Celebrity Retreat vs MSC Yacht Club: A Live Perspective

[George C]

4 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

No live music in the Retreat Lounge?

 

That's one of the big things I was missing in the Equinox, but was hoping it was different on the Edge-class ships.

There were none on our edge or beyond cruise. Lots of good music outside of  retreat . 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, George C said:

There were none on our edge or beyond cruise. Lots of good music outside of  retreat . 

Thanks for the information.

 

I'm guessing I'll spend less time in the Retreat Lounge vs the Top Sail Lounge.

 

The upside of Celebrity is the rest of the ship isn't totally crowded the way things are on MSC so that's definitely a more viable option.

[RichYak]

7 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

No live music in the Retreat Lounge?

 

That's one of the big things I was missing in the Equinox, but was hoping it was different on the Edge-class ships.

Maybe once during the week, a solo guitarist will come in and do a 45 minute set, but certainly no nightly entertainment.

[RichYak]

7 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

The upside of Celebrity is the rest of the ship isn't totally crowded the way things are on MSC so that's definitely a more viable option.

On E class ships, it's the Retreat that's totally crowded 😂

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

6 minutes ago, RichYak said:

On E class ships, it's the Retreat that's totally crowded 😂

I'm definitely curious to see if it's really that bad...if it is, it'll cement things for us that we never need to stay in the Retreat again.

 

Blu was great on the Equinox, arguably better than Luminae, so there was really no reason to book Retreat on that class of ship again.

[DaKahuna]

19 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

What I enjoy the most about the suites is a great suite lounge. 

 

- Comfortable seating with stunning ocean views

 

 The YC seating is much more comfortable that what we experienced on Edge. 

 

19 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

- Bartenders who chat when it's slow and are efficient when it's busy(er) and can anticipate what I'm going to ask for after a couple days when they see me coming 

 

 Ship dependent.  I know the Edge does not even have a bar in the Retreat Lounge.  A server takes your drink.  I understand this has been corrected on other E class ships. 

 

19 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

- Interesting people to strike up a conversation with in the lounge or at dinner

 

 I believe both cruise lines offer this.

 

19 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

- Convenient access from our room to the lounge and restaurant

 

 YC Only. Retreat suites are scatter all over the ship on Celebrity ships.

 

19 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

- A quality restaurant with a variety of dishes every night and friendly service that isn't too overbearing 

 

 Pretty sure you can get this on both.  The big differences is in the YC your meals are cooked to order.  On Edge class ships Luminae meals are pre-plated much like in the MDR. 

 

19 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I care less about the sundeck since we have a big pool at home and my wife runs a swim school, but I realize I'm the rare exception there. 

 

 Put me on that same list but without a pool in my back  yard.  I don't think I have ever been in a pool or hot tub on a cruise ship in all these years.. I prefer shade to direct sunlight so usually retreat to the balcony if I want to sit outside and watch the world float by.

 

19 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

If I don't prefer the Retreat on the Edge-class ships, I'll still be more than happy with Blu as long as the main part of the ship has a quiet spot to grab a drink in the evenings. 

 

 I am sure you can find that on the E-class ships if you look.  However, in the YC you do not even have to look hard. 

 

19 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I'm not even much of a drinker, but I do enjoy the quiet calm that a great lounge offers.

 

 One of the reasons that we prefer the M and S class ships of Celebrity is the lounges.  We have spent many an evening post dinner sitting in the Ensemble Lounge on S-class ships enjoying the entertainment.  Not to mention being located right outside the Retreat Lounge/Michael's club makes it very convenient.  

 

 

19 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Hopefully that's what I'll find on the Apex if I do upgrade. 

 

 I hope you find what you and looking for and that you will have a wonderful cruise. 

 

Edited Monday at 07:34 PM by DaKahuna

[George C]

We had a nice corner aft sky suite on beyond but we had a very long walk to retreat and Luminae, prefer yacht club being real close to everything.

[DaKahuna]

30 minutes ago, George C said:

We had a nice corner aft sky suite on beyond but we had a very long walk to retreat and Luminae, prefer yacht club being real close to everything.

 

 I do love those aft corner Sky Suites and have accepted that when we sail Celebrity, convenience to the Retreat Lounge and Luminae are no things to consider.  

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

36 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I do love those aft corner Sky Suites and have accepted that when we sail Celebrity, convenience to the Retreat Lounge and Luminae are no things to consider.  

 

Our Magic Carpet Sky Suite I booked is on Deck 12 so I'll at least be close to Luminae, but I'd rather be close to the lounge (no options for that with our room type).

 

---

 

BTW - I appreciate the thoughtful reply above.

 

I also feel the need to correct myself (since I can't edit) to say I COULDN'T care less about the sundeck... I can't believe I said that wrong 🤦‍♂️

[KKB]

On 6/11/2024 at 9:16 AM, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Yes, but I'm not on an Edge-class ship to do that. I'm pretty sure I said that in the very first few sentences of the original post. 

 

I'm sure I'll provide that comparison at some point. 

 

We are doing a Vista Suite on the Sun Princess over Thanksgiving... Very excited to do that review as that room is $20,400 for the week vs $7k. Curious to see what extra value you get for that extra $13k.

Well, a good chunk of that is due to the holiday week

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, KKB said:

Well, a good chunk of that is due to the holiday week

 

Absolutely - I know that holidays drive up the prices...there's no question about that.

 

I actually booked the Celebrity Apex in the Retreat the week before Thanksgiving so I'll be able to do a review of the Celebrity Retreat vs Princess Sanctuary in side-by-side sailings.

[KKB]

On 6/11/2024 at 4:50 PM, Jim_Iain said:

 

I would try MSC Yacht Club but - 

 

Hearing and reading reports of what the experience is outside the enclave is worrisome.   Because of this I haven't gotten any traction in trying to convince Iain to give them a try.

 

THIS.

I tried MSC for 12 days in Caribbean Feb. 2023 (not YC) & was entirely unimpressed. (even with a week free & a dirt cheap rate for the 5 day...and drink packages & internet very reasonable).

Already had them booked for 20 days in UK & Norway (again...dirt cheap, not YC) & pretty much decided not interested in trying them again. 

We enjoyed Retreat in Celebrity but we are out & about on the ship enjoying shows & activities (which are subpar on MSC, imo), so that experience is even more important to us. 

(that and the lack of common courtesy by other passengers on both sailings on MSC--THAT was the biggest turn off for me. Was bizarre that I experienced that in 2 entirely different locales.)

[KKB]

On 6/12/2024 at 5:15 AM, Stem to Stern said:

 

Do I have to sail in The Retreat to sail on Celebrity?  No.  

Is it Yacht Club or nothing on MSC?  You bet your Salted Caramel Espresso Martini it’s gonna be YC.

 

Nailed it

[KKB]

21 hours ago, RichYak said:

On E class ships, it's the Retreat that's totally crowded 😂

Didn't experience it this at all last Easter on the Beyond

[Lena11033]

15 minutes ago, KKB said:

 (that and the lack of common courtesy by other passengers on both sailings on MSC--THAT was the biggest turn off for me. 

 

Unfortunately you get that everywhere.

My last Celebrity cruise I snapped at someone on a tour because they were being rude and they used a 'well I'm old I can do what I want' response, no you can't have some respect.

There was queue cutting and obnoxiously drunk people on the border of hurting themselves 

 

I think generally people are having less respect and patience all around

[KKB]

9 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

 

Unfortunately you get that everywhere.

My last Celebrity cruise I snapped at someone on a tour because they were being rude and they used a 'well I'm old I can do what I want' response, no you can't have some respect.

There was queue cutting and obnoxiously drunk people on the border of hurting themselves 

 

I think generally people are having less respect and patience all around

Having sailed 45+ times in the last 20 years (half of those in the last 2 years since retiring), I have experienced many cruise passengers across numerous lines & itineraries. Yes, there are the occasional rude passengers everywhere.

 

But this was next level.

 

On the Caribbean cruise in Feb, I though, huh, this is wild--surely this behavior is a one off.

Then in Europe in May--EXACT SAME STUFF. 

 

Pushing other's children aside, ramming people's backs with buffet trays, ignoring safety precautions repeated by crew on tenders, rushing elevators when they opened (ignoring those there waiting before & those getting off), etc. I saw these things OVER & OVER and frankly was stunned how often & how much rudeness I observed. I have never seen such rudeness to this extent. Anywhere.

 

To see it in 2 different areas of the world suggested to me it is a bit of an MSC "culture"--why? Who knows.

BUT if you read reviews, you will see this as well.

(I read them...but the price point was too good to pass up...Guess I should realize "you get what you pay for!!")

Edited Tuesday at 04:09 PM by KKB

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

3 minutes ago, KKB said:

Having sailed 45+ times in the last 20 years (half of those in the last 2 years since retiring), I have experienced many cruise passengers across numerous lines & itineraries. Yes, there are the occasional rude passengers everywhere.

 

But this was next level.

 

On the Caribbean cruise in Feb, I though, huh, this is wild--surely this behavior is a one off.

Then in Europe in May--EXACT SAME STUFF. 

 

Pushing other's children aside, ramming people's backs with buffet trays, ignoring safety precautions repeated by crew on tenders, rushing elevators when they opened (ignoring those there waiting before & those getting off), etc. I saw these things OVER & OVER and frankly was stunned how often & how much rudeness I observed. I have never seen such rudeness to this extent. Anywhere.

 

To see it in 2 different areas of the world suggested to me it is a bit of an MSC "culture"--why? Who knows.

BUT if you read reviews, you will see this as well.

(I read them...but the price point was too good to pass up...Guess I should realize "you get what you pay for!!")

 

I think a lot of what you're describing is because MSC has a much higher percentage of foreign guests and what seems rude to us is just how they do things in their culture. 

 

That's not an excuse (at all), but I think it's at least partially an explanation for why you've seen what you have. 

 

As a counterpoint to that, on our Med cruise (that started this thread) even though we were in Europe, nearly every person we encountered on the ship was either American or Canadian since it was Celebrity.

 

The same exact itinerary on MSC would probably have been less than 20% American. 

 

---

 

With all of that said - you should definitely try Yacht Club at least once to experience it and see what you think. If you watch, you can periodically find great deals ($3-5k for 7 days in a balcony room) or if you're lucky enough to grab an interior cabin, those are typically only around $3k, but they go fast.

 

It is without a doubt the absolute best value in cruising (and nothing else is really even close that we've found yet).

[KKB]

1 minute ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

 

I think a lot of what you're describing is because MSC has a much higher percentage of foreign guests and what seems rude to us is just how they do things in their culture. 

 

That's not an excuse (at all), but I think it's at least partially an explanation for why you've seen what you have. 

 

As a counterpoint to that, on our Med cruise (that started this thread) even though we were in Europe, nearly every person we encountered on the ship was either American or Canadian since it was Celebrity.

 

The same exact itinerary on MSC would probably have been less than 20% American. 

 

---

 

With all of that said - you should definitely try Yacht Club at least once to experience it and see what you think. If you watch, you can periodically find great deals ($3-5k for 7 days in a balcony room) or if you're lucky enough to grab an interior cabin, those are typically only around $3k, but they go fast.

 

It is without a doubt the absolute best value in cruising (and nothing else is really even close that we've found yet).

Caribbean was certainly mostly American.

Admittedly UK/Norway cruise was mostly European.

But having sailed Norway, UK (2x), Portugal & Spain, N. Europe & Med (Italy & Greece) in the last 18 mos., I can safely say that the passengers on Princess & NCL were not like this--and the Europeans we encountered in all these ports were LOVELY. (even the subdued Norweigans). I only dealt with similar behavior boarding my TAP Portugal flight in Lisbon (we found locals in Lisbon to be perfectly lovely so who knows...)

So I really have not observed it within these countries either.

So again--MSC is the common denominator. (and reviews run a similar thread of rudenss)

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

3 minutes ago, KKB said:

Caribbean was certainly mostly American.

Admittedly UK/Norway cruise was mostly European.

But having sailed Norway, UK (2x), Portugal & Spain, N. Europe & Med (Italy & Greece) in the last 18 mos., I can safely say that the passengers on Princess & NCL were not like this--and the Europeans we encountered in all these ports were LOVELY. (even the subdued Norweigans). I only dealt with similar behavior boarding my TAP Portugal flight in Lisbon (we found locals in Lisbon to be perfectly lovely so who knows...)

So I really have not observed it within these countries either.

So again--MSC is the common denominator. (and reviews run a similar thread of rudenss)

 

For what it's worth - I also wouldn't ever sail on MSC outside the YC again, but the YC is definitely an entirely different experience.

 

Hopefully what you say about NCL is true...that's our next cruise and I've gotten some feedback from others that has been conflicting about what to expect (though even the worst cruise is still a great time for us, so it can't really be bad on our end, just not as good).

[KKB]

10 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

 

For what it's worth - I also wouldn't ever sail on MSC outside the YC again, but the YC is definitely an entirely different experience.

 

Hopefully what you say about NCL is true...that's our next cruise and I've gotten some feedback from others that has been conflicting about what to expect (though even the worst cruise is still a great time for us, so it can't really be bad on our end, just not as good).

We liked the Encore, but prefer Getaway or Breakaway.

Now, ship felt short staffed.

I was worried NCL was cutting costs but it seems to have been a one off. 

We also prefer Syd Normans to the Cavern Club (more our music than Beatles).

Not a deal breaker just a preference.

It DOES have Choir of Men that we LOVED. Show up early...they pre-game.😎

Do be sure to have an early specialty dinner at either Onda, Cagney's, Los Lobos or Ocean Blue. They have dining out on the deck, first come first serve. We just arrive when they open to be sure to get a spot. It's particularly great during sailaway (embarkation or port day).

Waterfront (deck 8 where those restaurants are...as well as bars & open seating) is a fav aspect of NCL for us.

Have a great time! Alaska is MAJESTIC.

 

We have enjoyed every cruise we have been on. I even had a good time on MSC, especially Europe where I got to see many places I had never seen & I had crew members that knew me & took very good care of me (tho we find that on most ships).

We are more "glass half full" people, so certainly helps. 

It is rare when we say, "Nope, don't need to do that again!"

Edited Tuesday at 04:40 PM by KKB

[pattieuk]

59 minutes ago, KKB said:

Having sailed 45+ times in the last 20 years (half of those in the last 2 years since retiring), I have experienced many cruise passengers across numerous lines & itineraries. Yes, there are the occasional rude passengers everywhere.

 

But this was next level.

 

On the Caribbean cruise in Feb, I though, huh, this is wild--surely this behavior is a one off.

Then in Europe in May--EXACT SAME STUFF. 

 

Pushing other's children aside, ramming people's backs with buffet trays, ignoring safety precautions repeated by crew on tenders, rushing elevators when they opened (ignoring those there waiting before & those getting off), etc. I saw these things OVER & OVER and frankly was stunned how often & how much rudeness I observed. I have never seen such rudeness to this extent. Anywhere.

 

To see it in 2 different areas of the world suggested to me it is a bit of an MSC "culture"--why? Who knows.

BUT if you read reviews, you will see this as well.

(I read them...but the price point was too good to pass up...Guess I should realize "you get what you pay for!!")

I feel the YC experience is totally worth it as long as you don't mind being cocooned .
The massive crowds in common areas also impact on getting off the ship at ports , however the butler escort service , bypassing lines amidst 'worried consternation'  ( ...disgusted looks ) can be a real perk sometimes. Probably the overcrowding will apply to all the large capacity ships .

 

Generally the behaviour , respect and attitude of some travellers has gone downhill am sorry to say . On some short flights I have been on , the rows have been littered with crisp and sweet packets empty bottles and detritus which is totally unnecessary since the attendants make regular collections of thrash throughout the flight . Similarly people cannot seem to speak without shouting anymore. Perhaps I am showing my age ,ha ha !

 

As far as the different classes in Celebrity- I will have to pay more attention since it is usually the ports we focus on rather than the ship.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

36 minutes ago, KKB said:

We liked the Encore, but prefer Getaway or Breakaway.

Now, ship felt short staffed.

I was worried NCL was cutting costs but it seems to have been a one off. 

We also prefer Syd Normans to the Cavern Club (more our music than Beatles).

Not a deal breaker just a preference.

It DOES have Choir of Men that we LOVED. Show up early...they pre-game.😎

Do be sure to have an early specialty dinner at either Onda, Cagney's, Los Lobos or Ocean Blue. They have dining out on the deck, first come first serve. We just arrive when they open to be sure to get a spot. It's particularly great during sailaway (embarkation or port day).

Waterfront (deck 8 where those restaurants are...as well as bars & open seating) is a fav aspect of NCL for us.

Have a great time! Alaska is MAJESTIC.

 

We have enjoyed every cruise we have been on. I even had a good time on MSC, especially Europe where I got to see many places I had never seen & I had crew members that knew me & took very good care of me (tho we find that on most ships).

We are more "glass half full" people, so certainly helps. 

It is rare when we say, "Nope, don't need to do that again!"

Some great advice in here... Thank you for that! 

 

We are prematurely old so early dinners are right up our alley... I'm sure we will do that multiple times as long as the weather cooperates! 

 

Thanks again, I truly appreciate it. 

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

Didn't experience it this at all last Easter on the Beyond

I guess you didn't dine in Luminae at all. The venue is easily 3-4x the size of Luminae on M-class and probably twice as loud. It's much closer to a MDR experience than the intimate feel you get on other classes. This is the "sophie's choice" I was trying to describe upthread. If one wants a sundeck with a pool, you have to deal with the frenzied dining experience.

[jelayne]

23 hours ago, RichYak said:

On E class ships, it's the Retreat that's totally crowded 😂

Only time I have found the lounge crowded is the night of the Sr Officers Soiree and debarkation morning.  Luminae on Edge & Apex can can feel very crowded and noisey.  We don't get the same feel in Luminae  on Beyond. 

[RichYak]

4 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Only time I have found the lounge crowded is the night of the Sr Officers Soiree and debarkation morning.  Luminae on Edge & Apex can can feel very crowded and noisey.  We don't get the same feel in Luminae  on Beyond. 

Thanks, that's good to know. I was one and done with E-class after my Edge sailing years ago. Perhaps I'll try Beyond some day.

 

What exactly did they do to Luminae on Beyond to make it less crowded?