psmarkle

Here's a really great trip review to get you started!  You definitely will enjoy spending time reading on this board...it's part of my daily morning coffee routine.

Hmmm, zip line used to be included for YC guests...has that changed recently?

On 6/23/2019 at 2:58 AM, The Engineer said:

Thanks for an amazing review! Me and my family will be on the Seaside in August and it's our first MSC cruise so naturally I'm nervous about the differences I've read with this line as compared to our usual Carnival or Norwegian cruises. Several things you noted have answered some of those concerns so I cannot thank you enough!

 

One question I had - what were people wearing to the MDR most evenings? I'm used to being on a relaxing vacation when I go with Carnival or NCL where cargo shorts and a Polo or T-shirt are acceptable, and I just somehow can't shake the feeling that MSC is more "uppity" and I don't want to stand out. I hate having to pack "nice" clothes for a vacation, it just takes up extra space in the suitcase and is more a hassle than not.

Last summer sailing in the YC on Seaside, I packed 1 pair of Khaki long pants and 4 polo shirts.  Wore the same pants each night for dinner, rotating the polo shirts 2X. After dinner, changed right back into cargo shorts/t-shirts.

On 3/3/2019 at 8:22 PM, reedprincess said:

That was not our experience with dining in YC last month at least with one team.  For whatever reason, we had one wait team that  was less than excellent.

 

We had come in with a glass of Pinot Noir wine. From the Top Sail lounge. Up the stairs into the restaurant. Asked for a fresh glass at dinner when it was empty - told "nope, we're out".  Not, let me check or give me a minute just "nope, were out of that wine". I  politely pointed out that the empty glass on our table was actually PN, from downstairs, abd he reiterated they were out - across the ship! 

So, off I went to grab a glass from downstairs. Told the bartender down in TS about the waiter's comment, and she gave me the bottle to take upstairs.  Go figure. Let the maitre'd know on our way out what had happened and got a "sorry, we were really  busy though" apology.  While not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, I mean, we got the wine!, it was an interesting experience to say the least.  We just asked to be seated elsewhere the rest of the trip.  

We had a great time and have YC booked for two more cruises.. 

When we sailed Seaside YC last July, we encountered a similar situation with our wine from the lounge.  I really enjoyed the Robert Mondavi Private Selection Chardonnay and brought a glass up to dinner.  I asked for a refill and our waiter came back and apologized for the delay, but they did not carry it in the restaurant.  He then went down to the lounge and got a bottle and kept a couple of bottles in the restaurant for the rest of the cruise just for us!  Luv the YC treatment and we're sailing again in less than 2 mos!

On 3/24/2019 at 6:29 AM, jean87510 said:

Thx for review. We are unfortunately not in yacht club since its sold out on our cruise next January. I am gathering up information with all of these reviews and appreciate yours and others honesty about msc. Did you have a chance to go to the gym and if so, was the equipment up to date?

We sailed last July, and sailing again this July.  I used the gym every morning and found it to be the most comprehensively equipped gym on any ship I've sailed.  Even had free weights & barbells + typical machines.  Plenty of treadmills, ellipticals, and 2 rowing machines. They have a schedule of classes, but I did not participate in any of those.

16 minutes ago, floridian1 said:

does Yacht Club restaurant have a kids menu? How were the servers with the kids?

 

Did you receive a bracelet to wear that you were able to charge things to and open your door?

 

Could you access the lounge from deck 18 by walking through the restaurant? or did you have to go down to 16 first than out to the lounge?

Sailed Seaside YC last summer; Don't remember on the kid's menu as my crew all ordered off the main menu...good variety every night.

Yes on the bracelets.  Come standard with YC rooms, I think it's $5 extra for non-YC.

Technically, you can go thru the restaurant and down the stairways to the lounge, but I wouldn't (esp during hectic meal times) as there are stairs to deck 16 right outside of the restaurant in the hallway.

On 4/16/2019 at 2:32 PM, texasmom121 said:

We're sailing in the Yacht Club on Seaside at the end of May.  I'm curious about the dress codes in the YC Restaurant, especially in the evenings and on the formal nights.  I have a teenage son and a husband who refuses to wear a tie on vacation, so I'm wondering if nice shorts/pants and collared/polo shirts will be appropriate? 

Thanks for your review.  Very helpful!

Last summer, I packed exactly 1 pair of khaki slacks and 4 polo shirts. Rotated the shirts each night. After dinner, I would change back into shorts, so the 1 pair of khakis lasted the week just fine.

On 4/11/2019 at 6:29 PM, bluefish17 said:

We were on the same cruise and completely agree with Aloha. Food quality in YC was very good, really enjoyed the lounge musicians. We had Andrei and Brendo for our waiters. They were excellent.

We sailed the Seaside last July in YC and had Andrei and Kailash.  Andrei spoiled us rotten with GREAT service every night!  Sailing again this July in the YC and look forward to seeing him again!

We sailed Seaside YC for the first time last July and consider it our BEST cruise out of 30+ over the years!  Sailing her again in the YC this July as well...spoiled from here on out.  Have sailed NCL Haven and YC has it beat!!

That is BS that you had to endure that ignorant treatment from other passengers and good for you for speaking up!!

I agree, Jamaica is my least-liked island for the aggressive behavior and just all the trask everywhere.  We did Dunns River Falls as part of a tour and still got hustled at the falls area.  A vendor tried to keep our change saying he'd have to go get smaller bills and stop by on our way out.  I immediately pulled out exact change and asked for my larger bill back...he didn't like that at all.

Our upcoming cruise, we plan to do a day pass to an all-inclusive resort to separate us from the haggling and hustling.

Question:  for Cozumel, did they issue any travel cautions or areas to avoid given the drug cartel wars slipping into the hotel zone (based on articles I've read online)?  I'm just getting concerned about that stop and thinking of staying on the ship.

Sailed her last July and booked on Deck 16.  Total quiet.  Not going to be much noise on 18 either as you are talking about a small group of clientele at any given time.

You're going to LOVE the YC...I felt sooo spoiled! Total attention-to-detail by all the staff!

Enjoying this thread...5 of us sailed the YC back in July and doing it again this July for Western Caribbean.  I've now completed 30 cruises, and the MSC Seaside in the YC has been my favorite, hands down!  We're normally big NCL cruisers either in suites or The Haven, and our MSC cruise in the YC was just about 1/2 the price of our last Haven cruise on NCL.  I found the service to be exceptional starting from the greeting at the embarkation tent to getting escorted by all the crowds and right to customs for disembarkation! I am looking fwd to MSC expanding their presence in North America so we can enjoy different sailings.

Couple of unique things I remember:

- You cannot go from front to back on Deck 16, which is where several specialty restaurants are. Once we remembered that, it was no problem to either go to Deck 15 or 18 to get where we wanted to go

- I thought the quality of the nightly shows was exceptional!  There was 1 night I didn't quite care for the theme of the show, but they're only 30-40 mins long, so didn't bother me much.  The Michael Jackson impersonator is a definite must-see!

- Had to learn to let the waiters/butlers bring beverages to us, even a bottle of water at the YC pool.  One of them explained they get in trouble if their bosses see a passenger getting their own drinks!  In the evenings as we were getting ready for dinner, I'd walk to the YC lounge and order cocktails then return to our room.  A few minutes later, a butler showed up with our drinks on a silver tray and placed them in our room. Pampered!!

- I enjoyed the YC pool area so much, I forgot to enjoy the free thermal spa access. My wife and sister-in-law did.  I did walk through it on embarkation day and made a real snowball in the snow room...how cool!

- With exception of our free Black Card meal, we ate all our meals in the YC restaurant.  If I didn't find anything on the daily menu to my liking, I just ordered the filet mignon...great every time! The lobster tail night, they were overcooked, but I didn't complain as my waiter brought me 3 of them and I ate them all!

- We'll be staying on the ship this time when we return to Nassau.  Been there more times than I can recount.  Don't like the hasseling by the tour vendors at the port and find the streets of Nassau unusually dirty.

Riddle,

I, too, am a fellow "gaming enthusiast," and I sailed the Seaside back in July in the Yacht Club.  This was my 31st cruise, and it was my favorite (again, a lot of that is due to being in the YC...heaven!). Enjoyed her so much, we're sailing her again next July! 

Prior to the Seaside, we, too, were NCL cruisers who booked thru the Casinos At Sea department every cruise.  I take several family members, so I pay the difference between the comp'd room on NCL as we upgrade to suites or the Haven...still saves several thousand$. For me personally, NCL Casinos and staff are THE best of any ships we've sailed.  Having said that, I'll give you my perspective on the Seaside's Casino.

- The casino staff was the least enjoyable part of my cruise, but still nothing too bad, just not as attentive and personal as NCL.  And this was still my favorite cruise!

- Although smaller, I still found the casino plenty big, but they do not have a craps table which is about the only game I play.

- Yes on the video poker.  If you search on Youtube, there is a video someone posted doing a casino walkthrough

- I brought plenty of cash, so do not have first-hand experience on charging my room, but pretty sure they have it.  I do know they have an ATM right by the casino. I call it "The Pick 4" machine as I always play the same 4 numbers and money comes out every time! LOL

- On drinks, again because I was in the YC, I had free drinks everywhere (more on that in a minute).  I do not know if the casino dept has a free drink card waiting for you in your room like on NCL.  If you have the "Drinks on Us" pkg, then you're covered to include in the casino.

- Casino seemed to be open whenever we were not in port

- Since there are no craps tables, my choices were blackjack, roulette, and one 3-card poker table.  I get bored at roulette quickly, so I then tried 3-card poker.  Found it pretty easy to learn, and pocketed a little sum...which my wife "redistributed" through the slot machines (except for the couple hundred I hid away 😉 ) After the 1st 2 nights, I pretty much didn't play anymore as those games just weren't my choice.

- The casino staff (the boxes and pit bosses) were proficient, but not engaging. To espouse more on my comment earlier, the staff were the lower point in an otherwise spectacular cruise...and it wasn't even that bad which is why we're booked for next summer! When I cruise, I like to drink martinis.  This is the only time all year I drink them.  Not sure how I got started on that, but it's my little vacation treat each year.  I have 1 martini in particular that I got the recipe on a Princess Cruise years ago.  My first night in the casino, I had no problem ordering it.  But the second night, the waiter wouldn't get me my martini because the bartender said it counted as 2 drinks vs 1 (hello, what's a Long Island, then??).  I asked the waiter to go back and show the bartender my YC Card as all my drinks were free.  He comes back and it's still no.  I call the box over and explain to her, and she just shrugs and says there's nothing she can do.  Really?  So, I tell her to hold my spot at 3-card poker (it fills up fast with only 1 table), I take the elevator to the Yacht Club where my favorite bartender sees me and starts making my martini before I even get to the bar!  I told him what happened in the casino and he said they were not correct and he'd talk to the YC manager to see if he could inform the casino staff.  So, I saunter back down to the casino, get back to my seat, and when the box sees me, I lifted my martini glass and smiled at her.  I guess I was a little bit of a jerk with that move, but....

So, as I said, no major problems and I'm already counting the days until we sail again in July.  But, since you mentioned you're a frequent NCL casino cruiser, I wanted to provide a little more detail as you are familiar with the level of service by NCL casino staff.

On 11/27/2018 at 1:27 PM, janineallison said:

If we had listened to all the reviews about the Seaside, we never would have gone. Instead, we booked it and decided to form our own opinions. Guess what? We loved it! Honestly, it was right up there with our Royal Caribbean cruise and we would book another MSC cruise in a heartbeat. It helped that we knew about some things beforehand (thanks to reading reviews!) but we went in there with an open mind and had a great experience. Though I don't know that there's any such thing as a bad cruise (in my opinion).

I agree!  We sailed the Seaside back in July...and out of 30 cruises, this was my FAVORITE experience (minus the casino staff, but not a show stopper). We were in the YC and I found the attention-to-detail way above the Haven on NCL.  Bringing cocktails to our suite while getting ready for dinner, to the butler escorting us off the ship in ports, to newspaper delivered to our room, to our waiter looking over the railing in the YC dining room down to the lounge to say "Hi, you coming up for dinner?". Absolutely luv's this ship!  The quality of the shows were top-notch, too!  Luv'd it so much, we're booked on the Seaside again for July 2019!

We were only able to use 1 discount of which the military is better at 10%  We did have to send copies of our IDs.  We booked our next cruise prior to taking the most recent one and MSC accepted our ID paperwork for both vs having to send it in a second time.

Still drafting my cruise review from sailing in the Yacht Club on the Seaside, 7-14 July, but short version is we are already booked again on the Seaside in the Yacht Club for next July...absolutely loved it! Have about 12 NCL cruises under our belt, to include the Haven. Both are great experiences, but I give the nod to the Yacht Club for all the extra details, especially considering the hefty price of the Haven. Hope to have my review posted next week.

Can you tell me if they serve coca cola products vs Pepsi? Thx!

Thanks for the pics of the 5th bed...we are booked in 18047 in a little over a week! We are a party of 5 and trying to figure out sleeping arrangements, and the pics help!

My DD and I are lobster fanatics...earlier postings said the YC Grille served it every other day, but more recent postings seem to indicate only on the Friday of the sailing. Can you share your insight, pls?:cool:

We successfully faxed in the transfer request to MSC and it took 2 days before our "big box" travel agent had it in their system. They called MSC and got a 10% military discount applied (I faxed them a copy of my military ID), then the agent applied their "big box agency's" 10% of the cruise price as obc...which came out to $715 of obc (5 people in YC).

Interested as well, just booked our next cruise in 2019 on Seaside. 1 Deluxe and 2 Interior Suites! Would like to pass info on to extended family.

If you happen to notice, where's the yacht club embarkation tent vs the parking garage. We're driving down, and I'm trying to determine if I should try and drop off the fam and then go park while they wait or is the tent near the garage and we can park then walk over with our luggage?

Yeah, a fellow casino enthusiast I can ask questions! Did you happen to be offered a 30% off your next cruise letter in the casino? If so, do they come find you out of the blue or do you have to inquire about it? Do they have a players club card like on NCL or do you just use your room key for player tracking purposes? Thx in advance!

If I may ask, what were the age groupings in the teen club? My 13 yr old daughter is wondering if she'll be with all the older (16/17) yr olds or in a separate group of teens her age?

The Morning Show is on every day from, 8 or 9am till noon. it's only about 15 minutes long, on repeat. I usually see some before I get in the shower and catch the rest while I'm getting dressed. They ask a trivia question about MSC or the ship. I recall them asking who the ship's Godmother was, the number Europeans, or is it just Italians, are superstitious of (not 13), the Captain's name...

Hmmm, wonder if the # is related to the missing deck # on the Seaside??:rolleyes:

Thx for the pics of the show! The costumes and stage props look elaborate and well-planned. We love going to the shows. It's even more amazing when you run into the dancers in the fitness, err torture room, center in the afternoons and get to talk with them about life on board, being a performer, etc. Learned they get weighed in at the beginning of each cruise, and can get canned if they go over weight and don't get it off. What a cruel fate to have to starve on a cruise ship with buffets! :eek:

I am having so much fun reading your play-by-play review out loud to my family. You have such a great wit! Seaside in July for us.

Waiting to find out how your first "dinner encounter" goes down!!