bigblue1952

We will be on the Euribia in September so looking forward to your trip report

Great review. We are on the Euribia in September and so looking forward to it.

Have a great cruise. I am looking forward to you cruise review.

Looking forward to your astute observations once again. Have a great cruise.

Following along. Great review so far.

Love your observations. Hoping you have a great cruise and great weather.

Following along. Hope you have a great cruise.

Terrific review. I really enjoyed reading it.

The Top Sail Lounge and the perks make it a no brainer if you can afford it.

The $1100 will be the best money you will ever spend.

It is totally free. It was listed in the daily planner. You meet at the specialty restaurant bar. No need to sign up ahead.

We live in Canada and wanted to escape the cold. We booked this cruise over a year ago and were really looking forward to it. We flew to Orlando and stayed there for a while before this cruise. Here is my review of the MSC Seascape. April 1 We got up and had toast for breakfast. We finished packing and I loaded the car. We checked out and drove to the airport to return our car to Hertz. We took the tunnel to the airport and checked in. They checked our carryon luggage so that was a plus. Security was quick and we are now waiting for our flight. Our flight was on time and arrived in Miami a few minutes early. We collected our luggage, yes all our luggage arrived, and caught a cab to the Courtyard Marriott Downtown Brickell. We checked in to the Courtyard Marriott Brickell Downtown and our room was ready. We changed and went to Whole Foods across the street for beer and chips and milk for coffee in the morning. We are resting in the room now as we have reservations for Fratelli Romani for dinner tonight. Our meal at Fratelli Romani was unbelievable. We started with bread and an olive oil and garlic dipping oil. Next Kathie had a three mushroom sauce on pasta. I had the special, a seafood medley on dark noodles in a fresh tomato sauce. This is possibly the best dish I have ever eaten and the first pasta dish with more seafood than pasta. Kathie would not let me lick the sauce off the plate. We washed this down with a Nero d’Avoli wine from Sicily. This was an $80 dollar bottle of wine on special for $45. Dessert was crème brule and cappuccino. If you hadn’t guessed, we are stuffed. April 2 We woke up and had a Kind bar and coffee in our room. We packed up everything and went down to the lobby. Do you know that overweight luggage is hard to roll on hall carpets? We checked out and rolled our luggage to the shuttle bus where the fellow lifted the luggage onto the bus. We left the hotel at 9:50 AM and the traffic at the pier was bumper to bumper. Our check in time for the Seascape was 2:30 PM but did not want to wait that long. We arrived at the Seascape Yacht Club tent at 9:30 AM. There was one family ahead of us for the porter to take the luggage. We gave him our luggage and were immediately escorted to the Yacht Club section of the lounge for check in. We were asked for our boarding pass, our health questionnaire and our passports. We were given our wristbands and our room key cards within 5 minutes. We then waited maybe 20 minutes before being escorted onto the ship and taken to the Top Sail Lounge. We had prosecco and champagne and waited until the dining room was open for lunch. We had a lunch of penne with tomato sauce and an angus burger. Both were good. This was washed down with a Romello wine from Tuscany. We then explored the ship and Kathie booked a manicure for 5:15 PM. We came back to the room and unpacked. We had a drink by the pool before Kathie left for the Spa. I watched them load luggage from the terminal to the ship for a while and then went back to the room to wait. We went back to the pool to have a drink and watch sail away and then went to dinner. Kathie had roasted tomato soup (excellent), curried scallops, and cheese filled ravioli in a pureed carrot sauce with asparagus (lacking flavour). I had curried scallops, the filet with asparagus, roast potatoes and roasted zucchini and eggplant (excellent). Dessert was crème Catalan (meh) and a cheese plate. We went to the casino where we helped pay for the beautiful bar area in the casino. The bartender at the Champagne bar told us that if you ordered drinks or wine over the $15 limit you pay the difference. If you order champagne over the limit, you pay the full price. We then went to Cabaret Rouge to watch the singers and actors. We finished up the night in the Top Sail lounge for a nightcap. Our room happens to be a handicapped room which does give us more space than a regular YIN room. However, with the wheel chair accessible bathroom, the closet space is much smaller. We cannot hang as many clothes as we want to. Also, there are no cupboards under the sink so our butler Onil and Assistant Butler Jayesh brought us a small table to put toiletries on. April 3 We got up and went to breakfast by the pool at the pool grill. We had croissants, yoghurt, scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh squeezed orange juice and cappuccino. I went to the gym but every machine was occupied with a lineup so I just took the stairs up eight floors and did some sit ups and push ups in the room. We then went out to Ocean Cay, and went into the ocean for a swim. The water was cool but it was so hot that it felt nice. We ate at the restaurant and had lobster rolls. Kathie had an aperole spritz and I had a cabernet sauvignon. We laid in the sun and then went for a swim again before returning to the ship. We took the shuttle there and walked back. We then had drinks in the Top Sail Lounge before returning to the room. We had predinner drinks in the lounge while listening to Bernard, an excellent guitar player. Dinner was crab cake, roast beef with green beans and some lobster ravioli. The crab cake was excellent. The roast beef was cooked to perfection and as tender as butter. The ravioli were not so good. Kathie had spring rolls which were excellent followed by pork tenderloin which was overdone. Now for the sommelier, Mr. B as the staff call him. Last night he fawned all over two tables in the restaurant. Tonight, he fawned all over one table. We saw him go down to the Top Sail lounge to fetch mixed drinks for this table. He even helped clear the plates off this table. When I called him over I asked what he recommended to pair with the roast beef. He asked what I was drinking and I told him it was Oberon cabernet sauvignon. He recommended something heavier and the waiter brought over Oberon cabernet sauvignon. I am really wondering what MSC sees in this sommelier. I understand that perhaps one table may tip very well, but ignoring the other 40 tables in the restaurant does not demonstrate good service. We then went to the Sports Bar to watch the basketball final 4 game. The Dolphins had an event there and the place was noisy and full. We ended up coming back to the room to watch it. At half time, I went to the Top Sail lounge for drinks. Kathie wanted a double Grand Marnier on the rocks. He put some ice in the glass and then continued pouring until the glass was full. After the game we went to the lounge to listen to Bernard. April 4 We had breakfast by the pool again today. Kathie had fruit, yoghurt and croissants and I had croissants (chocolate), fruit, yoghurt and fried eggs. We spent the morning by the pool and in it as it was so hot in Nassau. Since we have been here many times before, we decided to stay on the ship. Lunch was at the main buffet on deck 16. Kathie had pizza and a salad and I just had pizza. I am saving up for the gala night surf and turf tonight. We had a nap in the afternoon before Kathie went for her massage at the spa. We went to the Top Sail Lounge for a glass of wine before dinner. As we sat at our table in the restaurant waiting to be served (it was very busy being the night for surf and turf), Kathie spotted a wine bottle in a wine bucked with a blue top. I went over and turned the bottle around to see the label and the sommelier asked if he could help. Kathie mentioned that she was told that there was no more Matua sauvignon blanc in the Yacht club area and he confirmed that a pallet of wine was not delivered to the ship. He did state that he thought there were 12 bottles still on board and he would have three shipped to our room. When we went back to our room, there were three bottles of Matua waiting for us. Yes, this is the same sommelier as last night. Appetizers were blue cheese souffle for Kathie and escargot for me. This was followed by fillet, asparagus, carrots and lobster tail for me and pasta with porcini mushroom sauce for Kathie with a lobster tail. Everything was excellent. Dessert was crepe suzette made fresh while we waited. These were excellent also. We had a Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc and a Kendall Jackson merlot as a wine pairing with dinner. After dinner we went to the theatre. They sang songs from many movies over the years and it was excellent. We then went to Cabaret Rouge to hear Kallie sing. This was followed by the casino where Kathie turned her $20 into $55 and I turned my $20 into a magic trick (it disappeared). We then came back to the Top Sail lounge for a nightcap and to listen to Bernard. April 5 We got up and Kathie went for her massage. At 11:00 AM we went to the specialty restaurant tasting. We were given a glass of champagne and walked to all five specialty restaurants for samples of their food offerings. This is a free event and is an excellent way of finding out if you like the food at a particular venue. We ate lunch in the Yacht Club restaurant. Kathie had a hamburger and fries which was good. I had seafood spaghetti which had scallops and mussels minus the shells and was very good. Eating must be hard work as we came back to the cabin for a nap. At 4:30 PM we went to the Voyagers Club welcome back party with Suzy and Peter from Sweden, friends we met on our 2019 cruise on the MSC Seaside. We met our friends in the Top Sail lounge for drinks before dinner. Dinner was Chinese dumplings with sweet Thai chili sauce. Kathie had scallops with plain rice (scallops were excellent, rice not so much) and I had the paperdelle with duck ragout which was excellent. We then went to Cabaret Rouge for the music and then to the Loft Café for an Ella Fitzgerald tribute. We finished the night with drinks in the Top Sail lounge listening to Bernard. April 6 We got up and had breakfast in the Yacht Club restaurant. I had eggs Benedict and Kathie had waffles. I tried a doughnut and now know why one Cruise Critic contributor had six every morning. We then went to Plaza Colon and met our San Juan walking tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and gave us a lot of history of the island. This was a lot of walking all over old San Juan ending up at Fort Phillipe. This fort was impenetrable and the US invaded twice and could not take this fort. Fort Phillipe is on the Atlantic side of San Juan and we had to walk back to our ship. By the time we made it back we were both tired. We had lunch by the pool and then came back to the cabin for a nap. Dinner was in Butcher’s Cut specialty restaurant. Kathie and I had the shrimp cocktail. Kathie had a filet with mac and cheese and roasted brussel sprouts and I had a filet with fries. Everything was very good. The chocolate lava cake for dessert was perfectly done. Needless to say, we were stuffed at the end of our meal. We went to theatre for the show which was just OK. Next, we saw the duelling pianos which were great. We then went to the Atrium to watch a band do a Beatles tribute. They had everyone singing along and dancing. A great evening. We finished in the Top Sail lounge for drinks, listening to Bernard. April 7 We had breakfast in the Yacht Club restaurant. I had fruit and eggs benedict and Kathie had an omelet. Both meals were good. We spent the morning at Taino Bay port. We floated in the lazy river and lounged by the pool. We came back to the ship and had lunch at the pool grill. The sea bass was excellent. We lounged on the deck for a while. Kathie stayed and I came back to the room to watch the Masters. Dinner was in the Yacht Club restaurant. Kathie had salad and lasagna and I had the fried seafood appetizer and osso bucco. These were excellent. Kathie had a limoncello cake for dessert and I had an ice cream Sunday. Afterwards, we went to the white party by the pool and danced before coming back to the Top Sail lounge for a nightcap. April 8 Kathie got up and went for her massage. We skipped breakfast as this was the seafood lunch at the pool grill. There were lobster tails, shrimp, scallops (huge), clams, mussels, fish and roast pork. It was really good. After lunch we stayed by the pool for a bit and then started to watch the Masters. We met Peter and Susie for drinks in the Top Sail lounge before dinner. Kathie had shrimp and asiago fritters for appetizers and a spinach and ricotta tart for her entrée. I had the asiago fritters and filet and shrimp for the main. Kathie had crepe suzette for dessert and I had chocolate souffle. Afterwards we went to the Seascape bar for the bon voyage party and then watched the duelling pianos. Nightcaps were in the Top Sail lounge listening to Bernard. April 9 We had breakfast in the Yacht Club restaurant. We both had croissants, fruit, yoghurt and granola. We then chatted with Peter and Suzie until they left for their hotel in Miami. We waited for an hour before we were escorted to immigration. This process took almost and hour and we were back onboard at 11:50 AM. We changed into our bathing suits and went to the pool. Lunch was a wonderful pasta with chorizo. I am now in the room watching the Masters. After the Masters, we had our Easter dinner in the Yacht Club restaurant. Our appetizers were large scallops in a curry sauce. I had chicken kiev for an entrée and Kathie had lamb chops. Everything was excellent. Kathie had a fruit pavlova nest with limoncello and I had chocolate molten cake for dessert. After we went to the casino where I won $100 and Kathie won $75. We quit and went for drinks in the Top Sail lounge listening to Bernard. April 10 We ate a couple of small pastries in the Top Sail lounge before making our way off the ship at Ocean Cay. We got to the front of the line when it started to pour, so we came back to the lounge to wait. It stopped raining at about 11:00 AM and we went ashore. We caught the shuttle to the Yacht Club area and lounged on the beach until lunch. Both Kathie and I had two lobster rolls for lunch. They were so good. After lunch we intended to lounge on the beach but more clouds rolled in and we decided to catch the shuttle back to the ship. We just made it back before it started to rain again. Dinner was in the Yacht Club restaurant. I had crab cakes and Kathie had spring rolls with peanut sauce for appetizers. We both had the prime rib and green beans. The prime rib melted in your mouth. Kathie had Tiramisu for dessert. After dinner we saw the duelling pianos play a set and then went to Café Rouge. We caught the jugglers who were not very good. Later we went to the Top Sail lounge for a nightcap and listened to Bernard. April 11 This is a sea day. I had a cappuccino in the Top Sail lounge waiting for Kathie to get ready for breakfast. Breakfast was in the Yacht Club restaurant. Kathie had raspberries and granola and yoghurt while I had raspberries and eggs benedict. At 11:00 AM there was a welcome back party in the Top Sail lounge with the captain and all the officers. We were served prosecco and canapes. We next went to the pool and had to go into the water twice as it was very hot. We had lunch by the pool. Kathie had salad, noodles and butter chicken and I had swordfish, butter chicken and pasta. Afterwards, I lasted about 5 minutes by the pool before I had to go inside. I have come to the conclusion that eating is very hard work. I had to have a nap. Dinner was in the Yacht Club restaurant. It was gala night. Kathie had spring rolls for an appetizer and I had escargot. Kathie had the champagne risotto with a lobster tail and I had a filet with a lobster tail. Everything was good although my dinner was not as hot as it could have been. Later we went to the theatre for show tunes and then to the duelling pianos. Afterwards we went to the Top Sail lounge for a nightcap and to listen to Bernard. April 12 We has fruit and yoghurt by the pool and then left the ship in Cozumel. We caught a taxi to Nachi Cocum, a beach club. Since we were docked at Punta Lagosta and not the International Pier, it cost $30 for the taxi instead of $18. It cost $59 per person for the day which included your loungers either at the pool or on the beach, all your drinks and lunch. The ocean was warm and the beach was clean. We had a great time. For your information, people were cleaning the whole time we were there. The washrooms were very clean. Kathie had a margharita and I had some Tecate beer. Lunch was tortilla soup and nachos with jalapenos and cheese with taco chips and pico de gallo. This was followed by quesadilla and tacos with taco chips and pico de gallo. We were so full we could not even have dessert. This was worth every penny and we would do this again in a heartbeat. When we were ready to leave, they called us a taxi and we were back on the ship in no time. We had dinner in the Top Sail lounge. I had the rack of lamb and Kathie had the scallops. Both were excellent. We skipped dessert as we were too full from lunch. We then went to the theatre and then went to the duelling pianos. April 13 We ate breakfast in the Top Sail restaurant. Kathie had scrambled eggs with sausage and bacon and I had the eggs benedict. We left the ship and did some shopping. It was so hot we could not stay in Georgetown long. We came back to the ship and had lunch by the pool. The fish, sea bass, I had was the best fish I have eaten in a long time. Kathie had salads and chicken. We spent some of the afternoon in the pool. It was the only way you could be out on the deck. Dinner was at Butcher’s Cut. Kathie had the smoked tomato soup. We both had the Caesar salad, filet and chocolate lava cake. All were excellent. We then went to the disco party up by the pool. Later we saw the duelling pianos and finished with a night cap in the Top Sail lounge. We met a couple from Ireland who knew of Shreiber (the small town where we live) and Jimmy Duggan. He was a relative of some sort. April 14 We had fruit and yoghurt up by the pool for breakfast. We walked into Ocho Rios. We took a cab to a grocery and bought coffee. The cab driver waited for us and then tried his best to get us to go on a tour. We declined and came back to the ship. We ate lunch at the pool grill and the sea bass was excellent again. Of course, we spent time in the pool as it was hot again and then came back for a nap. Dinner was in the Yacht Club restaurant. Kathie had the fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil salad and I had the fried seafood for appetizers. We both had the lasagna for the entrée and Kathie had tiramisu for dessert. After dinner we caught the duelling pianos, and then came back to the lounge for a nightcap and listen to Bernard. April 15 We had pastries and cappuccino in the lounge as today is the seafood extravaganza for lunch. We are waiting in the lounge while they are cleaning our room as we need to pack today. After doing some packing, we went to the pool to relax. The seafood buffet was again wonderful. There were lobster tails, shrimp, scallops, fish, mussels, clams and roast pork. Everything was wonderful. The shrimp and scallops are ordered and brought to your table after being cooked. No matter how many you ask for, they always bring you more. By the time you eat all of the seafood, you are stuffed. We then did some more packing. Kathie packed and sent me to the lounge as she know how well I pack. Dinner was steak and shrimp for me with asiago fritters for an appetizer and Kathie had lamb chops and salad. These were excellent. Kathie had tiramisu for dessert. After dinner we went to the duelling pianos and then contributed to the casino. We finished the night in the Yacht Club lounge with a nightcap and Bernard. April 16 We left the cabin at 8:00 AM and carried our carryon luggage and backpacks to the lounge. Our butler saw us and stored our carryon luggage for us when we went to breakfast. We had the express breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and home fries. We also had croissants, fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee. We waited in the lounge as the latest we could get off the ship was 9:30 AM. We had a 5:00 PM flight to Toronto. While we waited I had one last champagne. We left the ship at 9:30 AM and our butler escorted to the front of the line for debarkation. We caught a cab to the airport and was there by 10:30 AM. We could not check in until 1:00 PM so waited around until we could check in. We checked in with one overweight suitcase (if you do not put all the wheels of the suitcase on the scale it magically becomes underweight) and were through security in no time. Our gate was in the middle of nowhere with only a Nathan’s hotdog food booth and a small bar nearby. Kathie had a chicken burger and I had a hamburger and we both had draft beer. The food was surprisingly good. We boarded the plane on time but waited on the runway for 2 hours as all flights were shut down for a while as there were storms between Miami and Toronto. We arrived in Toronto 2 hours late and by the time we arrived at the Element Toronto Airport the restaurant and bar were closed. We ate a protein bar for supper. April 17 Karen and Jessica came to the hotel and had breakfast with us. They drove us to the airport at noon. We went through security fairly slowly and then boarded on time for our 2:40 PM flight. We waited on the runway 30 minutes before taking off and got to Thunder Bay late. All our luggage made it with us and Bonnie picked us up. We dropped Bonnie off at bingo and went grocery shopping. We arrive home at about 7:30 PM on good roads. We had a great trip but were glad to be home. However, it has rained and snowed every day but one since we arrived home. Forrest

We have the premium extra package on the Seascape this week. It is up to $15, not $16. I talked to two different bartenders who stated that drink over the $15 limit, you pay the difference except for champagne. If the champagne is over the limit, you pay the full price. I assume that the easy plus would be similar.

Thank you for the wonderful review, pictures and so many tips. We board Seascape this Sunday so very much appreciate your thoughts.

Looking forward to reading your review Bea. Loved all your other reviews. Happy cruising