MSC Seashore Review July 2-9.. worst cruise I have ever sailed on... wow

[scottamemnon]

Right off the bat, sorry if this feels like bashing the line, we had A LOT go wrong on this cruise and a lot of observations that are concerning I feel like need to be said as a warning to others.

 

We have sailed on MSC before on the Armonia in 2019 and were really excited to try one of their larger ships.  There were four of us, my wife and I, our 10 year old daughter and 1 year old son.  We had a standard balcony, Bella category... so it was a guarantee.  More on this later.

 

Everything went well on embarkation.  Only comments I would have is there were a lot of people crammed in that room, a lot of coughing going on.  I did notice what appeared to be a larger than normal amount of crew exiting the ship, passports and luggage in hand, than I am used to seeing.  Not sure if this impacted a lot of our crew interactions.  This sailing appeared to have some very large Brazilian groups on board from our interactions with people at times.  The ship sailed at 80% capacity.

 

We were assigned cabin 14028.  When we arrived at our cabin, we were surprised to find a door closed in the hall that leads to the cabins further forward.  It said crew only on it.  After a couple days we realized that there were people in those cabins.  Eventually we realized that these are QUARANTINE cabins. By the time we figured that out, and after I had been on my balcony while the guy in the cabin on the other side is leaning over the railing, I am starting to get some congestion.  This will get much worse later(this is day 3).

 

Going back to the beginning:

While walking the ship the first afternoon my wife slipped on a wet spot, jamming her knee.  She told a crewmember about it so they could clean it up before someone else slipped(this was in the entrance to the photo cave like area).  None of the crew seemed to care about it.  We waited in the area and found it was almost 15 minutes before it was dealt with... we just initially figured they were just too overwhelmed.

 

Night 1, we went to Central Park for dinner, went to our table and found another family there.  No big deal, must be a mistake, we thought.  Then another family came, and another, and so on.  There were 8 families assigned to this table at 5:15pm!  30 minutes later we are assigned a new table... the crew then explains the table number does not exist.  Another 20 minutes later and we finally have a table.  Kind of crazy, but it wasn't a huge deal.

 

For the first couple days things seem to be mostly fine, with a few oddities.  No one was asking people to sanitize or wash hands on entering any of the dining rooms... that was very strange.  The "washy washy" police has been a thing on cruise ships for a very long time now.  Never seen it so lackadaisical.  This should have been a sign of things to come for my family and a large number of others.

 

After day three when we pieced together the quarantine thing, we asked for a new cabin.  The crew member confirmed that the cabin next to us was for quarantine, but that could mean a sick passenger, or a crew member joining the ship.  My wife was outraged because we have a 1 year old who could not be vaccinated in time.  Why they could not simply provide a buffer zone of a cabin or two, I have no idea.  Just a heads up for anyone wishing to sail on the Seashore.  I was able to confirm with my own eyes that at least on decks 14, 12, and 11.. the forward most section is being used for quarantines.  There is a bulkhead door there.  On 14 it was the cabins forward of 14028.  Ask to be moved if you get assigned one of the ones right there.

 

Move on to the mid day of day 6... I have a fever... and a very high one.  Dizzy, uncontrollable chills, etc.  My wife calls the medical number as asked and tells them the symptoms I am having.  The person on the other end said they could come to see us for a $200 consultation fee, plus whatever testing and medicine costs.  NO WHERE on the ship does it say covid testing is free and should be done when you have flu like symptoms... the web page does, but we went without internet.  So I decided to tough it out, because I am a stupid man and thats what we do.  My wife goes and buys a thermometer.  By the time she is back the fever has backed off a bit, but still reads over 103.

 

The next morning(day 7), my daughter has a fever, my wife is congested. Now my wife calls again, this time she is told the correct info.  The come and give us all tests, I am positive, they are all negative, but more than likely positive as well.  So we get ready for quarantine.  From here on out is where this story goes crazy and really needs to be a big red flashing warning to anyone who is concerned about covid exposure.  When guest services calls about going to quarantine, they only wanted to send me.  They only wanted to talk to me.  When my wife questioned them, she was told she needs to stop being a hysterical woman and put her husband on the line.  We are then informed that the three of them should go to the medical center and test again(it had been 30 minutes).  If they test negative, they are free to wander the ship of go to the private island.  My wife loses it at this point and tells the man that they are ok with them spreading covid wherever she wants, even though its obvious we all have it?  He did not deny it.  We demanded to all be quarantined together.

 

In quarantine, this doesnt improve.  The impression we got from the crew is that we are a hassle to them, and they would have been happier with us tossed overboard.  Requests for food and drink were rarely fullfilled correctly.  I didn't eat much that day, since they delivered food for 2, to a room of 4... and never corrected it.  Everything had to be on their time.  Thank god I brought toddler formula onboard for late night feedings or I am afraid of what we would have done for our 1 year old.  Several times they called my wife hysterical when she was asking questions.  The condescension was pretty shocking for the cruise industry.  We were promised, in writing, that we would be reimbursed pro-rated amounts for unused things like drink packages and the like... this never happened.  When we asked for the 3rd time, we were told to take it up with our credit card company.

 

Departure day.. the baby is now sick, everyone has fevers.  Thankfully my high one lasted off and on for those first 24 hours only.  I have no sense of taste or smell though.  When they finally got around to taking us off the ship, we got unceremoniously shuttled into a holding area with 40 other covid unwanteds.  Talking to others, we hear there were other batches of guests, with the rumors being 10 groups in total... so potentially 10% of the guests... although I find that hard to believe.  The officer that met us there just said, you have to leave, you have covid, walk out and go to the right... thats it.

 

I am sure I missed a lot of other misteps that happened.. my wife says she was often ignored by staff until I was present.  We heard other guests at dinner complaining that their food was always dangerously cold, but we did not encounter this.

 

I should wrap this up with some good.  The pizza was still great.  Hola tacos was amazing!  My wife and daughter said the revolving sushi was great too.  I really liked the sports bar and the brooklyn cafe.

 

For the flagship of the fleet, they need to fire the hotel director and cruise directors.  All of this negative is on the two of them and their leaderships of their departments.

 

Catching covid can happen anywhere, we have been lucky to avoid it until this time.  I am sure we will recover.  It is the treatment we received that really disturbs me.  I have never felt so unwanted by cruise staff before, such an attitude can only come from the people who lead them  The blatant disregard of health protocols is truly scary.

 

At the very least I hope some of this causes some people to pay attention to what is happening on board and be careful.

 

We had been planning on going on the World Europa next year, had even talked about booking while onboard.  Now I will stay away from MSC, maybe forever.  My wife's very large, italian family will not sail on them either.. since they come to me for tourism advice.  MSC should be thankful my father retired from the tourism industry where he was a president of a very large travel company(now sold to new owners).  We came away with the ultimate feeling that if they could not make money on you, they didn't care if you dropped dead.

[ginger123snaps]

I am so very sorry you experienced this. I hope your family is recovering well.  We were on the sailing right before you.  My family got sick 1 day after returning home from our cruise.  We were lucky that our symptoms didn't start until returning home.  

 

I can't speak of a "quarantine cruise experience". I can say we had a lovely time on MSC.  We stayed in the yacht club and everything about it was amazing.  The service was the best we have received at sea (been on 25 cruises different lines).  

 

Again wishing your family a speedy recovery.  I am still sick but getting there.  

[scottamemnon]

7 minutes ago, ginger123snaps said:

I am so very sorry you experienced this. I hope your family is recovering well.  We were on the sailing right before you.  My family got sick 1 day after returning home from our cruise.  We were lucky that our symptoms didn't start until returning home.  

 

I can't speak of a "quarantine cruise experience". I can say we had a lovely time on MSC.  We stayed in the yacht club and everything about it was amazing.  The service was the best we have received at sea (been on 25 cruises different lines).  

 

Again wishing your family a speedy recovery.  I am still sick but getting there.  

 

That seems to be the impression I have gotten from everyone sailing Yacht club, that its near perfect.  We had a great time on the Armonia in 2019, so we know they can do it well for non-yacht club as well.  I would like to think this had something to do with the large group of crew leaving the ship I saw on embarkation day, and over the next few weeks they will get their act together fully.  A few times on the phone I had the distinct sensation that the person on the other end had someone listening in over their shoulder based on how they answered.  Just writing the post was pretty cathartic... the anger I was bottling up needed a release.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Agree there should be a buffer between quarantine cabins and the rest of the passengers. I’m sorry you and your family got sick. Hopefully your symptoms will subside quickly. 
 

we plan to be on Seashore in October. Will definitely take some extra precautions to avoid Covid as much as possible. As you say, one can pick it up anywhere. Seems like it’s here to stay. Even before Covid, I came home from cruising with some sort of bug nearly 50% of the time. Wishing you and your family a speedy recovery. 

[LBILuva]

Thank you for your info. I hope you all feel better quickly.

We sail next weekend in an Aurea Balcony towards the front of the ship on Deck 14. I just added thermometer, COVID tests, and wipes to my packing list. 

[carlmm]

I am sorry for you and hope you all will recover soon.

The attitude you experienced is worrisome. 

 

Regarding only you were required to go into quarantine: This seems to be standard procedure on most cruiseline now.

Read older posts about the outcry of negetative tested people when restrictions were imposed on them.

 

All the best.

[ddlb]

5 hours ago, LBILuva said:

Thank you for your info. I hope you all feel better quickly.

We sail next weekend in an Aurea Balcony towards the front of the ship on Deck 14. I just added thermometer, COVID tests, and wipes to my packing list. 

Excellent idea about adding Covid tests to your luggage!

[sfaaa]

OMG, sounds like a cruise from hell. Hope you and your family feel better soon. 

[perakcruiser]

10 hours ago, scottamemnon said:

Right off the bat, sorry if this feels like bashing the lin

Well the title sounds like it, but the story certainly not. Totally unacceptable how MSC handled your case. Starting from no buffer zone to the quarantine cabins. 

 

Best recovery for you and your family. 

[StolidCruiser]

Disappointing your family got sick with COVID on your ocean cruise and were poorly treated as those infected with a highly communicable disease.  Hope you all recover on land and the recounting of your experience is a warning to others of what to expect if you become infected/ill when sailing while a pandemic is still in full force.

[MsTabbyKats]

14 minutes ago, StolidCruiser said:

Disappointing your family got sick with COVID on your ocean cruise and were poorly treated as those infected with a highly communicable disease.  Hope you all recover on land and the recounting of your experience is a warning to others of what to expect if you become infected/ill when sailing while a pandemic is still in full force.

While I understand your disappointment, you chose a "guarantee cabin" and you chose to cruise with an unvaccinated child....during a pandemic.  

 

It takes a few days to become symptomatic.....so "the guy leaning over the rail" probably wasn't "the guy" who transmitted the infection to you.

 

 

 

 

 

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

Calling your wife hysterical even once is too many times.  WTH?  

 

Speedy Recovery to you and your family.

[Hlitner]

Getting sick on any cruise is never fun.  I am sure you are correct that nobody in the crew wanted to be around sick folks.  The protocols we have experienced on multiple cruise lines (Princess and Seabourn) all involved testing folks once somebody had symptoms and only quarantining those who test positive.  These days that is just the norm.  As to quarantine cabins we have witnessed folks going to specially reserved cabins and others being allowed to simply stay in their cabin.  In all cases the only folks that were in mandatory quarantine were those who tested positive.  You can read the various cruise line threads and will find that room service, for quarantine, is seldom good.  The exception of which we are aware was on our recent Seabourn cruise (we had plenty of COVID cases) where room service is generally excellent.  But this is to be expected on a luxury line where cruisers are paying many times the per day price that you paid in a normal MSC cabin.  

 

There are some realities that many folks continue to ignore.  COVID is here to stay (according to nearly all the experts) and the vaccines are not good at preventing folks from catching Omicron (although the vaccines and therapeutics do help keep folks from being hospitalized or worse).  Multiple studies (one of the latest from the Bay area of San Francisco) support that masking is nearly useless against Omicron....but apparently many authorities choose to ignore the studies and double down on previous beliefs (not supported by studies).  Social distancing (which is obviously somewhat effective) is nearly impossible on a cruise ship, in airports, on planes,  etc.  Once you leave your home you are taking your chances just like with any other contagious disease.

 

DW and I are very frequent cruisers (often over 100 days a year) and have debated whether we should continue to cruise.  We are both high risk (because of age) but have simply decided to move on with our lives and accept the risk.  When you decided to take your family on a cruise you were also accepting the COVID risk.  Other than providing better room service it is hard to imagine what MSC could have done for you and your family.  A buffer from a quarantined area is certainly a legitimate issue although you could have caught COVID anywhere on the ship, during your travel to the ship (which is the most likely because of the normal lag between exposure and symptoms).   I also wonder about the wisdom of taking an unvaccinated baby on a cruise at this time.  

 

Hank

[Shippy]

  I think one take away from your experience is NOT to get a guarantee cabin.

They usually use the least desirable cabins no one likes.

We used to get guarantees when we were younger to save money.

We usually wound up with...handicapped cabins, blocked views, over the anchor chain, etc.

   We are older now & can afford to always pick are own.

As someone else said, it it wise to carry your own covid test kits whenever you travel nowadays.

And, cruising with a 1 year old can always be a bit problematic even before covid days.  I do not think their immune systems are up to multitude of germs found on cruiseships.

 

[amurray88]

I was on Seaview last week (disembarked yesterday) and agree - we were not asked to wash our hands or sanitise at any restaurant/buffet.

 

Surprise surprise.

 

And like you - experienced awful service from those in management positions 

[awhcruiser]

5 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Agreed!!

 

While I understand your disappointment, you chose a "guarantee cabin" and you chose to cruise with an unvaccinated child....during a pandemic.  

 

It takes a few days to become symptomatic.....so "the guy leaning over the rail" probably wasn't "the guy" who transmitted the infection to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jimbo81]

19 hours ago, scottamemnon said:

 

That seems to be the impression I have gotten from everyone sailing Yacht club, that its near perfect.  We had a great time on the Armonia in 2019, so we know they can do it well for non-yacht club as well.  I would like to think this had something to do with the large group of crew leaving the ship I saw on embarkation day, and over the next few weeks they will get their act together fully.  A few times on the phone I had the distinct sensation that the person on the other end had someone listening in over their shoulder based on how they answered.  Just writing the post was pretty cathartic... the anger I was bottling up needed a release.

 We were in yacht club.. trust me it wasn't much better 

[scottamemnon]

5 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

While I understand your disappointment, you chose a "guarantee cabin" and you chose to cruise with an unvaccinated child....during a pandemic.  

 

It takes a few days to become symptomatic.....so "the guy leaning over the rail" probably wasn't "the guy" who transmitted the infection to you.

 

 

 

 

 

Well up until a week before sailing it seemed like the US was never going to approve vaccines for 1 year olds.  My wife and I were vaccinated and boosted.  My 10 year is fully vaccinated.  S

 

I am sure just everybody knew that 14028 was next to quarantined cabins, right?  It just looks like a regular cabin on a deck of fantastica balconies... with a deck of cabins above and below.  This is not the same as getting assigned a partial view in a garbage area.  I am sure someone could book one of these cabins, so my warning should be valid.  On a whim I tried to see if I could book one a few weeks out.  Closest I could get was on deck 12, 2 cabins away from the bulkhead that divided that section.  If I could get that close on a sailing 2 weeks out, I am sure people are going to be in this scenario.

 

Guy leaning over was day 2... first symptoms day 4.. fever day 6... usual range of time after exposure to show symptoms with covid is 2-14 days.  So your expert analysis is a little flawed.

 

The point I was trying to make with this post was not, poor old me... it was how dare the cruise line not take any damn precautions?  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that putting people next to a quarantined room is a stupid idea.  This is the whole reason why they are moving people when they are sick.  People need to be aware that for all the flowery articles about caring about your health, at least in the case of MSC, all they care about is the health of your wallet and their ability to access it.

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, Jimbo81 said:

 We were in yacht club.. trust me it wasn't much better 

Would you mind expanding on this a bit?  We are scheduled to be in the YC on Seaview in October.  As we have never sailed MSC, I'm gathering as much info as possible before I make final payment in 2 weeks.  TIA

[MsTabbyKats]

2 hours ago, scottamemnon said:

Well up until a week before sailing it seemed like the US was never going to approve vaccines for 1 year olds.  My wife and I were vaccinated and boosted.  My 10 year is fully vaccinated.  S

 

I am sure just everybody knew that 14028 was next to quarantined cabins, right?  It just looks like a regular cabin on a deck of fantastica balconies... with a deck of cabins above and below.  This is not the same as getting assigned a partial view in a garbage area.  I am sure someone could book one of these cabins, so my warning should be valid.  On a whim I tried to see if I could book one a few weeks out.  Closest I could get was on deck 12, 2 cabins away from the bulkhead that divided that section.  If I could get that close on a sailing 2 weeks out, I am sure people are going to be in this scenario.

 

Guy leaning over was day 2... first symptoms day 4.. fever day 6... usual range of time after exposure to show symptoms with covid is 2-14 days.  So your expert analysis is a little flawed.

 

The point I was trying to make with this post was not, poor old me... it was how dare the cruise line not take any damn precautions?  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that putting people next to a quarantined room is a stupid idea.  This is the whole reason why they are moving people when they are sick.  People need to be aware that for all the flowery articles about caring about your health, at least in the case of MSC, all they care about is the health of your wallet and their ability to access it.

 

Does the virus penetrate walls?  How close was "the leaning guy" and was he talking to you?

 

Do you exclusively take the stairs when nobody was coming in the opposite direction?  Or share the elevators?  With people who were talking?   Chances of catching covid on an elevator are higher than from someone in the next cabin.

 

Time for some personal responsibility here.  MSC is a business...they did what was required.

[Georgia_Peaches]

12 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

 

 

 

Time for some personal responsibility here.  MSC is a business...they did what was required.

I tend to agree with you MsTabby!  We all have to take personal responsibility for any travels we take during covid...which is here to stay.  Back in May both DH and I tested positive for covid while vacationing in Belize.  Though it was a land vacay, we still had to test negative to re-enter the US as the requirement hadn't been lifted at the time.  We were required to quarantine for 10 days before being able to come home.  fortunately, we had covid insurance to help with the cost.  And despite being fully vaccinated, we still contracted the virus,go figure...was it on the plane, in the airport, at a bar, the beach, or the resort...who knows?  But we assumed responsibility for the risk when we agreed to travel.  I think the OP is most frustrated by the treatment they received and I can understand that.  everything feels heightened when you don't feel well.  Still, our first cruise since the 2020 shutdown is on the horizon.  I'm over the moon with excitement and even more prepared because of posts like these.

[emmas gran]

OK a couple of points

1 ) Surely as a grown up you don't need to be told to wash your hands if going to get food, I do it at home all the time and it isn't a hard task!!

 

2) I have sailed in YC on 4 ships total 70 days 1 of the cruises was 28 days and would not sail MSC if not YC we do have another 14 days booked on Seaside in January. People need to know what they are booking by doing research not placing the blame on MSC.

 

3) We take Covid precaution still and I shop wearing a FFP2 mask, it is up to the individual to take cake.

[amurray88]

5 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

OK a couple of points

1 ) Surely as a grown up you don't need to be told to wash your hands if going to get food, I do it at home all the time and it isn't a hard task!!

 

2) I have sailed in YC on 4 ships total 70 days 1 of the cruises was 28 days and would not sail MSC if not YC we do have another 14 days booked on Seaside in January. People need to know what they are booking by doing research not placing the blame on MSC.

 

3) We take Covid precaution still and I shop wearing a FFP2 mask, it is up to the individual to take cake.

I would agree to a certain extent. Of course it is personal responsibility to wash our hands but you should also expect MSC to do all in their power to make it impossible to enter without washing. It is lazy on their part and shows a lack of understanding that their negligence has a part to play in them being understaffed.

 

I'm not sure what your second point is regarding but people should not need to book the YC to receive any level of service on board. Whilst we shouldn't expect MSC to move mountains for us we should expect them to treat customers with respect and, not for the first time, it looks like they haven't done this.

 

Of course wearing a mask helps - but having heard the way this poster was treated I would think alot of people on board will have symptoms and simply not bother testing as they don't want to be treated like that - instead they will walk around sharing it with others.

[emmas gran]

Hand washing on ships is something personal not just MSC , I have seen people at the door with dispensers and passengers just walk past them on many Celebrity cruises . It is not crew job to chase these idiots as they will get into trouble from higher ups if the passenger complains.

 

I was making the point that I did research prior to cruising with them and made the decision re YC, however I know many people who cruise non YC and are very happy with their experience it is based on your expectations .

 

Celebrity has a lot of cases it is not restricted to MSC --have a look at their boards and they are being transferred from suites or balconies to just a window cabin!!

[8420PR]

I know it doesn't change much, but it is very unlikely you caught covid-19 from the cabin next door or from the lack of hand-washing.  Typically covid-19 is spread in crowded and poorly ventilated indoor environments where you inhaling aerosols (very very small droplets) exhaled from an infected person (who may not even know they are infected).

 

Last November we had a cruise in a balcony cabin next to the quarantine area on Seaview, also upgraded from a belle interior, but never considered any risk (because there largely isn't any).