How does MSC compare to Celebrity?

[George C]

14 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

From what I’ve read, I doubt we will spend much time outside of the YC.  We will venture out for shows or other entertainment.  

That’s what we booked. 
 

 

Yes, we only paid about 60% for a deluxe suite in YC (7 night) compared to what we paid for June 2024 sky suite for 9 nights. And the Celebrity cruise is on the Equinox so no retreat pool.  These will be our first suite experiences and will see if we find Celebrity worth the extra $. We had no complaints with Celebrity in Concierge or Aqua class. 
 

 

I would say the entertainment on X is their weakness so I’m happy to hear it’s better with MSC. What didn’t you like about Seaside?

 

How do you go about getting the status match?  Not that we have anything special because we started with Carnival and aren’t brand loyal. 
 

The live music in their lounge be a nice plus!  Any other bars we should try?  For instance, we like the Martini bar and World class bar on Celebrity. 
 

 

We went to listen to using in a few different venues , one had a nice jazz band , some of shows in the main theater were excellent, even had opera one day , we were happy with the entertainment.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

11 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I've never heard a walmart announcement...what are they announcing?

 

 

🤣

11 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I can't comment on European parenting styles but as a retired educator I can tell you the American parenting styles on average, leave much to be desired and have certainly eroded over the last several decades...try telling a parent these days that their kid misbehaved and the vast majority of the time, the response blames the teacher or the other kids in the class...not my kid...mentality seven ways to Sunday.

As a current educator I completely agree!  A child’s failing, many blame the teacher. Behavior issues, most parents are completely blind to how their child behaves when they aren’t around. And the clothes they send them to school in now, my dad wouldn’t have let me walk out of the house in!  I sometimes wonder if the parents think they wear something over those sports bras while they are in school. Most have an OPEN zip up hoodie on with them. Can’t dress code anymore or the parents throw a fit so we were told not to. 

[Oceansaway17]

46 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I've never heard a walmart announcement...what are they announcing?

 

As for the multi language announcements in the morning, it went pretty quickly and didn't disrupt our enjoyment at all.  In fact, I hardly noticed after awhile.  I must say, I am always awestruck by those who are multi lingual and feel ashamed that I am only fluent on English.  I try to speak as much Spanish as I can when we travel to Mexico out of respect for the culture and people of the country.  Same when we traveled to Italy and I can say that the locals really appreciate the effort.  I

If I had to do it over I would have kept up with my Spanish from high school.

The Walmart comment refers to too many constant announcements.

while I get that announcements need to be made for multiple languages, I do try to avoid those cruises as it can be annoying at times.

[Cruisingagain2022]

On 5/13/2023 at 11:16 AM, momofmab said:

I would love to try the Edge class Retreat on Celebrity, but the prices are too rich for my blood.

 

We're sailing in a grand deluxe suite In MSC's Yacht club for about the same price as I paid in January to sail in a concierge IV on Beyond.

 

It was my first cruise on Celebrity and I loved it (would definitely sail in that cabin class again), but if I want to sail suite level, X is just too pricey.

Try Oceania smaller ships and PH suites really nice especially on Riviera and or Marina.

celebrity prices are crazy .. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

12 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

If I had to do it over I would have kept up with my Spanish from high school

OMG me too!  I remember sitting in the back of the class with my textbook up on the desk so I could conceal the actual book I was reading while the teacher tried to teach us Spanish... I didn't appreciate the wasted opportunity until much later in life.

[Oceansaway17]

3 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

OMG me too!  I remember sitting in the back of the class with my textbook up on the desk so I could conceal the actual book I was reading while the teacher tried to teach us Spanish... I didn't appreciate the wasted opportunity until much later in life.

Yes and Spanish is more common and I wish I could speak it. 
Then again those folks should think the same in reverse for English as well.

 

[MISTER 67]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

From what I’ve read, I doubt we will spend much time outside of the YC.  We will venture out for shows or other entertainment.  

That’s what we booked. 
 

 

Yes, we only paid about 60% for a deluxe suite in YC (7 night) compared to what we paid for June 2024 sky suite for 9 nights. And the Celebrity cruise is on the Equinox so no retreat pool.  These will be our first suite experiences and will see if we find Celebrity worth the extra $. We had no complaints with Celebrity in Concierge or Aqua class. 
 

 

I would say the entertainment on X is their weakness so I’m happy to hear it’s better with MSC. What didn’t you like about Seaside?

 

How do you go about getting the status match?  Not that we have anything special because we started with Carnival and aren’t brand loyal. 
 

The live music in their lounge be a nice plus!  Any other bars we should try?  For instance, we like the Martini bar and World class bar on Celebrity. 
 

 

We thought that the Seaside was geared toward a younger crowd and younger families, they had a DJ in the Atrium from late morning to late evening blasting music, it was so loud that you could hear it while having dinner in the MDR, we and other diners actually complained to Maitre D. There was also a lot rides and others things on the top deck for the kids. The Seaside also had way too much glass and mirrors with the decor, sometimes you really had to figure out if you where going to walk into some glass. 
The Divina and Maraviglia are much classier ships.

As far as status match, we needed to fill out a form that was emailed to us along with taking a photo of some documentation what your highest status is with another line, it went very smooth.

Edited May 14, 2023 by MISTER 67

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

How do you go about getting the status match?

There's a form on their website that you can fill out.

 

I am top tier Diamond on MSC, which I've yet to sail on, after matching from Azamara, which I've also never sailed on. I did this just prior to the Azamara/RCL split.

[sbcs5390]

3 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

How do you go about getting the status match?  Not that we have anything special because we started with Carnival and aren’t brand loyal. 

Here is the form: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/msc-voyagers-club/status-match

 

A couple things to know:

1) Officially, it's "once and done" so you have one shot to submit information from one program to match.

2) You can only submit one program.

3) MSC doesn't publish the tables of what matches to what, so you have to go by word of mouth to know what your best avenue is. 

4) They do match hotel programs as well. 

5) They are not always consistent so there's no guarantees you'll get the same. For instance, I had read that Marriott Titanium was going to Gold, so I just did my Celebrity Elite. Now more recently I saw someone with Marriott Titanium got Diamond. I missed out on the awesome Celebrity/RCL -> Azamara -> MSC hack described above.

6) The good news is - with Yacht Club your status doesn't matter much. Lots of Diamond members in YC leave their free specialty meal on the table because it's just not worth it when YC is right there and so excellent. 

7) They issue you the number of points equal to the prior level. For instance, upon my gold status match, I was issued 4,300 points. You also get 100 points for confirming your contact info before each cruise. 

8 ) You earn extra points for being in YC, like Captains' Club. A weeklong cruise is 1,500 points. You also earn points for onboard spend (although mine haven't appeared yet from my 4/22 cruise). You also get double points if you book more than a year out, and if you book onboard - I don't know if these are additive, i.e., quadruple points for onboard booking >1 year out, but I doubt it. Long story short, I'll be Diamond anyway after my next cruise because it's a longer one, earning me 2,000 points * 2 and getting me to the 10,000 points needed for Diamond. I see getting to Diamond level as insurance that if I ever take a regular MSC cruise outside of YC, it won't be as bad (priority boarding, free specialty meal, etc.), but none of the Diamond benefits really matter when you're in YC.   

9) MSC requires you to cruise once every three years or you lose your status. Kind of annoying as I had a 19 year gap on Celebrity and it picked up where I left off with them. 

 

I want to come back and write a broader post about my experience on MSC a couple weeks ago in response to your question - which was incredible - as someone who's been on Celebrity (a lot, from insides to RS), Royal, Carnival, NCL, HAL, Cunard, Oceania, and Crystal. Summary version is: just canceled 3 Celebrity cruises to come back to YC with family after really enjoying my first time. The value is tremendous. I had a particularly awful experience with Oceania that I should also write about one day. 

Edited May 14, 2023 by sbcs5390

[NCteacherlovescruising]

11 minutes ago, sbcs5390 said:

Here is the form: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/msc-voyagers-club/status-match

 

A couple things to know:

1) Officially, it's "once and done" so you have one shot to submit information from one program to match.

2) You can only submit one program.

3) MSC doesn't publish the tables of what matches to what, so you have to go by word of mouth to know what your best avenue is. 

4) They do match hotel programs as well. 

5) They are not always consistent so there's no guarantees you'll get the same. For instance, I had read that Marriott Titanium was going to Gold, so I just did my Celebrity Elite. Now more recently I saw someone with Marriott Titanium got Diamond. I missed out on the awesome Celebrity/RCL -> Azamara -> MSC hack described above.

6) The good news is - with Yacht Club your status doesn't matter much. Lots of Diamond members in YC leave their free specialty meal on the table because it's just not worth it when YC is right there and so excellent. 

7) They issue you the number of points equal to the prior level. For instance, upon my gold status match, I was issued 4,300 points. You also get 100 points for confirming your contact info before each cruise. 

8 ) You earn extra points for being in YC, like Captains' Club. A weeklong cruise is 1,500 points. You also earn points for onboard spend (although mine haven't appeared yet from my 4/22 cruise). You also get double points if you book more than a year out, and if you book onboard - I don't know if these are additive, i.e., quadruple points for onboard booking >1 year out, but I doubt it. Long story short, I'll be Diamond anyway after my next cruise because it's a longer one, earning me 2,000 points * 2 and getting me to the 10,000 points needed for Diamond. I see getting to Diamond level as insurance that if I ever take a regular MSC cruise outside of YC, it won't be as bad (priority boarding, free specialty meal, etc.), but none of the Diamond benefits really matter when you're in YC.   

9) MSC requires you to cruise once every three years or you lose your status. Kind of annoying as I had a 19 year gap on Celebrity and it picked up where I left off with them. 
 

 

 

thanks!

11 minutes ago, sbcs5390 said:

 

I want to come back and write a broader post about my experience on MSC a couple weeks ago in response to your question - which was incredible - as someone who's been on Celebrity (a lot, from insides to RS), Royal, Carnival, NCL, HAL, Cunard, Oceania, and Crystal. Summary version is: just canceled 3 Celebrity cruises to come back to YC with family after really enjoying my first time. The value is tremendous. I had a particularly awful experience with Oceania that I should also write about one day. 

I look forward to it!

[UpcountryTravelers]

Celebrity is one of our two favorites (future cruises booked already).  MSC is our NEVER AGAIN cruise line, even though, with status match, we were Black Card.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

6 minutes ago, UpcountryTravelers said:

Celebrity is one of our two favorites (future cruises booked already).  MSC is our NEVER AGAIN cruise line, even though, with status match, we were Black Card.

Did you sail in their yacht club?

[Markanddonna]

I would imagine you would enjoy the yacht club. There is a huge difference between MSC and Celebrity. I have been on both as recently as this year. Just got off a transatlantic on Celebrity.   It depends on the region you wish to travel. You might not enjoy the atmosphere in the main area of MSC.

 

Although you can isolate yourself somewhat in the Yacht Club, you will venture out in the evening to enjoy the lounges and theatre. We enjoyed the these features so much more wirh Celebrity. For examp!e, we enjoy dancing. Our MSC catered to the Latin dance crowd and some lounges get taken over by preschoolers spinning on the dance floor. Celebrity took the pulse of the dancing passengers and catered to them. Only five children on that cruise.  Our B2B MSC to Mexico, Central and South America had so many problems, the worst being rude and obnoxious passeo. First time seeing a fight by the pool. Security called. MSC was severely understaffed while we had amazing service on Celebrity. 

 

Celebrity still has a ship band/orchestra. Not on MSC. All recorded. There were times we noted the singers' voices were recorded. No lips moving, but heard singing. Oops. 

 

Btw, we were Black/diamond in a balcony on Msc. An oceanview on Celebrity with no status. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Markanddonna

[Itchy&Scratchy]

since we don't do YC, but only a regular inside or balcony - we are going on our first MSC cruise this fall (reg balconies). Since I am taking the entire family (us + parents and in-laws), it had to be reasonably priced, and MSC definitely comes out ahead in that category. As for the value for the $$ - we'll see.

 

I also had MSC booked for next spring, but after reading some recent Seascape reviews, I cancelled the spring cruise and looked into other lines. The major contenders were Celebrity Reflection, NCL Joy and Carnival Horizon. Comparison points were price, activities, food and itinerary. I ended up booking Celebrity inside yesterday. The food will be much better, and Reflection is going to ABC islands. That itinerary alone is worth it. And it's just us.

Edited May 15, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[deliver42]

We've been on both, including the YC on 2 MSC ships. The comparison is like Pepsi to Champagne, with Celebrity being champagne

[NCteacherlovescruising]

13 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

I would imagine you would enjoy the yacht club. There is a huge difference between MSC and Celebrity. I have been on both as recently as this year. Just got off a transatlantic on Celebrity.   It depends on the region you wish to travel. You might not enjoy the atmosphere in the main area of MSC.

 

Although you can isolate yourself somewhat in the Yacht Club, you will venture out in the evening to enjoy the lounges and theatre. We enjoyed the these features so much more wirh Celebrity. For examp!e, we enjoy dancing. Our MSC catered to the Latin dance crowd and some lounges get taken over by preschoolers spinning on the dance floor. Celebrity took the pulse of the dancing passengers and catered to them. Only five children on that cruise.  Our B2B MSC to Mexico, Central and South America had so many problems, the worst being rude and obnoxious passeo. First time seeing a fight by the pool. Security called. MSC was severely understaffed while we had amazing service on Celebrity. 

 

Yes, I’m sure we will leave the YC after dinner to go to shows and such. I love silent discos and it would be very disappointing if young children are in the way in the dance floor!  
 

I agree, Celebrity does have excellent service!  

10 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

since we don't do YC, but only a regular inside or balcony - we are going on our first MSC cruise this fall (reg balconies). Since I am taking the entire family (us + parents and in-laws), it had to be reasonably priced, and MSC definitely comes out ahead in that category. As for the value for the $$ - we'll see.

 

I also had MSC booked for next spring, but after reading some recent Seascape reviews, I cancelled the spring cruise and looked into other lines. The major contenders were Celebrity Reflection, NCL Joy and Carnival Horizon. Comparison points were price, activities, food and itinerary. I ended up booking Celebrity inside yesterday. The food will be much better, and Reflection is going to ABC islands. That itinerary alone is worth it. And it's just us.

You can’t go wrong with Celebrity!  We have a cruise booked with them next summer. We were looking at Celebrity and Carnival for this last minute cruise and picked MSC because of the value, a suite experience with drinks and Wi-Fi, verses inside cabins on the other two. Just couldn’t pass up our first suite experience at this price!  I’m curious to see how the YC compares to the Retreat. 
 

26 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

We've been on both, including the YC on 2 MSC ships. The comparison is like Pepsi to Champagne, with Celebrity being champagne

 

What didn’t you like about the YC, that you would rate it so poorly?  I’ve read mostly great things about the YC. I’m not a foodie so that’s not a big factor. Give me some protein and a veggie and I’m good. 

[earn]

On 5/13/2023 at 9:29 AM, Betsynh said:

I am a gluten-free cruiser and sailed on MSC in February. The ONLY place I could safely get GF food was the main dining room, and that length of a meal wouldn’t work for my 3-year-old grandson… since I was traveling with my daughter and grandson, I either ate alone or took my chances at the buffet. While the ship was beautiful, I won’t sail MSC again, unless there are extenuating circumstances. Just got off the Celebrity Millennium this morning and had the best week cruising the west coast of the US where everyone was knowledgeable about my dietary needs and GF food was available everywhere! Little things matter to me…

Hi, I’m also gluten free and have been on a few MSC cruises.  They are extremely cautious regarding cross contamination, which is why they don’t recommend eating in the buffet.  In reality, that is no different to any other line and they will tell you what has no gluten containing ingredients at the buffet if you ask.  I have never been ill from eating in the buffet on MSC.  Did you try the baked apples for breakfast?

[grandgeezer]

On 5/15/2023 at 4:42 PM, deliver42 said:

We've been on both, including the YC on 2 MSC ships. The comparison is like Pepsi to Champagne, with Celebrity being champagne

What class cabin, on Celebrity, are you comparing the YC to? We compared it to a Sky Suite on the Equinox, both pre pandemic. If you are comparing it to anything higher, you might be right, but at what price? Though we thought they were somewhat similar but a unanimous 

decision for MSC. The $100+ per person per day cheaper made it a no brainer. 14 days x $100+ x two came to a hair over $3,000 that stayed in  our pocket, for a much better vacation.

Our comparison would be kool aid to champagne.

Sadly, the current pricing on any line, any ship, has us staying home. We have the money but the value of the experience isn’t even close.

 

 

 

[cruzeluver]

We like both lines. And we are not Retreat or Yacht Club folks. Generally book standard verandahs regardless of line. Overall we believe Celebrity to have the better, more varied cuisine and slightly more polished service. MSC has better entertainment and a far less homoginezed clientele. 

[KKB]

30+ cruises under my belt.

I did MSC Divina in Feb to Caribbean & on Preziosa now in Europe.

Do not plan to do MSC again.

Celebrity is our fav line of all.

I cannot comment on YC but have heard it’s amazing.

That being said, the lack of common courtesy by far too many passengers is astounding—have never encountered it on other lines to this extent.

The only think MSC does better is pizza & price.

Pretty much everything else MSC falls well below ALL other mainstream lines.

(crew mostly great on both cruises)

And while I love a good deal, have decided it’s not a good value to me.

 

[shipgeeks]

On 5/14/2023 at 11:26 AM, Oceansaway17 said:

If I had to do it over I would have kept up with my Spanish from high school.

The Walmart comment refers to too many constant announcements.

while I get that announcements need to be made for multiple languages, I do try to avoid those cruises as it can be annoying at times.

Our MSC experience was that they were very brief, and only re essentials such as being cleared for disembarkation.  No announcements re bingo, art auction, sales in the shops. So IMO much preferable to the long announcements multiple times a day on other lines.

[Oceansaway17]

5 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Our MSC experience was that they were very brief, and only re essentials such as being cleared for disembarkation.  No announcements re bingo, art auction, sales in the shops. So IMO much preferable to the long announcements multiple times a day on other lines.

One day I might try MSC 

[jules815]

On 5/12/2023 at 9:07 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Msc has the suite experience beat hands down compared to Celebrity. The YC is one of my most favorite experiences in suite class. On the flip side, Celebrity comes in first in mainstream cruising experience for nonsuite class. So much so that we have a standard veranda stateroom booked on Celebrity coming up and I have no doubt about the experience we will receive. I cannot say the same for MSC as I would not sail with them outside of YC. 

This 100%.  

 

Our next cruise is a B2B in September on MSC Seascape in the Yacht Club. This will be our third time sailing with them and loved our other YC cruises. Our next cruise with Celebrity is a transatlantic on ASCENT (I think that's the name of their new ship), April 2024. Retreat prices were insane, but we know being outside of suite class we're still going to have a very nice cruise experience. 

[waddle]

We sailed MSC Splendida out of Dubai pre Covid

 

Lovely ship, stunning atrium and the food and drinks package was first class . As it was largely a mixed European clientele, only slight downside for us was the evening entertainment. Very generic dance acts, salsa lessons in the evening when you would expect a band or disco. No ‘shows’ as such given they are catering for numerous languages

 

Havent gone with MSC since but wouldnt rule them out in the future if itinerary was right

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

On 5/18/2023 at 9:32 PM, grandgeezer said:

What class cabin, on Celebrity, are you comparing the YC to? We compared it to a Sky Suite on the Equinox, both pre pandemic. If you are comparing it to anything higher, you might be right, but at what price? Though we thought they were somewhat similar but a unanimous 

decision for MSC. The $100+ per person per day cheaper made it a no brainer. 14 days x $100+ x two came to a hair over $3,000 that stayed in  our pocket, for a much better vacation.

Our comparison would be kool aid to champagne.

Sadly, the current pricing on any line, any ship, has us staying home. We have the money but the value of the experience isn’t even close.

 

 

 

We booked the yacht club for next month and a sky suite on the Equinox for June 2024.  They will be our first time cruising in a suite with benefits. How would you say the yacht club experience will compare to Celebrity outside of the retreat?  We absolutely loved Celebrity!!  Our first time we were in Concierge class and last time was Aqua. We typically book verandas and always have a wonderful time. Never felt the need to spend the extra money on suite access. However, we booked the retreat for next summer to celebrate our 30th anniversary and the yacht club pricing for this June was comparable to what we typically spend for a veranda on Celebrity, and I’d read on here not to sail MSC outside of the yacht club. You think sailing in a sky suite will be that much better than the deluxe suite?  I’m just excited to be cruising and especially our first suite experience. I’m a lounge by the pool in the sun gal so the thought of having the suite pool on MSC is a major plus!  
 

On 5/19/2023 at 6:40 AM, cruzeluver said:

We like both lines. And we are not Retreat or Yacht Club folks. Generally book standard verandahs regardless of line. Overall we believe Celebrity to have the better, more varied cuisine and slightly more polished service. MSC has better entertainment and a far less homoginezed clientele. 

 

I felt Celebrity’s weakness was entertainment so I’m happy to hear MSC is better in this area. 
 

21 hours ago, KKB said:

30+ cruises under my belt.

I did MSC Divina in Feb to Caribbean & on Preziosa now in Europe.

Do not plan to do MSC again.

Celebrity is our fav line of all.

I cannot comment on YC but have heard it’s amazing.

That being said, the lack of common courtesy by far too many passengers is astounding—have never encountered it on other lines to this extent.

The only think MSC does better is pizza & price.

Pretty much everything else MSC falls well below ALL other mainstream lines.

(crew mostly great on both cruises)

And while I love a good deal, have decided it’s not a good value to me.

 

 

I’m hoping our yacht club experience will be nice. I need to try a slice of this pizza everyone is raving about!  
 

9 hours ago, jules815 said:

This 100%.  

 

Our next cruise is a B2B in September on MSC Seascape in the Yacht Club. This will be our third time sailing with them and loved our other YC cruises. Our next cruise with Celebrity is a transatlantic on ASCENT (I think that's the name of their new ship), April 2024. Retreat prices were insane, but we know being outside of suite class we're still going to have a very nice cruise experience. 

I’m happy to hear you loved your yacht club experiences!  I think we will too. I’m really not that hard to please. While Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have been our favorite cruises, we always had a blast on Carnival and was pleased with their food and service, and also enjoyed NCL. I think a cruise is what you make of it.  I agree with you on Celebrity’s suite pricing being insane!  However, they don’t seem to have any trouble selling out.