chisoxfan

I would agree with your logic particularly since you are on an S class ship. Our main (only) reason for booking Retreat was also the pool and sundeck on E class. On S class it just doesn't offer as much particularly on warm weather cruises or those with intense itineraries. Just curious as to why you would not book AQ as this was our go to on S class (subject to pricing of course). We are doing something similar next Jan. ie we will be in suite on Sun Princess go to a balacony on HAL (with Orange Club) and then go to YC. We certainly aren't 'dreading our balcony room on HAL. X Retreat has lost it's luster for us due to pricing and inconsistencies in product.

I cannot believe how botched up this 'introduction' to what are now Sanctuary cabins has been. I guess some of us who booked previously can take solace in the 50% overnight price increaase that took place. That said, we were excited about and applauded Princess for the long term prospect of offering more reasonable pricing in a dedicated area which now seems dashed. We will watch with interest (and perhaps some trepidation) as the reviews from the new Sanctuary filter in.

Frankly after two Retreat cruises outlined above we booked another YC on MSC. I reviewed current YC benefits to refresh my recollection of last cruise(s). So you have a butler who stocks your mini bar daily, escorts you to theater shows (there was a reserved section on X but nothing special). Escorted boarding on embarkation (X had an OK lounge area but otherwise you are on your own), dedicated area on private island (did not go to X PI but understand there is nothing special for suite guests). Access to Thermal suites for YC. At no time in X Retreat did I feel 'special' ie. there was no apparent advantage in booking excursions or specialty dining. On Apex there were some very appreciated service people who we thought displayed the Retreat norm only to find out on Ascent that maybe this standard was not to be expected X wide. For my money the YC experience provided so much more value than Retreat. Interested to see how Princess executes their Sanctuary experience on the Sun.

We were on recent Apex and Ascent Sky Suite Cruises. We liked the cabins very much particularly the bed facing balcony and dual sink bathroom with nice sized shower, low tub arrangment. The Retreat pool was OK on both ships.. Ascent had two levels with a larger pool and 2 hot tubs vs 1 but the seating areas in shade were actually less inviting and filled up on our Carib cruise. Bar and small menu dining there also. Overall a nice place. Lounge on Apex had outdoor area which we prefered to more antiseptic Ascent. Luminae was a mixed bag. Service on Apex was outstanding and the hard working hostess did everything to accomodate desired tables. On the Ascent not so much. Tables for two were really small and close together- while the dining rooms were similar the Ascent seemed more constrained in 'good tables'. Food for us was OK-good and I enjoyed well prepared Escargot every night which was a treat. We never met a butler on our 10 day Apex cruise and had no more interaction with our cabin attendant than we would have in any cruise cabin on any line. A head butler introduced himself with attendant on first day of Ascent and handed us cards.... a good start and we had breakfast in the cabin the next AM where the head butler actually helped arrange the food. Great I thought... but that was absolutley the last time I saw any 'butler'. So in 17 days or Retreat cruising we had only one morning service where a butler was involved. It isn't a big deal except when I read some posts extolling butler services provided. For me the Retreat 'failure' was in the inconsitency of the experience(s). The other issue of course is value. We paid probablly 50-60% of the published rate (roughly equivalent to MSC YC)and at that price I would do it again. The Edge class ships are very nice. As many have pointed out, much better values exist with premium and semi premium lines but we really want to stay with larger newer ships. So X is off our radar currently and our next cruises are Princess Sun suites and MSC YC (and slumming on one HAL balcony). While MSC has understandably raised prices they have laudably maintained their benefits and service levels. X seemingly is fixated on 'cheapening' theirs while extracting more $$$ (drink packages and specialty dining coming immediately to mind). JMHO

Sure you would be fine. I would likely opt for this arrangement even vs. connecting room /balcony. To me a max bang for the buck family cruise vacation. Your kids are probably perfect age for this... old enough to have some 'controlled' autonomy. If you want to make yourself feel good about vacation cost look at corresponding options on X or NCL for their dedicated suite areas.

I would suggest at least considering the YC. As you probably know you would have your own pool, restaurant, and lounge (nightly entertainment). Premium drinks would be included and you would have stocked frig. Maybe an inside for kids and balcony for you across the hall? Sorry, maybe not an answer to your questions but just a suggestion.

We thought Fine Cut on Ascent was very good but felt Rooftop was the best experience. That said X has become excessive with their specialty dining prices... if I can pay for a comparable experience on land for similar dollars I would prefer that. Based on X pricing I would probably opt only for Rooftop and be 'satisfied'. We were in Retreat and had a bunch of OBC and still could not be tempted to try the 'higher end' ie. Daniel Boulud (we have eaten at his other props) dining experiences on Ascent as we just did not feel it worthwhile. JMHO

You win. That big metal structure with a circle cut out in front of your 'porthole veranda' isn't an obstruction. Surprised X doesn't call it an infinite porthole. My point was that it was never a 'traditional' balcony like we have all been familair with. Like the IV some will like it and some will hate it and it is a matter of personal preference. Peace and happy cruising.

Deck plans show DPV's as obstructed on their key. Deck Plan Key Obstructed View

If DPV is a balcony why does X call it a deluxe porthole view and obstructed. Those of us who have cruised for years know what a balcony is. I still have never seen a mini-suite on an Edge class ship. SV's are the only true balconies on Edge ships (besides Retreat) and they are limited, popular, and expensive (maybe a comentary on IV's). There are 36 SV's on Edge vs. 1400+ cabins. For the ones who liked AQ no balconies exist on Edge class with 130AQ on S class ships. You can label cabins how you wish ie (see Inflation reduction act) but most cruisers can understand what constitutes a balcony.

If X has 'mini suites' that is news to me. Obviously there are very limited real balconies on X Edge class ships (aft and Retreat only) and good luck finding one of those. We used to like AQ on X but don't want to book this on Edge Class because they are now IV. Everyone is different but we are gravitating to newer ships so for us X has really limited our options for a true balcony and while it is a nice product Retreat greatly disappoints us in value offered. We loved S ships on X and these were innovative but for us they may be getting long in the tooth.

Hate to pick on a ship but have to agree. We were on Carib Princess for a Panama Canal Cruise some years ago. The ship was old then, crew very disorganized, and the ship had a propulsion issue causing a change of ports. We were Princess fans prior to that and our bad experience prompted us to try MSC YC which was a positive eye opener. We were also X fans but the lack of balconies and cost of Retreat on Edge class made us look again at our options. So going full circle we tried Princess (Enchanted) and had a generally positive experience. Will try a suite on Princess Sun in early 25. The general product (X vs. Princess) is similar ie. entertainment, food, crew but of course all of these things can be tempered by the ship itself. IMHO Princess has done some innovative things with Medallion and drink packages where X has failed with lack of balconies on new ships, pricing, and adding non-refundable deposits. Hoping the Sphere class will be a step forward for Princess unlike the Edge class which for us was a sideways move.

Totally agree. The survey is flawed like many (most) and when I have done them feel that my real sentiments are not communicated. It is a convenient place to list exceptional crew members.

Again, never said that CC has any bearing on cruise line employees. Just offering my opinion that survey's can be a poor measure of actual satisfaction and modern management relies too much on them. It was not my intention to move 'off topic' but thanks for pointing out this transgression.

Never suggested it does. Just that an expansive give and take format like CC offers better insights than a survey. Additionally, my point was the corporate reliance on 'surveys' is mis- directed in my opinion.

That's the other issue with modern surveys.... management makes them 'important' and like when you get your oil changed at BMW they plead for a good score or 'they will be out on the street with their kids'. Ok, you changed the oil for an exorbitant price.... how good or bad can that experience be...A negative survey tends to hurt the poor stiff doing the work usually under the restraints of management. I expect to have a positive professional experience whether on a cruise, dining, or other service. I will glady bring up a terrible specific experience to management but it is not my job to do theirs and 'monitor' how they run their business. That is a valuable benefit of cruise critic...one can express their views (not limited by 25 words or less), get feedback from others, not punish individuals who probably had little to do with bad outcomes, and allow others to evaluate the input.

We also just booked Seascape YC for Jan 2025. A crazy trifecta... Princess Sun suite, HAL Nieuw Statendam with Orange club and then MSC. Sadly we did not consider X our previous fave cruise line as Retreat was 50% to 100% more than what was offered by the other cruises and just not worth it to us. AQ not considered because of IV on newer ships (our preference). Outside of drastic price drops in Retreat not seeing anything that would bring us back to X.

These surveys (I think X and the others are the same) are very frustrating to me. So if the entertainment is poor but there are one or two standouts there is no way to quantify with a single score. I know you can mention an individual performer but we typically don't make note of the name. The technology certainly exists to list every music act for the cruise but apparently too much work? So I know that naming some people is positive for them (and am glad to do it) but overall the survey is pretty worthless ie. I would be reluctant to leave a poor rating for entertainment when one of the best one or two acts we have seen on board a ship performed. The survey has become the analytical crutch for management who don't get fully involved in their business. JMHO

Blackberry cars are very good. As another twist if your plans aren't totally fixed would be to take National Express from Victoria station the afternoon before (super cheap, they handle your luggage unlike trains, and have reserved seating) and they will drop you off in Southhampton where you can walk (several blocks) to some clean low priced hotels (marriott moxy comes to mind). Southhampton is kind of interesting in that they have a few quaint bars (the claim to fame is the Titanic final stop at Southhampton) within walking distance of hotels and a mall next door with a few decent restaurants. So for the price of the Blackberry car you can get a room and maybe dinner and sleep late(r) for the two days with no concerns about traffic etc. Not suggesting one would give up a night in London for Southhampton especially of you haven't spent much time there, but adding the extra evening in my mind would be an attractive option.

That is a very broad generalization..... that said I fully agree. Princess has tried to do some interesting things with their drink packages and medallion system where I can't help but feel X is stepping backwards (infinite balconies). X has played with ammenities and pricing until one can't even keep track of what to expect (speaking largely of Retreat). We did book a suite on Sun and I was so disappointed at how Princess 'immediately' revamped this 'class' so early on but hopefully they will figure it out- not sure X has completely.

A few random comments on MSC YC. We sailed on Seaside in 2019 in YC and were very pleased with it (3300 for YC Balcony!). After Covid we resumed with several X cruises (our previous favorite) and tried the suite Retreat cabins. These were very pleasant but pricing has exploded so that a typical Retreat balcony is now 9-12k for a Caribbean weekend (we paid much less). Moving forward and Princess introduced the Sun which has a dedicated suite area (pool, lounge, restaurant) which sounded desirable and we booked this for next Jan. It only took a few months for Princess to completely change their suites pricing and ammenities on this ship, the primary result being 25-30% increase in prices and potentially more crowding in dedicated pool and restaurant areas (since this just happened actual impact remains to be seen). Bottom line and my point is that MSC YC has remained very consistent with their YC product and prices unlike the other guys. We subsequently just booked YC as part of a cruise trifecta next Jan. Sun, HAL Niuw Statendam, Seashore. It is kind of crazy perhaps but that is another story. Just wanted to compliment the YC value- they offer mini bar, access to spa, dedicated YC space on private island, butler, etc. The other guys keep changing their ammenities to lower costs, etc. while pricing is raised. We were also appreciative that MSC maintained a Black (now Diamond) matched level for us which went back to 2019 and I would have expected to have ended. Our only negatives are non refundable deposit and preference for FLL instead on Miami for Carib departure ports. So kudos to MSC for staying mostly consistent in the YC product and looking forward to sailing again on them.

IMHO X really messed up abandoning balconies on their new ships which for us is a major reason not to sail with them . The Retreat with real balconies is great but pricing has become ridiculous. So when the Sun came out with dedicated pool, lounge, and restaurant at a 'reasonable' price point we were excited. As documented above it diddn't take long for this concept to experience a price blow up. So that leaves MSC YC. They have been consistent with their product and it remains at a most competitive price point. We just booked today a YC 1 week Carib cruise for less than the Princess Sun suite we also booked several months ago (and which increased by 50% overnight). So living in the land of X and Princess I do have to give kudos to MSC (YC) for building their ships with a concept in mind and maintaining some consistency in pricing and benefits. JMHO

Well one reason we opted for a suite was the special lifeboats reserved for us...... oh... Princess said not to talk about it.... Seriously when we go on a Carib cruise we just like to hang at the pool. At times this experience became so frustrating (no doubt due in part to chair hogs) that we gravitated towards suites with dedicated pool areas (Retreat, YC) or used the Sanctuary (on Grand class where pool was directly below) or HAL cabanas near pool. So maybe a bit sensitive if spacing is challenged in Sun Sanctuary. We will do a balcony on HAL immediately after our Sun cruise... with no dedicated pool we never look at a suite.

I think Princess is falling into the let's see 'what the market will bear suite pricing' as have X and NCL. The upgrade programs seem to act as ultimate support for pricing. This appears as low hanging fruit short term but IMHO erodes loyalty. We were long term X cruisers but rarely even consider them currently. MSC YC has maintained (even with strong demand) some consistency in pricing.