Deckside Digest - YC Edition: Volume 24 Episode 1 (MSC Seascape 8/17-8/24)

[Best Cat Mom]

So excited that you're on board now -- so much so, that you'd think we were on board as well. Thanks for helping us get through the next 4 weeks until we board! 🙂

[DaKahuna]

10 hours ago, MonsterJoe said:

Does anyone know why cc sometimes attaches images sideways?  I will hold off on posting any until I figure that out..

 

 I have not been able to figure it out but I have found when I attach one and it comes up that way, I delete it from CC, open it on my device, edit, rotate it until it shows up right on my device again, and the re-post to CC and it seems to fix the problem. 

 

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

You skipped the grilled tournedos in the YC restaurant? We love those on day 1 for lunch. And I love the octopus soup. (I think the hamachi and avocado carpaccio has a cult-type following on CC as well.)

 

 I was torn between the Rockfish Stew and the Grilled Tournedos on our one and only Divina sailing.  I went with the stew, in an attempt to eat healthier.  This time with a B2B I have the opportunity to alternate 🙂 

 

5 hours ago, MonsterJoe said:

lunch on the pool deck was simple but nice.

 

 Do you recall any of the main entree offerings from the pool deck?  

 

[MonsterJoe]

4 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

You skipped the grilled tournedos in the YC restaurant? We love those on day 1 for lunch. And I love the octopus soup. (I think the hamachi and avocado carpaccio has a cult-type following on CC as well.)

 

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I was torn between the Rockfish Stew and the Grilled Tournedos on our one and only Divina sailing.  I went with the stew, in an attempt to eat healthier.  This time with a B2B I have the opportunity to alternate 🙂 

 

 

 Do you recall any of the main entree offerings from the pool deck?  

 

 

Yes I've had all that before and enjoyed them!

 

DS gets stressed out about food...he's come along way but clubbing him over the head YC dining room the second we boarded didn't seem worth it when he doesn't have a choice where we eat dinner and we know he loves buffets where he has compete control.  He's not a chicken nuggets and ketchup kid...he just prefers simple foods. He got some chicken with peas carrots and mashed potatoes for lunch.

 

Later on we went to the main buffet to check it out.  I know YC likes to talk up the pool buffet, but to be blunt (not negative because we enjoyed it) 95% of everything that was at the pool buffet was in the main buffet...but the main buffet has 75% more.

 

The differences at the pool buffet are that they have a couple fish and chicken options they will cook to order....and the serenity.

 

There was roasted chicken and pan fried fish, breaded fried pork chops a roast beef on the carving station, several kinds of vegetables, salad fixings, cheese and deli meat, bread, and some desserts...plenty

[MonsterJoe]

I'll write more about the rest of the day tomorrow!

[DaKahuna]

8 minutes ago, MonsterJoe said:

DS gets stressed out about food...he's come along way but clubbing him over the head YC dining room the second we boarded didn't seem worth it when he doesn't have a choice where we eat dinner and we know he loves buffets where he has compete control.  He's not a chicken nuggets and ketchup kid...he just prefers simple foods. He got some chicken with peas carrots and mashed potatoes for lunch.

 

 Absolutely understandable.  My first thought when I read that was to remember you were traveling with two of your children but did not want to assume. 

 

9 minutes ago, MonsterJoe said:

There was roasted chicken and pan fried fish, breaded fried pork chops a roast beef on the carving station, several kinds of vegetables, salad fixings, cheese and deli meat, bread, and some desserts...plenty

 

 Thank you.  Of the two of us my wife is the one with the delicate stomach and therefore is the pickier of the two of us.  So was curious as to the buffet offerings.  We only did breakfast at the buffet on our Divina cruise. 

 

 Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your cruise as we board a week after @Best Cat Mom

[MonsterJoe]

Also I think I said yc tent was aft, earlier...obviously it is forward and not aft. If you had any idea how much bourbon I've had today, you would forgive me.

[MonsterJoe]

Testing a theory...

 

Yep...I think it depends on the orientation of the phone or the aspect ration of the image...in the case of a phone, portrait and landscape.

 

I took the first one on the plane in portrait amd the second at dinner in landscape.

Edited August 18 by MonsterJoe

[Georgia_Peaches]

Just came across this live review!  Here’s wishing you and the fam a wonderful cruise. 😊
 

Although we could use a cruise right

about now…🤦🏼‍♀️… we don’t board until November. 
 

Edited August 18 by Georgia_Peaches

[MonsterJoe]

@DaKahuna I have confirmed at the lounge, they have almond, soy, and lactose free milks on hand for coffee drinks.

[DaKahuna]

38 minutes ago, MonsterJoe said:

@DaKahuna I have confirmed at the lounge, they have almond, soy, and lactose free milks on hand for coffee drinks.

 

 Thank you.  That will help put my DW at ease. 

 Your comment about too much bourbon sounds like you are enjoying yourself.  Glad to hear that.  Looking forward to hearing more. 

 

[George C]

On 8/16/2024 at 10:10 PM, DaKahuna said:

 

 I like your list and may steal it after customizing it for us. 

 I wore a suit for work for years and never really felt comfortable wearing them.  I've put on a little weight since retiring two years ago and don't think I could button the collar on my dress shirts.  

 I know a lot of people enjoy getting dressed up that's just not us. 

 

 

I retired ten years ago , did still pack a tux for formal nights but now I don’t even pack a sports jacket . 

[Best Cat Mom]

4 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Although we could use a cruise right about now

Ouch! You really do need one now. 😞

[lahlah57]

5 hours ago, MonsterJoe said:

Testing a theory...

 

Yep...I think it depends on the orientation of the phone or the aspect ration of the image...in the case of a phone, portrait and landscape.

 

I took the first one on the plane in portrait amd the second at dinner in landscape.

So there is cloud cover? Is it still warm and have you had rain?

Are the evenings cooler and by the way.......that image is divine regardless of clouds! 😊

Edited August 18 by lahlah57
Added

[MonsterJoe]

36 minutes ago, lahlah57 said:

So there is cloud cover? Is it still warm and have you had rain?

Are the evenings cooler and by the way.......that image is divine regardless of clouds! 😊

The clouds in that picture were in the distance...it has been on and off cloudy, but mostly beautiful. 84f today with 80 humidity...pretty nice. I'm a sweaty guy, buy I've been doing OK:)

 

 

[MonsterJoe]

Ok - it was DW's turn to put DD2 down for her nap, so I took advantage and brought my laptop to TS to figure out my connection issues.

I'm up and running now - so while I'm an enjoying and MSC martini, I will run through yesterday.

Yesterday was a good day. We took time to casually amble around the ship to get our bearings. DD2 woke up in time for the push off, so we came back to TS and played some checkers and had some drinks while that was happening.

I hide a sidecar and DW had an espresso martini.

We were lamenting that the beautiful outside space was the smoking section, but we went out anyway and nobody was smoking.  A vaper here and there, but not bad. It's a really cool spot on the ship and gets a great breeze.  At night the lounges and table glow.

We then went back to get ready for dinner.  

At about 6:15, before heading upstairs to dinner, we stopped in TS to pick up our requisite Pre Dinner Extra Dirty Martinis and headed up.

The dining room as low capacity at that time and we were greeted graciously.  They gave us a prime window table and quickly got us a high chair for DD2.  To our pleasant surprise, it was a nice Cicco, complete with a tray.  It makes a big difference!

We waffled over the menu a bit, but ended up with our orders.

DS: parmesan risotto, meatballs with penne, passion fruit sorbet
DD2: meatballs with mashed potatoes, passion fruit sorbet
DW: Tomato soup, The stuffed tortellini, Gramma's Chocolate Cake
Me: Vegetable Dumplings, Duck Terrine, Filet, Coconut Pistachio Dacqouise.
Table: Seafood and Leek Risotto

It was all good - no complaints.

Service was amazing as always - they fawned over DD2 as we've come to expect.

I ordered the Oberon with dinner - it was really really great - I enjoyed it a lot.
DW has RM Chardonnay - she liked that one too, but no real surprise as we've had it plenty of times.

After dinner we freshened up and mosied on down to the Atrium where we ran into a friend we met last year on Seaside - so we decided to hang out there for a bit.  

DD2 was getting tired at this point, so we took a loop through the buffet to grab some pizza and headed back to the room.

Good day...today is half way through and I've already got some notes for tomorrow.

I'm happy to go and ask questions or scout things as I have time to.

Now that my laptop is working, I'll start to use the DSLR to take pictures.

Edited August 18 by MonsterJoe

[DaKahuna]

16 minutes ago, MonsterJoe said:

I hide a sidecar and DW had an espresso martini.

 

  I applaud you wife and your choices of drink - I have been known to enjoy both of those. 

 

 

[lahlah57]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

  I applaud you wife and your choices of drink - I have been known to enjoy both of those. 

 

 

There have been many mentioning the sidecar. What exactly is in it?

[Best Cat Mom]

Hennessy, lemon juice and Cointreau are shaken with ice and then served in a martini glass with a sugar rim (that last part is my preference). Yummy! 🙂

 

https://www.liquor.com/recipes/sidecar/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidecar_(cocktail)

Edited August 18 by Best Cat Mom

[Best Cat Mom]

Thanks for the image of the cabin. We've been on Seaside but this will be our first sailing on Seascape. We were wondering if the YC1s had the same open shelving next to the bed. Nice to have a bit of a separator but still be able to see the moonlight on the water. 🙂

[MonsterJoe]

1 hour ago, Best Cat Mom said:

Thanks for the image of the cabin. We've been on Seaside but this will be our first sailing on Seascape. We were wondering if the YC1s had the same open shelving next to the bed. Nice to have a bit of a separator but still be able to see the moonlight on the water. 🙂

Yes, we love that feature. We love the stateroom. It's our first non YIC in YC....even in Aurea when we had the mega bowling alley suite deck....we didn't like it as much as you would think because you couldn't use all of it...and the shorter balcony here (while still a generous size) allow much better views of the water from inside, without 20 feet of dividers blocking it from the left and right.

Edited August 18 by MonsterJoe

[MonsterJoe]

4 hours ago, lahlah57 said:

There have been many mentioning the sidecar. What exactly is in it?

I only had it because I read so much about it from Da!  I liked it...but I prefer a traditional old fashioned...which I got from the Shine Bar last night from our Seaside friend....it was good and stronger than normal...relationship building is such a powerful social function!

[lahlah57]

4 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

Hennessy, lemon juice and Cointreau are shaken with ice and then served in a martini glass with a sugar rim (that last part is my preference). Yummy! 🙂

 

https://www.liquor.com/recipes/sidecar/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidecar_(cocktail)

Sounds like a good drink for a fuzzy brain. 

[lahlah57]

4 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

Hennessy, lemon juice and Cointreau are shaken with ice and then served in a martini glass with a sugar rim (that last part is my preference). Yummy! 🙂

 

https://www.liquor.com/recipes/sidecar/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidecar_(cocktail)

I scrolled down to see some beautiful drinks.....one called the Grave Digger.....I don't even want to venture!

[Best Cat Mom]

48 minutes ago, lahlah57 said:

Sounds like a good drink for a fuzzy brain. 

Try having 5 rounds after dinner!