LIVE SIDE-BY-SIDE Celebrity Summit Retreat & Seascape Yacht Club 12/9-21/2023 ~ 1st MSC vs Farewell (?) X Suite Experience

[81Zoomie]

@Stem to Stern thanks so much for your side by side comparison. We have been looking at MSC and we board the Summit when you get off.  We appreciate all your pics and the info!  If you have an opportunity, could you post a pick of the new wine by the glass prices on the Summit?  We understand they recently increased.  Hope you have another great cruise and it’s not too rocky with the storm this evening 🌊🚢🌴

[tnm6217]

@Stem to Stern I'll be on Summit in just under a month. Can you let me know who the Concierges are on your sailing? Is Rafael still the Maitre d' in Luminae?

[Stem to Stern]

5 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

or just hold steady? 

I hold the phone steady on the rail.

 

[Stem to Stern]

5 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

could you post a pick of the new wine by the glass prices

From Cellar Masters menu….

 

[Stem to Stern]

Evidently I drank up the rest of my prefered Chopin vodka upon boarding.  When we returned to The Retreat Lounge in the evening there was no more available, so I settled for Belvedere in my Lemon Drop Martini.  I will continue with hard liquor since I refuse to pay $2 a glass extra to drink newly priced $19 glasses of wine such as Conundrum.

Evening snacks in The Retreat Lounge….

 

[Stem to Stern]

Snippets from Day 1 Luminae dinner menu as seen in app.  We also looked at Blu and Cosmopolitan menus.  Ordered off all three.  The only dud was the carrot cake.  Rosie aka my new cruise buddy loves carrot cake as much as I do, but the chocolate bar made up for it.  Full photo dump next post.

Amuse-bouche

(Non-existent in MSC Yacht Club Restaurant)

Edited December 17, 2023 by Stem to Stern

[Stem to Stern]

spaghetti bolognese (DH’s starter)

Salad from Blu

 

More Blu flavor wonderment

poached lobster starter

Ribeye

Short rib 🤤🤤🤤

 

 

[Stem to Stern]

Good morning from off the northern coast of Cuba.  

DH and I started at Cafe Al Bacio until the weird music annoyed us enough to move on.

I met up with our friends in The Retreat Lounge to make a breakfast plan.

TRL morning dose of food porn…

Could have just stayed here for some nosh.  

More relaxing music, but some loud passenger interrupted the serenity with their complaining about something at the crack of dawn.  There is one in every bunch.

Tim is still stuffed, so he has set up camp in the Solarium as it is quite windy on The Retreat Sundeck.

Next stop Luminae.

Edited December 17, 2023 by Stem to Stern

[81Zoomie]

10 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

From Cellar Masters menu….

 

Thanks so much @Stem to Stern!  Totally agree with your passing on the wine by the glass up charge.  New pricing is a little over the top.  Pic of Conudrum @ Costco this week.

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by 81Zoomie

[lola2013]

Good morning Paul,

Apex was amazing…disembarked yesterday 🥲.  I waved as we sailed past Miami on 12/9!  I’m ready for this Summit review.  Down to 109 days until we sail on Silhouette 🚢.

Bon Voyage,

Susan

[Georgia_Peaches]

I'm impressed with how the Summit looks in the pics you've posted.  Her décor seems pretty and fresh.  How's your butler/Retreat Host service been thus far?

[Stem to Stern]

25 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I'm impressed with how the Summit looks in the pics you've posted.  Her décor seems pretty and fresh.  How's your butler/Retreat Host service been thus far?

My sentiments exactly.  

Feels like coming back home to visit an old friend.❤️🥰

Gorgeous, plush, and luxurious are adjectives that come to mind when strolling the interiors of the ship.  

Plenty of cozy nooks to discover before the masses awaken and begin to filter into the public spaces of the ship.

However, DH is my counterbalance with his white-glove inspections and observations.  The Solarium pool is cold and the jets in either Solarium hot tub is non-functional.  Pool bar grout between countertop and edge needs attention.  
 

Valen and Brian are doing a fantastic job on the accommodation end of things.  Of course, they have no control over Kelly Hoppen’s interior design  fails choosing aesthectic over functionality.😂😂😂

 

[Stem to Stern]

15 hours ago, tnm6217 said:

@Stem to Stern I'll be on Summit in just under a month. Can you let me know who the Concierges are on your sailing? Is Rafael still the Maitre d' in Luminae?

No.  My apologies to him, but my memory fails me.  Our most gracious maitre d’ in Luminae is named Sardar or Sandar from Turkey.  Yesterday at lunch I placed my order with him for onion rings with today’s lunch.  Of course he doubled the order.  

Everything at this morning’s fabulous Luminae breakfast looked to be doubled up as well.😳

Pete’s smorgasbord.  Crispy bacon, pistachio danish all around, and fresh squeezed OJ and GJ were also enjoyed, but not photographed.  I have to draw the line at some point.😂

Well, okay.  If you insist on continuing to follow this food circus.  My dining companions and waiters Andy and Anna are extremely tolerant of my photography inhibitions..😋

Rosie’s Potato waffle.  Just my inclination, but did the four of us already earn a reputation for our appetites?😂 

My Peach cobbler French toast prior to Andy’s generous and unhealthy pour of hot syrup.  DH opted for quicker, lighter fare at The Spa Cafe since he was seriously engrossed in the final chapter of his book.  

Edited December 17, 2023 by Stem to Stern

[George C]

I don’t see our go to wine decoy Cabernet, last summit cruise we were in royal suite which we will be in again in about 90 days . Upper suites gets two liters of liquor for your suite of your choice and a bottle of champagne, we traded the champagne for two bottles of decoy Cabernet. 
Our summit royal suite

[Dolebludger]

S to S, please explain the “wine up charge”.  All of our cruising has been on lux lines and in YC/Retreat type settings. Ordinary wine has always been included, with up charge only for super premium wines, so I’m confused.

[RichYak]

14 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

S to S, please explain the “wine up charge”.  All of our cruising has been on lux lines and in YC/Retreat type settings. Ordinary wine has always been included, with up charge only for super premium wines, so I’m confused.

Wine and spirits up to $17 is included. Anything above $17, you pay the difference ("up charge"). Celebrity now has very ordinary wines priced over $17 per glass.

[George C]

2 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Wine and spirits up to $17 is included. Anything above $17, you pay the difference ("up charge"). Celebrity now has very ordinary wines priced over $17 per glass.

We often drink wines a few dollars above limit , you just pay difference and tip . 

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, George C said:

We often drink wines a few dollars above limit , you just pay difference and tip . 

As do I. I have no problem paying up for quality. But now it seems you need to pay up even just for drinkability.

[Dolebludger]

Yeah, that is a negative to me. Sounds like nickel and dimming. 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Dolebludger

[George C]

But I never heard of being charged extra in micheals or retreat , if you tell them you like a wine they will try to get it , also we ordered a wine on list in Luminae once and they were out and they substituted Caymus 😁 at no extra charge.

[Stem to Stern]

10 minutes ago, George C said:

But I never heard of being charged extra in micheals or retreat

I was told that would be $2 when inquiring in Luminae about newly priced $19 per glass Conundrum that sells for $18.99 per BOTTLE at Costco.  Maybe The Retreat Lounge is another story.

Sorry I realize point has already been made. I guess I need to decide if I will pay up or shut up and move on and drink $10 per glass Columbia Crest Merlot or Cotes de Rhône covered under Classic and premium beverage packages.  This piece is not luxurious to me.  Although my wine pallet is not very refined, i do find both of these alternatives drinkable.🤪

Edited December 17, 2023 by Stem to Stern

[George C]

2 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

I was told that would be $2 when inquiring about newly priced $19 per glass Conundrum that sells for $18.99 per BOTTLE at Costco.  Sorry I realize point has already been made. I guess I need to decide if I will pay up or shut up and move on and drink $10 per glass Columbia Crest Merlot or Cotes de Rhône covered under Classic and premium beverage packages.  This piece is not luxurious to me.

Agree that was the biggest negative to MSc yacht club in my opinion. But really looking forward to sailing them again.

[MACruisers]

I’m sorry, but $19 a glass for Cherry Tart is absolutely ridiculous!  That stuff is so terrible, on day one, after all of the pleasantries we tell the sommelier that we do not want Cherry Tart ever.  I remember on one trip our friends ordered it (we ordered something else because we hate it) and after one sip she looked at us and said “this is terrible!”  We said “yeah, we know”. ‘Then why did you let ME order it?”  We replied “you never know, you may have liked it”. Clearly we were wrong.  😂
 

I wouldn’t drink that stuff it were free never mind a $2 up charge per glass.  

[Dolebludger]

It may seem trivial to some, but this is a “deal breaker” to me. Earlier in our cruising history, we got sick and tired on all the extras on mass market lines that we stopped going on them. The last time we cruised in the Retreat, this “up charging” didn’t happen. Ditto for the YC. 

[jelayne]

2 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

It may seem trivial to some, but this is a “deal breaker” to me. Earlier in our cruising history, we got sick and tired on all the extras on mass market lines that we stopped going on them. The last time we cruised in the Retreat, this “up charging” didn’t happen. Ditto for the YC. 

We have experience up charges in Luminae on all our suite sailing, just not for average wines.   Caymus and Emmolo merlot are ones I will occasionally order and there has been a upcharge.  It used to be a $13 upcharge for Caymus and $5 then 10 for Emmolo.