chisoxfan

Again, never said that CC has any bearing on cruise line employees. Just offering my opinion that survey's can be a poor measure of actual satisfaction and modern management relies too much on them. It was not my intention to move 'off topic' but thanks for pointing out this transgression.

Never suggested it does. Just that an expansive give and take format like CC offers better insights than a survey. Additionally, my point was the corporate reliance on 'surveys' is mis- directed in my opinion.

That's the other issue with modern surveys.... management makes them 'important' and like when you get your oil changed at BMW they plead for a good score or 'they will be out on the street with their kids'. Ok, you changed the oil for an exorbitant price.... how good or bad can that experience be...A negative survey tends to hurt the poor stiff doing the work usually under the restraints of management. I expect to have a positive professional experience whether on a cruise, dining, or other service. I will glady bring up a terrible specific experience to management but it is not my job to do theirs and 'monitor' how they run their business. That is a valuable benefit of cruise critic...one can express their views (not limited by 25 words or less), get feedback from others, not punish individuals who probably had little to do with bad outcomes, and allow others to evaluate the input.

We also just booked Seascape YC for Jan 2025. A crazy trifecta... Princess Sun suite, HAL Nieuw Statendam with Orange club and then MSC. Sadly we did not consider X our previous fave cruise line as Retreat was 50% to 100% more than what was offered by the other cruises and just not worth it to us. AQ not considered because of IV on newer ships (our preference). Outside of drastic price drops in Retreat not seeing anything that would bring us back to X.

These surveys (I think X and the others are the same) are very frustrating to me. So if the entertainment is poor but there are one or two standouts there is no way to quantify with a single score. I know you can mention an individual performer but we typically don't make note of the name. The technology certainly exists to list every music act for the cruise but apparently too much work? So I know that naming some people is positive for them (and am glad to do it) but overall the survey is pretty worthless ie. I would be reluctant to leave a poor rating for entertainment when one of the best one or two acts we have seen on board a ship performed. The survey has become the analytical crutch for management who don't get fully involved in their business. JMHO

Blackberry cars are very good. As another twist if your plans aren't totally fixed would be to take National Express from Victoria station the afternoon before (super cheap, they handle your luggage unlike trains, and have reserved seating) and they will drop you off in Southhampton where you can walk (several blocks) to some clean low priced hotels (marriott moxy comes to mind). Southhampton is kind of interesting in that they have a few quaint bars (the claim to fame is the Titanic final stop at Southhampton) within walking distance of hotels and a mall next door with a few decent restaurants. So for the price of the Blackberry car you can get a room and maybe dinner and sleep late(r) for the two days with no concerns about traffic etc. Not suggesting one would give up a night in London for Southhampton especially of you haven't spent much time there, but adding the extra evening in my mind would be an attractive option.

That is a very broad generalization..... that said I fully agree. Princess has tried to do some interesting things with their drink packages and medallion system where I can't help but feel X is stepping backwards (infinite balconies). X has played with ammenities and pricing until one can't even keep track of what to expect (speaking largely of Retreat). We did book a suite on Sun and I was so disappointed at how Princess 'immediately' revamped this 'class' so early on but hopefully they will figure it out- not sure X has completely.

A few random comments on MSC YC. We sailed on Seaside in 2019 in YC and were very pleased with it (3300 for YC Balcony!). After Covid we resumed with several X cruises (our previous favorite) and tried the suite Retreat cabins. These were very pleasant but pricing has exploded so that a typical Retreat balcony is now 9-12k for a Caribbean weekend (we paid much less). Moving forward and Princess introduced the Sun which has a dedicated suite area (pool, lounge, restaurant) which sounded desirable and we booked this for next Jan. It only took a few months for Princess to completely change their suites pricing and ammenities on this ship, the primary result being 25-30% increase in prices and potentially more crowding in dedicated pool and restaurant areas (since this just happened actual impact remains to be seen). Bottom line and my point is that MSC YC has remained very consistent with their YC product and prices unlike the other guys. We subsequently just booked YC as part of a cruise trifecta next Jan. Sun, HAL Niuw Statendam, Seashore. It is kind of crazy perhaps but that is another story. Just wanted to compliment the YC value- they offer mini bar, access to spa, dedicated YC space on private island, butler, etc. The other guys keep changing their ammenities to lower costs, etc. while pricing is raised. We were also appreciative that MSC maintained a Black (now Diamond) matched level for us which went back to 2019 and I would have expected to have ended. Our only negatives are non refundable deposit and preference for FLL instead on Miami for Carib departure ports. So kudos to MSC for staying mostly consistent in the YC product and looking forward to sailing again on them.

IMHO X really messed up abandoning balconies on their new ships which for us is a major reason not to sail with them . The Retreat with real balconies is great but pricing has become ridiculous. So when the Sun came out with dedicated pool, lounge, and restaurant at a 'reasonable' price point we were excited. As documented above it diddn't take long for this concept to experience a price blow up. So that leaves MSC YC. They have been consistent with their product and it remains at a most competitive price point. We just booked today a YC 1 week Carib cruise for less than the Princess Sun suite we also booked several months ago (and which increased by 50% overnight). So living in the land of X and Princess I do have to give kudos to MSC (YC) for building their ships with a concept in mind and maintaining some consistency in pricing and benefits. JMHO

Well one reason we opted for a suite was the special lifeboats reserved for us...... oh... Princess said not to talk about it.... Seriously when we go on a Carib cruise we just like to hang at the pool. At times this experience became so frustrating (no doubt due in part to chair hogs) that we gravitated towards suites with dedicated pool areas (Retreat, YC) or used the Sanctuary (on Grand class where pool was directly below) or HAL cabanas near pool. So maybe a bit sensitive if spacing is challenged in Sun Sanctuary. We will do a balcony on HAL immediately after our Sun cruise... with no dedicated pool we never look at a suite.

I think Princess is falling into the let's see 'what the market will bear suite pricing' as have X and NCL. The upgrade programs seem to act as ultimate support for pricing. This appears as low hanging fruit short term but IMHO erodes loyalty. We were long term X cruisers but rarely even consider them currently. MSC YC has maintained (even with strong demand) some consistency in pricing.

Totally agree. MSC YC has been a beacon of reasonable pricing and transparency. Our only 'complaints' where that we personally were not enamored with the experience on the rest of the ship. We personally were not fans of non-refundable deposits which CCL lines have so far resisted. We even revisited a YC cruise where as Diamond members we could have saved around 500 over Sun suite pricing (but really wanted to try a new ship). With the apparently new sanctuary pricing YC becomes the remaining game in town for value suites. As I looked at clamshells at the Princess private island I was reminded how YC guests are well treated on their private island.

Well we can ask Princess management or try the 'lucky magic eight ball toy'.... right now I have more confidence in the magic eight ball toy. They really have created a lose/ lose scenario. We booked a suite (at what I felt was a fair price) largely to enjoy the Sanctuary in the Carib. With the now seemingly increased numbers of passengers using it I cannot imagine they will maintain the 'suite only section' as they will need all the space for newly minted users. I guess we will have to see but doesn't look good. Selflishly I would hope they would maintain a suite area as originally promised. While I cannot speak for others, some of us who purchased a premiere package might feel slighted as this is now standard. The Princess retort would be 'you got a better price'. I think what most of us want is just clarity. I know pricing will change but when you have drastic movement and changes in benefits/ categories (especially on a brand new ship) it does not lend confidence to future cruise bookings. I can emphasize with somebody who was looking to book a suite a few days ago and finding out it is now 35% more. Maybe to put an exclamation point on their (Princess') confusion I had looked at clamshells for an upcoming cruise. I never indicated I wanted to purchase and when one does initiate a purchase it typically requires a CC or use of OBC to reserve. This morning I received an invoice from Princess for three clamshells. Not difficult to cancel but not reassuring either (was hoping Princess would have had some provison for suite passengers on the private island). Not trying to overreact as things will likely change but I went from X Retreat to Princess Sphere class to now?........ MSC YC seems to be the last remaining survivor for cruisers who want a reasonably priced inclusive suite experience on a large cruise ship.

Thoroughly confusing. We had booked a "signature" suite for Jan. 25 and received the 'congratulations you have been upgraded" even though we fully expected everything listed. As commented by some our cruise now shows Sanctuary catagories where they had listed Reserve and Signature previously. We paid 6k for Suite and the same dealio is now approx 8500. I fully expected the sanctuary to be for suite guests only but it does appear they are trying to expand the categories that use it. A heck of a way to market a new ship- it seems they do not know what they are doing. So excited Princess offered a great price on a suite but now they apparently playing in the more rarified air of X whose pricing got crazy. I guess the point is like the weather wait a day and it (pricing) will change.