Celebrity Retreat vs MSC Yacht Club - reviews?

[go.without.you]

I've sailed Celebrity Retreat several times but was wondering how MSC's Yacht Club compares. Does anyone have any reviews for me?

[Robkat]

If you go into MSC, you'll find lots and lots of YC reviews.

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, go.without.you said:

I've sailed Celebrity Retreat several times but was wondering how MSC's Yacht Club compares. Does anyone have any reviews for me?

Funny, I just mentioned MSC to my wife during lunch today. Yacht Club is now firmly on my radar screen and I'm also curious how it compares to Retreat.

 

Here's one tip. MSC's frequent cruiser program is not that generous, but they do offer a status match from hotels and other cruise loyalty programs. My Azamara status, obtained via only Celebrity cruises, matched to MSC's highest tier, where my Celebrity status wouldn't have. I just did the match yesterday. It only took them a few hours and I'm Diamond!

[STLCRUISIN]

1 hour ago, go.without.you said:

I've sailed Celebrity Retreat several times but was wondering how MSC's Yacht Club compares. Does anyone have any reviews for me?

Hi, GenerationX, who is on Celebrity now and currently posting her trip, will be on MSC in YC right after her current cruise and doing a comparison review.

[Jim_Iain]

4 minutes ago, STLCRUISIN said:

Hi, GenerationX, who is on Celebrity now and currently posting her trip, will be on MSC in YC right after her current cruise and doing a comparison review.

I'm also looking forward to her Comparison but will definitely enjoy her Celebrity RS experience first.

[George C]

We have celebrity retreat several times including very recently on Beyond and also Edge , in general I give a edge to MSc yacht club, love the truly ship within a ship , on yacht club all your cabins , restaurants and bars are in this area you can’t enter without being in a yacht club cabin, the inside suite lounge is beautiful and much larger and nicer than celebrity with a baby grand piano and live music from about 5 to 11 , there will be a solo artist or a duo playing that whole time. Also loved the outdoor area with pools and hot tubs never saw a crowd or had any issues getting a chair plus more food options outside including breakfast and lunch . They also match your status and can get a free specialty restaurant if you are elite on celebrity or diamond on rccl. Another plus was there private island has a yacht club area with lots of waiters and they will serve your lunch , had a very nice lobster roll there.  

[go.without.you]

9 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Funny, I just mentioned MSC to my wife during lunch today. Yacht Club is now firmly on my radar screen and I'm also curious how it compares to Retreat.

 

Here's one tip. MSC's frequent cruiser program is not that generous, but they do offer a status match from hotels and other cruise loyalty programs. My Azamara status, obtained via only Celebrity cruises, matched to MSC's highest tier, where my Celebrity status wouldn't have. I just did the match yesterday. It only took them a few hours and I'm Diamond!

Good to know! I just hit Elite Plus.

I want to do a Thanksgiving cruise this year but not liking the options on Celebrity. I did it last year on a ship without a Retreat deck and I won't make that mistake again. Way too peopley.

[George C]

2 minutes ago, go.without.you said:

Good to know! I just hit Elite Plus.

I want to do a Thanksgiving cruise this year but not liking the options on Celebrity. I did it last year on a ship without a Retreat deck and I won't make that mistake again. Way too peopley.

Outdoor retreat is a joke except for edge class. Yacht club has inside cabins also , basic balcony cabin is a little smaller than edge class sky suites. Yacht club also gives veterans a ten percent discount.

[RichYak]

9 minutes ago, go.without.you said:

Good to know! I just hit Elite Plus.

CC Elite and Elite Plus match to Gold on MSC. I am Elite on X but Discoverer on Azamara because of all my Celebrity cruises (never sailed Azamara). Discoverer got me Diamond on MSC.

[WonderMan3]

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

Funny, I just mentioned MSC to my wife during lunch today. Yacht Club is now firmly on my radar screen and I'm also curious how it compares to Retreat.

 

Here's one tip. MSC's frequent cruiser program is not that generous, but they do offer a status match from hotels and other cruise loyalty programs. My Azamara status, obtained via only Celebrity cruises, matched to MSC's highest tier, where my Celebrity status wouldn't have. I just did the match yesterday. It only took them a few hours and I'm Diamond!

I wouldn't bother. I did two cruises on two different MSC ships in Yacht Club. While the YC space itself is definitely better than the Retreat (all contained in one area, indoor and outdoor food venues, large indoor bar) the food was largely terrible and vastly inferior to Celebrity and the service was very uneven with some of the worst staff members I've ever encountered in cruising; we had to have one of our butlers replaced for being surly, bartenders and servers didn't recognize basic cocktails, we saw several instances of staff members verbally abusing other staff members. And once you leave the YC, while the MSC ships are very nice they are very crowded with a pretty rowdy crowd. It was basically a European version of NCL except that NCL has better food and service in The Haven. I couldn't wait to get back to Celebrity after trying MSC.

[RichYak]

7 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

I wouldn't bother. I did two cruises on two different MSC ships in Yacht Club. While the YC space itself is definitely better than the Retreat (all contained in one area, indoor and outdoor food venues, large indoor bar) the food was largely terrible and vastly inferior to Celebrity and the service was very uneven with some of the worst staff members I've ever encountered in cruising; we had to have one of our butlers replaced for being surly, bartenders and servers didn't recognize basic cocktails, we saw several instances of staff members verbally abusing other staff members. And once you leave the YC, while the MSC ships are very nice they are very crowded with a pretty rowdy crowd. It was basically a European version of NCL except that NCL has better food and service in The Haven. I couldn't wait to get back to Celebrity after trying MSC.

Thanks I do value your opinion. I’d be more concerned with MSC’s food if I didn’t think Celebrity’s food has become vastly inferior to it’s own offerings from just last year. I am considering a low effort sailing out of Brooklyn as I live a short drive away just to try the product. 

[WonderMan3]

14 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Thanks I do value your opinion. I’d be more concerned with MSC’s food if I didn’t think Celebrity’s food has become vastly inferior to it’s own offerings from just last year. I am considering a low effort sailing out of Brooklyn as I live a short drive away just to try the product. 

If you can get a price that is significantly less than Celebrity then maybe try it out. Wasn't my cup of tea but some others here seem to like it. The specialty restaurants were pretty good although still not as good as Celebrity but much better than the YC dining room.

[talljules1]

We've done both - and doing both again this year. 

 

They are quite different from each other. MSC does the ship within a ship concept much better. The YC lounge is larger than the retreat lounge on S-class ships. We've had good service in both. The food in YC on Preziosa was perhaps not as quite as good as on Celebrity, but it was fine in the YC and we enjoyed it. Perhaps the difference is that outside of the YC, as others have said, the ship is more crowded and rowdy. We vowed we wouldn't sail MSC outside the YC - non YC MSC doesn't compare to non-retreat X.

 

We've met lovely people on both lines (and that's important to us).

 

A Deluxe balcony stateroom in YC on Virtuosa is about the same size as a sky suite (but has a shower rather than bath, but also has a walk in wardrobe), and unlike the sky suite, comes with an included minibar and a bottle of spirits and daily newspapers. We will miss the laundry that would come with our Elite+ status. However, MSC YC is MUCH cheaper than the Retreat, so it doesn't matter.  You get premium drinks, wifi and gratuities included in both retreat and YC. We compared a week in the retreat with a fortnight in YC, and MSC was still cheaper - it also has a great itinerary. So, we're sailing MSC YC in the Summer to Iceland and Norway.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Love, love, love MSC YC and personally feel as though they have Celebrity beat in amenities and value. Having said that, if I had to cruise outside of a suite category, I’d definitely go with celebrity where there seems to be less of a class division as it relates to service and amenities. 

[islabahia]

We have a few more cruises on X this year and will be trying Yacht Club on MSC.  Prices for a Deluxe Veranda in the YC are outstanding compared to a SkySuite which was s ridiculously overpriced.  

[RichYak]

On a whim, I just priced 2 different 7-night Norwegian Fjord cruises in August 2024. Apex in an S2 and the brand new MSC Euribia in a YC balcony cabin. Very similar itineraries embarking 1 day apart. It was $10,400 (which comes with $600 OBC) for Apex and $6,300 for Euribia (before including any 5% discounts for Voyagers Club and early booking). I'll be reading the live from MSC YC thread by @GenerationX very closely.

[Jim_Iain]

On 1/12/2023 at 3:25 PM, RichYak said:

CC Elite and Elite Plus match to Gold on MSC. I am Elite on X but Discoverer on Azamara because of all my Celebrity cruises (never sailed Azamara). Discoverer got me Diamond on MSC.

 

Would Zenith also match at Gold or a different level?

[RichYak]

11 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Would Zenith also match at Gold or a different level?

Zenith matches to top tier Diamond. You would need to sail MSC at least once every 3 years to maintain the status and matching is a one time courtesy. So time your match accordingly.

[Shiba_Lover]

11 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Would Zenith also match at Gold or a different level?

Here is some info on the status match - MSC status match: How status with another cruise line got me perks with MSC - The Points Guy   If you click "this chart" in there, it looks like you'll get diamond

 

[jcpc]

On 1/16/2023 at 5:21 PM, Jim_Iain said:

 

Would Zenith also match at Gold or a different level?

Jim,

 

I can confirm that Zenith matches to Diamond.  I did the status match last week.  Note that when you book an MSC cruise using your Voyager Number, you do get a discounted rate (as opposed to Celebrity who does not offer discounted rates for Zenith members).  So definitely do that status match (some have reported that they had difficulty doing this via the MSC website but keep at it if it gives you trouble!  I am lucky I guess because I had no trouble - and I did the status match for myself and my two cruise buddies)

 

Janice

Edited January 22, 2023 by jcpc

[George C]

On 1/12/2023 at 7:49 PM, RichYak said:

Thanks I do value your opinion. I’d be more concerned with MSC’s food if I didn’t think Celebrity’s food has become vastly inferior to it’s own offerings from just last year. I am considering a low effort sailing out of Brooklyn as I live a short drive away just to try the product. 

I love leaving out of New York either Manhattan or Brooklyn since we visit there every year it saves us a lot on airfare. We are sailing celebrity again in 2 months if Luminae continues to decline we will be happy to go back to yacht club, MSc gives us a ten percent discount since I am a vet . Also I got a much better price on rccl this November and we can easily add UDP like we did last cruise and still way cheaper in a grand suite bs the smaller sky suite.

[RichYak]

19 minutes ago, George C said:

I love leaving out of New York either Manhattan or Brooklyn since we visit there every year it saves us a lot on airfare. We are sailing celebrity again in 2 months if Luminae continues to decline we will be happy to go back to yacht club, MSc gives us a ten percent discount since I am a vet . Also I got a much better price on rccl this November and we can easily add UDP like we did last cruise and still way cheaper in a grand suite bs the smaller sky suite.

My cruise calendar is booked up for 2023. A Southern Caribbean itinerary in a RS on Millennium in March (that was booked before X went insane with Retreat prices) and a regular balcony cabin on Summit's Greenland/Iceland cruise in August. Celebrity wants $800pp/pn for a SS for this cruise. The Retreat product just isn't worth that price. I nearly booked Oceania instead, but the X itinerary is better.

 

All that to say, I'm looking at probably March 2024 for MSC YC to the Bahamas on Merviglia. I hate that it's so far off, but it is what it is. My wife and I both matched to MSC Diamond in anticipation of booking. I look forward to trying out the product.

[George C]

52 minutes ago, RichYak said:

My cruise calendar is booked up for 2023. A Southern Caribbean itinerary in a RS on Millennium in March (that was booked before X went insane with Retreat prices) and a regular balcony cabin on Summit's Greenland/Iceland cruise in August. Celebrity wants $800pp/pn for a SS for this cruise. The Retreat product just isn't worth that price. I nearly booked Oceania instead, but the X itinerary is better.

 

All that to say, I'm looking at probably March 2024 for MSC YC to the Bahamas on Merviglia. I hate that it's so far off, but it is what it is. My wife and I both matched to MSC Diamond in anticipation of booking. I look forward to trying out the product.

What really surprised us was the music in suite lounge from approx 5pm to 11, a few small combos or solo acts would continuously play , it also had a baby grand . Celebrity disappointed me when they removed the piano from Michaels when they changed it to retreat . 

[Jim_Iain]

On 1/16/2023 at 2:35 PM, ehall said:

Here is some info on the status match - MSC status match: How status with another cruise line got me perks with MSC - The Points Guy   If you click "this chart" in there, it looks like you'll get diamond

 

Thanks --- time will tell.   Charla's experience left me on the boarder.    Not sure the Mega's ships are our forte even in the Yacht Club.   Time will tell.  Our first non-Celebrity cruise will be on Ponant (ultra small ships).

[SusieAV8R]

1 hour ago, George C said:

What really surprised us was the music in suite lounge from approx 5pm to 11, a few small combos or solo acts would continuously play , it also had a baby grand . Celebrity disappointed me when they removed the piano from Michaels when they changed it to retreat . 

I agree with you, George C.  Pre-Covid, the Retreat Lounge (formerly Michael's Club) had solo or duo musicians playing in there from about 5pm to 7:00/7:30 pm, but post covid, there has been zero live entertainment.  Now it is just 3 flat screen TV's for "entertainment": zero comparison.