Live Seascape YC (7/9-7/16): A Celebrity Loyalist Jumps Ship

[GenerationX]

Hi Everyone!  I just wanted to introduce myself and share that I’ll be doing a live review of my upcoming cruise on Seascape in case anyone is interested in following along.

 

A bit about me and my travel companion:

 

I’m Charla, 40 years old and from the US midwest (St. Louis, MO area).  My cruising addiction is funded via my day job as an advertising and entertainment law attorney.

 

I enjoy writing as a hobby (sadly contract drafting doesn’t leave much room for self-expression) and I’ve kept a travel journal since I was a kid so that I can read back and remember my vacation experiences in detail decades later. (You should see some of the stuff I wrote on my England and Ireland trip when I was 17, boy did I think I was grown and knew it all back then. 🤦🏾‍♀️) 

 

When I discovered cruise critic years back while planning a cruise, I got so much good information from the live reviews others were doing and reading along virtually was a huge help to pass the time till it was my time to sail.  So since I knew I’d be writing and taking pics anyway, I decided to pay it forward and also start live reviewing my trips.

 

Celebrity has been my go to cruise line (enough to have hit elite plus status), and while I’ve sailed in almost every category, I tend to sail their aqua and suite classes most.

 

This will be only my second MSC cruise, booked (sitting in the yacht club lounge with a warm scone and espresso martini in hand) while onboard a quick but excellent 4 night solo sailing on Divina earlier this year. 

 

I typically either sail solo, with my husband Jeremy or with our 10 year old daughter who I’ll refer to as Gen Z or Mini Me.  

 

Jeremy (who coincidentally isn’t the one who has to make our annual cruising budget) is struggling to consider breaking his firm allegiance to Celebrity.

 

Gen Z on the other hand, was onboard to try something new from the moment I said “Lego kids club” and sent her a video from Ocean Cay of a sea turtle swimming in the channel.  Plus, I’m not ashamed to admit that I did engage in some minor bribery via some well chosen selections from the Divina gift shop upon my return.  This little lady loves animals, art, and music theatre and is currently going through a growth spurt feeding frenzy that may put the chefs onboard Seascape through their paces.

 

Gen Z is neurodiverse and can quickly become overstimulated, so we’ve avoided the massive ships with whole theme parks, character parades and lots of loud music/announcements.  

 

I’m thinking that perhaps Seascape in yacht club will give us a good balance of a ship with more kid activities (not that Gen Z has ever been bored or unhappy on Celebrity) but also still having our accommodations in a less crowded, more elevated and peaceful service area that we can retreat (sorry Celebrity) to when we need a break.

 

I’m going into this cruise with an open mind to new things but also with somewhat tempered expectations.  On Divina, I had a particularly amazing butler and, according to what MSC regulars that I met onboard told me, I happened to be on one of the last sailings with one of the best yacht club managers and best yacht club concierges before they went home to rest before new contracts.  I was also warned repeatedly that Divina is generally one of the best yacht clubs in the fleet in terms of service and that the newer ships aren’t as good because the yacht club is bigger and service isn’t as personalized as a result.

 

I guess the next week will tell how things shake out in comparison!

 

If anyone has any questions or tips for us while we’re onboard, please feel free to jump in and ask/share.

 

Looking forward to taking you along!
 

 

 

 

[Stem to Stern]

My new motto:  If I can’t be on a cruise this week, I will most certainly find someone on Cruise Critic that is and follow along.  Even better that she is GenX.  Bon voyage you two!

Edited July 7, 2023 by Stem to Stern

[JackE]

17 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

Hi Everyone!  I just wanted to introduce myself and share that I’ll be doing a live review of my upcoming cruise on Seascape in case anyone is interested in following along.

 

A bit about me and my travel companion:

 

I’m Charla, 40 years old and from the US midwest (St. Louis, MO area).  My cruising addiction is funded via my day job as an advertising and entertainment law attorney.

 

I enjoy writing as a hobby (sadly contract drafting doesn’t leave much room for self-expression) and I’ve kept a travel journal since I was a kid so that I can read back and remember my vacation experiences in detail decades later. (You should see some of the stuff I wrote on my England and Ireland trip when I was 17, boy did I think I was grown and knew it all back then. 🤦🏾‍♀️) 

 

When I discovered cruise critic years back while planning a cruise, I got so much good information from the live reviews others were doing and reading along virtually was a huge help to pass the time till it was my time to sail.  So since I knew I’d be writing and taking pics anyway, I decided to pay it forward and also start live reviewing my trips.

 

Celebrity has been my go to cruise line (enough to have hit elite plus status), and while I’ve sailed in almost every category, I tend to sail their aqua and suite classes most.

 

This will be only my second MSC cruise, booked (sitting in the yacht club lounge with a warm scone and espresso martini in hand) while onboard a quick but excellent 4 night solo sailing on Divina earlier this year. 

 

I typically either sail solo, with my husband Jeremy or with our 10 year old daughter who I’ll refer to as Gen Z or Mini Me.  

 

Jeremy (who coincidentally isn’t the one who has to make our annual cruising budget) is struggling to consider breaking his firm allegiance to Celebrity.

 

Gen Z on the other hand, was onboard to try something new from the moment I said “Lego kids club” and sent her a video from Ocean Cay of a sea turtle swimming in the channel.  Plus, I’m not ashamed to admit that I did engage in some minor bribery via some well chosen selections from the Divina gift shop upon my return.  This little lady loves animals, art, and music theatre and is currently going through a growth spurt feeding frenzy that may put the chefs onboard Seascape through their paces.

 

Gen Z is neurodiverse and can quickly become overstimulated, so we’ve avoided the massive ships with whole theme parks, character parades and lots of loud music/announcements.  

 

I’m thinking that perhaps Seascape in yacht club will give us a good balance of a ship with more kid activities (not that Gen Z has ever been bored or unhappy on Celebrity) but also still having our accommodations in a less crowded, more elevated and peaceful service area that we can retreat (sorry Celebrity) to when we need a break.

 

I’m going into this cruise with an open mind to new things but also with somewhat tempered expectations.  On Divina, I had a particularly amazing butler and, according to what MSC regulars that I met onboard told me, I happened to be on one of the last sailings with one of the best yacht club managers and best yacht club concierges before they went home to rest before new contracts.  I was also warned repeatedly that Divina is generally one of the best yacht clubs in the fleet in terms of service and that the newer ships aren’t as good because the yacht club is bigger and service isn’t as personalized as a result.

 

I guess the next week will tell how things shake out in comparison!

 

If anyone has any questions or tips for us while we’re onboard, please feel free to jump in and ask/share.

 

Looking forward to taking you along!
 

 

 

 

Charla, love your posts on the Celebrity boards and excited to read about your new adventures! Have a wonderful time with GenZ! 

 

Jack

[mac_tlc]

I’m in!!

[Azulann]

Looking forward to following your review. I just got off a 10 day cruise in Scandinavia and booked another cruise, but it is not until Feb 2025! 

 

[Silkroad]

I’m here, glass of 🍷 in hand. Let the good times roll😎

[Lena11033]

I'm looking forward to your review

[Mycykfamilytime]

Yes!!! I remember in an older review you said you had booked this!!! 

[RichYak]

Bon Voyage Charla! I'll be following along. You have plenty of Celebrity refugee friends on the MSC board.

[Mcgeneseo]

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this cruise.  Have fun! (Of course you will...)

[lola2013]

Bon Voyage!

[Laurab23]

Looking forward to reading about your adventure.

 

Laura

[WNCtourist]

Excited for your "live" report!

[KLM3164]

Thanks for taking us along on your cruise! Wishing you and Mini Me a fabulous vacation!!!

[GenerationX]

Sigh…you would think that after I’ve lost track of how many cruises, I might have become more concise in my packing.  
 

And yet, here we are with 5 suitcases of clothes, handbags and shoes for 1.5 ladies.

 

Apparently all I’ve actually learned is that packing is a lot easier and faster when I travel solo and tonight I briefly considered cutting my husband and child out of my future cruising plans entirely for the sake of both cost and time efficiency.  I blame this third glass of packing Chianti for my selfish thoughts.

 

Cheers to being all ready for our early morning flight to Miami!

 

[abbydancer2003]

Have a great trip.  I'm following even though I doubt you will ever hear from me on an MSC cruise.  I'm interested though, in what you think.

 

[GenerationX]

4 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

My new motto:  If I can’t be on a cruise this week, I will most certainly find someone on Cruise Critic that is and follow along.  Even better that she is GenX.  Bon voyage you two!

Thank you! I will be stealing this motto for the agonizing stretch from July till my next cruise in October!  I’m hoping that many people have late summer and early fall cruises planned that they’ll be reporting on…preferably with gratuitous food and cocktail pics.

[CJcruises23]

Looking forward to following along! Your "lives" are my favorite, and your last MSC one is really tempting me to try this line (in the YC of course, ha!) Looking forward to hearing how this one compares to your last MSC cruise, enjoy your vacay with your mini me! 

[dianedebuda]

I'm in & awaiting the cruise debut of THE dress. 😁  So how many of the MSC crowd you gonna convert to be walking maps this time? 🤣

[GenerationX]

We are at the STL airport bright and early and our flight is boarding on time! 
 

While waiting in the gate area, I noticed that my travel journaling has started to rub off on the next generation.

 

Hopefully all stays going smoothly and 3 hours from now we’ll be in Miami!

 

 

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Always enjoy your reports and of course food pictures! Have a wonderful and safe journey. When will you visit Hawaii?

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Forgot to mention that I agree you need to jump ship and sail on different lines. Since 1971 have sailed on all the major lines and ships and we are now top tiers but am not married to any particular line. They each have their own character.  Excellent decision.  All the best!

[Kteacher]

Yay! So happy to get to follow along on your trip! We booked an MSC cruise based on your last live trip report. We loved the YC experience, but haven’t booked another MSC cruise (yet). Thank you for bringing us along 👍

[GenerationX]

32 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. Always enjoy your reports and of course food pictures! Have a wonderful and safe journey. When will you visit Hawaii?

Aloha! Funny you should ask.  My mother is terrified of being on open water but has said she’d be willing to put her fear aside and try a cruise if we were to go to Alaska or Hawaii.  
 

What are your thoughts on doing Hawaii via cruise?  I’ve always thought of it as more of a land trip, but if it gets my mom out to sea that’s a big plus in my book. Any thoughts on which cruise lines do it well?  The reviews I’ve read about NCL’s Hawaii cruises have not been the best.

[tampadee]

We're on Seascape in August for the first time!

 

I will definitely be following!