Yacht Club Vs Haven Vs Retreat, Oh My!

[Brighton Line]

13 hours ago, Guindalf said:

Everything I'm reading strongly encourages you NOT to tip.

Not my experience in YC. The concierge was constantly breaking or combining bills for guests as well as staff on the last day.

 

I've even tipped the lounge butler for the excellent service, and drinks without asking.

[PTC DAWG]

14 hours ago, Guindalf said:

Another quick question.

 

We usually pre-pay gratuities, but always tip extra to the butler, concierge and bar staff. Everything I'm reading strongly encourages you NOT to tip.

 

Do you usually add something extra or not? If so, how much for each? I'm not advocating a discussion, just trying to be prepared, but I realise this can be emotive and personal.

 

Two sailings in YC...I always tipped those who served me extra...never any issues..side eyes, etc...

 

I never bother with envelopes myself, I just quickly and discreetly hand over the cash and tell them this is for you.  Thanks for your service or something of the like.  

Edited February 22 by PTC DAWG

[Guindalf]

Thanks for the replies. I'm happy to know I can comfortably reward good service!

 

(maybe the bartender will provide me with the JW Blue for a few bucks 😉 ).

 

[nattie]

We have tried Haven 2 bedroom and Princess Penthouse (HUGE difference depending on ship here) and are looking forward to our first MSC cruise.

We liked the Haven experience overall, especially the 2 bedroom suite. We disliked the ship (Breakaway), anything outside of Haven area and having to carry the cruise card with you everywhere. On Princess, suites not on the Regal class ships are waste of money IMHO. On the Regal class they have a suite lounge that makes all the difference.

Looking forward to trying MSC next month!

[sassycruiser]

We are sapphire on NCL and have never done Haven.  Just did MSC Seascape inside YC suite and our only complaint was lack of shade on the pool deck.  Booked again for next year.  2 MSC cruises are less than 1 haven cruise.  

[Fogfog]

On 2/21/2024 at 4:00 PM, Beamafar said:

Yep - same with Veuve Cliquot, which was also included.  Idiots on sm bragging about drinking thousands of $\€ worth of champagne a day for - was it €72 pppd (can’t remember, now, but it wasn’t much more, if any)?

 

 

The same ones who bragged about stuffing their luggage with the mini bottles of liquor from the mini bar in the room and the cans of chocolate peanuts and chips...

hence many policies changed 

[PTC DAWG]

50 minutes ago, Fogfog said:

The same ones who bragged about stuffing their luggage with the mini bottles of liquor from the mini bar in the room and the cans of chocolate peanuts and chips...

hence many policies changed 

Correct, there is a reason we can’t have nice things. 

[Inflatable_Catfish]

A couple things we learned from this forum and it made YC great.

 

1. We asked our butler, Glenn on seaside at the time - awesome guy, for random cocktails each afternoon. He asked our tastes and every day at 4pm 2 drinks and snacks were in our room for us to e joy when we came back to get ready for the evening.

 

2. We asked Glenn for a pizza to be delivered at 1am. Nothing like having a night of drinking and dancing and having a fresh pie show up when you get back.

 

Glenn also was able to get me reservations for the steakhouse for the time we wanted when concierge said it was full. 

 

We are hooked. I hope you enjoy it.

[George C]

My only YC was before Covid when you could get a super deluxe drink package that included Johnny Walker Blue , definitely drank a little too much that week. Had another YC canceled do to Covid and will sail YC again in December. We have booked nothing but suites for about ten years YC is by far the best value , did 9 celebrity suites everything from sky to penthouse, 9 also on rccl in grand or owners suite and two on Hal.

[gimletgal]

On 2/22/2024 at 4:09 PM, Fogfog said:

The same ones who bragged about stuffing their luggage with the mini bottles of liquor from the mini bar in the room and the cans of chocolate peanuts and chips...

hence many policies changed 

Yup! Ruined it for everyone else!

[DaKahuna]

On 2/20/2024 at 6:32 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

13 Celebrity has two great features that MSC lacks; Starlink wifi is much better than MSC wifi

MSC Divina has StarLink and I was getting faster speeds than I was on Celebrity Millennium last April - May. 
 

[perakcruiser]

On 2/22/2024 at 10:12 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

Actually the wording is :

TIPS: MSC does not recommend tipping individual members of staff.

 https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/before-you-go/service-charges

 

4. “NOT RECOMMENDED” means that there may be valid reasons in certain circumstances when the particular behaviour is acceptable or even useful, but the full implications should be understood and the case carefully weighed before implementing any behaviour described with this label.

Conventions page 6 https://www.projectcounter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Release5_20171107.pdf

Interesting! In other languages MSC uses a stronger language:
"For this reason, MSC does not recommend tipping individual employees as we believe in equal opportunities for all." 

 

But your point #4 certainly is a good definition. If you want to make a personal gift to someone, it is not the business of the cruise line and anyway it does not hurt others. Certainly completely anti-social behavior would be to delete the DSC and give all the money to one person. 

[morpheusofthesea]

8 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

Interesting! In other languages MSC uses a stronger language:

Perhaps MSC is like any US politician, they 'play' to the crowd ?

"verb. (intransitive, idiomatic) To appeal to the least sophisticated parts of an audience in order to obtain maximum approval."

[Lupush]

On 2/21/2024 at 3:43 PM, no1talks said:

Lord no! Even luxury lines don't offer JW Blue as an included liquor if you check their listed brands.

However, if you are on an MSC ship that has rolled out the pay-the-difference pricing policy, you'll just pay an up-charge.

Yacht Club gets the Premium Extra package, which tops out at $16. JW Blue goes for (I think) $27. That would leave you on the hook for $11, plus service charge on the difference.

This is incorrect.  JW Blue has been available on every NCL Haven cruise I've been on.  Not sure about MSC or Celebrity, but it is 100% available on NCL as part of the premium drink package.

[no1talks]

12 hours ago, Lupush said:

This is incorrect.  JW Blue has been available on every NCL Haven cruise I've been on.  Not sure about MSC or Celebrity, but it is 100% available on NCL as part of the premium drink package.

You should reread my answer to Guindalf AND Guindalf's original question. I'm not incorrect at all.

The question asked was whether JW Blue was in the drinks package. Since Guindalf mentions prior experience with Retreat and Haven, but not YC, it would be logical to understand my answer, "Lord no," applies only to YC. Why would I be answering for Retreat or Haven if Guindalf has been there to see first-hand? In fact, Guindalf confirmed having Haven knowledge (and consumption) of JW Blue in a later post on Wednesday. 
 

[colecandler]

On 2/20/2024 at 6:32 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

#8 No non suite paying Diamond card holders taking up real estate in YC venues

I have never heard this before....is this true? 

I didn't see it listed as  Tier Benefit for Diamond level members.

 

I will also chime in and say as having done Haven and YC. We do prefer YC. But I don't think I would cruise MSC if we weren't in the YC. I would sail NCL and not be in The Haven.

Love YC Pool and the bar and food by the pool. Great lounge and restaurant.

[morpheusofthesea]

24 minutes ago, colecandler said:

On 2/20/2024 at 6:32 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

#8 No non suite paying Diamond card holders taking up real estate in YC venues

I have never heard this before....is this true? 

I didn't see it listed as  Tier Benefit for Diamond level members.

I reference this as a comparison. RCCL has given their Pinnacles access to suite venues as a perk. We switched over to MSC because we had a reservation at 6 pm in the Coastal Kitchen for dinner and had to wait because a Pinnacle couple had taken our table that were not paying for a suite. This does not happen on MSC with non suite Diamond guests.

[colecandler]

4 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

This does not happen on MSC with non suite Diamond guests.

I misread your post. I even quoted it! Dang...yeah...you gotta be in the YC to get in the YC. That's what I always thought. I thought you were saying Diamond Tier can take up real estate. Sorry about that.

[mafig]

2 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

. We switched over to MSC because we had a reservation at 6 pm in the Coastal Kitchen for dinner and had to wait because a Pinnacle couple had taken our table that were not paying for a suite. 

I could see this happening.  I don't blame you for switching.

[actuarian]

On 2/20/2024 at 6:32 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

#16 MSC YC has much better price than the Retreat

That last item is only true if you book an ordinary YC suite, rather than a YC Royal Suite or Owners Suite. Then, you do get a much better price than either the Retreat or the Haven but that is partly because you are also getting a smaller suite. 

[morpheusofthesea]

21 minutes ago, mafig said:

I could see this happening.  I don't blame you for switching.

It is important for frequent cruisers to develop a list of wants and needs from a cruise line. For years it was itinerary at the top of our list. Forty-five years later itinerary is off the list and cabin and ship move to the top. Service, a (romantic) table for two and the same waiters are more important in our 'golden' years. To wait 2 hours for a meal at our age leaves us no time for a little entertainment before an early bedtime. Thus we switched away from NCL Haven for this reason. Celebrity Retreat is the closest we came to, but we were disappointed with Retreat sun deck and the chair hogging of the best lounges. Finally found MSC Yacht Club and the reserved pergolas for the top suites, a chef that came out of the YC kitchen (Chef Lisa) concerned with how DW wanted her chicken breast....we hit Nirvana !! Twenty minutes from being seated to the arrival of our meals.... the list goes on and on. Service like this cannot go unrewarded. 

[morpheusofthesea]

22 minutes ago, actuarian said:

That last item is only true if you book an ordinary YC suite, rather than a YC Royal Suite or Owners Suite. Then, you do get a much better price than either the Retreat or the Haven but that is partly because you are also getting a smaller suite. 

Royal suite on Celebrity Beyond is double Royal Suite on MSC Seaships.