Pirate's First MSC Experience! A LIVE Seaside 8/20/23-8/27/23 Review

[pirate4me2]

7 hours ago, jules815 said:

Did you book another YC cruise while on board this week??

 

No, I had already booked it for my husband and I a few months back. 
 

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

I'm curious whether the young lady in the photo above, on the stairs, happens to be Ashley, from South Africa.  There is a certain resemblance.....great smile.

The Ashley that we met on Seaside was, at that time, the liaison for the English-speaking passengers. We met her at a social event, and had lots of happy moments with her throughout the cruise.  It would be nice to know she is still around.

I just asked, and it is not. Her name is Mariana or something like that. 

[pirate4me2]

Today has been…interesting!

Mom woke me up at 6 (WHYYYYYYY???!!) to see the Royal Caribbean ships come in. We then proceeded to go up above to the pool deck for breakfast (they had goat cheese and blue cheese on the buffet, score!!!!) and proceeded to disembark around 9 to walk the port area. Mom was looking for a hat for a coworker. With Allure OTS, Serenade OTS and Grandure OTS in port with us, it was pure insanity in the port area, so after doing a quick walk around, we headed back to the safety of the YC. We were back

onboard by 10:45. 

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, pirate4me2 said:

Today has been…interesting!

Mom woke me up at 6 (WHYYYYYYY???!!) to see the Royal Caribbean ships come in. We then proceeded to go up above to the pool deck for breakfast (they had goat cheese and blue cheese on the buffet, score!!!!) and proceeded to disembark around 9 to walk the port area. Mom was looking for a hat for a coworker. With Allure OTS, Serenade OTS and Grandure OTS in port with us, it was pure insanity in the port area, so after doing a quick walk around, we headed back to the safety of the YC. We were back

onboard by 10:45. 

Love Blue Cheese!!

[pirate4me2]

Ok, sorry for the delay, I got sidetracked by the YC cocktail party on the pool deck. I’m back now tho! 
 

Mom and I hung out on the balcony reading (my goal of finishing my book MAY happen, I’m halfway thru!) until 1:30ish. We debated lunch options (brave gen pop buffet? Pizza? YC buffet?) and in the end the YC pool deck buffet won. And THAT’S when things got interesting. 
 

We went up and I made a salad (side note: the Greek salad in the salad station up there is SO GOOD!) and ordered a cheeseburger from the grill. Yum! I sat at the end of the bar, in the shade, and Arnold brought me a water and I inquired on this green drink another lady had. I honestly don’t remember the name, but it had fresh mint blended up in it, and was good. Mom got one of those, I got the frozen chocolate bar drink, and we munched our food. We were soon joined by a couple we had met at Ocean Cay, and somehow, I’m not really sure how, we ended up with shots of Fireball…and they just kept coming. 

[pirate4me2]

14 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Love Blue Cheese!!

Me too! And the stuff on the ship this week has been SO GOOD! 

[pirate4me2]

I really don’t know how many shots of Fireball we consumed…3 or 4 I think. Along with those, Arnold made us what we have now named the “Arnold Special”, it’s rum, raspberry liquor, and strawberry syrup. We had 3 or 4 each of those, enough that we finished off a bottle of raspberry liquor. We then moved on to frozen rose wine drinks (rose wine, vodka, strawberry syrup)…yeah, we were THOSE people. I told mom about 3:00 that we HAD to leave, this wasn’t going to end well. We came back to the cabin, and promptly took a nap…or maybe some would say, we passed out. 
 

We finally woke from our slumber at 5:30, and realized we needed food. We made ourselves presentable (I think) and staggered to the YC restaurant at 6. When asked what did we want to drink, any wine, we both probably turned green and said just water please. I ordered the cheese fritters, which were yummy, and the leek and ricotta cheese tart with a side of grilled shrimp. The shrimp were nice and yummy, but the tart was a huge disappointment. It was the first thing I’ve ordered this week that I didn’t eat, it was just blah. 

[pirate4me2]

We finished dinner and walked around the ship for a little bit, then headed back to the cabin to change into shorts. Arnold and his team had decorated for my birthday! It’s not until Saturday, but he said he did it today so I could enjoy it. They really went all out to make me feel special. 
 

At 9:00 we headed up to deck 19 for the YC pool deck party. They had live music, some desserts, and of course, drinks. We met up with the couple from earlier and chatted for a bit, and another cruiser recognized me from on here and introduced herself. That was a treat, I feel famous now. 🙂 

 

After all our “fun” from earlier, Mom and I started to crash about 10:00. We said goodnight to our new friends, and came back to the cabin to clean up and let down. I have a feeling we will sleep GOOD tonight! 

[ninjacat123]

44 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

We finished dinner and walked around the ship for a little bit, then headed back to the cabin to change into shorts. Arnold and his team had decorated for my birthday! It’s not until Saturday, but he said he did it today so I could enjoy it. They really went all out to make me feel special. 
 

At 9:00 we headed up to deck 19 for the YC pool deck party. They had live music, some desserts, and of course, drinks. We met up with the couple from earlier and chatted for a bit, and another cruiser recognized me from on here and introduced herself. That was a treat, I feel famous now. 🙂 

 

After all our “fun” from earlier, Mom and I started to crash about 10:00. We said goodnight to our new friends, and came back to the cabin to clean up and let down. I have a feeling we will sleep GOOD tonight! 

Awesome bday decor!!

[jules815]

9 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

I really don’t know how many shots of Fireball we consumed…3 or 4 I think. Along with those, Arnold made us what we have now named the “Arnold Special”, it’s rum, raspberry liquor, and strawberry syrup. We had 3 or 4 each of those, enough that we finished off a bottle of raspberry liquor. We then moved on to frozen rose wine drinks (rose wine, vodka, strawberry syrup)…yeah, we were THOSE people. I told mom about 3:00 that we HAD to leave, this wasn’t going to end well. We came back to the cabin, and promptly took a nap…or maybe some would say, we passed out. 
 

We finally woke from our slumber at 5:30, and realized we needed food. We made ourselves presentable (I think) and staggered to the YC restaurant at 6. When asked what did we want to drink, any wine, we both probably turned green and said just water please. I ordered the cheese fritters, which were yummy, and the leek and ricotta cheese tart with a side of grilled shrimp. The shrimp were nice and yummy, but the tart was a huge disappointment. It was the first thing I’ve ordered this week that I didn’t eat, it was just blah. 

Are the Burgundy Snails on the "Classic favorites" section of the dinner menu all week?

 

[JAGR]

14 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

I'm curious whether the young lady in the photo above, on the stairs, happens to be Ashley, from South Africa.  There is a certain resemblance.....great smile.

The Ashley that we met on Seaside was, at that time, the liaison for the English-speaking passengers. We met her at a social event, and had lots of happy moments with her throughout the cruise.  It would be nice to know she is still around.

I think it was Fabiana, the Hostess/Asst. Dining Room Manager.

[pirate4me2]

9 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Awesome bday decor!!

It is! 
 

21 minutes ago, jules815 said:

Are the Burgundy Snails on the "Classic favorites" section of the dinner menu all week?

 

they have been! 
 

6 minutes ago, JAGR said:

I think it was Fabiana, the Hostess/Asst. Dining Room Manager.

That may be her name, the person I asked had a very heavy accent so I may have misheard. I’ll try and confirm tonight! 

[JAGR]

27 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

That may be her name, the person I asked had a very heavy accent so I may have misheard. I’ll try and confirm tonight! 

No worries!  She looks like Fabiana, who was on Seashore a year ago or so.  BTW, really enjoy your posts and your writing style!  Hope to see you at a YC bar in the near future, although I admit I wouldn't be drinking the Fireball!  Maybe tequila, if DW is not sitting at the bar!😉

Edited August 25, 2023 by JAGR

[pirate4me2]

5 hours ago, JAGR said:

No worries!  She looks like Fabiana, who was on Seashore a year ago or so.  BTW, really enjoy your posts and your writing style!  Hope to see you at a YC bar in the near future, although I admit I wouldn't be drinking the Fireball!  Maybe tequila, if DW is not sitting at the bar!😉

I will definitely be back at a YC bar, next September on the Seashore with my husband! He needs to experience this level of cruising. 🙂 

[pirate4me2]

Welcome to Cozumel! 
 

As much as other cruisers may not like Cozumel, I love this port stop. I was super excited to learn that MSC docks at a different pier than I’m use to…that meant a new area to get off and explore! 
 

However, today started off RAINY, and it’s been off and on so far all day. Yuck! Mom and I got up and got breakfast at 9:30 from the YC pool deck buffet, and just as we were about to head down to get off the ship, the skies let loose. Grrrrr! We settled in to read on the balcony for a bit (I loooove my balcony overhang that provides shade and protection from the rain!) then moved to the Topsail lounge for an iced tea. It finally began to let up around 12:30, so we grabbed a quick lunch from the YC pool buffet…more of the yummylicious Greek salad and a burger, and a delicious little eclair for dessert. Can I also just say, I love these cute mini bottles of Ketchup? 

[pirate4me2]

We finished lunch and headed off the ship, and the weather was perfect…for a bit. Nice and breezy, but not too hot. As we exited the duty free area it began to drizzle, bit nothing bad. We darted in and out of shops looking for trinkets (I found the PERFECT $2 magnet for my uncle’s beer fridge to remind him of our dysfunctional family vacation a few years ago), and after we were tired of being harassed (I was actually offered a Mexican boyfriend. Um, no thank you, I’ve got someone back home) we headed back onboard. It was about 2:30, and the rain had started to get more steady. 
Now for one negative I’ve noticed about MSC this trip…they seem to take longer than Carnival when it comes to getting back onboard. We didn’t come back onboard close to final boarding time today, or yesterday for that matter, but we had a significant wait. I am not quite sure why, but they just seem a lot slower about it. Not a deal breaker, but I wish they could figure out how to speed the process up. 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

18 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

I got the frozen chocolate bar drink.....

Whoa, stop right there! You had me at chocolate.

 

Is this an alcoholic drink? Is this YC only? Tell me more, please.

 

I have fond memories of a pub crawl in Key West where one of the stops had a drink called "chocohol". It was so good and so strong!

[pirate4me2]

15 minutes ago, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

Whoa, stop right there! You had me at chocolate.

 

Is this an alcoholic drink? Is this YC only? Tell me more, please.

 

I have fond memories of a pub crawl in Key West where one of the stops had a drink called "chocohol". It was so good and so strong!

It’s alcoholic, but I think you can get them all around the ship. However, Derek on the YC pool deck makes the best one mom and I both think! White chocolate, macadamia (or maybe Havelnut) syrup, and something else. ITS AMAZING!!

[Essiesmom]

I think part of the debark and reboard problem, at least on Seaside, is that they try to do both at one gangway.  They may have two open, but unless you get off early, when everyone is getting off, you may have to way for some returning guests to be dinged in before they ding you off.  And when returning, there may be some late debarkers and the crew does them before dinging you back on.  They may have more than one gangway open, but they always send you to the furthest…. EM

[pirate4me2]

58 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

I think part of the debark and reboard problem, at least on Seaside, is that they try to do both at one gangway.  They may have two open, but unless you get off early, when everyone is getting off, you may have to way for some returning guests to be dinged in before they ding you off.  And when returning, there may be some late debarkers and the crew does them before dinging you back on.  They may have more than one gangway open, but they always send you to the furthest…. EM

I think that may be exactly right! Good point. 

[ninjacat123]

@pirate4me2 I have a Havana Cabana 8 day cruise on Horizon Jan 2025 for me and DH.  I'm thinking that type of room would be similar to your MSC room.  Now, I wanted to book a Havana Inside but DH said he would pay the difference for the Cabana.  Crazy man!  Just for our Havana Cabana we are paying $3,360 (inc taxes and port fees) which is more than what I'm paying for our 10 day Med cruise on Pride this October. I prepaid for Cheers so add on $944 for the Havana Cabana cruise.  I did pay for everything using AARP cards so 10% off of that, but thinking of the actual total with no 10% discount is that total close to what you paid?  I tried the MSC website and couldn't figure it out.  TIA!

Edited August 25, 2023 by ninjacat123

[Hogladyrider]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

@pirate4me2 I have a Havana Cabana 8 day cruise on Horizon Jan 2025 for me and DH.  I'm thinking that type of room would be similar to your MSC room.  Now, I wanted to book a Havana Inside but DH said he would pay the difference for the Cabana.  Crazy man!  Just for our Havana Cabana we are paying $3,360 (inc taxes and port fees) which is more than what I'm paying for our 10 day Med cruise on Pride this October. I prepaid for Cheers so add on $944 for the Havana Cabana cruise.  I did pay for everything using AARP cards so 10% off of that, but thinking of the actual total with no 10% discount is that total close to what you paid?  I tried the MSC website and couldn't figure it out.  TIA!

Have you seen the Cabana rooms/area?  I personally would only book a Havanna inside and use the Havanna exclusive pool/bar area.  We are balcony folks but those cabana rooms have no privacy on the outside at all.  Horizon as others in that class are too crowded for our liking so that is why we would book Havanna inside.  Enjoy your cruise!

[pirate4me2]

3 hours ago, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

Whoa, stop right there! You had me at chocolate.

 

Is this an alcoholic drink? Is this YC only? Tell me more, please.

 

I have fond memories of a pub crawl in Key West where one of the stops had a drink called "chocohol". It was so good and so strong!

Here is the menu with the frozen toblerone drink on it. All the way at the bottom. 
 

[pirate4me2]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

@pirate4me2 I have a Havana Cabana 8 day cruise on Horizon Jan 2025 for me and DH.  I'm thinking that type of room would be similar to your MSC room.  Now, I wanted to book a Havana Inside but DH said he would pay the difference for the Cabana.  Crazy man!  Just for our Havana Cabana we are paying $3,360 (inc taxes and port fees) which is more than what I'm paying for our 10 day Med cruise on Pride this October. I prepaid for Cheers so add on $944 for the Havana Cabana cruise.  I did pay for everything using AARP cards so 10% off of that, but thinking of the actual total with no 10% discount is that total close to what you paid?  I tried the MSC website and couldn't figure it out.  TIA!

I love my Havana rooms on CCL (actually have one this Dec, next April, and next Nov!) but you may honestly be able to snag a YC room for the price you paid with

adding in the drink package. And if you can…GO FOR IT!!! I have no regrets doing this cruise, and will be back again. 

[WhiteOptima]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

@pirate4me2 I have a Havana Cabana 8 day cruise on Horizon Jan 2025 for me and DH.  I'm thinking that type of room would be similar to your MSC room.  Now, I wanted to book a Havana Inside but DH said he would pay the difference for the Cabana.  Crazy man!  Just for our Havana Cabana we are paying $3,360 (inc taxes and port fees) which is more than what I'm paying for our 10 day Med cruise on Pride this October. I prepaid for Cheers so add on $944 for the Havana Cabana cruise.  I did pay for everything using AARP cards so 10% off of that, but thinking of the actual total with no 10% discount is that total close to what you paid?  I tried the MSC website and couldn't figure it out.  TIA!

We did this on the Vista.  The Havana area was great!  The ship was packed but the Havana area was quiet and some days maybe 10-20 people.  We had the Cabana room and found it was not worth it.  You’re basically sitting on a lounger with a little fence between you and your neighbor.  No privacy, no quiet conversation.  2 cabins were traveling together and were out there late at night and were noisy.  Made it so we rarely sat out there.

When we went on Horizon and saved our $ and did an interior.  Way better.  Went in the bar, grabbed some coffee and breakfast and went and sat out back.  So peaceful.

Didn’t mean to hijack but don’t want you to be disappointed.  

[pirate4me2]

Mom and I decided to go to dinner tonight at 6:15. Tonight’s dinner I think was the best one I’ve had onboard. The Chinese dumplings were super yummy, and mom and I split the scallops entree. They were tender but flavorful, BUT the winner, by far, was the butter chicken entree. Y’all…the flavors in that dish were phenomenal. The chicken was so tender. Everything about it was just perfect! I would order this every single night if I could!