New Ship, New Status, and a New Year. Seascape New Years Cruise 22-23

[stp_mmh5]

We had been wanting to do a New Year cruise for quite a while, and the timing finally worked out for us. We also have a Yacht Club addiction, and we made sure that we were able to once again experience what is probably the best mass market suite life again.

 

After our Seashore trip in October, I finally earned enough points to make Diamond status, so this will be the first trip to experience the new benefits that come with that. I did “cheat” a little bit by status matching into silver back when we first started cruising with MSC. Macon, on the other hand, should earn Diamond after this trip naturally, starting with 0 points all the way to 9999. Not bad for 5 cruises with MSC, 4 of which in Yacht Club.

 

That said, here is a quick summary of the cruise, before we get into the novellas.

 

Cons:
-Terminal C boarding. Even with YC and arriving well after general boarding had begun, it’s still less efficient than it should be.
- “Smart” elevators. Slow, inconsistent, and the “VIP/Priority” function is more of a miss than a hit.
- Lack of night light in the cabin bathroom. I know this is something we can easily rectify ourselves, but we recall that on our Seashore cruise there was at least a very dim light that would be on in the bathroom when all other lights were off.
- Buffet hours were not in line with what was published in the daily planner. Multiple times we would go up to the buffet to get pizza/dessert and the buffet would be slammed packed, but closing early. On NYE, the buffet was completely closed nearly an hour earlier than published. Many upset guests walked around up there.

-Lack of certain food items that we generally associate with MSC. There was no Panna Cotta available except on two occasions, no chocolate twist pastries at breakfast, focaccia was rarely a bread option at dinner, and few other minor things.
- Our Butler was invisible the first two or three days and by time we started to get to know him, it was the end of the cruise. Not that we feel we utilize all that the butler can do, but after an amazing experience with Nyoman on Seashore, we just felt that his presence was lackluster.
-Communication from the butler staff about events in the YC. Oftentimes we would find out about deck events or other going-ons in the YC from fellow guests or just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The later events, such as the second seafood buffet and New Years party were better talked about, but still not as well informed as we were on the Seashore.
-Inventory of bar items. Not necessarily items missing from the ship completely, but more so that some bars would be well stocked on some items, and other bars had none. An example would be the Cocktail bar on deck 8 and the YC pool deck had Woodford Reserve, but the YC lounge did not. Another one was that the Ocean Cay restaurant had bottles of Cartizze Prosecco, whereas the Wine Bar advertised, but had none on hand and was told there was none onboard at all.
-Dining service was hit or miss. Not wholly on the staff, as it seemed that the larger groups cruising together all liked to arrive at the same time, but even when there weren't large groups there, it could be an odd delay between seating, greeting and ordering. It seemed as if everyone was still figuring out their sections, or that the sections would be fluid. I’m not sure that we ever truly knew who was in what section while sitting. Sure made requesting a particular individual more interesting.
-Thermal Spa was not frequently looked after. Oftentimes there was standing water on the floor and numerous used towels left all over the place. Infrequently would a spa staff member come through to police up towels, the standing water, trash by the water point, etc. 
-A nitpick on the design of the spa itself is that there is a lack of towels available in the spa itself. Going back to the changing rooms to get fresh towels if needed is a minor inconvenience. Most other thermal spas we have been to always keep a stash of towels within the thermal area itself. 
-Disembarkation was unorganized, primarily in the terminal, (Not MSC’s fault) but also within the YC lounge. Whereas on Seashore there was always a butler organizing groups and facilitating escorts, that did not happen this time. We eventually just tagged along with another group that formed at concierge when we decided to just wing it ourselves.

 

Observations:
-Minor rearrangement of the Casino. Nothing big, but the coin pusher game got moved into a corner on the opposite side of where it was on Seashore, and a few different slot machine groupings.
- Smokiness of the Casino. It never seemed like there was a huge amount of people in the casino actively smoking, but the smell of it was greater than what we recall on Seashore.
-Design of the ship. There isn’t really a good flow to the movement around the ship. This is definitely just an opinion of ours, but seems to work for MSC and the shipyard, as it was good enough to build 4 of them. We aren’t big fans of winding interiors with random dead ends. Also an observation we had with both Seashore/Seascape and Carnival Mardi Gras earlier this year was the noticeable slopes in the decks, usually midship moving forward and aft. Clearly not a naval architect/engineer, but it just seems to us they could have designed it with more level decks in mind.
-Overall YC service. This trip we never really felt that we were overlooked or missed, but that the interactions were more mechanical in a way. If I had to guess, it would be that with the number of passengers onboard this trip versus Seashore meant that getting some of the more personal or one-on-one interactions were few and far between. We also did not perceive any favoritism to any particular group of passengers this trip, although we did hear of a few instances of that.
-The behind the scenes tour. Not well communicated as far as timeline for those doing the bridge and engine control room portions, but that was apparently a hold-up from those locations on their availability. Interesting that the tour is split over two days if you do the full ship, with the bridge and ECR conducted on a port day, and everything else at sea. Also a disappointment that photography is completely restricted. I completely understand not allowing photos of secure areas such as the bridge and ECR, but all the other stuff should be fine, right? 
-The volume of the elevator in the YC is pretty loud. It’s probably the same volume as the main elevators, but with the openness of the decks and the echo, it just seems a little louder than needed. Not a huge problem to us, but I feel for the concierge desk who has to listen to that all day, everyday.

 

Pros:
-Med By MSC. It would not be one of our reviews without any sort of mention of MSC’s signature scent. We aren’t the only ones, as a fellow passenger in the shops was also stockpiling on room diffusers when we went to get ours.
-YC dining room. By far the food quality was much better than our experience on Seashore. This trip we had maybe two dishes that we found subpar.
-Veterans meet and greet. Great for anyone who serves/served. Hosted this time by a member of the hotel department who was a Navy veteran. Best cake on the ship hands down. It is absolutely the reason why I keep getting volunteered to go.
- The flavored chips available in the YC lounge were delicious. We meant to get the name of the brand used and forgot, but so worth it. Only downside was needing to specifically ask for chips, they were never placed out on the little snack bar.
-Seafood buffets on the YC pool deck during the sea days. Great food and experience. A full YC meant having to wait a little longer when it first opened up, but worth it.
-Afternoon tea in the YC. In a major change from our other experiences, afternoon tea was held as a special event in the dining room on the last sea day. It made it that much more special.
-Ocean Cay seafood restaurant onboard was fantastic! We had that in Nassau as the Diamond free specialty restaurant meal. By far the best dessert onboard with the crème brulee.  
-Special shout-outs to some of the amazing crew we got to know and interact with throughout the trip. Ryan at the Cocktail Bar on 8. He was a one man show, running what seemed like the busiest bar on the ship with guests coming up and all of the specialty dining rooms. Also his bar has the most unique choice of drinks on the ship. Karina in the YC dining room. We got her one night by chance, and she did such a great job and was so much fun that we would purposefully seek her out for dinner, and go see her up on the pool deck for breakfast. Luciano at the YC lounge bar. He makes a mean macchiato and we had a blast challenging him with random drink recipes from a deck of cards. He has those cards now, so definitely go see him and ask him for a random drink card. Daniel and Arnold in the lounge were always welcoming and great to talk to. James, a butler we recognized from our trip on the Seashore, would always greet us and we would enjoy quick conversations with him anytime we ran into him. Finally, the YC Director Robbie Sheriffs. He was always present and very engaging. Despite a challenging couple of weeks, he still had a positive outlook and managed his team very well.

 

That should be the quick summary of our lows and highs. Now onto the details for those that prefer the in depth stories.

 

Pre-Cruise & Boarding Day:

We had originally booked this trip much earlier in the year in the Yacht Club Interior room on deck 16. Around the time we did a last minute booking for Seashore in October, a potential third person was possibly wanting to join us for the holidays. Well since the YINs can only hold 2 people and a YC1 was well out of budget at this point, we changed our room back down to a Fantastica Balcony.  Well wouldn’t you know it, our other guest had their plans changed and would be unable to make it this year. So now we were on the hunt for a Yacht Club room. The Upgrade program email came and we dropped our bids for the YIN and a YC1.  While hopeful that we could be lucky with a second upgrade this year, we felt that the odds would be against us as it was looking to be a fully booked cruise, so we kept a watchful eye to see if any YINs would open up in the booking engine.  Sure enough, two opened up and quickly snatched one of them, for about the same price difference as the upgrade offer was.  Once we had our new confirmation showing Yacht Club, we started the happy countdown until school was out and the trip to Miami to enjoy another fabulous week.

 

What we didn't catch at first was that our room assigned was the opposite of what we selected. The two rooms available at the time were one on deck 18 and the accessible cabin on 19.  Looking over the documents a few days later, I noticed that it showed we would be in 19038, when we selected the room on deck 18. Since we would not need the extra space, we checked constantly to see if another YIN would open up so that we could free up that accessible room. One never did the entire time, so it looks like we get what we get.

 

Fast forward to the day before cruise day. We had gone to Kansas to see family for Christmas, and had decided to take a later in the day flight on Christmas day to Miami so that we could maximize time with them and still get in with plenty of time to catch the ship. We factored in weather potentials, so even picked our flights to purposefully connect through locations less susceptible to winter weather. What we hadn’t factored in when booking the flights was the fiasco that became Southwest crew scheduling during the holidays. Our flight from Kansas City was already delayed when we arrived at the airport 3 hours early. We then stood in a 5 plus hour long line to get our flights updated. Luckily (?) our flight kept getting more and more delayed, but our connecting flight to Miami was no longer being delayed. By the time we got to the customer service agent, we would arrive in Atlanta approximately 2 hours after the Atlanta to Miami flight departed. There was also no way Southwest could guarantee our arrival anywhere in South Florida in time for the cruise. So we decided to terminate our trip in Atlanta, and rebooked with Delta to Melbourne, FL. We arrived in Atlanta at 2am. We had about 6 hours to kill, so we exited the terminal, rechecked our bags, went back through TSA, and then found a Minute Suites. We used our free hour from Priority Pass/AMEX Platinum, then went to our gate to wait for a flight to Melbourne. After a relatively uneventful flight, we picked up a rental car with Avis, then high-tailed it down I95 to the closest turn in point to the Miami port. We lucked out, as the shuttle to the port was just loading up as we pulled up. So we hopped in with a group going on Freedom of the Seas and then we were off. Turns out, there was a massive boarding delay for Seascape, so by the time we arrived at 130ish we didn’t feel like we were going to miss anything onboard.

 

Embarkation at Terminal C just outright sucks. I don’t blame MSC or the shore staff specifically, but the overall design of the building makes me feel as if it was not designed with the expedient boarding of 5000+ passengers in mind, nor was a dedicated space for suite guests in the forefront of planning. When we arrived, there was only one porter at the white tents, working hard while enjoying his cigar. We left our two bags with him and then walked up to the terminal, where some of the shore staff escorted us to the little YC check-in room. Even at nearly 2pm, the room was still full of groups checking in, and only 2 people working through everyone. We found some seats close to the desk, and a third gentleman who was trying to organize everything took our names to find our room keys. Due to all the travel issues, we didn’t have our printed check in forms, which he said would not be an issue. So we sat down and waited, just glad to have made it to the port. And we waited, and waited some more, for almost an hour. By this time I realized some other groups had come after us had been whisked away to the ship already and we were still waiting. Eventually we asked someone what was going on and they realized that they kind of forgot about us. They quickly apologized and processed us on the spot. Before we knew it, we had key cards and wristbands. We didn’t know whose wristband was whose as both our key cards fell out of the sleeves at the table where they keep all of them, so we just winged it. The YC director was the one to pick us and another group up and escorted us all the way up to the YC holding area. We got a quick prosecco there, waited for another two families to join, and then all of us followed a butler onto the ship. With general boarding ongoing and only one gangway on to the ship, it was slow moving. The butler did his best to keep us moving and bypassing most of the line. At some point, another group joined us and the butler had counted them as part of his flock, so he was confused as to where they had gone once we got onboard. Well, turns out they weren’t YC guests, but had benefited from the speedy embarkation. We all got a laugh at that, then headed to the forward elevators to zip up to the YC enclave. I gave a quick test of the priority system here, and noticed it seemed to work differently than the one on Seashore, but that it did register the priority function.

 

After arrival into the lounge, we sat down to get our welcome aboard drinks and finally shake off the last 36 hours of travel stress. At that time, our stomachs reminded us that we had not eaten anything substantial in that time as well, so we tried to go to the restaurant for lunch. However they already closed the service. Understandable, they have to stick to the schedule, but had been hopeful that may have adjusted for the delayed boarding. We planned on going to the pool deck then, but the restaurant crew informed us that the grill was also closed due to the rain and wind on the deck. Bummer. (And what gives, this is 3 for 4 cruises this year for us where it had rained on embarkation day.) So we decided to brave the masses and head to the buffet for lunch.

 

What a cluster that is. To be expected though, it was the only food option available at close to 3 pm. We only skirt along the closest line to the Jungle pool, as the madhouse further aft just wasn’t worth it to us. We did get some great options though. Fresh pizza, Bigoli all'Anatra (a star shaped pasta with duck ragout, a fantastic dish in the Veneto region of Italy), some Hungarian beef stroganoff, mashed taters, fruit, etc.  With two full plates and no tables available, we walk back to the YC lounge to grab a seat there. As we settle in, we meet Arnold, who is one the butlers assigned to lounge. He brings us two drinks, something sweet and something sour to go with the lunch we grabbed. With our lunch now complete, we decided to go up to our room. When we first boarded, there was someone asking guests to check in with him when they were ready to go to their rooms, so that 1. They could make sure the rooms were ready, 2. Call down their butler or junior butler to bring them up and introduce themselves.  Well when we were ready, that person was no longer there, so we just ventured up to 19 and settled into our cabin, 19038.  

 

First impression of the room is that it is huge and looks great. The room itself felt as big as our YC1 balcony on Seashore, but without the obvious benefit of having a balcony. We then did the plop test on the bed, and…..it was a decent plop. It seemed firmer than the bed on Seashore, like it was of cushy foam block instead of feeling like clouds. Far more comfortable than some other beds I slept on this year, so no real complaints.  One of our suitcases was already waiting for us when we arrived, so took advantage of that and started unpacking. As I finished that up and got refreshed, it was time to start the muster drill. Gene Young, the CD did his announcements over the intercom getting people to head back to their rooms. This was a nearly 10 min long process, as it seems some fellow guests just wanted to hang out in the closed bars. Whether that was the actual case or not, I’ll never know but that is what he was saying over the intercom. Eventually he gave the go-ahead to watch the video in the cabin and to call the number to register the call. He also mentioned that they would release by deck, and not to head down early, as not to create any bottlenecks in the stairways. Well, we heard that as we were already committed to the stairs. Whoops, but at least we beat the crowds. I gave the priority elevator a shot, and it wasn’t any faster coming than a standard elevator. But it did blast us back to 19 without any stops.

When we got back to the cabin, our other bag had arrived. We brought that one in and unpacked it as well.  We felt that somehow we had less storage space this time in the hanging closet and shelf space than we did in the Seashore room, despite the layout of it being nearly the same. Then again, we did have two hanging closets on Seashore, so that probably has a lot to do with it. Macon took the opportunity to get refreshed as well and we got ready for the evening activities. On our way out the door to get pre-dinner drinks, we met Agus, our butler for this trip.  We did the introductions and had mentioned we had experienced the YC before. He asked us if we had any preferences for the mini bar, our usual preferred dinner time and what our plans for the evening were. We told him usually leave around 7 for dinner, but that we usually get pre-dinner drinks first, we aren’t really show people so no major plans for the evening, and we drink Acqua Panna water like it’s, well, water. Macon loves that particular brand of water like no other, and she will easily finish the little bottles and the big bottle before lunch. I also asked if they had any Pilsner Urquell available, if he could put some in the fridge. We also gave him the newspaper request, as we missed out on it last time.

 

After Agus leaves, we head down to the lounge to get our pre-dinner drinks. It is busy down here, and it was the first time we realized that this would be a completely full YC experience. So we decided early on that we needed to make friends with the bartenders, so we pulled up some seats at the bar. We ordered some of our usual drinks and just took it all in, still trying to shake off all the travel stress.  Finally our stomachs reminded us that it was dinner, so we headed upstairs before the masses did, only to find a dining room that was already quickly filling up. While service may be a little slower and a little less personal than previous experiences, we think that the food itself was much better than what it was on the Seashore. So we will take the wins where it matters.  The only thing we did not enjoy tonight was the crema catalana dessert. Seemed like the base part of it wasn’t fully set and the caramel sauce on top was almost bitter. But everything else was amazing so we call that a win.

 

After dinner, we went down to the lounge again for some post dinner drinks and to listen to the musician playing. Of note, we noticed that while we could hear the music coming up during dinner, it did not seem as loud as it had on Seashore. Either it’s better set on Seascape, or the overall volume in the dining room helped balance it out. After one or two drinks, all of the travel shenanigans and the lack of sleep that came with it was catching us very quickly. So we decided to do a quick detour to the sports bar in the search for Ramazzotti Rosato Aperitivo before we then headed up to the cabin and called it an early night.  On the way into the room, we met the junior butler, Eder. He was still helping carry up the last of the bags and looked exhausted. He just wanted to introduce himself and asked about our schedule and whether we needed anything else in the room. We said so far everything is great, but would let him know if anything came up. From there, we bid him a goodnight and then got settled in and fell asleep hard.

 

That sums up our first day onboard the new and shiny Seascape. Great first impressions and we are looking forward to everything this ship has to offer.

 

Many hours late, but at least our chariot to Atlanta has arrived. Much better late than never in this case.

 

On arrival into Melbourne we got ourselves a little cruise day jitter boost by seeing all these ships in port. Too bad Seascape wasn't up here.

 

We finally make it on and the natural first stop is the snack bar to see what goodies are out.

 

Might as well take a look around while we are here

 

Still decorated for the holidays. Makes this day all that much more festive then.

 

I swear every time I leave Miami it is always raining at some part of the day.

 

Quick cabin tour of 19038. An accessible Yacht Club Interior stateroom. From the entryway.

 

Now looking towards the entry way.

All the storage space.

 

The bathroom.

 

With a flat entry to both the bathroom and shower, and an easy to lower bench for those that need it.

 

Freedom of the Seas sailing off into the rain. We hope that our fellow Southwest passengers who were supposed to board her made it. 

 

Miami has a pretty picturesque downtown.

 

Real close to the scheduled sail away time and we are still loading luggage. I cant remember how delayed our departure was.

 

One last look at downtown before dinner.

 

Speaking of, here was the menu for the night. Same menus as Seashore back in October, just a different order in which they came.

 

Desserts for those who have a sweet tooth.

 

Roasted tomato soup with the best bread at sea.

 

Delicious scallops

 

Very, very good dumplings.

 

Nothing beats fresh pasta.

 

Except this perfectly cooked filet.

 

The tuna was a real close contender though. Put a little salt flake on there for texture and it's molto bene as the Italians would say.

 

And here's where dinner lost us, dessert. I wasn't a fan of the coconut textures in this cake.

 

And a very disappointing Crema Catalana. I know we could have asked for something else, but we were quite content from dinner and decided to let it be.

 

From our very short foray into the action after dinner. A nicely decorated main atrium.

 

And the top of the Times Square atrium.

 

I like the subtle differences of decoration between Seashore and Seascape.

 

And we'll end with a look down at the dueling pianos from deck 8.

[stp_mmh5]

Here I go again with the long stretches between postings. I promise it is not intentional, I just tend to let life get in the way. Anyways, on to the review..

 

Rain, rain, rain, go away. It's Ocean Cay day…

 

In a departure of my slumber habits on Seashore, I did not awaken at an ungodly hour but at the minor vibration of the bow thrusters kicking on. I knew that meant that we were on approach to Ocean Cay so I got up and headed on out to the Aurea deck to watch our arrival. Normally I would have gone up to deck 20 or the outside seating area on 16, but the Aurea area is right there by the cabin, so it made the most sense to my non-caffeinated mind. I decided that the better view would actually be all the way at the back at the Bridge of Sighs, so I made the trek back there. I took a second to check out the main pool area and the Robotron since it was all lit up and not another person on deck. I made it to the back in time to watch the longshoremen catch the first of the mooring lines and watched as we just slowly docked. Once the lines were tight, I figured now was a good time to get Macon out of bed and get some coffee. One of the minor issues I have with this class of ship is that I am not a fan of not having a continuous top deck. I know I could have zipped straight across and up two decks if I had taken 16 all the way, but the weather was still fair enough that I wanted to enjoy the fresh air, so I took the zigging (no zagging, as everything was at least up) stairs and path back to the Aurea Top 19 door. Here I tested my luck that the door would open for me, as on Seashore I was never able to get to the YC area through the Aurea sundeck. I had success this time, so thankfully no backtracking this time. As I was walking up to the hallway door, I saw a gentleman who was out exploring as well take the crew only stairs that led up to the YC sundeck. He was quickly rerouted by the YC deck attendants setting up all the loungers and watched him come back down and looked upset that he was turned around. Well, maybe he shouldn’t access areas he probably didn’t have access to by using stairs he wasn’t supposed to use.

Once back in the cabin, Macon was patiently waiting for my return so we could get some nectar of the mind. We head into the lounge and secure one of the front window seats. I walk up to the snack bar to see what was out, and Luciano asks what coffee we would like. I asked for a pair of lattes and he said they will be brought over to us. I thank him and then grab some of the light breakfast treats. They had my favorites, the little fruit tarts, but they didn’t have any of the chocolate twists that Macon loves. We slowly finish up the first round of coffees and then we are offered a second one, which we accept.  Fellow passengers start to trickle into the lounge, so we figured it’s probably a good time to get some breakfast in before the masses arrive. Normally we prefer to grab something to eat from the sun deck, but the weather today was clearly not going to cooperate. It had rained already and the temperature had dropped noticeably compared to when I was out on the Bridge of Sighs. Breakfast in the restaurant was good. Macon went with an omelet with some smoked salmon and toast and I had the express breakfast. It came out quickly and was very good.  From there we decided to head down to the thermal spa when it opened, as we knew that there was no real reason to rush off the ship today. We spent about an hour or so there, mostly relaxing in the salt room.  We then got changed in preparation for heading out towards Ocean House for lunch. With a little time to kill still and the weather not having vastly improved, we decided to just walk around the ship and see what was open. Overall, the ship felt very empty, with not much open and not many guests wandering around. Macon did stop at the specialty restaurant desk and asked about the all you can eat sushi special. They confirmed that they would be doing during the first sea day and she immediately signed us up for it. Since it was almost 11 now, we made our way off the ship and to the YC shuttle tent area.  The rain had at least stopped, but the wind was still chilly. Seems that the winter weather was not ready to release us from its grip.  We didn’t have to wait long before the shuttle arrived. Since there was a larger group all heading out, they commandeered a larger shuttle. It was a pretty quick ride out, and we were at Ocean House with still about 30ish mins to go before lunch would be ready. So we scouted out a table to sit, hoping to get the same one as last time. That table was already taken, as were all the others in the lanai area, so we grabbed one of the outside tables between two palms. Our junior waiter from dinner last night took our drink orders. As we were sitting there, the wind started to kick up and another light band of rain started to move across the island. We took cover in the lanai by the entrance. We made the mistake of going inside, where it was very crowded. So we just dropped off our empty glasses and went back outside.  Luckily the rain passed quickly and lunch was starting to be delivered so we reclaimed our table in the palms.  Another waiter, Jerome, came out to take our food orders, and we got the crab ceviche and the mahi mahi. After getting just about everything last time, we kept it easy and only got our favorites. Luckily the rain stayed away throughout the course of lunch, but the wind was still there.  We skipped dessert and decided to time ourselves on a walk to the Lighthouse.

Not an exact time, but it was about 17ish mins from Ocean House to the Lighthouse. I estimate that, as we stopped at the rocky outcrops/sunset beach near the lighthouse for pictures and were entertained by the way the waves would race through some of the channels. We took a look at the bar menus, hoping to see if they had any unique drink options. They didn’t have any from what we could tell, so we continued our walk along the paths back to the ship. This brings me to the only improvement that I hope MSC makes to Ocean Cay, and that is they find a way to redo the paths to better separate pedestrians from the carts. Not sure how they would be able to do it without tearing up everything they already have, but it certainly would be nice in my book. 

Getting back on the ship was easy enough, and we made a direct path to the lounge. We spent a majority of the afternoon here just reading. We got up around 4 to see if the ship was a little more lively yet and to go check out trivia in the Uptown lounge. We did better than expected in trivia, but not well enough to win ourselves a coveted lanyard and MSC pen. From there we continued our aimless explorations, stopping in the wine cellar. They had a special for the holidays, and on the list was a bottle of Cartizze Prosecco, which is the best of the best when it comes to prosecco, and something we haven’t seen available outside of the Valdobbiadene valley in Italy. A staff member came over to us and invited us to get a closer look of all the options behind the glass so we obliged. We saw a few familiar favorites and a few we might consider trying, but we didn’t see the Cartizze. We asked about it after we came out the otherside, and the gentleman explained that they had not received any in Miami. Well, that was a huge bummer to us, as we were planning on buying multiple bottles of it to enjoy on the cruise and to take some home afterwards. Disappointed, we decided not to get any of the other wines we saw, but would consider it later in the trip. From there we went to the sports bar to see if they had a schedule published of what games they would be showing, but there wasn’t one available. With that, we returned to our room to get ready for the evening.

We started our evening in the lounge, choosing to sit up at the bar. Luciano was still on and asked what we would like. Macon wanted her backup as usual, an Aperol spritz as there was no Ramazzotti Rosato onboard to make her usual go to the Rosato Mio. I wanted something completely different, but wanted to be surprised. So I brought a deck of cards from home that have a bunch of different drink recipes on them, and had Luciano pick one. If he had the means to make it, that is what I would like. He seemed very intrigued by the challenge, and was able to make the first card no problem. I don’t remember which one I got, but it was very good. The two pre-dinner drinks went down super quick and we realized that we were super hungry, so we decided to head up to dinner early. We were on a streak of where we would sit, without really requesting it between Seashore and Seascape. We seem to always get seated along the railing overlooking the lounge just above the bar area, and tonight was no different. Dinner service was great, especially considering that shortly after our arrival, multiple large groups all arrived at the same time, filling up the restaurant quickly. Not too much on the menu appealed to us, but we both were craving the filet based on how good it was the night prior. It did not disappoint, nor did the pasta of the night. Macon also got the chocolate souffle, which was fantastic. Note to others, if the souffle is on the menu and you want it, it is best to order it when you order the main meal, so that they can submit it the order to the kitchen while your main course is finishing up, as it is freshly made and takes about 20 mins or so to bake. We finish up dinner with a pair of macchiatos and head off to see what is going on in the ship. 

We intended to make our way to Le Cabaret Rouge to see what the new entertainment was like, but got happily distracted along the way by our drink stop at the cocktail bar by the specialty restaurants. We recalled from the Seashore that this bar has the most unique menu onboard the entire ship, so we dropped in to see if we could find some new favorites. We first noticed that this bar is super busy, and the lone bartender is moving and grooving behind the bar. We snag some seats and take a look at the menu. After finally choosing, the bartender Ryan quickly whips them up. Again, I don’t remember exactly what we ordered, but it was so good that we stayed for another round. Even though he was working hard and busy, Ryan still made it a point to interact with everyone up at the bar and was super entertaining. Once we got comfortable we decided to stay until we noticed that one of the cocktail servers started to pull down bottles from the shelves. Apparently, the cocktail bar is only open until 10. So after closing down the bar and saying goodnight to Ryan and a group we made friends with, we decided to head back to the lounge, get a nightcap, and call it a night. Since we didn’t make it to La Cabaret that night, we figured we would just have to go another night.

 

The first look at Ocean Cay with the reflection of the funnel

 

I don't know if Seashore's slides were also lit up with colors or not, but thought it was cool.

 

The lighthouse without the ships reflection. 

 

Robotron area lit up, but still covered. This seems like it could be fun, but the weather would not be ideal for it today.

 

Slowing down so that we can dock

 

Pretty sure I took a similar picture on Seashore, just at night proper. Not in the early-ish morning.

 

The MSC express breakfast with sausage, bacon, hash browns, mushrooms and eggs

 

Omelet and the smoked salmon appetizer. Not pictured is the toast we had.

 

 One of the holiday displays, this one was on the Atrium bar on deck 5.

 

A more close up view. Macon loved all the penguins going down the waterfall.

 

In an IT improvement, at least they have the right ship displayed on the screens. On Seashore they had the Virtuosa displayed.

 

Love sitting in the rear facing row on the carts, I feel they provide the best views of the island as you drive around.

 

Our view at lunch at Ocean House. Even though it was cooler and rainy, still beats the snowy view we had just days prior.

 

Ocean Cay is very photographic and my phone is loaded with random island photos.

 

Ocean Cay, with Ocean House, the YC Beach, and the Seascape off in the distance

 

Crab ceviche. We could eat this as a meal in itself. Just make it with a salad of the corn chips.

 

The Mahi was very good as expected.

 

Love the color of the water here.

 

This was by the Sunset beach/Lighthouse area. Just a little sandy spot between the rocks.

 

Spent at least 10 mins here just watching the water race up and splash in this little channel.

 

Or this channel. Very relaxing 

 

 

and splooosh! This was little one. Sometimes a bigger wave would come, making where I was standing a splash zone.

 

Skipping way ahead to dinner, the Vitello Tonnato.

 

The lemon scented creamy oyster risotto. Second best risotto we had this trip.

 

Paccheri pasta in a pesto with cured speck. Excellent choice.

 

We both had perfectly cooked filets.

 

Arroz con leche. Refreshing and light.

 

The chocolate soufflé. Amazing. Worth the wait if you forget to pre-order it.

 

And that is all for our day at Ocean Cay. Not quite as fun as the last time we were here, but there is only so much you can do when the weather doesn’t want to cooperate most of the day. The sun eventually came out towards the end of the day, but by then it was too late to really enjoy it. Also to the best of my memory, there was not a lighthouse show this time, nor was one listed in the daily planner. Not a huge loss to us, but it was interesting. 

 

As always, MSC you in the next installment.....

[stp_mmh5]

All you can sea day

 

Seems I have lost my notes and memory of the day, so knowing us it probably went something like this: Get up whenever and get coffee from the lounge. Hang out there until breakfast on the pool deck. From there, wander around the ship. At some point in time we went to the thermal spa.  Today was the Officer meet and greet in the YC lounge, so we went to that. Following that event, it was all you can eat sushi down at the sushi bar. Definitely the highlight of the day, and even better than last time. We really appreciate the amount of nigiri and sashimi that is available during the service and how thick the slices of fish are. Really felt like we got our money's worth with it.  Afterwards, we saw Ryan at the cocktail bar and was able to chat him up a little more as it was much quieter this time. He has been working as a bartender on ships for almost 20 years, and came to MSC from Royal. After our drinks and Ryan closing the bar for the lunch service, we went back up to the YC sundeck to soak up some of that good sunshine pouring down.  At some point, I went through what was left of the first seafood extravaganza buffet.  There wasn’t much seafood left, but they had some fresh shrimp put out and that was amazing. As was the carved beef they had out. We stayed up on deck for most of the afternoon just relaxing.  

 

As the evening started to roll around, we went down to the cabin and got ready for Gala night. On the way out of the cabin we bumped into Eder, who wanted to know how things were going and if there was anything else he could do to make our experience better. We said everything was great so far, but if we could have a few extra of the Acqua Panna waters, that would be great. We then went down to the bar and then I challenged Luciano with another drink card. At this point, a few of the other lounge staff were taking notice of the cards and became very intrigued by the concept of it and if Luciano could make it. Macon stuck to her usual and I enjoyed whatever random drink that I had of the night. Future me should remember to take pictures of the card with the drink. For dinner, we walked up to the dining room right around 7 and saw that they were already very busy. Not a problem for us, and again we sat near the railing, so we were able to watch the lounge activity and listen to the live music. Continuing with our seafood theme, we had the surf and turf for dinner. We skipped out on dessert, as we weren’t feeling sweets tonight. We also wanted to go explore the ship and see what all was going on.  Once again, we ended up at the cocktail bar and spent a decent amount of time there. The way Ryan is able to run that bar by himself is impressive, he never stops but always has a smile and seems to love the chaos.  We did leave a little early, as we decided to give one of the shows a shot.  As we were finding the YC seating area, we ran into Agus for the first time since his introduction. He asked how we were and said that all has been great so far. We were unable to keep the conversation going as it was loud in the theater, but figured we would catch up with him later.  The show, Dreamscape, was interesting, but we both had nature call about 10 mins or so before the ending. So we were those people and got up, but we were sitting next to the aisle and moved quickly so as not to be a distraction.   Instead of walking back in to catch the ending, we decided to walk around the top decks for some fresh air. We then ended our walk in the lounge and grabbed a pair of chocolate martinis to close out the night. On the way out we swung by the concierge to see if the excursion desk had published the times for the behind the scenes tours, but they hadn’t yet. From there, it was off to bed to get ready for the next day in Puerto Plata.

 

Pretty light on pictures of the day, so here are some random shots of deck 6.

 

Even though it was about 9 am or so, it was super quiet across the atrium. 

 

Would be great spot to spend the day reading.

 

The Atrium bar on deck 5 is the only place to get flavored coffee. Out of caramel syrup this cruise though...

 

Love the way it all looks.

 

Skipping to dinner, the out of focus bisque.

 

Mushroom pasta, an excellent choice.

 

Champagne risotto. The literal best risotto MSC makes, according to us.

 

Surf and Turf. Steak was perfect and the lobster was very good.

 

For those that just prefer the surf, they have that too, with plenty of heart attack juice to dip in.

 

Our seats in the theater, great views

 

And great deck views too...

 

That sum up this brief day for us. Until next time, MSC you soon....

 

 

[Av8tor]

Thanks, I'm enjoying your review(s) and awaiting more. We're on the Seascape YC in 2 weeks for our 1st MSC cruise.

 

I'm curious about how much the all-u-can-eat sushi cost?

 

Are either the sushi special or the YC seafood extravaganza offered more than once?  (They seem to be offered at the same time & I'd like to try both...)

 

Thanks

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Av8tor

[stp_mmh5]

19 hours ago, Av8tor said:

Thanks, I'm enjoying your review(s) and awaiting more. We're on the Seascape YC in 2 weeks for our 1st MSC cruise.

 

I'm curious about how much the all-u-can-eat sushi cost?

 

Are either the sushi special or the YC seafood extravaganza offered more than once?  (They seem to be offered at the same time & I'd like to try both...)

 

Thanks

 

When we were on the Seashore in October, the All-you-can-eat sushi was offered only on the last sea day. On Seascape, it was offered only on the sushi was offered on the first sea day and was $33 per person. We asked later in the cruise if it would be offered again on the second sea day, hoping, alas it was not.

 

As for the Seafood Extravaganza buffet on the pool deck, it was offered on both sea days! That was really nice so we could enjoy it fully on the second sea day. I hope that continues, as on Seashore it was only on the last sea day. Seems to be a bit of hit and miss for how often each are offered on the varying ships.

 

 

[Av8tor]

Thanks for the reply.  Hopefully my cruise will have the same options.  If so, my 2 sea day plans (AYCE sushi & seafood extravaganza) will be thoroughly enjoyed!