IT'S TIME FOR MORE OBSERVATIONS FROM THE POOP DECK

[mscdivina2016]

32 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I am also reminded of something else that butlers will provide for their charges (guests). They will provide one with a box lunch if one is going on tour in port.

I actually saw your post and inquired about that for today/tomorrow.

Left info with concierge to have butler do it.

Going to topsail now and at 230am will request service.

 

Curious to see if it will happen

[JAGR]

17 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Something may be amiss with the entertainment in the Cabaret Rouge; or just that there are changes being made to the venue last night and tonight. The band was moved from their up stairs stage to the performers stage last night and had nothing to do with Picasso (the title of the show). Saw only one of the dancers mingling with guests and no dancing at the 7:45 show. Tonight one show for 45 minutes ABBA, by Los Blondies, tribute in Cabaret Rouge. Must be a performers nights off.

Nothing amiss.  The band show is a night off for the dancers.  The male singer is usually there, and the female singer only sang one song and exited when we saw the show.  It was a good display by the band, I must say.  They also all have a night off and the Los Blondes do a show instead.

Edited March 22, 2022 by JAGR

[morpheusofthesea]

Our cabin with a view. Morning sunrise and pulling into San Juan early.

[morpheusofthesea]

Self-service returns this morning at the YC pool grill buffet.

[morpheusofthesea]

YC bank of elevators. Starting from deck 8, pressing deck 19. Empty elevator arrives, walk in, door closes, express to 19.

[mscdivina2016]

16 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Ok, we are going to try it out with your reply.

Tonight, or should I say tomorrow morning at 2:30 am when we leave top sail, we will see if we can get more booze. If not, food. Or lastly at least, ice as we have a bottle of vodka in the room.

 I also want to get a copy of my current room charges as I just got a charge for laundry when I have pre purchased two 40 piece packages.

Ok, I tried it last night and was not impressed.

 

Getting a drink was not going to happen as the bars are closed. Was offered the same stuff in my fridge.

Food, same thing nothing, but I could have Pringles or tolberone.

The bucket of ice took 20 minutes.

Room charges...was told I could use my TV. I wanted a printed copy. They told me the concierge would do that. This morning it was on my door.

The first requests were not my butler, actually have not even seen this person and they were not dressed as a Butler.

The ice was brought by a server from a bar but not from YC.

 I have only been up a few minutes and will see if I get asked about a box lunch.

 

24 hours does not really mean 24 hours.

[morpheusofthesea]

Why is it that the best excursions are always the ones we do not partake in ?

[morpheusofthesea]

We are experiencing a rather high level of service still, even with increased passenger numbers. The Retreats and Yacht Clubs have been generally filled to capacity these past months since we began cruising the second week of July 2021. This might be due to our lack of imagination to ask for things. So when FB and CC hosts have posted to the social media world of their receiving unexpected perks or amenities not listed by both Celebrity and MSC on their official sites, having booked the same cabins as they have within weeks of their posts, we of course requested the same when we boarded. Turns out this time we got 2 bottles of Prosecco and a bottle of Jack Daniels without asking in our cabin.  (These spirits we bring back as gifts for our TA as she waits on hold for hours with both cruise lines).

   But what we find most appreciated is the daily approaches by staff in every venue asking if we want anything not listed. (if it is not listed, how are we supposed know if we want it?) Have to keep reading FB and CC hosts posts. They can be very enlightening.

[fish_guru]

ABBA tribute show last night was excellent.  

 

One of the guests seemed to get a little frisky one the dance floor with another YC guest we met the other night. They did not know each other. 

 

Looked like he was escorted out afterwards by the men in black. 

[fish_guru]

Also wanted to mention that although there are many families with kids in YC this week, most the kids have been very well behaved with a few minor exceptions. 

 

I haven't really seen any free range children running wild. 

 

My complements to the parents. 

[morpheusofthesea]

DW just came back from her 'walk about' in the YC to report that old habits are just too hard to break. Although there are signs to wash hands before using self-serve utensils most are not. Guests are still using their soiled plates to get seconds and even using their soiled silverware to dip into the communal condiments. And this is Yacht Club. Guess buffets will always be off limits no matter what cruise line we travel on, people are all the same.

[morpheusofthesea]

We are leaving San Juan at exactly 4pm just as Celebrity Edge docked. I guess this town isn't big enough for 2 top 'gunslingers' at the same time.

[fish_guru]

The second Cabaret Rouge show was canceled last night as they had some type of technical malfunction at the end of the first show. At least that's the explanation the CD gave us. 

 

We were disappointed but hey, ship happens. Certainly was not going to spoil the rest of our night. 

 

The issue we had getting food out in a reasonable time in the dining room seemed to be a 'one off' because the service has been impeccable except that one time. 

 

One thing we noticed from our previous YC experience that they're not doing is they used to come around with that cheese trolley right after you sat down. We are now requesting a selection of the cheeses be brought out to the table to enjoy with the bread and the waiter has been very good about doing so.

 

A relaxing sea day is in the agenda for today. 

[morpheusofthesea]

Another beautiful day at sea. This morning the sun is beating down on the port side of the Yacht Club pool deck so I have retreated to the shade of my cabin's deep overhang on the starboard side.

  Yes, last evening was lobster night and service can get rather slow, it takes the waiters more time to extract every lobster from its shell at each serving. In anticipation of this we arrived for dinner at 5:45 so that we could make the 7 pm theatre show. More of the same singing and dancing, musclemen manuevers (minus the ladder), contortionists. Thought that the early show was not packed for the 7 pm show until the show began. After the lights went down the crowd poured in and kept coming in throughout the performance, disrupting. These shows have no plot so one can enter and exit at any time (and many do). Went to the Le Cabaret Rouge for its show Monet's Soiree for more singing and dancing. JAGR was correct (as usual), the other night was just girls and guys night off. Not as crowded plenty of seating.

[morpheusofthesea]

There really is so little to complain about....and we are looking. Cabin service is the best we ever had. Steward keeps us supplied with abundance of towels and water. The only complaint one could make is having to 'mask up' in theatre and while inside having been 'spoiled' on our last 7 cruises on Celebrity with no masks since July 2021. But then again there was little overseas air travelers coming to cruise just a few short months ago. In YC they have the menus printed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper in 3 languages and very few waiters speak  barely more than one. Usually on MSC we are used to everyone speaking at least 3 languages  and they were paid to learn Italian as well. This morning I asked for some berliners (on the menu), when she disappeared and did not return, I simply asked the next waiter that came close to our table for donuts instead. I got the donuts in sixty seconds.

[morpheusofthesea]

The hardest part about any cruise is self-control with ones eating and drinking. There is no way anyone can come close to moderation. We live every cruise as if there is no tomorrow. This morning I had 3 chocolate/raisin pastries that were so good I asked for 3 more, followed by the 3 donuts, just as I finished the last donut the rest of my breakfast came. How am I ever going to survive a B2B in June 2022 a couple of months from now on this Seashore again ?  It's an addiction to luxury.

[morpheusofthesea]

My favorite pastime is in between posts I check out the MSC web site for new offerings.

[Sykes]

How is the performance of the internet on board? We're boarding on Saturday and I'm hoping to take a couple of Zoom calls on board. I had no difficulty doing so on the Celebrity Edge, so I'm curious if this ship is similar in that regard.

[morpheusofthesea]

28 minutes ago, Sykes said:

How is the performance of the internet on board? We're boarding on Saturday and I'm hoping to take a couple of Zoom calls on board. I had no difficulty doing so on the Celebrity Edge, so I'm curious if this ship is similar in that regard.

Yes, was on the Edge in Retreat and was able to connect with the included wifi the same as now. Never did a Zoom myself, but can report that last month while on board Seashore, our Cruise Director Gene could not make the early show one evening. The assistant CD reported to the audience that he was on a Zoom call watching the birth of his son. One notable difference we are finding between Celebrity and MSC is that the shops are filled with more variety of goods on the Seashore. Celebrity was experiencing supply chain disruption of most everything.

 

 

 

 

 

[phissy]

5 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Another beautiful day at sea. This morning the sun is beating down on the port side of the Yacht Club pool deck so I have retreated to the shade of my cabin's deep overhang on the starboard side.

  Yes, last evening was lobster night and service can get rather slow, it takes the waiters more time to extract every lobster from its shell at each serving. In anticipation of this we arrived for dinner at 5:45 so that we could make the 7 pm theatre show. More of the same singing and dancing, musclemen manuevers (minus the ladder), contortionists. Thought that the early show was not packed for the 7 pm show until the show began. After the lights went down the crowd poured in and kept coming in throughout the performance, disrupting. These shows have no plot so one can enter and exit at any time (and many do). Went to the Le Cabaret Rouge for its show Monet's Soiree for more singing and dancing. JAGR was correct (as usual), the other night was just girls and guys night off. Not as crowded plenty of seating.

What a great cabin….which one is it in the YC?

[morpheusofthesea]

9 minutes ago, phissy said:

What a great cabin….which one is it in the YC?

Owners Suite. DW enjoys the separate bedroom, walk-in shower and I the deep shady balcony and price compared to other lines for the same square footage and on Seashore it comes with complimentary pergola on the YC pool deck.

Edited March 23, 2022 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

Here is another observation that we appreciate of MSC vs Celebrity (Many may feel just the opposite). MSC keeps its passengers oblivious to what is going on 'behind the scenes'. On the Celebrity Equinox and Edge we were 'treated' to public address announcements of daily covid cases by the captains. The captain on the Equinox came on the PA at 10pm and woke us up to tell of another case.

[Paphillyguy]

When we were on the Seashore in December, I did comment on how there were very minimal ship wide announcements

[morpheusofthesea]

23 minutes ago, Paphillyguy said:

When we were on the Seashore in December, I did comment on how there were very minimal ship wide announcements

Thanks. We really do not need to know how the 'sausage is made', just that we enjoy it with nice music, good wine and attentive staff. On the Equinox they removed our sommelier in mid pouring because of a close contact. All it did was fuel more anxiety in Luminae, like are we next?

 P.S. The menus are in 5 languages.

Edited March 23, 2022 by morpheusofthesea
P.S.

[morpheusofthesea]

Another protocol NOT followed by the MSC concierges, that inundated suite guests in the Retreat, were the constant phone messages every day blinking on stateroom phones. Learning how to erase phone messages was top priority to stop the blinking of every Retreat guest.

Edited March 23, 2022 by morpheusofthesea