Jim Zim's MSC Seaside Review With 84 Photos & 8 Videos

[MisterBill99]

Why would he know that he had to deal with a CREDIT on his account prior to being allowed to disembark? Why should he have to. They should have simply credited his credit card or zero out the onboard credit balance automatically. The way Msc handled this makes no sense whatsoever.

I found out during my cruise that they do not refund excess OBC, so I withdrew it at the casino (no fee!) during my cruise. What I'd read is that they keep the excess OBC. I guess having it flagged at exit is better than losing it entirely (unless it's a very small amount) but there should have been an effort made to alert them to take care of it before leaving. Or just refund the OBC to your card on file like everyone else does.

[js]

I found out during my cruise that they do not refund excess OBC, so I withdrew it at the casino (no fee!) during my cruise. What I'd read is that they keep the excess OBC. I guess having it flagged at exit is better than losing it entirely (unless it's a very small amount) but there should have been an effort made to alert them to take care of it before leaving. Or just refund the OBC to your card on file like everyone else does.

 

If it wasn't for reading Jim's review and now your post, there is NO way I would have known that I need to cash out any remaining OBC. It has always been just recredited back to our credit card. I am so happy to have at least taken this one important thing away from the review.

 

Jim, do you have any pictures of the gym fee/complimentary classes and times?

 

Thank you.

[MisterBill99]

Sorry! :(:( But the bottom Pizza looks very unappetizing! I prefer the thick crust pizza. Possibly with some onions scattered on top!

They had onion-topped pizzas a couple of times during the week.

[MisterBill99]

If it wasn't for reading Jim's review and now your post, there is NO way I would have known that I need to cash out any remaining OBC. It has always been just recredited back to our credit card. I am so happy to have at least taken this one important thing away from the review.

The important thing to take from this thread could be to book a different cruise, but I'm glad you found my info helpful.

 

Also, don't do what I did and initially register a debit card as your payment method (to avoid losing points when the credit hits) because they'll take money immediately and you'll have even more money you need to pull from the account.

[js]

The important thing to take from this thread could be to book a different cruise, but I'm glad you found my info helpful.

 

Also, don't do what I did and initially register a debit card as your payment method (to avoid losing points when the credit hits) because they'll take money immediately and you'll have even more money you need to pull from the account.

 

Thank you. We are sailing in two weeks so won't be canceling. Some of Jim's cons were things that wouldn't bother me or even things I would do (we never eat in the buffet for dinner, and didn't even when my kids were babies) and some things I can avoid, but because the review was so well thought out and explained in detail, I am able to understand why he liked/didn't like what he did and have a better idea if these are things that would be of concern to me.

 

I'll be staying in the YC just with my mom, and I expect this to be a different experience than Jim's and that I would have with my family and young-adult children. I would never register my debit card knowing on most/all cruiselines they pull money immediately as a hold.

 

 

I have another YC booked with my mom for February 2019 (we cruise together usually in February each year) and if we don't have a great experience, I'll just rebook that cruise, possibly for Celebrity Edge. When I sail with my mom, it is a completely different experience anyway and much more laid back than when I cruise with my dh or my 20 and 25 year old kids. I don't think we will be seeing any shows (we usually only go to comedy on NCL, DCL and RCCL) although we loved the piano bar with Ben on the CCL Breeze and also CCL comedy. If we are up at 11 pm in the evenings, I will make our way to the Improv but much prefer live comedians.

 

 

Thanks again for the tip about cashing out, I would be a very big inconvenience for me, as it was for Jim and others, to have to leave my mom with the bags and go to GS.

 

Thank you both!

[Fredric22]

Until Seaside, I'd never been in a pool on a cruise ship that did not have a shallow end. Agree with others that it was unacceptable. I'm 6' and could not find the 5' section in the jungle pool, it all seemed to be 6'.

 

Let's stop making excuses for a poor design decision.

 

You must not have been on many cruises then, because most cruise ships I have been on do not have a shallow end.

[MisterBill99]

I'll be staying in the YC just with my mom, and I expect this to be a different experience than Jim's and that I would have with my family and young-adult children. I would never register my debit card knowing on most/all cruiselines they pull money immediately as a hold.

Yes, you'll have a much better experience in the YC, especially food-wise (although someone I spoke to who was in YC didn't think the food was all that great there).

 

As for the debit card, I had no problem with them putting a hold on it as they did with the credit card. But that's not what they did. They pulled the $100 from my debit card and deposited it in my on-board account before I even spent it. The two are completely different things.

[MisterBill99]

You must not have been on many cruises then, because most cruise ships I have been on do not have a shallow end.

Same could be said of you. Let's just agree that different ships do things different ways.

 

IMHO, having an all-deep pool on a cruise ship is a foolish thing to do.

[nancynana9950]

Another great review! We have cruised on Carnival, Royal and NCL. Enjoyed all. Most reviews I have read on MSC have me thinking they might not be a good match for us. If, however, a really great itinerary along with a great price came up I would consider Yacht Club. In your post #8 video of the bar area there is a toddler sitting on the bar in a swim diaper or pull-up. Ewww. Anyone else see this?

 

 

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[abacus2283]

Firstly I want you to thank Jim for a great, objective review of his experiences on this cruise. In my opinion, one of the standout observations is the USA/European bias on a cruise out of American ports.

 

I’m hijacking this post because it’s raised a few questions, in my mind, that are still questions I have after 2 years on CC.

 

I am a Brit living in USA and I’m still not sure what people mean by “cruise lines tailored for the American market”.

 

However, my question isn’t so much about how MSC have tried to accommodate the American market but i want to turn this on its head. If I was to take a Carnival, RCI, NCL etc cruise in Europe would I get a different experience than if I sailed those same cruise lines out of USA ports?

 

 

 

 

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[Fredric22]

Same could be said of you. Let's just agree that different ships do things different ways.

 

IMHO, having an all-deep pool on a cruise ship is a foolish thing to do.

 

That may be true but it's a very common thing on cruise ships across most cruise lines. And trust me, I've been on a lot. 😉

[NYHartChapp]

That may be true but it's a very common thing on cruise ships across most cruise lines. And trust me, I've been on a lot. 😉

Mister Bill, Mister Bill. You're from Westchester...you must know you can't argue with someone from Brooklyn, they're always right ;).

[helenb]

Thank you for your detailed review @SpanielLover . I enjoyed all of your insights (both good and bad) and I am now very much looking forward to our upcoming June cruise (in YC).

 

Like you, I am a fan of salty foods/soups. However I don't mind food that is unsalted... because I can always add my own salt! If the butter is unsalted, I'll just sprinkle some on top! If the soup isn't salty enough, I will sprinkle some on and stir it around. It's much easier to add salt than remove it.

 

So that being said... were there saltshakers available on the tables in the buffet and MDR?

 

For everyone else, the orange stuff on the 'thick' pizza is cheddar cheese. In California, I've seen lots of places that sprinkle on a few shreds of cheddar on top of a pizza. I don't know why, but it tastes fine.

 

Also, the California Pizza Kitchen chain makes thin crust wood-oven pizza... so my perception living in California is that there are lots of different pizza styles, and they are all good.

 

I just had to make one tongue-in-cheek comment though.... The Frank Sinatra songs were sung with an Italian accent... wasn't Frank of Italian heritage? So that seems like an appropriate homage to me. ;)

[MisterBill99]

Mister Bill, Mister Bill. You're from Westchester...you must know you can't argue with someone from Brooklyn, they're always right ;).

I'm originally from Queens, so I'm right.

[mafig]

I just had to make one tongue-in-cheek comment though.... The Frank Sinatra songs were sung with an Italian accent... wasn't Frank of Italian heritage? So that seems like an appropriate homage to me. ;)

 

 

He was, indeed. However, he didn't sing with an Italian accent. He spoke with a slight Joisey accent but didn't sing with one either, at least I didn't think he did. (Hard for me to recognize that accent, since I'm from NJ and "probably" have that accent too)

[Lovetocruise2002]

With the pools all 6ft deep, are there life jackets available for children?

 

 

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[filbo132]

I have italian heritage, so this ship would suit me. Now my question to you, which beaches excursions did you do. I am thinking of booking only beaches excursions, but I am not sure which one. Oh, and what languages do the staff speak in general...the reason I ask is because I can speak English, italian, french and a poor spanish. I could communicate with their language of choice.

[moonlightgraham]

Your comment is right on target, actually. We did do a land vacation in Maui last year, which I don't publicize, so nobody knows we did that. But more importantly, we are currently looking at adding some kind of Mexican all-inclusive land resort vacation to our 2018 lineup.

 

 

 

But the reason I think cruises are really a better fit for us is the entertainment in the evening, especially the comedy and music. I think I can generally get a lot more entertainment in the evening on a cruise than I could at a land resort.

 

 

 

The Royal Hacienda Resort in Playa del Carman comes equipped with jacuzzi tubs on the balcony. I’m sure there are plenty more but we go there often and can highly recommend it.

 

 

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[Cafedumonde]

What New York do people live in who say the msc pizza looks like NY pizza? No way. Looks like cheap frozen pizza.

[pukekolive]

How is cheddar cheese ever orange? When it's made naturally it is a light creamy yellow colour - we saw orange cheese in the U.S. in May 2017 it looks absolutely gross!

 

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[sidari]

White, yellow and Orange are common colours of Chedder Cheese ... :D

[just erica]

What New York do people live in who say the msc pizza looks like NY pizza? No way. Looks like cheap frozen pizza.

 

If you see it in person it doesn't look like frozen pizza. It looks amazing! I would say one of the best parts of the Seaside cruise is this pizza. Super super authentic!

[n8botting]

The important thing to take from this thread could be to book a different cruise, but I'm glad you found my info helpful.

 

Also, don't do what I did and initially register a debit card as your payment method (to avoid losing points when the credit hits) because they'll take money immediately and you'll have even more money you need to pull from the account.

 

Can you explain this more? When you register your debit card, are you authorizing a certain amount? lets say for example $1000. Are you saying they immediately debit your bank account the $1000?

[tjlj]

Can you explain this more? When you register your debit card, are you authorizing a certain amount? lets say for example $1000. Are you saying they immediately debit your bank account the $1000?

The best method is credit card or cash... debit cards are not good to use on ships.... Too many bad storys..

 

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[LMaxwell]

What New York do people live in who say the msc pizza looks like NY pizza? No way. Looks like cheap frozen pizza.

 

Well they hand toss dough in front of your face and put the pizza into real pizza ovens. How did you taste the MSC pizza, licking your screen?