OBSERVATIONS FROM THE POOP DECK JUNE 2024

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

4 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

She never will. If I used my DW as a filter I wouldn’t be allowed on CC.

Mine is happy for me to get out my old man griping on here so she doesn't have to hear it 🙃

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Was there someone there to take you order and did you get it? 

 

I personally have not eaten a hotdog or hamburger in years. I only posted for all of you.

[no1talks]

21 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

True. I look to be treated like a Prince and I am in the YachtClub. While I paid 3x the price and treated like a common serf as was everyone else on Regent Seven Seas.

Well, more like treated as a prince in a principality of rather limited resources. There are a great many amenities MSC could offer to YC passengers generally, as well as the Royal & Owner suites particularly.

Included laundry and dry cleaning?
Better wines, especially by the glass?
Included specialty dining?
Selection of bathroom amenity brands instead of one house label?
Premium food choices for room service?
Finer bed linens?
Included spa services?

I could go on and on, listing amenities offered to the higher-cost passengers on other lines which will probably never be offered to YC passengers. YC is great for the price, but I would never associate it with princeliness. 

It's perfectly reasonable to eschew such niceties, saying all one's needs are met and there are no other aspirational wants. MSC's genius with YC lies in providing amenities that don't run up the overhead. A deeper wine list costs money. Included laundry costs money. And so on. Letting the YC passengers cut queues adds nothing to the per-passenger cost. Offering the daily newspaper delivery is probably quite cheap because most YCers don't even claim the amenity. Very limited bottle choice for the included in-room alcohol saves a bunch on standing inventory size.

Despite the relatively low-cost amenities, MSC has still axed several in just the last few years, while raising the prices. It doesn't take a crystal ball to see where things will likely be in a few more years. YC regulars will eventually ask themselves, "Is this really worth the money anymore?"

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, no1talks said:

Well, more like treated as a prince in a principality of rather limited resources. There are a great many amenities MSC could offer to YC passengers generally, as well as the Royal & Owner suites particularly.

Included laundry and dry cleaning?
Better wines, especially by the glass?
Included specialty dining?
Selection of bathroom amenity brands instead of one house label?
Premium food choices for room service?
Finer bed linens?
Included spa services?

I could go on and on, listing amenities offered to the higher-cost passengers on other lines which will probably never be offered to YC passengers. YC is great for the price, but I would never associate it with princeliness. 

It's perfectly reasonable to eschew such niceties, saying all one's needs are met and there are no other aspirational wants. MSC's genius with YC lies in providing amenities that don't run up the overhead. A deeper wine list costs money. Included laundry costs money. And so on. Letting the YC passengers cut queues adds nothing to the per-passenger cost. Offering the daily newspaper delivery is probably quite cheap because most YCers don't even claim the amenity. Very limited bottle choice for the included in-room alcohol saves a bunch on standing inventory size.

Despite the relatively low-cost amenities, MSC has still axed several in just the last few years, while raising the prices. It doesn't take a crystal ball to see where things will likely be in a few more years. YC regulars will eventually ask themselves, "Is this really worth the money anymore?"

Yes. You have a good list started for the things that are important for you. I would have agreed with you when I was your age. As one ages comfort becomes the foremost item of  the mature audience. The items on your list no longer hold sway. Food just has to be digestible. 

    

A lot has to do with which ship in the MSC fleet one has chosen. Next is who the Hotel Director is, followed by Yacht Club Director, Head Butler, Maitre d' and Chef of the YC restaurant. Our latest cruise was in April 2024 on the Seascape and it was the best cruise we have had in 50 years of cruising. Never sailed on a MSC ship in a cabin outside the Yacht Club. We can list now all the things to look out for when booking any cruise ship for us.

#1 E muster drill is better. Seascape was to take elevator, scan any time after 11:30, watch video, call#.

#2 Two cabin cleanings per day

#3 No % charge for gambling if using credit card

#4 No extra charge for can sodas vs fountain drinks, all included.

#5 Reserved seating in the theatre for all shows

#6 Complimentary bottled water (not ship distilled with unsanitary reusable bottles)

#7 Reserved or ability to reserve pergola/cabanas on pool deck (avoiding chair hogs)

#8 'Cushioned' pool lounges

#9 Escorts on and off ship avoiding long lines. Group or personal escorts to the front.

#10 First to use tenders off the ship at ports that tender

#11 Dedicated restaurant that is good one need not book Specialty Restaurants

#12 Service that does not involve 2 hours to complete a meal

#13 An attentive butler is not hard to find when needed.  Depends on the guest ($).

#14 Cabins ready upon embarkation/ key cards in hand at check in

#15 Dedicated restaurant OPEN port days

#16 Dedicated buffet to only suite guests

#17 Dedicated pool and sun deck only for suite guests with ample lounges

# 18 All the advantages of a mega ship with the exclusivity of a gated community

#19 walk-in shower not low profile tub/shower combo

#20 No non-suite paying Pinnacle/Zenith/Diamond passengers taking up prime real estate in the Yacht Club

#21 Elevator override key cards for suite guests

#22 Pristine out island with NO bugs crawling all over cabanas

#23 short distance between cabin and restaurant decks

#24 At least a 100 sq ft balcony accommodating a cushioned lounge chair

#25 A reserved table for 2 for all meals in a dedicated restaurant with the same waiters for 'most' every meal

#26 More options for nightly entertainment besides theatre show productions, Loft Cafe, Uptown Lounge, Le Cabaret Rouge, Atrium, Dueling Pianos Times Square, and Top Sail Lounge.

[no1talks]

19 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"Food just has to be digestible." 

Don't say that too loudly, Morpheus.

You may find yourself on a ship, dining like Neo. (The other Morpheus, too.) 😆

[morpheusofthesea]

Just ran into @Corriegr tonight outside the Yacht Club. Nicest couple in the whole CC family. We agreed on the same thing. Yacht Clubs are the best thing in the cruise world today. He told us that the future cruise desk in the YC are now selling and booking Explora Journeys here on board the Seascape. Looks like everyone will be getting their wish of combined loyalty points sooner than later. 

P.S. They are a wealth of information and should post more often. We were amazed with their knowledge and experience of the cruise world. 

Edited June 18 by morpheusofthesea
P.S.

[no1talks]

6 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"He told us that the future cruise desk in the YC are now selling and booking Explora Journeys here on board the Seascape."

Quite the change, if I recall correctly.

Morpheus, back when Explora was just out of the gate, wasn't there a disdain for the line among the YC staff? Again, I may misremember, but I thought you had commented on the lack of familial warmth for Explora on the part of YC.

[morpheusofthesea]

Just now, no1talks said:

Quite the change, if I recall correctly.

Morpheus, back when Explora was just out of the gate, wasn't there a disdain for the line among the YC staff? Again, I may misremember, but I thought you had commented on the lack of familial warmth for Explora on the part of YC.

Yes, you are correct. The Future Cruise Consultants felt that Explora would syphon off their best YC clientele. But my guess is now that they (FCC) are able to get a commission from selling two instead of one cruise line...WTH.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

3 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Yes, you are correct. The Future Cruise Consultants felt that Explora would syphon off their best YC clientele. But my guess is now that they (FCC) are able to get a commission from selling two instead of one cruise line...WTH.

I think the beauty of the YC vs the luxury lines like Explora is the great entertainment and large casinos, water parks, etc.

 

We haven't done a luxury line but they look like they would be much more boring.  

[Bgwest]

14 hours ago, mnocket said:

Easy.  When you enter a full elevator and use your YC card for priority service, everyone else is inconvenienced for your benefit.

 

That said, we're not going to agree on this.  

Clearly there is some homework remaining to be done. I’ll leave that to you. 
Suffice it to say, what you’ve described is NOT the way it works. 

[morpheusofthesea]

When we arrived to our cabin on day one of this cruise the thermostat was on the coolest setting, 5 blue lights and it was cold in the cabin. From experience we purchased and brought a wall thermometer. We gradually raised the setting to warm up the cabin to our comfort level which at home is set to 78 degrees F. Here the warmest setting is 5 red lights and the warmest temperature we can get in the cabin is 74 degrees F. If one wants it warmer just open the balcony door. Maintenance can be called in to recalibrate the thermostat, but we do not bother as this is close enough. It is calibrated cooler for Europeans. We were told the Italians like it cold.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, morpheusofthesea said:

When we arrived to our cabin on day one of this cruise the thermostat was on the coolest setting, 5 blue lights and it was cold in the cabin. From experience we purchased and brought a wall thermometer. We gradually raised the setting to warm up the cabin to our comfort level which at home is set to 78 degrees F. Here the warmest setting is 5 red lights and the warmest temperature we can get in the cabin is 74 degrees F. If one wants it warmer just open the balcony door. Maintenance can be called in to recalibrate the thermostat, but we do not bother as this is close enough. It is calibrated cooler for Europeans. We were told the Italians like it cold.

If my room was 78 degrees, I'd be sleeping in the freezer! 

[morpheusofthesea]

3 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

If my room was 78 degrees, I'd be sleeping in the freezer! 

DW and I both come from upstate NY where we walked to school, uphill in the frigid snow, both ways. When the the temperature rose to 36 degrees and the ice and snow began to melt it was t-shirt weather.  Our families moved to South Florida 50 years ago and we've never been back. A burn those bridges moment. Now we break out the long johns and thermal underwear when the South Florida temperature drops below 70 degrees. It's called acclimatization.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, morpheusofthesea said:

DW and I both come from upstate NY where we walked to school, uphill in the frigid snow, both ways. When the the temperature rose to 36 degrees and the ice and snow began to melt it was t-shirt weather.  Our families moved to South Florida 50 years ago and we've never been back. A burn those bridges moment. Now we break out the long johns and thermal underwear when the South Florida temperature drops below 70 degrees. It's called acclimatization.

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. 

[morpheusofthesea]

13 minutes ago, 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. 

Capitol District. Would hike the Adirondacks every summer until the black flies made it unbearable. Their bites were worse than mosquitos.(Tip, they don't spray the Adirondacks for anything). Would ski the winters until the cold on the slopes made spending more time drinking the hot chocolate in the lodges the only prolonged respite with nobody foolish enough to brave the mountain. So much for wasted season tickets.

P.S. Oh yeah, spent every summer camping Paradox Lake where it rained every day. We spent weeks in a tent listening to rain falling. Now one knows why we love cruising so much. Already had a lifetime of 'pleasure' outdoors 50 years ago.

Edited June 18 by morpheusofthesea

[kelleherdl]

10 hours ago, no1talks said:

Quite the change, if I recall correctly.

Morpheus, back when Explora was just out of the gate, wasn't there a disdain for the line among the YC staff? Again, I may misremember, but I thought you had commented on the lack of familial warmth for Explora on the part of YC.

We had a long chat with our Butler on our last Seashore cruise. He personally had ZERO interest in moving over to EJ. He very much likes the overall work environment of the YC. We agreed with him on the differing roles of ‘hosts’ on EJ. He believes this is the general feeling among the Butlers in YC. We love both EJ and YC. They both have their distinct appeal to us. We have only sailed OT’s on Explora 1, so we have no experience with Residence Hosts on EJ.

[morpheusofthesea]

Today is Grand Cayman. We anchor. MSC is now providing 8 (last time just 5) tenders to transport guests. There are two gangways. Those doing independent tours last time needed a tender tickets. Those with tours just congregate in the Chora theatre. It takes 15-20 minutes to load one tender and its still a 5 minute ride. YC guests with MSC tours are escorted to Chora Theatre and grouped with steerage. YCers independent are escorted to other gangway to waiting tender. Coming back is the rub for YCers. They have to be grouped with steerage all fighting to get back with one line (last time, have yet to hear what happens later this afternoon).

[kelleherdl]

7 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Today is Grand Cayman. We anchor. MSC is now providing 8 (last time just 5) tenders to transport guests. There are two gangways. Those doing independent tours last time needed a tender tickets. Those with tours just congregate in the Chora theatre. It takes 15-20 minutes to load one tender and its still a 5 minute ride. YC guests with MSC tours are escorted to Chora Theatre and grouped with steerage. YCers independent are escorted to other gangway to waiting tender. Coming back is the rub for YCers. They have to be grouped with steerage all fighting to get back with one line (last time, have yet to hear what happens later this afternoon).

We were hugely lucky on our Seashore visit to Grand Cayman last month. We were the only ship in port so we had all the Grand Cayman tenders working for us. Yes, it takes longer to fill those tenders going ashore, but getting back to the ship was very easy.

[morpheusofthesea]

5 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

We had a long chat with our Butler on our last Seashore cruise. He personally had ZERO interest in moving over to EJ.

Hello, Professor !  We had a short chat with another of the YC lounge butlers last cruise in April and she said that she was actively recruited by Explora and they offered her $2000 more per contract to go with them. 

[morpheusofthesea]

43 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

we have no experience with Residence Hosts on EJ.

As you already know we had a Cove Residence which provides a butler/resident host. Ours was a 20 year veteran from P &O. They provide 1/10 the service of a Yacht Club butler. The only service worthwhile that I could determine is unlimited dining reservations at any restaurant (Sakura and Marble &Co included). Been reading that with more than 650 guests that Explora is having problems with long waits for a table at dinner at every restaurant, even lines forming at Emporeum Market Place Buffet. Also reading a lack of evening entertainment. DW just this morning suggested we cancel one of two Explora cruises for another Royal Suite on World America for same month.

[kelleherdl]

3 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Been reading that with more than 650 guests that Explora is having problems with long waits for a table at dinner at every restaurant, even lines forming at Emporeum Market Place Buffet. Also reading a lack of evening entertainment. DW just this morning suggested we cancel one of two Explora cruises for another Royal Suite on World America for same month.

Yep, it’s plus and minuses.  We’re keeping our 23 day Med grand cruise on EJ 2 this September (18 novel ports for us), also keeping our World America and Virtuosa cruises. Different objectives and selection of ports. Overall we may be tapering off our cruises in the next couple of years as we run out of itineraries that interest us. I agree the evening entertainment on EJ seems to still be wanting.

[morpheusofthesea]

47 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

We were the only ship in port so we had all the Grand Cayman tenders working for us.

This may be of interest to everyone that we were just discussing with our butler about tendering and pier runners. That MSC has a policy that captains must adhere to when it comes to whether they have any latitude with leaving a port. When an MSC ship docks this is the worst for late back to ship guests. Every additional 15 minutes is a hefty price that MSC has to pay the port and pilot. Those guests that have MSC booked tours have the insurance they will not be left behind. Those independents up to a certain number let us say 4 will be left on the pier (he was not privy to the exact number). They will become "downliners", those that board at ports 'down the line' or next port and once they reconnect with the ship are subject to further rules and regulations when we return to Miami.

   Next there is a 'number' of late back to the ship that MSC will consider an extra 15 minutes.

   Then there is the only time where the captain has the most leeway. There is no extra cost to MSC staying at anchor and tendering. Guests just have to make it to the pier for the last tender back to the ship.

[morpheusofthesea]

31 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

18 novel ports

I love the adjective. Will add it to my list, nestled, idyllic, exotic, tranquil, paradise, now novel. Do us all a favor and report back on each "novel" port.

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Coming back is the rub for YCers. They have to be grouped with steerage all fighting to get back with one line (last time, have yet to hear what happens later this afternoon).

 

That wasn't the case on our last 2 trips there. There was a separate line for Yacht Club both times. NCL has one line there but NCL Haven guests get to just walk to the front of the line. If MSC has only one line, I would just walk to the front.

[Corriegr]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Today is Grand Cayman. We anchor. MSC is now providing 8 (last time just 5) tenders to transport guests. There are two gangways. Those doing independent tours last time needed a tender tickets. Those with tours just congregate in the Chora theatre. It takes 15-20 minutes to load one tender and its still a 5 minute ride. YC guests with MSC tours are escorted to Chora Theatre and grouped with steerage. YCers independent are escorted to other gangway to waiting tender. Coming back is the rub for YCers. They have to be grouped with steerage all fighting to get back with one line (last time, have yet to hear what happens later this afternoon).

I will let you know how bad it is. This morning we did a very rare excursion. There was a lot of hanging around and ended being over an hour between leaving Top Sail Lounge and the tour starting.