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

[MonsterJoe]

2 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

@MonsterJoe -- Thanks so much for taking the time to post your live thread! We're on Seascape for the first time in 3 weeks (but who's counting -- right @DaKahuna?) and this was a great grounding of the who, what, where, etc. I've done 2 live threads so far and I know that they are quite a time investment and how hard it can be to remember to jot down notes for whenever you are ready to post. If your phone was not available since Thursday, I'm especially impressed with you being able to recollect so much.

 

Thanks again and hope your travels home are uneventful!

Thank you!

We are sitting in the sky lounge now waiting to fly home. Nice trip.

Stay tuned in the next day or two for the document dump.

[DaKahuna]

@MonsterJoe Thank you very much for your wonderful review, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it gave me some great information that I'll do my best to put to use when we embark in 27 days (a week after @Best Cat Mom. 

 

 I also appreciate your taking the time to answer all the questions I kept throwing at you.  

 

 I was very sorry to hear about the accident with your iPhone.  I am hoping that you'll be able to get it repaired or replaced quickly and did not loose too much data or important information. 

 

 

[MonsterJoe]

4 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

@MonsterJoe Thank you very much for your wonderful review, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it gave me some great information that I'll do my best to put to use when we embark in 27 days (a week after @Best Cat Mom. 

 

 I also appreciate your taking the time to answer all the questions I kept throwing at you.  

 

 I was very sorry to hear about the accident with your iPhone.  I am hoping that you'll be able to get it repaired or replaced quickly and did not loose too much data or important information. 

 

 

Thank you - it was my pleasure giving something back to the community that I have learned so much from!

I really enjoyed helping with questions - kind of a like a scavenger hunt!

No worries about the phone. It's funny - I develop web and phone apps for a living - but I hate my phone. I often forget where I put it or forget to check it. Everything is in the cloud these days, so no worries about data loss...not like when I lost my point and shoot camera in the early 00s that contained all the pictures of DD1s birth (hard lesson learned)  I consider my time without it a blessing.  The annoying part is unexpectedly paying for another one. 🙂

Edited August 25 by MonsterJoe

[MonsterJoe]

Good flight home - about 30 minutes late, but that's ok. The flight was good.  We got upgraded, so my tall self always appreciates the extra leg room FIL had problems with our car, so he was a bit late, but that's ok too...everyone is healthy and happy and at 2:30 I am writing this from the comfort of my own bed...which...while not a cruise, or YC...is a comfort that cannot be replaced.

[DaKahuna]

7 hours ago, MonsterJoe said:

No worries about the phone. It's funny - I develop web and phone apps for a living - but I hate my phone. I often forget where I put it or forget to check it. Everything is in the cloud these days, so no worries about data loss..

 

 I use my phone quite a bit for just about everything.  However, I do not keep much in the cloud.  I do have my devices configured to upload pictures, documents, contacts information, etc. to iCloud but once I am home, I use my MacBook Air to download everything to local storage and then move it to my own personal cloud (a 20 TB NAS on my home network).  That way I have everything backed up and stored safely.  

 

 Glad that you and your family are home safe and sound and I know exactly what you mean about the feeling of sleeping in your own bed.  It's hard to beat that feeling no matter how comfortable a the ships or hotels beds might have been. 

 

[MonsterJoe]

Recap & Reflection

Overall Impressions
This cruise has been a fantastic experience. From the moment we stepped on board, the welcoming atmosphere and friendly staff set the tone for a relaxing and enjoyable week. The ship was well-maintained, and the range of activities offered something for everyone.

 

Highlights of the Cruise

Favorite Port: Our day in San Juan was a highlight, with its beautiful streets and delicious food. Exploring the city and having lunch at Muelle 13, where we enjoyed a tapas sampler and mofongo, was memorable.

 

Best Meal: I’d say it would have to have been Italian night. Everything on the menu was really good!

 

Onboard Entertainment: Watching DS and DW try Robotron was a lot of fun, and the evenings spent playing card games in Top Sail added a personal touch to our evenings. We didn’t venture out much for the music, as we had planned to, but Felipe’s Flamenco Guitar in TS was really great.

 

Cabin and Accommodations
16014: Our cabin was comfortable and had everything we needed. The bathroom was huge compared to the previous ones we’ve had. The sofa bed was really easy to do compared to others we have had. Housekeeping did a great job keeping it tidy throughout our stay. I loved our proximity to the lounge - it made darting out for drinks and snacks super convenient.

We were also right across from the bathrooms.  That’s not as awful as it sounds, in fact the opposite. Since the rooms are separated from the main section by a glass hallway, there is a lot of separation - and the family bathroom being so close that we were able to use it as our own half bath. Great for diaper changes and not stinking up the room, as it had a changing table and diaper genie.

 

Dining and Food
The dining options in general were impressive, with a variety of choices to suit all tastes. The food quality in general was excellent, and special dietary needs were well-catered for.

The crew in the YC restaurant was amazing. All of them, not just the two we had for the week. We ended up interacting with all of them at some point. One of our favorite dining experiences was the Italian-themed dinner, featuring dishes like lasagna, osso bucco, and pistachio-crusted rack of lamb. The butter chicken and shrimp risotto were also standout dishes.

Hola! is worth the spend at least once, in my opinion.

Get the made to order entrees at the pool - they were prepared well every time. Other than that, the food options are a small selection of the dishes from the Marketplace Buffet

 

Brunch - until it is offered in the YC restaurant I will not return.  The dish I got was pretty good - the service was not communicated at all, leaving us confused and disappointed.

 

Service and Crew

In YC
The service in general was outstanding, with the crew going above and beyond to make our stay enjoyable. Special thanks to those I noted previously for their exceptional service.

There were a couple points where I thought some service lacked. Nothing terrible or unforgivable, but I will note them here.

When leaving a note for our Jr. Butler on the first day with what we would like in the fridge…I mentioned beers and some wine. I thought I remembered someone here saying they have the small wine bottles for the mini fridge.  They couldn’t do that, they said because I had already ordered the complimentary liquor bottle. I said OK, no problem…I misunderstood about the wine and that’s perfectly fine - but he went on to say, he would get me a bottle anyway, just the once as he had a friend who could do that.  I never saw the wine and the beer was never restocked. I  never brought it up because I didn’t really care, since Top Sail was so close - but I noted the lack of follow-through

The USB outlet next to the bed did not work. I told them on day one because we have a usb fan we use for white noise and air movement while we sleep.  They said they would have a technician come and look the next day.  Never happened.  Never brought it up again either - but noted the lack of follow-through.

About half-way through the week, my wife decided she would like different pillows.  I asked for the pillow menu. I was told there was no menu, but they would bring some options in the morning for her to pick out.  Never happened. Not the end of the world, but noted the lack of follow-through.

Outside YC
Hit and miss - mostly hit, though. Most of the crew everywhere on the ship was quick with a smile and happy to help.  Here and there were some stinkers, but that is normal. Not everybody enjoys what they do nor are we privy to anything personal they may have going on.
 

Ports of Call and Excursions
Each port offered unique experiences. Puerto Plata’s port surprised me. It was vibrant and fun. The lazy river and wading pools with hammocks in the water were a nice way to stretch our legs off the ship without braving the DR.

Exploring San Juan was a delight, with its vibrant atmosphere and tasty local cuisine. In contrast, Nassau was incredibly crowded with five ships in port and the local hustle was pretty pushy, which made it a bit overwhelming. I’ll skip getting off the ship at Nassau in the future.

Ocean Cay was a bit of a let down, just because of the weather. Not the island’s fault.

 

Improvements or Areas for Future Attention
The cruise was overall a great experience, there were a couple of areas for improvement:

 

While we normally enjoy the buffet, this week on the Seascape we simply stopped going. There were far fewer options than on any other cruise we have ever been on, including The Meraviglia when cruising came back from the pandemic and there were only 1100 cruisers aboard. Every day, over half the stations were closed with shades pulled down, and there were a handful of different dishes repeated throughout the remaining open stations. Some days there was no pasta or curry option that I could find, while on Seaside last year there were several of each, every day. No sweet options for late-night.  The food was still good - the lack of variety and holes in what I consider staples was just disappointing.

 

The smell of smoke around the casino area detracted from the experience on other parts of the ship.  I accept it in the casino because I am expecting it, but not outside of it. Perhaps better ventilation or designated smoking areas away from adjoining parts of the ship could help.

 

Final Thoughts
We had a great time and will definitely do it again (since we just booked two more while on board) Thanks to everyone who followed along with this semi-live review—your comments and questions made this even more enjoyable! I’ll get those documents uploaded tomorrow.

 

Edited August 26 by MonsterJoe

[cellfree]

@MonsterJoe and wife, very clever use of the “family bathroom!”

[MonsterJoe]

[DaKahuna]

@Best Cat Mom  I guess I am just going to have to suffer without any Seascape reviews until you board.  

 

🤥