no1talks

Unfortunately, in several cases, you touched upon corporate policies outside a YC butler's control. The room-service-food-only rule is in the FAQs on the website. Restaurant choices are brought for sick passengers, however. The gelato and chocolate ships are the purview of the vendor outside of YC. Accordingly, inventory available for YC use is constrained. The gratis ships are pretty much done and replaced with small bars of chocolate, these days. Afternoon tea requests are easily misunderstood. The loose tea service is held in reserve for the YC director's tea party on the last sea day. I don't think this party is held on cruises of less than seven days duration. In our case, we had to clarify that the regular assortment of bagged tea would be fine.

If we share some "yes" examples, you share some of your "no" examples. I'll start. One of the requests on our butler list is to have balcony chairs replaced with chaise-style deck chairs. (Sometimes, there's only room for one swap, though.) Another list item is afternoon tea. We take tea every day, since we skip lunch. The butler meets us in Topsail with the traditional three-tiered assortment of nibbles and tea accouterments. (Unfortunately, the loose tea is only available for the Yacht Clubs "official" tea party, but that's not the butler's fault.)

Little did the they know, you offered him money to have them thrown out! 🤣

Fair enough. ☺️ I preface this example by mentioning we prepare printed requests before the cruise and discuss them with the applicable staff as soon as possible after boarding. This allows for adjustments and clarifications to be made. So, to dinner. Having dressed for dinner, we arrive at YC's dining room at the appointed time and are seated at our appointed table, in the section of our appointed (gold tie) servers. The sommelier then arrives with the surprise apéritifs. I should mention we include in our written requests very general details as to likes & dislikes vis-à-vis alcoholic beverages, leaving the somm with lots of room for creative choices. Along with the drinks comes the amuse-bouche from the kitchen. (No, we don't impose upon the culinary staff to make a special from-scratch nosh just for us.) Sometimes it is as simple as some crostini with a jazzed-up schmear or some Topsail bites, plated nicely. While we sip, nibble, and select the balance of the courses. The servers take the meal orders and share that information with the somm. Next, the one constant of all our YC dinners: shrimp cocktail. This gives the somm a bit of time to choose the rest of the adult beverages. When the starters from the evening's menu come out, the somm pours his & hers wines-by-the-glass to accompany the starters. Even if we order the same courses, we may very well be served different wines, based on the general notes mentioned in the written requests. Following this is the sorbet intermezzo. Lemon or raspberry will do just fine. Sure, an herbal sorbet or even a champagne sorbet would be great, but I know this is MSC and not Le Français. With our palates thoroughly cleansed, bring on the main course! Again, we receive the much-appreciated wine choices from the somm. (Yum!) With dessert, another surprise beverage. This time, it is something from the broad digestif group. Traditionally, a mignardise would follow, but we generally postpone that until after shows/casino and it is time for sweet bites and nightcaps in Topsail. If any of this folderol raises questions for you, GP, ask away. 😃

I'm afraid I plan a somewhat tight schedule when we're in Yacht Club. We have to, really, as a courtesy to the staff. We request things that are out of the ordinary and we want to make sure we're not doing so at an inopportune time. For example, we have a much more involved style of dining which keeps our server team and the sommelier quite occupied. Accordingly, we stick to the whatever we are told is the best arrival time from the staff's perspective.

From the website FAQs... Where can I get my clothes pressed for my special night? We offer a 24 hour valet, dry cleaning and laundry services (charges may apply).

As far as I know, the money-to-point rates vary, depending on the game played. Also, those rates may have been tweaked along with the rewards. You need the scoop from someone who has gambled widely and recently on an MSC ship, for the new rates. Perhaps a new topic, focusing on new rates for tables and machines is your best bet.

Here you go... (Not my image. Found it.)

It's too bad the comps have taken such a big hit under the new program. Ouch! 😵

Even if the butler never gets the memo, GP, the preboarding question are useful for Yacht Club's inventory preparation as a whole, from cruise to cruise.

Frankly, I don't know why the ladies put up with it. As Coco Chanel said, "A well-dressed man is the best accessory a woman can have."

Wait, did I miss something? I thought the person who is "tewkewl" to follow MSC's beverage policies is your friend.

For every post reporting a sea of humanity at an MSC buffet, there seems to be a post reporting a crowded front buffet AND a very underutilized back buffet. I wonder how often the crowds are self-inflicted.

Please don't feel uncomfortable. MSC doesn't check the U.S. Social Register or Burke's Peerage before they will sell Yacht Club accommodation to someone. Anyone who has the money can be in YC, even if they are of generally modest means and save for it over time.

Was there any adjustment to the fare, since your son was then a single in a double-occupancy cabin?

The way some of you are recalling your cruises from the days of yore, I'm surprised no one has mentioned their journey with Thor H. on Ra II. That guy was an explora, for sure.

I do hope so. Because of the aforementioned Vista rush, I had some timing concerns. For example, the new TA we are hoping to use for the reservation transfer has not gotten back to us on the question of whether we have to put off a transfer until our desired cruise appears within his agency's two-year calendar limit.

Has anyone been able to make an Allura reservation from Oceania's website today? On the website, they claim Allura is open for bookings. However, when I select the desired (and available) room category, the same screen reappears instead of the first screen of the booking process.

Use information, pinotlover. Thank you for the heads-up.

Best thing I'm likely to read all week. Thank you for sharing, Ms. T.K. Best regards to your hubby, too.

Thank you for the advanced intel. We always cruise with magnetic hooks and it seems Explora will not be an exception.

If a ship is probably going to reach capacity, the company doesn't want a cabin to go to just one guest when there will likely be two guests in the cabin by the time the cruise sets sail. Two passengers usually... Gamble more. Drink more. Eat more specialty dining. Go on more excursions. On board spending is a very big deal to cruise companies. It's strictly business.

Do you feel lucky?

I think the authoritative reply to this question would be someone with recent Aurea experience on an older ship without Yacht Club. In those cases, it would be an easy matter to arrange a priority luggage drop-off area, since there is no YC using the perq.