OBSERVATIONS FROM THE POOP DECK JUNE 2024

[billc23]

9 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Honestly - I'd love to do a 1-on-1 cruise with each of my kids, but at some point I think I'd be pushing the boundaries of what is fair so I haven't even brought that up (and probably won't).

Do it!! I did many one on one vacations with each of my 3 kids, land based and cruising, and the experience was priceless. 

[billc23]

9 hours ago, Sharon_and_TC said:

My wife and I worked hard and saved hard for 40+ years and thought we taught our children the same thing.  When our son passed in 2021, our daughter proudly proclaimed "I guess that means I get everything now". 

 

The following year, she explained to me that "She didn't ask to be born - it was her mother's and my decision to have her - and as such, it is our responsibility to support her financially".

 

Those two conversations helped us decide it was okay to spend the money that WE worked for.  

My condolences on the loss of your son. I have no words on your daughter's response except to say I am saddened to read it.

[morpheusofthesea]

I'd lock my door at night.

Edited June 24 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

9 hours ago, Sharon_and_TC said:

"I guess that means I get everything now". 

 

The following year, she explained to me that "She didn't ask to be born - it was her mother's and my decision to have her - and as such, it is our responsibility to support her financially".

I'd lock my door at night.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

37 minutes ago, billc23 said:

If the Seascape sailing is Jan 18, 2025 I'll be there!

Indeed it is 2025...I need to go update my signature!

 

Will you be staying in the YC as well?

 

It'll be great to meet a fellow Cruise Critic...looking forward to it!

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

37 minutes ago, billc23 said:

Do it!! I did many one on one vacations with each of my 3 kids, land based and cruising, and the experience was priceless. 

I worry that my wife would think it was unfair, but maybe I'll even the score on that by telling her to do a different 1-on-1 vacation with the opposite child and then we can swap the following week.

 

Thank you for the encouragement!

[billc23]

10 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Indeed it is 2025...I need to go update my signature!

 

Will you be staying in the YC as well?

 

It'll be great to meet a fellow Cruise Critic...looking forward to it!

Yes, grandkids ages 4 and 7 too.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, billc23 said:

Yes, grandkids ages 4 and 7 too.

Awesome - we'll be sure to introduce them to my kids. They will be 8 and 10 at the time so they'll be in the same kids club age group with the 7 year old.

 

Looking forward to it!

[DaKahuna]

11 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

 

When I first thought about doing a solo cruise, I felt guilty even asking. However, I got past that by offering a trade:

I would do a solo cruise and in exchange she could take a girls trip and I would take the kids.

 

 Well, maybe if she wants to go somewhere on her own, I could pull that off.  Fortunately no kids to worry about .. our two will be 50 and 49 this year. 

 

11 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Land-based vacations are great as well but we're not the type to sit still for very long so we'd get bored staying at a resort...a cruise is the best of both worlds for us. 

 

 I also enjoy cruises because I do not feel guilty about just sitting around doing nothing.  

 

11 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Thank you for the kind comments and enjoy your grandson's last year of college. I don't think my son is going to be big enough to play in college but I would love to get to watch him play at that level...maybe baseball.

 

 He really bulked up in college .. he has not played at lot in his first three years -- the coach played mostly juniors and seniors his first two years, he was injured most of last year, but this year things are looking really well for him.  

 Hope to catch a couple of his games after the cruise as well. 

 

 

[Pizaz]

I realized I am me if these hated passengers in YC who does not dress up.  You will find me all day and night (except formal nights, I will begrudgingly throw on a polo) in a tshirt or hoodie and shorts.  I live a work life always dressing up so for me it’s nice to bum it up and chillax.  Love your posts!

[morpheusofthesea]

4 hours ago, Pizaz said:

I realized I am me if these hated passengers in YC who does not dress up.  You will find me all day and night (except formal nights, I will begrudgingly throw on a polo) in a tshirt or hoodie and shorts.  I live a work life always dressing up so for me it’s nice to bum it up and chillax.  Love your posts!

No one is "hated" in the YC. (Well maybe a few, like me for instance). I just like to point out that there are just a few venues where the guests are asked to dress up and play the part. I really do not care how one is dressed, actually for us it is dinner and a show at the same time. I actually seat myself in a corner with my back to the crowd. Its DW who enjoys the show. I still like to work in my retirement and still dress up with my black long pants, maroon long sleeve Thai silk shirts and black bow ties every work day. Going on cruises allows me to wear all the custom made jackets I had made cruising to Hong Kong and Thailand. I stand out in a crowd like a peacock. Now if everyone abided by the dress codes I would be lost in the crowd no longer a 'spectacle' and just another well dressed snob. I like it the way things are. Here is this point of view.

  

Another variable in how one may be treated 'differently' by staff in hotels or cruises is in the way one presents oneself.  Four and five star venues go to a lot of trouble and expense to create an 'atmosphere of top notch elegance' and one fails to rise to the occasion and shows great disrespect by dressing in shorts, etc.

  We would extend this to every meal when we cruise nowadays. "When you pay for a stay in a hotel, you also pay for the comfort, amenities, and services of a hotel, but it does not necessarily mean that you can do and act whatever you like and however you feel. There are hotel manners that you must take note of. Courtesy and respect beget the same, and knowing what to wear for breakfast in a hotel is a basic manner that makes a big difference. Most hotels establish a formality culture in dining for breakfast as a sign of respect and consideration for other guests and the staff. Unless your breakfast wear is as comparable to your smart-casual wear, that wouldn’t be a problem." https://thealcazar.com/what-to-wear-for-breakfast-in-a.../

   https://tableagent.com/article/dressing-to-dine-dress-codes-defined/  you can understand why dress codes are sometimes suggested by eateries of a certain merit: they wish for their guests to experience the world they have created. You can savor the luxury of top-notch service best when you too look and feel first-rate. The essence of fine dining wants to take patrons out of their ordinary lives, and for two hours, allow them to bask in the extraordinary experience of their choice. To truly be apart of such a supreme culinary happening—one must look the part and one must dress to dine.

   Not required BUT "Why you should always dress when you go out to eat. Yes, it still matters. By Sam Dangremond, Town & Country. John Winterman, who used to work for Daniel Boulud as maître d' at Daniel, and for Charlie Trotter before that, and asked if he thinks dressing up for dinner still matters."

"Absolutely," said Winterman, who's now managing partner at Batârd in New York City. "I break it down into self-respect and respect for others." Would someone's appearance affect the table they were assigned at, say, Daniel?

"On the record, yes," he said. "If someone comes in making an effort and looking fabulous and glamorous and they know they're in for a premium experience at a premium price, you give them a fabulous table in the middle of the room. And people react to that, when they see a crowd that's well-dressed and beautiful and sparkling."

Edited June 24 by morpheusofthesea

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

12 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

...asked if he thinks dressing up for dinner still matters."

 

"Absolutely," said Winterman, who's now managing partner at Batârd in New York City. "I break it down into self-respect and respect for others." Would someone's appearance affect the table they were assigned at, say, Daniel?

 

This is what it boils down to for me.

 

Do I prefer to dress up? 

 

Absolutely not.

 

But I know for some people it matters and dressing up is my way of showing respect for those around me.

 

Showing up to dinner in a t-shirt and shorts would be easier and more comfortable and I could easily justify it to myself by thinking, "this is my vacation, I'm going to vacation the way I want to."

 

But that would be selfish and I'd be putting my own wants above those around me also trying to enjoy a premium experience.

 

So no - I don't care what you or anybody else wears to dinner. I dress up because it is my way of showing respect for you and the people who are serving me. 

 

Showing respect is important to me on a personal level and for that reason, I'll dress the part, even if some nights I really don't feel like it.

Edited June 24 by FamilyAtSea.travel

[morpheusofthesea]

8 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I'll dress the part, even if some nights I really don't feel like it.

"I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me."

Cary Grant

[Pizaz]

My fancy Gala Night photo!

[DaKahuna]

5 hours ago, Pizaz said:

I realized I am me if these hated passengers in YC who does not dress up.  

 

 Dress up means many things to many people.  On cruises, my daytime attire is usually shorts and a t-shirt, my evening attire is usually long sleeve dress shirt and dress pants.  I do tend to wear a sports coat on formal nights in the YC.  I stopped bringing a suit on formal nights years ago and have no qualms about it.  I do however, draw the line at shorts and t-shirts for evening meals in the dining room, YC or no YC, it's just wrong in my opinion.  

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

12 minutes ago, Pizaz said:

My fancy Gala Night photo!

Giving me Napoleon Dynamite's brother vibes! 

 

 

[Two Wheels Only]

56 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Giving me Napoleon Dynamite's brother vibes! 

 

Kipland Ronald Dynamite aka Kip aka LaFawnduh's husband.

 

"Peace out"

[Jackforever17]

The strange thing isn't he more upper class a venue becomes the more relaxed the dress code becomes, as long as a collar is present and the shorts are tailored with smart footwear in this day and age I see no issues apart from formal nights when a jacket is the least of the requirements. I'm more than happy to pack my tux for formal nights on Cunard but would definitely prefer smart casual in a warmer climate.

 

Anyway it's 19 days until we board our Seascape YC B2B and to say we are looking forward to it would be something of a massive understatement.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

I upgraded an upcoming sailing on the Celebrity Apex to the Retreat so I'm watching videos of the Retreat on there...the lounge doesn't appear to be even close to as nice as the Top Sail Lounge.

 

The lounge on the Sun Princess that we'll be on the following week (over Thanksgiving) looks impressive but it doesn't appear that Celebrity puts as much focus on the Retreat as MSC does in the YC, even on their newer ships.

 

MSC really does seem to do things right with the YC. 

[Two Wheels Only]

43 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

The lounge on the Sun Princess that we'll be on the following week (over Thanksgiving) looks impressive...

 

The Sanctuary Collection section does look nice.

 

Princess also does the slow-motion walking, laughing, eating, dancing, and stretching scenes in their advertisements like MSC does with the Yacht Club, NCL does with the Haven, and Celebrity does with the Retreat. 

 

Maybe that's why dinner service is so slow....😲

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Just now, Two Wheels Only said:

 

The Sanctuary Collection section does look nice.

 

Princess also does the slow-motion walking, laughing, eating, dancing, and stretching scenes in their advertisements like MSC does with the Yacht Club, NCL does with the Haven, and Celebrity does with the Retreat. 

 

Maybe that's why dinner service is so slow....😲

 

We must be cruising wrong as I feel like ours are always in fast forward and over way too soon!

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I upgraded an upcoming sailing on the Celebrity Apex to the Retreat so I'm watching videos of the Retreat on there...the lounge doesn't appear to be even close to as nice as the Top Sail Lounge.

It's not even a fair fight. Top Sail Lounge is far better. Just a few examples:

 

- Bar seating

- Proper espresso machines

- Snacks all day

- Better views

- Nightly entertainment

- Overall more inviting atmosphere, not anemic like Retreat

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

It's not even a fair fight. Top Sail Lounge is far better. Just a few examples:

 

- Bar seating

- Proper espresso machines

- Snacks all day

- Better views

- Nightly entertainment

- Overall more inviting atmosphere, not anemic like Retreat

 

 

While watching a couple tours on YouTube, the only thing I noticed (that I care about) that would be an improvement over YC was their outdoor bar on the sundeck.

 

The good news is the upgrade was much more affordable on this sailing. We paid $7k to upgrade from a balcony stateroom on the Equinox to a Sky Suite...the cost to upgrade from a Concierge-class room to a Magic Carpet Sky Suite was only $2k. 

 

So if it's not great, at least it was a lot less expensive. 

[Sharon_and_TC]

28 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

Princess also does the slow-motion walking, laughing, eating, dancing, and stretching scenes in their advertisements like MSC does with the Yacht Club, NCL does with the Haven, and Celebrity does with the Retreat. 

 

I really dislike the MSC developed/produced Yacht Club videos/advertisement.  You know, the one where the butler meets the well dressed couple at the bottom of the gangway where they are the ONLY couple boarding, and that couple (and a couple of others at various times in the commercial)  enjoy their YC experience where they are the only ones in the completely empty restaurant, empty hot tub, empty Top Sail Lounge, empty Ocean Cay, etc.

 

I completely understand why they do it that way and they all do it.  But it's not real or realistic.  I would rather it be realistic.   With that commercially produced video, I understand why some folks think the Yacht Club is supposed to provide the same atmosphere/service as a private yacht.

 

[Corriegr]

12 minutes ago, Sharon_and_TC said:

I really dislike the MSC developed/produced Yacht Club videos/advertisement.  You know, the one where the butler meets the well dressed couple at the bottom of the gangway where they are the ONLY couple boarding, and that couple (and a couple of others at various times in the commercial)  enjoy their YC experience where they are the only ones in the completely empty restaurant, empty hot tub, empty Top Sail Lounge, empty Ocean Cay, etc.

 

I completely understand why they do it that way and they all do it.  But it's not real or realistic.  I would rather it be realistic.   With that commercially produced video, I understand why some folks think the Yacht Club is supposed to provide the same atmosphere/service as a private yacht.

 

They were filming one of those Saturday morning on the TopSail/Restaurant staircase as we were waiting to disembark. I did laugh at the director as he asked of his aspiring stars.. “Act like you have enough money to be in Yacht Club” !!!!