jadmiral

Please search for the fine print. If you book with the promotion, "Drinks On Us", there will be a 15% charge per drink. You will not be getting free drinks with no gratuities.  It's no different when ordering online, buy one get one, but you still have to pay taxes on that second item. Think about it,  can you imagine if half of the ship purchased their trip during the "Drinks On Us" promotion? That would mean that close to 2500 people would not be paying gratuities on each drink ordered. NO ship in the world will let that happen. Only if you PURCHASED a drink package, will the gratuities be included. Look on the bright side, for every $10 drink you get, you pay $1.50. 5 drinks a day, for 7 days, your bill would be $52.50. 2 weeks ago I averaged about 8 drinks a day, on the Seaside, and I upgraded for $189 each from the "Drinks On Us" (free promotion with our booking), to the deluxe package.  If you get the promotion, 8 drinks X $1.50 X 7 days =$84. Not a bad deal! We only upgraded because of top shelf, frozen drinks, gelato and crepes. Have Fun!

1 hour ago, blueeyes_two1 said:

Hey thanks so much for the photos.  looks like a really large suite!! - any othere tips tha atyou can share with us about your trip? we travel in July - what excursions did you book?

 

Konoko falls in Jamaica. Awesome lookout down onto ship. Beach was nice too.

Great dock by downtown Cozumel. Walked to bar with swings then back to ship.

Don't miss the shows, and definitely experience the Thermal Spa for a day, at least.

23 hours ago, JoeFo44 said:

Sorry I promise I tried to find my answers by reading through the forums...

 

I am scheduled to go on Seaside July 6th with my family. When we booked we got the free Drinks on Us. We called a few months ago when all the drink packages changed and we're told that we would be switched to the Easy package. All of our booking info still says drinks on us and I called about something else today and randomly asked about the drink packages again. The rep today told me that we would still get the Drinks on Us package. I know there isn't a huge difference between the two but I just want to know for sure. Has anyone cruised with this experience here? What happened on your cruise? I have about a million more questions but I'll hold back. Haha. Thanks in advance. 

Her is a photo from last week, all the differences between the PrePaid and the On-Board packages.

2 minutes ago, Até said:

While personally I do not prefer sitting back there, in fairness those are seats desired by many who want to be first out of the theater after the show.

We arrived 15 min before showtime and was able to sit wherever we wanted. Although I am 62 years old, ever time we passed those 2 rows it looked like they were on deaths door. I wouldn't be in such a hurry to get out:(

On 2/26/2019 at 1:39 PM, PTC DAWG said:

Thanks for the review, sailing Seaside in April....first timer on MSC...have The Easy drink package, if you had any experience with that, or saw any, any info appreciated.  Thinking of upgrading to Premium.  

 

How were dining times handled?  I'm used to NCL freestyle.  Or just HIT the buffet.  

There are 3 seating times: Depending on which restaurant you are assigned:

Ipanema 5:15, 7:15, 9:15

Seashore 5:30, 7:30, 9:30

When we booked, we choose late seating and they assigned us 9:30. NO WAY! Upon embarkation, we went straight to dinning and within 30 min we got changed to 5:15. They said, "But you chose late seating"1 yes, but not that late. They put us on list wait list for 7:30 but we stayed at 5:15. It was easier to participate in all nighttime activities with that time. Beside, the buffet reopens at 10:30 for snacks (pizza and sandwiches) and desserts. Below are the current drink packages, Pre Paid as well as On board .

On 3/13/2019 at 2:11 PM, blueeyes_two1 said:

what about suite 14002?? has anyone ever stayed in this suite? its all the ways at the front.  Any photos?

Just got off Saturday. Stayed in 14003, the other side. Extra space in room was by front door. Balcony was, well look at pictures. Every day I flip back and forth as to if I liked it or not. I did love the bridge right above providing plenty of shade. We didnt have to squint to look out and the sun never messed with my camera.

5 hours ago, wdwcoltsfan said:

Thanks! Did you notice the movement all throughout the ship or mainly in YC?

We noticed movement throughout ship. More than any other cruise. It wasn't a rocking motion but more of a, "Sitting in an airplane" type motion. And, seriously, when we got to Nassau, just before docking and no where near the dock, everyone talked about how the ship felt like it went over a speed bump or an airplane landing. Very weird!

On 3/26/2019 at 8:06 PM, markf said:

You will be  much happier  on MSC  YC, in every area except possibly  for the  size of the  cabin and also  no  reserved  seats  at theater.

 

Food variety, drinks  all free, service much better --I am envious  -Have fun

They do have a reserved section for YC members in the last 2 rows of theater, stage right. Glad you spent the extra money??:)

Just got off Saturday. The shows were fantastic! They outsource the theater troupe so that's all they do. There is a small theme each night and they mix song and dance with magic and well, for lack of a better word, "circus performers". The cool thing about it  it's like watching Americas Got Talent, every night the performers step their game with the magic and acrobats. The first night ended in the cast singing "This is the Greatest Show"! It was awesome! (can't remember the name of show, there was no daily planner the first day). 2nd night is ""The Wizard". 3rd night is "My Life in Music", (did not get to see). 4th night is "The Dream". 5th night is "Fly". 6th night is "Peter Punk", a take on Perter Pan but mostly just Tinker Bell and Captain Hook. (there was an afternoon show this day, it was a condensed opera version of  "Madam Butterfly". The last night was "Starwalker" all about Michael Jackson. Sound, choreography and costumes were outstanding. Don't sit too close because Michael doesn't really look like Michael and the lip syncing was not that good, but he had all the moves down exactly! An awesome production with a farewell ending by the crew. Show times for us were 7:15, 8:30, 9:45. You must make reservations, 8:30 usually sells out and by Friday afternoon, "Starwalker" was sold out on all 3 shows. However we were able to get in to an early show than we had reserved during the week. The beauty of their app reservation system is they know, right at the entrance, how many seats are left. We arrived 15 min before each show and never had a problem getting seats on the main aisle. It's only a 900 seat theater with no balcony and they start right on time. Only 1 show went 40 min the rest lasted about 27-28 minutes. I know the showtimes were different last Christmas. 6:45, 8:00, 9:15. BE CAREFUL: the 7:30 dinner seating will not make the 8:30 show, the 7:15 dinner seating has a chance, but not the first few nights, dinner ran late until they get a chance to adjust to the new group. Don't ask me why, probably has something to do with  them learininig your drink orders and you learning the menu. 

On 12/20/2018 at 4:44 AM, toinoi said:

Hi everyone

 

I'll have time to write a separate review soon, but in the meantime I have scanned the Daily Planners (including specials) and any Embarkation and Disembarkation guides.

 

Hopefully it will benefit folks 🙂 

 

FYI - it was an Eastern, followed by Western Caribbean itinerary, with departure from Miami of course.

 

WARNING: I understand wasn't quite the typical itinerary - for example we only arrived in San Juan at 5.00pm. However it should give people a feel of the schedule, ports, and activities.

 

Cheers...

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 01 Sat Miami.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 02 Sun At Sea.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 03 Mon San Juan.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 04 Tue Charlotte Amalie.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 05 Wed Philipsburg.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 06 Thu At Sea.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 07 Fri Nassau.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 08 Sat Miami.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 09 Sun At Sea.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 10 Mon Ochos Rios.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 11 Tue George Town.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 12 Wed Cozumel.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 13 Thu Costa Maya.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Daily Planner & Specials Day 14 Fri At Sea.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Day 01 Sat Miami Embarkation Guide.pdf

MSC Seaside East West Caribbean 10-24 Nov 2018 Day 15 Sat Miami Disembarkation Guide.pdf

This is fantastic! Thank you so much! Great job scanning!

We  have an Embarkation time of 2:50 pm for Seaside next Saturday. I have never boarded a ship so late. How strict is MSC on boarding times? I thought with upgrading to Fantastica  Experience I would have had a "Fantastica" boarding time! 

They do not charge the automatic 15% when they give you the "Drinks On Us" package. Therefore, I'll assume it will be charged to your account with every drink you get. If you have 10- $8 drinks per day, you will receive a bill for $12 per day. $84 for the 7 days. Not bad for free booze. HOWEVER! I noticed that it does not cover a lot of different drinks and no specialty coffees! I'm not even sure you getting the same drinks that the All Inclusive Classic gets! And that package only covers drinks up to $8 or bottled beer for $5.50. We sailed Royal last month and the only $8 drink was the special of the day. I did not see any beers for under $6. We got the Deluxe package on sale so it was well worth it, everything was included, up to $13. Even specialty coffees but NO Starbucks. We are looking to book the Seaside next time the "Drinks on us" comes around, but not sure its worth the wait. ALSO, they were offering 3 specialty restaurants for free as well. Don't forget the Gratuity fees on that as well.

The four of us arrived at port garage around 10:30. The best port parking by far! You line up on the lower level as the attendants direct you to the next available Porter. We unloaded our bags then drove upstairs to park. We prepaid $120 for the week so you just have to scan you receipt to get in. We got on elevator and walk into terminal. This was all done under cover, so rain would never be a factor. Security was great and fast. You proceed upstairs and get in line to agent counter. The process was fast and we received our Sea Pass cards and boarding number, We had White 15, within 15 minutes. Now you stand around until they call your number. This was very puzzling To us Because they call you in order of arrival. By 11 they were calling gold numbers 1-15. The speaker system was garbled so it was difficult to hear what number they are up to. Everyone was standing around making it difficult for people to get through. Now keep in mind that you had to swipe your sea pass card in order to enter gangway so we could not understand the need for number calling. It was already on a first come first serve basis and priority boarding had their own line. There are TV screens all over the terminal but they are not being used for announcing the gold numbers. By 11:30 it was time to call white numbers and, low and behold, these numbers appeared on the screen making it very easy to know when it's your turn. If you show up to terminal before 11 you are going up sit there until your number is called. I can't understand why you just can't get online after you receive you sea pass cards. You still have to scan you card and that's where the crowd control comes in. No need for a numbering system. If you show up last, you board last, you don't need a number to tell you that. All in all we were on ship in less than an hour from the time we pulled into garage. Now about off site parking. Yes you will pay less, however you will pay for 8 days. Yes 8! You are charged for the day you leave. So think about it, you pay for the day you leave and others are being charged for arriving, so technically the lot is making double on Sunday's! But hey, it's a free economy right? Just keep in mind you will be paying more than $80 for a week, only if you pay online, otherwise it's more. That's less than a $40 saving over the terminal garage. AND, you don't have to wait to be picked up. If anything, at least drop off you bags before heading to the off site lots. This way you don't have to "shlep" all that stuff on a mini bus. Good luck!

Formal nights are Monday and Friday. It's becoming outdated. There are guys in shorts and ballcaps. Too bad.

Trying to book my time dinning online and would like to work around show times ( as Royal suggests), but there is no show schedule for Freedom in 3 weeks:(