Best Cat Mom

We've sailed several times in YC and tip extra to those who give us exceptional and personal service. We have always recognized our server and assistant in the YC restaurant and our butler and assistant in our stateroom. We've also tipped the YC restaurant maitre de, chef and hostess(es) at times, as well as particular Top Sail butlers and bartenders, and the YC concierges. Envelopes are available via the YC concierges and they are also especially helpful with spelling people's names or helping us identify people who we only know by sight (they have images of all the crew on their computer and that has saved us more than once when we have someone whose name we never are able to catch from their badge).

We have been on Divina out of the US twice, Seaside out of the US and Fantasia out of Genoa. I am GF and all 3 times they did not have GF crusts available. I am happy to report that we ordered regular pizzas and I was able to pull the toppings off the crust and eat them with no adverse affects. I realize that not all GF people would chance this, but if you are not worried about severe reactions, I can report that I did fine. Hope this might help you. PS: It was absolutely delicious each time!!!

You can also ask for specific afternoon treats -- so ask for maybe a cheese plate and red wine if you're getting back from a tour and want something savory. Or if you had something in the Top Sail Lounge on a previous day that you really liked, you could ask for that in the room. Sometimes the hardest part is deciding to what to ask for since they will bring you virtually anything! 🙂

We're also on Divina in YC on Friday, MN. We always ask for coffee and Bailey's. Both on Divina in October and our last pre-pandemic cruise on Fantasia, our butler put the Bailey's in the fridge the night before and brought the coffee in the morning. (The Bailey's would be in a glass with a plastic wrap covering.)

At the port, they verified our newspaper choice -- so clearly someone did receive our answers. Our butler asked us the questions about our bottle of alcohol when he introduced himself, so perhaps he did not receive the email (or received so many that it was easier to ask again). We asked for a bottle of liquor and a bottle of wine. He brought both, though he said that it was not the norm. We figured that the wine was an easy add-on for him, because it might save him from having to bring a few glasses to our cabin during the cruise. The butler did not ask about the pillows so we brought it up to him at the same time as the bottle discussion. We had chosen a special extra firm pillow choice on a previous YC cruise and loved them -- so much so that we tried to find them to purchase for our home. That was an important "selection" to us so we asked him. Not sure if he would have brought it up eventually.

When we were on Fantasia in the Mediterranean in 2019 (pre-Covid times), there was a party by the One Pool on White Night with full dinner buffet and live music, with officers attending and speaking to the YC guests. Not sure if Le Muse was open that night. Our butler was in attendance, but can't recall if our server was there.

On our cruise last week, we used the "Please Make Up Room / Do Not Disturb" card in the slot. Our Assistant Butler even used it a few times after he made up our room. Worked the same as a key card for us.

Our Divina cruise that just ended on Friday had several -- Captain/Officer party in Top Sail, Rum Tasting in Top Sail, Sunset Party at One Pool (this was for a random port, selected where the wind would not be too severe), and Magicians in Top Sail. The YC director is new to MSC and told us that he was trying to be especially "inventive." We were told that not all of the other MSC officers had expected so many events, so I guess he was really going further than most. (Attire was whatever the cruise had that day for each; nothing was different for the YC events.)

Rodwin said about 2000 passengers total for this cruise. Next cruise is nearly full ship-wide and completely full in YC. He said that as a quick 3-day out of Miami, it will be a totally different type of passenger mix and not necessarily in a good way. 😞

John Carlo has been our lunch waiter several times. Never saw him in the evening though. Forgot to mention that Patricia had been the butler who escorted us onto the ship. That's when I first saw her name tag with the butler title. Maybe she is on the verge of being a cabin butler?

Patricia's name tag now says "YC Butler" but she said she is a butler at the YC pool. From our previous cruises, I also thought that the title butler referred to cabin butlers. Maybe they've expanded the title now? I will give them your regards later today!

Wow! I'm flabbergasted! Patricia is one of the nicest and most patient butlers there. It is very unfortunate that those rude guests never had the chance to appreciate her and John (you mean John Carlo, her husband, right?) earlier in the cruise. We saw her in the early afternoon and she was her usually happy self. If the incidents happened earlier, I guess she was able to shrug them off. She and John only have one more week on their "honeymoon" contract and then the get to go home. They can forget the bad and remember all of us that appreciated them so much.

For Yacht Club boarding in Port Canaveral last week (on 9 October), that was all we needed.

It has been a wonderful cruise -- don't you hate when you get to that part of the cruise where you change from saying "this is a great cruise" to "this has been a great cruise?" 😞 They said 106 in YC, which is about 60% to 70% capacity. The loungers in the pool areas that we see when walking to Le Muse seems to be about the same. If I have a chance to ask someone, I will.

Wow, really? As I had mentioned earlier, we booked only about 2 weeks out because Hurricane Ian cancelled our 29 September sailing. Were the extra days at the end? I wonder if there was another cruise after this that lost those days. Bad for them, but what a nice surprise for you! 🙂

We have not encountered anyone trying to upsell spa services or specialty dining on this cruise. We did want a couple of couples massages (should I call that a quadruple?) but since no one has been walking around selling, we went direct to the spa to purchase them. They had a good deal: buy an 80-minute couples massage for the price of a 50-minute massage, which was a savings of about $100 for each couples massage. We don't need the dining, since we have our one Butcher's Cut meal from my Diamond status. We only have a few more days on board and we're still not sure if we'll even use that one meal. On our first MSC cruise on Seaside, we had purchased the Trio package of specialty dining and also had the one free meal. Having cruised NCL's Haven previously, which had the same menu each day, we did not yet know better. Now, we enjoy Le Muse so much, both the service and the food, we almost hate to miss a meal there. The maitre d' there has graciously provided us with both filet mignon and lamb chops from BC in Le Muse -- and we've had those wonderful lamb chops twice so far! -- so I think our free meal will go unused. It's too bad we can't gift it to another couple who might enjoy it. 😞 On our first MSC cruise, we brought our own washcloths, as we always do when we travel to Europe. We were pleased to find we did not need them. They have been in our YC cabins every MSC cruise, even the one in the Mediterranean. There is a dedicated slot in our bathroom counter for the pop-up type of facial tissues. I saw a post in another thread where someone had to specifically ask for tissues. Given the configuration of the YC bathroom, I think there will always be tissues available. We've never had to ask for some. And there are even extra boxes in the under-sink cabinet that you could place on the nightstand or desk if that is more convenient for you.

I was surprised to find out about the cruise concierge service too. I was on the website and wanted to call with a question but remembered that the wait times can be quite long. On the screen was a little "Call me" icon. I clicked it and received a call back from a Cruise Concierge in around 15 minutes. I asked him about this service and he said it is new and has only been in existence for a little over 6 months. The concierge who called me said he had been a concierge with NCL and his former manager was now with MSC and implemented a similar service to what had been at NCL and hired a few former NCL people for the startup at MSC. Let's hope that it gets better and better over time! 🙂

In YC, you can pre-order whatever you want, though most times they want to know the day before. There are also some standard simple items that they always have available (hamburger, filet, salmon, chicken breast, etc.). You can also have them change the current menu to make it simpler , such as removing a sauce. I am gluten-free and they have "adapted" many items for me by eliminating flour ingredients. Some they will say that they are unable to change, and this is usually because some things have been made ahead of time -- like a breaded piece of protein or a sauce that has already been thickened with flour. Just remember that in YC you can ask for just about anything. Enjoy!

We LOVED the Genoa terminal too! Like being in a museum -- with the added bonus of a cruise right after the tour. 🙂 Looking forward to reading more about your cruise. We are so missing Italy after 3+ years of no holidays. At least we have the flavor of Italia right now, since we are on the Divina. We are eagerly searching for the "right" cruise to book to get the real thing soon. Thanks for taking the time to share!

I should have mentioned that we have not touched the Jack Daniels because we're with you -- haven't needed to mix any drinks ourselves. I have had about half the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc when in the room -- that's been easier than running back out to the lounge. We haven't touched the Brut Prosecco either. Probably will leave everything in the room instead of schlepping it all home.

We just returned from a couples massage. I asked about steam rooms. They do have them and said that YC passengers need to reserve to use (but free, of course, for YC -- which made me think others must pay). No thermal pool on Divina, unfortunately. We enjoyed the bigger spa when we were on Seaside in the Caribbean in 2018. This trip we haven't even used the pool yet, so we haven't missed that bigger spa. The YC pool here is -- in our opinion -- much better than Seaside, though. It has some shade covering for both the pool itself and maybe 6 to 8 tables. Seaside was a pretty much open area that we found quite too hot and sunny to be comfortable during our August cruise.

We did not sign up for the Panama Canal excursion. We have not yet cruised through the canal and prefer to learn about it that way. 😉 Glad that phissy answered your Jamaica question because we did not go out there either. We've been enjoying the ship so much that we've only gone out once -- that was in Aruba. We're returning to all the ports in January except Aruba. We're thinking that the oppressive heat now will be at least a few degrees lower by then. Let us know how that cruise goes for you. We have heard that a good amount of the YC staff will end their time on Divina in mid-January. Le Muse maitre d' and YC director will still be the same until at least February. Le Muse chef is supposed to change in November. Apparently, his 8-month contract has already been extended for 2 more months and they can't extend him any longer. He did say that he's happy to have 10 months as his max because he really wants a vacation.

Our TA asked for our Voyagers Club account numbers and applied them to get the 5% discount for us. So as long as yours has the info, you should have the savings. 🙂

I am gluten-free (GF) and extremely gluten sensitive, though not celiac. I had filled out the Special Needs form on the MSC website to inform MSC. On our 2019 Fantasia cruise, the maitre d' met with the guests of each stateroom in the Concierge Area of the Top Sail Lounge as part of the boarding process. He asked us what approximate time we'd be dining each evening and he assured me that he was aware of my GF requirement and would be accommodating it in Le Muse. Here on Divina, no meeting like that took place. At first, I was a bit concerned but once we went to Le Muse for lunch, I mentioned my GF status and everyone seemed ready to accommodate me at that meal. I believe that I may be the only GF guest in YC this cruise because at each meal they have to check with the chef as to which dishes I can have. Unlike Fantasia, Divina's Le Muse kitchen has an area for GF meal preparation so there is not a big delay for them to prepare my meals. There were times on Fantasia that they would say our next course would be a few minutes' wait while they went to the main kitchen to retrieve my choices. Sometimes I would alter my choice based on that delay. On Divina, I have never perceived any delay at all. Later we found out that there are only 106 guests in YC, which can hold up to 200 (at 2 people per cabin) and Le Muse could potentially hold everyone all at once so there was no need to ask for our dining time preference. Regarding pre-boarding selections -- we also had selected our newspaper, pillows and in-room free beverage online a week or so before the cruise. While they had a record of the newspaper selection and verified it with us during check in at the terminal, it seems that our butler did not know of our pillow or beverage selections. When Rodwin introduced himself to us that first afternoon, we brought up the pillow. We had chosen the same pillow on Fantasia and loved it so we wanted to make sure that we had it again. He said that there would be no problem supplying it again. And then he brought up the beverage selection. We asked for Jack Daniels. He asked for a second choice "just in case," and then later that evening he told us that both our first and second choices were in the room for us. He did say that having 2 bottles was not customary, but that we had both. I took that to mean more that we shouldn't always expect two but enjoy that he could give them both to us. Hope that all of you are as fortunate to have your two choices as well! Rodwin also explained how room service worked, both with breakfast and other (to us, "other" room service simply means pizza LOL). We told him that we would love coffee each morning with Baileys Irish Cream. He said he would put the Baileys in the fridge the night before and then deliver the coffee each morning. A difference from our previous cruises is that we get a phone call just before the coffee is delivered. We thought perhaps that was to prevent anyone from still being asleep or not removing the Do Not Disturb sign. We like it so that we can be presentable and ready to answer the door. There is usually only a 1 to 2 minute wait after the phone call for the coffee to arrive. Rodwin has brought it personally most mornings, though we've seen a different person a few times. And Rodwin always retrieves the Bailey's from the fridge to put it out with our coffee. I want those companies that make the robotic vacuums (the ones that you allow to roam freely in your house) to invent a "Robo-Rodwin" so I can have coffee and Baileys each morning for the rest of my life!!

At the top of the stairs, we were directed to the YC security line. I moved to throw away the potato chips and water in my laptop case from the previous day's flight, but the security guy made a gesture that said "don't bother." I left them in my bag and went through the metal detector. BCD (Best Cat Dad) did as well and we progressed to the next YC check point quite quickly. We met another person who escorted us to the YC lounge area. There we were offered Brut Prosecco (which is much more champagne-like than regular prosecco) and other beverages and snacks whilst we supplied our Embarkation Form, vaccine history and passports to the check in desk. In short order, a butler named Patricia (who we'd encounter later on board) escorted us and a few others onto the ship and into the YC Top Sail Lounge. She enquired if our rooms were ready right then and ours were not, so we sat down in the YC Top Sail Lounge to have a cocktail and await either our rooms being ready or time for lunch in Le Muse, the YC restaurant. Others were already in the Top Sail Lounge awaiting the same. In short order, our room was ready so we went there to inspect it and freshen up for lunch. A few minutes later, we went to Le Muse for lunch (as we knew where it was from a previous cruise on a Fantasia-class cruise in 2019). By the time lunch was over, our bags had arrived to our cabin and we unpacked. Our butler, Rodwin, introduced himself and we also met our Assistant Butler, Fernando. We did need a few extra hangers besides the ones we had packed in our garment bag and the ones already hanging in our closet. Those appeared in our stateroom later in the day. I was not thrilled with the closet hangers that have to fit into the hanger hooks already in the closet on the bar. You can move to hangers to other closet hangers but cannot move the part attached to the bar. (What are those called?? I don't think I've ever seen a proper name for those type of aggravating hangers.)