Morgsmom

Good morning from the Bahamas - going to be a lovely day.  Unfortunately, this sailing has not been so lovely, or up to expectations.  I can't get my photos to come over as internet has been a bit spotty, so I'll paint a picture.  I'll start with the fact that we boarded on Sunday and it's Tuesday morning and I still *have not met my butler.* 

Embarkation: a hot mess!  This size of ship is too large for Terminal 10 and it's parking facilities, especially with half of the parking lot being ripped up.  Cars were in line for hours waiting to park and tempers were high (in the online chat group).  I arrived at 11:00am after having a tire blow out on the way (thank you Florida Highway Patrol!) and the YC waiting area was already packed. Check in was easy but we didn't board until shortly after 12'ish so it got a bit cramped. (The YC waiting area has not expanded even though the size of the YC in the Seashore holds considerably more guests - something MSC should account for).  Fortunately I wisely grabbed a can of Pringles because there was none in my cabin 😞

So we are herded off to Top Sail.  First observation - there is literally no fruit for garnishes. Margaritas without limes; Hugo Spritz without mint, etc.  Ok, they are getting started I say (but surely there was some from, um, yesterday.  They couldn't have worked it down to the last lemon...?)  Anyhow, brush that off and make my way up to the pool deck for lunch.  Here we find two bowls of the palest Iceburg lettuce you have ever seen marked "mixed greens" or something like that.  Ok, again, first world issues.  To note, I'm in the restaurant industry and DH is an exec chef so we really "notice" food. (Which is a kind way of saying that we are picky).

Get to cabin - port side, balcony.  I prefer starboard but didn't want to tempt the MSC IT gods and call and try to have it moved less they say "oh, that'll be treated like a new booking so you owe us another million billion dollars"...  Cabin is nice enough, but no snacks (boo), no butler to ask about any preferences, no pen to leave a note (YC guests are now provided with a fancy #2 lead pencil).  No welcome (Diamond) Prosecco (was told that's been done away with), no fruit, no nothing.  

Using said pencil I left a note for mystery butler asking for Tissues/Kleenex as there was none in bathroom nor a slot in the bathroom design where they normally insert them.  Was provided with - drumroll please - a fresh roll of wrapped toilet paper by my bed, which had been opened and the first sheets pulled up to create short of paper candle effect.  I KID YOU NOT.  (Darn, I wish these pictures would come over!!!!)  I nearly peed my middle aged pants laughing, which would have been given the extra toilet paper 🙂

Anyhooo, so I also sent two pairs of trousers for pressing on day 1.. unfortunately they not back until late last night well after dinner on day 2 so I had to juggle my dinner wardrobe plans.  (Warning to anyone who thinks they might get their pressing back)

On cocktails- there are these lovely menus here and there, at Ocean House and in Topsail.  Unfortunately they are consistently lacking most of the ingredients and/or the recipes....lol... the Mule LePoire was made with regular grey goose (not the pear one) and without limes so they added a splash of sour mix 😞  The fancy Gin & Tonic drinks listed on the Topsail menu. For example, the Elderflower which is supposed to have Fever-Tree tonic, dehydrated orange peel, cinnamon stick and clove was made with the correct spirit, but regular tonic, and absolutely none of the other things...Some high fallutin' mixologist created these drinks that absolutely cannot be managed amongst a fleet of ships that can hardly keep up with all of the drinks they are making. Don't offer something if you can't make it.

So much more to comment on but if this were my first YC I'd run for the hills and never return.  I do have 2 more booked on this size ship (another Seashore, and then Euribia) but I personally prefer the Meraviglia size ships.  The YC here is just too big and you roll the dice on getting what is listed as being available to you.

Your mileage, of course, may vary.  

@JCMAN I'm on same ship & sailing sailing solo.  Booked Interior, Assigned Balcony. Bid max for YC inside and NOTHING for YC Deluxe as the starting bid (x2) was too high for me.

Like you, was countered because there are no insides available. I DID take the counter offer, even at the 2x price because it was well worth it to me once I factored in Premium Drink package and wifi for 2 devices.  

The price I am paying is more than last year's 5 day/4 night sailing at the same time of year in Yacht Club, but significantly less than booking YC as a solo because of the 100% solo supplement. 

If you purchased the drink packaged SEPARTELY (it was not part of the drinks + wifi fare) then,yes, you can cancel it.

38 minutes ago, 1kaper said:

I know on my last cruise we did both and got numerous calls saying we didn't. Even after I contacted Guest Services. 

Good ole MSC 🙂

13 hours ago, eyern1 said:

That was my initial point. It was held exactly during the launch time. Had our balcony been on the other side, we could have seen the video and the launch. I immediately bugged out after dialing the obligatory muster code number but it was too late by the time I got to an open deck area. To add insult to injury, they sent us a letter saying we didn’t complete the muster drill despite performing all required steps. 

After the muster video you then have to go in PERSON to your emergency station and have your card scanned.  Did you do that part?

1 hour ago, 1kaper said:

 

Are you sure it was Seashore?

I only ask because we came in on Seaside. We were late into port.  We were walk off but made the mistake of waiting to get off. We were trying to delay getting the rental car so we didn’t have to wait at the airport so long the next day. 
It was a mess getting off. Apparently luggage hadn’t made it to the terminal and they wouldn’t let people move until all the luggage was in the terminal. There was a long long long line to get off that didn’t move for a long time. We didn’t get off until close to 12 and there were still people behind us who hadn’t even been called to debark her. 
When we finally got off the shuttle driver told us there was a line of traffic of people waiting to get into the parking garage.  They would let anyone in until our ship got off. 
I can’t imagine embarkation wasnt messed up. 

Yes 💯 Seashore 

22 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

. For example, they demanded sitting together in the YC restaurant, no tables for 18, so had to push together 4 tops. That is fine. But what isn't fine is they wanted these tables reserved whether their party was all together present or not. This is akin to 'chair hogging' on the pool deck, depriving other YC guests of a table in an overcrowded sailing. 

That's ridiculous and hopefully was not allowed.

As a cautionary note, yesterday's Seashore departure from Port Canaveral was a hot mess.  Friends waited in security lines for hours to even get into terminal. The YC area ran out of seats and beverages (the horror!)  Boarding did not begin until well after 1pm and the ship left about 8:45pm.

Many stories were told but the scuttlebutt was some B2Bers who did not want to get off and turn around.  They couldn't be located.  Can't say if that was true or not but an entire ship of Thanksgiving week cruisers were backed up.  So even though you theoretically can get to the port at 10am you might be waiting hours.

8 hours ago, joeyancho said:

Stealing luggage is pretty low.  Most people know to carry off their jewelry,  electronics,  cash and other valuables.  So what can they get?  Dirty clothes?  Used luggage?  Cheap souvenirs?   Why would a port worker risk their job for such a low reward?  

I don't think that someone intentionally stole the luggage; my guess is that another guest grabbed a bag in error and got to their taxi or even airport and then realized it.  Maybe husband didn't realize that wife already had the look-alike 21" rolling black bag..  Rather than trying to do the right thing they abandoned the case.  Just my guess. 

6 hours ago, MariaPet said:

MSC lost our luggage during disembarkation at Barcelona. We didn't receive one of our suitcases at the port. I still haven't received any updates from the company. I opened my request with lost and found on 7/10 (the day they lost the luggage), but they never responded. When I reached their sales team by phone (they even have no customer support phone), after 20 minutes of research, the operator informed me that my case is in progress. She mentioned that as soon as her colleagues finish, they will contact me. When I asked about the timeline, the operator said she does not know.

Awful customer service and support!

I'm unable to open an insurance case, as the insurance company requires proof that MSC refused to pay compensation.

During the cruise, we enjoyed our time, and everything was nice. However, this lost luggage incident and the company's subsequent reaction just spoiled everything. Please be aware of this company and think twice before buying their cruises.

Likely another guest grabbed your suitcase. You will likely not hear anything.  Reason to never check your bags. 

If you miss embarkation the balance of the first cruise would most likely be cancelled. 

Diamond Plus and a free bag of laundry would be awesome!

10 hours ago, ptuder said:

Yes. I am in YC and every week my boarding time changes. I have had 1 pm, 3:30 pm and now 2 pm. All without them asking me my preference. I plan on being aboard for lunch! 🤣

Lunch?  I assure you that I will be having a mid morning glass of champagne in Topsail well before lunch 🙂

to the OP, you can arrive at any time. Worse case scenario is that you comfortably wait in the YC waiting area in the port having a snack and beverage and a chat with fellow excited passengers.

Have my eyes deceived me or is the MSC website search engine now updated and more usable?  WHAT kind of sorcery is this?  I can search and sort using multiple factors so that I can see, for example, YC fares for a number of sailings all at one instead of having to go into each one individually.....  Christmas has come early folks.  Enjoy!

I booked a solo fare last week that was a 20% supplement, so it is possible. It just varies by sailing and ship.

@go.without.you are you arriving at the Winter Park or Orlando Amtrak station?

So this was new to me - upcoming Seashore 4 night cruise.  Going solo but paid a reasonable single supplement for original cabin as the Yacht Club single supplements were 100% which was way too much per night per person (for just me!)  

First, received "standard" email to upgrade and I bid the maximum for a YIN (knowing full well that it would be x2).   But I also knew that there were no YINs available on the cruise.  

This morning received a COUNTER offer to bid for a Yacht Club Deluxe Balcony because there were no YINs available.  I accepted the counter and within 15 minutes my credit card was charged, and 30 minutes later a cabin assigned.  SOOOOOOOO excited. I thought this was super smart of them.  Hummm, someone is willing to go all in on the YIN, but I did not put in a minimum offer on the YCD, so they lowered their offer, leaving it within an acceptable range for me.

To note, this is not my first yacht club rodeo by any means, but last year (same week, same 4 nighter but on Meraviglia), the solo supplements were waived so I sailed much cheaper last year booking outright.  

Correct, there are so many factors that can come into play when coming back to port.  Can a smooth connection happen?  Sure, but have backup plans.

On 11/12/2023 at 10:04 AM, lcpagejr said:

.Still witholding judgement until I see if they actually deliver on my choices!!😂

 

Very very wise, indeed 🙂

On 11/7/2023 at 7:10 AM, EllieinNJ said:

We just got off the Miraviglia.  We had fantastica experience and was assigned a dining time of 6pm.  A little too early for us so on embarkation we went to the dining room to get the time changed.  It was a very long line and we waited almost an hour.  When it was finally our turn the only later times were 8pm or later.  We took the 8pm but the dining room actually opened at 7:45pm or you can get there by 8:30pm so you can see either the early show or late show in the theater.  Also ask for a two top at the end of the row so you are not between two tables. 

If you have an 8pm assigned time they reserve the right not to seat you if you show up at 8:30

2 hours ago, mtlchris said:

It says right at the bottom of your image that the discount doesn't apply to beer bottles 🙂

well dang, I only saw BUCKETS... still seems odd though

Ok, so here's a conundrum (and not of the wine variety...) theoretically why couldn't you apply the $8 credit on the easy package towards a $7.50 beer so that you are not limited to just Heineken.  I see that it says "cocktail, favorite spirit or special glass of wine" but this seems like a fine line to me... Thoughts?

37 minutes ago, Jimmycruiser said:

Planning a 10 night cruise on Divina in a Yacht Club suite. Have the following questions:

1. Can mini bar or suite be stocked with a couple of your preferred included bottles of wine at no charge? NO, just soda & beer, however you can order in glasses of wine

2.  Is a coffee maker provided in your suite? I heard that on Divina No but not confirmed? Yes

3.  Are Washer & Dryers available to use and are they free?  No self serve laundry

4.  Does the private Lounge have Live music in the evening? Yes

 

Appreciate any other YC input specific to Divina since my understanding is that the "YC Experience" varies by ship. 

Le Muse on the Divina (the YC dining room) is all the way in the AFT of the ship, so you'll want your butler to escort you the first time you go.  Other than that the Divina's YC is lovely and intimate.

43 minutes ago, eyern1 said:

I assure you the post is serious due to the fact of having muster drills occur at various times on my cruises and even having one delayed for several hours so there is no hard and fast rule on exactly when it should occur. As well, it’s a very simple procedure on many ships now whereas it’s a drawn out pain in the butt on others. This is something in this instance that if possibly adjusted 15-30 minutes, it would potentially make a lot of people’s day and probably get some good pr out of it. I guarantee you would never forget the cruise where you saw the rocket launch when someone mentioned it. And no, I don’t feel entitled thank you!

Shaking my head.  Literally, there is a schedule on the cruise ship.  No one, I mean NO ONE, in the cruise line industry gives a hoot about a shuttle launch.  And as a Central Florida resident I couldn't care either; heck, 99% of them are scrubbed.

MSC has very low single supplements on some of their Flash Sale fares out of FL.  Booked a solo Interior for 4 night on MSC Seashore on December 3rd for $288 and was upgraded to Deluxe Balcony.