Live - MSC seascape from Miami 27 Jan

[Ryan82]

Tonight we didn't dine in our allocated MDR of Cala Jondal as we'd booked to try Ocean Cay. All the speciality restaurants are located in Chef's corner which kinda adds to the atmosphere of it being a bit special (as opposed to say on Virtuosa wgere you could be dinning on the Galleria).

We were only going to stick with the experience menu. The menu, which is fairly extensive is likely be a little unusual for the British or American market. For example, finding a Squid Ragout or Grilled Octopus on a menu in America or UK isn’t common. But no problems for guests who aren’t experimental eaters, there's more standard seafood dishes like seared tuna, crab cakes, clams etc.

We failed. We added the seafod tower as an appetiser. So good. We had the blackened cod and ragout and cheesecake and tiramisu for dessert. Service was impeccable and it was a really enjoyabke leisurely meal.

Top tip: if you like Seafood you're not going to be disappointed.

As Diamond members this meal was complimentary, so we only paid half the charge for the seafood platter. We have bought dinning packages previously and have tried most of the restaurants available now, but generally we feel they're not really required. You can eat well and have great service in the main dinning rooms.

So far I've dined in Butchers cut and Galaxy on Preziosa, L'Atellior, Teppanyaki and Sushi on Grandiosa and Hola! Tacos on Virtuosa.

I'll share my personal order of preference but obviously dinning is such a subjective matter 😃

L’Atelier Bistrot
Ocean Cay
Tepanyaki
Butchers Cut
Galaxy
Kaito Sushi
Hola Tacos

Edited February 1 by Ryan82
Mistype

[mcoler181]

4 hours ago, Ryan82 said:

Tonight we didn't dine in our allocated MDR of Cala Jondal as we'd booked to try Ocean Cay. All the speciality restaurants are located in Chef's corner which kinda adds to the atmosphere of it being a bit special (as opposed to say on Virtuosa wgere you could be dinning on the Galleria).

We were only going to stick with the experience menu. The menu, which is fairly extensive is likely be a little unusual for the British or American market. For example, finding a Squid Ragout or Grilled Octopus on a menu in America or UK isn’t common. But no problems for guests who aren’t experimental eaters, there's more standard seafood dishes like seared tuna, crab cakes, clams etc.

We failed. We added the seafod tower as an appetiser. So good. We had the blackened cod and ragout and cheesecake and tiramisu for dessert. Service was impeccable and it was a really enjoyabke leisurely meal.

Top tip: if you like Seafood you're not going to be disappointed.

As Diamond members this meal was complimentary, so we only paid half the charge for the seafood platter. We have bought dinning packages previously and have tried most of the restaurants available now, but generally we feel they're not really required. You can eat well and have great service in the main dinning rooms.

So far I've dined in Butchers cut and Galaxy on Preziosa, L'Atellior, Teppanyaki and Sushi on Grandiosa and Hola! Tacos on Virtuosa.

I'll share my personal order of preference but obviously dinning is such a subjective matter 😃

L’Atelier Bistrot
Ocean Cay
Tepanyaki
Butchers Cut
Galaxy
Kaito Sushi
Hola Tacos

That Seafood tower look amazing.

 

Has the weather been OK? Wife's been reading people on FB saying need a top or jacket as has been cool? Doesn't look cool on your photos mind. 

[Ryan82]

2 hours ago, mcoler181 said:

That Seafood tower look amazing.

 

Has the weather been OK? Wife's been reading people on FB saying need a top or jacket as has been cool? Doesn't look cool on your photos mind. 

It's been windy a few nights, but not really cold. They keep the temperature in the theatre pretty cool, other than I've not seen many people wearing a top or jacket.

[mcoler181]

10 minutes ago, Ryan82 said:

It's been windy a few nights, but not really cold. They keep the temperature in the theatre pretty cool, other than I've not seen many people wearing a top or jacket.

Thanks, suppose being form the UK we are a bit more acclimatised to the cool 😂

[Beamafar]

17 hours ago, Ryan82 said:

Hey.. here you go...

I'll provide a bit more detail on this one, as picking an excursion for Cozumel took a bit more thought than other ports.

 

I'm not a sit on sunbed kinda guy, so this was a bit of an odd choice... but let me explain how this excursion is a bit of everything...

 

Thank you so much for this detailed report of your excursion experience.  We’re not sunbed/beach lounging people, either, but it sounds like a really great way to spend the port day.  Will definitely look into this.  Much appreciated. 

[Ryan82]

Think this is 9... Entertainment

The party nights are okay. Theres variety but in general participation is a bit low. Definitely doesn't compare to say the White Night parties on Virtuosa out of Southampton.

 

The activities team work hard to involve people, and there's an abudence of quizzes etc to take part. Normally a quiz is a bit of a passing the time activity, but the quiz hostess Antoinette is extremely funny and engaging which makes it a lot more fun than on other ships.

[Ryan82]

5 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

 

Thank you so much for this detailed report of your excursion experience.  We’re not sunbed/beach lounging people, either, but it sounds like a really great way to spend the port day.  Will definitely look into this.  Much appreciated. 

No problems at all. To be honest it was either this or the Mayan ruins excursion and for us Passion Island was the right choice. Only thing that was putting me off was if it feels similar to Ocean Cay which is probably just a beautiful tropical beach (I know how bad this sounds as I'm truly grateful to get opportunity to travel, but I mean it's good to try to have a different experience in each port to make the most out of it). We'll be there tomorrow so I'll soon find out.

Edited February 1 by Ryan82

[Beamafar]

We’ve been to the Mayan ruins (rip-off - pay a fee, then there’s an extra ‘entrance’ charge once inside, around the shops/food outlets, to go to the actual ruins - we’ve visited Tulum before so didn’t bother) and the far side of the island (where there’s no power and the locals have to use generators). 
 

The price for your excursion is €91 pp (we’re in Ireland) so about £75 - you reckon it’s good value?   

[mackfam]

If anyone is interested in a great snorkeling excursion in Cozumel,  I highly recommend Mystic Snorkel. We booked with this company after reading a previous review by @jean87510There were only 6 of us on the boat and we were taken to 4 different locations. We saw stingrays, turtles, nurse sharks and loads of fish and interesting coral formations. 

[pirate4me2]

Thank you for doing this review! The Ocho Rios dune buggy sounds fun, I may have to look into that next time I am on a cruise that stops there. 

[Ryan82]

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

We’ve been to the Mayan ruins (rip-off - pay a fee, then there’s an extra ‘entrance’ charge once inside, around the shops/food outlets, to go to the actual ruins - we’ve visited Tulum before so didn’t bother) and the far side of the island (where there’s no power and the locals have to use generators). 
 

The price for your excursion is €91 pp (we’re in Ireland) so about £75 - you reckon it’s good value?   

Yeah i think it was good value. 

[Ryan82]

45 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

Thank you for doing this review! The Ocho Rios dune buggy sounds fun, I may have to look into that next time I am on a cruise that stops there. 

I'd definitely recommend but you're going to get muddy.

[Ryan82]

Really nice chocolate special in the buffet this afternoon on our second sea day.

[Ryan82]

Have thermal spa at 3pm so will let you know what its like. Will compare it to the other MSC ships we've been on.

Edited February 1 by Ryan82

[Beamafar]

That chocolate buffet looks scrumptious.  Never seen one before. 

[pirate4me2]

Oh man, that chocolate buffet looks yummy! I will have to check it out on my sailing later this year. Do all MSC ships do it? If I am staying in YC, does the YC buffet have a version of it?

[Ryan82]

1 hour ago, pirate4me2 said:

Oh man, that chocolate buffet looks yummy! I will have to check it out on my sailing later this year. Do all MSC ships do it? If I am staying in YC, does the YC buffet have a version of it?

First time on 7 cruises I've seen it. However we almost always miss lunch as in ports on excursions so they may have had other themes ok another days. No idea about Yacht Club as in standard part of ship.

[Ryan82]

10. Thermal Spa

 

The thermal area was a tad bit small, it felt a bit cramped. To be honest the entire layout of the spa was a bit odd. Seemed to take up a lot of space with not really that much in it.

 

We were using the diamond / gold complimentary access. 

 

The steam rooms were not great, not only was there not much steam, the dark one wasnt even dark. The jaccuzi was ok, normal for a thermal area and the saunas were ok just not as hot. Lots of pointless seating all around too which just reduced space available for actual thermal spa stuff. 

 

The thermal spa also has a snow room. The snow is part of a hot-cold therapy which allegedly has some health benefits. It’s not new to our age or MSC 😃 - Roman bathing was based on the practice of moving through heated rooms then plunging into cold water at the end. This area was really well designed and temperature was perfect ie ice cold!

 

We couldn't try the Himalayan Salt Relaxation room as there was only 6 loungers and the same 7 people occupied them for the entire time we were there. Maybe this is a sign it's good!

 

Overall not one of the best compared to the other MSC ships.

 

Top Tip: if youre Gold or Diamond use the benefit. If you absolutely adore Thermal Spas book the pass. If like us, and you're not really bothered, then save your money for something else.

[Ryan82]

Last night was Italian night.

Have to say service was really slow - our regular waitress was missing so it was just our Asst Waiter so it all took a bit longer  but we overlooked it because he's been such a fun guy  and still managed to keep our wine glasses full.

 

The meal wasn't the greatest. The minestrone soup was just weird- no pasta or vegetables it was like an oaty mess. You can see the offending item in the fourth picture. I never send back food (this was the first time in 41 years I have done) but it was that terrible. I wasn't the only one to send it back or just leave it. The rest of the meal wasnokay but not to standard on other MSC ships.

 

There was a late night comedy show. Really poorly attended because the comedian -Brooklyn Jones - was very good, proper belly laugh type comedy. Apologies for the blurry picture i was layghing that hard it was tricky holding my phone still. Highly recommended.

 

Top tip: the dinning staff work so hard so always be kind and understanding. If you order something and don't like it then only send it back if its not good to eat or is very different to what you were reasonably expecting.

[Beamafar]

Can’t blame you for sending that back!

[wolft927]

My Wife and I have only sent food back one time simply because it was nothing like we expected. I tried to eat it but just couldn't. And that soup, dear lord that looks absolutely horrible. Did you try it? Not sure I would have even tried it.  

[Ryan82]

1 hour ago, wolft927 said:

My Wife and I have only sent food back one time simply because it was nothing like we expected. I tried to eat it but just couldn't. And that soup, dear lord that looks absolutely horrible. Did you try it? Not sure I would have even tried it.  

I did try it. It honestly tasted like porridge and oxo cube. No idea what t was but it wasn't minestrone soup! Which I've gad about 8 times on MSC as its on the always available menu in european itineraries.

 

Picture below is what it usually looks like...

[Ryan82]

Had a great day at Oceqn Cay which I'll probably write about when im home now.

 

Was very disappointed- had prebooked beach stargazing experience and didn't find out until late last night it wasnt available via a letter in cabin. This was going to be my highlight. Explanation was that we were leaving at 8pm and its only offered on later departures. Was really annoying as this was a bucket list item. Pretty crap. But i didn't let it spoil our time in Ocean Cay.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Just now, Ryan82 said:

Had a great day at Oceqn Cay which I'll probably write about when im home now.

 

Was very disappointed- had prebooked beach stargazing experience and didn't find out until late last night it wasnt available via a letter in cabin. This was going to be my highlight. Explanation was that we were leaving at 8pm and its only offered on later departures. Was really annoying as this was a bucket list item. Pretty crap. But i didn't let it spoil our time in Ocean Cay.

Bummer man, I'm sorry.

 

Makes you wonder why they even sold it... Not like the departure time was a surprise for them.

 

I'll be there overnight next month... Thinking maybe I'll book this to see how it is.

[Ryan82]

3 minutes ago, CruisematicVA said:

Bummer man, I'm sorry.

 

Makes you wonder why they even sold it... Not like the departure time was a surprise for them.

 

I'll be there overnight next month... Thinking maybe I'll book this to see how it is.

Everyone is different but it wouldve been a huge highlight for me, so hope you get to do it.

 

What ship you on? Divina?