Princess cruiser booked MSC Seaside. A few questions.

[WannaCruise365]

Hello

I’m Elite on Princess but the Loyalty Match has me booked on MSC. Applied Monday was given Black status when I booked my cruise Tuesday.

 

1 Can you bring water onboard? 

2 Is there a sauna in the Seaside fitness center?

3  Is there a decent salad bar in the buffet at lunch and dinner? 

4  Is Fantasias vs Bella basically being able to pick your cabin? I see the 12 drinks are no longer.

5 Are there any internet deals ( better than pre-cruise once onboard? 

6, What cold drinks a free in the buffet? Lemon aid or tea?

 

Thank you so much to anyone that can provide some answers.

[sailco]

1 hour ago, WannaCruise365 said:

Hello

I’m Elite on Princess but the Loyalty Match has me booked on MSC. Applied Monday was given Black status when I booked my cruise Tuesday.

 

1 Can you bring water onboard? 

2 Is there a sauna in the Seaside fitness center?

3  Is there a decent salad bar in the buffet at lunch and dinner? 

4  Is Fantasias vs Bella basically being able to pick your cabin? I see the 12 drinks are no longer.

5 Are there any internet deals ( better than pre-cruise once onboard? 

6, What cold drinks a free in the buffet? Lemon aid or tea?

 

Thank you so much to anyone that can provide some answers.

We recently returned from our first MSC cruise. We were status matched to black as well and I highly recommend you attend all the Black Card functions. They're really good and nothing like you've probably experienced on Princess.

 

1. We arrived with the bottles we were drinking from and returned with opened water bottles when we came back after port visits. BUT the Easy Beverage package was excellent. There are plenty of recent threads here explaining it and commenting.

3.Yes. The bigger ships have two buffets with plenty of fresh fruit and salad.

4. The main differences between Bella and Fantastica are cabin position and free delivery of room service orders.

5. We prepurchased the Standard Internet package for one device. It's the cheapest option and it was perfect for checking emails, updating facebook, etc. We had more than a GB left over at disembark which has never happened to us before. But people say it's not good if you want to face time or skype.

6. Did you mean hot tea? Yes...tea and coffee. There's also water and soda. Juice at breakfast only.

 

Enjoy your cruise. We were really surprised at the quality and inclusions not to mention the excellent value for money. We'll definitely be sailing with them again.

 

[reedprincess]

12 hours ago, WannaCruise365 said:

Hello

I’m Elite on Princess but the Loyalty Match has me booked on MSC. Applied Monday was given Black status when I booked my cruise Tuesday.

 

12 hours ago, WannaCruise365 said:

1 Can you bring water onboard? No. Not allowed at embarkation. Some have managed to sneak some aboard, but many other not. YMMV. Bring a bottle back from ports generally isn't a problem.

2 Is there a sauna in the Seaside fitness center?  Not as far as I know, and not in locker rooms Thermal Suite is the steam and sauna, hydro pool, etc. 

3  Is there a decent salad bar in the buffet at lunch and dinner? We found the salad bar pretty darn great in the buffet. There's both the separate 

4  Is Fantasias vs Bella basically being able to pick your cabin? I see the 12 drinks are no longer.you can pick your cabin with any Experience level, including Bella.

Fantastica has "better" cabin locations (always subjective), and has free room service delivery most hours of the day (Bella has charge for room service). Fantastica also has priority in choice if dining time.

5 Are there any internet deals ( better than pre-cruise once onboard?  Everything is less expensive in advance than onboard with MSC. Internet, Spa, dining packages, Excursions, laundry packages, etc - all less expensive in advance than onboard, Even beverage packages are less expensive in advance as they don't charge the 15% service charge if booked or upgraded in advance versus onbaord 

6, What cold drinks a free in the buffet? Lemon aid or tea?  All basics - water, coffee, tea, lemonade, some flavored water/juices .. 

 

Thank you so much to anyone that can provide some answers.

See above 

We too are Elites on Princess abd absolutely loved our sailings on Seaside - we thoroughly enjoyed the differences, and embraced them.  The food was great, service was quick and efficient, activities were good fun, the Theme Nights were fun and different, and the shows were amazing.  

[WannaCruise365]

Thank you so much for the replies! Anything else such as tips, suggestions for a new MSC cruiser will be much appreciated! 

[Beamafar]

As a Black Card holder, you'll be entitled to a one-hour session in the Thermal Area of the Spa to enjoy the saunas and steam rooms.