MSC Seaside - first 2 days dazzling! Last 5 Meh.....

[geonurse]

just returned from 7 day to Antigua, Saint Thomas and Nassau. Ports were great, service was just fine and we were dazzled by the ship for the first couple of days. THEN we started noticing and experiencing several issues, design flaws, etc. that just left us feeling " meh".

One major thing that was disappointing was how the ship is so chopped up and/or inaccessible . We had Fantastica balcony package. So we couldn't access certain areas of deck 8 ( Aurea) -. We were not Yacht club so we couldn't access most of the forward areas of the ship as this was dedicated to Yacht club. I've never been on a ship ( in 10 cruises) where you couldn't walk out on a outer deck from either port or starboard sides of the ship. If you did manage to find a deck to walk outside on, it was either filled with dining tables and chairs or blocked off at certain points , so you had to go back inside and down or up a level to get to your destination. And no deck went all the way around the ship - or at least couldn't be accessed. Meh.

Main dining menus lacked variety and if something did sound good, it was usually a let down when u received it. Pasta was just gross. We by no means have refined palates- we are Applebees fans and not picky at all, but meh. We ended up feeling like it wasn't worth the xtra effort to dress for dining room so only ate there twice. Buffet dining became redundant very quickly . Same food each time we went. I remember Carnival having many of the same menu items at night on the buffet that the main dining room had, and tons of variety. So meh. I have a feeling that the yacht club restaurant and buffet had the quality and variety that was lacking in our area.

Hot tubs tiny and lukewarm, except for the jungle pool area- which was usually loaded with kids.

Aft pool and main pool areas lacked the space for enough loungers - meh.

Nightly movies on big screen by the pool poorly attended because the only seating was the tiered backless bleacher style seating right in front of the stage. The lounge chairs were packed up and tied down every night. The movie screen is so low you can't see it even from the pool or hot tub there. Meh.

Good points were: excellent shows, excellent free coffee, great service, great variety of music and lounges.

But the overall experience was just meh. Probably a much better experience as a Yacht club member?

[lcpagejr]

Thanks for your report.... interesting perspective on ship layout and access to areas

[geonurse]

Yes it was a bit of a letdown after the initial excitement. I guess my takeaway was I prefer cruiseline a where the whole ship is accessible to those in the " cheap seats" as well as the SuiteDiamond style members .... Example being Royal Caribbean has a diamond lounge and the Crown Restaurant , but those areas don't take up a huge part of the ship that others can't enjoy.....

[sidari]

Can you expand on your comment about Deck 8 and Aurea ? From memory Deck 8 houses the Buffet and the Spa so not sure where your Aurea comment comes in.

All the Fantasia class has the YC at the front and even less deck space, the Musical class you can access the front of the ship.

[DCGuy64]

Thank you for your review, geonurse. I’m also interested in knowing about Deck 8, as we just upgraded to Aurea today because of the great price.

 

 

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[geonurse]

Can you expand on your comment about Deck 8 and Aurea ? From memory Deck 8 houses the Buffet and the Spa so not sure where your Aurea comment comes in.

All the Fantasia class has the YC at the front and even less deck space, the Musical class you can access the front of the ship.

Yes I was referring to if you had a wellness ( which I thought was called Aurea) package you had full access to the spa and outside spa deck on 8.... Many of us tried to walk completely thru deck 8 and kept getting blocked off because there is an on deck hot tub that only Aurea spa members can access , so therefore there is no walking on an outer deck for exercise without getting blocked off time and again..... I'm probably not explaining this well . ?

[sidari]

Aurea cabins are on deck 9 forward and side aft as well as 14 and 15. The Aurea suites are 9 to 14 on the back.

The Aurea sundeck is both sides of 19.

 

Geo ... I know the area you mean.

[eroller]

Yes I was referring to if you had a wellness ( which I thought was called Aurea) package you had full access to the spa and outside spa deck on 8.... Many of us tried to walk completely thru deck 8 and kept getting blocked off because there is an on deck hot tub that only Aurea spa members can access , so therefore there is no walking on an outer deck for exercise without getting blocked off time and again..... I'm probably not explaining this well . ?

 

 

You are correct in that the spa does utilize both forward sides of the open promenade for private cabanas and hot tubs ... but FYI it does not wrap around the front of the ship. Forward access is blocked by a wall on both sides, so basically no one can access the bow area of the ship even if you have a spa pass.

 

I was in the YC on the same cruise as you, and I have to say the forward facing views were wonderful. I would have missed it had I not been able to access it because I love a forward facing view. There are other ships with this same issue believe me. The newest NCL ships have no forward facing view *unless* you are in The Haven (same as the YC) or buy a spa pass because the spa is located forward.

 

Some Princess ships as well have no forward facing view unless you buy a lounger in their "Sanctuary" private deck area or go to the gym. At least on some ships (Grand Class) you can walk to the front of the bow which is nice.

[sidari]

Ernie ... We had a front facing view on our two sailings on Ruby princess, we had the forward port side balcony suite behind the bridge on both occasions.

[eroller]

Ernie ... We had a front facing view on our two sailings on Ruby princess, we had the forward port side balcony suite behind the bridge on both occasions.

 

 

I'm talking about public spaces here. Not cabins.

[kimala]

Yes it was a bit of a letdown after the initial excitement. I guess my takeaway was I prefer cruiseline a where the whole ship is accessible to those in the " cheap seats" as well as the SuiteDiamond style members .... Example being Royal Caribbean has a diamond lounge and the Crown Restaurant , but those areas don't take up a huge part of the ship that others can't enjoy.....

 

Actually..Royal now their entire crown and anchor lounge to the suite guests. Regular folks in the cheap seats no longer have access to that beautiful venue in the round at the top of the ship...sooo sad I miss it.

[eroller]

Actually..Royal now their entire crown and anchor lounge to the suite guests. Regular folks in the cheap seats no longer have access to that beautiful venue in the round at the top of the ship...sooo sad I miss it.

 

 

True, but there are still forward facing public decks which is nice. On the Oasis Class, you have the Solarium up front with great views and a outside deck above the bridge in front of it.

 

I do miss the Viking Crown though on the Oasis Class. To be honest though it was always empty. I think many didn't even realize it existed.

[TravelinGert]

Thank you for your review. I have a couple of questions if you happen by chance to know the answers.

 

On one review I read if you buy a spa pass you can access the Aurea spa deck? I don't care much about the spa deck itself but I also read the bar on the spa deck is the only place you can get smoothies. I have the drinks package that includes unlimited smoothies. Did you see anywhere to get smoothies other than the Aurea spa deck bar?

 

Also I saw in one of the videos if you go use the spa treadmills you get a wonderful view out the front of the ship. At least on the initial cruises it was free to use these I'm wondering if there is a charge now?

[geonurse]

Thank you for your review, geonurse. I’m also interested in knowing about Deck 8, as we just upgraded to Aurea today because of the great price.

 

 

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That's good- you will have access to the hot tubs on deck 8 just off the spa and use of the spa .most of deck 8 that is accessible is outside dining , spa area, or loungers.

We just found it weird how there is no outside deck that you can walk very far on- there are varying reasons why this is the case- it seems most have to do with areas that not all cruisers can access. Sometimes it's yacht club, sometimes it's employee only , etc. just way more noticeable on this ship versus others we have been on. We are by no means sorry we went on this cruise, just probably won't choose this same cruiseline again - for this and other reasons posted in my little review :)

[DCGuy64]

Aurea cabins are on deck 9 forward and side aft as well as 14 and 15. The Aurea suites are 9 to 14 on the back.

The Aurea sundeck is both sides of 19.

 

Geo ... I know the area you mean.

 

 

 

Sidari, I hate to put you on the spot but I noticed something you wrote on another thread about the drinks package. I’m finding conflicting information about this online, so I thought I’d ask you.

 

1. Does the classic unlimited drink package include sparkling wines or not? What you had written elsewhere was from last July and you said you’d found that they had removed those.

2. Is there a comprehensive list of what wines are included in that classic package?

3. Can you pay an up charge for a premium liquor with the classic package, or do you have to pay the entire amount of the drink?

 

When I was on Costa and RCL you only had to pay the upcharge, but I don’t know how MSC operates.

I’ve searched for answers for all of these both on the Internet generally and on Cruise Critic and I can’t find the information. We just upgraded our Fantastica balcony cabin to an Aurea experience and I want to see whether we should pay the difference and get the deluxe package instead.

 

Thank you!

Stephen

 

 

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[geonurse]

Actually..Royal now their entire crown and anchor lounge to the suite guests. Regular folks in the cheap seats no longer have access to that beautiful venue in the round at the top of the ship...sooo sad I miss it.

Yep- but at least RC has other accessible outer decks that anyone can enjoy......the differences in classes were so much more noticeable on this cruise line than others I have been on - and I am by no means a fan of socialism - lol! It made me appreciate How Carnival provides quality of service and food choices for ALL , and how RC has plenty to keep everyone happy and satisfied regardless of status levels

[thegraminator]

Geo, thanks for your detailed review . Sorry to hear it wasn't a stellar trip for you .

 

May I ask , did you try any of the afternoon activities offered , or did they not appeal to you ?

[sidari]

Stephen ... We upgraded to the Deluxe drink package when we had the AFT Suite so cannot answer about the basic package.

We will likely do the same in April.

[DCGuy64]

Stephen ... We upgraded to the Deluxe drink package when we had the AFT Suite so cannot answer about the basic package.

 

We will likely do the same in April.

 

 

 

Thank you, we may do the same as it appears only to cost $56 per person for the week. My wife and I like our Prosecco. [emoji2] 🥂

 

 

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[geonurse]

Thank you for your review. I have a couple of questions if you happen by chance to know the answers.

 

On one review I read if you buy a spa pass you can access the Aurea spa deck? I don't care much about the spa deck itself but I also read the bar on the spa deck is the only place you can get smoothies. I have the drinks package that includes unlimited smoothies. Did you see anywhere to get smoothies other than the Aurea spa deck bar?

 

Also I saw in one of the videos if you go use the spa treadmills you get a wonderful view out the front of the ship. At least on the initial cruises it was free to use these I'm wondering if there is a charge now?

I wished we would have paid the xtra for spa passes.

[geonurse]

Geo, thanks for your detailed review . Sorry to hear it wasn't a stellar trip for you .

 

May I ask , did you try any of the afternoon activities offered , or did they not appeal to you ?

It wasn't stellar- but still enjoyable- really! :) We are not really into the scheduled activities , we enjoy lounging, swimming, hot tubbing, playing cards, reading. So we did enjoy our time, it was just more of a struggle to find good hot tubs, loungers etc... Than on other cruises we have been on

[eroller]

It wasn't stellar- but still enjoyable- really! :) We are not really into the scheduled activities , we enjoy lounging, swimming, hot tubbing, playing cards, reading. So we did enjoy our time, it was just more of a struggle to find good hot tubs, loungers etc... Than on other cruises we have been on

 

 

I felt SEASIDE had far more deck space than other ships I've sailed on, and I'm not talking about the YC. Between the decks around the various pools and also the super wide promenade deck, it seemed there were always spots to stroll and sit. I also saw available deck loungers at all hours so long as you didn't need to be directly next to a pool. I really enjoy my daily strolls around the outside decks of SEASIDE, both during the day and usually at night before I went to bed.

 

I can't comment on the hot tubs. I avoid them like the plague. I think they are gross.

[geonurse]

I felt SEASIDE had far more deck space than other ships I've sailed on, and I'm not talking about the YC. Between the decks around the various pools and also the super wide promenade deck, it seemed there were always spots to stroll and sit. I also saw available deck loungers at all hours so long as you didn't need to be directly next to a pool. I really enjoy my daily strolls around the outside decks of SEASIDE, both during the day and usually at night before I went to bed.

 

I can't comment on the hot tubs. I avoid them like the plague. I think they are gross.

😊 on which outside decks did you stroll? 8 and 16 and 18 were the only outside areas I found to stroll and even then not for long stretches...

[eroller]

😊 on which outside decks did you stroll? 8 and 16 and 18 were the only outside areas I found to stroll and even then not for long stretches...

 

 

7, 8, 16, 18, 19.

 

Overall as I mentioned I found SEASIDE to have far more deck space than most ships her size. In comparison to NORWEGIAN ESCAPE for instance, a ship roughly the same size, the open deck space on SEASIDE is hugely superior.

 

On the Port Side of deck 16, 18, and 19, you could pretty much walk from the very back of the ship to the front until you reached the Aurea Bar area. The starboard side stopped earlier during the day due to the Top 19 private deck area, but that was always open at night to stroll, and even during the first two days at sea it was open to walk through because of the not so ideal weather.

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.