Best Cat Mom

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

Yacht Club may be different with after a 7day get to know and a tip on the 7th day.

We had better service on that second 4-day part even without tipping after the 7-day. We were a known quantity and the newer people were not. I think it was easier to stick with the known. 😉

Example:

When the head concierge was about to address the new folks in TSL, he walked by us sitting at the bar and said something like, "I hope you do not mind that I will be disturbing you by giving a short speech." LOL

I have this:

There are 152 YC staterooms on World Europa which translate to 304 people at double occupancy. 
The Seascape has 131 (262), 
the Virtuosa has 103 (206), and 
the Divina 69 (138)

from this message thread:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2915516-liveish-from-world-europa-yc-owners-suite-by-a-star-class-cruiser/#comment-64827072

Just now, DaKahuna said:

Yes, just plain rice, or what is called "sticky rice" here in the US

Divina has a sushi restaurant as the other specialty option besides Butcher's Cut. I can't imagine that you will have any issue getting sticky rice. I have always loved Chinese food over that white rice (I'm born and bred in NYC) though my choices are limited now that I'm GF.

Just now, DaKahuna said:

Is steamed rice available in Le Muse?

Do you mean with all the different flavors that change nightly for risotto? That sounds complex. But just as a plain rice side disk? I haven't noticed it as a side dish, but it does seem like it would be an easy special request for them to fulfill.

Day 8 Dinner menu:

Day 8 Lunch menu:

Day 8…

Another sea day after another extra hour of sleep since we changed the clocks back an hour last night. One of the main reasons we booked this specific transatlantic cruise was that going from Europe to the US would allow us to gain an hour each time the clocks were changed. The idea of going in the other direction and losing an hour for multiple days seemed a depressing prospect on a vacation. We are definitely enjoying each of our 25 hour days.

We had our Baileys and coffee in the room and arrived at Le Muse for breakfast around 8:30am. We each had 2 mimosas and 1 cappuccino. BCD had the MSC Express with extra hash browns. I had an egg white omelet with bacon and cheese and a GF chocolate chip muffin.

We headed to TSL afterwards for a round of Holiday Coffee. This is our own concoction from weekend breakfasts at home. We've shared the recipe with bartenders on every MSC cruise we've taken. If it winds up on a menu someday, I don't know if we'll be proud or feel like someone stole our masterpiece. 😉

Over ice in a highball glass, add 1 shot of espresso, 1 shot of Kahlua, 1 shot of Baileys and 1 shot of coconut rum (Bacardi Coconut preferred). Stir and enjoy!

We finished our coffees and headed up to the One Deck around 11am so BCD could work on his cork car creation. At one point, I counted ~30 people up there which was nearly half of YC. The weather was much warmer than yesterday and people were enjoying the nearly full sun.

BCD garnered more attention as he toiled over his creation than yesterday. He had ideas to improve yesterday's model and so began a new version today. With 8 more days left to cruise, I hope we don't need a bigger cabin to hold all the prototypes.

Our butler Elvin came looking for us to discuss our Butcher's Cut lunch reservation tomorrow. He said that BC is having a brunch, not a lunch, for all the sea days and wanted to see if maybe we'd want to switch to a dinner. We had never known BC to have a brunch for sea days and he said he hadn't ever heard of that either. We decided to switch to dinner tomorrow instead, knowing that we'd be able to see the menu early in the day and could reschedule if Le Muse had something on their menu that we did not want to miss.

We saw our server team of Glenn and Ryan up at the One Pool Deck. They had told us that they'd be up there for breakfast and lunch all the 6 sea days since it was expected to be so busy outside compared to Le Muse. Ryan has been one of BCD's best "suppliers" of corks and wires and he was admiring BCD's efforts so far.

We opted to eat lunch there since nothing on Le Muse's menu seemed to be drawing us to them. The buffet had grilled pork chops, beef skewers, swordfish, mashed potatoes and a curry dish that I did not recognize, plus a bunch of salad items, cold cuts and cheeses.

BCD had a few beef skewers and mashed potatoes, plus tuna and salad, with some fruit for dessert. I had the pork, a little beef and some French fries. BCD drank a few glasses of Coke Zero and I had champagne.

BCD completed the latest version of his cork car creation and then we headed down to TSL around 4pm, as the temperature had started to drop and there was even a little rain. We had some drinks and some admirers stopped by to comment on BCD's newest creation.

After a little while, we headed back to the room to change for dinner. Tonight was the second Gala menu and the suggested dress was Elegant.

We arrived around 8:30pm to a quite empty Le Muse. Apparently, most people had dined early. Supplies from Ryan accompanied our menus, with our champagne delivered shortly after a brief discussion of design ideas.

For starters, BCD ordered the eggplant (aubergine) and I ordered the pear and bleu cheese salad. We continued with champagne and switched to chianti in anticipation of entrees: truffle filet for BCD and (what else?) lamb shank for me. I ordered a GF roll for the wonderful chianti sauce with the lamb. And we also ordered the saffron risotto to share. And also… no, that was definitely enough for entrées.

After we devoured our food -- well, we left a little, but did eat more that I thought we could -- we considered dessert. BCD ordered the apple strudel and I had a little brie with what was left of my bread.

We managed to get back to TSL, even though we thought we were too full to walk. We were happily sleepy from all that great food and there was no clock change tonight so we only had 1 sidecar and old fashioned and then retired for the night to rest up for another busy sea day tomorrow.

Day 9 will be next…

Just now, quattrohead said:

Divina is a very quick ship. Love her.

We really like the Fantasia-class ships too. We're back on Divina in April and happy that most of the YC crew we've come to know will be too. 🙂

Day 7 Dinner menu:

Day 7 Lunch menu:

Day 7 continues…

Somehow the thought of lunchtime had escaped us and we found ourselves rushing to Le Muse at 1:28pm. The door was closed when we arrived, and there was another couple behind us who were also late. Mehmet was kind enough to allow the 4 of us in even though it was our own fault we were late. BCD and I only wanted starters -- he ordered the Parma ham and I ordered niçoise salad. He had a chianti and I had a sauvignon blanc. We had already talked about having the next course at the One Deck buffet. We were quick to finish -- well, quick for us. 😉

We headed up to the One Deck buffet where BCD had some tuna with mayonnaise, tomatoes and cucumbers and I ordered a plate of French fries. I had 3 glasses of chianti and BCD had 2 Heineken and a nice looking double chocolate chip cookie.

BCD also began work on a project this afternoon that he had planned for this cruise after I showed him some images from the most recent Observations from the Poop Deck thread by @morpheusofthesea (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2975181-observations-from-the-poop-deck-seascape-nov-2023/ -- see posts #151 and #160). BCD is an automotive engineer and could not resist a challenge to replicate and improve on these two impressive uses of champagne/sparkling wine corks, wires, etc.

BCD had already been collecting "supplies" from the crew and by today had finally had enough to begin assembly. The loss of his Leatherman tool, however, made this undertaking much more difficult. He is currently working with nail clippers, scissors and the back end of a knife (as a hammer to pound out some of the kinks in the wires from around the cork).

The weather changed to very cool so we returned to TSL for drinks until it was time to dress for dinner, after I convinced the engineer to halt production for the day. He agreed provided that he could consider design improvements with adult beverages for inspiration. When the current iteration of the design and analysis phases was complete, we returned to the cabin to change for dinner.

We arrived at Le Muse about 8:15pm and checked out the menu with some champagne.
Mehmet came by our table to greet us while we were still deciding what to order and recommended the baked island shrimp and the almond-crusted salmon. The engineer formerly known as BCD (TEFKABCD -- hope that's funny for at least a few people) had the shrimp as a starter, while I had the summer salad -- after our server said that the shrimp was not completely GF per the chef. I ordered the almond-crusted salmon after being reassured that it was GF and BCD opted for the rib eye. We finished our champagne with the starters and BCD moved to a dolcetto and I to a pinot noir. When Glenn and Ryan brought our entrées, they also brought risotto -- which we did not order. I had told Glenn that we would skip the risotto since we thought cuttlefish was a black ink dish like squid. It wasn't so he brought it anyway, knowing how much we liked the risotto. I definitely think we have a great server team this cruise. 🙂

We liked all of our meal, but I now have a new dish to add to my favorites list. The almond-crusted salmon was fantastic! I doubt it's a new offering so I must have always chosen something else I thought I wanted more when it appeared on the menu. Now I know not to miss it when I see it.

We looked at the dessert menu, to be polite as usual -- or so I thought. I did not feel like dessert but BCD ordered me a coconut ice cream with a shot of Kahlua and the caramel Bavarian cake for himself. Guess who ate both? I think automobile design makes one quite hungry. LOL

Back to TSL and since we were changing clocks back another hour tonight, 5 sidecars and old fashioneds before heading to bed.

Day 8 coming next…

Day 7 begins…

We were thrilled to have a one hour time change backwards, allowing us to sleep a little later. We also decided that we'd like to have breakfast at the One Pool Deck, which closes an hour later than Le Muse -- giving us two more hours total. Awesome!

We arrived at One Deck around 9am. We knew that they prepare eggs to order so we could have some omelets just like in Le Muse. BCD ordered an omelet with ham, cheese, mushrooms and onions while I ordered an egg white omelet with bacon and cheese. We grabbed some more bacon and some potatoes from the buffet. We also had our usual mimosas and cappuccinos.

After eating and simply enjoying the view for a little bit, BCD ordered a Malibu rum (coconut rum) with orange juice and I asked for a cappuccino and a GF chocolate chip muffin.

Then we saw Pepe, Mehmet and a few other officers roaming around the One Deck. The captain came on the public address system and announced that we would be turning around back towards Tenerife shortly to accommodate a medical evacuation. He explained that it was not an emergency but the person decided that they'd rather evacuate now and not risk anything more serious during the 6-day crossing where it would be much more difficult (if not impossible) to evacuate. He went on to explain that the open decks would need to be cleared for the helicopter evacuation.

When the captain concluded his address, Pepe and Mehmet circulated on the One Pool Deck to speak with each table individually, explaining again the situation with profuse apologies. We had not received our order yet, but it was ready so the butler said that he would take it down to TSL for us. We met him down there and he had already transferred everything from the plastic used on 18 to glass and china as used in TSL.

We hung out in TSL, waiting for the time that we could go back to the One Deck. Pepe was checking in with tables in TSL and we thought it was about the medical evacuation. When he came to our table, he said that he wanted to make up for the disappointing lamb shank last night in Le Muse and would be giving us a complimentary meal in Butcher's Cut for a reservation date/time of our choice. We typically like dinners in Le Muse, so thought maybe lunch tomorrow. Pepe said that the second Gala Night was tomorrow, which made us think that we wouldn't want a big lunch, so we chose Day 9 lunch instead. Pepe moved on to another table and Simone, the head concierge, called BC to secure our reservation. We hadn't realized that people were that upset about their lamb shanks -- or maybe Pepe was the one more upset and wanted to be extra generous to be sure that no one felt slighted. Either way, we felt that it more than made up for an average meal in Le Muse, especially one that was only experienced by one person at our table.

Eventually, the captain announced an estimated time for the medical evacuation and we discovered that the helicopter was hovering off the port side of the the ship, which was the same side as our room. We happened to go back to the our cabin just then and watched the whole operation from our balcony. It was quite a procedure to see. A helicopter hovered over the pool deck of the ship, dropped a rope down to the pool deck, a helicopter crew member rappelled down the rope, an empty basket was lowered to the ship, the basket was lifted back to the helicopter with a passenger in the basket, another passenger was tethered to the helicopter crew member and both of them were lifted into the helicopter, a bag of some sort was lifted into the helicopter, the rope was reeled back into the helicopter and the helicopter flew away to a presumably good outcome for the patient and their traveling companion.

We returned to TSL around 12:45pm as the ship was beginning to turn around to resume our westward crossing. The captain had assured us that we'd have no issue making up lost time over the remaining 5.5 days left in our crossing.

Day 7 continues...

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

the top YC waiters wore gold ties and aspiring top waiters wore black ties

Yes, on regular nights that is still the case. This was Mediterranean Night (aka Italian Night) so we expected the Italian flag colors but only got the muted green.

Just now, DaKahuna said:

If you like old fashion's I am sure you would enjoy one made with rum vs bourbon, especially since the have Ron Zacapa 23 showing on the beverage list.

YES!!

When we were on Seaside just this past September, the bar outside of YC near the specialty restaurants had a great bartender named Frederick. He made an awesome rum old fashioned with Zacapa 23. I hadn't asked Hubert for one of those, but maybe that's a good idea for me later today.

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

This is another tidbit. We never get any pictures of ourselves any more. DW does not want to be reminded of how old we are getting. So we just read that Explora is having a special formal Masquerade Ball for New Years. What better picture, we ordered special masks and a photo like this would suit our vanity well, until I remembered a post from a gentleman on Explora warning us that one photo on board Explora ranged from $400-$800 EACH. (selfie time) I can not imagine what kind of special backdrop is going to be worth that much money.

We also don't need any picture of ourselves. The EJ photo sounds like a great opportunity -- it could be anyone behind the masks and you can "reinvent" yourselves. Maybe that could be worth a few bucks? LOL

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

You didn't mention his connection to Napa before.

Sorry, did not mean to omit that. He mentioned that he had been a sommelier in Napa at some point in his career. He uses a lot of American idiomatic expressions, so we gathered that's where he learned them.

Before I write about Day 7, I realized that I forgot to mention a fun occurrence from the day before.

Around sail away time, the captain announced on the public address system that after departing Tenerife and prior to the 6-day crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, the ship's compass would need to be recalibrated and this would be accomplished turning the ship around a full 360 degrees in the harbor just after leaving port. (This is similar to how you recalibrate the GPS on your car or phone; rotating 360 degrees and allowing the device to recalibrate.)

We realized that it would likely be dark for the recalibration so we went up to the One Pool Deck just after we left port in order to have a view of Tenerife during the spin. The island is hilly and dotted with lights so I was thinking it would be a nice view. We found out that the compass is just above the One Pool and saw various crew members huddled around the compass with flashlights to perform the recalibration. As the ship began to turn, the lights from the hillsides of Tenerife swirled around us very beautifully. BCD is an engineer so he was more enthralled with the scientific aspect of the recalibration. We both enjoyed it, but for very different reasons. LOL

I'm seeing that Murat Sengul is the YC Director on Euribia currently.

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

DW also read that Explora is discounting this Christmas cruise in the OT category for a price LESS than a Yacht Club balcony cabin

Christmas sounds like too many kids for us. 😞 But thanks for the info!

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

DW reported to me that there are disconcerting reports on social media that those booking Residences with butler service on the new Explora Journeys are not getting the same quality of service from their Explora butlers as they received from their MSC Yacht Club butlers.

Wow! I had thought that EJ was going to be an elevated YC from the initial descriptions. But when people have discussed what they've actually experienced, the price point just does not justify it for us. Pity, because I really was looking forward to trying EJ. 😞

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

For us it boils down to .... Do we have the time (left in our lives) to gamble on a good time or a really good time ?

We are so with you on this way of thinking. If things were to permanently degrade in YC, we'd not be on another.

Just now, Sundiego said:

We are doing a 10 day B2B on the Seashore (3 plus 7) starting Dec 7th. It will be our 4th time in the YC. Hoping for the best but prepared for "the worst" after reading some of these reviews.

Definitely point out to the crew that you're on for 10 days and not just 3 days. I suspect that will elevate your experience. Fingers crossed for you! 🙂

12 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

I love sidecars and also love old fashion's.  How are they on Divina?

Hubert is one of the YC bartenders on Divina right now. He is in TSL in the evenings and makes excellent sidecars and old fashioneds. On our last Divina cruise, the bartenders did not make them as well (in our opinion, and everyone's is different). I hope that Hubert is around and you like his "cooking." LOL

As to the lamb and ossobuco, they were on the YC menu during our Caribbean cruises as well. And if you're Diamond in Voyager's Club and have a free specialty meal on your cruise, Butcher's Cut has them on the menu too. 🙂

13 hours ago, jean87510 said:

I have had reactions to shellfish, nuts and mushrooms.  It sounds like they work with you, correct?

You should expect to receive accommodations. Fill out the Special Needs form (here: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/special-needs) in advance and also notify your TA if you have one attached to the booking. I also make sure that our server and assistant server know. If you don't always have the same servers -- like often occurs at breakfast and lunch -- tell everyone who comes to your table to be sure that your chances of cross-contamination are minimized. I need to be gluten free, but I'm not celiac so I can tolerate a little cross-contamination. If you can't, then definitely keep reminding EVERYONE. 🙂

6 hours ago, capriccio said:

We embarked the Meraviglia on January 5, 2020 for a 7 day western Caribbean and there wasn't a Christmas decoration in sight.

Wow! That would have been disappointing for us. I wonder if MSC is indeed trying to incorporate differences based on the sailing location.

I've come to understand that Epiphany, also known as Little Christmas or Three Kings Day, celebrates the bringing of gifts by the Three Wise Men in the Christian religion.

When in the countryside in Italy for l'Epifania, locals will often have a feast and burn things to help determine if the new growing year will have a good harvest. It's basically a fun party for all and last well into the night. (Read more here: https://www.sandanielemagazine.com/en/events/the-tradition-of-epiphany-in-italy/)