Oceania vs. MSC Yacht Club

[Chewbecca]

We are complete tarts when it comes to cruise lines and sail with whoever has the right price / date / itinerary / ship combi, but we very much prefer small ships and avoid mega ships. Our next is on Oceania (Amazon in November) hence I am lurking around this board, we have only sailed once with O before (Regatta to Alaska).

We have taken one cruise on MSC YC. We enjoyed it (as always) but wouldn't rush back. Really didn't enjoy the ship o/s YC at all, the volume and crowds were too much. The lines at the customer service desk and to get on and off were like nothing I have ever seen. We used the butler escort to get on / off the ship which was a bit embarrassing but we were glad we had it. We never used the butler to escort us elsewhere on the ship or go to the main theatre, it wasn't offered or especially easy to get; we asked once at the YC reception and noone was available at that time. (We were in the OS too). We liked the room, the restaurant (better than Celebrity main dining, not as good as Luminae on X IMO) and we liked the YC bar. The sense of peace tapping through the YC door to the carpeted area felt like a 'relief'. So whilst we enjoyed our trip, we concluded a SWAS was not for us, the ship itself was way too big and noisy. The one thing o/S YC we enjoyed was the taco speciality restaurant - that was great. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

9 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

So you ask me to respect the thousands of folks who agree with you, but you say you couldn’t care less about others’ opinions? You realize how ridiculous and disrespectful this is, right?

Hardly ridiculous or disrespectful. One can respect others’ rights to have an opinion yet also choose to forgo consideration of that opinion if s/he has already decided on a belief action.

[Mareblu]

We have enjoyed many, many voyages over the past twenty years, and for various and differing reasons, have mostly relished each and every one.  We have sailed mostly with Oceania, it's our comfort spot in a not outrageous price range, and we know what to expect when we book.  We have always sailed in a PH, with the exception of two years ago on Sirena, when we were privileged to sail in a Vista Suite.  We have also sailed with Seabourn, Silversea, Viking, Cunard, and yes, NCL in The Haven (three times in fact). 

 

@ak1004, you asked for responses from CCers who've tried both, so I feel duty bound to join in, although I fail to understand the animosity.  We are discussing our very fortunate places in a first-world situation, so let's examine the comparisons, and leave the rest behind.

 

I confess to enjoying The Haven, but here I need to clarify that we have sailed on NCL's smaller vessels, and some years ago at that.  Really huge vessels don't appeal to us so much.  The quiet comfort and attention in The Haven is simply lovely.  The private restaurant for breakfast, and ordering lunch carried to our table on the secluded terrace for lunch really felt like we were indeed in a haven.  We enjoyed the theme restaurants in the evening, and the MDR was also very pleasant, and the cuisine quite delicious, mostly.  Also very special was the private area reserved in the theatre for Haven guests, with our Concierge at hand to welcome and seat us.

 

However, all that is available, sans the theatre experience and designated private dining, on Oceania, with a slightly more "deep comfort" ambience and decor all over O's beautiful ships.  We sailed on Vista for three weeks in April of this year, and it was like coming home, even though it was our first time on this elegant new vessel.  It's a perfect size too:  "goldilocks zone" for public spaces and passenger numbers. We continue to enjoy O's cuisine.   We weren't enamoured with Ember, but conversely don't miss Jaques in the slightest, as we always felt it offered an overly concocted, touristy "French" cuisine.  I know many others love Jaques, and that's perfectly understandable.  We love The Terrace, Toscana, the MDR, Polo Grill, Aquamar, and anything else I've omitted.  We have, until this last cruise, always enjoyed Red Ginger, but found it quite unimpressive this time.  Its size (really large) and rather darker ambience on Vista may have contributed to that feeling, but the cuisine wasn't quite what it was on other sailings, either.  I suppose different chefs for different courses.

 

Our choice of Oceania over NCL still stands, but we wouldn't hesitate to try The Haven again if an alluring itinerary popped up.

 

Hope that all helps.

[surmy555]

On 7/21/2024 at 10:31 AM, ak1004 said:

What I'm mostly interested in is comparison of service and food between YC and Oceania

Having done both, in my opinion the food is better on Oceania and the service is better in the YC.

[Hlitner]

Funny question, for us, because a few days ago we received an e-mail from an online friend who asked us exactly the same question?  My answer was essentially that if we were comparing the Vista to the Yacht Club (and other issues like number of days and itinerary were equal) we would choose the Vista.  But, this is not the same as Oceania, because we specified only that one O ship.  Otherwise, all things being equal, we would choose the MSC Yacht Club!  I agree with Sumry555's post (above) that food is better on O (at least on the Vista) but overall, we think the service (and even the facility) is better on MSC.

 

I will also emphasize that they are two completely different products.  MSC involves very large ships with lots of options.  Not only is the service in the YC amazing, but having access to the huge ship, outside the YC< gives one lots of entertainment options.

 

Hank

[exeter_acres]

On 7/20/2024 at 2:43 PM, mantadiver said:

We have sailed in the MSC Yacht Club once.  That was enough.  The concept is great, but the product was lacking for us. We were constantly comparing it to NCL's Haven.  In the Haven they have the best of the best working .  The best bartenders, waiters and such.  The Havens restaurant is very good.  We can almost eat every meal there if they changed the menu a couple of times.  The Yacht clubs' food was ordinary.  The personal assigned to the Yacht club are hit or miss.  Our room steward didn't show up until late afternoon and did an okay job.  The butler was a nice guy, but never really provided any added value.  The spa on MSC was very nice and we went many times.  The pizza in the main buffet (non Yacht club) was very good, but there were always lines and twice people cut in line which caused arguments with many.  Not like anything ever experienced on Oceania or the Haven.  

We had the opposite..  have done both Haven and Yacht Club a few times..  and every time YC far exceeded Haven...  service, food, atmosphere, attention to detail...  everything.....    so it varies for everyone

[dasi11]

I have been on Oceania twice.  I have been in the Haven 8 times, the Retreat, and had MANY suites on Oasis class ships with Royal.  I have also been on Princess, and Carnival years ago.  

 

I just went on my first MSC Yacht club cruise on Seascape in July.  I really enjoyed the YC.  The rest of the ship is a Zoo.  I would go on MSC again but I would not go if the YC rooms were not available.  

 

I would cruise in any room on Oceania.  While it was a boring crowd, it was a polite crowd with great food.  Oceania is not my first choice for cruising!  I really like the Genie concept with Royal for entertainment and food. 

With that said, MSC YC is great for an inexpensive cruise.  The entertainment is just OK.  The food was fine but nothing to rave about like the food on Oceania when I cruised with them before covid.  

[IDL]

9 hours ago, dasi11 said:

I have been on Oceania twice.  I have been in the Haven 8 times, the Retreat, and had MANY suites on Oasis class ships with Royal.  I have also been on Princess, and Carnival years ago.  

 

I just went on my first MSC Yacht club cruise on Seascape in July.  I really enjoyed the YC.  The rest of the ship is a Zoo.  I would go on MSC again but I would not go if the YC rooms were not available.  

 

I would cruise in any room on Oceania.  While it was a boring crowd, it was a polite crowd with great food.  Oceania is not my first choice for cruising!  I really like the Genie concept with Royal for entertainment and food. 

With that said, MSC YC is great for an inexpensive cruise.  The entertainment is just OK.  The food was fine but nothing to rave about like the food on Oceania when I cruised with them before covid.  

How did you like the Haven as I am considering a transatlantic cruise and though I like Oceana for a port intensive cruise I feel it may be too boring for a transatlantic cruise with many back to back sea days. 

[WarfRatWA]

1 hour ago, IDL said:

How did you like the Haven as I am considering a transatlantic cruise and though I like Oceana for a port intensive cruise I feel it may be too boring for a transatlantic cruise with many back to back sea days. 

We have sailed in both the Haven and Oceania.  Post COVID, we have only sailed Oceania between these two lines.  We have done a TA on NCL (Escape), but haven't done a TA on Oceania.

 

In my subjective opinion, I would probably take the Haven over Oceania on TA for the reason you suggest, but not certain.  

 

Following as I would love to hear from anyone on this topic that has done TA's on both lines.  Did ya get bored on Oceania?

[dasi11]

 

2 hours ago, IDL said:

How did you like the Haven as I am considering a transatlantic cruise and though I like Oceana for a port intensive cruise I feel it may be too boring for a transatlantic cruise with many back to back sea days. 

Some Haven's are better than others.  The newer ships have a nicer set up.   Look at the deck plans and design of the ship to see if the Haven is one of the good ones.

For a TA I am not sure of the Haven because it depends on the ship. 

 

As for Oceania, I would not like a TA since food isn't everything I enjoy on a ship.  I found the entertainment severely lacking.  Oceania is wonderful for a new port every day cruise in Europe.

The NCL Escape and the Encore have a great show called the Choir of Man just for an FYI.

Edited July 25 by dasi11

[MEFIowa]

3 minutes ago, dasi11 said:

... As for Oceania, I would not like a TA since food isn't everything I enjoy on a ship.  I found the entertainment severely lacking.  Oceania is wonderful for a new port every day cruise in Europe.

You nailed us. Riviera was the perfect ship for our 20-night B2B in the Med last Oct-Nov. Just one sea day. We'll find out if Sirena works as well for 22 more nights in the Baltic starting 8/28. Just one sea day.

 

I damn near went stir crazy on Riviera 12/2021 when we were forced to miss St. Kitts due to a passenger medical emergency that diverted us to Puerto Plata, DR. Added an extra sea day. That 3rd sea day I was ready to jump overboard. Just wasn't enough to do. And we had great weather to enjoy the pool and only 719 passengers, so treated like royalty.

[ak1004]

9 minutes ago, dasi11 said:

 

As for Oceania, I would not like a TA since food isn't everything I enjoy on a ship.  I found the entertainment severely lacking.  Oceania is wonderful for a new port every day cruise in Europe.

 

 

Agree 100%. I would not do TA with O.

 

If only we could have O food, SS service and Cunard entertainment and activities on one ship, it would be perfect for TA. But for Europe, O is perfect (assuming they don't miss ports).

[Flatbush Flyer]

14 hours ago, dasi11 said:

…..Oceania.  While it was a boring crowd….

Apparently, we haven’t met. 😎

[ak1004]

9 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Apparently, we haven’t met. 😎

 

Personally I find O crowd very sophisticated and intelligent. My issue is not with the crowd but with the entertainment and activities. I think even the most devoted O fans will admit that they are severely lacking. Not an issue on port intensive European sailings, but TA is a different story. Being stuck in the middle of the ocean for 7-10 days with zero activities and mediocre entertainment would be a deal breaker for us.

[ORV]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

Personally I find O crowd very sophisticated and intelligent.

Apparently, we haven't met. 🤡

[AMHuntFerry]

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Personally I find O crowd very sophisticated and intelligent. My issue is not with the crowd but with the entertainment and activities. I think even the most devoted O fans will admit that they are severely lacking. Not an issue on port intensive European sailings, but TA is a different story. Being stuck in the middle of the ocean for 7-10 days with zero activities and mediocre entertainment would be a deal breaker for us.

I think the availability of planned entertainment and activities is almost as subjective as food, and a TA appeals to a certain way of cruising (vacation or transport, not tourist travel). My spouse and I are perfectly happy spending an entire day doing a puzzle, reading, playing board games (that we bring), chatting with fellow passengers, etc.; we rarely participate in any of the planned activities and only go to the entertainment/lecture if it sounds interesting. If we want activity, there is an entire gym waiting for us. We have a friend who goes on mega-ships and spends the entire non-port time in her room reading or watching TV. My brother goes bonkers on just one sea day even on ships larger than O. We fit somewhere in between.

[ORV]

I can pretty much stay busy doing nothing all day, and I usually don’t get it all done, so I generally try to finish it up the next day, and the one after that. 

[Twiga]

5 hours ago, ORV said:

I can pretty much stay busy doing nothing all day, and I usually don’t get it all done, so I generally try to finish it up the next day, and the one after that. 

My thoughts exactly!  I love sea days.  We had eight sea days on a transatlantic on the Sirena when Hurricane Florence cancelled our two-day stop in Bermuda.  We loved it!  @ORV I am looking forward to meeting you on the Nautica in December.

[dasi11]

When comparing Oceania and MSC Yacht Club, it's clear that they offer very different experiences. Oceania provides a quiet, adult atmosphere with limited entertainment. The food is consistently excellent, creating a calming and wonderful overall experience. It's ideal if you plan to explore ports during the day and return to a relaxing evening on the ship.

 

In contrast, while the Yacht Club offers a relaxing enclave, the rest of the MSC ship can be overcrowded, loud, and busy. The overall experience differs significantly. Although MSC offers more activities, navigating through the crowds can be challenging. The food is satisfactory but doesn't match the exceptional quality of Oceania's meals.

 

However, MSC does serve the best pizza I've had on any of the 57 ships I've sailed on. But let's be honest, I don't cruise just for the pizza...LOL.

[IDL]

3 hours ago, dasi11 said:

When comparing Oceania and MSC Yacht Club, it's clear that they offer very different experiences. Oceania provides a quiet, adult atmosphere with limited entertainment. The food is consistently excellent, creating a calming and wonderful overall experience. It's ideal if you plan to explore ports during the day and return to a relaxing evening on the ship.

 

In contrast, while the Yacht Club offers a relaxing enclave, the rest of the MSC ship can be overcrowded, loud, and busy. The overall experience differs significantly. Although MSC offers more activities, navigating through the crowds can be challenging. The food is satisfactory but doesn't match the exceptional quality of Oceania's meals.

 

However, MSC does serve the best pizza I've had on any of the 57 ships I've sailed on. But let's be honest, I don't cruise just for the pizza...LOL.

With MSC being an Italian line it is not surprising they have good pizza but on the Vista last year the night time made to order pizza 🍕 at Waves hit the spot.   A long time ago had made to order individual pizza pies on Princess that was very good (not sure if they still do that as I haven’t sailed them for many years).

 

 

[mnocket]

20 hours ago, ORV said:

I can pretty much stay busy doing nothing all day, and I usually don’t get it all done, so I generally try to finish it up the next day, and the one after that. 

Love it!  Can I steal this line?

[ORV]

2 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Love it!  Can I steal this line?

Sure, it's probably not original with me, I saw it somewhere else. 

[mark46]

On 7/20/2024 at 11:49 PM, ak1004 said:

 

I agree with you 100%.

 

As this will be our first "ship within ship" experience, I have no idea if this will work for us. Maybe it will, and maybe we will continue sailing on O but also on ship within ship. I know many people who do both and enjoy both, for different reasons. 

 

There is no right and wrong here. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and that's perfectly okay. What is not okay is when people think that their opinion is the only one that matters and talk down to people who have different opinion.. 

 

O is our favorite line, but sailing with O in the Caribbean was just boring. Yes, excellent service and food, but not much to do the whole day.  Hopefully YC will be better in terms of entertainment and activities and yes, I see it as the best of both worlds, at least on paper. Maybe the reality will be different. I'm just wondering about all those people who dismiss the whole concept - have they even tried it? 

 

P.S. I never felt guilty when walking to the front of the line on business class flight or walking into O or SS ship with one of those behemoths docking nearby. Lucky and fortunate - yes, but not guilty. 

Different strokes.

 

We loved the treatment we got in the Yacht Club.  And, yes, we did like the food, especially the desserts.  I recall a recent comparison comparing HAL and Celebrity.  Folks considered the pluses and minuses sort of balancing out.  However, the standard was the Yacht Club.

[ak1004]

9 minutes ago, mark46 said:

Different strokes.

 

We loved the treatment we got in the Yacht Club.  And, yes, we did like the food, especially the desserts.  I recall a recent comparison comparing HAL and Celebrity.  Folks considered the pluses and minuses sort of balancing out.  However, the standard was the Yacht Club.

 

HAL and Celebrity in a suite? Do you have a link maybe?

[mark46]

On 7/21/2024 at 11:58 PM, ak1004 said:

 

So you haven't experienced any of the "ship within ship", but you have a very strong opinion about it and dismiss all other opinions (including from people who sailed on lines like O, SB, SS etc and still like the YC and continue sailing on both).

 

Reminds me the old Soviet phrase ‘Didn’t read Pasternak, but condemn him’..

 

Maybe consider respecting other people's opinions and perspectives?

As I have said, I really liked the treatment in the Yacht Club.  Perhaps, folks might consider the ship within a ship as a separate entity of like-minded folks who have access to another ship with lots and lots of entertainment and other activities. The negative of smaller ships is that the larger ships indeed have lot more to do and experience.

 

The positive of the retreats is that you have the feel of a small ship unless you choose to go out.  And, yes, then you are often given escorts, special lines, priority reservations and other goodies.

The concierges and butlers recognize you (and other so also because of your wristband) and you are given priority treatment.  For example, when we entered the buffet area, we were immediately met by a butler who offered us help.

 

No, this isn't equality.  It is level of service that some choose to pay for and others do not.  Let me be very clear.  MSC is very popular for those who do not choose the yacht club.  There is solid value for the prices charged.  I was amazed to see what some were paying.