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My only experience with MSC Yacht Club is on Meravilgia.  And I will unequivocally say that it surpasses any Retreat experience I've had in the past 4 years.  Years ago.....Retreat was #1 -- not the case anymore.  I've sailed exclusively with Celebrity since the cruise line inception - most years sailing 3 or 4 times a year.  But in September 2023 I tried MSC YC.   I've got 2 future Celebrity cruises booked in Concierge Class and Aqua but I've got 4 more MSC bookings in YC on Meraviglia.  In my opinion (and the opinion of my 4 sailing companions who are all either Zenith or Elita Plus on Celebrity) MSC is the way to go now.

18 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Mine already met that but I had to change it anyway. 

How strange.  A friend of mine had a password that met the requirements and she didn’t have to change it.  Typical Celebrity….LOL

I was told that in order to access both your account on the website and the app, you must change your password.  Password must consist of 8 characters including letters, 1 number and 1 special character.  If your password already met these requirements there is no need to change it.  I changed my password (keeping it the same password but just adding 1 special character) and can access both now.  It would have been nice if Celebrity sent out an email letting us all know this!

I have a question.  A friend of mine has booked in Aqua and has Classic Beverage Package and wifi as 2 perks.  She is interested in knowing the price of the upgrade to Premium Beverage Package -- but the "upgrade to Premium Package" is not showing anywhere on her Cruise Planner.  I logged in as her and verified that she is correct -- it's not showing up.  So, do you have to call Celebrity to ask about this upgrade or is their Cruise Planner "glitchy" for her booking?  Thanks so much.

Most times in Luminae (well it used to be this way......not sure it still is) you can, with 24 hours notice, order a special meal to be prepared.  I have, in the past, requested chicken parm and pasta.  Did it come from Tuscan?  No.  Was it tasty and well prepared?  Sometimes yes and sometimes no!  Of course, this is all "maitre'd and chef" dependent.  Some are more accommodating than others.

@RichYak You've pretty much summed up my thoughts on Retreat vs Yacht Club.  I'm sold on MSC Yacht Club.  Now......will I sail Celebrity again?  Yes, and as a matter of fact I've got two Celebrity cruises booked this year - but not in Retreat.  I refuse to pay those Retreat prices for the quality of service I've received lately in Retreat.  I've also got 4 MSC Yacht Club cruises booked between now and February 2025.  So....for my money.....it's Yacht Club all the way!  Thanks for posting your final thoughts.

@RichYakSo happy to hear that you are "sold" on MSC YC.  I am too.  I also sailed Meraviglia (twice) so I have no experience with YC on other ships.  And Arthur was the Maitre'd on my last sailing. I have to say he is excellent at his job.  After sailing Celebrity Retreat for many, many cruises I am now continuing my MSC YC sailings.  MSC YC simply blows away Celebrity Retreat, in my opinion.

19 hours ago, Pat said:

If you book onboard and get the additional on board credit and immediately have your booking transferred to your usual travel agency,  would you expect to get the OBC that your travel agency offers also?

Yes, my travel agent still gave me her onboard credit.  And I didn't have to "transfer" the booking to my agent.  When I booked onboard, the booking system had the information about my travel agent already loaded and the booking automatically went to her (unless, of course, I told the Future Cruise Rep that I did not want to use that particular travel agent again......which I did not!)

@JamieLogical I'm very sorry to hear of the loss of your friend, Ted.  I got the sense from your posts that your group of solo cruising friends really liked him a lot.  I remember you posting about his health problems on one of your cruises.  Take comfort in knowing that he enjoyed being with you guys just as much as you all enjoyed being with him.  May he rest in peace (or cruise in peace as the case may be).

Jamie mentioned a lower deposit.  I believe the non-refundable YC deposit is not lower - it's $199 per person.  I've attached the Future Cruise Booking Terms and Conditions that I received in February (which addresses the price guarantee).

FCC BTC.pdf

When I booked onboard Meraviglia I received extra OBC.  Also, onboard bookings were awarded double Voyager Club points.

On Meraviglia in YC we had shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion........but I still bring all my own!  I found their body lotion was okay but did not like their shampoo or conditioner.  Just easier for me to bring my products from home.

I priced out a few sailings. An example of what I'm seeing is:  Royal Suite on June 2025 sailing on Silhouette - a reduction of $600 using the Zenith rate (priced reduced from $16.1K to $15.5K.)  A savings of $600 on a $16000 booking is not going to make me jump back to booking suites on Celebrity.

21 hours ago, DisneyJen said:

Thanks so much for your review @HappyInVan👍

 

We board Meraviglia in YC in 54 days🛳️

 

We are driving to the port. What time do you think would be a good time to arrive with the traffic?

@DisneyJen I've sailed Meraviglia departing from Brooklyn twice.   Both times, we took private car service from our home to the port.  The driver had no problem driving into the port and dropping us off directly at the YC Tent to deposit our luggage.  Was their a line of cars getting into the port?  Yes, but it moved and did not take an inordinate amount of time to reach the YC luggage tent.  Both times, we arrived at the port around 9:45 am.  Enjoy your cruise.  I'm guessing you will like YC very much (I know you're a Celebrity cruiser.....and I remember you posting on the Celebrity boards about a favorite Luminae Maitre'd of mine....Yuksel!)  Please be sure to come back and post your thoughts on YC after the cruise.

@RichYak Thank you so much for posting your thoughts on your YC experience.  I enjoyed reading your posts and agree with just about everything you posted.

Re the 2 chairs on Summit facing the wall -- I was a frequent SM cruiser and, yes, they've been there in that position on every one of my sailings.  Plus, the chairs in the Retreat Lounge on SM are, as a rule, very uncomfortable in general!

I usually sailed in a Royal Suite on Summit (but have been in all suite categories from Sky Suite to Penthouse on various Celebrity ships) but I believe the attention to detail that was shown on my two Meraviglia sailings in YC far surpassed anything I've experienced recently on Celebrity.  I will, however, say that once outside the YC the MSC experience is not really for me.  Going to the shows in the Broadway Theater and Carousel Lounge was just the perfect amount of "exposure" to MSC cruising for me.  Other than YC, I much prefer the overall "ambience" of Celebrity ships vs MSC ships.

Again, thanks for your comments and I hope you're looking forward to your next cruise.

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

I’ve been escorted on board when in upper suites. Even in Sky Suites, the concierges will escort you off the ship at ports. This is particularly useful at tender port stops. 

On Celebrity, when in an upper suite, I've only been escorted on embarkation day.  I've never had any escorts on any port days - either disembarking the ship or re-boarding the ship in a port.  However, at tender port stops, we have met in Retreat Lounge and were escorted to the tender area where we joined the already created line to board the tender -- we never "bumped" anyone in the tender line (which was fine with me!).  Escorts to disembark or re-board a ship in a port is not a big deal to me as I'm usually in no hurry at all to get off the ship in most ports....especially in the Caribbean.

Mine is showing a "Zenith Loyalty Savings" of 20% on premium beverage package.  However, as a Zenith I get a complimentary premium beverage package!  So, the Cruise Planner is very deceptive and inaccurate, in my case.

18 hours ago, RichYak said:

My wife just rated MSC YC an A+. My opinion officially no longer matters. 

I totally agree with your wife.  My two experiences with MSC YC on Meraviglia totally blows away any of my recent Retreat experiences.  And my 4 "loyal Celebrity Retreat" sailing companions totally agree.  Enjoy what's left of your cruise.

in my opinion, comparing Regent (a luxury line) to Celebrity (a mass market line) is like comparing apples to oranges.

You can eat every meal with them in the Penthouse, if that's what you all desire.  It would be served by their butler.

I have some mobility issues (bad knees!) and I was definitely allowed to use the elevator on Meraviglia on both my sailings.  And my friends sailing with me accompanied me in the elevator!  There is staff stationed near the elevator bank and they will not prohibit you from using the elevator.

On 2/24/2024 at 10:31 AM, JAGR said:

I believe the famous Arthur Javier is Maitre'd. He came on board a few weeks ago.

Yes, Arthur is Maitre'd in Meraviglia YC Restaurant and he is wonderful.  I believe he said he was scheduled to go home in September but wanted to extend his contract through October so that he would be able to be home for Christmas.  He takes very good care of all YC patrons and I'm very happy that I had the pleasure of meeting him.

@JamieLogicalThanks so much for posting.  I really enjoy reading your "live from" posts from Meraviglia and now from Divina.  I've only sailed Meraviglia but I do think I would like Divina, it being a smaller ship.  The one advantage I have with Meraviglia is no flying to the port as I'm within driving distance to Brooklyn.  I'll be looking forward to your next review.  Again, thanks.

@DaKahunaIt's too bad that your wife didn't enjoy the food.  Other than that, your review seems to indicate that you both enjoyed MSC Yacht Club.  Food is so subjective on each ship --- it really all depends on the chef.  On Meraviglia last week our chef was Ajay and he was wonderful - actually making us a couple "off menu" items at our request.  There were some interesting dishes in the main dining room and he definitely accommodated us when we requested them and even made baked stuffed shrimp and chicken parm for us!  Udon noodles was on the menu (I believe at lunch, not dinner - but I could be mis-remembering there!).  I did not have them but one of my traveling companions did and he raved about them.  I don't know much about these noodles but the noodles that were served to him were big, fat noodles - looking nothing like the picture you posted of what was served to your wife!

Hopefully you can convince her to give MSC Yacht Club another chance (with maybe another chef...LOL)

Enjoy your next cruise.  I'll be following along on the Celebrity boards.

39 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

So what do they do for the  Super Bowl? I'm sure they show that onboard.

They did air the Super Bowl on our Meraviglia sailing.  But it was not broadcast in the theater.  It was broadcast on large screen tv in pool area, at casino bar, and at Brass Anchor Pub if I recall correctly.  The folks sitting in front of me in the theater at the 10 pm am show we’re watching it in their cell phone while enjoying the live show in the theater!