OBSERVATIONS FROM THE POOP DECK SEASCAPE SEPTEMBER

[morpheusofthesea]

Well it is time for another update on what is going on aboard the MSC Seascape out of Miami. This is your favorite, love to hate, fellow ultracrepidarian, Morpheus, leaving this Saturday for one week. My last three cruises on Seascape in April, July and August (all one week cruises) were the best we have had in 50 years of cruising (Cannot repeat this statement enough and will do again). Of course we were occupying a cabin in the Yacht Club. With MSC garnering the second to lowest spot for worst cruise lines in the world it has to be YC to save the day garnering the top spot (in my estimation) for the world's best cruise line.

Here is my list that makes the Yacht Club the number one cruise line in the world.... A lot has to do with which ship in the MSC fleet one has chosen. Next is who the Hotel Director is, followed by Yacht Club Director, Head Butler, Maitre d' and Chef of the YC restaurant. Our latest cruise was April, June and July 2024 on the Seascape and these last 3 are the best cruises we have had in 50 years of cruising. Never sailed on a MSC ship in a cabin outside the Yacht Club. We can list now all the things to look out for when booking any cruise ship.

#1 E muster drill is better. Seascape was to take elevator, scan any time after 11:30, watch video, call#.

#2 Two cabin cleanings per day

#3 No % charge for gambling if using credit card

#4 No extra charge for can sodas vs fountain drinks, all included.

#5 Reserved seating in the theatre for all shows

#6 Complimentary bottled water (not ship distilled with unsanitary reusable bottles)

#7 Reserved or ability to reserve pergola/cabanas on pool deck (avoiding chair hogs)

#8 'Cushioned' pool lounges

#9 Escorts on and off ship avoiding long lines. Group or personal escorts.

#10 First to use tenders off the ship at ports that tender

#11 Dedicated restaurant that is so good one need not book Specialty Restaurants

#12 Service that does not involve 2 hours to complete a meal

#13 An attentive butler is not hard to find when needed to be escorted to the front of ANY line (queue). Depends on the guest ($).

#14 Cabins ready upon embarkation/ key cards in hand at check in

#15 Dedicated restaurant OPEN port days

#16 Dedicated buffet to only suite guests

#17 Dedicated pool and sun deck only for suite guests with ample lounges

18 All the advantages of a mega ship with the exclusivity of a gated community

#19 walk-in shower not low profile tub/shower combo

#20 No non-suite paying Pinnacle/Zenith/Diamond passengers taking up prime real estate in the Yacht Club

#21 Elevator override key cards for suite guests

#22 Pristine out island with NO bugs crawling all over cabanas

#23 short distance between cabin and restaurant decks

#24 At least a 100 sq ft balcony accommodating a cushioned lounge chair

#25 A reserved table for 2 for all meals in a dedicated restaurant with the same waiters for 'most' every meal

#26 More options for nightly entertainment besides theatre show productions, Loft Cafe, Uptown Lounge, Le Cabaret Rouge, Atrium, Dueling Pianos Times Square, and Top Sail Lounge.

#27 The complimentary WiFi, Premium Drink Package, mini bar and full bottle of your choice liquor. 9-12 bottles in RS & OS to take home. (Thanks Fissues)

#28 A price for a Yacht Club Royal Suite cabin that is 1/3 the price of Regent Grandeur GS without being treated like steerage and NOT a butler that escorts one to the END of any line but to the front like YC butlers.

#29 Option to book exclusive excursions

Edited September 12 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

For those of you out there that like to compare your favorite Celebrity Retreat...

These are the differences between Retreats and Yacht Clubs...

.#1 MSC Yacht Club Restaurant is OPEN port days. Celebrity Luminae is NOT open port days.

#2 MSC YC has reserved seating in the theatre for YC guests at all shows. Celebrity only Gala night.

#3 Royal Suite on MSC has 2 cushion deck lounges on the balcony. Celebrity RS can only accommodate 1 non cushioned deck lounger.

#4 MSC has reserved pergolas/cabanas for RS & OS.. Celebrity on sundeck; it is FCFS chair hoggers that get those.

#5 More attentive butlers on MSC . Celebrity hosts give one their telephone number which many times is forwarded to room service.

#6 Walk-in showers on MSC YC, Celebrity has low profile tub/shower combos in CS and SS.

#7 Elevator OVERRIDE key cards for suite guests on MSC. No such amenity on Celebrity.

#8 No non-suite paying Diamond card holders taking up real estate in YC venues. Celebrity has non suite Zeniths in our venues.

#9 MSC All suites are within a gated community with a short climb up or down to all venues. Celebrity depends on what ship.

#10 MSC a new pristine Ocean Cay out island with its own employees and no bugs crawling all over the lounges. Celebrity has mostly Nassau.

#11 MSC offers Individual escorts on and off the ship. Celebrity one must assemble and be escorted off in groups (always waiting for some straggler).

#12 For those that enjoy buffets MSC YC has its own buffet at the One Pool Deck

#13 Celebrity has one great feature that MSC lacks; Cafe al Bacio has no peer on MSC for its selection of 12-14 mouth-watering pastries.

#14 YC has the best entertainers on the ship providing evening music in the TopSail Lounge, nothing in the Retreat Lounge.

#15 YC Pool Deck has a pool, only Celebrity E-class ships have a pool.

#16 MSC YC has much better price than the Retreat

Yes, much redundancy but many times repetition is needed to get through some thick skulls.

 

•  

[Georgia_Peaches]

Can’t wait for this!  We are on Seascape in November for our 20th wedding anniversary and I am so excited about this ship. Safe travels tomorrow. 

[billc23]

Thank you, thank you, and thank you for pointing out the differences between the YC and Retreat. I have sailed on all classes of Celebrity ships, always in their upper suites (mostly PH) for over 26 weeks onboard since the post covid restart. I gave the YC a try in July in an extra wide balcony cabin on the Seascape. Pretty much everything was more enjoyable including the food, service, and public space. I have booked 6 weeks in the YC (Seascape and Seashore) over the next 12 months and am trying the RS and OS to decide on my preferred accommodations. Perhaps the type of suite booked in the YC will elevate the experience - if that is even possible. 

One great feature of booking the YC, compared to Celebrity, is I can get inside cabins for the grandkids and they will have full YC privileges. The one thing that Celebrity has are much larger cabins in their upper suites. The M class PH is my favorite cabin on Celebrity, but the YC experience is so much nicer with the wonderful TSL just down the hall. 

 

One addition to your extensive comparison is that the MSC book on board benefits are superior than those offered by Celebrity. 

 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

14 minutes ago, billc23 said:

The one thing that Celebrity has are much larger cabins in their upper suites. The M class PH is my favorite cabin on Celebrity,

You're preaching to the choir. Though for just two of us we found we did not utilize this space. Did not want to disturb the neighbors with the player piano and the one time we opted to have room service lunch we were in some Caribbean port and opened the sliding door to the left of the dining room table and within 15 minutes had to close it as we were swarmed with port flies landing on our lunch. (Yes, DW always covers the upholstery with clean towels). Both the bedroom and living room had areas big enough for dancing, but we found that the RS and OS on Seaships our 'Goldilocks' cabins.

[morpheusofthesea]

Cannot fault Celebrity with being stingy with the towels. Bigger suites have more furniture to cover.

[morpheusofthesea]

While looking for these cabin picture I found this was the cruise we had pier runners and our cabin was perfectly situated to capture the entire event. The captain was kind enough to wait the extra 15 minutes and blew the ship's horn every 5 minutes to get these stragglers attention. I must say it was more entertaining than the Ocean Cay lighthouse production.

Edited September 12 by morpheusofthesea

[Cjkfree]

Looking forward to following along. As a Celebrity Retreat cruiser, we finally decided to give MSC YC a try and booked for February 2025. To me (just from reading the MSC board during the past 2 weeks) the differences between the Retreat and YC seem vast.  Can’t wait to learn more!

[morpheusofthesea]

There are two ways one has to go on tour. One can congregate in the Top Sail Lounge and wait for a 'group' to be taken down the elevator to the gangway by an available butler. The problem with this method is there is ALWAYS some inconsiderate fellow guest holding up the group. But if one has a GOOD personal butler who takes the time to 'inquire' what ones' plans are the night before, and finds out one has a tour the next morning, versus one that 'enquires' in a general way. The one that 'enquires' will direct one to the TSL. The one that 'inquires' will offer to meet one at the appointed time at ones' cabin for a personal escort down to the bus or private car.

[morpheusofthesea]

Here is another tip for novices of the MSC Yacht Clubs and even for seasoned veterans that 'think they know everything'.

   One may also make one's own reservations at a Specialty Restaurant. Here is what happened to another YC couple that attempted this. They were seated at Butcher's Cut. Now the staff on board are tired of dealing (overwrought and agitated) with the 'crowd' in steerage booking in the same venues. This YC couple were seated next to a family with unruly, loud children and asked to be moved to a different table. The manager refused their request. A perk of the YC is "prime seating" at specialty restaurants. A complimentary escort by one's butler would have distinguished them as VIPs and gotten them the better service they deserved.

   They pointed out to the manager a vacant table further away and were still refused. They got up and left. We heard the entire story as they were seated next to us in the YC Restaurant. She couldn't wait to tell all of us within earshot. 

P.S. There are reasons why CC data has found MSC steerage class to be the 2nd worst cruise line experience in the world. While if one allows oneself the privileges of the Yacht Club to be utilized, one will be experiencing the best cruise line in the world.

   

Edited September 12 by morpheusofthesea

[Best Cat Mom]

Buon viaggio, Morph! I hope you and Mrs. Morph have a great cruise.

 

As you know, I have an ulterior motive for wishing you well. We'll be on the same cruise as you for our first 7 nights, albeit in "regular" YC cabin. 🙂

 

We're just finishing our last load of preparatory laundry and then we shall pack. Our flight is tomorrow morning. I'll probably start our live thread tomorrow, but it could be later today if I manage my time well.

 

Safe travels on the road to Miami!

[Gordoncruickshank]

3 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

You're preaching to the choir. Though for just two of us we found we did not utilize this space. Did not want to disturb the neighbors with the player piano and the one time we opted to have room service lunch we were in some Caribbean port and opened the sliding door to the left of the dining room table and within 15 minutes had to close it as we were swarmed with port flies landing on our lunch. (Yes, DW always covers the upholstery with clean towels). Both the bedroom and living room had areas big enough for dancing, but we found that the RS and OS on Seaships our 'Goldilocks' cabins.

I I had changed a bit when we were in a PH. This is the Silhouette 2nd cruise after its refit in Feb 2020, then covid started. Excuse the unpacked luggage.

Edited September 12 by Gordoncruickshank

[DaKahuna]

5 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

#10 MSC a new pristine Ocean Cay out island with its own employees and no bugs crawling all over the lounges. Celebrity has mostly Nassau.

 

#13 Celebrity has one great feature that MSC lacks; Cafe al Bacio has no peer on MSC for its selection of 12-14 mouth-watering pastries.

 

#10  Celebrity is now doing stops at Royal Caribbean's CoCo Cay.  Their equivalent to 6-Flags in he Bahamas.  

 

#13  Well, there are those finger foods in the Top Sail Lounge but agree Cafe al Bacio is hard to beat. 

 

Edited September 12 by DaKahuna

[DaKahuna]

5 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Well it is time for another update on what is going on aboard the MSC Seascape out of Miami.

 

 As you know we'll be walking onboard shortly after you walk off so will be paying close attention on what to look out for when we are onboard. 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, Best Cat Mom said:

As you know, I have an ulterior motive for wishing you well. We'll be on the same cruise as you for our first 7 nights, albeit in "regular" YC cabin. 🙂

 

Looking forward to your review as well and especially looking forward to having a cocktail with you in the YC on the 21st.   

 

p.s. we are also in a "regular" YC cabin. 

 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

This is for everyone to come along and join us all...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GrYyuO0TOE

A little Frank Sinatra sing along. 

Let's get in the proper mood with a song sung by Frank Sinatra. Here are the lyrics to give you an idea of this cruise to come.

" Nothing But The Best "

"I like a new (cruise ship) with all of its class

I like a martini, and bird under glass

I'm gonna start living, you wait and see

Nothing but the best is good enough for me

I like to eat lobster directly from Maine

I like to see bullfights in sunny old Spain

I'm gonna start living, you wait and see

Nothing but the best is good enough for me

Talley ho, off we go, who can wait another day

You and me, out on (the sea), let's get started right away

We're gonna go travelin', and have us a fling

We'll visit a palace, and dine (like) a king

We're gonna start living, you wait and see

Nothing but the best is good enough for me."

Lyrics by John Rotella

Edited September 12 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

2 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

Buon viaggio, Morph! I hope you and Mrs. Morph have a great cruise.

 

As you know, I have an ulterior motive for wishing you well. We'll be on the same cruise as you

You would be wishing us well even if you weren't on the same cruise, because that's just the way you are...so nice !

   Please pick out a bottle for you and another for your husband from those I get on this top shelf. I and DW can not consume it all in one cruise.

Edited September 12 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

I guess I will have to watch my p's & q's more closely "as nothing ruins a good story more than the presence of an eyewitness" on this cruise. Mark Twain 

[Best Cat Mom]

4 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Please pick out a bottle for you and another for your husband from those I get on this top shelf.

Noooo, I couldn't. Well, maybe I could. Sir, you are being way too nice. 😁

[Best Cat Mom]

6 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

nothing ruins a good story more than the presence of an eyewitness

Rest assured, everything that happens on Seascape won't be reported. None of my previous 'live threads' dished about other passengers... unless they piped in on my thread themselves.

[morpheusofthesea]

55 minutes ago, Best Cat Mom said:

Sir, you are being way too nice.

"For kindness begets kindness evermore...." Sophocles

[morpheusofthesea]

54 minutes ago, Best Cat Mom said:

None of my previous 'live threads' dished about other passengers...

Thanks, that is my domain....dishing the dirt on other passengers. It is no fun if I haven't something to look down my long nose at.

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I and DW can not consume it all in one cruise.

 

 That's just over a bottle a day -- I am sure if you tried, you could find those in the Top Sail that would be happen to visit your luxurious accommodations and help you with that problem.  Of course giving away full bottles works as well. 

 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

6 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 That's just over a bottle a day -- I am sure if you tried, you could find those in the Top Sail that would be happen to visit your luxurious accommodations and help you with that problem.  Of course giving away full bottles works as well. 

 

 

What's your favorite of the top shelf ? I'll leave a bottle with @Best Cat Mom to gift to you.

[Corriegr]

21 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

While looking for these cabin picture I found this was the cruise we had pier runners and our cabin was perfectly situated to capture the entire event. The captain was kind enough to wait the extra 15 minutes and blew the ship's horn every 5 minutes to get these stragglers attention. I must say it was more entertaining than the Ocean Cay lighthouse production.

 

Pier running should be an Olympic sport. This last cruise the Fjords everyone was far too civilised to partake so every back on board on time. Earlier in the Summer in San Juan in perfect conditions ( sunny day, shipped docked in city, bars close by) on Seacape we had some gallant entrants, but last year in Virtuosa in Toulon we had some real gold medal perfomances and despite the captain being very patient, one couple breaking the tape no doubt too busy enjoying the Gallic hospitality...