stp_mmh5

Both times we have done the upgrade bid into YC it has counted as pre-boarding spending and have gotten points added. This was for Seashore last year and Seaside this year. It still worked out to the $150 = 100 points conversion. The original fares were the travel agent special rates, so not sure if that had anything to do with it.

The rocks on the left side of Bimini Beach, the furthest from the ship, had a lot of sea life all around it. I saw probably half a dozen or so different species. It was a little choppy that day as the wind was coming in from that direction, but nothing too bad. As long as you don't try to swim into the channel into the lagoon, the jet ski lifeguard didn't seem to have a problem with me or anyone else snorkeling over there.

Glad you guys are having a great time! Can't wait to hear how day 3 goes, especially the rock show as we missed it on our trip. The upcoming shows that we would recommend are the Peter Punk (It's weird and the story makes no sense, but some of the side acts are incredible) and Starwalker, the Michael Jackson show. I am not a huge fan, but thought the show was very well done. Also be sure to ask Raj and/or your butler when they will do the seafood buffet as that is something you don't want to miss.

On 5 out of 6 trips so far, we have brought alcohol from whichever port we were at in the time onboard with zero issues. On the 6th trip we didn't buy any alcohol so no idea if that's the one where they would have started securing it for us. We didn't see any station setup post security to collect it, so I'd say it's safe to say they didn't.

You save the cost of the auto gratuity and that's about it. I found a picture of some of the prices onboard, so you can compare them and see if anything is discounted online. I didn't notice at the time that some of it is cut off, nor do I have any of the other services like nails/hair/etc.

The biggest difference in price is generally the 15% auto gratuity isn't applied for online bookings, but will be for onboard. Otherwise, the prices are about the same. The comment about flubbing up the reservation is more of a jab at MSC. The running theme in these boards is that their IT department leaves a lot to be desired and things have been known to not properly transfer. We experienced it ourselves for the first time with our upgrade bid from a balcony to the YC. It wasn't a serious issue in the end as the concierge made sure it was corrected in the first 24 hours. As long as you have any pre-purchased items (spa/drinks/dining/excursions) in the boarding documents pdf that becomes available about 10 days prior to the cruise, you should be good to go. As far as capacity during our cruise, I don't believe we were at capacity, at least, it never felt like it. I never got a solid number for the whole ship, but it was gathered from multiple sources that the YC was about 190 guests out of a capacity of 270. There are times that the ship felt fuller, but it is the usual hot times of boarding/debarking/end of show/lunch in the buffet.

Essentially your account gets a credit for the service you book. Once onboard, you go to the Spa desk (or YC concierge if you're in the YC) and then reserve the actual day/time you want. Pros to this are: 1. Leaving less chance for MSC's IT to flub up the reservation 2. You can get a better idea of what dinner/lunch/daily plans to schedule around. Con is that you may lose out on a preferred/prime time if you are not one of the first down to the desk. While we didn't pre-book anything for our cruise last week, it didn't seem like any of the services were fully booked out at any time. Even asking for a day of hot stones massage on the last sea day, I had multiple options to choose from.

It did seem odd to us as well, but I guess it makes sense if they were trying to minimize the crossing of incoming/outgoing passengers. It worked for us because the garage and lot were pretty empty, so choice of spots. When we left, we noticed how full at least the ground level was, even after we walked off around 9.

Only benefit I would say is prime choice of parking spaces. They didn't open the garage for incoming guests until 1020-ish. And by the time we parked and got checked in it was shortly after 1030. I noticed that shortly before boarding, the main holding area was quickly filling up, so I imagine the lines for baggage drop off, security and standard check-in started getting long close to 11.

The menu rotates daily, and I unfortunately did not capture any of them all week. What I do remember is that there is always a Caesar salad and a burger available. I believe for us last week there was pasta and a fish fillet. On the buffet, they had a carving station, fresh grilled steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, seafood (scallops were amazing) as well desserts and a salad bar.

Cruisers preference. We walked over as we only had one large wheeled duffle bag and a smaller shoulder duffle bag this go around. If you walk from either the flat lot or garage, there was smaller blue tent that was also YC. It was at the base of the escalator along side the building. I didn't thing to get pictures of it as we entered as my hands were full, but I grabbed a screenshot from Google Maps with where it is, sans YC tent and people in the way. It may be kind of hard to see, but the tent would be generally close to the white door near the center of the picture. They had two folks doing the initial check as well as a designated porter. They did attach additional gold YC tags to make them more visible for loading.

It was amazing. We had a great time and this was honestly the best of the three Seaside class ships and trips we have done. The only minor negative I think we had was that the service was mostly great. What I mean by that is that there were very few standout individuals who we felt like went above and beyond. But at no time did we ever feel like that anything was subpar. I am sure you'll have a great time on your upcoming trip.

We didn't get photos of the menus, but have noticed over the course of the last 3 MSC cruises more and more Indian dishes have been added to the regular menu. Many are vegetarian dishes and all smelled wonderful when ordered around us. Of course you can always ask for the chefs special too!

Just let them know in advance and they may be able to accommodate that. I don't believe j have seen cauliflower rice as a menu item before, but that doesn't mean they might not have some prepped somewhere on the ship or be able to make it for you. Or you can always request a different side of choice. As I overheard Manuel say to other groups "I won't tell you no, I will find a way to make you happy".

You are welcome. MSC has been great for us, both in and out of the YC. I have always been able to find something great to eat and something fun to do. Go in with a La Vita Dolce (The Sweet Life) mindset and its going to be a good time.