Critically Cruising

Same here. Radio silence. I guess I'm not enough of an influencer.

NINE CULINARY EXPERIENCES Sophisticated, varied dining across nine culinary experiences, as well as in-suite dining EFFORTLESS ALL-DAY DINING RESTAURANT POOLSIDE DINING Al fresco fare with light, modern cuisine and an ocean backdrop 24-hour concierge services Just a few of the things in the brochure. Probably much more if I took the time to do a deep dive.

I was referring to the other "changes" between what the brochures promised and what actually was delivered. It was the multiple misleds that happened to me -- not specifically butlers.

You are not the only one. Fool me once, shame on you.....

Hopefully you bought either a Rimowa or Pelican. The waterproof ones with the gasketed seals.

Surprised you never noticed a Paper Plane before. It has been a staple on the cocktail menus on Old Crystal for at least a half-dozen years. I'll leave the discussion of the bartenders for another day. My experience was that they knew the EJ cocktails well, but that knowledge of other traditional cocktails was inconsistent at best. An example was a Rusty Nail. Found that the bartender proportions ranged from 4 parts scotch to 1 Drambuie down to 1 to 1. What the.... In a proper operation, the cocktail should be the same in every venue - training should ensure that. Maybe it's the one spot where EJ rigidity wasn't.

Maybe they figured that their target market - younger millenials who aren't into cruising - don't need grab bars.

And therein lies the question. If current onboard management is shackled by Geneva, why should that be any different just because there is a different person in ONE onboard position? Is HQ saying "we trust Heike, but you guys need to be on a short leash"? If so, that's a huge indictment of their current hiring and staffing. Or is the short leash a defining feature of the corporation? At a certain point, all the flash of a new ship, even added to the quality of the food - they can't overcome basic failings for a luxury product. If that makes me a complainer, perhaps it's to balance out the rah-rah, there's nothing wrong that won't be fixed, starry-eyed polyannas.

Interesting that there is no refuting the facts of the situation, just a snide snark about an observation. The ship is stunning (though with some contradictions) and the food is superb. But the misses are lots of details that collectively say this is not ready for prime time. And a management that seems deaf to anything that isn't fawning praise.

And small. Far more seats in the Explora Lounge down the hall, but let's use the room where folks will end up standing.

Which leads to the critical question: Will it be fixed? Given the rigidity of the staff and management onboard, that's more than just hypothetical. And can that onboard rigidity be extrapolated to HQ staff in Europe?

Appropriate.

Goes along with them not telling us what NYC terminal we were using. Or what the transfer options and costs were. Or so many other things that made it almost a game of Twenty Questions. The good news....if these folks were captured during WW2, none of them would reveal that the invasion was to be at Normandy.

Same on my cruise. When I asked at the "front desk", the answer was that they didn't know. (Which could be put onto a recording, and they just need to push a button to play it back).

And when you ask for a toasted bagel, they slice it using a horizontal slice. Which means the "host" with the knife is pressing down to hold the bagel steady, which leaves the "bagel" scrunched down and falling apart. As for the lobster rolls -- best lobster onboard are the fresh tails grilled to order in the Marketplace at dinner (and sometimes lunch).

A "gelato bar" without gelato. Just another marketing vs reality data point. A lot of them, eh?

It was mostly the same stuff, day in day out. Small sandwiches with little filling and mostly bread. Never saw more than three choices and mostly two. And some sweets. To call it a "dining venue" (as the brochure does) is a gross overstatement.

I can see what happened. The people who killed the idea of a pool grill thought the Marketplace was actually going to be open all day. And the people for shortened the hours for the Marketplace thought there was going to be a pool grill. Left hand vs right hand?? 😃

Fixed meaning "stationary" or fixed meaning "repaired"?

It's not an easy fix. The complaint about lack of dressings (and two of the three being vinegar based) was voiced to the HD. Yet nothing was done the remainder of the cruise, nor apparently even now. How difficult is it to pull out another crock for the dressing and another laddle? And just put out four instead of three? Apparently it was above the pay grade of the HD to make that change - I guess it had to be approved from HQ in Europe. All of which tells me -- the systems are baked in and there's no flexibility given, even to upper shipboard management.

Try the couches around the perimeter. Much better seating.

Got the old "supply chain issues" response to my complaint about lack of liquors. Never had Old Vic gin on board, ran out of Nikka on day 3, and other liquors were missing or not fully stocked to all the venues. On a positive note, they did have Diplomatico rum, which is quite sippable like a cognac. Plus the interesting Bayab gin from South Africa, using bayobab fruit in the distillation. And for pure "different" try the Shiraz gin, which steeps the gin in shiraz grapes. For a final nightcap, go with the Ardbeg for a full peat mouthfull.

Those couches could have been separated, so you could walk between them to the other side. But that doesn't pass the "illogical but esthetic" standard of EJ.

Was promoted on pages 52-57 of the Explora brochure as a dining venue. Which showed: EFFORTLESS ALL-DAY DINING RESTAURANT — SOPHISTICATED CONCEPT RESTAURANT SHOWCASING UP-AND-COMING CHEFS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE — PAN ASIAN RESTAURANT — STEAKHOUSE EXPERIENCE — MEDITERRANEAN STYLE RESTAURANT — INTERNATIONAL STYLE RESTAURANT — COFFEE LOUNGE — CHEF’S KITCHEN WITH PRIVATE DINING AND CULINARY SCHOOL — IN-SUITE DINING And we know how "effortless all day dining" turned out. And if those little snacks in Crema get credited as a "dining venue", I guess you can call everything just anything you want.

The MSC logo is everywhere. Even at the bow of the ship. "But we are not MSC"