Where are all the "regular folks"?

[capriccio]

6 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

 

From what I understand it's basically background music - are they slipping in some rock or dance bands?

 

On our Seascape cruise in December it was usually just a single musician in the lounge with limited entertainer space.  One was an incredible guitarist who had a great rapport with the audience and some of the most intricate playing (including with the guitar behind his back) we've ever seen or heard.  Unfortunately we didn't catch his name. 

[SailorfromBrazil]

I've got a feb/25 booking, IC - Bella in Seaview, couldn't be more "Below the Salt" as @Essiesmom expressed here.

 

I'll try to add some review/comments, feel free to add any requests 😁

 

That is, unless i get lucky in another YCI bid 🤞🖖

[Sharon_and_TC]

18 minutes ago, capriccio said:

 

On our Seascape cruise in December it was usually just a single musician in the lounge with limited entertainer space.  One was an incredible guitarist who had a great rapport with the audience and some of the most intricate playing (including with the guitar behind his back) we've ever seen or heard.  Unfortunately we didn't catch his name. 

Most likely that was Chris from South Africa.   Our cruise in March was the end of his contract and he had not yet signed a new one.   He is hoping for World America however. 

 

We had entertainment every night, but the crowd more than doubled on Chris's nights. It was difficult to find a seat if you got there late. 

 

The YC director  (Mustafa) honored several of the guests requests to bring him up to Topsail Lounge an extra night. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

2 hours ago, SailorfromBrazil said:

That's the quote for a YCB on a similar 14 nights:

 

Or from Miami you could get on the new World America (beginning in jul/25)

 

So $13,250 YC vs $16,000+ on Silversea.

 

After having spent 10 years on smaller ships, DW and I discovered we missed "big ship amenities". The ship within a ship concept works out perfect for us, even if I rebelled at the "classism" at first. Turns out I am a bit of a classist :).

[sverigecruiser]

1 hour ago, TheMichael said:

 

From what I understand it's basically background music - are they slipping in some rock or dance bands?

 

Most of the time it's background music and that's what I want.

 

Sometimes they are slipping in something else.   

[TheMichael]

31 minutes ago, Sharon_and_TC said:

Most likely that was Chris from South Africa.   Our cruise in March was the end of his contract and he had not yet signed a new one.   He is hoping for World America however. 

 

We had entertainment every night, but the crowd more than doubled on Chris's nights. It was difficult to find a seat if you got there late. 

 

The YC director  (Mustafa) honored several of the guests requests to bring him up to Topsail Lounge an extra night. 

 

He sounds great. Are those entertainers exclusive to that lounge? Most of the lines I've been on will "cycle" entertainers between areas of the ship.

[morpheusofthesea]

18 minutes ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

The ship within a ship concept works out perfect for us, even if I rebelled at the "classism" at first. Turns out I am a bit of a classist :).

"I could never join any (Yacht) Club that would have me as a member." Groucho

[Sharon_and_TC]

Just now, TheMichael said:

 

He sounds great. Are those entertainers exclusive to that lounge? Most of the lines I've been on will "cycle" entertainers between areas of the ship.

They usually cycle to other venues.   Chris played the sports bar and Topsail Lounge. 

 

On our cruise we had three different entertainers but Chris was the most popular. 

 

I'm sure that a lot has to do with the make up of the cruisers as to what kind of entertainment is the most popular. 

[capriccio]

2 hours ago, Sharon_and_TC said:

Most likely that was Chris from South Africa.   Our cruise in March was the end of his contract and he had not yet signed a new one.   He is hoping for World America however. 

 

We had entertainment every night, but the crowd more than doubled on Chris's nights. It was difficult to find a seat if you got there late. 

 

The YC director  (Mustafa) honored several of the guests requests to bring him up to Topsail Lounge an extra night. 

My DH just confirmed it was Chris.  What a talent!

[no1talks]

On 5/13/2024 at 8:51 PM, Anastas617 said:

"...I was on Vegas boards a lot and I would get frustrated that whenever people would ask 'Would you stay at Flamingo or Harrah's?' and you would get quite a few 'Don't stay there, stay at Wynn or Bellagio' completely ignoring that the asker was looking at budget hotels."

The funny thing about Vegas is if you wait long enough, the properties that were once a big splurge and big deal become "affordable" stays. (I'm looking at you, Luxor.) 😆

[Essiesmom]

2 hours ago, no1talks said:

The funny thing about Vegas is if you wait long enough, the properties that were once a big splurge and big deal become "affordable" stays. (I'm looking at you, Luxor.) 😆

That brings up a memory.  Waayy back when I was a Girl Scout, my sister’s troop made a trip to Mexico to the Cabana in Cuernavaca.  I went along, as one year younger and our mother was asst. leader.  Along the way we visited Acapulco, staying in a motel near the beach.  Budget with lovely grounds and pool.  On a tour of the city, we stopped by the Hotel Caleta, most expensive in town with possible exception of Las Brisas with the pink jeeps.  We walked through the lobby, taking a sip from the water fountain, knowing that was all we could afford there.  Fast forward 13 years, and I take a tour through an airline, with basically the same itinerary.  And where did we stay in Acapulco?  La Caleta.  It was still very nice, open air with no a/c.  EM

[no1talks]

8 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

"...made a trip to Mexico to the Cabana in Cuernavaca."

When you arrived, was it reserved for @morpheusofthesea and did it already have deck towels woven into the ceiling? No cabana (or cabaña) is outside his sphere of influence! 😆

[morpheusofthesea]

29 minutes ago, no1talks said:

When you arrived, was it reserved for @morpheusofthesea and did it already have deck towels woven into the ceiling? No cabana (or cabaña) is outside his sphere of influence! 😆

Sounds like the hotel I stayed at Spring Break while in college. It was on the Colombian Island of San Andres and the hotel was called Hotel Las Vegas. Our room shower was a cistern on the roof with a pipe sticking out from the wall. No hot water. The cockroaches were humungous, and stood their ground and would attack instead of scurry and hide. For $12 a day it included a nice lunch of rice and beans and one could buy grilled skewers of meat from street venders for a peso each, they were called "speedies". The meat was delicious, to this day I have never eaten anything so tender and juicy. I wonder what kind of meat it was ? I really did not want to know. I had suspicions though.

Edited May 16 by morpheusofthesea

[no1talks]

9 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"The cockroaches were humungous, and stood their ground and would attack instead of scurry and hide."

Yes, in Mexico las cucarachas are quite formidable. However, I have had gotten excellent results by offering them American cigarettes to leave me alone.

[no1talks]

9 hours ago, SailorfromBrazil said:

"...quote for a YCB on a similar 14 nights"

 

Similar?

I really like MSC and YC, but I like them a bit less with each cut they make, so I'm not making this post as big hater of the product. Other than the cruises all being 14-nights and Florida closed-loop itineraries, they are not similar at all.

The Seashore cruise you cited is just a 7-day cruise repeated, doubling-back to Cozumel and Costa Maya, with the difference of Nassau during the 1st week and a 2nd day at Ocean Cay during the 2nd, instead of just one during the 1st. Why pay for the repetition?

The World America itinerary doesn't repeat ports, except for Ocean Cay of course. However, everyone booking YC on World America should keep in mind her sister ship, World Europa, has 152 cabins in YC. Seascape has 131 and there has been no significant increase across all the Europa YC venues to accommodate the increased passenger count. One may be paying top dollar (by MSC standards) for an elevated but crowded World America YC experience. We'll have to see what the first cruisers report.

However, the Silver Shadow cruise I cited has no risk of being crowded and she's making unrepeated calls to places MSC visits only from their cruises that embark from the Leeward Islands (if visited at all). So add the cost of roundtrip airfare from/to Miami if you want to make an apples-to-apples comparison of island itineraries.

Ultimately, anyone who wants to spend more on a cruise and enjoy more than the basic "three hots and a cot" needs to decide what is really necessary for their included amenities and how much extra they are willing to pay. They also need to be content paying for extras they don't care about, because pretty much any premium/luxury cruise will include stuff one doesn't want, but still pays for.

[lexxfield]

11 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

The meat was delicious, to this day I have never eaten anything so tender and juicy. I wonder what kind of meat it was ? I really did not want to know. I had suspicions though.

Roach Beef.

[Acehighclm]

On 5/8/2024 at 4:45 PM, Lbsahm said:

Yacht Club is far above our means. That said, a balcony cabin just about max’s out our cruise budget. 
I’d much rather cruise every year or two, in a balcony, than once every five years in YC. 

That said, if any of the ‘affluent’ people on here want to adopt a 59 year old, I’ll happily tag along with your yacht club experience. I’ll even carry all your bags. 

Maybe not, Have you ever searched a 4 day Yacht club for a range of dates? You can get an interior room for under $1000.00 pp. on certain dates.

[SailorfromBrazil]

On 5/8/2024 at 5:45 PM, Lbsahm said:

Yacht Club is far above our means

Don't underestimate the power of an UPgrade bid 😁

I've got an upgrade to YIN from a Balcony for less than it would cost to add the drink package and WiFi, which are both complimentary in YC.

[nferr]

I'm the cruiser that mostly travels solo and loves to roam around the ship. I hit different clubs at night and always find a decent place to sit and enjoy the sun on a sea day without fighting to sit next to the pool. I usually get a few nights of specialty dining and always manage to find decent food. For this cruiser the yacht club thing doesn't appeal to me at all. I don't like a "butler" hovering around, and I like to wander the ship. But that's just me - my best friend books the Haven on NCL and Yacht Club on MSC. He doesn't get my view at all. Everyone's different.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

3 hours ago, nferr said:

But that's just me - my best friend books the Haven on NCL and Yacht Club on MSC. He doesn't get my view at all. Everyone's different.

 

One of my best friends, who could afford Haven LOVES the solo cabins and special lounge on NCL for single cruisers.

[Sharon_and_TC]

5 hours ago, nferr said:

 Everyone's different.

 

And THAT'S  the beauty of cruising. 

 

Something that will work for everyone!

[TheMichael]

On 5/15/2024 at 2:30 PM, no1talks said:

The funny thing about Vegas is if you wait long enough, the properties that were once a big splurge and big deal become "affordable" stays. (I'm looking at you, Luxor.) 😆

 

Luxor is fairly unique in its issues (those pyramid rooms were not going to seem "luxury" for long, with the gaudy theming and saggy drapes and "inclinatiors" that became rather rickety very quickly. Once MGM bought the place, its position in the hierarchy was kind of set.

 

However, it's a great budget-priced spot and the rooms are being (slowly) renovated. If you do the M Life Rewards it's cheap to eat at Diablo's, which is pretty damn good, and the walkway to Mandalay Bay means access to some great spots (Ri Ra!). I did once get upgraded to a tower suite where I couldn't tell if the primary scent was cleaning solution or cat pee, though.

[MsTabbyKats]

So...the great debate (in my head) was between "regular folks balcony" or interior YC.

For us, it's not affordability, it's all about value for the product purchased.

I weighted the pros and cons...and YC won out. 

 

Most likely I'll still be getting my daily pizza (and most meals) in the main buffet, not sitting in the YC designated area of the theatre and declining offers by the butler to be escorted etc.  Point being....we'll be living in both worlds for a week.

 

But we rarely use the balcony and travel really light (one carry on each...so inadequate storage isn't a problem).  It's the priority embarkation/disembarkation, priority boarding in ports...and hopefully, weather permitting...making use of the pool deck for breakfast/lunch buffets and lounging that were pivotal.  Also, having a 24/7 concierge right there in case of emergency was a factor.

 

Based on our last cruise....YC Deluxe Balcony....was an unnecessary expense.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

6 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Most likely I'll still be getting my daily pizza (and most meals) in the main buffet, not sitting in the YC designated area of the theatre and declining offers by the butler to be escorted etc.  Point being....we'll be living in both worlds for a week.

 

We are kind of like this, except I like my reserved theater seats. 🙂

 

We like the YC poolside buffet for lunch and dinner, but like the main buffet for dinner vs the YC dining room. I eat at A LOT of restaurants because I travel A LOT on business, so I enjoy the speed and convenience of the main buffet.

 

[Anastas617]

16 hours ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

 

One of my best friends, who could afford Haven LOVES the solo cabins and special lounge on NCL for single cruisers.

Have my first NCL cruise in one of those solo cabins in February. Glad most of the reviews I've read/seen have been fairly positive.