MSC Yacht Club Part 6

 We disembarked this morning from the MSC Seashore at PCV. One of the easiest processes in over 100 cruises.  Left our cabin at 7:15 and were in our transfer at 7:40.  It helps that most cruise terminals now have facial recognition for passport holders. You just approach the kiosk, it scans your face and you're done. 

We had a nice last dinner onboard. It was the Italian dinner they'd been promising since the first night.  We had buffalo mozzarella, beef carpaccio, seafood misto and lasagna Bolognese.  The lasagna didn't disappoint!!  Finished it with some coffee ice cream with chocolate sauce.

 

We're now on our way to MCO to catch a 10:55 flight to IND. They have small shuttles which only cost $20/person.  I checked Lyft and it would have been $100 plus gratuity. Great deal and they left every ten minutes. We should be back in our apartment by 2:30. 

MSC Yacht Club Part 5

 We stayed on the ship while we were docked in Cozumel.  

Enjoyed a nice lunch in the YC dining room.  Even though I've been limiting my consumption of red meat, I had to see how their signature burger was. Very tasty with crispy, salty fries and onion rings. And a stracciatella sundae with caramel.

 For dinner we both had the Asian dumpling sampler, some tasty butter chicken and shared a pappardelle pasta that had a wonderful duck ragout. Cheese for dessert.  We've gotten a cheese plate a few times on this cruise and they have offered crackers. The first time we laughed when it included some sad, stale saltines. Then we got them the second time.  And last night we thought for sure they had just run out of regular crackers and we'd finally get a regular cracker.  Not a chance.  We each got three sad, stale saltines. 

 We finished off the night in what some Yacht Club guests have called "Gen Pop", referring to the low security area of prisons.  We went outside the wall of the Yacht Club and saw a terrific jazz quartet in the Brooklyn Cafe.  After a cocktail in the Top Sail Lounge it was time to head back to the cabin.

MSC Yacht Club Part 4

 Yesterday we had a great excursion to visit the seven color lagoon in Bacalar. The lagoon is only about a meter deep so no real swimming. In the sunshine you can apparently see multiple colors.  We had a slightly overcast day so we'll have to come back another time to test the theory.  It was beautiful and a very popular spot for pontoon boats.

On Tuesday and Wednesday nights I ordered poorly in the dining room. Even something that should have been easy to make such as a Caesar salad was disappointing. So tonight I asked if they had a simple Bolognese, one of my favorite sauces. It wasn't on the menu.  At least not the adults menu.  They said of course they did!!  It was on the children's menu!! And I was presented with one of the best Bolognese dishes I've ever had. Really delicious and satisfying. 

 They had an exclusive Yacht Club deck party last night on Deck 20 which was so fun!!  Food, drinks and a DJ!! Lots of like dancing.  And the DJ played one of Angie's favorite songs: Mr Brightside!!

 

MSC Yacht Club Part 3

 

We had a fun tea reception to start the day. The Officers welcomed us. 

 Lunch at Kaito was very good. They had an option for an "all you care to eat in forty five minutes" sushi for $39/person but that didn't include any non-sushi dishes which we wanted to try. So instead we went with the a la carte option.  The Tempura Udon was tasty although I don't understand why they put the freshly fried crispy tempura directly into the broth. The soba noodle stir fry with chicken was tasty as well as the Chuukara Maguro Temaki. I love the hand rolls compared to Futomaki.   We still took a few plates off the conveyor belt. We had a great meal and it was less than if we had chosen the "all you care to enjoy" option.  

After lunch we had some gelato.  Can you say you've sailed MSC and not had gelato? There are at least three spots for gelato on this ship which makes sense since it's an Italian based company. 

We enjoyed the evening show. 

MSC Yacht Club Part 2

 

Yesterday we finally managed to go to the "dark side" and explore outside  of the Yacht Club!!  They have lots of lounges, coffee shops, shops and five specialty restaurants!! They have an arcade with a Formula One and rafting simulator!! Plus five pools including Pirate's Cove which is an enclosed waterfall park. For lunch we ordered the famous MSC Style pizza from room service.  

Many say MSC has the best pizza at sea.  My current best is Princess closely followed by Virgin Voyages.  MSC is definitely in the top three and possibly surpasses Princess. Great dough, sauce and toppings.  I'll of course need to try more to provide a proper ranking.

After lunch we needed a mandatory rest period.  I took a two hour nap. We then got ready for dinner and headed to the Top Sail Lounge which is the bar in the Yacht Club for a pre-dinner cocktail.  Delicious Zacapa Old Fashioned!!   Dinner highlights were some savory and garlicky escargot, a blue cheese souffle and fettuccine with a mushroom sauce. After dinner we headed to Le Cabaret Rouge which is a nightclub on the MSC Seashore.

 They had a rotation of three different acts.  Each act had a set and then the next act performed .  Then rinse and repeat.   They had a great band playing crowd favorites including Pat Benatar and Adele. Then there was an acrobatic duo who did some juggling and enhanced baton twirling. And there was also a passionate violinist.  A really tear show and somewhat of a throwback to the old days of cruise entertainment. We also went to see an all female band perform a tribute to The Beatles.  Then it was back to the cabin.

MSC Seashore Yacht Club Part 1

 

Yesterday we boarded a cruise ship on a cruise line we've never sailed before.   We're trying out the MSC Yacht Club experience for seven nights.  A great lunch and dinner onboard  yesterday in the Yacht Club restaurant.  Highlight were freshly made tortellini with a creamy walnut sauce and a wonderful clam risotto.  We also saw the production show The Journey in the main theater. 

 Today we arrived at Ocean Cay which is their private island for an overnight stay. 

 We had a couple of hours at the beach.  Angie took a dip in the turquoise blue water.   Then it was time for lunch. We had crab salad and charred octopus for starters. For mains we shared a perfectly medium rare burger, grilled mahi mahi and a lobster roll.  The mahi mahi was our favorite.  It came with a sweet potato and pineapple salsa.  Who knew those flavors would go so well together?

After a mandatory rest period, we headed to dinner at the Yacht Club restaurant. It was a very good menu tonight. Hard to choose so our waiter recommended multiple starters and one main as starters!!  Maryland Crab Cake, Lobster Ravioli and Pumpkin Risotto along with spring rolls.  The risotto was again the winner of the starters. Creamy and savory. With some deliciously crispy sausage for more flavor and crunch. Mains were pork tenderloin and grilled sea bass. Both very good. And I did have dessert. Some refreshing passion fruit sorbet. 

 We went to the Yacht Club lounge for an after dinner drink and to listen to the piano player. They have a large selection of bar snacks to choose from including a rotation of potato chips or crisps as they refer to them in the UK.  Yesterday was salt and vinegar and BBQ.  Today is honey mustard.  We're sitting outside where there is a nice breeze and the sounds of crickets. Real?  Piped in?  Not sure yet.

Epcot Day 2

 

We headed to Epcot at 11 AM. We once again used Lyft to take us to the Boardwalk and we walked from there.   There were a few snacks we wanted to have today. First was escargot from France. I remember this from the very first time I went to the Food and Wine festival many, many years ago.  It's changed a bit since I last had it.  It used to be three smaller brioche buns, each with escargot in a garlicky sauce.  Now it is a single, somewhat larger brioche with multiple escargot and sauce.  We liked it but thought the prior version was better. Next was an Impossible slider with Montreal seasoning. This had some great flavor and was delicious.  

It was much warmer today than on Friday so we desperately needed some air conditioning.   Good thing WDW has some indoor rides!!   We headed over to The Land. There was a posted twenty five minute wait for Livin' With The Land so we got in line.  It ended up only being ten minutes!!  They've made some good changes to the rise, mostly in the greenhouses.   Next we got in line for one of Angie's favorites: Soarin!!  This had a posted sixty five minute wait.  But it was going to be an air conditioned wait!!   We got lucky as we got near to where they stage you for the attraction.  They were asking for single riders so we took them up on the opportunity!!  Saved us at least ten minutes. Great ride as usual and you could "smell the smells".  If you know you know. 

Next it was lunchtime at Space 220. As it sounds, this is a circus themed restaurant.  Just kidding.  It's of course space themed.  No spoilers.   The restaurant space and how you get there is very well done. And a great meal of burrata, tuna tartare, roasted brined chicken and shrimp pad Thai.

At 2:46, I got notification that it was time for my virtual queue on Cosmic Rewind!!   We finished lunch at 3:30 and I headed there.  It's an interesting pre-show. As with most rides of that nature, you're being brought in to see or test something.  And then something goes terribly wrong!!  How will we get back?  Who will help us?  I think you know. It's a well done inside coaster. Similar to Aerosmith's Rock and Roller coaster except there are no inversions.  Instead of inversions, your car spins many times to capture the action around you. So if you don't like spinning, this won't be the attraction for you.  It's a high speed version of Cobra's Curse at Busch Gardens Tampa.  We ended the night back at the resort with snacks and music.