mica178

I agree with dressing appropriately for the situation. My husband was upset to see baseball caps worn in the YC restaurant, not to mention loud sports attire (including tank tops for men) during dinners. He was concerned that as MSC gains more of the US market share, even the YC is degraded.

Back home. I managed to finish up the suitcases by 10pm. We woke up at 7am and finished packing up the room by 7:45. Then we headed to the YC restaurant for a last breakfast. It was a slower breakfast than usual, and my poached eggs were slightly overcooked. Afterwards, we went to wait in the TSL for Jesee to escort us off the ship. It was a quick wait. Jesee only accompanied us to the gangway. I recall that last year, Alexis accompanied us to the passport checkpoint, but the whole process seems more efficient, so lacking a butler escort was perfectly fine. Our bags were in the YC area, and we paid a porter to bypass the customs line and were on our way to Port Parking within 5 minutes of stepping off the Seashore. The confiscated fly rod was waiting just outside the terminal (the head butler called down to make sure it was ready to go). For whatever reason, the car stopped charging at only 60%, and so we had to stop at a supercharger on the way home, but that was a minor inconvenience.

It wasn't. If anything, it was too saucy.

On formal night, I saw men in aloha shirts with khaki or sports coats and button downs. I don't recall proper suits in the YC (other than on the servers!). YC is pretty casual. I did see the prom dresses in the rest of the ship.

Last night... We had a lazy afternoon. I attended the high tea, which was nice but left me too full to appreciate dinner. Dinner was Italian night. Caprese salad, osso buco, tiramisu. All pretty good, but not quite right. While I understand whole basil leaf would be difficult on a cruise, pesto doesnt feel correct. The osso buco was room temperature. The tiramisu was a little runny. Thankfully, the Oberon was as good as ever, as was the port at the end of the meal. I'm wrapping up packing the suitcases now as my husband sees to using up the fun pass and buying a couple bottles of wine from the Butchers Cut wine cellar. They have a couple Italian reds that are priced below market price in the States that should age well in our cellar at home. Perfect vacation mementos.

I like the Italian style. I have spent the last decade perfecting a handful of very traditional Italian dishes, done in the traditional style. I thought the YC clam sauce was fishier than is my preference.

The version served in the restaurant is too sweet. It bothers my son and husband less, but my picky daughter can't deal with it and must have the more acidic Heintz (or Hunt's, which is what we keep at home). Toilet paper should be over.

Today has been a lazy sort of day. Arrived breakfast at the YC restaurant. Dropped the kids at Doremi kids club. Went to trivia. Picked up the kids and had the last lunch at YC restaurant. Now waiting for afternoon tea at TSL. For lunch, I has the Capri salad (not caprese!) And the linguini alla vongole. It wasn't bad, but the version I make at home is better.

Last day, how the time has flown. Last night, my son decided to eat with the kids club, and my husband decided to sleep through dinner. So my daughter and I had a girl dinner. She had a bunch of breadsticks, the pasta in cream sauce, and chicken tenders. Apparently the ketchup served in the YC is too sweet, so our waiter went up to the grill to get Heintz ketchup. That's service! I had the smoked salmon and the dumplings to start. The dumplings were tasty. The Norwegian smoked salmon was too fishy. I had the butter chicken as my main, and it was delicious. After dinner, I let my husband take the kids to the arcade, and I went to the TSL for an amaretto coffee and some chocolate. There was a lady vocalist who played the acoustic guitar in TSL, and it made for a relaxing atmosphere.

For YC, as long as you know your cabin number and have identification that matches your reservation, you don't need anything else. Or at least that was my experience.

We are now on Day #6, Cozumel. I had booked a zip line excursion through Viator at 11, so we had a slow morning with breakfast at the YC dining room. I had the French toast with a side of bacon. It was fine, maybe a bit drier than expected. The bacon was nicely crisp. Service was wonderful. After our ziplining fun, we wandered the port area for a bit and returned to the ship. The kids were eager to go to kids club, so we had a quick lunch at the YC pool deck. There was a veal roast that seemed unusually gristle, and today was my first disappointing curry. What a shame. I will say that I'm disappointed by the concierge this trip. Whereas last year on the Seaside,our concierge was passionate about making sure we got every bit of YC benefit and then some, the current concierge desk staff are much more prone to say (a polite) no to my requests. They have also failed to give important information, for example that if my husband brought his fly fishing rod off the ship, it would be confiscated upon return. (Funny aside: for whatever reason, security took away the fly rod but allowed him to keep the flies, which do have sharp parts.)

Tonight was the white party night, but only about half the people in YC were in white. YC has its own party without a specific dress code. Dinner in the YC was good. I had the fois Gras terrine and caused a hassle by ordering the Sauternes, although the sommelier approved. My son and I had the lamb shank, which was excellent. For dessert, I had to order the cherries jubilee, although I found it too sweet. I think we all had too much sun, so we'll be going to bed early tonight. We are doing a zipline course tomorrow, so must be awake and alert in the morning.

Western Caribbean Fly Fishing. Nick. Catchafish.net

Yes, he brought the pole on at embarkation. Per the woman running the xray machine, ours was the third she confiscated today, making me think different people are interpreting the rules differently.

We are in Costa Maya right now. I had booked an excursion outside of MSC, a fishing trip with a company we have used for the past 12 years. They take us fishing then serve up the catch at their beachside restaurant. This was the first time both kids fished. I offered up $20 to the person who caught the most. My daughter won by a landslide, but my son caught the biggest fish that was used to make a delectable ceviche. In the end, we all won! After that, we returned to the boat. Security confiscated my husband's fly fishing pole that had been disassembled and removed of all hooks. Supposedly we'll get it back on disembarking. My husband was rather furious as a fly rod is hardly a weapon.

Yes, the waffles were from breakfast. Whoops!

The kids stayed at kids club through dinner. We went down to the Wine Cellar, where the sommelier showed us some of his off the book gems. We'll return to purchase some bottles. Dinner was okay, the highlight was the chocolate souffle. The salmon (off the everyday menu) was passable. The pachetti pasta looked more like rigatoni. The Divas show was tonight. I think they cheated by having male singers gor many songs. Still, it was fun going to see it.

Today is a sea day. The ship (at least outside of YC) feel too crowded. The kids woke up early, so the three of us went to breakfast in the YC restaurant. I had the waffles, which disappointingly were not Belgian. They were still good, especially with whipped cream and berry compote. Afterwards, I dropped the kids at kids club and wandered to trivia. It was much more crowded than on Monday. There was noticeable cheating happening in the back. The YC captain's party was this morning. We arrived late and ended up in chairs with no table, so I couldn't both clap and hold my glass. Alas. The mimosa wasn't bad. I didn't see any caviar garnish, which I recall from last year. Still, it was nice to shake hands with the captain and acknowledge the upper management and staff of this lovely ship. We ate lunch at the YC pool deck. There was a leg of lamb on the carvery and some decent curry. Afterwards, I took the kids to the kid pool. They begged to go to the jungle pool, but it is so muggy and crowded there (and why go there when we have the nicer and less crowded YC pool?). The problem with the kid pool (beyond the presumed urine and babies in swim diapers despite posted rules) is the lack of proper seating for parents who wish to supervise kids without jumping into the miasma. Then we returned to the YC for fruit skewers and ice cream before dropping the kids back at kids club. Now I'm enjoying tea at the TSL. It is a lovely oasis of quiet.

So rain caused all excursions on Ocean Cay to be canceled, and we had another OH menu at the YC restaurant. I got the burger this time. It was good but not great. In the afternoon, I took the kids swimming, first to the YC pool, then to the kid pool with all the water slides. The kids has a blast, although I shudder to contemplate the urine to chlorine ratio. Today was gala night. We dressed up and went to have drinks before dinner. Then, we went to the TC restaurant to gorge on Conundrum and lobster. The lobster was a good portion, and they offered double tails to my husband. However, I found it chewy. Definitely not Maine lobster. I had the champagne risotto on the side, and it was quite good, although I can make a better risotto. The escargot for appetizer was good. The crepes Suzette were fine. Amaretto coffee was excellent. Service was the best part of the evening. Our assistant server positively fawned over us all. Tomorrow is a sea day and also the captain party for the YC.

Prosecco and mimosas

This is our cruise morning schedule: Wake up around six, check email in bed until my son wakes up. Go to breakfast in the YC restaurant. Return, gather up my daughter and go to TSL for a cappuccino while she noshes from the morning snacks. Then get kids to kids club, and wait for my husband to wake to have lunch with me. One needs to be very specific when ordering. There's a language barrier too. My son asked for an onion and cheese omelet and received a ham and cheese omelet. I ordered the grilled smoked herring. Last year on the Seaside, it was brought with toast and eggs. This time, I got a single, sad herring, cut in two. Oh well, I h got my omega 3s, and I noshed with my daughter in the lounge later.

Good morning! It is raining again at Ocean Cay. The tentative schedule when I woke was that we would leave at 3, which was a change from the original schedule, but now, who knows? Last night, the kids opted to stay at the kids club through dinner, so my husband and I had a date night. However, that meant that we were seated in a different area. Kaya was our server. He was funny. He insisted that we order extra food to share at each course. So I had the steak tartar and shared the egg rolls. And I had the short ribs (excellent as long as you love Bleu cheese, which I do) but shared the risotto. I drank Oberon for the whole meal. It was lovely. After dinner, we went to a salsa lesson on the 8th floor, then wandered around the ship and had a drink at TSL before picking up the kiddos. At that point, we discovered that my daughter had eaten dinner, but my son had not. It appears that communicating plans about one kid doesn't transfer to the other kid, and no one contacted me to ask if my son should go to dinner. Ugh. So I had the joy of braving the gen pop buffet at 10pm to get pizza and a sandwich for my kid.

We had a good afternoon winning MSC swag. My son won the Beatles: name that tune. And I placed in the Sudoku competition. So we both have MSC ship stress relievers. The kids enjoyed bouncing between the kids club and various activities with us. My daughter briefly walked on Ocean Cay with us, but it was hot, and she wasn't interested in the OC gift shops.

It was, but because we didn't board until after 2, they had already wrapped up the lunch service.

I was given the option of using my selfie when I checked in.