mlbdude

The forward and rear were good.  I am sure the middle ones get most of the traffic especially at dinner since they let out at the dining rooms.

14 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Now this is a conundrum... On our 03/19/22 -03/26/22 sailing of the Seashore with 2900 passengers, we found the FORWARD elevators that service the Yacht Club to be the best we have ever experienced. Could it be an aberration? As the elevators have no buttons to press inside for decks, child proof. Whenever we were on decks 4,5,6 and wished to return to the YC deck 19 we got an empty elevator arrive and whisk us express to 19. Vice versa from 19 to 4,5,6 empty arrives and express to deck designated. Once the elevator did stop going up to pick up another couple going to the YC. We think this bank of elevators are 'geared' to accommodate YC guests.

You mean the “Elevator D” lying group? 😁. They are pretty bad .  Imagine a full ship.

These are the middle, atrium elevators.  The others were not as bad.  Something wrong with the algorithm on those.

Just wanted to post a final comment and summary to this trip.

Overall we had a good time.  Other than the elevator situation, any other complaints I have are all related to lack of staff.  It eventually translated to issues in the MDR and even to the private island as most of it was closed.

I have enjoyed cruising during Covid, but it seems I need to take a break and wait for things to settle back in.

I do want to shout out to the whole crew, you were all great and we’re working at 120% the whole cruise.  Thanks so much.

If anyone has any specific questions I will try to answer as best I can.

Thanks.

Just off the Seashore and I enjoyed the pizza and could not tell a difference from what I got pre pandemic.  However, variety was low.

You should have a great time.  I think with YC you will avoid embarkation and buffet issues.  Those were the only major ones for us.

Also, even my 10 year old vaxxed was not tested at port for onboarding last Saturday.

Have fun!

Do not sail this ship of Covid protocol is important to you.  Opinions aside, I do believe if you sell and advertise protocols  they should enforce them.

I think we are getting under 50% mask compliance at this point by my observation.

7 minutes ago, DisneyTech said:

I’m sure that is part of it, but it seems that most of it is caused by not having more buffet lines open. Most of the time around 1/4 of the windows are open. 

I noticed they also often had one person serving us running between two windows.  That is probably why they have not spread out more to help the lines.

48 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

Any idea what numbers of any different passenger nationalities are aboard?  When we sailed MSC two years ago, we quite liked being in the minority, as Americans.  But I imagine that travel restrictions are keeping many Europeans and South Americans away at the moment.

It seems back to the old days.  Lots from EU an UK.  Probably 50% American.

I would not buy Hola as a package but at $18 for all you can eat it is a great value and the food is fantastic.

Day 4

I think this is a day 4 update, it’s all starting to blend together.  I think that is a good sigh on vacation though.

Not much has changed so not much to add.  Buffet at lunch on sea days is still a no go and the MDR at lunch is super busy as more people avoid it.

Food has been typical MSC, and we have sailed with them enough to know what dishes we like.  Never gone hungry.

Mask wearing is getting worse over time with less and less compliance.

As a seasoned MSC cruiser we are used to their quirks and overall are still having a great time.

However, the bad boarding day and lack of staff will be what ended up breaking us.  This is our third cruise during the pandemic and nothing prevented us from having a great time until now.  We will probably put cruising on hold until things “even” out and stabilize a bit.  

I don’t think I would sail the SeaShore again due to the elevators (assuming when I next sail she would be at true full capacity).  Other than that, the Seashore is a beautiful ship.

4 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

It just dawned on me. I think I have an answer to the elevators. This is only a guess??? While on the Seaside Yacht Club guests were privileged to use their key cards to over-ride the bank of elevators in the YC end of the ship and would wipe out and make their elevator express with all other passengers getting upset. Now these new elevators in the forward section of the Seashore are the same, without needing a key card. Just press a YC deck and 'voila' your express YC elevator.

Typically this is true.  However the front elevators are definitely more organized on this ship.  I think since the atrium is towards the middle/back of the ship that elevator bank gets overwhelmed.  

5 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

Curious as to which elevators you are using? The elevators near the atrium car D was always slow but the other elevators worked much better.  There was never anyone using the glass elevator at the rear of the ship. Also, hardly anyone ever at the rear elevators close to the Art Gallery.

I think you are right.  Our room is right outside the back elevators and they are much better.

We have started to try to avoid the atrium bank.  It’s become an inside joke now… what car will it be?  Imagine that D!

Day 3 Port Day

No issue with long lines today but most of the ship was off on Cozumel.  Our plan is to schedule around MDR when it is available and do specialty dining for the times it’s not open during the upcoming sea days.

Food for meals has been good.  Menu is smaller than it was pre-Covid so choices are more limited.  Pot pie was was the additional random item tonight.

Elevators just don’t work right.  When we are “full” at 3000 guests expect to wait 10 to 20 minutes to get an elevator.  Will be extra fun when the ship is really full.

Covid protocols are pretty good with exception to the elevators.  Signs for 4 max but I don’t blame anyone for packing them at this point.  Mask wearing is about 90% compliant.

Crew is fantastic.  They are clearly working their tails off.

I think they are a little too aggressive with the upcharge items, still getting pestered for upgrades. 
 

Forgot to add, show was cancelled last night due to weather.  Ship was rocking heavily.  Not following the weather but seas have been very rough, I am sure some people are taking their motion sickness drugs.
 

Breakfast is open till 9:30 on sea days, not sure about port.  Lunch is only sea days from 12 till 1pm.

MDR has been fine when you can make it.

14 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Is the Main Dining Room closed for breakfast ? Tribeca ? Central Park Restaurant ? 5th Ave and Manhattan were closed with only 1000 + passengers. ???

They must be staffed for 1500 max.  This week is probably an anomaly with double that.  I know they cannot just staff up quickly but they clearly overbooked what they could handle.

MSC should be ashamed of themselves on this one.  If this was my first MSC cruise I would never go back.

The buffet situation is completely unacceptable.  Everyone is frustrated, fighting for food.  My wife left crying.

Just started this cruise yesterday.  I am going to post random thoughts and reviews on this cruise.  I have sailed MSC many time before and always loved the experience once on the ship.

Day 1, 2

2 hour wait I line air security then another 2 hour wait in line for check in.  Not sure if it’s the terminal construction or that this is a more crowded sailing.  No water offered, all standing.

Dinner was good, I see them sneaking some American dishes on the menu.  First night was chicken and waffles.

Buffet is completely unusable.  Not enough of it is open, long lines for everything.  Looking more like not enough staff for the amount of people.

Elevators- useless.  Press button for floor, 5 minutes later it arrives full with a crowd of people behind you waiting for the same elevator.  Rinse repeat.  So far this new intelligent system seems anything but.

Breakfast in MDR day 2 was good.  Buffet had too long of lines to be used.

I seem to be harping on lines, which to some may not be a big issues.  This is new to me and MSC.  
 

More later.

Here is the menu for specialty coffee from the merigvilia that is included in the easy plus package.  I am also hoping for a bar on seashore that offers similar.

We are on the Seashore March 12th this year and my expectations is it will be less crowded than normal.  I think the OP will fine.  The pools on MSC are deep and don’t allow drinking in them so even when seating is limited the pools are fine.  
 

On sea days we plan more indoor time during peak top deck usage.

31 minutes ago, FrostyJoe said:

Were you able to find quiet areas with bar service back then if you wanted to get away from the crowds?

 

I haven’t sailed MSC yet but pretty much all the other lines we’ve sailed so far that was the case…including NCL Sky when they were open bar shipwide

The SeaSide was the toughest.  Not a chance up by the pools.  Inside was fine and quieter.

Before the pandemic we would always sail on MSC during our elementary kids Florida spring break for a 7 day cruise.  It was always one of the busier cruises but filled with more families with young kids over young adults on break themselves.

Ours was just moved to 1pm.  They are spreading it out for distancing reasons and I think they are going to test us prior to boarding.

Has anyone sailed yet with an under 12 that was fully vaccinated?  MSC has yet to update their website for this scenario yet unlike the other lines.  I would hope they would be tested and treated just like a vaccinated adult.

I am wanting to book something too.  I fear that MSC may be reevaluating the US market and the ability to make money during the pandemic.  I could see them dropping to one ship and not wanting to make any commitments yet.

Being a NAAT It is specifically called out as accepted on the RCI website.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-need-an-rt-pcr-test-before-i-cruise-where-should-i-go

Results have always come back for me in a couple of hours.