Zephyr173

Ok we may be a bit early... We are looking into a repositioning from Europe to America, in Yacht Club. Has anyone seen schedules anywhere? I have not been able to find any on MSC’s USA web site.

Also, any insight about itineraries that may have impressed or disenchanted any?

I'd also love to hear more about your hotel.

 

We usually stay at Marriott properties, but our favorite hotel (JW Marriott Marquis) is pricey for our upcoming cruise in January. We have a reservation, but will probably change, especially if our flight gets in later in the day.

We had the pleasure of cruising on MSC Divina in September 2018. Our TA set us up at the InterContinental before departure, facing the port. Divina was there when we woke :) and we have great pictures of lounging poolside at the hotel, with the ship seen just above the building's railing.

Near the hotel, we enjoyed Ceviche 105 (the portions are HUGE - be mindful).

When returning to MIA, we were at the Four Seasons. Another very nice place. The pool is quite special, with a section where there are hammocks to relax in... with your butt sloshing in the water. That and a cool drink is just... wow!

If I recale correctly, the Aurea sundeck is on deck 18. It is included in the Aurea experience, but still available for a fee to anyone on the ship. We were there a couple of times on Splendida (we had Aurea level), and imho I recall that I would not have paid the money if it had not been included. Indeed, while its true that it is quieter than the pools on the Lido deck, I found it windy when at sea, and the wind direction before sailing off was such that soot from the stack was blown on the sun deck.

Not a chance. Never works. Changed my password numerous times, to no avail. The only way I can see my VC club details is though “manage my bookings”.

What were in the canapes? I ask because my husband has a fish /shellfish allergy so was thinking of ordering this but would pick a different pkg if it means he would be able to eat it.

Hmmm. Don’t recall exactly what the canapés were, but I’m cautious with shrimp and don’t recall an issue. Here is what we enjoyedm

Welcome! This will be a live review from the Freedom of the Seas Transatlantic relocation cruise from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale, leaving this Sunday, October 22nd! I can't even begin to compete with the in depth live threads by many of the celebrities on Cruise Critic, but I can promise some photos - including food!

 

First, a little bit about me! I am Jen from Canada and contrary to my screen name, I am no longer a newbie cruiser. This will be my 14th cruise overall, 10th with Royal Caribbean, and 3rd Transatlantic. All of those cruises added up to my lowly Diamond Crown and Anchor status! [emoji6] I am traveling "solo" on this cruise. And by "solo", I mean with about 4000 other cruises, including several cruising buddies that I met on last year's Independence of the Seas Transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton!

 

The cruise will be departing from Barcelona, with stops in Cadiz (Seville), Spain, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and La Palma. Given the current political situation in Barcelona and the several hundreds of earthquakes recently which have triggered volcano alerts in La Palma, I am hoping for smooth travels!

 

I am currently sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight from Toronto which will arrive tomorrow shortly after noon in Barcelona! More to come when I arrive!

 

For now, I will leave you with the ship, and the planned journey!

 

 

 

(Hopefully those photos work! I am posting this from the handy CruiseCritic app!).

 

 

 

 

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Just picked up your thread. Have a super sailing. I look forward to reading your posts. Love from Montréal.

The gratuities are added automatically to your account at a specified rate per day, irrespective of your consumption. However, I don’t know if gratuities are added if you get a drink that is outside your package. Perhaps someone else in the forum can answer that.

The price is there for fellow cruisers with a less inclusive or no package.

You can enjoy anything that does not have two asterisks **. Those drinks are not included in any package. For our part, DW started her days with mimosas; I’m more observant of orange health and stuck to straight champagne at breakfast.

Then it was off to the coffee shop for a caffe corretto.

Looks good. I see that it includes email, but get the feeling that web based email is not included. They must be limiting it to POP/IMAP protocols.

I had a surfer package on Divina and was able to use web email, as well as POP/IMAP.

Wow. Thanks for the video. You certainly seemed to have a nice time.

You can also order cocktails that are not on the menu at the Top Sail. For example, I enjoyed the “purple rain” that was on the menu at the Div8na Bar but not at the Top Sail. Not a problem.

Another example is champagne. Nicolas Feuillate champagne is available in some bars (it is at the Divina Bar). It has 1*, so it IS included in your YC package. But it is not on the Top Sail lounge menu. It is the only champagne without additional cost in the package.

Also included are all the goodies at the plaza on deck 6 or 7 (piazza del doge on Divina. Different name on other ships), such as macarons and chocolates, gelato.

We were on Divina, YC, last month. As Reyyn wrote, your toiletries are refreshed on a regular basis. Our butler did not touch what we had in the shower soap dish (I.e almost full) and replenished the bathroom shelf. We certainly could maintain utter cleanliness.

We found the products to be enjoyable and not heavily scented. Nice lather for body gel and shampoo.

We do purchase Glade/Febreeze before boarding to maintain harmonious living conditions, but I now digress from toiletries.

Have a super sailing!

I am a long time Spinning enthusiast, and recently a certified Spinning instructor.

Just a word for fellow gear-heads. On MSC Divina and MSC Splendida (I suspect also on all Fantasia class, Meraviglia and Seaside, but I have not been on those), there are cycling classes using Technogym bikes that have double-sided flat and SPD-clip pedals. Very nice bikes.

The bikes used for the classes are reserved only for those classes. There are recumbent but no upright bikes, elsewhere in the gym but they do NOT have SPD clips. Only the rubber straps and backaches.

The quality of cycling classes is nowhere near what you could expect in a gym staffed with specialized instructors. There is also a fee, that is reduced by half for Aurea and Wellness guests. Although the coaching is sub-par for aficionados, I certainly felt that it was better than not Spinning.

We were recently on MSC Divina, in the YC. There was fabulous lobster on the 2nd gala evening. It was served either on its own and shelled table-side by the waiter, or as surf and turf along with the filet mignon. I had the surf and turf, and the lobster was just beautifully prepared, moist and oozing with butter (a lot of it). The filet mignon was also available on its own, and I suspect that MSC just took the initiative of having surf and turf at hand; it was not on the menu but was suggested to us by our waiter. That way, I didn't have to order 2 main dishes and end up with a garden's worth of veggies.

There was no charge for the lobster in the YC dining room.

Glad to hear you changed that cabin, Z! There is practically no view of the sea when sitting on the balcony in 16003. We were in the same number cabin on Splendida - I had to stand on tippy-toes to see over the metal hull! We had 15023 on Divina -almost beneath yours - much better situation!

 

On deck 16, you're only one deck down from the pool deck and one deck up from the Top Sail Lounge and Concierge. :cool:

That was a super suggestion by Bea. We met the people who «enjoyed» cabin 16002, and they confirmed the tippy-toes aspect and very limited view. They also added that the balcony was very hot and as such not a very welcoming environment.

In reply to post #24, Bea, we had a wonderful time in YC. Service was outstanding and super attentive in every respect, at all times. The comfort of the YC was immediately obvious as the ship was nearly full (3950 some guests) and the areas outside YC were scenes of pandemonium (lunching at Le Muse was a study in sociology, looking at guests scrambling for space near the Garden Pool).

We loved the staff, our butler, the concierge, the food, the premises and also the escort to disembark at different ports of call, especially on a tender (saved at least an hour).

Booked already for next year, on Preziosa and of course YC.

Well. Thanks for everyone's lovely input. Am on Divina YC right now. It is indeed uperlative. DW didn't click at all until she had a glass of prosecco in her hand, a cookie and a butler in the check-in lounge. Priceless, beautiful moment in a couple's life.

Today is a sea day. I believe the ship is near full, and I must say that a trot through the lido to get back from Le Muse to The One Pool revealed what essentially looks like a zoo or a colony of Emperor Penguins. Add to this that it is a super sunny and hot day, and the place is a humid steam bath. There is AMPLE room, tables, chairs and service out front on deck 18.

Only the first full day and I already think YC is worth every dollar.

The CC meet & mingle was quite nice, as was the YC welcome cocktail.

Should you have any questions, I will be glad to oblige.

Patrick.

I was thinking of the bon voyage package but not sure

 

and yes i feel like she may have guessed already but who knows hahaaha

The Bon Voyage package is interesting and reasonably priced. A nice tray of canapés and a bottle of prosecco when you arrive. However, we did end up stacking, packing and collectig fruit during the cruise, as the package includes a daily delivery of fresh fruit. There's just so much one can eat, as fruit is also available at the buffet, but that's not really a complaint now is it?

We sailed on MSC Sinfonia in a stateroom with a view, and the fantastica experience. We had a "fantastic" time and the service was outstanding. At the time, fantastica was what we could afford, and there is no YC on MSC Sinfonia. The only enhancement I added was a beverage package, namely the Allegrissimo (as it was known at the time; it is now the basic beverages package, not the deluxe). That was perfect for our needs.

The food on Sinfonia was very much to our liking. Of course, you are on a European ship. Expect smaller portions than what restaurants serve up in North America. But... You're on a cruise ship, and if you enjoy a dish you can always order it again. However, in our experience, we were full as ticks once we went through starters, appetizers, main dish and desert.

You will have a great time with whatever experience you choose.

That is a great idea Zephyr, but you would have to poke holes in the little Saran wrap squares to accommodate the siphon tube. But I will keep it mind for other containers.

No. Take out the tube. The wrap seals the bottle. I may add that a layer of bath tissue is to be added between the layers of wrap. Keep the stack in a ziploc*k. And there you are.

You can pretty much save any container from leakage and airplane pressure by opening it, then laying a small square of something like Sar*n-wrap on the spout, then closing the container again.

If you want to return with your container and its remainder of contents, keep your little plastic squares clean with bathroom tissue, in a neat stack under your bathroom cupboard aboard the ship, or hotel room.

hi, i've done this package and the deluxe one on several cruises. the cocktail party is pretty much the same as the voyagers club party, and yes there are free drinks at this

 

We got fed up of fruit - the bowls were mounting up, at one point we had 5 bowls of fruit waiting for us!!

Same here. Fruit bowl daily sounds nice, but MSC serves a very generous fruit bowl. We couldn't keep up.

Zephyr, what is the date of your sailing on the Divina in YC?

Hi Kathiean,

September 23, 2017.

We were onboard 2 weeks ago and wow did it vary! There were a few tuxes in the YC (my husband included) and around the ship. They stood out in a most welcome way! There were also some jackets, a few dress shirts without jackets, some polo shirts (some with shorts), and one man who wore a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops. We were honestly surprised he wasn't turned away from Le Muse. Early in the week, they did turn a man away in a t-shirt and flip flops at dinner - I'm not sure why they didn't on a formal night.

I wore long gowns on the two formal nights as did a few other women.

We love the elegance of formal night! It adds to the atmosphere and whole experience for us as well as the staff - they appreciate the effort. Definitely wear the tux! :-)

Read your review. Thank you for expending the effort to write such a detailed and nuanced text. I'm quite sure that DW (who still does not know we are YC in 3 weeks) will harbor similar sentiments as you did on your sailing.

We use a Powercube, specifically the model with a 6 ft cord, and 2 USB sockets. Provides 4 additional plugs and outlet to charge the iThings.

https://www.amazon.com/PowerCube-Protector-Extension-4420GY-USEUPC/dp/B00IPNH4LC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1504106641&sr=8-2&keywords=powercube+usb

3 weeks to go! ... flights are confirmed, and e tickets downloaded :')

We have 11am embarkation on the tickets what time should we arrive at the port please?

 

Thanks again for everybody's help!

Looks like we are on the same sailing. We can't wait either.