Georgia_Peaches

This is the exact conversation DH and I had this afternoon. Given that Retreat is sold out on this 3 night getaway, the staff working the Retreat deck is definitely not commiserate with the number of guests. In contrast, we left for the sunset bar and were asked by 2 different servers for our drink order, which we received almost immediately.

On s class you can get a B &P at the passport bar, which services Luminae on deck three. I’m not sure what bar services Luminae on E class. Retreat bar, maybe? Agree with @ETHTrader in that it could likely depend which bar you go to.

Thanks for the pics! We are going there tonight. Looks awesome! Glad you’re enjoying the cruise!

Interestingly, the wine glasses in the photo I posted have been removed but the taller cocktail glasses still remain.

This might be hard to believe but by 1 pm I was feeling a little hungry. 🤣 Decided to order the signature burger from the outdoor deck menu. The retreat area is quite filled up today and the wait for drinks and food (chair side) has been rather slow. Along with my burger I ordered a round of drinks… Bloody Mary for me and Peña colada for DH. Took about 40 minutes for the burger. Drinks never arrived. Another passenger who was angered by the wait of the food stormed off the pool deck angrily proclaiming to the concierge that she had waited 45 minutes for food that never came and was going to the OVC to get her own lunch. She was “tired of the terrible service!” I had never witnessed a passenger being so rude to a member of the crew. It was shameful. Anyway, I shared my lunch with DH and then we set off to the Sunset bar for a round of drinks. On our way out the door, DH pointed to a nearby table and asked me, “Are those our drinks?” Sure enough, they were… the poor guy set them down at the wrong table. Growing pains…

These glasses were tucked in the corner outside our stateroom door. I asked DH who put their glasses outside our door but then realized they were our glasses from last night. So I guess the procedure must be for the room attendant to place dishes outside the door upon servicing for another crew member to pick up? Noticed dishes outside doors along the corridor. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed this process before.

On my trek to the bar I actually saw a lady topple out of one as she was trying to sit down. She didn’t seem to be injured but…it could have been ugly. 😵‍💫

DH and I attended the Captain’s Club wine tasting event this morning located in the Normandy dining room on deck three. The event started at 10:30 but I would have sworn it was 10:45. We made it just in time. Eddie, the head sommelier officer conducted a very informative tasting event.

Yes, I have seen this cart. Didn’t realize it was grab-n-go though. update… Just confirmed that the drink cart is not grab/go but zero vitamin water is available at the bar upon request.

No, but will see if they keep some behind the bar.

Options for self-serve fridge in Retreat lounge:

$6.99 to upgrade is something I would snatch up pretty quickly! Our upgrade price never fell below $13.99. We’ve found the menus in the app to be accurate on our current sailing.

We joined the breakfast rush in Luminae, where 8:30 seems to be peak time with the venue closing at 9am. We were initially being escorted to a bench table along the back wall. But only one of us would have a view so I requested one of the three available 2 tops by the window. Not a problem. Breakfast service was slow…again, peak time as the restaurant was 3/4 full. I ordered scrambled eggs with corn beef hash and DH had eggs Benny and cheese grits. The grits looked great but were cooked Al dente and no respectable southern gal eats their grits that way! DH is from Pitt so he ate them without knowing better 🤦‍♀️. My eggs were fine….hash, not so much. No complaints about service as everyone was all smiles despite what must have been an exhausting day just a few hours before. Afterward, we strolled the upper Retreat deck in search of more pics and some shade. I’m impressed with the availability of shaded areas, which have been almost nonexistent on our previous MSC yacht club experiences.

@twins_to_alaska seems to have had a different interaction with her cabin steward and Retreat Butler….whom we’ve not yet met…and we were literally first on the ship. Not really sure how I feel about the Retreat atm. Last night we were listening to music in Eden when DH suggested we go to the retreat lounge to see what was going on. The lounge was partially occupied by a few parties dotted about the space. Snacks were nicely laid out on the buffet and a different bartender from the afternoon was shaking up some drinks. The concierge stand was busy but with 3 members of the concierge team, things seemed to be pretty fluid. One of the concierge team members asked if we needed help with anything. I had just banged my head for the second time…ice, maybe? Just kidding, it didn’t hurt that bad. We asked about getting a reservation at the Rooftop Garden Grill bc the app showed none were available. We snagged a 7 pm with relative ease. No entertainment in the Retreat Lounge so off we went.

Quite alright, twins! The excitement is infectious. 😊

Woke this morning and used the app to open our curtains so that we could sit up in bed and watch our sail in to Nassau. Wish I had remembered to preorder a coffee delivery. Met briefly with our cabin steward…and I mean briefly…don’t recall his name. He explained that the 2 waters were complimentary. Asked if we had any special requests and then left. In and out in 3 minutes, at most. The only request I had was for an ice bucket at turn down. It was there as requested. I’m sure he was trying to get to all the rooms on his load. The stress on his face was real. In contrast, Mila (cabin steward during first leg) spent a good amount of time with us on the first day. She went over the highlights of our room. Showed us all the storage spaces, told us to watch our step in and out of the bathroom. Talked about the water controls in the shower…. She was meticulous and determined to make us feel welcome. And her cabin load was 20 rooms.

Just catching up but wanted to wish you a very happy birthday! I can think of no better way to celebrate! Here’s hoping you are enjoying every moment 🎂🍾.

Just reread your post and laughed out loud! You are right on the money!

We are on a slow boat to the Bahamas. In fact, I think I could row faster. But the water against the night sky is beautiful. Visited the casino for a nightcap. A lady was playing my Zeus orb machine and winning quite nicely. She didn’t see the humor when I told her she was playing my machine. DH and I agree that the vibe on this 3 nighter is quite different from the previous 4 nights. Guess we’ll just have to sit on our balcony and enjoy a bottle of embarkation bubbly. Until tomorrow..

Magic carpet on the move…

Had a lovely meal in Fine Cut steakhouse this evening. We found the wine list to be limited in Cabernets by the glass. We opted for Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon by the glass. It’s $35 a glass but only $18 if you have the premium package. We were charged for 6 generous pours which amounted to $118 including gratuity. A bottle yields about 4 glasses and costs $195 plus gratuity. It’s a better value to go by the glass. we each had the crab cake, salad and 9 oz filet. Plus fudge brownie for dessert. I’m full!

@twins_to_alaska so glad you’re enjoying your embarkation on the beautiful Ascent.

Evening in the Retreat lounge..

Word to the wise, I’ve banged my head on this light fixture…twice!