Best Cat Mom

We strive to always be friendly with all the staff in YC. We smile and say hi every time we pass the concierge desk. We greet the host at the restaurant with a big smile and good morning/afternoon/evening (and in their own language if we know it). We show everyone that we are having a great time and thank them for making it so. We have seen others who seem rather surly at times. For instance, I've seen people approach the concierge desk with a question or a concern and not even start with a "hi, how are you today?" but jump into some issue. It is always good to take the time to establish a relationship with the concierges when all is good so they know who you are if something goes awry later. We use the same approach in land-based hotels as well. It's always worked well for us.

Espresso/coffee is available at the bars, just like in Italy. I don't know about how it may work with different beverage packages since we sail YC and it is all included there. You can ask for anything to be added to make your own preferred type of specialty coffee. We usually add some alcohol to our coffee orders, depending on our mood -- Baileys, Kahlua, coconut rum, etc.

The bar outside of these specialty restaurants is great for after dinner. We would go there from YC after dinner to visit Frederick -- an excellent "mixologist" -- before we headed back to TSL for closing time. He called all the other bartenders "plumbers" and he proved it by making us great drinks every time. 😉

We were on a B2B last year that was a 7-night plus a 4-night. The day the 4-nighters boarded, the concierge walked past us at the TSL bar and said something to the effect of "I have to give these new guests the initial talk and I hope we don't disturb you." And then the day of disembarkation, there was a table at breakfast that hadn't learned the names of the various people in the TS restaurant and were incensed (yes, incensed seems the best word to describe their surprising behavior) that we were -- as they stated it -- fawned over and they were ignored. I think both crew and guests simply don't have enough time to bond on the shorter cruises, unfortunately.

At our local Mexican restaurant, the margaritas we order are 27 ounces each. We usually have 3 each with a dinner. I fear that if we're on a ship with an Hola! restaurant, we'll feel it's lacking. 😁

We are also amazed at the lack of interaction at the tables of some other travelers. Our dinners usually take 2 to 2.5 hours because we're so busy talking and enjoying each other's company and we forget to keep eating. Why go on holiday if you don't like being together? I can only imagine dinners at home in their houses. 😞

Each time we did the drill, we did it at the very beginning and usually were the only ones walking back up the staircases, while the masses were heading down. We always returned directly to TSL and they always served us as soon as we arrived. I suspect they use that old-fashioned "honor system" expecting that everyone who goes into the bar after the drill has completed the drill. It's not like they scan our cards to find out. LOL

We prefer lunch at the specialty restaurant. There are less people and you don't miss a potentially great dinner menu in YC. Enjoy your cruise!!

You can ask at the YC restaurant. We find that the host/assistant manager can be our best asset there. 🙂

Good to know. Thanks for sharing. Hope you had a great meal. 🙂

Oops! Guess I misremembered why, just that it was tardy. Thanks for the correction.

They missed it, though the pandemic was a contributing factor. If you've been to Italy, you know that dates are very approximate there. I love MSC's products, so I'll deal with it! 🙂

I did not know this as we've never used the MDR on MSC. We had stopped into the NCL MDR whilst booked in Haven when a course caught our eye. We'd only have that one course and they were always very gracious and super attentive. I know that sleeping in would be a nice treat for us so we might give this a try on MSC. Do you think we would need to bring our own mimosas? I've seen that beverage service can be problematic at dinner, but have never seen mention of mimosas at breakfast. We always have at least one round of them. 😉

Thanks @Beamafar. Do you know if YC would use the Aurea dining area? Or would we need to ask our butler or the YC concierge to arrange our visit when we've overslept and follow their directions?

We might be inclined to try it based on the timing, not the menu. We choose not to sleep in many days because we hate to miss YC breakfast in the restaurant. We're not fond of dining on the pool deck so this could be a nice option timing-wise. Looking forward to some reports of the food and service as compared to Top Sail Restaurant by some of our YC peers!

I know from other postings that you and I both have Amex Plat. Just pointing out that both questions such as you have as well as monetary advantages can be gained by using a travel agent. I have had many weird website anomalies but my travel agent has made them a non-issue for us. Good luck to you.

We always use a travel agent because of the 10% to 15% of the fare we get back. The fact that they assist when anomalies occur is just a bonus for us. You might want to take advantage of the savings and get the added assistance. 🙂

What does your travel agent tell you about the sailing?

We cruise next in September. I was concerned that Ocean Cay would not be finished for our cruise even though it was scheduled to be finished in May. Italian time plus Island time? Not a guarantee, not even close. LOL

We had no issues with drinks or food in the YC restaurant, lounge and pool deck. Everything was still available to us until we disembarked.

In Europe, we have stayed on board until after lunch. They did have us pack and exit the cabin much earlier but stored our bags until we were ready to disembark. Enjoy!

I consider tips the same way that I used to evaluate giving raises in my business life (I'm retired now). There is always a "pool" of money at the beginning, not an unlimited supply to be given out. I start with a list of the team and then I rank the team members starting with who exceeded expectations the most, the ones who mostly exceeded expectations, who simply met expectations and who did not meet expectations at all. Then start assigning amounts to each group. If you have more left at the end, increase some. If you are short, decrease some. You need to work within your budget, but the percentage given to each is key -- and usually the toughest part to figure out.

I see that you asked this in another thread. If you booked in the US, you'll have the resort fees/gratuities added to your cabin charges. Nothing else if you don't charge anything to your cabin.

You may have to pay resort fees/gratuities if they were not included in your original fare, which depends on which website you used for your reservation.

Sometimes you can. Sometimes there is a barrier based on the ship design.