Best Cat Mom

During our last muster drill, we were quick to depart Yacht Club and head down the 10 flights to our assigned place. There were virtually no other passengers on the stairs at the time we were. We did see the crew at each elevator bank; they were there to make sure that no one used the elevators during muster. On our way back up, the same crew saw us fighting against all the people still heading down. By the time we got maybe 5 decks up, the crew who saw us head down initially said something like, "Here, you can take the elevator back." We said, "Really?" and thanked them. Conclusion -- the elevators are functional during muster and the crew has discretion to allow their use. Talk to the crew on your deck and figure out something that works. 🙂

In YC? It's quite easy to keep track of people in YC.

We did not know if staying later was even a possibility. We couldn't fly out of Genoa the day of disembarkation (due to personal constraints) so we booked a hotel for that night and a flight the following day. When we were onboard, we asked the YC concierge the day before we were supposed to disembark and were pleasantly surprised to discover that we could stay so late. I would imagine that factors like what time they leave a port would influence how late a party could stay on board. For us, they were so generous and kinda said "of course you can stay." This benefit of staying onboard so late made us quite happy about how MSC handles all the embarking and disembarking at the various ports in the Mediterranean.

We were disembarking in Genoa for one cruise and our hotel check in was 3pm. There was not problem staying in YC until around 2pm. Breakfast, lunch, drinks -- all were available until we left. The concierge kept our luggage until we decided to leave.

We can only hope that the beginning of Ocean Cay's closure will be delayed as well. Finally, a delay that will we all like. LOL

Our favorite thing about an MSC cruise is that they are an Italian cruise company. We've spent over 150 days in Italy on land-based holidays. Cruising MSC out of Florida is a much shorter flight and costs less frequent flier miles. We still get to practice speaking Italian on the ship, but also sometimes get to practice Spanish depending on what ports we choose to tour. On our last two cruises, the YC staff that we encountered were mostly from the Philippines so now we've learned a few phrases in a new language too. (And we love their risotto!)

If you are on a smart ship, you can see your account on the MSC for Me app or any monitor around the ship.

Perhaps they will be changing the OC YC restaurant to be more like the YC restaurant on the ship? Adding a second seating and expanding the hours could help when YC passenger volume requires more than current capacity.

Not true. YC is not crowded and that's why many of us prefer to pay more to sail in YC.

To us, YC for a cruise is similar to First Class for a flight. There are a limited number of cabins/seats and the amount that are filled leads to how much food, drink and other amenities are loaded on board. If you want to sit in First Class and it is full, someone has to give you their seat and go sit in yours in the back.

It is unfortunate that the other crew in the YC don't care. I would think that they would at least realize that tips from the "real" YC passengers would be less -- and think with their wallets. Or maybe the interlopers are really good tippers??

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and opinions, @morpheusofthesea. When is the next cruise for you two? And which ship? We're not on again until a YC Seaside sailing in early September (if the weather does not alter our plans). We're hoping that the summer crowds have lessened a bit by then.

Perhaps that is a strategy? 😉

Interesting question. We've had it rain briefly while we were at the OC restaurant; lunch just continued through the rain in that case. We've not had the experience where it's actively raining as we dock in the morning. I guess it might be up to the YC Director at that point. If you are in the restaurant having breakfast and rain is in the forecast, you could ask them yourself of the plans for that day.

I should also add that if OC is missed at the last minute -- say because of high winds that prevent docking -- the YC menu on the ship that day for lunch will be the "usual" OC lunch menu. This means that you will not miss out on the lobster roll and other great menu items that are usually exclusive to lunch at OC. Since the supplies are ready, they will use them on the ship and prepare the same menu. We missed OC on one sailing and found that the OC menu tasted just as good on the ship. 🙂

If the ship doesn't stop at Ocean Cay, lunch will be in the regular YC dining room. If the ship stops at OC, the YC dining room staff all move to the OC restaurant, bringing the supplies from the ship to the island for the full lunch menu, and the YC dining room on the ship is closed.

When you are at Ocean Cay, it is open on the island in the YC area, not on the ship.

Isn't it interesting how non-YC cruisers don't realize that the YC guests are all pretty much known by the YC staff within the first day? They just don't realize how personal the service is in YC and that's why they think they can just blend in. Thank goodness the "interlopers" did not make too much of a fuss when asked to leave. Breakfast is too early to deal with that kind of stress, though mimosas can always help.

If someone is on a B2B, they can just show the last keycard for a discount. 😉 Enjoy your cruise!

We reserved the meal right at the venue one afternoon. They asked for the cabin number at booking I believe. When we dined, they never asked to see anything from my spouse. Maybe I could've had anyone at the table with me and they would not have known? Or maybe they checked the image in their system for my cabinmate? Nothing was ever said. I would say that you shouldn't let the person with you start thanking you loudly for bringing them along, especially in earshot of the server or host. 😉

No idea. We did not carry the cards except when leaving the ship. Maybe someone else has tried? On the ships where there is only a card, the monitors are not interactive -- I think because only 'smart' ships have both the wristbands and the interactive monitors. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

We did not try that since those monitors are in public, but you probably can. We would always check with our YC concierge instead.

One advantage to the wristband is that you can stop at any of the monitors around the ship and see your own personal schedule. It's very helpful if you have a dinner reservation or spa appointment and can't remember the exact time -- you can check without going back to your cabin to look for the paperwork and you don't need to carry your phone around to have access to the app.

Thanks so much! 🙂

We're on Seaside in early September. Do you know the names of the current YC director and YC restaurant manager? And if they'll still be on in September? Seaside was our first MSC cruise back in 2018 and we're looking forward to enjoying a return visit. Back then, we tried YC for an alternative to NCL Haven. We liked that first MSC YC cruise so much that we sold all of our CruiseNext NCL certificates when we got home. MSC YC is all we book now. 🙂 (This is our first cruise with that great TA you recommended. Thanks again!)