Best Cat Mom

Day 2 continues… Before going to breakfast, I was looking for my cell phone in the cabin to make sure that I had plugged it in the previous night. We couldn't find it and it was getting late, so we said we'd worry about it after breakfast. During breakfast, we were trying to recall the last time I had my cell phone. We started to realize that we last remembered having it in the afternoon while having cocktails in TSL. While we were waiting for our coffee and mimosas, BCD went down to the TSL to ask at the bar if anyone had found a phone. They sent him to the concierge desk and -- low and behold -- there was my phone. The concierge joked with him about how can someone go without a phone for over 12 hours? I guess I just like the ship more than my phone this week. LOL After we finished breakfast, we hung out in TSL for a few rounds of Holiday Coffee, which is a drink we invented at home. BCD was only too happy to teach Kassandra how to make it. It is one shot of espresso, one shot of Baileys, one shot of Kahlua, and one shot of coconut rum, shaken and poured over ice in a high ball glass. Day 2 lunch is next…

You have not missed a thing. I am horribly behind in our posts. I have only gotten to Day 2 breakfast so far. Hope to cover Day 3 soon... Mi dispiace!!

Okay, maybe we did not see her name tag clearly. Just found out last night that the sommelier is Rodin, not Robbie John. I wish they used a bigger point size. Same thing I always say to the Delta flight attendants. It's so hard to give them the good feedback they deserve when you can't see their names!

The comment I posted refers to YC attire: We have zero experience with the Main Dining Room.

Day 2 - Sea Day… Coffee and Baileys arrived to the cabin to help us greet the day as scheduled, delivered by a butler as yet unknown to us. We know from past cruises that sometimes the night butler will deliver these orders or other butlers/assistant butlers will cover if our team are otherwise occupied. We made our way to TS restaurant at 9am and ordered two mimosas and two cappuccini and tried to decide what to have for our first breakfast on board. BCD ordered eggs Benedict with a side of crispy bacon while I opted for 2 soft-boiled 6-minute eggs and some mixed berries: We had nothing planned for today other than BCD building some cars and me relating our activities here so we dallied over breakfast for awhile. Day 2 continues…

It is the same. They call the recommended attire "elegant" and the menu "gala."

Day 2 Daily Program...

I recall when you wrote about this in your CC thread. We've been... No jinxing so... Not been a problem for us. And we know better than to do that to our neighbors. Hope to always have neighbors like you and us!

Here are some of the documents from embarkation day... Welcome Aboard, which was given to us in Miami when we received our cruise cards and wrist bands: QR code for Daily Programs: Mini Bar menu: Welcome Letter from Head Concierge Vishnu: Butler info: Voyagers Club party: YC party: Day 2 begins next...

Day 1 - Embarkation Day in Miami concludes... We arrived around 8pm for our first dinner in Top Sail restaurant. Edgar had saved us a nice table for two in his section on the starboard side of the dining room. We met our Assistant Butler, John Ray, this evening. He seems very attentive and is new to us on this sailing. We accepted menus and ordered some bubbles to help us in our decision-making: As we awaited our champagne, Edgar had the sommelier, Ronnie John, stop by. (As our trip progresses, I will be able to better verify all the names. I will have to, obviously, before we disembark in order to properly address our tip envelopes.) We are fairly well informed regarding wines in general but when there is a sommelier available, we like to consult them since they are both an expert in wine but also an expert in the wine on their ship. Telling them a bit about your likes and dislikes will allow them to best recommend pairings for each course. There can be many different wines available in YC and they are the best resource for knowing what will work with both the food and your preferences. Don't ever think that you cannot chose something other than what they recommend, however. If you had a wine at a previous meal and you'd really like that one again, do not hesitate to ask for it. Wine, like food, is quite subjective and we all have different pallets. We had a great initial chat with the sommelier and then told him our menu choices. He offered a recommendation for our entrées, and we stayed with our champagne for our starters. Edgar returned to take our order and the sommelier came back a few minutes later with the entrée wine selection. We tasted it, approved and allowed it to breathe whilst we enjoyed the starters. For starters, we both chose the sea scallops, though mine would have the papadum crisp omitted: For his entrée, BCD chose the prime rib: I chose the tuna steak: We shared the risotto "in the middle" of the table: (The grated cheese in on BCD's half.) The wine was a very nice DOCG Chianti: We shared a plate of Grana Padano for dessert: We were exhausted and maybe a bit overserved so skipped TSL and retired back to the room. I'll share some images of general information next, before moving on to Day 2…

We've never seen this listed with the restaurant hours. It seems like a step up. I'm just giving you information. It's up to you what to do with it. 🙂 PS: Marian is the maî·tre d' for Top Sail on this cruise. This is our first sailing with him. A lot of what is acceptable in Top Sail depends on the maî·tre d'. Perhaps others who have sailed with him know his typical behavior and can share here.

We finished dinner at nearly 11pm and he had just ended his set. We did really enjoy listening to him from upstairs. We have Bernard again tonight, as we did the day before yesterday. We're hoping that Felipe repeats tomorrow so we can enjoy him from not-so-far-away.

We are currently on a Seascape Caribbean cruise in Yacht Club. They have stated in the programs each day:

Day 1 - Embarkation Day continues... At the Top Sail Restaurant, we were greeted by Marian, the maître d', and Holly, the host, and seated at a nice table with a center ocean-front view. If we were at sea already, we would have had a much better view than the Icon of the Seas aft area. As we were seated, I mentioned that I am gluten free and will need a little help from them. Marian said that he'd make sure that we had the same server team each evening and that they would take excellent care of me. With their assurances, I felt confident that I would likely not be "glutened." We enjoyed a round of champagne to help us absorb the menu. As we were making our decisions, we heard a familiar voice greeting us and looked up to see Edgar, a server who took wonderful care of us on our first Divina cruise in Oct 2022. We chatted for a bit, with him glancing frequently over his shoulder to make sure his other guests were not ignored. Seeing this, we commented that we must be far out of his section and maybe he could ask Marian to have us seated in his section at dinner. He excused himself and brought Marian over to our table. We told Marian what a great server Edgar is (like he needed us to do that LOL) and that we wanted to be in his section for dinner each evening. Marian was only too happy to comply. In fact, he said something to the effect of "whatever Edgar wants" leading us to believe that Edgar is one of his best servers. We told Edgar we'd see him later this evening, reminding him that we liked dining late, and he left us to the menus for right then. Then we saw Zuzette (I'm sure I'm misspelling her name as her name tag seemed to have several more letters, but they all pronounced her name as Zuzette/Suzette so I'll type it that way until we are able to read her name tag long enough to get it right). She was a host on our first Divina cruise in October 2022 and then an Assistant Server (black tie, not gold tie which is Server) in January 2023 again on Divina. Two more friendly faces for us, another sign of good things to come! BCD ordered hamachi carpaccio for his starter: I ordered Cobb salad: For our entrees, we both were eager to have the beef tournedos, one of our favorites. In order for mine to be gluten free (GF), it needed to have no sauce: We opted for dessert today, which is not common for us especially at lunch. BCD had the Italian trio and I ordered some pineapple and strawberries: We went back to the cabin at 2:33pm and all 4 of our bags were there. We proceeded to unpack and then headed to TSL for some refreshments after our (burdensome) task. After a few rounds, we went back to the cabin to change for dinner. Embarkation day concludes next…

We asked Kassandra today and she assured us that they do indeed have the prized Zacapa 23 in stock in YC. 🙂

So far, so good. We've never had any real issues with AC on any MSC ship, though BCD always wants it colder. I wouldn't mind colder so we can sleep with more than the top sheet at night, but it is not uncomfortable like that. I prefer to snuggle under the comforter and that is really not doable, at least not all night long.

Port day again today (San Juan) and no specialty restaurants open for lunch. One of the breakfast servers mentioned to us today that Nassau was a short stop -- maybe half a day? -- so that day will be sort of a test of the theory for when they are open for lunch.

Yes and we usually do Butcher's Cut for lunch. Time it right and you can have lamb for lunch and dinner one day. 🙂

Yes, I think so too -- so we have wider and deeper. But that sea is still just as beautiful. 🙂

Today was a port day and none were open for lunch: Yesterday was a sea day and they were indeed open: You can either have your butler help you when you get into TSL on embarkation day or, if you don't meet him right away, have the Concierge Desk help you.

Ah, but these have a silicon tip that is removable. Mrs. Morph could have multiple tips that she sterilizes and continue to use the same key. Or she could cover with some disposable plastic like they do at the doctor's office with some of their tools. Then the key can be used multiple times before she'd need to dispose of her ziploc bag of used germy covers. Just a suggestion, of course. We all are set in our ways sometimes and I am not throwing any stones. 😉

Oops, forgot the balcony...

Day 1 - Embarkation Day in Miami continues… Our room was ready just about 11:30am. We chose to finish our drinks and then went to our stateroom at 12:11pm. We met our Butler Jeetoo and Assistant Butler Yogesh right away as they were hovering in the corridor awaiting guests to arrive. We reviewed our pillow choices (2 Oxygen), our newspaper (Wall Street Journal) and liquor choice (Bombay Sapphire). Then we asked for a standing order of coffee and Baileys for 8:30am every morning, some extra bath towels daily, and Heineken and Coke Zero in the fridge. We thanked him and told him we were expecting 4 suitcases and would soon be going up to the restaurant for lunch. We took a few minutes to explore our cabin. It was a bit different than the one on the Seascape's sister ship Seaside, though it still had the 2 cabinets for clothes storage vs. the walk-in closet we love on Divina. This cabin is wider than either of those though and wide enough for a little bench at the foot of the bed and an extra chair across from the love seat. The width of the room extends to the balcony. I think two loungers could easily fit out there, if one desired to have them. More about our first day coming up…

Today, we returned from our Puerto Plata excursion too late to make lunch in the Top Sail restaurant (though the advertised tour length led us to believe we'd make it in time) so we headed to the One Pool and encountered these exact doors that you've mentioned. The first does open with a wave, so I understand why you're questioning the second door not being the same. I related your post to BCD and he said, "they don't have a no touch personal key contact?" Tell me more, I said. And here is an image from eBay for this device, priced under $10 with shipping. Amazon also may sell some similar ones. Here is the image of a set of two -- his and hers?

Ah, sir -- now who's too nice? What a pleasant surprise that was just delivered to our room: And perfect timing as we had just had some champagne delivered to help with some CC updates and auto chassis construction. Of course, now I have chocolate all over my keyboard. LOL PS: Thanks for the bottle that we discovered when we returned from the purgatorial heat in Puerto Plata at 4pm. Blue is my favorite color!