mica178

Oh, also, bonus! As we arrived late to OC, no restaurants will be open. Just food trucks. So I will be at to eat the OH menu at the YC restaurant. Woo hoo! No soggy, un-air conditioned seats at Ocean House for me! I was advised that if YC guests prefer to eat on the island today, the butlers will retrieve food from the food trucks for them.

We have arrived at Ocean Cay! Re: YC priority on elevators. It works! One might have to wait a bit (I suspect people calling for elevators then getting bored and taking the stairs slows the process), but everything I've used my wristband, I've ended up alone on the elevator and immediately conducted to my denied floor.

Greetings! It was a rough night, lots of rocking and shaking from the stormy weather. I woke up early and waited for someone to wake up to join me for breakfast. My son and I ate at the YC restaurant, which was quite civilized. They do poach the eggs properly, but there could have been a bit more hollandaise. Because of ongoing rain, the arrival at Ocean Cay has been delayed. Which is fine with me, as the thought of a soggy beach doesn't appeal.

Our stateroom is pretty big. Compared to the deluxe balcony YC suite from last year on Seaside, this one is about 35% bigger and has a walk in closet. We have more closet space than we know what to do with! Our butler is Jesee, and he is lovely. He came to our stateroom to do the spiel that we skipped in the TSL, and he came back later with cookies for the kids (along with their names written in dark chocolate on a white chocolate slab) and our complimentary bottle of gin. We spent the afternoon unpacking, checking in at the Kids Club, and exploring the ship. The kids and I went to the YC hot tub with frozen drinks to watch the sail away. It was very windy but so pleasant. We went to eat at about 7. No problem getting a nice table right away. Our server was Oka, and he told us that he would serve us all week. He got a kick out of my son, who borders on excessively polite. Both he and his assistant absolutely fawned over the kids. The food was solid. I started with the chicken and duck terrine and a crisp rose. Then I has the prime rib and a glass of the Oberon. I finished with a cheese plate. Everything was very nice and cooked as requested. No, it wasn't like dining at a Michelin starred restaurant, but honestly, that wasn't the expectation. I'm awful at remembering to take pictures, so I apologize in advance. After dinner, we dropped the kids off at the kids club and explored the ship a bit more. We discovered the arcade had many broken machines, which was disappointing but typical of arcades in general, even on land. Then we picked the kids back up and returned to our room. We were left some treats by the turn down crew as well as bottles of water at every nightstand. Very considerate. Then bedtime for the kiddos, and some frustration trying to stream Netflix on the room television. We ended up watching on my husband's tablet, which was probably better for not disturbing the kids, but not as satisfying for us.

Alas, I'm already not live as I'm already on my second day! But hopefully you'll forgive me. We are a family of four, including two kids, ages 6 and 8. We are sailing in a grand deluxe suite. This is our second MSC cruise. Tropical Storm Debby wreaked havoc on our start, with bouts of rain and huge gusts of wind to start. The storm was in the gulf, but tendrils made it across the state to us. Because of the weather, the ground crew decided not to enforce boarding times, so there was chaos at Port Canaveral Terminal 10. It took 40 minutes for my husband to drop me off with the luggage because of the crowds. However, once dropped off, we were whisked off quickly to the YC waiting area to wait for my husband to park and join us. The lines for the non-YC were just unbelievable. I felt sympathy claustrophobia and felt relieved to be in the peaceful and very uncrowded YC area. They moved the YC waiting area from last year, so there's more space and light (good), but the offerings were poorer than I recalled. Tropicana juice for the kids, only some cookies for snacks. It was fine but not very luxe feeling. Finally, my husband arrived, and we were officially checked in, and we then joined a large group of fellow YC guests to follow a butler on board. We had to cut through a line of regular guests, and I think some tried to join our group, but the butler dispatched them fairly quickly. We stopped by the casino to do our muster check in, then we were escorted into the Top Sail Lounge. At that point, I was feeling hangry, and as I knew the lunch buffet was nearly closed, I decided to skip the formalities, drop off the bags in our room, and get some lunch. The nice thing about the nearby storm was that it was pleasant to dine alfresco... for about 20 minutes before it started sprinkling again. I had some nice curries and panoramic and a crisp Sauvignon blanc.

Thanks! Next question(s) for those who have sailed in the YC on Caribbean routes during storms/heavy rain: 1. How crowded do Top Sail and the YC restaurant get on rainy days? 2. Does MSC tend to change ports or just skip them if they re-route for storm activity? 3. How heavy does the rain have to be for them to serve the OH lunch in the YC restaurant? 4. Not related to the rain: the itinerary states overnight in OC, but the departure time is noon on the second day. Do they expect us to lunch on the island with such an early departure time if we don't want buffet food??

Do they send out a pre-cruise email for preferences? I recall getting a concierge email and pre-cruise questionnaire last year when we did YC on Seaside. But so far, no such email for my upcoming (6 days to go!) Seashore sailing. What gives?

When are you traveling? If August, a balcony would be of limited use, between the heat and daily rain. I'd go with the YC inside cabin.

I sometimes wonder if I'm causing harm by allowing my kids to travel in the YC, that they won't develop a hunger for success. But then when I contemplate cruising less comfortably, well, that's a no go for my husband and me. So I guess I'm spoiling my kids.

Covid is on the rise throughout the country. Thankfully, most cases are mild, but that is why people are traveling with it and infecting others.

Well, ew. What YC passenger would sell their wristbands on ebay? That's gross.

Please tell me they verify that you are a YC guest before selling the bracelet? I'm assuming they are for sale at all forthose individuals who lose theirs? (Please???!!!)

Disclaimer: I haven't yet sailed on the Seashore, but I did on the Seaside (YC) last year. It depends on with whom you are traveling. Seaside has the ziplines and super waterslides. If those factor, then there you go.

Cross your fingers for rain on Ocean Cay day? Then they will serve the Ocean House menu in the YC restaurant, and your quirky issue will be solved.

Before we discovered MSC YC last year, we did AIs in the Cancun area (usually resorts with the resort-within-a-resort concept). The nice thing is having more space, and having the opportunity to leave the resort to explore the area without the same time restraints as a cruise. This summer, we went to a guest/dude ranch, which is a little like an AI in the sense that everything you need is right there and most everything is included in the base price. It really depends on what you want out of your vacation. If you are at an AI, the food likely will be heavily that of the location. If you prefer American food over Mexican/Jamaican/Caribbean/etc. (or Italian food in the case of MSC), you might prefer the food on a cruise better. You'll get better fresh fruit (and fresh fruit cocktails) at an AI, but I think the wines were better in the MSC YC compared to the high end resorts in Mexico. Sorry to hijack your thread, Morpheus! So excited to read about this latest adventure!

Thank you for the review! I went on a Mediterranean cruise years ago, and I contemplated an MSC cruise in the Mediterranean with my kids, but I think I'd prefer to spend more time in each city than a cruise allows.

We will be in the YC. Last year, we arrived 3 hours before the sail time, and a lightning storm kept us stuck in the YC waiting area for 90 minutes waiting for the computer system to come back online. My butler kept us swimming in champagne and juice and nuts, but my husband wasn't amused.

My husband is one of those people who likes to arrive for flights/trains/cruises at the last moment. He doesn't like to sit and wait. He doesn't see the point to arriving for our cruise much more than a couple hours prior to departure. So since MSC says that our cruise departs at 5PM, he thinks 3PM is the earliest time he wants to get to the terminal. Give me a solid argument for arriving earlier. What is there to do on board on embarkation day? Yes, I know, the sooner we get there, the sooner we get to use the services we already paid for, but if they're on reduced services, then he's not going to be convinced.

We sailed on the Seaside last year (YC), and we will be trying out the Seashore next month. The kids were 5 and 7 last year and loved the cruise so much that they demanded another cruise this year. They liked the kids club, and they loved being spoiled, Italian style, at the YC restaurant with daily housemade pasta at lunch and dinner and delicious pizza from the main buffet (or room service). MSC might not have a carousel, but it does have an arcade and waterslides and pools, and most kids will be pretty happy with that.

I heard that for Euro Cup, most nightly entertainment focuses on group viewing of the soccer (football) games. Does MSC do the same thing for the Olympics?

In YC (and I think Aurea), you can go to the thermal spa for free You just need to set up an appointment, and that's super easy. My husband and I went, and it was nice and relaxing, and we aren't spa kind of people. We did not get massages, but just wearing the robes and going from room to room (the ice and salt room was nice) was fun for us.

Looking forward to this review as we'll be on Seashore in 6 weeks, albeit in YC. We do leave YC to participate in trivia and generally stretch our legs, so I like to read about the rest of the ship. Cracker Barrel is our go-to sit-down meal on road trips. I personally love the country ham with fried okra and turnip greens. Put a bit of ham on a biscuit, wash it down with some iced tea. Salty southern perfection.

Yes, that's where we parked last year. And where we'll probably park this year.

Does anyone know if there are EV chargers in the main port parking lot? Last year, we had to park on a private lot so that my husband could get a charger. It was fine, but less optimal. (He has a HORRIBLE sense of direction and the typical male disdain of asking for help. I was whisked into the YC waiting area, and after he dropped off the car and shuttled in, he was wandering around in completely the wrong place. Sigh.)

YC represents about 5% of the passengers on any of the MSC megaships. If you removed the YC perk, those monster disembarkation lines would hardly change for everyone else. I really don't see the YC perks as coming at the expense of others.