MikeyA53

Worth mentioning is the Garage Club which is next to the bowling, F1 and cinema on deck 7. It’s a 1950s themed area where you can get drinks and it also becomes a dance club at night with the car as a DJ station.

In addition they also had a billiards room.

Seaside has a Fun Pass for their F1 Simulator, 5D Cinema, Bowling and Zip Line. They have different packages you can buy and the best deal was purchasing a $100 package and getting $60 additional credit. We bought the package but soon regretted it. It was our fault for not looking into it fully before getting it. Each F1 simulator ride, zip line and 5D Movie (4 different interactive movies) uses $10 of your credit and bowling cost $25 for 30 minutes and $45 for an hour.

F1 Simulator

 Full size bowling lanes 

Seating for bowling

Cinema 

Since we had planned on staying onboard for 3 out the 4 ports we thought we would have plenty of time to use our package but they have a very narrow schedule for when it’s open. Reservations can only be done on a daily basis. In addition they didn’t have enough staff working which resulted in long lines. We ended up only using $125 out of the $160 credit available. 

Line up goes beyond this photo and it was taken on the morning of the last sea day. We stood in line 35 minutes before they opened and we were first in line just one minute before 4 other persons showed up. All of this to make sure we were able to bowl. 

MSC Seaside

Overall the best entertainment we have ever experienced on a cruise ship. There was a different production show each night of the cruise, plus an additional afternoon show on the second day called ‘Butterfly’. Each show ran about 30 minutes and they were shown at 6:45 pm, 8:00 pm and 9:15 pm. We made reservations on embarkation day for all of the shows and we attended all of them. Even with reservations we usually arrived approximately 20 to 30 minutes before it began because the theater did fill up every night. The shows usually ended with a standing ovation. The cast was made up of approximately 40 singers, dancers and acrobats. The cast had beautiful costumes and it was amazing how many times they changed into different costumes each show. 

In addition we saw a very funny BeerProv comedy show in the theater and played the Quest game in one of the lounges. The 4 member cast of the BeerProv was very talented and we wished we would have seen all three of their shows; however their adult only shows played at 10:15 pm which was a bit late for us early risers who love going to the gym and spa.

Quest 

We found that the ship did not have much in term of activities. They did have Bocce ball and Lawn Bowling on deck 15 which was mostly covered with real grass. One unusual activity was the Hot Glass Show where one passenger at a time could make their own glass art piece for a fee. I believe the prices started at $45. Our cabin had a good size TV and we had 6 free recently released movies at our disposal, all other movies cost $15.

One new form of entertainment recommended by our friends who came with us on this cruise was ‘Silent Disco’. Everyone is given a pair of headphones and you can switch between 4 different channels for your music preference. As a consequence not everybody in the crowd is grooving and dancing to the same songs. It’s fun to see other people moving to a different beat than yourself and others. We also took part in Karaoke since Tracy and her friend love to sing.

The headphone glow different colours depending on what channel you have it on 

Karaoke

Celebrity Equinox

Compared to Royal Princess and especially Seaside, the production shows on Equinox were boring. We saw two of them throughout the week, during the first one I was falling asleep and I couldn’t wait for the second show to end, vowing I would not return. However the comedians were good and we also attended the game show Majority Rules and several trivia games which was fun.

Entertainment

Royal Princess

Overall the entertainment was good on Royal Princess; we saw three out of the four production shows and comedian Scott Wyler twice because he was so good. The production shows were shown twice each night in the Princess Theater, usually at 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm. We also enjoyed the Marriage Match and Majority Rules game show in the smaller Princess Live Theater.

Princess Live Theater.

For activities they had table tennis, mini golf, laser trap shooting, shuffleboard and hitting golf balls in the enclosed driving range. The ship had ‘Movies Under the Stars’ featuring recently released movies on the big screen. In our cabin we had a good sized wide screen TV with a wide variety of free recently released movies at our disposal. 

Table tennis

Mini golf

Laser trap shooting

Enclosed driving range

On ‎1‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 5:11 PM, micheleata said:

Great review so far.   Looking forward to reading more.

Thanks

On ‎1‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 5:00 PM, Silkroad said:

Following. Thank you for your review. We’ve sailed Equinox’s sister ships, and have lately considered Princess & MSC, so we’re quite interested in your comparisons.

Thanks you for following.

On ‎1‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 4:59 PM, Rosethorn40 said:

I think your format; of comparing each cruise ship by section, i.e. cabins, dining, etc. is an excellent idea, and I am looking forward to reading more. I hope to one day do a B2B2B2B of several lines, on their newest, grandest ships. However, neither mine nor my husbands jobs would give us that much time off at once 😞 Also, don't think I could leave my fur-babies for that long. 

Thank you for following.

On ‎1‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 3:17 PM, Lady Arwen said:

Thanks for posting your 3 experiences......your photos are terrific!  We've not done MSC, and frankly, no desire to do so.  Twice on Royal Princess and 3 times on Equinox, so very familiar with these ships.  Looking forward to the rest of your review!

Thank you, glad you like it.

Entertainment

Royal Princess

Overall the entertainment was good on Royal Princess; we saw three out of the four production shows and comedian Scott Wyler twice because he was so good. The production shows were shown twice each night in the Princess Theater, usually at 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm. We also enjoyed the Marriage Match and Majority Rules game show in the smaller Princess Live Theater.

Princess Live Theater

For activities they had table tennis, mini golf, laser trap shooting, shuffleboard and hitting golf balls in the enclosed driving range. The ship had ‘Movies Under the Stars’ featuring recently released movies on the big screen. In our cabin we had a good sized wide screen TV with a wide variety of free recently released movies at our disposal.

Table tennis

Mini golf

Laser trap shooting

Enclosed driving range

19 hours ago, LisaLisa87 said:

4 hours ago, JAGR said:

Curious on your first B2B.  Royal Princess sailed from Fort Lauderdale to Fort Lauderdale.  Seaside sails from Miami.  Is that the time you took Uber to Port of Miami and not before the last sailing?

 

4 hours ago, JAGR said:

Curious on your first B2B.  Royal Princess sailed from Fort Lauderdale to Fort Lauderdale.  Seaside sails from Miami.  Is that the time you took Uber to Port of Miami and not before the last sailing?

I'm enjoying your comparisons. Looking forward to more!

Thanks, you are right, stupid mistake. Our first cruise was out of Fort Lauderdale and MSC and Celebrity were out of Miami

On ‎1‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 12:06 PM, xznwfd said:

Looking forward to your review!!  We love Princess, especially the Royal and Regal, love Celebrity and are taking our first MSC cruise on the Seaside next month in the Yacht Club. Thank you for doing this. 👍

Thanks, glad you are enjoying it.

For other activities the ship had waterslides, a big screen that showed movies on some nights (they were not recently released movies).The size of our cabin TV was adequate and they had recently released movies at a cost of $8 per movie.

 Basketball court

Zip line 

Since we had planned on staying onboard for 3 out the 4 ports we thought we would have plenty of time to use our package but they have a very narrow schedule for when it’s open. Reservations can only be done on a daily basis. In addition they didn’t have enough staff working which resulted in long lines. We ended up only using $125 out of the $160 credit available.

Schedule 

Line up goes beyond this photo and it was taken on the morning of the last sea day. We stood in line 35 minutes before they opened and we were first in line just one minute before 4 other persons showed up. All of this to make sure we were able to bowl. 

Worth mentioning is the Garage Club which is next to the bowling, F1 and cinema on deck 7. It’s a 1950s themed area where you can get drinks and it also becomes a dance club at night with the car as a DJ station.

Seaside has a Fun Pass for their F1 Simulator, 5D Cinema, Bowling and Zip Line. They have different packages you can buy and the best deal was purchasing a $100 package and getting $60 additional credit. We bought the package but soon regretted it. It was our fault for not looking into it fully before getting it. Each F1 simulator ride, zip line and 5D Movie (4 different interactive movies) uses $10 of your credit and bowling cost $25 for 30 minutes and $45 for an hour. 

Full size bowling lanes

Seating for bowling

Cinema 

F1 Simulator

MSC Seaside

Overall the best entertainment we have ever experienced on a cruise ship. There was a different production show each night of the cruise, plus an additional afternoon show on the second day called ‘Butterfly’. Each show ran about 30 minutes and they were showed at 6:45 pm, 8:00 pm and 9:15 pm. We made reservations on embarkation day for all of the shows and we attended all of them. Even with reservations we usually arrived approximately 20 to 30 minutes before it began because the theater did fill up every night. The shows usually ended with a standing ovation. The cast was made up of approximately 40 singers, dancers and acrobats. The cast had beautiful costumes and it was amazing how many times they changed into different costumes each show. 

In addition we saw a very funny BeerProv comedy show in the theater and played the Quest game in one of the lounges. The 4 member cast of the BeerProv was very talented and we wished we would have seen all three of their shows; however their adult only shows played at 10:15 pm which was a bit late for us early risers who love going to the gym and spa.

Quest 

2 hours ago, geoherb said:

Enjoying your comparison. The Royal has three dining rooms, though. You left out Concerto, the second anytime dining room on the Fiesta Deck.

You are right, I don't know how I missed that since I took photographs of all three.

16 hours ago, BarbinMich said:

We've mostly been on Princess, but started with Celebrity and have occasionally gone back to X so I look forward to the rest of your review!

2 hours ago, salabc said:

great review  very interested in comparing these 3 lines

Thanks

Entertainment

Royal Princess

Overall the entertainment was good on Royal Princess; we saw three out of the four production shows and comedian Scott Wyler twice because he was so good. The production shows were shown twice each night in the Princess Theater, usually at 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm. We also enjoyed the Marriage Match and Majority Rules game show in the smaller Princess Live Theater.

Princess Theater

For activities they had table tennis, mini golf, laser trap shooting, shuffleboard and hitting golf balls in the enclosed driving range. The ship had ‘Movies Under the Stars’ featuring recently released movies on the big screen. In our cabin we had good size wide screen TV with a wide variety of free recently released movies at our disposal.

Basketball court

Mini Golf

Table tennis

Golf driving range

Laser trap shooting

4 hours ago, richsea said:

Really loving your review and comparisons. It’s a rare thing to see, especially since yyour reporting on b2b2b sailings. We’ve sailed Equinox & Royal multiple times & love them both, even with Royal’s tiny balconies. Equinox & her sister Silhouette are probably our favorite ships. We’ve been considering MSC & your views will help. I was wondering how the Yacht Club affected the rest of the ship. Your comments kind of confirm my fears.

Thanks

6 hours ago, nutensteve said:

Very good review ... thanks for posting.

Thank you for following.

6 hours ago, TracieABD said:

Which ended up being your favorite cabin? Or will you include an overall score sheet at the end of your review?

Celebrity.

6 hours ago, pcsunlover said:

Great review!  I appreciate the comparison and pictures from all of the ships.  We generally love the Royal class ships with the exception of the tiny balconies.  Princess really missed the mark there.

Thanks a bunch.