**LIVE** from MSC Seascape YC (Yacht Club) - Caribbean & Bahamas from Miami 14 September to 28 September 2024

[chrisgp999]

8 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

YC tent is best accessed by the far right lanes and a wide left turn to the inner curb, as I detailed when @morpheusoftheseaand we boarded. They were white tents and quite easy to spot.

 

Make sure to await a butler escort inside, even if you're tempted to go inside yourself. The butler will eacort you to the front of the security screening, bypassing at least a hundred non-YC guests.

 

You and I will have have the same challenge this week as Morph and I did last week -- I envision our threads shall cross quite often.

 

[Someone should insert another Ghostbusters meme, this one about crossing streams, here!]

 

 

On our last seascape cruise YC passengers had a separate entrance to the terminal with its own security screening.  No GenPop allowed.

[Best Cat Mom]

18 minutes ago, chrisgp999 said:

On our last seascape cruise YC passengers had a separate entrance to the terminal with its own security screening.

This was not the case for us. I'm sure we are all looking forward to MSC's new terminal opening and providing us with more permanent arrangements than all these differing and borrowed terminals that MSC is now using.

[Best Cat Mom]

Whilst we were in TSL this afternoon during sail away, the new Future Cruise Consultant came over and chatted with us. He said that the completion date for the new MSC terminal is now 12 April 2025. He also said that "they" internally announced the creation of a Voyagers Club status higher than Diamond about a month ago. Supposedly, the new highest status will be called Blue Diamond and will be awarded at 30,000 points.

 

We've all heard the rumors of a new status and, in particular, from the FCCs since one of the benefits they tout is that when you book with them, you get double points. This has always led me to have a healthy distrust of FCCs in general. Also, we've always been led to believe that FCCs are not MSC employees so why would an internal announcement in their (whatever) company matter to us?

[no1talks]

33 minutes ago, Best Cat Mom said:

Supposedly, the new highest status will be called Blue Diamond and will be awarded at 30,000 points.

 

I Hope the status awards will be worthwhile. (IYKYK.😉)

Edited Saturday at 10:51 PM by no1talks

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 5 - Sea Day

 

We enjoyed our coffee and Baileys in the cabin and then proceeded to breakfast in the TS restaurant.

 

Today we ordered our 2 cappuccini and 2 mimosas but "needed" another round of mimosas to face this busy sea day.

 

BCD ordered an omelette with ham, cheese, mushroom and onion accompanied by apple pastry.

 

I again had two 6-minute soft boiled eggs with ham and mixed berries on the side.

 

Today was the first day we've left the sanctuary of the YC except for when we went on our Puerto Plata excursion. That day, the butler escorted us to our excursion so we really did not see much of the ship. Today we had a lunch reservation for our Diamond meal at Butcher's Cut (BC) at 1:30pm and a wine pairing event in the Wine Cellar at 4pm.

 

We try to always use our Diamond meal for a lunch since we really don't want to miss a YC dinner. Today was our second sea day and we have two more next week. We booked this B2B under one reservation so we only get the 1 free specialty meal.

 

We had the YC concierge reserve our meal just this morning, as it was a last minute decision. We weren't sure if anything would be available, but we knew we had a wine pairing at 4pm and thought a big lunch would be a good foundation for all that wine later. We asked for 1pm or later and settled on 1:30pm, figuring we'd be there until around 3pm or so, with plenty of time between that and the wine pairing.

 

At just before 1:30pm, we stopped by the concierge desk to ask where BC was on this ship. She directed us to Deck 8 and to walk aft when we exited the elevators just outside of YC.

 

We arrived there for our reservation and it was surprisingly lively for so late in the day. One table was even seated after us at 2pm.

 

For our wine, we chose the Argentinian Malbec, a favorite of ours:

 

We are familiar with the menu but took a cursory look through it nonetheless:

 

 

 

We both ordered the House Chop Salad, mine without walnuts to make it GF:

 

For his main, BCD chose the filet with a side of Brussels sprouts:

 

I chose the lamb chops (what else?) with a side of cauliflower:

BCD had gladly accepted the bread "bag" and two flavors of butter, smoked and paprika. The entrées come with 4 sauces -- chimichurri, forest mushroom, peppercorn and bearnaise. The only one GF is the chimichurri. Here is the bread and sauces on the table:

 

For dessert, I had grapes (I finished my glass of Malbec) and BCD ordered the banana date cake:

As we left BC, we realized that the Wine Cellar where our wine pairing would be held was right across from it. We meandered back to our cabin for about an hour and then went right back to where we were for lunch.

 

Day 5 continues...

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, chrisgp999 said:

On our last seascape cruise YC passengers had a separate entrance to the terminal with its own security screening.  No GenPop allowed.

Terminal C has two entrances. Decks 12-19 on the right with the BLUE tents. ( the white tent-like drape is part of the terminal structure and is permanent). This morning at 7:17 when we walked out with the porter the blue YC tents were not set up yet.

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 5 continues…

 

We arrived at the wine pairing at 4pm to find a small group of 8 already assembled outside of the wine cellar. Our host, Dragan, poured us each some Prosecco and spoke a bit about the background of it and how it differs from Champagne. Then he refilled our glasses and added freshly squeezed orange juice and discussed that combination.

 

Next, we moved into the Wine Cellar to high top tables that were set up with five glasses arranged on a paper mat with the names of the wines and some small bites of cheese, fruit and chocolate.

 

 

 

 

He proceeded to have his assistant pour us one wine at a time and he talked the group through tasting each of the 5 red wines. Before we moved to the next wine, he encouraged us to have a taste of the small bites with a sip of wine to discover how the taste of the wine might change and discover which combination each of us preferred with the different wines. It was a slow progression and allowed for an in depth tasting. The two hours passed quickly and we even ran over by about 20 minutes. At the end, he also offered 20% off any purchase of bottles in the cellar. For the $125 per person price, we felt we had a very enjoyable time.

 

I left to return to the cabin and BCD followed shortly after. When he arrived back, he told me that he had passed by the Cocktail Bar that serves all the alcohol for the special restaurants and had seen Frederick behind the bar. We had met Frederick on Seaside at its same bar servicing the specialty restaurants. On Seaside, the bar and specialty restaurants are right outside of the YC enclave. We had spent many a post-dinner evening with Frederick on that cruise. This is where I had discovered what I believe is one of @DaKahuna's favorite drinks, the New Fashioned. We decided to return -- once again -- to the same area on Deck 8 to have a round of drinks at Frederick's bar before our dinner.

 

Day 5 concludes next…

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

I had discovered what I believe is one of @DaKahuna's favorite drinks, the New Fashioned.

 

You are correct.  That is one of my favorite drinks. 

 

In fact, I think I’ll head to the TSL and have one now. 

 

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 5 Dinner...

 

Tonight was Italian night in the TS restaurant. We scanned the menu trying to pare down our choices while having some champagne:

 

 

Unable to resist having to chose between our two favorite starters, we both ordered carpaccio and also shared a caprese (no images -- sorry -- but there's an excellent chance that we'll have these again next week).

 

Rodin brought us a nice Barbaresco to accompany our meal:

 

For our main course, we both chose the grilled lamb chops (mine without sauce to be GF):

 

We also shared an osso bucco:

 

Luckily for us, we were able to resist the risotto this evening.

 

We had a few drinks in the TSL after dinner and waddled off to bed.

 

Day 6 in Nassau is next…
 

[Mommapadraig]

16 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

Day 5 - Sea Day

 

We enjoyed our coffee and Baileys in the cabin and then proceeded to breakfast in the TS restaurant.

 

Today we ordered our 2 cappuccini and 2 mimosas but "needed" another round of mimosas to face this busy sea day.

 

BCD ordered an omelette with ham, cheese, mushroom and onion accompanied by apple pastry.

 

I again had two 6-minute soft boiled eggs with ham and mixed berries on the side.

 

Today was the first day we've left the sanctuary of the YC except for when we went on our Puerto Plata excursion. That day, the butler escorted us to our excursion so we really did not see much of the ship. Today we had a lunch reservation for our Diamond meal at Butcher's Cut (BC) at 1:30pm and a wine pairing event in the Wine Cellar at 4pm.

 

We try to always use our Diamond meal for a lunch since we really don't want to miss a YC dinner. Today was our second sea day and we have two more next week. We booked this B2B under one reservation so we only get the 1 free specialty meal.

 

We had the YC concierge reserve our meal just this morning, as it was a last minute decision. We weren't sure if anything would be available, but we knew we had a wine pairing at 4pm and thought a big lunch would be a good foundation for all that wine later. We asked for 1pm or later and settled on 1:30pm, figuring we'd be there until around 3pm or so, with plenty of time between that and the wine pairing.

 

At just before 1:30pm, we stopped by the concierge desk to ask where BC was on this ship. She directed us to Deck 8 and to walk aft when we exited the elevators just outside of YC.

 

We arrived there for our reservation and it was surprisingly lively for so late in the day. One table was even seated after us at 2pm.

 

For our wine, we chose the Argentinian Malbec, a favorite of ours:

 

We are familiar with the menu but took a cursory look through it nonetheless:

 

 

 

We both ordered the House Chop Salad, mine without walnuts to make it GF:

 

For his main, BCD chose the filet with a side of Brussels sprouts:

 

I chose the lamb chops (what else?) with a side of cauliflower:

BCD had gladly accepted the bread "bag" and two flavors of butter, smoked and paprika. The entrées come with 4 sauces -- chimichurri, forest mushroom, peppercorn and bearnaise. The only one GF is the chimichurri. Here is the bread and sauces on the table:

 

For dessert, I had grapes (I finished my glass of Malbec) and BCD ordered the banana date cake:

As we left BC, we realized that the Wine Cellar where our wine pairing would be held was right across from it. We meandered back to our cabin for about an hour and then went right back to where we were for lunch.

 

Day 5 continues...

I not only avidly follow your wine choices but also your gf. I can eat gluten but no enriched flour or rice.I will probably talk to the chef to see if their rice is enriched. I can skip the breads and dessert but I hate giving up the risotto! ( Folic acid allergy) Do you know what they used on the spiced walnuts?

[Best Cat Mom]

Just now, Mommapadraig said:

Do you know what they used on the spiced walnuts?

I am glad that I can help anyone navigate GF or just allergies in general. I am not celiac, but highly sensitive and figured it out myself when I cut out gluten completely. I remember when I first became GF, I was so scared of being 'glutened' that I would barely eat anything but simple broiled fish or chicken and baked potatoes or broccoli. MSC takes food allergies very seriously and we've found that Europe in general does. There are strict laws about food labeling and restaurant cooking areas. I wish we could have a bit more of that in the US.

 

As for the walnuts, I am not sure what about them is not GF. I do recall from past BC visits that they were the only non-GF item on the Chop Salad. And I have encountered other spiced/glazed nuts over the years that I've been told are not GF. Maybe they use some type of flour to help the flavorings stick to the nuts?

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 6 Daily Program...

 

 

 

 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

8 minutes ago, Best Cat Mom said:

MSC takes food allergies very seriously

They go into overdrive when the owners grandchildren are on board…peanut allergies 

[no1talks]

6 minutes ago, Best Cat Mom said:

As for the walnuts, I am not sure what about them is not GF

 

The source of MSC's walnuts probably processes wheat products as well and the walnuts have to be labeled as possibly "wheat-exposed."

[Mommapadraig]

13 minutes ago, Best Cat Mom said:

I am glad that I can help anyone navigate GF or just allergies in general. I am not celiac, but highly sensitive and figured it out myself when I cut out gluten completely. I remember when I first became GF, I was so scared of being 'glutened' that I would barely eat anything but simple broiled fish or chicken and baked potatoes or broccoli. MSC takes food allergies very seriously and we've found that Europe in general does. There are strict laws about food labeling and restaurant cooking areas. I wish we could have a bit more of that in the US.

 

As for the walnuts, I am not sure what about them is not GF. I do recall from past BC visits that they were the only non-GF item on the Chop Salad. And I have encountered other spiced/glazed nuts over the years that I've been told are not GF. Maybe they use some type of flour to help the flavorings stick to the nuts?

I understand. I’m very careful with my folic acid allergy. For years my doctor told me even though I didn’t have celiac he thought my issues were caused by gluten. Some bad blood work made us look further and found out I have a genetic defect to folic acid which is in all enriched flour, pasta,rice etc. the good news is as long as MSC makes their risotto with Arborio rice I can eat it! I couldn’t find any Arborio rice that was enriched in USA. Ok diet issues aside …carry on! BTW I’ve  taken a photo of all of your wine recommendations.We’ll be on the Meraviglia next Sunday!

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 6 - Nassau

 

We started the day by enjoying the ocean views off our balcony with coffee and Baileys. Our arrival time in Nassau was scheduled for noon. We again had no plans for the day. We did consider checking out the new port area but never made it off the ship.

 

For breakfast today, BCD ordered a bagel with cream cheese and some bacon on the side. I again had two 6-minute soft boiled eggs with ham. We also had our standard 2 cappuccini and 2 mimosas.

 

Towards the end of our meal, it began to rain quite hard. We grabbed 2 Holiday Coffees from TSL and returned to the cabin for a little while. Our butler team were working diligently on the cabins, as people streamed back in from the One Pool deck.

 

We noticed in today's Daily Program that Hola! Tacos was open for lunch, though the other specialty restaurants were not. Given that today was not a sea day, we figured that having only a half day in Nassau made them decide to have one specialty open for lunch.

 

We went to the Concierge Desk to reserve a table at Hola! Tacos for lunch. When the concierge called the specialty restaurant reservation desk, they did not seem to realize that it was open for lunch either. After the concierge told them to check the program, we booked a table for two at 1pm.

 

We docked in Nassau early at 11:16am. Already docked were Carnival's Conquest and Liberty. Seemed like the port would be pretty busy today.

 

We followed our familiar path to the Deck 8 specialty dining area for our 1pm lunch. There was already one party of 3 officers seated. I think one other table was seated while we were there. It was a nice quiet atmosphere.

 

I do not usually eat Spanish/Mexican food, as I don't like spicy food or coriander or avocado. I really don't even understand the menus, except for fajitas or chips/salsa, so I was considering this a learning experience. This was also our first time on a ship that had a Hola! Tacos. @JamieLogical's fondness for the venue is what made us want to try it this time. Thanks, Jamie!

 

We told our server Pamela to "go easy on us" and started with two margaritas on the rocks with a salt rim while we tried to decipher the menu:

 

 

 

We were not sure if any GF preparations would be available since there are no GF notations on the menu. Pamela assured me that I would not go hungry. There were a few menu items where the tortilla could be changed from flour to corn to make those GF. However, some of the meat preparations had gluten in them so I could not have those at all.

 

We started with the chips and salsa. I could not have the chips because they are prepared in the same fryolator as items with gluten (which I am used to, so no big surprise for me there):

 

Then we had the queso, which I could not have with the chips as served but could have with soft corn tortillas that Pamela brought for me:

 

The concierge had said that we should not miss the queso. We had expected the typical liquidy type, but it was chunky with bits of chorizo and very tasty. We later ordered a second one as our 'dessert.'

 

After the queso was (quickly) consumed, Pamela returned to discuss our next course -- tacos. She said that of the seven on the menu, I could have 5. BCD could have all 7. So that's what she brought for us, along with another round of margaritas:

 

 

One was way too spicy for me. One had a glump of guacamole that I scraped off as best I could. One had black beans that I removed. The one that had pineapple on top (middle bottom in the image above) was my favorite. And it was also BCD's favorite. When our server returned to clear the table, she debriefed with us about each one. She told us that the pineapple one was her favorite as well. I felt that we passed the "taco test."

 

Pamela asked if we were ready for the next course -- quesadillas. We felt compelled to continue our food education. First, we needed more margaritas. This time we chose frozen at her urging, because she said they were even better than the rocks version. She was right! They weren't so much frozen but more slushy, and very easy to drink without getting the dreaded brain freeze:

 

We had chosen pork and cheese and plain cheese for our quesadillas. Pamela had both varieties prepared with corn tortillas so I could try both:

 

When she returned to collect our plates, we told Pamela that we liked the quesadillas. She asked if we were ready for the next course (!). We were getting quite full by then, but did ask for one more serving of that delicious queso. And another round of frozen margaritas, of course.

 

Overall, the lunch was great. I was able to try a bunch of stuff that I'd never had before and since it was priced at $17.99 for all you can eat, I did not feel guilty for not eating everything I ordered. The regular margaritas that we drank, both rocks and frozen, were covered by our YC beverage package. Pamela had told us that all the rocks margaritas would be covered, but the frozen fruity ones would have an extra charge. Our bill had only the charges of $17.99 * 2 plus the service charge -- much more value as compared to what our bellies were telling us we'd consumed in that one meal.

 

We both agreed that we were happy we tried Hola! Tacos but that we'd likely not go back. YC is hard to skip when it is your Main Dining Room.

 

Day 6 continues…

 

Edited Sunday at 04:44 PM by Best Cat Mom

[Best Cat Mom]

Well, our week is changing now from Western Caribbean to Eastern Caribbean. The captain just announced that due to a cyclone in the Cozumel/Cayman Islands area, we are going to Grand Turk tomorrow, then Puerto Plata, followed by a sea day, then a day in Nassau, then Ocean Cay and then back to Miami.

 

We're mildly excited since we've never been to Turks and Caicos. We had also not been to Grand Cayman before and had an excursion booked there. They said they would refund excursions to On Board accounts (which is better than a credit card refund, since is should be quicker). I would think it's better for them because more people would not know that they can get cash back from the casino and might instead spend the money on new excursion or shipboard activities. We're hoping there'll be an excursion on Grand Turk that piques our interest. Otherwise, we'll be on the ship -- but if you've read even a day of this, you know that is no problem for us!

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, Best Cat Mom said:

We noticed in today's Daily Program that Hola! Tacos was open for lunch, though the other specialty restaurants were not

Scroogette, only opened one.

[Best Cat Mom]

After lunch, we returned to the sanctuary of the TSL in YC. While having lunch, we had seen MSC Magnifica docked next to our port side. Our cabin is on the starboard side, where we saw the 2 Carnival ships. In TSL, we chose a table on the port side, where we then saw Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas on the port side of Magnifica. That made 5 ships in port today -- wow. That also made us glad that we did not go outside today.

 

About an hour passed with me typing and BCD building cars while enjoying some adult beverages. As I was looking out the window, I realized that there was still another ship aft of Magnifica also on its port side. We checked cruisemapper.com and found out it was Royal's Adventure of the Seas. Six ships at Nassau today? We were really glad we did not go outside today!

 

BCD took a panoramic picture of the port on our starboard side and a view of the other side of the pier:

 

 

Also, we've noticed this hand on the bridge from our balcony and they make it wave when we pass other ships:

 

Dinner time arrived so we changed into evening attire and presented ourselves to the host at the TS restaurant. We enjoyed some champagne and examined the offerings:

 

We began with BCD ordering the dumplings and I ordered the salmon:

 

 

Rodin suggested a dry Gewürztraminer for our starters:

 

Next, we both selected the scallops for our entrées (sorry, we were so eager to started that we did not take the picture right away -- there were 5 scallops originally):

The fumé blanc that Rodin brought us was a great accompaniment:

Afterwards, we enjoyed a few drinks in TSL before retiring to our cabin.

 

PS: Here are the lunch menus from the service we missed while we were in Hola! Tacos:

 

 

Day 7 comes next…

[Keys Kathy]

On 9/18/2024 at 4:24 PM, DaKahuna said:

You did not happen to try the Udon Noodles did you?  What they served for Udon on Divina was definitely not udon noodles and I know my DW will be upset if she orders it and get a form of spaghetti noodles again. 

 

We were on the seaside August 31st to September 7th. I thoroughly enjoyed the Udon noodles but I asked for some shrimp on them.

Edited Sunday at 08:42 PM by Keys Kathy

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 7 Daily Program...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

4 minutes ago, Best Cat Mom said:

we've noticed this hand on the bridge from our balcony and they make it wave when we pass other ships

Captain Tuvo uses the white hand to indicate which side of the ship he will docking, thus waving to arriving and departing guests,

[Best Cat Mom]

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

Captain Tuvo uses the white hand to indicate which side of the ship he will docking, thus waving to arriving and departing guests,

How quaint! We first noticed it on Embarkation Day and never picked up on a pattern. It's his Bye-Bye hand. 😁

[morpheusofthesea]

1 minute ago, Best Cat Mom said:

How quaint! We first noticed it on Embarkation Day and never picked up on a pattern. It's his Bye-Bye hand. 😁

And howdy doo as well. I didn't know either. I asked a staff member on the pier one day. "What's with that white hand ?"

[chrisgp999]

23 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

This was not the case for us. I'm sure we are all looking forward to MSC's new terminal opening and providing us with more permanent arrangements than all these differing and borrowed terminals that MSC is now using.

DW and I must have hit the lottery of pre-boarding experiences.  The only downside was the furnishings in the pre-board area.  Looked like a GenPop area with glass partitions to separate us from the less fortunate.  Seating was classic airport boarding gate style.  The upside was an endless supply of champagne and snacks along with a very congenial group of fellow YC folks.