**Live** MSC Seascape 9/21-9/28 & 9/28-10/5 Caribbean Cruise

[MonsterJoe]

9 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I dare say the constant attempt to avoid contact with germs must be exhausting!  Having said that, I'm totally having our sofa covered in a sheet next time we cruise.

I try reasonably to avoid it ..lots of handwashing...we have sanitizer in every room and vehicle...i try not to touch things in public.

 

...but I am at a different place in life...with 1 formerly school aged (now adult) child, 1 current school aged child, and 1 soon to be school aged child....there is no escaping the germs.  I look forward to my several winter colds as a forced mini vacation where I allow myself to slow down. 😔 

[DaKahuna]

The taxi queue two hours later

 

[cruisebeachgirl703]

6 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Now starts the worst thing about turn around day, saying farewell to friends you have made on the cruise and hours of waiting. 
 

A few comments.  Unlike other cruise lines we have sailed, we received little/no information on the process. No paperwork, no mertings.  Just asked our butler and he answered our questions.

 

So we are now out of our room and have taken over @Best Cat Mom & @Best cat Dad favorite corner of the TSL where we will be for the next hour and a half. 
 

Two ‘Holiday Coffee’s’ have been ordered. 
 

How is your day going?

[DaKahuna]

It’s time to catch up … 

 

We departed the TSL at 1019 to a waiting area they had for YC B2B guest near the gangway on Deck 6.  We were there about 5 or 6 minutes before we were escorted off the ship to a holding area in the terminal.  We arrived and within 30 -45 seconds after we arrived, the non-YC B2B guest arrived.  They were seated in the same area as us with no separation at all.  When it came time to leave that area, one of the gentlemen working that area said “Yacht Club Only” and we stood up and walked toward the escalator.  About four other non-YC folks cut in line with no heed.  We were taken down to the area in the terminal where you go through facial recognition for customs.  There were three lines, people in wheelchairs, walkers and people that just queued up, the YC with our non-YC guest, and then the rest.  By the time they finally got the last lady off the ship, people were queued up in all three lines.  

 

We eventually proceeded to the facial recognition point, there were three positions, and from that point on we did not stop walking other than when we had to present our keycards to the ship security personnel to proceed to the gangway.  

 

We were back onboard and sitting in the top sail lounge with an adult beverage by 1115.  Except for the butlers being unable to keep the non-YC folks from mingling in with us, everything we rather smoothly.  I think the final count was 18 B2B YC guest and the number of non-YC guest was considerably smaller than it had been on the 21st. 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

After about an hour of waiting for our room to be ready we decided to go ahead and eat lunch since the only thing we had with us where our iPads and iPHones.  

 

We picked a seat along the rail overlooking the TSL and I set up my laptop to watch or middle grandson’s college football team play their game.  Unfortunately they did not put on a good showing this weekend.  But we managed to watch while eating and finished our desserts just as halftime started. 

 

For our starters we both chose the Cobb Salad.  My wife does not eat blue cheese so I had extra (from her’s) in mine. 

 

 

For her main, we asked the waiter to bring us the penne pasta but with bolognese instead of the basil tomato sauce.  (We had checked ahead of ordering to make sure the chef would allow the substitution). 

 

 

For my main, I went with the Beef Tornadoes and paired that with a Cabernet Sauvignon 

 

 

 

For our dessert we both ordered the Italian Trio 

 

 

Finished with our meal, we collected our phones and tablets and proceeded to our room where we unpacked and got as much organized as we could. 

 

We are now just relaxing in our stateroom and I am strongly considering a nice nap before dinner. 

 

 

[chrisgp999]

20 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Not sure that even a backup would help if an upgrade bricks your phone at sea.  But DaKahuna may be in a tech guru Beta program and have to upgrade with each new bucket o' bugs...

This is a procedure for resetting a "bricked" iPhone.  Had to use it just once.  It will reinstall factory settings after which you can reinstall your latest backup.

[DaKahuna]

3 hours ago, chrisgp999 said:

This is a procedure for resetting a "bricked" iPhone.  Had to use it just once.  It will reinstall factory settings after which you can reinstall your latest backup.

 

Yes, there is also one for the iPad. I have only used the reset on the iPad have not had to reset my phone (knock wood). 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

I had my afternoon nap and when I woke up it was time to get ready for dinner. 

 

We proceeded to the restaurant and were sat in the new section with a new wait staff.  Our former waiter and his assistant left the ship today and he recommended we have the new staff for this sailing. 

 

With the exception of a table next to the stairway, which we had once last cruise and did not like, all the the two top tables in her section were taken but the hostess sat us at a table next to her section and had her take care of us. 

 

Here’s a little view we had while waiting (actually had to zoom to get people sitting window side out of the frame .. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner, like every meal last week, was excellent 

 

For her starter my DW had the Fried Vegetable Dim Sum Dumplings

 

 

I ordered the Nordic Salad and the Marinated Sea Scallops (to share).

 

 

 

For our main courses, my wife had the Sliced Tuna Steak (I was surprised at how large a service in was). 

 

 

We did ask for an receive some rice to go with her tuna 

 

 

She is really missing traditional Japanese style rice that she eats at almost every meal at home.  This is now it but it is at least rice. 

 

And I had the Prime Rib, just like last week. 

 

 

Notice the side of horseradish at the top — I went through two of those !

 

Rodin, the sommelier, paired my prime with with an excellent Rioja.  We have been very pleased with the wines he and his ‘protoge’ Edison, have chosen for us so far. 

 

 

Dessert for my DW was the standard fruit plate, she started eating before I could grab my camera.  

 

I had the Warm Apple Crumble 

 

 

We topped off dessert with a black tea with honey and lemon for her and two cups of Americano with Bailey’s for me (they are small cups okay!). 

 

Again, if you are interested in seeing the menu’s, which are a repeat of those posted in @Best Cat Mom wonderful review I’ll be happy to post them as well as the daily program information but so far I am not seeing anything new. 

 

I hear the casino calling my name … 

 

 

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

P.S.  I neglected to report that we met @lahlah57 and her husband  in the TSL this afternoon after embarkations.  We were seated in what is going to be our favorite corner of the TSL and they sat down next to us.  After chatting she comment about reading @Best Cat Mom blog and I told her that we had just said farewell to them this morning and asked her CC handle.  It was quite a happy accident that we met.  

 

Her husband has already volunteered to try and take @Best cat Dad place to help me close the bar.  We’ll have to see how that goes. 

 

 

[Scottdalfonso]

I'm getting caught up-- but yes, that little strip of island in Nassau has been bought up by Royal Caribbean and they are building a beach club there... It's hard to see in this pic, but it'll have like 3 pools, some areas for food and of course lots of loungers.... 

Also, you are now on the cruise I was originally booked for- when we booked our first MSC cruise almost TWO years ago, we had Sep 28 as our departure date. But due to some other cruises popping up this summer, we used our free Fantastica date change and pushed it back to December.  I hope you have another great week and look forward to following along!! 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

I was hoping that perhaps you were lucky enough to capture the rare, elusive "green flash" that can occur as the sun sets.

[lahlah57]

Lovely to meet you DaKahuna and I really guessed it was you we were sitting next to. We had an early evening to get unpacked (better late than never!)

So many people we have met and shared info about the ship with.

Once in the YC most do not want to venture too far from it! 

I told my DH we should go out and explore the ship and he just replied with a......why???

I can see where this is going to go🥴

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I was hoping that perhaps you were lucky enough to capture the rare, elusive "green flash" that can occur as the sun set.

 

 

That was my hope as well.

 

In all my years of sailing I have only seen it once and that was in 1971 while the ship was off the coast of Viet Nam.

 

[DaKahuna]

57 minutes ago, lahlah57 said:

Once in the YC most do not want to venture too far from it! 

I told my DH we should go out and explore the ship and he just replied with a......why???

I can see where this is going to go🥴

I tend to agree with your husband.  However we do venture out and about selectively.  The casino is our usual destination as well as the shops onboard.

 

Today we are doing lunch at Kaito Sushi. Other wise it’s the TSL and our stateroom for us most of the day.

 

Tell your husband I looked for him in the TSL last night and forced myself to wait yhere until midnight before giving up snd going to my room 🤣

 

[DaKahuna]

Breakfast this morning was basically more of the same.  Omelette for each of us, DW’s with a side of crispy bacon and mine with a side of ham.  I actually asked for a received a ‘small omelette’. 

 

 

 

Not shown was the Tabasco, mimosa, English Breakfast Tea with honey and lemon, apple juice, orange juice, wheat toast and my bagel with cream cheese. (No you know why the small omelette). 

 

We will have new photo’s and a new experience to report after lunch.  We have a 1200 reservation at Kaito Sushi.  It will be interesting to see what my Japanese wife thinks of the sushi onboard.  She’s usually very critical of any Japanese food, especially sushi, we have outside of Japan. 

 

 

[lahlah57]

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

I tend to agree with your husband.  However we do venture out and about selectively.  The casino is our usual destination as well as the shops onboard.

 

Today we are doing lunch at Kaito Sushi. Other wise it’s the TSL and our stateroom for us most of the day.

 

Tell your husband I looked for him in the TSL last night and forced myself to wait where until midnight before giving up snd going to my room 🤣

 

Sorry about that Da he was out for the count by 8:00pm

We are light weights 😮‍💨

[DaKahuna]

Lunch today was at Kaito Sushi a kaiten or conveyor belt sushi restaurant on board.  The lunch special is 45-minutes all you can eat for a fixed price. It is located on Deck 8 aft where the specialty restaurants are located.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course one must have a Japanese beer to go with their sushi, although my DW had hot sake and hot green tea with hers. 

 

 

The all you can eat also includes a small bowl of friend rice, or yakimeshi

 

 

and matcha ice cream for dessert

 

 

In our opinion Sushi on 5 has been better. The novelty of the kaiten sushi is interesting but I have had much better sushi on other cruises.  To us, as was the teppanyaki -  one and done. 

 

 

 

 

 

[cellfree]

@DaKahuna, reading your “live” as well as @Best Cat Mom, both of you have the Sommelier stop at your table every evening with Pairing recommendations. When we were on Seashore in April it was the Waitstaff who brought the wine to our table, I remember simply being asked what we preferred whether red or white etc. Do I/should I request the Sommelier our first dinner expecting that he/she would then help us throughout the cruise with various Pairings?

[lahlah57]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

Lunch today was at Kaito Sushi a kaiten or conveyor belt sushi restaurant on board.  The lunch special is 45-minutes all you can eat for a fixed price. It is located on Deck 8 aft where the specialty restaurants are located.

 

 

IMG_3422.mov 30.42 MB · 1 download

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course one must have a Japanese beer to go with their sushi, although my DW had hot sake and hot green tea with hers. 

 

 

The all you can eat also includes a small bowl of friend rice, or yakimeshi

 

 

and matcha ice cream for dessert

 

 

In our opinion Sushi on 5 has been better. The novelty of the kaiten sushi is interesting but I have had much better sushi on other cruises.  To us, as was the teppanyaki -  one and done. 

 

 

 

Felt the same way about the mexican place.......meh.

 

 

[Best Cat Mom]

3 hours ago, lahlah57 said:

Sorry about that Da he was out for the count by 8:00pm

We are light weights

He has plenty more nights to become a middle- to heavy-weight. It does take practice. @DaKahuna will be a great trainer, if needed. 😁

[Best Cat Mom]

35 minutes ago, cellfree said:

When we were on Seashore in April it was the Waitstaff who brought the wine to our table, I remember simply being asked what we preferred whether red or white etc. Do I/should I request the Sommelier our first dinner expecting that he/she would then help us throughout the cruise with various Pairings?

We have sailed on Divina many times and there is usually no sommelier there because it is a smaller YC. I think when we were on Seaside, we asked about a specific grape -- a less common one, like maybe a Primitivo or Malbec -- and they said that they would send the sommelier over. If you indicate that you know more about wine than just "red or white," you should be able to get the attention of the sommelier. If that does not work, then yes, just ask for the somm to come to your table.

 

We spent quite a few minutes chatting with Rodin the first few nights and that was good because it helped him to understand our palettes. We also encouraged him to bring us things we'd never tried because, well, why not? Enjoy!

[Best Cat Mom]

32 minutes ago, lahlah57 said:

Felt the same way about the mexican place.......meh

We never even thought about sushi because I am not a seaweed fan. We only tried the Mexican place because I thought I could at least try some food that I've never had. I did, and except for the spicy ones and ones with coriander or avocado, I did fine. And the $17.99 price at the Mexican place did not feel like I was wasting my money. We're happy we tried. And now we know Butcher's Cut is the right place for us.

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, cellfree said:

When we were on Seashore in April it was the Waitstaff who brought the wine to our table, I remember simply being asked what we preferred whether red or white etc. Do I/should I request the Sommelier our first dinner expecting that he/she would then help us throughout the cruise with various Pairings?

 

I agree with what @Best Cat Mom said.  

 

We have had both.  The first few nights we were onboard and at lunch our wines have been picked by our waiters.  I asked for the sommelier one night have hearing glowing reports from @Best Cat Mom and was surprised that someone other than Rodin whom I had heard so much about from them showed up.  Apparently he had just joined the cruise as Rodin’s protoge.  You may have seen him called “Anakin” in her review but his name is Edison.   We are now getting to see both of them most every night.  In fact Rodin was the one that took us to our table last night as Nellie, the hostess, was busy with other guest. 

 

My recommendation if you want to work with a sommelier during dinner, is to ask for the waiter to send the sommelier over to your table.  But a few of the waiters are very knowledgeable it’s just the sommelier has a wider range of wines available to him that the waiters do. 

 

 

[erikb923]

Do they have an actual list of available wines in YC? 

 

I prefer French Chardonnay, can you simply ask for something like that?  

[Best Cat Mom]

3 minutes ago, erikb923 said:

Do they have an actual list of available wines in YC?

They usually do, but the sommelier will give you access to wines not necessarily on that list if you're working with them. We don't limit ourselves by asking for a list.

 

4 minutes ago, erikb923 said:

I prefer French Chardonnay, can you simply ask for something like that?  

Definitely! We've asked for a Napa this or an Australian that plenty of times. The somm will have a conversation with you and try to get what you want.