Best Cat Mom

We have just disembarked Seascape this morning after a 14- night sailing. The main casino is not currently non-smoking. There is an area for smoking in the main casino that is ropped off from the rest of the area, but nothing prevents smoke from wafting around. There are now about a dozen or two slot machines in the Sports Bar, making a small non-smoking separate casino in there since the Sports Bar itself is non-smoking. There is also a small room beside the Sports Bar with some slot machines that is a completely glassed-in area where smoking is allowed throughout.

How timely! Grazie. We are safely ensconced in the Delta lounge awaiting our flight. 50 minutes from Top Sail Lounge to Delta Lounge = good deal 😁

Here is an image of the new area that they are creating for Ocean Cay:

Day 14 - Ocean Cay We awoke early and ordered coffee and Baileys to the room. While we were enjoying that, Captain Tuvo announced that the morning's 40 knot winds had been too strong earlier to dock at Ocean Cay but that he would attempt again at noon when the wind was supposed to be calmer. We were able to arrive to the TS restaurant just before closing and found that most people were eating there as well today. I can only imagine how tough it would have been to try to eat on the One Pool deck today. I ordered my typical soft-boiled eggs and a side of ham. Edgar surprised me with a chocolate GF croissant, of which I ate way too much. BCD had assorted meats and cheeses on croissants. You can see a little of the churning sea in this image: After breakfast, we adjourned to TSL for some Holiday Coffee with @DaKahuna and his wife. A little while after they left us, the captain again attempted to dock our ship at Ocean Cay. The ship backed up painstakingly slowly, but we were amazed to see that we were indeed getting closer and closer to the island. After nearly an hour and a half, the lighthouse was alongside us. While the ship was still scooting over to the pier, they announced that no food would be available on the island since we'd docked so late today. The captain received a nice round of applause in YC when he announced just before 2pm that the gangways were finally open for guests to disembark. We enjoyed our Ocean House lunch in the air conditioned luxury of the TS restaurant. I swear everything tasted even better than last week -- probably because it was so much cooler on the ship. And our drinks seemed better in glass vs. plastic, and stayed colder too. It is the same menu as on the island, since the food is always prepped on the ship before docking. We had champagne while deciding what to order: I began with octopus salad: BCD tried the Ocean Cay salad today: Then we both ordered burgers and lobster rolls without the bread for entrées: We forgot to take a picture of the surf and turf combo, so here it is from last week at Ocean House: After lunch, we stopped by the concierge desk to pick up envelopes. Then we went to the casino to cash out our vouchers. We spent some time in our stateroom to sort out all the names and tip amounts, with a few return trips to the concierge desk for spellings of names and changing of bigger bills. By 5pm, we had all of the envelopes stuffed and labeled. We walked around and distributed a few then found a place in TSL to wait for other folks to come onto shift. DaKahuna joined us a short while later. Day 14 concludes next...

They also left this in our cabin about Ocean Cay:

Day 14 Daily Program...

Day 13 concludes… We had a wonderful 80 minute couples massage and floated back to YC. We found @DaKahuna in TSL and rehydrated with a few rounds of cocktails while watching sail away. We again were one of six ships in Nassau. This time we were joined by MSC Magnifica, 3 Carnival (Dream, Sunshine and Conquest), and 1 Royal (Symphony of the Seas). The 3 Carnivals were scheduled to depart at 4pm. We and Royal were scheduled for a 5pm departure. When we were finishing our massage, Captain Tuvo asked for 8 passengers to report to Guest Services. A few minutes later, I believe the list was down to 5. When he next spoke, he wished them "good luck" and told the ship that we were readying for departure. As the sun began to sink towards the horizon, DaKahuna returned to his cabin, presumably to prepare with his lovely wife for dinner. We remained a bit longer, enjoying another round or three. Bernard began his first set in the lounge and night fell. We returned to our stateroom and changed for dinner. We arrived just as Mr. and Mrs. DaKahuna were finishing up. They handed Edgar, John Rey and Rodin off to us quite smoothly. We perused the menus while still being "stuck" with Nicolas Feuillatte champagne: We both started with the salmon: For our entrées, we both had the lamb. BCD had the entry as listed on the menu, while I had a GF version with sauce on the side: We also ordered the risotto: Rodin brought us a California Pinot Noir to accompany our entrées: We retreated to TSL for limoncelli and a few nightcaps with DaKahuna. Day 14 is next…

We've had a few of the wines on other YC sailings, but there have also been several new ones. The real differences are between the European-based cruises vs. the Americas-based cruises. We've not been to Asia or the Middle East, but I'd not be surprised if there were different selections there as well.

An excellent telling of the evening, but I have one correction. Phil was on Hill Street Blues.

@Georgia_Peaches We've not heard anything... yet. Tomorrow is Ocean Cay and as of now they've not mentioned Saturday. I'll let you know if any whispers start...

Sorry just realized that I neglected to post this! Day 13 Daily Program...

Day 13 continues… We spent some time chatting with Mr. and Mrs. @DaKahuna in TSL then headed up to lunch. We have our couples massage this afternoon so we (tried) to have a light lunch. We began -- how else? -- with champagne as we read over the menus: We both chose the salmon to start; mine had the bread omitted: By the way, look at that gorgeous water out of our window at lunch: BCD had a chicken Caesar salad: I had Caesar salad with shrimp: We continued to drink champagne with the entire meal, still on our quest to get them to serve Moët & Chandon. After lunch, we went back to the cabin to change for our massage. Day 13 continues…

Being able to check the menus in advance on the MSC for Me app has been helpful in planning which lunches to skip. All 7 days of menus have been posted together for this cruise at the start of each week.

Thanks! We really liked it. I try not to say that something is delicious, fantastic, etc., because so much about food and wine is subjective. We have our favorites, though, and I'd say it is now on that list for us. Rodin has been so helpful each night. We tell him what we're ordering and tell him to surprise us. We have never had the same wine at dinner and that's including when we sometimes we have 2 different wines for starters and mains.

Thanks! We really enjoy MSC YC. These boards taught us so much before our first sailing with them and made our cruise that much better. We are trying to pay it forward. Enjoy your Meraviglia cruise. Come back and tell us all about it. PS: @DaKahuna and his lovely wife are on for another week after we disembark in (sob!) two days. His thread is here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3028945-live-msc-seascape-921-928-928-105-caribbean-cruise/?do=getNewComment

Day 13 - Nassau We slept in, knowing that if we missed service in the TS restaurant, the One Pool buffet would suffice. And we did miss TS. We called for Baileys and coffee in the room and then headed up to the One Pool. We were very pleased to discover that the ship was docked in such a way that there was a good amount of shade. All the tables in front of the bar were inhabitable. And there was a serious wind that helped us to stay comfortable as well. I ordered a ham and cheese omelette with sides of bacon and potatoes. BCD had a cheese, onion, and mushroom omelette with a side of pork sausage and a raisin danish. I had a total of 2 mimosas and 1 cappuccino, while he had a pineapple and coconut rum mimosa and 2 ultimate pina coladas. By just after 11am, we were back in the air conditioned comfort of TSL for some Holiday Coffee. Day 13 continues...

Day 12 concludes… We arrived a little after 8pm and the restaurant was surprisingly full for so late in service. We examined the menus for the Italian Dinner while sipping the vintage champagne: We joked with Rodin that the ship overall has not been drinking enough champagne, since we’ve not yet moved up to Moët & Chandon. We both ordered the carpaccio to start: For his entrée, BCD chose the lasagna: As unbelievable as it sounds, this was his first time ever ordering lasagna on MSC. He was not disappointed and finished every bit of it. I ordered the lamb chops, surprised that there were any left on the ship after I'd been eating all I could find in the past week and a half: We also ordered the osso buco for "in the middle" to share: We accompanied both courses with a 2019 Barolo: Again, Chef Lisa and her wonderful staff supplied GF sauce on the side. We were quite full when we wandered down to TSL so started there with some limoncelli as digestivi: Then we shared three rounds of nightcaps with @DaKahuna prepared by Romano and Jerome. As @DaKahuna stated in his review, some OJT occurred to make sure that the nuances of Old Fashioned and New Fashioned recipes were executed properly. We might have been the last ones out of TSL yet again. A late morning was to be expected. Day 13 is next…

Sorry for the delayed response here. He has created one and we were trying to find an image to share. Unfortunately, we did not find one. He has also created black/gold and blue/gold combinations on other cruises:

Day 12 continues... As we returned to TSL for tea, we met @DaKahuna at the entrance. I'll let him tell you the details about his lunch at Butcher's Cut today. Summary: yumm! We are not tea drinkers, but we enjoyed the ritual. Unfortunately, none of the small bites provided were GF so I did not try them and BCD was not interested in them either. I do know that on a previous cruise, they were happy to make me some GF ones for the afternoon tea. After tea, we went to the casino to accumulate some more tip money. On this ship, there are slot machines in the Sports Bar. Since the Sports Bar is non-smoking and enclosed, those slot machines have no smoke smell around them at all. In the casino, there is a small smoking section that is roped off. There is no real barrier to the smoke circulating, but areas further away from the smoking section have less smoke smell. I would imagine any smoke smell will depend on exactly how many people have been smoking lately in that small smoking section. There is also a small room adjacent to the Sports Bar entrance that is fully enclosed and smoking is permitted. We did not enter that area, but I can imagine it is pretty smoky in there. After withdrawing a decent amount of our OBC, we returned to TSL for some pre-dinner drinks. I had a glass of Peter Lehman Shiraz and BCD had a double Woodford Reserve with Coke Zero. Day 12 concludes next…

Since the restart after Covid, the various YC Directors have endeavored to add special events for YC guests. The night of the ship-wide White Party was announced to us as an "Island Party" via an invitation in our cabins: There was also a sail away/sunset party on the YC Pool Deck on Day 10 (Grand Turk). This one must have been a bit last minute since we did not have an invitation in the room -- they had a sign on the bar in TSL instead. I wondered at the time if this one was added 'to help make up' for our itinerary change.

Day 12 continues… We remained in TSL until we were ready for a late lunch. We were not that hungry after our late breakfast. We sipped champagne and were surprised to see a totally different menu than was posted on the MSC for Me app: We realized that this was the menu listed for tomorrow on the app, so we're thinking that today's menu on the app will be the one we receive at lunch tomorrow. I started with the salmon: BCD chose the burrata: We both selected burgers for our entrées, mine without onion rings: And changed from champagne to Oberon cabernet sauvignon with them. As we finished, they were setting up for afternoon tea in TSL so we went back to the cabin for a bit. More on Day 12 next…

Ours was just for YC as it was within the YC enclave. I'm sure that there were other events around the ship as well but we hardly venture out so I really can't speak to them. Sorry!

Day 12 - Sea Day We did indeed awaken late, as expected. We called for coffee and Baileys, quickly prepared for the day and made it to the One Pool buffet for breakfast with barely 10 minutes to spare. We ate at the bar, hoping against hope for some nice breezes since we were at sea. Alas, none were to be found. BCD had some whitefish salad, cucumbers, bacon and croissants. He had a pineapple mimosa and then remembered to have some coconut rum added, coming close to achieving the drink expounded upon by @no1talks. I had an egg white omelette that was simply huge, with bacon and potatoes. For me, one advantage of the pool deck over the restaurant is that I can have breakfast potatoes. The "hockey puck" style of hash browns in the restaurant are not GF, but the ones upstairs are, since they are simply cubed roasted potatoes. We retreated to the air conditioning comfort of TSL for some refreshing Holiday Coffee. We did find out a tidbit about YC Director Mustafa's departure from MSC. Seems that while he was quite beloved by guests, the crew did not have the same feelings at all. We heard stories about how the guests were always right, apparently at the expense of the crew. They were quite pleased after corporate investigated and ultimately decided that Mustafa had to go. Day 12 continues…

Day 11 concludes… We found the spa on Deck 8 and scheduled a couples massage for the afternoon of Day 13 when we are in Nassau. We have had these couples massages on previous MSC cruises, but not the last few, so we are really looking forward to it! ! We interrupt this *Live* for a temporary esoteric little tidbit for those who like manicures. I was getting concerned with my shellac manicure. It has been two weeks since I did my nails last and they were not looking their best. I am very particular with how I do my nails and also like to keep them looking not too shabby. I allowed a nail tech in the spa to give me a manicure, since I did not bring my supplies to do them myself. I was very apprehensive but all turned out well. I can highly recommend Rachel on Seascape for a gel manicure on natural nails to anyone interested in this service. And it was only $46 -- $12 for the shellac removal and $34 for the new polish. They have CND Shellac products, though not all of the CND colors. I use Red Baroness at home and chose Decadence, which was close enough to match my toes. Okay, we will now resume regular *Live* thread activities. ! We returned to TSL for the rest of the afternoon, including sail away. We did not hear any announcements with guests' names, so it seems everyone got themselves back to the ship successfully today. It was still too early for dinner so we left the YC enclave to visit the casino. Though it was only a bit after the opening time of 7:30pm, we found it a bit smoky already. We transferred some funds from our cabin OBC to our casino account, played a few rounds of slots and cashed out. We'll need to do this several more times to accrue the monies we need to fill all those tip envelopes on Friday. Tonight was the White Party in YC, which coincides with White Night on the ship. The YC party starts at 8:30pm on the One Pool deck. We usually miss most of it because we eat so late. We decided to eat a bit earlier so maybe we could catch more of the party. We arrived to the restaurant before 8pm and it was quite full. We settled in at our table with champagne and menus: To start, we both selected the tartare, one of our favorites: We also had asked for more escargot from Gala night, so we had those as well: For his entrée, BCD had the pork: I ordered the short ribs, and Chef Lisa supplied some GF sauce on the side: We descended the staircase from the restaurant to TSL, intending to head up to the pool deck. We saw the seating in TSL had been moved, and crew were saying that they were bringing the White Party to the lounge because it was raining outside. We enjoyed a song or two by Bernard before the DJ began to spin records. Eventually, TSL was packed with guests and crew dancing and partying. We commented to each other that cabins 16001 and 16002 might not be happy, unless they were the partying type as well. (Dani did mention to us while we were in TSL after breakfast the next day that those 2 cabins' guests did indeed complain. What to do? You simply cannot please everyone all the time.) Here's a short video of the party (this is my first time uploading a video, so please let me know if it is not viewable): IMG_3546.MOV We lingered after the party and @DaKahuna joined us for some scintillating conversation and excellent drinks by Romano, bartender extraordinaire. We retired late, and expected to sleep in late as well. Day 12 is next…

@Best cat Dad did indeed perfect the recipe and he is the one that "teaches" our MSC bartenders how to make them. However, we both drink them and are having our second round of the day right now.