Best Cat Mom

He has plenty more nights to become a middle- to heavy-weight. It does take practice. @DaKahuna will be a great trainer, if needed. 😁

Day 15 concludes… After a little while, we were joined in TSL by @DaKahuna and we chatted for a bit. Interspersed with our conversation, we were able to give out some more thanks to the wonderful staff. Dani stopped by and BCD continued his tradition of offering a car to each YC Director, as he had with Peppe and Tiziana on previous cruises. BCD approaches the subject cautiously, because he never wants someone to feel that they must accept a car to be polite. Dani had not hinted that he desired one, but seemed very honored to receive one. He is always pleasant whenever circulating amongst the guests, so we hope that he did not feel obligated to accept. We laughed with him that if we see a car on eBay, we'll know it was his. 🙂 Tarsha and John, a new duo of singer and keyboardist for TSL, began their first set and soon DaKahuna retired to his cabin to prep for dinner with his lovely wife. We knew that he had something special planned this evening from some mysterious references he had made and were looking forward to seeing it unfold. We eventually went back to the cabin to change for dinner, choosing to be more dressy for our last night even though it was a casual night on board. We put off packing until after dinner, knowing that we could just toss everything in our suitcases and sort it out at home as we've done in the past. We arrived to a very busy TS restaurant where a corner table in Edgar's section was awaiting us. We were a few tables away from Mr. and Mrs. DaKahuna, who were just finishing their entrées. Rodin approached us with our "champagne" for this evening, a California Chandon: I asked if he'd mind if I would post a picture of the "man behind the hands" in all my wine images and he graciously consented: We discussed our meal selections with him and he removed himself to retrieve our wine. We both began with foie gras, and this night was just like last week -- we were so eager to eat that we forgot to take a picture. So sorry! It was a triangle slice of foie gras terrine, served with brioche (for BCD only) and apricot preserves. It was a nice, light starter for the more heavy choices to follow. We have commented many nights about how so many people have had birthdays on this sailing, including Mrs. DaKahuna whose celebration began while we were finishing our starters. Aha! We now knew what Mr. DaKahuna had been plotting. (You can find out more in his thread.) We moved on to the next course and BCD chose the surf and turf: I opted for the lamb shank: We also had the truffle risotto to share (yes, that is a forkful already taken by us LOL): Rodin brought us a Robert Mondavi cabernet sauvignon to pair with our entrées: The wine worked well for both our dishes, as it had only light tannins but was quite full-bodied. As we ate, we agreed that this had been our best dinner yet this cruise. I think that is saying a lot, given that this was our 14th dinner. What a great way to end a great holiday! Marian, the maître d', joined us to share a small glass of our wine as well. We commented to him how much we'd enjoyed our 2 weeks on board and how all of his staff, especially Chef Lisa, had made our cruise such a wonderful experience. He is from Romania, and speaks the other 4 main romance languages as well: Italian French, Portuguese, and Spanish. He excused himself after a few minutes, as dinner service was still going strong and his hands-on approach wouldn't allow him to be away from the action for too long. After our table was cleared and as we were finishing our wine, the Happy Birthday singing began once again. However, this time they approached us and it became clear that DaKahuna was not the only spouse who had been plotting something for this evening. I was presented with this beautiful cake, which was GF. I cannot recall the last time I had a true "cake" that was GF. Usually, I've received a flour-less torte or a pudding-type pie. This was a real cake: Edgar cut me a lovely heart-shaped piece, that was as delicious as it looked: He did the same for BCD and we had a nice dessert while BCD told me about the preparations he had gone through for tonight. When DaKahuna had earlier mentioned that there'd be a surprise tonight, BCD had thought he'd been talking about us. Those two were really in sync after only 7 days together. Edgar joined us for a little while and we chatted about him being excited to go home tomorrow. He excused himself after a few minutes. We finished up and as we were heading to the Swarovski staircase, he intercepted us and insisted on being my escort down the stairs, with BCD muttering something like, "What am I, chopped liver?" Once we were seated, Edgar brought us our limoncelli and bid us goodnight. We thanked him and settled in to listen to some great music. After only a little while, we were joined by the other schemer and laughed about the eventful evening. They both revealed the trials they had gone through to pull off their respective surprises. I announced that I was going to change into something more comfortable and retreated to the cabin, allowing them to keep going on about their machinations today. I opened the cabin door and was greeted by this: I should have known there was more! There was a laser light projector that flashed on and off, scattering a pattern of light and dark, plus a Happy Birthday banner over the bed. BCD had asked Yogesh for some "simple" decorations, so there were no balloons and streamers like BCD had for his birthday in April. Since disembarkation was tomorrow, BCD had thought it would be much easier to tidy the room if they kept it more low key. I changed clothes and returned to TSL and the two cohorts were both laughing. The three of us had a few rounds of nightcaps and then retired, DaKahuna to sleep and us to pack, agreeing to meet in TSL tomorrow morning. There were still quite a few suitcases in the passageway when we returned to the cabin, but by the time we put ours out, they were all gone. I called the Concierge Desk and they said that the person would come get our bags when they returned from dropping some others. We checked the hall after we'd finished washing up for bed and the bags were gone. We fell into bed to rest up for the trip home tomorrow. Day 15 (boo hoo!) is next...

Is Dina new? I think you mean "Ekta" instead of "Etta" -- at least Ekta is how we spelled it on her envelope. And I think you mean Marelin, instead of Madeleine -- again from the Concierge Desk from when we wrote it on the envelope. Or maybe we got it all wrong -- they accepted the envelopes though! 😁

I really wish that Bernard had been in TSL for our last night. The duo that was there was great, and had a very different sound that was still great for TSL atmosphere. We've had the pleasure of Bernard now for three sailings and would have loved to thank him and wish him well.

Like us, many people don't gamble but use the slot machines to withdraw cash. It's nice to be able do it in a non-smoking environment. 🙂

@Georgia_Peaches Glad that this is good news for you. We liked being able to withdraw our OBC without having to wear clothes that we'd have to Febreeze. I would say that there were maybe 6 video poker and a dozen-ish slot machines.

Exactly our experience. Depending on how many smokers are in there over how long a period, the casino can be anywhere from tolerable to not. 😞

@dillie I posted the full menu here: If this goes to the beginning, it's on page 11, message 255. It's on the second menu page I posted.

This is exactly why we switched to MSC as well!

Halfway home right now. Enjoying adult beverages on the outside patio of Delta Sky Club at Terminal F in ATL. Will have to add details about last night and this morning tomorrow as we won't be home until around 9pm.

That sounds just like our Shakespeare and Darwin!

We have just disembarked Seascape this morning after a 14- night sailing. The main casino is not currently non-smoking. There is an area for smoking in the main casino that is ropped off from the rest of the area, but nothing prevents smoke from wafting around. There are now about a dozen or two slot machines in the Sports Bar, making a small non-smoking separate casino in there since the Sports Bar itself is non-smoking. There is also a small room beside the Sports Bar with some slot machines that is a completely glassed-in area where smoking is allowed throughout.

How timely! Grazie. We are safely ensconced in the Delta lounge awaiting our flight. 50 minutes from Top Sail Lounge to Delta Lounge = good deal 😁

Here is an image of the new area that they are creating for Ocean Cay:

Day 14 - Ocean Cay We awoke early and ordered coffee and Baileys to the room. While we were enjoying that, Captain Tuvo announced that the morning's 40 knot winds had been too strong earlier to dock at Ocean Cay but that he would attempt again at noon when the wind was supposed to be calmer. We were able to arrive to the TS restaurant just before closing and found that most people were eating there as well today. I can only imagine how tough it would have been to try to eat on the One Pool deck today. I ordered my typical soft-boiled eggs and a side of ham. Edgar surprised me with a chocolate GF croissant, of which I ate way too much. BCD had assorted meats and cheeses on croissants. You can see a little of the churning sea in this image: After breakfast, we adjourned to TSL for some Holiday Coffee with @DaKahuna and his wife. A little while after they left us, the captain again attempted to dock our ship at Ocean Cay. The ship backed up painstakingly slowly, but we were amazed to see that we were indeed getting closer and closer to the island. After nearly an hour and a half, the lighthouse was alongside us. While the ship was still scooting over to the pier, they announced that no food would be available on the island since we'd docked so late today. The captain received a nice round of applause in YC when he announced just before 2pm that the gangways were finally open for guests to disembark. We enjoyed our Ocean House lunch in the air conditioned luxury of the TS restaurant. I swear everything tasted even better than last week -- probably because it was so much cooler on the ship. And our drinks seemed better in glass vs. plastic, and stayed colder too. It is the same menu as on the island, since the food is always prepped on the ship before docking. We had champagne while deciding what to order: I began with octopus salad: BCD tried the Ocean Cay salad today: Then we both ordered burgers and lobster rolls without the bread for entrées: We forgot to take a picture of the surf and turf combo, so here it is from last week at Ocean House: After lunch, we stopped by the concierge desk to pick up envelopes. Then we went to the casino to cash out our vouchers. We spent some time in our stateroom to sort out all the names and tip amounts, with a few return trips to the concierge desk for spellings of names and changing of bigger bills. By 5pm, we had all of the envelopes stuffed and labeled. We walked around and distributed a few then found a place in TSL to wait for other folks to come onto shift. DaKahuna joined us a short while later. Day 14 concludes next...

They also left this in our cabin about Ocean Cay:

Day 14 Daily Program...

Day 13 concludes… We had a wonderful 80 minute couples massage and floated back to YC. We found @DaKahuna in TSL and rehydrated with a few rounds of cocktails while watching sail away. We again were one of six ships in Nassau. This time we were joined by MSC Magnifica, 3 Carnival (Dream, Sunshine and Conquest), and 1 Royal (Symphony of the Seas). The 3 Carnivals were scheduled to depart at 4pm. We and Royal were scheduled for a 5pm departure. When we were finishing our massage, Captain Tuvo asked for 8 passengers to report to Guest Services. A few minutes later, I believe the list was down to 5. When he next spoke, he wished them "good luck" and told the ship that we were readying for departure. As the sun began to sink towards the horizon, DaKahuna returned to his cabin, presumably to prepare with his lovely wife for dinner. We remained a bit longer, enjoying another round or three. Bernard began his first set in the lounge and night fell. We returned to our stateroom and changed for dinner. We arrived just as Mr. and Mrs. DaKahuna were finishing up. They handed Edgar, John Rey and Rodin off to us quite smoothly. We perused the menus while still being "stuck" with Nicolas Feuillatte champagne: We both started with the salmon: For our entrées, we both had the lamb. BCD had the entry as listed on the menu, while I had a GF version with sauce on the side: We also ordered the risotto: Rodin brought us a California Pinot Noir to accompany our entrées: We retreated to TSL for limoncelli and a few nightcaps with DaKahuna. Day 14 is next…

We've had a few of the wines on other YC sailings, but there have also been several new ones. The real differences are between the European-based cruises vs. the Americas-based cruises. We've not been to Asia or the Middle East, but I'd not be surprised if there were different selections there as well.

An excellent telling of the evening, but I have one correction. Phil was on Hill Street Blues.

@Georgia_Peaches We've not heard anything... yet. Tomorrow is Ocean Cay and as of now they've not mentioned Saturday. I'll let you know if any whispers start...

Sorry just realized that I neglected to post this! Day 13 Daily Program...

Day 13 continues… We spent some time chatting with Mr. and Mrs. @DaKahuna in TSL then headed up to lunch. We have our couples massage this afternoon so we (tried) to have a light lunch. We began -- how else? -- with champagne as we read over the menus: We both chose the salmon to start; mine had the bread omitted: By the way, look at that gorgeous water out of our window at lunch: BCD had a chicken Caesar salad: I had Caesar salad with shrimp: We continued to drink champagne with the entire meal, still on our quest to get them to serve Moët & Chandon. After lunch, we went back to the cabin to change for our massage. Day 13 continues…

Being able to check the menus in advance on the MSC for Me app has been helpful in planning which lunches to skip. All 7 days of menus have been posted together for this cruise at the start of each week.

Thanks! We really liked it. I try not to say that something is delicious, fantastic, etc., because so much about food and wine is subjective. We have our favorites, though, and I'd say it is now on that list for us. Rodin has been so helpful each night. We tell him what we're ordering and tell him to surprise us. We have never had the same wine at dinner and that's including when we sometimes we have 2 different wines for starters and mains.