Stem to Stern

Those are nice itineraries.

Not us. But we are booked in a Sunset Verandah on the 11/30/2025 sailing. Back in mid-November we placed a refundable deposit on a cruise only fare offered by the TA that came in less than the current fare Celebrity is offering on their website with a non-refundable deposit. I would love to be in The Retreat, but I am not about to fork over $10K+ for a 7-night cruise in a Magic Carpet Sky Suite. Although it appears as if a few people are more than willing. Will be watching closely for any changes in pricing and rechecking back in with TA.

Thank you for your great report. We were on this sailing as well. It was great meeting you both and chatting over dinner the one evening. We met many friendly fellow passengers and crew in the Yacht Club. The Top Sail Lounge could be a very convivial space or I could find my own private corner if it wasn’t too crowded. I feel it is like the living room of the Yacht Club. I loved the space and the panoramic views. Agree with you that having the additional dining venue on the pool deck buffet was great. The pool deck is huge. Chandan was super-friendly up there. Kimberly in the Top Sail was my favorite waitperson. Our butler Renuka and stateroom attendant Ainul were fantastic. They greeted us every morning upon our departure from the suite. Sadly I did experience some weird whooshing noises while trying to sleep. My husband slept through it all. We were in an interior on Deck 18. It was a bit tight, but we had plenty of room for storing everything. We loved the rain shower head. The Med shower products were mildly fig scented. Hot and great water pressure. Like yourselves we loved all the swag and unexpected treats discovered in the suite every time we turned around. Especially the Venchi chocolate. Cocktail Bar ended up being our go to venue outside the Yacht Club. The bartenders here also prepared all of the drinks for the specialty restaurants, so they seemed expert at their craft. We went to two okay shows in Chora Theater. I went to a third show featuring an awesome rock violinist in Le Cabaret Rouge. The aerialists at the three shows were awesome.

We are booked in sunset verandahs for our first two Edge-class sailings. Excited to finally try them. Thanks again for the report. Happy New Year!!

My editing window expired on me. The Retreat Lounge is actually on Deck 4, not Deck 5 as stated in above quote. Apologies. I will also add that it was a very expensive automatic beverage machine.

The Retreat Lounge vs Top Sail Lounge Continuing to break down this comparison bit by bit, I would like to compare our experiences with food/beverage, staffing/service, and atmosphere specifically in these two venues. Top Sail Lounge food and beverage: I believe I gave a good indication of the food provided all day long in TSL throughout my earlier posts and pics. Various little individualized snack plates were on display at a tiered, self-serve, walk-up buffet adjacent to the bar. These included items like nuts, potato chips, dried figs, dried apricots, olives, finger sandwiches, micro-pizzas, and sweet treats. Elegantly folded napkins were also available here. The bar waitpersons restocked and maintained the spread. I sometimes found that carrying multiple plates for the both of us proved challenging. My Chopin and DH’s Hendrick’s were always available, but we do not seek out ultra-premium or exotic liquors that may have commanded an up charge. So no up charges incurred and no further insight can be provided into this controversial topic. On one unfortunate night a malfunctioning espresso machine created a very delayed after-dinner espresso martini. Little blips like this are something you evidently become accustomed to on MSC or you opt not to cruise MSC. Just keeping’ it real, folks. Pots of hot tea were always available, but YMMV with regard to the brand. Honey was served in individualized jars as were all other condiments. The Retreat Lounge food and beverage: We were very impressed with the spread provided. Unlike Top Sail Lounge meats, cheeses, fruits, and sweet treats were arranged like a three-dimensional painting. Nearly every time I walked up to the nosh buffet, it looked absolutely Instagram-worthy. The spread was meticulously displayed and appeared as if it had not yet been touched. Dessert-sized plates and wrapped place-settings alluded to the idea that one could easily make a meal here. Please see pics in posts 243, 255 and 258. Summit for the food and beverage win. Top Sail Lounge staffing and service: Generally we witnessed one or two bartenders and two or three bar waitpersons on hand to serve us. On our inclement weather day the YC Sundeck was unusable, so TSL was full. Staffing levels did increase on this day since they were not needed up on deck. The future cruise manager was also at her desk to the right just inside the entrance into TSL for generous blocks of time throughout each day of the cruise. She seemed to be excelling at her objective. Overall the service was okay in the lounge. One stand out was Kimberly, a bar waitress who always had a huge smile on her face and exuded professionalism. No one else on the bar team really excited and delighted me like she did. She was my favorite and I told her so. One of the bartenders came out of the gate on Day 1 not firing on all cylinders. He forgot to place cocktail napkins on the bar prior to serving our drinks. He seemed to know his craft, although one cosmo had way too much cranberry juice. However, he lacked personality and natural social interaction with us. He struck me as awkward. At times he was the lone barman having to prepare all of the drinks ordered throughout the lounge. The Retreat Lounge staffing and service: I’m sorry. When one recognizes a bar crew member from a prior cruise and they are overflowing with friendliness and personality, one is challenged to be fair and unbiased. Both couples had the pleasure of sailing with superstar Karla from Brazil, barista in Cafe Al Bacio on board Connie last October. This cruise Karla was usually found behind the bar in TRL along with at least one additional bar waitperson. Karla easily engaged me in friendly, early-morning chit-chat, graciously answering and elaborating on my endless ship-life questions. Retreat Concierges Eve and/or Mudit were always present and pleasant, but they did not always seem fully engaged with patrons of the venue. I had the feeling that they were reluctant to stray far from their desk anticipating that the phone would be ringing sooner than later. Even though there are only two of them, along with Head Butler Valen, it was nice to have them stationed in TRL for better accessibility. For example, one of them would call Serdar to check table availability so we could avoid any large, loud groups that might be dining in Luminae at that time. Yes, there were a few of those on board. Side note: Summit Luminae was never busy or overcrowded during any of our meals there. This provided an exceedingly intimate dining experience. Luminae staff, being the consummate professionals that they all are, never appeared rushed or stressed. This is in sharp contrast to the battalion staffed in YC Restaurant who often seemed to not be performing like a well-rehearsed symphony orchestra. While enjoying pre-dinner cocktails in The Retreat Lounge, it was nice not to have to pick up the phone and call someone to ask about preferred table availability. This is a mute point in YC because the YC Restaurant was so crowded and hectic that getting a cozy, quiet table in the back corner of the restaurant away from others was next to impossible. The Retreat Concierge concept contrasts with the Yacht Club Butler regime as there are twelve YC Butlers for roughly 130 suites. I did not find I preferred one program over the other. They are just different. Having your own dedicated Butler AND Stateroom Attendant did make me feel like I was being better looked after. Anyway, Summit for the lounge staffing and service win. Atmosphere: Seascape for the win. Sorry DH, but if I am going to read or doze or be holed up indoors on an inclement weather day, I see myself in TSL over TRL any day. If only Karla could bring the nosh spread from The Retreat Lounge over to Seascape. With her and Kim on the same team, I think great things could happen. TSL has an incredible, two-deck-high, forward-port-starboard panoramic view; a peekaboo view of the bridge; a beautiful Swarovski crystal staircase leading one deck up to the Yacht Club Restaurant; a piano; varying nightly live music; a varied, piped-in, Smooth Jazz and easy listening playlist; cozy, quiet corners as well as convivial seating areas; ultra-comfy overstuffed chairs and loveseats; large, heavy stone-topped cocktail tables; a hand-washing station; and interesting, mirrored, brown, boomerang-inspired design elements. I’m convinced that this boomerang motif is MSC’s update to their previous animal-prints as seen in YC on Davina.😂 But I will take this over Kelly’s IKEA-inspired “design” selections. Find the boomerangs😆 Menu cart on left, future cruise manager’s desk on right, quiet corner with peekaboo view of bridge far right Hand washing station immediately outside Top Sail Lounge entrance Looking aft from TSL outdoor space above bridge, camera held above windshield Top Sail Lounge also has direct access to a forward facing outdoor space a portion of which is a designated smoking area. The cool part about this space is the fact that it is directly over the bridge and mimic’s the bridge’s footprint. Therefore, one can observe forward, port, starboard, and aft. This allowed me to capture some cool shots. The eight-foot tall glass windshield along with my long arms enabled me to position my phone above the glass and maximize photography opportunities. This is where I captured this shot after coming back on board from our day in Old San Juan. In contrast The Retreat Lounge is just okay albeit a bit sterile. I never had the opportunity to visit a pre-Kelly Michael’s Club on a Millennium-class ship. The only Michael’s Club I had the pleasure of enjoying was on board Silhouette. With the existing space Kelly and Celebrity had to work with I think they have probably done a decent job. To accommodate all 100-ish Retreat guests at once I guess they had to opt for most of the furniture to be scaled for petite people. Very little contrast exists within the color palate. The only outdoor view is from the high-top table and four barstools in the kitchenesque bar area. This room features outdoor access to deck 5, bar service, two urns of flavored water, an automatic beverage machine, and coolers painstakingly stocked by Karla with various still and sparkling waters and soft drinks. In the actual lounge seating areas, some of the chairs are proper dining-chair seat height while other seating options are extremely low to the ground and difficult to upright ones self from especially after one of Karla’s martinis.😋 Apparently I mostly took pics of TRL food and not many of the actual atmosphere. I’m sure there is a You Tube. As far as I know, live music was featured in TRL two of the five nights of the cruise one of which was the Captain’s Soirée. On this evening we had the pleasure of meeting and chatting extensively with Captain Chris about his family and their life in Greece. He was patient and gracious enough to humor me and my request for a pic with him. Our friends, DH, and I were rewarded with a multi-pose photo shoot. The captain called the ship’s photographer over for a few snaps that were delivered to our stateroom later in the sailing. Sadly, they were awful. Our true photography superstars of the evening were DH and fellow passenger Renee. Thanks to Renee for offering to help out DH’s awesome shot of Captain Chris in deep conversation with fellow passengers Renee and Jamie Renee’s miracle iPhone in action as the three of us stand firmly against the swell The captain alluded to the fact that we would be in for a wild ride to Cozumel. If anyone recalls the weather Florida and the surrounding areas were experiencing last week, you might understand what he meant when he told us we were going to fly over the swell. When we arrived in Cozumel we were reward with a gorgeous day.😀 To summarize the lounge war, Summit won the food/beverage and staffing/service battles and Seascape won the atmosphere battle. Summit won the war. Good night.💤

Thanks for the recommendation, George. We are definitely on the hunt for something in The Retreat on board an Edge-class vessel with palatable pricing.

I am no wine connoisseur, so after my first couple of martinis all of my wine at dinner starts to taste the same.😆 So bring on the $12.00 glasses of Columbia Crest Merlot. As long as it is included in my adult beverage package, I don’t really give a…. Sorry. Not sorry, Celebrity. Just being honest. As long as there is good company in my presence and edible food, then I am good.

Just off Summit last week and was subjected to the $2.00 per glass up charge in Luminae for my Whispering Angel, my Conundrum, and my top off of Conundrum on the way out of Luminae. Yes, I caved. The up charges slightly soured my otherwise fantastic 5-night cruise. We will not be staying in The Retreat for our next three Celebrity bookings starting in April 2024, but we do have the Premium Adult Beverage package. I refuse to let this perverse nickel-and-diming happen to me again. I will stick with martinis and other drinks under the premium limit. Let’s hope Laura’s message gets filtered down to the bar crew and this fiasco gets sorted soon. @Georgia_Peaches No, in Luminae we did not have to show our room cards. I think they were well aware of our suite numbers, perhaps because we are Elite and the other couple we were traveling with were turning Elite Plus on this sailing. Most Summit crew around the ship seemed to learn stateroom numbers very quickly.

Welcome home Jim! I am honored to have you along. Best wishes to you and Iain for peace and joy this holiday season.🤗

Summary will hopefully pick up steam after today. Bracelet is not required, but allowed one of us to leave our room card in the slot in the suite so the lights and outlets continued to remain powered. Many nuisances to work around, but I really enjoyed the Yacht Club. I wish DH was as on board as I was. It did not help that we followed it up with a mostly phenomenal stay in The Retreat.❤️😉

Stunning photography and anecdotes from your cruise. But you may have outdone yourself with this one. I am so disoriented. Is this the shaft adjacent to the glass, oceanview elevators? Were you looking up or looking down? We are not in The Retreat for our next three booked cruises, so I appreciate the commentary regarding the Elite breakfast. It is crazy to learn that there are only a hundred or so Elite on your sailing. I think we would enjoy a quiet start to our morning along with a Bloody Mary or three at the Elite breakfast. Before our next cruise I have to start making a list of can’t misses on board. We forgot to get our complimentary gelato last week.😂

Very early on turn around morning Saturday, December 16th I shot a 1:23 video that I was able to post on board Seascape with the included internet package, but the upload did take quite a while. I am home now and getting ready to enjoy our Christmas celebration, but let’s give another video upload a try. I have other videos that I would like to eventually post. I believe this was taken from 6120’s verandah on board Summit. Merry Christmas to @goofysmom99 and everyone else on Cruise Critic reading this! IMG_0822.mov

Awesome!!! Your Mom was Cruisin’ Queen! I will have to plan a repositioning or another sailing where I just stay on board and get up at the crack of dawn and take pictures around the ship.

Thank you for this fun report! Your photos are fantastic especially how you captured the Sky Lounge, Key West, and Cozumel. What model phone or camera are you shooting with? There is never enough time on a short cruise to explore all of the great spaces on a Celebrity ship. I am glad I could come home and continue my voyage vicariously through your review. Now I want to book a holiday sailing after seeing Santa on board.😍 Merry Christmas!!🎄😃

In the event that we end up back on Summit in the near future, may I ask what show this was? Tragically we are terrible about making it to the shows, but for spectacular aerialists I would make a point to get us to the theater on time. Wasn’t Captain Chris absolutely charming? He chatted with us at great length last cruise and was patient enough for a multi-pose photo op. He seems like a real stand-up guy.

This was an interesting side-by-side suite experience going from new-to-us MSC Yacht Club on board the year-old, 169K ton, 5K+ passenger Seascape to The Retreat on board the 22 year-old, 90K ton, 2K+ passenger Summit. We found things we favored on both lines. I will try to break them down by category and go into each in further detail in the next several posts. As much as I was pimping MSC Yacht Club here during the first week of our vacation, DH was not as excited and delighted by all the lavish pampering as I was. After coming back home to The Retreat after two years away, it is tough to say there was a cut-and-dried winner across the board. Luminae vs MSC YC Restaurant Celebrity for the win. Luminae is more intimate and elegant. I have always loved the truly gorgeous decor from the lighting, to the dining chairs, to the elaborate tablescapes. Luminae is in mint condition. This can be said for most public areas around the ship. One atrocious outlier was Kelly’s dining chairs in Oceanview Cafe. The fabric backrest cushions are all soiled from body oils from grabbing the backrest to pull the chairs out from the table. The chair pads on the dining chairs at the Sunset Bar are equally tatty. But I digress. Luminae food was far better than YC. The chefs strived to impress with beautiful presentations and delicious, rich flavors. Although recent wine-by-the-glass price increases have led to nickel-and-diming up-charges, the Luminae sommelier did his best on the following evening to smooth over my bitterness by allowing us to enjoy a couple of bottles of zin that evidently no longer appears on the per-glass list. A dissimilar wine issue occurred on Seascape, but no up charges were incurred. I am hoping that $6.00 Celebrity earned from me via their new wine pricing strategy is put directly toward the Oceanview reupholstery fund.😂 Most of the dinners in YC Restaurant were just ho-hum. We were only ecstatic about a couple of specific items throughout the seven nights. The soups were good, but they were good in Luminae also. The complimentary meal in specialty restaurant Butcher’s Cut was my favorite meal on Seascape, but it is no Tuscan Grill or Murano. Sorry, but I was hungry and forgot to take the pic prior to dissection. @Georgia_Peaches is this dead enough for you yet? Lava cake. Again, presentation. Unless they are going for “minimal” here. The bone marrow starter was delicious and lavishly displayed. If presentation is an indication of food flavor and quality, take note of these pics from Night 3 in YC Restaurant on Seascape. Beef carpaccio. Nothing compares to the one we had on Crystal Serenity. We might have to raise our travel budget game and try a 6-star line again…or The Retreat. Ho-hum x 2 I have been reading the raves about Grandma’s Chocolate Cake on the MSC boards for months. Well, MSC’s grandma needs to get a hold of my grandma’s recipe. Although an army of waitstaff exist in YC Restaurant, they lack consistency. We ended our embarkation lunch not knowing our waiter’s name. He was rushed and impersonal. At dinner he finally introduced himself and seemed to find a little more time to engage us. YC Restaurant lacks the coziness and richness that Luminae exudes. Although I do appreciate the design flow and consistency from one space within the YC to the next. From one night to the next our waitstaff in YCR fluctuated, never having the same team throughout the entire cruise. Even though staff seemed to be in great numbers, late into one particular evening nearby vacated dining tables went unbussed for a great length of time. Luminae, on the other hand, operated like a finely oiled machine. The people of Luminae are the heart of Luminae. Serdar is the face of the restaurant, greeting, smiling, laughing, engaging us, and of course back pillowing us at every meal. I personally did not have a need for additional pillows as I find the deep-seated, low-back chairs very comfortable. He was out of the gate on Day 1 firing on all cylinders with welcoming introductions. Andy and Anna were the demure, smooth, soft-spoken ones who were always the consummate wait professionals. On one evening Andy went so far as to reject my short rib because it was far too fatty for his acceptance. That was a nice touch that made me feel extra special and pampered. So, Luminae took the awards for culinary delight, crew, and atmosphere. Luminae on Summit maintains the chic, consistent culinary excellence that we previously enjoyed on Equinox and Silhouette. I will give YC Restaurant the consolation prize for Best Panoramic Views. Windows looking forward, port, and starboard offer endless, staggering views. Up next… The Retreat Lounge vs Top Sail Lounge Again the discussion will center around food and beverage, crew, and atmosphere.

Hi boys! Thank you so much! It was a bummer missing you at our final nightly gathering at my favorite venue outside the confines of The Yacht Club, Cocktail Bar. You must have been on a winning streak in the casino. One of the waiters was nice enough to snap a photo of the group. I hope we do run into you guys again on another cruise. To say I could use a few of your gaming pointers would be a bit of an understatement. Maybe Greg could even help me transform my extra pair of white jeans into something that would resemble his fierce fringe shorts. They might even look great with my new, white MSC varsity sweater. Did you stay on board this week for a back-to-back? The ship was able to dock at Ocean Cay today. The weather looked beautiful from the photos I saw. The water there is so turquoise. We were really saddened that we missed this port last week. But the captain had no control over the weather.😃

I am happy you have enjoyed this and I look forward to presenting my summation.

I had my hot cocoa….

After a fun day at sea…. Oh, sorry. Wrong cruise line. Let’s try this again. After a Perfect Day at sea resting, relaxing, and having it all, the day turned to evening. We joined our friends for Night 4 in Luminae. Even on smart casual nights these two never disappoint in classy and coordinated outfits. Tonight I was eager to eat everything. Here we go. We started with an Amuse-bouche. Butter honeycomb also pictured in the background. Remember neither of these exist in the Yacht Club. Small, but meaningful and elevated details.😉 Remember the individualized, prepackaged, plastic butter containers in YC? Elegantly yet deceivingly disguised beneath a miniature silver plate cover. Butter honeycombs and roses are much nicer.😍 My tomato soup. Mmm mmm good. I think I will have to advance order a grilled cheese sandwich accompaniment next time.😂 Three of us agreed on the filet. Andy generously sauced our plates. DH went rouge with the phyllo dough wrapped lamb. He said it was delicious. DH and I shared bucatini with sausage.☺️ Dark chocolate tart elegantly presented in a deconstructed format. Sooo good. My second dessert can be seen in the background. Was that the pistachio pineapple cake? Hard to say from my memory after sipping a copious amount of Zin throughout dinner. At one point during the latter part of the meal I excused myself to use the washroom. On my way out of the restaurant I ran into an old friend from days gone by. The Candy Cart.🥰 I took the liberty of asking Assistant Waiter Anna to prepare a small plate of her personal favorites for the table. Upon my return to the table I divulged my discovery to my table mates. To which the lady of the table’s curiosity led her to pay her own visit to my old friend. She returned with Anna and three macarons, one of each flavor, overlooked by me the first time around. Obviously these were a popular choice since the three skinny trays that held them were almost empty. A light, mellow, tasty way to finish dinner on a relaxing and restful sea day.💙💙💙

After Monday’s tequila tasting and Miami Vice and Margarita fueled cooking exercise in Cozumel, DH and I continued the theme…. Hendricks and Chopin martinis at Cellar Masters. DH’s Blue Wave (It is no longer on menu, but the flair bartenders still know how to craft this.) And I got my pick.😀 It was way past our mealtime and nearly DH’s bedtime. Sorry, no menu pic. But here’s the Luminae dress code. Not sure what this was. Definitely not guacamole.🥑😃 DH’s pasta (Pasta and tomato products are his love languages.) My bass was better than it looked. My fresh and light strawberry vacherin was tasty. DH skipped most of the desserts. Next we gave a listen to the windblown party band The Seagulls at the Full Moon Party on the Pool Deck. Club Sky with your Resident DJ in the colorfully lit Sky Lounge.

Belated Bon Voyage. It was really tough to walk off the ship this morning, but I am looking forward to sailing vicariously here. Cheers!

After a lazy Sunday afternoon allowing the onion rings to digest, we headed for The Retreat Lounge for the Captain’s Soirée. But there will be more to come on that cruise highlight later. Oops. The bartender forgot to stick a pick in my lychee when the four of us made a quick stop at the Martini Bar before settling in for another Festin de Luminae. Take note of the very first item on the menu. Waiter Andy in his unwavering, monotone voice informed us that this item has not gained much popularity among diners in the restaurant. I can’t imagine why?😂🤮 The veal cannelloni was delicious, but it is the only Luminae item I can identify from the photos. If my memory serves me correctly, the majority of our selections were made from the Blu and MDR menus. You can tell the Blu menu items by the blue or blue-accented dinnerware. Additional dinner photos follow. We had a terrific meal.

Today is Thursday, disembarkation day. Celebrity Summit was cleared and the four of us all disembarked as a group before 7:30am via The Retreat Lounge. Having deposited our bags just inside the entrance of the lounge at various times before sunrise, I have a feeling Retreat Concierge Eve had a suspicion that we were eager to hit the road. She discretely gave us the go ahead prior to the others. Or did I just imagine that I was being treated extra special because we have extended nothing but kindness and graciousness toward The Retreat Team? Isn’t it interesting how kindness begets kindness.😉 Cruising into Miami this morning. Celebrity Suites’ verandahs and Freedom of the Seas in the turnaround basin. DH and I are compiling our final thoughts regarding our two different experiences in MSC’s Yacht Club on their huge, new Seascape followed by The Retreat on the cozier, much more seasoned Summit.🏆 Spoiler alert: My new cruise buddy has already found one decent deal on a Sky Suite on Ascent. The date doesn’t work for any of us, but the feelers remain out there. In the meantime I noticed the onion rings and mozzarella sticks we enjoyed in Luminae seem to keep garnering interest, so maybe I will dive into a full-on Luminae report before catch-up posts on our self-guided walking tour of Old San Juan, our visit with Captain Chris in The Retreat Lounge, and my Pool Volleyball photo journal.😀