Retreat vs. MSC Yacht Club

[tori1022]

Hi Everyone, 

 

We are looking at booking the Beyond, Sky Suite for August 2024 for myself, my husband and our 2 children (ages 9 and 5). The last 2 cruises we took were on MSC in the Yacht Club and it was great! Can anyone give a comparison? How is the pool deck in the retreat? Our kids are very "chill" for lack of a better term and actually prefer the private pool deck vs. the hustle and bustle of the main area. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Try a search, there a lot threads already on this 

[cruisestitch]

Here’s one

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2992248-celebrity-retreat-vs-msc-yacht-club/#comment-66941152

[George C]

We have done beyond and edge in suites and have done MSc yacht club . Pool deck is a larger less crowded on yacht club . Pool is only 3 or 4 foot deep on beyond, definitely a little harder to find lounge chairs on beyond , there outdoor retreat is still very nice with lots of staff passing out treats .

[hcat]

mostly a dip and dunk pool in the Retreat,  if one can find space.. and the swing chairs are usually " taken" for the day... by cocktail lovers!

[Bosjoe]

This is the pool area on Ascent, Its practically the same on Beyond, I been on both. It does get busy on sea days. It was also very busy on Beyond while at Bimini. 

[DaKahuna]

 You will not have the live entertainment in the Retreat Lounge that you had in the Top Sail Lounge.  

[cbfb]

Is there shade in the pool area at the Yacht Club? It was the last me thing we really disliked on MSC, no shade at the pool. 

[tori1022]

Thanks everyone! based off of this, it sound like YC is still a better fit. There was never an issue getting a lounger next to the pool so we can watch the kiddos. The cost is a little more for MSC but looks like it might be worth it. In our minds, there is nothing worse that feeling stressed about getting chairs poolside (if we don't, we are standing next to the pool watching the kids). 

[tori1022]

11 minutes ago, cbfb said:

Is there shade in the pool area at the Yacht Club? It was the last me thing we really disliked on MSC, no shade at the pool. 

 We were on Seascape 2x and both times there is minimal to no shade. In January it wasn't bad because the temps were mild, but in August the sun is brutal. 

[hcat]

6 minutes ago, tori1022 said:

Thanks everyone! based off of this, it sound like YC is still a better fit. There was never an issue getting a lounger next to the pool so we can watch the kiddos. The cost is a little more for MSC but looks like it might be worth it. In our minds, there is nothing worse that feeling stressed about getting chairs poolside (if we don't, we are standing next to the pool watching the kids). 

many just sit on the pool edge.. and then dunk!

[cbfb]

18 minutes ago, tori1022 said:

 We were on Seascape 2x and both times there is minimal to no shade. In January it wasn't bad because the temps were mild, but in August the sun is brutal. 

Yes! It was august/September for us and I agree. That was actually the only downside for us so maybe doing a January cruise is the answer. I agree, much cooler!!! 

[mahasamatman]

59 minutes ago, cbfb said:

Is there shade in the pool area at the Yacht Club?

 

There was plenty on the Fantasia.

[George C]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

many just sit on the pool edge.. and then dunk!

On seaside yacht club pool was 6 ft deep , I can’t swim so I was limited.

[cbfb]

34 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

 

There was plenty on the Fantasia.

Good to know! Thank you! 

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, tori1022 said:

The cost is a little more for MSC but looks like it might be worth it.

 

 Interesting.  Our experience has been that Celebrity Retreat is more expensive than MSC YC.

 

[RichYak]

3 hours ago, tori1022 said:

Thanks everyone! based off of this, it sound like YC is still a better fit. There was never an issue getting a lounger next to the pool so we can watch the kiddos. The cost is a little more for MSC but looks like it might be worth it. In our minds, there is nothing worse that feeling stressed about getting chairs poolside (if we don't, we are standing next to the pool watching the kids). 

What MSC ship are you considering? That could sway the "better fit" decision a bit.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

4 hours ago, cbfb said:

Is there shade in the pool area at the Yacht Club? It was the last me thing we really disliked on MSC, no shade at the pool. 

 

Plenty of shade on the pool deck in Yacht Club.  Not necessarily right next to the pool, however.

Edited June 7 by Happy Cruiser 6143

[Cap_D]

5 hours ago, hcat said:

mostly a dip and dunk pool in the Retreat,  if one can find space.. and the swing chairs are usually " taken" for the day... by cocktail lovers!

On Edge class ships, so true about the swing chairs often being monopolized.  The pool could definitely be a bit larger, although after 4:30 our experience has been all of the pools begin to clear out.   

[George C]

3 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Interesting.  Our experience has been that Celebrity Retreat is more expensive than MSC YC.

 

I have seen some of the prices come down on E class suites , at one point one couldn’t find anything under 4K . But really looking forward to our yacht club at end of the year and can’t wait to next year when MSc comes to Galveston.

[DaKahuna]

@George C  We've only done one YC sailing and that was on Divina in February.  We have a B2B on Seascape in September.  We are looking forward to it.   After that we have a 17-day Sydney to Honolulu on Solstice in April of next year.  Needless to say the 17-day was way more than the two 7-day B2B's.  

 

[hiccups]

We’ve done one Yacht Club cruise on Divina and one Retreat cruise on Beyond.  We thought Beyond was much better in terms of food and service.  We did a four-day sailing on MSC, and never met our butler.  We don’t need a butler, but we certainly expected he would introduce himself.  We were also forgotten when it came to disembarking—finally we asked and were told to just go ahead and leave.  We never received any information about disembarking, either.  Every staff member on Beyond just went above and (ha) beyond.  We were really impressed.

 

We’re willing to try Yacht Club again, but we preferred the beyond Sky Suite; our suite on MSC felt like a regular balcony.  Whenever we left the Yacht Club, it was a completely different experience than sailing on X, and not in a good way.

Edited June 8 by hiccups