MSC Seaside 8-6-32 to 8-13-23...Slightly more critical than before...Long Review!

[Georgia_Peaches]

Hello friends!

 

DH and I are wrapping up another week of sailing with MSC, this time on the Seaside out of Port Canaveral.  I was on this ship back in June with my DM for a 4 night gambling cruise.  As such, we spent most of our time in the casino and did not explore much of the ship.  As I knew I would be back again in August, I wasn't very bothered by the lack of exploration.  DH and I made up for it in spades on this cruise!

 

Background:  This cruise was booked back in November with a 30% off voucher we earned in the casino on the Meraviglia.  I was able to book a YCI using the voucher and also stack the coupon with the additional VC 5% discount.  In all, for 7 nights we paid $2400 in total and also had $625 in OBC from a combination of the cruise line and our TA. 

 

Pre-cruise check in:

After completing the on line check in forms our cruise ticket booklet was sent to us via e-mail.  It was here that I got my first quirky surprise.  It seems that my previous Voyager's Club Gold status (obtained by a status match) was unexplainably amplified to Black (Diamond) while DH's previous Gold status was downgraded to Blue (classic).  Not sure what happened here but I was at least 2 cruises away from Black and DH was still inside his window to maintain his Gold status.  Regardless, after reading stories relayed by @Stockjock and @mscdivina2016 and their dealings with customer relations, I decided to let sleeping dogs lie and just roll with it. 

 

The itinerary included an over night stay at Ocean Cay and visits to Costa Maya and Cozumel (one of my favorite ports).

 

Embarkation:

Very smooth and efficient.  We dropped off luggage at the YC tent and were escorted through security.  DH was stopped and back pack searched for a foreign object that turned out to be a pen disguising itself as a knife.  After a thorough search of his things we preceded to the YC check in area where we were greeted with chilled champagne.  Our wait in this area was approximately 10 minutes and then we were whisked onto the ship by a smiling butler escort.

 

Making our way to the Top Sail Lounge we were met by the offensive stench of what was most certainly raw sewage.  Crew were cleaning carpets in the offending area and were hard at work repairing whatever problem plagued the sewer system.  Though I have no doubt the problem was corrected, a faint odor persisted throughout the week and was especially noticeable on port days when the AC seemed to wane in the common area of the long hallway leading to/from the concierge desk and TSL.

 

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the first of many meals in the YC restaurant that has surely amounted to a few extra pounds which I will need to address beginning tomorrow.  More on dining a little later.

 

For me, embarkation day seems to set the tone for the entire cruise.  Of note were the hard working, smiling crew who bent over backwards to take care of us all week long.  I will also point out that we spent a far greater amount of time outside of YC (for reasons I will explain later) and were met with excellent service in every single venue!  

 

To be continued...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fla Mike]

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

[Georgia_Peaches]

Private Island:

One of the reasons we chose this itinerary was for the overnight stay at Ocean Cay.  This PI is by far our favorite of all the cruise lines.  The design of the island allows people to spread out to various parts of the island thus making it feel less crowded.  We equipped ourselves with a few things I wished we'd had on previous trips to Ocean Cay:

• water shoes (an absolute must if you are visiting the YC beach).  They are now selling water shoes on the PI for $19.99 for those who forget to pack them.  
• floats of our own
• insulated cups

 

I purchased floats which worked perfectly.  They are compact enough to easily fit in a suitcase and I could inflate them with my own hot air without passing out, in just a matter of minutes!

 

Both mornings on OC began with an exercise walk around the island.  The breeze was great and worked wonders at holding the excessive heat at bay.  Afterward, we readied ourselves for a beach day and instead of walking, rode the tram to and from Ocean House.  On one return trip the tram cart broke down.  We had to evacuate one cart for another after a wait of lots of minutes.  We should have just walked the remaining distance but Dh was concerned about chaffing...so we waited.

 

Another thing I love about Ocean Cay is the Ocean House restaurant for lunch.  I didn't think we were going to eat there both days because I figured the menu would be the same...but it wasn't.  The menu changed up from one day to the next, which was a nice surprise.

 

On past visits to the YC beach we managed to secure a couple of loungers on the hill next to Ocean House.  This allowed for palm tree shade and an elevated view of the bay.  What was once a pretty vacant area has become more crowded as the quest for shade in this area has caught on.

 

Ocean Cay is as good as I remembered and we will seek future overnight itineraries at the island when we sail MSC.

 

YC Stateroom:

 

A quiet location on deck 16...nice room but extremely tight for seven nights.  And I have a few gripes about our room specifically:

1.  There is one USB port on the side of the bed.  It never fully charged any of my electronics even though our cabin power was never deactivated when we left the room.

2.  The mattress topper on our bed used to make the two twin beds convert to a king has lost it's humph and needs to be replaced.  It was saggy causing the center of the bed to form an uncomfortable valley.  We requested another but none was available.

3.  The closet design of the interior cabin is horrible.  The doors slide from left to right rather than swing open and therefore remain mostly inaccessible from either side.

4.  No umbrella.

 

Despite these gripes, our cabin steward was golden in both taking care of and anticipating our every need.  

 

YC Top Sail Lounge:

...has always been a quiet refuge on past voyages but was a veritable romper room for kids of all ages on this sailing.  DH and I have no problems with the presence of children.  Our problem is with using the TSL as a playground when there are so many other dedicated places for children to run, scream, and romp.  Further, I expect that parents of such would respond accordingly but alas, they did not.  Additionally, it wasn't just the children who were vivacious.  We encountered several adult passengers who have not been introduced to the concept of an indoor voice.  Consequently, we took our leave of the TSL several times in search of a more quiet location in the Seaview Bar/Lounge.

 

Service in the TSL was again, top notch and by day two, most servers seemed to already know our drink preferences.  My one little gripe regarding drink service is that on a couple of occasions I found that drinks were made with alcohol either not in the description or different from my request.  For example, I am not a fan of Tito's vodka and when ordering a drink I specifically asked for Grey Goose instead.  Despite that, I watched the pool deck bar tender use Tito's over my requested Grey Goose.  I don't like to be wasteful and it annoyed me that I had to ask for a different drink.  Another example was when making the Hugo Spritzer.  This drink is made with champagne and St. Germaine's elderflower liquor.  Twice these drinks were made with an off brand elderflower and the taste difference wasn't pallatable...at all.  Way too sweet!  

 

Dining:

 

We dined in the YC restaurant 5 out of the seven nights (our last being this evening).  Dinner service in the YC has been outstanding and the food mostly good to great!  My biggest frustration has been with the wine offerings.  I'm not sure why it's so difficult to get a nice wine in the YC but Robert Mondavi Private Selection or Oberon seems to be the best on offer unless we were to spring for a bottle.

 

Butcher's Cut Chef's Table: 

We booked this experience on embarkation day at $99 pp.  The description indicates a family style experience with a private chef and sommelier who will pair wines up to 2 glasses pp with the appetizer and main courses.  The meal included an app, a seafood platter for 2, the sharing of a 20 ounce ribeye, and dessert.  Our meal was excellent and to my surprise, we both received our own 20 oz ribeye, which was way more than I could eat.  The only short coming with the experience (which ended up being just the two of us on this night) was that our sommelier seem to have forgotten about us part-way through and didn't to bring the Italian blend he promised in favor of Oberon cab instead.  It was fine but I guess I just expected the wines to be a bit elevated since the description made it seem so.   

 

While at Butcher's Cut, we signed up for a wine tasting on the afternoon of the last sea day (today) but it has since been cancelled due to "lack of interest"...frankly, I think the true reason for the cancellation is the lack of available wines to taste.  Our YC sommelier has all but come out and said that their wine availability is lacking...supply chain issues?

 

Ocean Cay Specialty Restaurant 

In a word, yuck!  We booked this as our complimentary Diamond meal and I'm glad we didn't pay extra.  The offerings on the fixed menu are just strange!  When we looked over the menu prior to booking, I thought it looked interesting but the reality took a different turn.  No garden or Caesar salad and the one other salad I tried to order ended up consisting of raw shrimp.  No thanks.  So I ordered the crab cake...which was way more cake than crab.  The main was a clam shell pasta.  It wasn't bad...but as I said, I'm glad I didn't pay extra for it.  Dessert was cheese cake...no complaints there.  Of note, Dh and I shared the whole restaurant with one other couple the entire evening.  The space itself is very inviting and views are spectacular.  Could the absence of people have anything to do with the lack luster menu?

 

To be continued...

Edited August 12, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[mafig]

Thanks for posting.  I really enjoy reading your reviews.☺️

[no1talks]

8-6-32 to 8-13-23! 🤯

 

Ninety-one years is a very long time to be on an MSC ship, especially when there are only a few loyalty tiers to work towards.

 

I would totally understand such a long cruise if it was NCL. 700 frickin' points to make Ambassador!

[kelleherdl]

Agree wholeheartedly with you on Seaside’s Ocean Cay specialty restaurant. The only time I had decent dinner there was dinner with the Captain and guests. The offerings were completely different from the regular menu. On Seaside I will always use my Diamond meal for lunch at Teppanyaki (the sushi menu).

Edited August 12, 2023 by kelleherdl

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, no1talks said:

8-6-32 to 8-13-23! 🤯

 

Ninety-one years is a very long time to be on an MSC ship, especially when there are only a few loyalty tiers to work towards.

 

I would totally understand such a long cruise if it was NCL. 700 frickin' points to make Ambassador!

Lol!  🤣. Perhaps it’s just time travel at its finest… or maybe it was the mimosas!  

[Best Cat Mom]

3 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

The mattress topper on our bed used to make the two twin beds convert to a king has lost it's humph and needs to be replaced.  It was saggy causing the center of the bed to form an uncomfortable valley.

This is virtually our only true complaint about Yacht Club. Inevitably, I find a body part wedged into that gap -- multiple times a day/night. This, along with the double bathroom sinks, are what we miss from NCL's Haven. We're not going back to Haven, however. We look upon these 2 inconveniences as a not-so-bad reason for our holiday to end. LOL

[Georgia_Peaches]

Costa Maya:

OMG what a Charlie Foxtrot!  There were 4 ships in port on our visit.  RCI Allure, Carnival Paradise, NCL Escape, and us.  My guess is 20k +/- crammed into the tiny, mane-made port of Costa Maya...it was a hot mass of sweaty humanity crammed into and around walkways...don't get me started on the bodies in the community pool bobbing around like corks and I can only imagine peeing as well.  I had never seen such raving pandemonium.  DH and I spent all of 20 minutes among the madness before we retreated back to the bliss of cool air and calm atmosphere.  Prior to heading back though, I bought some vanilla from a cart vendor somewhat off the direct foot path.  I remarked on how happy the locals must be to have so many ships in port because of all the business.  I was shocked to learn that it actually isn't good for the venders to have so many ships in port at one time.  He explained that shop owners are charged .10 per passenger capacity of each ship in rent.  Therefore, they have to sell tons of goods just to make a profit beyond the rent for a given day.  DH and I did the math with rough estimates and concluded that at 20,000 passenger capacity between the 4 ships at .10 pp, a shop owner has to earn more than $2000 in sales in order to start seeing a profit.  Assuming this is true information, and I don't know why the vender would lie, it reminded me that things are not always as they seem.  I love supporting local economies of the places we visit but hate to learn that more is not necessarily merrier as it relates to their bottom line.

 

Cozumel:

 

Same number of ships but much more spread out.  DH and I hired a cab (10 bucks each way) to take us to the downtown square where we did a little shopping and had a margarita and fresh guac at our favorite bar called Woody's.  They always have live music and the people watching is amazing. Not ones for excursions, we like bumming around with the locals before heading back to the ship.  DH and I both agree that if we ever wanted to completely change our lifestyles and beach bum into our golden years, Cozumel would be high on the list of places to consider.

 

To be continued... 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Ship's Entertainment:

 

Our quest for live music took us to many venues throughout the ship.  We enjoyed music and dancing in the Haven Lounge but thought it odd that one of the prime "entertainment" offerings was dance lessons at 9 PM.  Odd because on Celebrity dance lessons are offered during the day as opposed to prime time entertainment.  

 

Also offered in the Haven Lounge is various types of trivia and we were astonished at how well attended these events were at all times of day.

 

We also visited the Seaview lounge on several occasions located on deck 8 near the French styled bistro that isn't.  Meaning I think the original intent may have been to have a bistro set up in this area but something fell short and never seemed to happen.  Instead, the area is well equipped with tables of all sizes, many with great views of the ocean but there is no bar in the area or service, for that matter either.  but I digress...the Seaview lounge was a very nice, intimate space with great service and nice music, sometimes live, throughout the day.  We found this area way more enjoyable on this cruise than the Top Sail Lounge of the Yacht Club.

 

We saw one variety show in the main theater that was fine and very well attended.  So much so, some people opted to climb over seats rather than scooch past people in a given row.  This was a first for me on any cruise I've taken.  We visited the theater one other time for the comedy show and the guy was actually pretty good and was masterful at improv.  Wish I could remember his name...

 

Pools and bars never had a shortage of people...even when it rained. And despite the ship's strange layout, there seemed to be something for everyone.

 

Casino:

 

This was by far our best casino experience...ever!  There was a great ebb and flow of machine payouts and I saw lots and lots of people win big money.  For our part, we did well and have come out ahead...a rarity for cruise ship gambling in my experience.  

 

When DM and I gambled on our last cruise back in June we each earned a free cruise voucher but it never arrived on our stateroom door or in my email after the cruise.  The casino host remembered me (by name 🤦‍♀️) from June and when I told her about the voucher, she got straight to work on finding out what happened and rectifying the situation.  We have since earned another voucher...with an upgrade! Not sure when or if we will be able to use it, but I have to say that I have been over all very pleased with this casino experience.

 

Next up...final thoughts and conclusions...

[PAJunkie]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Costa Maya:

OMG what a Charlie Foxtrot!  There were 4 ships in port on our visit.  RCI Allure, Carnival Paradise, NCL Escape, and us.  My guess is 20k +/- crammed into the tiny, mane-made port of Costa Maya...it was a hot mass of sweaty humanity crammed into and around walkways...don't get me started on the bodies in the community pool bobbing around like corks and I can only imagine peeing as well.  I had never seen such raving pandemonium. 

If you find yourself in Costa Maya again, I recommend going to Mahahual (5 min taxi ride) and reserving a lounge at the Tropicante. I found instead of beach excursions, Mahahual beachside bars cater to visitors who prefer a spot to decompress. We had lounges reserved before arriving, and we were greeted ant the street when my party arrived. We ordered homemade ceviche (so yum!), guacamole and chips, a sandwich, a beachside massage.  Their margaritas were top notch. It is a humble, but peaceful place. The owner and staff were all amazing, kind, always there when you looked for someone to get you something. They had some water sports, too, like Stand Up Paddle-boards. Oh, and a bunch of “take one-leave one” books!
 

in the end, you pay for what you order. No fee for the umbrella, table, or chair. 

Edited August 12, 2023 by PAJunkie

[amygutman]

8 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Hello friends!

 

DH and I are wrapping up another week of sailing with MSC, this time on the Seaside out of Port Canaveral.  I was on this ship back in June with my DM for a 4 night gambling cruise.  As such, we spent most of our time in the casino and did not explore much of the ship.  As I knew I would be back again in August, I wasn't very bothered by the lack of exploration.  DH and I made up for it in spades on this cruise!

 

Background:  This cruise was booked back in November with a 30% off voucher we earned in the casino on the Meraviglia.  I was able to book a YCI using the voucher and also stack the coupon with the additional VC 5% discount.  In all, for 7 nights we paid $2400 in total and also had $625 in OBC from a combination of the cruise line and our TA. 

 

Pre-cruise check in:

After completing the on line check in forms our cruise ticket booklet was sent to us via e-mail.  It was here that I got my first quirky surprise.  It seems that my previous Voyager's Club Gold status (obtained by a status match) was unexplainably amplified to Black (Diamond) while DH's previous Gold status was downgraded to Blue (classic).  Not sure what happened here but I was at least 2 cruises away from Black and DH was still inside his window to maintain his Gold status.  Regardless, after reading stories relayed by @Stockjock and @mscdivina2016 and their dealings with customer relations, I decided to let sleeping dogs lie and just roll with it. 

 

The itinerary included an over night stay at Ocean Cay and visits to Costa Maya and Cozumel (one of my favorite ports).

 

Embarkation:

Very smooth and efficient.  We dropped off luggage at the YC tent and were escorted through security.  DH was stopped and back pack searched for a foreign object that turned out to be a pen disguising itself as a knife.  After a thorough search of his things we preceded to the YC check in area where we were greeted with chilled champagne.  Our wait in this area was approximately 10 minutes and then we were whisked onto the ship by a smiling butler escort.

 

Making our way to the Top Sail Lounge we were met by the offensive stench of what was most certainly raw sewage.  Crew were cleaning carpets in the offending area and were hard at work repairing whatever problem plagued the sewer system.  Though I have no doubt the problem was corrected, a faint odor persisted throughout the week and was especially noticeable on port days when the AC seemed to wane in the common area of the long hallway leading to/from the concierge desk and TSL.

 

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the first of many meals in the YC restaurant that has surely amounted to a few extra pounds which I will need to address beginning tomorrow.  More on dining a little later.

 

For me, embarkation day seems to set the tone for the entire cruise.  Of note were the hard working, smiling crew who bent over backwards to take care of us all week long.  I will also point out that we spent a far greater amount of time outside of YC (for reasons I will explain later) and were met with excellent service in every single venue!  

 

To be continued...

 

 

 

 

 

 

@Georgia_Peaches Thank you so much...It's so much fun reading your review and comparing and contrasting. Whatever happened in the Top Sail Lounge causing the sewage smell, I plead ignorance as it did not have that odor when we disembarked right before you came on!

Following happily...

Warmest Amy

[amygutman]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Ship's Entertainment:

 

Our quest for live music took us to many venues throughout the ship.  We enjoyed music and dancing in the Haven Lounge but thought it odd that one of the prime "entertainment" offerings was dance lessons at 9 PM.  Odd because on Celebrity dance lessons are offered during the day as opposed to prime time entertainment.  

 

Also offered in the Haven Lounge is various types of trivia and we were astonished at how well attended these events were at all times of day.

 

We also visited the Seaview lounge on several occasions located on deck 8 near the French styled bistro that isn't.  Meaning I think the original intent may have been to have a bistro set up in this area but something fell short and never seemed to happen.  Instead, the area is well equipped with tables of all sizes, many with great views of the ocean but there is no bar in the area or service, for that matter either.  but I digress...the Seaview lounge was a very nice, intimate space with great service and nice music, sometimes live, throughout the day.  We found this area way more enjoyable on this cruise than the Top Sail Lounge of the Yacht Club.

 

We saw one variety show in the main theater that was fine and very well attended.  So much so, some people opted to climb over seats rather than scooch past people in a given row.  This was a first for me on any cruise I've taken.  We visited the theater one other time for the comedy show and the guy was actually pretty good and was masterful at improv.  Wish I could remember his name...

 

Pools and bars never had a shortage of people...even when it rained. And despite the ship's strange layout, there seemed to be something for everyone.

 

Casino:

 

This was by far our best casino experience...ever!  There was a great ebb and flow of machine payouts and I saw lots and lots of people win big money.  For our part, we did well and have come out ahead...a rarity for cruise ship gambling in my experience.  

 

When DM and I gambled on our last cruise back in June we each earned a free cruise voucher but it never arrived on our stateroom door or in my email after the cruise.  The casino host remembered me (by name 🤦‍♀️) from June and when I told her about the voucher, she got straight to work on finding out what happened and rectifying the situation.  We have since earned another voucher...with an upgrade! Not sure when or if we will be able to use it, but I have to say that I have been over all very pleased with this casino experience.

 

Next up...final thoughts and conclusions...

That's amazing! So happy for your casino cruise upgrade. Kudos for the casino staff as well to hunt down and rectify the missing voucher.

Am so sorry to hear about the lack of inside voices and children running amuck. Total opposite of our experience and to have to leave the lovely sanctity of the Top Sail Lounge because of noise is terrible.

Is your trivia crew Justine from South Africa? She is so funny and had quite the following on our cruise.

Warmest Amy

[Georgia_Peaches]

Final night of any cruise, at least for us, is always bittersweet and this night is no exception.  DH and I enjoyed a nice meal in the YC where Italian food was the theme.  All of the servers wore the Italian flag colors in their cummerbunds and the menu was a true delight.  Knowing that tomorrow yields a strict diet, DH and I went for one last hurrah and ordered a lasagna to share, swordfish, and the veal.  All were delicious!  Over dinner we discussed the things we loved and the things we thought could have been a smidge better.

Smidge better:

• entertainment offerings, specifically live music in the YC lounge.  The pianist performed each evening from 6:30 to 7 and then again from 9:30 to 10.  We could never seem to catch him for any prolonged period of time.
• Seafood lunch on the pool deck:  was not as I remembered when we sailed on Seashore.  There were no mini lobster tails or crab legs on offer and the jumbo prawns were off putting to many because they still had their heads.  It just wasn't as good as our past experience.
• Availability of shade in the YC:  this has been mentioned several times here on CC but I will reiterate that the lack of shade is something that MSC should really address.  As shade was scarce, people capitalized on any sliver they could while right next door in the Aurea pool deck section, shade was everywhere to be found.  Twice, DH and I slipped into that area to find lovely shaded loungers and a bar tender that was all too eager to serve us whatever we liked.  I told DH that if we ever decided not to go YC (highly unlikely, though), the Aurea experience would be a close second.
• And finally...this...and I have nobody to blame but myself... I got thrown off by the time change on the way to Mexico.  I didn't realize that the time had changed to the correct time on my phone.  It was in airplane mode and I thought that the time depicted was one hour ahead of the actual time.  As such, we arrived in the YC restaurant (after our brief visit in Costa Maya) at what I thought was 12:40.  Nope...it was actually 1:40 and they stopped seating folks for lunch at 1:30.  I just wanted to have lunch in the cool atmosphere of the indoor dining room but we were not accommodated. Instead, we were directed to the pool deck.  I was annoyed at the situation.  I know they have time constraints as they prepare for each seating so no way I'd complain or even ding them on a survey but it would have been nice if they had seated us.   

 

Over all a wonderful cruise.  We enjoyed meeting new people, taking in the sights around the ship, and being pampered all week.  As for the Seaside, I'm not sure this will be our first choice of ship moving forward.  The ship itself is an awkward layout with empty spaces, wasted spaces, and spaces that lead to nowhere.  There is no real way to walk the outer decks with any sense of fluidity.  Barriers of one type or another makes it impossible,  The ship layout is not intuitive and after a full week, much of it spent outside the Yacht Club, I still struggle to get around.  That said, MSC will continue to be on our sailing list as service and value for the money remain unrivaled by the other mass market cruise lines.

 

Until next time...happy cruising!!

[amygutman]

@Georgia_Peaches Thank you again for the lovely review. I think we had similar positive and less-than-positive experiences in the YC. I agree for the money, MSC does really have a nice "suite-within-a-suite" product, but as their prices go up, the less positive experiences may not be quite as able to be over-looked. 

Our next MSC is the Euribia in Europe - am very happy to be returning to a Meraviglia-class ship and interested to see how a "European Experience" on a European cruise ship compares to a more "Americanized" experience on a Seashore class ship;. 

Safe travels home!

Warmest, Amy

[cruising.mark.uk]

@Georgia_Peaches  Fantastic review.  Thanks very much.

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, amygutman said:

@Georgia_Peaches Thank you again for the lovely review. I think we had similar positive and less-than-positive experiences in the YC. I agree for the money, MSC does really have a nice "suite-within-a-suite" product, but as their prices go up, the less positive experiences may not be quite as able to be over-looked. 

Our next MSC is the Euribia in Europe - am very happy to be returning to a Meraviglia-class ship and interested to see how a "European Experience" on a European cruise ship compares to a more "Americanized" experience on a Seashore class ship;. 

Safe travels home!

Warmest, Amy

Couldn’t agree more, Amy!  We really enjoyed the Meraviglia class as well. And we have considered MSC for our next European sailing. I hope you’ll share your experiences with us once again!  

[perakcruiser]

14 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

DH and I spent all of 20 minutes among the madness before we retreated back to the bliss of cool air and calm atmosphere. 

Costa Maya, the port where you either booked an excursion or prefer to stay in your inside cabin the whole day. And I am talking not about a YC inside 😄

 

It was so horrible already with two smaller ships (one was the Armonia), I cannot imagine that place with four big ships.

[Essiesmom]

We visited Costa Maya twice on the same cruise on Armonia.  Cruise was 7 days, but hurricane Dorian closed Florida so on the way back to stop at Key West, we did a 180 and went back to Costa Maya, and then Cozumel again.  EM

[cbfb]

1 hour ago, perakcruiser said:

Costa Maya, the port where you either booked an excursion or prefer to stay in your inside cabin the whole day. And I am talking not about a YC inside 😄

 

It was so horrible already with two smaller ships (one was the Armonia), I cannot imagine that place with four big ships.

Couldn’t agree more! Worst port in my opinion! 

[lcpagejr]

2 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

Costa Maya, the port where you either booked an excursion or prefer to stay in your inside cabin the whole day. And I am talking not about a YC inside 😄

 

It was so horrible already with two smaller ships (one was the Armonia), I cannot imagine that place with four big ships.

This is what happens when a destination is built by Cruise companies instead of it just being a true port.

[mafig]

Georgia_Peaches, You were recently on Celebrity's Equinox recently, weren't y ou?

I know it wasn't a suite, however, I recall y ou really liked it.

Which did you like better?

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, mafig said:

Georgia_Peaches, You were recently on Celebrity's Equinox recently, weren't y ou?

I know it wasn't a suite, however, I recall y ou really liked it.

Which did you like better?

Yes!  We were on Equinox in a verandah stateroom on a Blue Chip offer in July. We did really like our Celebrity non-suite experience!  In fact, it was great!  The room was much more spacious than the YCI and I felt no difference in service from Celebrity (between classes) either. We really enjoy a suite experience…but I see no need to pay Celebrity’s inflated prices for one in the future. I prefer the Solstice class over the mega ships and wouldn’t book an MSC mega ship if YC wasn’t within my budget.   I guess it’s hard to say which one we liked better. We liked them both for different reasons. 
 

That said, I am not loyal to any cruise line. I will go where I can get the most bang for the buck but give higher marks to Celebrity for an overall more elegant experience regardless of the category one books. 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[Spif Barwunkel]

Well, I guess I am okay with your latest Seaside review. You did state "over all a wonderful cruise."

You know, my first MSC cruise is forthcoming on September 17 on Seaside. I am paying attention to what you have to say. The YC, the casino, the itinerary, in this case is irrelevant to me so no concerns there. Although, overnight at a private island is different and Ocean Cay gets rave reviews. Food wise, I am easy to please so there should be many good eats from which to choose. DW and I enjoy exploring new ships and that is where my concerns lie. You mention an awkward layout, empty spaces, spaces to nowhere. I do not want to get lost, disappear, never to be heard from again. Future posts would be from a "ghost of cruises past." We are on this MSC ship only because good friends from NY asked us to join them. I would hope that at the end of the cruise, DW and I will think of Seaside as a nice place to visit again, with or without friends.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

45 minutes ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

Well, I guess I am okay with your latest Seaside review. You did state "over all a wonderful cruise."

You know, my first MSC cruise is forthcoming on September 17 on Seaside. I am paying attention to what you have to say. The YC, the casino, the itinerary, in this case is irrelevant to me so no concerns there. Although, overnight at a private island is different and Ocean Cay gets rave reviews. Food wise, I am easy to please so there should be many good eats from which to choose. DW and I enjoy exploring new ships and that is where my concerns lie. You mention an awkward layout, empty spaces, spaces to nowhere. I do not want to get lost, disappear, never to be heard from again. Future posts would be from a "ghost of cruises past." We are on this MSC ship only because good friends from NY asked us to join them. I would hope that at the end of the cruise, DW and I will think of Seaside as a nice place to visit again, with or without friends.  

Spif, I feel certain you will have a wonderful cruise!  Good company over rides just about anything that can go wrong on a vacation and Seaside went to great lengths to ensure their guests had an enjoyable vacation. 
 

Awkward layout and spaces to nowhere mostly apply to decks 8 and 16. I’m sure a good perusal of the deck plan layout (something I didn’t do) will work wonders. One space we discovered on our last night was tucked into an alcove on deck 5 near the Vinci chocolate bar…a live music stage and seating that we knew nothing about until it was too late!  Had I conducted a better recon mission ahead of time I would have known 😌. 

Regardless, I am eagerly awaiting your assessment of Seaside and MSC, in general.