A Slightly Critical Seashore YC Review 08-15OCT

[stp_mmh5]

Bottom line up front; This was an overall excellent trip. MSC continues to be the preferred cruise line for us and I am willing to bet that is nearly in whole because of the Yacht Club experience. Almost any of the upcoming gripes and complaints are incredibly minor in the grand scheme of things. That said, things will come up throughout the review that may seem like we are being excessively nitpicky about this or that, but it is just the way we are able to articulate our experience and how we feel it compared to our previous experiences in the YC. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I think it is time to get this review going more so in the tone of previous reviews.

 

Day 1 Part 1 Embarkation

 

A (slightly) critical of the famous Yacht Club? What blasphemy is this? Well sit right back and we'll regale you all in a tale of the mostly wonderous cruise week.  We booked this trip back in July mostly on a whim because it lined up perfectly with school fall break and the deal was just too good to pass up.  We were all set on going back to the basics of a Fantastica balcony, but then the upgrade email came and we just couldn’t help ourselves. Like kids waiting on Christmas morning, we found ourselves always checking the online page, our emails and the account linked to the bid to see if we won. Finally the Monday before the cruise, we awoke to the great news that our bid to a YC1 had been accepted, and we were assigned 16035. We were stoked and the work week couldn’t go fast enough. Trying to be thorough in our planning of minor details, like exactly which terminal to go to, I pulled up the Port of Miami dock report and saw that we would be embarking at Terminal C instead of the seemingly usual Terminal E because the Carnival Spirit claimed it. But when we would return, back to Terminal E for us. Glad we would be flying and using Uber/Lyft/Taxi services because that would be frustrating for parking.

 

We flew down to Fort Lauderdale the night before the cruise, although by the time we landed in FLL, it was about 2 am on the 8th. We took an Uber down to Miami proper and stayed at an AirBnB overlooking the port area. Finally got all settled in around 3 am. Again with the kid on Christmas feelings, I was unable to get anymore than 10-15 mins of sleep at a time, and would constantly head out on the balcony to see if any ships were coming down the channel. The first one in the chute was Symphony of the Seas, and somehow I missed it as it was passing the terminal buildings heading towards the turnaround basin. It’s a massive, massive ship, all lit up and would be obvious to anyone except me apparently. It took about 5 mins of looking at the channel and the Marine Traffic website to realize where it was.  I watched her do the dance and head back up the channel to Terminal A. I was looking for the Seashore, as she was due next, but didn’t see her. I saw the time and decided getting some sleep would be better.

 

That lasted all of about 30 mins or so, and then I was up again.  Back to the balcony, and this time saw our ship getting ready to do her dance. Once she was done and heading up to the terminal, I was finally able to catch more than 30 mins of sleep. Around 830, we got up, walked down to a CVS to pick up some toiletries we forgot, grabbed some coffee from the lobby of the condo building and finally requested an Uber to the terminal.  Once we pulled into the traffic nightmare that is the port area, we had our driver drop us off as close as he could to the white tents. It was a bit confusing at the YC tent area, as it seemed that people who were still getting off the ship were milling about waiting on transportation and leaving their luggage pretty close to all the new luggage. A porter came by, verified we were YC, slapped new tags with our other ones and hauled them to a better area. A staff member then escorted us and a few others to the check-in area.

 

Here's where the first gripe is going to come up, and it has very little to do with MSC/YC specifically, and more about the actual terminal. The room to do the initial check in is very tiny, and right off the main path that the general cruisers pass by. That said, it fills up quickly with all the early birds such as ourselves, and passing between it and the holding area upstairs, it could be easy to get separated from your escort. The YC check in room reminded me of how small the one in Genoa is, without the flair of being in a 100+ year old building. Despite the many early birds in the room, they did have three or four agents powering through the groups as they came, and I don't believe we had waited more than 10-15 mins. Once upstairs, we were seated in an area that had been carved out of the waiting chairs where drinks and snacks were provided.  The butler staff in the area was attentive to both arriving YC guests, and to making sure only YC guests were in the holding area. They definitely did the best they could given the limitations of the terminal.  There was a long delay in boarding, and the entire terminal building filled up quickly, to the point of standing room only everywhere but our little section. Finally I saw the B2B guests moving through the secured area and towards the ship, and then the butlers escorting our large group up. 

 

As we all traversed the uneven passenger bridge, I noticed that at some point it had rained a little. Didn’t think too much of this, as this is South Florida after all and we already had seen some rain this morning, but it turns out it can make a slippery deck once off of the bridge. Our excitement was at the perfect high as we stepped off the gangway and onto the deck, where the group was split to avoid a bottle neck at the entry. We dodged a few puddles on the deck as we walked past the large atrium windows and then finally we were officially onboard and On. A. CRUISE!

 

That’ll wrap up this segment. I tend to get carried away with the walls of text so to save the eyes I'll put in these much needed breaks followed by some pictures highlighting the story so far. Great for the eyes and those with short attention spans, bad for writers with short attention spans as it could lead to unfinished reviews, of which I know nothing about….

 

Our view of Downtown Miami from the AirBnB at about 230/3 am

Another view looking south

Hide and Seek results...Symphony of the Seas: 1 Me: 0

That girl got some serious aft

You head to the terminal, I'll head to bed

Finally, the ship I have been waiting for!

 

Ok for real this time, you go to the terminal, I'll go to bed. See you in a few short hours!

I'll give you a wheely big hint of what day it is.....

Hmmm looks like a little rain out there....ehhh, I'm sure it'll be fine

Sweeping view from the AirBnB

That is one way to get to the ships. Not my way, but sure is a way.

 

Four minutes of your life you won't get back. But it's ship turning around peacefully, so it's not a loss at all. 

[mafig]

Cannot wait for more.........

[Best Cat Mom]

27 minutes ago, stp_mmh5 said:

The YC check in room reminded me of how small the one in Genoa is, without the flair of being in a 100+ year old building.

We LOVED the Genoa terminal too! Like being in a museum -- with the added bonus of a cruise right after the tour. 🙂

 

Looking forward to reading more about your cruise. We are so missing Italy after 3+ years of no holidays. At least we have the flavor of Italia right now, since we are on the Divina. We are eagerly searching for the "right" cruise to book to get the real thing soon.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share!

[stp_mmh5]

12 hours ago, mafig said:

Cannot wait for more.........

Well do I have news for you....

 

Day 1 Part 2 Welcome to Seashore

 

Ooh, that smell

Can't you smell that smell?

Ooh, that smell

The smell of Med by MSC surrounds you, yeah…

 

One thing we always notice the instant we board any MSC ship is that distinct fragrance that seems criminally undermentioned in other reviews.  Only with MSC do associate such an aroma with the tranquil release of knowing that we are, without a doubt, about to have an amazing time. As we bask in the flavor of Med, the rest of our senses start catching up. We notice the grandeur of the atrium and hear the Caribbean Pannist playing his tunes. We met back up with the half of the YC boarding group that entered through the closer doors, and were quickly scooped up by one of the butlers, along with two other groups. We all made our way down to the forward elevators. On boarding our elevator, the butler introduced himself and asked the groups what our cabin numbers were. Luckily for him, we were in his cabin group, as well as a German speaking couple. The third couple with us was on deck 18. Upon reaching the concierge desk, Nyoman passed the couple on 18 to another butler to escort them to the Top Sail Lounge, and he escorted us and the German couple to our cabins as they were already ready. While our cabin was closer to the entrance, Nyoman took the other couple first. So we waited in eager anticipation of seeing our room. We know we could have just gone in, but that takes away the fun of the grand reveal when the door is opened for you. Nyoman comes back in just a short minute and does the presentation of the room. He quickly shows us around the room and asks us if we need anything at the moment. We say we are good and thank you, he then leaves us his card, letting us know if we need anything, he is only a phone call away.

 

As the giddiness of being in the room wanes just a hair, I quickly snap off some pictures of the room before it becomes lived in. We are loving everything about this room at first sight. The bathroom is larger than the one in our house, the actual cabin is so spacious with more closet and shelving space than we know what to do with, and absolutely one of the best sized balconies we have had. I think the only one larger we have snagged so far was the corner balcony on Adventure of the Seas. Anyways, we drop off our carry-on bags then head out to the TSL because all this walking and excitement has made us thirsty. As we step in the hallway, we also meet our junior butler, Heru. He introduces himself, asks if there is anything we need right now, and how many bags are we expecting. We let him know that there will be two bags coming, and he said he will bring them shortly then. 

 

Entering the lounge, we are blown away by its size, the amount of natural light and airiness. We see that South Florida is doing that rain thing again, with a good amount of sunshine thrown in because why not. We grab a comfortable seat and just start taking it all in. One of the butlers on lounge duty welcomes us and asks if we would like a drink. We both request a prosecco, as that has become our tradition. She returns shortly thereafter, and we salute to the good times ahead. Almost on cue, we finished our drinks and the stomachs gently reminded us about that restaurant just sitting right there above our heads. So we took a trip up the stairs and got ourselves a fantastic table overlooking the lounge below while soaking in those forward views. Lunch was prompt and amazing. There is just something about MSC’s bread that really sets the mood for the meal. Their focaccia is unbeatable,and rivaled some of the focaccia we would get in Italy. After the bread, pasta and seafood, we decided it was high time to do a little exploring of the ship. We stopped off in the room to find one of our bags already waiting for us. As we left, Heru was coming up with the second bag, all before 2pm. Talk about service! From there we do a quick lap around the top deck to see the buffet and go step out onto the Bridge of Sighs. From there we dropped down to deck 8 and headed back through the ship, ending up back in the cabin in preparation for the muster drill. 

 

The muster drill went quick, although the English/German video channel seemed to lag behind the other language channels. Once it was over, we dialed the number, got the ok, and we went on down to our muster station, D in the Casino, scanned the cards and went back up the elevator. As we were waiting for the elevator, the announcements started to come over the address system, releasing decks to go check in the muster station. Whoops. For once it paid off not following directions, as we beat the crowds by a lot.

 

After the drill, we went to finally unpack everything and get settled in. Remember all that on and off rain from earlier? Well my suitcase certainly remembered it, and gave me a little reminder as well. Note to self from here on out, if traveling in Florida, it would be wise to either have hard sided luggage or have the contents within weatherproofed. I will consider myself lucky that while some shirts and a pair of pants got a little moist, I won’t let it dampen my mood or vacation. It could have been worse, like the time we were on the Mardi Gras earlier this year and the porters were loading luggage during a tropical depression.

 

Finally it came to get ready for sailaway. We went out to the front sundeck in front of the lounge where Nyoman found us again and asked how things were so far and if he could grab us something for sailaway. We asked for a Kir Royal and a Pilsner Urquell. He wasn’t sure about the Pilsner Urquell, so I decided to keep it simple and have a whiskey and coke. When he came back, I'm pretty sure it was 80% Jack Daniels, 18% ice and a splash of coke for color. I like a strong drink, but dang. But I’m not a quitter so I savored it throughout our trip down the channel. Also after coming back with the drinks, Nyoman also explained the complimentary bottle and listed off a few options. Considering the whiskey coke I just ordered, he suggested either a bottle of Jack or Glen Grant. I went with the Glen Grant just to change things up a bit, knowing that ultimately it's coming home with me to sit on the bar at home. We went back to the room, readied for dinner, and went up to the dining room.

 

Here is gripe number 2 of the cruise. It truly is a first world problem and a matter or preference. At our table, near the one we had for lunch but on the other side of the support pillar, we found that the music and commotion coming up from the lounge was a little on the loud side and distracting. Made holding a gentle dinner conversation a little harder, but on the flip side, it was nice to get the live music and be able to people watch. That said, we prefer Le Muse on Divina or the dining room on Meraviglia, because of the separation. To each their own, and again just our own little opinion. Other than that, dinner was quick and tasty. Also super filling with the portion sizes being larger than I recall. Maybe it's because they increased the portions in the North American market versus the European market or my stomach has shrunk a little. Both sound acceptable to me.

 

After dinner, we wandered around the ship again, got ourselves a macchiato and dessert drinks at the bar then called it an early night. The fact we made it 10pm after the long night before is impressive to us. It did not take long for the Z monster to pull us under once we got settled into the most comfortable cruise bed ever.

And that completes another massive wall of text. It’s only a matter of time before my editor has me tear down this wall. But jokes on her, I’ll just add another brick…

 

 

My dear Dr. Sattler, Welcome to Jurras... Uhh wrong script.... I mean..... Please, Join us in Cabin 16035

Did your cabin come with a floating arm and phone in a mirror or was that just us?

Rumor has that once you lay in this bed, it is nearly impossible to rise

There is sooo much room for activities. 

Our welcome bubbly which we drank immediately on day 4

I feel like I would need a baker's dozen of suitcases to fill all this space

Plenty of space all around. Elon Musk is probably going to launch rockets this way soon

This is a more efficient bathroom than my house. I need to hire their floorplan designer

Room for activities and a bench? I mean, this isn't a Virgin cruise but....

 

Nevermind that bathroom, this balcony is life!

I truly though about asking for a lounger as it would fit no problem. But then I remembered I brought a hammock and hung that instead. (Don't believe I ever got that in a photo though..)

With this view, it means only one thing...

...Tasteful suspense 

Tasteful suspense leads to food corn... with tentacles...

Did not save the lunch menu so not a 100% sure what most of the meals were. This had fish and an avocado mousse

 

The primo pasta, con proscuitto maybe?

Rockfish I think with mussels and a tasty sauce. Not pictured is the bread because that was eaten way too quick

And before you know it, we are pushing away

Arrivederci Miami

Symphony once again leading the way

Wait! I must aft you a question!

The new MSC terminals. Allegedly due to open in the spring. Allegedly

 

Time warp to dinner....  how strong was that drink? Strong enough to not get the menu again. A weird grainy soup is how Macon described it just now

A tartar of some sort. Great flavor, but the consistency of wet cat food. If I had thought of eating it with the bread that would have made so much more sense. Sometimes future me is smarter than past me. Next time

Grilled tuna steak. If they had toasted sesame seed on the outside, it would have tasted exactly like the one at our favorite seafood place in Italy. But glad it didn't, because I got to enjoy this one for what it is.

We think it was port chop. The reference isn't great, but that thing was huge..

Did you hear about the reviewer who writes too much and has terrible puns? well he just pasta-way...

 

And no dessert pics. not sure if we got dessert or not as we were bursting at the seems.

 

Until next time, hope to MSC you soon

[no1talks]

50 minutes ago, stp_mmh5 said:

"Did you hear about the reviewer who writes too much and has terrible puns? well he just pasta-way..."

I did, in fact. As I understand it, the attending physicians were heard to have said, "We cannoli do so much."

(Next time, I'll leave the pun and take the cannoli.)

[Av8tor]

Awaiting more...Thanks!

[mafig]

Thanks for the review so far....

 

Also, thanks for the tip about the Muster.  The casino?  We're on Deck 18, I wonder if that's where our muster station is also.  

Glad you got a lounger for your balcony.  We'll be asking for one also.😀

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 hours ago, mafig said:

Thanks for the review so far....

 

Also, thanks for the tip about the Muster.  The casino?  We're on Deck 18, I wonder if that's where our muster station is also.  

Glad you got a lounger for your balcony.  We'll be asking for one also.😀

We also mustered in the casino...deck 16.  

[stp_mmh5]

7 hours ago, mafig said:

Thanks for the review so far....

 

Also, thanks for the tip about the Muster.  The casino?  We're on Deck 18, I wonder if that's where our muster station is also.  

Glad you got a lounger for your balcony.  We'll be asking for one also.😀

Seems most folks in the Yacht Club had either station D or C from what I could see on their wristbands. With D being in the Casino, I would guess that C would be in the Theater. I would also guess that your assigned muster is more in relation to where on the deck your cabin lies, versus the deck itself. 

 

Also I want to say I did not request a lounger out on the balcony even though I thought about it. I brought a travel hammock with me and hung that up between the bulkhead and the railing post. In the next part i'll include a picture of the view from where I sat in it. I just went through the ridiculous amount of sunrise/sunset photos I took and not a one shows the actual hammock set up.

 

Thanks for following along, more to come soon

[lcpagejr]

Thanks for your review so far.... We have cruised on Seaside YC 2x and your pictures bring back our many wonderful memories of cruising in YC. Love the cabins and the shower is so spacious.

[pappahbuttz]

What a wonderful review and a joy to read! I have sailed on the MSC Seaview and Meraviglia, both in YC and am so excited to sail on the Seashore YC for a Back 2 Back  6th -20th November 2022! Thanks so much for your posts and photos!

[stp_mmh5]

I see that I am starting to fall behind again. This stupid work thing really gets in the way of doing the things I want do, like cruise and writing cruise review novellas.

 

Despite the work thing making my brain work this week, apparently the memory banks were still in vacation mode and accidentally omitted a few activities from day one. Wanted to add that on boarding day we toured the spa area and decided to get some haircuts that day because we were in need of them. It lucked out that we each could get one at the same time, with Macon in the hair salon and I in the Barber shop. Both cuts came out great. The barber was a little behind with the previous guest, but that wasn't an issue at all. I'm used to waiting for a good barber plus Macon's hair would take much longer anyways. While I was waiting for my cut, a fellow cruiser was waiting for her friend to finish smoking. This was a much needed break from reality for her, as her home had been devastated from the hurricane in Florida. While she was waiting, one of the massage therapists came by and did the whole free try massage with her. The masseur's sales game is on point, as while giving the sample massage she sold the guest the three massage with increasing discount package. I think it was a win win for both of them though. The guest clearly need it, and the masseur gets those sales credits. The barber was ready at that time, and I am in and out in about 10 mins. 15% auto gratuity was on the bill, but there was no place to add anything else. I didn't have any cash on hand so I couldn't give him any additional. Bummer.  Macon had the same issue with her stylist, and then we were both bad guests and never came back when we did have cash to show our appreciation of their work.

 

Another skipped over highlight of the day was the Off the Record, On the Rocks show. We thought it was great show and the band had a lot of energy which the crowd didn't quite show back. It was the 930 show of the first day, so I imagine a lot of our fellow guests were just as tired from travelling all day like we were. We definitely made it a point that we would come see them for other shows in the week. What was great, that the table next to us had the band's biggest fans of the night, as the bassist's mother was there, as well as the drummer's girlfriend. Other people who were in some way associated with either the band or the friends/family would also swing by the table regularly. It was great to see and made the experience that much more fun.

 

There was a third highlight from the day that had come to me at some point in the last few days, but has since sailed away from my mind. If it ever does come back, I'll try to add it in a final thoughts post, whenever that comes. The only thing I didn't skip on was pictures, so we will wait until the next full day post for those.

[mafig]

How much was your haircut?

[stp_mmh5]

Won't take as long between the posts of the random thoughts from Day 1 and all of Day 2

 

Seashore Day 2: Lots of Sea with very little Shore

 

You know what I love to do more than anything while on vacation? Wake up earlier than I normally do during the work week. I seriously do not understand why, but I find that I will be up before the crack of dawn every damn day. Today it is even earlier as far as ship time is concerned because the ship set the clocks back 1 hour overnight. So now that it’s 5am Central/Ship time, I realize I have an hour to kill before the lounge opens up and two hours before the gym opens up. So I watch the sunrise from hammock and then saunter down the hall to the lounge to get some of the best coffee at sea. We walk in shortly after 6 am, the published time in the daily that the lounge opens and the first thing I notice is that the bar doesn’t actually look open. The liquors are not up on the shelf and the breakfast treats aren’t laid out yet nor do I see anyone else around.  The plus side to no one around, we get our choice of table and seats. So we go ahead and take over one of the smaller tables right up by the windows. As we get comfortable, I see the bartender come out from the back and as soon as he sees us in the lounge he asks us if we would like any coffee or other drinks. We request two cafe lattes and he whips them up in no time. The butler on lounge duty comes out from the other service door with the first smattering of breakfast options, sets them and then swings by with the coffee. We thank her then I get up to go see what all she has brought out so far. Two of our favorites, the chocolate twist pastry and the little fruit tarts were out, so I snagged a couple to enjoy with the coffee.  We enjoy our coffees and treats and by 630 or so we start to notice a couple of other early risers filter into the lounge. We get a second cup of cafe latte and sip on those until we are ready to go get some breakfast. It’s shaping up to be a gorgeous day outside so we decide to use the grill on the pool deck. We were blown away up there, almost literally as the wind was whipping. We won’t let a little bit of wind deter us, and grab a solid plate each. I load up with bacon, hash browns, a mixed berry muffin and a bowl of fruit. We sit in the smoking area as it is semi-sheltered from the wind.  We also ordered another round of caffeine to feed the addiction and a mimosa because it’s vacation and it’s encouraged. Breakfast was tasty but the wind was a little much so we went back downstairs to take another stroll around the ship.

 

Today there were two events that happened in close succession that we wanted to attend. The first was the Welcome event with the Captain and staff in the TSL and there was a Travel Advisor event in the Brooklyn Cafe with about a 15min separation between the two events. So we decided we would both attend the start of the YC reception, then Macon would slide out to the TA event. Well in classic Italian fashion, the YC one started a few minutes late, so Macon didn’t get a chance to see that. She didn’t miss too much, but it was nice to see a few of the faces that run the show. I had hopes of getting a chance to catch either the YC Director or even the Hotel Operations Director for a couple of quick questions regarding career choices. Someday I hope to change careers into Hotel Management with the intentions of working on cruise ships, so would like to know from those in the field what would be most beneficial to cover in my education to be successful. However, I saw the YC Director was quickly engaged by fellow passengers that were clearly frequent patrons of the YC. The Hotel Operations Director seemed to have slipped out as soon as the main presentation was over, or he was very good at blending in with the crowd.  The Captain was very obviously a popular man, with many folks lining up to get their photos with him. I decided to join Macon at the TA event to see what new things are coming down the pipeline for MSC. Not too much new that we haven’t seen already on these threads, but we did get the sneak peek of some World Europa renderings that have since been released through official channels. We asked about Alaska, as we will be moving there next year and would love nothing more than to have the MSC experience close to home. Here is the vague, but promising answer we got. “Soon. We are working on it hard. If it had not been for the pandemic, we would have been there today. We are already in the process of working to turn some of our cargo terminals into working passenger terminals. Keep an eye out and more information will be released when available.”  So with any luck, this rings true for us all.

 

Well all of these events have made us hungry. So off to get some nom noms. We realized we have yet to have any of the best pizza at sea, so we zip up to the buffet to go find some. While we walked through the buffet yesterday during one of our trips around the ship, we did not really pay any attention to how the buffet was laid out. That was a rookie mistake on our part, as looking around the buffet at peak time was not ideal. We found the pizza right after everyone else did as there were only 2 or 3 slices left of a veggie pizza. Not our first, second or last choice of pizza, but there were plenty of pies baking so we waited for the fresh stuff. In the meantime, I walked around to see what else was available on the other side. Seemed like the usual smattering of buffet food, stocked up on the panna cotta in the dessert station, and headed back to check on the pizza status. On the way back, my nose’s attention was caught by the Indian food laid out. I grabbed a little of this and that just because it either looked or smelled great. Spoiler alert; It was and foreshadowed what was arguably the best dish later in the week.

 

After we get our slices, we head back into the peacefulness of the YC. We eat the pizza on the balcony, store the extra panna cotta in the fridge and head up to the pool deck for some much needed vitamin D.  Pool deck is definitely the popular hangout spot, so we find ourselves a pair of loungers closer to the port aft of the deck. We then go check out the lunch buffet because the second lunch is one of the most important meals of the day. Instead of heading back to the loungers, we ate up closer to the buffet as we waited for a round of drinks. Food finished and drinks in hand, we head back to our loungers. Some time goes by, drinks are finished, and as if on cue, one of the butlers comes by checking on everyone and asking about drink orders. So we order another round, the butler finishes his round in the corner we are at, then heads off towards the bar. So we keep enjoying that hot, hot sun, realizing that Man, we are getting a little parched over here. Look at the time on my watch to see that it had been 30 or so minutes since we last saw any butler or pool attendant in our area. The other couple behind us also seemed to be looking around wondering where their drinks were. So I look over to the pool bar area and I can not see the gentleman who took our order anywhere, nor were there any of the other staff even looking like they would come our direction anytime soon. So we walked up to the bar, ordered some water as that was much needed at this point, and hopped into the pool. I was surprised to find the pool was saltwater, but that was a good surprise. We hung out there for a while and realized the other thing we had been missing since being on the deck this afternoon was towels. It seems there was some rush on towels and they went out as quickly as they came in. Finally I saw that some fresh towels came out and I snagged a few for us, and noticed a couple of other guests in the pool also quickly grabbed some. It wasn’t long before that batch of towels all became accounted for. The soiled bin however never really filled up, so not sure where all these towels disappeared to. Hanging out in the pool we again ordered the round of drinks we had wanted earlier from the bar and got them promptly. As we headed back to our loungers, we saw the butler who had taken our order earlier chatting with some guests, headed to the bar, waited a minute and promptly took drinks back to them and chatted again. Hmmmm. Come to think of it, not the first time I have seen that type of interaction between him or those particular guests. Presumably they are his specific guests? I don’t know, but mildly annoying that they get prompt service but us and the other couple tucked away in the corner were seemingly forgotten about.

 

Anyways, all this sun has worked up yet another appetite. It feels like I all do is sleep, eat, drink, repeat. Sounds like the life. So we head down to the lounge to grab some snacks and see that it is time for afternoon tea. We grab our favorite little table by the windows and then shortly thereafter one of the butlers on duty comes by. We ask to do the high tea experience, to which she suggests that we move to one of the larger tables so that there is more room for everything. Well that logic checks out, so we follow her to another table. She then states that she will grab a colleague to assist her with it, as she has not done it before. No issues there, best to learn from someone so that you can then do it properly in the future instead of just making it up as you go. So the tea trolley comes out and a little tower of snacks. The tea is good, but the descriptions were as if only the label was read to you, and the treats were heavy on the mayonnaise. One tiny little scone to go with all the Devonshire cream and jam we got. Probably should have asked for more scones and less sandwiches, but we didn't think about that until after. It seemed like the experienced butler was just going through the motions without too much extra put into it. The whole experience is reminiscent of the one on Meraviglia, where it was just an okay experience. The one on Divina was stellar through and through. My memory may be a bit off as it has been 15+ years since I last experienced it, but even the high tea experience on Princess in the dining rooms was better than the one in the TSL. 

 

Once we have had our fill of tea and snacks, we decide its time for the spa. Nothing like some steam and warmth to help digest all the goodies. I like the way this spa is laid out. Very linear, which makes walking through it efficient. But there is one major issue I find with it ,compared to say the Meraviglia’s spa, and that there is no towel station in the thermal area itself. You have to go out to the changing rooms to get a fresh towel. I realized that after looking around for a bit and only finding a single unused towel on a lounger. Today and finding towels aren’t friends it seems lol. Anyways, much like the rest of the ship, the aromatics of the spa are one of biggest draws. Macon plops on a lounger in the salt room and almost promptly falls asleep. I hop between the sensory showers and rooms, then head outside to check out the deck there. Because it’s getting closer to dinner and the suns going down, I have the whole outdoor deck and hot tub to myself. After a solid soak in the tub I get up and head back in to sit on the thermal loungers where I almost promptly fall asleep. Looking at the time, realize it’s shortly before dinner so we wrap up in our robes and head back to the room. Since it’s Gala night, we take our time and then grab an apertivo before dinner. Nyoman drops by our spot, bringing some potato chips with the drinks and asks how the day has been so far and if we need anything else. He lets us know that Heru would be leaving the rest of the week’s lunch and dinner menus on the bed for us, so that we would be able to see what the restaurant had in store for us. That was a first for us and we definitely appreciated that. After that, he heads off to work the rounds in the lounge and we head up to dinner because it's Surf and Turf night! Who doesn’t love a great steak and juicy lobster tail?

 

Dinner tonight was kind of a miss for us. Not the bread. The bread never, ever let us down. But the meal itself was kind of, meh, for it being the big fancy one. I got the escargot and Macon got the beef consume. Both were lackluster in flavor to us. Which is kinda sad, as the beef consume was a highlight dish from both the Meraviglia and Divina. The real disappointment came at the main course. We both got the surf and turf, with the filet being medium rare. My filet was well done when I cut into it. So we were looking for Joseph to let him know when the Hostess came by asking how everything was. I let her know that unfortunately my steak was way overcooked and was going to let Joseph know once I saw him. She said no problem, I will take it now and let him know and we will get you a fresh one. I always feel bad for sending things back as I hate being wasteful and an inconvenience, but at the same time a steak should be cooked properly especially in such a high end setting. Minutes later Joseph comes back with a brand new filet and lobster tail. I cut into this one and it is…better. The center at least close enough to medium rare that I would be okay with it, but the outside certainly was overcooked. Not wanting to be difficult, and being hungry, I said it is fine and gladly ate it. Macon’s steak also came out slightly overcooked, but it was an acceptable medium so she was happy to keep it.  Both lobster tails however were near flavorless and kind of rubbery. Not sure if it was the way it was prepared or because of the type of lobster they were, but it was still a let down. The star dish of the night was the champagne risotto we also ordered. By far one of the best dishes of the whole cruise right there. We decided to skip dessert and then went off to the casino. Partly because it was time for us to make our donation to the MSC coffers, partly because I had yet to figure out where the ATM was onboard to withdraw money for our port stops. So we played for a little bit, the electronic roulette table was more kind than the slot machines were, cashed out with the extra for shore spending, then called it a night.  We wanted to hang out in the TSL for a night cap as well as listen to the live music. On the way there, I swung by the concierge desk to book a last minute tour for Jamaica and an excursion in Grand Cayman. Much like it was for Macon, you’ll have to wait to find out what excursions we got. No problem at all and tickets would be placed under our door once the shore excursion desk confirmed them. We sat at the bar, had another macchiato and a chocolate martini. The saxist finished up, we finished up, and so I will finish up this memoir of our excellent day at sea.

 

When you are up before the sun on a cruise...

...You might as well enjoy the sunrise in a hammock

Ahhh B.O.B., nice of you to join us this morning. Did you forget to set your clock back 1 hour?

It was just a joke. Please don't burn me later today

I see that Carnival is racing us to meet the sun

Ahhh That's the Spirit! What a good race that we are still clearly winning

I'm not an expert on cruise ships, but uhhh, this seems like another excellent example of MSC IT

Still probably the best view in the world

Even in a reflection with a certain pair of reviewers photo bombing it

Not the best picture of the tea spread. A mediocre picture for a mediocre experience. I'll try again next YC cruise.

This bird is flying along with us hanging out. He won't be the only one this week

What goes up, must come down. If sunrises and sunsets on the ocean are your thing, you found the right review.

But wait there's more! We now also include Moonrises for no extra charge* 

*All photos of the moon have a 15% auto-gratuity added to your onboard account for your convenience

Burgundy Snails...the croutons were the winner of the plate

Beef Consume..an okayish picture for an okayish dish

Looks great, briefs well, taste.....not so much. Never mind the spilled wine, I rocked but ship did not lol

This unassuming plate was the clear winner of the day (Even over the pizza from earlier). Seriously the best risotto we have had in a long time. I'm still dreaming about this dish.

 

As always, Ciao Ciao for now and hope to MSC you soon.

 

[stp_mmh5]

21 minutes ago, mafig said:

How much was your haircut?

The express cut at the Barber shop was $34 +15% grat, so $39.10. The Cut and Blow dry at the Salon was $79.00. After gratuity it was $90.85. There wasn't any boarding day specials that I recall for either of those.

 

For me in the barber shop, it was about double what I spend at my local classic barber. But for Macon, it wasn't that much more expensive than her go to salon. But worth it to us as neither of us had time before the trip to get it done. 

 

Hope that helps

[mafig]

This is a wonderful review.  I'm really enjoying reading it.🤩

[stp_mmh5]

Seashore Day 3:    Aruba, Jamaica…Oooo Do I have to Tip ya?

 

There are two ways to really ease those post cruise blues: 1. Write a slightly critical review of that amazing trip you just had. Or 2. Go ahead and book a cruise that you thought you had to cancel because life is just like that sometimes. We prefer both, so New Years on Seascape and our recollection of our day in Jamaica here we go!

 

As is the really confusing habit of mine, I am up again way too dagum early. So out to the balcony and the hammock I go to watch the sunrise. But you know what is up and going before the sun? The espresso machine in the lounge. And if I have to watch the sunrise, I might as well enjoy a cup of coffee with it. While the espresso machine was hot and ready, the rest of the drinks and snacks were not until almost 630 again. It might just be me and my own interpretation of what open should be, but I feel as open means everything is set up and ready to go. Is that just me or am I being slightly critical here? Regardless, the café lattes on MSC just can not be beat, with the exception of a true Italian street corner café . They truly are the highlights of these early mornings. So after our coffee, we headed back to the cabin because we ordered room service with the idea of enjoying it out on the balcony. Turns out, I am kinda lazy and didn’t want to move the table outside, and I wouldn’t trust a tray full of food and drinks on the little outdoor table. Plus we hadn’t utilized the couch at all, so we are going to enjoy this lazy thing.  In the meantime, I watched as Jamaica slowly came into view and watched as a tanker was coming straight our way. We easily clear out of the way and the other vessel slips behind us and out of view. Nyoman comes promptly at 745 with our huge tray of breakfast goodies and sets it on the table. We got an order of pancakes, french toast, a plate of gravlax salmon, some fresh fruit, yogurt and a thing of pastries. The pancakes and french toast were cold, which happens with room service. The other thing we noticed after we finished was that the toast we had also ordered was not on the tray. Oh well, our bellies were plenty satisfied with all the other food we had. With Ocho Rios inching ever closer, it was time to head to the lounge to meet up before our tour.

 

The lounge is much more lively now, with folks all over grabbing their spots and some nice cold waters waiting for the announcements to head down.  As the main ships groups would be called out of their respective holding spots, those of us in YC would wait until a butler would escort a group of two or three excursion numbers at a time down to the forward elevators.  When it was our turn, we headed down, through the security point to ding off, then met with escort on the pier. He walked us down to about the point where the aft most gangway stairs were, turned around and attempted to give instructions to the gaggle behind. The problem was, our group had strung out along the dock and the floods of people coming out of the other gangways mingled in and made hearing him nearly impossible. Luckily we were close enough to hear that we needed to follow the crowds, stay to the right and find our number inside. After the instructions, the butler disappeared behind us, presumably to either tell the stragglers what he told us or to head back and grab the next group.  The ship must have been near full, because it felt like all 4000 passengers were getting off at that exact moment. And what’s the best thing you can do when there is a mass of people all trying to walk in a single direction? You turn around and take pictures of the ship, standing in the middle of the path if at all possible. I promise you, the ship will be there when you come back (assuming you do so on time). Get your pictures then folks.  So anyways, we found the building and the little line setup for group 4 which was ours. Having kept the surprise this long, it gets a little spoiled as there is the sign for Mystic Mountain and the Bobsled coaster right there. The surprise is mostly out, but the excitement is still there, so great success.  This is also Macon’s first time to Jamaica and my fourth, so that sure helps fuel the excitement.  We eventually get everyone lined up who's going and then head out to our bus. Mystic Mountain is short 5-10 min drive from the pier, which was just enough time for everyone to sign their waivers on the bus. We get the brief of how the excursion works at Mystic Mountain, given our wristbands, then off to the chairlift. One of the things I forgot about why I dislike Jamaica was the size of the spiders there. I’m not a fan of the little ones, but these monsters are down right all of my nopes. Ignoring those, we do see some large snails hanging out in the chairlift building, then it's our turn to ride. It is about a 10 min ride up to the top, and there are some great views of the water and the ship at dock. Once at the top, we get a locker for $6, drop our bag then head up to the first attraction, the Raggamuffin. All the way up at the top, it was a nice hike for the most wild little rollercoaster thing I have ridden in a while. Each two person car has the ability to swing a little left and right, and depending on which way the ride turns and the weight of the riders, it could rock hard. It was an absolute blast and had an awesome view as well.  From there we head down to do the bobsled themed mountain coaster. This one of those roller coasters where you can control the speed as you descend down the track. We had wanted to go together in a single car, but the operator split us into two cars. We both get a starting boost from two of the ops at the start. When Macon got it first, I heard the woman behind me get spooked and said “No, No No, No boost, No boost!”  She clearly didn’t want to go fast and that was her loss.  I had done this years ago on a Costa cruise with my Dad, and it was soo much better this time, as all the foliage had grown around the track. Makes you feel like it went faster than it does.  After the long climb back up the lift, we walked around the plaza looking at all the little bits of sporting trivia and history. From there we boarded the chairlift back down the mountain. The downside to the return trip is that your view is blocked as it is lower on the support poles and that also means you are closer to those huge spiders that hang between the supports and jungle canopy. The plus side is that it is more shady and cooler on the way down. Pros and cons to everything. At the base, we waited for a group to form so that we could hop on the bus again and head to the second half of the excursion, Dunns River Falls.

 

Dunns River Falls has always been that one excursion that looks really fun in the promo videos, but from conversations with other passengers in the past about it, it seems like it is almost always overcrowded and ruins the appeal of it. We tried it this time as I looked up on one the cruise port schedule websites what ships will be in port that day. Since Seashore was the only ship scheduled to call in Jamaica, traveling still not where it once was, and it being a kind of off season, I figured this was my chance to see what it was all about. So we get off the bus and are immediately greeted by our sort of guide. Going by “Mama” she gathered up all her “movie stars” so that we could fill out a different waiver and be taken to the main gate. On the way she explained roughly how the process works, got us our wristbands and then left us at the gate, saying that is as far as she can go and that she will be waiting for us at the exit of the craft market. So then our group follows a non-English speaking pair down the large path towards the falls without any clear idea of what to do when we get there. Towards the bottom of the hill, we meet another greeter, this time an employee of the park itself who assigns our group to a falls guide. He gives us a quick rundown of how the lockers work and where to meet once all our stuff is safely secured. Lockers here are $8 for a small locker and $10 for a large locker. Best to bring cash for this, as their card machine frequently goes down.  After everyones stuff is put away, our group heads about half way down to the start where our guide, Morris, does the group safety brief and goes to pump up our excitement. He also introduces our videographer for the climb. We then all walk down the steep path, under the highway and onto the beach. The whole time we are passing the falls we are about to climb, enjoying the scenery but also noticing the human barrel of monkey chains on the climb.  Once at the bottom, Morris takes Macon's hand and instructs us all to grab hands and create our own barrel of humans chain. If you don’t want to hold hands with strangers, either be in the middle of a group you are comfortable with or pick a different tour. I was already committed to the climb so I made do with it.  The climb itself was an absolute blast, even with all the hand holding. There are various points where the videographer will pull the individual groups to the side to take videos or photos, there’s a small “slide”, limbo under a bridge and the like. After about an hour or so, the human slinky makes it to the top and you can exit. It is best to wear a good set of shoes that you don’t mind getting wet. Dive/snorkel boots would be best as they have great grip, dry quickly and most importantly, don’t have any holes for rocks to get into. We had the Merrells version of Crocs, which had great support and dried quickly, but we were constantly having to rinse out the pea gravel and rocks.  Anyways, once you get out of the water, the videographer is up there guiding you directly to someone to write a receipt for the videos and photos he took. Do not pass Go, Pay them $40. We said we needed to get cash first and hightailed it to the lockers.  Got distracted and stopped to pet the friendly cats along the way, but still focused on leaving before the video crew caught up. We got our stuff out of the locker, returned the key, got a $3 deposit back then bought a Redstripe because its Jamaica after all.  We then walked back up the hill towards the exit, doing our best to avoid the video people. We almost made it to the craft market before he caught up to us.  We didn't want the video or anything, so we said no thanks. He kept pushing so we lied and said we didn’t have the cash on hand. He said he takes Venmo/Cashapp/etc. We legitimately don’t use those so we said sorry, not this time. He finally left visibly upset over it. We then approached the front gate, and I had full intentions of exiting through it because I wanted nothing to do with the craft market. The gate attendants rerouted us before we even got close. Damn.  So then comes the craft market gauntlet. It was 25x worse than the worst day at the Nassau one. Every vendor is like a vulture onto you and coming at you faster than flys on crap. I speed through and put my “I’m going to soil my pants” face on and blow past everyone, telling them I have to go, and go now before their market gets a code brown.  It works  for me, and mostly for Macon who is doing her best to keep up and not spill the beer in hand.  Eventually we escape, meet “Mama” who gathers up our group and takes us to the buses.  We split between two buses and headed directly back to the port.  Since we still have two hours before all aboard time, we head back out the gate to the shops right there to buy some trinkets and that Jamaica good good. We like to partake in one of the best products of Jamaica, but Blue Mountain coffee is hard to come by locally and when we do, it’s astronomical.  $40 a pound for whole bean is definitely more than our normal go to, but sure beats the $100+ we have seen.  After our quick shopping, we stopped by the restaurant next door because the food smelled great.  We ordered drinks, Red Stripe and a liquid Marijauna (the only kind either of us would want/can have), saltfish and ackee and some jerk chicken.  The salt fish was phenomenal and the jerk chicken was some of the best I have had. It had a kick for sure, but I wouldn’t consider it to be spicy. Once we finish up, we head back to the ship with the masses who all decided to come back at the same time. Better everyone an hour early than some running the pier I guess.  Remember when I said take the ship photo later? Well a lot of folks heard that and all decided to do just that right in the middle of the path again. Crazily, I took one off to the side with barely a pause in my walking. Great photo and didn’t impede anyone. What a concept. We see the lines forming at the aft and middle gangways but we know to head to the YC tent and sign at the forward one. One of the butlers, I believe it was the ever loved Ana Lisa, greeted us and another group and escorted us past the small line that had formed on the gangway itself. A quick pass through security (where they did not even acknowledge the bottle of rum in our bag) and then we were in the elevator lobby. Thanks to a fellow CC member who was onboard as well as posting this sailing, I learned about the priority elevator trick and decided to give it a try. It kind of worked, as we did get an unmarked elevator to ourselves, but it glitched out on deck 8 by opening and closing the doors twice before heading to 16. We unloaded everything in the room and relaxed for a minute.

 

We got drinks in the lounge from the awesome bartender, Nithin, who has a knack for creating very tasty and smooth whiskey or rum drinks.  At 4pm, we headed down to the Uptown Lounge for the Veterans Get-Together. While not as elaborate of a function as one on Carnival Mardi Gras, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the lounge, the awesome chocolate cake, the drinks and canapes offered. I feel as if they certainly expected more attendees based on the amount of drinks and snacks, but there were 6 retirees, one who had served recently in the Canadian Navy, two spouses and myself representing active service. We all had a great time just talking about the service as it was and how it has become. Some of the retirees would poke fun at the other cruise guests who got lost on their way to/from the aft pool. Before we knew it, the ship had departed Jamaica and it was time for some to get ready for dinner. We went back to the room to get ready for the spa, as a nice heated lounger sounded like the way to unwind from the day.

 

We get to the spa at about 6pm and we have it to ourselves. There were no towels laid out in the spa, so I back tracked to the changing rooms to grab some. On the plus side they were nice and warm, but on the downside it was taking away from the time I could be enjoying the facilities. Macon claims a spot in the salt room as she does, I walk through the sensory shower and we meet in the dark sensory steam room. Just as I get comfortable in the spa I feel the ship start to vibrate, as if the bow thrusters kicked on. That doesn’t really make any sense to us, because we left Ocho Rios an hour and a half ago.  So I get up to go outside and take a look. As I open the door to the outside, then next thing I realize is that I am falling backwards, my feet kicking up in front of me, and that I managed to somehow kind of catch myself before I slam back down.  After catching my breath again, I stand up to realize that the teak platform outside of the door is propped up against the side of the ship to the left of the door and I am standing in the drain pan of the door. I look over at the security camera right there, point to the teak, the point where I am standing, and myself. I laugh at myself then walk over to the railing to see what is going on.  I notice that we are back near Ocho Rios and that the starboard spot light under the bridge wing is scanning around the water. I can’t tell what is going on so I decide to head back in. It’s at this point I acknowledge the stinging sensation on my left big toe. I look down to realize that in the fall I cut the outside and it’s bleeding pretty good. So I hobble back inside, using the other door this time to go tell Macon what happened.  I stop by my lounger, grab my robe and for whatever reason, only put on the right spa slipper. As I hobble to the spa desk to ask for a band-aid, I realize I am still bleeding pretty good and have left a trail. Since I am near where Macon put her stuff, I slide on her left slipper then hobble to the reception desk. I let the receptionist know what had happened, asked if they had a Band-aid I could put on and that they should probably mop the spa since I walked through there with a bloody foot. Not my wisest decision for sure. The receptionist had immediately called the spa manager who quickly came to the desk. They also called the medical center requesting someone come get me to get checked out down there, as well as housekeeping to take care of the spa sanitation.  The spa manager brought out a first aid kit from her office and bandaged my foot with gauze.  A gentleman came by with a wheelchair and escorted me down to the medical center. Once in Medical, the nurse and doctor took a look at the wound. Thankfully it wasn’t a very deep cut and I would not need any sutures. Macon was brought down as well shortly afterwards, and she had thought something way worse had happened. Heru, our Junior Butler, had come in as either medical or the spa called the YC to tell them I was there. I told him I was good to go per the doctor, and he said he would inform Nyoman. Nyoman was there not a minute or two after Heru left, also to come check in on me. I let him know what happened but that I was good to go, mostly.  I filled out a couple of forms, received some fresh band-aids for the night and had instructions to not enter any water for the next 24 hours or so and to swing by tomorrow for a follow up. Nyoman offered to wheel me back to the cabin, but I was stubborn and decided to walk.  Eventually we made it back to the room where I finally just sat for a while. Nyoman brought us two new pairs of spa slippers, and I used one of those on a trip to the lounge. All this excitement, missing dinner, made me want a drink and some snacks.  Word spread quickly as Juan, the concierge checked on us as we passed the concierge desk, and Nithin asked how I was doing as we got up to the bar.  We sat and listened to the music until the set was finished, then hobbled back to the room. It was during this hobble to the room I really remarked on how much of an inconvenience the chrome bars that cross the carpet in the hallway truly are. I really want to know what their purpose is other than to be a potential trip hazard or speed bumps to wheelchairs. I watched the sea go by, took some more moon photos, then decided it was high time to plop into that amazing bed.

 

That sums up the day. I want to also throw this thought out there about my overall feelings of Jamaica, as it didn’t really fit into the story I was trying to tell.  I find Jamaica is a beautiful place, and for the most part, full of great people. But the thing I cannot stand the most about it, is that everyone expects or demands a tip, no matter how much or little they do for you. Bus driver? Tip please..Chairlift/Raggamuffin/Bobsled operators, you bet they had their tip jars out. “Mama” whose whole job was to guide you to and from the park and buses..”Be sure to leave a good treat for your Mama, you know she take great care of you..” I find it very off putting to be so exceptionally forward about tipping. I am not a shy tipper by any means, but I tip based on my perception of service received, and not every role requires a tip. Maybe I have lived my life wrong, but I don’t think I have ever tipped a crossing guard or the ride operator at a theme park. There are so many tipping threads across Cruise Critic but I don’t believe there is one for Jamaica. Someone should start one just to see what happens, I’ll bring the popcorn with plenty to share (Be sure to tip your popcorn popper)

 

Another early morning, but least the seas are calm and the weather perfect

Cargo Ship? No, car go road

I don't think trying to hop the wake will be as fun as that captain is hoping for

Suns up espressos up

The suns getting brighter unlike my jokes

The breakfast spread. While nice to have in the room, we'll stick to pool deck grill

Hmm, did we tip the guys who get the mooring lines yet, or do we do that as we leave?

If you think this snail is big, you should see the spiders, of which I "forgot" to photo

Seashore is not very good at hide and go seek

The homemade raft down there probably has the best fishing spot 

 

Feel the rhythm

Feel the ride

Get on up, it's bobsled time

Heading on back down the mountain, where the couple in the car ahead of us bought some of that other Jamaican specialty

See ship. Half step to the right. Snap photo. Go. Total time, 5 seconds. See? Easy Peasy

A very tasty chocolate cake

Suns going down on another fun day 

But the moon comes up to carry the party onto the night

But it has been quite the adventure and I think it is high time to call it a night. 

 

That should do it for the day. No photos of Dunns River as I wouldn't trust myself with a phone around water and the GoPro decided to stay home this trip.

 

Until next time, Hope to MSC you soon....

[Georgia_Peaches]

28 minutes ago, stp_mmh5 said:

But it has been quite the adventure and I think it is high time to call it a night. 

So sorry about your spa injury.  Was wondering if MSC charged you for the medical visit or if it was on the house...

 

Regarding the tipping...I have to agree with you about Jamaica.  Like you, we consider ourselves to be generous tippers but where does one draw the line?

[stp_mmh5]

8 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

So sorry about your spa injury.  Was wondering if MSC charged you for the medical visit or if it was on the house...

 

Regarding the tipping...I have to agree with you about Jamaica.  Like you, we consider ourselves to be generous tippers but where does one draw the line?

Thanks, it absolutely was not what I had in mind for the night.  The trip to the medical center was free. The doctor onboard was up front about that one. Even showed up on the final bill as a 0.00 charge.

I will say that the onboard medical center was much larger than I anticipated it being. There were at least two full sized examination rooms, a room that looked similar to an operating room, and still another hallway that had other rooms off of it that I couldn't see inside of. I commented on that and the staff did admit that this medical center is certainly one of the larger and better equipped ones they had worked in.

 

Jamaica is great, but next time I go, especially if it is with MSC, I'll just pretend not to speak English that way I can ignore all the tip requestors.

[mafig]

We'll be on her on Saturday, so this review is very timely.👍

Edited October 25, 2022 by mafig

[frank808]

On 10/22/2022 at 2:48 AM, pappahbuttz said:

What a wonderful review and a joy to read! I have sailed on the MSC Seaview and Meraviglia, both in YC and am so excited to sail on the Seashore YC for a Back 2 Back  6th -20th November 2022! Thanks so much for your posts and photos!

Best part of a B2B on MSC out of Miami? Do not need to do the second muster drill!

[stp_mmh5]

Seashore Day 4:  Very Grand. Much Cayman. Wow

 

This morning had the same uneventful routine unfold. I wake up well before the sun, sit in the hammock for an hour or so, then go meet Nithin in the morning for our café lattes.  Thanks to the decent cut from the spa last night, my surprise plan for Macon today had to be canceled. I had booked us the Reef and Wreck snorkel, but under the doctor’s orders of staying out of the water we requested to cancel it the night before. So knowing that water is not an option, and walking doesn’t sound fun to me, we are looking for things to do that are close to the port.  We take a break to head to the restaurant for breakfast. Macon ordered some bacon, white toast, eggs over medium and a plate of the gravlax salmon. I ordered eggs benedict and some bacon as well.  We also ask for another cafe latte as well.  As soon as we finished ordering, three dining staff members came by with the baskets of breads and pastries, basically all at the same time. It was unexpected for them to all come that quickly and it threw us off guard a little. But we can’t pass up the goodies so we pick  out the ones we like. The cafe lattes come out, and they’re okay. But I believe that is because the ones Nithin makes downstairs rival some Italian coffee shops.  Breakfast comes out, and it looks lackluster. I didn’t have my phone on me for a change, so no pictures. Macon’s eggs came out as hard, and my benedict barely had any hollandaise sauce on it.  Joseph came by to check on us, and we let him know that eggs were overcooked and I asked if I could have a little more hollandaise. He quickly takes off to the back to get fresh eggs for Macon and has one of the assistant servers come out with the hollandaise.  I love a good eggs benedict, and there is a restaurant in Florida that has probably the best ever. I try not to compare any other benedict to theirs, because it wouldn’t be fair, but yet I do everytime. This one is no different. I find that the one on my plate currently didn’t have enough hollandaise to begin with, barely a splotch of yellow on each half, the english muffins too soft and the ham was okay. I will say the eggs were done perfectly though, so that is a win. I plop on extra hollandaise, which is super thick, and enjoy my meal.  Joseph comes back with the fresh eggs over medium and makes sure everything else is good. Which it is, so he takes off on his rounds again.  In the meantime, I see another family sit down and the same swarm of breads and pastries hit their table as soon as they had ordered. It seemed a little more chaotic from where I was, because individuals were asking for their preferences all over the table, so the staff kept moving around, trying not to bump into each other. Almost comical in a way.  Anyways, we finish up breakfast and decide to head back to the room to get ready for the day. At this point we have set anchor and the first tenders are pulling up. I mindlessly watch them until I hear Macon asking if the phone was ringing. I didn’t hear it, but I also have a habit of ignoring ringing phones. Well, she was right and she answers it when it rings again. It was one of the guest service agents at the concierge desk reminding us that we needed to check in for our excursion in the TSL, as they were getting ready to head down.  We had to remind them that we had to cancel due to doctor's orders. Apparently that information didn’t make it to the person in charge of organizing the excursions this morning. No biggie.

 

  After that, we decided to hang out in the lounge for a little bit anyway, waiting for the rush of people to leave the ship so that we could go ashore without much of a hassle. Nyoman is in the lounge at this time and swings by us to ask me how the foot is doing. I let him know that it is slowly getting easier to walk and stand on normally, and that now that I switched to a regular bandage instead of the gauze wrap, I can walk in flip flops.  We let him know our intentions, wait until 1030 or so, head down to medical to follow up there, then head ashore. He asks that we let him know so that he can escort us down. No problem at all.  Well 1030 rolls around pretty quickly and we flag down Nyoman to let him know. He took us down to deck 4 and as we approached the medical center, the assistant head butler saw us and went to direct us to the tender. We let him know that we were swinging through the medical center first and then would board the tender. He reminded us that there could be a delay in going ashore if we missed the tender that was currently boarding. Not a big deal to us, as we have no plans anyways. At the same time, there was a small traffic jam as other crew members were waiting for the lobby area to clear of guests so that they could take their carts and trolleys down the center corridor there, but we squeezed by them into the medical center.  Nyoman starts looking around and calling out for the nurse or someone to announce that we were there. As he does, another butler comes from around the corner. Apparently, one of her guests staying in the Owner’s suite had caught one of their toes on some of the furniture in the room. But like me, their injury ended up being pretty superficial. The other butler thought I was a third injury, as she had had heard about mine from the night prior, but we cleared that up.  I guess when the call went to Nyoman that I was in the medical center last night, it was right in the middle of his dinner and he had jumped up from the crew mess and quickly came over. I felt bad then, because it wasn’t anything worth interrupting dinner for. Nyoman said it wasn’t a problem at all, and we all laughed about afterwards.  Shortly thereafter, the doctor came out of one of the rooms with the other guest, looked at the cut again, and said it should be good to go. Quick in and out, then on our way again. Nyoman sees that the tender is still boarding and quickly moves us to as close to the front of the line as he can. We thank him and tell him we shall see him later.  We grab some seats on the lower deck and watch as the Disney Fantasy pulls into her parking spot. Finally the tender fills all the way up and we cast off.

 

  Because I am slow moving and don’t want to chance someone stepping on the bad foot, we waited until just about everyone else got off the tender. We walked up and took a peek around the shops and vendors in the secured area first. Made a couple of mental notes of things we may want, then went out onto the street through the Tortuga rum store.  There we crossed the street and looked through the big souvenir shop. From there, we went along the road as if heading towards Seven Mile Beach. We stopped in another store or two, then realized it’s lunch time. So we crossed and continued upwards along the coast. There is a bar that was seen from our balcony and the menu posted on Google Maps sounded up our alley so we decided to walk up there and try it out. Best decision of the day, hands down. So we went down the way looking for Rackam’s. What we missed was the boardwalk entrance to the restaurant, but what we found when walking in what we thought was the right entrance was The Outpost by Cayman Spirits Co. This was a beercade, so they had a huge wall of craft beers from all over the states, plus a few local ones as well. There was also another wall that had all kinds of rums aging in them. And finally, at every table and on the bar, there are TVs and video game systems, ranging from classic throwback machines to newer Playstations. As a huge benefit to all, the food at Rackam’s is served inside here, so we grabbed seats at the bar and settled in.  Earlier in the morning, I pulled a card from our travel ideas card deck to see what we could do today. The card I got was: Eat dessert as breakfast, order three appetizers at lunch and breakfast for dinner. So I perused the menu and decided on the curry fries and conch fritters. I ask the guy at the bar to surprise me with a third one. Macon also orders the soup of the day (only a crazy woman orders hot soup in the middle of the day in the middle of the Caribbean) which is a seafood chowder. As we sip our waters and local beers, the food comes out. I was feeling super hungry so I wasted no time in digging in, which means I completely neglected the mandatory food photos. The curry fires were a huge order that could have been a meal themselves or easily split between 4+ people and were fantastic. The conch fritters were excellent as well. Macon’s chowder was also very good and I could understand why she would want it, even though it was quite warm outside. But the star of lunch was the surprise appetizer, which ended up being seared tuna spring rolls.  The tuna was even better than the one on the ship the other night, and the rolls themselves were perfectly flaky and filling. It was hard to share them, that's for sure.  Highly, highly recommend trying this place out if you’re ever looking for a close by place to try out. Also, you can build your own six packs beer here, so if you want to try different craft beers from different places, or know people who would like that as a gift, you can.

 

After lunch we head back towards the ship, and hop back on the tender. As it’s now getting closer to all aboard time, the lines certainly picked up again.  We met one of the butlers right after you flash your card at the gate. I realized it was the same one who took our drink order the other day, but never came back with drinks. Well, he can’t forget us now as we are following him lol.  He heads straight to the tender boat with Macon right behind him. The most direct path, and the one he took, passes right in front of the Welcome to Grand Cayman sign, where two ladies were taking pictures. I noticed them getting ready to snap the photo, but neither he nor Macon did, so they photobombed the shot.  I waited a second so that they could get another one quickly.  The two ladies then immediately started complaining in Italian about it, so I walked around them as they were taking forever to get the shot.  I catch up and we get on the tender, in just about the same seats as before.  There were two guys sitting in the row behind and had their hands draped over the edge, kind of blocking the seat. When Macon sat down anyways, they got up and moved to a different row. Odd I thought and Macon certainly isn’t making any new friends. Speaking of new friends, the two Italian ladies must have finally gotten their picture as they were now heading up towards the tender. But instead of walking on, they stopped at the front of the ramp and waited until the ramp had cleared so that they could take more photos. Which is fine… if there isn’t anyone behind you. A line quickly formed up while they tried to take the most perfect photo. Eventually someone said something about it and they stepped off to the side so that everyone else could board.  When the tender was nearly full, they attempted the photo shoot again, then were amongst the last to board. Then we casted off again for the quick ride back to the ship.

 

  Once on the ship, we dropped off our souvenirs and non-confiscated alcohol in the room then went to the lounge. Nithin was back on duty and whipped up some drinks for us to try. We hung out there until the ship lifted anchor and spun out to sea.  Then it was that time to unwind in the spa. We were smart this time and grabbed towels before getting comfortable. The thermal area was decently busy, so I didn’t pick any one place to settle in at. I went outside, taking great caution passing through the door, just to make sure I didn’t leave any marks out on the deck. If I had, the housekeeping team did a thorough job in cleaning it all up. I go back in and bounce between a few spots. We then decided we’ve had our fill, as the large group in the indoor tub was quite loud and it diminished the normally serene scene. After that, we head back up to the room to watch the sunset from the balcony. We went to catch Nithin before he went off for the night for one more round, then we went up to dinner.  Dinner tonight is supposed to be surf and turf part two, with large shrimps instead of lobster. Considering the first one was a bit of a flop, I was looking forward to giving it a second chance.  Our waiter tonight was Kevin instead of Joseph, as we went to dinner at a different time than normal and all of Joseph’s tables were full. The breads come and go, the focaccia is perfect as always. Macon gets the soup and I the foie gras to start, and we both end up with the surf and turf. Her soup is, well, soup and my foie gras was, good? I really don’t know what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it.  Anyways I realized after the fact that I missed food photos again, but I was prepared for the main course.  So we get our surfs and our turfs, and the first thing I do is check the steak to make sure it is medium rare this time. It is perfectly medium rare, so that makes up for the ones the other night.  The shrimps are served with the heads and tail still on, but the shell around the tail meat removed. I still do not understand what is fancy or nice about being served shrimp/prawn heads and having to remove them, but hey, this is the way apparently. So I remove one tail from the head and notice all the gunk that comes with it. I also caught a whiff of something that smells a little off, but didn’t think anything of it. That is, until I ate the shrimp itself. It was awful. Chewy, fishy, and left a bad mouth feel. But for whatever reason, I ate the entire thing before I decided it was disgusting and refused to touch the other one. Macon’s was the exact same way, but she had the wherewithal to stop eating it after the first bite. Our steaks were great so we just focused on those. By the time we finished, our waiter had come by to check on us and take our dessert orders. We let him know about the shrimp and how bad they were, and he said we would let the kitchen know.  Couple of minutes go by later and the restaurant hostess drops by to see how things were. We said overall good, but also let her know about the shrimp. She apologized for that ,and would let the kitchen know as well. As she steps away, our desserts arrive. Macon had the ice cream pyramid and I had the Tiramisu. Both were very rich, and I don’t think either of us finished them.

 

  After dinner, we walk around the ship because we feel as if we have not spent nearly enough time out and about. We spend about an hour in the casino, trying to draw out our donations for as long as we can. We listen into the piano players on the deck below, and then get moving again. Seeing that a hockey game was on, we swung into the sports bar to watch it for a bit. That is when I saw the bottle that Macon had been searching for since getting on, Ramazotti Aperitivo Rosato. This Aperol-like aperitivo is a little sweeter and is the key ingredient to her favorite drink, the Rosato Mio. So now that we found it, she immediately wants three of them. Also to my luck, they had at least one bottle of Pilsner Urquell hiding in the fridge. So we both finally got the drinks we had been wanting. We watch the game, enjoying our drink or three, then decide to walk around again. We explore the outside of deck 8, then head back up to the TSL for the live music of the night. Nyoman catches us before he is done for the night, asking us how our day went and how the foot was doing. Once all caught up, he takes off and we get our end of the night macchiatos. From there, we walk down the hall back to the room, nearly tripping over the chrome bars along the carpet. Once we get into the bed, there's no getting out of it so that will end this recollection of our time in and around Grand Cayman.

 

We'll skip the sunrise photos today and share instead this view from the outdoor lounge area

The only place flatter than Kansas or Florida is here. 

Tender boats all lined up and ready to go

Its not really a trip to Grand Cayman without mention turtles, stingrays or Hell. So here's two of the three

They call her the Disney Fantasy because it's a fantasy that you'll find decent prices. Seriously, a Yacht Club Interior is often cheaper than a balcony on Disney.

You spin me right round

And away we go

For the lack of sunrise and food photos, I shall ask for forgiveness with sunset photos

 

Down down down goes the sun

As do the quality of my captions

Here's the surf and turf. A turf and turf would have been the smarter move

Ice cream pyramid. Looks more like a cone to me. I guess ice cream cone was already taken as a name.

Tiramisu. The classic Italian/MSC dessert. The only thing we eat more of consistently on MSC is the Panna Cotta. When we can find them.

Just a little relaxing sunset video to ease the cruise blues.

 

That is all for now. We shall MSC you soon... 

 

Edited October 27, 2022 by stp_mmh5

[pappahbuttz]

Once again... Thanks so much for such a great trip report! I can not believe that in seven day's I will have 2 weeks in YC on the beautiful Seashore!

[9876]

I was on the cruise too.  I agree with the seafood observation.  The entire dining room smelled of seafood so much I just passed on dinner.

 

Edited October 30, 2022 by 9876

[CruiseIreland]

Loving the trip report! Keep it coming! Were you ok after eating the dodgy shrimp? Ken