The "Experiences" on Seaside

[shipgeeks]

Every time I think I understand the pros and cons of the different experiences, I find myself wondering.....

We only want late traditional dining, so Bella is good, even if assigned to 9:30.

We don't mind where on the ship our cabin is, including all the way forward or aft, as long as it is oceanview.  (Are any OV cabins badly obstructed?)

We would never use room service.

Based on these, Bella seems to be a good choice.  Are we missing something?

 

 

[Beamafar]

Other than there are sometimes promotions for Fantastica bookings, then ... no!  (Currently, in Ireland and UK, the Premium drinks package is being included for Fantastica on selected sailings).

[Reenie75]

I sailed on the Seaside August 2018 Bella Balcony. Your reasons were the same as mine and I had no problems and enjoyed my cruise. I called in to MSC and discussed I wanted to be near an elevator and not above clubs or kitchen (noise) got a great location. Did the same thing on my next cruise we will be sailing the Mergilvia. Bonus is we receive the easy package! 

 

Edited February 3, 2019 by Reenie75

[hummer88]

52 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

Every time I think I understand the pros and cons of the different experiences, I find myself wondering.....

We only want late traditional dining, so Bella is good, even if assigned to 9:30.

We don't mind where on the ship our cabin is, including all the way forward or aft, as long as it is oceanview.  (Are any OV cabins badly obstructed?)

We would never use room service.

Based on these, Bella seems to be a good choice.  Are we missing something?

 

 

I would say you are not.  If you are good with the late dining time (which I think is the least requested), and you have your OV room, I would not spend the extra money, even if it was $20 a person.  There is really no other reason in my mind, unless the Fantastica had a different promo for drinks, go with the bella

[shipgeeks]

Thank you, all.

[ready2cruzagain]

We did 32 days on the Divina in Bella last December, I loved every second of the cruise. 

[Into Cruising]

I may be missing something, but if your main concern is your dining time, you are taking a risk in going with Bella, which means a time will be assigned to you.   There is no guarantee a request to change an assigned 5:30 seating will be honored.  Many will say they had no problems, but there are those that did.   As some one said in the Caribbean there are more North Americans, who prefer to eat earlier, however, I have heard someone say that the majority on board is still European.   And they prefer to eat late.   I am just saying if the dining time is of utmost importance, then choose an experience that offers a choice in dining times.

[shipgeeks]

No, dining time is not crucial, but having an assigned time is.  We are not willing to do "flexible/my time" type dining.

My understanding is that one can request either Early or Late times, and that Bella passengers are more likely to be given 9:30 than 7:30, if choosing Late.  

[Into Cruising]

Sorry, I was not even aware that Bella could request any seating and were just assigned one.

[Into Cruising]

Ah, I see you can request early or late and will be assigned a time  Here is the offerings:

                                             EArly                                  Late

MSC SEASIDE Ipanema 5:15 pm                   7:15 pm and 9:15 pm*

MSC SEASIDE Seashore 5:30 pm                  7:30 pm and 9:30 pm*

 

Bella and Fantastica guests request an early or late dining option at time of booking. Aurea guests have freely selectable My Choice dining times. Dining requests are on a first come, first served basis. We will make every effort to accommodate your request, however there is no guarantee that you will be assigned to your preferred time. Your dining time and table number will be confirmed upon embarkation. Changes are permissible once on board.

[puschi1906]

The only reason we booked Fantastica is that we can choose our dining time. 9:30 pm would be way too late for us. We are Europeans but not from Southern Europe 😉 We are not used to eat dinner that late. 

If you are fine with any dining option you get assigned to,  there is no need to spend extra money on the Fantastica experience. 

[shipgeeks]

Reading other MSC posts, some have mentioned having their Experience and/or cabin upgraded.

We would be booking an OV cabin, and Bella in order to have fixed dining.

We prefer OV to a balcony, but would accept that if upgraded.

However, if we were "upgraded" to Aurea, would we be required to accept My Choice dining?  IMO, that would not be an advantage at all?  How would we rectify that?

 

[Epos Man]

if you are offered the mychoice dining then you just choose the 9.30 slot do you not

[shipgeeks]

No; we want to be at the same table, same waiters, same dinner companions each night.  Traditional dining.

[reedprincess]

59 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

No; we want to be at the same table, same waiters, same dinner companions each night.  Traditional dining.

Same table and wait staff is not a problem with MyChoice. The maitre'd asks if you have a preference for where you sit/servers, just tell then you want the same ones every night.. no problem 

There's free large tables in MyChoice area, but the tables for two are so close together you end up chatting with your neighbors if you want.  Whether they'd be the same every night would depend in whether they all came at the same time nightly and requested the same section also. 

 

IME - if yore "upgraded" to a different stateroom, you do not get that stateroom's experience. If you're booked Fantastica and abd are uigrsded time an Aurea room, you don't get the Aurea perks. You're still under the Fantastica experience. So, bo changes to your dining experience. 

 

[shipgeeks]

Thank you, that finally makes sense!

[kiminey65]

We booked a Bella OV last year with a request for early dining. We did get upgraded to a Fantastica balcony and upon boarding we were assigned 9:15 in Ipenema. That was unacceptable to us so we immediately went to the m'aitre d and requested "early" dining as previously specified. They did accommodate us with a 5:15, which honestly is a little too early for my liking but it was certainly better than the original 9:15 slot.

 

I tell anyone who asks me, that booking Bella is basically lowering your pecking order with coveted dining slots. You will be treated absolutely the same as everyone else. We had a great time. And because you don't care about location, or room service and want the least (overall) popular dining time, I would say you are wise to pocket your money and book Bella. Worse case scenario is you won't be allotted the dining time of your choice, and you immediately upon boarding go to restaurant to request a late time. Believe me, there will be plenty of people in line hoping for the early slots to be on offer.

 

Enjoy your Bella booking. We sure did!!!!