morpheusofthesea

You are correct. It is Prosecco. We gave one bottle to our accountant and will give the other tomorrow to our TA who called today saying she is dropping off our cruise documents for our next cruise on the Seashore July 30 for another blissful week of cruising delight. Also we will give our TA the complimentary bottle of Jack Daniels and a chocolate ship and another bottle of complimentary Spumante that came with the cabin. (She needs all this fortification dealing on the phone with MSC). Thankfully the service on board is a world of difference. Thank you for your kind words.

Agree totally. However we thought we would give Explora 1 a shot in a Grand Penthouse suite to compare to our 'over the top' experience in the Royal and Owners suites on Seashore.

Written right out of our 'playbook'. We have gone from the Retreat (still booked Beyond this year) to MSC YC. Both are hard to beat. We booked a sailing on Nieu Amsterdam, Pinnacle suite and payed the upcharge for a cabana for the week hoping to avoid the points you stated above. This is our first Holland cruise in 30 years (did Alaska) and was hoping to match the service received in Retreat and YC. Did we make a mistake ? By your post we would greatly appreciate your view.

To quote Robert Burns, the Scottish poet, " I pick my favorite quotations and store them...as ready armour, offensive or defensive, amid the struggle of this turbulent existence."

Although it was the YC edition, could it be safe to assume that it was also in the daily planner for the General Population? We did not have access to the G.P. edition. (Nice to think that only the YC had a 'heads up' to this treat). Access to the YC restaurant is really all we need.

Public room etiquette should extend to every area outside ones cabin.

The pejorative of this word is not used in polite society.

"Actually it is quite rare". Daniel, the Michelin two-star restaurant from chef Daniel Boulud, requires “proper pants, no jeans, no flip-flops, no shorts,” says Guedouar. “The shorts and the flip-flops are quite rare. When it occurs, I cannot let the guest be like that. We do let them know — either to go back to the hotel, if it’s the case of being a tourist, and change. Or we just simply cannot honor the reservation if they don’t want to dress up. That is the most extreme situation.” But one expects it is not so rare amongst the classless bumpkins.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/yes-its-summer-but-you-still-cant-wear-those-shorts-in-these-restaurants/2016/07/21/57f5ceb2-37f3-11e6-a254-2b336e293a3c_story.html

“Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination.” Mark Twain And if there is only one thing I have got, its imagination.

Really, I heard they shot the scene with no pants at all. "A Rose by any other name", would still convey the thought.

We discovered by accident a free Specialty Restaurant Food tour on board the MSC Seashore. We happened to be at the Champaign Bar and asked a gentleman in a suit what was going on. Our Sailing was July 9 to 16 2022 , and this gentleman was Mustafa the director of Specialty Restaurants. He said this was only the second week. It was unadvertised and only listed in the daily program at 12:30 for one hour. Everyone really should make it a point to read the daily program. Out of 4100 passengers only 250 showed up. I believe a free glass of Champaign was included. Everyone was able to go from each Specialty Restaurant and sample their food.

Actually my EXPERIENCE DOES suffer because it angers me that some people think that they are "too good" to follow the polite rules of ladies and gentlemen dressing like ladies and gentlemen. I can't stand it when shorts-wearing folks try to intimidate the Maitre' D from enforcing the cruise line's request. But then I guess it's ok to wear a ball cap at dinner too? Maybe some flip flops to match? But maybe that's formal attire in Gainesville 🙂 Please do not suffer or get angry. We just laugh. Akin to observing those with those same shorts worn so low that their derrieres are exposed. Many of these are adolescents, still. Perhaps it is a product of our times. Millennials, those 26 to 41, "are worse off than their parents, a first in American History."( Jan. 11, 2020 CNN) "A big part of the American dream is that each generation will do better than the one that preceded it," said David Grusky, a sociology professor at Stanford and one of the authors of the second study, which was published in the journal Science in 2017. "That has been part of what's supposed to make this country special and distinctive. When it's just a coin flip, we're not living up to that commitment. It's a pretty fundamental part of what we say this country can deliver and we're not." And so this is just a response. I'm sure we all enjoyed the same scene in "Blues Brothers" when Jake and Elroy visited a fine restaurant. They knew what they were doing and so does this bunch.

A cruise is not a camping trip. Dressing for dinner is a case of self-respect and respect for others.

Our favorite entertainer on the Marco Polo was David Perry at the piano bar. We would sit all evening listening to his entertaining stories as he played. Some things can never be repeated in ones lifetime. Glad you can find some camaraderie to enhance your cruising. Proverb "Different things appeal to different people." You can enjoy one aspect of the ship, while we can enjoy another.

"Snobbism", I prefer the less pejorative 'elitism'. We prefer traveling in suite venues away from classless bumpkins, that wear shorts to the dining room. Stopped 20 years ago eating at tables with others, as others have bad table manners, stopped eating at self service buffets for the same reason. Prefer a luxury cabin to 'hole up in' away from the 'maddening crowd'. More than once we have had to leave venues where others sit down and start coughing not covering their mouths. Do like the shows of the mega lines. Miss the Home Lines Atlantic, Royal Viking, Stella Solaris, Marco Polo, Orient Lines, but those were the port intensive cruises, so no need for entertainment. Would take intensive tours, get back to ship, shower, have dinner and collapse in bed. Looking now for service, time together, alone.

"Pre-embarkation Testing If your cruise line does not have a testing requirement, get tested for current infection with a viral test (no more than 3 days) before boarding a cruise ship, regardless of your vaccination status. Get your test results before you board your cruise."

"Therefore, the cruise ship color status webpage has been retired." (under frequently asked questions)

Check directly with your cruise line about their testing or vaccination protocols before travel. If your cruise line does not have a testing requirement, get tested for current infection with a COVID-19 viral test as close to time of cruise departure as possible (no more than 3 days before you travel). Get tested again with a COVID-19 viral test 3-5 days after your cruise. I guess the 'ball is now in the cruise lines court'?

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-travel-during-covid19.html

I hope this is not premature on my part, but "Happy days are here again"!!

https://cruiseradio.net/cdc-discontinues-covid-19-program-for-cruise-ships-effective-immediately/

Just got back from a week on board the Seashore. Went to future cruise desk, Suzane, booked us 5 more sailings in YC and got a total of $500 OBC per cabin. MSC will turn these bookings directly over to her and we anticipate another $500 OBC per cabin from her (5%).

Yes. Had a grand old time on the Seaside. Asked our butler , last week on Seashore, if her key card had the power to over ride and express us. She said not at the present time. Then she said to hand her my key card to see if the Royal Suite might be given this privilege. I did and she waved it underneath and then pressed the desired deck number. I imagine that there was not the correct response from the elevator key pad and we had to wait like everyone else.

I understand your feelings. It is the time in ones life to enjoy the 'fruits of our labor'. Having sailed the world in 2 lowers on the inside for 40 years it is time to 'branch out'. But it is still most difficult to abandon the practices the got us to this point in our lives. We are looking for service, a cabin with a separate bedroom, a walk in shower, and a covered balcony with loungers to stretch out on. So our ONLY concern is now will we be able to cruise when the time comes. We booked the Explora 1 in a Grand Penthouse 732 sq ft / 226 sq ft balcony, $907/pp/pd compared to Seascape Royal Suite 670/355 for $1178/pp/pd for the same time of year this year. Just can not believe that the service in the YC on the Seashore/Seascape can be outclassed by the service on Explora, when one has twice the number of suite guests competing for attention. We all want to get on first, get off first. Now our butler can butt us to the front of any queue, reserve us any seat in the Theatre, have our complimentary pergola on the One Pool deck, have had special key card 'over-ride' of elevators. All this 'out the window' competing with 720 other prima donnas. So for these reasons we only booked the one Explora sailing. P.S. We booked a similar cabin on Regent Mariner MS 2002/798 $1345 pp/pd and Regent Grandeur GS 854/732 $1405 pp/pd to compare to our present MSC favorites.