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

[skipsaur]

6 hours ago, GenerationX said:

When a cart finally pulled up, after 20 minutes waiting, a group of YC guests were so eager to mob it I saw one lady who must’ve been in her 70’s try to grab and dive on the thing rear end first before it even came to a complete stop!  I guess risking a broken tailbone (or worse) was worth it to be sure she didn’t wait another 15 minutes to get back to the ship.

 

I wasn’t raised to throw elbows and shove elderly people out of my way, so when said folks mobbed the cart and I tried to set an example for her to not push and wait our turn, of course Gen Z and I were left standing with no seats left on the cart.  

 

 

Ugh I'm sorry this happened to you and your daughter, especially when she was going through a tough patch. Glad she has an attentive mom keeping an eye on her needs preemptively!

 

That's such distasteful behavior from elderly Yacht Club guests who should know better. Puts you in an awkward position as a parent when you're trying to teach your child proper behavior and there's adults who must have forgotten all their manners.

 

Glad that it didn't spoil her day though! Looking forward to hearing your final thoughts on the trip.

 

[Mark_T]

10 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

... it's all about what the butler does for you without you asking. So glad that you had a great butler who anticipated so many of your needs. 🙂

We had a great butler on our cruise as well, so we know there is more than one of them 🙂

 

So far, on a sample of one, our butler exceeded both Regent and Celebrity, we'll see how our next experience goes in Feb.

 

4 hours ago, KKB said:

For us, the answer is no.

Why?

Because we want more than an amazing room/restaurant/lounge/pool area.

We are active cruisers who want to play trivia, grab a coffee, hit the martini bar, partake in a game show...and all of those things are outside of YC/Retreat...so if we can book ship w/in a ship at a great rate...it's all about the rest of the ship for us. 

I can totally understand that and nobody is suggesting that MSC trumps Celebrity on all levels, so very happy that not everyone is going to try and book MSC YC, as it would just drive the prices up! 🙂

 

We can still get what we need on Celebrity S class ships, just not on M or E, but this is a conversation for another thread.

 

11 hours ago, GenerationX said:

I’m going to finish my champagne then Gen Z should be back from her tour shortly and we’ll go to the room to shower and dress for one last YC restaurant dinner.  

Thanks for taking us all along for the ride Charla, I hope you enjoyed your evening, and I'm sure we are all looking forward to hearing about your next adventure!

 

11 hours ago, GenerationX said:

I always tell Gen Z that trying new things can be scary and it probably won’t always work out the way you want, but it’s important to do because you may discover something you really enjoy.  

Words to live by for sure.

[phred119s]

21 hours ago, GenerationX said:

 

When I took Gen Z up to one of the slides for the first time, while we were waiting for the last rider to clear the slide so that Gen Z was safe to launch, I smiled at the attendant and asked how he was doing today.  His face lit up and he said “oh! You are so kind! Nobody ever asks me this!” 

 

 

 

 

 

We make a point of this also! It’s always so lovely to see the crew faces light up. 

[jules815]

8 hours ago, gtaylor said:

Could this possibly be the world famous, renowned ARTHUR of days gone by?

 

gary

I believe that it is!

 

[jules815]

Thank you so much for taking us along on your week on Seascape and for the fantastic review with pictures. Safe travels home.

 

 

[cml4958]

On 7/14/2023 at 5:37 PM, lola2013 said:

Ouch 

 

10 hours ago, skipsaur said:

 

Cringe 

To be clear, I am now the masses.  And have been since those two cruises.  I've always cruised on NCL in the studios.

 

Sorry to hijack your thread Charla.

Edited July 16, 2023 by cml4958

[jules815]

1 hour ago, cml4958 said:

And have been since those two cruises.  I've always cruised on NCL in the studios.

Not to hijack the thread either, but the other night my husband and I were watching cruise related videos on YouTube and saw one about the NCL studio. Thought it was a really smart concept for solo cruisers. One thing though that would bug me. Is there ever a problem with stateroom attendants accidentally walking in while you're showering? I know you can turn on the dnd light, but I think I'd still be taking quick showers. Is there some type of privacy curtain that we missed?

 

[cml4958]

20 minutes ago, jules815 said:

Not to hijack the thread either, but the other night my husband and I were watching cruise related videos on YouTube and saw one about the NCL studio. Thought it was a really smart concept for solo cruisers. One thing though that would bug me. Is there ever a problem with stateroom attendants accidentally walking in while you're showering? I know you can turn on the dnd light, but I think I'd still be taking quick showers. Is there some type of privacy curtain that we missed?

 

They do have the DND but I've never used it.  I haven't had an attendant walk in on me either.  They have cut down service to once a day so it's unlikely they would walk in on you.  I think the showers are frosted in the middle but totally can't remember.

[GenerationX]

Ugh, this afternoon I am regrettably writing from dry land.  

 

 Gen Z and I are all settled back in at the Hyatt Brickell for our post-cruise decompression night before flying home tomorrow.

 

Disembarkation this morning went pretty smoothly.  The YC restaurant was open for breakfast from 6:30-8:30. Since we were in no rush to get off, we arrived around 8am and shared once last meal with our new Austrian friends who are going back to back.

 

They shared that they were given B2B vouchers and instructions in an envelope last night that said to hang out in the YC lounge after breakfast and at around 10am a butler would take them down to the terminal to go through the reboarding process.

 

While we were finishing breakfast, Captain Tuvo was going around the restaurant table to table thanking everyone for sailing MSC, asking how their cruise went and taking photos. I’m sure he’s very busy on turnaround day so it meant a lot that he’d take the time to do something like that.  When he came to our table, he remembered Gen Z from her bridge tour the day before (more on that to come) and said “something’s wrong, my passenger with the great hair is not smiling today.”  

 

I explained that she didn’t want to leave the ship, and he offered to let her stay and hang out on the bridge for a couple of more weeks.  I was quite jealous that I wasn’t given a similar invitation! 

 

When Gen Z and I were ready to leave the ship a little after 9am, Charles met us in the lounge and took our carry on bags and escorted us down the elevator and as far as the security card scanner.  They had a separate area roped off from general disembarkation for YC so we didn’t have to worry about edging our way past the line of non-YC people waiting to leave.  When we were walking off the ship at about 9:15, I heard the loudspeaker announcing that they were calling luggage numbers up to 62.  

 

When we got to the terminal there were 3 different rooms of luggage and it looked like 2 of them were still pretty full.  As was the case on Divina, there was no signage to help figure out where YC bags were and I had to ask a couple of attendants.  It turned out to be at the very end of the very last luggage room before customs.  Unlike Divina there was no butler in the luggage area to assist with finding bags and getting a porter, but we were some of the last YC  bags left (perhaps why there was not butler) so they were easy to find and getting a porter was no problem.

Our porter said things were much more hectic when disembark started at 7:45.

 

Facial recognition was used for US passport holders so we got through customs in seconds and got a $15 Uber XL to the hotel.  Upon check in, Gen Z promptly headed out onto our balcony and proceeded to look longingly accross Brickell bay to where the cruise ships are docked.  She sighed deeply and said “You know, this time I’m not happy at all to be in Miami”. Same girl. Same.

 

I know I have some posts still to do, including the rest of our day yesterday, a much overdue stateroom report and a report on our Puerto Rico excursion. I promise I’ll find time between consoling my child who is depressed because “someone else is probably unpacking in OUR stateroom as we speak”.
 

 

 

[lola2013]

Unless your Captain Tuvo has a twin, it looks like he jumped ship from Princess.  I watched a Smithsonian Channel program last night showcasing Sky Princess which featured Captain Mikele Tuvo!  

[kluv2cruz]

26 minutes ago, lola2013 said:

Unless your Captain Tuvo has a twin, it looks like he jumped ship from Princess.  I watched a Smithsonian Channel program last night showcasing Sky Princess which featured Captain Mikele Tuvo!  

I was thinking the exact same thing!

[CruisinBanka]

Boy that was a fast cruise! I’m almost as disappointed as you and GenZ are that it is over. I was enjoying your commentary and writing style as I always do. Looking forward to your next sailing and review. Have a safe trip home! 

[Azulann]

Thank you so much for taking us  along on your great cruise with Gen Z.

 It looked like a fabulous  mother daughter  cruise.

I look forward to your summary. 

Safe travels home and back to normal life. 

 

[GenerationX]

Remind me, what’s it called in literature when the weather reflects the mood of what’s going on in the story?

 

It was grey and raining early this evening as I watched from afar on our hotel room balcony as Seascape headed back out to sea without us.  Poor Mini Me couldn’t even bring herself to look.

 

In happier memories, a little about our last few hours onboard:

 

Gen Z got back from the behind the scenes ship tour yesterday very psyched and I was so glad she had a chance to do it.  

 

Apparently there was some mild drama at the start of the tour because when she and the Austrian family arrived at the meeting place, along with several other families that had even younger children with them, the tour coordinator said that the tour was only for age 12 and up.  Apparently all of these families had booked the tour in advance and no one saw anything anywhere regarding this age restriction.  Gen Z’s ticket was even arranged by the YC concierge mere hours before with no objections raised.

 

Apparently there were multiple phone calls made while tensions with the families grew (many had cut their Ocean Cay days short for the sole purpose of being back for this tour) but in the end all children were allowed to participate.

 

Gen Z said they weren’t allowed into the engine room but got to see the engine control center and that the highlight was a trip up to the navigation bridge where everyone got to meet Captain Tuvo.  

 

Austrian mom said he was very friendly and wonderful with all of the kids and took almost a half hour personally showing them around the bridge and answering questions about the ship.  Austrian mom said Mini Me raised her hand and asked if she could honk the horn just once and that the captain laughed and of course denied this request.  

 

After Gen Z told me all about her tour, we dressed and went to one last YC restaurant dinner with our friends. The beef consumme soup was a little over salty, but the beef raviolis inside were very good. I would’ve liked to just have the raviolis with a splash of the broth on them. 
 

 Gen Z and I both had a shrimp cocktail with shrimp that wasn’t quite as good as the ones in Butcher’s Cut, but nothing to complain about especially given this one was free.  Gen Z commented how much she missed being able to have shrimp cocktail every night like on Celebrity. It was one of the few times I hear a Celebrity comparison out of her this week.
 

Gen Z had her favorite salmon one last time and I had a double entree of a tender but extremely rich and filling slow cooked lamb shank and the potato gnocchi.  I was tempted to try and bribe someone for the recipe for the tomato Basil sauce on the gnocchi. 

 

A perk of the YC restaurant/lounge layout on Seascape: While we had our coffees (and hot chocolate for the kids) and waited for the dessert course (Mini Me highly recommends the Ice Cream Pyramid BTW), Gen Z and her Austrian friend got to watch the light house show right from beside our table.

 

Our servers Benedict and I Made were quick and gave good food and wine suggestions and took time to stop by and make napkin animals and do magic tricks for the kids.

 

After dinner, Gen Z went to kids club while I got us packed up.  Then when I picked her up we went for a just us girls night cap in the Top Sail lounge to listen to some live music together and drown our sorrows in Malbec and heavily whipped creamed hot chocolate and the late night sweets display. The lounge entertainment the last night was a vocalist and piano duo from Brazil that I’d also enjoyed listening to in the atrium during my champagne bar sessions.

 

When they finished their set, we thanked them for the beautiful music and headed off for our last sleep on Seascape.

 

Gen Z are going to order some Uber Eats for dinner in our pjs, then later tonight: a catch up post on our stateroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wrunkles]

Thank you for taking us along. I love how you add so many pictures.  Have a safe trip home!

[phred119s]

5 hours ago, lola2013 said:

Unless your Captain Tuvo has a twin, it looks like he jumped ship from Princess.  I watched a Smithsonian Channel program last night showcasing Sky Princess which featured Captain Mikele Tuvo!  

 

5 hours ago, kluv2cruz said:

I was thinking the exact same thing!

It is definitely him!

[no1talks]

9 hours ago, GenerationX said:

"Gen Z commented how much she missed being able to have shrimp cocktail every night like on Celebrity. It was one of the few times I hear a Celebrity comparison out of her this week."

But... In YC, you can have shrimp cocktail every night. We did so as recently as March, on Seascape.

 

Our YC dinners always began with the shrimp course, before whatever appetizers we ordered from the menu.

 

This, along with other dining room requests, were discussed with Arthur on the first day. Another addition we requested was a sorbet intermezzo during the dinner. 

[Mark_T]

9 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Gen Z commented how much she missed being able to have shrimp cocktail every night like on Celebrity. It was one of the few times I hear a Celebrity comparison out of her this week.

We promise we won't tell her, but all you had to do was ask and she would have received it every day.

 

Something to look forward to next time...

[Nunagoras]

On 7/15/2023 at 3:28 PM, KKB said:

I'm gonna say their success is due to the price point. 

It's a mix in between their price point and their very international approach to deliver a true worldwide product for all cultures to enjoy. Here where I live they're now far from being the cheapest ones in the market, other than for some out of high season sailings or specialty small charter group travels. Here where I live their brand new MSC World Europa is, price wise head by head with the RCI's Oasis Class ship that does the same itinerary. If it wasn't for the cheaper gratuities and drinks packages and I'd say they'd be always above that line either. The good value is mostly on the US based sailings and for US market residents purchasing Euro sailings. Not anymore here for the Europeans!...

[GenerationX]

1 hour ago, no1talks said:

But... In YC, you can have shrimp cocktail every night. We did so as recently as March, on Seascape.

 

Our YC dinners always began with the shrimp course, before whatever appetizers we ordered from the menu.

 

This, along with other dining room requests, were discussed with Arthur on the first day. Another addition we requested was a sorbet intermezzo during the dinner. 

Ah interesting, we asked about this the first night at dinner and our server told us no, shrimp cocktail would only be available on the last night when it was on the menu.  Now I know for next time to escalate it further up the chain! Thank you!

[no1talks]

55 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

"...our server told us no, shrimp cocktail would only be available on the last night when it was on the menu."

 

That may have been entirely accurate from his perspective.

 

During our cruise, the shrimp course was delayed one evening and the server mentioned the YC kitchen had been late getting the shrimp from another kitchen.

 

It would seem a server cannot unilaterally redistribute ship's inventory, the way management can.

[Lena11033]

I know on my first day the YC kitchen was missing a fruit that was listed on a dessert I ordered. They offered to get someone to go to the regular stock to find it but I just switched the fruit to something they had available rather than them do that. Maybe the first day is a bit of a lag with getting everything

Edited July 17, 2023 by Lena11033

[Mark_T]

They just need advance notice and where possible they will accommodate, so on day 1 they may have no shrimp, but they will do their best to ensure it is available on all subsequent days if you make a special request.

[KKB]

3 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

It's a mix in between their price point and their very international approach to deliver a true worldwide product for all cultures to enjoy. 

Honestly, I didn't find the approach (both in Caribbean & Europe) all that different than the other mainstream lines I have sailed.

All the same basic components...just not executed quite as well overall. 

 

 

[Nunagoras]

What a wonderful review, congrats!... Have a wonderful return home!...

 

As per the X vs MSC discussion about their ship within the ship concepts: X scheme ia a top premium product inside a premium ship, while MSC's one is a top premium product inside a mass market ship. Hope to have helped a little bit to solve the issue. And this way YC can never to come price wise as high as whatever else X has on market any day!...