Torn, Horizon or MSC Seaside

[Ocean Cat]

I know I like the Carnival product, I’ve recently sailed on The Breeze. However, I think that the Breeze and Horizon would be too similar an experience. I’d like a new experience. The idea of the opulence inside the Seaside appeals to me but the service and food reviews concern me. The 6 night itinerary on The Horizon is more to my liking  versus Seasides 7 night itinerary. Carnival will be about $250 more when factoring in drinks and WiFi  for both with the same ports of call. Anyone been on both? Airfare looking the same for both of the dates I’m looking at too. 

[yogibear]

12 minutes ago, ronbe65 said:

We are looking at the Horizon for 2020 (for a B2B with a different ship), but need a 7-day cruise with four ports. 

 

Happy cruising!

That would be a Side-to-Side cruise.

 

Karen

[tallnthensome]

The food on the MSC Seaside was way better in the buffet and MDR than the Vista Class ships in our opinion. 

[tigger54]

Loved the Seaside.

[Ocean Cat]

Taller I thought the buffet food on The Breeze was inedible but I still enjoyed my cruise with them. They have so many other food choices it doesn’t matter. I sat down with my husband and we’ve decided on Seaside. Thanks. 

Edited June 8, 2019 by Ocean Cat

[PunkyH]

58 minutes ago, Ocean Cat said:

Taller I thought the buffet food on The Breeze was inedible but I still enjoyed my cruise with them. They have so many other food choices it doesn’t matter. I sat down with my husband and we’ve decided on Seaside. Thanks. 

We loved the Seaside!!! A lot of people, over 5100. The shows were fabulous and the cruise director has made everything more 

American!! Can't wait to go again.

[Illbcruzn4life]

3 hours ago, yogibear said:

That would be a Side-to-Side cruise.

 

Karen

 

never heard of such a thing.

[evandbob]

We enjoyed the Seaside, except for a few minor quirks, like having to put a $60 deposit on a Sharps container and having to personally pick it up and deliver it back to the nurses station on the next to the last sailing day.

 

We thought the food in the Seaside MDR was comparable to Carnival's, while the theater entertainment and over all ships' decor was classier than the Horizon.  Carnival had the LED atrium and comedy shows.  The Seaside had several glass walkways while the Horizon had the Sky bike.

 

We would sail either ship again.

 

BTW, side to side is a common term for successive cruises on different ships.

[havanadaydreaming]

Ocean Cat,

 

we have been on the Breeze and MSC Divina, which are pretty comparable to your two choices.  My two cents(I liked both ships):

 

MSC - completely different experience than Carnival.  I give them higher marks for the buffet and the entertainment shows. lots of different pizza selections daily.  It was explained to us that the entertainment was geared more towards the visual/aural instead of language comprehension...what I mean is that people from all countries could enjoy the shows, not just English speaking folk. The ship announcements, and the captains', were in 4+ languages each day which I thought was cool. 

 

MDR takes longer than other cruise lines, be prepared for 90+ mins.  slooooooooow food delivery. 

 

CARNIVAL - loved the Breeze and I think you were correct in it being pretty comparable to the Horizon. 

 

 

[Moz]

There is really no comparison between Carnival and MSC.  We were frequent cruisers on Carnival until we tried Seaside.  The ship is beautiful and very spacious for the crowds.  The food is equal or slightly above Carnival especially for late night snacks the buffet is loaded with them, plus as mentioned the pizza is excellent and absolutely no waiting in lines,  Overall much more elegant.  The greatest difference we experienced were the clientele, just a different atmosphere so take it from there,  Lots of activity and a fun environment without being out of line,  We are booked again on the Seaside this fall.  Sadly Carnival is going downhill.  Also the Seaside was cheaper considering beverage package.

[TrinaLC]

If you are looking for a different experience, absolutely go for the Seaside!  I respectfully disagree with the earlier responder. The food is as good or better than Carnival. Just make sure you know there are two buffets, one much larger, and to go all the way around looking for the options. 

 

 

[AHS123]

Torn between two cruise lines, feelin' like a fool
Lovin' both of you is breakin' all the rules
 

[modes]

On 6/8/2019 at 12:30 PM, Ocean Cat said:

I know I like the Carnival product, I’ve recently sailed on The Breeze. However, I think that the Breeze and Horizon would be too similar an experience. I’d like a new experience. The idea of the opulence inside the Seaside appeals to me but the service and food reviews concern me. The 6 night itinerary on The Horizon is more to my liking  versus Seasides 7 night itinerary. Carnival will be about $250 more when factoring in drinks and WiFi  for both with the same ports of call. Anyone been on both? Airfare looking the same for both of the dates I’m looking at too. 

Seaside is a more beautiful ship and it has far superior entertainment and better food with more variety.

[scpirate]

On 6/8/2019 at 3:30 PM, Ocean Cat said:

I know I like the Carnival product, I’ve recently sailed on The Breeze. However, I think that the Breeze and Horizon would be too similar an experience. I’d like a new experience. The idea of the opulence inside the Seaside appeals to me but the service and food reviews concern me. The 6 night itinerary on The Horizon is more to my liking  versus Seasides 7 night itinerary. Carnival will be about $250 more when factoring in drinks and WiFi  for both with the same ports of call. Anyone been on both? Airfare looking the same for both of the dates I’m looking at too. 

I chose msc but I'm not a carnival lover.my wife is so we alternate.yes msc was cheaper and you get an extra day.ive been on seaside not long after it launched.its different.if you really like carnival then stick with them I don't think you will like the msc product.but there is only one way to know for sure.

[scpirate]

On 6/8/2019 at 8:30 PM, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

never heard of such a thing.

It's kinda of like the tender turning into a water shuttle.its what we do on the "fun"ships.

[Cafedumonde]

Jim zim has a seaside review on utube that is very informative.

[PhillyFan33579]

On 6/8/2019 at 8:30 PM, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

never heard of such a thing.

 

That’s because no one in the cruise industry uses that term except for certain people on cruise critic. 

[RRat]

To those who have been on both, did MSC have a more strict dress code?  If so, is it enforced?

 

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, RRat said:

To those who have been on both, did MSC have a more strict dress code?  If so, is it enforced?

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=545#msc

 

[RRat]

Thank you BlerkOne. My husband won’t wear a suit. Just wondering if MSC enforces it in their MDR.  

[Cruise Cynic]

1 hour ago, RRat said:

Thank you BlerkOne. My husband won’t wear a suit. Just wondering if MSC enforces it in their MDR.  

 

Never wore a suit (or a shirt and tie for that matter) on my last sailing on Seaside, and we ate in the dining room every night.

Absolutely hated pretty much everything about it though. Worst cruise of all. You have to LOVE opera and Cirque du Soleil to like their main shows. And pray hard you never have to correct anything at Guest Services... their uncaring attitude is legendary.

Edited June 11, 2019 by Cruise Cynic

[tallnthensome]

3 hours ago, RRat said:

Thank you BlerkOne. My husband won’t wear a suit. Just wondering if MSC enforces it in their MDR.  

No, I never wore a suit and never saw anyone else except on formal night. Their codes aren't enforced like most other lines as well. 

[tallnthensome]

2 hours ago, Cruise Cynic said:

 

Never wore a suit (or a shirt and tie for that matter) on my last sailing on Seaside, and we ate in the dining room every night.

Absolutely hated pretty much everything about it though. Worst cruise of all. You have to LOVE opera and Cirque du Soleil to like their main shows. And pray hard you never have to correct anything at Guest Services... their uncaring attitude is legendary.

Sorry you had a bad experience but ours was a wonderful one. We thought that "Timeless" with Michael Jackson was the best show we'd ever seen at sea on the Seaside but you didn't even mention it. Food, ship, service, drinks package were beyond anything we've had on Carnival. 

[Lineaway]

I second the Jim Zim Utube video.  Very unbiased review and a well put together video tour.  I actually have made some travel decisions based on a couple of his reviews.   

[havanadaydreaming]

I thought the Michael Jackson show and the Queen show on MSC were very enjoyable.   I also thought the staff was very pleasant to interact with and the CD/Captain both clearly wanted to promote the MSC brand during interactions and made it well known that MSC was looking to grow, big time, in USA market.  

 

I think Carnival's live bands one up MSC's and nothing MSC has compares with the Dive In movies.  The MDR is much, much faster service but entrees are very comparable.  Carnival has more things to do during the day like trivia, etc, etc.  

 

MSC wins on pizza and Carnival on Guy's fresh made burgers.  MSC's main theatre shows are head and shoulders above CCL. 

 

I thought the rooms were comparable but MSC didn't "wow" me with rooms on newest, at the time, ship.  I thought they would have exceeded Carnival's but they really didn't.  Equal.  We had balcony rooms on both, fyi.