Seashore March 12

[ready2cruzagain]

13 minutes ago, Hobby3333 said:

Who is the CD now that Gene retired?

Monica (hope I spelled it right), she is from Italy

[DisneyTech]

Just now, Hobby3333 said:

Who is the CD now that Gene retired?

Her name is Monica. 
 

[DisneyTech]

6 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

No stopping ,no  picking up others on the way up. What a change being reported here !!!???

i think it’s just a result of more people using the elevators. 
 

We’ve had some trips like you described, but usually there is a 5+ min wait for the elevator to arrive, and then, if it isn’t already too full to get on, there are more stops along the way to pick up more people or drop off others. 
 

These are by far the worst elevators we’ve ever experienced, and unfortunately, with a ship this tall, using the stairs when going from bottom to top would be quite the physical undertaking. 

[DisneyTech]

4 hours ago, RICHARD@SEA said:

 

Get a balcony FANTASTICA cabin...breakfast delivered every morning.....

 

 

 

We are in a Fantastica balcony and our breakfast room service menu says there is a fee for any hot items…

 

Same for normal room service menu, looks like a delivery fee + a fee per item. 
 

it’s very hard to tell what is included and what isn’t.

[morpheusofthesea]

22 minutes ago, DisneyTech said:

usually there is a 5+ min wait for the elevator to arrive, and then, if it isn’t already too full to get on, there are more stops along the way to pick up more people or drop off others. 

Yes, of course.Try pressing a YC deck and see how quick it comes and if it is empty. Try this several times. You do not have to take the elevator. Just test this on the forward bank of elevators.

[DisneyTech]

We we’re just told at one of the bars that the entire ship is out of straws…

 

This is extra disappointing because the bars do not stir drinks when they make them. At. All. 
 

The bartender handed the couple next to us a spoon to stir their own drink. 

[Hobby3333]

2 hours ago, DisneyTech said:

Her name is Monica. 
 

I like Gene. He was the CD on both Seaside cruises.  But, I think having a female as the CD is great.   Can’t wait till July in YC.  

[dexddd]

12 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

We were on the Feb 12-19 2022 sailing of the Seashore. (Yes, we are booked again in same cabin next week March 19 2022 sailing). Cruise Director Gene (now retired after that cruise) said we had 1000+ guests on board and that MSC had so many bookings for Spring Break to enjoy your own private yacht while on the Seashore right now. A butler told me the same thing, but then he qualified his remark by saying the numbers will never affect the Yacht Club guests. I will always recall the post of an irate poster having been on one of the first cruises of the then new Seaside staying in a cabin outside YC; "I could have spent a better week in my garage." It taught me to never book outside the YC. DW, who loves to cruise will never cruise outside the YC. Will report next week.

Gene the dark haired American?  Did he really retire or something else?  He was only like 45.  Still had lots of energy last time we saw him.

[dexddd]

9 hours ago, Hobby3333 said:

I like Gene. He was the CD on both Seaside cruises.  But, I think having a female as the CD is great.   Can’t wait till July in YC.  

I want to say, and I'd have to check, we had Monica last Fall.  While I'm not someone who cares much about CDs, Gene, who we had on two trips, had a lot of energy and was everywhere making things upbeat.

 

Last Fall the CD only did monotone announcements, mostly about registering credit card to pay for onboard spend.  Never saw her once.

[cherylnj]

54 minutes ago, dexddd said:

I want to say, and I'd have to check, we had Monica last Fall.  While I'm not someone who cares much about CDs, Gene, who we had on two trips, had a lot of energy and was everywhere making things upbeat.

 

Last Fall the CD only did monotone announcements, mostly about registering credit card to pay for onboard spend.  Never saw her once.

I believe it's the same Monica that was on the Divina when we sailed this past October. 

[JAGR]

39 minutes ago, cherylnj said:

I believe it's the same Monica that was on the Divina when we sailed this past October. 

You will get very tired of her tag line, "Ciao, ciao....For now." We had two weeks of it!

[cherylnj]

18 minutes ago, JAGR said:

You will get very tired of her tag line, "Ciao, ciao....For now." We had two weeks of it!

Was tired of it after the first day 😁

[morpheusofthesea]

4 hours ago, dexddd said:

Gene the dark haired American?  Did he really retire or something else?  He was only like 45.  Still had lots of energy last time we saw him.

They announced one evening at the early show that Gene was on a ZOOM call as his wife was giving birth to their son at that moment. The assistant continued that Gene had been on board for 11 months without a break .....lol

[NCTribeFan]

Well, some of us just don't have the vacation funds to sail in Yacht Club.  Some of us actually have a budget and aren't independently wealthy!

 

So, I'll take 4-5 cruises a year and (typically) sail in an inside cabin without perks.

 

I'm in a Fantastica balcony.  My docs say...

24-hour room service (delivery at a fee)

Breakfast in stateroom (free delivery)

 

My interpretation is that anything on the breakfast menu is no charge and anything the rest of the day will incur a delivery fee.

 

But are there actual charges for some of the food items?

 

If anyone can post the room service menu for a Fantastic cabin, that would be great. 

 

Am I right that the food in the sports bar is not free?  I loved going there on Divina.  Well, as long as no one was bowling!

[Mustard_drill]

"The assistant continued that Gene had been on board for 11 months without a break .....lol"

Um, then if Gene's wife was having a baby, she has a lot of explaining to do!

[lovemycruisetoo]

IVF???🤔

 

[morpheusofthesea]

43 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

So, I'll take 4-5 cruises a year and (typically) sail in an inside cabin without perks

Yes. That's the way we did it for 50 years. Two lowers on the inside, but generally 2-3 cruise vacations per year. No such thing as perks in those days. Now we are in the 'final stretch' and we figure about 10 years, God willing, of still be able to get on a ship. So we are no longer in any kind of saving phase in our lives. It is spend and only in top suites (within reason, can't fight old habits).

P.S. DW has me 'pushing the envelope' on suites, we've got a suite costing us $1345 per day per person just for a once in a lifetime experience (maybe more)?

Edited March 16, 2022 by morpheusofthesea
ps

[morpheusofthesea]

40 minutes ago, Mustard_drill said:

"The assistant continued that Gene had been on board for 11 months without a break .....lol"

Um, then if Gene's wife was having a baby, she has a lot of explaining to do!

The assistant was just making a joke folks..?

[Mustard_drill]

Sorry, no was to tell what you meant in the context of your post.  The assistant gets one "wakka wakka wakka" for that joke.

[JAGR]

57 minutes ago, Mustard_drill said:

"The assistant continued that Gene had been on board for 11 months without a break .....lol"

Um, then if Gene's wife was having a baby, she has a lot of explaining to do!

 

16 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

The assistant was just making a joke folks..?

Have to keep in mind that MSC typically invites the families of officers to sail for a short time with their working spouse.  CD would be considered an officer, I assume.

 

[ready2cruzagain]

1 hour ago, NCTribeFan said:

Well, some of us just don't have the vacation funds to sail in Yacht Club.  Some of us actually have a budget and aren't independently wealthy!

 

So, I'll take 4-5 cruises a year and (typically) sail in an inside cabin without perks.

 

I'm in a Fantastica balcony.  My docs say...

24-hour room service (delivery at a fee)

Breakfast in stateroom (free delivery)

 

My interpretation is that anything on the breakfast menu is no charge and anything the rest of the day will incur a delivery fee.

 

But are there actual charges for some of the food items?

 

If anyone can post the room service menu for a Fantastic cabin, that would be great. 

 

Am I right that the food in the sports bar is not free?  I loved going there on Divina.  Well, as long as no one was bowling!

I do not have the menu but there room service food is not all free.  The continental breakfast items are free.  We were in Fantastica and was not going to waste the money on room service.

 

The food in the Sports Bar on the Seashore and the Seaside are not free and you pay for them.  Loved the Sports Bar on the Divina and went there daily.  Wish the Seashore and the Seaside Sports Bar were like the Divina!

[ToplessPony]

1 hour ago, ready2cruzagain said:

The food in the Sports Bar on the Seashore and the Seaside are not free and you pay for them.  Loved the Sports Bar on the Divina and went there daily.  Wish the Seashore and the Seaside Sports Bar were like the Divina!

 

We were on the Divina in January and the Sports Bar now charges for food in there too.  🙁

[mlbdude]

Day 4

 

I think this is a day 4 update, it’s all starting to blend together.  I think that is a good sigh on vacation though.

 

Not much has changed so not much to add.  Buffet at lunch on sea days is still a no go and the MDR at lunch is super busy as more people avoid it.

 

Food has been typical MSC, and we have sailed with them enough to know what dishes we like.  Never gone hungry.

 

Mask wearing is getting worse over time with less and less compliance.

 

As a seasoned MSC cruiser we are used to their quirks and overall are still having a great time.

 

However, the bad boarding day and lack of staff will be what ended up breaking us.  This is our third cruise during the pandemic and nothing prevented us from having a great time until now.  We will probably put cruising on hold until things “even” out and stabilize a bit.  

I don’t think I would sail the SeaShore again due to the elevators (assuming when I next sail she would be at true full capacity).  Other than that, the Seashore is a beautiful ship.

[ready2cruzagain]

1 hour ago, ToplessPony said:

 

We were on the Divina in January and the Sports Bar now charges for food in there too.  🙁

oh wow, that is terrible! We loved it when we were on the Divina!

[shipgeeks]

Any idea what numbers of any different passenger nationalities are aboard?  When we sailed MSC two years ago, we quite liked being in the minority, as Americans.  But I imagine that travel restrictions are keeping many Europeans and South Americans away at the moment.