MSC vs Celecrity?

[christyap1]

Hi there! I always cruise Celebrity but am looking into other cruise lines due to increase in costs. I'm wondering what the main differences are between the 2 lines? Thanks in advance!

[sptrout]

If you compare Celebrity's Retreat Class vs. MSC's Yacht Club (YC) then the differences are very minor. Some will say that the YC is as good or better than the Retreat. In most cruises the YC pricing is considerably less than a Retreat Cabin.

 

Outside the YC or Retreat, then there are considerable differences. Most will then compare MSC to Royal Caribbean, NCL, or Carnival.

 

Which class of cabins do you normally book on Celebrity? Your answer will drive comments from other people that respond.

[mnocket]

1 hour ago, sptrout said:

If you compare Celebrity's Retreat Class vs. MSC's Yacht Club (YC) then the differences are very minor. Some will say that the YC is as good or better than the Retreat. In most cruises the YC pricing is considerably less than a Retreat Cabin.

 

Outside the YC or Retreat, then there are considerable differences. Most will then compare MSC to Royal Caribbean, NCL, or Carnival.

 

Which class of cabins do you normally book on Celebrity? Your answer will drive comments from other people that respond.

I agree completely with this reply.  Simply put... if you're a non-suite passenger on Celebrity, you will probably not be happy as a non-Yacht Club passenger on MSC.

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

I agree completely with this reply.  Simply put... if you're a non-suite passenger on Celebrity, you will probably not be happy as a non-Yacht Club passenger on MSC.

Having sailed both lines, this point is spot on IMHO

[Cruzinforpeace***]

On 4/12/2024 at 10:13 AM, sptrout said:

If you compare Celebrity's Retreat Class vs. MSC's Yacht Club (YC) then the differences are very minor. Some will say that the YC is as good or better than the Retreat. In most cruises the YC pricing is considerably less than a Retreat Cabin.

 

Outside the YC or Retreat, then there are considerable differences. Most will then compare MSC to Royal Caribbean, NCL, or Carnival.

 

Which class of cabins do you normally book on Celebrity? Your answer will drive comments from other people that respond.

I disagree.  We found our February MSC cruise (we were in Aurea level) to be superior to our Celebrity cruise in July.  We’ve also sailed suite class on Celebrity.  The food was much better on MSC.  Celebrity used to have good food.

[JamieLogical]

I have sailed both MSC and Celebrity several times since the restart. Increased pricing on Celebrity drove me to MSC. I have mostly sailed in Balcony cabins on both lines (did one sailing in Retreat on Celebrity). For me, the main differences are assigned dining times, more crowded ships, and more children onboard. Some things that are better about MSC are clearly the pricing, the fact that Bailey's is included in the Easy Plus package (have never found a need to upgrade to the premium drink package on MSC), and the ships are generally newer (I never sailed on any of the Edge class ships).

 

I have heard there have been cuts on Celebrity since I last sailed with them in September 2022, so I don't know how it would stack up now, but I would say that if pricing were equal, I would probably sail Celebrity over MSC. However, the pricing is nowhere even close to equal so MSC is a MUCH MUCH MUCH better value for my dollar these days.

 

Another thing I really dislike about Celebrity is the non-refundable deposits. In the first year or so post-restart, Celebrity's deposits were still non-refundable, but you could transfer them to a different sailing if you needed to without penalty. Now that is no longer an option and I find the non-refundable deposits to be a real deterrent for us.

[Stockjock]

I've done most of my sailings on either MSC or Celebrity.  I've done 2 Aurea suites on MSC (larger and regular size), but nothing above Aqua Class on Celebrity.

In my view...

Both offer very nice, newer, modern ships and several older ones.  Kind of a draw, but Celebrity's ships are smaller and I think that I prefer a ship with around a 2,500 passenger capacity versus 5,500 or even 6,000 capacity.

In terms of service, Celebrity was head and shoulders above MSC.  But...MSC has been improving, while Celebrity seems to be slightly in decline.  I'd give the nod to Celebrity, but the gap is narrower than it was, imo.

The same could be said for the food.  Celebrity's standard MDR meals are in decline, nearly to the point of being in a freefall.  MSC's main dining room meals have pretty much held steady, or maybe slightly improved.  So again, nod to Celebrity, but that gap is also closing.  Both have nice specialty restaurants, but nod to Celebrity again.  That said, MSC's specialty restaurants are generally pretty good and tend to be more affordable.

In terms of value, MSC wins almost every time, but every now and then Celebrity surprises me.  In terms of the large 1 bedroom suite I got on MSC over NYE, I think a similar cabin would be double or triple what I paid if I had instead booked on Celebrity.

Maintenance of the ships and cabins is a draw.  MSC called themselves, "Masters of the Sea", and I think this is true, as they are also a huge container shipping operator, so they have a lot of expertise in this area.

Customer service is better on Celebrity, especially shoreside customer service.

Entertainment is usually much better on Celebrity.

Excursions, drink packages, wi-fi and such, MSC typically wins that battle.

In the buffet, again the gap is narrowing, but I have to give the win to Celebrity, although MSC makes the best pizza at sea.

In terms of the loyalty program, you get more and better perks with Celebrity, but due to MSC's status match, you can achieve top status much, much faster.  So I guess I'd go with MSC due to that fact.

Celebrity cruises tend to have more of an American vibe, while MSC cruises have an international vibe.  We like that international feel, although I get that some do not.  What we don't like are continuous announcements in about 6 languages.

In terms of receiving a non-paid for upgrade, you have a much, much better chance if you do a Bella booking on MSC and almost zero chance on Celebrity.  But of course, upgrades don't always happen, but based on what I've been reading, at least 50% of the time on MSC (again, Bella only.)  For the record, I don't typically book Bella.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Edited April 13 by Stockjock

[tymike]

I've been on Celebrity many times in both Retreat and Verandah cabins.  Also been on MSC in the Aurea 'experience' and recently Yacht Club on the Meraviglia for a B2B.  

 

While I love the smaller Celebrity ships (Summit etc.) I also loved the Yacht Club offerings a great deal.   And MSC is now so much less expensive for  Yacht Club than Retreat on Celebrity.  For me, it's currently no contest to book with MSC.  The Yacht Club service and inclusions (including amazing embarkation) are simply amazing.

 

If and when Celebrity offers pricing that competes with MSC I'll be happy to return but not until then!

Happy cruising!

[DaKahuna]

On 4/12/2024 at 9:10 AM, christyap1 said:

Hi there! I always cruise Celebrity but am looking into other cruise lines due to increase in costs. I'm wondering what the main differences are between the 2 lines? Thanks in advance!

 

 If you are looking at comparison between MSC's YC and the Celebrity Retreat there are number of recent reviews.   Here is one 

 

 

 And there is also one i did, link in my signature. 

 

p.s.  Make sure you do a status match of your Celebrity Captains Club to MSC Voyagerss Club.  Depending on your level with Celebrity there could be some added benefits, cruise discount for one. 

 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/msc-voyagers-club/status-match

 

Edited April 14 by DaKahuna

[perakcruiser]

Both companies know how to deliver, never a mistake to book a cruise with them. I sailed 3 times on Celebrity and numerous times on MSC. I am willing to pay 20 % more per day per person on Celebrity. Basically only the price decides for us in the end, when sailing with our (young) kids, certainly Celebrity is not an option.