Thesecret

Go to the dining room as soon as you can or ask someone for their number and give them your request. Usually they will change it for you if they can. Our time was 5:30 PM in the Ipanema Restaurant and we had table 924 each night. If the cruise is sold out and all the tables are assigned you may be out of luck. I was told that in the Ipanema there were three sittings. First at 5:30 PM, then at 7:30 PM and a late seating at 9:30 PM. I don't have confirmation of that but I know that at 7:15 PM they were trying to throw us out and people were waiting to come in. I also heard that the Seashore Restaurant had only two sittings (Seatings?), one later than our first and the second earlier than our last. Maybe that was for people with the Aurea experience and anytime dining. Check the other reviews and you may be able to sort that out. Bob

 

ps - I think that my dining time was on my cruise documents and also on the MSC for me app, although that might have been once we got on board.

We were fantastica and didn’t get assigned a dining room or time until embarkation. We were in Seashore and they did only have two seatings 6pm & 8:30pm, we had 8:30.

Hi Bob,

 

We are enjoying this great review. It was so nice to meet you and Stephanie during Week 1 of your two cruises. We loved your positive attitude and happy approach to life. Thanks again for helping us all get to know each other pre-cruise, and for the fun cabin crawl.

 

Big hug from Barbara and Orlando

I agree with this completely!

I just want to say we only paid $5 (not $15 as reported) for our bracelets so we didn’t have to carry our cruise card onboard (of course you still need to take them to port with you)...I could open my cabin door with it, lock and unlock spa lockers with it, make charges to my account with it (bar, shops, etc), it’s waterproof too! Just remember to slip it off for photos...it’s not super stylish lol...totally worth $5

Are the chairs and hot tub in full sun or is there shade?

It’s on deck 8 on both the portside and starboard sides so that would depend on the direction of the ship and sun and which side you’re on

Just so I am clear, if you book a balcony and the Aurea experience you can use the thermal spas etc as often as you like without any additional charge? The write up says you have access but there wasn't any mention if there was money involved.

If you book an Aurea balcony you will revive entry into the thermal spa at no extra charge all week as well as one massage from the spa menu upto 1hr, all inclusive drinks package, access to the Top 19 exclusive solarium and bar, robe and slippers in you stateroom...for any stateroom balcony or better with the Aurea experience

Also can anyone comment as to how to get to the spa only whirlpools and loungers outside? Thanks :)

Enter into the thermal spa area and there is a door leading to outside on the port side, there are also doors from the spa treatment waiting room to outside on the starboard side

Does anyone who has sailed on the MSC Seaside in the 1st 4 sailings in the Caribbean have access to their photos after disembarkation? I’ve been on mymscphotos.com daily and no sign of my photos. I’ve emailed, got a response asking for more details, no further communication. I’ve called and The customer service rep said she would call the ship and get back to me, she never has. I called again this evening, the customer rep listened to what I was calling regarding and put me on hold...for an hour!!! And then the call failed!!! If it takes 3 weeks for photos to show up, just tell me it takes 3 weeks but the website says 3 days and customer service tells me nothing at all. Any feedback from fellow passengers that have purchased the VIP Photo Sea Pass would be greatly appreciated 😊

The best way I figure to use it is to get the card as soon as you can from them after boarding and give to photographers each time they take pictures. They use NFC to tap the card to their phone for which account to assign the pictures to. If you do this everything they take except maybe the embarkation photos will be properly assigned to the card.

 

After returning you can go to mymscphotos.com and access the photos for basic edit (add/remove border and zoom in/out). From what others have reported there is a way to download the photos to your phone/tablet while on board, but as we didn't learn of the card until the end of the cruise we didn't know this to take advantage of it. The card has a code on it to access the pictures from that website.

 

For $99 this was a great deal and we would definitely recommend it.

How long did it take for the photos to show up in your account after arriving home? The website says 3 days, I’ve been off the ship since Jan 13th and still no photos. I’ve called and emailed both with promises to get back with me...still no response or photos.

Thank you for the detailed review! I’m on day 7, still no photos in my account. I’ve called and emailed, playing the waiting game for answers and photos. The experience on ship was great, casual (dinner, in front of the ship at port, etc) and professional shots (different backgrounds, angles, etc)...the captain’s photo gets sent to your room for purchase but I easily had it transferred to my vip sea pass at no charge. I did, thankfully download the majority of my photos on my phone each evening. I didn’t do so with the captain’s photo because by the time I had it transferred it was the last night and I had packing and charges on my account that I had to clear up. I’d really like to play with borders and have access to my Captain photo so I hope they show up in my account! You can zoom in and out, save and download while on ship but I was unable to do borders so I think I’d enjoy that.

Thank you both for your answers! Looking forward to it!

Just got off the Dec 23 trip and the Thermal Spa is WELL WORTH the price. I visited it 2x a day. I would spend around 15-20 min in the dark light sauna, then head straight to the snow room. Boy did I feel refreshed. I spent like $90 pre cruise. Way better than booking on the cruise.

 

As for 2wk cruise vs B2B, some cruiselines have the capability to book cruises as 2wk cruises vs 2 separate cruises. Makes it easier to have the same cabin and usually booking it as 1 saves a little money. The only advantage to booking it as 2 separate cruises would be if the cruiseline still uses actual cruises vs days as the way to advance in loyalty program. You also maybe able to get more SBC booking 2 vs 1, but not sure.

Sounds amazing!

My husband and I are deciding (we need to decide tonite as we sail this Saturday) on if we want to add the thermal suite but really want to know if it has unisex areas or if it has separate male/female areas...we want to be able to relax together but have never done a cruise spa before.

Such a thorough review, so helpful and answered many lingering questions. Thank you for that😊 I do a a couple of questions that maybe you can help with:

Did you visit the spa at all? Any feeling for that?

Can you confirm any of the theme nights? I’ve heard white party, Italian night, roaring 20’s, 60’s/70’s flower party, Michael Jackson Thriller...are any or all of these correct?

If you have the bracelet to get into your room and pay, could you not leave your card in the slot to charge the room?

I was glad you mentioned the suitcases fitting under beds, usb only on one side of bed and about the extension cords and hangers, all great to know! So many great details in your post, thank you again!

Anyone know if they show evening movies on deck aboard the Seaside?

I’ve seen pictures of some of the daily schedules and it looks like they have an outdoor movie at night on the big screen at the Miami Beach pool

this pass covers everything in the thermal suite that isn't a service (massage, facial, etc.). In the suite you'll find saunas, whirlpools, steam rooms, outdoor loungers, the snow room, changing rooms and showers.

 

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This is great information, thank you! I have one additional question, does it also include the salt room since it itself is not a service either?

I believe walls in all cruise ship cabins are metal for safety. I did see a few decorated doors when I was onboard; as to whether or not it's officially allowed, I have no idea.

 

 

It's not the best shot, but here's a photo of a Seaside hair dryer. I have long, thick hair, and it got the job done but certainly isn't as powerful as one you'd use at home. It's also one of those ones where you have to hold in the button to keep it on while you're using it.

 

 

Thank you Ashley! This was very helpful ♥️

I have the Bella experience, however I was upgraded to a Fantastica cabin. I don´t expect to receive perks I did not pay for, but I want to know, if I want to have dinner at the MDR at lets say, 8, I cannot do that? 5:30 is waaaay to early for me for dinner, and 9 is too late. I am not sure if I can do their set times. I really enjoyed NCL´s anytime dining.

That’s the opposite for us, we booked a fantastica interior and wet upgraded to a Bella balcony. We will still get the perks of fantastica, which include choice of early or late dining...but won’t know our assigned dinner time until we get our cruise card at embarkation. No flexible dining times at our price points. I really hope dinner doesnt start late and take 2hrs to complete...I’ll go mad for sure!

There are many examples but here is one that seemed to be typical of the MSC mindset.

 

At the end of dinner the first night (which started 20 minutes late and took 2 hours to complete), we were asked if we wanted coffee. I asked for decaf and was told decaf was only available from the coffee bar for a cost. A few others also wanted decaf and we put up a fuss that it wasn't available. We were told decaf would only be served in the main dining room after the ship arrived in Miami. We complained to the head waiter who said he was unable to do anything for us that night but that tomorrow he would have decaf available. And he did! Good news right? Not so! Three nights later, the head waiter, Pasquale, who was now taking notes on passengers suggestions for improvement, was replaced by a very hard nosed guy who never smiled. When we inquired about Pasquale, we were told he was reassigned to the crew's mess because he was too fat to fit around the tables in the MDR! Absolutely true story!

 

MSC staff always gave the impression that if you have a problem, it's your problem because they are doing what they are told. Don't expect anyone to apologize because you are not getting the level of service you expect.

 

We received no apology when our cabin was flooded. No apology when the phone system would only provide instructions in Italian. No apology for having an unknown person on our account and having our cabin listed under his name. No apology for the 2 hour delay at disembarkation in Miami.

 

Plus a few other things. And these are only our issues! Other passengers had worse! Like the couple who arrived at their assigned cabin to find it a disaster! The steward happened to be nearby and they showed him their cabin. He immediately locked them out and called his supervisor. They ended up being reassigned to another cabin but said there was no apologies or explanations provided.

 

Sorry to sound so negative. We are easy going folks who have sailed 15 times on various lines. However, this experience puts MSC at the bottom of our list.

Thank you for your reply and earnest answers. I’m sorry your trip wasn’t all positive. I’m sure a good portion of the issues are things they can iron out for future sailings (I know that doesn’t help you one bit, I know) and I lived in Europe for 10yrs so I also know customer service can leave a lot to be desired, American’s are taught that the customer is always right and frankly the rest of the world doesn’t necessarily adopt that way of thinking. I think I’m most shocked about the head waiter’s size being of concern to the company! I thought that kind of sizism went out with 60’s and 70’s “stewardesses” having to weigh in! Wow!

They will need to improve on customer service and communication in order to survive in the U.S. market, but for now, thank you for your insights, forewarned is forearmed!

NEW QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERS

 

4. How do the hair dryers work in the staterooms? How do they compare to a good home version?

 

They are just simple hair dryers and don’t compare to good home vetsion but they are adequate. Beware! I have long hair and some of it got sucked in or caught up in the back side of the dryer. I had to chop it out. Not a happy camper. The protection screen needs tighter mesh weave to prevent this.

 

5. Does housekeeping replace wet or dirty pool towels or is there an exchange desk?

Exchange desk at pool

 

Perfect, thank you so much! So sorry about your hair, I’ve had that happen before so I’ll be sure to use with caution.

Seating times can be different for Fantastica and Bella. However, when you do on line check in, you can specify who you are traveling with and MSC will try to accommodate you. You need to know the other folks booking number. I would suggest that all of you put in all your names so MSC gets it. If only one person does it, you may not get what you want.

 

Just returned from the inaugural sailing. I wish you a good experience. Ours was not and I'm anxious to hear of what others think.

 

Download the MSC for Me app. It failed often while on board (poor server connection) but it was helpful when it was working.

 

 

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What are your criticisms of the inaugural sailing? I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Yes, they have hair dryers. Yes, they work.

Yes, your stateroom host will replace towels.

No decorations are permitted on the outside of the door. I forget, but believe the interior portion of the door is metal.

Thank you

New Questions:

MSC states that all staterooms have hairdryers, any word on if this is true and how well they actually work?

Do the bathroom sinks plug for hand washing?

Does housekeeping replace wet/dirty pool towels or is there a trade in desk?

Are the doors and walls metal for magnet usage?

Oops I just posted a thread on this, yep gone for Mar 3, 2018 Seaside sailing!

My husband just got through to customer service, they said packages are being revamped and to check back 3rd week in Dec.

I still have the same problem. But this happened on the first app for meraviglia aswell and they managed to fix it via an update. so here is to hoping [emoji846]

Fingers crossed 🤞🏻

Anyone else notice the restaurant packages are missing from the "enhance my cruise" section under food and beverage packages? I had a package in my cart from last week and went to pay for it, not only is it removed from my cart but also from the food and beverage area. Did they sell out for my sailing or discontinue the prepaid packages?

Try logging on to the MSC website and then make sure you are using the same credentials.

I had trouble logging on until I found out that msc has my first name as my first and middle names. Once I put that in, I got in fine. Good luck!

 

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Thank you for your reply. I don’t have any problems logging into the website itself with mine or my husband’s name yet neither of us can get the app to work. I was just doing what everyone suggested and deleted and reinstall but have the same issue across 3 different devices with two different log in names. I’m so worried it won’t get fixed in the next month, if nobody else is getting the same error.