Seaside Yacht Club Dining Room was a HUGE let Down

[shukapaw]

5 hours ago, floridian1 said:

Hi Brian I'm glad your dining experience was better than ours, your right...Complete opposite! It was unfortunate for us that they didn't provide the same service at dinner.  Do you remember what the name is of the maitre d?

 

His name is Alin

 

~Brian

 

[ptuder]

I have to say we had the same experience as the OP in regard to our YC dining experience and interaction with the Maitre d on our May cruise.

 

We cruised Seaside YC last October and the dining experience was one of the highlights of our cruise. We got to know David the Maitre d at the time and had the same servers throughout our cruise.  Service and food was wonderful.  We learned David had been promoted and made a point to find him on this past cruise and we got big hugs and enjoyed catching up with him.  

 

When we cruised in May we were moved all over the dining room even though we we selected a specific dinner time when we boarded.  The Maitre d introduced himself the first night and told us he had recently come to MSC from another cruise line. We never spoke with him again. We did notice that he seemed to visit the same tables every night and skip the others.  We actually got a kick out of watching him as it was very noticeable how he moved between tables. It was a completely different experience. Food and service was good some nights and just plain bad others. We are not picky eaters so we didn’t go hungry and it didn’t ruin our cruise but it was definitely the only negative on our last cruise.   They seemed to be very short staffed and it wasn’t  an overly pleasant dining experience. On our October cruise we skipped our black card dinner to stay in the YC dining room, this time we used our black card dinner along with another specialty dining reservation just to skip the YC dining room. 

 

I will I’ll also mention that the Yacht Club Director in October was Alessandro and he was EVERYWHERE!!  You would see him in the dining room, Top Sail, pool deck, concierge desk, etc.  he knew everyone by name and was amazing. The YC Director this time around was invisible. We made a point to meet him the night of the deck party and never saw him again.  Perhaps just a difference in style but since we had cruised before we noticed the difference.   Otherwise all of the staff in the YC was amazing and we have never had a bad vacation!

 

2 cruises 6 moths apart with very different experiences in regard to the restaurant .  I’m still a big Yacht Club fan and have another cruise booked with MSC.  

[GMS4771]

On 6/30/2019 at 7:05 PM, floridian1 said:

I don't have the maitre d name. After that first night he never came near our table again. If someone was on the June 8 sailing please chime in. He was in maybe late 50s, bald or very little hair. 

My family of 7 was also on the June 8th sailing in the YC.  I remember this guy, he was from the Ukraine.  The only thing I enjoyed about this guy was when he was on Deck 19 cooking at the specialty table during lunch.  This was our second time on the Seaside.  First time the Maitre D was Giuseppe and he was excellent.  He made it more about enjoying your vacation.   We booked again for the Seaside for May of 2020 and the Meraviglia for Dec 2019 and would not mind not running into this guy.  If your party was the birthday party group I remember you guys.  We didnt have any issues with seating though.

[Hobby3333]

I just got back from the Seaside yesterday.   At first I wasn’t going to comment about our experience but decided to add my two cents worth.  We cruised YC last year on the Seaside and again this year.  My wife and I had the balcony and our two kids (ages 17 and 20) were across the hall in an inside.   We thought last year was the best cruise we have been on, (0ver 20 total) but this year it was over the top.   I know that food is very subjective.  OK, I get that but we really enjoyed every meal.  The new menu is an overall improvement in our opinion.  Service was hit and miss in YC dining but Drago was very good as was another team.  I have their names but we are still unpacking and will give them credit later.  Butler service was OUTSTANDING!  OUTSTANDING!   If anyone has any questions I will do my best to answer them.  YC prices are on the rise but we booked  the Seashore for July 2012 in YC.

[mafig]

Glad you decided to comment Hobby3333.🙂

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

1 hour ago, Hobby3333 said:

I just got back from the Seaside yesterday.   At first I wasn’t going to comment about our experience but decided to add my two cents worth.  We cruised YC last year on the Seaside and again this year.  My wife and I had the balcony and our two kids (ages 17 and 20) were across the hall in an inside.   We thought last year was the best cruise we have been on, (0ver 20 total) but this year it was over the top.   I know that food is very subjective.  OK, I get that but we really enjoyed every meal.  The new menu is an overall improvement in our opinion.  Service was hit and miss in YC dining but Drago was very good as was another team.  I have their names but we are still unpacking and will give them credit later.  Butler service was OUTSTANDING!  OUTSTANDING!   If anyone has any questions I will do my best to answer them.  YC prices are on the rise but we booked  the Seashore for July 2012 in YC.

 

Drago was outstanding.  Unfortunately, we only sat in his section one night.  I plan to request a table in his section on my November cruise.

[JAGR]

16 hours ago, Hobby3333 said:

 YC prices are on the rise but we booked  the Seashore for July 2012 in YC.

2012?  Will you drive you Delorean to the ship, or will Doc drive you? 😉

[Hobby3333]

14 minutes ago, JAGR said:

2012?  Will you drive you Delorean to the ship, or will Doc drive you? 😉

LOL.  Was going through withdrawal from Saturday.  July 2021.  

[JAGR]

Totally understand!  Lol!  Takes me a few weeks to start thinking clearly after a cruise!  Happy Sailing!  We've only done a week twice on Seaside, but looking forward to a B2B in February, 2020.

 

[mnocket]

21 hours ago, Hobby3333 said:

I just got back from the Seaside yesterday.   At first I wasn’t going to comment about our experience but decided to add my two cents worth.  We cruised YC last year on the Seaside and again this year.  My wife and I had the balcony and our two kids (ages 17 and 20) were across the hall in an inside.   We thought last year was the best cruise we have been on, (0ver 20 total) but this year it was over the top.   I know that food is very subjective.  OK, I get that but we really enjoyed every meal.  The new menu is an overall improvement in our opinion.  Service was hit and miss in YC dining but Drago was very good as was another team.  I have their names but we are still unpacking and will give them credit later.  Butler service was OUTSTANDING!  OUTSTANDING!   If anyone has any questions I will do my best to answer them.  YC prices are on the rise but we booked  the Seashore for July 2012 in YC.

 

Just wondering.... what time did you have dinner?

[Hobby3333]

12 minutes ago, mnocket said:

 

Just wondering.... what time did you have dinner?

We ate at two different times.  There were four of us and ate twice little after 7 and the rest of the time we ate a little after 8.   Only had to wait 15 or so minutes a couple of times.   Like I said earlier it was no big deal.  Drago is a great European style server and Brendo Germina and his asst. Marie are more like a friendly type servers.   I would be happy with either.   Great service but different.  

[vtgumby]

On 7/4/2019 at 9:24 AM, TrinaLC said:

All in on all my advice would be don’t count on a true “gourmet/foodie” experience; just enjoy the nicer, less crowded venues - and the waiters for the most part are awesome, and work to make your experience special.

EXACTLY! The uncrowded pool deck and Top Side Lounge are worth it, just adjust food expectations and you're golden.

[vtgumby]

On 7/7/2019 at 9:59 PM, ptuder said:

I have to say we had the same experience as the OP in regard to our YC dining experience

 

I will I’ll also mention that the Yacht Club Director in October was Alessandro and he was EVERYWHERE!!  You would see him in the dining room, Top Sail, pool deck, concierge desk, etc.  he knew everyone by name and was amazing. The YC Director this time around was invisible. We made a point to meet him the night of the deck party and never saw him again.  .  

We had Alessandro part time on Preziosa in April...half way through the 21 day cruise we dropped off the burned out Lorenzo who, ready for this, rode in the private three floor elevator with us with his head down, no greeting, no smile, nada...clearly not having a good life at that moment and it was funny, he was so ready to be gone (and the complete opposite of the YC rah rah) and then enters Alessandro who is everywhere, greeting everyone. SUPER happy we had him for the last week, big diff in attitude and the experience we enjoyed!

[billwest580]

We sailed the Seaside the first time in August 2018. I was our 10th cruise our favorite has been Celebrity. We thought the Yacht Club was head and shoulders above the and booked for October 2019, while on board.

 

The Yacht Club Director in August was Alessandro and he was always available, welcoming and thoughtful. Giuseppe "Pepe" the Maitre'd, who is on another ship and Yulia his assistant, who I understand is still on the ship, took excellent care of of us. Our tremendous Waiter Arthur, who is now a MDR Head Waiter on another MSC ship, served us our every meal and even provided us a impromptu wine pairing with dinner one night.

 

The European flavor was a little different at first, but we got used to it. We had 90% of our meals in the Yacht Club at the same window table. We enjoyed every moment and can't to be back in a couple months.

 

I write this to say, travel with a open mind, experience new things and appreciate those work is to insure your enjoyment.

[Mighty_Fine]

Though i would add my opinion to this thread .We have been on the Seaside previously and our last time was March , I have commented before on another board about our YC dining experience. First of all we are from European ,open minded and certainly not looking for problems to complain about ( i am sure most people  are the same were ever you are from )  and have no problem with the food choices and the length of time dining . But we thought the dining service was the big let down this year , erratic and sometimes stressed staff , seemed under staffed and poorly organized at times.   We were a party of 6 and none of us were that impressed with Alin the matre D ,   Some staff seemed like they really didn't want to be there. I don't think anybody should adjust there YC dining expectations down  , I think MSC should be trying to match the excellent service throughout the rest of the YC and lets not forget we are are all paying much more to be in the YC . While the dining certainly didn't ruin our YC experience i do think they can do better  , as they did the previous time we were on the ship.  I will also add that  some of the worst service days were the day we boarded and the middle Saturday of our B2B , i think these days are particularly busy as everybody wants to dine in the YC restaurant on the first Day of the cruise ( Saturday) . Just a thought for MSC if to many guests on first day of the cruise is part the problem why not invite some B2B cruisers to  specialty dining on the mid Saturday  to help get numbers down in the YC dining room ?  Just to add we had a fantastic cruise and anybody who is going YC on this ship will meet some great staff and hopefully the dining experience we had will improve , any negativity about the dining should not put you off the great overall YC experience.

[JAGR]

1 hour ago, Mighty_Fine said:

 why not invite some B2B cruisers to specialty dining on the mid Saturday  to help get numbers down in the YC dining room ? 

I think this is a great idea!  Hope they consider this option on our B2B in February!  We were last on in March, and agree about the Maitre D.  However, we thought that Yulia more than made up for him!

[Beamafar]

2 hours ago, Mighty_Fine said:

... we thought the dining service was the big let down this year , erratic and sometimes stressed staff , seemed under staffed and poorly organized at times.   We were a party of 6 and none of us were that impressed with Alin the matre D ,   Some staff seemed like they really didn't want to be there...

 

I've found that the YC's (asst) m'D has a huge influence on the general atmosphere and attitude of the crew.  Some of them should never be let near the YC restaurant!

[faze41]

We sailed July 13-20, and Paulo is the new maitre 'D.  He was wonderful and very attentive and everywhere, making sure things ran smoothly.  Also loved the new menus, only missed the prime rib on the second elegant night.  It's been replaced with a steak.

[Toofarfromthesea]

5 hours ago, Beamafar said:

 

I've found that the YC's (asst) m'D has a huge influence on the general atmosphere and attitude of the crew.  Some of them should never be let near the YC restaurant!

 

On my recent Meraviglia YC experience, the Asst. M'D, a young lady, was way better than the Maitre D.

[Beamafar]

There's only one m'D on a ship and he doesn't run the YC restaurant.  It's only an assistant m'D that holds that job, hence the reason I put 'asst' in brackets.

[mnocket]

Does MSC offer discounts at the specialty restaurants on the first night like many US lines do?

[dexddd]

March they had 20% off Teppanyaki but it didn't seem widely advertised.  June can't say seeing same thing but I also wasn't looking for it. They also seemed much busier in June though too.

Edited July 27, 2019 by dexddd

[Dr. Cocktail]

On 7/26/2019 at 9:01 AM, JAGR said:

I think this is a great idea!  Hope they consider this option on our B2B in February!  We were last on in March, and agree about the Maitre D.  However, we thought that Yulia more than made up for him!

On our Haven sailings in the last two years, basically EVERYONE stampeded to the Haven Dining room for embarkation lunch.

 

While it's not my "thing", many were happy to go to Margaritaville for the complimentary embarkation luncheon.  Its main purpose was to relieve the "pressure" from the dining room.

 

ps .... Yulia was fabulous. The Maitre'd aspired to be a wet noodle. He combined all of my favourite attributes in a single well defined package - lazy, clueless and disorganized.

Edited July 27, 2019 by Dr. Cocktail

[JAGR]

On 7/27/2019 at 6:05 PM, Dr. Cocktail said:

ps .... Yulia was fabulous. The Maitre'd aspired to be a wet noodle. He combined all of my favourite attributes in a single well defined package - lazy, clueless and disorganized.

Good description!  I would add that the package was completed with addition of a cloak of indifference!

[Dr. Cocktail]

2 hours ago, JAGR said:

Good description!  I would add that the package was completed with addition of a cloak of indifference!

 

I think that if he assisted to turn a table around when they were backed up, the strain might have killed him ....