MSC Seascape - One and Done

[PharmacyRx]

My husband and I are 30+ year Princess customers and by recommendation of a friend decided to sail MSC Seascape. We booked Yacht Club, deluxe suite and it was as advertised. Exceptional service and food and truly a ship within a ship experience. A+ for everything in the Yacht Club. And, we would be repeat customers except for how the onboard situation on 6/25 was managed when the Port of Miami was closed due to a boating accident.
 

The accident was no fault at all of any cruise line. Up until noon, the captain of the Seascape made timely announcements (although lacking in any real detail) as to what was going on and then it was radio silence from the bridge. We got our updates from friends who were on the Carnival cruise and the local marine radio broadcasts.

 

The leadership of CCL trumped that of anyone aboard the MSC Seascape. The CCL leadership recognized that they had 4K + passengers waiting in the terminal yet also recognized they still had 4K+ guests onboard their ship and CCL saw the opportunity to (1) either create future raving fans(which they did) from guests both waiting in the terminal and those still at sea all who were weary, had travel plans disrupted and frustrated or, (2) CCL could have ignored their future and current guests which is the low road the MSC Seascape took.

 

CCL allowed passengers to stay in their cabins and we witnessed MSC YC staff get  surly with many passengers, especially those with kids and refused them access back to their cabins. My DH and I stayed on our balcony as  the cabin steward readied the cabin for the new passengers. We touched nothing and used the restroom up at the restaurant. CCL put the needs / comfort of their guests first while MSC put maintaining their schedule first and current passenger comfort last. One only had to watch as the CCL sailed in with passengers on their balconies cheering and waving to know their experience was completely opposite those on MSC Seascape. Our CCL friends shared that CCL approached the situation as a "bonus" sea day and it was business as usual on board. 

 

There was zero presence of any MSC officers or leadership during the disembarkation fiasco. The fact that the ship staff "abandoned" any protocols to manage a calm, safe and orderly disembarkation and had zero presence about the ship is the reason I will never sail with MSC again.

If this "non- emergency" overwhelmed them then what would they do in a true maritime, ship involved event where life boats had to be deployed? MSC could learn many lessons from this and one important t lesson being that you are still responsible for those on your ship and we are all still guests until that cruise card is scanned at disembarkation. 

 

On another note... YC interlopers. We were new to MSC and didn't know such a behavior existed but soon learned that YC guests brought  other family members who were not staying in the YC into the YC especially on port days. Other seasoned YC guests (who told us about the practice) brought this to the crew's attention but nothing was done. It was pointed out that one YC couple brought in 6 other people ( 3 adult couples) to the pool area on port days and to the seafood lunch. Per our seasoned YC traveler intel, passengers outside the YC are often overlooked by crew because they tip well. Seems the YC could issue a colored bracelet to be worn specially for the seafood luncheon and on port days in the pool area to cut down on the hijinks. 

 

Overall, the YC experience is top notch and definitely a must if one sails MSC. However, consider sailing another MSC ship as the competency and the confidence of this captain and his  leadership gets a failing grade. 

Edited July 3, 2023 by PharmacyRx

[skipsaur]

26 minutes ago, PharmacyRx said:

There was zero presence of any MSC officers or leadership during the disembarkation fiasco. The fact that the ship staff "abandoned" any protocols to manage a calm, safe and orderly disembarkation and had zero presence about the ship is the reason I will never sail with MSC again.

If this "non- emergency" overwhelmed them then what would they do in a true maritime, ship involved event where life boats had to be deployed? MSC could learn many lessons from this and one important t lesson being that you are still responsible for those on your ship and we are all still guests until that cruise card is scanned at disembarkation. 

 

This is an excellent point and made me really think.

[PharmacyRx]

@skipsaur The lack of presence and action by any leadership was concerning. There was complete bewilderment on the disembarkation deck by the YC butlers who were the only MSC crew team we saw on deck 4 or 6 (whichever deck the casino is on). I understand why some passengers took it upon themselves to "police" the disembarkation area and try and bring some order to the process.  One omen that I should have paid heed to was during muster when I showed my cruise card and asked a crew member if I was headed to the right muster station and he replied " I have no idea. It really is confusing" to which I replied, "oh, are you new?" and he responded "no, I have been on here since we first launched" 😳

[MsTabbyKats]

@PharmacyRxJust curious...but do you know where Non YC guests stayed during the delayed disembarkation?  I am not picturing a pretty sight!  Was food available?

 

 

[Stem to Stern]

1 hour ago, PharmacyRx said:

One omen that I should have paid heed to was during muster when I showed my cruise card and asked a crew member if I was headed to the right muster station and he replied " I have no idea. It really is confusing" to which I replied, "oh, are you new?" and he responded "no, I have been on here since we first launched" 😳

Oh dear.  Maybe I should consider packing my own inflatable life preservers? 😄

[PharmacyRx]

@MsTabbyKats I don't know if the non YC folks were allowed to stay in their cabins or not nor if the buffets were open. I cannot fathom MSC wouldn't be serving food / snacks but I certainly hope they did. When we came down to the disembarkation deck it was full of passengers in every available chair, standing and sitting in the floors or walking about yet no direction given as to what group or room numbers were to disembark. Most everyone was pretty crispy by then so we just went to the back of one of lines and waited patiently to leave. 

[mackfam]

Really disappointing to hear how poorly MSC handled this situation. I have a cruise booked on the Seascape in YC for Jan 2024 but after reading recent reviews I am considering forfeiting my deposit and walking away. With the reports of frequent and brazen interlopers in the YC areas on this ship, I’m not sure I want to spend my hard earned vacation dollars on a less than stellar experience. It seems with MSC experience can vary based on the ship. I’ve been on the Meraviglia twice and the Seaview once (all in YC) and had a fantastic cruise each time with no sign of interlopers. Seems like the problem is with the Seascape, and I wonder if the fault lies with the Ships captain and officers?

[Two Wheels Only]

40 minutes ago, mackfam said:

Seems like the problem is with the Seascape, and I wonder if the fault lies with the Ships captain and officers?

 

It might very well be as simple as that. Meraviglia, Seaside, and Seashore didn't have problems like some have described. I haven't sailed Seascape (a few months to go) but the problem is something that I will have in the back of my mind.

 

The Captain might not be aware and TBH, the Captain has more important things to worry about. The concierge and director should be able handle interlopers. 

 

I'd be willing to wear a distinctive wristband but the problem is that anyone could transfer their wristband to an interloper friend/family member.

 

Maybe photo ID badges?🤔

[PharmacyRx]

@mackfam I agree with you that the experiences between MSC ships varies and I have read about others experiences on other MSC ships being great and we have friends that sailed on other MSC ships with no qualms.

  I hesitated at first booking the Seascape  since it went into service the reviews were less than stellar but it being a new ship that was attractive to us. We truly had no complaints, not a one,  about the cruise until the last day and the total breakdown of leadership was troubling. Interestingly, since we have been home we have had no survey from MSC or any communication other than emails to sell us future bookings. And I agree with you, given the historical accountings of others reviews, the captain and officers of this ship may need a closer look. 
 

Being MSC rookies we didn't know YC interlopers were a "thing" until others who were frequent MSC travelers pointed it out and expressed the same frustrations about paying for an exclusive YC experience only to be impeded upon by those who did not "pay their way". There again, fault lies in shipboard management and their neglect of the YC paying customer.

 

We have been brand loyal to Princess for decades and while they, too, have their share of issues, we have been in situations at sea onboard Princess in extreme weather and various port conditions but I never once doubted there was someone in charge and that their sole focus was for the passengers. 

 

I hope all your future sailings are smooth on upon all seas ☺️

Edited July 3, 2023 by PharmacyRx

[jules815]

1 hour ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

It might very well be as simple as that. Meraviglia, Seaside, and Seashore didn't have problems like some have described. I haven't sailed Seascape (a few months to go) but the problem is something that I will have in the back of my mind.

 

The Captain might not be aware and TBH, the Captain has more important things to worry about. The concierge and director should be able handle interlopers. 

 

I'd be willing to wear a distinctive wristband but the problem is that anyone could transfer their wristband to an interloper friend/family member.

 

Maybe photo ID badges?🤔

We're also a couple months out on Seascape and I'd be lying if I said we didn't have concerns after reading all these negative posts. I would also be more than happy to have someone check for YC id if they ever decide to go that route.

 

[snoozecrooze]

6 hours ago, PharmacyRx said:

Up until noon, the captain of the Seascape made timely announcements (although lacking in any real detail) as to what was going on and then it was radio silence from the bridge.

I believe Captain Tuvo was your captain for the Seascape, based on his social media activity? AKA Captain Bye-bye of Sky Princess fame, who unceremoniously bounced to MSC from Princess rather randomly?

 

Anyways, quite disappointing at his absence of leadership, according to your experiences, but at the end of the day, corporate leadership (or more specifically, the positive workplace culture) seems to not be there.

[B_A_H]

Lots to unpack.  Let's start with communication.  Until the scene of the pleasure boat fatality was documented and cleared, what was there to say?  As far as I know, there's not a prescribed time frame for dealing with such an incident.  So any times provided by the Coast Guard or port were bound to be pretty vague and subject to change.  That's not any of the cruise line's fault.  Would @PharmacyRx have been happier with multiple updates that all ended up being pushed wrong?  Anything any of the cruise lines said regarding timing was all based on being provided with the same information. It was a great idea by Carnival to bus there passengers to Bayside Marketplace to get them away from the pier.  Personally, rather than being one of thousands waiting my turn to get on a 52 passenger bus I'd have gotten away from the pier on my own and at my  expense. 

 

MSC is screwed at PortMiami until their new private terminal opens.  Terminal C is way too small for a 5,000 passenger ship on a good day.  Add the drama of what happened and I'm sure it was pure chaos.  Again, with limited public areas at Terminal C, MSC drew the short straw.  I was on the Divina in January and we used Terminal D and there was plenty of public area available.  So I guess MSC has a choice.  Do the best they can with random terminal assignments until their private terminal is complete or abandon sailing out of Miami.  You all can debate among yourselves your opinion of what they should do.  

 

There are a lot of really frequent cruisers on this forum.  How many times has something like this happened to you? I'm asking because everyone's freaking out over a 1:10,000 (guess) incident.  I've been on dozens of cruises and, knock on wood, I've never arrived late.

 

I've had two unusual arrival incidents that are kind of in the same league as this one.  Once, I arrived in New Orleans at 8:00PM on Disney the night before we were due to dock because of a medical emergency but early (with overnight accommodation on the ship) wasn't a hardship.  The second was being trapped on the Liberty of  Seas due to hurricane Harvey which required a four day detour to Miami before we could return back to Galveston, our scheduled arrival port.  I chalk that up to force majeure and the size of the ship precluding docking in New Orleans which Carnival did.  RCI couldn't have handled the situation any worse, made the news because of it, and actually got slapped with a class action lawsuit.  How many of you even remember that and do you think it affects RCI today?  Keep that in mind when you're "never againing" MSC.   

 

Here's what I would have done had this happened to me.  Obviously, the time to turn a ship can only be compressed so much.  I'd have gone on my own to a full service hotel near the port and had lunch and possibly dinner as well.  I'd use the hotel facilities until it was time to go back to the ship.  Under the circumstances, I'd have wanted to be one of the last on vs. the first.  Adding no less than six hours to the actual ship arrival time for turn around activities to be completed, and without a word from MSC, I'd have been pretty close to the optimal time to show up for boarding.  It's not like they were going to turn the ship in 90 minutes and I'd miss it. And if anyone noticed, all the ships arrived about the same time and departed about the same time as well. 

 

Travel post-pandemic sucks be it land, sea, or air.  Travel providers are short staffed and customer service suffers because of it; especially in unusual situations.  Either suck it up buttercup or don't travel if you don't want to deal with the occasional drama.    

 

 

 

 

[Raintree]

I am a teacher who sails MSC Yacht Club frequently.   Being a teacher in this day and age, we are prepared the best we can for unforeseen emergencies.  However, with that being said the person in full charge is our principal, unless it is necessary for police officers to take command..

As I see it with MSC Seascape, the Captain is in charge during any type of emergency that affects all that are on the ship at the time.  Did the Captain order that all passagengers can return to their cabins and wait?  Did the Captain open up food venues?   Captain would have had to given the orders--not the  Yacht Club Director, Concierge, butlers, chefs, waiters, etc. Please  understand that I am not just speaking about Yacht Club.   It starts at the very top for every passenger.  I am just concerned about the welfare of all.  Thank you.

[morpheusofthesea]

4 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

The Captain might not be aware

44 of those on our cruise were friends and family of the Captain and his officers in an already full Yacht Club. 'That' he has control over as well. Like how to limit the number ?

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, snoozecrooze said:

unceremoniously

What does "unceremoniously" mean ?

[B_A_H]

Good lord.  Everyone's making it sound as if the ship was in danger of sinking. This wasn't an emergency.  Let's recap and this is common to all three ships affected that day:

 

• Ships arrived hours late through nothing the cruise lines could control.
• Passengers arriving at their embarkation times caused a huge back up in the cruise terminals because there was no flow of moving passengers because no one could board.
• The event that caused this was of an unknown duration which hampered planning and communication.
• Inbound passengers that arrived late exited in to the already over crowded terminal where departing passengers were backed up.  Many also probably missed their flights and most likely had to overnight at their own expense due to later flights already being full.
• Departing passengers basically had the first day and night of their cruise vacations ruined. 
• Eventually, everyone got off that needed to and everyone leaving boarded and departed.

 

Unless I'm missing something, that's the story.  No one on any of the three cruise lines didn't have a horrible experience that day.  Only degrees of more or less horrible.    

[morpheusofthesea]

7 hours ago, PharmacyRx said:

passengers outside the YC are often overlooked by crew because they tip well.

This is the one time I agree with my detractors that a "tip" in this instance is a bribe.

[Two Wheels Only]

11 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

44 of those on our cruise were friends and family of the Captain and his officers in an already full Yacht Club. 'That' he has control over as well. Like how to limit the number ?

 

That settles it....

 

[B_A_H]

If I hear the word "interloper" one more time, I'm going to scream.  Whether anyone realizes it or not, YC makes up 15% of MSC's available cabins.  Yet.  Every thread in this forum is somehow commandeered to a discussion of the YC.  

 

I sail YC as well.  But I'm also conscious of the fact that 85% of the people using this forum don't or won't.  I talk YC when I'm in a YC oriented thread.  Otherwise, I don't because it doesn't affect the vast number of people reading it.  

 

Words to live by. 

[Two Wheels Only]

8 minutes ago, B_A_H said:

I talk YC when I'm in a YC oriented thread. 

 

So when the OP starts a thread with.....

 

8 hours ago, PharmacyRx said:

My husband and I are 30+ year Princess customers and by recommendation of a friend decided to sail MSC Seascape. We booked Yacht Club, deluxe suite and it was as advertised. Exceptional service and food and truly a ship within a ship experience.

 

...is it not a Yacht Club oriented thread? 🤔

[morpheusofthesea]

58 minutes ago, B_A_H said:

If I hear the word "interloper" one more time, I'm going to scream.

We can't hear you.....

[LMaxwell]

3 hours ago, B_A_H said:

 

 

MSC is screwed at PortMiami until their new private terminal opens.  Terminal C is way too small for a 5,000 passenger ship on a good day.  Add the drama of what happened and I'm sure it was pure chaos. 

 

 

 

 

I'd have gone on my own to a full service hotel near the port and had lunch and possibly dinner as well.  I'd use the hotel facilities until it was time to go back to the ship.  Under the circumstances, I'd have wanted to be one of the last on vs. the first.  Adding no less than six hours to the actual ship arrival time for turn around activities to be completed, and without a word from MSC, I'd have been pretty close to the optimal time to show up for boarding.  It's not like they were going to turn the ship in 90 minutes and I'd miss it. And if anyone noticed, all the ships arrived about the same time and departed about the same time as well. 

 

 

At 10:30PM with no MSC employees present at either West or East entrances to terminal C, more Miami-Dade Police were called out.  There were 13 police cars at West terminal alone to manage the crowd/mob.  

 

From 3:30PM - 9PM we did not have a single word from MSC.  At 330 they said boarding was from 6 to 930.  At 9PM they said extending to 11PM. If they would have been a bit more direct or provide updates we would have left port and found dinner on our own. NO ONE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON. There were people who wanted to leave and get a hotel and board in the morning figuring ship would not leave at night. There were people guessing at everything. I watched a guy have a full blown meltdown in the terminal begging a terminal agent to address the crowd and tell them anything. However this is a Miami port worker so he just laughs and tells the guy we don't know anything just like you don't know anything.  We actually managed to get food delivery service to the port around 9PM because we had no idea what MSC would actually do regarding departure only that check in ended at 11PM so at that point we didn't want to chance leaving the terminal area. 

 

We heard the muster drill alarm around midnight and we *still* were not in the terminal. 

 

Carnival and NCL ships departed hours earlier than MSC did. 

 

No one knew what would be optimal, because there was no communications for us embarking. The best we got was asking people coming out of the terminal how long the lines still were for people getting off. 

 

We finally boarded right about 1:30AM with hundreds, if not a solid thousand, still behind us. 

 

Terminal C is an embarrassment, I can't believe the Port Authority runs such a small old building barely capable of servicing a 1500 passenger ship let alone 5000 people. I can't believe MSC would leave thousands outside without communication. The police presence was for mob control, not just order, more than a few decked out in their riot gear. 

[LMaxwell]

2 hours ago, Raintree said:

I am a teacher who sails MSC Yacht Club frequently.   Being a teacher in this day and age, we are prepared the best we can for unforeseen emergencies.  However, with that being said the person in full charge is our principal, unless it is necessary for police officers to take command..

As I see it with MSC Seascape, the Captain is in charge during any type of emergency that affects all that are on the ship at the time.  Did the Captain order that all passagengers can return to their cabins and wait?  Did the Captain open up food venues?   Captain would have had to given the orders--not the  Yacht Club Director, Concierge, butlers, chefs, waiters, etc. Please  understand that I am not just speaking about Yacht Club.   It starts at the very top for every passenger.  I am just concerned about the welfare of all.  Thank you.

 

That's up to Hotel Director and Food and Bev manager.  Captain is responsible for maritime operation of the ship. 

[Raintree]

21 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

 

That's up to Hotel Director and Food and Bev manager.  Captain is responsible for maritime operation of the ship. 

Thank you for the information.

[Bgwest]

2 hours ago, B_A_H said:

If I hear the word "interloper" one more time, I'm going to scream.  Whether anyone realizes it or not, YC makes up 15% of MSC's available cabins.  Yet.  Every thread in this forum is somehow commandeered to a discussion of the YC.  

 

I sail YC as well.  But I'm also conscious of the fact that 85% of the people using this forum don't or won't.  I talk YC when I'm in a YC oriented thread.  Otherwise, I don't because it doesn't affect the vast number of people reading it.  

 

Words to live by. 

Oh quit. Just quit.  
You are invited to skip right by any post which offends your sensibilities.