Best Cat Mom

1 minute ago, Beamafar said:

Really surprised to hear this.   I’ve never experienced a YC Captain’s ‘party’ where he didn’t visit every table. 

Maybe it has to do with the number of guests in YC who attend the cocktail party? During our Seaside cruise last month, there were not table visits either. 😞

3 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Our experience in YC has always been that the Captain, and his entourage, visited every table in TSL to exchange words.  It’s disappointing that it seems that sometimes they are only introduced by microphone.  Perhaps that’s a post-Covid thing.

Our 2 cruises before Covid -- Seaside in the Caribbean and Fantasia in the Mediterranean -- did not have a visit to every table, so I found it refreshing by Raffaello in the post-Covid YC. If it continues to occur, I will only be more pleased with MSC YC.

2 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

You should know the score by now

Hell yes! But Billy Joel said it best: "I'm in a New York State of... Mind" -- always. 🙂

1 hour ago, insidecabin said:

We always ask for bar soap every cruise.

I'm curious as to why. A pump seems like it would be much easier for simply washing hands. And the tray for the bar is so far away from the sink, making a mess with the water trail to the sink.

2 minutes ago, bphman said:

My wife was born and raised in Brooklyn but I married her regardless.

Careful! I am also a Native NYer from Brooklyn (Bensonhurst), and I'm partial to anyone else who is the same. 🙂

Ask for everything you desire in YC and they'll always do their best for you. Enjoy your YC cruise and let them spoil you!

Heard from YC Director Raffaello Benfenati. He said that he is on holiday now but will be on World Europa beginning later this month.

Raffaello was our YC Director on Divina last October and this past January. He is relatively new to MSC but told us that he was striving to do some "innovative" types of things in MSC YC. He hosted some unique events, including a magician show and rum tasting in the Top Sail Lounge. He also held a few parties on the YC One Pool Deck during sail away from some Caribbean ports. One of the things we really liked about Raffaello was that he brought the captain and officers around to each table during the YC cocktail party so everyone could have a few words with them, instead of just introducing them via microphone to the entire lounge.

1 hour ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Can you tell me what junior butler means? Is this your cabin butler?

Junior butler is a cabin steward in YC; they will have several cabins to service besides yours. Butler is a room butler in YC, who works with your Junior Butler for you and will also have several other cabins. Usually the Junior Butler and Butler have the same cabins together, but not always. Head butler is the person who oversees all the butlers in YC. The head butler is frequently found at or near the concierge desk. There also may be an Assistant Head Butler, depending on the size of your YC (there was one on Seaside last month).

6 hours ago, JAGR said:

My favorite specialty restaurant lounge is on Seaside.  Deck 16, right outside YC entrance!

Totally agree! And the bar there is really great. The bartender we had last month -- Frederick -- said that he was the only mixologist on board. He called all the other bartenders "plumbers," even the YC ones. We saw him in YC one afternoon and asked why we was there. He said he was teaching the plumbers -- and they laughed with him, so I guess that they all get along very well. 🙂

Heard that the wonderful butlers John Carlo Driz and Patricia Consumido-Driz are finishing up on Meraviglia this month. They were previously on Divina right after they were married. We joked with Patricia that we were envious of their extended "honeymoon cruise" when we met them on Divina last year. 🙂

6 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Does YC on MSC work the same way (i.e. can I ignore the time on the web site and show up when we are ready)? 

Yes. From our experience and everything mentioned on these boards, yes. But that is never a guarantee about the future. 😉

1 minute ago, DaKahuna said:

I love tomato's on sandwiches but not tomato juice or soup.

I'm with you on the soup. But I find I really enjoy a Bloody Mary made with gin, never vodka.

1 minute ago, DaKahuna said:

bartenders and waiters in bars/lounges we usually tip per service

We don't tip until the end and recognize the YC bartenders and YC butlers who were most attentive over the entire cruise in the Top Sail Lounge.

2 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Sounds delicious, until Bloody Mary was mentioned.

My spouse is the true Bloody Mary lover. I usually find them too spicy and simply order Clamato and Gin. He loves it as spicy as possible. Blech!

18 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Is that all at the same time?

Yes, all in one tall glass. 🙂

3 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Is there anyone you’re leaving out? That sounds a bit much to me, but I know everyone is different.

I think that was all -- we handed out 22 envelopes on our last cruise according to our notes.

2 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I bid you all adieu.

Thanks so much for sharing your holiday with us! 🙂

7 minutes ago, Fighterone said:

How will we know that they are indeed “Burgundy Snails” and not the ones that we have been eating all along on cruises?

Edited 5

No idea. 🙂

We just want to see them offered every evening. 🙂

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

So maybe they will be expanding the snails to the classic menu?

We hope so, we really liked them.

We also joked with our server about where they were kept. They're supposed to be kept alive,  right? We asked who was taking care of them and where was the big room full of snails. Sukron, our server, dissolved into giggles after we asked -- definitively out of character for him. 🙂

Wonder if the addition is not yet on all ships. This was our Seaside menu:

But wow, not on the Classic menu?

Are you seeing Burgundy Snails regularly in the "Classic Favorites" area of the YC menu? It was a new entry and on every evening's menu for our Seaside cruise earlier this month (but was not there during our last cruise in February). I have not seen it on other ships' menus that have been posted recently. We loved this as a starter and began ordering it as a third 'sharing' starter, similar to how we often order the risotto as a third 'sharing' main course.

34 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

I’ve never experienced on other lines not read about it happening as frequently as MSC

Have you ever been to Italy? Menus in restaurants there are considered "suggestions." It is quite common to be told that they are out of something. MSC as a cruise line completely meets our expectations and experiences of a land-based Italian holiday.

Some considerations to help you:

Are they both the same number of days and price?

If so, does one start or end in a city where you'd prefer to add on a few days for a land-based holiday?

5 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Please do not tell me they do not have Zacapa 23 in the YC?

We only visited Frederick every night because he introduced the drink to us -- and that area was completely empty at 10pm after we finished our YC dinner. Next cruise, we'll definitely order it in Top Sail.

I love a good Side Car but the Zacapa Old Fashioned was less sticky on the hands. LOL

[Sorry Jaime, for hijacking the thread -- but your spouse definitely should try the Zacapa Old Fashioned!]

The Italian component won us over, though we did like the Haven bathroom with double sinks and separate tub/shower. But we were used to small bathrooms in Italy for our land vacations -- and those tub/shower combos that get the entire bathroom wet every time you use them. Lots of folks complain about the things we consider "usual" for an Italian holiday. For example, washcloths. We always packed them since you don't get them in Italy. We were pleasantly surprised to find them in YC.