A Slightly Critical Seashore YC Review 08-15OCT

[stp_mmh5]

Seashore Day 5: Tequila!

 

Another great sleep in the most comfortable cruise bed ever, yet another early early morning. You would think that by day 5 my body would have figured out this whole vacation means sleep in thing. Well, we figured wrong. So out to the hammock I go to watch another great sunrise and to kill time until Nithin has the bar ready to go. As that 6am hour rolls around, I take down the hammock, as we had a note left in the room last night stating that balcony cleaning would happen today.  We head on into the lounge and claim our spot by the front windows. Nithin sees us walk in and quickly whips up a pair of cafe lattes. We meet him at the bar and chat up for a few minutes before returning to our seats. As the cup empties, I decide to step out to the front deck to watch our approach into the channel between Cozumel and the Yucatan peninsula. While out here, I see that another bird has joined us, and is hopping around between the benches. The little bird also keeps flying into the windows. He must be a YC regular and knows that all the good snacks are inside. Also out on the benches, I see two little black ants crawling around on the decking. They seem really out of place, so I let the housekeeping gentleman putting the outdoor sofa cushions in place know. These aren’t the first ants that have run across me so far, as it has happened once or twice in the lounge too.  As the sun comes up, so do our fellow guests and they start filling the lounge wearing their excursion stickers. We have no major plans today, so we clear out and grab some breakfast from the grill.  Because we also knew that we weren’t planning to do much other than lounge in the sun, we stopped in the room to pick up sunscreen and towel clips.  As we are amongst the first ones up there, we have pick of the litter of loungers. We decided to take one of the pergola/cabanas on the port side looking over Cozumel. We grab a hearty breakfast and as we settle in, one of the pool attendants swings by asking if we would like any morning drinks. We request mimosas and some water bottles. I swing around to the other side and snag some towels before they all disappear again. Drinks come back quickly and we get settled in for the day.  As we get closer to the pier, I get up to watch the docking from the railing. In the distance, I see that this is the busiest port yet, with two Carnival ships, one older Royal Caribbean ship and one older Celebrity ship. I settle back into the lounger and get back to reading. At this point, Macon is crushing one of her digital books a day. I’m still slowly working through the same book that I started on day one. In fairness, she does spend much more of her free time than I do reading.

 

About an hour and half after the gangway opens, the cruise director comes on the PA system announcing that there will be a crew drill conducted shortly, and that any passengers onboard do not need to do anything but continue to enjoy their vacation.  Today’s drill was a fire near the crew mess.  As that is going on, we decide now is probably a good time to hop off the ship and go buy some tequila for family.  We pack up all of our things, but leave the towels where they were. We drop off the few things in our room and run into both Heru and Nyoman in the hallway. Heru makes sure the room is fine and if there is anything he needs us to do, which we don’t, Nyoman asks us about our plans for the day and how my toe was doing. We tell him we are getting off for a short minute to do some shopping and then will be back on, and that the toe is doing much better. After that, we stop by concierge desk to ask about the status of the cancellation/refund of the Grand Cayman excursion. We talk with Juan and he states that it should have happened automatically because of the circumstance, and that he will follow up with the shore excursion manager about it. He also suggested that we might be able to do a different tour if we wanted to. We thanked him for that, and then went to go out the front doors to head ashore. We were redirected to the lounge, that way we could be escorted down. We didn’t really feel that was necessary, but we didn’t argue. As we started down the hallway to the lounge, Nyoman came around the corner and said he will take us down. Perfect, saves us from having to walk to and from the lounge.  On the way down, we ask if Nyoman is going to get anytime to go ashore today. He said he might, but that he might also just enjoy his break on the ship when it’s a little emptier. Can’t blame him there. We make it down to deck four, Nyoman takes us right to the front of the nearly nonexistent line, then heads back up.  

 

We walk through the little shopping area right at the end of the pier and finally figure out where the tequila is. We walk up there and are immediately greeted by one of their salesmen who instantly asks us if we want to sample their tequila. We say no thanks, as we already know what we want. Also, something either from breakfast or dinner hasn’t sat well with Macon, so keep declining the offers to try the tequila as we look at all the bottles trying to find the exact style we wanted.  Eventually we head over to the bar, thinking maybe if we can get something to eat it will help with the upset stomach. The sales guy recommends we try a Suero drink, as it is like a Mexican pedialyte like drink. I would describe it like a virgin margarita, as it has salt, lime juice and a little club soda/sparkling water in it. We take that, and order some chips and queso, as well as fish tacos. The food comes out quickly and it is very tasty. The suero drink is also surprisingly good and it did help with the upset stomach.  It isn’t long after we close up with the food bill that the sales guy comes around looking to help sell us tequila we already planned on buying. This guy must have taken sales lessons in Jamaica. The other two guys didn’t seem as pushy when they were helping people, but we couldn’t change to them because this guy was on us constantly.  We finally find the styles we wanted, but holy cow have the prices shot way up. Last time, we bought our tequila from the smaller booth at the Royal pier on the first cruise back on Adventure and the bottle was roughly $55. This time, that same bottle was $110. I know inflation hasn’t been kind, but that was outrageous. So we decided against that one and wanted a cheaper one. So the next grade down was $80 this time, previously $45, which was still above our limit. So we then grabbed two smaller bottles, one silver and one gold. They were $35 and $45 respectively. Once we added up the total volume, it made less sense, as we would be the same for less tequila. We finally settled on the $80 bottle and left. Even on the way out, the sales guy was trying to push for another sale. Super annoying, and the whole experience, minus the food and drinks at the bar, was not pleasant. A complete 180 from the time we shopped at the location on the Royal pier. I still enjoy their tequila, but will be less likely to buy it again in the future.  We then head straight back to the ship, picking up a few other small souvenirs for friends.

 

As we get near the ship, we see the Yacht club tent set up in front. The assistant head butler was there handing out chilled towels and water. We took a quick break to enjoy the water and towels, and see that Nithin is hanging out front, along with his fellow barman Bibin. We chat with them for a minute or two. Nithin mentioned that there was going to be a YC pool party tonight up on the deck at 8pm, and asked us if we were planning on going. We hadn’t heard of it yet, but now that we had, we absolutely would be going. We asked if he would be there as well, but he wouldn’t be as it was after he was off for the night. Bibin would be there, making all the great drinks. They also mentioned that they had a bottle of the Ramazzotti Rosato up at the pool bar, so Bibin would be glad to make Macon her favorite drink. Well, that got us even more excited about it. We then went our separate ways, with us heading back up to our room.  We grabbed all of our poolside things again, and then went up to the deck. Once there, we saw that our towels from this morning were still on the loungers, so we just reclaimed them.  A pool attendant came by once we settled in, and we requested some frozen drinks and water.  A few minutes later, another attendant came by also asking for drink orders. We said we were good to go and thanked him.  Drinks came back shortly thereafter, and I made a trip through the buffet line.  An hour or so after that, I was getting restless, so I went to go check out the water slides. Forgetting that I could cut through the Aurea area, I took the scenic route through deck 18. I dropped off my towel and flip flops at an empty lounger near the racing slides, knowing that I would do those last. Found the registration desk and got my wristband, then started my workout for the day by going up all the stairs. I started with the smaller body slide, then did the tube slide twice. The first time without the virtual reality headset, the second time with. That was my first time doing a slide with VR, and it was a fun novel experience.  The slide is too short to make it worth doing multiple times, and I feel like it takes longer to get going with the VR than it did riding it. From there, I went up and the racing slides on each side once. I feel like the one on the right is the faster slide, but since I was only racing myself, I can’t confirm that theory. Having accomplished all the slides, I then walked around the rest of the area. I didn’t cross the rope bridges, as the sign at the front said closed toe shoes were required. Not that anyone would have stopped me from doing it in my flip flops. I then went back around to the side Aurea entrance to use that as a cut through to the YC. Except, neither my key card nor wristband would open the door. Which is the same issue I had when trying it previously, but from the elevator lobby. But you can get to it from the starboard cabin hallway on 19 if you really wanted to. So I make the walk of shame away from the door, and cut back through the arcade/Jungle pool. I then rejoin Macon at the loungers, and we decide to hop back into the pool. As it is now nearing 3pm, many guests have started to return and the pool is quite busy. It was actually busier in the pool this time than when we hung out in it on the first sea day.  All cooled off, we decided to pack up our things, lounger towels included, and went down to the spa. On the way, we dropped off the towel clips and grabbed our robes. As we came out of the room, we once again ran into Nyoman. He mentioned the pool party to us, and wanted to know if we would be there. We said absolutely we would. He also let us know that the dining room would be closing early, as they were planning a dinner buffet as well. Good to know.  We then went down and did our rounds in the spa. As we were leaving, I stopped by the reception desk to see if any of the sunset specials of the day were available. There was one in 10 mins, so I took that. It $99 for a 50 min massage. The massage was great, and no attempt to sell me any products afterwards. That was greatly appreciated. I made it back to the room in time to catch us pushing away from the dock, then we got ready for the night.

 

Knowing that there was going to be a big dinner buffet, we decided to wait for it, but stocked up on snacks with our drinks. Nithin was behind the bar again, so we sat up at the bar and asked him about his day.  As we were talking, he said he would be right back and went to the back. When he came back up front, he was holding a three quarter full bottle of Ramazzotti. Macon got so excited at the sight of it, and Nithin made her a Rosato Mio. He said it was the first one he had made in months, as no one ever asks for it. We then made a bet that we could finish that bottle before the night was over.  As we're talking and joking with Nithin, Bibin drops by to grab some things for the pool bar and the party. He joins in the conversation about Rosato Mios and life, then returns to his prep work. Nyoman swings by with a fresh dish of potato chips, and asks about the drink Macon has. So we filled him in, and now he knows too. In the time we are at the bar, Macon easily finishes two Rosato Mios. Nithin asks if she wants a third before he goes off for the night, but in the interest of delayed gratification, she declines, but I take whatever whiskey cocktail he has in mind. He takes off for the night and we listen to the music playing in the lounge.  As 8pm rolls around, we make our way up to the pool deck to see what this party is all about. We must have arrived late to the party, as it seems most of our fellow guests were already up there and snagged the good tables.  We found an open one, right about halfway along the pool itself. There was a DJ booth set up next to the pool along the back wall. Nyoman somehow spots us in the dark and comes by. He lets us know the buffet is ready and he takes our drink orders. We then go check out the buffet line and it is impressive. Fresh carved prime rib, salmon, sea bass and scallop skewers, some spicy shrimps, and a whole bunch of sides and desserts. As we are enjoying the dinner spread, the DJ kicks up the music, and Nyoman and a couple of the other butlers start going around encouraging guests to get up and dance. Not only do some of the guests get up there, a bunch of the butlers, dining room and bar staff also join in on the fun. Leading the dancing is the head butler, and she looks like she is having the time of her life.  They have a conga line going and then do some of the other popular party dances up closer to the bar/buffet area.  After a good while, and another plate or two of that prime rib, we decide to head out. We walk around the ship again, just seeing what else is going on. It is the white night party, and we head up to the Long Island Pool where the party is being held. It’s like a bigger version of the one the Yacht Club staff held for us, with less prime rib. We then continue our rounds, finding ourselves right back in our cabin. We realize it has been a long, fun day so we decide to call it a night.

 

Being up entirely too early is rewarded with these great views and colors.

From the port wing looking aft, it was this morning that I first noticed that the balconies of the YC overhang the balconies below it

And looking aft from the starboard wing

Little bird looking for the good snacks

And a little friend also looking for snacks. When I asked to see their wristbands or cruise cards to prove they were YC guests, suddenly they noticed this isn't where they parked their car and flew off

I spy with my little eye this tiny little ant also trying to crash the YC

The upstairs shopping area at the pier has a great quiet balcony to take those ship photos from

The blue of the water here in Cozumel is probably my favorite of the Caribbean

Despite all the clouds, it never rained on us. Although it did look like it rained at some point closer to the Carnival/Royal piers

And off we go again

And the sun sets on another glass sea

But when the sun goes down..

The YC party gets on up! This was a great time and a highlight of the cruise for sure! Nyoman is the butler seen dancing on the left of the crowd there

 

And that will do it for this days reflection. It was nice and relaxing, with plenty of great food and fun vibes. With that, we shall MSC you soon....

 

 

[stp_mmh5]

18 hours ago, CruiseIreland said:

Loving the trip report! Keep it coming! Were you ok after eating the dodgy shrimp? Ken 

Glad you're enjoying the trip report. I would say for the most part, we were okay after the shrimp. I feel like the amount of other food we have eaten and the sheer amount of alcohol helped dilute anything that the shrimp would have had to make us feel ill.

 

20 hours ago, 9876 said:

I was on the cruise too.  I agree with the seafood observation.  The entire dining room smelled of seafood so much I just passed on dinner.

 

I find that often the case with cruise seafood. Sometimes it can be some of the best seafood we have ever had. Luckily, there is always something else available on the ship to eat, so no loss if the seafood is a miss.

[stp_mmh5]

After writing four essays back to back, I was a little worn out from writing. But I can't let this review go unfinished, so here we go.

 

MSC Seashore Day 6: Sea Day 2: Sushi Boogaloo 

 

Another sea day means two things. 1. Our cruise is coming to an end, which means back to work. 2.  It is all you can eat sushi day at the sushi restaurant onboard!  Naturally the day starts well before the sun, so out to the balcony I go. I had not hung the hammock back up, so I just sat in one of the chairs like a normal person. As I got comfortable, I noticed something is a bit off about the balcony, and realized that the divider between our balcony and the Royal Suite next door is ajar. So I took a peek over there out of curiosity, and dang, their balcony is super nice. They have four padded oversized chairs that look like they fold out to loungers, an outdoor table with seating for six, a hot tub and a bird. Now I want to know, did the bird book the Royal Suite outright, or was it an upgrade? Either way, I was a little jealous. As the magic hour of sunrise and coffee rolls around, we head up into the lounge and start our morning with one of Nithin’s fantastic lattes. The clocks shifted an hour forward, so the rest of the guests are slow moving and trickle in much later than normal. Which is fine by me, as I got first dibs at the fruit tarts and chocolate twists. We sit at our normal table for our first cup of coffee, but move up to the bar for the second cup. We chat up with Nithin for a bit, then it comes time for breakfast. We went to the dining room to give it another shot. We ask to sit with Joseph and he seems chipper as usual.  This morning the staff with the breads and pastries came more staggered, so that was a nice change from the other morning.  Macon ordered a simple breakfast of gravlax salmon and some hard boiled eggs, and I got the express breakfast with bacon.  We skipped coffee this time, mostly because the two we already had were hitting the spot and partly because the lattes upstairs just aren't as good. Breakfast comes out quickly and accurately. Since it is slower in the dining room this morning, we get a chance to just have a candid conversation with Joseph and the dining room hostess. For the life of me, I can not remember her name, despite reading her name tag every time she passed by. Both the hostess and Joseph let us know that today at about 1130ish the Maitre D will be hosting a pasta cooking demonstration and that there will be a seafood themed buffet served. This sounds like a great time and we will absolutely go, but won’t get to fully partake because we have lunch plans already. See, Macon loves sushi more than just about any other food. And thanks to other reviewers on here, she knows that they frequently offer an all you can eat sushi deal on the last sea day. So when it was published in the daily the night before, you bet she made sure we made reservations for 12 when it opened. Oh, and in anticipation of this sushi lunch, we have our “Sushi Shirts” packed and ready to be worn.

 

  So now armed with this knowledge of a pasta and seafood lunch at the pool grill as an appetizer to sushi, we head back to the room to go grab the daily and see what is all going on in the morning.  In the hallway we see Heru, who was about to polish up the room.  I let him know that the balcony divider had opened, and he said he will get that closed right back up when he’s in there. We leave the room so Heru can do his thing, and go walk around the ship again. We drop into the gift shop to stock up on the things we fully expected to buy in excess. This would be a ship model to add to our ever growing collection, as well as a few of the Med by MSC diffusers. It has been a post or two since we mentioned how much we love this smell, so this is the obligatory mention of it. We had a bottle stashed away in the house for the last three years and refused to open it before we got a chance to sail MSC again and buy more. It is so refreshing to walk around the ship and catch a random whiff of it here and there.  Anyways, back to our sea day, we take our haul of Med by MSC back to the cabin and store with all the other goodies from the ports so far. It has taken some effort and sloppy placement, but it finally looks like most of the shelving space is being utilized. Since it is about time for the pasta demo, we head up to the pool deck.  We get a table right by the bar, which is right next to where the demo station is set up. The Head Butler, Maitre D and one of the chefs come out and start the demo. Today they made a version of linguine con vongole, or linguine with clams for non-Italian speakers. It was very good, and it made me think of how the Maitre D on our Divina cruise would make pastas everyday. From there, they opened up the buffet which had a great spread of seafood options, such as salmon, swordfish and sea bass skewers, as well as some shrimp options. With seafood being hit and miss so far, we didn’t really try too much. That and all the sushi that was waiting for us downstairs.  Which we head to as quickly as hungry legs would take us.  We sat down along the first row, tucked into the corner. It gives us a great view of what sushi options are coming down the line. The selection is pretty good considering, with most of the sushi menu making the rounds. You also get a choice of fried or white rice when you first get comfortable, which is nice. I didn’t get either and Macon got the fried rice, which was just okay.  The sushi and sashimi options on the other hand were very good. The sashimis were thick pieces, as was the fish on the nigiri. The only  downside to thick fish is that the rice was also thick to support it, which fills one up quickly.  Also we learned that if there is something that you want but is not on the belt, you can request it through the waiter and it will be brought to you. Recommend that if you like a lot of sashimi, as they are otherwise slower to replace that than any other option. Another thing to note, is that per the ad and the server when you arrive, there is a 45 minute time limit to the all you can eat. Frankly after 30 mins I was ready to burst at the seams, but I am sure there are some who could do the whole 45 mins, if it is strictly enforced. We finished up before that time, so we can’t comment on how well that is enforced. 

 

After sushi, we rolled back to the room, successfully doing a priority YC elevator and promptly slipped into a food coma. Afterwards, we went back out into the masses to check out progressive trivia in Le Cabaret Rouge. At first we weren’t going to play, just listen in, but then we grabbed an answer sheet anyways and did surprisingly well.  What we wish we had known, is that progressive trivia means that all your points from each trivia during the week add up, and on the final one they award prizes. Good to know for the next time. After trivia, we hung out on the upper part and watched out the windows at the wake. It really reminded us of the Carousel lounge on the Meraviglia.  As 4pm rolled around, we went up to the Long Island Pool to go check out the Snow Party. We watched from a distance as the crowds were a little much for us, and then we snuck off back to the TSL because Nithin would be back on and we were ready for some cocktails and Rosato Mios.

 

 After a few hours of enjoying some very tasty beverages, we went back to the room to get ready for dinner. Back in the TSL for last call with Nithin, we see Nyoman. Somehow we have missed him up to this point, so we got caught up with him. After Nithin checks off for the night and we finish our drinks, we head up to the restaurant for dinner. We again asked for Joseph’s section, and at the moment all the two top tables were full. So the hostess asks if sitting at a large table would be okay, which we don’t have a problem with.  Well no sooner than after we sit down, one of the two tops clears out and is promptly reset. Joseph and his assistant move us over to that one instead. Tonight is Serata Italiana, so a very Mediterranean inspired menu is in store, with plenty of Italian favorites. I decide to have an Italian red wine to go with dinner, to really set the mood. Surprisingly, the wine list for the night was lacking Italian wine options, with the only two being Prosecco and Pinot Grigio. So at first I requested one of our favorites, a Barolo, from off the larger list. Joseph's assistant was not sure if they still had that, but would go check. Sadly, they were out of that one. He explained that their stock of wines were dwindling as they prepared to change out the menu to reflect the shift to the South American market. Well, bummer but I had a back up option in mind. So I ask for a bottle of Valpolicella Amarone. About 10 minutes later, he comes back with two different bottles that were hiding down in the wine bar on deck 8. We pick one of the two and it is perfect fit for the meal.  Our starters tonight are the Minestrone soup for Macon and I had the Buffalo Mozzarella Caprese. For our mains we had the Lasagna Bolognese and Oss Bucco, and the Asparagus risotto as a shared side. Dinner was okay. The minestrone was nothing special and the caprese was about average. The osso bucco was fantastic, but the lasagna was a huge disappointment. We each had a bite or two of it, and pushed it aside. The risotto was okay, but again, nothing special and definitely nowhere near as good as the champagne risotto. For dessert, Macon had our go to of Tiramisu and I had the specialty ice cream of the night, which was my personal favorite, Coffee ice cream.  After dinner, we went back down to the lounge where we finally managed to kill off the bottle of Ramazzotti Rosato, and listened to the jazz duo playing. Once they finished their set, we decided to call it a night and went back to the room. After reading a little on the balcony, the bed dragged us into its luscious grasp and off to snoozeland we went.

 

Here is port side Royal Suite balcony. I could be wrong, but I would bet that the balcony is larger than some cruise cabins.

 

Either this room comes with it's own private bird, or he is wondering why this weirdo is creeping on his big balcony that he absolutely paid for outright...

 

Obligatory near sunrise photo. At this point, I am sure that is what you all are here for anyways

 

Somewhat lifting the veil on anonymity, here is Macon and just exactly how excited she was for the sushis and sashimis

 

Mmmmm Sushis....

 

And sashimis

 

Out in the distance looked like there was Coast Guard Cutter and a raft. I had wondered earlier if we would find any rafts like we did in June on the Mardi Gras

 

One of Nithin's on a whim whiskey cocktails. It was super smooth and went down fast. And it was a fancy one, as he broke out the large clear ice and he only put that in his fancy drinks

 

Finally some food pics, as there are some who are only here for the food. The caprese was okay. Meraviglia has better, but that's because they make all the mozzarella onboard.

 

The minestrone. It wasn't great. But maybe it was the lighting..

 

The lasagna. Honestly, even Garfield probably wouldn't have eaten it. But then again, Garfield loves all lasagna, so who knows

 

The star of the dinner, the Osso Bucco. It is hard to go wrong with this one.

 

The Asparagus Risotto. Decent enough

 

Coffee ice cream. Very, very good and glad they had it. Not pictured is tiramisu, but I promise it looked a lot like the others.

We rounded the tip of Florida at some point and are starting to see the lights from the Keys

No moon photo, just a view from the bridge wing

 

Ohh fine, a moon photo because I just can't resist them.

 

Thats it for now. Only one more to go, at least until the new year when we return from the Seascape. So until the next and final post (tomorrow?), MSC you sooooooooonnnnnnnn

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

9 minutes ago, stp_mmh5 said:

After writing four essays back to back, I was a little worn out from writing. But I can't let this review go unfinished, so here we go.

 

MSC Seashore Day 6: Sea Day 2: Sushi Boogaloo 

 

Another sea day means two things. 1. Our cruise is coming to an end, which means back to work. 2.  It is all you can eat sushi day at the sushi restaurant onboard!  Naturally the day starts well before the sun, so out to the balcony I go. I had not hung the hammock back up, so I just sat in one of the chairs like a normal person. As I got comfortable, I noticed something is a bit off about the balcony, and realized that the divider between our balcony and the Royal Suite next door is ajar. So I took a peek over there out of curiosity, and dang, their balcony is super nice. They have four padded oversized chairs that look like they fold out to loungers, an outdoor table with seating for six, a hot tub and a bird. Now I want to know, did the bird book the Royal Suite outright, or was it an upgrade? Either way, I was a little jealous. As the magic hour of sunrise and coffee rolls around, we head up into the lounge and start our morning with one of Nithin’s fantastic lattes. The clocks shifted an hour forward, so the rest of the guests are slow moving and trickle in much later than normal. Which is fine by me, as I got first dibs at the fruit tarts and chocolate twists. We sit at our normal table for our first cup of coffee, but move up to the bar for the second cup. We chat up with Nithin for a bit, then it comes time for breakfast. We went to the dining room to give it another shot. We ask to sit with Joseph and he seems chipper as usual.  This morning the staff with the breads and pastries came more staggered, so that was a nice change from the other morning.  Macon ordered a simple breakfast of gravlax salmon and some hard boiled eggs, and I got the express breakfast with bacon.  We skipped coffee this time, mostly because the two we already had were hitting the spot and partly because the lattes upstairs just aren't as good. Breakfast comes out quickly and accurately. Since it is slower in the dining room this morning, we get a chance to just have a candid conversation with Joseph and the dining room hostess. For the life of me, I can not remember her name, despite reading her name tag every time she passed by. Both the hostess and Joseph let us know that today at about 1130ish the Maitre D will be hosting a pasta cooking demonstration and that there will be a seafood themed buffet served. This sounds like a great time and we will absolutely go, but won’t get to fully partake because we have lunch plans already. See, Macon loves sushi more than just about any other food. And thanks to other reviewers on here, she knows that they frequently offer an all you can eat sushi deal on the last sea day. So when it was published in the daily the night before, you bet she made sure we made reservations for 12 when it opened. Oh, and in anticipation of this sushi lunch, we have our “Sushi Shirts” packed and ready to be worn.

 

  So now armed with this knowledge of a pasta and seafood lunch at the pool grill as an appetizer to sushi, we head back to the room to go grab the daily and see what is all going on in the morning.  In the hallway we see Heru, who was about to polish up the room.  I let him know that the balcony divider had opened, and he said he will get that closed right back up when he’s in there. We leave the room so Heru can do his thing, and go walk around the ship again. We drop into the gift shop to stock up on the things we fully expected to buy in excess. This would be a ship model to add to our ever growing collection, as well as a few of the Med by MSC diffusers. It has been a post or two since we mentioned how much we love this smell, so this is the obligatory mention of it. We had a bottle stashed away in the house for the last three years and refused to open it before we got a chance to sail MSC again and buy more. It is so refreshing to walk around the ship and catch a random whiff of it here and there.  Anyways, back to our sea day, we take our haul of Med by MSC back to the cabin and store with all the other goodies from the ports so far. It has taken some effort and sloppy placement, but it finally looks like most of the shelving space is being utilized. Since it is about time for the pasta demo, we head up to the pool deck.  We get a table right by the bar, which is right next to where the demo station is set up. The Head Butler, Maitre D and one of the chefs come out and start the demo. Today they made a version of linguine con vongole, or linguine with clams for non-Italian speakers. It was very good, and it made me think of how the Maitre D on our Divina cruise would make pastas everyday. From there, they opened up the buffet which had a great spread of seafood options, such as salmon, swordfish and sea bass skewers, as well as some shrimp options. With seafood being hit and miss so far, we didn’t really try too much. That and all the sushi that was waiting for us downstairs.  Which we head to as quickly as hungry legs would take us.  We sat down along the first row, tucked into the corner. It gives us a great view of what sushi options are coming down the line. The selection is pretty good considering, with most of the sushi menu making the rounds. You also get a choice of fried or white rice when you first get comfortable, which is nice. I didn’t get either and Macon got the fried rice, which was just okay.  The sushi and sashimi options on the other hand were very good. The sashimis were thick pieces, as was the fish on the nigiri. The only  downside to thick fish is that the rice was also thick to support it, which fills one up quickly.  Also we learned that if there is something that you want but is not on the belt, you can request it through the waiter and it will be brought to you. Recommend that if you like a lot of sashimi, as they are otherwise slower to replace that than any other option. Another thing to note, is that per the ad and the server when you arrive, there is a 45 minute time limit to the all you can eat. Frankly after 30 mins I was ready to burst at the seams, but I am sure there are some who could do the whole 45 mins, if it is strictly enforced. We finished up before that time, so we can’t comment on how well that is enforced. 

 

After sushi, we rolled back to the room, successfully doing a priority YC elevator and promptly slipped into a food coma. Afterwards, we went back out into the masses to check out progressive trivia in Le Cabaret Rouge. At first we weren’t going to play, just listen in, but then we grabbed an answer sheet anyways and did surprisingly well.  What we wish we had known, is that progressive trivia means that all your points from each trivia during the week add up, and on the final one they award prizes. Good to know for the next time. After trivia, we hung out on the upper part and watched out the windows at the wake. It really reminded us of the Carousel lounge on the Meraviglia.  As 4pm rolled around, we went up to the Long Island Pool to go check out the Snow Party. We watched from a distance as the crowds were a little much for us, and then we snuck off back to the TSL because Nithin would be back on and we were ready for some cocktails and Rosato Mios.

 

 After a few hours of enjoying some very tasty beverages, we went back to the room to get ready for dinner. Back in the TSL for last call with Nithin, we see Nyoman. Somehow we have missed him up to this point, so we got caught up with him. After Nithin checks off for the night and we finish our drinks, we head up to the restaurant for dinner. We again asked for Joseph’s section, and at the moment all the two top tables were full. So the hostess asks if sitting at a large table would be okay, which we don’t have a problem with.  Well no sooner than after we sit down, one of the two tops clears out and is promptly reset. Joseph and his assistant move us over to that one instead. Tonight is Serata Italiana, so a very Mediterranean inspired menu is in store, with plenty of Italian favorites. I decide to have an Italian red wine to go with dinner, to really set the mood. Surprisingly, the wine list for the night was lacking Italian wine options, with the only two being Prosecco and Pinot Grigio. So at first I requested one of our favorites, a Barolo, from off the larger list. Joseph's assistant was not sure if they still had that, but would go check. Sadly, they were out of that one. He explained that their stock of wines were dwindling as they prepared to change out the menu to reflect the shift to the South American market. Well, bummer but I had a back up option in mind. So I ask for a bottle of Valpolicella Amarone. About 10 minutes later, he comes back with two different bottles that were hiding down in the wine bar on deck 8. We pick one of the two and it is perfect fit for the meal.  Our starters tonight are the Minestrone soup for Macon and I had the Buffalo Mozzarella Caprese. For our mains we had the Lasagna Bolognese and Oss Bucco, and the Asparagus risotto as a shared side. Dinner was okay. The minestrone was nothing special and the caprese was about average. The osso bucco was fantastic, but the lasagna was a huge disappointment. We each had a bite or two of it, and pushed it aside. The risotto was okay, but again, nothing special and definitely nowhere near as good as the champagne risotto. For dessert, Macon had our go to of Tiramisu and I had the specialty ice cream of the night, which was my personal favorite, Coffee ice cream.  After dinner, we went back down to the lounge where we finally managed to kill off the bottle of Ramazzotti Rosato, and listened to the jazz duo playing. Once they finished their set, we decided to call it a night and went back to the room. After reading a little on the balcony, the bed dragged us into its luscious grasp and off to snoozeland we went.

 

Here is port side Royal Suite balcony. I could be wrong, but I would bet that the balcony is larger than some cruise cabins.

 

Either this room comes with it's own private bird, or he is wondering why this weirdo is creeping on his big balcony that he absolutely paid for outright...

 

Obligatory near sunrise photo. At this point, I am sure that is what you all are here for anyways

 

Somewhat lifting the veil on anonymity, here is Macon and just exactly how excited she was for the sushis and sashimis

 

Mmmmm Sushis....

 

And sashimis

 

Out in the distance looked like there was Coast Guard Cutter and a raft. I had wondered earlier if we would find any rafts like we did in June on the Mardi Gras

 

One of Nithin's on a whim whiskey cocktails. It was super smooth and went down fast. And it was a fancy one, as he broke out the large clear ice and he only put that in his fancy drinks

 

Finally some food pics, as there are some who are only here for the food. The caprese was okay. Meraviglia has better, but that's because they make all the mozzarella onboard.

 

The minestrone. It wasn't great. But maybe it was the lighting..

 

The lasagna. Honestly, even Garfield probably wouldn't have eaten it. But then again, Garfield loves all lasagna, so who knows

 

The star of the dinner, the Osso Bucco. It is hard to go wrong with this one.

 

The Asparagus Risotto. Decent enough

 

Coffee ice cream. Very, very good and glad they had it. Not pictured is tiramisu, but I promise it looked a lot like the others.

We rounded the tip of Florida at some point and are starting to see the lights from the Keys

No moon photo, just a view from the bridge wing

 

Ohh fine, a moon photo because I just can't resist them.

 

Thats it for now. Only one more to go, at least until the new year when we return from the Seascape. So until the next and final post (tomorrow?), MSC you sooooooooonnnnnnnn

Enjoying the review. We sail on Seascape the week before you. Can't wait as it's my first time on a brand new ship.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, stp_mmh5 said:

As I got comfortable, I noticed something is a bit off about the balcony, and realized that the divider between our balcony and the Royal Suite next door is ajar. So I took a peek over there out of curiosity, and dang, their balcony is super nice. They have four padded oversized chairs that look like they fold out to loungers, an outdoor table with seating for six, a hot tub and a bird. Now I want to know, did the bird book the Royal Suite outright, or was it an upgrade? Either way, I was a little jealous.

Actually it was a baby bird that was just learning to fly that came from Ocean Cay. It tried to fly away and hit the glass of our balcony door and on a second attempt at flight hit the glass of the balcony. I was astonished it flew as high as deck 16 to begin with.

Edited November 4, 2022 by morpheusofthesea

[stp_mmh5]

On 11/3/2022 at 6:23 PM, AerynSun_JohnCrighton said:

Enjoying the review. We sail on Seascape the week before you. Can't wait as it's my first time on a brand new ship.

Being on new new ship is always fun. There may still be a few kinks getting worked out, so just be ready for that.  But it seems that many crewmembers are getting transferred from Seashore to Seascape, so it shouldn't be too bad. Also a little jealous, as your itinerary is slightly better than ours, as having that extra day and the stop in St Thomas is something we would have loved to have.

 

On 11/3/2022 at 8:06 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

Actually it was a baby bird that was just learning to fly that came from Ocean Cay. It tried to fly away and hit the glass of our balcony door and on a second attempt at flight hit the glass of the balcony. I was astonished it flew as high as deck 16 to begin with.

 

 

Interesting you also had a bird on your balcony that morning. I am now convinced that a bird on the balcony was a perk of either your unofficial Diamond+ status or the Royal Suites themselves, and that by some odd fine print you aren't allowed to confirm or deny said perk. 

 

Now then, on with the conclusion of this review with the most photo heavy ending yet.

 

Seashore Day 7: Wasting away at Ocean Cay

 

Must it be Day 7 already? I am finally getting into the rhythm of being on vacation. As per the norm, I am up well before the sun. But today is different. Today I wanted to be, as I wanted to make sure I did not miss the arrival into Ocean Cay. We were super excited about this day, as it was our first time to the island, and from everything we have seen from previous reviewers and from YouTube was that this was the ideal beach lounging on a private island and not some overpriced private theme park as some other cay has become. Much like every other day of this trip, the seas were amongst the calmest I have ever seen it, the humidity and temperature were at perfect levels, and the sun was just getting ready to break over the horizon when I first spotted the lighthouse out in the distance. The balcony just isn’t going to cut it to watch the approach, so we went into the lounge. We were in earlier than normal, so we beat Nithin and would have to wait for our morning cafe lattes. I stepped out onto the outdoor deck and started getting photos of the island and the sunrise. Could not have asked for a better view on approach.  Knowing that we still have a little time before the docking dance starts, I return to the inside and join Macon who has claimed our favorite little table.  Nithin comes out and is a bit surprised to see us so early, even though we are usually his first guests of the day. He puts away the drinks he brought out and jumps right to the lattes without us even knowing that he was making them.  Since the morning lounge butler was in the back preparing the breakfast treat trays, he brought us the coffees himself. Nithin is amazing.  As we were enjoying the coffee, I felt a little beating of air pass overhead and looked up to see that a little bird had made it inside the lounge again. I say again, as at least two other times on days I couldn’t pinpoint, a bird has made its way into the lounge and flown around both downstairs and in the restaurant.  Well with it only being Macon, Nithin and myself, we began an operation to help the little fella back outside. I slowly scoot over to the starboard doors and press the open button so that they open up and stay open. Macon and Nithin slowly corral the bird so that it eventually goes right past the open doors and to the table along the starboard windows. A little more gentle guidance, and finally the bird goes into the breezeway. This is the fun part, as the bird is too small to trip the automatic door sensor, and keeps doing laps in the breezeway. Eventually while the bird is along the doors to the outside, I sneak in from the lounge. I move slowly enough to not spook the bird, but quickly enough so that the lounge doors will close and not open again. I get close enough to the outer door and get it to open. Of course, the bird goes straight back towards the lounge, but luckily that door did close already. Finally the bird figures it out, heads outside, and promptly flies right back into one of the windows.  The bird must've learned that the fruit tarts and chocolate twists were laid out and wanted some.  Since I am outside, I see that we have gotten much closer to the island and are getting ready to turn around and back that aft up. As I'm hanging out and taking photos, Macon comes out and hangs out for a bit. While we are out there, Nithin also comes outside with our second coffees. He knows us and our caffeine habits too well. He tells us a little about the island since we mentioned how it's our first time, talks highly about Ocean House and then asks about if we were planning on watching the light show. We said we would certainly make a point of it, simply because it is the first time here, and asked if he would try to watch it as well. He laughed and said he wouldn’t. Once or twice was plenty for him. Sometimes before that coffee kicks in we forget trivial details, like that he is almost at the end of his contract so he has had plenty of time to see it, plus he opens the bar so probably wants to make the most of his time off and get some good rest.

 

  After the ship kisses the pier, I go join Macon in the room to gather our beach gear. On the way we see Nyoman in his beach uniform. He is as bubbly and excited as always. We chat with him for a few minutes, and he lets us know that we can get off when the gangway opens if we want, but that the Ocean House area won’t be ready until about an hour later, as the onboard staff are the ones who get everything set up. That is perfectly fine with us, as we want to explore the island before it gets too busy anyway. As we headed out, we saw Juan at the concierge desk and stopped by to follow up with the refund from the Grand Cayman excursion. When he had heard that it still hadn’t been resolved, he said he would continue to work on it. He had us hangout for a minute while he called the shore excursion manager. The manager didn’t answer (no surprise as I am sure that person was super busy with the arrival) so he sent yet another email to the shore excursion manager, the medical center as well as the guest services manager and the Yacht Club director. He said he would follow up with us once we returned from our day on the island. We thanked him for his assistance and turned to head out to the elevators. He asked us to wait briefly, called over a butler and then asked the butler to escort us down. Once ashore, the butler reminded us that Ocean House likely wouldn’t be open for another hour or so. No problem, as we wanted to walk around anyway. First stop after passing through the gate was to go see the dive shop, to see if maybe they were doing dive excursions of some sort. The shop sits off the beaten path to the right of the excursion check in point, along an unfinished sidewalk. The path stopped short of the building. The doors on it were closed, but all kinds of snorkeling and dive equipment could be seen through the windows. Also a couple of staff were inside, but looked like they were having a meeting, so we didn’t get any closer.  Also on the ship, there was information that a conservation area was being built behind the dive shop and was supposed to have opened in summer 22.  Well, that was a lie, because there was nothing behind the dive shop except sand and palm trees. So we turned around and walked along the strip of shops and whatnot.  Once we got up to where the on island staff housing is, we followed the path back towards Lighthouse Beach. We then walked along the beach and were going to go up to the bar, but someone dropped one of their shoes unknowingly and so we had to go back and find it. Not going to name any names and certainly won’t admit to it, but it happened. After making two trips through the soft sand, and picking up some straws I found semi buried and a missing shoe, we decided walking is way overrated and wanted to take the tram up to Ocean House. The YC tram stop is all set up now, with a cart having just pulled up. Again we are told that Ocean House isn’t ready yet, but we are okay with hanging out and getting a cup of water.  While we wait, a few other YC guests show up, and so all of us end up boarding the cart. Well, because they haven’t gotten the OK to head up that way, we are sitting and waiting. Which is fine for five out of seven of us. The couple sitting on the back on the cart, specifically the husband, starts getting very angry about why we haven’t left yet. The butler manning the station told each group as we walked up that Ocean House wasn’t ready yet as did our driver. The husband I guess didn’t hear that or chose not to, and starts raising his voice to a level just under yelling about why we haven’t left yet, and that it’s stupid that we cant be driven up there until the OK has been given because no one would stop him or anyone else from walking up there. At first I almost get it, there shouldn’t really be any reason not to drop us off, but then as he goes on and on like the Energizer Bunny, it starts to really grind my gears. I make sly comments to Macon about it, hopefully just loud enough that he could hear it, but not enough to start anything with him. Right as I had about enough of him talking down to the butler and driver, the call comes across the radio that we can proceed to Ocean House. Does this please the guy behind me? Not a chance, he keeps on witching the whole way there. At some point I loudly said “Oh do shut up already.” He stops for a brief second, then continues on, albeit a little quieter, to his wife.  

 

Once we arrived at Ocean House, we are at first greeted by the assistant head butler, who lets us know that the beach chairs are ready as is the bar, and the times that lunch will be ready. We head down to the beach, grab some towels and head far away from the complainers. It's vacation, we are at the beach and that kind of negativity is not needed.  No sooner than we get our towels on the chair than does drink service come by. I got a mojito and Macon got a sex on the beach. After lathering up with sunscreen, we go to take a dip in the water. It is pretty rocky on the beach, so water shoes would be recommended for sure. But once you are in, the water is great and the YC beach includes floating mats so no issues there. As a habit, I also was looking at the ground for whatever shells and what not that could be there. MSC makes a very strong point everywhere around the island that the collection of shells is not permitted, so I didn’t look too hard. But what did catch my eye throughout the day were little pieces of glass that were either in the sand or along the shore. MSC didn’t say anything about not collecting sea glass, so I made a little pile for myself. There are some pieces that I found that still had pretty sharp edges, so my best guess is that guests bring bottles into the water and lose them, then the shards wash up, so another good reason to wear some sort of shoes crossing the sand into the water. After laying out in the sun and taking a few refreshing dips into the water, we realized that it was lunch time, and we hadn't eaten anything apart from our little snacks in the lounge this morning. So we walked up to the Ocean House proper, and since we were early, had our pick of the tables. We picked one along the back side which was on the porch, but had a great view out over the water. When the waiter came by, we ordered with our stomachs by asking for basically everything they had, as everything sounded great. Never go to the restaurant on a completely empty stomach, as ordering everything was not the move to make. Simply because it was all too much to eat. But we powered through and felt more than content once we were done. 

 

After lunch, we determined that the lounge chairs were just too far away, but there was a nice wicker one up close by the restaurant under some palm trees. Palm trees that looked just close enough to hang a hammock between….. So I walk back down to the beach and grab my travel hammock and some towels for us to use on the chair and as a pillow. As I guessed, the palm trees were just close enough to get good tension, so I hung the hammock low to the ground. Two reasons, 1. If it drops, it won't hurt as much. 2. The thicker base had a less rough outside, so it would be less likely to cause any damage to the ropes or the tree.  Once I get settled in, I find that a nap comes on very quickly.  About an hour or so goes by, and when I wake up, Macon tells me that my hammock has been positively commented on by much of the staff as they went by, as well as a few guests also thinking of great of an idea that was. I would agree, as that was the best nap I have had in a long time.  I pack up the hammock and we head back down to the water to swim, snorkel and cool off a little. As we made our way down to the beach, we ran into Nyoman and he let us know that the last shuttle back to the ship from Ocean House was at 430pm. Seeing that it is almost 2pm, we decided to hop on a shuttle and do a little shopping before the crowds really get in there. We then headed back up to Ocean House around 3 pm and it had emptied out. We were probably amongst the last eight or so guests up there. We hang out in the water and one of the attendants lets us know it is the last call for drinks from the bar. We get our last orders in, and then swim around some more. Our drinks were left for us by our chairs, and we meant to go get them sooner, but the water was perfect, so we didn’t. Eventually the complainers finally left on one of the last shuttles, leaving us, a couple we had met on the Jamaica excursion and the German speaking women who were on the morning shuttle with us. We eventually all made our way up to Ocean House, where the waiting cart took on the group of three and the other couple. There wasn’t really any space to fit both of us sitting next to each other on there, so we elected to wait for the next one. Well the assistant butler then removed one of the staff members who was on the shuttle and insisted that we board then. On one hand, I can understand prioritizing guests over staff, but on the other hand, we were absolutely fine waiting for another shuttle so that we could comfortably sit next to each other, but we boarded as instructed and the shuttle took off.  Since this was one of the larger trams used by all and not the YC exclusive cart, it had to make a three point turn to get around the turnaround. This shuttle cart had a mix of passengers onboard, so we would frequently stop to drop other guests off, and occasionally pick some up. We finally all made it back to the main tram stop, washed our feet off, then went back onboard via the YC gangway up front. We showed the couple from the Jamaica excursion about the priority elevator, and they were surprised by it. Definitely not something that clearly made the rounds through the YC.

 

  We head back to the room and freshen up for the evening. Despite having a super filling lunch, we are already starting to get hungry again, so we planned on going to dinner earlier than normal. We also wanted to make sure that we would have enough time to catch the lighthouse show. When we got into the lounge, we went up to the bar and settled in, so that we could get our pre-dinner drinks. Nithin came out from the back area and we can tell he is super excited. Upon asking, we find out that he had just learned that his wife back home gave birth to their first child together. We congratulate him and his wife, and the rest of the time we are there, other staff members come by to congratulate him on the news as well. It was really nice to see the rest of the staff being so supportive.  As his shift closes up, we again congratulate him and then we head up to dinner.  Upon arrival, the hostess sat us in Joseph’s section, and he came out with the leftover wine from last night when he brought out the water, then asked us about the day. After that, we put in our dinner order and off he went.  Dinner tonight was by far the best meal in the restaurant all week. While we were waiting, a couple at a table nearby had the Indian Butter Chicken and the aroma from it drifted over our table. It smelled sooo good, and the gentleman who was eating it highly recommended it, and then asked for a second plate. Glad it was one of the dishes we ordered as well.  When it was our turn for the main courses, we both agreed that it was the absolute best dish we had the entire time, and what a way to finish the week on such a high note. As dinner concluded, I asked Joseph if he had ever worked on Royal, as we had a waiter who was very similar in personality to him there. He said he had previously worked on Celebrity ships, so close, but not quite. I let him know he had a doppelganger out there then and we all had a good laugh with that one.

  After dinner, we realized we had a little time to kill before the lighthouse show, so we walked around the ship to see what other events and activities were going on.  We passed on all the shopping options, as we realized that we had spent enough money already. Extra Voyagers Club points are great and all, but the pesky thing called a budget wasn’t allowing for it.  So we then went back to the concierge desk to see if Juan had any luck with the shore excursion refund. When he saw us walk up to the desk, he immediately said that nothing had come back to him yet, and was already in the process of calling the involved parties. When we walked up, he had just gotten off the phone with the shore excursion manager, who said they were waiting for a letter from the doctor. So he then tried calling the medical center, and had to go through a few numbers while we were with him. Eventually he got through, and the nurse on duty said that they’ll have the note from the doctor done in about 15 mins or so.  Juan then let us know that once he has a copy for our records, he will leave it in our room with an updated final bill reflecting it. We thanked him for his help in the matter, and then proceeded to the pool deck to catch the show.  The lighthouse show was nice, but I can understand where Nithin had said this morning of where once was enough.  Watching it from the top of the ship, I felt that the audio tracks were quieter than expected. I figured the sound would have traveled up better, but I guess the show is meant to be enjoyed from the beach. Which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, as the show we watched was at 845pm and all aboard was 830pm. So you couldn’t watch the show from the beach even if you wanted to. Anyways, we have a prompt departure at 9pm from Ocean Cay, so we decide to take one last lap around the ship. We tried a couple of the bars we hadn’t hit yet, and used the last of the casino vouchers we still had. All one spin on one of the machines. Donations to MSC are completed with nothing to show for it. We listened to the piano duo below for a little bit, then decided that we should probably pack the bags and get them set out. After we packed the bags, it was one last macchiato nightcap from the lounge, then off to bed. As we get back into the room, Juan calls to let us know that the refund has finally gone through and that a butler would be coming by with the updated final bill and copy of the note from the doctor. Not more than 30 seconds later there was a knock and the paperwork was delivered. With that last little headache finally out of the way, we got comfortable one last time and racked out hard.

 

Our last sunrise of the trip. But it looks like it will be spectacular

 

And so we spin around and around. Or just a single around. Its early

 

Almost there. The excitement is building...(unlike the alleged conservation area)

 

Its not LEDs, but I am still happy with this light show

 

Dunno why everyone says the beach is crowded, looks pretty empty to me

Nithin gave Macon a teddy bear latte this morning

 

And the madhouse rush to get all the supplies for the day off quickly begins. Soon we will join that madness

 

It's not the best picture, but a little stingray/skate I spotted swimming in the Lighthouse Beach waters. If its there, there are fish there, which means should be some good snorkeling.

 

Our view from our chairs at the YC beach. Nice and sandy up to the first darker line, then it becomes a little rocky.

 

Great location we picked too. Front row by the lifeguard, but not too far from lunch/bar.

 

Absolutely love how clear the water is here. By the far the best water of the whole trip.

 

I took a 360 shot in the water, but doesn't look like it'll let you see it as photo sphere. Instead you get this cool panorama from about 10 from the shore.

 

Just taking some random scenery shots here

 

The photos phones take now are just absolutely incredible. The only downside is now I am always carrying around the one thing I want to detach from on a cruise.

 

Looking over towards the Aurea beach area. Guests would often drift from there to the YC area, but were quickly turned around by the staff. Except for the shared trailer bathroom not pictured, but just to the left of the photo.

 

I spy with my little eye something lunchy

 

 

View from our table. I guess we were lucky to get it when we did, as our table was apparently one of the most popular ones to get.

 

I can see why

 

I wouldn't call this the ideal lunch table with that hand hanging out there. That's just creepy, or bad imagery

 

The crab ceviche. Very good, and if we were to ask for it again, it would be more crab and chips and less salad. 

 

Charred octopus. Tasty, but not our favorite.

 

Continuing with the theme of the appetizer round, Salad! Had I known the others also had salads, I would have skipped it. But it was good.

 

We almost forgot to get a picture of the blackened Mahi Mahi, but it was very very good.

 

The carne asada. Good. I would have liked it with a little less salad, as I was getting about tired of salad. I'm on a cruise, not a diet lol

 

The lobster roll. Very heavy on the mayo, which is not a flavor we particularly like. The fries were good and a welcomed change from the salad.

 

Since we have no self control, and saved a ton of calories with all the salad, we went all out on dessert. Such as this chocolate cake.

 

And a very rich mango cheesecake. Best dessert of lunch for sure

 

And the Creme Caramel. Which was just okay, but after the cheesecake it was hard to finish.

 

From one of our trips towards the front. Love everything about this island except one little detail. That I wish there was better path separation for the carts and trams and the guests walking around.

 

Oh here we go again trying to get the artsy shots

 

*insert witty or sarcastic comment of your choosing here*

 

 

Put a fork in it already

 

Ahh Amarone, the king of red wines in the Veneto region of Italy.

 

By now I have hopefully converted you to an extreme admirer of sunsets over the ocean if you weren't before.

 

Drink it in

 

And with this, the sun has set on sunset photos

 

Which means we can focus on the other good stuffs, Food! Starting with the dinner version of Gravlax Salmon. 

 

As well as the assorted Chinese dumplings. One pork, one seafood, and one vegetable dumpling. The seafood one was the best.

 

Also got the potato mascarpone flan. Different, but tasty. Would get it again.

 

Much like lunch, we went all out on appetizers. Gotta make up for the salads somehow. This is the vegetable soup. As far as soups went this trip, about as good as any other.

 

Entree round! First the seared scallops with ginger lime butter sauce. We have a new contender for best dish right here!

 

The shrimp risotto. Better than some, but not quite on par with the champagne one.

 

Pistachio crusted lamb. Good flavor, but was lukewarm when it came out. Not a deal breaker by any means, but not the best dish either.

 

And the winner of best dish of the cruise is.......Indian Butter Chicken! I absolutely loved this dish and understand why the other gentleman had two orders of this. It was soooo good and I am getting very hungry thinking about and seeing it right now.

 

The lightshow as seen from the YC pool deck back by the hot tub. Neat show, but I bet it is better enjoyed from the beach. Next time we will do that.

 

For the final picture of the cruise, this shot of Lighthouse Beach and Ocean Cay with the reflection of the ship

 

 As a bonus, a time lapse of our backing into port. Being the professional photographer that I am, the camera was balanced by hand on the railing, so it may bump around a little bit. I feel like that adds character to the video.

 

That wraps up the most excellent day at Ocean Cay. I would almost say a perfect day, but that may or may not be copyrighted elsewhere. I will likely post our disembarkation experience, as well as summary of the good, odd and needs improvements. Until then, MSC you soon.......

[SMLWA]

Did they let you keep the sea glass?

 

[stp_mmh5]

13 hours ago, SMLWA said:

Did they let you keep the sea glass?

 

All the sea glass I found I ended up throwing away. Most of it was small pieces, and quite a few still have sharp edges. My best guess is that they were from Heineken bottles or other green beer bottles that other guests had brought into the water and recently washed ashore.

I honestly have no idea how they would check if it I had put any in my bag. I would guess that they would let you keep the glass. From what I have gathered, the restriction is more along taking full sized shells, like the conch shells that are often found versus small little shells, rocks and glass. 

 

Hope that helps. 

 

 

[SMLWA]

Thanks, it did. I love collecting small rocks when I travel.

 

[frank808]

Just wondering where is the priority YC elevator?  On for Seashore for 2 weeks in June/July and YC trick with wristbands did not work. 

[stp_mmh5]

15 hours ago, frank808 said:

Just wondering where is the priority YC elevator?  On for Seashore for 2 weeks in June/July and YC trick with wristbands did not work. 

The YC priority elevators are the ones at the very front. The wristbands do not work and so you will have to use your card for them.

[stp_mmh5]

Seashore Disembarkation and Final Thoughts.

 

So for the first time this whole trip, I am not up well before the sun. I managed to sleep in till about 6am this morning, which is the latest. I didn’t check the time until after I came back in from the balcony, after watching the Explorer of the Seas slide past us. We then got ready for the morning and gathered the last of our things.  As we closed the door to the room, Heru came around the corner, and we thanked him for his great service and wished him well, then headed up to the lounge.  Nithin already had two lattes for us it seems, as he had them down shortly after we grabbed seats at the bar. Nyoman was already in the lounge and swung around with a fruit tart and chocolate twist. He asked us to let him know personally when we were ready to leave so that he could personally escort us down. We would let him know when we were ready, but we had a later flight out of Miami so we weren’t in any rush to leave.  As the morning slowly moved on, another classic Florida sunshower washes over the port, so we skipped going up to the grill for a last breakfast. When we were getting closer to the final call for disembarkation, we had one of the other butlers let Nyoman know we were ready, said our goodbyes to Nithin, then got our things and followed Nyoman out of the lounge. We also wanted to say thanks and bye to Juan, but he was busy with another guest, so we just waved. In the lobby, Nyoman gets an elevator, but he didn’t use the magic priority trick. I asked him about it, and he hadn’t been informed. We all laughed about it, but said now that he knows he will use it in the future. He takes us down to deck 8 and walks us right up to the front of the line. We said our goodbyes to him, wished him the best for his contract since this was only his second week, and finally we made the sad walk down the gangway.  

 

Gathering luggage was quite the debacle. We were told our luggage would be out by the YC tent after customs, but watched as we passed each number and spotted our 2 bags. We snagged them quickly and got in line for customs. That ran relatively smoothly and only took about 10 minutes. There was a couple of B2B in front of us just trying to go out and see Miami that didn’t understand the process of having to go through customs regardless of their B2B status. But they got that figured out quickly. Once we were out in the wild of the terminal, it was chaos. People were strewn about and the rain was still coming down, so walking through to the taxi line was insane as everyone huddled under the cover. We opted for a taxi to the airport as we did not preorder an Uber or anything and it was a flat $27 to get there from the port. As we pulled away, we made our final sad bye bye waves to the Seashore. And that was the end of our adventure aboard the MSC Seashore.

 

Now, in case you can’t tell the writing style has taken quite the dive. Shane had to leave for work and Macon was tasked to take over… Yikes. Shane is the wordsmith even though Macon is the English teacher, but she is going to try her darnedest to get the best Final Thoughts out there. 

 

Ultimately, we enjoy and love MSC. It has become our preferred cruise line when we are faced with making a choice. The effortless elegance, aroma, coffee, and atmosphere is what sets MSC apart and the Seashore did not disappoint. Even though it has been 3 years between our MSC cruises, it has solidified why we enjoy the brand so much. We do realize our lavish decisions to stay in the spoiled confines of YC help to elevate that love, but even when we are out and about the ship we have the best time. The food, albeit always subjective, could have some improvement, but there’s never a shortage of food on a cruise ship so it didn’t make that much of a negative impact. We aren’t entertainment people really, so we never go to see the shows. Off the Record, On the Rocks in Le Cabaret Rogue is absolutely spectacular and we recommend you take a chance to go see them when they play. It’s such a lively environment and you can tell the band loves what they do. We enjoyed our time exponentially and can’t wait to get back onboard another MSC ship. This time it’ll be the MSC Seascape over the New Year! Be on the lookout for that review next. 

 

That about sums it all up, but we love questions so feel free to ask! Hope you’ve enjoyed the review and that it helps you to enjoy your own time on the Seashore. Until next time, we will MSC you soon!

 

-Macon and Shane

 

P.S. Macon here - I suck at adding photos… SO there will probably not be any posted. Sorry y’all!

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

17 minutes ago, stp_mmh5 said:

Seashore Disembarkation and Final Thoughts.

 

So for the first time this whole trip, I am not up well before the sun. I managed to sleep in till about 6am this morning, which is the latest. I didn’t check the time until after I came back in from the balcony, after watching the Explorer of the Seas slide past us. We then got ready for the morning and gathered the last of our things.  As we closed the door to the room, Heru came around the corner, and we thanked him for his great service and wished him well, then headed up to the lounge.  Nithin already had two lattes for us it seems, as he had them down shortly after we grabbed seats at the bar. Nyoman was already in the lounge and swung around with a fruit tart and chocolate twist. He asked us to let him know personally when we were ready to leave so that he could personally escort us down. We would let him know when we were ready, but we had a later flight out of Miami so we weren’t in any rush to leave.  As the morning slowly moved on, another classic Florida sunshower washes over the port, so we skipped going up to the grill for a last breakfast. When we were getting closer to the final call for disembarkation, we had one of the other butlers let Nyoman know we were ready, said our goodbyes to Nithin, then got our things and followed Nyoman out of the lounge. We also wanted to say thanks and bye to Juan, but he was busy with another guest, so we just waved. In the lobby, Nyoman gets an elevator, but he didn’t use the magic priority trick. I asked him about it, and he hadn’t been informed. We all laughed about it, but said now that he knows he will use it in the future. He takes us down to deck 8 and walks us right up to the front of the line. We said our goodbyes to him, wished him the best for his contract since this was only his second week, and finally we made the sad walk down the gangway.  

 

Gathering luggage was quite the debacle. We were told our luggage would be out by the YC tent after customs, but watched as we passed each number and spotted our 2 bags. We snagged them quickly and got in line for customs. That ran relatively smoothly and only took about 10 minutes. There was a couple of B2B in front of us just trying to go out and see Miami that didn’t understand the process of having to go through customs regardless of their B2B status. But they got that figured out quickly. Once we were out in the wild of the terminal, it was chaos. People were strewn about and the rain was still coming down, so walking through to the taxi line was insane as everyone huddled under the cover. We opted for a taxi to the airport as we did not preorder an Uber or anything and it was a flat $27 to get there from the port. As we pulled away, we made our final sad bye bye waves to the Seashore. And that was the end of our adventure aboard the MSC Seashore.

 

Now, in case you can’t tell the writing style has taken quite the dive. Shane had to leave for work and Macon was tasked to take over… Yikes. Shane is the wordsmith even though Macon is the English teacher, but she is going to try her darnedest to get the best Final Thoughts out there. 

 

Ultimately, we enjoy and love MSC. It has become our preferred cruise line when we are faced with making a choice. The effortless elegance, aroma, coffee, and atmosphere is what sets MSC apart and the Seashore did not disappoint. Even though it has been 3 years between our MSC cruises, it has solidified why we enjoy the brand so much. We do realize our lavish decisions to stay in the spoiled confines of YC help to elevate that love, but even when we are out and about the ship we have the best time. The food, albeit always subjective, could have some improvement, but there’s never a shortage of food on a cruise ship so it didn’t make that much of a negative impact. We aren’t entertainment people really, so we never go to see the shows. Off the Record, On the Rocks in Le Cabaret Rogue is absolutely spectacular and we recommend you take a chance to go see them when they play. It’s such a lively environment and you can tell the band loves what they do. We enjoyed our time exponentially and can’t wait to get back onboard another MSC ship. This time it’ll be the MSC Seascape over the New Year! Be on the lookout for that review next. 

 

That about sums it all up, but we love questions so feel free to ask! Hope you’ve enjoyed the review and that it helps you to enjoy your own time on the Seashore. Until next time, we will MSC you soon!

 

-Macon and Shane

 

P.S. Macon here - I suck at adding photos… SO there will probably not be any posted. Sorry y’all!

I always wake up early too except that last day. Lol. Definitely enjoyed the review and we go on Seascape on the 18th of Dec. I think you guys are right behind us. I'll wave to you. 😂

[CruiseIreland]

Loved your trip report. I hope you will report on your Seascape cruise in 2023. Ken 

[frank808]

On 11/8/2022 at 12:51 PM, stp_mmh5 said:

The YC priority elevators are the ones at the very front. The wristbands do not work and so you will have to use your card for them.

OK thanks. Never carried the cards on ship. Tried with wristbands and they did not work so thought priority service was not activated. The wristbands worked on Seaside and wanted to see if it worked on Seashore. Figured if wristbands did not work the cards would not work since it is just a RFID in the cards and wristbands.

 

Will try it on Seashore if we get to board her again.

[Bgwest]

Thank you for taking the time to post such a superb review!!