JAGR

45 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

The Yacht Club area use to be a separate big room with MSC terminal staff to serve drinks, Champagne, etc to the guests seated on cushioned sofas and sometimes we even had entertainment.

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!

16 minutes ago, js said:

Arthur is on the Mera!!!!??? REALLY???!!!

 

Also, I am reconfirming before I book YC again (last sailed January 2019) that the alcohol package is included.

Thank you.

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

48 minutes ago, kernie968 said:

They are sensor, but nothing is near them. If they turned on and I could just touch the button to turn them off it wouldn't be so bad, but to have to rub them for 20 seconds to go off is annoying. Others in the group said it is happening to their lights. I was told that humidity makes them turn on.

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.

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Oy...I really don't like sushi...  😞

On the Mera...the restaurant is named Kaito Teppanyaki.  If it's "no"...I'm just as happy with unlimited pizza for 11 days.

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):

1 hour ago, oceans.calling said:

We recently got off the Meraviglia 2/18 and Chef Ajay told us he was leaving and Arthur mentioned that Chef Lisa was joining in his place. We are on in about two weeks and will check. 

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!

22 hours ago, psmarkle said:

Is that THE Vishnu from Mauritius who's back as the Concierge now?! I plan on future booking the Mera for next April out of NYC when sailing the Divina in 2 weeks. I would love to have him working the YC again!!

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

17 hours ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Would you know what capacity the YC was at your week?

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

18 hours ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

If I counted correctly there are 117 YC suites on Meraviglia. Do you know how many each Butler/Junior Butler team are assigned? Do you know how often they rotate their sections? Looking forward to April. And meeting everyone you listed. 

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.

31 minutes ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

"Had snacks in the room every afternoon."

 

Can you share examples of snacks?. Last sailing we asked for a small cheese plate. Got tired of it towards the end.

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!).

3 hours ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Do you know what champagne was being served?

Just the usual Nicolas Feuillatte.

15 hours ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Do you know how long Captain in onboard?

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.

16 hours ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

That is great information. Thank you very much. We had Rudolph last July as sommelier and adored him. Looking forward to meeting Arthur. Were you able to switch to the suite you wanted? And your butler?

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.

1 hour ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

How was your cruise? Can you list some personnel, maitre'd, sommelier, yc director, concierges. Thanks

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.

35 minutes ago, nattie said:

A bit of a side quest sorry, but how do I go about requesting the extension cord and distilled water for CPAP on MSC?

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.

On 2/29/2024 at 12:53 PM, Morgsmom said:

Oh, for the itinerary, our time at Ocean Cay was cut short due to a diesel engine issue.  Not the first time for this vessel.  So we lost the overnight and ½ day portion and made our way directly to Nassau.  For that we were each given $50 in OBC which I cashed out at the casino.  (Thank you cruise critic for the helpful suggestion).

 

What else to say… we went to Butcher’s Cut for our Diamond Club meal. – it was delicious as always.  We were surprised that they removed Teppanyaki as an option.  The first of the “removals” to be encountered, but not the last.

 

Back in YC I asked on day 2 about the room snacks – according to the head Concierge they had received word from “HR” that there would be no more starting this sailing.  I did not inquire as to whether this impacted only certain sailings of so many days or not because I was too busy crying to myself (just kidding) about that precious Toberlone bar.  Now before y’all say “just to to the sundries store and buy some.”  That’s not the point.  The point is they keep removing things.  No more Voyager’s Club trinket.  There was no Diamond “party”, just a general Voyager’s Club.  No Captain’s meeting in Top Sail.  NO welcome prosecco in cabin.

 

I completely understand that there’s an economic impact to each of these and that there is some bean counter rubbing their little fingers together overseas, but at some point they have to stop taking things away especially with loyal guests who know what it used to be like pre-pandemic when MSC was doing everything it could to get into the US market.

 

A happy surprise was the “Cocktail Bar” (yes, that’s the name) on 8 aft near the specialty dining restaurants.  It is open limited hours but boy can they make a drink.  This was about as 100% degrees difference than the craziness in the Uptown Lounge when karaoke was going on.  That had the feel of a frat party with 20 somethings drinking their faces off on the lowest beverage package drinks.   No, thank you, I’ll just mosey on out.    

 

It's just interesting to see the evolution from what was once an unknown line to one that is broadening their reach so much with many people taking their first ever cruise due to really low prices.   

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!).

On 3/2/2024 at 2:07 PM, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Do you know your butler ahead of time? Please let us know how things as the week goes. Also, current YC director.

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.

On 2/29/2024 at 12:53 PM, Morgsmom said:

Oh, for the itinerary, our time at Ocean Cay was cut short due to a diesel engine issue.  Not the first time for this vessel.  So we lost the overnight and ½ day portion and made our way directly to Nassau.  For that we were each given $50 in OBC which I cashed out at the casino.  (Thank you cruise critic for the helpful suggestion).

 

What else to say… we went to Butcher’s Cut for our Diamond Club meal. – it was delicious as always.  We were surprised that they removed Teppanyaki as an option.  The first of the “removals” to be encountered, but not the last.

 

Back in YC I asked on day 2 about the room snacks – according to the head Concierge they had received word from “HR” that there would be no more starting this sailing.  I did not inquire as to whether this impacted only certain sailings of so many days or not because I was too busy crying to myself (just kidding) about that precious Toberlone bar.  Now before y’all say “just to to the sundries store and buy some.”  That’s not the point.  The point is they keep removing things.  No more Voyager’s Club trinket.  There was no Diamond “party”, just a general Voyager’s Club.  No Captain’s meeting in Top Sail.  NO welcome prosecco in cabin.

 

I completely understand that there’s an economic impact to each of these and that there is some bean counter rubbing their little fingers together overseas, but at some point they have to stop taking things away especially with loyal guests who know what it used to be like pre-pandemic when MSC was doing everything it could to get into the US market.

 

A happy surprise was the “Cocktail Bar” (yes, that’s the name) on 8 aft near the specialty dining restaurants.  It is open limited hours but boy can they make a drink.  This was about as 100% degrees difference than the craziness in the Uptown Lounge when karaoke was going on.  That had the feel of a frat party with 20 somethings drinking their faces off on the lowest beverage package drinks.   No, thank you, I’ll just mosey on out.    

 

It's just interesting to see the evolution from what was once an unknown line to one that is broadening their reach so much with many people taking their first ever cruise due to really low prices.   

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.

20 hours ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Thanks. If he is from Mexico City then I know who it is. Great.

No.  Arthur Javier is Filipino.

4 hours ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Hope you are enjoying YC. Do you know who the Maitre'd and Sommelier are presently? thanks. We are onboard in May (we know crew can change but still interested)

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