Long time Celebrity Cruisers Jump Ships

[sptrout]

The Rack of Lamb was the highlight of all the 7 dinners that we had during our December MV YC cruise. My wife had never had RoL before and was stunned how good they were. I have had them on other cruises (not on land that I can remember) and the YC's were the best by a mile. I could have carried a gallon of the sauce home with me if there had been away LOL.

 

Other meals were also very good. I am on a Keto Diet and tried to stay with steaks as much as possible and they were so good that we even decided to take a pass on our free Diamond Card dinner at Butcher's Cut.

[heatherb1958]

1 hour ago, jkgourmet said:

 

Mera.  We have only ordered room service once or twice on 25+ cruises,  so that's no worry.  However, I admit that I screwed up and didn't do proper research on the easy package.  Had known about it's inadequacies, we very likely would not have booked.  (No, we are not going to pay the daily charge to upgrade. )

I know the pricing structure varies greatly between the European market and the US , for us here it is only the cost of one cocktail per day to upgrade from Easy to Premium which is a no brainer .

Go with an open mind and you will have a great cruise . 

[Cruising89143]

14 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

"A negative for me who drove to the Port and had to park my car was the Port of Miami traffic.  I'll never do that again!  MSC sailing from a less congested Port or on a less congested sailing/arrival day, would make a much--shall a say again--a much less stressful day than on Sunday."

 

I agree.  I absolutely hate sailing out of Miami.  I too drive to the port and $22/day to park one's car is a bit much.  

 

I've only sailed in Yacht Club on Seaside, where everything is together.  Would not be interested in sailing on a ship where I had to walk the entire length of the ship to get to the dining room.  Those are big ships!  And I'm glad the other poster enjoyed his meals in YC.  The food in the YC on Seaside (I've been twice now) is only mediocre.  Sort of like going to a chain restaurant.  With the exception of the risotto, which was excellent.  But I can't eat risotto every night.  And our waiter was so bad the last cruise that we didn't even bother going to the dining room the last two nights.  We couldn't stand it any more.  Went to Butcher's Cut one night and had pizza up on the pool deck the last night.

 

So, their execution of the ship within a ship concept is mostly excellent, but I have no interest in continuing to do the same old, same old 7-night itinerary out of Miami forever.  Let's hope they can branch out a bit.

I’m hoping to see them on the west coast soon. MSC along with RCI and a few other lines have joined forces to bid as a group for a new Seattle terminal. That tells me that MSC may be coming west. They would do well. Also,  the Grandiosa and Virtuosa is equipped with shore plug in capability which will be required for this new terminal. Fingers crossed. 😊  

[Seadweller001]

22 minutes ago, sptrout said:

The Rack of Lamb was the highlight of all the 7 dinners that we had during our December MV YC cruise. My wife had never had RoL before and was stunned how good they were. I have had them on other cruises (not on land that I can remember) and the YC's were the best by a mile. I could have carried a gallon of the sauce home with me if there had been away LOL.

 

Other meals were also very good. I am on a Keto Diet and tried to stay with steaks as much as possible and they were so good that we even decided to take a pass on our free Diamond Card dinner at Butcher's Cut.

i am kind of dumbfounded when reading that YC Patrons thing the food is average and esp below that of Luminae.  We have had many dinner in Luminae and I cant think of one meal besting the Le Muse lunches or dinners.  OK,, the Chocolate Cart on Formal Night is exceptional but that is not the main meal.  The main entree portions were huge and the side orders were refilled immediately when attentive waiters and assistant waiters observed.  I liked the Team Effort where all waiters in Le Muse were able to serve you.  In Luminae the assigned Waiter and Assistant focused only on their assigned tables.

 

one lunch we had Pork Feathers.  They were excellent severed in a tastey sauce.  My plate had over a pound of meat.  Tempura veggies and mashed potatoes, another homerun.

 

My wife had a burrito plate with a corn relish and tofu sauce.  She loved it and ordered another burrito.    The food was EXCELLENT every meal.  We never ate breakfast in El Muse.  The continental breakfast in the Top Sail Lounge had the best fresh squeezed COLD OJ.

 

In the X Retreat Lounge they had cheapo peanuts.  In the Top Sail Lounge each day was a  different selection of nuts AND you can request from the Drink Butlers any nuts you wanted. We had a bowl of Almonds and Pistachio nuts daily.  Try asking for that in Luminae, lol

 

 

 

 

[sptrout]

"Seadweller001"

 

Agreed. We did not find that the YC dinners were inferior to our Luminae experiences. The last time on CC, I ordered off the MDR menu as many times as the Luminae menu. The desserts were great though. The flaming chocolate globe was fun.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Seadweller, I'm glad you enjoyed your meals in YC and found it superior to Luminae.  Sadly, that has not been my experience.  Also, the level of service left a lot to be desired in the YC.  My experience of Luminae is that all the waiters and the sommelier stop by periodically to see how things are going.  On my last cruise on the Equinox, the sommelier stopped by my table every time I was in there and greeted me by name.  I was impressed as I don't drink alcohol and she knew this based on our conversation the first night.

[mickey89]

2 hours ago, Seadweller001 said:

........We had a bowl of Almonds and Pistachio nuts daily.  Try asking for that in Luminae, lol

Edited February 9, 2020 by mickey89

[Seadweller001]

Happy Cruiser, I think it is all about the individual workers onboard on any particular cruise.  At times  we have had great attentive Luminae Waiters and Assistants.  I have waited 35 mins in Luminae between the appetizer and entree.  We stuck to Chianti every meal In Le Muse and it was presented without our saying a word.
 

i am a big guy, stocky and the Maitre d asked me on day one if I was a big eater.  I said it is no fun to leave a food venue hungry, the portions never let me down.  One night someone went to the Pizza Specialty area and got us three  slices of a made to order Veggie Pizza.  It was amazing.  The Superbowl party had a nice variety of food, the freshly made hamburgers were perfect.  I have no memories of a dinner gathering in either MC or the new Retreat.  MSC planned this impromptu event with two days notice.  It was done with class.

 

In summary, for almost 50% less expensive than a SS on X, the YC experience In total cannot be bested as far as the value for your money.

 

 

[Seadweller001]

Some Executive Deluxe Suite Pictures:

 

First picture is the Lounge in Terminal F in MIA.

 

 

[jkgourmet]

Sigh.  I feel like this 'issue' is coming back. . . 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2720831-i-think-i-regret-booking-msc/

[rkacruiser]

5 hours ago, Seadweller001 said:

you can request from the Drink Butlers any nuts you wanted. We had a bowl of Almonds and Pistachio nuts daily.  

 

Different ships, different practices?  On Meraviglia, I asked for some nuts with my sailaway glass of wine.  All that was available that evening were peanuts.  They did have a mixed nuts selection when the YC Party was held in the Lounge.

[mickey89]

The same on Preziosa YC last week, no Pistachios, no Almonds, no decent food, everything changed. Never again.

 

Edited February 9, 2020 by mickey89

[Seadweller001]

17 minutes ago, mickey89 said:

The same on Preziosa YC last week, no Pistachios, no Almonds, no decent food, everything changed. Never again.

 

I was told to ask the Butler Lounge Attendants for any nuts wanted.  Did you ask?

[TrinaLC]

We enjoy the walk to LeMuse on Divina. And the restaurant itself is so much nicer than Seaside YC restaurant- much nicer decor, table spacing, etc.

 

I have found the YC food to be well above MDR offerings but not really special.  The service in Seaside dining is a bit hit or miss - it can get very busy. In LeMuse has always been wonderful.    
 

of course we’ve been spoiled by having Arthur twice ... Nobody compares. 

 

 

[Nashna]

Your review and photos brought back wonderful memories.  We had the same butler and the exact same stateroom...16034.  I was told that these rooms were difficult to book as MSC preferred to use it for bookings of third and forth passengers   Our 11-day sailing disembarked on January 28th.  We are also booked for January 21st in the Seaside in YC class.  Unfortunately, those square rooms were all sold out.  

[rkacruiser]

On 2/9/2020 at 5:49 PM, TrinaLC said:

we’ve been spoiled by having Arthur twice ... Nobody compares. 

 

Arthur is a gem.

[WonderMan3]

On 2/9/2020 at 12:45 PM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Seadweller, I'm glad you enjoyed your meals in YC and found it superior to Luminae.  Sadly, that has not been my experience.  Also, the level of service left a lot to be desired in the YC.  My experience of Luminae is that all the waiters and the sommelier stop by periodically to see how things are going.  On my last cruise on the Equinox, the sommelier stopped by my table every time I was in there and greeted me by name.  I was impressed as I don't drink alcohol and she knew this based on our conversation the first night.

 

Same here. Having been on two MSC ships I can safely say that the food in the YC dining room comes nowhere close to Luminae quality or service. Yes, there were some meals that tasted fine but some were downright terrible. I will say though that the food pictures posted in this thread from YC do look better than my experiences on Seaview and Bellissima.

[Seadweller001]

1 minute ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

Same here. Having been on two MSC ships I can safely say that the food in the YC dining room comes nowhere close to Luminae quality or service. Yes, there were some meals that tasted fine but some were downright terrible. I will say though that the food pictures posted in this thread from YC do look better than my experiences on Seaview and Bellissima.

Wonderman,   I cannot disagree with you because food tastes and experiences differ.  The Luminae menu was so limited we ordered from the MDR.  It bothered me that 50% of the time I had to do that and many in Luminae order from the MDR menu.  The MDR has some undesirable meals like meatloaf.  I found all our Le Muse meals excellent.  They brought up the Specialty Pizza but other than that we stuck to the Le Muse menu with no desire to seek food elsewhere.

[merdon]

On 2/8/2020 at 12:54 PM, cruisingator2 said:

Thanks for a nice review. We too love Celebrity but refuse to pay their current suite prices. We booked the Grandiosa YC out of Barcelona for mid April. Looking forward to trying a new cruise line. 

We also have sailed several times with both Celebrity and RCCL in suites and booked the Grandiosa YC but in October. Would be interested in hearing your experience on board since there are not many reviews yet for this ship.

Thanks!

[electro]

On 2/9/2020 at 4:56 PM, mickey89 said:

The same on Preziosa YC last week, no Pistachios, no Almonds, no decent food, everything changed. Never again.

 

How were the non food aspects of your cruise, especially out side the YC?

Going on the Preziosa in May.

[mickey89]

We cruised in the Caribbean not the Med, so probably totally different vibe.  Read reports of Med cruises for better understanding.  MSC is definitely not a cruise line I would endorse so unlike all others, they are unique like “Marmite”, you either hate it or like it I’m in the former camp, too many passengers can be crowded if you have sea days.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

18 hours ago, Seadweller001 said:

Wonderman,   I cannot disagree with you because food tastes and experiences differ.  The Luminae menu was so limited we ordered from the MDR.  It bothered me that 50% of the time I had to do that and many in Luminae order from the MDR menu.  The MDR has some undesirable meals like meatloaf.  I found all our Le Muse meals excellent.  They brought up the Specialty Pizza but other than that we stuck to the Le Muse menu with no desire to seek food elsewhere.

 

I actually like meatloaf and I'd be willing to bet that others do also.  We don't all like the same things.

[Seadweller001]

On the mainland at our local diners the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and coleslaw is my fav meal.  On X it had grizzle and chips of tiny bones in it.  Tasted nothing like what I am used too.  Our local diners have a Monday special for $5.99 for the meatloaf delish dinner.

[reedprincess]

1 hour ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

I actually like meatloaf and I'd be willing to bet that others do also.  We don't all like the same things.

Ahh mate. Try the Princess "meatloaf" on American nigh in the MDR, and you'd be hard pressed to eat meatloaf again. Looks a bit like that Fresh Pet pet food.  Just supremely unappetizing.

[Seadweller001]

29 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

Ahh mate. Try the Princess "meatloaf" on American nigh in the MDR, and you'd be hard pressed to eat meatloaf again. Looks a bit like that Fresh Pet pet food.  Just supremely unappetizing.

Meatloaf is not an expensive meal.  Diners serve it nightly, Golden Corral always has it so my point is if a ship serves meatloaf it better be excellent.  My MDR Meatloaf on X was horrible.  Never again.  If Luninae is the greatest, why do so many order from the MDR after a few days onboard?  In LeMuse we never asked if we could order off another menu because the food was excellent.  I think the facts speak for themselves.