no1talks

Thank you for the lively narrative of your cruise. Since MSC tightened the room offerings on their casino rewards program some months ago, I'm curious as to the level of play required these days for a Yacht Club invite from MSC casino management. You mentioned having your first MSC cruise in October of last year. The former, more generous rewards program was still in effect back then (I think). Was that the source of the invitation, perhaps? Also, was pirate night a casino event, or ship-wide? I cannot recall any social media mentions of pirate night, the way white and flower parties are often noted.

For those who recall the attenuated seasons of The Sopranos, it was closer to summer-fall-winter-spring-summer-fall rerun season. Badda bing!

I want to be on an MSC cruise in the alternate universe wherein Tony Soprano is the YC maître d', instead of a "waste management consultant."

For better or worse, the fancy coffee drinks, as well as gelato drinks, are claimed by Venchi 1878 Chocolate Bar. They have the most decadent goodies to be found on the ship, but the drinks are not covered by the YC package. The YC's nightly turndown service includes a few morsels of Venchi chocolate, though. On the topic of dinner wine, this is what we do when in YC. Perhaps this is a dining style you would enjoy. Once onboard, I meet with the YC maître d' and ask to have the same table and server duo for dinners. I also ask the sommelier to surprise us each dinner with matching aperitifs or dry cocktails when we are seated. Further, I request that the servers notify the somm of our full meal order, for his or her by-the-glass wine selections, as well as surprise digestif or sweet cocktails with the dessert course. A drink while we decide on our dinner choices, starter & entrée wines by the glass, and a drink with dessert seems like a lot of alcohol, I know. However, we generally don't finish the individual libations and we keep the dinner pace slow. The sommeliers have never disappointed and I'd wager they like being able to do break away from the same old routine dinner service. I print three copies of our requests and provide one for the maître d', somm, and greeter.

On the subject of dining room wear, MSC admits their own capriciousness with regard to dress restriction enforcement. The first sentence on the topic, as explained on their website, begins with, "Specific restrictions may [emphasis added] be enforced . . ." Some skate by; others are called out on their clothing.

Here are varied listings of libations for your perusal. https://profcruise.com/msc-bar-menus-and-drink-prices-2023/

Golly, I hope not.

Oh, come on. Everyone of a certain age fondly recalls her gold record, space-disco debut, "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper." That was one whole husband before Andrew Lloyd. 🎵I lost my heart to a starship trooper Flashing lights in hyper space Fighting for the Federation Hand in hand we'll conquer space🎵 Oh! Sorry, I didn't realize I was audible.

I seem to recall the esteemed @morpheusofthesea posting pictures of new sand on the YC beach, a year ago or longer. However, weather conditions washed it out, down to the cobblestones, yet again. If MSC plans on using their island's YC facilities for Explora visits, I'm confident another attempt will be made before those visits commence.

Slooooowly I turned . . .

What typo?!? I thought all of us Yacht Clubbers brought cars along on Bermuda stay-overs, and the like. (We have the butler discreetly arrange the car snacks for later consumption.)

Not without special preparation, well before the cruise. Deacons cannot consecrate the Eucharist. That sacrament is reserved to priests in good standing. Accordingly, a deacon would need to plan ahead and receive ecclesiastic permission to transport a quantity of consecrated Eucharist, which would require reverential packaging and transport. Hopefully, at any given time, there are a few vacationing deacons who have undertaken this service, for the spiritual benefit of Catholics they may meet on a cruise. A Blessed Easter to all!

You are being cattivo, Morpheus. 😉 You, yourself, have catalogued the changes in YC inclusions. Outside the perimeter, there were the gelato and crepe cuts. In the perimeter, the form of the chocolate gift has changed and now the snacks are comped first serving, only. As I recall, YCers from waaaay back have mentioned the lack of any price cap on liquors while in YC. Now, there is a price limit in place, per the Premium Extra Package. It would not surprise me to find out such MSC cruisers from days of yore can recall other benefits that have fallen away. Of course, this is not just a YC situation. Aurea lost their drink package and massages, yes? World Europa has added new specialty restaurants, but apparently, these new eateries are not participating in Voyagers Diamond Members' tasting menus. New ships, like World Europa, chock-full of innovative à la carte chargeables, will just make Yacht Club shrink in cachet, when it adds nothing.

Depending on the party or parties responsible for that "something," I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the Meraviglia management comes a-callin'.

The accomodations and the perquisites are a package deal. Diminishing those which exist outside the bubble are a diminishment of the total accommodations package. If anyone thinks, "As long as things are status quo inside the bubble, all is well," that person should forego the white-tent intake, the escort to the front of all lines, the reserved theatre seats (even if outside the normal section) and so forth. A big part of YC is the collection of non-bubble benefits. Those benefits have decreased. If every new feature on every new ship is a nickel & dime affair for YCers, too, I'll just stay on the older ships. My YC fare will have more bang for the buck, especially when the fares on newer ships are usually higher.

No drink packages accepted. Another MSC feature that is an upcharge, even for YCers. If the new ships continue to add things for which even YC has to pay extra, people will wonder what the point of YC even is, on the newest ships. It makes sense to increase the wow factor on new ships. What doesn't make sense is to allow the wow factor of your premium accommodation tier to shrink by comparison.

You are too kind, sir. Mille grazie.

By the end of the cruise . . . When-The-Moët-Is-All-Gone.mp4

Speaking of Cabaret Rouge, I assume there is no listing of the performers and one has to view the show in order to learn anything. If that is the case and if you happen to see the show in its entirety, could you list the acts? Any advance knowledge for next month would be appreciated. (Of course, depending on performers' contracts, some may come and some may go before we board in mid-March.) Thank you very much, Morpheus.

I will omit repeating the Triple-Lindy reference, Morpheus. However, here is the original beer order. 😉 Every-Seven-Minutes.mp4

This apocryphal anecdote was originally associated with a real clown, the English stage comedian, Joseph Grimaldi. Grimaldi's life was fraught with sorrows. He was said to have joked about his sad life, "I am GRIM-ALL-DAY, but I make you laugh at night." Grimaldi is considered to be the father of the modern clown. So much so, clowns are known in theatre vernacular as "Joeys," for Joey Grimaldi. https://daily.jstor.org/here-we-are-again-how-joseph-grimaldi-invented-the-creepy-clown/

Morpheus, we're three weeks away from Seascape, so I look forward to reading about the state of affairs in YC, as well as the ship at large. Staff recommendations (and warnings, if needed) are much appreciated.

Carnival may be all hat and no cattle, when it comes to following through with disciplinary actions. It wouldn't be the first time a business hoped the threat of something would be enough and then didn't make good on the threat. I shall eagerly await the first "Carnival tossed us off the ship in friggin' punta cana!" post on CC. Also, in fairness, from what I read across the various cruise line boards here, there is plenty of gutlessness to go around.

Geez, MEFIowa, did Gunny Hartman assign you firewatch? 😆 Fire-Watch.mp4

I think I'll say a few things. It may perturb some folks. On this particular occasion, I don't care, because I'm going into a very rare three-day weekend and, as the youngsters say, I'm feelin' myself. Like many CC posters on the MSC board, I've mentioned the "yahoo" problem. I've made recommendations as to the best course of action folks can take for themselves. In a post last month, I went so far as to say we would give Oceania a whirl, if our March cruise on Seascape is overrun with the raised-by-wolves constituency. However, when I read comments about how MSC needs to raise the prices to keep the yahoos off the cruises, I become a bit irked. The simple fact is this: Not all of those who would be excluded from MSC by a price bump are yahoos. A good amount are regular, upstanding working-class folks who would not be able to take their family on a cruise, but for MSC's low prices. Another thing. Those who would tsk-tsk the YCers and say, "You, in your bubble, have no idea how rough it is out here, in gen pop! When you advocate for an exclusionary price increase, you are just advocating for a bigger bubble, right after poo-pooing the current bubble people. Sheesh. Even more grotesque would be those among you who, perhaps, came up from modest beginnings yourselves. "I'm cruising now, and I don't want any hooligans to screw it up. Raise the fare and pull up the ladders. If it keeps out folks like I used to be, oh well." Here's an idea that will eliminate most yahoos and still keep the fares affordable: Bring back actual dress codes. Nothing repels people raised by wolves quite like a good ol' dress code. However, this, too, will have collateral damage. Just as a price increase will exclude the salt-of-the-earth working families, a fair-but-firm dress code will put off those who were not raised by wolves, but do enjoy dressing like it. I suspect you, gentle readers, know which of these two groups has somewhat less of my sympathy. Seriously, though, the only thing required to significantly dampen the hooliganism is for MSC to enforce their own policies. There are already rules about swimwear in the eateries, diaper-wearing babies in the pools, out-of-bounds smoking, public drunk & disorderly, and just about every other "questionable" behavior. Enforce your own rules, MSC. If lines get crossed, put a big, fat fine on the cruise account. Won't pay at check-out? Send it straight to collections. Even those raised by wolves want to avoid hits to their credit rating. If lines get really crossed, march 'em down the gangway, luggage in tow, as soon as the ship is in port. "Oh, now you're sorry about all that business you started? Parla alla mano." Cheers!