CruisinShips

16 minutes ago, di T said:

That’s great! Did you have your status match when you booked? 

I did not.  I believe the status match page asked for a booking number of a future or past MSC cruise.  So I booked the cruise, signed up for the status match, and then handed it to my travel agent and he called about the status match discount.

FWIW, my TA just notified me that MCS gave me a 5% discount based on my status match (Gold) on a 7 night YC booking.

Hi all.  We just booked our first MSC cruise.  I completed the status match application and (quickly) got back confirmation that I am deemed Gold level.  My question is this:  Do I have to do the same thing for my wife?  Or is there a way to link status between members (she has not yet signed up for Voyagers Club), or does it not really matter if she has status match since we cruise together?

Thanks in advance!

I just watched a good review of the Beyond (non Retreat) from a you tube channel called Cruise News and Booze.  You may want to check it out.

6 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

We have not yet tried MSC Yacht Club but tempted to follow the crowd at some point.

 

We have done a Crown Loft suite twice on Royal on Oasis-Class ships (Symphony and Harmony).  It might be a consideration.  They are in a small enclave deck (17) just with other CL suites.  Just down the hall on 17 is the Coastal Kitchen suite restaurant and the Suite Lounge.  But to get to the Suite Sun Deck you need to go down a deck and cross over.  

We too have stayed in Crown Loft suites...rear facing ones on the Oasis, Allure and Symphony, and liked them very much.  I agree the 17th floor being suites only with the Coastal Kitchen/Lounge is a very good setup. We could easily do without the butler we enjoy in the Retreat, the a CL was exactly where I was leaning before this thread convinced me to try MSC YC.

That being said, a week cruise in a CL is no great bargain either....

4 minutes ago, italnsd said:

It does indeed takes time to press repeatedly the Source button on the side of the TV to go from the input selected by the last passenger to the one where the standard cruise programs are. A highly technical task that cannot be left to the cleaning crew. Especially in these old models that used to cycle through all the inputs and not just the active ones. Much better to deactivate the Source button and stimulate the passengers' fantasy in cooking up alternative solutions whose inventiveness, I am sure, will never tire IT personnel.

I can't believe you're not satisfied with one or two news stations, some form of ESPN that shows sporting events one never knew existed, a channel or two that show nonstop cartoons, an onboard infomercial, or the view of the ocean ahead.  What more do you need?

I was on the Eclipse last October (west coast) and the wifi was so bad, nothing would stream.  Hopefully that had to do with cabin location, ship location, or both.

21 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

I do hope that MSC YC at least meets your expectations (or even exceeds them).   Which ship did you book?

Thank you.  We booked the Seascape.

So, since starting this thread, we have booked a cruise on MSC YC.  I will say we have absolutely LOVED our two prior Retreat experiences...first was the Eclipse last October, and then that experience was eclipsed by an absolutely wonderful cruise in a CS on the Apex in February.  We enjoyed that one so much that we booked the same cabin on the same ship for February of next year.  So while we now have two Retreat cruises booked, the pricing and the reviews I have read right here in this thread have motivated me to try MSC.

I agree with many others...we live in South Florida and really love the convenience of Caribbean cruises, so the ship is more important to us than the ports...that's why the smaller ships just aren't appealing for those itineraries.

Anyway...this has been a VERY enlightening discussion, and I sincerely appreciate all of the great feedback so many have provided.

I've had some real frustration with the online Status Match form page. 

#1 it requires you to upload a "membership card" from the other loyalty club...I am not sure about anyone else, but I don't have a membership card from Royal or Celebrity;

#2 To get around that, I uploaded a screen cap of my loyalty number and status from Celebrity.  When I finally got that finished, and hit confirm to submit the completed page, I got an error message.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar, and do I need to call them?

Thanks

9 minutes ago, voyager1964 said:

Suggest asking this question on NCL board - you will be surprised how they assess the Retreat

Can’t you save me the trouble please….how would they assess the Retreat?

13 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

He was being tongue-in-cheek.  The point being that the less people know how good YC is, the less chance that prices will rise along with the increased demand.  

OK...I deserve to be smacked for missing that.

22 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Stay away from the YC, I have been 3 times with another booked..it’s not good. 
 

re the smaller ships, I’d be bored stiff at night. I consider anything smaller than Equinox small..actually, that may be my favorite overall ship..

Why do you have another booked if "it's not good"?    And your post is the first negative one in this thread about the YC.  Can't you people all just agree so my future cruise planning gets easier?  Sheesh! 😉

What I am learning from posts in this thread is that you only need the "ship in a ship" scenario with main-stream lines as opposed to the luxury lines.  

I am also learning MSC YC might not be as bad as I was thinking.  Again, the most negative thing I have read about it is related to when you walk out of the YC area, you are entering a more crowded, lower end feeling megaship experience.  Perhaps it has to do with which MSC ship you're on.

Lots of good input in this thread.

I am really surprised to see the positive comments about MSC Yacht Club.  I haven't tried it yet, but I have watched tons of youtube reviews and have read many reviews/comparisons, and almost all said similar things...the YC experience is very good on some ships, food is below that of Celebrity, and if you leave the YC area, you feel like you're on a packed Carnival cruise ship.

If this is not what some of you have found, then I'd love to be wrong.  Are there certain MSC ships to focus on for the better experience?

17 minutes ago, billc23 said:

Regent, Silversea, Seabourn... all offer an overall onboard experience that the Retreat cannot compare with. The increased public space and crew per passenger makes a nice difference on the luxury lines. No waiting for service, no crowds to speak of, never asked what package do you have, no slips to sign... - so much more refined overall. The ships are smaller allowing them to often dock closer to the on land attractions, are often able to dock rather than tender, and usually have longer stays at the port.

 

Last month I sailed Singapore to Honk Kong on a 600 passenger Silversea ship directly followed by a Hong Kong to Singapore sailing on the Celebrity Solstice. The difference in the variety of dining options, the quality of liquors available, and the overall service levels were greater than I expected. An example of the port experience difference was the visit to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). On Silversea we docked in the city with short rides to various tourist sites that were traffic dependent. Celebrity docked at a further away port and the excursions to sites in the city were a 2 hour or more bus ride each way. And that was after you navigated your way through the industrial port terminal. I have posted a picture, taken from my balcony, of the pop up terminal the Vietnam government set up for Silversea passengers.

 

Cost wise, I am paying 60% more per day for Celebrity. I do have a larger room on Celebrity- the PH - while on Silversea my room was similar in size to a RS on Celebrity. Once I leave my room on Silversea I am just like all the other passengers while on Celebrity I am special as a guest of the Retreat and staying in the PH. I am escorted and often skip the long lines of "fellow passengers", I am invited to exclusive events, etc. - all to acknowledge my status... and all unnecessary on Silversea.

 

A few years ago I thought I would not enjoy the smaller ship experience, let alone the stuffiness of a luxury line. Once I gave it a try on a port intensive sailing, I was sold on the overall experience. Try one of the luxury lines and see what you think. 

 

 

 

VERY informative and potentially helpful.  Thank you.

14 minutes ago, 39august said:

What about the suite experience on Hal?

Unless it's changed, it's basically just a bigger cabin and access to a quiet little concierge area with finger foods.  No dedicated restaurant or deck as far as I recall.

18 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

What is your Retreat budget standpoint?  Upper suite or Sky Suite level? Explora Journeys and Ritz Carlton Yachts are both worth a look if you (generally) can go a bit higher than the normal Sky Suite range. If you're sticking to mainstream ships with the ship within a ship concept, you just have to weigh your pros and cons. You've mentioned all of the semi-comparable lines. Yacht Club is likely cheaper but that comes with some cons, Haven is typically on par with Retreat prices but you'll find a lot more kids, the Royal Caribbean suite product varies significantly from ship to ship and class to class and generally isn't worth the money in my opinion. Princess offers a 'Suite Experience Manager' but it isn't a butler. Sun Princess is the only ship that would be close for now.

Thanks, thoughtful response.  Budget-wise we typically stay in Celebrity suites, and prefer to go on 7-10 day cruises...some of the more luxury lines are for longer periods and tend to price us out.  So, yes, I guess my options are as limited as I thought they were...unless anyone else has any options that haven't been mentioned.

22 minutes ago, mom says said:

Look to the luxury lines.

Oh...gee...never thought of that lol. 😉

NOT just from a suite standpoint, but I'm referring to the overall Retreat experience.  Butlers, dedicated restaurant, dedicated lounge, dedicated sun deck.  I get that other cruise lines offer suites and upscale amenities, but most don't offer those things I mentioned.  I know some will say MSC Yacht Club, but IMO it just doesn't match up.  Others may say NCL's Haven, but same answer. RCL's suite class on Oasis ships?  Maybe close, I guess, but a step or two below.

So what am I missing? 

Enjoying this thread....thank you!

THANK GOD someone asked this very important question!

50 minutes ago, hcat said:

I prefer following individual reviews/ posts...we all have our fav  reviewers!

I in no way mean for that to replace "Live from" type posts, and I meant to add that.  This would be for things like "On the Eclipse right now the ____ show is great".  Or for people who are about to board to ask current cruisers questions.

Port intensive cruises, particularly in Alaska, are more about the locale than the ship anyway.  I might have a different opinion if you were taking a Caribbean cruise, but without knowing your kids, I'm guessing they will have a great cruise.

respectfully submitted...

It might be interesting to have a pinned running post for each Celebrity ship, where people can continually update the respective ship thread with live updates and commentary relative to their current experiences.

I know we can always search for specific info via ship name, but I thought it might be nice to have a running thread that is always current.

Just a thought.