MSC Seaside 7/6-7/13. A family perspective

[JoeFo44]

Before going on the Seaside I scoured the internet looking for reviews.  I found what most people find about MSC.  People either love it or hate it.  A lot of the reviews on CC are from the YC point of view.  I couldn’t find anything substantial from the view of a couple with young children on the boat.  So here it is...

 

Overview

We took a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise on the Seaside out of Miami.  It was me, my wife, my son (6), my daughter (4), my mom, and my sister.  We were in a Family Plus cabin. 

 

The Positives

 

Food

The food on this ship was amazing.  I have only been on 6 cruises but in my opinion this food beat out all other lines I've been on.  These include Princess and Celebrity.  When boarding the ship, we made our way to the buffet.  Everything was delicious.  Everything was clearly made fresh with real sauces, fresh ingredients, and real cooking technique (nothing tasted microwaved).  The array of cheeses (the bleu cheese and grana padano are a must!), fresh fruit, salads, breads, desserts, and hot food never disappointed at the buffet.  I had also read a ton about the quality of the pizza on board.  I went in with limited expectations but man....they were right.   That is amazingly good pizza and it's available nearly 24 hours per day.  In the dining room, the food is also great.  Portions are small so after night one I (and many others) wasn't shy about ordering multiple appetizers or main courses.  I was only disappointed once with my meal (the duck on the last night).  The shrimp fettuccini alfredo, braised short ribs, lasagna, lobster ravioli, and mussels were all highlights.  The dining room also was great with the kids.  Our server (Diaz) and head waiter (Ace...who is AMAZING) were both great.  After night one they made sure the kids had food almost immediately after sitting down.  They also have a unique kids menu for every night which was a nice change since our only other cruise with kids on RC 2 years ago.  Venci, the chocolate bar, is by far the best thing going on the ship.  Amazing gelato, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and chocolates. Overall I would say the food was probably the best part of the trip

 

The Shows

The shows on board were also very good.  My only gripes would be that they were a bit repetitive by the end and they didn't always flow/make sense but the talent of the performers was off the charts.  The salsa dancers and the hand balancers were UNBELIEVABLE.  The singers and other variety/circus acts were all very good.  Only one I didn't care for was the male pole dancer and his female partner who would dancer on her knees while he performed.  It was....odd.  The Michael Jackson tribute show was great.  I know he is a very polarizing figure but if you just enjoy the music and dancing, it is a great GREAT show.

 

The In-Betweens

 

The Ship

This is where I am split.  There are things I loved about the ship and a couple drawbacks that kind of irked me.  The ship is BEAUTIFUL.  The atrium set up with multiple stages and bars on the different levels was great.  Spectacular art work, a functional layout.  And it's HUGE which I always value as a plus.  One thing I always wondered about was the design of the ship.  The levels 9 and above are all recessed back from the edges of the ship.  To me, it made it seem like a lot of wasted space.  I am by no means an engineer but it just seemed to me that if they made it like a "normal" cruise ship there would be more room to build more spaces in the ship for the guests.    Plus, who wants their balcony recessed 30 feet back from the water?   The ship is also only a couple years old and is showing some wear and tear.  There was a leak from the ceiling outside the main dining room that led to it being roped off every day.  Also, in the haven lounge there is clear water damage tracking along the ceiling.

 

The Bars

We booked our cruise about 10 months before sailing and were provided the Drinks on Us package.  I went back and forth for MONTHS on whether it was worth spending the money for an upgrade to one of the premium packages.  Long story short, I stayed with the Drinks on Us and I'm glad I did.  The drinks were great.  All the bartenders knew what was on my package versus the new Easy package.  I was never overcharged and the drinks were never weak.  The biggest issue was the speed of service.  Most bars were pretty quick to get to you but often there were only 1 or 2 bartenders for busy, large bars.  I don't think that there were any servers at the pools.  Usually on my past cruises there are people walking all over the pool decks taking drink orders.  On MSC you have to go to a bar.  Some of the interior bars had servers but never outside by the pool.  It absolutely wasn't a big deal but if I had spent the amount of money I was considering spending to upgrade (Close to $1200 since all adults have to upgrade), I would have been very angry at the inability to get a drink poolside.

 

Service

I think that this is simply an instance of MSC just doing things differently than the more "American" cruise lines.  Some of the staff was great (our waiter and head waiter, most bar tenders) and some were subpar.  In every other cruise I've been on, there has always been a pretty close relationship between guests and the room steward.  Usually there is a button on the phone that links you to them.  On MSC it was very different.  I think our steward managed at least 40 rooms.  If we needed something, we would have to call guest services and then it was a coin flip if our issue would be resolved.  We booked with the fantastica experience which includes free room service.  It took asking 4 different people and cruse day 4 before the menu was finally delivered to my room.  My steward insisted that "MSC only does room service for breakfast."

The itinerary

We had 4 stops which is great but were only in San Juan from 5pm to midnight and St. Maarten from 8am-2pm.  Full days at St Thomas and Nassau were more enjoyable.  I could have totally skipped Nassau if it gave us more time in the other ports.

 

The Bad Stuff

 

Embarkation

Embarkation was too easy.  You read that right.  We were checked in within 2 minutes of walking up to the check in counter.  We waited 10 minutes in the terminal and then we were on the ship.  Amazing right?  No.  The next 3 hours were spent running all over the ship handling things that could have been handled at check in.  Kid's emergency wristbands in one place.  Kid's tracking wristbands in the kid's club.  There was one person working and a line of about 15 people and no air conditioning.  The employee sent word down the line that it would take her approximately 30 minutes per party.  We gave up.  Rearranging how our party was assigned to the two cabins in our family plus cabin was at guest services where there was a HUGE line.  We were running all over that ship doing things that really could have been handled at the check-in desk.  We also wanted to buy the wrist bands that work as your key card/cruise cards for ease of access and charging but gave up after being sent in a circle of 3 places (kids club to guest services to excursions and back to kids club) all of which told us "we don't do that here.  You have to go to __________."

 

The Cabin

I'm still not sure if I have this in the right category because the fact that they even offer the family plus cabin (2 individual cabins linked together) is pretty nice.  There are some things, though, that were big negatives.  First, in a family cabin we expected bunk beds that pull form the wall like I've seen on other cruises.  Instead, we got a pullout couch that our kids had to share.  That is fine but when the pullout was opened, my wife and I were essentially trapped inside our room.  The only way to get to the door or the bathroom was to climb over the pullout.  We also had to pullout the bed by ourselves every night.  I'm fully capable but just used to being catered to a little more on cruises.  The sofa in our room was also very gross.  Stains on the cushions.  The armrests were worn and fraying.  Another instance of the ship showing its age after only 2 years.  The closets and drawers were ridiculously small.  These are never in abundance on a ship but crazy small on Seaside. 

 

Summary

 

We had a geat trip aboard the Seaside.  We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.  There are some big differences between this line and others I've been on.  I would go on MSC again in the future but probably only if I were saving money or they were offering better itineraries than other lines.   Apples to apples, I would probably go on another line.  Feel free to ask any questions. 

[tcmagnum]

Thanks for the review.  I've talked my hubby into trying MSC and I think we are leaning towards Seaside.  

 

Food is important to hubby.  And the drink package.  I've got the drink package taken care of.

 

And a private area for him to escape the crowds is on the list.  But we are going to do a suite so he has a decent size room with a balcony to escape on.

[BermudaBound2014]

Very nice well balanced review. Glad you enjoyed. Your kids are fortunate to be able to travel :).

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review!

[DCGuy64]

18 hours ago, JoeFo44 said:

Before going on the Seaside I scoured the internet looking for reviews.  I found what most people find about MSC.  People either love it or hate it.  A lot of the reviews on CC are from the YC point of view.  I couldn’t find anything substantial from the view of a couple with young children on the boat.  So here it is...

 

 

 

Overview

 

We took a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise on the Seaside out of Miami.  It was me, my wife, my son (6), my daughter (4), my mom, and my sister.  We were in a Family Plus cabin. 

 

 

 

The Positives

 

 

 

Food

 

The food on this ship was amazing.  I have only been on 6 cruises but in my opinion this food beat out all other lines I've been on.  These include Princess and Celebrity.  When boarding the ship, we made our way to the buffet.  Everything was delicious.  Everything was clearly made fresh with real sauces, fresh ingredients, and real cooking technique (nothing tasted microwaved).  The array of cheeses (the bleu cheese and grana padano are a must!), fresh fruit, salads, breads, desserts, and hot food never disappointed at the buffet.  I had also read a ton about the quality of the pizza on board.  I went in with limited expectations but man....they were right.   That is amazingly good pizza and it's available nearly 24 hours per day.  In the dining room, the food is also great.  Portions are small so after night one I (and many others) wasn't shy about ordering multiple appetizers or main courses.  I was only disappointed once with my meal (the duck on the last night).  The shrimp fettuccini alfredo, braised short ribs, lasagna, lobster ravioli, and mussels were all highlights.  The dining room also was great with the kids.  Our server (Diaz) and head waiter (Ace...who is AMAZING) were both great.  After night one they made sure the kids had food almost immediately after sitting down.  They also have a unique kids menu for every night which was a nice change since our only other cruise with kids on RC 2 years ago.  Venci, the chocolate bar, is by far the best thing going on the ship.  Amazing gelato, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and chocolates. Overall I would say the food was probably the best part of the trip

 

 

 

The Shows

 

The shows on board were also very good.  My only gripes would be that they were a bit repetitive by the end and they didn't always flow/make sense but the talent of the performers was off the charts.  The salsa dancers and the hand balancers were UNBELIEVABLE.  The singers and other variety/circus acts were all very good.  Only one I didn't care for was the male pole dancer and his female partner who would dancer on her knees while he performed.  It was....odd.  The Michael Jackson tribute show was great.  I know he is a very polarizing figure but if you just enjoy the music and dancing, it is a great GREAT show.

 

 

 

The In-Betweens

 

 

 

The Ship

 

This is where I am split.  There are things I loved about the ship and a couple drawbacks that kind of irked me.  The ship is BEAUTIFUL.  The atrium set up with multiple stages and bars on the different levels was great.  Spectacular art work, a functional layout.  And it's HUGE which I always value as a plus.  One thing I always wondered about was the design of the ship.  The levels 9 and above are all recessed back from the edges of the ship.  To me, it made it seem like a lot of wasted space.  I am by no means an engineer but it just seemed to me that if they made it like a "normal" cruise ship there would be more room to build more spaces in the ship for the guests.    Plus, who wants their balcony recessed 30 feet back from the water?   The ship is also only a couple years old and is showing some wear and tear.  There was a leak from the ceiling outside the main dining room that led to it being roped off every day.  Also, in the haven lounge there is clear water damage tracking along the ceiling.

 

 

 

The Bars

 

We booked our cruise about 10 months before sailing and were provided the Drinks on Us package.  I went back and forth for MONTHS on whether it was worth spending the money for an upgrade to one of the premium packages.  Long story short, I stayed with the Drinks on Us and I'm glad I did.  The drinks were great.  All the bartenders knew what was on my package versus the new Easy package.  I was never overcharged and the drinks were never weak.  The biggest issue was the speed of service.  Most bars were pretty quick to get to you but often there were only 1 or 2 bartenders for busy, large bars.  I don't think that there were any servers at the pools.  Usually on my past cruises there are people walking all over the pool decks taking drink orders.  On MSC you have to go to a bar.  Some of the interior bars had servers but never outside by the pool.  It absolutely wasn't a big deal but if I had spent the amount of money I was considering spending to upgrade (Close to $1200 since all adults have to upgrade), I would have been very angry at the inability to get a drink poolside.

 

 

 

Service

 

I think that this is simply an instance of MSC just doing things differently than the more "American" cruise lines.  Some of the staff was great (our waiter and head waiter, most bar tenders) and some were subpar.  In every other cruise I've been on, there has always been a pretty close relationship between guests and the room steward.  Usually there is a button on the phone that links you to them.  On MSC it was very different.  I think our steward managed at least 40 rooms.  If we needed something, we would have to call guest services and then it was a coin flip if our issue would be resolved.  We booked with the fantastica experience which includes free room service.  It took asking 4 different people and cruse day 4 before the menu was finally delivered to my room.  My steward insisted that "MSC only does room service for breakfast."

 

 

The itinerary

We had 4 stops which is great but were only in San Juan from 5pm to midnight and St. Maarten from 8am-2pm.  Full days at St Thomas and Nassau were more enjoyable.  I could have totally skipped Nassau if it gave us more time in the other ports.

 

 

The Bad Stuff

 

 

 

Embarkation

 

Embarkation was too easy.  You read that right.  We were checked in within 2 minutes of walking up to the check in counter.  We waited 10 minutes in the terminal and then we were on the ship.  Amazing right?  No.  The next 3 hours were spent running all over the ship handling things that could have been handled at check in.  Kid's emergency wristbands in one place.  Kid's tracking wristbands in the kid's club.  There was one person working and a line of about 15 people and no air conditioning.  The employee sent word down the line that it would take her approximately 30 minutes per party.  We gave up.  Rearranging how our party was assigned to the two cabins in our family plus cabin was at guest services where there was a HUGE line.  We were running all over that ship doing things that really could have been handled at the check-in desk.  We also wanted to buy the wrist bands that work as your key card/cruise cards for ease of access and charging but gave up after being sent in a circle of 3 places (kids club to guest services to excursions and back to kids club) all of which told us "we don't do that here.  You have to go to __________."

 

 

 

The Cabin

 

I'm still not sure if I have this in the right category because the fact that they even offer the family plus cabin (2 individual cabins linked together) is pretty nice.  There are some things, though, that were big negatives.  First, in a family cabin we expected bunk beds that pull form the wall like I've seen on other cruises.  Instead, we got a pullout couch that our kids had to share.  That is fine but when the pullout was opened, my wife and I were essentially trapped inside our room.  The only way to get to the door or the bathroom was to climb over the pullout.  We also had to pullout the bed by ourselves every night.  I'm fully capable but just used to being catered to a little more on cruises.  The sofa in our room was also very gross.  Stains on the cushions.  The armrests were worn and fraying.  Another instance of the ship showing its age after only 2 years.  The closets and drawers were ridiculously small.  These are never in abundance on a ship but crazy small on Seaside. 

 

 

 

Summary

 

We had a geat trip aboard the Seaside.  We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.  There are some big differences between this line and others I've been on.  I would go on MSC again in the future but probably only if I were saving money or they were offering better itineraries than other lines.   Apples to apples, I would probably go on another line.  Feel free to ask any questions. 

Thank you for your great and very balanced review. It's disappointing to hear that the ship is already showing signs of wear after less than 2 years at sea (maiden voyage was in December 2017 IIRC). However, stains on the cushions suggest inconsiderate previous passengers. Why do people think they have the right to trash a cabin just because they're on vacation? (not the OP, obviously). In any event, our embarkation on the Seaside was super easy and we encountered no delays whatsoever. But we were just two people, and I do agree that some of the process should have been handled earlier on. All we had to do was set up our cruise card, which we did in the Casino (based on a helpful tip from someone on this forum). Easy peasy. Done in less than 1 minute. ☺️ I will also agree about the amount of time it took to get drinks. My opinion is that they needed more bar tenders. And the stewards do have to contend with tons of cabins. Spot on. 

[CruiseIreland]

Thank you for your review. It reflected pretty much how we found our February Western Caribbean cruise(l think you were on the eastern route). We also enjoyed the food bar the duck. In the bars, we usually relied on waiters.

 

One thing l would like to clarify: my understanding was that only breakfast delivery was free but any other room service orders were chargeable. Can you clarify that please? Ken

[JoeFo44]

Is there a way to edit my original post?  There are a few things I left out that I wanted to add in.

[JAGR]

12 minutes ago, JoeFo44 said:

Is there a way to edit my original post?  There are a few things I left out that I wanted to add in.

Not once it's been responded to, unfortunately.  You can always add some additional comments.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 7/17/2019 at 3:12 PM, JoeFo44 said:

First, in a family cabin we expected bunk beds that pull form the wall like I've seen on other cruises.  Instead, we got a pullout couch that our kids had to share.  That is fine but when the pullout was opened, my wife and I were essentially trapped inside our room.  The only way to get to the door or the bathroom was to climb over the pullout.

just wanted to say that our inside cabin on the Allure was the same way. No pullman bed, but a couch for the kid, which made the cabin unusable when rolled out. Thankfully, DS was the only one on the sofa so we didn't roll it out after the first day.

 

Thanks for the review! We'll be on MSC Meraviglia next April - our first cruise with MSC.

 

P.S. We loved the Blue Lagoon at Nassau and would do it again in a heartbeat over PR and St Thomas.

Edited July 19, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

 

1 hour ago, JoeFo44 said:

Is there a way to edit my original post?  There are a few things I left out that I wanted to add in.

Not after about 15 minutes. Just make a new post. 

[JoeFo44]

So a few little points I left out....

 

The improv them "Beerprov" was amazing.  2 guys and 2 women from Canada.  Hilarious.  They pulled no punches and had me rolling in all 3 of their shows.  They also do 1 or 2 family friendly shows but I didn't attend those.

 

The elevators are horrible.  All very hot and not programmed intelligently.  We often had to ride an elevator up to go down.  My advice on this is to use the 2 elevators alllllllll the way aft overlooking the pool.

 

The FunPass is an absolute waste of money.  We paid $100 for what we thought was unlimited access to all the included stuff. (Zipline, bowling, f1 simulator, etc).  We get on board and found out that we got $180 in credit for our $100 we spent.  I was originally upset because that isn't what I thought we paid for but it ended up not being a big deal because THERE IS NO WAY TO BURN THROUGH THAT MUCH CREDIT ON THE CRUISE.  The zipline was closed solid for the first 3 days.  We only ended up riding one time.  Just my wife and I went.  When it was open, they only had one of the two ziplines operating at a time.  We waited almost an hour in a line of maybe 10 people.  It was awesome but not worth the wait.  We went to try again the next day and the line was 3 times as long with still only one zipline operating.  We bowled for a half hour with the kids and really enjoyed that.  The lanes are intelligent.  The bumpers are automated and you set whether you want them up for each bowler.  There are 5 video games. only 3 can be used with the funpass because it doesn't allow you to play the prize games.  There is air hockey and 2 racing games.  By the end of the cruise we still had a ton of credit so I went by myself one night after my family went to sleep and did the 5D interactive game a few times.  It was very fun actually.

[Cruzinbabe06]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write your review.

 

 

[xcell]

Did you stop in San Juan? Just curious because of the protest, they said they are skipping it,so curious what the replacement was.

[reedprincess]

4 hours ago, xcell said:

Did you stop in San Juan? Just curious because of the protest, they said they are skipping it,so curious what the replacement was.

The orotests started last week, so a cruise two weeks ago would have visited.

They cancelled last night's visit for Seaside - no replacement port. They rearranged St Maarten and St Thomas abd expanded St Maarten hours.  Whether it will still be needed two weeks from now remains to be seen. 

[stoneman56]

On 7/17/2019 at 8:57 PM, tcmagnum said:

Thanks for the review.  I've talked my hubby into trying MSC and I think we are leaning towards Seaside.  

 

Food is important to hubby.  And the drink package.  I've got the drink package taken care of.

 

And a private area for him to escape the crowds is on the list.  But we are going to do a suite so he has a decent size room with a balcony to escape on.

Don't be too sure about that. We had a Grand Suite at the front. Lovely and spacious inside but less than 4 sq. mtrs of space on the balcony. Smallest balcony I have ever seen

[SteelCruisin]

If you want a bigger balcony the Aurea Balconies on deck 9 fit the bill, they are quite a bit larger.

 

[tcmagnum]

We are actually looking at deck 9 now.   Balcony is estimated at 80 sq ft instead of 40-50 sq ft.  I've looked at youtube and saw some videos of some of those rooms...Hubby said he would be happy with one of those rooms.  Nice balcony.  Close to the adult pool (16+ years old).  Not below a pool or restaurant = that's good.  And unlimited Bourbon/Cokes for my hubby.  We will make this trip a great trip.  Getting excited.  

 

Thank you to all who gave opinions/advice.  I really do appreciate it!!

Edited July 22, 2019 by tcmagnum

[reedprincess]

4 hours ago, reedprincess said:

The orotests started last week, so a cruise two weeks ago would have visited.

They cancelled last night's visit for Seaside - no replacement port. They rearranged St Maarten and St Thomas abd expanded St Maarten hours.  Whether it will still be needed two weeks from now remains to be seen. 

PS: a couple typos there, sorry about that.

And Seaside was scheduled to visit today, Monday night. If you've seen the news at all - its pretty clear why they won't be porting tonight. Huge, planned and mainly peaceful demonstrations all day.

Sea day today, St Maarten tomorrow and St Thomas on Wednesday (reversed. And longer hours at St Maarten).  There was a letter circulated upon embarkation on Saturday.. 

[stoneman56]

1 hour ago, SteelCruisin said:

If you want a bigger balcony the Aurea Balconies on deck 9 fit the bill, they are quite a bit larger.

 

Are they the ones that everyone on the upper decks can look down onto, not for me thanks. 

[SteelCruisin]

15 hours ago, stoneman56 said:

Are they the ones that everyone on the upper decks can look down onto, not for me thanks. 

Not sure why this bothers people, it is no different than laying out by the pool with the exception of their not being thousands of others right next to you and it being incredibly loud. I figure if I need the privacy I can still sit back closer to the door and have the same amount that the rest of the balconies have. To each their own I guess...

[nycfa]

7 hours ago, SteelCruisin said:

Not sure why this bothers people, it is no different than laying out by the pool with the exception of their not being thousands of others right next to you and it being incredibly loud. I figure if I need the privacy I can still sit back closer to the door and have the same amount that the rest of the balconies have. To each their own I guess...

 

We had the extended balcony like that last summer on the  NCL Breakway.....ever time we left a port FOOD got thrown to seagulls and guess where it all landed?   Seriously we had french fries, cereal, crackers. Never again  😞

[SteelCruisin]

52 minutes ago, nycfa said:

 

We had the extended balcony like that last summer on the  NCL Breakway.....ever time we left a port FOOD got thrown to seagulls and guess where it all landed?   Seriously we had french fries, cereal, crackers. Never again  😞

Well I will hope for the best... I will tell y'all what happens when I review...

[JoeFo44]

On 7/18/2019 at 4:00 PM, CruiseIreland said:

Thank you for your review. It reflected pretty much how we found our February Western Caribbean cruise(l think you were on the eastern route). We also enjoyed the food bar the duck. In the bars, we usually relied on waiters.

 

One thing l would like to clarify: my understanding was that only breakfast delivery was free but any other room service orders were chargeable. Can you clarify that please? Ken

So with the Fantastica experience there is a room service menu that is included.  It was very simple stuff like sandwiches and soups.  There were some items that weren't included and would have been an extra charge.  I never actually ended up using it but my mom did and, like all other food on the ship, she thought it was delicious.

[JoeFo44]

23 hours ago, stoneman56 said:

Are they the ones that everyone on the upper decks can look down onto, not for me thanks. 

Yeah they didn't appeal to me at all.  Plus they are right above the main buffet.

[CruiseIreland]

7 minutes ago, JoeFo44 said:

So with the Fantastica experience there is a room service menu that is included.  It was very simple stuff like sandwiches and soups.  There were some items that weren't included and would have been an extra charge.  I never actually ended up using it but my mom did and, like all other food on the ship, she thought it was delicious.

Thanks for getting back to me on that. Ken