Celebrity Retreat vs MSC Yacht Club

[mac_tlc]

3 hours ago, RichYak said:

I'll be on Meraviglia out of Brooklyn. There are just under 100 YC cabins and as I write this, there are still 26 available 3 days before sailing. It would be nice if it stayed that way but I'm not holding my breath.

I am also looking forward to your experience. I keep looking at YC but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I am hesitant due to the number of passengers and the continued reviews of the non-YC areas. 

 

Have a great time !

 

 

mac_tlc

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

6 hours ago, At Sea At Peace said:

We've sailed Celebrity recently, Silhouette and Ascent (Aqua), neither Retreat.  We've sailed MSC YC many, many times all B2B with another upcoming the 1st two weeks of April.  I keep looking at the $ comparison.  I'm not if using the Aqua Class Sky suite (Retreat privileges) is even a fair comparison to average Retreat suite.

 

 

 

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.  SS has no booze included, YC does.  The YC cabin is larger than a SS.  And whether or not you'll get a butler is open to question in a SS.  You definitely will in YC.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, 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.  SS has no booze included, YC does.  The YC cabin is larger than a SS.  And whether or not you'll get a butler is open to question in a SS.  You definitely will in YC.

I'm pro-YC, but you do get a drink package with a SS...but I'm guessing you meant in the mini-fridge in the room?

 

The crazy thing is the price - we are doing B2B's this month in YC for the same price as one cruise in a Sunset Sky Suite on the Celebrity Equinox (which doesn't even have a ship-in-a-ship concept or a pool on the Sundeck, but I'm hopeful that's about to change while in dry dock in April).

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

1 minute ago, CruisematicVA said:

I'm pro-YC, but you do get a drink package with a SS...but I'm guessing you meant in the mini-fridge in the room?

 

You actually get a bottle of proseco and a bottle of booze in addition to what's in the mini bar.  You definitely don't get that in a SS.  

[Lena11033]

2 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

You actually get a bottle of proseco and a bottle of booze in addition to what's in the mini bar.  You definitely don't get that in a SS.  

 

Kinda makes it two bonuses as you have the mini fridge and the bottle of booze.

 

[RichYak]

5 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

…pool on the Sundeck… I'm hopeful that's about to change while in dry dock in April)

Doubtful

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

Doubtful

I think at a minimum we will see them add a bar on the Sundeck...that part I'd put money on.

 

Less confident they'll add a pool, but still keeping my fingers crossed. 

[RichYak]

33 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

I am also looking forward to your experience. I keep looking at YC but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I am hesitant due to the number of passengers and the continued reviews of the non-YC areas. 

 

Have a great time !

 

 

mac_tlc

Thanks. My wife and I are low key. We rarely go to shows on cruises, nor do we visit the casino. A little live music in the lounge works for us. All this to say I think YC will suit us just fine. 

[billc23]

I will be sailing in the YC this summer with the adult children and grandchildren and really appreciate the information on this thread. The YC has inside cabins so I booked 2 balcony suites for the 2 adult couples and an inside one for the grandkids. Unlike doing this on Celebrity, we all have the same benefits. My daughter suggested the inside cabin as her preference because there is no concern of the 13 year old going out on the balcony at night - one less thing to worry about. 

 

I didn't even to bother pricing a cruise on Celebrity for this trip for a few reasons. The young ones in the group probably will enjoy the rest of the ship a lot more and I find it irritating that Celebrity charges a trivial amount extra for common wine and cocktails. I'm embarking on the Solstice today for a 53 day journey, paying over $1000 pp/pn, and probably will be nickel and dimed. This tacky treatment will not detract from my experience but has annoyed me enough to look elsewhere for cruise vacations. 

[Shadow9612]

One of the key selling points for me is the no smoking in the casinoon Celebrity . 

 

Can anybody comment on how MSC  is with respect to smoking?

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

5 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

One of the key selling points for me is the no smoking in the casinoon Celebrity . 

 

Can anybody comment on how MSC  is with respect to smoking?

I read MSC just made the casinos on two of their ships completely smoke free, so hopefully that's a step toward them all being like that.

 

They have smoking casinos and non-smoking casinos currently. 

[At Sea At Peace]

13 hours ago, 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.  SS has no booze included, YC does.  The YC cabin is larger than a SS.  And whether or not you'll get a butler is open to question in a SS.  You definitely will in YC.

 

First, always enjoy keeping up with your posts and information.😉

 

SS has no booze included?

 

I believe I mentioned that it probably wasn't A-T-A, but there were no Retreat Suites available at the time 🤨 so that is the what we were comparing the cost to; under the assumption that an equivalent (size, bath etc.) to the YC standard deluxe in the Retreat would be 'even more' expensive.💵

 

We're headed on the 3/30-4/13 soon in the YC out of Miami. 🛳️  We've logged years of 3 B2B's per year in the YC pre-pandemic and found it 'always' to be a total pleasure, fantastic amenities ~

 

~ low passenger density and comparability to passenger mix and demographics

 

~ Top Sail Lounge (inside early morning, late afternoon and evening, light entertainment, and maybe even access to outside for in/out of ports viewing)

 

~ YC Restaurant (relative quality, uniqueness, OPEN over lounge, special requests etc.)

 

~ One Pool, Sundeck and Grill & Bar (just 'awesome for lunch daily') and 

 

and at a ridiculous comparable value to the big boat sea ship alternatives. 

 

So looking forward to it, first MSC YC post pandemic!

 

 

Edited March 15 by At Sea At Peace

[At Sea At Peace]

13 hours ago, RichYak said:

Thanks. My wife and I are low key. We rarely go to shows on cruises, nor do we visit the casino. A little live music in the lounge works for us. All this to say I think YC will suit us just fine. 

 

The same for us, although we will sample the shows.  It's not that we 'not show people,' we've lived a life of rising 5-6am for 40 years and haven't really been able to shake that, making staying up for the shows an issue.

 

So we enjoy the very elegant and low key performances in the Lounge.  Very relaxing, even if the dinning venue is still open.

[RichYak]

I don't sail until Sunday but there's no time like the present to start my comparison between YC and Retreat.

 

Online Check In - Winner: Celebrity

 

This is more MSC vs Celebrity than YC vs Retreat, but it should count nonetheless. To be fair, based on comments I was reading in Facebook groups, I think MSC was having IT issues the day I checked in, but it was frustrating. I couldn't check in on a desktop with no camera because it wouldn't let me upload an existing photo, something I routinely do on Celebrity. Using a mobile device, there's no button to press to take your photo (which I didn't know at first). I'm pressing everywhere while the screen is telling me to move my face higher or lower or closer. While cursing the app, it finally took my photo mid-swear. Not a good look but whatever.

 

My wife had even less luck to the point we finally gave up. I emailed my TA and she was able to get my boarding pass emailed to me. So I'll be the guy that shows up with a printed bar code instead of having it on my phone, like that "turning into your parents" TV commercial.

 

I haven't purchased any "cruise planner" type things for this MSC cruise, so I have no comparison of that online experience.

 

More to come once I sail.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

11 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I don't sail until Sunday but there's no time like the present to start my comparison between YC and Retreat.

 

Online Check In - Winner: Celebrity

 

This is more MSC vs Celebrity than YC vs Retreat, but it should count nonetheless. To be fair, based on comments I was reading in Facebook groups, I think MSC was having IT issues the day I checked in, but it was frustrating. I couldn't check in on a desktop with no camera because it wouldn't let me upload an existing photo, something I routinely do on Celebrity. Using a mobile device, there's no button to press to take your photo (which I didn't know at first). I'm pressing everywhere while the screen is telling me to move my face higher or lower or closer. While cursing the app, it finally took my photo mid-swear. Not a good look but whatever.

 

My wife had even less luck to the point we finally gave up. I emailed my TA and she was able to get my boarding pass emailed to me. So I'll be the guy that shows up with a printed bar code instead of having it on my phone, like that "turning into your parents" TV commercial.

 

I haven't purchased any "cruise planner" type things for this MSC cruise, so I have no comparison of that online experience.

 

More to come once I sail.

Technology is one area where Celebrity absolutely has a huge leg up on MSC.

 

I've yet to complete a check-in with MSC without having to call in, whether I've been using an Android phone, iPhone, or my laptop.

[RichYak]

6 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

Technology is one area where Celebrity absolutely has a huge leg up on MSC.

 

I've yet to complete a check-in with MSC without having to call in, whether I've been using an Android phone, iPhone, or my laptop.

In the grand scheme of things, this ranks way low on the "how it impacts my cruise" scale, but I felt it deserved mention.

[Whinenowine]

18 hours ago, CruisematicVA said:

I think at a minimum we will see them add a bar on the Sundeck...that part I'd put money on.

 

Less confident they'll add a pool, but still keeping my fingers crossed. 

If only!  But they didn't put pools on the Revolutionized M-class ships...so a simple dry dock is going to be a lot less impactful. 

[Dolebludger]

One difference that may be important so some is that I don’t think MSC has a YC on any ships with fewer than 4000 passengers. Some like smaller ships. But for access to and from ports, I recall that YC provides a butler escort on a different route than that used by the general population. Makes visiting ports easy. Also, as I recall, YC provides use of the mini fridge at no charge, and stocks the room with spirits. To us, this is a big deal, as the Retreat does this only for the higher suites, whereas most lines do provide this in their “lux level” accommodations.  

[DaKahuna]

20 hours ago, 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.  SS has no booze included, YC does.  The YC cabin is larger than a SS.  And whether or not you'll get a butler is open to question in a SS.  You definitely will in YC.

 

 This is not always the case.  On MSC Divina in the YC1, we had a shower/tub combination just like on Celebrity, except it was a fixed half glass partition instead of a shower curtain.  

 The YC1 on Divina was smaller than the Sky Suite we had on all our Celebrity cruises, including Millennium.  

 

 Millennium  251 sq ft.

 Silhouette   300 sq ft.

 Divina         236 sq ft. 

 

 I believe you are correct in referring to the newer  MSC Seaxxxx class of ships. 

[DaKahuna]

16 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

One of the key selling points for me is the no smoking in the casinoon Celebrity . 

 

Can anybody comment on how MSC  is with respect to smoking?

 

 I am with you there. 

 

 On MSC Divina smoking was permitted on about half of the port side of the ship in the casino.  It was not permitted on the starboard side but you could still smell it when you first entered.  After a while it was no noticeable to us so I guess we just got use to it.  

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Am I the only one who doesn't care at all about the room itself?

 

I'd like a balcony (even though I'll spend less than an hour on it the entire cruise), but beyond that I don't care at all about the size or even the amenities.

 

For me it's all about the service and experience outside the room.

[Shadow9612]

19 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I am with you there. 

 

 On MSC Divina smoking was permitted on about half of the port side of the ship in the casino.  It was not permitted on the starboard side but you could still smell it when you first entered.  After a while it was no noticeable to us so I guess we just got use to it.  

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

 

I was on a Princess cruise once where there was a 'no smoking' section of slot machines in the casino, but it was still very noticeable to me ... I couldn't stay very long and sadly I couldn't play Roulette 😧.

 

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

 

[Liao]

2 hours ago, CruisematicVA said:

Am I the only one who doesn't care at all about the room itself?

 

I'd like a balcony (even though I'll spend less than an hour on it the entire cruise), but beyond that I don't care at all about the size or even the amenities.

 

For me it's all about the service and experience outside the room.

I seriously doubt that you are the only one.  

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

3 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

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

 

I was on a Princess cruise once where there was a 'no smoking' section of slot machines in the casino, but it was still very noticeable to me ... I couldn't stay very long and sadly I couldn't play Roulette 😧.

 

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

 

The non-smoking casino on the Meraviglia was far enough away that there wasn't any smell of smoke, but there weren't any table games unfortunately.

[Shadow9612]

2 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

The non-smoking casino on the Meraviglia was far enough away that there wasn't any smell of smoke, but there weren't any table games unfortunately.

Thank you 🙂