MSC WORLD EUROPA REPO ABU Dhabi to Genoa on behalf of BEAMAFAR

[At Sea At Peace]

11 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Similar security arrangements have just been announced by the captain.  We have armed security onboard. 
 

 

We follow a certain group of MSC CC member threads.  Always fun and enjoyable.

 

An interjection of levity, thank God they have arms.  🙄🤣

[8420PR]

6 hours ago, Beamafar said:

@hamrag  I’ve just had a look at the drinks menu and see that the Signature cocktail list items are €14 - so, indeed, clearly (and cleverly) outside of Premium.  PremiumPlus really spoilt us;  we never had to pay any heed to inclusions before.  Everything (by the glass) was included. 🙄  Last year was the first year since 2011 that we didn’t sail MSC, so this is our first sailing sans PremPlus. 😭

I also miss premium plus.  :)   

 

But,are you just paying the €1 difference if you order a signature cocktail (like previous cruisers).  If yes, that is a huge enhancement!

[CruisingFox27]

Hope you and Mr B feel better and were able to enjoy BC.

 

We had the pirate warning and security for our Splendida 2020 repo not from Shanghai but from Singapore to Dubai. Aside from a few menacing looking security fellows around and deck closures we really didn't notice. No blokes with patches and parrots made an appearance either 😀

 

If you're paying for something or entitled then it's absolutely your right to be asking. 

 

 

[Beamafar]

Left the window open all night in the hope of having a Captain Jack Sparrow type come visit.  Not a bloomin’ hope. 😔🥴🤪😂

[Beamafar]

7 hours ago, 8420PR said:

I also miss premium plus.  :)   

 

But,are you just paying the €1 difference if you order a signature cocktail (like previous cruisers).  If yes, that is a huge enhancement!

Haven’t tried yet.  Thought I would last night but wasn’t up to it.  I have been assured, however, that that is the case.  I will definitely check this out and, hopefully, confirm that it is the case. 

[Beamafar]

I spoke with 2 couples, who are in Aurea, last night.  Neither have yet received the new benefit of a welcome bottle of Prosecco.  Now, it’s been my experience before that you receive any new additions regardless of when you booked (we received the benefit of drinks included outside of YC when it was first introduced, despite booking before the introduction.  Some of you will remember that it was almost impossible to know exactly what was covered as MSC, typically, wouldn’t specify a package  at the time).  After all, sometimes you come onboard only to find that reductions in what you thought you would get have been introduced. 

[Nunagoras]

On 4/1/2023 at 3:47 PM, Beamafar said:

Yesterday, I ordered a white wine, in the buffet, which is covered by Premium.  The waiter brought me a different wine as they didn’t have the one I ordered.  Only that I looked at the ticket he gets with an order, I wouldn’t have known what I’d been given.  It was Canti - one of the Easy package whites!!   I will be watching more closely to what they are substituting my orders with from here on.

 

I overheard snippets of a conversation in an elevator the other evening regarding the shower in some people’s cabins.  It appears that it’s almost impossible to bend over to retrieve something if you drop it, the shower is so small.  Ours is terrific; widthways it’s the span of my arms, with a seat and a high shelf above. 
 

I’m getting a reputation with some of the guests for being very cheeky  - I know what I’m entitled to and have no problem ensuring that I get it.  Getting a lot of slagging as a result. 🤣

May I come in with a suggestion? The next time you need a specif item that falls out of the "regular" (Easy package) sort of affairs on the buffet, ask directly the bartenders at the bar counter and not the random servers there, because those are usually the ones whom really know the different items. Those overworked random servers are usually trainees, or less graded servers, whom don't have a single clue of what the real product is about. They'll stick to the basics and let things to go by.

 

Have a wonderful day and Easter!...

[Beamafar]

Having “dinner” in bed tonight.  Mr B went to Pizza & Burger on deck 6 and got the former for him and the latter for me.  🥴😁

 

 

 

[Captain-John]

Sorry to hear you both aren't back to 100% yet.

 

I think it has been noted elsewhere, but would be grateful if you could confirm - are the burgers & pizza 'better' from that venue compared to the buffet? I don't remember being overly impressed with the buffet burgers in the past, but I thought I read they were in fact better (or at the very least, different) on deck 6.

[Beamafar]

38 minutes ago, Captain-John said:

Sorry to hear you both aren't back to 100% yet.

 

I think it has been noted elsewhere, but would be grateful if you could confirm - are the burgers & pizza 'better' from that venue compared to the buffet? I don't remember being overly impressed with the buffet burgers in the past, but I thought I read they were in fact better (or at the very least, different) on deck 6.

Sorry to say that my burger was every bit as bad as the one cooked on a bbq at home by men who suddenly get delusions that they’re chefs the minute the sun shines. 

[Beamafar]

Mr B said his pizza wasn’t anything to write home about. 

[Beamafar]

Apparent wind???  Hope they’re a little more specific on the bridge!   Someone also needs to tell them that 999% doesn’t exist lol
 

 

 

Or - is that an emergency secret distress signal???!!!  😱  (The number for emergency services in Ireland is 999. 😁). 

Edited April 2, 2023 by Beamafar

[Beamafar]

We haven’t been to dinner in the MDR for the last few nights, so I decided to ring this afternoon to book the window table we’d had for the earlier nights, only to discover that the planner indicates La Foglia on deck 5, as the Aurea venue, for tonight. 
 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Beamafar

[Beamafar]

Unfortunately I have to report that Butchers Cut was disappointing.  I had the lamb chops; very poor. Cooked medium as requested, but not good quality.  Mr B was less than impressed with the filet mignon.  Now, I know we’re very spoiled in Ireland with our top quality meats - especially beef and lamb - but we’ve enjoyed both elsewhere before.

 

Also, the cheesecake hasn’t improved since we dined in BC with our Norwegian friends on Seaview in 2019. NC, remember Pepe (maitreD of specialty restaurants) tried to convince us that the cheesecake was standard across the fleet, til I showed him a photo of the one Mr B and I had had just before on another sailing - the 2 didn’t compare.  Well, last night’s was just like the Seaview one.  Mr B sent it back and, this time, they replaced it with the lava cake (unlike on Seaview, where the 3 of us who returned ours weren’t offered a replacement). 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Beamafar

[Norwegian Cruiser 73]

To bad that the BC didn't deliver on the World Europa. Who could forget Pepe 😅 How was the lava cake ? 

 

A few weeks ago we had a great time with delicious food in the Butcher's Cut on the MSC Seascape in the Caribbean. The NY Sirloin Steak was grilled to perfection and the tomato soup was excellent. Two in our party had the cheesecake and they loved it, so clearly there are differences in the fleet.

 

Sorry to hear that your experience was disappointing 😞 

[Beamafar]

Lava cake was really good, as was the tomato soup, as per Mr B’s report on same.  I had a half portion of the house chop salad which was just as good as usual. 

[JAGR]

19 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Apparent wind???  Hope they’re a little more specific on the bridge!   Someone also needs to tell them that 999% doesn’t exist lol
 

 

 

Or - is that an emergency secret distress signal???!!!  😱  (The number for emergency services in Ireland is 999. 😁). 

I know you were being humorous, but some readers may not understand the concept of "apparent wind," which is a calculated estimate (hence apparent):  I is the the wind as observed aboard a moving vessel, being the vectorial combination of the true wind and the wind due to the ship's motion.

[Beamafar]

7 minutes ago, JAGR said:

I know you were being humorous, but some readers may not understand the concept of "apparent wind," which is a calculated estimate (hence apparent):  I is the the wind as observed aboard a moving vessel, being the vectorial combination of the true wind and the wind due to the ship's motion.

Well, shiver me timbers.  😂😂😂

[Captain-John]

4 hours ago, Beamafar said:

We haven’t been to dinner in the MDR for the last few nights, so I decided to ring this afternoon to book the window table we’d had for the earlier nights, only to discover that the planner indicates La Foglia on deck 5, as the Aurea venue, for tonight. 
 

 

Bit of a strange idea to change the restaurant on a given day. I hardly ever read the dailies, or at least only the port information on the front page. Although, I will pay closer attention now!

[Captain-John]

4 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Unfortunately I have to report that Butchers Cut was disappointing.  I had the lamb chops; very poor. Cooked medium as requested, but not good quality.  Mr B was less than impressed with the filet mignon.  Now, I know we’re very spoiled in Ireland with our top quality meats - especially beef and lamb - but we’ve enjoyed both elsewhere before.

 

Also, the cheesecake hasn’t improved since we dined in BC with our Norwegian friends on Seaview in 2019. NC, remember Pepe (maitreD of specialty restaurants) tried to convince us that the cheesecake was standard across the fleet, til I showed him a photo of the one Mr B and I had had just before on another sailing - the 2 didn’t compare.  Well, last night’s was just like the Seaview one.  Mr B sent it back and, this time, they replaced it with the lava cake (unlike on Seaview, where the 3 of us who returned ours weren’t offered a replacement). 

 

That's a shame Bea. We have taken a dining package for our sailing precisely because food is the one consistent drawback for us on MSC. Logic was if we are eating in specialities more than not, the overall quality would be higher but sorry to read that is not the case.

 

I know a different line but we have been invited back (or to another restaurant) when we have had issues with food or service in NCL specialities (offered without us asking). Based on your Seaview experience in 2019 it seems MSC would be unlikely to do this if they didn't even offer a replacement dessert.

 

 

[sidari]

4 hours ago, Beamafar said:

We haven’t been to dinner in the MDR for the last few nights, so I decided to ring this afternoon to book the window table we’d had for the earlier nights, only to discover that the planner indicates La Foglia on deck 5, as the Aurea venue, for tonight. 
 

Never known them do that before.

[Beamafar]

OK - there’s a story around the dining change which I’ll relate tomorrow. 
 

We’ve finally made it to the Champagne Lounge.   No Landon here;  just the champagne we’ve been having everywhere else, Jacquard.  Expected to have something different.  Isn’t that the whole point of the venue??!!

 

The menu will probably be valid once we get to Genoa and the ship gets stocked (though the prices will probably have increased). 
 

 

I believe it’s been a popular venue up until the repo.  Personally I prefer the Mera/Seaside class venue. However, there is an outdoor area which we may give a try.  It’s a bit windy outside, tonight. 

[RBrowny]

Not really much selection at all, is there? I mean even on Premium Extra.

[CruisingFox27]

11 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Unfortunately I have to report that Butchers Cut was disappointing.  I had the lamb chops; very poor. Cooked medium as requested, but not good quality.  Mr B was less than impressed with the filet mignon.  Now, I know we’re very spoiled in Ireland with our top quality meats - especially beef and lamb - but we’ve enjoyed both elsewhere before.

 

Also, the cheesecake hasn’t improved since we dined in BC with our Norwegian friends on Seaview in 2019. NC, remember Pepe (maitreD of specialty restaurants) tried to convince us that the cheesecake was standard across the fleet, til I showed him a photo of the one Mr B and I had had just before on another sailing - the 2 didn’t compare.  Well, last night’s was just like the Seaview one.  Mr B sent it back and, this time, they replaced it with the lava cake (unlike on Seaview, where the 3 of us who returned ours weren’t offered a replacement). 

After our experience at BC on Meraviglia, no bad reports surprise me. The strawberry cheesecake wasn't even the worst bit! 

 

Ah, dear old Pepe, he'd try to convince an Eskimo that they needed his special ice cubes, if the mood took him 😂

 

Hopefully you're both feeling better now. 

[sverigecruiser]

10 hours ago, Beamafar said:

 

We’ve finally made it to the Champagne Lounge.   No Landon here;  just the champagne we’ve been having everywhere else, Jacquard.  Expected to have something different.  Isn’t that the whole point of the venue??!!

 

 

I must misunderstand this!

 

I see a few different brands on the menu but not Jacquard. What do you mean?