Best Cat Mom

When we couldn't stop at Ocean Cay due to high winds in February, they still had the lobster roll (and the rest of the regular OC menu) in YC that day for lunch. Seems that since they prep it all in advance, it's the lunch of the day no matter where YC serves lunch. We learned this from the YC staff who were waiting to unload all the supplies onto OC. They were already down at the exit point waiting while the ship made several tries to dock. When the captain decided that we'd have to skip the stop entirely, they simply brought everything back to the YC restaurant and lunch proceeded as planned, just in a different place. So don't worry about missing the lobster roll if the ship misses OC. 🙂

You will likely need to vacate the cabin in the morning and take your luggage with you. We were in YC so the concierge held all our luggage until we were ready for our butler to walk us off in the afternoon. You might want to check with your butler/room attendant for options to store your items until you're ready to disembark if you don't want to keep everything with you that morning. Enjoy the extra time on board -- it can feel like a whole extra day if you leave a few hours after lunch. 🙂

When on a ship with people embarking and disembarking at multiple ports, the disembarking passengers don't have to leave the ship early so there won't be a big "push" by them to get in line. When we disembarked in Genoa, we stayed on the ship until after 2pm. Our hotel check in wasn't until 3pm so we had breakfast and lunch on the ship and left in the afternoon.

Remember that it is 3 courses -- so you can omit the dessert course if you want and have an appetizer, salad and main course for your 3. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! 🙂

We loved their risotto and always ordered that as a third main dish to share. Don't be shy about asking for lobster or scallops to accompany your filet or maybe Oscar style. You're in YC. 🙂

Chances are that if you order a filet several nights your server will ask you what they could do different in the preparation for you. That's what YC is all about. And that's why we LOVE it! 🙂

Sounds like you've got some people moving on it so that's good. And great that you had at least the one meal there. Good luck on getting some more if needed. Enjoy YC! 🙂

Chase him! You've got a free meal from status matching, right? Between him and the YC Director, they have to come up with some type of solution. There are probably dozens of other passengers in the same situation, and likely some in YC. They have got to figure out something here.

Enjoy! I just booked us a cruise for September on Seaside. Our first MSC cruise was back in 2018 on Seaside in YC when the ship was only a few months old. We loved both the ship and the service and we've been exclusively cruising MSC YC ever since. We're looking forward to seeing it again now that it has been able to settle in. In 2018, we had Alesandro as our YC Director; he was swapped out in the last few days of our cruise as he was only there to get things started. Guiseppe (Pepe) was the YC maitre d'/restaurant manager. And those were the days of the infamous YC server Arthur, who was quite the presence every meal. I saw that you're having some atypical difficulties dining in Butcher's Cut. I hope that you've been able to speak with the YC Director to voice your concerns and have some alternate accommodations made to allow you to enjoy that menu. If you get a chance, can you tell us the name of current YC Director and (maybe) when their time on Seaside ends? Thanks!

Similar situation with international flights. Depending on where you are departing, some will only offer champagne and not mixed drinks. Also depends on whether you are in true "first class" or just business class. I prefer the cruise lines and air carriers that absorb all those costs for you (or better explained, include it in your fare). 🙂

What does 3 hours equal in points? Or better yet, how does one know how many points they are accumulating? Is it by time spent at various types of play, money lost, etc.? We are not big gamblers but we do spend time in the casino when we need some extra cash for tips. How would we know if we are on the verge of some type of reward and we should keep at it for a little while longer?

If the tables are still in the same basic set up, there are several two tops in a row that can be put together for large parties as well -- I think you could seat 10 or 12 people that way.

Our first cruise on MSC was when we "moved" from NCL Haven to MSC YC in Seaside. We had previously cruised on Haven's smaller ships, which do not have a dedicated Haven dinner restaurant. Our experiences in NCL's main dining room led us to book a 3-night package in the MSC specialty restaurants on our first YC cruise. We needn't have. The YC restaurant was much, much better in our opinion -- and we missed some great food there when we were in the specialty restaurants. We could request anything we desired to be served in the YC restaurant, though sometimes a bit of notice is required depending on the exact items. The wines by the glass encompassed a solid line up of all the grape varieties. Even when they did not have some type of grape that we wanted, they would obtain a bottle to pour us by the glass. They should also be able to get whatever bottles of wine you might want, even if not part of their "regular" offerings. We had Butcher's Cut filet and lamb many times (I had lamb 4 times in YC when it was not on their menu and they always told me it came from Butcher's Cut) in YC. They'll prepare it however you'd like. You may even meet the chef if he's not shy about circulating during dinner -- Jeffrey from South Africa was our favorite so far -- and be able to talk with him about the next night's courses. The possibilities are virtually endless in YC. Each cruise for us gets better and better as we realize just how much they love to cater to your wishes! Enjoy!! 🙂

We always have appetizers, salads and entrees -- no desert. Still 3 courses, just 3 different courses. 🙂

Remember that since you're in YC, you can always make special requests for your meals. They will go out of their way to accommodate you, though sometimes they will need more than just a few hours notice. We had lamb five times on our last cruise, even though it was only on the menu once during that time. YC perks are quite nice. 🙂

Keep in mind that the Diamond meal is 3 courses, but does not have to include dessert. We always order appetizers, salads and then entrees/sides, skipping dessert. It's up to you how you choose to use your 3 courses. Enjoy! 🙂

I'm a native NYer, spent my entire school-age life in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. I'd never pay for NYC parking rates. Much better to use public transportation (fly, train, etc) or Uber if you're local. I would totally avoid having a vehicle near the cruise port unless you're really close by.

Here is a scenario to consider: we booked a similar B2B as a single cruise in Sep 2022. When Hurricane Ian was raging in the Florida area, MSC cancelled the "first" part of the B2B, but not the second. Because we had booked as one entire cruise and not as 2 separate B2Bs, our entire cruise was cancelled, not just the beginning part. Not sure if that matters to you, but wanted to share our experience in case it helps you to decide.

We also moved from the smaller NCL ship's Haven category to MSC YC. One of the biggest surprises for us that we did not see mentioned in the boards was that YC1 cabins (the "regular" YC balcony cabins) had a bed that was really 2 twin beds converted to a single, larger bed. The king-sized beds that we had in the Haven did not exist. (Might be different in a YC Royal Suite or Duplex -- I have no experience in those cabins.) They do tie the beds together at our request but the gap is still there. We always wind up with various body parts "stuck" in the cavity between the two mattresses, and that may be your experience as well, depending on how you use your bed. We always miss our bed at home when extricating ourselves from that crevice. Does it stop us from booking and loving MSC YC? No way! It just gives us one reason to not hate disembarkation day. 🙂

We enjoy new itineraries, but we would not settle for MSC's oldest ships, since they do not have a Yacht Club. As long as there is a YC, we'll sail an interesting itinerary. We don't even mind the ships with the YC restaurant "disconnected" from the rest of the YC area (the Fantasia-class ships).

Remember that you can request anything you desire for your meals in YC -- even something on the regular menu that interests you -- and they will do their best to make it for you. 🙂

Have you sailed the Fantasia-class ships? They have a much larger shaded area around the One Pool Bar and shade over parts of the pool itself as well. We much preferred that to the Seaside, which has no shade as you've mentioned.

I matched to MSC Diamond with my Marriott Titanium status. That match is NOT reflected on the matching chart that I saw published recently.

That's a great outcome. 🙂

I believe that the 4 Fantasia-class ships have the YC restaurant -- Le Muse -- near the adult pool aft. I have experienced it on Divina and Fantasia. According to Wikipedia, Spendida and Preziosa have similar designs. I'm not certain if other ships also have YC split in this way.