Seaside January 27th Cruise

[cruzeluver]

We have experienced the same lukewarm hot tub situation in the past. Off Seaside last week and we used two different hot tubs (one on main pool deck and other at Jungle pool) and both were hot!

[agcoolcruiser]

Did you use the hot tubs? I'm just wondering if they are hot or lukewarm. We enjoy using them, but have only sailed Carnival and on some of their ships/sailings they don't keep them hot enough.

 

 

 

I entered briefly at jungle pool and it felt warm/hot. My son wanted to leave so I am not really sure

 

 

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[mafig]

We have a pool at home. I've had different pools for 40 years.

 

We do not urinate in our pool.

 

We have, on occasion, smelled chlorine in the pool.

 

You can smell chlorine and have a no chlorine reading. It means that your chemicals are off and the chlorine is not working.

[agcoolcruiser]

Breakfast - we had the breakfast outside at buffet on deck 8. It is a pleasant experience to have breakfast outside... the outside was not open much so far due to wind...

 

Did not spend much time on the ship, we went to chankanab ...

 

MDR food was the best so far... everyone agreed, swordfish dish was the best... I had the shiitake ribs... I thought they were the best...

 

Disembarkation was quick, no lines... around 9am... embarcation had long lines... everyone was coming back at the last minute... it was effective and waited only 10min in line even looked like the whole ship was lined up in three lines at each gangway...

 

 

 

 

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Just wanted to make a few comments:

- I read on Facebook a comment that getting on the boat in Cozumel was a “clusterf...”. Much different than my comment above... I though the situation was handled very well by crew...again it was impossible to get so many people on board all at once... I think because we missed grand cayman day... everyone wanted more time in Cozumel and came back to boat at last minute...given that boat still left in time shows that embarkation process worked...

 

- sharing some feedback from my friends about venchi. One of our lady friends is a big venchi fan... she gets three expressos every morning...:-)... there are two ladies taking orders at venchi... one is very nice to our group. There is obvious tension between the other one and our “three expressos” friend :-) first time she ordered her “three e..” the waiter told her that she will sit next to her to see that she drinks all of them... :-( our friend told her to get her boss and the captain and sit down to see and have a chat... I was not there when this happened... we are a group with 7 premium package and 4with fantastica coupons... she was probably concerned we are sharing drinks.... however there is a better way to handle the situation... like bring drinks one by one or say that company policy does not allow her. Our MDR waiter Runa, handles us very well and she is getting a tip every evening.... same group... the othe venchi waiter is great as well... she is coming to our group, the other one steers away from our us... :-)

 

 

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[agcoolcruiser]

Breakfast - we had the breakfast outside at buffet on deck 8. It is a pleasant experience to have breakfast outside... the outside was not open much so far due to wind...

 

Did not spend much time on the ship, we went to chankanab ...

 

MDR food was the best so far... everyone agreed, swordfish dish was the best... I had the shiitake ribs... I thought they were the best...

 

Disembarkation was quick, no lines... around 9am... embarcation had long lines... everyone was coming back at the last minute... it was effective and waited only 10min in line even looked like the whole ship was lined up in three lines at each gangway...

 

 

 

 

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Just wanted to make a few comments:

- I read on Facebook a comment that getting on the boat in Cozumel was a “clusterf...”. Much different than my comment above... I though the situation was handled very well by crew...again it was impossible to get so many people on board all at once... I think because we missed grand cayman day... everyone wanted more time in Cozumel and came back to boat at last minute...given that boat still left in time shows that embarkation process worked...

 

- sharing some feedback from my friends about venchi. One of our lady friends is a big venchi fan... she gets three expressos every morning...:-)... there are two ladies taking orders at venchi... one is very nice to our group. There is obvious tension between the other one and our “three expressos” friend :-) first time she ordered her “three e..” the waiter told her that she will sit next to her to see that she drinks all of them... :-( our friend told her to get her boss and the captain and sit down to see and have a chat... I was not there when this happened... we are a group with 7 premium package and 4with fantastica coupons... she was probably concerned we are sharing drinks.... however there is a better way to handle the situation... like bring drinks one by one or say that company policy does not allow her. Our MDR waiter Runa, handles us very well and she is getting a tip every evening.... same group... the othe venchi waiter is great as well... she is coming to our group, the other one steers away from our us... :-)

 

 

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[missthesea]

Yes, most lines will only give one drink out at a time to prevent drink-package sharing. It is understandable. But, it sounds like that server could use some customer service training in how to handle the situation. If it's a rule, then gently explain it and smile and still give good service. If it's not a rule, bring on the espressos!

 

 

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[Micheb5]

Just wanted to make a few comments:

- I read on Facebook a comment that getting on the boat in Cozumel was a “clusterf...”. Much different than my comment above... I though the situation was handled very well by crew...again it was impossible to get so many people on board all at once... I think because we missed grand cayman day... everyone wanted more time in Cozumel and came back to boat at last minute...given that boat still left in time shows that embarkation process worked...

 

- sharing some feedback from my friends about venchi. One of our lady friends is a big venchi fan... she gets three expressos every morning...:-)... there are two ladies taking orders at venchi... one is very nice to our group. There is obvious tension between the other one and our “three expressos” friend :-) first time she ordered her “three e..” the waiter told her that she will sit next to her to see that she drinks all of them... :-( our friend told her to get her boss and the captain and sit down to see and have a chat... I was not there when this happened... we are a group with 7 premium package and 4with fantastica coupons... she was probably concerned we are sharing drinks.... however there is a better way to handle the situation... like bring drinks one by one or say that company policy does not allow her. Our MDR waiter Runa, handles us very well and she is getting a tip every evening.... same group... the othe venchi waiter is great as well... she is coming to our group, the other one steers away from our us... :-)

 

 

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How did dinner work for you with different experiences? We have 4 Fantastica and 1 Aurea. Can we sit together at dinner if the Aurea want to come at our time? We linked our reservations.

 

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[HeroG]

How do tips work with the Aurea package? Are tips included,at your discretion or are they charged to your account when you order drinks that are included in the package

 

 

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[agcoolcruiser]

How did dinner work for you with different experiences? We have 4 Fantastica and 1 Aurea. Can we sit together at dinner if the Aurea want to come at our time? We linked our reservations.

 

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Dinner was fantastic! if you linked reservations, you will be assigned a table together. Aurea guest will be assigned the fixed time as well... dinner time and table will be printed on your cruise card... We were assigned a specific time - 6pm (7 Aurea, 4 Fantastica) and a table in seashore restaurant in the Aurea area where people come for any time dining. First night, we were late... The head waiter still seated us. She looked unsure what to do... we tipped her well after that first night... Later evenings, we had to change the dinner time a few times... we told the head waiter in advance and she said no problem... I think it helped that our table was in the Aurea area

 

First night was a little strange when we ordered drinks... what each one can order.... after that our server Runa learned our preferences and just asked if we want same drink or something different... she even recommended... a few wines...

 

I have fond memories of my dinner time on Seaside... Food was fantastic ... I don't think you need to go to specialty restaurants... we had 5 kids in our group and choose not to go...

[agcoolcruiser]

How do tips work with the Aurea package? Are tips included,at your discretion or are they charged to your account when you order drinks that are included in the package

 

 

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We tipped only MDR and spa... cash... and handsomely... we did not tip individual drinks... nothing was charged to on board account for drinks or drink tips... daily gratuities are automatically charged every day to your account...

[agcoolcruiser]

always wanted to share some thoughts about last couple of days and disembarkation. here they are:

- zip line - did the zip line, right after we got on ship in Costa Maya... very nice... nice views... only one line was open... 6 persons in front of me ... waited 15-20 minutes.... they do not let you take pictures or record during the time you are zip lining... they guy was extra nice... said he does not make the rules... it was a great experience...

- slides... I am not a slides guy.. tried it... not for me... there were no lines... maybe I should have tried the slide that had the board...

- casino- I had a positive balance... :-) slots looks like a cash drain... they have a nice automated roulette... one of my friends had quite a negative balance... thats where I got my positive balance...there was a lady next to me ... she won like 4-5000USD... they did not have enough money to give her :-) she was running for the hills with the money... :-)... beautiful casino...

- disembarkation... really liked it... I will compare with Allure of the seas last year. Last year, on Allure, we had to wait 1 hour in customs line... it was huge line... This time, disembarkation was a breeze... Aurea luggage are first off ship in a separate holding area...Terminal feels very small... there is no place for huge lines like we had with Royal last year... we went and had breakfast... Venchi opened and left all ladies there to have an espresso or ... three espressos :-) we were off ship in 10 minutes... maybe 5 minutes in the customs line...we went and got our rental car ... packed all luggage in the car and texted ladies to get off ship with the kids... we texted them too early... disembarkation was too quick and they waited 10 minutes for us... they were not happy :-)

- shows - did not go to any shows... wanted to go last day... did not make it... after dinner, we were in atrium area or Venchi area when they had live music and it was nice... our kids wanted to dance...

- definitely, go to bridge of sights, I have a video there with boat at full speed... very nice... I will see if I can post it...

- did not use the solarium on deck 19 for Aurea guests... weather was not good some of the days... and I am not really a deck guy... I go to pool and when I am done... leave for next thing.... I am probably that guy in elevator dripping water... :-) Solarium looks good and probably I would have used it for a short time if weather would have been better...

- Formula 1 looked very nice... did not get to experience it...

- onboard shopping has very reasonable prices...for brand luxury items... not a rip off... compared with prices in ports... probably you can get some items cheaper if on sale at the local mall...

- I should have probably bought more venchi chocolate... it is better ... just finished my stock...

- smell - I did not spend much time reading the forum, however I still see comments about smell... maybe I am not the best person to comment... we spend as much time off ship as possible... do not stay on deck much... however did not experience any abnormal smell issue...

 

I will definitely consider MSC in future... it is great value... without compromising the experience...

[Elaine515]

...Thank you so very much for your review. We're trying MSC for the first time. Sailing on the Seaside next month and trying to gather as much info as possible. You were a tremendous help!