LIVE from 9/13 Bellissima and 9/21 Seaview - 7nt Med cruises - Yacht Club

[gimletgal]

Yes, you can book the YC on line. However, it is very very popular and sells out quickly. Also some rooms can be held back due to occupancy restrictions so it pays to keep checking. On some MSC ships there are also inside YC cabins. Since you spend so little time in the cabin itself (due to all the great available areas within the YC), the insides are not a bad option. They also sell out fast!

[WonderMan3]

Here is today’s Daily Planner and a form for booking the city shuttle for Marseilles that was left in the cabin last night with the planner.

[mimmy52]

I'm enjoying your review.  We'll be on an MSC cruise in October also departing from Barcelona, but it's an older ship, the Poesia. And we won't be Yacht Club, but I can dream as I look at your pictures. 

[WonderMan3]

This morning started out a bit rough for us. Mike had trouble sleeping all night due to indigestion and I was fighting off a sinus cold that was desperately trying to take hold. I found myself awake at 5:30 with our alarm set for 6 so I just got up early and got ready. While we were both dragging this morning we both agreed that the bed had been very comfortable. The ship had also been so calm through the night it didn’t even feel like we were moving. Once we were showered and dressed we headed up to the top deck so Mike could smoke and we caught the sunrise over the French coastline that we were approaching.

 

We then headed down to the YC dining room for breakfast. Service was pleasant and did not feel rushed like the meals the day before. Mike ordered scrambled eggs, bacon and pancakes. He thought the bacon was tasty, the eggs were fine but the pancakes were lousy. I ordered eggs Benedict with a side of bacon and hash brown. The hollandaise on the eggs was lacking flavor. The bacon I had to send back as it was a fatty mess; I asked them to crisp it up like Mike’s order came out. When they brought it back it was great. Overall though, not a very memorable breakfast. 

 

After breakfast we went back to grab grab the stuff that we needed for the day. I had booked a private tour with a local company whose guide was going to meet us at 8:30. We went to the concierge desk as Raj had advised us yesterday to come there whenever we wanted to disembark in order to have our butler escort us in order to avoid crowds. He called Jhonny who guided us off the ship. It wasn’t crowded this morning though so the escort wasn’t really needed. 

[irish cailin]

Thanks for this  we are sailing YC on Bellissima in Feb out of dubai and have a sneaky pre Christmas break on prezosia (bella) with similay itinerary to you.

[Host Jazzbeau]

This is so great!  First we get this early taste of YC from your cruise #1, then an exact preview of our Seaview cruise [we get on when you get off!].  So far the only worry is that the food seems bland – I hope you find a way around that as the cruise goes on.

 

One question:  I saw the dreaded Royal Club tonic in your mini fridge.  Can you find out if they have any other brands of tonic on board?  Thanks!

[gimletgal]

WonderMan3 - You and Mike really need to try out the One Pool for breakfast in the morning! They have a very nice selection! I have never eaten in the restaurant for breakfast on any of my YC cruises except for day of departure and much preferred the One Pool. I will be interested to hear your thoughts if you do try it. (My experiences were on the Divina and Seaside.)

 

I am enjoying reading your posts! Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

[WonderMan3]

Sorry for the delay on updates. Between being busy in ports and feeling a bit under the weather I haven’t had a chance to post. So continuing our adventures from yesterday in Marseilles...

 

We met our private guide outside the cruise terminal. I had reserved a tour through a company called One Day In Provence which I found with good reviews on Trip Advisor. Our guide was named Patrick. He took out in a very comfortable van for a tour of Marseilles and Cassis. We started in Marseilles with a walking tour through the old town and then down along the harbor of the old port. The city is a very gritty with a hodgepodge of architectural styles and graffiti mixed in with some wonderful murals. It felt very much like Greenwich Village back in the 80’s where there were little boutiques, cafes and art galleries alongside buildings that looked derelict. The harbor area seemed to be experiencing a revival with more renovated buildings and was abuzz with locals and tourists. Patrick took us through the local fish market and brought us to his favorite coffee shop to try a cup. Afterward we took a drive up to the Notre Dame de la Garde church which stands magnificently on a hill overlooking the city. It was very crowded with visitors and my cold was starting to annoy me so we didn’t stay too long. 

 

We next drove on to the cute little fishing village called Cassis, about a 30 minute drive from Marseilles. We had a nice lunch at a cafe near the harbor where we enjoyed some truffle risotto and veal milanese. After we had planned to take a boat ride to see the Calanques, which are giant rocky cliffs surrounding beautiful inlets with beaches. I was feeling very tired at this point though we just strolled for a bit instead to check some local shops and a bakery that Patrick recommended. We then finished our day with a drive up to an overlook to view the Calanques from above. Patrick then drove us back to the ship. All in all we spent 7.5 hours on this tour. It cost us 540 Euro for the day with lunch being on our own. Patrick was a great guide and I would definitely recommend this company. Sharing some photos from our day.

[ipeeinthepool]

Marseilles isn't my favorite port but you guys certainly made the best of it.  Gritty is probably a good description.  It looks like a very interesting day, hopefully you're feeling better soon.

[silkismom]

Great photos, so glad that they feed the kitties.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Great photos.  You had me going with that first mirror shot...

[Von & John]

Thanks for sharing the tour & the amazing photos.  Appears you are enjoying the cruise - wishing you Well soon Tonight!!!

[rattanchair]

Best Read and Photos on the CC boards !

[nednrom]

Hi Adam,

Your review is wonderful - I have a question about specialty dinner reservations.  The only option to pre-purchase a specialty restaurant and make reservations is through a 3-night dinner package on the website.  We prefer not to do that, we probably will only go to Butcher's Cut.  How is this handled at the concierge desk? We had so much trouble getting reservations at the date/time we wanted on the Edge even with the dinner package that I am worried. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WonderMan3]

2 hours ago, nednrom said:

Hi Adam,

Your review is wonderful - I have a question about specialty dinner reservations.  The only option to pre-purchase a specialty restaurant and make reservations is through a 3-night dinner package on the website.  We prefer not to do that, we probably will only go to Butcher's Cut.  How is this handled at the concierge desk? We had so much trouble getting reservations at the date/time we wanted on the Edge even with the dinner package that I am worried. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn’t pre reserve any specialty restaurants. We just went to the concierge within a few hours after boarding and got all the dates and times we wanted with no issue. So my advice would be to just set them up as soon as you get onboard. I will say though at our dinner at Butcher’s Cut last night the restaurant was maybe half full at most, and we dined at prime time, 7:30pm. Walking past the other specialty restaurants since we boarded we have seen lots of empty tables. Doesn’t seem like they are in high demand, on this cruise anyway.

[WonderMan3]

Finishing off from Saturday...

 

After we returned to the ship from our day in Marseille we both decided to take naps. I wanted some rest to help me fight this cold while Mike was trying to make up for sleep he didn’t get the night before. We rested for a few hours waking in enough time for our dinner reservation at 7:30pm at Butcher’s Cut. We decided to use our Black Card free meal for this. Our server was pleasant but there was a little communication issue when he tried to explain to us that there is only one Black Card meal per stateroom not per person. He kept making it sound like we were going to be charged for our meal which was confusing us. After a few tries I finally figured out what he was trying to articulate. Then Mike had an issue trying to order a White Russian with Grey Goose. The server thought Mike wanted to order two drinks. So that took several explanations. I mentioned earlier about the language issues at dinner the night before. And there have been a few other instances where communicating has been a bit difficult. I have never encountered a crew before where so many of the front line staff are not totally comfortable with English. 

 

As for the meal itself, Mike ordered the shrimp cocktail to start which he said was not good; he thought it did not taste fresh. I started with the Caesar salad which was much better than the one I had at Yacht Club. It wasn’t the best Caesar I’ve had but I’d say it was on par with Celebrity’s Tuscan Grill. We both had the filet as our main course. They both came out great. The mashed potato side was also tasty. My only bit of pickiness was that the bernaise sauce was pretty thin. For dessert Mike had the chocolate lava cake which he said was just okay. I had the chocolate chip and peanut butter cookie which was just a large cookie warmed slightly with ice cream on top. It was fine but nothing to rave about. Overall we liked our meal. It was definitely better than first night at Yacht Club.

 

After dinner we headed to the casino. I broke even for the night while Mike finished down. The slots have been pretty tight so far.

[WonderMan3]

Here is the Daily Planner from earlier today in Genoa. Will share info about our day tomorrow. Was up much too late at the casino tonight and need my sleep!

[Host Jazzbeau]

You'll be doing Genoa on both legs, correct?  I'll be interested in seeing your two shore excursion choices.  [We're doing MSC's "Genoa & Palazzo del Principe"]

[Beamafar]

10 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

 

That certainly looks a lot better than what DH had on Seaview a couple of weeks ago (despite the "famous" Pepe telling us that the standard is fleetwide, lol).  As you can see, DH's was dry and burnt around the edges:

 

[WonderMan3]

9 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

You'll be doing Genoa on both legs, correct?  I'll be interested in seeing your two shore excursion choices.  [We're doing MSC's "Genoa & Palazzo del Principe"]

 

Yup. We’re doing private excursions for all ports except Corsica on the Seaview cruise.

[WonderMan3]

Our Sunday started early with a wake up time of 6:30am as we had to meet our tour guide by 9am. We decided to try breakfast up at the YC pool grill. It was nice to be able to sit outside in the fresh air just after sunrise. The food was okay. Same quality as the YC dining room. We both had omelettes made to order. 

[nednrom]

12 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

We didn’t pre reserve any specialty restaurants. We just went to the concierge within a few hours after boarding and got all the dates and times we wanted with no issue. So my advice would be to just set them up as soon as you get onboard. I will say though at our dinner at Butcher’s Cut last night the restaurant was maybe half full at most, and we dined at prime time, 7:30pm. Walking past the other specialty restaurants since we boarded we have seen lots of empty tables. Doesn’t seem like they are in high demand, on this cruise anyway.

 

Thank you for the information and posting the menu - we are thinking of extending and doing a 14 day instead of a 7 day too, I just have to play around with finances and convince my husband 🙂

 

 

[George C]

Great review and pictures, love leaving from Barcelona, but did not know there was a casino there. 

[worldtravelista1]

20 hours ago, nednrom said:

We had so much trouble getting reservations at the date/time we wanted on the Edge even with the dinner package that I am worried. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been able to make my restaurant recommendation on the app with no problems at all, once aboard the ship. 

[rattanchair]

5 hours ago, George C said:

Great review and pictures, love leaving from Barcelona, but did not know there was a casino there. 

Dear GC,  You probably are already aware of this being the world traveler you are. Just a heads up in case you ever are on a cruise that stops in Monaco. Do not leave your passports in the cabin safe when visiting the famous Monte Carlo casino. You need them to get in. No passport no entrada.. Many  upset passengers on tour refused entrance. For warned is to be forearmed. Do not know if this is true with all the other casinos, not a gambler , but loved to see where James Bond did his gambling.