LIVE Review-Seashore 4 night 1/14/24

[MandyMooToo]

Based on the responses from my prior post, it seems there is interest in a live review of Seashore. I have the YC included internet package, but may upgrade when we get onboard, so we shall see how well this works!  Some basic info about us and this cruise:

 

Travel group of 4, myself, husband and another couple that we have cruised with for years. We are all in our 40s-50s and typically cruise with RCCL (though we have all tried Carnival once or twice). We booked this cruise on a whim due to the price and being curious about MSC. My husband and I are in a YC interior cabin (we prefer interiors for the darkness and because they are usually easy to get low and midship for motion sickness avoidance). Obviously this is our first MSC cruise and we are exited to try something new. We fly out this morning as we always try to go down at least one day ahead, just in case. Ask any questions and I will try to answer them as we go along and I will post our experiences. Thanks for reading 😊

[awatt]

Bon Voyage! You will enjoy the YC.

[psmarkle]

You will LUV the YC starting with the white YC tent for embarkation 🤩 keep in mind, the 4-day experience will probably not be as personable as a 7-day experience, but enjoy the pampering nonetheless! Have only done 7-day YC cruises, but basing that off the feedback from our YC crew...they actually said they get frustrated on the shorter cruises as they want to provide a higher level of service, but just don't get enough time to know your personal preferences like my Grey Goose Cosmos as soon as I sit down in the Top Sail Lounge! Luv those people!!

[MandyMooToo]

Finally on the second leg of our flight to Orlando (out of ATL this leg). Slight delay as the planes are backed up. Of course they are 😑 I am not a good flyer, ha ha. Bundle of nerves!  Especially since I got the notification that our bags were sent ahead of us hours ago. I only fly a couple of times a year so this was not something I am familiar with, and was somewhat concerning, but the Delta gate agent assures me this is a common practice and our bags will be waiting in the baggage office when we arrive. Cross your fingers for me…😳

[Mark_T]

11 hours ago, MandyMooToo said:

but the Delta gate agent assures me this is a common practice and our bags will be waiting in the baggage office when we arrive. Cross your fingers for me…😳

Hopefully all went well, this is another one of those occasions where AirTags (or Android equivalent) are a great stress reducer.

 

 

[MandyMooToo]

3 hours ago, Mark_T said:

Hopefully all went well, this is another one of those occasions where AirTags (or Android equivalent) are a great stress reducer.

 

 

Hi! Yes, AirTags helped quite a bit this time. We were directed to a long line at the baggage service office but right beside it was the actual baggage claim area. All of the bags were just piled up in the middle of the room. Not in an office, as Delta said. So we went searching with the air tags and found both bags (they were in different piles in different places). It was fine, just slightly stressful.  It we made it!

[MandyMooToo]

Waiting on the shuttle to the port now. Reading reports from B2Bs that there are still “hundreds of people in the buffet waiting to get off” so it may be a bit before anyone boards. No worries here, we aren’t in the predicted snow storm at home so we are good!

[Cruisergal1208]

2 hours ago, MandyMooToo said:

Waiting on the shuttle to the port now. Reading reports from B2Bs that there are still “hundreds of people in the buffet waiting to get off” so it may be a bit before anyone boards. No worries here, we aren’t in the predicted snow storm at home so we are good!

Look forward to seeing your comments and reviews of your cruise. I’ll be there in February.  Hope you have a wonderful cruise.  

[MandyMooToo]

Lined up outside their terminal at blue YC tent to drop off luggage and checkin. Waited a decent amount of time but there was a group of 15 checking in together so that probably added to the wait. After dropping luggage we were directed to the security line and then to the YC checkin area. We checked in with docs at a podium and then signed in at the YC waiting area. After another ten or 15 minutes we were called up to do the real checkin and get wristbands, etc. Our pictures were taken again and we had to turn in the health forms and show our passports again. Afterward we waited to board. There was not a lot of direction so many people were coming into the waiting area and not signing in so their check ins were pushed back even further.
 

After a good 20-30 minutes we saw several people leaving the waiting area and boarding. No one had said anything so I got up and asked and was told we could get in line to board (we had been told someone would call us up when it was time to board). Boarding was fairly quick and we made it YC where we were greeted with drinks and snacks. A crew member came around and went over the YC benefits and told us we could go to lunch (YC dining room or pool deck buffet). We chose the dining room and had a terrific lunch. I failed to take pics of the food but the filet was perfect!
 

Our cabins were ready at 1:30 so we dropped off our stuff and all our luggage was waiting for us there. We are off to the YC pool area! More to come!

[Cruisergal1208]

Sounds like YC might be fully booked. Enjoy each moment.  Love having lunch in restaurant on embarkation day.  

[Tiki_Man]

Quick question about Muster Drill. What time and did you still have to go down to Deck 6 to personally check in but only at a specific time?  We are on board on 1/28 and have only sailed with MSC once before. Thanks for any insight 

Cheers 

Tiki

Edited January 15 by Tiki_Man

[Two Wheels Only]

Looking at your embarkation photos, it looks like YC was backed up more than usual. The group at the bottom of the elevator doesn't usually get to be more than 8 or 10 before someone pauses the "regular" line and the YC group goes up the elevator then to the left through security. Non-YC lines up to the right before going through security. That's also a long line heading to the check-in area upstairs. There are usually staff who will see your sticker and direct you to when and where to go. 

 

Not the best start but things will probably get better. 👍

[MandyMooToo]

4 hours ago, Tiki_Man said:

Quick question about Muster Drill. What time and did you still have to go down to Deck 6 to personally check in but only at a specific time?  We are on board on 1/28 and have only sailed with MSC once before. Thanks for any insight 

Cheers 

Tiki

For muster drill we had to be in our cabins at 3:45pm and were then instructed to watch the video. After the video an announcement was made to call a number and then take out cards to the designated muster station. We are able bodied so no big deal but there was a lot of complaining about having to take the stairs and go to a MS so far down. Our cabin is on deck 16 and our muster station was in the casino on deck 7. But it was fairly quick to get there and get scanned. 

[MandyMooToo]

2 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

Looking at your embarkation photos, it looks like YC was backed up more than usual. The group at the bottom of the elevator doesn't usually get to be more than 8 or 10 before someone pauses the "regular" line and the YC group goes up the elevator then to the left through security. Non-YC lines up to the right before going through security. That's also a long line heading to the check-in area upstairs. There are usually staff who will see your sticker and direct you to when and where to go. 

 

Not the best start but things will probably get better. 👍

So far it has been great!  A few minor things that we haven’t been pleased with but overall, not much to complain about. Our group of four is contemplating booking a 7 night if service and such continues to be top notch!

[MandyMooToo]

To pick up where I left off, we headed to the YC pool area and took a look around. It was raining so we didn’t stay out very long but the whole area looks nice and well maintained. The hot tub has warm water, not super hot but not cool/luke warm at all and the buffet looks great. 
 

Due to the nasty weather we made our way back to the Top Sail lounge and commenced to drinking and chatting. Made some friends there and had dinner together before going to the casino for a bit (our friends enjoy the casino, we may spend $20 or so there and then we’re out). Watched some people play at the table for a little while and then we headed to our cabin to unwind before bed. 
 

So as I said in a reply earlier, not much to complain about so far. We met our butler, Juan Carlos, shortly before the muster drill and he was very nice. The guest services staff in the YC have been hard at work and were also quite friendly. Many, many people lining up with questions, complaints and or requests. We asked about the internet and upgrading and went ahead and paid the fee ($40 for both phones for the whole cruise) but it didn’t really help. Guest Services said we could stream and upload pics and such with the upgrade but I’m finding it isn’t much better than what we had. Pictures don’t send at all and we have yet to be able to download pics that the other couple in our group sent while exploring the ship themselves. Not a huge issue but still disappointing as other lines have much better internet. We also have not been able to cast to our TV, though we were allegedly supposed to be able to. The butler said we needed an HDMI cable, lol. We like to watch TV before bed to unwind and sometimes when we get ready for dinner so this is a bummer, but again, not a major issue.
 

As for the request form we filled out ahead of time, it was useless, just as most people posted here, ha ha. We had a bottle of red wine in our cabin, I don’t like any reds except a sweet Merlot, so I asked that it be traded out. Juan Carlos said that’s what we asked for and I said no, we asked for the bottle of vodka. He said we could trade the red for white if he could get it so we said fine and he was able to swap them out. Not getting the vodka is whatever but really, why have us fill out a form if no one uses it?  Pillows weren’t as requested either but the bedding is nice and comfortable regardless. 

 

A couple of things about the food. I read so many complaints about how terrible the food is on this ship but we have had a great dining experience so far. Lunch entree was very good, appetizer was not to my liking, and the dessert was good too. At dinner we all had excellent meals and though the staff sometimes gets drink orders wrong, they did a terrific job of keep the six of us refilled and happy. The snack on Top Sail were also really, really good. I don’t know if a complaint on the food at dinner aside from the chocolate cake, it was very dry, you almost had to take a drink with every bite. But the rest was delicious. 
 

One more thought before I retire for the rest of the night, butler service seems to have been hit or miss in the comments here and on social media but so far so good for us. Juan Carlos came to our cabin and went over lots of small details and asked if there was anything else we needed. He left his card and suggested we pick a time to disembark at the first port stop so he could escort us off the ship. We did so and I will report back as to how it went.  
 

A few photos of our YC interior cabin as someone in another thread asked what the layout was. 

[dexddd]

How's the shower?

[MandyMooToo]

2 hours ago, dexddd said:

How's the shower?

The shower has a rain fall shower head, it is a good size too, and a hand sprayer. It is, like most cruise ship showers, still on the small side but the shape is good. I haven’t tried to shave my legs in it yet so don’t know how well that will go over, lol, but I can report back!

[MandyMooToo]

Docked at Ocean Cay today. Weather looks promising so far, hot and partly cloudy. We are having coffee and a small snack before meeting our butler to get off the ship and explore the island. Lots of little choices for breakfast or snacks. The YC dining room is open for a full breakfast or Top Sail lounge for the small snacks and excellent lattes. 

[iowacruiser]

14 hours ago, Tiki_Man said:

Quick question about Muster Drill. What time and did you still have to go down to Deck 6 to personally check in but only at a specific time?  We are on board on 1/28 and have only sailed with MSC once before. Thanks for any insight 

Cheers 

Tiki

The muster drill was the only negative on our Seashore cruise in December. Having the entire ship working their way to deck 6 using the stairwells was a cluster. We felt bad for older passengers who have difficulty negotiating stairs. A lot of pushing and shoving. HAL's procedure is much better-watch a video in your room and at some point make your way to the muster station. A ship wide cattle call makes it much more difficult. 

[morpheusofthesea]

14 hours ago, Tiki_Man said:

Quick question about Muster Drill. What time and did you still have to go down to Deck 6 to personally check in but only at a specific time?  We are on board on 1/28 and have only sailed with MSC once before. Thanks for any insight 

Cheers 

Tiki

The 'smart' cruiser wait for the muster drill the following day and use the elevators.

[coscab]

Thanks for taking time for this review, what deck did you board  on?

[MandyMooToo]

9 minutes ago, coscab said:

Thanks for taking time for this review, what deck did you board  on?

I think it was deck 6.

[MandyMooToo]

On Ocean Cay, beautiful facilities and great weather. Lunch at Ocean House was lobster rolls and crème caramel. Drinks are…okay but lunch was very good. Shuttle stops running at 3:30 but we can remain on the island until about 11:30pm. 

[MandyMooToo]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

The 'smart' cruiser wait for the muster drill the following day and use the elevators.

We didn’t have issue walking the stairs but it seemed that many were unhappy and did the drill today. 

[Mrs_Tiki]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

The 'smart' cruiser wait for the muster drill the following day and use the elevators.

Do you know what time the “make-up” drill was held? DH is having mobility issues, and we would like to ask permission if he may substitute the later drill.