On Seascape Now. 1/15-1/29. Ask away!

[Td6462]

Family of 4 on Seascape from 1/15 to 1/29. We are in a balcony with Bella experience. My wife has the thermal pass and we have upgraded our easy plus drink package to premium. 

I'm happy to try to answer questions as our vacation time allows. I'm not doing a live on this trip. 

Sorry, no YC questions as I can't help...

[Mammajamma]

Can you get the ice cream at the poolside bar with an easy drink package or is that only for the nonalcoholic and the junior drink package? The reason I'm asking is that we got the free drink promotion and my Mom who is 85 does not drink alcohol but because she was in the room with us she had to get it. She loves ice cream tho and that would make it worthwhile but I believe the TA did not specify the nonalcoholic pkg.

[JT1962]

What is the tendering process in Grand Cayman - Specifically do you need to pick up tickets to the tenders ahead of time? If so, where & when? Do Voyagers Club Diamond Members get priority after ship excursions / Yacht Club? How soon were you able to get ashore?

[Two Wheels Only]

Are there ship models for sale in the gift shop such as this...

 

 

...but for Seascape?

[Td6462]

33 minutes ago, Mammajamma said:

Can you get the ice cream at the poolside bar with an easy drink package or is that only for the nonalcoholic and the junior drink package? The reason I'm asking is that we got the free drink promotion and my Mom who is 85 does not drink alcohol but because she was in the room with us she had to get it. She loves ice cream tho and that would make it worthwhile but I believe the TA did not specify the nonalcoholic pkg.

Today was our first sea day and the Jungle pool bar was open serving ice cream (soft serve and gelato) cone and small cup $4 and $6 for large cup. We also got the easy plus and kids drink promo with our fare.

After some intense foot work and getting several different answers, the answer from the F&B director is soft serve is only included in the minors package. All others have a charge.

Kind of crazy that premium doesn't include it! I verified by trying my own card independently and the charge to me with a premium would have been $4 for a small soft serve cone.

Hope this helps.

[Td6462]

1 hour ago, JT1962 said:

What is the tendering process in Grand Cayman - Specifically do you need to pick up tickets to the tenders ahead of time? If so, where & when? Do Voyagers Club Diamond Members get priority after ship excursions / Yacht Club? How soon were you able to get ashore?

GC is still a few days away. However, shore ex and guest services have indicated that YC has there own. Shore ex goes first. Tickets will be available in the casino and the times for tickets will be indicated in the daily guide the day before. GS had no valuable details on the process and I inquired with the GS assistant manager. 

[Td6462]

41 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

Are there ship models for sale in the gift shop such as this...

 

 

...but for Seascape?

Yes

[JT1962]

6 minutes ago, Td6462 said:

GC is still a few days away. However, shore ex and guest services have indicated that YC has there own. Shore ex goes first. Tickets will be available in the casino and the times for tickets will be indicated in the daily guide the day before. GS had no valuable details on the process and I inquired with the GS assistant manager. 

Thanks!

[APDMOM]

Thank you for hunting down answers to our questions!  I have the thermal spa pass for March... Does your wife have to make appointments to use the thermal area?  Or can she just show up anytime?  🙂 

[Td6462]

1 hour ago, APDMOM said:

Thank you for hunting down answers to our questions!  I have the thermal spa pass for March... Does your wife have to make appointments to use the thermal area?  Or can she just show up anytime?  🙂 

With the pass she was told she does need to make an appointment on sea days. Port days she may go at her leisure. She did say today (sea day) it was not kept up with as well as yesterday (port day). Dirty towels and cups all around. It was not like that yesterday. 

So far it has been very enjoyable in her opinion. 

[BoundForSea]

So with so much talk about how awful the food has been in MDR and the buffet, what’s your family’s opinion been? What lines have you sailed in the past?

[PKJenn]

Can you tell me the process of making reservations for the specialty restaurants. We have a three

restaurant package. 

[Td6462]

1 hour ago, BoundForSea said:

So with so much talk about how awful the food has been in MDR and the buffet, what’s your family’s opinion been? What lines have you sailed in the past?

We sailed 28 days with Royal last year. Full disclosure we love to travel to Italy for weeks at a time. The food is different compared to the typical American cuisine. The quality of the ingredients is notable. There is always something to eat. 

There is a notable difference between the lines in dinner options on the buffet. 

MSC offers a simple dinner buffet keeping with typical European "dinner" experience. 

Personally,  I would appreciate more (American dinner like choices)at the dinner buffet, but that's not the demographic. 

Everything we have eaten has been satisfying and high quality but it is not the same as the endless amounts of mediocre "all you can eat" we have experienced on our other cruises.

[Moz]

Have the lines in the buffet been unreal and hard to navigate, Also can a person find a table at busy dining hours, Were to able to be served a drink at your table during buffet and how long did it take, Have read such horrible reviews on this ship and we are booked for the fall so need to know if we need to cancel.  One more thing is there a rock band show later in the evening in one of the smaller venues,  Thank you.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

22 hours ago, Td6462 said:

soft serve is only included in the minors package.

is there any free soft serve anywhere on the ship?

 It's been free on all the other lines for years....

Thankfully, we do have a kid with us with a minor's package, but both he and my husband LUUUURVE soft serve and cannot get enough of it on other cruises. 

 

How are the elevators?

Whereabouts is your cabin? we will be on deck 10 forward, regular balcony.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Td6462]

55 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

is there any free soft serve anywhere on the ship?

 It's been free on all the other lines for years....

Thankfully, we do have a kid with us with a minor's package, but both he and my husband LUUUURVE soft serve and cannot get enough of it on other cruises. 

 

How are the elevators?

Whereabouts is your cabin? we will be on deck 10 forward, regular balcony.

Yes in the marketplace desert section durring mealtimes. Only mealtimes not snack hours. It was suggested by the staff to just have the kids get 2.

The elevators work great. It's the people not knowing how to use them that causes a problem.  There is a backup on port days/ dinner times but that's typical of any ship I think.

We are 15 forward. I am disappointed in the size of the balcony. It is considerably small than a RC standard balcony. The bathroom is also smaller. It's manageable but very tight with the 4 of us.

[Td6462]

3 hours ago, Moz said:

Have the lines in the buffet been unreal and hard to navigate, Also can a person find a table at busy dining hours, Were to able to be served a drink at your table during buffet and how long did it take, Have read such horrible reviews on this ship and we are booked for the fall so need to know if we need to cancel.  One more thing is there a rock band show later in the evening in one of the smaller venues,  Thank you.

The lines aren't unreal. It is a bit difficult to navigate due to the way it is set up but we've had great luck going to the back of the marketplace.

Beverage servers have been pretty quick most times. Maybe 5 or 6 minutes. You can also get it yourself from the marketplace bar.

I'll post all 14 days of programs once we get home. We are eastern and western caribbean so it'll give a complete view of both itineraries. 

Cheers!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

9 minutes ago, Td6462 said:

The lines aren't unreal.

that might be because you are not sailing during the holidays (lucky us - we can only sail during school holidays) or school breaks. Enjoy!

[Td6462]

27 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

that might be because you are not sailing during the holidays (lucky us - we can only sail during school holidays) or school breaks. Enjoy!

4700 is the pax count this week.

[Moz]

1 hour ago, Td6462 said:

The lines aren't unreal. It is a bit difficult to navigate due to the way it is set up but we've had great luck going to the back of the marketplace.

Beverage servers have been pretty quick most times. Maybe 5 or 6 minutes. You can also get it yourself from the marketplace bar.

I'll post all 14 days of programs once we get home. We are eastern and western caribbean so it'll give a complete view of both itineraries. 

Cheers!

Thanks so much.

[Td6462]

@JT1962 Now with GC in the books I have a better answer (sort of).

The program came last night and said tender tickets would be available at 8:30 AM in the casino. I went at 8:10 to wait in line and they were already handing them out. 

We didn't arrive in GC until 2:30pm (originally scheduled for 10AM). Engine troubles. 

The disembark process was rough. Semi organized but passenger mix I think has a lot of impact. 

They called tickets 2 numbers at a time and had us meet (after your number was called) in the restaurant on 6 aft. The masses had gathered in all the common areas and it was dense to be nice. We were called at 2:45 pm and made it ashore at 3:49 pm. 

I actually have never had a tender port before so I'm not sure how it should have gone. I would say it was rough at best. 

Best advise I can give is get in line early for tickets to get a low number and be close to the meeting point as they take groups down to deck four by ticket number.

They didn't wait long between calling groups so it got very congested and with all the nationalities people were confused. The signage was clear but the staff directing was stressed at best. 

We made it ashore and enjoyed the couple hours but I feel it could have gone much smoother. 

[JT1962]

8 hours ago, Td6462 said:

@JT1962 Now with GC in the books I have a better answer (sort of).

The program came last night and said tender tickets would be available at 8:30 AM in the casino. I went at 8:10 to wait in line and they were already handing them out. 

We didn't arrive in GC until 2:30pm (originally scheduled for 10AM). Engine troubles. 

The disembark process was rough. Semi organized but passenger mix I think has a lot of impact. 

They called tickets 2 numbers at a time and had us meet (after your number was called) in the restaurant on 6 aft. The masses had gathered in all the common areas and it was dense to be nice. We were called at 2:45 pm and made it ashore at 3:49 pm. 

I actually have never had a tender port before so I'm not sure how it should have gone. I would say it was rough at best. 

Best advise I can give is get in line early for tickets to get a low number and be close to the meeting point as they take groups down to deck four by ticket number.

They didn't wait long between calling groups so it got very congested and with all the nationalities people were confused. The signage was clear but the staff directing was stressed at best. 

We made it ashore and enjoyed the couple hours but I feel it could have gone much smoother. 

Thanks for the update. Doesn’t sound like a good process. 
 

Edited January 20, 2023 by JT1962

[Mammajamma]

Thank you so much for your timely answer about the ice cream! I am now wondering about dancing at night. I will be traveling with six 20 yr old's who love to dance but they prefer American pop music. Will they be able to find any venues that don't play Latin music or opera? Also don't go out of your way to find this information but I'm also curious about the flight simulator, race car or bowling. How much and is the line forever long etc. Thanks in advance. You are doing a great service!

[Td6462]

3 minutes ago, Mammajamma said:

Thank you so much for your timely answer about the ice cream! I am now wondering about dancing at night. I will be traveling with six 20 yr old's who love to dance but they prefer American pop music. Will they be able to find any venues that don't play Latin music or opera? Also don't go out of your way to find this information but I'm also curious about the flight simulator, race car or bowling. How much and is the line forever long etc. Thanks in advance. You are doing a great service!

There has been many dance type parties in many places during the evenings. Theme nights (inside) and general deck parties most nights.

Buy the fun pass before boarding. It's $80 and you get $140 to spend in the Hall of games, pool hall and robotron. The "rides" range from $6 to $12. Most are $10 & $12 per experience for a 3 to 5 minute "ride". There have been almost no lines every time my son has gone.

[sabres431]

14 minutes ago, Td6462 said:

There has been many dance type parties in many places during the evenings. Theme nights (inside) and general deck parties most nights.

Buy the fun pass before boarding. It's $80 and you get $140 to spend in the Hall of games, pool hall and robotron. The "rides" range from $6 to $12. Most are $10 & $12 per experience for a 3 to 5 minute "ride". There have been almost no lines every time my son has gone.

How much are the pool tables?