My View: Trading the Landscape for the Seascape

[APDMOM]

Clearly, we have had a jam-packed, fun-filled day in San Juan.  So, I did not get to catch up on the sea day... now I am 2 days behind.  I will try to catch up on Saturday, our final day.   Can’t guarantee anything for tomorrow, as I saw that Puerto Plata has grown into a Caribbean Favorite - I may just have to spend my time investigating that 😄

 

If there are any additional requests, feel free to ask.  I plan on getting answers on the last sea day for anything I can’t investigate myself.

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by APDMOM
typo

[blueslily]

7 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Clearly, we have had a jam-packed, fun-filled day in San Juan.  So, I did not get to catch up on the sea day... now I am 2 days behind.  I will try to catch up on Saturday, our final day.   Can’t guarantee anything for tomorrow, as I saw that Puerto Plata has grown into a Caribbean Favorite - I may just have to spend my time investigating that 😄

 

If there are any additional requests, feel free to ask.  I plan on getting answers on the last sea day for anything I can’t investigate myself.

 

Enjoy your cruise. Don't worry about us!

[APDMOM]

53 minutes ago, blueslily said:

Enjoy your cruise. Don't worry about us!

Thank you 🙂 I am definitely having fun.  It is a ‘spring break’ crowd but we find ways around it.

[APDMOM]

@Sthrncrusr  I found an empty and quiet games room.  Here is what they have, and you are right…

 

TIP:  The Fun pass includes the games.

 

Hall of games:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

My View:  Day 4 - At Sea

We love this quiet space for coffee early in the morning - we just grab a cup from the Marketplace and sit in Le Cabaret Rouge to enjoy the wake view:

[APDMOM]

Le Cabaret Rouge: 

This lounge has many great spaces for socializing.  The Welcome Back party also took place here.

 

 

 

[blueslily]

2 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

My View:  Day 4 - At Sea

We love this quiet space for coffee early in the morning - we just grab a cup from the Marketplace and sit in Le Cabaret Rouge to enjoy the wake view:

 

Very nice! 

[APDMOM]

The Hot Air Balloon:

 

TIP: If you take a picture, be sure to close the door on the basket.  I know it is ‘staged’ but it was kind of funny to see how many people took the pictures with the basket door wide open 😉 

 

 

On boarding day, there was a kind crew member who offered to take our picture in the tunnel.  He did an amazing job - better than some of the professional photographers.  I am recommending him for a promotion 🙂 

 

[APDMOM]

¡Hola! All you can eat lunch - AMAZING!

 

We had an excellent waiter, José, for lunch at Hola.  Four of us decided to do the ‘all you can eat’ and it was definitely worth the $18 per person.  José offered to bring us samples of just about everything on the menu.  This was perfect for our group of 4.  I had never tasted Tamales before, and found out that is very similar to the ‘pap’ (Porridge) that I grew up eating.  What a treat!  Now I know to always order tamales at a Mexican restaurant 🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Great Food!

Our Favorites were:

Street Style Al Pastor Tacos

The Nachos with chicken

Tamales

Burritos (they are small)

 

Dessert: 

Tres Leches Cake!!!

Flan!!!

Dulce de Leche

(We could not decide which one is our favorite, so we just had to have all of them. My favorite ended up being the flan.  DS loved the Tres Leches Cake)

 

 

 

Frozen Margarita was BOGO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We dug into the desserts before I got my camera ready… LOL!

 

Dulce de Leche:

 

Flan:

 

Tres Leches Cake:

 

Arroz con Leche: (Not sweet)

 

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by APDMOM
Remove extra picture

[APDMOM]

On 3/19/2023 at 9:20 AM, Sthrncrusr said:

also, it looks like online the only 3 specialty restaurants are Butcher’s Cut, sushi/hibachi and Hola. Can we use a Diamond perk dinner at the tappenyaki(hibachi) restaurant or only Butcher’s?

Hi @Sthrncrusr!

 

I ran into the specialty restaurant manager today. Unfortunately, they still don’t include the hibachi in the diamond perks. Hibachi costs vary from $35 to $65, depending on the kind of meat you get. 🙂

[Sthrncrusr]

@APDMOM thank you for exploring and researching for my answers! I’m enjoying your review so much. Have the best time! Thanks again.

[APDMOM]

That afternoon was the Captain’s Welcome Back Event - we found some new favorite live entertainment with Latin Duo here.  It was good timing, as we were getting a bit tired of the dueling pianos:

 

 

 

A Little clip of Latin Duo:

 

 

[APDMOM]

TIP: On one of the first two days, go around all the venues with live music to find your favorites.  We found so many great live music performers that I wish we had done this at the beginning of the week.

 

 Although Dueling Pianos were great at first, it became a bit too much of the same to keep going back every day.

[APDMOM]

Flower Power/70’s/80’s evening:

 

On this ship, not as many people dressed up.  It was a bit disappointing and also a sign that MSC has been discovered by ‘newbies’.  It had a bit more of a Carnival feel this week - although I also have to remind myself “It is a Spring Break Cruise”. 

 

Balcony, here I come!

 

TIP: Every night, they have a preview of the party in the atrium.  I think the activities staff members were amazing - full of energy with excellent dancing and entertainment in the atrium.

 

 

[APDMOM]

Since we had such a filling meal at ¡Hola! for lunch, we decided to have light dinner in the Marketplace, so no MDR menu and pictures tonight 🙂

 

TIP: The buffet has some of the meal items from the MDR, but not as much as on other cruise lines.  You may find even better options in the Marketplace Buffet.   This week, the MDR meal portions have been much bigger than on Meraviglia or any other MSC cruise we took.  Maybe MSC listened to the complaints. 

 

To me, it is a bit disappointing because I liked the smaller portions.  I know I am in the minority here.

Edited March 25, 2023 by APDMOM
clarify cruise lines

[APDMOM]

Dueling Pianos with a bit of a treat from Venci for our son:

 

 

[APDMOM]

Forgot to post this picture from the Welcome Back Party:

 

TIP: They had red wine, white wine, Aperol spritz, sparkling wine, fruit punch (that is what I can remember).  We sat at the top by the bar, so the full try usually made it to our area first.  It was a good spot to see the performances.  If you want a good seat, show up about 15 minutes early, as the opened the doors about 5 minutes early and there was already a crowd.  However, this lounge has plenty of seating and you can easily find a spot if you show up just on time or a few minutes late.

 

[APDMOM]

My View: End of Day 4 - At Sea

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Voyager Club TIP:  If you attend the Welcome Back Cocktail, be sure to get your picture taken.  Feel free to move to a nicer background than the table where you sit.  We saw a couple lead the photographer a few steps away to a nice red background.  ALSO: Don’t forget to pick up your free photo from the Hub.  You get one free print per adult in your party.

[APDMOM]

TIP: Photo Facial Recognition: On this ship, they did not scan our card for facial recognition on boarding day.  However, they still use facial recognition- you just set it up yourself.  It is much more accurate than the ‘old way’.

 

To set up facial recognition, go to the HUB, scan the QR code, and follow directions. Once you set up facial recognition, it will feed all your photos (with copyright printed over them).  You can mark your favorites and decide which ones you want to purchase right there online:

 

1. Scan QR Code:

 

2. Click “Find My Photos”:

 

3. Click “Access My Account:”

 

A Window will show up to scan the bar code on your Seapass Card.  When this screen shows up, click allow and it will allow you to take a ‘selfie’ for facial recognition.

 

 

After this, your photo’s will load - Of course you are not allowed to take screen shots of those and they will have ‘copyright’ all over them anyway. 

[APDMOM]

Daily Program: day 4 - At Sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

TIP: Forget what I said about the aromatherapy in this Thermal Area.  On the first day, there were no scents.  After that, they definitely added lovely scents to the showers.  To me, the Thermal Pass this week was worth the cost at $130 pre-cruise.  The daily use price is $80 - just to give some perspective.  I had to make reservations for sea days, but you can just show up on port days. 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Thermal Area:

 

On that note, I will post some pictures about the Thermal Area, as well as how some of the showers work.  

 

It is really handy to buy the wrist band at $10 from the Hub so that you can use the Thermal Area without holding onto your sea pass card. The wrist band is 100% water proof, so you can wear it all the time.  

 

You can unlock and lock the lockers by using either your sea pass or your wrist band. 

 

TIP: Try to use the same locker number every time… Easier to remember for the vacation brain 😄 

 

 

Pick up a towel before you go to the Thermal Area:

 

 

There is plenty of seating throughout the area - never saw these in use - just to hold towels.

 

NOTE to MSC:  It would be great if you could add hooks for towels within the Thermal Area.  Some ships have them, but not Seascape.

 

 

The Outdoor Area: 

 

TIP:  The gym looks out on the Hot Tub, so just remember you are “Never Alone”. 🙈 🤣

 

I had the hot tub to myself both times I decided to go out there this week:

 

 

[APDMOM]

Snow Room: Too cold for me

 

Vertical Kneipp - Push the button and stand under the water that starts.  It is timed, so you stay under the running water until the next one turns on, then the next one, etc.  Going clockwise starts with warm, then cold.  Going counter-clockwise is my favorite, starting with gold and ending with warm:

 

 

The different aromatherapy showers:

The top knob turns on the shower - left for lighter rain, right for more force.  The bottom knob adjusts the heat.  The button releases a mist and sometimes air (wind) with lovely aromatherapy scents:

 

 

 

Dark and bright sensory steam rooms:

 

 

Sauna:

 

Turkish Bath (I think that is what it is called 🙂 )

 

Salt rocks room:

 

There is a machine to dispense warm, cool, or icy cold water for drinking:

 

These chairs were not very warm at all - disappointing.

 

Guidelines: