WonderMan3

When I was on Seaview two weeks ago they had a sign at the Concierge desk in Yacht Club stating that Venchi was not included for YC guests except for the gelato. I assume the situation was the same the week prior on my Bellissima cruise but I can’t confirm that. Premium drink package covered drink costs only up to 10 Euro that goes for YC guests too. So of course all the cocktails at the specialty restaurants cost 10.50 Euro which meant they weren’t covered.

Are you? Really? Okay...LOL.

It’s for December, only 2 months out. Sounds like they have a chunk of space to get rid of and are lowering prices. MSC might have fewer cabins to sell so are offering at a higher price.

I thought this didn’t start until next May? How are people cruising now having it included?

Yes. Will print it out. I’m on that May 2nd sailing. In my account it’s giving me options to buy an internet package which is why I was confused. I’m assuming that is 4GB per person?

Bellissima is newer than Seaside and Seaview. The next ship is Grandiosa which is a Meraviglia Plus class ship so it will likely follow the design of Meraviglia and Bellissima; the deck plans for YC seem to indicate that.

So I thought I saw a post about this awhile back but when I made a booking for Seaside for next May and told the agent I heard that internet was now included for bookings from May forward he had no clue about it. On MSC's website though they are calling it out under Yacht Club benefits. So is this definitely happening? Does it cover any cruise that departs in May?

I was referencing the ship as a whole, walking through the corridors or to the public venues. Yes, Yacht Club is subdued and quiet, as is the Retreat area on Celebrity Edge. Can't make an even comparison to the rest of Celebrity's fleet as they don't have a connected Retreat area.

It’s the village of Camogli along the Italian Riviera. Photo in next post.

The Edge Retreat is much closer to the MSC concept. (And the wraparound outside deck is gone on the newer ships like Bellissima btw). It’s spacious with plenty of seating and floor to ceiling windows on one side and an outdoor sitting area on the other. There is complimentary food and drink available throughout the day you can help yourself to and servers come by to take drink orders. The only miss is the lack of a full bar to sit at. Right up stairs is the pool deck with lots of seating, pool and hot tub, full bar and seating area to eat. They don’t have a grill like YC but do have a lunch menu (which could use an upgrade). Where it breaks down on that ship is that Luminae is a couple decks below the Retreat Lounge because the spa is in the way. And of course the suites are not all connected to the same space like YC is. Those were two big mistakes that undermine Celebrity’s attempt at an all-suites area.

The only place I have ever encountered “snobbery” on a Celebrity cruise is in Murano where the staff (mainly managers, maitre’d) seem to think very highly of themselves as if they are working at a 5 star Parisian restaurant and are pretentious to the point of obnoxiousness at times. The food is good but honestly MSC’s French restaurant gave food just as good without any of the attitude. Nowhere else on any Celebrity Cruises (I’ve done 10 of them) would I say I’ve encountered anything close to a snob attitude. Kind of an odd assessment that I would expect to hear more from a Cunard experience or Oceania that market themselves as more luxury. Of course MSC’s clientele based what I saw onboard seems to be an NCL/Carnival type of crowd, so if you’re used to that more raucous atmosphere, the more subdued vibe on Celebrity ships might put you off.

Much of it was nothing special but there were some good things; the focaccia at the YC dining room and the bacon and cheese bread at Butcher's Cut were great. I didn't partake of pastries too much. Only one I can remember offhand was a cherry tart at the YC grill which was nice. Most of the sweets looked good though. The desserts at the YC dining room were consistently tasty so I would venture to guess that all the little pastries and small sweets they had at the lounge and grill were good too.

Oh, I thought I had posted that along with the other photos of Camogli. Here it is. Still haven’t unwrapped it here at home. Have to figure out where to hang it.

If you are looking for food as good as on the mainland in Italy you will be sorely disappointed. Food in Yacht Club dining room I would rate about as good as Celebrity’s standard dining room (at least on Seaview - Bellissima I would rate lower). Of course Celebrity’s pricing is much higher for suites so I guess you get what you pay for.