McHaggis69

Butchers Cut was good.

The restaurant itself is lovely and the staff very attentive.

My wife (not being a steak fan) chose the halibut main course, and although the fish was well cooked - the dish itself she found a little dry. Sitting on a bed of brown rice it lacked any dressing or sauce to lift the dish.

I had an 8oz fillet which was cooked to perfection (medium rare). The steak comes with 4 small sauce pots so you dont really need to choose what to have. It was delicious.

Overall - probably a solid 8 out of 10.

I can’t actually recall the cost now, but I stuck with the red wine on my beverage plan so it was just the food we paid for. What I do recall was expressing how inexpensive it actually was.

We understand there are around circa2500-3000 passengers onboard.

the vessel generally feels quiet apart from possibly the main pool/sundeck area today which was busy as we walked through. The aurea sundeck has been quiet. We’ve had comfortable seating in the ‘cabanas’ every time we’ve visited.

The buffet appears to only be about half used so we always head to a quieter section to eat.

spa appointments have been easy to get, but they do try and sell the unpopular 8.30am slots! Just decline and get a more reasonable time. We are not aware of any closed areas but we haven’t tried all areas.

Bars and casino are very very quiet. The other night the sports bar only had about a dozen people in.

The ‘white night’ event on the main pool deck last night seemed to be very poorly attended. Maybe we left too early?

Service in all areas has been pretty swift.

Strangely some of the bar staff dont know their own menus and you have to show them the drink - on their menu - that you’ve asked for!

in casino last night I ordered a drink at the bar and the young girl clearly forgot about me. About 5 minutes later another bartender asked if i was waiting for a drink and when i explained he brought my drink within seconds.

Yup - we know the rules - I’m simply reporting the actuality on board - I didn’t intend to be critical for anyone choosing not to wear a mask.

Coming from Scotland where mask use only ended 18th April and many people are still using them, it was a bit of a change to be just about the only people using.

We only have the OP’s word the ‘company messed up’…

Its possibly more likely many passengers turned up ay before their allocated embarkation time that has caused the delay. We all know it happens - many people admit to it on these very forums. They get to the cruise terminal at 11.30am even although their boarding time might be 2pm.

Don’t know for sure what the actual reason is - I’m only surmising a possible scenario 🤷🏼

We are first time Seashore cruisers with a couple of days to go. Currently on way to MSC private island before returning to Miami on 30th April.

Thoughts and observations -

The ship itself is amazing - shiny and new and very much a different layout to our former RC cruises.

We are booked Aurea class with the premium extra drinks package.

Embarkation was a mixed event. We arrived by taxi to the dock and were stopped and asked for our cv19 tests on multiple occasions, but not to show the actual test - just to ask that we had it - the Answer the first and 4th time was ‘yes’!

We were NOT tested at the port. We joined a priority queue (but we had to ask where it was after being directed to the normal queue) and were quickly processed with photo and checks of all cv19 documents - the test results and vax docs

We got on board and were a bit scunnered to find no state rooms were ready so we had an hour or two to kill (we boarded at about noon) carrying hand luggage around.

We had an issue activating our cruise cards at the terminals but a quick visit to guest services sorted it out.

Aurea class we thought included free minibar and free breakfast in room. We’ve been charged to refill the minibar (so I guess by ‘free’ they mean ‘until you drink it all’). We also got charged for our second breakfast in room on day two. No idea why. I guess what they mean by free breakfast in room is ‘free breakfast one time in your room’?

The main dining room for us is Central Park. The food in our opinion is just okay. Nothing to write home about but generally well done. We were surprised at dinner to find you are limited to a choice of 2 red wines. Happily our waiter brought me a bottle of what I actually wanted and we were not charged. If you are used to eating higher end food, then the restaurant falls a little bit short. Service is great and the staff universally friendly.

The spa (including free massage for both if us) has been great - a really nice experience.

I’ve already opened another thread about our neighbours smoking on their balcony. Its taken 3 visits from customer services to get them to stop, but to be fair to MSC we got a call this afternoon to ask if it had been resolved so good follow up there.

Excursions have all been well organised, but it is a real shame so many people just dont listen to what they are being told and all those small delays while they try and understand what is going on adds delays for everyone who is already in line/tickets out/knows where to go etc.

The premium extra drinks package has generally been amazing - just about anything I want on the menus I can have. Menus - we are still using scanned barcodes to bring the menu up on your mobile device and its a bit of a pain. CV19 restrictions on that point still in place, but nothing beats having an actual drinks menu to look at physically.

On CV19 - staff all wearing masks but very few passengers are. We did for about 4 or 5 days but have stopped now.

The biggest bugbear is the buffet. We are all using shared serving utensils. Surely we should all be given disposable gloves?? Serving utensils at a buffet are the no1 cause of spread of any contagion - not just cv19 - you just dont know if the person serving their eggs has been picking their arse before doing so and you then have to use the same utensil. Further, because perspex screens remain in place, its very difficult to reach underneath and serve yourself - you have to pretty much duck down and angle your arm to get what you want. We have our own hand sanitiser we use after serving our food from the buffet. The buffet food is really quite basic and often cold. Eggs benedict with cold congealed sauce is not appetising. Having said that the choice is reasonably varied so we’ve found something to eat every time we have visited.

What has been really quite annoying is the hard upsell on the ‘pay’ restaurants. It has been *incessant*. Constantly pestered by staff from the Butchers Cut no matter where you are on the ship to sign up to a signature restaurant package. As it happens we did sign (after 3 days being pestered) and are at Butchers Cut tonight, but come on MSC - 4 days of pressure selling is embarrassing.

The elevators… what is everyones problem? We have found them 19 times of 20 to be fast, efficient and more often than not empty. Twice we have had to wait what I might call an unreasonable period of time for a car to arrive but as far as I can tell thats been because someone has been ‘holding’ the lift doors open on another floor - while late arriving family members get on board. The lifts are easy to operate - touch a screen to tell it what floor - the system tells you what car - and you then get on board. Simple and does away with my own personal hate of people who dont know how traditional elevator call buttons work and they press the up arrow even when they want to go down and vice versa - doesn’t happen with this system.

MSC for me APP is a monster - particularly where the spa is concerned. Whatever you book at the spa should show up on your personal itinerary on the app, but our experience is its almost always wrong. Same with billing. Was shouting at the wife for spending $500 in the spa which somehow reduced to $300 later in the day with no rational explanation. The app is simply not reliable enough.

Overall it has been thoroughly enjoyable. Happy to try and answer any questions if I can in next few days. Although like all ‘reviews’ it might seem I have noted all the issues/problems - we really can’t fault MSC and would happily cruise again with them.

Ok - thanks for responses.

they were smoking half an hour ago again so i called guest services. They told me someone would call on them right away.

guess what? Half an hour later they are smoking again. Not even hiding the cigarettes and lighter. I’ve called guest services again, but next time is a visit to guest services to ask to be moved. Its ridiculous how much I paid for this holiday and getting cigarette smoke in my cabin every time we open the doors.

Hi,

so the party in the cabin next to us on MSC Seashore seem quite happy to smoke on their balcony.

Problem is - I know every time they’re doing it as the smell wafts its way in to our cabin when our doors are open.

Who should I discretely have a word with and will MSC staff do anything about it? I’d like to leave this with MSC staff to handle rather than directly confronting our neighbours.

Its been 2.5 years since I booked our cruise (due to leave this Saturday 23rd).

The whole holiday (including a post cruise Canada stopover) has been booked and rebooked 3 times (Cruise, 3 x hotels, 4 x flights etc).

I am sitting here in Edinburgh, waiting for flight tomorrow to Heathrow and then Friday morning I need to do a preflight cv19 test which will also double as my pre-cruise test.

To say we are both gnawing our fingernails down with worry about this one single test which will make or break the whole thing is putting it mildly.

Brilliant thanks for the confirmation.

Yup - all from the UK.Gov website -

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/cayman-islands/entry-requirements

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/jamaica/entry-requirements

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/mexico/entry-requirements

However, on checking the Cayman Islands site itself there appears to be this -

https://www.exploregov.ky/reopening-plan

I’m just getting more confused the more I read, although I *think* I don’t need to do anything for Cayman or Mexico, Jamaica does seem to need a negative covid test. I’ll keep googling until someone on the boards can confirm the position - perhaps someone who has visited the same places recently.

Hi - and apologies for yet another question -

Our itinerary includes -

Jamaica, Cayman and Mexico.

I've looked at the UK Government advice for visiting each and have questions regarding what appear to be compulsory covid tests before entry (certainly for Jamaica and Cayman).

Question is - how do we get covid tests within time limits when we are already on board? Do we get tested on the ship before disembarking at each port of call?

Further, Cayman and Mexico seem to require completion of forms in advance of arrival. Do we need to arrange that ourselves or is it all taken care of by MSC?

(I should add all our excursions have been booked through MSC)

Many thanks

Thank you - I had no idea.

One less thing to carry I suppose.

Just had an email from MSC concerning our cruise in 2 weeks (Seashore from Miami). Its basically just a note of various things you need to know but something caught my eye.

I have been planning to bring my Mavic Mini drone on our vacation. Not for use on the ship, but the various destinations (beaches).

The email seems to confirm drones are not allowed in luggage and will be confiscated. I’m not sure if it means just from our main suitcases as its listed alongside various other banned objetcs in main luggage i.e. can I bring my drone on board in my hand luggage (its tiny), or are they a complete no-no on MSC vessels?

Initially a few months back I couldn’t get it working for love nor money, then randomly about 4 weeks ago the photos uploaded fine.

MSC seriously need to review their web interface for customers. Its buggy and counter intuitive.

Logged in today and see Cayman Islands has been added back to my itinerary!

Good news.

Apologies for the slight diversion but is there any testing carried out on the ship before arrival back at, say, Miami?

surely after a cruise we must be subject to the same re-entry regulations at usa border as applied when we arrive in the usa pre-cruise from the UK?

how does that work?

thanks all - learned a few things, so brilliant!

I get that when it goes wrong it can go wrong spectacularly, but so far MSC have been pretty good on the exchanges I've had with them.

6 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

Are you going under "WITH BOOKING NUMBER" or "WITH YOUR MSC ACCOUNT"? You get much more information using your MSC account. 

 

 

Well there’s something new already! I had been using a booking reference.

As you suggest, using my MSC account I can see most of the details - I had no clue we had a 1 hour massage included free!

I can no see all the extras and excursions we’ve booked too.

Bit weird the set up of the MSC website but I guess I’m an idiot for not using the MSC account login.

Thanks so much.

Apologies all but as our cruise date gets closer I'm getting a bit anxious about all the stuff I'm trying to remember we have booked, the stuff we can do and the stuff we need to know. I thought I might ask here as you all seem to be seasoned cruisers - for top tips, things I shouldn't forget, and any other info you personally know are useful.

We have cruised twice before but never with MSC. One cruise was out of Miami but even on that we had the schoolboy error of arriving at the terminal with no luggage tags prepared!

Our cruise is Seashore on 23rd April. We have an Aurea cabin, booked from here in the UK which includes tips. We have the premium extra drinks and internet package already booked. We have excursions booked at each destination. Maybe its just me, but I can't see any way on the MSC website to see exactly what we have booked? When I go to manage my booking, the site offers packages, excursions etc that we have already booked and paid for?!? I just wish there was some place I could see the whole deal and what we have already included.

I'd really be obliged by any tips starting from when we can arrive at the terminal, how do we get 'processed' before going on board, on-board tips, what I cannot forget, what are the best bits about Aurea etc etc - anything at all really!

I was so happy to read about Cayman Islands opening again. Its on our itenerary for Seashore embarking from Miami 23rd April…

or at least it was!

sometime in the last few days MSC has removed it from our schedule!

looks like no Cayman Islands for us 😫

On a previous cruise we disembarked and immediately did the hop on hop off bus tour of Miami.

They looked after and stored our luggage and also laid on a coach from the bus terminal out to MIA after we had finished exploring. Can't recall how much it cost but it was totally worth it to kill the time between cruise and flying home.

10 hours ago, L and M UK said:

The different internet packages say ££“per person”. Im assuming this is not like the drinks package such that all those in the same cabin must have the same package? Thanks in advance 

No, you can add per person.

Perfect thanks.

I’ve added surf and stream two devices.

Will mostly be my wife and my phones, but thats great to hear I can switch to the ipad later if I need to.

Just as a backup I called my travel agent who we booked through and they confirmed same. Apparently when it was rebooked the third time, premium extra drinks were on a free offer so applied to my reservation! Perfect.

Spoke with MSC and they advised ‘having issues just now on the photo upload’ on web checkin.

I inserted all my other details so as others have said, will get a photo at actual checkin anyway.