Seascape June 11-18 review. Warning, it isnt pretty...

[20165]

Im going to keep this ‘relatively' short because most of you read some of my rants on Morpheusofthesea’s post last week so you have a gist of how I feel about this cruisline…

Quick background, 5 family members traveling in 3 cabins. 14141, 14139, 14133  We booked this cruise last minute, about 2 months ago, due to the fact that we were worried about not having one of our passports in time and we could use a birth cert for a cruise.  We, hubby and wife, have about 30 cruises under our belt from pretty much all of the cruise lines, kids have about 10ish.  Loved RCL when the kids were smaller, but have been doing more Celebrity lately now that they are late teens/early 20s.  We live in NC, but grew up in FL hence the reason we have rack up so many cruises early on.  

The good

• Beautiful new ship with lots to do
• Service staff was very good.  Cabin steward and MDR waiters were excellent.  Bar staff was good once they knew you were tipping.  
• We did the Mexican, Sushi, and Seafood restaurants and they were all very good. 

The not so good

• Embarkation was a not good.  Partly because they seemed a bit unorganized, especially once you had your ship card and are waiting upstairs to get on. People pushing and shoving to get to the front of the line. 
• We booked 1 minor in a cabin and that did not work well at all.  We couldn’t see anything on his account, he couldn’t make show reservations, card didn’t work in the arcade etc.  This was more on us the MSC. We knew it would be a challenge doing this, but when we talked to guest services about getting some of it resolved, it all became our fault even though MSC allowed us to book that way.  
• Loud music at the pools.  People brought their own speakers and started doing karaoke.  Im not even kidding…
• I didn’t think the buffet was bad, but it was packed every day to the point where people were just getting nasty with each other.  Grabbing food with their hands, kids running everywhere, nowhere to sit.   

The ugly

• It’s hard to describe the mix of people, but it wasn’t good.  Extremely rude, witnessed people shoving others out of their way in the halls/elevators and buffet.  I used the word ‘thuggish’ on of the other posts and that wasn’t an exaggeration.  There were some pretty rough looking people on that ship that I would not feel comfortable letting smaller kids out of my sight around. 
• No end of the cruise statement so I have no idea if our charges are correct.  There are 22 separate charges on my AMEX throughout the week.  I did deny all of them so let MSC explain them to AMEX.  Amex thought my card was stolen there were so many charges…
• Disembarkation was also bad.  The room with our son it it apparently had a $106 balance on it even through they had my credit card on file for it and had been charging it all week.  They couldn’t tell me what the charge was for, but would not allow us off the ship unless we paid cash.  I finally convinced them that I didn’t have the cash and they let me put it on my credit card which I promptly disputed once we got off the ship.  

Bottom line, this is a carnival type of cruise on a nicer ship in our opinion. If you get a heck of a deal on a cabin, give it a try, but if the costs is close to RCL, NCL, Etc, I would avoid this line like the plague.  I know YC would have made this cruise better for us, but I also don’t like to be confined to one area of the ship, especially a ship that had a lot to offer.  We have done haven and retreat and didn’t stay exclusively in those areas, but if we were in YC, I’m sure we would have never left that area.  Just a bad vibe with the masses on that ship.

Happy to answer any specific questions anyone has.  

[Stockjock]

5 minutes ago, 20165 said:

Im going to keep this ‘relatively' short because most of you read some of my rants on Morpheusofthesea’s post last week so you have a gist of how I feel about this cruisline…

Quick background, 5 family members traveling in 3 cabins. 14141, 14139, 14133  We booked this cruise last minute, about 2 months ago, due to the fact that we were worried about not having one of our passports in time and we could use a birth cert for a cruise.  We, hubby and wife, have about 30 cruises under our belt from pretty much all of the cruise lines, kids have about 10ish.  Loved RCL when the kids were smaller, but have been doing more Celebrity lately now that they are late teens/early 20s.  We live in NC, but grew up in FL hence the reason we have rack up so many cruises early on.  

The good

• Beautiful new ship with lots to do
• Service staff was very good.  Cabin steward and MDR waiters were excellent.  Bar staff was good once they knew you were tipping.  
• We did the Mexican, Sushi, and Seafood restaurants and they were all very good. 

The not so good

• Embarkation was a not good.  Partly because they seemed a bit unorganized, especially once you had your ship card and are waiting upstairs to get on. People pushing and shoving to get to the front of the line. 
• We booked 1 minor in a cabin and that did not work well at all.  We couldn’t see anything on his account, he couldn’t make show reservations, card didn’t work in the arcade etc.  This was more on us the MSC. We knew it would be a challenge doing this, but when we talked to guest services about getting some of it resolved, it all became our fault even though MSC allowed us to book that way.  
• Loud music at the pools.  People brought their own speakers and started doing karaoke.  Im not even kidding…
• I didn’t think the buffet was bad, but it was packed every day to the point where people were just getting nasty with each other.  Grabbing food with their hands, kids running everywhere, nowhere to sit.   

The ugly

• It’s hard to describe the mix of people, but it wasn’t good.  Extremely rude, witnessed people shoving others out of their way in the halls/elevators and buffet.  I used the word ‘thuggish’ on of the other posts and that wasn’t an exaggeration.  There were some pretty rough looking people on that ship that I would not feel comfortable letting smaller kids out of my sight around. 
• No end of the cruise statement so I have no idea if our charges are correct.  There are 22 separate charges on my AMEX throughout the week.  I did deny all of them so let MSC explain them to AMEX.  Amex thought my card was stolen there were so many charges…
• Disembarkation was also bad.  The room with our son it it apparently had a $106 balance on it even through they had my credit card on file for it and had been charging it all week.  They couldn’t tell me what the charge was for, but would not allow us off the ship unless we paid cash.  I finally convinced them that I didn’t have the cash and they let me put it on my credit card which I promptly disputed once we got off the ship.  

Bottom line, this is a carnival type of cruise on a nicer ship in our opinion. If you get a heck of a deal on a cabin, give it a try, but if the costs is close to RCL, NCL, Etc, I would avoid this line like the plague.  I know YC would have made this cruise better for us, but I also don’t like to be confined to one area of the ship, especially a ship that had a lot to offer.  We have done haven and retreat and didn’t stay exclusively in those areas, but if we were in YC, I’m sure we would have never left that area.  Just a bad vibe with the masses on that ship.

Happy to answer any specific questions anyone has.  

Sorry you had this experience. While MSC’s ships do tend to be a bit crowded at times, due to the larger size of the ships, I have not personally experienced thuggish behavior in the way that I have on Carnival, as an example.  I think that allowing private karaoke machines, or music devices, in public spaces is unacceptable.

[morpheusofthesea]

I agree with everything you wrote. Even the 4 year olds outside the Yacht Club were insulting.

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

Sorry you had this experience. While MSC’s ships do tend to be a bit crowded at times, due to the larger size of the ships, I have not personally experienced thuggish behavior in the way that I have on Carnival, as an example.  I think that allowing private karaoke machines, or music devices, in public spaces is unacceptable.

Agree on the private speakers, it needs to be stopped.

[Two Wheels Only]

1 minute ago, PTC DAWG said:

Agree on the private speakers, it needs to be stopped.

 

Carnival has restrictions on portable speakers.....

 

"Bluetooth, portable and wireless speakers are only permitted within your stateroom and must be used respectfully and at reasonable sound levels and times of day."

 

...so it's probably a matter of time until MSC adds something similar. 

 

Guests should voice their concerns with the cruise line as well as on Cruise Critic. 

[20165]

45 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I agree with everything you wrote. Even the 4 year olds outside the Yacht Club were insulting.

Thank you.  We are on Sky Princess in December.  Hoping for a better experience...

[thistimeplease]

Wow, just got off the Seascape on 5/28 and found none of these issues.  The ship never felt crowded and people were very friendly.  I agree with the ship is beautiful and the service was excellent, actually the best service of the 6 cruises we've taken.  No reason to make reservations for shows.  I agree with the buffet being very crowded.  We felt that this cruise was probably one of the best we've been on and ran a close 2nd to NCL. Definitely didn't think music was too loud but we didn't use the main pool. Just goes to show you everyone is different. 

[thistimeplease]

1 hour ago, 20165 said:

Thank you.  We are on Sky Princess in December.  Hoping for a better experience...

We loved the Seascape in May and would definitely sail on MSC again.  

[mackfam]

Sorry you had such a negative experience. We have a cruise booked on Seascape next January albeit in YC so hoping for a better experience. I agree that it is nice to be able use the full ship and not feel confined to a specific area. We were recently on the Meraviglia out of Brooklyn in YC. We had a fantastic time but mainly stayed in the YC enclave. When venturing out and about the rest of the ship there was definitely a “Carnival” feel to the gen pop areas.  Considering you could book an inside for $299pp this isn’t surprising. 

[morpheusofthesea]

We have never been on a Carnival cruise, but outside the Yacht Club is "The Greatest Show On Earth".

[RICHARD@SEA]

its unfortunate you had these problems -  but the cruiseline is not responsible for passengers unruly behavior... yes the ships are big & I've seen families crammed into 1 stateroom w strollers in corridors etc...

I've found the European passengers a little pushy & the main pool is a zoo, but fun (especially during the summer & school holidays).

As far as the individual speakers everyone brings - I've found it to be rampant in Florida - I've given up on weekends in Miami & Ft Lauderdale due to the obnoxious behavior by hotel guests w their own speakers - one  day here were 5 different groups w different types of music(mostly rap & latin) blasting & trying to out do each other... and this was a small 40 room hotel.

 

I've had several MSC cruises over the years - I've enjoyed them - but its a good value for the price point( I would never step foot on a Carnivore ship or RCL) and on the longer 7 + day cruises(non summer / school break) the do a good job.

 For some reason inexpensive cruises out of Florida seem to attract a wilder & obnoxious  crowd( the short 3-5 day cruises are pure hell)...Florida is considered party central & is out of control...now they just take the party off shore.

 

Try MSC again at another time.... you did mention the service & food were ok...

 

[Two Wheels Only]

5 minutes ago, RICHARD@SEA said:

I would never step foot on a Carnivore ship or RCL

 

Whether clever pun or typo, that's hilarious. 😄

[morpheusofthesea]

On 6/20/2023 at 11:50 AM, 20165 said:

Extremely rude, witnessed people shoving others out of their way in the halls/elevators and buffet.  I used the word ‘thuggish’ on of the other posts and that wasn’t an exaggeration.  

You all will love this to add to your 'watch out list'.  Just read on FB a post of a family, outside the YC, rented a cabana at Ocean Cay, NOT in YC. The cabanas are spaced similarly to provide privacy. But those same rude people one experiences on the ship are no better on the island. They drag their sun beds up close and set up camp right next to you in the cabana. NO Privacy.

[miched]

I was at a counter in a buffet on a ship, I had a bowl of hot soup that I learned to carry for “protection”.   Some rude person push me aside and reached in front of me to get at the tray in the buffet.   This is where the hot soup served it purpose.  The hot soup was “accidentally” dumped on them along with the rest of my food.   They didn’t get a sorry from me for the hot soup, instead  they got a lot of magical not so friendly words.  They knew that they were wrong and at fault.  
 

Don’t Tread on Me.
 

I am always polite but not to rude pushy people,  now it has also become the entitled.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸
 

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by miched

[BoundForSea]

“Seascape June 11-18 review. Warning, it isnt pretty...”

SHOCKER….. 🙄
 

 

 

Your review is spot on. When cabins are going for 199$ for a week, this is what happens.
 

Sailed a 4/3 ni b2b from PC on Mera in March. Same experience you had.
 

7 sailings IN YC later I’ve walked away from MSC. Combined with the issues you described, they just can’t or won’t figure it out. I’m done spending my money and wondering if this time they finally got it right. My money goes a lot further on NCL, HAL, and Celebrity. 

 

If I ever came back it would be in the YC in Europe. You just have to get out of the FL market with MSC. NY even seems to be better based on reviews I’ve read. 

Edited June 24, 2023 by BoundForSea

[lcpagejr]

As I have said numerous times...If you have cruised many times in past you will have a field day finding negatives on MSC. However...if you cruise in Yacht Club...completely different experience!! We have cruised on MSC twice in YC with a 3rd coming up over Thanksgiving. My experience walking through the non yacht club areas...was mixed at best. Enjoyed the Sports bar and other than a occasional cocktail in main Atrium to basically people watch....after my 1x walk through to see all of ship....Always so happy to retreat to YC

[morpheusofthesea]

5 hours ago, BoundForSea said:

7 sailings IN YC later I’ve walked away from MSC

Very understandable. Failure of management to keep the integrity of the YC exclusive to only paying guests and only paying ‘lip service’ to following their own rules and regulations has lead to this problem.

[lcpagejr]

6 hours ago, BoundForSea said:

“Seascape June 11-18 review. Warning, it isnt pretty...”

SHOCKER….. 🙄
 

 

 

Your review is spot on. When cabins are going for 199$ for a week, this is what happens.
 

Sailed a 4/3 ni b2b from PC on Mera in March. Same experience you had.
 

7 sailings IN YC later I’ve walked away from MSC. Combined with the issues you described, they just can’t or won’t figure it out. I’m done spending my money and wondering if this time they finally got it right. My money goes a lot further on NCL, HAL, and Celebrity. 

 

If I ever came back it would be in the YC in Europe. You just have to get out of the FL market with MSC. NY even seems to be better based on reviews I’ve read. 

My experience in YC has been nothing short of wonderful. I guess its based on expectations??  Ive never cruised in Haven or Retreat so I have nothing to compare YC to...But the price point for the services and exclusivity you receive can't be beat. Prior to YC ...Just a normal balcony cruiser on the other main lines and part of the herd. So the step up at an attractive price has been a huge plus.

[PompeySailor]

Thanks for your review 

 

Did you drive to port and if so which covered parking garage did you use

Which was best for Terminal E departure 

 

TIA

[20165]

1 hour ago, PompeySailor said:

Thanks for your review 

 

Did you drive to port and if so which covered parking garage did you use

Which was best for Terminal E departure 

 

TIA

sorry no, we flew.  I think there was covered parking right across from the terminal though. thx

[PompeySailor]

9 minutes ago, 20165 said:

sorry no, we flew.  I think there was covered parking right across from the terminal though. thx

Thank you 😊 

[morpheusofthesea]

3 hours ago, PompeySailor said:

Thanks for your review 

 

Did you drive to port and if so which covered parking garage did you use

Which was best for Terminal E departure 

 

TIA

If you all are writing about Terminal E at POM, there is a parking lot across the street. I recommend one not park under a tree for shade. My car was covered in bird poop after one week. The first time we sailed from Terminal E the lot was full and we parked in Parking Garage D.

[PompeySailor]

20 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

If you all are writing about Terminal E at POM, there is a parking lot across the street. I recommend one not park under a tree for shade. My car was covered in bird poop after one week. The first time we sailed from Terminal E the lot was full and we parked in Parking Garage D.

Thank you

How was the walk from D (covered parking ) to Terminal E

 

We had parked at G previously and it is quite a trek

Was looking for a closer covered option

 

D parking hopefully closer on foot than G

[morpheusofthesea]

35 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

How was the walk from D (covered parking ) to Terminal E

Not bad. We had a porter with DW's 12 suitcases walk us door to door. No worse than climbing 4 decks on the ship when our elevator over-ride cards stop working. Parking lot is so much closer, 5 minutes to get car, 10 minutes to clean windshield. Either spot is $154 for the week. Yes, parked in Garage G when ship was docked at Terminal F. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by morpheusofthesea

[PompeySailor]

6 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Not bad. We had a porter with DW's 12 suitcases walk us door to door. No worse than climbing 4 decks on the ship when our elevator over-ride cards stop working. Parking lot is so much closer, 5 minutes to get car, 10 minutes to clean windshield. Either spot is $154 for the week. Yes, parked in Garage G when ship was docked at Terminal F. 

Thank you
D it is then 👍🏻