

 

[Stem to Stern]

Two Types of Cruises

 

DH has adopted the philosophy that cruising can be divided into two distinct subcategories.

 

1. The Port-Intensive Floating Hotel Cruise - Our two European cruises were busy.  Every port day we were awake bright and early and off the ship to meet our guides for day-long excursions to new-to-us destinations.  When we returned to the ship each afternoon there was a short window of time on board to relax a bit, unwind in the solarium, get presentable for the evening, have dinner, and make good use of that magic room card.  Then it was off to bed before doing it all over again the next day.  This type of trip is not so much about the ship as it is about the destinations.  It’s Europe!  Was it nice having a verandah to pull the curtains back upon awakening and see where we parked?  Sure.  Could I have walked up or down to one of the decks to catch a glimpse of the port we just arrived at?  It can’t be too much of a detour from an inside stateroom to Cafe Al Bacio.  So going forward when looking a port-intensive itineraries I will consider inside staterooms.  Coincidentally on this trip DH will be facing his mild claustrophobia and uneasiness of interior staterooms by trying one out albeit in the Yacht Club. 😬
2. 
   The R&R Cruise - We enjoy our lazy Caribbean cruise itineraries as they tend to be much less involved as far as planning.  The ship is the destination.  Miami is roughly a 2-hour drive from our home.  Driving to the port versus flying requires less time off work and less money.  The first two sea days involve us just unwinding and catching our groove.  We do get off the ship in port as I have always been able to come up with something interesting for us to do.  If I don’t at least have loosely scheduled plans in port, then we tend to wander briefly and return to the ship.  This can sometimes leave me somewhat unfulfilled after our time in port.  Back on board we enjoy engaging with crew members and fellow passengers and eating and drinking our way through the ship. 🍸😜

Edited December 8, 2023 by Stem to Stern

[Moochi]

Thank you very much for the large font. Easier on the eyes, and more importantly, to quickly find the OP’s comments.

[Stem to Stern]

Me:  “…I have always been able to come up with something interesting to do.”🤣🤣🤣

 

Aruba Trikes - our 2021 quarantine cruise.

 

Us with our new cruise buddies on a break from the trikes at California Lighthouse in Aruba.  My new cruise buddy’s DH takes amazing “ussies.”

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

 

I am glad you brought up the positive feedback on the font.  I am a bit OCD when it comes to this kind of thing.  I can never find my readers either.  And they are a necessity if I am trying to read Cruise Critic on my iPhone.  My iPad Mini is not much better.  The font is so tiny.  

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On board I will only have my iPhone 15 Pro Max and my ancient iPad Mini 4.  On MSC I believe I only have the basic WiFi package, so I will likely only use my iPhone to post.  I am not sure about the whole switching between devices which has gotten pretty routine on Celebrity.

 

I feel more confident about posting pics on board Summit.  I will be sure to send out a Food Porn Alert prior to such posts. 

 

 

 

 You can adjust the font size on your iPhone and iPad  In settings under Display and Brightness. 

 

 On MSC once you connect a device to your WiFi account, only that device can be used.  Unlike Celebrity where you change back and forth between devices, on MSC it locks the account to that single device.  I had planned to use a travel router to get around that while in our stateroom but I am reading else where that MSC is taking steps to prevent that from happening.  I will not know until we board and I give it a try. 

 

[Stem to Stern]

2 hours ago, Mrs_Tiki said:

 

Bon voyage! I look forward to following along!

Thank you for following along Mary.  I appreciate your comments about Ocean Cay.  We have our water shoes packed.  We are excited to visit MSC’s private island.  It is closing for a period of time next year for improvements.  Hopefully any major changes do not spoil any tranquility that currently exists there.☺️

[Ellesor826]

20 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

Me:  “…I have always been able to come up with something interesting to do.”🤣🤣🤣

 

Aruba Trikes - our 2021 quarantine cruise.

 

Us with our new cruise buddies on a break from the trikes at California Lighthouse in Aruba.  My new cruise buddy’s DH takes amazing “ussies.”

Stay tuned for more~~!!~~

Our Cozy adventure should warrant a few "ussies" - and maybe the Retreat too!

[Stem to Stern]

A Tale of Two Influencers:

My New Cruise Buddy and My Charlacization

 

I booked both cruises through my regular TA.  First I booked the Summit segment in June 2022.

I added the Seascape segment in February 2023.  I’ll get to the numbers in a minute.

 

My new cruise buddy informed me that she booked herself and her DH on Summit.  My new cruise buddy and I have learned over the course of our 2+ year friendship that we have a few things in common.  Among them are:  all things CRUISE, Celebrity, celebrations, food, booking cruises, and recognition of excellent value.

Her DH also asks her when are we going and he shows up just like my DH.  Both couples are also fortunate enough to reside within reasonable driving distance of all of the cruise ports in Florida.

 

These little R&R cruises are logistically very easy. 😌

 

DH and I thought we moved away from these quick 4- or 5-night getaways since we find that it normally takes us a minimum of two days on board before we are settled into our cruising happy place. 🕊️☺️

 

But we have enjoyed a few quickies in the past and my new cruise buddy is very convincing.  So, I booked it.  However, upon further thought I realized that five nights just is not enough time on board to bring DH and myself to our cruising zen.  Did I mention it has been nearly a year since we have been on a cruise ship? 😂

 

Long stretches of cruise withdrawal  bring me to the Cruise Critic boards to live vicariously through the live threads of greats like Jim, GenerationX, Ken the Cruiser, Megan, Morpheus, GeorgiaPeaches, Norwaylady, ChicagoPaul (where did he disappear to?  I loved how he always broke down the financials.) and the many others.  🙏🙏🙏

 

But it was ultimately my “Charlacization” that took place while I was following GenerationX’s January 2023 Silhouette LIVE Side by Side that led me to have a closer look at MSC Yacht Club.  During my research I discovered that the Seascape sailing prior to the Summit sailing could create a copycat Side by Side very much like Charla facilitated for herself.  I placed my $398 deposit on the booking in February, but my version is a bit more budget friendly than hers. 😂

 

Thank you GenerationX for Charlacizng me. 😂

[Stem to Stern]

The Bottom Line

 

Here are the financials for the two segments:

 

Summit 5-nt The Bahamas and Mexico

S1 Sky Suite Deck 6 Starboard

Total price $2,736.72

$273.67 per person per night

$400 OBC The Retreat (Cruise planner for both couples showed $650, but neither my new cruise buddy or I were able to deduce where this amount came from.)

$200 OBC from TA (This is what my  new cruise buddy’s TA offered.  My TA matched it, but her initial offer was less than this.)

 

The Retreat:

• Free Gratuities
• Free Premium Beverage Pkg
• Free Stream Wi-Fi 

 

Seascape 7-nt Eastern Caribbean

YIN Yacht Club Interior Suite

Deck 18 Forward

Total price $2,590.54

$185.04 per person per night

$100 OBC MSC

$50 OBC Voyagers Club

$100 OBC TA

Gratuities are additional and charged on board.  But the OBC will cover those.

 

On Black Friday I took a look at pricing for MSC Seascape for the same week in December 2024 just for a comparison.  The same itinerary in the same YC Interior Suite next year is running about a grand more.  Then for the next category up, a YC Deluxe Suite with balcony, one would need to tack on another couple grand.  I have been reading a lot of comments indicating MSC YC pricing is not the bargain it used to be.  Maybe this year’s booking will be a one and done.  We’ll see. 🤔

[Beachlover1989]

I also followed GenerationX’s review and am looking forward to your comparison of MSC as well!

[Ellesor826]

8 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

celebrations, food, booking cruises, and recognition of excellent value.

We look fabulous darling 🦩🕶️

 

Now we need to start planning Ascent.  
Maybe 🤔 baby 😉

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

20 hours ago, lola2013 said:

BTW, who turned off the heat in Ft. Lauderdale… the natives are in coats and long pants)!

 Our heat gets turned off periodically.  Doesn't usually last long.  On the plus side, it gave me a chance to wear a Christmas sweater to a luncheon yesterday.  Don't often get to do that.

[Mrs_Tiki]

1 hour ago, Stem to Stern said:

Thank you for following along Mary.  I appreciate your comments about Ocean Cay.  We have our water shoes packed.  We are excited to visit MSC’s private island.  It is closing for a period of time next year for improvements.  Hopefully any major changes do not spoil any tranquility that currently exists there.☺️

I may have used the wrong word - we walked around the perimeter of the island on the footpaths. It would have been quite the adventure in the water!

[Stem to Stern]

The Upgrade Scheme

 

On 9/20 DH and I both received the MSC Upgrade email. 

 

The MSC email stated the options:

-Yacht Club Deluxe Suite 

From $860 per person

-Yacht Club Deluxe Grand Suite

From $1,085 per person

 

When I clicked on the various links to start the bidding, the range for YC Deluxe Suite was from $855 to $1,080.  The range for YC Deluxe Grand Suite was $1,080 to $1,300.

 

I did a dummy booking for our sailing on MSC Cruises’ website.

There seemed to be north of a dozen unsold suites remaining in the Yacht Club.

 

We decided to resist the temptation of the upgrade email since it would be another substantial chunk of change.

Plus, we are both curious to learn how DH does in the interior suite since he does have a mild case of claustrophobia.😳

 

Since the initial upgrade email arrived MSC has proceeded to tempt us with four additional upgrade emails.  We continue to resist.  💪💪💪

 

To my recollection we have never received an upgrade email from Celebrity for any of our previous sailings.  I have wondered what determined this lack of upgrade offers.  

It’s an unsolved mystery to me.❓❓❓🤨

 

Lo and behold on 10/2 DH and I both received our first-ever Celebrity MoveUp emails.  The per-person bid ranges went something like this:

PH = $1,000 to $5,000

RS = $550 to $2,750

CS = $300 to $1,500

ASS = $100 to $500

 

On 10/18 we each received a second Celebrity MoveUp email.  

I did some dummy bookings on Celebrity’s site to investigate how much remaining unsold cabin inventory existed.  There seemed to be quite a large number of staterooms remaining including suites.

We resisted the temptation. 💪🤣🤣

 

For fun my new cruise buddy placed a weak MoveUp bid on the upgrade request for Aqua Sky Suite.  She got the upgrade 11 days before sailing.   One ASS and 2 CS remained available after this.

 

After a couple more MoveUp emails, Celebrity sent yet two more. These featured a “promo” lowering the minimum bids by 20%.   After further conversation about Celebrity’s MoveUp enticement attempts, DH divulged that if he were to seriously consider bidding it would be with MSC for no other reason than to vacate the YC Interior Suite.  But we agreed the additional cash outflow for this would spoil the good deal we feel we have on the YC experience.

 

We continue to resist the upgrade scheme. 🤣🤣🤣

[jcpc]

I will definitely be following along.  I wish you two wonderful sailings.  I'm anxiously awaiting your comparison of Celebrity Retreat and MSC Yacht Club.  Hopefully the Inside YC cabin is not an issue for you.  I, myself, would find it much to small (and I usually sail solo!)

 

After sailing exclusively with Celebrity for 20+ years I tried my first MSC YC experience on Meraviglia in September.  I (along with 4 other Celebrity Retreat addicts) were blown away by the YC experience........far superior to any Retreat experience any of us have received in recent saiilngs.  The Summit is my absolute favorite Celebrity vessel, having sailed her 35 times.  

 

While onboard Meraviglia, I did miss the general ambiance that I've grown to love onboard Celebrity ships.  When venturing out of the YC enclave the ship was very crowded and frenetic.  But I loved the YC enclave and saw no reason to leave it other than to go to the shows or visit the casino. 

 

I also missed some of the Celebrity crew who I have become like family to me over the years.  But I notice that a lot of those crew members have chosen not to return to the ships.  So there seems to be lots of "newbies" on Celebrity ships (and, unfortunately, the level of service is just not there anymore!)

 

I found the food on Meraviglia much superior than the food I've been receiving on Celebrity.  This is the first time in years that my legs and feet did not swell up as MSC seems to cook without using lots of sodium and the food tasted delicious.

 

Anyway, sorry for going on and on.  I do wish you both two great cruises and I'll definitely be awaiting your posts.

[Stem to Stern]

MSC Voyagers Club & MSC Status Match Program

 

During my research I conducted while I was being Charlacized, I learned a lot about MSC Voyagers Club, the benefits granted by membership, and MSC Cruises’ Status Match program.  I submitted my status match application to MSC.  Based on recommendations that I read over on the MSC boards, I used my Azamara Discoverer status rather than my Celebrity Captain’s Club Elite status to submit my MSC Status Match request.  Azamara Discoverer loyalty level matches to the highest loyalty level, Diamond on MSC.  Completing our first Azamara cruise in December 2022 ensured that our reciprocal Celebrity Captain’s Club Elite status would live on at the newly separated-from-RCCL Azamara.  

 

It is worth having a look at the sticky thread on the MSC boards titled MSC Current Status Match Tables to determine your best choice of loyalty status to be used to submit your status match application.  Celebrity Captain’s Club Elite status only matches to Gold level on MSC. 🏆😉

 

Submitting the status match form on MSC’ s website is painless and their response is prompt and concise.  MSC responded to my application in under 48 hours with the Welcome to MSC Voyagers Club email informing me that I was now at the Diamond membership level with 10,000 points.  It also including my membership number. ✅🤓😉

 

I forwarded the welcome email to my TA.  She completed the Seascape booking with the 5% diamond loyalty discount plus the 5% early booking discount with a $199 per person deposit. 🤓

[Stem to Stern]

“GenPop”

 

Neither one of us have ever been on such a populous ship as MSC Seascape.  The ship has just south of 2,300 passenger staterooms capable of accommodating just south of 6,000 passengers.  My sources indicate a crew of roughly 1,600.  Those numbers sound a bit daunting, but it will be fun to try something new, right?  😀

 

We do plan on checking out the rest of the ship (aka GenPop) outside the confines of the key card-accessed Yacht Club.  MSC reportedly knows how to throw a deck party to never be forgotten.  Maybe we will catch a theater show or two, but this is not a do-or-die activity for us.   I am particularly interested in visiting the water park.  It is apparently the largest at sea.  When I posed this proposal to DH he surprisingly expressed enthusiastic interest. 🤩

 

Who doesn’t love a good water slide?💦💦💦😉

 

Or will the rest of the ship just turn out to be a big, hot mess as some reports indicate? 😬

 

With the huge Yacht Club facilities dedicated to approximately 130 suites, we would like to think we have a comfortable less-peopley refuge from the “GenPop” that we can retreat to (pun intended😂) if needed.  YC has its own restaurant, lounge with nightly entertainment, al fresco buffet, pool, and jacuzzis all together in one singularly secure enclave.  🔑🔓😉

 

Much has been written here and elsewhere about MSC from a very positive perspective.

 

Much has also been written regarding the utter chaos (think pushing and shoving) that can ensue on board an MSC Cruises ship.  Then there was the August news story reporting that two sisters allegedly smuggled $40,000 worth of cocaine in their suitcase while traveling on an MSC Seascape cruise.  😳

 

Many swear, “I will/would only sail MSC in the Yacht Club.”  

 

Or worse, “MSC - one  and DONE!”  

 

Or worse yet, “Never again!” 😳

 

Let’s see how this goes.

[RichYak]

19 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

I used my Azamara Discoverer status rather than my Celebrity Captain’s Club Elite status to submit my MSC Status Match request.  Azamara Discoverer loyalty level matches to the highest loyalty level, Diamond on MSC. 

That's exactly what I did when I matched.

[Ellesor826]

33 minutes ago, RichYak said:

used my Azamara Discoverer status rather than my Celebrity Captain’s Club Elite status to submit my MSC Status Match request.  Azamara Discoverer loyalty level matches to the highest loyalty level, Diamond on MSC

I wonder what Elite Plus translates into on MSC YC?

We also have our Azamara status. 
If you like YC, perhaps we should consider another adventure together on this line. 
😘🦩🌹

[Stem to Stern]

MSC Cruises Communication

 

For the most part I have been fairly impressed with the communication I have received from MSC Cruises.

There is an understated elegance about it.  

They don’t overfill the inbox with advertising.

 

Email received 6 days before embarkation day

 

Email received 5 days before embarkation day (almost time)

 

Email received from Captain Michele 3 days before embarkation day

 

Text received 2 days out

Edited December 8, 2023 by Stem to Stern

[lola2013]

6 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Me:  “…I have always been able to come up with something interesting to do.”🤣🤣🤣

 

Aruba Trikes - our 2021 quarantine cruise.

 

Us with our new cruise buddies on a break from the trikes at California Lighthouse in Aruba.  My new cruise buddy’s DH takes amazing “ussies.”

Wow…I spent a beautiful day today in Ft. Lauderdale wandering up and down A1A and missed two pages of your excellent pre-cruise travel journal.  I especially love the Aruba Trikes pic as we did that about five years ago.  What a great excursion!  Happy Travels.

Susan 😎

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, Ellesor826 said:

I wonder what Elite Plus translates into on MSC YC?

We also have our Azamara status. 
If you like YC, perhaps we should consider another adventure together on this line. 
😘🦩🌹

 

 Elite and Elite + get your Gold on MSC.  We did the match back in September.