Just off the Seaside 9/15/18 (long review)

OP--where was your balcony? I want to make sure our balconies are not above the smoking section.

So sorry you had a negative experience last week—I know from your posts in our roll call that you were so excited about this cruise. We had a totally different experience, but were incredibly lucky to have snagged one of the royal suites 16 months in advance. I’ll be posting some details about that soon, but in the meantime, I will say that we spent enough time out and about to believe your frustrations. Although the ship did not seem to be full, we did get the sense that there were not always enough employees on duty—even in YC. Although the Seaside is somewhat bigger than Divina, it didn’t seem like MSC increased the number of employees. We especially felt bad for the bartenders in Top Sail. There was only one on duty at a time—which was the case on Divina, but with the YC dining room on Seaside being upstairs above Top Sail, the one bartender now has to make all the drinks for both locations causing long delays during meal times. This seemed to be the case around the ship. Although we had an incredibly wonderful week with tremendous service, it did seem that the individual employees were having to work harder and faster to keep up with the greater number of passengers.

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Sounds like you had some bad experiences onboard. We liked our June cruise so much that we are going again in 2 weeks. While we were in YC, we spent lots of time at the main buffets and pools and had good experiences.

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I wonder if the negative posters actually work for MSC...j/k

Their reviews made me go back and change my booking to the Yacht Club.

There are still too many bad reviews and I have never sailed MSC.

I want to enjoy my vacation. Also,

When you take into account what you save on drinks and the onboard credits, it just made more sense for me to pay a little more and get better service, amenities and food (apparently).

I wonder if the negative posters actually work for MSC...j/k

 

Their reviews made me go back and change my booking to the Yacht Club.

 

There are still too many bad reviews and I have never sailed MSC.

 

I want to enjoy my vacation. Also,

When you take into account what you save on drinks and the onboard credits, it just made more sense for me to pay a little more and get better service, amenities and food (apparently).

All I can say is we sailed last week, Bella and free drinks (had to pay tips on drinks), black status.

Had a great week. We are Elite Plus on Celebrity and I didn't find most of the experience any different between the two lines. The only differences I noticed were more kids on MSC (they have nice water area for them to play in) and the % of non-Americans on board...neither changed our cruise in the least.

It was a great cruise (only 3 ports, Eastern Caribean).

When someone states about their black status "which we were reminded OFTEN that we were ‘status matched and not real black card’", I take their complaints a little (or maybe more than a little) serious.

Morgsmom- Thanks for the review. You have sailed both the Divina & Seaside. Comparing the two, would you say in your opinion crew: passenger ratio was the main issue? If the ratio improved would you sail Seaside again or a ship with 5000 passengers just to much?

I am debating sailing the Seaside or NCL in January. (Both are same price and I miss the NCL entertainment but I did enjoy my Divina 2017 cruise)

Sorry to hear there were some hiccups.

Curious whether you tried to actually order room service? I can see guest services being confused but if the package included it, I would have tried anyway.

My experiences on Divana last year, are about the same. I am booked Inside YC, instead of a normal suite, because I learned last year, that if your not YC, MSC does not care at all about you. Black Card means nothing, as does dining packages, or on-board spend. It is YC or nothing, as this is even shown in the terminal, when checking in!

I disagree with you as I did in another thread that you posted, too. You must really have it in for MSC. Do you cruise other cruise lines? If you do, what do you think of the other cruise lines?

My experiences on Divana last year, are about the same. I am booked Inside YC, instead of a normal suite, because I learned last year, that if your not YC, MSC does not care at all about you. Black Card means nothing, as does dining packages, or on-board spend. It is YC or nothing, as this is even shown in the terminal, when checking in!

We are not in the YC but have 32 days booked on the Divina this Nov./Dec. I would hope with Black Status and that many days in a meager lowly category we are treated fair. Oh and checking in with BC or YC is pretty much the same. I would wager to bet that we spent more on the 32 days than one that did 7 in YC.

In regards to the status match for Black Card. Do you not get the same perks as you would for earning the points to get to Black Card?

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HA! I really just laughed out loud.

 

I really appreciate the in depth review. I do take them with a grain of salt. Things that bother others don't generally bother me.

I'm going on the Seaside in 20 days. I've never been on an MSC ship. I'm looking forward to it and we will bring spending money. Its a vacation. So we like to go all out.

My husband and I were on the same cruise and agree with ALL of Morgsmoms comments thus far. Inconsistent and just bad service offered by sullen, overworked employees does not make for a relaxing cruise experience. This was our 3rd MSC cruise, so not newbies - but also our last.

Hopefully you're idea of going all out will mean you booked the Yacht Club, otherwise Morgsmoms review is a cautionary tale.

Thanks for your review. Convinced me if I ever try MSC, it will definitely have to be YC or not go at all.

In regards to the status match for Black Card. Do you not get the same perks as you would for earning the points to get to Black Card?

 

 

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Yes, you do. There is no difference for those who status-match to the level or those who've "earned" the points.

I'm finding it quite incredible that the crew would comment on how anyone has acquired their Voyagers Club level (unless the passenger brings up the subject). Having done 20 cruises on MSC, I cannot imagine any crew member speaking out of turn. There is no way that the crew would know, anyway.

My little input to this black card debate is simple.....

Personally I'm not into all the 'status' hype, not even loyalty recognition to be honest. If I return to anything/one/where it will because I like &/or value it, so I don't need rewarding.

My cruise history is varied thus I do not hold high band status with anyone, though equally I return regularly to many providers. Do I have a favourite cruise line...Well maybe I've fallen in love with MSC! Though not through the perks of the black card. I think there are many, many high seas cruisers that value their cards colour or whatever else elevates them to super status at sea over the cruise line, vessel & itinerary & to me that's nuts!

But I do agree with the 'vibe' that earning the points for black status through days at sea with MSC should rank higher than merely jumping ship & bringing your loyalty from another line...not sure why MSC even do this, though I know it along with their YC offering gets many thousands of souls aboard.

Either way I hope that if you board an MSC ship your experience is magical...with or without black cards or anything above the norm...Happy cruising & God Bless MSC :p

My husband and I were on the same cruise and agree with ALL of Morgsmoms comments thus far. Inconsistent and just bad service offered by sullen, overworked employees does not make for a relaxing cruise experience. This was our 3rd MSC cruise, so not newbies - but also our last.

Hopefully you're idea of going all out will mean you booked the Yacht Club, otherwise Morgsmoms review is a cautionary tale.

I really meant we don't mind paying $7.50 for coffee. Or paying for specialty restaurants, movies, arcades and excursions. We usually try them all.

BUT , I did upgrade to YC yesterday. I don't want to take any chances.

I never understood why people complain about spending money on a cruise. It's still the best deal for a vacation.

I never understood why people complain about spending money on a cruise. It's still the best deal for a vacation.

Wait 'til you experience YC, so - it's knocks everything else out of the water for bang for your buck! :cool:

Wait 'til you experience YC, so - it's knocks everything else out of the water for bang for your buck! :cool:

I believe it!

We are boarding this weekend [emoji846] I’ve read a few reviews here and there but I’m not scared just yet [emoji6] we booked because we have a 2-year old and the amenities seemed like a good fit for a kid who loves to play with other kids, and for a mama for needs a balcony stateroom and lots of natural light. To find something like that on RC would have been double the cost (Oasis class or newer) and our preferred line, Celebrity, has nothing that compares. I’m hopeful that the expansive public spaces, panoramic elevators and things to see will enchant our little one. We sailed on Adventure of the Seas in the spring with him and we knew that we wanted a more robust toddler engagement area for him. They have limited drop-off hours for him on Seaside but that is better than none on RC and Celebrity for little ones. All of this to say that I am looking forward to chasing after our boy and soft serve ice cream without having to make beds and provide meals. But I totally appreciate the OP’s point of view as well — we are just vacationing differently (for now).

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