Infrequent cruiser, first time MSC, YC 7/23-7/30

[mica178]

Oh! My son and I did the racing waterside yesterday. The slide on the right is much faster, so I picked the one on the left so he could 'win.' It was very fun and had almost no wait, unlike the bigger slide that always has a 20 minute wait in an area that weirdly traps in the heat. 

[amygutman]

Out of curiosity, the trivia at the bar was it only for the yacht club members? Our 14 year old is our “ringer” as he knows everything about pop-culture that his old parents do not. However, I feel that we would absolutely secure a win if we had limited participants! We love trivia, and we’re sad as our last few MSC Cruises did not have any good quizzes.

Sounds like you’re having a wonderful time. Enjoy the last day of your cruise and we will look forward to taking over your space come Sunday!

Warmest, Amy

[mica178]

8 hours ago, amygutman said:

Out of curiosity, the trivia at the bar was it only for the yacht club members? Our 14 year old is our “ringer” as he knows everything about pop-culture that his old parents do not. However, I feel that we would absolutely secure a win if we had limited participants! We love trivia, and we’re sad as our last few MSC Cruises did not have any good quizzes.

Sounds like you’re having a wonderful time. Enjoy the last day of your cruise and we will look forward to taking over your space come Sunday!

Warmest, Amy

Trivia is one of the times we venture out of YC. It is held at a (unfortunately) closed bar on the 7th floor, and there are participants of all ages.

 

Depending on the day, the trivia isn't particularly well attended, so your 14 year old might do quite well. We rarely place at trivia back home, but on MSC, trivia is set at approximately the 5th grade level.

Edited July 29, 2023 by mica178

[mica178]

Today is our last day. Very sad.

 

Last night was the white party. I'd say at least a third of YC guests did not wear white to dinner. There was a YC only white party at 9pm. Fancy wines were flowing (my butler found us and poured me a glass of Oberon), and they had loud music and fancy snacks. 

 

We did go to check out the main white party by the 16th deck pool. It was a lot crazier, much more wild outfits, and more modern music. Not really my thing, but if it is, that's where you should go. 

[mica178]

Last night. We ate dinner at the YC restaurant, left before dessert to see the MJ tribute  (totally worth it! ) and returned to YC for dessert. Am now FB friends with the Maitre'd. I don't remember who complained about the food on Italian night, but we thought it was good, especially the osso buco. The sommelier brought us a lovely 2009 Super Tuscan. 

 

The kids are distraught to leave their new friends. They had a great time this week!

[amygutman]

35 minutes ago, mica178 said:

Last night. We ate dinner at the YC restaurant, left before dessert to see the MJ tribute  (totally worth it! ) and returned to YC for dessert. Am now FB friends with the Maitre'd. I don't remember who complained about the food on Italian night, but we thought it was good, especially the osso buco. The sommelier brought us a lovely 2009 Super Tuscan. 

 

The kids are distraught to leave their new friends. They had a great time this week!

Am so glad you had a great time. Loved following along. Have a safe journey home! 
Warmest Amy

[mica178]

Just arrived home... and realized we left a duffle bag full of dirty laundry at the port. And there I was, thinking about how easy disembarking was. We remembered the rolling bags, and forgot the laundry duffle. Probably not a huge deal if we never recover it (mostly kid clothing, socks and underwear), but add to my reentry back into the real world tomorrow- sorting through the responsibility chain of a bag that likely made it off the ship and is now wandering around a port. I already tried MSC CS, but it is only open on weekdays.

[Av8tor]

I was thinking that if you really want to get the duffle back and you believe it did get off the ship, your best bet may be to contact Port Canaveral teminal operations (lost & found?) to see if they might have it. But checking their web site under lost luggage, it does say to contact the cruise line.  The numberthey show for MSC is 833-244-0430.  Good luck!

[mica178]

I called MSC again today, and apparently they outsource their lost and found to Chargerback.com. So the claim has been filed, my fingers are crossed. The monetary value of the missing items isn't huge, and I got the duffle bag for free more than a decade ago. But if this service works, I'll still be thrilled. 

[pirate4me2]

Thank you for the live review! I am pretty darn excited now to experience MSC in just 19 short days. 🙂 And reading your review, I realized I forgot to pack an outfit for white night. Think I could get by with a pair of white shorts and a tank top for the deck party portion? 

Also, how were people dressed for dinner in the YC restaurant? I have a dress packed for gala night, but on non-gala night do you think I could get by with nice dark color jeans and a nice top? 

[mica178]

So, parting thoughts now that we're a day off the Seaside.

 

We had a nice vacation. My kids loved the novelty of the cruiseship. We received excellent service from pretty much everyone in YC. The kids club was great for my 5 year old, but my 7 year old didn't love it. The drinks were fine. The cooked food was very good, although temperature was occasionally an issue. The visual appearance of the Seaside was beautiful, and while our deluxe YC balcony cabin was small (to us), it was very functional and stylish. The beds were comfortable, and the shower's water pressure was surprisingly excellent.

 

We've travelled to a bunch of similarly priced AI resorts in Mexico, where we also get excellent service. I'd say that the food on the cruise ship was about on par with higher end AI food, although on MSC, you get Italian food, and at the AI, it's Mexican food, so it's a preference thing. The fruits are better at an AI, where they can get the seasonal, local fruit. On MSC, most of the fruit was underripe melon and pineapple, presumably chosen to last the duration of the 7 day cruise. At an AI, the fruity drink mixers are also fresh fruit (fresh passion fruit margarita with chili pepper rim? While sitting in the pool at the poolside bar? Yes please). Most of the fruit drink mixers on MSC were pre-made and not fresh, and therefore not as varied or tasty. My son was disappointed not to be able to have fresh mango during our cruise. I will say that the wines served on MSC were much better than what I've had at any AI.

 

While cruises go to several cities for a few hours, when we go to an AI, we get to stay in that community for several days. Granted, we often do not leave the AI, but then again, many people do not leave the ship. We had some a couple great excursions in Roatan and Costa Maya. And we didn't mind getting out into the town of Cozumel, although we didn't love the dolphin excursion. However, when we go to an AI in Cancun, we can take a longer excursion without worrying about an all-aboard time. On the other hand, cruiseship kids clubs allowed us to leave the kids there for the day if we wanted to go on shore alone, whereas most AI kids clubs do not allow both parents to leave the resort without the kid.

 

There are pluses and minuses to both. I think while my kids still enjoy kids clubs and don't want to do museum hopping, we'll continue with the convenience vacationing of cruises and AIs, depending on location, weather, and deals. 

[mica178]

3 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

Thank you for the live review! I am pretty darn excited now to experience MSC in just 19 short days. 🙂 And reading your review, I realized I forgot to pack an outfit for white night. Think I could get by with a pair of white shorts and a tank top for the deck party portion? 

Also, how were people dressed for dinner in the YC restaurant? I have a dress packed for gala night, but on non-gala night do you think I could get by with nice dark color jeans and a nice top? 

The white outfits varied. I wore a black and white patterned dress. There were people in shorts and a tank top, especially at the main party. Many of the YC guests did not wear white but still attended the white party.

 

On non-gala nights, pretty much anything goes. My husband and son definitely went wearing shorts and a tee shirt a few nights, although my preference was for them to wear at least a polo with khaki shorts. (I mean, the waiters were in tails!) My daughter and I wore dresses most nights, but on the casual nights, they were ordinary sundresses. Jeans and a nice top would be perfect!

[pirate4me2]

16 minutes ago, mica178 said:

The white outfits varied. I wore a black and white patterned dress. There were people in shorts and a tank top, especially at the main party. Many of the YC guests did not wear white but still attended the white party.

 

On non-gala nights, pretty much anything goes. My husband and son definitely went wearing shorts and a tee shirt a few nights, although my preference was for them to wear at least a polo with khaki shorts. (I mean, the waiters were in tails!) My daughter and I wore dresses most nights, but on the casual nights, they were ordinary sundresses. Jeans and a nice top would be perfect!

 

Thank you for such a quick reply! 

 

[Mycykfamilytime]

On 7/15/2023 at 10:03 PM, TxTeach79 said:

Feels like a good time for early bedtime and sleeping in, I don’t know about you…. #snoozecruise

 

5 hours ago, mica178 said:

So, parting thoughts now that we're a day off the Seaside.

 

We had a nice vacation. My kids loved the novelty of the cruiseship. We received excellent service from pretty much everyone in YC. The kids club was great for my 5 year old, but my 7 year old didn't love it. The drinks were fine. The cooked food was very good, although temperature was occasionally an issue. The visual appearance of the Seaside was beautiful, and while our deluxe YC balcony cabin was small (to us), it was very functional and stylish. The beds were comfortable, and the shower's water pressure was surprisingly excellent.

 

We've travelled to a bunch of similarly priced AI resorts in Mexico, where we also get excellent service. I'd say that the food on the cruise ship was about on par with higher end AI food, although on MSC, you get Italian food, and at the AI, it's Mexican food, so it's a preference thing. The fruits are better at an AI, where they can get the seasonal, local fruit. On MSC, most of the fruit was underripe melon and pineapple, presumably chosen to last the duration of the 7 day cruise. At an AI, the fruity drink mixers are also fresh fruit (fresh passion fruit margarita with chili pepper rim? While sitting in the pool at the poolside bar? Yes please). Most of the fruit drink mixers on MSC were pre-made and not fresh, and therefore not as varied or tasty. My son was disappointed not to be able to have fresh mango during our cruise. I will say that the wines served on MSC were much better than what I've had at any AI.

 

While cruises go to several cities for a few hours, when we go to an AI, we get to stay in that community for several days. Granted, we often do not leave the AI, but then again, many people do not leave the ship. We had some a couple great excursions in Roatan and Costa Maya. And we didn't mind getting out into the town of Cozumel, although we didn't love the dolphin excursion. However, when we go to an AI in Cancun, we can take a longer excursion without worrying about an all-aboard time. On the other hand, cruiseship kids clubs allowed us to leave the kids there for the day if we wanted to go on shore alone, whereas most AI kids clubs do not allow both parents to leave the resort without the kid.

 

There are pluses and minuses to both. I think while my kids still enjoy kids clubs and don't want to do museum hopping, we'll continue with the convenience vacationing of cruises and AIs, depending on location, weather, and deals. 

Can I ask what some of your favorite family AIs are?  I’m more familiar with Adults only but it seems like we have similar priorities! Thanks! 

[mica178]

2 minutes ago, Mycykfamilytime said:

 

Can I ask what some of your favorite family AIs are?  I’m more familiar with Adults only but it seems like we have similar priorities! Thanks! 

Paradisus Playa del Carmen is a favorite. Atelier at Playa Mujeres used to have a family section called Estudio, but they shut that down, which is too bad as they had the BEST kid's club. Majestic Elegance in Playa Mujeres was pretty good, although their premium product is adults only. 

[Mycykfamilytime]

12 minutes ago, mica178 said:

Paradisus Playa del Carmen is a favorite. Atelier at Playa Mujeres used to have a family section called Estudio, but they shut that down, which is too bad as they had the BEST kid's club. Majestic Elegance in Playa Mujeres was pretty good, although their premium product is adults only. 

I’m going to Atelier in January so I’m pretty excited.  Paradisus is on my radar so I’m glad you recommended them! 

[mica178]

They found my duffle! I just got a text from chargerback.com. It'll be about $40 to have FedEx ground shipping bring it back home, but that certainly beats a road trip back to Port Canaveral and/or having to replace all those items.