Celebrity Retreat vs MSC Yacht Club

[DaKahuna]

On 3/15/2024 at 4:35 PM, Shadow9612 said:

Do you know of any of the tables are in the non-smoking section?

 

 The table games where in the middle but mostly toward the non-smoking side. 

 

On 3/15/2024 at 4:35 PM, Shadow9612 said:

 

I'd be curious to know if people thought MSC no smoking section of Casino was less noticeable than Princess.  

 

 

 I have never sailed on Princess so I cannot comment to the difference.  I will say that I played mostly the 'bubble' roulette game and it was on the same side as the smoking section but it was not that bad in my opinion. 

 

[Shadow9612]

3 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

On 3/15/2024 at 4:35 PM, Shadow9612 said:

Do you know of any of the tables are in the non-smoking section?

 

 The table games where in the middle but mostly toward the non-smoking side. 

 

On 3/15/2024 at 4:35 PM, Shadow9612 said:

 

I'd be curious to know if people thought MSC no smoking section of Casino was less noticeable than Princess.  

 

 

 I have never sailed on Princess so I cannot comment to the difference.  I will say that I played mostly the 'bubble' roulette game and it was on the same side as the smoking section but it was not that bad in my opinion

That's great to hear thank you. 

 

I love Celebrity, but if I could find an alternative that has a non-smoking casino, I would consider trying it, just due to the exceptionally high prices now on Celebrity.  

 

Although there is quite a bit of negativity on the boards about X, I still do think the onboard experience is phenomenal -  just very pricy.

[RichYak]

Yacht Club is pretty awesome so far y’all. For embarkation, there’s a dedicated YC luggage drop, an escort thru security, then a butler escort onto the ship and into the lounge. It was honestly too quick to even peruse the snacks/drinks in the shoreside YC waiting area. 
 

Once in the lounge it was a bit chaotic as it was full. Beverage service was a bit slow. I could chalk that up to bad timing as we seemed to arrive just at the end of the mad rush. There was someone dedicated to making specialty dinner/show reservations. He could have used one more person helping but that was really the only hiccup. 
 

i would rank YC embarkation on par with Celebrity upper suite embarkation. 
 

It’s too early to make a call on the YC Restaurant vs Luminae. So far I’ll say this: the service is much more attentive and relaxed in YC. Embarkation lunch in Luminae always seems frenetic. Service in YC was smooth. I’m not sure if it’s better management or proper staffing. I think perhaps both. 
 

I’ll hold off on commenting on the Top Sail Lounge vs Retreat Lounge but so far, it’s not even a fair fight. 
 

In regards to butler service, I’ll leave you with this photo from night 1. The photo doesn’t show 2 more glasses of white wine our butler put in the fridge for us that I discovered later. So far, another unfair fight. More to come during the week. 
 

[George C]

We are currently on summit on a music charter, their retreat lounge is much smaller than yacht club and they no longer have any live music, but it’s never crowded and staff is fabulous. Normally when getting a glass of champagne they give you a California sparkling wine , yesterday we got Mumms, we are looking forward to our return to a MSc yacht club after thanksgiving on seaside.

[RichYak]

Tonight’s haul. Send help. I think our YC butler is trying to kill us. This is in addition to more wine and cheese like last night.

22 hours ago, RichYak said:

I’m not sure if it’s better management or proper staffing. I think perhaps both. 

It’s clear to me already that it’s both. The YC Hotel Director is everywhere and the staff in all YC areas is plentiful. They are all happy, eager to serve, and have the time to chat. 

Tonight’s surf and turf. Note the size of the lobster tail 

 

Last time in Luminae it was the size of my thumb. This is as big as my fist. 
 

Tonight’s view from the YC restaurant was pretty good too. 

 

There are some areas where Retreat excels. Wine in the YC restaurant consists of a few varietals each night and that’s it. I’m sure if we requested something particular, it would be met. So far we haven’t. 
 

The in room bathroom amenities are better in the Retreat and I miss the Frette (?) robes as opposed to the terricloth ones in YC. 

[DaKahuna]

23 hours ago, RichYak said:

There are some areas where Retreat excels. Wine in the YC restaurant consists of a few varietals each night and that’s it. I’m sure if we requested something particular, it would be met. So far we haven’t. 

 

 You can order wines that are no on that list.  I asked for Italian wines and was please with the ones I received.   You can also have a pre-dinner glass of champagne and then order wines, red or white, according to your desires, to go with you meal. 

 

 I liked the Nicolas Feuillatte Brut campagne, the Castello Gabbiano Chianti Classico, and the Oberon that I was served.   Bottom line, do not be afraid to ask for anything.  

 

 You may remember from my review that on Divina they had a penne with tomato sauce on the daily menu.  If you like Bolognese sauce instead of tomato sauce, ask for it it's a great 'to share dish' when you prefer red to white sauce. 

 

 

[RichYak]

My wife just rated MSC YC an A+. My opinion officially no longer matters. 

[gmbhardy]

On 2/17/2024 at 2:25 PM, Cruising89143 said:

Agree. Found the exact same issue on the Norwegian Bliss. Once outside of the Haven, it was a madhouse. 

Just wondering how you got to 25,000 posts.

[Stem to Stern]

7 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

Just wondering how you got to 25,000 posts.

Double Powerup Points. 🤣🤣🤣

[floatplan]

On 3/14/2024 at 6:53 PM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Comparing an AQ sky suite to YC is not apples to apples.  To take a shower in a SS, one needs to climb a tub wall.  YC has a spacious shower with no barrier to entry.

 

I've never been on YC so I just know what I've seen in videos on the SeaScape top suites Royal and Owner.

 

The PS RS bathrooms appear to be the same ones as in the lower category Deluxe but with a smaller shower 1/2 the size plus an ordinary bathtub like from a Holiday Inn? Just 1 sink and the size seemed generally tight on space. Did the video distort this?

 

The Celebrity top suites have spacious bathrooms that are luxury. They have large showers with body sprays, a whirlpool tub that is deep, and 2 sinks. The Penthouse has an insane bathroom that must be 3x the size of the MSC OS, a shower for 2 and bathtub with TV.

 

MSC's top Owner's suite is impressive 1000+ square feet that looks very nice, large closet. Why such a small bathroom? Also no 1/2 bath which is common in top suites on X, O, R, NCL, SS.

 

The MSC Royal suite does not appear to have Dining table?

 

[Whinenowine]

17 hours ago, RichYak said:

My wife just rated MSC YC an A+. My opinion officially no longer matters. 

Smart man....been several decades of co-habitation for me and I still haven't fully learned my lesson.  😇

[jcpc]

18 hours ago, RichYak said:

My wife just rated MSC YC an A+. My opinion officially no longer matters. 

I totally agree with your wife.  My two experiences with MSC YC on Meraviglia totally blows away any of my recent Retreat experiences.  And my 4 "loyal Celebrity Retreat" sailing companions totally agree.  Enjoy what's left of your cruise.

 

[RichYak]

As we sail back north, it’s getting cooler and the weather isn’t good. Now’s as good a time as any to start sharing my comparisons. I’ll start with my stateroom—a deluxe balcony comparable with a Sky Suite. Each have pluses and minuses. 
 

Sky Suite bathrooms are more luxurious with better bath products, but there’s that annoying tub/shower combo. It’s also nice to have the bed facing the window in  a SS. My YC cabin has a coffee machine, countless bottles of still and sparkling water that I didn’t have to retrieve myself. And I don’t need to stop at 2 bottles. There’s a bottle of scotch that I’ve yet to open, a couple big glasses of red wine that my butler keeps bringing, and quite honestly, I don’t even know what’s in my fridge. 
 

I’d call it a tie if not for location. My suite is 7 steps from a side entrance to the lounge, which because of this, serves as my de facto living room. It’s similar to how Edge Villas have easy access to the Retreat lounge but at <20% of the price. And on M- and S- Class ships, this can’t be matched. 
 

Location, location, location. YC wins this round. More to come…

[PTC DAWG]

17 minutes ago, RichYak said:

 

 

I’d call it a tie if not for location. My suite is 7 steps from a side entrance to the lounge, which because of this, serves as my de facto living room. It’s similar to how Edge Villas have easy access to the Retreat lounge but at <20% of the price. And on M- and S- Class ships, this can’t be matched. 
 

Location, location, location. YC wins this round. More to come…

Those room locations are the best.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise..

[DaKahuna]

6 hours ago, RichYak said:

My suite is 7 steps from a side entrance to the lounge, which because of this, serves as my de facto living room.

 

 Our room was down toward the end of the hallway from one of the side entrances and it was still a lot more convenient than any M or S class Sky or Celebrity Suite we have stayed in.  

  I also liked the option that we had of taking a short hallway between our cabin and that side door and walking past the Concierge desk.  That came in handy a couple of times when we had a quick question e.g. "what deck was the gangway on?"-- response, "come here when ready to leave and we'll have someone escort you."

 

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

"come here when ready to leave and we'll have someone escort you."

Since you mentioned it, let me comment on this next. I’ve had escorts in the Retreat. I never felt like they were helping me cut the line. In YC, you are definitely cutting lines with the escorts. Now, there are 3 different types of people: those that enjoy this, those that don’t, and those that don’t care. I’m in that third group. I don’t enjoy cutting lines, it doesn’t make me special or more important. I simply paid for that perk and I’m happy to exploit it. 
 

if this makes you feel uncomfortable, avoid the escort service. It’s not necessary, but it sure is convenient given MSC’s larger ships and long queues. We saved a lot of time getting on and off the ship. 
 

Retreat is the winner here since the service exists but is less uncomfortable. 

[Shadow9612]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

I’ve had escorts in the Retreat.

Could you elaborate on this with respect to Celebrity?  Do you mean when you are boarding the ship, you are escorted onboard?  Or are there other ocassions?  

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

4 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

Could you elaborate on this with respect to Celebrity?  Do you mean when you are boarding the ship, you are escorted onboard?  Or are there other ocassions?  

For a moment, I thought he was telling us something entirely different.

[George C]

7 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

Could you elaborate on this with respect to Celebrity?  Do you mean when you are boarding the ship, you are escorted onboard?  Or are there other ocassions?  

On the higher suites (royal or above) you are escorted, last week we were escorted from outside the ship to our suite .

[Shadow9612]

1 hour ago, George C said:

On the higher suites (royal or above) you are escorted, last week we were escorted from outside the ship to our suite .

I was aware of this but I was confused about the "cutting lines" comment.

4 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

For a moment, I thought he was telling us something entirely different.

I was confused, which is why I asked. 🙂

[At Sea At Peace]

On 3/17/2024 at 10:48 PM, RichYak said:

 

 

On 3/18/2024 at 9:28 PM, RichYak said:

Tonight’s haul. Send help. I think our YC butler is trying to kill us. This is in addition to more wine and cheese like last night.

It’s clear to me already that it’s both. The YC Hotel Director is everywhere and the staff in all YC areas is plentiful. They are all happy, eager to serve, and have the time to chat. 

Tonight’s surf and turf. Note the size of the lobster tail 

 

Last time in Luminae it was the size of my thumb. This is as big as my fist. 
. 

 

Thanks so much.🦞 🥩  We're back in MSC on Seascape B2B 3/30 in a week.  After reading "so many the YC has deteriorate" comments since the pandemic, based on what you're posting it certainly doesn't appear so.  Good to see.  Also the stateroom sweets, fruits, cheeses and alcohol. 

 

On servings like the surf and turf you shared, we befuddle the server in asking for two plates so we can just split on; beef for one and lobster for the other.  

 

We have not been in the Retreat yet, however the lobster we had on Ascent in BLU recently was about 1/2 the size (or a little less) than your YC photo and, although we hail from New England (originally and now just the summers and close to Maine), not bad compared to a Maine lobster.

[mahasamatman]

We’re on the last night of our first YC cruise on the Fantasia. I have to say that YC beats Retreat in every respect. It’s not even close. I’m now seriously considering canceling our future Celebrity cruises if I can just find itineraries I like.

[RichYak]

10 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

Could you elaborate on this with respect to Celebrity?  Do you mean when you are boarding the ship, you are escorted onboard?  Or are there other ocassions?  

I’ve been escorted on board when in upper suites. Even in Sky Suites, the concierges will escort you off the ship at ports. This is particularly useful at tender port stops. 

[Shadow9612]

23 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I’ve been escorted on board when in upper suites. Even in Sky Suites, the concierges will escort you off the ship at ports. This is particularly useful at tender port stops. 

Oh wow, I didn't know about being escorted off at ports. That's interesting, and good to know, as you say, for tender ports.  Thank you.

 

I'm definitely intrigued by all the positive comments I'm seeing about MSC YC.

[hampshirelad]

When in the Retreat on Celebrity you normally find when in port there is a separate gangway to come back on board. Also when tendering you go to the Retreat lounge and are then escorted to the tender gangway and get priority. Returning by tender you get priority if you are brave enough to walk to the front of the queue .