OBSERVATIONS FROM THE POOP DECK JUNE 2024

[morpheusofthesea]

38 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

and tell him it's good.

Wine is always good one way or another. Swishing tells one if it should accompany a meal on its own. If it doesn't taste like vinegar it should be used to fill one's glass, otherwise it should be poured on one's salad.

[no1talks]

11 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

That is still a crapshoot, a risky business, a shot in the dark, a spin of the wheel and an iffy proposition that the chef, butler, room steward, YC director, maitre 'd, hotel director or sommelier will still be there when you sail next week or next year.

 

By "other options" I was referring to another cruise line that has closed-loop itineraries for the aforementioned countries.

 

Of course, there is a chance the MSC presence in Galveston (newer ship) expands their destinations to include the partial transit of the Panama Canal and those regional ports.

[morpheusofthesea]

7 minutes ago, TrinaLC said:

 

Agreed!  We were on one of the Seas and several officers had their families with young kids. They were taking up a great number of the few shady tables, and lingering basically all day. 
 

Sounds like Regent Seven Seas.

[morpheusofthesea]

Here are two popular YC Directors, taken on Ocean Cay in August 2023, on left Taylan, on the right Iancu. Iancu came over from Princess having been Director of Food and Beverage, which is actually two steps above the position of YC Director. Today we find out that he was actually hired to be Hotel Director, which is his current position with MSC.

[cruisebeachgirl703]

4 hours ago, no1talks said:

 

The unfortunate issue, as reflected by years of YC cruise anecdotes, is it takes very little in the way of staffing changes to diminish the YC quality in any given ship.

 

A chef is switched.

A rookie bartender is off his game.

A disengaged director lets things slip.

 

MSC is, whether charming or maddening, consistently inconsistent.

 

Fortunately, even if a given YC is off its game, things are usually still very enjoyable.

We experienced a less than what we knew experience recent April into May Mera. YC director was gone/personal reasons. Felt almost like "opportunity to do less".

[oceans.calling]

1 hour ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

We experienced a less than what we knew experience recent April into May Mera. YC director was gone/personal reasons. Felt almost like "opportunity to do less".

She left unexpectedly at the end of our cruise 4/18 but we weren’t aware until we reboarded 4/28 and heard she was gone. 

Edited June 19 by oceans.calling

[morpheusofthesea]

10 minutes ago, oceans.calling said:

She left unexpectedly at the end of our cruise 4/18 but we weren’t aware until we reboarded 4/28 and heard she was gone. 

  1 hour ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

We experienced a less than what we knew experience recent April into May Mera. YC director was gone/personal reasons. Felt almost like "opportunity to do less".

 

This is my question again. "Why the difference ?" One YC guest feels less perceived attention and another feels no different attention missing to the same situation.

[oceans.calling]

3 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

  1 hour ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

We experienced a less than what we knew experience recent April into May Mera. YC director was gone/personal reasons. Felt almost like "opportunity to do less".

 

This is my question again. "Why the difference ?" One YC guest feels less perceived attention and another feels no different attention missing to the same situation.

Having been on the Meraviglia 5 times within 6 months last year and 3 this year so far we have made many personal connections with their staff. To this day we still communicate with them so the loss of her did not take away from our YC experience since we had so many others that were right there namely the head concierge. 

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, oceans.calling said:

Having been on the Meraviglia 5 times within 6 months last year and 3 this year so far we have made many personal connections with their staff. To this day we still communicate with them so the loss of her did not take away from our YC experience since we had so many others that were right there namely the head concierge. 

Still does not explain another's perceived sub par treatment on the same cruise.

[oceans.calling]

As I cannot explain or determine another’s “perceived” expectations of the YC and what they did or didn't receive, we however have never been disappointed even the times when no YC Director was on board. 
I’m sure you can find some quote that applies😉😉.

Does this apply??😊. I’m no scholar but maybe. 😂

 

”There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” Aldous Huxley 

[DaKahuna]

5 hours ago, no1talks said:

 

Agreed. I was looking forward to cruising Divina's Colombia-Panama-Costa Rica itinerary in a year or two, but then I learned there is no Sommelier. 

 

My wife and I have fun letting a Somm pick our wines by the glass, as well as apéritif and digestif each dinner. It makes for good conversation and a chance to break out of our usual choices.

 

Now, we'll have to look for other options for those ports.

 

Fear not - between a good waiter and the Maitre'd, you can still get some excellent wine choices.  It took me a couple of days to discover this.  

 

I also found out, too late to really take advantage of it, that there is a wine by the bottle list as well that you do not receive if you ask your waiter in Le Muse for the wine list. 

 

Here is a picture I took of the wine list .. 

 

 

[oceans.calling]

6 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

MSC has one of the best. A 20year veteran sommelier named Belinda. I think she is presently on Meraviglia with Maitre d' Arthur.

Actually Rudy Scott is still on Meraviglia with Arthur. Just confirmed it with him. 

[morpheusofthesea]

9 minutes ago, oceans.calling said:

Actually Rudy Scott is still on Meraviglia with Arthur. Just confirmed it with him. 

Ask him where is Belinda ? Our waiter obviously is mistaken.

[TrinaLC]

On 6/18/2024 at 10:36 AM, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Upstate NY has become anything that's not the city it seems... From Binghamton to Syracuse to Western NY.

 

Which part are you from? Just curious...I lived in Lockport when I was a kid in the late 80s and I'm still a cursed Bills fan. 

We are from actual western NY! Chautauqua county. 

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, oceans.calling said:

As I cannot explain or determine another’s “perceived” expectations of the YC and what they did or didn't receive, we however have never been disappointed even the times when no YC Director was on board. 
I’m sure you can find some quote that applies😉😉.

Does this apply??😊. I’m no scholar but maybe. 😂

 

”There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” Aldous Huxley 

Beautiful.

[morpheusofthesea]

Here is something for those that love a 20% discount. Tonight for one hour the LOGO SHOP on board has a 20% sale on everything. This sign advertising this was only put in the window display this morning. We got to the shop at 7 pm because we did not want to miss getting good seats for the 7:15 show of BB Jazz Quartet in the Loft Cafe. Having made a purchase earlier in the week of a MSC jacket we figured we get another at 20% off. The attendent recognized us and offered to put our new sale aside and ring it up after 8 pm getting us the 20% discount and we could pick it up after the show.

[morpheusofthesea]

Today we docked in Cozumel at the Punta Lagostina . It was raining all day and all the MSC excursions were cancelled and refunded. Many still got off the ship in the rain. Most stayed on board. The daily lunch buffet was cancelled on the One Pool Deck which meant everyone ate in the YC Restaurant. This was a real tough day for the wait staff. Most every one in the YC slept in later, so the YC Restaurant stayed open til 9:30 am instead of 9:00am. The last breakfast diner left at 11:00 am. Hardly any time for the wait staff to sleep before 12:00 lunch shift. The Top Sail Lounge was packed all morning and when we went to take lunch at 12:00 DW noticed that the munchies had been wiped clean from the trays in TSL. Happy to say that after our lunch I made this video of the refilled trays. What the deuces is a salami muffin ?

[morpheusofthesea]

This is the first time for us on a Seaship that it is rocking and rolling due to the weather. Tonight at the Chora Theatre show the late seating was practically deserted. I asked our butler where is everybody tonight. His reply was he has to run back to the YC because more than usual number of YC guests are staying in their cabins and ordering roomservice sandwiches due to seasickness. (Must be very mild if they can eat a sandwich).

[morpheusofthesea]

For that very rare reader that resides outside the YC in steerage, here are your posted hours for dinner.

[Corriegr]

21 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

This is the first time for us on a Seaship that it is rocking and rolling due to the weather. Tonight at the Chora Theatre show the late seating was practically deserted. I asked our butler where is everybody tonight. His reply was he has to run back to the YC because more than usual number of YC guests are staying in their cabins and ordering roomservice sandwiches due to seasickness. (Must be very mild if they can eat a sandwich).

Didn’t think it was that bad tbh and had far worse coming away from Norway on the Virtuosa two years ago. Then again I’m that twisted person that loves a bit of turbulence on flights…

[morpheusofthesea]

I discovered the secret ingredient to Venchi chocolate, the Swiss company that develops and processes the cocao bean. They also supply their chocolate to swiss cocolate manufacturer Nestles..." N E S T L E S nestles makes the very best....chocolate."

[morpheusofthesea]

4 minutes ago, Corriegr said:

I’m that twisted person that loves a bit of turbulence on flights…

Have you tried the Robotron on board this ship ? You have the use of a butler that will butt right in front of the long line of little rascals on this ship. I'd pay just to watch the show of you being butted to the front of this line.

[Corriegr]

2 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Have you tried the Robotron on board this ship ? You have the use of a butler that will butt right in front of the long line of little rascals on this ship. I'd pay just to watch the show of you being butted to the front of this line.

So tempting just for that …

[morpheusofthesea]

Here is a 33 second clip of the best entertainment on board this ship. Loft Cafe. BB Jazz Quartet.

[no1talks]

42 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"...more than usual number of YC guests are staying in their cabins and ordering room service sandwiches due to seasickness."

We still have not had our indispensable Scopolamine patches really put to the test. However, next year's Queen Mary 2 cruise will be our longest and we are thinking about taking a day off between patches. We're unsure about two weeks uninterrupted use.