LIVE SIDE-BY-SIDE Celebrity Summit Retreat & Seascape Yacht Club 12/9-21/2023 ~ 1st MSC vs Farewell (?) X Suite Experience

[Stem to Stern]

1 hour ago, Salt Lifer said:

I will be eagerly following along and love the idea of a real-time comparison between two different lines.  As a foodie, I will be especially interested to read about the food you enjoy in all venues on both ships. 

 

Please feel free to post any and all food pictures for those of us who are less fortunate and have to wait a few months before our next cruising adventure! 😉

Thanks.  I will try to post as many pics as I can come up with.  I will be shooting and posting with the new Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max.  
Apparently the cameras have many new features and capabilities that I have yet to learn.  Both of us recently upgraded our ancient iPhone 7 models.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Stem to Stern

[earn]

3 hours ago, bjahil47 said:

Looking forward to your review.  We are long time Celebrity cruisers but with all the changes am looking else where.  Looked into MSC after Generation X’s review.  The Yacht Club sounded great until I found out all Gluten Free meals are chosen and made by MDR.  Why pay for Yacht Club if I have to eat MDR food.  Not that there is anything wrong with MDR food, just that I would pay more in Yacht Club that features different meals.  

That’s really disappointing and would be a deal breaker for me.  Surely they should be able to make adjustments to the Yacht Club menu.  Very odd stance for an Italian cruise line, since Italy has one of the highest per capita diagnosis of Coeliac.

[lola2013]

5 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Hi Susan.  Thanks for following.  The weather will be a bit better tomorrow.  Our cool fronts often only last for a day.  Is your true departure time from Port Everglades 3:30 on Saturday?  Maybe our paths will cross on the water?

Bon Voyage to you as well.

Yes…3:30 from Port Everglades.  Since we will be heading south to Key West, maybe I can ask the captain to swing by Miami so we can have our close encounter!  

What the heck is with Floridians in this climate?  I had a great outside table at Seasons 52 in Galleria Mall to meet family for dinner.  71 degrees at 6:45 and they needed to move inside because it was too cold 😵‍💫.  Good Lord, we had snow in Chicago two days ago…I am loving 71 degrees.  
 

“See you” Saturday 😎

Susan 

[Ellesor826]

6 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

We plan on having a walk around Old San Juan on our own.

Do not forget to hit up the bar which created the Piña Colada

Barrachina Restaurant in Old San Juan

[1Virgo]

looking forward to your posts.  We love the Summit. older ship with a big soul.   

 

with all the changes at X we are disappointed  (we are close to Elite +)  and looking at YC and Princess.    
 

so countdown on.  Keep smiling and posting 

[DaKahuna]

7 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Puerto Plata and Ocean Cay are new for us.  I booked an excursion for Puerto Plata through the MSC cruise planner.  Their website did not permit me to use my available OBC, so I used a credit card. 

 

 

 I noticed that also when I went to book some pre-cruise items for our upcoming cruise.  It was not a big deal in that I got the things I wanted and I know of some items I'll do once I am on the ship to help use some of my OBC (daily gratuities and WiFi upgrade). 

[abbydancer2003]

Fun.  Enjoy both.  I'll be interested in your comparison, as if I even mention MSC DH says no.

[Stem to Stern]

8 hours ago, Ellesor826 said:

Do not forget to hit up the bar which created the Piña Colada

Barrachina Restaurant in Old San Juan

I wouldn’t miss it!  
Thank you for following along!🥰🙏😘

[Stem to Stern]

8 hours ago, 1Virgo said:

We love the Summit. older ship with a big soul.   

I love her also.  This will be my third time.

I will keep smiling and I will keep my glass half full.  Although we are likely priced out of The Retreat after this, we are going to enjoy every moment. 😆😎😉

[vickykay]

We were on the Summit this past Sept and really enjoyed the ship. We thought the makeover was beautiful.
 

We left  Naples yesterday and are heading back to upstate NY for the holidays.  It was cold early morning (wearing fleeces) but still better than what we will be having back home.  
 

Enjoy your cruises and looking forward to following along.

[Stem to Stern]

Good morning!☀️ 

One more sleep until cruise day! 😅

Let’s get a few of those posts that I mentioned yesterday out of the way.

Thank you for all the comments.🙏🙏🙏

 

About us

 

DH and I are not influencers or loyalists.  We enjoy a relaxing cruise vacation once or twice a year sandwiched in between our full-time work schedules.  We have mostly cruised Celebrity, but we have ventured out of our comfort zone a couple of times.  My personal cruise bucket list is long and includes a wide variety of cruise lines and experiences.  I can’t think of too many cruises I would not consider.  These will be our 12th and 13th cruises together as a couple. 🚢🥰👍

 

Prior to meeting 11 years ago, DH had just two polar opposite cruising experiences under his belt.  The first was on a Royal Caribbean mega-ship with his family celebrating his parents’ milestone anniversary.  The second was a week-long vacation sailing around Belize on an eight-passenger catamaran.  🤩

 

Prior to our first cruise together I sailed on Majesty OTS, Norwegian Pearl, Celebrity Summit and Freedom OTS all in the Caribbean.

I love all that is cruise- and ship-related. 🚢😍

 

Fast forward to 2014.  I booked DH and myself on our first cruise together, a 5-night sailing to Key West and Cozumel on Celebrity Constellation in one of the five fairly-new-at-the-time aft-facing Aqua class staterooms.  Thus began a fever fueled by a brand that succeeded at creating an on board experience that captivated us.  😁

 

It was on this first sailing together that we fell in love with all things Celebrity including:

the Blu dining experience; the new friends made on board;

the hard-working crew’s professionalism, smiling faces, and “ My pleasure” replies;

the serenity of the solarium;

and the new port experiences. 😍

 

Oh, and let’s not forget about those magic room cards that when waved at any bar procured deliciously devilish martinis and any other adult beverages we desired. 🍺

 

A couple of cruises later I surprised DH by upgrading our Silhouette booking to our first ever suite, a corner aft Sky Suite.  After embarking I escorted him directly to the suite and he was elated.  Night after night for seven nights sporting our bow ties and sport jackets we sauntered into Luminae smiling like two Cheshire cats preparing to lap up some cream.  😻

 

Never again did a future cruise booking conversation not include DH’s question to me, “Are we in a suite?”  My usual reply was, “Not this time, honey.  The numbers just weren’t working.” 😆

 

A couple of cruises later I booked…

(Do you see a pattern here?

I book the cruise. ✅

DH asks, “When are we going?”) 😂

DH

 

Anyway, early in 2017 the numbers worked, but in a slightly different way.  I found a Crystal cruise that turned out to be a bit of a pricing error due to overlapping promotions advertised on a major online agency’s website.  Crystal?!?  You read it right.  Two working-for-a- living, young-at-heart guys booked on the 6-star Crystal Serenity.  Will this experience be too stuffy for us?

 

The Crystal cruise could not have come at a better time for us.  Just weeks before our November sailing our Florida home along with several Caribbean islands suffered significant hurricane damage.  Thankfully our place was still livable and everything was repairable.  😅

 

Crystal kept us updated pre-cruise as they worked to find new ports of call to replace the original itinerary’s ravaged and closed ports.  During a challenging year, we were still able to run away and relax for a few days.  🌴☀️

 

We found the Crystal experience just about perfect.  From the moment we boarded the ship we encountered a delightful and diverse group of fellow passengers.  The ship was traditional, spacious, impeccably tidy, and gorgeous.  

Our somewhat “cozy” verandah stateroom was the most beautiful jewel box of an accommodation.  The “All-Exclusive” experience meant not having to show our magic room cards to order a drink because nearly everything was included for everyone on board.  

We found one-class cruising rather classy.  We were Crystalized! 😉

 

Walking her full promenade one last time on disembarkation morning was really depressing.

I did not want to disembark Crystal Serenity.🥲

 

Of all our cruises, DH has this one stuck in his head.  When conversations among friends turn to cruising, Crystal is the first word out of his mouth. 🙄🤣🤣

 

We went back to Celebrity for a few memory-making cruises (only one of which was in The Retreat — after all we are just working folk.) 😆

 

In 2018 Captain Kate steered Equinox toward the beautiful ABC islands (love those!!) granting us 10 nights of cruising bliss.

 

In 2019 we planned my first trip across the pond for a wonderful 12-night Western Med sailing.

 

2021 brought our first post-Covid return to the sea.  DH and I were the first non-B2B passengers to embark on day 1.  We received a personal escort up the gangway from the retreat manager herself.  

Once on board she reminded us that we could now remove our face coverings.  How special did we feel?  

Did I already mention the Cheshire cats analogy?  😻

 

This cruise prematurely culminated on the final night with a second encounter with retreat manager.

Unfortunately this time she tracked us down to escort us to…drum roll, please…quarantine!!  We were identified as “close contacts.” 😱🥲

 

We spent the final night of our wonderful return-to-cruising cruise completely dumbfounded.  We were stuck in our suite waiting for further communication from guest relations and medical.  We ate our final Luminae meal hunched over our little coffee table in front of the television, a meal I washed down with the better part of a bottle of 2019 Conundrum. 🍷😉

 

That was a stressful evening spent deducing who we came in close contact with and waiting for test results.  I felt like I was in one of those quarantine nightmares I had read about on Cruise Critic.  Thankfully our situation only lasted one night unlike many others. 😷😩

 

Nevertheless we were still grateful to be back at sea.  After calling Captain’s Club post-cruise, X accommodated us (very fairly I will add) for the quarantine situation.  

In hindsight this blip of bad luck had an overall positive impression of Celebrity on us.  😊

 

As an added bonus we met a wonderful couple during this cruise that became friends and cruise buddies.  They will be joining us on the Summit segment of our side-by-side. 😊

 

Until she suggests otherwise, I will refer to the female half of this couple as “my new cruise buddy.”  Like myself she may have a slight addiction to booking cruises, but we work quite well together.  We continually bounce travel ideas off each other and compare notes. Admittedly we have had little to zero success talking each other off the ledge. 🤪

 

Have I mentioned that one of my favorite phrases is, “Book it!!!” 🤩

 

Last year DH and I returned to Connie, the ship where it all began for us.  Our flight to Venice was scheduled to depart on the Wednesday afternoon when Hurricane Ian was forecasted to arrive.  Yes, another darn hurricane!  

 

Fortunately on the Sunday prior to our departure, DH worked his telephone manner magic and got our flight changed to the day prior to Ian’s arrival.  With the additional night available at our VRBO we spent five fantastic nights pre-cruise in Venice before embarking on an incredible ten-night sojourn around the Greek Isles and Turkey. We were lucky enough to only lose one tree during Ian, but our nearby coastal communities were devastated.

Grand Canal - Venice - a magical place.

 

One more December 2022 cruise, our first with Azamara, brings us to the present.  It has been nearly a year since we have been on a cruise ship.  The long wait is almost over.  😅

Edited December 8, 2023 by Stem to Stern

[Linda W.]

Your Crystal cruise sounded awesome!  Have a great time and keep us posted!

[Georgia_Peaches]

A great read @Stem to Stern!  And I love the font size as I can see it without my readers, which I can never seem to find!

 

Your cruising passion mirrors ours and I’m practically giddy with even the prospect of booking another cruise. Currently, we have Alaska on the Edge booked for 2024 and an Eastern Med on Regent’s Granduer for 2025. 
 

We couldn’t agree more with you on Celebrity’s ability to create a variety of quality entertainment on board ship. Though post Covid, we felt a slip in that area…prompting a look around. We landed in the YC on MSC!  
 

I’m eager to read about your experiences. Happy pre-embarkation day!  

[Norwaylady]

Bon voyage! 
looking forward for your adventure🤩🕺🏻🕺🏻

[Stem to Stern]

4 hours ago, abbydancer said:

Fun.  Enjoy both.  I'll be interested in your comparison, as if I even mention MSC DH says no.

Thank you!  It sure does not compare to your travels.

I hope I make it to the tip of South America in the future.  

But it will be fun to experience another line irregardless of whether or not the line and/or the ship is similar or comparable to Celebrity.

[Stem to Stern]

9 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

WiFi upgrade

I have not researched this.  

Can you share what the cost was for upgrading MSC's WiFi that is included with the YC experience?

[Stem to Stern]

52 minutes ago, Linda W. said:

Your Crystal cruise sounded awesome!  Have a great time and keep us posted!

Thanks Linda.  It really was incredible.  Very relaxing.

[Ellesor826]

1 hour ago, Stem to Stern said:

As an added bonus we met a wonderful couple during this cruise that became friends and cruise buddies.  They will be joining us on the Summit segment of our side-by-side. 😊

Oh...DO share!!!!!
xx oo

Cannot wait to sail away in our Summit Suite w/ you both.

[Mrs_Tiki]

Hi Paul, Mrs. Tiki (aka Mary) here. I am excited for your live review!

 

DH and I took our first MSC cruise in YC last spring, and I think that one of your ports - Ocean Cay - has the potential to be quite remarkable. Sadly, we had bad weather, and the Ocean House (YC area) was not open. But it looked lovely, and we enjoyed circumnavigating the island for our exercise that day. The landscape is intentionally natural and appealed to me far more than the water park/theme park atmosphere of some other lines’ private islands.

 

Bon voyage! I look forward to following along!

[Stem to Stern]

52 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

A great read @Stem to Stern!  And I love the font size as I can see it without my readers, which I can never seem to find!

Thanks Georgia.  I have read a lot of passionate live threads and cruise reviews including yours, so I have plenty of inspiration.  I have learned so many informative tips here, like when Jim suggested a food photo is better taken prior to putting a utensil in it or worse yet something already half-eaten.

 

I am glad you brought up the positive feedback on the font.  I am a bit OCD when it comes to this kind of thing.  I can never find my readers either.  And they are a necessity if I am trying to read Cruise Critic on my iPhone.  My iPad Mini is not much better.  The font is so tiny.  

 

So the long pre-cruise posts were prepared in the Notes app, so they could later be copied and pasted.  I was not sure how large the font would turn out, but it sure is an improvement reading it on an iPhone in my opinion.  

 

Some of the other posts written in real time (including this one) are typed on my Mac desktop.  Then I highlight the whole thing and hit the B at the top for bold.  I am conflicted about bold.  I do not want to shout.  But I am really grateful to those posters on here that always use it.  Bold is so much easier to read.

 

On board I will only have my iPhone 15 Pro Max and my ancient iPad Mini 4.  On MSC I believe I only have the basic WiFi package, so I will likely only use my iPhone to post.  I am not sure about the whole switching between devices which has gotten pretty routine on Celebrity.

 

I feel more confident about posting pics on board Summit.  I will be sure to send out a Food Porn Alert prior to such posts. 

 

 

[Stem to Stern]

56 minutes ago, Norwaylady said:

Bon voyage! 
looking forward for your adventure🤩🕺🏻🕺🏻

Thank you dear sweet Alexandra.  I recently started following your travels and I will surely never miss another one of your and Jarle's fabulous trips.  Stay warm!!!

[Lena11033]

3 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

On MSC I believe I only have the basic WiFi package

 

I would double check, I believe normally YC comes with premium wifi 

[Stem to Stern]

2 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

 

I would double check, I believe normally YC comes with premium wifi 

Thank Jeannette.  I will try looking into it further if I find time today.  Maybe John will offer some insight with his research.  Morpheus has on occasion previously reported on his live threads that he upgraded his WiFi in the Yacht Club.

[Norwaylady]

5 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

Thank you dear sweet Alexandra.  I recently started following your travels and I will surely never miss another one of your and Jarle's fabulous trips.  Stay warm!!!

I can happily take your space😂😂🙌🏻

I can offer you fabulous -15 to -10celsius and ❄️❄️❄️❄️ 

My long johns are on on my down jacket is out & about😜 

 

Enjoy your sun & summer😎😎

Really looking forward for your view on this b2b project 🤓

[Lena11033]

2 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

Thank Jeannette.  I will try looking into it further if I find time today.  Maybe John will offer some insight with his research.  Morpheus has on occasion previously reported on his live threads that he upgraded his WiFi in the Yacht Club.

 

I jus had a look their wording is odd, it says premium but says browse and stream so yes you are right there is a higher one.

I never upgraded but I didn't have any issues either - but I don't stream movies while traveling. The only thing it may impact I guess is social media and video calls (now I'm trying to remember if I did video calls a few months back because I always call my husband everyday)