To date, I have embarked on 8 cruises with various cruise lines, each adventure igniting my passion for travel. As my husband and I have matured (and our financial situation has improved), our willingness to indulge in new and more luxurious travel experiences has evolved. Our journey into the world of all-inclusive, luxury, and personalized experiences onboard cruise ships began in November 2023 when we came upon the opportunity to elevate our current booking on MSC to a Yacht Club Deluxe Suite. From that moment, we were hooked! This unique experience was exactly the vacation we had been looking for and helped transform a typical cruise experience into an unforgettable adventure.
In November 2023, we embarked on the MSC Seascape, indulging in a Yacht Club Deluxe Suite as we cruised from Miami, Florida, to the Western Caribbean. Our initial satisfying experience led us back to the MSC Seascape in June 2024, where we explored the Eastern Caribbean from an interior Yacht Club suite, which also set sail from Miami. By November 2024, we were ready indulge in a similar experience aboard the Celebrity Summit. We chose to book a Royal Suite in the Retreat, journeying from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to the stunning Southern Caribbean.
Below are the points of comparison that I think highlight the experience you get with both the Retreat and the Yacht Club. Keep in mind that I am providing insight from my firsthand experience with these luxurious suite-class accommodations. Your experiences might be different.
Embarkation
MSC Yacht Club (YC): Upon arrival at the cruise terminal, porters took our luggage to a designated area for YC guests (we did not get our luggage until several hours later, but it eventually arrived). After our luggage was collected and marked as Priority, a YC butler took us to the waiting area where we checked in, got our MSC YC wristbands, enjoyed cocktails and light snacks, and then boarded the ship.
During the boarding process, one of the butlers provided us with brief information about YC. While we were awaiting our room to become ready, we explored the ship and also spent some time in the YC lounge (aka Top Sail Lounge), which featured a full bar and butler service.
The muster drill, which we usually dread, was very quick. You simply reported to your muster station, had your cruise card scanned, and entered a few digits on your cabin phone to confirm you watched the safety video. Crew members were available throughout the ship to guide you if needed.
The embarkation process went smoothly on both MSC YC trips. We hardly had to wait for anything at all, which was a pleasant surprise. Overall, I can say it exceeded our expectations.
The Retreat: Upon arriving at the port, we waited in line for several minutes before entering the terminal (we did show up pretty early for check-in). After entering the terminal, we waited several more minutes before we were able to drop off our luggage. Porters took our luggage to the designated area for Retreat guests, and we received it quickly once onboard.
A Retreat butler escorted us to a designated waiting area, where an assortment of cocktails and snacks was available prior to our boarding the ship. Upon arrival in the waiting area, we went through the check-in process. During the check-in process, we were formally welcomed by The Retreat Director, who guided us onto the ship and to our designated suite. Throughout this period, he provided valuable information regarding both the ship and the Retreat.
The muster drill on Celebrity was quick and straightforward. You simply watched a video on your phone or cabin TV, and then you had your card scanned at the muster station. Easy peasy!
The embarkation process took longer on Celebrity than on MSC, but it remained simple. Being welcomed and provided helpful information by the Retreat Director was a nice touch. Even despite the slightly longer embarkation time with Celebrity, the service was excellent, and our luggage arrived quickly.
Overall Winner for this Category: I am going to say this one is a tie. The embarkation time was a little bit quicker with MSC, but the individualized attention from the Retreat staff upon boarding was better with Celebrity.
Butler Service
On both MSC & Celebrity, the butler service offered a wonderfully similar experience. The butlers are there to guide you through the entire embarkation and disembarkation process, right up to the moment when you scan your cruise card to leave the ship and head home. They can also accompany you to the dining room for dinner, to the nightly entertainment shows, or down to security (just in case you carried a steamer or blow dryer onboard like I did, and it was confiscated!). Additionally, they can assist with packing and unpacking your suitcases, which leaves you more time to enjoy the ship or whatever you choose to do with your free time.
The butlers on both cruise lines do a good job of keeping your mini bar and fridge stocked just the way you like it (complimentary for YC & Retreat guests)! They are also ready to assist with your specialty dinner reservations, coordinate laundry or dry cleaning services, and deliver room service. Essentially, your butlers are dedicated to making your cruise experience extraordinary. A notable difference with Celebrity is that you can easily message your butler through WhatsApp or call their direct extension on their phone. While they sometimes take a little bit of time to reply, especially if they’re recharging during a break, they will make sure your needs are a priority. On MSC, simply call butler services on your in-room phone to reach your butler. Typically, you’ll connect with a team member who will promptly notify your butler that you’re in need of something.
Overall Winner for this Category: I am also going to say this one is a tie as well. The butler service was outstanding on both MSC and Celebrity. The tasks we had them do for us on each of the cruises were a little bit different, but they seemed to exceed our expectations time and time again.
Dining Services
MSC Yacht Club (YC): Let’s start by discussing the main dining options on MSC. They have their own specialty restaurant in YC, which is very nice because you are only eating with other YC guests. They do not force you to sit with other people, so my husband and I always had our own table for 2, which is how we prefer it. Although the YC does not exclude children, there are typically not very many children in the dining room (especially in the off season). The dining hours may vary depending on the ship and itinerary, but typically breakfast in the YC dining room is served for a few hours (i.e., 7 am – 9 am), and for dinner in the YC dining room, they are usually open from 5:30 pm – 9 pm. Unfortunately, there is no lunch in the YC dining room, but they always had a buffet lunch up at the YC pool deck.
With regards to room service in YC, the menu was fairly limited as far as choices were concerned, but the food was good overall. A definite highlight would be their pizzas, which MSC has a reputation for having some of the best in the industry. Room service was also available 24/7 for YC guests, so yes, you can get your 2 am pizza!!
The food was good at the YC buffet (available for breakfast and lunch daily by the YC pool) and in the main dining area. While the breakfast menu at the YC buffet remained relatively the same day after day, the lunch buffet offered more variety. After 3-4 days into the cruise, the repetitive food choices at the YC buffet did become a bit tiresome. Breakfast in the YC dining room was also similar each day, but the dinner menu changed frequently. I appreciated the consistent “safe choices” like pasta or filet mignon each night for dinner, which is great for picky eaters! For those on a Caribbean cruise with MSC stopping at Ocean Cay, the YC has its own restaurant, which is a nice perk. The menu is small, but the food is good, and it’s nice to avoid the long lines that other MSC guests faced.
Celebrity Retreat: The Retreat also has its own specialty restaurant, which is known as Luminae. Just like in the MSC Yacht Club, you are only eating with other Retreat guests. They did not force us to eat with other guests unless we chose to do so; however, the proximity of the tables to one another was a bit closer than we would have liked. I never saw any children in the Luminae restaurant on the nights that we did dine there. The dining hours for Luminae can also vary depending on the ship and itinerary, but typically breakfast in the Luminae dining room was served for a few hours (i.e., 7 am – 9 am), and dinner was typically between 6-9pm on our cruise.
The Retreat did not have a buffet for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, which was disappointing. However, the self-service buffet (The Oceanview Cafe) on the Celebrity Summit was really good! It offered many food choices from different countries, so even picky eaters could find something to enjoy. Plus, the lines were never long. We did not particularly enjoy the food options in Luminae, so we found ourselves eating at one particular specialty restaurant most evenings (The Tuscan Grille – it was amazing!!!). We also ventured down to Blu one evening for dinner, which is the specialty restaurant reserved for Aqua Class guests and above. Both the food & service were very good at this restaurant.
With regards to room service in the Retreat, the menu was also fairly limited as far as choices were concerned, and I found the food to be quite bland. Also, I don’t believe that room service was available to us on our ship 24/7 like it was on MSC (but don’t quote me on that!). I remember being frustrated that I was only able to order room service during certain hours of the day.
In terms of specialty dining, I will not be doing a full review in this post since I believe MSC had an unfair advantage. We were on a newer, bigger MSC cruise ship so they had numerous specialty dining options, unlike the Celebrity ship which only had a few specialty dining options. Since we booked a high-level suite on Celebrity, one of the included amenities was the option of having specialty dining delivered to our room every evening. This was a major benefit of the Royal Suite Category in the Celebrity Retreat!
Overall Winner for this Category: MSC Yacht Club. While the all-inclusive in-room specialty dining on Celebrity was a huge positive, you had to book the Royal Suite or above to access this amenity. For some, the cost may exceed the benefit. MSC Yacht Club overall had better food and a wider variety from both the main dining room and room service.
Concierge Services
MSC Yacht Club (YC): Dedicated concierge services are available in YC 24 hours a day. They typically have at least 2-3 staff members working at the concierge desk, so you rarely have to wait in line. They can help you with planning, booking or cancelling shore excursions. They can also assist you with ordering room service if your butler is unavailable as well as providing tech support and information regarding your bill. They truly are “at your service.”
Celebrity Retreat: While the dedicated concierge services in the Retreat offered exceptional customer service throughout our stay, they were not available 24/7. Typically, there was only one Retreat concierge on duty, which at times made it difficult to utilize their services. They can assist with all of your shore excursion needs, room service, along with any other issues that you may be experiencing during your stay. I believe they could also assist with tech support and information about your bill, but we did not require any assistance with these services on Celebrity so I cannot directly attest to that.
Overall Winner for this Category: MSC Yacht Club. The Celebrity Retreat may have a slight edge over MSC in the customer service department; however, the accessibility of the concierge services was better on MSC. For this reason, Yacht Club wins by a landslide.
Disembarkation
MSC Yacht Club (YC): On the day of disembarkation, we did have to vacate our suites fairly early in the morning, but we were welcome to have breakfast in the YC dining room (during limited hours) or up at the pool buffet by the YC pool. After breakfast, you could await your turn for disembarkation either on the YC pool deck or in the Top Sail lounge. We had a later flight home after both MSC YC trips, so we stayed on the ship as long as they would allow us to (by 10 am we had to disembark). Your butler would escort you, along with your luggage, from the Top Sail Lounge down to the gangway. We didn’t have to wait in any lines until we went through security and left the ship.
Celebrity Retreat: On the day of disembarkation, just like on MSC, we had to vacate our suites fairly early in the morning, but we were welcome to have breakfast in the Luminae dining room (during limited hours) or in the Oceanview Cafe with the other cruise ship passengers. After breakfast, you could await your turn for disembarkation in the Retreat lounge. We had a later flight home after our Celebrity Retreat cruise, so we stayed on the ship as long as they would allow us to (by 9 am we had to disembark). Your butler would escort you, along with your luggage, from the Retreat Lounge down to the gangway. Just like on MSC, we did not have to wait in any lines until we passed through security & left the ship. Even when we got off the ship and picked up our luggage, we told one of the porters we were in the Retreat, and he was very helpful at getting us to where we needed to be both inside & outside the cruise terminal. Being in the Retreat had its advantages off the ship too!!
Overall Winner for this Category: Just like with embarkation, I will say this is also a tie. The disembarkation process and experience was very similar with YC and the Retreat. The priority embarkation & disembarkation is a great perk of these exclusive cruise ship categories.
Notables
Other notables worth mentioning include:
- “Ship within a ship”: One of the most significant things to mention is that MSC Yacht Club and the Retreat have a “ship within a ship” concept on several of their ships. Our experience with the Celebrity Retreat on the Celebrity Summit did not have the “ship within a ship” concept, which was disappointing. However, given that it was an older ship we were cruising on, it was not unexpected. If the “ship within a ship” concept is important to you, then you need to find a ship that has this perk (seen more often on the newer ships). Trust me, if you are paying for an upgraded room category in Yacht Club or the Retreat, you want to make sure you can take advantage of this luxury.
- Disembark for excursions or exploring ports: With MSC Yacht Club, your butler can escort you down to the gangway on port days for priority disembarkation, whether it is for a shore excursion or to explore freely. You need to go to the Top Sail Lounge first, then the butler will either escort you off the ship to freely explore the port or to the meeting area for your excursion. Usually, those with scheduled MSC excursions will get priority disembarkation over those who do not have excursions scheduled directly with MSC. Please note that this can be dependent upon a variety of factors such as the start time of the scheduled cruise line excursion. On Celebrity in The Retreat, a butler escorts you to the meeting area for your scheduled Celebrity excursion, but if you explore on your own or have a non-Celebrity excursion, they typically do not escort you to the gangway.
- Drink Fridge in the Retreat Lounge: In the Retreat Lounge on Celebrity, you can find large refrigerators stocked with a wide variety of non-alcoholic beverages. I think this is a fantastic perk if you just want to grab an energy drink before disembarking or if you prefer not to wait for a bartender to serve you a non-alcoholic beverage. You can go anytime of the day to get a drink from here if needed. While this feature may not seem that important or special at first, when you’re in the Retreat Lounge waiting for a refreshing Coca-Cola behind someone sharing their entire life story with the bartender, you’ll truly appreciate this! This feature was not available on MSC in the Top Sail Lounge or anywhere else on the ship to my knowledge, making it unique to Celebrity.
- Nightly Entertainment Seating: It is also worth mentioning that the butlers in both the Retreat and the Yacht Club offer reserved seating for theater/entertainment shows for guests in this class of rooms. This means you can skip the hassle of reserving a seat ahead of time for the nightly entertainment, and there’s no need to arrive early unless you have a specific area in mind you want to be seated in. Keep in mind that the reserved seating may vary by ship or venue layout; it could be centrally located in the theater or positioned at the very back. Nevertheless, this is yet another significant advantage of choosing to stay in the Retreat or Yacht Club.
- Wristbands: MSC provides all Yacht Club guests with wristbands upon cruise check-in. These wristbands grant you exclusive cabin and floor access in the Yacht Club area, along with entry to common areas accessible to other guests on the ship. Your wristband also allows you to make onboard purchases, book services such as spa treatments, and informs staff that you are part of the Yacht Club experience, eliminating the need to rummage through your bag for your cruise card. Remember, you will still need your cruise card when boarding and disembarking the cruise ship. As of the time of this post, Celebrity cruises did not provide wristbands to their guests so you must use your cruise card for everything.
- Elevators: On the newer ships, such as the MSC Seascape, MSC has implemented a state-of-the-art system that allows guests to select their floor before stepping into the elevator. This system directs them to their designated elevator. For Yacht Club guests, priority access is easily granted by tapping the number pad with their wristband or cruise card at the forward elevators. While the wristbands can be used for the elevators, the cruise card consistently proves to be more effective for securing priority access. Our butlers highlighted this tip and recommended the use of the cruise card to ensure seamless access to your desired floor. To my knowledge, this is not available on Celebrity cruises.
Now, at long last, we arrive at the moment you’ve all been eagerly awaiting—which luxury cruise category is better: Yacht Club or The Retreat. It’s like pitting a dazzling diamond against a warm, inviting pair of fuzzy slippers—both are extraordinary in their own way, yet one represents luxury, status & beauty while the other embodies comfort, relaxation and simplicity. However, at the end of the day, there must be a winner.
And the winner is…..MSC Yacht Club! I chose the Yacht Club over the Retreat for a few reasons. First and foremost, let’s talk about cost—by far the most significant factor. The Yacht Club delivers an experience comparable to the Retreat but at a lower price point. MSC offers you an exquisite, personalized, all-inclusive journey that rivals its competitors yet remains remarkably affordable. While the embarkation, disembarkation, and butler services were very similar between the Retreat and Yacht Club, I believe the dining and concierge services with the Yacht Club slightly edge out their competitors. If MSC maintains its commitment to delivering exceptional service and an unparalleled experience with Yacht Club, they are certain to earn our business for the long term.
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