Micheb5

How much were the extra 18 vouchers that you bought over the phone?

Pretty sure it was $89.

I think the person said he had been told that the other dining room was now going to be doing 3 seatings implying that that one had previously only done 2. If that's the case that would make it new

 

 

.....Giving someone with young children a 9.45 dining time shows a total disrespect for the customer and not one iota of common sense....

I would say that's quite a a sweeping generalisation. Many Europeans (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese) routinely eat at this time, their children too.

They almost certainly wouldnt want a 545 time. Therefore having 3 dining times should suit everyone. Albeit with some juggling if say you are from the US and got the 945 or you are from Italy and got the 545.

Admittedly it is a lot of work for rhe dining staff however im sure their day is not helped one iota either by people complaining and giving them a hard time.

It seems to be very apparent in almost all these threads those who treat the staff with a smile and some respect get a lot further than those who moan and complain and generally give them a hard time.

I for one appreciate how hard and how long they work for pay most of us that can afford to cruise would laugh at. I don't envy them their job.

Exactly. Well said!

I have used "unused coupons" from September 2017 on a 2018 cruise, no questions asked of me, and were not purchased by me originally.

They are discontinuing them next year supposedly. A lot of people would like MSC to keep them. Me too please. :D

I did read a review that said if you'd booked via MSC you gather somewhere on the ship with others on the same excursion and are taken as a group on a tender. I just wondered what happens if you don't have an excursion via MSC.

Did you get an answer for this? Just got back last week. They directed everyone where to get a tender number when your whole party is ready then wait for the number to be called. I had a MSC tour but others in my group did not. From what I hear from them it was simple and well organized.

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Cruise was great and we had vouchers left. Lol

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Michb5 ... I wonder how long they will give it to see if it works before using the Marketplace again ?

Lol:D:D. I was thinking that too. I immediately thought 3 dinning times will create other issues and someone isn't going to be happy, again . It seems to change every week and they won't be able to make everyone happy. So now you will have people with 9:45pm seating that I have to agree would be awful for North Americans, but I hear that is not uncommon for some Europens and they will request it. I also think that will make it really hectic on the dining room and staff, and by 3rd dining maybe some items are not available and maybe not enough clean plates/cutlery/glasses. It really seemed like they are in pretty tight supply as they didn't want you to walk with your wine glass after dinner.

What sage advice! I'm in the middle of packing and I'll be sure to include these 2 items. :D

Enjoy Bea. You offered some wonderful advice and I really appreciate your take on things and great attitude. Safe travels!

I’m booked w money on the table.

 

Why are people trying to convince others that a corner of the buffet w tablecloths is equal to the MDR experience?

 

In fairness after I experience it I’ll report back.

 

Live in south Florida w 5plus weeks of vacation so always hopping on cruise ships and brand agnostic. Have had 2 very good cruises on Divina

Sorry if I am repeating myself, I know your comment here is from a while ago. As of this week no more Marketplace MDR.

You wrote:

 

 

 

I'm simply inquiring what other cruise line has a 9:45 p.m. seating time as I've never heard of such a thing.

Oh. To clarify I believe you could be assigned a late dinner when asking for early on any cruise line, if they have told you it was just requested early not guaranteed. On other cruise lines I have been on only 2 saeatings to my recollection. Seaside as far as I know always had the 3 times in Ipanema and so adding a 3rd to Seashore makes sense for them. For me we had 6pm in Seashore and that was a bit rushed after port visits. If we had drawn Ipanema the early was 5:30pm I think I would have been disappointed. I know it is only half hour but I barely made it to my seat each time as it was. The middle time would have been great but I don't know if that would be classified early or late. Maybe for future bookings they will show the 3 times. It would make things a lot better if people knew what they would be getting. My waiter said the Europeans like the later time so maybe it balances out.

Not sailing 17 March, it's just my wife and I. We booked 10 months ago and have requested early dining and are told we will be confirmed when we get onboard. No I haven't been reading these comments, if MSC was upfront with their dining assignment we not have booked this cruise. I like you am entitled to make what ever comments I choose on this forum as long as they are not offensive if you don't find them useful so be it.

I am just tying to help. You haven't been assigned that time yet so I say don't spoil your vacation with worry from now. If you booked 10 months ago it should be fine. When you are reading other peoples experiences it can be a challenge to pick out what matters to you as the comments are so skewed and it does seem people who go on the same sailing can have completely different experiences. Even last week in our group of 12 there was carrying experiences. What I was also trying to point out is people put these random statements out there and everyone jumps in without all the facts. I stand by my comment that if you get assigned late time just go to the Maitre'd when you board. Surely, they can accommodate 2 people. You may not get a table for 2 but I think they will take care of you. With 2 dining rooms and 2 earlier times that 9:45 I think your chances are better for the other seatings . Our waiter said a lot if the Europens want/like the later time. What I wonder is with 3 times is the middle one classified as late or early? I am going to post all the dinimg room food and menus soon so you can see what's to be had. Hope you are pleasantly surprised when you go. Pack your patience and a good attitude with a plan to enjoy your experience with a ship not like the rest. When are you going?

Can you please share any other cruise line that needs to turn over the dining room 3 times resulting in the latest seating being 9:45 p.m. ?

 

 

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And you are asking me why?

It is irrelevant when you book your cruise on MSC or how far in advance. They employ a class system when assigning dining times and locations. If you are a Bella booking you get what's left over after all other passengers (Fantastica, Aurea) are assigned. I understood when I booked that other classes like Fantastica and Aurea received other "perks" but I had no idea I would not get a spot in a MDR or as it appears will be the case now assigned to 9:45pm spot. As I mentioned in an earlier post we will NOT be dining that late and if you are listening MSC rest assured we will also NOT be paying gratuities for dining service as we will be using the Buffet only

Are you the person who is on board week of March 17, and have been assigned the 9:45 time? 1. If you had a CONFIRMED early reservation take it up with the maitre'd. Be polite yet firm that it is too.late to expect a child to eat dinner. They are people doing their best to accommodate and I truly believe they will help you. Is it just your family of 3 or 4 or a big group? Surely they will do something for you. 2.If you booked Bella then yes that is part of the deal for paying less, unfortunately and I am sympathetic if it seemed a rude surprise. If you were reading these boards before your cruise you may have been better prepared.

If you are not the person who has the issue your comments are not helping anyone.

I don't know about this one.

 

I started being sympathetic and believing the OPs experiences, but then it just got to be too much. Everyone loves their pizza.<3

 

Although I did read a recent post (or review) about the lack of air conditioning in the elevators.

Yes the elevators are uncomfortable and hot. Chelsea I did love your description. Made me laugh and felt like I was there, again, but really who would want to be in an elevstor like that! Lol. Was just on Seaside last week and found it to be amazing. I can deal with a few minutes of crowded elevator. We tried to use the aft panoramic whenever possible, less busy and our cabin was aft.

Sounds like the clueless leading the useless and the crew are the ones in the firing line.

Giving someone with young children a 9.45 dining time shows a total disrespect for the customer and not one iota of common sense being used by management who it seems could not manage their way out of a paper bag.

I saw that too and it is unfortunate, hopefully the maitre'd was able to help them out. I do feel this could happen on any cruise line. Without knowing a lot more about the situation, what experience, when did the person book their cruise? it is hard to blame the cruise line, If they booked last minute and got a smoking deal, they may only have been waitlisted for early dining. They can't bump someone who booked a year or two ago because they don't have kids?

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I ended up moving the pics to my phone afterall and it was fine. Couple of comments. When I picked up the VIP card the staff member there linked my cruise card to it. The photgraphers do not want the VIP card when you take pictures, they want your regular card. After the first night I went back thinking she would have to transfer them, she said no they are already there. I would only need to transfer if any were added to my husband or daughters card. If you have group photos they will add them to your package, if a photographer takes others people download them right away. If they see them at the emotions gallery they will delete them. They took them at our two tables and any that we were not in were taken off our account.

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Wow, so glad I was able to have a totally different experience on the Seaside. All the staff we encountered were wonderful, and all but one cocktail waitress happy with their jobs and MSC. We even met staff we knew from NCL (23cruises) and they are much happier at MSC. Elevators are slow, but most just laughed thru our slow trips. Almost all our food was very good (husband is a chef), shows fantastic. Really nothing to complain about.

Safe sailing

 

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Right on. My waiter very openly said he thought the pay was good with MSC and he works usually 13 hours a day, not 16.

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Sounds like they have changed the food in the buffet since February and moved the smaller one up to deck 18????

 

 

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Hi Nikki, enjoyed following your journey and it really helped me in a lot of cases. I appreciated your post with the deck 16 dinner buffet and that is what gave me the idea for posting the deck 8 buffet. Biscayne was closed last week at dinner time and reopened for a very small late night offering from 10pm to 2am. I don't know who would need a large selection at that time . IMO it was adequate.

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Our experience on MSC Seaside

The cabin itself is ok , the bed about queen size , with the smallest shower /bathroom I’ve ever seen , but it’s adequate. The ship itself is simply beautiful ., (except for the 2 buffets) . All chrome , glass and shiny , with gorgeous tiled floors . Very futuristic in design , however , it’s dreadfully lacking in soft furnishings . With so much molded plastic seating , you don’t know if it’s a bench you’re sitting on , or a piece of art . Due to all of these hard surfaces , the acoustics are atrocious . Everywhere you turn , there’s music and it’s blazingly loud . The main dining room has soft chairs , but that’s where they really dropped the ball . They lowered the ceiling , so consequently it’s near impossible to have any across the table conversation , as there is nowhere for all of the voices to travel . It’s a very noisy dining room indeed . Because it’s a relatively new in the North American market , prices are highly discounted , so consequently many of the local families bring their entire families along and take several cabins . This leads to overtired kids screaming through the late dinner sitting at 8.30 pm , adding to the racket in the low ceilinged dining

Staff seem confused , overworked and have no answers when asked directions . One can’t help but feel sympathy for them as they are obviously trying their best to cope with a heavy workload and language barriers . I questioned our steward about how many cabins he had to clean . . It was 3 more than Princess and 4 more than Celebrity , but these people do not have assistant stewards helping . We can see the strain in their pitiful forced smiles , and it’s painful to witness .

Drinks are obviously pre mixed , with no discernible alcohol in cocktails . I ordered a mojito . Traditionally mint leaves should be muddled with a little cucumber , however what I got was a half cup cucumber and mint leaves and a cup of ice , with a half cup of premix poured over it . “It was a salad with ice , in a water glass “ !

No daily programmes in English until day three .

No booklet paper maps of ship , instead you use interactive signboard near elevators

Blaring loud music , with thumping base in all public venues

Boarding was fast and pleasant .

Food served in deck 16 family buffet was cold and bland . A week later , we’ve realized that’s normal in all restaurants onboard . They are pitifully understaffed and waiters are overworked and run off their feet . Dinner time is so stressful for them , that you almost feel guilty to ask for a water refill or cream for coffee .

On day 4 of our 14 day cruise , they ran out of merlot .

That same evening the poor waiters had to announce to passengers that the soup was “off the menu” as they’d ran out of red beans for the Italian soup . I ordered ‘ surf n turf ‘ prepared to pay $25 . for this favourite of mine , only to be told by the maître de’ that they were out of the Bernaise sauce for the steak . I asked him why they didn’t whip up another batch , it was only 8.30 pm ? He responded that “ it’s a long process , etc . and I should order it the following evening instead “ .

Food served at Marketplace Buffet was tasteless and drab .

Placement of various types of foods was in old lunch counter buffet style , one long counter , but built around an interior kitchen , instead of today’s modern buffet stations . As we know , this type of buffet set up has never worked , and can actually erupt into chaos , when 5, 000 hungry passengers descend upon it , reducing the situation to an ear splitting noisy feeding frenzy of people bumping into each other in chaos .

Two of the elevators were always broken down .

.Several public washrooms overflowed and were left unattended for two days . The stench emanating from them wafted along hallways of three decks where they were located . Public decks 6 , 7 , 8 .

Today’s buffet lunch ,

Hot offerings : hotdogs , hamburgers. , macaroni , tacos , pizza

Cold offerings : brown lettuce , tomatoes , cold cuts , pre-made egg sandwiches , celery , cucumber , and enormous 2L. jugs with sticky handles full of salad dressing .

I personally have eaten a lot of bread and rolls this week , as food at dinner is simply inedible . Tonight’s starter consisted of some sort of thick stew wrapped in rice and rolled in breadcrumbs , then deep fried . It was disguised on the menu , written in French , but absolutely disgusting . A lot of stews and some revolting combinations , covered in semi warm cheese whiz . . They couldn’t possibly have an actual chef in kitchen , but perhaps instead a kitchen staff attempting to fake it , but it’s a disastrous fail . Essentially tasteless , bland , dishes served lukewarm on cold plates . No real butter onboard , only margarine . No real cream onboard , only dairy product .

The entire setup of restaurants and bars onboard feels very amateurish, and appear to be run by marginally skilled staff .

The truly hard working staff are the waiters and cabin stewards , and as stated earlier , we’re truly sad for them , as they’re carrying the burden of this beast . They don’t seem to have had much training and consequently it shows in the service , but they are so desperate to please that it’s sad . I’ve spoken ‘one on one’ with some of them and they say , “one complaint against them and they are fired “ . That’s a horrible threat to hold over someone . Obviously , they’ve hired these young people , given them a brief training session and have cheap labour at minimum wage .

I’ve also spoken with several of our fellow passengers , and the complaints are adding up . Most cabins on the rear half of the ship are assaulted daily with the pounding base of the music , throbbing at a volume that’s right off the chart , the screams , whistles , yelling of the DJ , the non stop pool games and contests . Sound comes right through the locked balcony door . None of the passengers to whom we have spoken intends to return to this cruise line . As for us , if we could have left this ship by day 2 , we would have , but as it happens we have arrangements made and previous commitments to honour , so we’ll see it through , but it’s deplorable and needless to say , we’ll never set foot on any MSC ship again . . . We’re sticking with our top three favourites . . .Cunard , Celebrity and Princess . . .

Below pics are Marketplace Buffet and Deck 16 Buffet and some of the dishes on offer . Scary stuff . Note the baby octopus . 🤢🤢

As this is about the food I just thought I would help on the stew/rice ball starter, since you would want to get that right in your blog. It is called an Arancini. It is a typical and popupar Sicilian dish. There were other starters so I am curious if you didn't like it why you didn't try something else? In my experience last week our waiters were very happy with their jobs, supremely accommodating and wonderful in every way. I also realize this is subjective because I spoke to others the same week who did not have great table service.

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Thanks for providing this and the new information, very helpful, and so is your followup descriptions.

 

Is either buffet open 20 hours a day as had been advertised?

I looked on one days program to see. No open restaurants Between 11am and 12pm, 3:30pm and 6pm, 9pm to 10pm. Sure room service would be available though.

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Sorry vea52. I checked last night and then I was out of Wi-Fi. Enjoy the second week

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Interesting. Thank you for taking the time to post the latest info.

Love to hear from someone this week if it happens

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Oh, and with your 12 yr old, did you get one of those GPS bracelets from the kids club for them? Do they work well with the app so you could see where they were on the ship?

We didn't get the bracelet but it was up and running.

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Thanks for the info and pic of the letter for Playa Del Carmen. We're booked for the Xcaret Eco Park in June, so we'll have to come up with a backup in case they haven't opened it back up.

 

We're getting a Fantastica Balcony that connects (one of those superfamily rooms), did your Balconies connect? If so, could you tell me about the connecting door? Is it heavy? Does it prop open? Lock automatically? etc? We've got a toddler and I'd like to be able to leave the door open to give her a bit more room to play. Also, in the connecting rooms, does the balcony divider come down/removable or is it fixed? Thanks!

We didn't have the super family but we did have two rooms with connecting door. There is a door that locks in each cabin, backing on to each other. There is nothing to prop them open. You could bring a few doorstop/wedges to hold it open when you are in the room. I think they are fire doors and the stewart may want you to keep them shut when you leave. The space is really tight so you will have to be careful not to bump into the door edges. The balcony wall between only opens partially. If you look at pictures you can see a divide. Maybe it's 2 feet at the end that opens. Our Stewart said it could only be open in port. After we left Miami it was not opened again. We did notice others that were open, most were not.

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We are on board now, deck 14, I am using a scooter to get around, ship is big and too hard on my arthritis

Do you want to try connecting. Room # and I will bring them to you later

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We are here next week

If you need vouchers we will have some left. Table 320 6pm back of seashore right side of the dining room. Port side of the ship.

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