Four Generations on the 9/3 Seaside

[dce85]

We just returned from a 4 generation cruise.   Our group was my husband and me (celebrating 60th birthdays), our 81 year old dad, 3 sons, 2 daughter-in-laws, and 2 grandchildren (11 months and 19 months).   I'm still reflecting on things so I thought I'd share the hits and misses for this trip.

Hits:

*  Ocean Cay . . . perfect two beach days for our family bunch.   We got cabanas both days and this allowed even the little ones to hang at the beach.

*  Baby Club . . .  this is a wonderful area for little ones to play and crawl.   There were plenty of toys.  On this cruise, we maybe shared the space with one other family when we went.

*  Drink Package . . . it was offered when we booked and it does make the experience easier.   The price was good and so even though some of us did not consume much alcohol, overall we felt it worked well for us.

* Theater shows . . . the shorter format worked for us taking our granddaughter to her first "live" shows and she enjoyed them.

*  All 10 of us got the same dining table that was assigned before we got on.

* Deck 16 Buffet . . . this was never crowded and it made a great place to grab breakfast and lunch with the grandkids.   The food didn't change but the lack of crowds made up for it.

Misses:

*  Room Steward . . . we didn't get our cabana tickets until AFTER the day they were needed.   We had set dining (5:15) but came back at 7 every day with him telling us he hadn't gotten to our room yet.   This is a problem when one is a family of 4 and they are coming back with children ready for bed.   That meant we didn't always get towels switched out.  I asked for ice one evening and never got it again.   

*  Food quality . . .  we had been on MSC twice before.  The food in the main dining room has definitely declined.   The last two nights I didn't bother to eat much of my main entree (the veg and starch were ok).   For the first time, my husband actually returned an entree.   It seemed the farther into the cruise, the quality of the beef declined.  The buffet food is fairly repetitive but you can find something to enjoy . . . you won't starve.   Several members did eat in specialty restaurants and really enjoyed them.   Their feeling is the low food quality in the main dining is meant to drive people to the specialty restaurants.

* Thermal Spa . . . four of us got thermal spa passes.   They were enjoyed to varying degrees.   I only went once.  The mistake was my first try was a sea day.   It was crowded and LOUD.   I have never had the experience of going into a steam room and having the other spa users start conversations.   There are only 3 ceramic loungers . . . right next to the hot tub where people are carrying on full conversations.   I guess others expect the spa to be a social experience so I'll skip it next time.

Bottom line:   We'll probably always look at MSC but I'm not sure we'll select them.   Yes, the price point is very good but I'm left wondering if we should have paid up to go with a different line.