Best Cat Mom

1 minute ago, KatieBelle said:

Once again, Waves had great bar service in the morning.  I was served a mimosa or bloody mary promptly.

This might be best for us on the days that we don't plan to get up at a set time. We enjoy our holidays the most when there are no alarm clocks, not even a butler knocking on our door. Thanks!

8 minutes ago, ORV said:

Do you plan on getting the Prestige package? Having your butler bring glasses of champagne with OJ on the side would be your best bet. Getting a drink before 10am is usually a challenge. I don’t have experience with Barristas early in the day. 
 

We chose the Beverage package as our O-Life option and will upgrade as soon as we are on board. Sounds like the butler will be our best friend every morning. 🙂 Thanks!

18 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

The GDR would be your best bet. I will probably take awhile to get one delivered. You’d probably never see it happen at the Terrace.

Maybe the best way is to stop at one of the bars on the way to the GDR then? Coffee with Bailey's is an option for us as well. If we stop at Baristas on the way to breakfast, we could just bring the fortified coffee into the GDR -- right?

I should have mentioned that we're in a PH. Maybe having the butler bring it would be smartest? Then we can either have it in the room or bring with us to whichever venue we choose for breakfast.

7 hours ago, Mrs f. said:

We were on the Marina. As per our CURRENTS 

 

Breakfast in Suite                 6:30

Horizons Coffee Corner      6:30

Waves                                    7:00

Terrace Cafe                         7:30

MDR                                       8:00

 

This was a port day for us

We'll be on our first Oceania cruise in March. We like to have mimosas at breakfast. Which dining venue serves alcohol at breakfast?

Sarcastic Mama -- are you comfortable traveling in Italy? If your answer is 'Yes,' I believe you will be fine. If your answer is 'No' or 'We have never traveled to Europe,' you may want to do more research before you book a cruise on MSC.

An example of why I say this? Let's take the time and pacing of dinner to start. In our experience, dinner in Italy is vastly different from the US. Dinner in Italy starts later at night and is a leisurely affair. In our trips to Italy, we learned not to make reservations before 8pm and to expect to stay for 2 to 3 hours to enjoy all the courses of the meal. On an MSC sailing, you'll probably feel that dinner takes longer than expected on Carnival (this is a guess from me as I've never been on Carnival). To be clear, you shouldn't expect a 3 hour dinner on an MSC ship, but you should not expect 45 minutes for a 3-course meal either.

This is just a start of the differences. You need to decide if the differences are 'good, bad or ugly' to you personally. We love a leisurely dinner and we learned to love it when we traveled extensively in Italy in the 90s. To us, that is 'good.' But I know that to others, that is 'bad.' If you do some reading on these boards, you'll learn what to expect. Whether those are good/bad/ugly, will be up to your personal feelings on each situation.

[If you can't tell, we love MSC. I'm just trying to make sure you realize that why we love MSC may be exactly why you don't. 🙂 ]

19 hours ago, kitty9 said:

We recently returned from a cruise on Riviera and dined in LaReserve.  We met at 7:00 right outside the LaReserve dining area, where we were served champagne.  At approximately 7:30 we moved into the dining area and the meal started.  

 

We we were told that no food or drink, other than water, is allowed in the Spa Terrace.  It’s not really a place for something like that, but more a quiet place to relax.

 

We we are on the same cruise as you, plus the 14 day cruise before that.  Looking forward to seeing some good weather. 

 

With regards to embarkation, the big three cabin categories board first:  Owners Suites, Vista Suites and Oceania Suites.  PH suites are next.  Everyone waits in the same area (If the ship is docked at Terminal J) and there are announcements when categories are allowed to get in line to check in.  You’ll see carpets on the floor that indicate where you’ll get in line for check in, one for the Big 3 Suites, another for PH and so on. In all our cruises on O, they tend to be pretty strict on who checks in at what time.  Plus, just because people board at 11 or noon, your suite/cabin will not be ready then.  You’ll be directed to a public area, like the buffet or a lounge, to wait for the announcement that cabins are ready, which two weeks ago was 1:45.  

Good to know about La Reserve so we can be sure to get there a bit early. 🙂

Looking forward to Spa Terrace regardless of service there -- but thanks for the info.

24 days at sea for you? Sounds nice. This is our first cruise over 7 days and we're looking forward to seeing how we are on a longer (for us) cruise.

Thanks so much for the info about embarkation! We're used to having no wait at all. Now we know we can take our time that morning and not get there too early.

See you in March!

Just now, Flatbush Flyer said:

I bet you walk faster at home after any time spent in NYC.

Definitely! People think I'm running and I think people are too slow. LOL

On 1/3/2020 at 10:38 AM, glenneagle said:

I have not seen food or drinks served at spa terrance. Its a small area with 4 to 5 loungers and a hot tub .Its very quiet and no servers food or drink

Enjoy your cruise...

 

I thought I saw a video with 3 rows of around 12 loungers each by the T-pool. Seemed large enough that there might have been food/beverage service. No biggie. Plenty of other places to eat/drink.

Thanks!

On 1/2/2020 at 8:31 PM, Flatbush Flyer said:

Midwood HS and Brooklyn College (though I've been in NorCal since my early 20's  [along with a zillion other Brooklynites])

 

BTW: on Riviera, there's a small casino bar aft of the casino and the far better (IMO) Martini's bar forward of the casino. Horizons (up top) is the largest bar. Try them all.

We hope to try them all!

PS 205 for K-5, then Seth Low IS 96 for 6th grade, then Mark Twain JHS, then Stuyvesant HS (in the old building near Union Square). Grew up on 65th St between Bay Parkway and 21st Ave. Now living in KY, just south of Cincinnati due to a work transfer. No accent except when I spend some time with others from NYC. 🙂

Hi Mura --

Thanks for your reply.

Regarding

***

5. Will Butler bring you food/drinks at locations other than your cabin (such as in the Spa Terrace)?

We've never asked him to do so but I think if you ask nicely he'd do so!  But should you really need him to do so -- why not just order those drinks in that location?  I guess I'm missing something here.

***

I did not realize that the Spa Terrace had food and beverage service. When I referred to the Spa Terrace, I meant the area at the front of the ship by the spa that is only available to Concierge and higher cabins (hope I did not use the wrong name). They serve food and beverages there already? Awesome! (Seems comparable to the Yacht Club pool area on MSC, then.)

La Reserve is at 7:30pm? Flatbush Flyer suggested 6:30pm. I guess I'll make sure any of the activities I buy (in advance of boarding and confirming the start time) are earlier just in case.

Don't worry -- we will not smoke on our veranda, or any place else. We are not smokers and want to be sure to avoid smoke in the Casino and Casino bar. Just wanted to be aware so as to not be disappointed if we were to visit that area of the ship and find smokers.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. Looking forward to having such a great time that we book another cruise before disembarking!

22 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

OK to show up earlier. Crowd depends on how fast you Board and "special" area depends on port.

 

Smart phone app? LOL.

 

Upgrade Prestige only once onboard. Everything but a handful of highest end cognacs and single malts (including Baristas drinks) are included. Note that included wines are from a limited "by the glass" menu. Consider bringing your own wine (as much as you care to) - free in cabin & $25 corkage at dinner.

 

NO SMOKING in the casinos or anywhere else other than one corner of pool deck and enclosure in Horizons Bar.

 

Dietary restrictions? Inform O (yourself or TA) several weeks prior to boarding. Good idea to remind a Maitre d' once onboard. BTW, you're in for a world of better food than what you've experienced on the lines you mentioned.

Hi Flatbush --

Thanks for the reply.

We're leaving from Miami (should've put that in the subject -- at least I remembered to put it in my signature in the 'upcoming' section). My husband said that all my questions about adult beverages were, to paraphrase, 'interesting.' We are looking forward to not working and being able to be 'adults' all day long. LOL

I thought the smart phone app would get me an answer similar to yours, but wanted to ask just in case.

I'm okay with wine by the glass so I can change wines with different courses. We may bring something special from our cellar or pick something up in Miami but not sure yet.

Good to know about the lack of smoking in the Casino. Looking forward to experiencing that bar and not dealing with smoke.

We are so looking forward to the food. On NCL, we always dined in the specialty restaurants and avoided the Main Dining Room completely. (MSC's Yacht Club was an upgrade from NCL's Haven in that they have different menus in the YC every day, unlike Haven's static menu.) Food is why we're trying O. We hope that food is why we become O-loyal. 🙂

Thanks again for your reply.

PS: Is Flatbush a reference to Brooklyn? I'm from Bensonhurst.

Hi all -- We're newbies to O. I've been reading the O boards to learn as much as I could but I still have some questions and would appreciate help from all of you wonderful veterans. 🙂

We are booked on the Riviera in Mar 2020 for a 10-day Caribbean cruise in a PH3 Guarantee. We've sailed on NCL both in Haven and in Suites (on a non-Haven ship) and in MSC Yacht Club in the past. We're looking forward to seeing what a Premium line has to offer vs. a mass-market line in a cabin in the 'ship within a ship' area.

Here are my questions (sorry if this seems lengthy but I figured I'd ask all our questions at once since we booked just recently and we're less than 80 days out already):

1. Is the noon embarkation time for PH suites firm or could we show up at 11am and maybe board earlier?

2. Is there a separate waiting area for any categories of cabins or do we all wait together? Are there adult beverages served in the waiting area?

3. Are the PH beds king or queen? Are they 2 single beds pushed together or one permanent bed?

4. I don't see a pillow menu offered for PH. If I ask for a different pillow, will they try to change our pillows upon request? (We prefer very firm foam pillows and I suspect that the standard pillows will be feather. Am I wrong to think that feather is standard?)

5. Will Butler bring you food/drinks at locations other than your cabin (such as in the Spa Terrace)?

6. Is there an app for smart phones where we can see all our scheduled activities booked each day? (MSC has an app called MSC at Sea that was very helpful in showing us where we had to be each day and I'd love something similar on O.)

7. We plan to upgrade our Beverage Plan from House Select (we've selected the Beverage Package as our OLife choice) to Prestige Select once we board. Just to be clear -- do we have to wait until we board to upgrade?

8. With Prestige Select, is there still an upcharge at Baristas? On a sample menu that has been posted to this forum, I saw many coffees with (yummy) adult beverage additives that had prices displayed. Does the price apply even if we have the Prestige Select package?

9. What time are La Reserve dinners? I see that I can choose from 3 on various days during our cruise but no start time is listed.

10. I saw on a video tour of the Riviera ship that the Casino has a smoking area. Does anyone know where that area is located? Is the Casino Bar non-smoking?

11. I am Gluten Free. How do I indicate that in my reservation? Is that something only our TA can add to our booking?

12. We are interested in a few couples' massages. Does anyone have the spa menu for the new branding that recently took effect?

I think that is it for now. Thanks for all your help! We are so looking forward to perhaps finding our new 'normal' on O. 🙂

The form we received upon boarding the Jade and being escorted to lunch in Cagney's resembled this one, with the top section blank. We filled out the top portion with a pen/pencil as we had lunch. Later, the form was returned to us as it appears below after the concierge made the reservations. The listed reservations were almost exactly as we had requested. When the exact time we requested was not available, he reserved a time as close as possible. (There is no Haven restaurant on the Jade, though there are Haven cabins and a Haven pool area.)

Hope this helps you to organize your requests, even if your exact form differs...

Regardless of the actual amounts of tips each cruiser provides, the most valuable perspective for me when I first researched tipping was the proportional differences between different roles on the ships. It was helpful to see what people consider generous tips for "their" butler vs. doting and consistent service from other butlers in the Top Sail Lounge vs. their server in the YC restaurant, etc. We still chose our own specific amounts based on our particular situation and experiences, but having other opinions about those proportions made me feel more comfortable overall. These boards are so helpful because of all of the different opinions. Thank you to everyone who shares!

1 hour ago, CruisingFox27 said:

Some people were more properly and smartly dressed though, please tell me it was so?

We dressed up for 2 evenings last August on Seaside in the Caribbean -- husband in suit and tie and me in a dress -- and never felt out of place. One night was for dinner in YC and one night was for dinner in Butcher's Cut. Dress as you wish and I don't think you'll have any regrets. (We never dined in the main dining rooms or buffet area for any meals so I can't speak to those venues.)

psmarkle -- thanks for a wonderful review! We were in YC on Seaside last August and also had Andrei as our server (though his 'sidekick' was Bene at that time). We had been trying to book another week in Seaside YC for this September but, by the time our dates were locked, there were no YC cabins remaining. 😞 Instead, we found a one-week Mediterranean cruise on Fantasia YC out of Genoa and saved $1K ($1.5K per person instead of $2K per person). Initially, I was sad that we wouldn't be on the Seaside again with the familiar, fantastic service of Andrei. Now that I've had a mini-holiday of sorts as I've read through your review, I can look forward to enjoying the experience of a different -- but I'm sure still exceptional -- YC experience. 🙂

On 5/28/2019 at 11:25 AM, GenghisQuan said:

 

Hi there, would y'all mind sharing when the match took place? Trying to consolidate all the various status match equivalencies for my document here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19GS-jpDkoAsPFpIoKqQ8Mxj9-sXOJLqe0Ygfyzz1AwI/edit#gid=0

 

I also have a thread about all the different status match equivalencies in this subforum as well.

We were granted our status matches last year -- I think in June or July of 2018.

SS - My husband doesn't use his accounts since mine are higher. But Amex Plat granted him SPG Gold (and Hilton something too) and MSC took it -- guess they don't care if you have any points in the account you use to match.

You can use hotel programs for status match as well. Marriott Lifetime Platinum (now called Titanium Elite in their new BonVoy program) was matched to Black Status by MSC. Don't forget about your credit cards -- my husband had SPG/Starwood Gold from our Amex Platinum and received Gold by MSC as a match. (I'm laughing typing all these colors in just 2 sentences...) Use whatever you have that is highest.

Guiseppe/Pepe was our YC restaurant host in August on the Seaside. He ran an excellent operation. Anything we wanted was available. The key is to know that you're in the YC and that you shouldn't hesitate to ask if you want something. If it is somewhere on the ship, they will get it for you. You may have to wait for the next day's meal if it is something elaborate, but if you want it -- ask! The one exception that has been talked about all over the boards is fresh waffles. For some reason, the YC waffles are the (disappointing) frozen type. If you have a cruise coming up and there is some food that is important to you, search the boards for any "watch outs" before you cruise. The YC bar was the same -- they made us our own "Holiday Coffee" when we told them that we like our weekend coffee with coconut rum and Bailey's Irish Cream. Every morning after breakfast, Justin had our Holiday Coffee waiting for us. 🙂 The more you know, the better your cruise will be. They aim to please and you will also be pleased if you communicate with them!

We never heard noise from the pool deck at night, though it has been mentioned on the boards several times. Sometimes when we were in bed during the afternoon, we'd hear chairs moving. Never a problem at night or early morning in 18010.

We had stateroom 18010 and loved it. It is only a few cabins down from the hallway door so had easy access. Far enough from the Top Sail Lounge balcony so no smell of smoke. When we went to the "regular" part of the ship, we would walk to the elevators right by the kids club and it hardly took a minute to get there. If you choose 18010, take good care of it. We'll be looking for it again in the near future! 🙂

Another thing to remember about the MDR -- if you see something on the menu that you want, you can just have that course in the MDR -- you don't have to have your entire meal there. When we've been on the Jade, which does not have a Haven restaurant, we've had just appetizers in the MDR and then had the rest of our meal in a specialty restaurant. Or skip desert in Cagney's and go to the MDR a few hours later if we're in the mood for something sweet. You're not fully committed to any one venue, though you probably want to get your money's worth at a specialty restaurant if you paid extra to dine there.

We love the 2 balconies -- and having 2 bathrooms is wonderful too. We had a 2 balcony room on the Spirit and on the Jade -- Jade had the Haven too and that made it so much better. We're booked on the Jade for a TA in late April in the same stateroom. We liked it so much that we didn't even think of trading. Long walk to the Haven area? No problem, worth every step. Not right near Cagney/Moderno? Not an issue, worth every step. Our butler was very attentive and made the trip to the staterooms a few times every day. We are looking forward to the covered Haven area for all the sea days as well.

We were just on the Jade in April and loved all of our specialty dinners. We purchased enough extra to make sure that we never ate in the MDR. On our cruise before that (on the Spirit), we only ate once in the MDR and told ourselves 'never again.' However, the Spirit was 2 years earlier, in 2016, so that's our last comparison. This year, we loved Le Bistro -- great duck and lamb. Cagney's steak never disappointed. Moderno was new for us but we had no problems with it at all. Even La Cucina was fine -- I believe I had the Osso Buco there. For us, we were happy because we avoided the MDR. We also prefer the atmosphere and individual service in the specialty restaurants. If you have a formal night planned, I would recommend that you choose one of the specialty restaurants. Let them know it's a special occasion and that you want a extra special table, you're getting dressed up, etc. I hope you enjoy it as much as we always do!