Today onboard MSC Seascape, we are enjoying another relaxing day at sea as the ship sails back to the Port of Galveston, TX. We have calm seas and nice weather today, so we decided to head up to the One Pool Buffet on Deck 20 forward for lunch (we skipped breakfast today). The One Pool Buffet is exclusively for guests staying in the MSC Yacht Club and is another nice perk of this ship-within-a-ship platform.

The One Pool Buffet serves breakfast (6:30am to 8:30am), lunch (12 noon to 3:00pm) and afternoon snacks (3:30pm to 5:30pm*). The buffet is much smaller than the ship’s main buffet (Marketplace Buffet), but still has a very nice selection of salads, meats, entrees, breads, vegetable dishes and dessert offerings.

The One Pool Buffet is very popular with Yacht Club guests, especially on sea days like today, so we make sure to show up a bit early to get a good table. Another nice feature of the buffet is that you can also get made-to-order items, which we did. Rickee and I both ordered the cheeseburger and fries.

Rickee and I rarely agree on food, but she and I are in complete agreement that this may just be our new favorite cheeseburger at sea. Previously, my favorite was Guy’s Burger on Carnival, which is still very good., However, I think the cheeseburger in the Yacht Club may have it beat.

Let’s examine why we love this burger. First, the meat is very good quality beef. You can taste the quality. The inch-thick patty is properly ground and cooked to order. We ordered Medium, and you may be able to see a little pink in the photo below. The burger is juicy, but not too messy. The slice of cheddar cheese is melted, and the tomato, lettuce, pickle and onion are all fresh and crisp. Personally, I would like a little more onion, but I am sure all I had to do was ask. The sesame seed bun is nicely toasted and fresh. Most importantly, the burger is served HOT, unlike the accompanying French Fries which continue to be served lukewarm. That is a shame, because the fries would be great if they were fresh and served hot.

This evening, we returned once again to the Top Sail Lounge for a cocktail. The burger at lunch was so filling that we are skipping dinner this evening. The bar service in the Top Sail Lounge is polished, but slow. It can take a long time for a server to find their way to your table to take an order. Then, it can take quite some time to receive your drink. On more than one occasion, I walked up to the bar and placed my order directly with the bartender.

I tend to drink Crown Royal every evening, and I have to say, they are very generous with their drink portions. Every drink I ordered was delivered as a double, without me having to ask. Tonight, however, there was one glitch. When I took the first sip of my drink, I could instantly tell that I had received a single malt scotch, and NOT Crown Royal. I do not like scotch, at all. I told the server, and she apologized and took my drink back to the bar to exchange it for Crown. When she returned, I thanked her, took another sip, and AGAIN it was the wrong drink! I decided to just go without, but when she walked by our table, Rickee pointed out to her that the bartender had poured the wrong drink again. I told her it was okay and not to replace it again. A few minutes later, she returned with a clean glass AND THE BOTTLE OF CROWN and poured it right in front of me! I was impressed with her customer service and commitment to get the right drink to me.

After enjoying our cocktails, Rickee insisted that we go to the final Production Show of the cruise. I had already seen two shows on this cruise, and that is about my limit. Nevertheless, I relented and decided to join her for the show. We did not enjoy this final show as much as we enjoyed the previous two. The entertainers are good, don’t get me wrong. It is the production that is lacking. These shows start to get redundant and predictable. For example, the same acrobats perform the same aerial spins in every show. By the third show, you have already seen everything. And, the lighting continues to be an issue. They can’t seem to get the spotlight on the main performers consistently so, many times, they are in complete darkness.

After the show, we returned to our suite to finish packing for the trip home. This is always the most depressing part of any cruise.

We also noticed a nice note had been left on our desk with a box of chocolates from Venchi, the ship’s chocolate shop.

Tomorrow morning, MSC Seascape will arrive back into Galveston where we will disembark and make the 5-hour drive back to our home in Dallas. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel and watch for our full review of MSC Yacht Club.

Below is our walkthrough and review of the Deluxe Balcony Suite.

Dining times may wary

Day 7 At Sea

Day 8 - Disembarkation

Day 6 Cozumel, Mexico