***LIVE*** from the MSC Seashore: A Solo Experience in YC + Side-by-Side Comparison to Seascape - March 31 - April 6, 2024

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Hello hello Cruise Critic family!

 

I'm back at it - this time from the MSC Seashore!

 

My wife and kids sadly headed home last night after our journey on the Seascape so I'll be sailing solo this time around as I have to be back here in sunny Florida next week for a business tradeshow! (I traded this trip with my wife as she'll do a girl's trip later in the year and I'll take the kids that week)

 

It's 5:05pm so we haven't even left the terminal yet, but I already have some initial observations for how things compare to the Seascape:

 

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Arrival: 

 

Driving into the terminal here in Port Canaveral is significantly less chaotic than trying to get into the Port of Miami. There was no traffic clogged as you passthrough a tunnel and they did an excellent job of managing the traffic there was (they didn't let each car go until a parking spot opened up in the area where you unload/handoff your luggage).

 

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Embarkation: 

 

This process was fast at Miami as we boarded the Seascape (less than an hour from the time we handed off our bags to the time we arrived at our stateroom, but it's even faster in Port Canaveral as you board the Seashore (27 minutes from the time I arrived at the blue tent until the time I opened my stateroom door for the first time). 

Another thing to mention here - when we entered the Seascape, there was a line of crew on both sides cheering as people boarded the ship. On the Seashore there was none of the same excitement (and you had your badge scanned as you entered the ship vs. in the terminal like in Miami). 
 

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Muster Drill: 

 

I'm disappointed to report that the muster drill on the Seascape must be some sort of trial. For those of you who read about that experience, you may remember that we stopped by our muster station before we even arrived at Top Sail Lounge to get scanned in. Unfortunately, that's not the way they do it on the Seashore so I had to scan in at the same time as everybody else.

 

I dialed 881 as soon as I arrived to my room and then just went and grabbed a seat in the casino (where my muster station is) and waited until they announced we could complete the process, so I beat the crowds, but getting back up to my room was an impossibility for awhile as people flooded down the stairs to complete their own process.

 

This is definitely the way to go though (or do it later in the day once everybody else has finished).

 

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Aesthetics: 

 

The floorplan is exactly the same, but the color palette is slightly different in some areas. The Seascape used more gray tones where as the Seashore seems to use more browns.

 

Not a big deal and doesn't impact my enjoyment at all, but it's been a weird thing for my eyes as it took me a bit to figure out what I was seeing that was so different. 

 

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YC Embarkation Lunch:

 

Again, for those of you who followed my other thread, you probably remember that we were turned away from having lunch in the YC on embarkation day and had to go to the Marketplace Buffet instead (it was pouring rain so the YC pool buffet wasn't an option).

 

I arrived to lunch a bit earlier today (1:20pm vs 1:45pm) and was able to enjoy my lunch in the YC restaurant!
 

In general, the crowds feel significantly less chaotic and less busy so far on the Seashore even though I know this is also a sold out cruise (as we the Seascape). I'm not sure why (and I don't know if it will last), but even as I walked through the Marketplace Buffet at 2:30pm, there were lots of open tables and there weren't any bottlenecks at the lines for the buffet.

 

I'm hoping that perhaps that is because there are less kids on this sailing, which would reduce the total # of people even if it is sold out, but I have nothing to back that up...simply a hope.

 

At some point, I'll ask Melania (YC Director on the Seashore) how many kids are onboard and see how that compares to the 91 that were in the YC on the Seascape last week. If there are less kids in the YC, then it's reasonable to assume there may be less in the main areas as well.

 

Of course, another possibility (that is perhaps more likely) is that because it's Easter, people just arrived a bit later for today's cruise than they did on the Seascape last week, so the initial rush of people was more spread out.

 

---

 

That's all for now but since I'm sailing solo, I suspect I'll have more times for updates this week!

 

I also still have some things I'd like to add to my review from last week as well, so there's still more to come there too...stay tuned!

 

 

 

Edited March 31 by FamilyAtSea.travel

[cruisin'a]

I will be following along on this one, too! Super excited to read all about the Seashore YC. We will be cruising on her soon!

Edited March 31 by cruisin'a

[DisneyJen]

Love the compare and contrast on boarding at the two different ports in FL.

 

Looking forward to your great reports.

[cruisin'a]

If you have a chance to snap a pic of the dinner menus, would you mind posting?

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Hard to believe we're already getting toward the end of embarkation day... How do cruises pass by so fast???

 

Ah well, I'm going to make the most of it!

 

Moving on...

 

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Easter Dinner in the YC Restaurant

 

It was nice to have a holiday on the ship as I'll at least have one menu this week that is new from last week (not a complaint... Last week's food was amazing).

 

Tonight I had the Marinated Sea Scallops (average), Rack of Lamb (very good... Not restricting myself to the Italian dishes this week since I had them all last week), and the Molten Cake w/ a scoop of vanilla ice cream (this was the star of the show).

 

The service wasn't quite as good as it was on the Seascape overall, but it was much better than the embarkation day service, so that was a big win.

 

 

 

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Main Theater Show - Live on MSC

 

This was the only show we missed on the Seascape last week so it was nice to see it on day 1 as it means there's no pressure to see any additional shows this week if I don't want to (aside from the performers they bring in that aren't regulars)...of course this is assuming they will have the same resident shows onboard since they did tonight, but there's no guarantee of that.

 

We love the YC experience, but entertainment is definitely an area where MSC is lacking compared to the other mainstream lines. We don't book based on the entertainment, but some better shows would certainly be nice.

 

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Staff Review - Maria, Senior YC Butler

 

I first met Maria during the approximately 30 seconds I sat in the YC lounge in the terminal during embarkation. She brought me a glass of champagne and along with my YC wristband.

 

Following dinner this evening I swung by my stateroom to grab something and she asked if I was going to see the show.

 

Last week we were never finished with dinner in time to see the early show so I honestly didn't expect to be able to this evening but when I looked at my watch it was only 7:23pm, so it was possible.

 

I told her I'd see if I could make it down in time and she offered to escort me. I politely declined her offer and told her that wasn't necessary, but she then insisted.

 

To her credit, she got me there in time and it's nice to have both dinner and the show finished before 9pm (the hard work we put in on cruise ships 😝).

 

My initial impression of my actual butler (I don't recall his name at the moment) makes me think he won't be as good as Roberto was last week, but Maria may make up for it.

 

I don't even remember being a Head Butler on the Seascape so I have no idea what their role even is, but she's done a great job so far.

 

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Looking Forward

 

I've never been good at relaxing on vacation... I'm extremely Type A and always on the go, but I'm going to try to force myself to slow down this week and enjoy the little moments.

 

I had my first ever massage last week (a couples massage) and this week I've booked 3 different ones - partially to relax and partially to learn about the different types of massages. 

 

I'm also going to experience Teppenyaki (my kids and wife don't like Asian food so we didn't do that) + Ocean Cay (Diamond dinner instead of Butcher's Cut). I'm also supposed to do the Chef's Dinner in Butcher's Cut but I think I may cancel that because I'd like to try a couple of the MDRs for the sake of these reviews and still have some meals in the actual YC restaurant.

 

I'm going to snorkel tomorrow at Ocean Cay (since it was cancelled last week on the Seascape) and then I'm doing a Sunset Cruise where we should be able to watch the lighthouse show from the boat (yes, a boat...not the cruise ship).

 

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Bonus:

 

My wife joked with me that I'd live out of my suitcase this week.

 

Well, I'm happy to report I haven't completely lost my ability to be

a responsible adult and I was fully unpacked with clothes hung up and folded in drawers before we even left at 5pm! 😝

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

8 minutes ago, cruisin'a said:

If you have a chance to snap a pic of the dinner menus, would you mind posting?

I just posted them above this comment here... It was a special Easter menu so I don't know if that's what you were looking for, but I'll try to remember to grab them for you the rest of the week if that's helpful.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

I had made a post in a Facebook group last week saying how impressed I was with how well-behaved all the kids were in the YC last week, which caused a bit of controversy.

 

Well, it appears it's coming back to bite me.

 

There's a young child in the room beside me that cried for 90 minutes beginning at 2am last night and has been up since 5:30am running back and forth in his room screaming.

 

The crying I can understand to an extent, but how these parents are allowing their kid to run around and scream at these hours is beyond me.

 

I'm going to ask to be moved to another room but it's a sold out cruise so I'm sure nothing is available. However, if I'm not able to sleep this week, by the end of the week it's not going to be pretty.

[morpheusofthesea]

11 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

How do cruises pass by so fast???

They only pass by fast when one is having a good time. 

[morpheusofthesea]

11 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

. Not restricting myself to the Italian dishes this week since

Would be interesting to learn on which of these cruises you gain the most weight from. I have this shoulder devil that prompts me to try everything on the menu. Without my DW, I'm a kid in a candy store with no adult supervision.

[morpheusofthesea]

11 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

partially to learn about the different types of massages. 

Ask about the oriental "wax job". Buddy Hackett goes into great detail.

[morpheusofthesea]

11 hours ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

Well, I'm happy to report I haven't completely lost my ability to be

a responsible adult

You shouldn't write these things. Your DW needs to know just the opposite... that you can not live without her. (all women love to hear this....in your case read this).

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

There's a young child in the room beside me that cried for 90 minutes beginning at 2am last night and has been up since 5:30am running back and forth in his room screaming.

There is a Venchi kiosk on board. Buy a thin candy bar and next time this happens slip it under the door. The sugar shock will put the child to sleep.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

There is a Venchi kiosk on board. Buy a thin candy bar and next time this happens slip it under the door. The sugar shock will put the child to sleep.

You are full of jokes this morning 🤣🤣🤣

 

If the candy bar doesn't work, I may try a stiff drink from Venchi the next night. 

[Beamafar]

2 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

You are full of jokes this morning 🤣🤣🤣

 

If the candy bar doesn't work, I may try a stiff drink from Venchi the next night. 

For you or the kid?  🙈

[morpheusofthesea]

8 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

You are full of jokes this morning

Thanks for all the great material I get to work with.

[morpheusofthesea]

9 minutes ago, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

I may try a stiff drink from Venchi the next night.

Just put it in a sippy cup with a straw.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

17 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

For you or the kid?  🙈

It depends on how loud they cry 😝

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

At last...Ocean Cay!

 

Odds are if you're reading this, you already know how truly special this place is, but this is a first for me as this is only my third MSC cruise and it was cancelled last week (and wasn't part of the itinerary on the Meraviglia).

 

I'm not the type to lay on a chair and relax, I'm much more the type to be active and on the go, so I didn't expect to like it as much as much as most of you.

 

Well I'm very happy to report that in the couple hours I've been here so far, it's absolutely amazing.

 

So far all I've done is do some quick snorkeling in the YC beach area and I'm now waiting on my carne asada for lunch (I had the lobster roll on the Seascape last week so I wanted to try something different).

 

Things to note:

 

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Ride to YC Beach:

 

When I arrived at the YC blue tent there was about a 3 minute wait for the next golf cart to give us a ride to the YC Beach.

 

Not a problem as it gave me a moment to enjoy the steel drums being played and grab a glass of water before continuing on our way.

 

 

 

 

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YC Beach

 

The stories you read online are true... The beaches of the YC area are extremely rocky, but it's still a tropical paradise!

 

I didn't arrive until around 10:30am, but there were still plenty of lounge chairs still available if you're the type who enjoys those (we arrived at 8am).

 

The butler service is perfectly timed to never feel like you're wanting a drink and one isn't available, but also not feeling like they're bugging you.

 

I went for a brief snorkel but there wasn't much to see, so I continued on from there to grab a seat at the Ocean House for lunch...

 

 

 

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YC Cabanas

 

When we were supposed to be here Friday ,(and I was with my wife and kids) we were supposed to get a cabana. However, being here solo, I didn't see the need, but I still wanted to check things out.

 

They have a few lounge chairs, two umbrellas, and the cabana itself has 2 chairs + a couch, a cooler, and ceiling fan/light.

 

The views, especially from cabana #1, are exceptional and very close to the beach.

 

 

 

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YC Ocean House Lunch 

 

I was advised to get to the Ocean House early before the 12pm lunch as the tables fill fast, and this was true.

 

I arrived around 11:30am and was able to get my pick of tables - for me, this was a table closer to the beach that wasn't underneath the pavilion but had a better view and was warm below the sun.

 

For lunch I had the octopus starter + carne asada entree. Neither of these were very good, but I still enjoyed them both. I passed on dessert (saving it for dinner).

 

 

 

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As I wrap this post up, I'm going to go for a snorkel in the lagoon area and then I'm going on a jetski adventure at 2:45pm. 

 

From there, I'll grab dinner and then have a twilight sail to watch the lighthouse show from a boat (not the ship).

 

Stay tuned!

 

Edited April 1 by FamilyAtSea.travel

[Cruisergal1208]

Enjoying your pictures and reviews.  

[DisneyJen]

So glad the weather cooperated🏝️

[cruisebeachgirl703]

Enjoying your week 2. Looking forward to hearing who your butler is. Looked like a nice day at Ocean Cay.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 hour ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Enjoying your week 2. Looking forward to hearing who your butler is. Looked like a nice day at Ocean Cay.

My butler is Kadek!

 

He's been good so far...I think Roberto spoiled me, but Kadek has been very good as well.

 

In fact, he just found me at dinner and escorted me to a twilight boat trip to see the light show.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

Some of you may have seen me post this in a FB group earlier, but it's worth sharing here too:

 

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Me: Wandering around Ocean Cay, mindlessly exploring.

 

Random YC Butler I've Never Seen Before: "Sir, You have an excursion that starts at 2:45... I'll meet you over there at 2:15 to escort you."

 

Me: "You're right...but how do you know who I am?"

 

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These folks are incredible... I'm so impressed.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

The Cay Comes Alive at Night

 

After a fun jet ski around Ocean Cay and a truly fantastic dinner in the YC restaurant, I went out for a Twilight sailing around the island to watch the lighthouse show.

 

I'll be honest - after being out in the sun all day, I really didn't feel like it, but I purchased the ticket, so I figured I shouldn't waste my money.

 

I'm glad I made the decision I did, because not only was the view great for the lighthouse show, I also ended up taking a stroll across the island to check out the night life and take in the views.

 

My party days are well behind me at this stage, but it will makes for some good people watching to see others living their best lives.

 

By happenchance, I happened to be photographing the lighthouse directly in front of it when a second show started at 10pm...I literally couldn't have picked a better spot to see the show if I wanted to.

 

I swung by the casino and donated some money to the cause before grabbing a night cap at the Top Sail Lounge before writing this post.

 

Ocean Cay is a beautiful place and I'm only bummed my wife and kids didn't get to see it on Friday.

 

Fortunately we'll be back here in May 2025 on the World America on our next YC adventure (we have 5 other cruises between now and then, but on different lines).

 

 

[cruisebeachgirl703]

"Staff Review - Maria, Senior YC Butler

 

I first met Maria during the approximately 30 seconds I sat in the YC lounge in the terminal during embarkation. She brought me a glass of champagne and along with my YC wristband."

 

Do you know the champagne name? Seems to vary per ship. If you know that would be great.