10/17/2024
Ok friends, we were on the Sept 29 sailing on the MSC Seashore. This was birthday trip for me and hubs- we both turned 50! We had two couples with us.
We had the best time!
They sang happy birthday to us as we boarded the ship. My coffee shop girl hooked me up all week long. We had a favorite bar tender.
Embarking was easy. Went to room and grabbed our cruise cards right away and went up to the Shine Bar (no particular reason, just found a place to sit). Jessica came over and we just hit it off right away. She saw our bday t shirts and asked about it and she took care of us all week. One night she just kept bringing us drinks of her own concoctions 😂😂 .
We liked her so much that when they moved her to a different spot toward the end of the week, hubby went and found her 😂😂 We took her a gift on the last night and we are now FB friends.
There’s some fancy shopping on board. We went into the fancy watch shop at Times Square and even though we didn’t buy anything (dude there’s some beautiful pieces in there but way out of our budget lol), Albert became my buddy. All week long whenever the saw me he’d come over to chat and give me a hug.
We did buy a couple of watches in the other shop a couple of decks up (they were more in our price range 😂). Anderson is very quiet and you COULD take him as rude, but he’s not. He’s just a quiet introvert (why he’s working on a cruise ship is beyond me ha!). Hubs bought a watch there the first night, and I tried to chat up Anderson with no result, BUT the next day he was working a shop on ocean cay and I was able to get him talking a little. After that he seemed comfortable and actually smiled at me the next time I was in his shop. By the end, Hubs bought two watches from him and I bought one.
The coffee/chocolate shop OMG !! My girl there took care of me all week. The first time I got coffee she gave me chocolate for my birthday. Second day the same , and on and on. I gave her one of my teeny tiny ducks and my card so we can keep in touch. She gave me chocolate specifically for hubs on his birthday (Oct 5). She was so nice.
The Times Square area was my hang out spot (for hubby first it was the Shine Bar and then wherever Jessica was 😂😂). Lulu was the roaming server for the coffee shop and I didn’t realize that before I asked her for a drink. She actually went t upstairs and got drinks for me and three friends!! I tipped her very well and she took care of us the ret of the time. We talked a little and she’s very nice and said she really likes her job but being a server for the coffee shop she gets bored so didn’t mind going upstairs 😂
We only saw our room attendant the first day but that little guy was like a ninja! Everything was always perfect. I have a brain injury and usually around the middle of a cruise I p**p out and this trip was no exception. I actually put on the do not disturb light cause I spent most of the day sleeping in the room. When I finally left, I got to the elevator and had tp go back cause I forgot something. In that two minutes he’d been in and straightened the bed!!
For our room attendant tips- I make three greeting cards and I put tip money in each one. Spread the full amount out between the three. I leave one the first day, one the middle day, and the last one when we leave the final morning.
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Tips and tricks-
If you’re a drinker, tip well right away and you will be taken care of wonderfully. Be kind! I’ve seen people complain about bar service but not once did we have an issue on this cruise or the previous one.
Elevators- yeah they can be slow but they do tell you how long it’s expected to take to get to you. It’s not like it’s a surprise 😂 Sometimes going up one flight of stairs makes a difference in how quickly you get an elevator. I know that won’t help those on scooters , tho.
Buffet- there are many buffet stations. If one is packed go to another. We found the one that’s kind of in the back and around the corner was hardly ever packed. I think people didn’t realize it was there. There’s even a lower set kids section.
MDR- ok, ok. Food was just ok but the service is wonderful. We booked Aurea and only made it to the Aurea dining room once (second to last night)because our companions didn’t book the same. Our server actually asked if everything was ok since she hadn’t seen us. They DO notice you.
Please for the love wash your hands!!
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Specialty restaurants-
Ocean Cay was just ok. Service was excellent but the food was just ok to us.
Hola Taco- I LOVE LOVE LOVE this one. I can’t eat a lot at once so hubs got the pkg but I only ordered one ala cart item and they were so concerned about it!! I tried to reassure them that the food was good and kind of explain what was going on but they kept checking on me 😂 Even the manager came over.
Butchers Cut- hubs and friends said their steaks were awesome. I got the lobster chowder. It wasn’t what I was expecting for “chowder” but it was good. I are very little (I did pick the lobster pieces out) because again I can’t eat much at a time and they were again quite concerned.
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Do yourself a favor and get some Italian Chocolate. There’s a huge stand where you can pick pieces. Do it. It’s awesome.
Caramel Panacota Gelato OMG 😱 SO GOOD
ON THE buffet I really liked the meatballs on the kids buffet. The guacamole was very good. Pizza awesome of course. Little cake pieces yes please allllll day every day 😂
There was chili but I didn’t get the chance to try it.
Bacon was always good, crispy enough and all stuck together so you’d end up with a pile of bacon 🤩
Little egg dishes were good.
Hash browns on the last day were awesome.
There was some Mongolian beef that was pretty good.
Cheeseburgers 🍔
If you are looking for the tortilla chips ask where the crackers are.
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Shows-
They weren’t the best and they weren’t the worst 😂
The final show was a rock music show and the ending was so sweet and heartfelt. I got a little chocked up.
The La Cabernet lounge had some fun stuff going on.
