jcpc

Thanks, @morpheusofthesea. I realize that they all "play games" since I've been cruising usually about 3 to 4 times per year since 1969 (yeah.........I'm old!!!) But I'm very new to MSC having been a Celebrity Retreat loyalist for many, many years. My problem (as I see it) is that I don't want to book another cruise for September on another cruise line (with a non-refundable deposit) if, in fact, MSC Meraviglia is indeed sailing. So I think it's best for me to just "wait and see". I have an MSC cruise in February and a Celebrity cruise in May to keep me occupied in the meantime. Thanks for all the valuable postings you provided re MSC YC. Your posts were one of the reasons why I decided to take the leap from Celebrity Retreat to MSC Yacht Club........and I'm very glad I did.

Yes, the September 15 cruise was supposed to dock in Charlottetown on September 20.

@Upper Deck Dad I, too, wish they would let us know soon regarding the September/October Canada/N.E. sailings. There are 5 of us going (3 Yacht Club cabins) and we want to re-book as quickly as possible on another cruise line (and, hopefully, transfer our pre-purchased insurance). We are all "long time" Celebrity cruisers so we'll probably revert back to Celebrity from Boston (but not in Retreat because their pricing is astronomical......twice as high as what we would be paying MSC for this sailing).

Thanks for the info @morpheusofthesea So, once we receive official notification from MSC that the cruise is cancelled, I'll find out if "Nationwide is on our side" (as the advertisement jingle states). LOL I'm not really familiar with MSC as I've only sailed them once (in YC and loved it, BTW). Since you are a seasoned MSC cruiser have you known them to "play games" when a sailing is cancelled? The poster on that other social media site has actually posted the email blurb that his travel agent had received from MSC re the sailing being cancelled. He, however, is not located in the US......so does MSC notify international folks first?? I'm baffled about this one.

I am also on one of those September Canada/N.E. sailings and I have seen the post that you are referring to on the other social media site. I, personally, believe these Canada/N.E. sailings in September/October have been cancelled but for some reason beyond my comprehension MSC is not yet saying they are truly cancelled. Both myself and my travel agent have called MSC and the agents emphatically say they are showing as active sailings and the sailing still shows up as "booked" on my MSC account. But the simple fact that they do not show on the consumer website or in any of the "port listings" for each port of call leads me to believe they are indeed cancelled. For the life of me I cannot understand why MSC has not just notified everyone that they are cancelled. Once that happens we will definitely get reimbursed our deposit amount from MSC. Regarding insurance: It sounds as if you have not paid for the insurance yet as you say you've only paid deposit of $398, which equates to $199 per person which is the exact per person amount for the cruise deposit that we paid. So you haven't even paid for any insurance so there's no way you will be financially responsible for it. I, on the other hand, have purchased insurance through insuremytrip.com and it was purchased immediately after depositing the cruise (to make sure we are covered for pre-existing conditions). Unfortunately, my premium payment is non-refundable. Hopefully once the cruise is cancelled if I can book on Princess or another cruise line for a similar date/itinerary the insurance company "might" let me transfer my insurance to this new booking. But I can't do anything until MSC officially cancels.

Oh no. I'm sailing Meraviglia again in February and I certainly hope Hugh is not the YC Director at that time. Our entire group though Giuseppe was just the greatest. From the moment we first met him in the terminal in Brooklyn on Embarkation Day and then throughout the entire cruise, he was so involved with all YC guests.

Oooohhhh....I think you might find the storage/space in the YC Inside cabin problematic! :>)

Yes, I agree. It's like comparing apples to oranges. There are vast differences in a ship with 6000 passengers vs. one with 2000 passengers. I'm sure @Stem to Stern is keeping this in mind while he does his comparison.

I will definitely be following along. I wish you two wonderful sailings. I'm anxiously awaiting your comparison of Celebrity Retreat and MSC Yacht Club. Hopefully the Inside YC cabin is not an issue for you. I, myself, would find it much to small (and I usually sail solo!) After sailing exclusively with Celebrity for 20+ years I tried my first MSC YC experience on Meraviglia in September. I (along with 4 other Celebrity Retreat addicts) were blown away by the YC experience........far superior to any Retreat experience any of us have received in recent saiilngs. The Summit is my absolute favorite Celebrity vessel, having sailed her 35 times. While onboard Meraviglia, I did miss the general ambiance that I've grown to love onboard Celebrity ships. When venturing out of the YC enclave the ship was very crowded and frenetic. But I loved the YC enclave and saw no reason to leave it other than to go to the shows or visit the casino. I also missed some of the Celebrity crew who I have become like family to me over the years. But I notice that a lot of those crew members have chosen not to return to the ships. So there seems to be lots of "newbies" on Celebrity ships (and, unfortunately, the level of service is just not there anymore!) I found the food on Meraviglia much superior than the food I've been receiving on Celebrity. This is the first time in years that my legs and feet did not swell up as MSC seems to cook without using lots of sodium and the food tasted delicious. Anyway, sorry for going on and on. I do wish you both two great cruises and I'll definitely be awaiting your posts.

This is what I would suggest: If you have folks with mobility issues, you can have the driver drop them off directly in front of the "Yacht Club Entrance" to the terminal. Then have the driver proceed to the Yacht Club Tent where one of you can check in all the luggage. The distance from the YC Tent to the YC Entrance to the terminal is not really awfully long but if someone really has a hard time walking it might be best to drop them off right at the YC entrance. Also, yes, as soon as you enter the terminal there is an area to the left for "Wheelchair assistance". However, if you go over there your name is put on a list and when there is a chair and an available pusher you will be wheeled to check-in and board the ship. I did first stop by the "wheelchair assistance" area but when I saw how they operated, I proceeded to walk myself directly to the YC Check-in Room! What I suggest is to make the short walk from the entrance to the terminal to the YC Check-in area. Once in the Check-In area there will be a senior butler from the ship and just tell him that you need a wheelchair and you'll have one with a pusher from the ship with no wait and no problem. I have difficulty walking long distances (and actually rent and use a rollator while onboard the ship as the Meraviglia is a pretty long ship) but I easily made the walk from the YC Luggage Tent to the YC Check-in inside the terminal.

She’s in the Penthouse Suite!

Giuseppe was the YC Director on the Meraviglia in September. He was great. He was everywhere....morning, noon and night. I swear that man never sleeps.

@Georgia_PeachesThanks so much for posting your very informative "live" review. I really enjoyed reading it. And very happy to hear that Thor was kind to you.....LOL The E-Class ships definitely have a lot to offer.

I have been sailing with Celebrity for 30+ years and sailing in suites (from SS to PH) for the past 12 or 13 years. More than likely, I will continue to sail on Celebrity but I will not be booking suites in the future. My next Celebrity sailing is in Concierge Class (cruise only rate - no perks included - we get complimentary beverage package and internet due to our Loyalty Status). The price that Celebrity is currently charging for suites is OUTRAGEOUS. There is no way I'm paying that kind of money for the diluted services and product Celebrity is now offering. For comparison purposes I offer the following: I am booked on MSC Yacht Club (balcony suite) for a 10 night Canada/New England sailing departing September 15. Price is $4.2K per person. Celebrity is offering an 11 night Canada/New England sailing departing September 19. Entry level Sky Suite pricing is $9.1K per person. I don't know who would ever pay nine-thousand dollars per person for the Sky Suite experience on Celebrity. Also, the non-refundable deposit on MSC is total of $398 based on double occupancy whereas the non-refundable deposit on Celebrity is $1777 based on double occupancy.

Surprised that there are no small bottles of Aqua Panna or Evian in the Retreat fridge. Just that generic "True" water and another brand I'm not familiar with. And, @Georgia_Peachesmy "go to" machine in the casino is usually Thor also. Actually, Wonder Woman on both Beyond and Edge was very kind to me!!! So maybe you should pay her a visit.;;;LOL

@go.without.you It's really too bad that you had such an awful experience. Honestly, it was the complete opposite of what we experienced on Meraviglia in September. But for all I know I may have your exact same experience on my next Meraviglia sailing in February. I really do believe nowadays it's "hit and miss" with these cruise lines.......one week it's perfect and three weeks later it's awful. It does sound as if you tried to make the best of it, which is really all you can do. Hopefully your next cruise will be better.

I've never taken a Celebrity cruise where they use a "service type elevator".....it's always been mixed in with the non-Retreat folks. On Summit in Bayonne you definitely exit from a different ship door onto Deck 4 but at the point where you cross over the gangway you are mixing in with the other folks. The Retreat Concierge escorts you to the point where you "mix in" and then you're on your own!

@Georgia_Peaches The Retreat Deck and the layout of the SS looks to be the same as on Edge and Beyond. The Retreat Deck is absolutely gorgeous but I'm not a "sun" person so I really did not spend all that much time up there on any of my E-class sailings. The SS is, however, a perfect cabin. Yours doesn't look much different than the ones I stayed in on Edge. I did find, however, that it was difficult hanging clothes in the closet as I'm on the "short side" and had to stand on my tiptoes to properly hang things.....LOL. Too bad the turnaround wasn't as seamless as it is supposed to be. Funny......we had the exact same issue on Beyond.......our keys weren't ready and we had a heck of a time getting back onto the ship without any keys!!! What saved us is that we were accompanied by the Retreat Concierge and the Captain's Club Host so those 2 guys stayed with us until all was settled.

@Georgia_PeachesI'll be very interested to read your take on Luminae and the Retreat Lounge. On M and S class ships, I love Luminae because I always felt like I had personalized service (i.e., the wait team really gets to know you and your likes and dislikes. Nothing "over the top" but I always felt like I was very well taken care of in Luminae). However, on E class ships I felt that Luminae was just like another "main dining room".......especially on Beyond. WIth the amount of suites the E-class ships have I never felt like you got personalized service in Luminae. And the same goes for the Retreat Lounge. When on an M or S class ship just about every time you walked into the Reterat Lounge (or Michael's Club, as the case may be) the Retreat Concierge just about always greeted you by name and said hello. Not a big long conversation by any means (which is fine with me) but always a "hello Greeting". On E class ships usually the Retreat Concierges don't even know who you are or that you are in the Lounge (even when staying in PH on Beyond!). The whole Lounge (and Luminae) just had a "cold" feeling to it. So, very interested to hear what you think about these 2 venues on Ascent. Enjoy!!!

@Georgia_Peaches I'm surprised that they are not having you physically disembark the ship. I know from my "limited experiences" of doing B2B cruises from Fort Lauderdale (Miami, and Bayonne) we always had to physically walk off the ship and present our passport to the officials at the end of the gangway. The process you describe sounds wonderful to me!! Now am I remembering correctly that you are in a SS on this next sailing?

The last time I sailed on Celebrity (Summit, July 2023) they did indeed have the "seafood extravaganza buffet" on the last day. In addition to all the seafood items that were mentioned in Georgia Peaches' post, they also had huge slabs of a beef (not sure what it was......a huge steak of some sort I'm guessing). They really "did it up big" for the last day (and this was on a 7-night Bermuda cruise!). The lunchtime buffet was packed.

I've experienced this Effy "hard-sell" onboard Summit. All you had to do was walk by the shop and glance in the window and they were on you like flies on you know what! And they never gave up even after you said "not interested". A real turn-off, in my mind. But I disagree that this isn't a Celebrity issue. When the Captain of the ship is having nightly events and promos in the Effy shop, and such promo/event is listed in the daily program as an "event", then it is an indication to passengers that Effy is, indeed, sanctioned by Celebrity upper management. On just about every Celebrity sailing I have been on the Captain did an "event" in the Effy shop. Loving your review. E-Class ships are the best!

@go.without.you So sorry to read about the bad experience you are having with MSC YC. I can honestly say that what you are experiencing is the complete opposite of what we (total of 5 Celebrity Retreat "loyalists") received on our Meraviglia sailing in September. All 5 of us were absolutely blown away by the level of service we received. Our butler escorted us every evening to whatever show we were attending (whether it be the free show in the main theater of the "pay for" show in the Carousel Lounge). He was very attentive....actually came to find us during the day just to say hi and see if we needed anything. Two of my friends were on a different deck and had a different butler who wasn't bad......but wasn't as attentive as ours was. Our butler took our 2 friends under his wing and always checked on them too. I guess we had a really great butler. Our "junior butler" (i.e., room attendant) was also great. We had 2 suites next to each other (3 women couldn't fit into one suite.....LOL!) Our attendant made up our rooms in the morning while we were at breakfast. We had plenty of towels, tissues, toilet paper, etc. etc. He was great. In the dining room each evening we were seated at the same table with the same waitstaff which is what we wanted. Our wait team knew our preferences after 2 nights. They were outstanding. Regarding tips. We did not tip anyone until the last evening. So....we got this excellent service without any pre-tipping! So what your review is telling me is that MSC is just like every other cruise line......it's kind of "hit or miss"! Hopefully things improve a bit for you and you get to experience a few "hits" and a lot less "misses".

@go.without.you I am looking forward to your live report. I, too, was a Celebrity Loyalist who has attained Zenith level and has been sailing exclusively with Celebrity since 1990. For the past 15 years or so I sailed in Retreat (even before suites were re-named "Retreat"...LOL). With the astronomical pricing of Celebrity Retreat class (and the decreased quality of what you're getting for what you're paying) I decided to look into MSC. I completed my first MSC Yacht Club cruise on Meraviglia in September. It was, without a doubt, an outstanding experience (far superior to what I've recently experienced on Celebrity Retreat!). I have booked 2 additional MSC YC cruises for 2024. So, I'm definitely interested in your take on MSC Yacht Club. Enjoy!!

@Georgia_Peaches First, big congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Peaches on your anniversary. Nineteen year is, in my opinion, an accomplishment to be proud of. I am definitely looking forward to following along. I enjoy reading all your posts on both the Celebrity and MSC boards. Regarding dinner, might I suggest you try to get a reservation at Le Voyage by Daniel Boulud? I ate once at that restaurant on Beyond and the food, service, and ambiance was outstanding. It was probably one of the best meals I've ever eaten on any cruise ship. And lucky you.......you will have a five-star team at the Martini Bar, including Rendy and Kadek. Enjoy every second of your back to back sailings.