JAGR

I do miss the old YC waiting area, but I am hoping they will actually invest in comfortable and ergonomic seating. Those old sofas and stools were a bit too firm and low for comfort. Have a great trip!

He is (as maitre'd), and it is included.

20 seconds of rubbing should have evoked the genie to come out of the lamp, then one of your wishes could have been to keep the light off.

It's called that on Meraviglia, but the Diamond dinner is not good for sitting at the Teppanyaki table or having a teppanyaki meal. It is good for the Kaito sampler, which is soup, salad, and sushi/tempura, and ice cream.

Some would argue that not all of these are craft beers, but MSC thinks they are (at least these are on offer in the Sports Bar):

Lisa is on as chef. She was on our March 3rd sailing

I wonder if it depends on the ship, or how it is booked. When I have booked as two different bookings, I got invoices split (three times). When I booked as one 14-day cruise (that really was a B2B), I got one invoice. Then again, it is MSC!

Unfortunately, no. A different, but still very nice Vishnu!

"Capacity" (available spaces) never changes. If you are asking about load facto, I would guess about 80%.

There were seven regular butlers introduced at the reception, so two per main YC deck (one starboard and one port, I guess) and I'm guessing one for the suites. Depending on the number of cabins, a butler could have two junior butlers. Don't think they rotate sections.

For the room, there were Venchi chocolates every night for turndown. Daily snacks included fruit (both coated and natural), macaroons, chocolate biscuits, cheese and crackers, Different every day. Below is a picture of one afternoon in the Top Sail Lounge.

I know! They said they had it (it was even on the Champagne Bar menu!), but N-F was the only one they had available! It's not bad (very good with orange juice as a mimosa!).

Just the usual Nicolas Feuillatte.

I don't he got on in January, so I would think he would be on for six or seven months total. He is very nice, and actually spent quite a lot of time passing through YC and stopping to visit with guests. His name is Alessandro Galotto. Goes by Alex.

Last week, I don't think the casino operated while in port. The YC reception on Day two was about half an hour. the normal dancers, CD and Sales talks and the Captain. They added two songs by a show singer, which was nice. Only high tea was the afternoon of the last sea day. Would not do Hola. I would do lunch at BC, Ocean Cay, or Sushi over the Hola due to the low regular price.

One thing to also keep in mind is that the current captain is master of his first MSC ship. He brings years of experience from Carnival, but I would be that he would be very reluctant to take any risk on his first MSC command. I was on the sailing the week before, and it was windy, so I trust his judgment, but also wonder about his being especially cautious.

Unfortunately, yes and no!. Rooms on his floor and area were available. but they wanted $2300 to change to a balcony from an interior, and I wasn't willing to pay that much. Last year on Meravilgia, it cost $498 to upgrade total for two of us, and about the same seven months before that on Seashore. Since I was just traveling as a solo, I wasn't willing to pay that. My preferred butler still took care of me when out and about in the public areas, and my assigned butler was his friend and he took great care of me as my primary butler. All in all, it worked out great, and they were out able to help me with getting a ceremony together to put some of my wife's ashes to rest at sea.

Cruise was okay. Couldn't do Ocean Cay due to winds, and it was a bit bumpy the first and last nights on the Atlantic seaboard crew was excellent in the YC! Maitre'd is the famous Arthur Javier (who is just starting a six-month assignment. He has a great hostess and two supervisors, which allows him to mingle and check on guests. No sommelier assigned, but Arthur knows his wines. Hugh Grant was YC director. Honestly, he is Scottish like Robbie Sheriff, but that is the only similarity. Unlike Robbie who is constantly visible and talking with guests, Hugh was only seen passing through the area, never talking with guests that I could see. Not a problem for me, just an observation, as the entire YC group works well as a team. Head concierge is Vishnu, and he has a very good staff of three assistants. Restaurant staff was great! I've never seen so many gold tie waiters (senior staff) before, and each appeared to only have one assistant and fewer tables than normal, where they have two assistants and more tables. Top Sail bartenders we obviously new and struggled to keep up on orders, but there were always a few butlers on hand to assist. The Lounge Butler is Caroline, and she is very good. I wasn't surprised at all when she said that she was trained by the incomparable Arnold Casto Jr.! One deck bartenders and servers are excellent, but I would note that here you begin to see their effectiveness limited by either poor planning or major cost-cutting by those who run supply chain. Examples: They ran out of cranberry juice on day two (picked more up in Port Canaveral), had no Clamato juice, no Fever Tree tonic, and no Bombay Sapphire Gin and no Bailey's Irish Cream! Even though they have quite a few recipes with Bailey's, they are substituting Ryan's (which is cheaper for a reason!). They aren't deal breakers, but the lack of those drinks one likes is a disappointment at least.

Special needs form is available on line. They will usually respond with, "we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your request," but I've always gotten them, at least in YC.

Hi, Morgsmom: To follow-up from last week, I was on a seven-night on the Meravgilia, and service in YC was not as negative as yours. My bottle of booze, selected pillows, confirmation of newspaper choice, requested distilled water and extension cord were in my room at embarkation. Prosecco bottle and strawberries on day two. Had snacks in the room every afternoon. Also, they had a diamond party and returning guests party. Like you, no Toberlone bar and no gift (I have enough MSC tote bags, thanks!). Got diamond chocolate bar on day five, and the small chocolates gift box from the YC director on the last night. I have to say the snacks in the Top Sail were great (lots of variety, and changed out every day!).

Hugh Grant is the YC director. Like Robbie Sheriff, he is a Scotsman (he did come to MSC about a year before Robbie). Nice enough, but unlike Robbie, he does work behind the scenes. Did not see him out talking with the guests just darting through the YC public areas like a man on a mission. That was fine by me. To your first question, I have known and been friends with Onil for years on the unmentionable "Visage Novel," so I knew his current ship and what floor and side of the ship he was on.

Thanks for your review! It's nice (and at the same time unsettling!) to see a newer review from someone with extensive YC experience. I'm on Mera tomorrow for a seven-day cruise, and I'm hoping the cutbacks aren't like what you saw. With Onil as my butler and Arthur in the YC dining room, I am trusting that I will not have a bad time. Thanks for your candid observation!

Technically, it is not a charge, but a security hold. You get credit when it is returned. They also do not guarantee that they will have enough in stock. I always bring a cord. They also will tell you that they don't supply distilled water, but in YC, we've always been give a supply of water. Many (not all!) in other experiences say they have been given distilled water. Gold status doesn't help. I will say, we always fill out the special needs form and ask for water.

No. Arthur Javier is Filipino.

I believe the famous Arthur Javier is Maitre'd. He came on board a few weeks ago.