RichYak

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

The name is so misleading 

Sure, I get that, and I've referred to the naming as unfortunate on many occasions. But once inside the stateroom, any reasonable person must realize that the jig is up and there really isn't an exterior space.

Thankfully, OP has figured this out prior to sailing while there may still be options.

10 hours ago, zitsky said:

Sorry?  Isn’t your veranda in an infinite veranda cabin INSIDE your cabin?  I would be surprised if you got wet.
 

I don't know what it is about IV cabins that makes some people so delusional.

On 4/12/2024 at 3:10 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

I was on the Meraviglia for Halloween and they were still making us watch the video in our room, dial the number, then get called down to our muster station by deck... all at a set time. So, if that changed on the Meraviglia, it must have changed VERY shortly thereafter.

What you describe was the process I experienced on Meraviglia last month.

8 hours ago, Tapi said:

I don’t think that the OP’s post is necessarily indicative that they made the wrong choice, but more of an attempt in their part to set realistic expectations.

Setting realistic expectations shouldn’t require posting on an internet forum. That said, I’m glad that, after comments in this thread, OP’s children suddenly acquired characteristics that will serve them well on Celebrity 

4 hours ago, billc23 said:

As long as the person is aboard the ship at the time the call is made...

Exactly. I don’t know why this is so complicated. Enable wifi calling on your mobile phone, purchase an internet package on board, and you’re always available in case of emergency. It’s simple and responsible. 

15 hours ago, kernie968 said:

Sorry this was the Meraviglia from 3/31 to 4/7/2024. We had sailed on Royal Thanksgiving week in 2023 and had no problems with kids or food. 

Before I booked my Meraviglia cruise, I spent upwards of an hour researching the area school calendars. That research led me to book the 3/17/24 sailing. In choosing to sail on Easter Sunday, you never really had a chance.

15 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

They are your kids and you know them best,  Nobody here knows them and can only post about their own kids and experiences.  Given that, how can anybody truly put you mind at ease?  If you are really concerned enough to post here on this topic, then maybe your gut is telling you something about your situation?

Ah, once again we are like-minded as this was pretty much what I was going to post. Not knowing OP's children, all we have to go on is their posted comment, which seems to indicate that yes, they made the wrong choice. I suspect, however, that all will survive the trauma of an Alaskan cruise on Celebrity.

2 hours ago, justcrusn said:

My wife says i am a tech nerd, probably guilty as charged.

I feel the need to point out that you CANNOT text on wifi.

If, you have an iphone, you can imessage, or facebook message or whatever, but NOT a text message. Not everyone uses apple, so if you or anyone you wish to communicate with is on android, that won’t work.

One easy way to tell is to look at the color of the message, if it’s green, it’s a text, if it’s blue it’s an imessage. 
Our burglar alarm for instance, sends text messages for any event, you won’t get those on wifi.

 

Last month while on a cruise, I had no problem sending and receiving txts with a friend who has an android device. I have an iPhone that was in airplane mode with wifi enabled. 

8 hours ago, Nikita4 said:

The YC on the World Europa is to small for the amount of cabins also the service was not good as on other ships, so I will sail next year in a normal cabin and pay with the money an other cruise on an other ship.
Really the venues are too small for the more than 150 cabins. The restaurant, the TSL and the new grill on the deck were to crowded and small.

Thank you. This is exactly the kind of information I'm looking for.

1 hour ago, indy406 said:

I'm trying to find a phone number to leave with relatives back home if they need reach in an emergency.

Your mobile phone number.

My last Celebrity cruise was on Summit. We went through 3 different stateroom attendants. Issues finally subsided when we got to #3.

53 minutes ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Was this recent? We are onboard later this month. There have been posts that chef lisa is on. Do not know her but have heard good things. Pizza always good!

Chef Lisa was on board last month. Food was very good.

8 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Don't the Edge-class ships have a ship-in-a-ship concept with their staterooms?

 

I haven't sailed in the Retreat on one yet, but that was my impression. 

Nope. Anyone from any deck or stateroom class can walk right up to the door of any Retreat suite. There is no “enclave” for Retreat staterooms. 

19 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

We just finished two weeks in the YC (Seascape + Seashore) and had a great time on both.

I was following along. Thanks for both reviews. 
 

19 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

We will be in the Retreat on the Equinox in early June and I'm disappointed that our room is not in an exclusive Retreat area

Yes all Retreat staterooms are in public areas of the ship on all Celebrity ships. I did enjoy the true ship within a ship concept in YC. 

14 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’ll let you ask all the inane questions about what can they order from the MDR.  That will keep you busy.

No thanks. That’s clearly your lane. I’ll stick to asking reasonable questions. 

12 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Look if I can get a banana split in Luminae, then chicken parmigiana can’t be that hard.  Do I really have to go down one flight of stairs?

Yes, down 1 deck and pay the specialty dining fee. Your question doesn’t get any less inane the more times you ask it. 

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

 So is it a stretch to ask about the restaurant directly below you?

Yes

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

Doesn’t Celebrity know who I am???

No

54 minutes ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Thanks. Did you go to the Captain's Welcome party? High Tea? Casino? If so, how was it?

We went to the Captain's welcome party, which was well attended. One of the singers and a couple of the dancers performed. We enjoyed it. High Tea was on the last sea day and was pleasant, even though the ship was really rocking and rolling on our way back to Brooklyn. We didn't visit the casino, which is typical for us.

36 minutes ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Thanks for the review. We are back onboard end of the month. Can't wait. Who was your butler team? Do you know the restaurant sommelier?

Our butler was Faisol and his assistant was Roque. Both excellent. I can’t recall the Somm’s name. We let our waiter handle the wine for the most part. 

34 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 

I actually find it to be a better experience! With only a small portion of passengers embarking/disembarking the process is a lot faster. When we boarded in Genoa, exiting our cab the stevedores saw that we were YC and immediately escorted us to where the YC crew and lounge were. Our documents were checked and we were probably in the Top Sail lounge in less than ten minutes. Nice short presentations by the Concierge and YC Director, then escorted to our stateroom. Probably 1/2 hour total.

Thanks. Your comments have me warming up to the idea. 

21 minutes ago, jcpc said:

I've got two Celebrity cruises booked this year...  I've also got 4 MSC Yacht Club cruises booked between now and February 2025.

I have 2 daughters getting married in the next 13 months, so I have 0 cruises booked 🤑

2 minutes ago, RichYak said:

So does that mean that the Meraviglia YC cabin count is actually higher than 95 as well?

Answering my own question: I just found another Meraviglia technical sheet via google and it says 103 YC cabins.

cc: @Two Wheels Only

56 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

It looks like we've stumbled onto something...

 

The link that you have (Grandiosa's Technical Sheet) is different from the link that I have (MSC Grandiosa) 

 

Page 5 on one sheet has "95 SUITES WITH BUTLER SERVICE" vs. page 7 on the other sheet which has "103 SUITES WITH BUTLER SERVICE". 

Interesting, thanks.

56 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

The earlier sheet doesn't count the Duplex Suites on decks 9 & 12 which were originally Aurea on Meraviglia but were later upgraded to Yacht Club suites. 

So does that mean that the Meraviglia YC cabin count is actually higher than 95 as well?

43 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

It's easier to separate the larger ships (Seaside EVO, Meraviglia Plus class) from the similar/smaller ships (Seaside/Meraviglia class).

I suppose, but being new to MSC, I'm just now learning the different ship classes and wasn't even aware, until your post, that there might be sub-classes of each.

44 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

Also, Grandiosa is a Plus ship (103). 

You know, I got my numbers right off of Grandiosa's Technical Sheet. It didn't make much sense to me that the ship's total capacity was similar to Virtuosa's and Euribia's while the YC count was lower. Thanks for that.

My wife and I sailed Meraviglia last month after many cruises on Celebrity in The Retreat. With Retreat product declining a bit and prices skyrocketing, we found ourselves looking for another line to try and YC fit the bill. And since we live less than an hour from Brooklyn, it didn't take much effort to give it a shot. TLDR: we're very glad we did.

I had posted somewhat live comments in an already existing thread on the Celebrity CC board. Per the suggestion of @DisneyJen I'm creating a standalone thread here and re-writing.

Embarkation

Embarkation was a breeze, not really any better or worse than any we've had in Retreat, though with the butler escort, it felt more like a Retreat Upper Suite embarkation. Once on board, the Top Sail lounge was a bit crowded, but we chatted with other couples and I made a Butcher's Cut reservation while we waited for our cabin to be ready prior to lunch. I did miss the ability to drop carry-ons in the cabin immediately upon boarding like on Celebrity, but not by much.

YC Restaurant vs Luminae

Embarkation day lunch in the YC Restaurant felt noticeably different than it does in Luminae on Celebrity. The Luminae staff always appears hair-on-fire-frenetic for the first meal service. YC was relaxed, friendly and efficient--a very good sign.

After subsequent meals it became obvious that YC was both better staffed and managed than Luminae. Servers never felt rushed, food arrived hot and well prepared, ingredients were of high quality. I found the menu less adventurous than Luminae's, but not in a bad way. My big Luminae pet peeve: if you want a cocktail, servers need to fetch the Sommelier. In YC, I just ask whoever is in front of me and in a couple minutes, my drink arrives. Also, the 180 degree views off the bow are gorgeous. Lastly, the YC Restaurant is open on port days. Luminae just can't compete and falls way short.

YC Lounge vs Retreat Lounge

This just isn't a fair fight. On most of their ships, Celebrity just retrofitted an already existing venue and called it the Retreat Lounge. And on the new ships where the lounge was designed from scratch for the Retreat, there's no proper bar with seating. Their lounges are antiseptic and antisocial. Top Sail is so warm and inviting with comfortable seating and killer views. You can get a proper espresso in Top Sail, there are small bites all day long, and some form of entertainment every evening. Retreat Lounges have a pod-based coffee machine, occasional food items, and little in the way of entertainment. Our stateroom was so close to the lounge, it served as our de facto living room. You would need to stay in an Edge Villa on Celebrity for the same convenient lounge access. It's simply no contest.

YC One Pool vs Retreat Sundeck

This is also no-contest. The only Celebrity ships with a proper sundeck with pool and hot tub are the new Edge Class ships. The problem with Edge Class is there are sooooo many suites. For an area designed to be a "retreat" from the masses, there are simply too many people. I didn't feel that way on Mera's One Pool deck. There was plenty of space for everyone. Add to that a buffet for breakfast and lunch, something that Celebrity Retreat doesn't offer, and YC wins hands down.

Butler Service

Our butler was awesome... just fantastic. Just about everyone else we talked to also loved their butler, except one couple who were on a lower floor outside the YC enclave. Maybe that was the issue. We mentioned wine and cheese to him and every night there was wine and cheese in our stateroom. My wife mentioned that she liked the dates that they had in the lounge, the next day we found a whole box of them in our cabin. Stuff like that. On Celebrity, you need to stay in upper suites to get this kind of attention. Any time I stopped at the lounge for coffee to bring back to our cabin, whichever butler was there brought it back for us.

YC Deluxe Balcony vs Retreat Sky Suite

This is the only area where Retreat might be a winner. The toiletries are of higher quality in Retreat and the cabin just seems more luxurious. I love the robes too. The terrycloth ones in our YC cabin were cheap. There were no bedside power outlets and the room, while perfectly functional, was a bit smaller. In Retreat, the bed faces the balcony which is also nice. For us though, having chosen a location just steps from the lounge, location trumped all those little in-cabin flaws. If one is on a lower deck or less convenient location, Retreat could certainly win this battle.

So that's my comparison. I'm sold on YC. Sorry to let the secret out 😂