**LIVE** from the MSC Seascape: A Family's Experience in the Yacht Club – 7-Night Western Caribbean – March 23-30, 2024

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 hours ago, Beamafar said:

If you could find out both the YC restaurant m’D and YC Director’s names and how long they’ll be on for, I’d appreciate it. 

 

- YC Restaurant m'D: Demir Ercan - Just arrived today, will be onboard 6-7 months

- YC Director: Mustafa - Unsure how long he will be on for (I will ask when I meet him)

[Beamafar]

Just now, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

 

- YC Restaurant m'D: Demir Ercan - Just arrived today, will be onboard 6-7 months

- YC Director: Mustafa - Unsure how long he will be on for (I will ask when I meet him)

Much appreciated.

 

I was very disappointed on your behalf of your embarkation lunch experience.  I hope that your overall YC experience exceeds your expectations.  As far as I’m concerned, you should never have had to resort to the main buffet offerings for lunch. Personally, I would take it up with the YC concierge.  This is not what your first exposure to YC should be. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

6 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Much appreciated.

 

I was very disappointed on your behalf of your embarkation lunch experience.  I hope that your overall YC experience exceeds your expectations.  As far as I’m concerned, you should never have had to resort to the main buffet offerings for lunch. Personally, I would take it up with the YC concierge.  This is not what your first exposure to YC should be. 

I thought about it but it's not like we can redo lunch so I'm not sure how they'd make up for it.

 

I may mention it when I see them at some point so they can be aware for future embarkation days.

[Beamafar]

Just now, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I thought about it but it's not like we can redo lunch so I'm not sure how they'd make up for it.

 

I may mention it when I see them at some point so they can be aware for future embarkation days.

That is usually my motivation for calling attention to problems.  Also, there can be a welcome gesture, acknowledging that the experience should have been a better one.

[Essiesmom]

It seems to me that the person guarding the door to the restaurant should have known the pool buffet was still available and suggested you go there.  Might be something you suggest…. EM

[Mark_T]

3 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

It seems to me that the person guarding the door to the restaurant should have known the pool buffet was still available and suggested you go there.  Might be something you suggest…. EM

That would be the way I'd approach it as well, since you can't blame the staff for everyone arriving too close to the end of service to be accommodated, but they should have redirected to the YC buffet, especially on the first day when many guests might not even know it existed...

[Beamafar]

The (unusual) experience calls to mind a conversation I had with a woman on the YC pool deck on Seaview (in the Med).  We were about 3 days into a 7 night cruise and she shared how bad she (and her family) were being treated in the YC restaurant.  I was totally shocked at her account and advised her to immediately speak to the YC director (described him to her as she had no previous YC experience).  Next day she sought me out to thank me for the total change in her dining experience and, for the rest of the cruise, totally enjoyed her time onboard.  It’s sad when people aren’t given the YC experience that they pay good money for. 
 

 

Edited March 23 by Beamafar

[morpheusofthesea]

3 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I thought about it but it's not like we can redo lunch so I'm not sure how they'd make up for it.

 

I may mention it when I see them at some point so they can be aware for future embarkation days.

I am surprised that the hostess at the YC Restaurant did not suggest the OnePool deck buffet.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I am surprised that the hostess at the YC Restaurant did not suggest the OnePool deck buffet.

I think she was probably flustered...I think with the rain in Miami, everybody was inside making an already busy embarkation day even more chaotic.

 

She also may not have felt it was appropriate to tell us to go eat outside in the pouring rain on the pool deck.

[morpheusofthesea]

3 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

She also may not have felt it was appropriate to tell us to go eat outside in the pouring rain on the pool deck.

Now that is a good point ! Room service will also deliver. A YCer should never be subjected to the MarketPlace buffet. Period !

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

Now that is a good point ! Room service will also deliver. A YCer should never be subjected to the MarketPlace buffet. Period !

It was a bit chaotic but hopefully it will make us appreciate what's to follow the rest of this week!

[morpheusofthesea]

13 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

It was a bit chaotic but hopefully it will make us appreciate what's to follow the rest of this week!

If your itinerary includes Ocean Cay, you are liable to experience the same chaos at Ocean House. There are only enough tables for 168 guests (I know, I counted the tables and chairs. When on vacation one has nothing better to do.) Get there early and stake out your claim. If the weather is inclement, grab one of the 3 tables inside Ocean House. If you don't, someone else will. Just out of curiosity, how many YCers in the Yacht Club this cruise. Then ask how many are on the "ACCESS LIST". (These are friends and family of officers, especially those of the Hotel Director who is friends with everyone in Italy). On one of our cruises the ACCESS LIST had 44 friends and family. And 330 regular YC guests.

Edited March 24 by morpheusofthesea

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Yacht Club Dinner:

 

I'm happy to report they had room for us at dinner!

 

We got to the YC Restaurant, a few short steps from our room on deck 18, and were immediately seated at a great table for 4 with views of the beautiful ocean passing us by.

 

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Appetizer: 

 

I took food pictures with a different camera so I don't have any to share at this stage, but I had the dim sum dumplings and my wife had the tomato soup.

 

The dumplings were only okay but my wife said her tomato soup she's ever had. 

 

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Entrees:

 

I had the tortellini stuffed with asparagus and Mascarpone cheese. I typically wouldn't pass up a steak for something like this but I've heard the Italian food on MSC is fantastic so I wanted to experience it for myself.

 

I'm happy to say I was not disappointed! It had a fantastic blend of flavors and the European portions were perfect...I got my fill without leaving dinner feeling bloated or guilty.

 

My wife is a vegetarian so she got the Chef's Indian Vegetarian dish, which was a curry and lentil dish that she said was the best meal she's had in awhile.

 

My daughter got the roasted boneless prime rib cooked medium rare and it was done perfectly. This was an achievement as we cruised on the Celebrity Ascent over Christmas and they truly struggled to cook their steaks to the proper temperatures.

 

My son had the filet mignon and it was cooked to a perfect medium rare as well.

 

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Dessert:

 

My wife had the strawberry cheesecake, which was good. A bit light on the strawberry sauce, but still very good overall.

 

I had the crema catalana which was similar to creme brulee but with a caramel twist. Creme brulee is my favorite dessert but this was unfortunately a miss. It wasn't bad but not worth the calories, so I only had a couple bites.

 

My daughter had Grandma's Chocolate Cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which she enjoyed.

 

My son was a bit less adventurous (he's 7) and went with vanilla ice cream with sprinkles... He ate every bite of it so I'd say that was a win!

 

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Service:

 

The service was exactly what you'd expect in the YC.

 

Friendly, professional, timely, and well-coordinated across the different team functions.

 

This was a definite improvement over the disappointing experience we had during lunch.

 

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Scoring:

 

- Food: 4/5

- Service: 5/5

- Ambiance: 4.5/5

 

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We're looking forward to 6 more days of amazing meals in the YC (but tomorrow we'll be doing lunch in Hola! and dinner in Butcher's Cut).

 

 

 

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

14 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

If your itinerary includes Ocean Cay, you are liable to experience the same chaos at Ocean House. There are only enough tables for 168 guests (I know, I counted the tables and chairs. When on vacation one has nothing better to do.) Get there early and stake out your claim. If the weather is inclement, grab one of the 3 tables inside Ocean House. If you don't, someone else will. Just out of curiosity, how many YCers in the Yacht Club this cruise. Then ask how many are on the "ACCESS LIST". (These are friends and family of officers, especially those of the Hotel Director who is friends with everyone in Italy). On one of our cruises the ACCESS LIST had 44 friends and family. And 330 regular YC guests.

Who would I ask for this information? The YC Director? I'm curious myself.

 

The ship is completely sold out since it is spring break and there were 59 kids in the Juniors Kids Club tonight (7-11 year olds), and if I had to guess, I would say half of the YC cabins have at least one kid in them from what I've seen so far.

 

This doesn't bother us any (since we have two of them!), but I'm sure it means there's a higher occupancy than typical. We haven't seen any poorly behaved kids in the YC at all.

 

We are at Ocean Cay on our last day... I'll make sure we get a take for lunch early, thanks for the heads up there.

 

Fortunately it should be sunny and clear the rest of the week.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

The dumplings were only okay but my wife said her tomato soup she's ever had.

What about the soup? Which is it, the 'best' or the 'worst' she ever had ?

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

What about the soup? Which is it, the 'best' or the 'worst' she ever had ?

Ha, it was the BEST she ever had... Shame it's too late to edit that in 😜

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Who would I ask for this information?

I find I have to ask everyone in the YC. Each one has a different answer. Then take the average. Concierge, your personal butler, the YC director, the YC Restaurant hostess, the maitre d, the TSL bartender, etc.....

[momofmab]

17 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

As we boarded the ship, we arrived to the applause of the amazing MSC staff, asked which muster station we were assigned (D, in the casino), and our next stop was to deck 7 to have our sea passes signed at our muster station before being led the rest of the way to the Top Sail Lounge.

 

This jumped out at me. Does this mean that you didn't have to join the masses for the official muster drill and parade down endless flights of stairs with 5000 other passengers to swipe your card on deck 7, and fight to get an elevator back up?

 

Our muster drill on Seascape was a big negative for our first YC experience.  It would be great if they made this change.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 hour ago, momofmab said:

 

This jumped out at me. Does this mean that you didn't have to join the masses for the official muster drill and parade down endless flights of stairs with 5000 other passengers to swipe your card on deck 7, and fight to get an elevator back up?

 

Our muster drill on Seascape was a big negative for our first YC experience.  It would be great if they made this change.

Correct, we got our cards scanned on the way to the YC and were done.

[DisneyJen]

Love your reporting style!

 

 

[cruisebeachgirl703]

"Yacht Club Lunch:

 

They say you don't need reservations in the YC restaurant but we showed up at 1:45pm for lunch as we were under the impression it was open for seating until 2pm but we learned there were people on a waiting list who have been waiting since 1:10pm and we were turned away."

 

 

Ouch. That seems off base for sure. You would hope that they would just extend the hours to be sure that if you arrived before 2 p.m. you were fed. Or send you to a specialty restaurant and pick up the tab. 

[PTC DAWG]

Glad to see you taught your Son the right way to order steak…

 

The YC Pool Deck buffet is my favorite for breakfast and lunch, weather permitting of course.,

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Casino:

 

I know the casino isn't everybody's thing, but we enjoy gambling responsibly and understand we're really just paying a high premium for entertainment 90% of the time.

 

For those of you that do enjoy gambling - I'll do a better job of getting table/machine specifics as the week goes on, but after night 1, here's what I can share:

 

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Gaming Areas: 

 

I discovered three different areas with slot machines.

 

- Main Area: I didn't get a count but the nice thing about the largest area with slots is that from what I saw, I'm pretty sure these were smoke free. I will have to look more intentionally but I didn't see many of the more popular games you usually see (buffalos, Wheel of Fortune, and the piggies), but I wasn't intentionally looking for these so I'll circle back on this. 

 

My wife and I mainly played the automated roulette and after night 1 were up $260, so it's nice to at least start the week in the positive (I know it likely won't last).

 

The table games across from the slots unfortunately did allow smoking.

 

- Smoker's Slots: There was a small room near the Sports Bar that had maybe 20 slots. I walked in at one point not realizing what it was and nearly choked... Not judging smokers, it's just not my thing.

 

- Sports Bar: This area also has a smaller number of smoke-free slots. The upside of these is that they periodically have double-points offers so if you're playing for points, this is a good area to rack up some.

 

Speaking of points...

 

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Staff:

 

I have read conflicting information online about how points are accrued on machines. Some things I've read say it is $3 money-in/point and others say $5 money-in/point so I tried to ask to get clarity.

 

I first asked the Casino Manager on duty and his response was that different slot machines have different manufacturers and the points are earned at different rates.

 

I was about 97% sure he was mistaken so I tracked down the Casino Host to ask her, and she didn't know either but after going to ask somebody she returned and said, "I think it's $2.50-3 per point."

 

This is actually something I called into the casino to ask about in advance and they had no clue either, so it seems like nobody who works at MSC knows how their point system works (no wonder there's conflicting information online).

 

I also asked about the point rates for automated roulette and between the two of them the answers range from $5-7/point.

 

Overall, even on a very busy first night, we never had to fight to get through crowds or to find an open machine (and the tables weren't too busy either) so that was a positive.

 

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Summary:

 

- Variety: 4/5

- Availability: 4/5 (finding an open spot to play was rarely an issue)

- Staff: 3/5 (friendly but uninformed)

- Ventilation: 4/5 (in the non-smoking areas I rarely noticed the smell of smoke working it's way over)

Edited March 24 by FamilyAtSea.travel

[Beamafar]

So glad you posted about the casino.  I enjoy a flutter on the machines (though I don’t spend/lose enough anymore to qualify for anything).  I do miss the old, ‘fun’, machines that they had onboard years ago.  

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Kids Club: 

 

I know many of you won't be interested in the kids club but we wouldn't be a family at sea without experiencing the kids club.

 

My kids are 9 and 7, so they're both in the Juniors Club.

 

During the Open House we walked through all the different age group rooms and they have a good mix of video games (Juniors has PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PCs), Legos, and drawing stations.

 

My kids said there were 59 kids in the Juniors Club on night 1. The space isn't very big so I would imagine that was pretty crowded but they enjoyed it. My son was a little bummed because he said all the video games were taken but he had fun playing with Legos.

 

I could imagine if your kids are more shy or introverted that this could be overwhelming.

 

Our most recent previous cruise was on the Celebrity Ascent over Christmas so I asked how this compared and they said they liked that there were more things to do and a bigger space but that it was more crowded.

 

They didn't have any planned activities on night 1, but I'm sure that's coming and I'll report more on this as the week goes on.

 

First Impression Score: 3/5