missthesea

Much bigger bathroom than YC Inside!

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I liked the deep, uncrowded pools. I did think there should be a small shallow area for less agile folks to walk into the pools, rather than climb down or jump in, and also in the Jungle Pool for kids. Keeping them deep does keep them from being so incredibly crowded. One nice thing about the MSC pools is the extended wet area around most of them, allowing people to sit in an inch or so of water and put feet in the pool. While deep, the pools are also saltwater and much easier to float in.

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We are sailing in Sept in regular section with the bare bones package...looking forward to your review (especially the parts about the steerage sections)

 

 

 

Seems reviews have been more towards the negative but also seems like some positive progress might be happening??

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for your review!

Yes, I’ll try to comment on the whole ship. I think the positives outweigh the negatives - but I’ll touch on both. Definitely don’t let those early negative reviews scare you off!

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I agree with the other posters. They did not seem flexible about the issue last month. A couple in YC tried, even offering to wait for a quiet night or a no-show in the MDR. They were not successful. Booking a specialty restaurant would be the best option, the Trio package Trina mentions would be the best value.

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Here are our impressions of our cruise! For reference, we are a couple pushing 50. We have younger kids, but did not bring them along this time. Past cruise lines include Norwegian, Princess and Celebrity. We love good food, but we aren’t necessarily foodies. Our usual night life is a show, the casino, or occasionally joining in a party - before midnight, lol. We splurged for Yacht Club, but spent lots of time in the rest of the ship!

Embarkation and first impressions: so we were spoiled by the YC status, with goodies and a private boarding area - but it still took about 40 minutes of waiting to board and the lounge area was pretty hectic with kids. We boarded at about 12:30 pm. On first impression, the ship was BIG, shiny and lively - with diverse passengers and a welcoming crew throughout the ship. Our cabin was not ready for another hour. We were directed to the Top Sail lounge to choose an approximate dining time.

We then quickly headed to the spa to schedule a massage package we’d prepaid for. I recommend going there right way if you need to schedule something, as the sea day times filled up quickly.

Cabin: 16035 - an inside. For an inside, we found it good sized, though the bathroom - especially the shower was tight.

It looked like an extra chair had been added (notice the different colors), and we were glad to have both. The TV faced the chairs, but flipped out fully to face the bed. I can’t comment on channels. We never watched it! The bed was very comfortable. There WAS a top sheet. A pillow menu let you choose another pillow, though the neck support pillow I chose was not very supportive. Storage was limited, but we knew that going in and packed appropriately. Our suitcases easily fit under the bed.

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I know that non-YC passengers are not allowed in the YC and agree that they should not be. I was just asking the OP how he/she thinks it would work out if some of the group members were non-YC while others are YC. I sort of think that this would be difficult for the group, even a small one, since it would be hard to get the couples together for meals, lounging around the bar and pool, etc., plus even getting on and off the ship together. Not sure if I am missing anything in the analysis though.

We were in Seaside YC 3 weeks ago, and met an unhappy couple. The rest of their family had a Fantastica experience, and they did not realize how much they’d be separated. They wanted to enjoy the YC, but spend dinner with the rest of their group a few nights in the MDR. That request was denied. The only way to eat as a group was in a specialty restaurant. I would not recommend splitting a group between YC and non YC.

As to dress, we saw flip flops and shorts at dinner in the YC, and my husband was one of the few in a suit for formal night. They seemed to be reluctant to enforce a dress code as “American culture has more casual dress” per one of the staff. It wasn’t a deal breaker for us, but I think at least pants and collared shirt should be worn at all times in a nice dining room at dinner.

Also, if you are coming from HAL, be ready for more kids - even in YC. They sail free, and there were about 30 kids the week we sailed, some very young.

We did really like the YC overall.

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Because I've seen pictures and it looks like it could be a another nice outdoor area to walk around. We like to take walks around the ship outdoors.

 

 

 

I'm sure we'll be spending lots of our time in the YC areas. :D

It also has some padded couches in the shade near the bar. That’s the one thing I wish YC pool area had.

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The things we loved were our aft wrap suite, the ship is beautiful and the use of technology for the bracelets and show reservations was great. Loved the deep pools. Crepes and chocolate martinis excellent.

 

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Thanks for sharing the positive, too. It helps us put your review in perspective. When it’s all one sided, I usually stop reading. We liked our cruise in June. It seems like you had a bad cabin steward, and crepes were included for us - so they are inconsistent (and it’s rotten if crepes are now not in the Deluxe Package). The shows we saw were almost all in English, with only a few songs in other languages. We were in YC, so I know the service there may have been better, but we enjoyed lots about the whole ship - the outdoor seating by the buffet, pools, thermal spa, waterslides, coffee, chocolate..

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Wow, that’s a lot of kids. I think there were about 30 or so when we went in June, and staff said that was a lot for the YC. We could tell some of our fellow passengers weren’t happy. We have our own kids, and will bring them in October - but they won’t be allowed to run wild in the lounge. It’s such a great value for families, that I bet summer brings lots of kids.

Hope you can enjoy your time in the Top Sail this week. Have a Hemingway Dacquiri for me!

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Our crepes were included 3 weeks ago with YC package - now it sounds like they are no longer included. Very sad! Such a small thing, but it really seemed like a big perk as they were so good. We only had two, lol, so it wasn’t us if folks got greedy and caused them to stop including them.

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These hooks from Amazon were really helpful.

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We loved the Seaside last month, but thought bands were weak. Much of the music is piped in or by really small ensembles. I think they spend their money on the theater shows and not so much on live music.

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OP, how are you enjoying your waitstaff? We found the food just good, but the service wonderful. Arthur made us laugh, and steered us to the best dishes. Our embarkation last month was a little more hectic than I expected, but we still were onboard in 45 minutes and plied with drinks and snacks which distracted us, lol. We had an inside cabin, so no need of a lounger. We loved the pool area with so much seating. We never asked for gelato, but if I had and they gave it to me - I’d have never left the YC except for the shows! Interestingly, I brought a crepe from the Miami Beach pool area (don’t miss these!) back into the Top Sail Lounge and a butler saw it and asked what it was and where I got it! He wasn’t aware of what was offered in that part of the ship at all.

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Thank you so much for this info! So if we have a balance, there's no issue on the last day? We do have a lot of OBC and not sure how we'll use it, but don't want to have to stand in line the last day.

I think they prevent you from leaving if you have either a balance to pay or a refund due. It is a little confusing, and maybe things will change before you cruise. I’ve read that the easiest way to cash out any remaining OBC is to get casino chips and then turn around and cash those in. (The casino, theatre and gelato are the main reasons to leave the YC anyway!).

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Either time is ok. We were in YC on Seaside for the June 9 sailing and disembarkation was pretty smooth. Some advice: zero your account out before going to leave the ship. We had a positive balance, and even though the otherwise great YC concierge told us it would just be refunded to our credit card, we were not allowed to disembark before waiting in line again to get a refund. Also, we usually Uber, but this terminal is new and the Uber pick up area was confusing to find - causing one angry driver who left us to get a cab! Have a great cruise!

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On the June 9 cruise, we had one night that was ”Italian”, with table decorations and a special menu. We wore red, but most people didn’t wear anything special. This was in the YC dining room..

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First MSC cruise in November. Want to prebook spa treatments. Can you schedule the actual time online or are you just buying a voucher and you schedule when you board. Did you have a favorite treatment?

 

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We bought a package ahead of time -Golden Jasmine for couples - 2 massages each, one massage and body scrub each and one facial each, for $550 total. Great value! The price almost doubled two weeks before departure, and would have been even more if you bought them on board. We could not schedule times until we boarded, so we went there first. The package info is printed on your boarding edocs. We brought the paper to the spa to book the times. They were open the first night and we enjoyed that!

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There was a wide range of dress on our Seaside cruise on the Elegant nights. Sequins all the way to flip flops. We enjoy dressing up and wore a nice dress and suit.

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We were in YC inside 16035 last week. The door opened to the port side, with odd numbered balcony cabins opening directly across the hall.

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The tour took us through the galley of one of the MDRs, some of the food storage areas, the laundry, backstage at the theater, some of the crew areas, and the Yacht Club. No bridge or engine room, though. It ended oddly, with a free appetizer at the Bistro.

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Shows: a little different than what we are used to, but there were standing ovations each night! Book early in the week, especially if you want one of the later two shows. The early show sometimes had a few open seats. The improv was pretty good, too.

Teens: had disco nights that looked pretty fun and packed with kids.

Gelato: was wonderful, including traditional Italian flavors like pistachio and hazelnut, lots of chocolate options. There were a few flavors by the Jungle Pool on 18, lots of choices at the Miami Pool on 6 (plus fantastic crepes made to order), and also plenty of gelato at Venchi coffee and chocolate shop - I think on 7. We joked that we’d cruise again just for gelato. I’m not sure whether the vouchers worked for gelato, we had it included in our “experience” and so ate way too much of it.

Meat: not their strong suit, but still overall good. Our steak was cooked appropriately. The fish is usually very good. We liked the different salamis and cold cuts, cheeses available. The carving stations were just ok, but that may be because we cruised last on Celebrity to compare to.

Ship tour: they offered a 3 hour tour of the ship one day for only 49 dollars. It was interesting and a great value.

Spa: If you like the spa, book a prepaid massage package and you will save a lot of money. Massages were very good and the Thermal Area was relaxing.

Have a great cruise!

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I was on this tour last week as well, and totally agree. I really enjoyed seeing backstage of the theater, the crew areas, and the bakery. It was a good value for a 3 hour tour.

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We were also on board. People were detoured around the areas for a bit, but it was cleaned up quickly.

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Missthesea, Tell me more about sharing with the kids.

 

Were they well behaved? Did they take over the pool area?

 

We last went on MSC in the month of October and there were few children in the YC (the rest of the ship had plenty).

 

We're going this time in July. I know there'll be more, but hopefully everyone will be well behaved and respectful. That's all we ask.

According to the staff, last week in the Seaside YC was an anomaly. There were at least 30 children, 18 from one big family group. This did mean that, at least part of the day, the pool and dining room were louder than we expected. We have kids ourselves (and will sail with them YC in November) and so I think we were less bothered than some others. The large family group was nice, most kids were behaved, and the YC is family friendly (there is a high chair stored on the deck by the grill), but another couple who was cruising back to back did say the atmosphere was different after the kids arrived. The staff seemed a little flustered and worried about the number of kids and what other guests were feeling. I think that a July cruise could definitely have more than a few children.

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Just got off Seaside and sailed the Celebrity Equinox last year.

Without YC, you may find it more crowded and loud on MSC. With YC, you will be spoiled silly in the nice lounge and pool area. However, the food - while mostly good to very good, is not quite as varied or uniformly good as X. There was no sommelier in the YC restaurant this past week, and they had wines ready to pour that they recommended If you wanted something else, your waiter would work on bringing it to you - but I got the feeling it wasn’t an unlimited selection. We aren’t wine drinkers, so this did not bother us. Loved the YC. Keep in mind that MSC is a family cruise line. Our time in the YC was shared with many kids.

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