Review of MSC Seaside from Miami on 7th April (from a UK family)

Have read and benefited from many reviews on here so thought I would do my own.

We were on the 7th April from Miami with an itinerary of

Day At Sea

Ocho Rios

Grand Cayman

Cozumel

Costa Mayo

Day At Sea.

We are from the UK and travelled as myself, wife and 3 children (mid to late teens). Our first ever cruise with MSC and also first Caribbean cruise, our 4 previous cruises have all been Mediterranean with TUI x 2, Costa and Royal Caribbean so I can only compare with these.

We had 2 x Fantastica Balcony (15127 and 15109) and had the Classic Drinks Package included but upgraded ours to the Deluxe Package.

So here goes and please remember I can only compare with the previous 4 cruises we have done as detailed above:-

Embarkation Day – very impressed, we had stayed in Miami for 4 days so arrived at the port at 11.30am and check-in was very easy and quick, as others have said ignore any boarding times you have been given, arrive whenever it suits you. We were given a boarding number and sat in the waiting area, on board by 12.30pm and enjoyed the full benefits of the ship including our drinks packages from the minute we boarded :D. No problem getting a table at the main buffet on Deck 8 and food was excellent, tables have a “waiter call” button for drinks which we had not experienced before and worked well. We had a quick look round the ship, had a drink in the Sports Bar and at approximately 1pm it was announced that all staterooms were ready so we paid a quick visit before Muster at 4pm. Returned to our cabins at 5pm and our luggage was there for us so unpacked and freshened up for our 7.30pm table in the Seashore MDR.

As others on here have said and proved very helpful, once on board use the MSC For Me App and register a card at one of terminals dotted around and best thing we did was book the theatre show for EVERY night (we booked the 9.15pm show), yes you can book the full week as soon as you board. Unlike our previous cruises you DO have to book and your card is scanned when entering the theatre each night, it was full every night and for anyone that hasn’t booked you have to stand outside and they let you in 5mins before it starts (if any seats are available). Every night we saw unhappy people told to wait outside, this would have been us to if I had not read about this on here.

Staterooms – the cabins we had were of a good standard, as others have mentioned a little limited on storage space but we all coped and to be honest took too many "formal" clothes (more on this later). The "kids” cabin had been set as 2 x single beds and a bottom bunk with the top bunk left unused, they used it for clothes. As with all previous cruises cabin attendants were great and looked after all of us all week, no issues here and both were rewarded at the end the cruise, as we always have done.

Buffet – main buffet is Deck 8 and also a smaller one on Deck 16, we found the food quality and choice to be excellent and preferred Deck 16 for breakfast, only 1 deck above us but far less busy than Deck 8. Buffet was used for breakfast, some lunches and also late night snacks if needed. We did use breakfast in the room a couple of days aswell.

MDR – assigned 7.30pm in Seashore as requested and had a table for 5 of us. We all felt this is where the cruise lacked a bit compared to our others, we are in no way snobs and to be honest would say totally the opposite but felt disappointed overall. Our waiter was okay but for example on our last RC cruise we were greeted each night, asked what we had done during the day and the menu was explained with some recommendations. Not the case here, simply handed the menu and left to look and decide.

Service was sometimes a little slow and we came to realise that if you were last of his allocated tables to order you waited quite a while, one very annoying thing was on the 2nd night the restaurant manager came round some tables including ours and pointed out he needed the table back for the next sitting, we had literally just been served our dessert ! The quality and choice was acceptable but again we all felt better on previous cruises, certainly on Royal Caribbean and Costa.

Elegant nights were Day 2 (at sea) and Day 5 (Costa Maya) and Day 3 was Italian and White Party Night – menus on both elegant nights were not very inspiring to be perfectly honest

Our biggest disappointment in the MDR was the apparent lack of dress code, this maybe because it was our first Caribbean cruise but for me I found it strange that is was basically anything goes in the MDR and I would not expect to see gents dining in casual shorts, sports shirts and even flip flops (not sandals but flip flops !) and was staggered to see this even on elegant nights. As a family we like the MDR experience and dress accordingly, even my children had suits and dresses for the first elegant night but as soon as we left our cabin we realised we were well over dressed. I would estimate 5% of male diners in the MDR had a shirt, jacket and tie on for the elegant nights. We can only compare with previous Med cruises but were very very surprised at the informal attire every night, to me and I don’t mind saying it, not too much to ask a man to at least make an effort and wear long trousers or jeans in the MDR in the evening ! If someone thinks it is suitable to wear shorts, t-shirt and open toe footwear in a formal restaurant I would suggest the buffet is the more suitable location to eat.

Entertainment – can only comment on the main theatre shows, we watched each night and found them very enjoyable, excellent performers and each show was only 30-40mins which we found to be just about right. The Cruise Director was superb and also quite comical in his little turns. For all adults the late night Impro show is also well worth a visit, for anyone who knows “Whose Line Is It Anyway” it is similar but definitely for adults only (no need to pre-book this one)! And do remember to book in advance for the main shows, we dined at 7.30pm and the 9.15pm show worked perfectly.

Sea Days – have read previous complaints about getting sun loungers on sea days, for us then yes the decks can be busy but on both sea days we easily got loungers together and on both days this was after a late breakfast/brunch so no need to get up early and reserve loungers. I walked around on both sea days and never failed to see available loungers, maybe we were lucky and had non sun bathers on board?

Drinks Package and Bars – no complaints at all, service was good and with our deluxe drinks package we could basically have 99% of any available drinks including the mini bar in our cabin.

Not gone into details of ports of call (booked our own thing at each but welcome to ask questions) as this is more about MSC Seaside from a first time MSC and Caribbean cruising family, yes we would cruise MSC again as to us we look at itinerary first and love visiting places we have never been to, can’t really imagine any cruise ship is that bad that anyone would say “never again” but I suppose some people have higher standards than others.

Welcome to ask any questions and will answer as best I can and when I can.

Thank you enjoyed reading your review, Hubby and I will be on seaside this October

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for your review!

Thank you for your review. I will not be surprised if elegant nights go to one night and/or not at all on the embarkation from Miami. We dressed accordingly recently for NCL Med cruise and one time on Mexico cruise for special Father/daughter pictures but otherwise nope. Dining even in restaurants have taken a casual atmosphere as far as clothing in the US. I was shocked at first but now I just go,"oh well". Though I am still shocked at hats at the dining table!

Good review!

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Thanks for the review and tips - always welcome

Good to see that you enjoyed your cruise, the formal night issue is one where I personally would like to see MSC enforce the dress code and refuse entry to anyone wearing shorts, T shirts, any kind of hat and flip flops.

Too many from other cruise lines are bringing what I believe to be their bad habits across to MSC and if they lose a minority of passengers because of it then so be it, as can be seen in general society this kind of thing is where the rot sets in and when you allow everyone to do the same, when do they start to turn up in their nightwear!

I understand the arguments of why people do not want to dress up and if that is the case go to the buffet. I wore a uniform for 30 years that had to always be pressed and look fit for the job, yes I like to wander around in shorts etc like everyone else but on Formal nights there is no way you should be allowed into the MDR not suitably attired.

Great review ! Thank you for sharing your experience ! I do have a few questions . Did you visit the Venchi chocolate bar? Since you had your children along , I am pretty sure you made a stop or two there ! Your impression ?

I read that you did your port excursions on your own . Can you please share where you visited ? We have only one of our ports ( Cozumel ) scheduled for an excursion and would love to hear some suggestions for things to do . TIA

Thank you for the review. We will be boarding MSC Seaside in May.

Your comment about the attire at the MDR is surprising. We have cruised with MSC in Europe a couple of times. All the passengers using the MDR at evening meal times were dressed at least button shirt and pants (not demin) and shoes.

It is possible that because of location (Caribbean cruise), the dress requirement was a little to lax. Like you, we dress up everytime we used the MDR.

Thank you for taking the time to do your review. We will be on ship and itinerary in February 2019. I am really interested in what you did at the ports as I am not inclined to book ship excursions if I can avoid it. Many thanks if you can post some POC info. Ken

Good to see that you enjoyed your cruise, the formal night issue is one where I personally would like to see MSC enforce the dress code and refuse entry to anyone wearing shorts, T shirts, any kind of hat and flip flops.

Too many from other cruise lines are bringing what I believe to be their bad habits across to MSC and if they lose a minority of passengers because of it then so be it, as can be seen in general society this kind of thing is where the rot sets in and when you allow everyone to do the same, when do they start to turn up in their nightwear!

 

I understand the arguments of why people do not want to dress up and if that is the case go to the buffet. I wore a uniform for 30 years that had to always be pressed and look fit for the job, yes I like to wander around in shorts etc like everyone else but on Formal nights there is no way you should be allowed into the MDR not suitably attired.

I agree 100%. MSC needs to enforce this on formal nights. I enjoy dressing up, lord knows I don't do it while I am home.

Many thanks to the nice review!

Well: To each their own really. There is such a thing here in Europe that we can call "reserved professionalism" that makes me to like far more the way MSC runs the restaurants and bars waiters way of doing their service. No need for that "false friendliness" we experience on the American lines, granted that waiters are nice and polite. Let them to just do their job in that fine discreet but professional way...

Good to see that you enjoyed your cruise, the formal night issue is one where I personally would like to see MSC enforce the dress code and refuse entry to anyone wearing shorts, T shirts, any kind of hat and flip flops.

Too many from other cruise lines are bringing what I believe to be their bad habits across to MSC and if they lose a minority of passengers because of it then so be it, as can be seen in general society this kind of thing is where the rot sets in and when you allow everyone to do the same, when do they start to turn up in their nightwear!

 

I understand the arguments of why people do not want to dress up and if that is the case go to the buffet. I wore a uniform for 30 years that had to always be pressed and look fit for the job, yes I like to wander around in shorts etc like everyone else but on Formal nights there is no way you should be allowed into the MDR not suitably attired.

...No more no less!... Where is the like button?...

It is understandable the need to adjust or relax the dress code and the number of formal nights so that people can cope with those each time more restrictive weight restrictions on the air plane industry, but there must be some bare minimum standards in which each individual can enter certain venues even for casual days!... I would never to enter a casino in a swimsuit, so why would I to enter an MDR on a swimsuit or my sportswear when I know that to be as inappropriate as to stay on the pool on a tux? Is it so difficult to bring a nice pair of light pants and a nice, perhaps dark, plain collared shirt to go with what should be a little bit special night? I 1000% agree that there should be a bare minimum rule enforcement, of course!...

On a side note: At least part of this controversy might also have something to do with what I believe to be the nearing end of the photographer "renting" business model on cruise ships. TBHH, I finished to purchase photos aboard ships some 5 years ago, and I realise today that this is the most practical and economical decision one might to do. Considering what I used to spend annually on cruise photos, it is easy to verify that per 4 years I can have "back" some half of the regular price of a Samsung S9 type of phone... A phone like that will make you some very pretty photos that are more than what most of us would eventually want to have with the additional advantage of being at no cost at the ship. This is something for us to be attentive in the next years to come. I believe those photo businesses to be far less lucrative now than what they used to be some 10 or even 5 years ago. To each their own really. But the cruise industry will need to adapt itself to that reality and find alternative profitable ways to go with.

Have a nice day!... :)

Good to see that you enjoyed your cruise, the formal night issue is one where I personally would like to see MSC enforce the dress code and refuse entry to anyone wearing shorts, T shirts, any kind of hat and flip flops.

Too many from other cruise lines are bringing what I believe to be their bad habits across to MSC and if they lose a minority of passengers because of it then so be it, as can be seen in general society this kind of thing is where the rot sets in and when you allow everyone to do the same, when do they start to turn up in their nightwear!

 

I understand the arguments of why people do not want to dress up and if that is the case go to the buffet. I wore a uniform for 30 years that had to always be pressed and look fit for the job, yes I like to wander around in shorts etc like everyone else but on Formal nights there is no way you should be allowed into the MDR not suitably attired.

Ditto.

Thank-you for the feedback.

Thank you for the review. We will be boarding MSC Seaside in May.

 

Your comment about the attire at the MDR is surprising. We have cruised with MSC in Europe a couple of times. All the passengers using the MDR at evening meal times were dressed at least button shirt and pants (not demin) and shoes.

 

It is possible that because of location (Caribbean cruise), the dress requirement was a little to lax. Like you, we dress up everytime we used the MDR.

I think it must the "Caribbean" factor yes and i can understand in a way but am still of the opinion that even if a full suit, jacket and tie is not enforced it is not too much to expect and enforce long trousers and proper shoes in the MDR as you would in any half decent restaurant or hotel. And for anyone that does not want to comply they do have another option for dining.

for those who have asked about our port call here is a summary of what we did

Ocho Rios - private taxi/mini bus to Dunn's Falls and Magic Mountain where we did the Bobsled. We paid $150 for this but entry fees were on top, we did however on port days a shuttle operated between the port and the 2 attractions and would have been cheaper even for 5 of us, both are close to the port so $150 was a little expensive really but we went for safety and used a reputable company with good reviews on Trip Advisor

Grand Cayman - we booked a trip which included Stingray City and a couple of snorkeling stops, unlike a lot of other trips we saw on the day the numbers were limited (about 20 i think) and we all had a great day.

Cozumel - we booked Mr Sanchos All Inclusive Beach Resort and just got a taxi there and back

Costa Maya - took advice off here and took a taxi to the main strip and beach front, fixed price of $2 per person and is cheaper and quicker that the shuttle service they lay on, just walk out of the main port area and the taxi rank is outside.

Great review ! Thank you for sharing your experience ! I do have a few questions . Did you visit the Venchi chocolate bar? Since you had your children along , I am pretty sure you made a stop or two there ! Your impression ?

 

I read that you did your port excursions on your own . Can you please share where you visited ? We have only one of our ports ( Cozumel ) scheduled for an excursion and would love to hear some suggestions for things to do . TIA

Just posted a reply about our port days

Yes we did visit the Venchi Bar, as we had the Deluxe Drinks package all drinks/shakes/ice cream were included and they do some really nice drinks with a chocolate theme. We usually passed through here after dining and en-route the theatre :D

Good to see that you enjoyed your cruise, the formal night issue is one where I personally would like to see MSC enforce the dress code and refuse entry to anyone wearing shorts, T shirts, any kind of hat and flip flops.

Too many from other cruise lines are bringing what I believe to be their bad habits across to MSC and if they lose a minority of passengers because of it then so be it, as can be seen in general society this kind of thing is where the rot sets in and when you allow everyone to do the same, when do they start to turn up in their nightwear!

 

I understand the arguments of why people do not want to dress up and if that is the case go to the buffet. I wore a uniform for 30 years that had to always be pressed and look fit for the job, yes I like to wander around in shorts etc like everyone else but on Formal nights there is no way you should be allowed into the MDR not suitably attired.

Fully agree with all you have said

Thank you for the nice review. It is very helpful. We just booked on Seaside departing on May 19th. This is our first MSC experience as well. We will try the 16th floor for the breakfast and have to remember to book every nights' entertainments as soon as we are on board. Thank you for some good tips :-)

Thank you for the review. We will be boarding MSC Seaside in May.

 

Your comment about the attire at the MDR is surprising. We have cruised with MSC in Europe a couple of times. All the passengers using the MDR at evening meal times were dressed at least button shirt and pants (not demin) and shoes.

 

It is possible that because of location (Caribbean cruise), the dress requirement was a little to lax. Like you, we dress up everytime we used the MDR.

Unfortunately, yes. We've sailed out of Miami twice now and there was a significant difference in the standard of dress (and attitude/behaviour) from passengers compared to when we've sailed in Europe or Middle East.

We are from the UK and travelled as myself, wife and 3 children (mid to late teens). Our first ever cruise with MSC and also first Caribbean cruise, our 4 previous cruises have all been Mediterranean with TUI x 2, Costa and Royal Caribbean so I can only compare with these.

Thanks for the review, interesting to read that the Seaside could satisfy first time MSC cruisers who were travelling with TUI Cruises before. I am tired of reading comments from TUI fans how much better these boats are compared to MSC, Costa or RC. We also cruised with TUI two times already, sure they are good, but certainly they have to be with the prices they charge.

.

 

MDR – assigned 7.30pm in Seashore as requested and had a table for 5 of us.

Hi, thanks for the review! How were you able to request a 7:30pm table? We know there are 3 seatings per dining room now, but online and the MSC reps still seem to say it's only early or late still, and I've been trying to figure out how to get the 7:15 or 7:30 seatings.

Hi, thanks for the review. I have a question on the deluxe drink package as I have upgraded. Does it include the Gelato on a stick, pastries and Special Gelatos Cups. Also do you pay for pizza in the room. We are also from the UK and will be sailing in August, can't wait now.

Great review.

I would be interested in reading a review from your children’s perspective.