First MSC Cruise-- Seaside March 17-24 Review

[hefty244]

I appreciate you specifically mentioning the benefits of Aurora. We're in the process of picking an MSC cruise date for later this year and the YC only has availability in royal suite making it more than we wish to spend. We're trying to decide between a different week (which would be less convenient with our schedule) or getting an Aurora suite on the week we prefer (which would be the cost of the YC balcony). Any opinion on our (first world!) quandary?

[iambumbo]

The Aurea balconies on deck 14 look bigger on the deck plans than the Aurea balconies on 15, is that the case?

 

How dressed up do people get on elegant nights? I know all cruise lines differ on these nights so just want to make sure we don’t overdress or underdress. We’ve just come back from a p & o cruise and almost all the men wore black tie on these nights. Many thanks. Maria

 

I wasn't in any balconies on deck 15 so I can't answer to that, but I assume they are basically the same size. Staying on deck 14 reinforced my desire to avoid the deck 9 Aurea cabins. While deck 9 had extended balconies including some cover, they totally lacked privacy as everyone could look down on them from above, as well as from the side.

 

I can assure you that almost all men on this ship were not black tie on elegant nights. I would describe it as typical for mainstream American lines like RCL/NCL. Most women dressed up, many suits and a handful of tuxedos on the men. Others wore basic dresses, or men in dress shirts with no jackets. Some still wore jeans. As is often the case in the Caribbean, many opted to change clothes after dinner for the night out.

[iambumbo]

Great review ! I love all of the details ! Two questions . .

 

What did you think about the coffee available in the buffets ? I don't like the Specialty Coffee served in Venchi , I just like plain black coffee .

 

And secondly , what was your impression of the on board shops? Any great offerings or bargains ? TIA

 

Alas, I am not a coffee drinker at all so can't comment on the coffee. My GF got a few frappucinos from Venchi and said they were OK.

 

The GF did most of the walking through the shops but didn't buy anything or even come close, from which I deduced either the pickings were slim or the prices were high as usually something interests her. I didn't pay too close attention but they have the usual flash discount sales on watches, jewelry, perfume, etc. on sea days. They had 2 for $20 t-shirts on the last sea day and I bought a couple, that was my only onboard purchase.

[iambumbo]

No craps table at the casino! This is the first I've read about that, thanks for letting us know, as that is my favorite game. If the blackjack or poker was only $5 I might have been tempted as they're not my favorite but sometimes fun, but for $10, I think I'll be leaving my casino money at home. :(

 

That's actually a good point I should make though-- no regular Texas Hold 'Em poker tables, although they did have a few poker offshoot table games. I'm with you in limiting my budget to $5 tables, although I'll increase my bet size when the table runs well. Think I played the $5 BJ happy hour table for about an hour on the 3 sea days and won all 3 days for a total of just under $100. I had fun and dealers were pleasant. :)

 

Tip for the $5 table seekers though-- they advertise the happy hours in the daily newsletter but do not change the posted minimum amounts on the tables. If you ask, they'll say sure, you can play for $5 but they don't go out of their way in the casino to make people know. Never run across that before.

[iambumbo]

I appreciate you specifically mentioning the benefits of Aurora. We're in the process of picking an MSC cruise date for later this year and the YC only has availability in royal suite making it more than we wish to spend. We're trying to decide between a different week (which would be less convenient with our schedule) or getting an Aurora suite on the week we prefer (which would be the cost of the YC balcony). Any opinion on our (first world!) quandary?

 

I consider me and the GF to be fairly typical American cruisers who aren't overly demanding and generally go with the flow. That being the case, I found the Aurea benefits to be excellent value and more than sufficient to cover our needs. I also like to be more active on vacation rather than just sitting around relaxing all the time, so personally, I don't know that I'd ever want to do Yacht Club as frankly I feel like the environment might be a little too sedentary for my tastes and I'd be wandering around the ship most of the time anyways. While I appreciate you get a lot of extra Yacht Club perks, for us, I don't think it would justify the cost difference from Aurea. I can only say you should decide which factors are most important to you and make your decision based on that.

 

 

On a side note, for anyone questioning whether to upgrade to Aurea, if you are a moderate/heavy drinker like us on vacation, the cost of the drink package alone usually covers the difference between a Bella and Aurea cabin, not to mention the added benefits of the massage and thermal spa, better balcony location, anytime dining, and the few other random perks. For us it was and will continue to be a no-brainer should we return to MSC.

[iambumbo]

Answering other posters' questions made a few more thoughts come to mind that I think are worth mentioning:

 

Age... I don't know if it was because it was spring break season, or the intended market being attracted, or just an odd week, but we both observed that the average passenger age was significantly lower than I'd seen on other mainstream American cruises. I would estimate the average age was probably closer to 45 vs. 55+ you usually see. While of course there were lots of kids, what was missing was the usual number of very elderly folks. I think I saw only 1-2 scooters/wheelchairs that were age vs. injury related, and a handful of canes. I'm not saying this as a good or bad thing, but a noticeable observation which may or may not have been an anomaly.

 

Future cruise options... We enjoyed our cruise to the point that we would definitely consider another MSC cruise if the price and itinerary were right. The problem is that we pretty much limit ourselves to the Caribbean and right now there are relatively few options for 7-8 day cruises which is our standard. We love Southern Caribbean cruises, but the only MSC option ports out of Guadalupe/Martinique, which would be cost-prohibitive as the cost of flying into those ports vs. San Juan would add another $750-$1000 total to our expenses. If MSC is serious about infiltrating the American market, they need to offer several more sailings to the Caribbean in the 7-8 day range and perhaps consider moving a ship to San Juan.

 

Will be continuing the rest of my review shortly!

[resstation]

I appreciate you specifically mentioning the benefits of Aurora. We're in the process of picking an MSC cruise date for later this year and the YC only has availability in royal suite making it more than we wish to spend. We're trying to decide between a different week (which would be less convenient with our schedule) or getting an Aurora suite on the week we prefer (which would be the cost of the YC balcony). Any opinion on our (first world!) quandary?

Yes, wait until you can get a YC cabin. You will NEVER regret it. Worth every single penny.

 

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Some pics from sailaway day.

 

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[iambumbo]

Sneak preview of our day in Nassau!

 

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Sneak preview of our day in St. Thomas!

 

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[Booboochase]

Great pics! Where were you in Nassau?

[mardavbetale]

I wasn't in any balconies on deck 15 so I can't answer to that, but I assume they are basically the same size. Staying on deck 14 reinforced my desire to avoid the deck 9 Aurea cabins. While deck 9 had extended balconies including some cover, they totally lacked privacy as everyone could look down on them from above, as well as from the side.

 

I can assure you that almost all men on this ship were not black tie on elegant nights. I would describe it as typical for mainstream American lines like RCL/NCL. Most women dressed up, many suits and a handful of tuxedos on the men. Others wore basic dresses, or men in dress shirts with no jackets. Some still wore jeans. As is often the case in the Caribbean, many opted to change clothes after dinner for the night out.

 

That’s great info. Sorry I misread which deck you were staying on, but the info on deck 9 was much appreciated. We’re actually booked on deck 9 but don’t fancy people looking down on us from balconies above, we had that experience on ncl escape and it wasn’t for us so I will get our room changed.

 

Thanks again for the info

[karmic50]

THE "UNUSUAL" STUFF

 

 

 

-- Because of the language differences, the shows were mostly the same, focusing on dancing and visual effects. They also offer 3 shorter shows each night instead of the usual two, which I liked as I could catch the 7pm show while the GF got herself primped up, go back and get cleaned up myself, and then head to dinner.

 

-

 

 

Sorry, don't agree with you on the shows. They were completely different every night. You forgot singing in your description of the show. The singers had amazing voices. The majority of people I spoke to enjoyed the 30-40 minutes shows. I believe that is the perfect time for shows.

[mom2tcdx2]

Sorry, don't agree with you on the shows. They were completely different every night. You forgot singing in your description of the show. The singers had amazing voices. The majority of people I spoke to enjoyed the 30-40 minutes shows. I believe that is the perfect time for shows.

 

My sister had the same opinion on Divina, that all the shows were the same. While I on the other hand realize they all had similar themes, and costumes/songs are different, all put in the Cirque type acts which really led my sister to feeling they were all the same. I will say I didn't mind them, while she thought they were awful.

 

My guess is on the Seaside they are all still implementing the Cirque type acts which leads to the similar feeling theme.

[thegraminator]

Great pictures ! Thanks for sharing ! It appears that you had really great weather !

[JstChilling]

Than you so much for posting this review!!

I have a reservation for that very same stateroom and it states that is a connecting room. Did you have any issues with noise from the people next door at all?

[iambumbo]

Than you so much for posting this review!!

I have a reservation for that very same stateroom and it states that is a connecting room. Did you have any issues with noise from the people next door at all?

 

Nothing from inside the cabin, although they did make some noise on the balcony. Funny thing happened the first night. Around 11:30pm (we were still awake, no big deal), someone in that connecting room tried opening the connecting door for like 10 seconds-- I was very glad I had made sure it was locked earlier that day!

 

Planning on finishing off my review later today-- thanks for your patience!

[JstChilling]

Ok thank you so much!! That makes me feel better I hope I don’t get noisy neighbors🤞🏽

 

Which day is the Captain night or formal night? I’ve been trying to look for info on their website but I don’t see anything but general entertainment info😕

[Cullyman15]

Ok thank you so much!! That makes me feel better I hope I don’t get noisy neighbors🤞🏽

 

Which day is the Captain night or formal night? I’ve been trying to look for info on their website but I don’t see anything but general entertainment info😕

 

Will there be 1 or 2 formal nights on the 7 day cruise on Seaside?

[iambumbo]

Will there be 1 or 2 formal nights on the 7 day cruise on Seaside?

There were two elegant nights on our 7-Day cruise. The first was Monday, the first day at sea, and the second was Thursday, the second day at sea. Obviously the days may vary depending on different itineraries.

 

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[Cullyman15]

There were two elegant nights on our 7-Day cruise. The first was Monday, the first day at sea, and the second was Thursday, the second day at sea. Obviously the days may vary depending on different itineraries.

 

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Thanks this helps

 

MC

[DCGuy64]

Great review, enjoying it immensely. We’re also booked in an Aurea balcony on deck 14, actually pretty close to where you were. Thanks for taking the time to write about your experience, it’s so helpful. PS we also opted for the Premium drinks package and can’t wait for that! [emoji4] Thanks!

 

 

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[iambumbo]

PORTS/EXCURSIONS--

 

Our itinerary this week was the last one including St. Thomas/Antigua before the ship reverts to its original San Juan/St. Maarten itinerary. First stop was Nassau. We usually do most excursions on our own but we had some extra OBC so we went through the ship for our Nassau and St. Thomas excursions.

 

Nassau-- We booked the VIP Blue Lagoon experience which I think cost $139/pp. We were picked up right outside the pier and loaded onto a double-decker boat for our trip to the Blue Lagoon, which is a private island/beach getaway. After about a 25 minute ride which takes you past Atlantis and some beautiful waterfront homes, we arrived at Blue Lagoon and were whisked away to our separate portion of the beach. You're given a beach chair and umbrella and offered waitress service for bottled water or lemonade, or cash bar for liquor. The water was a bit chilly as a cold front had passed through the previous week and it was only about mid-70s, so we alternated laying out and taking a dip. Around 11:30 we were provided lunch which included chicken/fish, salad, and a few other options. After lunch I went for a walk around the island and saw about 3-4 different dolphin experiences taking place, which were fun to watch. The other side of the island has a few beaches which are non-VIP (presumably no extras or wait service), along with another VIP beach. I wish I'd known about that one ahead of time as it was not just a closed bay like the one we were assigned to originally. Instead, this one was open ocean and more scenic. Tip-- if you take this excursion, wander the island before you decide on which beach to settle down on. Around 2:15, we caught the boat back to the port and had to board right away as the ship was setting sail within a half hour (we were delayed arriving into Nassau by a half hour so Captain Massa delayed departure a half hour to compensate). They cranked up the music and made it a dance party as we heading back to the port. All in all, a fun day and a beautiful beach stop but probably only worth about half what we paid. Glad we used OBC.

 

St. Thomas-- We booked the 2-stop catamaran snorkeling tour which I think cost $65 through the ship. We were escorted down the pier to our boat, which was technically a cat but really looked like just a big 75-person boat. We sailed to Turtle Cove at Buck Island. We saw one turtle with the group and then went off on our own to tour the area because there were several groups getting in each other's way. Unfortunately the snorkel masks we were provided were very poor quality and kept fogging. (I've snorkeled about 25 times before so I know it wasn't me.) Not the end of the world though as the recent hurricane had clearly damaged the underwater life as there was much less to see than the last time I'd visited. We reboarded our boat and then went to a beach stop on a little island southwest of Charlotte Amalie. This was a nice stop as I'd never made it over here on my previous St. Thomas ventures and we enjoyed about an hour there with some free rum punch. We then sailed back to the ship and then wandered the nearby shops for about 90 minutes to pick up souvenirs for ourselves and the family back home. Overall the excursion was fun, although it would have benefited from about 1/3 fewer people and better snorkeling equipment.

 

Antigua-- We booked the Xtreme Circumnavigation Tour through Adventure Antigua on our own. You put down $25 online and then if you paid the $128 balance in cash on arrival, you got a 10% discount. This trip takes you around the entire island via speedboat. Our meeting point was right outside the pier and after a quick stop at Sandals to pick up some other passengers, we were on our way. First stop was Stingray City, which is an open water shallow area in which many huge stringrays call home. These stingrays were huge too, I'll bet the males were about 5 feet across. I liked it better than Stingray Island in the Caymans, which was more packed and had smaller rays than this one. Tour guides will take your picture holding a stingray (for purchase) and after about a half hour in the water (nothing else to see here besides the rays), we reboarded. Next stop was an early lunch on a nice beach (Green Beach) where some kitesurfers were zooming around nearby. Provided the usual port lunch: chicken, a few salads, banana bread, soda, etc. We then headed to Nelson's Dockyard, where our guide pointed out the historical highlights. Right outside the Dockyard we stopped at Pillars of Hercules to snorkel. Only about half or less of our group (which totaled maybe 20) went in the water on this stop as water was kind of rough but it was well worth the effort. The pillars were very cool to see from the water, and the huge boulders underneath the water were something I'd never seen before on a snorkel stop. Last stop is Rendezvous Bay which was basically only accessible by water and truly one of the most amazing beaches I've ever seen. The GF said it was even more beautiful than Trunk Bay in St. John and I agreed. The boat can only go in to about 8 feet so you have to swim into shore (or wear a life vest, as I did) and we're so glad we did (only about 1/3 of the group made the trip, which puzzled me). We then sailed back to our original pickup point, having covered the entire circumference of the island. We wandered through the shops and picked up some more souvenirs before reboarding the ship to enjoy our last two days at sea. Overall, a fun trip and very glad we did it. Pro tip if you do this tour-- if you don't want to get completely drenched, don't sit in the last row, left side. I found it refreshing but afterward only half-jokingly said now I know what it feels like to be waterboarded. ;p

 

Next topic-- The Staff/Service onboard... plus the long-awaited "worst ever"!

[Europeantraveler1]

Anxious to read the rest of your post...!!!!!

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Our day in Antigua...

 

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