CruisnDeb

@Agrajag27 I am getting ready to take what I think is my 15th cruise overall that will be on the Seashore this fall. I STILL overthink it, I STILL watch all the videos, I STILL look up daily programs from past cruisers....it's ingrained in me to be prepared lol.

Agreed.....but I always overthink my vacations lol. I just like knowing what to expect going in. @PTC DAWG is correct in that watching some videos of the ship will help.

Yep, take pack your patience along with your highlighters lol. There are busy times and yes, some people will rudely push their way in front of you, but honestly, if you try to go at the not so busy times, it's not bad. If you look at the daily program I posted earlier, you will see hours listed for all venues including restaurants. Usually one of the MDRs is open for a sitdown breakfast, which can be nice. My husband and I had Aurea experience on our first MSC cruise on the Divina. We did not need reservations for that cruise, we just walked up to the hostess stand and were walked directly to our table.

@Agrajag27 the buffet is Deck 16 Aft

I have to say your responses to these made me giggle lol. If you google msc seashore buffet, you will get a good idea of the buffet offerings. If you look at a deck plan, you will see the buffet is it's own thing and location, not held in any of the MDR's. Also if you google msc seashore daily program, you will probably be able to see a sampling of all 7 days for a sailing. They are generally pretty similar from sailing to sailing with maybe just specific entertainment like comedians changing.

You will get your 1st one when you embark for that day.....the rest will be left sometime in the evening for the next day. I pack highlighters and mark stuff I would like to do the night before I go to bed or the next morning as I'm drinking coffee. It may look overwhelming, but it's really not too bad.

There will be plenty to do 🙂 Here is a copy of a recent embarkation daily program.

Yep..sounds like you are the organizer just like me. Ages ranged from 82 (grandparents) down to 25 (grandkids) and there is no way I'm going to tell everyone, every night, where to be for dinner (especially after a few cocktails 🍹😛

No. I believe the dining reservations open up at 60 days before....I could be wrong on the number though lol. Also, I want to add, since we were such a large group (18 of us) it was really important to be in the same dining room each night to avoid confusion. When you first embark, they will have an area setup for dining reservations. I headed there as soon as I embarked to double-check our reservations. Glad I did because they had moved us one night to a different dining room. This was easily changed back to the correct dining room.

We had a standing reservation in the same dining room, same time, and same tables. But the wait staff changed. The earlier you reserve it, the better chance you have of being in the same dining room with the same table.

Yes they are.

FYI I shared a similar room with my son on the Pearl. We had the beds separated and I still managed to bang my head on wall bed a few times.

Yep this is why I like hearing the different perspectives people have—2 people can be on the same cruise, and have 2 different takes on it. That’s why it’s important to know why someone disliked or liked it and I’m really appreciative of all the details everyone is providing 🙂.

We recently cruised with a group of 18. Dinner time was the only time we were able to all be together and connect each day. We sat at the same time, same dining room, every night. It was at two tables (2 long rectangular tables end to end, with a space between them.) We enjoyed this setup and mixed it up as to who sat at each table each night.

Thank you @sandiherbert for all the details on your experience--it's truly appreciated.

@Devo12 not sure if you used a TA or not, but I would recommend calling them to set it up for you if you did. We recently cruised with a group of 18. We all sat together at the same time, same dining room, every night. It was at two tables (it was 2 long rectangular tables end to end, with a space between them.) We enjoyed this setup and mixed it up as to who sat at each table each night. Our TA set it up, and I verified our reservation as soon as we embarked. Also, I believe it makes it easier to set this up if all your reservations are linked.

This is very sad.

I found the drinks package worth it. We had the Easy Plus drink package which included wifi and also included specialty coffees (coffee machines at the atrium bar and some other bars but not the coffee at Venchi) which was great. Make sure you add the drink package on at the time of booking--it is more expensive it you try to add it later.

Wow....it would stress me out to fly out the day of my cruise (but I totally get why you need to). I'm totally jealous you get to cruise twice a month--that's awesome! Enjoy your cruise and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your review 🙂

Thanks everyone for your contributions to my question--you have been awesome with your opinions and details. I've made lots of notes and hopefully the time will come soon when I will need to decide which ship I want to try my first YC experience on.

Having grown up in Maryland, I think we judge crab cakes differently then the rest of the population. In Maryland you get mostly crab and other places you seem to get a lot of filler. Just wondering if that was the case with Cagney's. Sadly, I've learned to lower my expectations when I see crab cakes on any menu 😞

Did you get a day pass for here? How much was it and what all does it include? Looks like a lovely place.

Yes. Here is a recent menu from the seashore. You can get multiple appetizers and desserts without an additional charge.

Absolutely. I'm loving getting all the perspectives of everyone and the likes and dislikes. Everyone will have a different opinion as to whether those things are good or bad. It all comes down to knowing so you can set your expectations accordingly.

Awww....so sorry for you. I know it stinks when you have a plan and it falls through. But plan B's can sometimes turnout to be even better than you could have imagined. Happy planning.