glamer57

I am curious about the theme nights on Seaside. I know that MSC typically has the white night and Italian night, but as far as the other nights from others that have sailed Seaside so far I have seen Gatsby (flappers), tropical, 70s, western, thriller, and pirate. Is there anywhere to find the theme nights out ahead of time for our sailing (Mar. 17th)? Do the nights differ according to the itinerary? We will be visiting Nassau, Charlotte Amalie (St. Thomas), and Antigua/Barbuda (at least for now as long as they don’t change our itinerary again). This will be our last big trip for a while and I would like us to dress up, but I don’t want to say get Pirate attire only to find that we have a western night instead....lol...awkward...lol.

Gotcha. Thank you so much Renophi, this was exactly the info I was looking to find out. I guess we will just have to deal with not being so private, but since there will be 4 of us (husband and kids) I’m okay with that since the balcony will be a little bigger so we can all be outside at one time. Thanks again!

I have also seen other posts mention that if you book a room at the Comfort Inn Paradise Island you can also have access to the Atlantis facilities (its also on the Comfort Inn Paradise Island website: http://www.comfortsuitespi.com/)

We are booked to sail in March on Seaside and I was wondering if anyone has pictures of Deck 9 Fantastica Suites. We are booked in Cabin 9208. I booked this because from the deck plan it looked liked these cabins had bigger balconies. I was just wondering if this was true or if not because I have seen some other posts saying that the rooms/balconies were not as they were on the deck plan. Still looking forward to our sailing, but just curious.

I am REALLY loving and appreciating all of your posts (especially of the food)! Is the menu in the specialty dining places the same for both lunch and dinner, or is it different. My husband and I would like to try the trio package but don’t want to pay for the kids (6 and 10) to just mess over the food so we will have to work around kids club hours.

On the Xmas sailing the White night was held at 11.30 pm to 1 am outside on Deck 16, it was not on an Elegant night as they are now called!

They did have what we now know as a Mediterranean night which is the old Italian night but it was not advertised as such in the Daily for some reason.

The Dining room did have the Red,White and Green covers on the tables and the waiters had the same colour waistcoats on.

 

The other party was supposed to be a 60`70`80`s night but we never saw that advertised either.

There was however a show in the Haven lounge called the Gatsby.

Is the Haven lounge the lounge for Yacht Club only? If so, I wonder if the Gatsby/Roaring 20s night is exclusively held there (for Yacht Club) or the whole ship. I hope to find this out before purchasing outfits for me and my family because we are in a Fantastica suite and not Yacht Club.

I have been reading all the comments about the Seaside. As I read I am thinking that my standards must be pretty low. We spent Christmas 2016 on the Divina (our first MSC cruise) with the fantastica experience. We were assigned seating in one of the main dining rooms. The 4 other people assigned to our table were quite nice, one of the women spoke very little English but did try to speak to us. My husband and I have no problem talking among ourselves and we were not bothered by the language barrier. We enjoyed the food, one night we opted to eat in the sports bar having wings instead of the dining room. We were comfortable in our balcony cabin, felt we had enough room. We did have drink coupons but did not find it a hassle since I always had a pocket or bag for them.

 

Our second MSC cruise was on Meraviglia October 2017, on the Mediterranean. A celebration as I retired October 1. We were in the yacht club, balcony cabin again. We were treated like royalty, ate most nights in the dining room but did try the steak restaurant for a change, we chose to eat dinner one night in the English pub having fish and chips. We enjoyed the food and found we had lots of choices. Most morning we get room service as it takes me some time to get going in the mornings. I had pretty severe arthritis the last few days and I was provided with a wheelchair to use. We had the bracelets which were scanned at the bars outside of the yacht club but I did not feel it was an issue. I was more interested in the ports we were at since it was my first time to Europe.

 

We are booked on the Seaside march 10,2018 with fantastic experience for 2 weeks. There were no yacht club cabins available. I am looking forward to this cruise, I will eat in whatever dining room I am assigned to, we did prepay for a dinner pkg at 3 restaurants so that will be a change from the dining room. I am not a picky eater so I am sure I will find something to eat, as for the food being hot , as mentioned I just retired in October a registered nurse for 28 years, I am very much used to eating cold food and cold coffee, so I don't notice it anymore. We have been to all the ports already so will spend more time on the ship and my husband is planning to golf at one of the stops.

 

Yesterday we booked our 4th MSC cruise on the Meraviglia again, yacht club on the 10 night cruise from New York, October 8, 2019. I am very excited about this cruise and the Canadian ports, all ports I have not been to even though I am Canadian and live in Canada!

 

As I began by saying I think my standards must be pretty low, you will not hear negative comments from me about any of these .MSC cruises. After 28 years working Psychiatry I have learned to not sweat the small stuff. I am happy to be able to be able to take these cruises and will enjoy every day no matter what ��

 

Sorry for being long winded.

Best post ever!!! LOL. I agree with you. If I don't have to cook, clean, drive, can get up whenever I want, can visit different countries, and be on a beautiful ship...I'm good. I am booked for Seaside in March for my anniversary and am STILL excited regardless of the negative posts. I am not a seasoned cruiser (this will just be my 3rd) but my first cruise was the Diseny Dream, second was the Divina, and my family and I enjoyed ourselves on Divina (even after being hit with that Disney Magic). I remember being alarmed at first with all of the comments for Divina and then when I got on it, I was like....were we on the same ship?....and I wasn't in the Yacht Club. What I have started doing when I see that the only thing people have to say about Seaside is negative, is looking at their previous posts for other things...that way I can decide to take things with a grain of salt if I see they have a negativity trend.

Not a personal problem for me.. just an unfortunate appellation on your part.

I won't argue with you...

 

yes... no longer helpful... I will move on. :cool:

You are not alone. I actually thought the same thing, that it wasn't necessary. The OP was obviously angry with the attendant's behavior so I guess with that added descriptor, I took notice also. Not trying to start anything. I will move on as well, but just wanted to let you know you weren't the only one who noticed that.

Our family enjoyed the Divina. It's a beautiful ship. I agree, the pizza is great (try the one with blue cheese...yummy). As far as checking in, everything went smoothly. I think it was because we didn't check in until about 1:15pm. From start to finish we were on the ship within 10-15 minutes.

My only negative experience was with fellow Americans complaining about people not speaking English.

Are you going to sail MSC again or are you going back to Disney? I just did the Thanksgiving sailing on the Harmony of the Seas, have the Celebrity Reflection booked for 2017 and then I think I'm back to Disney until my 8 year daughter finds it too young fo her.

 

Was hoping RCCL would replace Disney (and save some $$$) but no go.

 

Thanks

We will sail MSC again (going on Seaside in March 2018). It was a great value and overall a great experience. We will just go into it knowing that our kids probably won't be at the kids club as much so we won't have much of that alone time my husband and I wanted. But, yes, I would definitely go on Divna again also. Plus, even though our kids were with us everywhere (even places like the Jazz lounge) we NEVER had anyone complain our look at us funny for having our kids with us.

We are also wanting to do Disney again though...it can just be pricey. We have NO hesitation about leaving our kids at Disney's kids club (you can't beat GPS arm bands and face recognition to pick up your kids) so now that we know what to expect we can have our alone time on that cruise...lol.

OMG WHY? What can happen to your child in Disco Club for example or when they go to see show with kids club? By the way, they always tell you where they are going ,and for most occasions you can come and see your kids dancing or going to parade .

For us, it was not so much about them having an activity somewhere else. I'm not sure about other sailings but they did not seem to have very many staff for the amount of children and it was more the getting from place to place. For example, When I went to pick them up the first day at sea, I forgot that they were having an activity outside of the kids club and so there was a note at the door that they were doing a performance at the pool deck. When I got there, the children were lined up holding hands and there were about 15-20 children on each side of the stage with 2 staff on each side. I approached one staff member on the side with the Mini club kids (where my daughter was) about picking up my kids after their performance and she gave me the sign out log to pre-sign them out. Then after the performance, my kids saw me and came to me as the others were leaving with the staff. I could have just walked off with them, but I flagged down one of the staff on the side where my son was to let her know I was taking both kids. She said fine and that was that. Also, the first time that day that I picked the kids up, I just said who I was there for and they let me take them.

I'm not trying to imply that anything bad would happen (the staff was lovely and engaging), but when I told my husband, he was not comfortable with that at all. Like I said, it just depends on your comfort level, it just wasn't for us. Maybe when our kids are older.

My kids are 5 and 9 so they took part in the Mini Club (3-6yrs) and Junior's Club (7-11yrs). The staff does activities with the children (group games, legos, there is one slide in an outdoor area), but they take them around the ship to the sports deck, the performed for the crowd at the pool deck, the danced or had talent shows in some of the lounges. It just depends on your level of comfort. They always leave a note on the door to tell you where they are and it is on the schedule. Perhaps if my kids were older (and my son actually looked out for his little sister...lol) we would be more comfortable. When they traveled from place to place on the boat the kids had to link hands.

What I did like, is that the kids club's officially ends at 11pm, but you could pay extra to have your child stay until 2am ($6/child for 1 hour or $10/child for all 3 hours). We didn't take advantage of this, but this could be a good option for parents that wanted to do something late.

Save the time posting the Dailies/... they are too small to read

Sorry, I will try reposting later. Don't know why they came out so small.

Day 8 (disembarkation)

Day 7

Day 6

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1 continued

Daily Program-Day 1

Hi everyone,

My family and I just got off of the Divina today (Nov. 19-26) and we loved it. We have only been on one other cruise (Disney Dream) so we don't have much to compare it to. However, we REALLY enjoyed ourselves. Here are my thoughts:

1). Boarding process-So smooth! We got there around 12:30pm and we're on the ship within 10 minutes, no joke.

2). Divina has a VERY international atmosphere. We happened to like that. We had some instances where people just leisurely walked in front of us, not realizing we were trying to get by, or pushing their way to get on the elevator, but I would say that was more of a personality thing because everyone did not do that. In my opinion, at times the Americans were the rude ones. One time at a trivia game we needed a random person to help and they kept walking, and one of the Americans playing said out loud, "Rudely walking away, they must be European." Another time, a man kept correcting the English of the person hosting one of the activities (I mean really?) I can understand being frustrated at times, but rudeness shouldn't be the norm. In my opinion, you shouldn't get mad at someone who is not a native speaker trying to communicate with you in English, when you can't communicate with them at all in their native language.

3). Kids Club-My kids were spoiled by Disney's kids club, but we gave this one a chance. The only thing we weren't comfortable with was that they took the kids to different parts of the ship for activities. May be okay for some, but we didn't feel comfortable with that.

4). Entertainment-The shows were VERY enjoyable (we saw the Michael Jackson one at both showings). Also the lounge acts were great and were child friendly. We have a 5 and 9 year old and hung out in the Gold lounge a lot and nobody looked at us crazy. Our kids partied with us (within reason) with no problems.

5). The crew-Very friendly and aiming to please you. They don't hover and constantly ask if you are okay, but that doesn't mean they don't check on you and they will cater to your needs.

6). Food-Loved the pizza and wished there was more variety on the buffet, but we were fine.

7). Drinks-Fabulous! Ended up getting the 18 vouchers (I drank more than I thought I would...lol)

I am also going to try to post the daily programs. Hope you find it helpful.

I completely agree. We had a wonderful time and will do it again (booked Seaside - March 2018)

I just got back from my second Divina cruise and I'm going on my 3rd in May. I have also booked Seaside for 2018. What I say about it is this. It is a BUDGET cruise line and I adjust my expectations based on that. I sail solo and can get the Divina for less than half of what I pay for Royal Caribbean, my favorite line. Two interesting things about the OP is they are going on Disney first and they have kids. OP, would you mind sharing what you paid in total for each cruise? I haven't done Disney yet, because they are so expensive, but, I have heard they are amazing, head and shoulders above RC, Carnival, etc. Compared to that, MSC may indeed be a step down, but, OP says all they want is to relax and be waited on.

 

If you and your kids just want to lay in the sun and relax and eat and see great ports, you should love it. There aren't as many bells and whistles on this ship as you will see on other ships, but, that is why the price is so good. You're not paying for Flowriders, rock climbing walls, ice skating rinks, etc. I found the MDR to be hit or miss, so, on this last cruise I just did the buffet and thoroughly enjoyed every meal, I hope your kids like pizza, because people just camp out near the pizza ovens, waiting for fresh ones to appear. As with all ships, don't hit the buffet at noontime and be surprised that it is busy, wait a little later , after the hubbub has died down before you go. Head to the back of the buffet, it's always less crowded and there is a children's only buffet back there, although I've seen some six footers with full beards in that line, scooping up the popcorn shrimp.

 

As with all things, go in with an open mind, and you will find plenty to enjoy. I was nervous the first time I tried Carnival, after years and years of Royal. The horror stories I had heard about Carnival had me thinking the buffet was going to be like the Serengeti, animals ripping each other to shreds, just to get a morsel of food. What do you know, it was fine and I now include Carnival in my cruise planning repertoire. As a solo, I pay double what a couple pays, so, I am always looking for a good price. Right now, Divina is knocking it out of the park price wise. I have an (unfinished):o review of Divina in my signature that you can look at, it has some nice pictures in it. Welcome to cruising, OP, I hope you love it as much as I do.

Sorry, it's been so long since I was on this post and it took so long to answer your question. We went on the Disney dream in January (4 day, 3 night) and after taxes, fees, travel insurance, for a balcony room, it was just over $2300. It just depends on when you go. We went around MLK weekend so the kids only missed one day of school. For our MSC cruise, it is Nov. 19-26 and there was a 2 for 1 balcony special along with kids sailing free, plus the 10% educator discount and it was a little over $2100 which is why we decided to try it.