MSC Seaside Casino Review and Some Yacht Club Musings..

[Georgia_Peaches]

DM and I embarked on 6/4 for a 4 night gambling cruise. Her first MSC experience and I wanted to introduce her to the Yacht Club so we booked an interior cabin for this short cruise. 
 

As @APDMOM has provided great semi-live insights and pics, coupled with @CruisingWalter’ s extensive post cruise review, I’ve decided to focus on the casino and a few YC tidbits so as not to be too repetitive. 
 

First off, there’s no way this cruise could have been bad because I got to spend time with my mother!  We endeavor to take at least 1 gambling cruise per year but this was our first since 2020 when she last cruised. 
 

Casino:

 

Hot Hot Hot…and I don’t mean that figuratively. I’ve never, ever experienced this kind of heat. The gaming space is small for such a mega ship. Whoever designed the space did not account for the heat generated by slot machines packed into such tight spaces. There is a beautiful and extremely busy bar in the round that takes up a large footprint in the center of the casino. One side of the bar/aisle houses the lion’s share of the slot games while the other side of the bar/aisle offers table games. The table game side is significantly less congested but does not offer a traditional roulette table in favor of an electronic one against a wall near the cashier. 
 

The slot selection is limited to Asian themed games with dragons, pandas, and coin pots. Don’t get me wrong, I like these games but I also like variety. To that end, they don’t have a lot of the popular games that I like to play like Zeus, Invaders from planet Moolah, or Miss Kitty. They do have several machines that offer 4 or 5 different games that you can select along with the requisite Buffalo and Quick Hits. 
 

Despite the limited selection, DM and I hit several winning streaks followed by the expected returns back to the house. In all, both of us scored enough player’s points to redeem a “free” cruise which, as I understand it, can be upgraded to YC for an additional cost if we so choose. I call that happiness on a stick!
 

The casino host was attentive and responsive to our needs and on several occasions directed drink staff in our direction when service ran slow. 
 

The casino offers a nightly lottery as well as bingo…neither of which interested us. My biggest takeaway from this casino trip was the heat and lack of air flow in the area caused significant sweating and at times sweltering discomfort. Despite such conditions, DM and I trudged through and had an absolute ball. 
 

Here are some random YC musings in no particular order:

 

• wait staff, pool deck personnel, concierge, lounge host, YC director, room steward have all been especially superb. Our wine sommelier was the best we’ve ever had. Joseph, our restaurant server is excellent as well. I’m guessing I’m not the only one who thinks this because his section was always the busiest. 
 

• daily paper and turn down chocolates were not delivered until I inquired about them half-way through. There was no Tobleronie or Pringles in our mini fridge. They are currently not available. 
 

• YC restaurant food, while tasty, has been consistently served cool to down right cold. I provided feedback on this after last night’s meal. 
 

• ocean cay is still my favorite PI of them all. There are so many places to spread out without feeling cramped. Our Ocean House experience was limited to a light lunch that was delayed by rain. We went back to the ship without much beach time. Later in the afternoon we tried again but were told that the last shuttle to the YC area had come and gone…this was at 3:30. I am a little dismayed by this since we are at the island until close to midnight. I understand that the staff are split btwn ship and island but I would have liked the shuttle hours to have been extended given the length of time we were at the island and that we lost a few hours due to rain. 
 

Over all I would rate our cruise a 7 out of 10. Not the best I’ve ever had but at least 70% better than the worst cruise I’ve ever had (carnival Fantasy, 2005). 
 

As an aside, I ran into a crotchety old mean man/parking attendant at Port Canaveral. The line up to enter the parking lot was very backed up with only one entrance line open. A second opened and then a third. Except when I moved over to the third space, the man started screaming at me because he was apparently only opening that lane as an exit. My mind reading capabilities failed me in that moment and when he charged me with waving hand gestures and shouting that included calling me an idiot, I lost my cool and called him a “very mean man wearing an A-hole suit”. Out of respect for my very southern mother, I said A-hole. Canaveral parking motorists, beware. 
 

A few random pics…if they load. 
 

[Mycykfamilytime]

Ahh I think Joseph was our waiter in Feb 2022.   His wife had had a baby while he was away and he still hadn’t met her and he was worried about the war because they were in Romania and at the time we didn’t know what Putin was doing and how far he’d go.   Hope he is well! 

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

YC restaurant food, while tasty, has been consistently served cool to down right cold.

 

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Joseph...his section was always the busiest. 

I think I may have found the reason for your cold food.

[PTC DAWG]

No ac in the casino, not good. I like the table games..sailing in Sept on Seaside in the YC..we are overnighting in Ocean Cay on a 7 day cruise, first overnight for me on a cruise in port. It’s not a bad drive to port from Peachtree City..

 

Dad and I used to take gambling trips, enjoy them while you can. 

Edited June 7, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[Best Cat Mom]

5 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

wait staff, pool deck personnel, concierge, lounge host, YC director, room steward have all been especially superb.

We're on Seaside in early September. Do you know the names of the current YC director and YC restaurant manager? And if they'll still be on in September? Seaside was our first MSC cruise back in 2018 and we're looking forward to enjoying a return visit. Back then, we tried YC for an alternative to NCL Haven. We liked that first MSC YC cruise so much that we sold all of our CruiseNext NCL certificates when we got home. MSC YC is all we book now. 🙂

 

(This is our first cruise with that great TA you recommended. Thanks again!)

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, Best Cat Mom said:

We're on Seaside in early September. Do you know the names of the current YC director and YC restaurant manager? And if they'll still be on in September? Seaside was our first MSC cruise back in 2018 and we're looking forward to enjoying a return visit. Back then, we tried YC for an alternative to NCL Haven. We liked that first MSC YC cruise so much that we sold all of our CruiseNext NCL certificates when we got home. MSC YC is all we book now. 🙂

 

(This is our first cruise with that great TA you recommended. Thanks again!)

Awesome!!  Let me see what I can find out for you!  😊 we have one more dinner to go!

[NCMtnBoys]

Thanks for the casino review. We just sailed Meraviglia May 21-28 and I will agree that parts of the casino on that ship were hot at times. And really smoky too. Some of those slot machines generate a lot of heat! I was surprised at how small the casino was and I, too, wished for more variety. 

 

I played a bit almost every night between dinner and the theater show, longer a few nights when we didn't have a show, and a few times on the three sea days. My luck and that of others I saw was unbelievable. I took a small amount of money to last me the entire week ($500) and decided I was going to bet small ($.88-$2) the entire week to stretch my money as long as possible. Day 5 of the cruise I still had $140 of the $500 left and after dinner hit a Grand jackpot/bonus round for $13,852.99, betting $1. A while later I got a nice bonus round on another machine and cashed out $650. The next evening after dinner I got a Major jackpot for $1,867.94, betting $1. Later on got a nice bonus round on another machine and cashed out $800. I was determined to come home with the bulk of my winnings and came home with $16,000. 

 

I saw someone else get a $4,000 payout in a bonus round and by the time I left a few minutes later he had his machine up over $6,000. Another lady had over $2,500 in her machine, another gentleman got a $1,200 bonus round and another gentleman got a Grand jackpot/bonus round for around $9,600.

 

Typical for MSC? I don't know, but I've never seen anything like it on a cruise - and this was cruise #34 for me (fourth on MSC). The most I'd ever won on a cruise prior to this was $1,440 in 2008. 

 

The entire week I earned only 3,800 points so nowhere near enough for a free cruise. Betting small doesn't earn points very fast! Congrats on your free cruise! 

Edited June 8, 2023 by NCMtnBoys

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Awesome!!  Let me see what I can find out for you!  😊 we have one more dinner to go!

Current YC director is Tiziana Piccoluga and her contract is through January. I did not get the name The YC m’d but was informed this evening that his contract is up next month. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

37 minutes ago, NCMtnBoys said:

Thanks for the casino review. We just sailed Meraviglia May 21-28 and I will agree that parts of the casino on that ship were hot at times. And really smoky too. Some of those slot machines generate a lot of heat! I was surprised at how small the casino was and I, too, wished for more variety. 

 

I played a bit almost every night between dinner and the theater show, longer a few nights when we didn't have a show, and a few times on the three sea days. My luck and that of others I saw was unbelievable. I took a small amount of money to last me the entire week ($500) and decided I was going to bet small ($.88-$2) the entire week to stretch my money as long as possible. Day 5 of the cruise I still had $140 of the $500 left and after dinner hit a Grand jackpot/bonus round for $13,852.99, betting $1. A while later I got a nice bonus round on another machine and cashed out $650. The next evening after dinner I got a Major jackpot for $1,867.94, betting $1. Later on got a nice bonus round on another machine and cashed out $800. I was determined to come home with the bulk of my winnings and came home with $16,000. 

 

I saw someone else get a $4,000 payout in a bonus round and by the time I left a few minutes later he had his machine up over $6,000. Another lady had over $2,500 in her machine, another gentleman got a $1,200 bonus round and another gentleman got a Grand jackpot/bonus round for around $9,600.

 

Typical for MSC? I don't know, but I've never seen anything like it on a cruise - and this was cruise #34 for me (fourth on MSC). The most I'd ever won on a cruise prior to this was $1,440 in 2008. 

 

The entire week I earned only 3,800 points so nowhere near enough for a free cruise. Betting small doesn't earn points very fast! Congrats on your free cruise! 

We got to know a “high roller” on this cruise who had some tremendous luck:  13k on one machine, 5k on another and just this afternoon he won another $4500. I’m sure he could have easily qualified for the free cruise and a ton of other perks but he didn’t use his players card because he didn’t want anyone “tracking” his gaming. So no free cruise for him!
 

DM and I had decent luck by finishing with $2240 on a Buffalo game. This is a break even for us so we can say we played, we had a blast, we came home mostly whole with a future cruise to boot. 

[amygutman]

Great to hear about all the fantastic winning streaks in the casino! MSC ships have been notoriously poor payouts for us in the past, but we have played enough small games that we have gotten a free cruise offer twice now. Unfortunately, our schedules would not allow for us to take the offer… But you know have me excited for our upcoming July cruise. Nothing like walking away from the vacation with some money in your pocket and a free cruise potentially on the way!  
So happy for your Good luck!

warmest, Amy

[Spif Barwunkel]

And right before my eyes did appear, Ms. Georgia Peaches in the MSC sphere. Ms. Peaches, you may remember we touched briefly on MSC on another thread on another forum. At that time, MSC cruising for us was the furthest thing from my mind. How quickly things can change. Yesterday we got a call from good friends in NY who we met on a Celebrity cruise years ago and continue to keep in touch with. They are veteran MSC cruisers and prefer to patronize this line. To shorten a long phone conversation, they say to us, "we are coming to Florida in September to cruise on Seaside for seven nights in the Caribbean." "You wanna go?"

 

Seaside lives in Port Canaveral, thirty minutes north of where we live, seemed like a no-brainer to join good folks for a good time. So, here we are booked in a balcony cabin, mid-ship on deck 11, with no nudging from GP, on a ship with a 67-health rating when a passing score is 86. Go figure. I go to the MSC forum in order to glean useful information and worthwhile comments and .... well, my opening sentence says it all. Although the casino is not our thing, I appreciate your views on all things cruising. Couple your thread with another well-respected OP's Seaside review and I'm doing pretty good for starters. 

 

It is going to be a good time. We are good adjusters, adapters, and look at every cruise as a new experience. We don't compare. Rather, each sailing has its own personality and deserves to be judged on its own merit. We will do just that, while keeping in mind pertinent information from you and others. 

 

I assume that this short cruise with Mama Peaches was very enjoyable and obviously somewhat lucrative. Continued good voyages wherever you go and whoever you choose to take you there.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Spif Barwunkel

[Best Cat Mom]

19 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Current YC director is Tiziana Piccoluga and her contract is through January. I did not get the name The YC m’d but was informed this evening that his contract is up next month.

Thanks so much! 🙂

[PTC DAWG]

20 hours ago, NCMtnBoys said:

Thanks for the casino review. We just sailed Meraviglia May 21-28 and I will agree that parts of the casino on that ship were hot at times. And really smoky too. Some of those slot machines generate a lot of heat! I was surprised at how small the casino was and I, too, wished for more variety. 

 

I played a bit almost every night between dinner and the theater show, longer a few nights when we didn't have a show, and a few times on the three sea days. My luck and that of others I saw was unbelievable. I took a small amount of money to last me the entire week ($500) and decided I was going to bet small ($.88-$2) the entire week to stretch my money as long as possible. Day 5 of the cruise I still had $140 of the $500 left and after dinner hit a Grand jackpot/bonus round for $13,852.99, betting $1. A while later I got a nice bonus round on another machine and cashed out $650. The next evening after dinner I got a Major jackpot for $1,867.94, betting $1. Later on got a nice bonus round on another machine and cashed out $800. I was determined to come home with the bulk of my winnings and came home with $16,000. 

 

I saw someone else get a $4,000 payout in a bonus round and by the time I left a few minutes later he had his machine up over $6,000. Another lady had over $2,500 in her machine, another gentleman got a $1,200 bonus round and another gentleman got a Grand jackpot/bonus round for around $9,600.

 

Typical for MSC? I don't know, but I've never seen anything like it on a cruise - and this was cruise #34 for me (fourth on MSC). The most I'd ever won on a cruise prior to this was $1,440 in 2008. 

 

The entire week I earned only 3,800 points so nowhere near enough for a free cruise. Betting small doesn't earn points very fast! Congrats on your free cruise! 

Giddy up!

[Bgwest]

The IRS will come acallin'

 

[morpheusofthesea]

27 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

The IRS will come acallin'

 

This might be interesting : https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2310567-report-casino-winnings/

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

13 hours ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

And right before my eyes did appear, Ms. Georgia Peaches in the MSC sphere. Ms. Peaches, you may remember we touched briefly on MSC on another thread on another forum. At that time, MSC cruising for us was the furthest thing from my mind. How quickly things can change. Yesterday we got a call from good friends in NY who we met on a Celebrity cruise years ago and continue to keep in touch with. They are veteran MSC cruisers and prefer to patronize this line. To shorten a long phone conversation, they say to us, "we are coming to Florida in September to cruise on Seaside for seven nights in the Caribbean." "You wanna go?"

 

Seaside lives in Port Canaveral, thirty minutes north of where we live, seemed like a no-brainer to join good folks for a good time. So, here we are booked in a balcony cabin, mid-ship on deck 11, with no nudging from GP, on a ship with a 67-health rating when a passing score is 86. Go figure. I go to the MSC forum in order to glean useful information and worthwhile comments and .... well, my opening sentence says it all. Although the casino is not our thing, I appreciate your views on all things cruising. Couple your thread with another well-respected OP's Seaside review and I'm doing pretty good for starters. 

 

It is going to be a good time. We are good adjusters, adapters, and look at every cruise as a new experience. We don't compare. Rather, each sailing has its own personality and deserves to be judged on its own merit. We will do just that, while keeping in mind pertinent information from you and others. 

 

I assume that this short cruise with Mama Peaches was very enjoyable and obviously somewhat lucrative. Continued good voyages wherever you go and whoever you choose to take you there.

Spif, of course I remember!  I believe you said something to the effect that you were not in the market for a change but thanked me for putting MSC on your radar 😊. I have to say I’m very excited to hear your thoughts after your September cruise. I’m of the opinion that if you’re traveling with people you enjoy, it’s really hard to have a bad cruise on any line. 
 

As far as I’m concerned our Seaside experience was just as good as those we’ve had in the past on MSC despite the recently low health score. Although I did have an issue with some food coming out of the kitchen on the cool side, after calling it up the attention of the M’d they corrected course in excellent fashion. Our last meal on board was an Indian dish served piping hot and it was delicious. 
 

DM and I had a great time albeit, quite short. In that respect we did not come close to scratching the surface of all the ship has to offer. DH and I will return to Seaside August 6th so I hope to get a better feel for all things Seaside. 
 

Appreciate the well wishes and look forward to your thoughts on Seaside in the near future!

 

[Fissues]

I saw someone win 40k on the slots last week. 

[xcell]

Thanks for the review -- can I ask how you liked your inside cabin?  I'm just figuring out if my DW will kill me for booking that vs our normal balcony (the only difference is I booked a second inside for the kids,  so we are not all cramped together into one room, balcony or not).

[Georgia_Peaches]

5 minutes ago, xcell said:

Thanks for the review -- can I ask how you liked your inside cabin?  I'm just figuring out if my DW will kill me for booking that vs our normal balcony (the only difference is I booked a second inside for the kids,  so we are not all cramped together into one room, balcony or not).

Never did I imagine that I’d be in favor of an inside cabin. This was our second inside experience. I really like it!  For us, the pros include:

- very dark space at night

- always a cool room (blissfully cool)

- less expensive but equally luxurious in terms of service and amenities 

 

Cons

- the space is small and storage is lacking. 
- bathroom shower stall is very tight. I measured the floor space footprint of the stall (28 inches x 22 inches). 

We made it work by storing things under the bed…sort of a packing as we go so that there was no clutter. The small space forced us to be very tidy. 
 

We were is cabin 16023. It turns out that a crew area servicing the kitchen is directly above. We heard banging around on a few occasions. Our next stay will be in 16033…just a few doors down and also under this same crew area. It wasn’t constant or terrible by any means but might bother a light sleeper. 

 

[mafig]

Thanks for your thoughts, Georgia_Peaches.  I really enjoy reading your posts and reviews.😀

[Georgia_Peaches]

6 hours ago, mafig said:

Thanks for your thoughts, Georgia_Peaches.  I really enjoy reading your posts and reviews.😀

Awe thank you!!  
 

How’s the new roof situation coming?  Still looking at early July last minute Equinox?

Edited June 10, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[mafig]

13 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Awe thank you!!  
 

How’s the new roof situation coming?  Still looking at early July last minute Equinox?

Roof is done, but still awaiting gutters and replacement of some nails.  (our roof is red, and they used red nails, all but in a certain section where they must have run out and used stainless steel, and when the sun hits them they really stand out.  DH is picky!)

So, your Equinox cruise is the first one, right?  That would be cutting it too close.  The second one is almost sold out and the one leaving on the 30th makes me hurricane-nervous.
I am, instead, considering MSC out of Miami, mid-July.

or

Biloxi.  We like to gamble, too.

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by mafig

[Georgia_Peaches]

21 hours ago, mafig said:

Roof is done, but still awaiting gutters and replacement of some nails.  (our roof is red, and they used red nails, all but in a certain section where they must have run out and used stainless steel, and when the sun hits them they really stand out.  DH is picky!)

So, your Equinox cruise is the first one, right?  That would be cutting it too close.  The second one is almost sold out and the one leaving on the 30th makes me hurricane-nervous.
I am, instead, considering MSC out of Miami, mid-July.

or

Biloxi.  We like to gamble, too.

 

Yes, we are on Equinox July 2nd. MSC out of Miami would be awesome as well. I’d much rather visit their PI that Grand Cayman. One of these days I’m sure we will cross paths 😊

[KarenGretz]

Hopefully someone who has been on recently can answer me. Does the casino on the seaside have three card poker? And if so, what is the buy in? I'm new to table games and have picked this as my go-to. I sail in 2 weeks on a free casino offer. I can't wait!