Best Cat Mom

Day 16 Dinner menu:

Day 16 Lunch menu:

Day 16…

Today was full of "lasts" for our cruise  -- last full day of cruising , last sea day, last dinner, last… just about everything for this cruise. 😞

The morning was a little overcast but the seas had calmed a bit. We were up before the alarm. I always say that you know your internal clock has fully adapted to vacation when you don't need an alarm to wake up. Great, we're fully rested -- and now we go home. Not fair!

We enjoyed Baileys and coffee in the room (not our last though!) and then headed to Le Muse around 8:30am. Today, BCD tried something different -- he ordered European-style plates of cold cuts and cheese and selected a few croissants from the bread tray to have some breakfast sandwiches. I opted for an egg white omelet with bacon and cheese, a little different for me as well. We had two cappuccinos and two excellent mimosas, made with our newest friend, Pommery.

Our British suppliers came in for breakfast and BCD thought about going back to the cabin to get the black car for them but decided to wait until later in the day. We saw them in TSL before dinner when they stopped by our table to check production status. BCD had the black car ready and gave it to them. They seemed really appreciative and said that they'd give it to their grandson. BCD thanked them and stressed that they were such a big contributor to his success.

We had drinks after breakfast in TSL (it's worked for us every other day, why not?) but this time we changed our orders. I had an orange juice with coconut rum and BCD ordered <something different> (no notes, sorry). The butler was astonished and commented, "You two have never ordered those drinks before!" In case there was any doubt, they notice who orders what even if they don't wait on you every day.

We needed to firm up our cabin for next year's cruise so we checked the available rooms on the MSC website. Our same cabin was not available since the Future Cruise Consultant had put a hold on it for us. I was concerned that between when the hold expired and when our TA went to reserve it, someone else might get it. If that did occur, I wanted other options. I went to the corridor to try determine which port-side rooms had the bed on the left and ran into Jehwell, our junior butler. He told me which of the available ones fit our criteria and I let the TA know. We were happy to find that she was eventually able to reserve our same cabin, but I was pleased to have other choices just in case.

We had just two more things to accomplish today that were not part of our daily routine -- tips and packing. Packing always starts later in the day and finishes after dinner, at least for us. So tips were next on the agenda. We had visited the casino one time so far and had vouchers for a part of the amount. We knew we’d need more, but did not have an exact amount yet. We started our list with the names we knew (Glenn, Ryan, etc.) and then added descriptions of the people where we needed to find out names. Some of the crew move so fast that the name tags are not large enough to see their names! We knew that the YC concierge would be able to help with envelopes and names -- even with our crazy descriptions of who we meant.

We picked up the envelopes and went back to the cabin to total up our amounts, and then we headed to the casino for the additional funds needed. The casino was pretty empty so we decided to have a drink at the bar first. We chatted with a solo cruiser who told us she was a regular at the casino bar and had 2 rounds of Sidecars and Rusty Nails with her. The drinks were good, but not as good as Hubert's in TSL. We said our goodbyes, found a slot machine to charge some funds to the room, played for a few minutes, paid out the machine and headed to the cashier to cash out our 3 vouchers. We knew the ship was on Euros until the end of this cruise. We also knew that tips from the last several months would have also been in Euros and that the exchange rate to US Dollars was pretty close right now, so we did not concern ourselves with exchanging currency. We asked for smaller bills from the cashier, but knew we'd probably need some more later. The YC concierge can do that too. The YC concierge can do almost anything. LOL

We headed back to the cabin to fill up the envelopes and label them appropriately. Then the most fun and (sometimes) hardest part began -- finding everyone to thank them for helping us to have an absolutely wonderful holiday!

The stress of the last cruise day -- collecting names, getting cash, getting change, filling envelopes and finding people -- does not end for us until we place the last envelope into its proper hands. We won't even think of packing until the bulk of this part is over for us. Don't get me wrong. We enjoy it, but it is stressful if you can't find someone. The people in Le Muse are usually easy because we know where to find them, though service can make them elusive in the restaurant that last night. But some of the others can be tough to find. Here's where the YC concierge comes to your rescue once again. They know why you're looking for people and they're happy to help you find them. They are the first envelope we hand out, for obvious reasons.

Somewhere in the middle of the day, we had our last lunch in Le Muse. I know it was in Le Muse because we watched them setting up for Italian night, but it's kinda a blur now. I think we both started with the salmon tartare, one of our favorites. We definitely skipped the prawns, so maybe we both had burgers? I really can't recall. And I have no notes. Busy day with the envelopes. 😞

We did most of our packing that afternoon, but left the last of it for after dinner. The YC butlers are usually collecting luggage long into the night. We've been told that midnight or later is still not too late. When we do put out the last bag -- because we'll put them out as we go, not all at once -- as long as there are other bags in the corridor, we know that we're not too late. If ever we did not see another bag, we'd just let the YC concierge know. This time, we ordered a pizza to facilitate our efforts and BCD got us some generous double pours of red wine from TSL that helped even more. I always find packing at the end easier. It's pretty much all ready to be laundered, so who cares if it is wrinkled? Also, a domestic flight out of Miami allows us 70 pounds maximum for each suitcase (versus 50 pounds international on the way to Barcelona for this holiday), so we don't have to worry about balancing everything as carefully between the 4 bags. Yes, we traveled with 4 checked bags, 3 hard-sided suitcases and one traditional garment bag. We each had a small carry on with our electronics, prescriptions and jewelry as well.

Next we went to dinner, which I remember. Italian night! The staff were dressed in the traditional Italian colors of green, white and red and the tables were adorned with runners and napkins in the same colors, not like the Mediterranean dinner with just a light green.

I recall us having champagne to start and then switching to an Italian red. We both ordered carpaccio to start. For entrées, we shared the osso bucco and both had lamb chops. Our saying when we eat lamb is that "Mary is sobbing uncontrollably." After we shared that quote early in the cruise, Glenn would sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" every time he brought some to us.

Not sure if we had dessert, though BCD does think he had crepes suzette each time it was offered. I would imagine I had some cheese with the last of my Italian red. Honestly, it's a blank to us now.

We handed out the rest of our envelopes during dinner. Two of the people thanked us and then said something like "no car?" BCD knew that he had 2 more cars nearly complete and decided that he'd finish them for delivery at breakfast. Production would continue at least a little bit longer.

After dinner, we headed to TSL for our last night of after dinner drinks. The piano player was there tonight and Hubert told us that he'd be singing with her later in the evening. He was excited that Pepe had given him permission to sing -- and so were we. We have heard him various times on this cruise singing along when he's been behind the bar and we'd also heard him on the YC pool deck on a previous cruise. He has an excellent voice.

As the time for the end of entertainment approached in TSL, Hubert went up to the microphone and we were surprised to find that he was a bit nervous. We and others seated at the bar encouraged him as much as we could. He sang a few songs with the piano player, but it was clear that they'd not had any time to rehearse so their timing was not quite in sync. As it was late, she packed up and headed out. Then Hubert chose to sing a few more songs a cappella -- and he was absolutely wonderful! I wish that we could have heard him sing a little every night. He is that good. If you are ever fortunate enough to be on a cruise with him, you'll find out. Maybe give him a bit of encouragement to help him with his nervousness. You won't be disappointed, I'm sure!

We then thanked him and the other butlers, said our goodbyes to the other passengers we'd come to know and headed back to the cabin to put the rest of our luggage outside our door.

Day 17, disembarkation day, comes next… 😞

Day 15 Dinner menu:

Day 15 Lunch menu:

Day 15…

[I may not be as detailed now given that it has been some time since the cruise, but I'll include as much as I recall. I did have some notes from the earlier part of the day luckily.]

Today was a sea day and we were relieved not to have to get up early. We had our usual Baileys and coffee in the room and then headed to Le Muse for breakfast. I believe that the sea had started to get quite rocky by this morning, as we had been sharing the waters with a new storm that was building in the Caribbean. Rough water has never been a problem for us, but sometimes it makes for interesting walks around the ship.

BCD had the MSC Express and I again ordered the soft boiled eggs with a side of bacon. We had one mimosa and one cappuccino each.

I've come to expect that the eggs are served upside down in the egg cups as I learned with my very first order of boiled eggs. At least, they are upside to me, with the big air pocket facing upward. I'm not sure if that is "normal" in Europe. As I was carefully peeling my eggs, our server came over to the table to ask if I needed help. (Maybe I was peeling too slowly?) I was flabbergasted, but in a good way. Could you imagine having the server peel your eggs? Perhaps we've been underthinking services in YC all this time? LOL By the way, I did decline the offer of help, if anyone wondered.

I'm sure we headed back to TSL after breakfast, stopping on our regular route to beg, I mean -- ask, for more car supplies. In TSL, we were gifted some supplies by a British couple who had earlier admired BCD's creations. They've helped with supplies for a few days now and had told us about a male relative (Maybe a grandson if I'm remembering correctly? They were certainly very proud of him.) who was in the automotive industry. BCD has decided that he will be gifting them the black car when we catch up with them later today or tomorrow.

Since we've been enjoying our cruise so much I spent some time with the Future Cruise Consultant to investigate the same crossing in 2024. I got a quote that seemed fair, along with the extra OBC for booking on board. In addition to pricing and OBC, one of the touted advantages of booking onboard is the added flexibility of changes. The change window increases to one year and re-booking can be on any MSC ship for any destination. I have read here on CC that people have difficulty getting MSC to honor this additional flexibility, but it is still a named benefit.

I checked with our personal TA later and found a better deal, both price-wise and OBC-wise. In fact, the OBC was nearly $1,500 more from our TA. I think the deposit is lower when you book on board as well. Our TA only needed a $600 deposit so that did not sway us from better pricing and OBC and neither did the more flexible change rules. We decided to book with our TA. I still needed to check which cabins would be available however. We prefer a room with the bed on the left side whenever possible. We also knew that port side was considered better for a westward crossing, due to the southern exposure adding warmth if the weather was cold during the voyage. If you looked at my signature, you'd notice that we did indeed book again -- and in our same cabin! I hope everyone in 16013 between now and November are kind to the furnishings. 🙂

For lunch at Le Muse today, they were out of Nicholas Feuillatte champagne and were serving Pommery instead. I liked it very much and thought it a nice upgrade. It had a more subtle flavor and smaller bubbles. BCD liked it as well but not because of the taste; he liked it because the wires were a nice bright blue color. He had acquired some of these wires already in our collection of supplies, but now he thought he could look forward to more of them. He set his sights on creating a completely blue car.

As for food, we both had foie gras for our first course and BCD also had the crab. For my entrée, I had the Waldorf salad from the Starters section since the entrées seemed a bit heavier than I wanted today. This was the first time I've ever tried the Waldorf salad on MSC; I guess there has always been something else I wanted instead on the days it was offered. I loved it -- great flavors and not too heavy. I have discovered another new favorite on this cruise. BCD had the swordfish. BCD had sauvignon blanc with his meal, while I tried my best to drink enough Pommery to get some more wires (I was successful -- they had to open another bottle. Is anyone surprised?) For dessert, I had coffee ice cream with Kahlua and BCD had a sundae.

I guess we spent the entire afternoon in TSL as usual, though I cannot recall right now. I'm sure adult beverages were enjoyed and BCD toiled away at his blue car.

This evening was the last Gala Dinner in Le Muse and the first one with lobster. We figured that the ship must have taken on provisions in the Caribbean that were of the US-menu variety and that's why we would (at last) have lobster tails. We were definitely looking forward to our meals tonight.

We dressed for dinner in our finery for the last time on this cruise -- suit/tie and dress/heels (guess who was in which?). Interestingly, the daily planner had today's attire listed as casual. I'm not sure if there was a gala dinner in the MDR tonight as well. Since Divina is not a "smart ship," I'm not even sure how to check the MDR menus. I have read on CC that Divina has had her IT upgraded and the MSC for Me app is now functional, but I don't know if it as robust an offering as on the "full" MSC for Me ships.

We arrived at Le Muse at I-don't-remember-o'clock but I do remember weaving my way to our table in Glenn and Ryan's section. Why does it seem the sea is rougher whenever I wear heels? LOL I can just blame it on the alcohol, though sometimes I think more alcohol helps me to sway WITH the rocky seas. Warsha, the hostess, immediately put herself directly to my side and I could tell that I was not the first person she had escorted quite so closely that evening. She has really been great the whole cruise. We've seen her circulating among tables when it is later in the service and there are no more people coming in to seat, chatting with people and in general making sure all is well. Mehmet has a great assistant in her and they seem to work well as a team.

Once we were (safely) seated, we could see it was a quite busy time in the restaurant. We did spend a little longer than usual with our menus but no matter to us. Pommery kept us company until Glenn came by to take our orders. 😉

BCD started with the snails. We had loved having them on the everyday menu on Seaside but they are not a standard offering on Divina, at least not yet or maybe not until Divina is based in the Caribbean. On Seaside, they were always able to make me a special GF version of the snails, but I knew better than to expect it on a busy night like tonight in Le Muse. I opted for the octopus carpaccio as my starter, one of my favorites. We both ordered filet and lobster tail, plus a champagne risotto to share. 

We enjoyed our starters and champagne. As we were waiting for our entrées, we noticed the Hotel Manager circulating amongst the tables. He stopped by ours and asked how all was, and we told him we were very pleased with Mehmet and his staff. After a little while, we realized that many tables around us were also in between courses. I think around this time Glenn came by to apologize for the delay in our entrées. We hadn't really noticed until just then, as Pommery was there to occupy our time.

The entrées did finally arrive and we learned that the kitchen had run out of the lobster tails and had to start a new batch -- apparently, caught unaware of the demand timing. We saw at least one table voicing their displeasure with the Hotel Manager, but everyone else seemed to take it in stride. I know we did -- BCD, Pommery and me.

The dinner was excellent. I think BCD had a red wine with his filet. I may have had both red and champagne available for alternating bites of filet and lobster. BCD had the crepes for dessert and I either had some cheese or more Pommery to keep him company.

We stumbled back to the cabin -- it was the rough seas, not the I-cannot-recall-how-many-glasses-of-Pommery-between-courses beverages we enjoyed that caused our stumbling. No nightcaps in TSL for us tonight -- because of the rocky seas. Yes, blame it all on the rocky seas. LOL

Day 16 coming up next…

11 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

I knew it was smaller of a layout than the ones most often discussed here

In our opinion, one nice thing about Divina (and Fantasia, and likely all the Fantasia-class ships) is that there are more tables in the shade right by the bar. On Seaside, the "best" shade is around the sides of the bar and one of those sides is also the smoking section. Selection of food may be less on Divina, but selection of shady seating is more. Of course, others may prefer the sun and consider Seaside better.

On 12/16/2023 at 2:42 PM, DaKahuna said:

Do you happen to know if the restaurant (sushi) in Galaxy is open on port days for lunch or only on sea days?

I checked all of our daily planners. Every sea day, Galaxy was open 12:00 to 14:00 for lunch. Every day, including embarkation day, Galaxy was open for dinner 18:00 to 21:30. I would imagine the specific times might change for a different mix of passengers, but being open for sea days seems to be the norm.

On 12/12/2023 at 8:11 PM, DaKahuna said:

Do  you happen to have any pictures of the food offerings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the buffet set up at the One Bar?

We had missed breakfast that next day after you asked (and the day after that was disembarkation day so no breakfast at the One Pool that day). They do not serve dinner up there, though the bar stays open until 7pm-ish. They'll close earlier if no one is up there or stay open a bit later if there is a crowd -- like TSL usually does to accommodate whoever is around as well.

The One Pool buffet is a much smaller layout on Divina (and Fantasia) than we had on Seaside. The desserts are showcased all the way to the left, under cover. Then to the right of them are the cold offerings, then to the right for the rest of the buffet are the hot offerings. All were well-labeled in several languages, but did not list allergen information. The condiments, utensils, napkins and plates are on the top. On request, they will make you hamburgers and a pasta offering that changes daily. Those are prepared elsewhere, as they don't have a full grill behind the buffet on Divina (or Fantasia) like they do on Seaside (and other ships too, but I'm not sure which because we've only been on Seaside, Divina and Fantasia so far). We have ordered burgers at the One Pool buffet and they are always served hot, so I don't think you'll have any issues with food temperature even though they don't make those offerings right there.

Here are some images with Glenn and Ryan at the lunch buffet (Ryan by himself in the first one and Glenn is on the right in the other two):

My apologies to everyone!

We arrived in Miami on time and disembarked, traveled to the airport and had barely been in the Delta Sky Club for 10 minutes when we got a family text about BCD's brother being in the hospital in a coma. It's been quite tough for our family for last few weeks. The funeral is tomorrow. 😞

Give me a few days to catch my breath and I'll post about the last days of our trip. I especially want to cover the disembark -- including BCD retrieving his Leatherman -- since it may be helpful to others.

Back soon...

Just now, ecslady said:

I have some questions for you regarding eating Gluten Free.  How was it handled within The Yacht Club and also elsewhere on the ship?  Were there any options on the buffet set out for you or did you have to ask for items to be made special?  Did you encounter any difficulties?

I have been GF on all our MSC cruises, actually on all our cruises except the first one back in 2006. I do not want to jinx myself but I will risk it -- I have only had one slight issue with GF and that was at breakfast on disembarkation day where we had a server that we'd not had before and I forgot to mention the GF to him. I knew that some responsibility was mine in that case so I never brought it up with MSC or held it against them. I have been GF since January 2012 and I still sometimes forget to mention it when dining outside of our home. I have been hyper-vigilant on the cruises, though, because it seemed too easy for errors to occur. YC has been great, this time and always. They tell me what I can eat on the menu, what they can change to allow me to eat, and what I cannot have at all. Sometimes I will order one thing and tell them "if the chef says I can have it" and then give them another option in case the chef says no. I try to make it easier on them so they don't have to come back and ask me for anther choice. I'll also order something and tell them if they have to leave out something (sauce, bread, etc.) to make it GF, that I'm fine with it. Basically, I try to convey that if they keep me healthy, I don't mind how they change the menu.

I have avoided the buffet on YC One Deck because of the difficulty they might have figuring out what is GF, and we really don't like buffets in general. I think we have eaten there 4 or 5 times total over the 6 MSC cruises we've had. And the regular buffet is a "no" with us completely. YC has room service for pizzas 24 hours a day. There is nothing else in the buffet that we want.

Just thought of another thing that you did not ask -- the snacks in TSL. The labels on them are just words, no food allergy indicators. Some are obviously not GF because they are mini-sandwiches, a topping on a piece of bread, a mini-dessert tart, a piece of cake, etc. Some are GF, such as pesto on mozzarella, fresh fruit, nuts, etc. We don't snack that much in TSL so I've never bothered to ask about making some of those GF, but if something really appealed to you, you could try asking them to prepare it GF.

Just now, jean87510 said:

I'm also curious if you used the thermal spa area at all. 

Nope, but it is so small on Divina that we only use it with spa services. The nice part of YC on Divina is that the YC elevator goes directly to the spa, opening in a YC-exclusive entrance to the spa. You can wear your YC bathrobe and slippers and not encounter anyone outside of the YC or spa as you go back and forth.

9 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Do  you happen to have any pictures of the food offerings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the buffet set up at the One Bar?

Missed breakfast already. 😞

Will try to get some pix of lunch later for you.

9 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Did you visit the Spa at any time?  I am curious as to what free services the YC guest receive at the Spa.

Funny you ask. We usually get a couples massage and had planned for at least two this cruise. Yet here we are on the last day and we've never had time to book even one. Our own fault -- just too "busy" enjoying everything else.

We have been to the Divina spa on other cruises. It's smaller and there is not all the extra sauna/steam rooms, at least not coed ones. You get free access as YC but we only use it when we buy spa treatments.

9 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Does the menu vary for lunch and or dinner daily at the One Bar buffet?

They only offer breakfast and lunch at the One Bar. The bar itself usually closes at 7pm (I guess some days might differ but I don't recall from the daily programs). After lunch is over, there are snacks available until a certain time (again, not sure of exact times but on the daily programs).

As for the items offered, they do usually vary a bit. We don't go there often but have seen different  entrées at different lunch days, with the salad/cold items being more consistent. You can always ask for something not there. I've asked for mixed berries, for example, and they've gotten them for me (who knows from where, but I got them). Breakfast would likely be more consistent, but I can't say for sure. 

Information about Customs and Border Protection in Puerto Rico:

Day 14 Dinner menu:

Day 14 Lunch menu:

Day 14…

We had a port stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico, today. The alarm woke us up way too early -- it was complete darkness outside (ggrrrr). We had to be in TSL by 7:40am for the butlers to take us to the meeting point for our tour. Before the tour, we would need to pass through US Customs and Border Protection as this was our first stop in the US. This does make Miami dis-embarkment easier for us, but the early hour was not welcome in the least.

Le Muse did not open until 7am and we did not think it fair to rush them through our breakfast so we decided that the TSL breakfast bites would suffice for this one day. BCD had a few croissant sandwiches of ham with cheese and turkey with cucumber, heavy on the croissant and light on the filings. I had some slices of meat and cheese, which were laid out in TSL European style, and a GF chocolate chip muffin I had saved from a previous breakfast. We had foregone the Baileys and coffee this morning in the room (che brutto! how horrible! que horrible!) so had 2 cappuccinos and 2 mimosas each in TSL.

At 7:40pm, a butler took us to the Black and White Lounge, where all people -- not just YC -- who had MSC excursions were waiting for the ship to be cleared so we could go through the border patrol screening. The lounge looked like it was filling up, but the butler found an area for us to all sit together and let the staff in there know that we were all YC.

Announcements were made a few times that Border Patrol had not yet cleared the ship. At 8:21am (yes, we were closely monitoring the time now that we knew we woke up way too early LOL), they said the ship was cleared and they began calling groups by bus number. Busses 1, 2, 3 and 4 were called first. A few of our group left, with 6 of us still remaining. I was thinking that this would be a great time for Pepe to show up and get everyone moving -- and not 2 minutes later, there he was! He got us all up front near where the first groups had assembled and told the staff that we were YC. Then they called the next few buses, including 6. We all proceeded to follow the staff to one of the stairs and down a few flights. Then there was a complete stop. It seemed that we were now behind the first 4 bus groups, all on the stairs that led to the passageway that ultimately led off the ship. As we waited there for what seemed like quite a long time -- some older passengers had to sit down on the steps during the wait -- I said to BCD that delay made me think that facial recognition was not working. Our experience with facial recognition in Port Canaveral during our last B2B was a breeze compared to this; the line hardly ever stopped moving then. After maybe another 30 minutes, the line slowly began to move. As we showed our cruise cards to exit the ship, Pepe was there to send on our way with best wishes for a good excursion. We've never had that experience before from a YC Director. Maybe he did that because he was trying to temper any frustration with all the waiting? It was a nice touch.

We proceeded into the large hall to present passports to Border Patrol, a line where we waited about 20 minutes more. Facial recognition was indeed not working and each family was spending a few minutes with each agent. When facial recognition is used, each person only takes about 10 seconds to be cleared -- big difference! Then we walked to the right, down the escalator and out the doors to the waiting tour guides who held paddles with their bus numbers. Our tour guide escorted us to our van and we were seated in there by 9:15am, a total time of just over 1.5 hours from when we left TSL, though with all that waiting it did seem longer. We only waited another 15 minutes for the rest of the tour group and our tour driver began the tour at 9:30am.

The tour bus was smaller than we've had on almost all our other MSC excursions. Once the tour began, we thought that the smaller bus was because of the narrow streets in some parts of San Juan. The last part of the tour was an optional 45-minute block of time to shop or the bus would take you back to the ship. We opted to return to the ship.

We arrived back at the ship at 11:55am, pleased that we had a great tour. We had plenty of time to return to the cabin before lunch in Le Muse. We noticed that there were some emergency drills going on as we heard "evacuate ship" on the public address system. Some of the doors -- leafs, as they are labeled -- in the passageways around our cabin were closed and our regular route was blocked. We were able to easily navigate another path, but I could see others not familiar with Divina having a difficult time.

When we arrived at Le Muse, no tables were occupied. A small staff was there and we presumed the others were taking part in the drill. Three more couples arrived shortly after us. We figured that most people were still ashore in San Juan. We don't depart until 2am in the morning tomorrow, so many people might have lengthy excursions to take advantage of all the time in port. We then saw a flurry of activity in the back of the restaurant as they set up for a VIP lunch. The Coast Guard members came in, still in their work coveralls, and seemed to be all smiles making us think the drill went well.

We were hungry from our tour and very little breakfast so we had a pretty big lunch. We both ordered prosciutto and mozzarella as starters and pork as entrées, accompanied by a pinot noir. For dessert, BCD had carrot cake and I had coffee ice cream topped with a shot of Kahlua.

All drills were complete by the time we finished lunch. We stopped at all the bars collecting supplies and headed back to TSL so BCD could get back to work. We can't have him slacking off all the time, like he did this morning.

When evening came, we headed back to the cabin to change for dinner. We arrived at Le Muse around 7:45pm and were surprised when Glenn said that the VIPs had already had dinner and left.

We had some champagne and studied the menus. A few corks and wires were dropped off at the table to BCD's delight. For starters, we both had the vitello. For his entrée, BCD paired a filet mignon with a Maryland crab cake, with a Syrah. I opted for the broiled amberjack with a sauvignon blanc. We both had grana padano for dessert, with me changing to the dolcetto d'alba.

We headed back to TSL for 3 rounds of nightcaps and some live music. We headed to bed exhausted after a long and fun day.

Day 15 tomorrow…

I have no idea on entertainment. We don't partake in any shows or live music except for what they have in TSL.

We did hear that the wines will change when they source from Miami. We liked what we had on this cruise, but we also liked what we had out of Florida in the past. If there are any specific grapes you're questioning, I can try to recall what was in stock on our last few cruises.

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

Are you having a good time, Matey ?

We are having a fabulous time. Am I including too much play-by-play and not enough commentary to make that obvious? LOL

We've enjoyed the food and drink -- way too much. Today the "regular" YC champagne, Nicholas Feuillate, has run out and been replaced by Pommery. (Perhaps I contributed to this run while helping BCD's cause?)

The staff has been excellent as well. I'm sure that the lower passenger count makes it easier for them, but we feel that we've seen some of the best YC butlers ever on this cruise. TSL service has been impeccable.

And hearing how many of the crew will still be on board when we're back in April portends for another great cruise. 😉

Thanks for asking!

I have only been posting menus, but I have all the daily programs as well. If anyone needs anything from them, please ask.

Since tomorrow is our last full day, if there are any questions I can answer that require me to be on the ship, ask away!

The same door (maybe a little room) exists on Seaside on the port side of TSL. There was a knocking coming from behind it one evening and the YC Director Maria Luca leapt into action to open the door and inspect whatever is behind there to make it stop knocking. It was funny to see how that little sound annoyed her. 😉

No releases needed for what we've been calling the "Black Car." This one is made from the wires of Borgo Molina Prosecco, which have a black coating. The Garden Pool Bar, the adult pool and bar at the back of the ship, seems to have the best rate of consumption of this brand. Note that there is no skin on the Black Car, as there was on Hubert's. BCD wanted to showcase the skeleton design, rather than cover up any of it with foil (also from the champagne bottles).

Here is YC Bartender Extraordinaire Hubert with his car:

(I prefer to ask permission to post images of "real" people. I'll try to find some more images to post.)