**LIVE** from the MSC Seascape: A Family's Experience in the Yacht Club – 7-Night Western Caribbean – March 23-30, 2024

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Good morning Cruise Critics family!

 

After a much too early wake up at 3:45am, we're currently sitting at our airport gate hoping for no delays as we fly into a very rainy (and possibly flooding) Miami.

 

We will be staying the evening at the JW Marriott Turnberry, hoping we will have some patches of sun to enjoy their Tidal Cove Water Park before we board the MSC Seascape tomorrow.

 

This will be our first time in the Yacht Club with our kids (9 and 7), so we're excited to see and share with you guys our experience as a Family at Sea in the Yacht Club onboard the MSC Seascape!

 

We did the Meraviglia in a gen pop balcony cabin last November and then had one of our favorite cruises of all-time aboard the new Celebrity Ascent over Christmas, but this is our first cruise this year.

 

I'll do a solo cruise in the YC on the Seashore next week (March 31 - April 7) and then a short, solo cruise aboard the questionable Margaritaville at Sea Paradise for two days (April 7-9) before I have an industry tradeshow in Orlando following that... Experiencing Margaritaville at Sea immediately following two weeks in the Yacht Club should be quite the experience 🤣

 

Our itinerary for this sailing will be:

 

- Day 1: At Sea

- Day 2: Falmouth, Jamaica (originally Ocho Rios until a Carnival ship took out the pier)

- Day 3: George Town, Grand Cayman

- Day 4: Cozumel, Mexico

- Day 5: At Sea

- Day 6: Ocean Cay

- Day 7: Return to Miami 😔

 

Ocean Cay will be the only new port for us but we have fun excursions planned at each port so we're excited to leave the freezing morning temperatures of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia behind for a week in exchange for 7 days of Western Caribbean bliss!

 

If anybody has any specific information they'd like us to look into during our cruise, ask away and I'll do my best to get you answers.

 

In the meantime - fingers crossed we beat these storms into Miami and there are no delays!

 

Bon Voyage!

 

[Lupush]

We'll be in YC with you as well.  Looks like Tidal Cove is going to be a wash, unfortunately.  Hopefully no rain for the rest of the week after tomorrow.  Safe travels.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

44 minutes ago, Lupush said:

We'll be in YC with you as well.  Looks like Tidal Cove is going to be a wash, unfortunately.  Hopefully no rain for the rest of the week after tomorrow.  Safe travels.

We are making the most of Tidal Cove... Came back to our room to take a nap and warm up but we'll head back out in a bit. 

 

It's cold and rainy but if this is our only bad weather, that's fine by me.

 

We'll see you in the YC! Feel free to say hi if you see us around.

 

-Evan

[Beamafar]

Following. Hope you have a wonderful cruise. (Did you have your username corrected?)

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

Following. Hope you have a wonderful cruise. (Did you have your username corrected?)

Yes 🤣

 

I'm glad I was able to get that fixed vs having to create a new name as I definitely could not have lived with a typo in my username forever 😝

 

The weather has broken here in Miami and we were able to enjoy this afternoon at the waterpark fortunately... Excited to board tomorrow!

[Beamafar]

Just now, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Yes 🤣

 

I'm glad I was able to get that fixed vs having to create a new name as I definitely could not have lived with a typo in my username forever 😝

 

The weather has broken here in Miami and we were able to enjoy this afternoon at the waterpark fortunately... Excited to board tomorrow!

So glad you managed to sort it and delighted that the weather has improved for you.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how good YC is.  

[mchin]

Will be sailing on Seascape in YC for the first time in January. Look forward to following your thread.  Enjoy your cruise!

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Bon Voyage.

[DisneyJen]

Bon voyage!

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

We are onboard and officially on vacation!

 

I'll share more details in the posts to follow but it took a total of 39 minutes from the moment we were dropped off at the Yacht Club tent until the moment we stepped into our cabin... Amazing.

 

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

The Terminal:

 

They had warned us about traffic today due to a big electronic dance festival but due to the poor weather it appears that was cancelled so there was no traffic at all on the way in.

 

Toward the end of the tunnel on the way to the terminals we did hit a bit of traffic but in all there were less than 10 minutes in delays sitting in traffic as we navigated our way to Terminal C.

 

We arrived via Blacklane so we didn't have to worry about parking so I can't comment on that.

 

It's currently 12:30 and the picture below shows the "traffic" at what I'd imagine is close to peak arrival times for folks on the 5 ships we saw at the port today (including the Icon of the Seas).

 

I know Miami is the busiest cruise port in the world and it's Spring Break, but it really wasn't bad at all.

 

Score: 5/5

[G-DawgMN]

6 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

We are onboard and officially on vacation!

 

I'll share more details in the posts to follow but it took a total of 39 minutes from the moment we were dropped off at the Yacht Club tent until the moment we stepped into our cabin... Amazing.

 

 

 

 I'm glad they've still got that process down. Last time we were in the YC it was at the end of Covid so we had to also get tested and wait for results, but it was still really fast.

 

  Looking forward to see how the trip is, of course it will be amazing!

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Embarkation:

 

For those of you who haven't traveled in the Yacht Club before, embarkation is quite the experience.

 

From the moment we were dropped off at the blue Yacht Club tent to the moment we stepped foot in our room was only 39 minutes.

 

The biggest "delay" of all was waiting for the porter to grab our bags at the YC tent. There were a couple parties ahead of us so we waited 4-5 minutes until he could load ours but once he got to us it took less than a minute to scan in our bags and hand us off to the first of what would be several YC butlers who lead us through the embarkation process.

 

The first stop was a YC lounge where we waited for just a few minutes before they called our name to get checked in (picture below).

 

Once they called our name, they checked passports for the four of us, gave us our sea passes and our YC wrist bands (which I believe you can purchase for a few dollars outside the YC as well), took our photos, and then handed us off to the next butler to continue our embarkation journey.

 

We were then lead through the terminal, being handed off to multiple YC butlers along the way, bypassing all the lines, up an escalator, and then through a security checkpoint where they scanned our cards and verified our pictures before being led up the gangway to the ship.

 

There was a bottleneck as we were led up the gangways but the YC butler had us walk along the right side to bypass the lines. A few folks thought we were butting in line and said something but there were no major issues.

 

As we boarded the ship, we arrived to the applause of the amazing MSC staff, asked which muster station we were assigned (D, in the casino), and our next stop was to deck 7 to have our sea passes signed at our muster station before being led the rest of the way to the Top Sail Lounge.

 

Upon arrival in the Top Sail Lounge we were given glasses of champagne (fruit punch for the kids) and then we grabbed a seat to wait for our cabin to be ready.

 

We barely sat down and took our backpacks off before another crew member arrived to let us know our cabin was ready and we were handed off to another YC crew member to be escorted to our cabin.

 

Upon arrival at our room, the crew member had us check our wrist bands to ensure they worked, told us a could of quick tips for getting settled in, and that leads us to now... As we sit on the comfortable couch in our cabin as I write this before we head off to explore the ship!

 

Grade: 5/5... Hands down the best embarkation process we've ever encountered on any cruise (and a HUGE step up from our experience on the Meraviglia this past November in a gen pop balcony room).

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Yacht Club Lunch:

 

They say you don't need reservations in the YC restaurant but we showed up at 1:45pm for lunch as we were under the impression it was open for seating until 2pm but we learned there were people on a waiting list who have been waiting since 1:10pm and we were turned away.

 

Not the end of the world, but still disappointed.

 

Instead we fought the masses in the buffet instead.

 

I'm currently holding a table while my wife and kids grab their lunch as it's a bit chaotic.

 

Tip for those of you sailing in the YC in the future - if you want to enjoy lunch in the YC on embarkation day, get there before 1pm or you're at risk of being turned away as we were.

 

Looks like I'll get to try some of the tasty MSC pizza sooner than anticipated!

[Mark_T]

7 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

They say you don't need reservations in the YC restaurant but we showed up at 1:45pm for lunch as we were under the impression it was open for seating until 2pm but we learned there were people on a waiting list who have been waiting since 1:10pm and we were turned away.

It is more that you can't make a reservation than that you don't need one, but especially for lunch the times are a bit limited so with everyone boarding and heading there it is risky to leave it until late.

 

The other option of course is the YC pool buffet rather than the main buffet, and of course Hola! is open for lunch on embarkation day as well.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, Mark_T said:

It is more that you can't make a reservation than that you don't need one, but especially for lunch the times are a bit limited so with everyone boarding and heading there it is risky to leave it until late.

 

The other option of course is the YC pool buffet rather than the main buffet, and of course Hola! is open for lunch on embarkation day as well.

Lesson learned - a brief moment of disappointment but we've already gotten past it!

 

We didn't think about the YC pool buffet but we will definitely keep that in mind next time.

 

Thank you!

[Beamafar]

Deleted. 

Edited March 23 by Beamafar

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 minute ago, Beamafar said:

Probably a lot more demand for indoor dining, seeing as the weather had been bad.  I’ve never seen anything like this being reported before. 

That's a possibility - the hostess didn't offer any specific details other than showing us a long list of people who have been waiting for a table and sending us on our way.

 

Not the end of the world, it leads in nicely to the next thing to share...

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Market Place Buffet:

 

After being turned away at the Yacht Club Restaurant, we headed to the Market Place Buffet for lunch.

 

As you can imagine - the main buffet on embarkation day is a madhouse.

 

I managed to find an open table after walking up and down a couple times so I quickly grabbed a seat while my wife and kids grabbed their lunch.

 

I noticed a button you can press to request bar service on all the tables, which seemed like a great idea. However, after trying 2 of them unsuccessfully, I realized they don't actually work.

 

I was able to grab a passing drink server and asked about them and he confirmed they don't actually work (not sure if this is just on day 1 during the initial madness or if they will be non-functional for the entire week.

 

No biggie - the server was able to put in a drink order for us and a few minutes later, our first drinks of the cruise arrived!

 

Virgin strawberry daquiris for my kids, Coke Zero for my wife, and an espresso martini for dad! 

 

The disappointment of the YC restaurant being full is now a distant memory.

 

The food was average (expected at a buffet) but the pizza was good as it always is on MSC!

 

Score: 2/5 (I fully expect to score thisa second time later on the cruise and have a better experience)

 

 

Edited March 23 by FamilyAtSea.travel

[Beamafar]

If you could find out both the YC restaurant m’D and YC Director’s names and how long they’ll be on for, I’d appreciate it. 

[xcell]

Was the buffet on the YC pool deck open?

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 minutes ago, xcell said:

Was the buffet on the YC pool deck open?

We didn't know about it until after but it does appear it was open.

 

The image below shows the hours for the YC restaurant + pool buffet.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

2 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

but due to the poor weather....

 

I assume the poor weather kept you from enjoying the JW's water park? That would be a shame. The water park is a bonus add-in on a vacation.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Just now, KeepCalmBearOn said:

 

I assume the poor weather kept you from enjoying the JW's water park? That would be a shame. The water park is a bonus add-in on a vacation.

It did not!

 

It was cold and rainy in the morning but we made the most of it, and we even got some sun in the afternoon.

 

I know I'm not reviewing the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort but it was extremely nice with fantastic service and amenities. We will be staying there again in the future when we're in Miami.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

2 hours ago, Beamafar said:

If you could find out both the YC restaurant m’D and YC Director’s names and how long they’ll be on for, I’d appreciate it. 

I'll ask at dinner, no problem.