no1talks

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"Tonight everyone in the Yacht Club received this invitation. Being the third cruise there has not been a tea time in the Top Sail Lounge. Too many on board in the YC."

Here is a video by Romanian media personality, Leonard Miron, detailing the "Farewell Afternoon Tea" overseen by Director Sheriffs, on a Virtuosa cruise in July.

Perhaps, Morpheus, you can comment as to the similarities and differences between the tea service on Seascape and that which Dl. Miron shows us.

As to my hopes for our March cruise on Seascape, afternoon tea may very well be a make-or-break aspect of annual MSC patronage in the future. If "Americanization" is to be the order of the day going forward, my list of must-haves will be all the more crucial. 

Depending on how things go in March, I don't rule out a drop to the minimum level of cruising needed to maintain Diamond status.

 

12 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

"Unfortunate change, MSC!"

When I saw this post, GP, I thought of you and @psmarkle because of the recent casino activity, about which you both posted.

If MSC thinks they can fill (or nearly fill) YC at the going rate, it hurts their bottom line to put casino folks in those suites, without gamblers undertaking an increased risk to get the YC reward.

The budget US cruiser, which MSC needs in abundance for their increasingly large ships in Florida, still gets a little something at the bottom of the prize list. Remember, getting 1200 points is not particularly tough and 1500 is not the end of the world.

So, the budget cruiser who already looks for a Voyagers Club 5% price break can now make it 5% + 10% with a bit of extra casino play. That's a brass ring the cruisers in that bracket can look forward to capturing. After all, why wouldn't the budget US cruiser risk some coin in the casino? MSC's seemingly unending sale already gave that cruiser free drinks & Wi-Fi and let the kids join the cruise gratis.

Some might ask, "Well, if MSC wants to throw a bone to the bargain cruiser, why not keep the 30% and just exclude YC?" I suspect MSC believes 10% will keep those cruisers at the slots just a bit more, but 30% would be giving away too much. The Bella spots, with the freebies added, are already cheap, comparatively speaking.

This is another part of MSC's plan to nab a big bunch of Carnival cruisers, who are quite often in the budget-minded column.

3 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"Had an extra long/wide shoe lace and tied down one corner..."

Don't forget to invoice MSC for the engineering consult,  plus materials. 

13 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

I have an idea...

So do I...

"Row well, and live."

58 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"DW had me give her extra tip money to encourage him to continue his quest. He caught 20 interlopers yesterday."

"Papers, please."

8 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"There were lobster tails at the seafood extravaganza..."

Speaking of the extravaganza, Morpheus, were there any additional incidents of "interloper response" to eliminate non-YC buffet moochers?

54 minutes ago, voyagerL said:

"I've also given them to the Butler before to store out of the cabin..."

I'll add this to our butler to-do list. Thank you for sharing.

10 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

"...they've basically stopped to sell drinks packages on 3-5 nights cruises out of the US..."

Since the original topic is about liquor service, it is easy to think my assertion is based on the reputation Carnival has regarding alcohol consumption. However, I'm looking way beyond booze.

I refer to the diminishing European vibe on the US-based MSC ships. As MSC's US ships become more Americanized, culturally-speaking, the Carnival customer base will be more and more at home on MSC cruises out of US ports.

I recommend the reporting of @morpheusofthesea  as he posts from his present cruise, for evidence pointing towards the de-emphasis of MSC's European roots. There have been other recent clues mentioned by posters recounting their cruises, too.

I suspect MSC believes they can gather passengers (money) from Carnival by staying in the same entry-level price category, while making the onboard experience more culturally familiar to the Carnival base.

My wife is European and MSC was a great fit right away. How much the Americanization/Carnivalization impacts her enjoyment is yet to be determined.

49 minutes ago, JAGR said:

"It's not like Carnival."

I have a feeling MSC is going make their US-based ships more like Carnival.

🙄

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"Same songs, different boys."

"I'm not sayin' I went to a trashy high school, but that was the motto on the back of the cheerleaders' jackets."

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"...removes their sneaker and balances it..."

Well, judging by that nice pair of spectators he is wearing in the picture, he clearly nose his shoes.

22 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"...a continuous entertainment with a master of ceremonies who comes on stage sings a song and introduces another performer."

Wait... Cabaret? Master of ceremonies?

I do believe I've seen this before.

Seems rather populous. 

Maximum passengers, per ships's specs, sits at 5877 and that means 91% of maximum on this cruise. YC suites total 131, so a 329 head count is rather brisk. YC's dining room, according to the specs, seats 180.

I hope YC is adequately staffed, in both quantity and quality.

3 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"...the YC gangway..."

Morpheus, a dialed-in guy like you probably has one of these for the entries to both your townhouse and country chateau...


But if I ever see one in the gift shop...

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

Or do all of their ships have the Yacht Club?

All their ships, going back ten years or more, have Yacht Club. In fact, each design change adds more Yacht Club capacity.

Their earliest two ship classes are smaller and do not have Yacht Club.

1 hour ago, NavyCruiser said:

“Adding MSC to our family of cruise lines would offer our cruise guests an elegant, European-style cruise experience.”

By the time the proposed terminal would be ready, there may not be much European elegance left in MSC's U.S. operations.

35 minutes ago, purpleally said:

"But jeans weigh more than other types of pants/slacks/bottoms so it doesn’t make sense why one would want to haul them on a cruise."

10 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Beverly Hillbillies anyone?

"Party of four, if'n y'all would be so kind."

3 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

"...a very sad Moscow Mule..."

So, a Moscow Mewl, then?

7 hours ago, Chris19821 said:

Oh noooooo ... I want ginger beer!! 🙂

When I was a youngster, I wanted Ginger.

Then I grew up and realized Mary Ann was the better catch.

55 minutes ago, mowogo said:

"...Florida-Nassau-Ocean Cay."

Fear not! Magnifica is listed for that route, too. 🙄

34 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

"Does anyone have any news about that?"

MSC's website has Carribean itineraries listed.

Most are short Miami-KeyWest-OceanCay cruises, plus a few week-long routes.

33 minutes ago, talkorpi said:

"...since Galveston is my homeport I might give them a try if this ends up happening."

Since you have some familiarity with Galveston cruises, what itineraries distinguish it from typical cruises departing Florida?

What might MSC out of Galveston bring to the table, aside from saving Texas cruisers a trip to Florida?

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"...luxury cruise lines that sail from a South Florida port."

We've been considering options for future "drive-to" cruises, after MSC's Florida and New York (Bermuda) itineraries are played-out. Frankly, most of the luxury lines don't have any appeal. Few of their cruises are a week or week-and-a-half and the nature of my job prevents me from being away more than 17 days or so. Of the few that do fit my time limit, I can count on one hand those which embark and disembark from the same drivable port.
 

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"The hiking from deck 12 down to the Luminae, deck 3, took its toll (Equinox)."

For me, hikes would be a feature and not a bug. I'm very much looking forward to our 2024 before-and-after-meal strolls on MSC's Divina. (For those unfamiliar with Divina, the Yacht Club suites are forward. The Yacht Club dining room is astern.
 

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

A big disappointment (but new ships generally are). Hope it will not be the same with MSC's new Seascape.

Oy vey! From your mouth to...

We're booked on Seascape for March and I hope the inevitable misfires are resolved. 
 

2 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"We enjoyed the live bands and jazz quartet on MSC."

We enjoy live music as well and that's why we are considering HAL as an alternate to MSC when we've run out of MSC Caribbean itineraries. HAL's "Music Walk" looks very interesting. Speaking of HAL, Morpheus, what did you mean when you excepted Holland America on the topic of chair hogs? 
 

2 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"...and this Christmas the Seascape for the R(oyal) S(uite) is $21,000. If the new Seascape is anything like the Seashore it will be money well spent."

For me, the dream YC cruise would be on a Meraviglia Class ship (Or Mera-Plus) booked in a Yacht Club duplex. We would have cajoled a few friends to take the same cruise, in whatever accomodations seemed best to their circumstances. Then, since the duplex is well outside of the actual Yacht Club boundaries, YC staff couldn't really object to the lot of us having the nightly after-party in our duplex. 😆

 

6 minutes ago, psmarkle said:

"I haven't figured out how to DM yet."

Direct messaging via Cruise Critic is disabled, unless I'm mistaken. 😒