Seaside Review - Yacht Club 4/7-4/14 - We liked new and different!

Wait...the YC has its own gelato counter?

Great review.

Yes - my question too - YC has a gelato counter? If so, I think I will be in trouble!

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Do you think you room would be larger enough for a family of 4? 2 adults and 2 kids 12, and 15? great review!

Yes - my question too - YC has a gelato counter? If so, I think I will be in trouble!

 

 

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Oh yes, there is one inside the Yacht Club, and maybe 3 others around the ship. Heavenly. The gelato counters also have frozen pops, like chocolate covered vanilla gelato. That was something I haven't seen on any other cruise line. You can get the gelato in different size cups or in a big waffle cone. The bonus is it's included for Yacht Club guests.

Do you think you room would be larger enough for a family of 4? 2 adults and 2 kids 12, and 15? great review!

Definitely, the kids would each have their own bed...one would have the converted sofa and the other would have a bunk that comes down from the ceiling. That is how our room (18022) was configured. There were several families with kids in the Yacht Club. :)

It all sounds wonderful! Thank you for the detailed review. Did you happen to get a massage? Were the cabanas used much?

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Misc Observations

Excursion Tickets

On other cruise lines, you typically receive all tour tickets on embarkation day. On MSC it’s run differently. We booked tours directly online with MSC prior to the cruise. They don’t show you the start times of the tours and the butler only give you the tickets at turn down service for the next day’s tour. So…it wasn’t until late in the day that you learned if your tour was in the AM or PM. After the 1st port, I called the concierge every day to find the time of our tour for the next day so we could plan appropriately. It was an easy, quick call.

Casino

I liked the casino, and LOVED the variety of slot machines – my favorites were the Quick Hit machines, Icy Wilds and Jungle ‘something’. Mostly 1 cent machines and a lot had multiple games you could choose from. There were also tables and an electronic roulette wheel. The casino was split into 3 areas, non-smoking, a circular bar in the middle, and a smoking section, which was big and smoky. On sea days I would play slots for about an hour and it was not crowded. At night, it would get more crowded, but you could always get a machine or sit at a table. They always had casino staff circulating and asking guests if they wanted to buy the daily lotto tickets. It didn’t bug me, but did bother my husband. He is less…social than I. J One item that did bug me was the placement of the slot machines in the smoking area. They were crammed in and the chairs sometimes went back to back so you couldn’t navigate well between machines. It was weird.

The casino also offers scratch-off tickets. Your room key was the ‘players’ key. Each time you use it you gain points. When you reach certain levels of points you can exchange the points for casino money, i.e. $10.00, or merchandise you can get at the cashier. I don’t know what the merchandise was.

Unused Onboard Credit

On Thursday, we noticed that we still had a lot of onboard credit (OBC). It was a nice problem to have. I talked to the concierge and she told me that we had to either spend it all or call Customer Service after the cruise ended to have it refunded. I didn’t like that idea so I just withdrew all the leftover onboard credit money via a slot machine, printed my voucher, and the casino cashier gave us cash. Another note about OBC, it doesn’t show up on your account in the MSC app. The app shows your charges, but not credits. I went to the concierge once to have a statement printed and it showed all charges and credits.

Bingo

I love playing Bingo on cruise ships, probably because of the monotony of it. It’s relaxing for me. Same with playing slots. Not so much outside of cruising,though. I was so looking forward to it, but alas, we had other things going during the scheduled times. This is what I can tell you. The first Bingo game was embarkation night at 10 PM, guaranteed $400 prize money. I thought it was an oddly late time. Bingo was held in either the Haven Lounge or the Theater, plus broadcast to one of the sun decks so people outside could play, too. Interesting concept. I did like that you could purchase the bingo cards in the casino (they set up a table) a full 24 hours before the game was held. For the last Bingo game of the cruise, and it was only a single game for a free cruise, the prices were: 1 square for $10, column of 3 squares for $20 and 9 squares for $40. If you purchased the cards before bingo day, you could purchase the 9 squares for $30 instead. I thought the prices were good, but less good once I found out it was for one game only. On other cruise lines, there are usually 3 Bingo games at a time. If the days/times worked out, I totally would have played, though.

Butcher’s Cut Specialty Restaurant

Our dinner was delicious and we enjoyed the atmosphere. It did not have the typical steakhouse décor like leather seats, white tablecloths, low lighting, etc. It was decorated in a western theme, wood tables with red placemats, and cool light fixtures. They had a $39.00 option that allowed you to choose items from 3 of 4 areas (appetizers, starters-salads/soups, entrees and desserts). It was a condensed menu. My husband ordered off the larger, regular menu. It ended up about $100 for both of us, even with drinks included. Butcher’s Cut was the only specialty restaurant we dined at and we would eat there again. My husband would have liked to eat at one of the Asian restaurants, but he was happy that there was Asian food sometimes on the Yacht Club restaurant menu.

Up Next: More Observations

It all sounds wonderful! Thank you for the detailed review. Did you happen to get a massage? Were the cabanas used much?

 

 

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It really was wonderful! I didn't get a massage, but we did take a short spa tour of the thermal area because it's included with the Yacht Club. They have thermal facilities I've never seen before on a cruise, such as aromatherapy showers, the Hawaiian salt room to open the pores and then the snow room next door to close the pores (according to our tour guide). They also had these geyser shower/water circles that you would stand on and the water gushes upwards around you. Also included were 'light' and 'dark' sauna rooms, depending upon your mood.

Regarding the cabanas, I only took notice of them on sea days. The 1st sea day some were left empty and on the last sea day all of them were in use. Warning about the cabanas, they only offer slight relief from the sun. There is still plenty of sunshine that comes through the ceiling and walls. The butlers paid close attention to the cabanas, bringing drinks and food. I did like that the cabanas face the water so there is privacy, but if you're a person that likes to people watch, not so good. The prices were $59 on port days and $99 on sea days. The cabanas were big enough for two loungers.

Venchi Chocolate Bar

I had gelato twice at the counter in the Yacht Club. One night after dinner we went to The Chocolate Bar to see about sundaes. You can order at their counter, plus there are servers that will take/deliver your order if you sit in the area seating, which I thought was pretty large. Venchi is not a place where you can just walk up and ask for a medium hot fudge sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream, hold the cherry. While I’m sure you can customize your order with effort, the server really directed us to 4 sundae choices on the menu. It was a little difficult for me, language-wise, to understand what was in each sundae. I went with the 1st one listed, which just referenced chocolate. My husband chose the 2nd one, which mentioned caramel. OMG, they were so good! First, they were big, which gets a thumbs up from me. My sundae included 3 scoops of light, medium and dark chocolate gelato, covered in chocolate shavings,with real whip cream and more chocolate shavings on top. My husband’s sundae had caramel gelato with caramel topping, whip cream and peanuts.

There was a couple next to us that were drinking milk shakes. They looked good, too. My only regret is that I didn’t try the hot chocolate. Next time.

Stores

We did not shop a lot. We went to the Duty-Free shop and I can tell you 2 things about this store. We don’t smoke, but I noticed they were selling cigarette cartons for 2 for $50, which is great pricing. The duty free store is also the ‘pharmacy’ area and where you can get snacks. I didn’t go in any of the other stores, i.e. a clothes boutique, perfume/skincare store, MSC logo shop, jewelry store.

While the stores did have sales tables set up outside sometimes, it didn’t seem as frequent or crowded as on other cruise lines.

Internet

With our booking package, the ‘Surfer Package’ was included. I found it interesting/refreshing that our package included 3 GBs of data and that’s what they tracked, not minutes. The package allowed for 2 devices so I used my phone and my husband connected his tablet. With both of us surfing the internet daily, checking emails, loading pics to Facebook, and my husband playing a game that requires wifi, we still used only half the data. We registered for the Internet access through the MSC app and that’s where I strongly suggest you ‘start’ and ‘end’ your sessions. To register, you use the Internet code that is on your key card. When I registered, our package was already preset and it gave us an option to upgrade to the premium package (6 GBs, I think and 4 devices) for $139ish, but we passed. FYI there isn’t a login.com or logout.com feature as there is on NCL.

I thought the connection was fine, but my husband was less pleased because his connection dropped several times while playing his game.

Next Up: a little about Passenger demographics, doors, excursions and shows

The TV was nice and big, although we did use it only to look up our account and we rented the movie Dunkirk late one night. $8 to rent. We peeked at the live channels and I thought it was a good lineup compared to other cruise lines. The TV was to the left of the bed, but we didn’t have any issues watching the movie. Again, if you are inclined, they have ‘adult’ movies to rent.

Thank you so much. I am loving your review!

Thank you for talking about the TV. I was worried earlier on that it may not be able to be viewed from the bed but so many are starting to report it is fine so now I won't hear my husband gripe!!! LOL

This is fabulous. We are considering trying Seaside Yacht Club and you are covering the experience wonderfully. Thanks!

Thanks so much. I’m even more excited for our trip in June to arrive!

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Great review--we just booked for Sept, after being on Divina last year in the YC.

We had a similar issue finding the tent on the pier, I know they are using a different pier, is the tent at the end of the pier, meaning that the taxi should pass most of the pier before dropping us off?

Is there a smoking area in YC outside pool area, as there was on the Divina.

On Divina it was just near the door leading to the pool deck, similar on Seaside.

we will be in room 18019-with a promotion from the casino---I am ready!!

Great review--we just booked for Sept, after being on Divina last year in the YC.

We had a similar issue finding the tent on the pier, I know they are using a different pier, is the tent at the end of the pier, meaning that the taxi should pass most of the pier before dropping us off?

Is there a smoking area in YC outside pool area, as there was on the Divina.

On Divina it was just near the door leading to the pool deck, similar on Seaside.

we will be in room 18019-with a promotion from the casino---I am ready!!

Hi Markf,

You will have a great time on the Seaside! The Yacht Club white tent was at the beginning of the pier so the taxi should stop before the mass of disembarked people. :) I can tell you for sure that people smoked on the small outside seating area connected to the deck 16 Top Sail Lounge. I don't know if it's a designated smoking area but there were a few instances of different people smoking out there. We didn't see a lot of people out there in general, although it was a lovely area. Regarding the pool area, I was only out there for maybe 2 hours the whole cruise so I can't really comment. On another note, I really liked the proximity of our room (18022) to the restaurant, which was just down the hall, which will be the same for you. Then the staircase right down to the deck 16 lounge. I would absolutely stay on deck 18 again.

Did you have any noise issues from sun deck above your stateroom?

Did you have any noise issues from sun deck above your stateroom?

Hi floridian1, we heard scraping chairs every couple of days for a few minutes, but it was faint. We didn't hear any talking from inside our room or on the balcony from the upper deck. Interestingly enough one night while having dinner in the Yacht Club, the guests in our area by the windows heard big booms from the deck above us. Seriously loud booms. I asked the waiter what it was and he said at night-time they stack chairs or loungers together and move them. He was unfazed, but it only lasted a couple of minutes. I would reserve the same room again.

Thanks! I booked the same room as you but on the otherside.

Passenger Demographics

Americans were definitely the minority, I'd guess less than 50% on the ship. This did not bother us at all. In fact, we met a very nice Australian couple while boarding and they asked if we were Canadian as they couldn't place our accent. I told them we are Americans and that it must be my Philly accent combined with my husband's New England accent that was confusing. :):) In regards to the crew, everyone that we encountered spoke English very well. Sometimes with heavy accents, but I understood everyone. My 76 year old mother, on the other hand, would probably not fair as well as she doesn't understand anyone with even the lightest of accents. :DAges ranged from families with young children to older people in their 70-80s. It was well balanced.

Also, I noticed that there were many more physically fit people on this ship than on any ship we've sailed before. I saw so many butt cheeks, it took me off guard the 1st day. It is the style in Europe to wear that type of bathing suit and lots of women rocked it.

Doors

I know, a weird topic, but the public doors really stood out to me. I'm used to the automated doors that just open when you get close. The Seaside did not have a lot of these doors. In the Yacht Club, only one was automatic and the rest were push or pull with door handles. While I'm not a germaphobe, I make a point not to touch door handles, railings or elevator buttons on cruise ships. It was not to be, though, and I didn't get sick.

Theater/Shows

We attended a show on the 2nd night. I forget the name, but it was a mix of singing, dancing, pole dancing and roller skating. We enjoyed it a lot. I felt they put in a lot of effort into their performers, i.e. training, costumes. The set was good, too. There were 20+ guests that were let in at the last minute who rushed to find seats, but it was already dark, and they had to sit in individual seats. You have to bring your key card or wrist band to sign in with a theater employee. I thought the theater size was good, loved the 35-40 minute show time. Double win!

Excursions

We booked all our excursions online through MSC pre-cruise. If I remember correctly there may have been a 10% discount going on when I booked the tours. We did the following:

Ocho Rios, Jamaica - Catamaran, Snorkel and Beach Tour; not the best or worst tour. The Catamaran, sailing and snorkeling were great. The beach experience was just yucky, it was so small and jammed with people that were lying all over the sidewalks and decks sunning themselves because there was no beach space left.

Cayman Island - Dolphin Swim with 7 Mile Beach Experience; loved everything about swimming with the dolphins. The facility for the dolphins was clean and you could tell that the handlers had a close relationships with the dolphins. They would swim right by us all during the tour, push us on a boogie board, pull us across the water and of course we had the obligatory kiss. They were so good. The 7 mile Beach experience was much better than the Jamaican one. There was a restaurant to eat in, but every table was filled. We found out soon enough you could order both drinks and anything on the menu on the beach. FYI chair rentals are $10 each. That fee, plus 2 beers, 2 cocktails, 2 cheeseburgers and fries came to over $100. I am so glad I put an extra $20 in my beach bag that morning. ;)

Conzumel - Fury Catamaran & Snorkel; Excellent

Costa Maya, Mexico - Off Road Jeep and Beach experience; this was pretty good, we had fun. The jeeps were manual, which was well explained ahead of time. 4 to a jeep and you could rotate drivers as long as you presented a valid driver's license. There were some items missing from our jeep, like a broken off driver's side mirror, the speedometer didn't work and you couldn't move the driver's seat at all. We did have some extras, though, such as a big crack down the middle of the front window and every conceivable dashboard light on. The jeep did it's job, though. The tour included a lunch and soft drink/water, which was chips and almost like a tomato soup to go with it. It was sooo good. I had a second helping of that. Also, makings for chicken fajitas. There was a beach and we swam a lot. It was warm and very clear. So relaxing.

Conclusion: the Seaside surpassed our expectations and the Yacht Club contributed a lot to that. I will be researching our next MSC cruise soon.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Loved the review! Super easy to read and extremely informative! Thank you:)

Ditto! Thank you so much, great review! :)

I really enjoyed your review. We will be on Seaside YC in September. We booked it while on Divina recently. I do not recall that we needed tickets for shows on Divina and I will be disappointed if we miss a show because it was already booked. I wonder if we can purchase show tickets in advance -- prior to boarding. Doe anyone know? Thank you.

I really enjoyed your review. We will be on Seaside YC in September. We booked it while on Divina recently. I do not recall that we needed tickets for shows on Divina and I will be disappointed if we miss a show because it was already booked. I wonder if we can purchase show tickets in advance -- prior to boarding. Doe anyone know? Thank you.

Simple answer is - no - show reservations in advance. Sorry to say.

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This has been a great review; touching on a lot of subject with frank and useful observations. Thank you.

I really enjoyed your review. We will be on Seaside YC in September. We booked it while on Divina recently. I do not recall that we needed tickets for shows on Divina and I will be disappointed if we miss a show because it was already booked. I wonder if we can purchase show tickets in advance -- prior to boarding. Doe anyone know? Thank you.

If you book your first day on board you will be fine. Book for the whole week. Though we did the early show and were fine booking each morning.

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The doors also stood out to us. We missed all the automatic doors that we had become used to having, from a germ point of view and for me, they were just too heavy. I have rheumatoid arthritis and found it difficult to open them. We could not understand why they were not automatic.

Thank you for the review, we leave in 8 weeks time for our second cruise on Seaside and cannot wait.