Celebrity Retreat vs MSC Yacht Club

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

We have our first cruise in the Retreat coming up and as I learn more about it, I'm shocked at how much less you get even though it costs double what a comparable cruise in the Yacht Club on MSC costs. 

 

For reference, we will be on the Equinox for 9 days in June across Italy/France/Spain, staying in a Sunset Sky Suite. I know the Equinox Retreat isn't as nice as the Edge-class ships, but that doesn't change the amenities listed below.

 

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The big things I'm seeing that Yacht Club has that the Retreat is missing:

 

- Reserved seating in the theaters with an escort from your butler (we don't need an escort, but still)... Sadly you can purchase this additionally with Premium Access even if you're not in a suite.

 

- Priority boarding/disembarking at the ports (you can also purchase this with Premium Access)

 

- Dedicated butler service (we are staying in a Sky Suite and as of now, these are not offered on the Equinox, which we'll be on)

 

- Spa access

 

- In-room mini bar included + a bottle of premium liquor

 

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I understand the gen pop areas of Celebrity are better than MSC, but it seems like Celebrity really cuts a lot of corners for a service that costs double what it does on MSC.

 

I'm still looking forward to the cruise, but I was expecting more from Celebrity.

[Sussex Cruiser]

As premium access states...

 

• *YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE ACCESS TO THESE BENEFITS: Before purchase, refer to your stateroom category amenities and your loyalty status to confirm.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Just now, Sussex Cruiser said:

As premium access states...

 

• *YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE ACCESS TO THESE BENEFITS: Before purchase, refer to your stateroom category amenities and your loyalty status to confirm.

That wasn't my question, but our Sunset Sky Suite only has reserved seating on Chic night and it doesn't come with any priority boarding at ports (unlike Premium Access which gets both every day).

 

Where Premium overlaps is with Internet access (if I could purchase it at a lower price without Internet access I would, but I'm not going to pay full price for something where I already have the main cost).

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Do a search there a lot of threads about this already 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Just now, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Do a search there a lot of threads about this already 

I didn't see anything that specifically called out the differences in a concise list like this.

 

Figured it may be helpful in the future for people who find it via Google.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

One of main reviews 

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

One of main reviews 

 

Yeah, if you search for "Yacht Club" as a topic in the Celebrity forum there are exactly 3 topics that come up... Mine, the one you just linked, and another that doesn't include much.

 

It's really not extensively discussed as you implied, but this one is very informative (I'm currently reading through it now).

Edited February 17 by CruisematicVA

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, CruisematicVA said:

The big things I'm seeing that Yacht Club has that the Retreat is missing:

I'm sailing YC for the first time next month, but IMO you missed three of the biggest features missing from Retreat on Equinox: 

 

- Dedicated YC pool

- Dedicated YC buffet

- YC restaurant open on port days

 

I would add that the YC lounge looks like it blows any Retreat Lounge out of the water AND has nightly entertainment AND has a true bar that you can sit at if you want to. I'm also looking forward to a true ship within a ship concept where the staterooms are within the YC enclave, not in general population like Retreat.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

21 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I'm sailing YC for the first time next month, but IMO you missed three of the biggest features missing from Retreat on Equinox: 

 

- Dedicated YC pool

- Dedicated YC buffet

- YC restaurant open on port days

 

I would add that the YC lounge looks like it blows any Retreat Lounge out of the water AND has nightly entertainment AND has a true bar that you can sit at if you want to. I'm also looking forward to a true ship within a ship concept where the staterooms are within the YC enclave, not in general population like Retreat.

I didn't include it because I knew that was an Equinox problem vs all Retreats on Celebrity, but you're absolutely right.

 

With no pool and no bar in the Retreat Sundeck on Equinox I don't think we'll spend more than 5 minutes on there (just enough to see the space and then leave).

[jcpc]

I have sailed extensively in Retreat on Celebrity.  I am currently onboard MSC Meraviglia sailing my second Yacht Club cruise.  In my opinion, MSC Yacht Club is a far superior experience than Celebrity Retreat….for half the cost.  

[RichYak]

5 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

I didn't include it because I knew that was an Equinox problem vs all Retreats on Celebrity, but you're absolutely right.

It's not just an Equinox problem, it's all of S-class and M-class, which is the majority of Celebrity's fleet. Only E-class has pools on the Retreat Sundeck. And no Celebrity ship has dedicated buffets.

[PTC DAWG]

43 minutes ago, jcpc said:

I have sailed extensively in Retreat on Celebrity.  I am currently onboard MSC Meraviglia sailing my second Yacht Club cruise.  In my opinion, MSC Yacht Club is a far superior experience than Celebrity Retreat….for half the cost.  

I wish people would quit talking up the YC…it’s not good people, trust me.  🙂

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

I'm sailing YC for the first time next month, but IMO you missed three of the biggest features missing from Retreat on Equinox: 

 

- Dedicated YC pool

- Dedicated YC buffet

- YC restaurant open on port days

 

I would add that the YC lounge looks like it blows any Retreat Lounge out of the water AND has nightly entertainment AND has a true bar that you can sit at if you want to. I'm also looking forward to a true ship within a ship concept where the staterooms are within the YC enclave, not in general population like Retreat.

Don’t do it…. 🙂

[Stem to Stern]

I am only really going to comment here on the food and service in Luminae.  We all already know YC pool deck and Top Sail Lounge blow The Retreat non-equivalents out of the water.  We have not sailed in The Retreat on board Equinox since our return to cruising cruise in October 2021, but Luminae blew us away.  Food and service lived up to and exceeded our pre-pandemic suite experiences on S-class ships.  Luminae on board Summit just this past December was also a mindblower.  The food in the YC on Seascape was just okay for us.  There wasn’t much on the menu that excited and delighted us.  Since the cruise you are doing is Europe, personally I could not imagine myself spending much time on The Retreat Sundeck or partying late into the night at whichever evening venue would appeal most.  Our port days in Europe tend to start early and we return to the ship exhausted.  I would not be too concerned with theater seating on board Equinox.  There are two seatings for the show nightly.  I think many passengers are too tired or too busy maximizing their drink packages to bother attending the shows.  I do not typically find the theaters on board the S-class ships to be packed like the theater was on my recent Seascape cruise.

Edited February 17 by Stem to Stern

[Bead Pirate]

I wish people with MSC Yacht club experience would just not respond to these threads. We sail both lines in retreat (on Connie now) and in Yacht club. We get on MSC for B2B in 3 weeks.

 

There absolutely is no contest here. Yacht Club wins hands down on every issue / test.

 

The more we talk about it, the more folks we will have attempting to get our coveted Yacht Club rooms.

 

Opps, I just did the very thing 🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

m

[REDSTRIPETYPE]

Did I read somewhere that Celebrity Elite status can get free upgrade to the Yacht Club?

[PTC DAWG]

14 minutes ago, REDSTRIPETYPE said:

Did I read somewhere that Celebrity Elite status can get free upgrade to the Yacht Club?

I have never heard that..or read it. 

[Jim_Iain]

10 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I have never heard that..or read it. 

They were doing status match, but not sure I've seen mention of it as of late.  I don't remember reading anything on what that status gave you.

I thought YC was equivalent to Retreat Status and only available by type of room book, but I have Zero knowledge of YC

Edited February 17 by Jim_Iain

[Gordoncruickshank]

4 hours ago, RichYak said:

I'm sailing YC for the first time next month, but IMO you missed three of the biggest features missing from Retreat on Equinox: 

 

- Dedicated YC pool

- Dedicated YC buffet

- YC restaurant open on port days

 

I would add that the YC lounge looks like it blows any Retreat Lounge out of the water AND has nightly entertainment AND has a true bar that you can sit at if you want to. I'm also looking forward to a true ship within a ship concept where the staterooms are within the YC enclave, not in general population like Retreat.

Having been in the Suite experience since it was introduced and having also travelled in the YC in a RS, I can confirm that the YC lounge certainly beats the Retreat hands down. You have a proper bar and enough staff to serve drinks to whoever want one, or more. There is continuing changing entertainment throughout the night which we found enough for what we were looking for. The pool deck does have a buffet with hot and cold offerings although we didn’t try this as in the Med we found the food covered in wasps etc but as long as you watch what you are taking it should be ok.

 

We have 3 MSC YC cruises booked for 2015 in the Caribbean which will be a slightly different experience as they will not be doing the continuos daily disembark and embarkation at every port.

Edited February 17 by Gordoncruickshank

[Jim_Iain]

There are currently two Live Reviews of Celebrity Cruisers that are currently on MSC.   @DaKahuna and @JamieLogical.    Will be interested to read all three comparisons.   We each have our own perspective of a cruise.  

 

[PTC DAWG]

9 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

They were doing status match, but not sure I've seen mention of it as of late.  I don't remember reading anything on what that status gave you.

I thought YC was equivalent to Retreat Status and only available by type of room book, but I have Zero knowledge of YC

You are correct..

[Gordoncruickshank]

12 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

They were doing status match, but not sure I've seen mention of it as of late.  I don't remember reading anything on what that status gave you.

I thought YC was equivalent to Retreat Status and only available by type of room book, but I have Zero knowledge of YC

MSC do a status match. Before we did our cruise in 2019 I think the matched Elite and plus to Diamomd level but that had changed to gold level, the one below black, when we cruised. I doesn’t give much at whatever level you are at.
 

What is more important is that you get 5% discount if you are a Voyager club member even if you have not cruised with them before so you have to join that before you book the first cruise although we did get the discount added after the booking. Here is a link to the benefits.

https://www.msccruises.co.uk/manage-booking/msc-voyagers-club/members-benefits

 

Edited February 17 by Gordoncruickshank

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

59 minutes ago, REDSTRIPETYPE said:

Did I read somewhere that Celebrity Elite status can get free upgrade to the Yacht Club?

Celebrity Elite gets you MSC Gold status.

 

I got Diamond on MSC by status matching some hotel status that I got from one of my business travel CCs.

[Jeremiah1212]

The problem with Yacht Club is you’re stuck in Yacht Club. If YC is too sleepy for you, once you pass those doors you find yourself on Carnival 2.0 which is a hard pass for me. 

[PTC DAWG]

2 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

The problem with Yacht Club is you’re stuck in Yacht Club. If YC is too sleepy for you, once you pass those doors you find yourself on Carnival 2.0 which is a hard pass for me. 

That too is my only pause…