MandyMooToo

The last time we flew into Sanford we rented a car and drove to the hotel, nearer to Port Canaveral.  The morning of the cruise we returned the car and they shuttled us to the port.

Sign into your cruise and check the excursions for Miami.  I know for cruise port to airport they have shuttles that are typically around $25 pp for port to airport. 

9 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

I am sorry to hear that and sounds very different to our numerous experiences there. I presume from your timeline this was pre-Covid which seems very out of character. 
 

We have never done AI at Malecon21. We went several times from their early days shortly after opening until cruising halted. Initially it was PAYG and then we took the minimum package to use a lounger which required a minimum purchase but credited towards food and drink. We never had a problem ordering food or drinks. We always had excellent service and enjoyed the menu which was limited but different from the typical beach club offerings. We enjoyed the quieter location and quieter live music. We only went ever as a couple but one time did join some local ex-pats and members of crew that we knew from the ship and didn’t have a problem sitting together.

 

When cruising resumed we were glad they had survived shut down with business from local expats and land vacationers but they obviously were understaffed and unprepared for coping with the influx of cruisers. We only stopped by on our first return to Costa Maya while doing a scouting trip to see how the town was doing. Again we did PAYG, which is still possible if you sit in the lounge area and don’t require a sun lounger. We were disappointed in the service on that occasion and haven’t had chance to return again. Hence my original statement that Malecon21 was our favorite. To be fair our return was very early on after cruising resumed when many places had closed down or were struggling.
 

Other times we revisited Maya Chan and tried Krazy Lobster a couple of times for short visits mainly by default as they have taken over so much of the frontage now and are one of the few truly PAYG locations. Prices are reasonable and honest (which isn’t the case everywhere on the malecon). It was fine for a short stay, drink and a snack,  it just lacks the ambiance that we personally prefer for a longer more relaxing visit with a lounger.  Lots of people enjoy KL so as you say it can’t hurt to try it. 
 

Overall we are very disappointed in general with Mahahual since cruising resumed and would be quite happy just to spend a couple of hours at the port and return to the ship now - something we would never have done pre-Covid.

I am certain the timing of our visit, shortly after they opened and not long before Covid, has a lot to do with the situation.  This will be our first trip back to Costa Maya since and I wanted to try something new, without having to do the AI thing.  CM may become a port that we remain on the ship for in the future.  Thank you for the feedback!

Just now, c-leg5 said:

Unless you go to one of the out of town locations like Maya Chan, Almaplena, or Hayhu the other beach clubs are all along the same long bay in the town of Mahahual, so no choice of beach just various locations along one beach. All will have vendors to some degree but the ends tend to be quieter. 
 

There are many beach clubs there but unfortunately (for us too) many require AI or at least a limited package price with various options. Our favorite was Malecon21 which has several options on their website but for truly PAYG most people go to Krazy Lobster. It is a large club which doesn’t require pre-booking.

Thank you, we will likely wind up at KL.  About 4 years ago, give or take, we tried Malecon21 and were disappointed.  Granted, they had just opened up so maybe they have improved but we didn't enjoy it as much as we hoped to.  At the time they had one or two AI packages to choose from, we chose the highest priced package even though we knew we wouldn't spend that much PAYG (just didn't want to have to be concerned with any extra fees aside from tips).  When we arrived we were given four chairs that were split far enough away from each other (in different rows too) that we could not hang out with the other couple in our group even though they were not busy yet, and yes, we reserved together.  Then they brought drink menus and each drink we picked they said we could not have.  They said AI packages could only have frozen drinks (Pina coladas mainly) and a rum punch type of drink, can't remember what it was called, and a couple of other single liquor/mixer type drinks.  The food was vey limited too, we could not choose what we wanted off the menu.  When we complained they just said "sorry."  Drink service was very poor too, even though we were tipping well.  Probably got three drinks all day?  So maybe they have gotten it together and are much better now, but I really dislike the idea of AI unless it is a resort with lots to do/benefits that will keep us there all day.  Guess it cannot hurt to try KL and see how it goes this time, thanks again!

We have not been to CM in about 4 years and did a resort for a day with forced AI fees.  It was okay but we do not want to go that route again this cruise.  Would it be possible to just get a taxi to a beach and walk/chill/swim then PAYG for drinks and lunch?  Any beach anyone would suggest?

If I remember correctly, most of the RCCL ships tend to have Clinique, Lancôme, Clarins, and some have Chanel also.  Haircare tends to vary quite a bit, I believe.  You can often get an idea of haircare brands by looking at salon service offerings.  Sometimes they say "Kerastase treatment" or something along those lines.

1 hour ago, Candleonwater said:

I'm not a fan of GTY cabins, but when I helped my daughter book her cruise, she was able to get a balcony GTY for $100 less than a PR cabin, and $1k less than balconies were going for at the time.

 

She put in 3 different royal up bids, but not only hasn't heard anything, she's still in GTY status (she sails in 30 days). I know she could still be in for a long wait - I think on my last GTY booking, I found out the day before I sailed.

 

Her sailing now appears to be sold out, what are the odds of any Royal Up bids being accepted?

The odds are the same as any other time.  Plenty of people no show due to emergencies, cancel, etc.  When this happens, RU easily fills the empty spaces and it can be a domino effect. Example, suite is canceled, a JS or balcony may get bumped up, which then bumps up a balcony or ocean view and then an interior, etc.  Even sold out cruises often wind up having empty cabins or RUs.

Well, every good thing must come to an end at some point I guess. We are having breakfast in the YC restaurant, looking out over the water. It’s dark but beautiful!  We have had such an amazing time on this cruise. There is definitely another MSC cruise in our future. I will do a short wrap up here of pros and cons and end my live review. 
 

Cons first as there aren’t many: internet isn’t as good as other lines; hot tubs close early; not allowed to order pizza and bring it into the Top Sail lounge (several of us wanted to just hang out last night and snack on a pizza for our last night but the crew said it wasn’t allowed to being pizza into Top Sail—odd since they have snacks out basically all day there but, oh well). 
 

Pros: amazing crew (I don’t think any of them sleep more than 4 or 5 hours a night, they are everywhere all the time); food was terrific; ship is beautiful; cabins are beautiful; so clean everywhere; Yacht Club itself is just an exceptional experience; never any crowds or lines on the ship; embarking/disembarking super smooth (even though we had a bit of a wait to get on the ship); great ship layout and easy to get around. 
 

I am sure I am leaving things out but we are overall very pleased with our first cruise on MSC. Thank you for reading my live review and I hope you all have an amazing next cruise!

In Nassau today, or last port. Cloudy and rainy all day. Our group took a taxi to John Watling’s and did a tour. We walked back to town where some went back to the ship and some remained in town. We did some shopping and had lunch at the Bearded Clam. Headed back to the ship to take advantage of our spa access and used the sauna, thelasso pool and the salt therapy room. So nice and relaxing. It would nice though, if people would maybe keep their voices down a bit so everyone could have a nice, chill break but it is what it is I guess, (pics of the salt therapy room added). 
 

Due to the nasty rain we will head to the Top Sail lounge and hang out for a while before getting ready for our last dinner in YC. I admit that we are having feels of regret about the cruise we have scheduled later in the year on another line now. We shall see how it plays out I guess!

So yesterday we spent most of the day at the YC pool. Lunch at the pool buffet and just lounge’s in the pool with friends and has cocktails until time to get ready for dinner. The lunch buffet this far has been really good. Lots of grilled fish, cold salads, meats and cheeses (with the always available burger and hot dog option). The bar service was slow for a little while and some people started getting pissy and rude. They had only two bar tenders to cover everyone at the YC pool area and it was during lunch too so the bar was packed. I’m not sure why they would have so many servers walking around taking drink orders when they didn’t have enough bar tenders to serve the ones sitting at the bar. But whatever! It wasn’t as though any of us had to be anywhere so waiting for a little bit was fine🤣 

We wound up meeting friends in the Top Sail for drinks and snacks before dinner and then ate on the YC restaurant again. None of us were super exited about the menu offering so most of the table went with the filet again. A couple of the men ordered two entrees (no up charge) and said they were both good (scallops and butter chicken were the additional choices they made). Back to the Top Sail for an after dinner drink and then on to the illusionist show. 
 

The show was cute but if I’m being honest, it wasn’t amazing or magical or anything. He did a few tricks that were interesting but mostly used people from the audience for light comedy along with his tricks. We left when it was over and made our way back to our cabins to sleep before our last port of the cruise, Nassau. We normally plan to stay onboard for Nassau as we have been there so many times but it has been a while since we’ve been there and we haven’t seen the new port area so we will get off and have a go at it! 

16 hours ago, osnv17 said:

We just finished the Seashore cruise on 1/14. We traveled in a "regular" balcony cabin (not YC), and the food in the MDR and the buffet was really not good to put it mildly. Our lobster was very rubbery, tasteless, and not eatable (we did not even finish it). The next night so-called Steak Diane was horrible,- the cheapest cut of meat with fat all over. It had no taste and was practically impossible to chew.

 

What we found really weird and sad at the same time was the fact that a Welcome Aboard cocktail party for the Voyager Club Gold members was on the last night of the cruise. It was more like a "get out ASAP" party. We were served champagne with potato chips and peanuts. I have never experienced a cocktail party with potato chips, so I am not sure what MSC had in mind treating their repeat customers with peanuts...

 I hate that your experience was poor. We have had a great time so far. I know there have been many complaints about the food but we have been pleasantly surprised at the offerings. I’m sure some of it is due to being in YC and because of that I don’t think we would want to try MSC without being in the YC. 

12 minutes ago, Cruisergal1208 said:

Glad you’re enjoying getting to know Juan Carlos. I’ll be in 16019. I think it’s at the other end from yours.  Hate you missed the light show but yes many videos of it.  Have you posted pictures of your stateroom?  Hope the rest of your cruise is fantastic.   Enjoying your reports. 

I did post pics of my cabin already, they are on the first page of posts. 
 

We are pretty chill travelers, good food and drinks, clean facilities and polite crew are all we really care about. Cruising for us is relaxing so we try not to get worked up about anything and we no longer attempt to go on every excursion or see every show, etc. There will always be things we may not like (internet issues) but it would have to be pretty darn serious for us to truly complain. 

Breakfast at YC buffet at the pool. Nice little variety, including made to order eggs and omelets. Short day in the port so we are grabbing a quick bite and going back to Ocean Cay for a little while. Not very hungry since we ordered pizza late, lol. It was good but (as many others have said) they didn’t send the right pizza. But it was good and hot and took less than 30 minutes to be delivered to our cabin so that’s a win!

Also, I reported last night that the light show was canceled. They made an announcement saying the engineers had been working on it for hours but they couldn’t get it going. This morning when we got up other stated that they got it going at about midnight so I guess we missed it in the end. I’m sure there are plenty of YouTube videos of it though, lol. 

10 hours ago, Cruisergal1208 said:

MandyMooToo, I’ve had Juan Carlos as butler a few times.  He’s very good. A little quiet but once you interact with him he’s very personable.  Please give him my best regards   I hope he’ll still be there when I sail  in February 

Also what is your cabin number? I’m also in an interior. Thanks.  

Juan has done a good job. He was also a server at Ocean House yesterday so we have spent some time with him. Our cabin is 16039. Great layout and it feels really big compared to interiors on RCCL. 

1 hour ago, xcell said:

If anyone has been on the NCL's drop slide -- that's what the shower reminds me of.  I'm 6' and it really is limited space but for my wife, 5' it was fie.  A shower in a YC is probably 2 to 2.5 times that size..

 

As per the food -- I think the ones complaining about it were not in YC....I love the YC - enjoy your trip -  following...

 

 

I am 5’ 5” and the shower is fine. Bending to have your legs is slightly tricky but as I said before, most cruise ship showers aren’t massive! My husband is 6’ 2” and manages just fine too. No complaints. 
 

Yes, I agree that the food complaints are likely from those not in YC. We are loving it but I hate to think the difference between the classes is so much that people feel they are eating subpar meals. 

Tonight was tropical night, my husband and our friend dressed in cute tropical shirts.  We surprised them with matching shirts, us wives likely found it more amusing than they did, ha ha. Dinner was YC dining room again tonight. Crab cake appetizer was excellent, French  salad, not so much. The filet was cooked perfectly and the Caribbean rum cake with coconut ice cream was on point and very good. Unfortunately, the light show was canceled tonight (no idea why but I didn’t really ask) so we wandered around and did some onboard shopping and then headed back to the cabin to unwind and relax. Maybe a pizza later if we stay awake long enough!

39 minutes ago, Jeep Driver said:

Thanks for posting. The YC boarding line did look quite a bit longer than I've seen. Glad you're able to take the little glitches in stride. We're doing Seashore YC on the 21st, so this is a nice preview for us. First time for us on Seashore as well and we're getting anxious. Thanks again.  

Don’t be anxious!  It has been lovely. Any issue we’ve had has been minor and if I was not doing a live review here I probably wouldn’t have mentioned them to anyone. 

19 minutes ago, KennyFla said:

Would you happen to know who the maitre’d is in the YC restaurant?

I do not but I will try to remember to ask tonight at dinner. 

5 minutes ago, Mrs_Tiki said:

Do you know what time the “make-up” drill was held? DH is having mobility issues, and we would like to ask permission if he may substitute the later drill.

I don’t remember for sure but I think it was around 8:30am or 9am. 

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

The 'smart' cruiser wait for the muster drill the following day and use the elevators.

We didn’t have issue walking the stairs but it seemed that many were unhappy and did the drill today. 

On Ocean Cay, beautiful facilities and great weather. Lunch at Ocean House was lobster rolls and crème caramel. Drinks are…okay but lunch was very good. Shuttle stops running at 3:30 but we can remain on the island until about 11:30pm. 

9 minutes ago, coscab said:

Thanks for taking time for this review, what deck did you board  on?

I think it was deck 6.

Docked at Ocean Cay today. Weather looks promising so far, hot and partly cloudy. We are having coffee and a small snack before meeting our butler to get off the ship and explore the island. Lots of little choices for breakfast or snacks. The YC dining room is open for a full breakfast or Top Sail lounge for the small snacks and excellent lattes. 

2 hours ago, dexddd said:

How's the shower?

The shower has a rain fall shower head, it is a good size too, and a hand sprayer. It is, like most cruise ship showers, still on the small side but the shape is good. I haven’t tried to shave my legs in it yet so don’t know how well that will go over, lol, but I can report back!

To pick up where I left off, we headed to the YC pool area and took a look around. It was raining so we didn’t stay out very long but the whole area looks nice and well maintained. The hot tub has warm water, not super hot but not cool/luke warm at all and the buffet looks great. 
 

Due to the nasty weather we made our way back to the Top Sail lounge and commenced to drinking and chatting. Made some friends there and had dinner together before going to the casino for a bit (our friends enjoy the casino, we may spend $20 or so there and then we’re out). Watched some people play at the table for a little while and then we headed to our cabin to unwind before bed. 
 

So as I said in a reply earlier, not much to complain about so far. We met our butler, Juan Carlos, shortly before the muster drill and he was very nice. The guest services staff in the YC have been hard at work and were also quite friendly. Many, many people lining up with questions, complaints and or requests. We asked about the internet and upgrading and went ahead and paid the fee ($40 for both phones for the whole cruise) but it didn’t really help. Guest Services said we could stream and upload pics and such with the upgrade but I’m finding it isn’t much better than what we had. Pictures don’t send at all and we have yet to be able to download pics that the other couple in our group sent while exploring the ship themselves. Not a huge issue but still disappointing as other lines have much better internet. We also have not been able to cast to our TV, though we were allegedly supposed to be able to. The butler said we needed an HDMI cable, lol. We like to watch TV before bed to unwind and sometimes when we get ready for dinner so this is a bummer, but again, not a major issue.
 

As for the request form we filled out ahead of time, it was useless, just as most people posted here, ha ha. We had a bottle of red wine in our cabin, I don’t like any reds except a sweet Merlot, so I asked that it be traded out. Juan Carlos said that’s what we asked for and I said no, we asked for the bottle of vodka. He said we could trade the red for white if he could get it so we said fine and he was able to swap them out. Not getting the vodka is whatever but really, why have us fill out a form if no one uses it?  Pillows weren’t as requested either but the bedding is nice and comfortable regardless. 

A couple of things about the food. I read so many complaints about how terrible the food is on this ship but we have had a great dining experience so far. Lunch entree was very good, appetizer was not to my liking, and the dessert was good too. At dinner we all had excellent meals and though the staff sometimes gets drink orders wrong, they did a terrific job of keep the six of us refilled and happy. The snack on Top Sail were also really, really good. I don’t know if a complaint on the food at dinner aside from the chocolate cake, it was very dry, you almost had to take a drink with every bite. But the rest was delicious. 
 

One more thought before I retire for the rest of the night, butler service seems to have been hit or miss in the comments here and on social media but so far so good for us. Juan Carlos came to our cabin and went over lots of small details and asked if there was anything else we needed. He left his card and suggested we pick a time to disembark at the first port stop so he could escort us off the ship. We did so and I will report back as to how it went.  
 

A few photos of our YC interior cabin as someone in another thread asked what the layout was.