Infrequent cruiser, first time MSC, YC 7/23-7/30

[mica178]

Hello all!

 

Some background: my first cruise was a 2 week Mediterranean cruise on the Grand Princess in 1999. My most recent cruise was a HAL cruise in 2012, where my husband and I were the youngest adults by at least a couple decades. I've been on 3 Princess cruises (generally solid experiences, although I wasn't a fan of the food), 2 Carnival cruises (sorry, both awful experiences all around other than very nice cabin staff), one HAL cruise, one Chinese cruise (down the Yangtze! A very interesting experience), and a small island hopping cruise in Fiji with only 30 passengers. Generally, we are not cruisers, preferring to spend more time at any destination than a port day. But, after we had kids, we started looking at cruising as an easier way to vacation. Also, my 7 year old son has been obsessed with the Titanic and similar great passenger ships, so we figured we should take him on a cruise (although on one that WON'T bump into an iceberg!).

 

I've been watching CC, reading all the live reviews, and I'm feeling a little apprehensive. I belong to the FB group for the 7/20-7/23 and 7/23-7/30 Seaside cruisers, and the 7/20 cruisers are giving pretty mixed reviews. Granted, 3 day cruises seem to be rougher (and I've been on a couple 3 day cruises, and I agree with that assessment). I'm hoping that those people were negative Nellies, and that we have fun!

 

We have done all inclusive resorts in Mexico, so I'm guessing this experience will be somewhat similar, only with more destinations and smaller rooms! 

 

Originally, we had planned on doing RCCL or NCL, but when I read about MSC, I couldn't resist. I prefer Italian food to most "standard American" food. And being able to do YC for a fraction of the price of a Haven suite or RCCL suite obviously appealed as well. I hope this gamble was correct.

 

Anyway, I will try to report back daily, although I might be doing it from my phone, so that might limit things. I'm GenX and still prefer to write up reviews on my computer. But I also want time away from my computer, so I'm traveling with small devices only.

[Mycykfamilytime]

I too once was more adventurous and sophisticated and did things like take my three year old around south east Asia but I must say that the third kid did us in and we’ve pretty much only vacationed where there was a kids club since then.  We’ve done Disney, Royal, MSC non YC, MSC YC and Carnival.   I’d probably rank them Non YC MSC, Royal, Carnival, Disney, and MSC YC from worst to best. With MSC taking top and bottom spots.  We actually had a delightful Carnival cruise marred solely by the other passengers.  Such a shame because all the staff and shows, and food were great.  I’ve been to a couple nice all inclusives and preferred my YC experience because for me a relaxing vacation comes down to a couple silly things…

1.  lounger availability… even at the nicest resorts it’s seems like you’re playing the towel game and that’s not even a thought on YC.  Ok loungers in the shade yes… YC should fix that especially for the older clientele. 
2.  Great coffee.   I am a coffee snob snd even when a cappuccino looks delightful at an AI it’s generally pretty lackluster and weak with weird boxed milk or something.   MSC coffee is sublime.  
3.  Drinkable wine.  Ok YC is not going to impress a real wino but I want to drink at least as nice as the 10-15 dollar bottles I buy at home and the stuff served at most AI’s (in the YC’s price range) is undrinkable.  
4. Friends/conversation: I find the intimate atmosphere lends itself to making acquaintances and cruise friends which can be fun on a trip.  They all seem to be interesting international type people.  Hope this helps!  

[Mycykfamilytime]

2 minutes ago, Mycykfamilytime said:

I too once was more adventurous and sophisticated and did things like take my three year old around south east Asia but I must say that the third kid did us in and we’ve pretty much only vacationed where there was a kids club since then.  We’ve done Disney, Royal, MSC non YC, MSC YC and Carnival.   I’d probably rank them Non YC MSC, Royal, Carnival, Disney, and MSC YC from worst to best. With MSC taking top and bottom spots.  We actually had a delightful Carnival cruise marred solely by the other passengers.  Such a shame because all the staff and shows, and food were great.  I’ve been to a couple nice all inclusives and preferred my YC experience because for me a relaxing vacation comes down to a couple silly things…

1.  lounger availability… even at the nicest resorts it’s seems like you’re playing the towel game and that’s not even a thought on YC.  Ok loungers in the shade yes… YC should fix that especially for the older clientele. 
2.  Great coffee.   I am a coffee snob snd even when a cappuccino looks delightful at an AI it’s generally pretty lackluster and weak with weird boxed milk or something.   MSC coffee is sublime.  
3.  Drinkable wine.  Ok YC is not going to impress a real wino but I want to drink at least as nice as the 10-15 dollar bottles I buy at home and the stuff served at most AI’s (in the YC’s price range) is undrinkable.  
4. Friends/conversation: I find the intimate atmosphere lends itself to making acquaintances and cruise friends which can be fun on a trip.  They all seem to be interesting international type people.  Hope this helps!  

Sorry I didn’t mean to hijack your thread!  I’m just seeing now this is a review and not a request for advice about the YC! (Head slap)  I will follow along silently!  Enjoy your cruise! 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Hello Mica and welcome to the MSC site.  Pay no attention to the negative reviews.  Not everybody is going to love MSC.  You must remember that for every three or five bad reviews there were a few thousand pax on the same ship same cruise who had a perfectly or almost perfectly delightful time.  Go with an open mind and try to enjoy the things that interest you.  Not every cruise is a winner, as you have already found out, but you should enjoy your time with MSC.  Bon Voyage and report back here to let us know how you made out.  Happy sailing.

[mica178]

3 hours ago, Mycykfamilytime said:

Sorry I didn’t mean to hijack your thread!  I’m just seeing now this is a review and not a request for advice about the YC! (Head slap)  I will follow along silently!  Enjoy your cruise! 

No need to apologize! I'm happy to receive advice!

 

And your point about wine is well taken. At AIs, it is either beer or cocktails because the wine is undrinkable. I'm hoping an Italian cruise line can serve up an okay glass. I'm not asking for Caymus, but something not guaranteed to give me a hangover would be appreciated. 

[mica178]

Good morning! 

 

We arrived late (my husband is the worst at last minute procrastinator when it comes to packing!), but we whisked through check in, but the kids and I ended up stuck at the YC preloading lounge waiting for my husband to park the car. FYI: at Port Canaveral, the onsite port parking has no EV chargers, but the nearest off-site does. When my husband arrived, there was a classic FL afternoon deluge, and it knocked out the port wifi, do we had to wait for it to restore for him to check in (maybe 45 minutes?). 

 

We met our butler Alexis down there. He happily plied the kids with juice and fancy nuts, and made sure I was kept in sparkling wine. Despite being delayed in boarding, the vacation definitely started right away!

 

We finally embarked just as the muster drill started, so we didn't get the Talk at TSL as expected. But that was fine as Alexis came to our room before dinner.

 

I thought the system for the muster drill was fine, although the walk to check in at our station made me feel claustrophobic.  I'm glad my kids are old enough to walk on their own and keep their eyes on me because the herding crowd as like a Lightning playoff game!

 

Despite the truncated first day, we managed to let the kids have fun at the arcade, sign up for bowling the next day, get the kids registered at kids club (and let them have 45 minutes to run around there while we checked out the variety show), and have pre-dinner cocktails at TSL.

 

We also had a nice dinner at the YC restaurant.  I thought the food was solid, certainly better than i received on Carnival back in the days, and probably better than we had on HAL. Better than most similarly priced AI resorts, but not as good as a high end landside restaurant (of course, for the price, i cannot complain!). The tiramisu was excellent. The service was wonderful with at least 4 waiters heaping attention on our table and offering up extra servings when they found out my son was mad for the housemade pastina soup.

 

All in all, a lovely first day, and I'm excited to see Ocean Cay today.

Edited July 24, 2023 by mica178

[tampadee]

Which ship are you on?  

[Essiesmom]

2 hours ago, tampadee said:

Which ship are you on?  

Post #1, paragraph 2, Seaside.  Post #6, paragraph 1, Port Canaveral.  EM

[perakcruiser]

On 7/23/2023 at 1:11 PM, mica178 said:

And your point about wine is well taken. At AIs, it is either beer or cocktails because the wine is undrinkable. I'm hoping an Italian cruise line can serve up an okay glass. I'm not asking for Caymus, but something not guaranteed to give me a hangover would be appreciated. 

Don´t worry, excellent wines will be available for you. People usually have problems to distinguish wines they don´t like from bad wines. For example I don´t like/drink Rioja, Chianti, Barolo, ... , but it would certainly be ridiculous to say that these wines are undrinkable. Obviously MSC has a great selection of Italian wines, some varieties like Regale I never heard of before. Try the Regale Rosso Andreucci. 

 

Having said that, things go very different when talking about the (few) house wines included in the easy package. I would not call them undrinkable, but I would also not pay money for them. 

 

 

[mica178]

 

Good morning! We are at sea today after spending yesterday at Ocean Cay.

 

Yesterday was fun! We all slept in a bit. My son and I had breakfast at the grill. He loved the fresh squeezed orange juice. I ordered a cafe con leche and ended up with a Frappuccino.  It was unexpected but delicious. After that, he requested to go to kids club, so I dropped him off. At that point, my daughter woke up. We were too late for breakfast, so she had a virgin strawberry daiquiri.  Ah, vacation life. We went swimming in the empty YC pools. Then she too asked to go to kids club. Both kids agreed that they wanted to eat lunch with the kids club rather than go onto Ocean Cay.

 

So, kid free, I went to wake up DH, and we went to the concierge to get escorted to the YC tram pick up point. We met another couple on our schedule and ended up eating lunch with them at the Ocean House restaurant. 

 

The food was solid. I had the crab ceviche, which was nice and light. Then I had the lobster roll. It was no New England lobster roll, but it was tasty. The staff was attentive and kept us in cold drinks. But it was HOT. Fans only do so much at an open air restaurant in July. 

 

We returned to the boat to cool off and rest. We attended the afternoon trivia, and I won! I now have a funky MSC packable shopping bag and a card holder with MSC lanyard.

 

After that, I collected the kids to go bowling. We had no problem making the reservation on the first day, other than waiting in the long line of people signing up for fun passes. I had thought I booked an hour, but they only made a 30 minute reservation.  They only charged me for the 30 minutes, though, and honestly, other than the novelty of bowling on a ship, it wasn't great. There are no bowling shoes, and the balls and lanes are in rough shape. Currently, only lane #2 has functional bumpers, if you are bowling with kids. Reservations are by time, not by game or player. 

 

We decoded on an early dinner and headed to the YC restaurant. I had the asparagus with tarragon sauce and the cioppino.  The food was fine, but portions were small. I had a lovely pilot grigio that was perfectly chilled. For dessert, I had a glass of port, the cheese plate, and the rum cake. I thought the cheese plate was fine and tasted nice with the ruby port.

 

The lighthouse show was cute, but it was too hot to want to be outside to listen to the coordinating music.

 

The kids went back to the kids club for a bit, and we walked around. Then we called it an early night.

[amygutman]

Thank you @mica178 for taking the time to write this live review. We are getting on when you are getting off so am following along happily as you are helping get my "pre-cruise mojo" on!

Wishing you smooth sailing for the rest of your vacation.

Warmest, Amy

[mica178]

Hi again! 

 

Today was a sea day. I woke up early with my son, and we ate at the YC restaurant. That is the way to go, if you are up before 9. The buffet is nice, but I am leery of eating seafood that is under the sun. I had the kippers and scrambled eggs and coffee. All lovely. My son had an omelet and sausage and the excellent fresh squeezed orange juice.  We then sat on our balcony and enjoyed the early morning warmth. My daughter woke up a bit later and agreed to have a small breakfast at the buffet.

 

We went swimming at the YC pool, but we were reminded that there was a mid-morning YC cocktail party. We went to that at the request of some of the more outgoing butlers. There were tons of mixed sparkling drinks (try the Hugo!) and some tasty canapés. The captain stopped by too.

 

Afterwards. We went swimming again, and my daughter became everyone's honorary granddaughter in YC. Everyone we've spoken with in YC is super friendly. I don't know if we are just lucky with this cohort, or if this is the typical YC clientele. But my kids never want to leave! 

 

 

[mica178]

Seaday, cont.

 

It has been so hot, so decided to eat lunch at the YC restaurant. I highly recommend the Parma ham and truffle mozzarella app, and the housemade pasta with veal and olives was lovely, so long as you love olives.

 

I dropped my son off at the kids club, and we tried to find the unhosted trivia listed in the planner, but no one knew anything about it. So we went back to rest until the afternoon trivia, which did occur as described. I didn't win this time. Bummer.

 

Afterwards, we checked out the thermal spa, which was kind of cool. The dressing rooms use your bracelet as keys for the lockers, which is neat. Also, the salt room might be the best room because of its low humidity and comfortable temperature.  Just my bias.

 

This was the elegant night, which meant dressing up for my daughter. She had already bragged up her dress to all of her honorary grandmothers. It also meant lobster! In the YC, a lobster order included two decent sized tails, which were perfectly cooked. Definitely the best lobster I've had at sea or at an AI. I tried the beef Rossini, which was cooked to a proper medium rare and had good foie Gras and truffle flavor but wasn't nearly as good as the lobster. We shared an okay Super Tuscan, but the sommelier promised to make Bordeaux available for future dinners. Yay! The escargot app was tasty, although my son freaked out over the appearance of snails. He did like trying my crepes Suzette, but the kids both preferred the chocolate cake for dessert. 

 

My husband found the wine cellar on the 16th floor and is threatening to buy several bottles to bring home. At least those as mementos that he can share!

[amygutman]

10 hours ago, mica178 said:

Hi again! 

 

Today was a sea day. I woke up early with my son, and we ate at the YC restaurant. That is the way to go, if you are up before 9. The buffet is nice, but I am leery of eating seafood that is under the sun. I had the kippers and scrambled eggs and coffee. All lovely. My son had an omelet and sausage and the excellent fresh squeezed orange juice.  We then sat on our balcony and enjoyed the early morning warmth. My daughter woke up a bit later and agreed to have a small breakfast at the buffet.

 

We went swimming at the YC pool, but we were reminded that there was a mid-morning YC cocktail party. We went to that at the request of some of the more outgoing butlers. There were tons of mixed sparkling drinks (try the Hugo!) and some tasty canapés. The captain stopped by too.

 

Afterwards. We went swimming again, and my daughter became everyone's honorary granddaughter in YC. Everyone we've spoken with in YC is super friendly. I don't know if we are just lucky with this cohort, or if this is the typical YC clientele. But my kids never want to leave! 

 

 

Actually, I agree with your daughter. Being spoiled all day every day is awesome!

That being said, I would likely have a hefty BMI due to the amount of amazing food options. A week or two twice a year is manageable. Laughed so hard last cruise: I Googled "how many miles do I have to walk to burn calories eaten today" and it was something like 20. 😄

 

Glad you are having a great time, and so happy for your daughter being adopted by those grans. 

Warmest, Amy

[mica178]

Costa Maya Day

 

We had plans to do an independent excursion with a vendor I used 11 years ago. The Western Caribbean Fly Fishing School also does reef fishing excursions,  and we planned on doing their fish2dish. On the day of, my daughter declared she didn't want to fish, so we sent DH and son off, and we waited at the Nohoch Cay beach. The sand was white, and water the perfect temperature,  and drinks were icy. My son caught 9 fish, which the restaurant fried up and served us for lunch. My kids usually hate fish, but they loved eating freshly caught fish.

 

Otherwise, the port was so hot with a lot of walking. Our butler escorted us all the way to the shopping mall, which was very considerate given the heat and also the concomitant docking of the Harmony of the Seas.

[mica178]

Lunch at Nohoch Cay restaurant,  courtesy of my son. DH caught nothing on the same trip. 

[mica178]

We booked a private photography session for after dinner last night. 45 minutes, he met us at the YC and picked locations throughout the ship to take family photos. My daughter insisted on matching outfits. I'm a little dubious about the skill of our photographer (his poses seemed too scripted), but we won't see the pictures until later today. I'm hoping for at least a few good ones to use for this year's Christmas card. 

[Essiesmom]

I’ve read and reread this thread, and can’t find if you ever mentioned how old/young your daughter is.  I’m enjoying reading about Seaside as I have been on her before and will be again for a week next month.  But not in YC.  EM

[amygutman]

2 hours ago, mica178 said:

Lunch at Nohoch Cay restaurant,  courtesy of my son. DH caught nothing on the same trip. 

@mica178 WOW!!!!

Talk about "sea-to-table". That looks amazing, and sounds like a great day for your entire family. 

Warmest, Amy

[pirate4me2]

I am loving this review, thank you! We sail MSC for the first time next month and I cannot wait to experience the YC. 

[mica178]

5 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I’ve read and reread this thread, and can’t find if you ever mentioned how old/young your daughter is.  I’m enjoying reading about Seaside as I have been on her before and will be again for a week next month.  But not in YC.  EM

Sorry! She is 5 (and a half, she'll have you know).

[mica178]

We are at Roatan. We booked the Zip n Dip excursion directly with the Victor Bodden group. It left an hour after the ship docked, so 8am. Eek! The concierge recommended that we be ready to leave YC no later than 7:30. Thankfully, Roatan's peir is not the zoo that Costa Maya's is. Also, few people were exiting the boat before 8, so we walked right off without needing a butler escorted.

 

If you want to do extensive ziplining and also hold a sloth, go with Bodden! I thought the excursion was very high quality. The tour price is low, but be aware that they only accept pristine USD, and every worker there really depends on tips, so bring a lot of cash! I didn't see a MSC excursion with sloths. We ended up starving after seeing the animals, so we skipped the beach part and went back to the boat early with some HOTS passengers,  who had a much earlier departure time. Toatan only has a few streets, and those around the port become completely congested if two mega ships are in port at the same time. As we crept along in traffic, we saw lots of RCCL passengers running along the road, trying to make their 12:30pm all aboard. Some RCCL excursion must have been stuck in traffic as the ship didn't leave until 50 minutes after the stated departure time.

[mica178]

A couple thoughts about my ventures out of YC. The kiddie pool needs chairs. And more places to keep towels and clothing to keep them dry. I'd prefer to stick to the YC pool, but my kiddos wanted water slides.

 

Also, I'm not sure if the Fun Pass was worth it. The bowling was in poor shape. We did the 4D game, and at least a couple guns were broken. Only a couple arcade games are included with the Fun Pass. 

 

I checked out the buffet on 16 today. The pizza was good. The kids were happy to have soft serve ice cream. But the other food was not good. I had stale tortilla chips with tasteless salsa. Yuck.

[mica178]

They had a baby sloth for the kids, and a handful of adult ones for us adults 

[mica178]

Last night, I went to see Peter Punk. It was better than expected. I will definitely try to make it to the MJ show tomorrow.

 

Today, we were on Cozumel. We slept in a bit before heading to Chankanaab for the Dolphin Encounter. I would not recommend it. It is way overbooked, and the experience is very canned. We hadn't really planned on spending time at the park beyond the encounter. The buffet is inferior to what we have in YC. 

 

We did sit at a roadside bar for a beer, though. I had promised my son a coconut, and as we left our taxi, there was a bar with a pile of fresh coconuts. The quoted us $5 for the coconut, but our whole bill for the coconut, 2 cold beers, and a soda for my daughter was only $7. Also, the kid behind the bar very nicely dug out all the coconut meat for my son after he drank half the juice (he also saved the rest of the juice in a glass). I highly recommend the place as I watched them grind up fresh mint and lime in a molcajete for mojitos. They clearly car about the product they put out. The bar is called Miami, and it is close to the port MSC uses.

 

We did back to back trivia this afternoon at the Haven bar. DH won the visual trivia, so he has won two games to my one. I will have to try harder tomorrow (last day!?! How did the time fly so quickly?)

 

Tonight is the white party. We are excited.

Edited July 28, 2023 by mica178