soccer2010

Coupons were delivered by cabin steward early afternoon on 1st day as you had to sign for them. You could use them for the wonderful gelato as well.

We have sailed on RCL about 8 times and CCL twice. First time on MSC.

Embarkment: just like the RCL & CCL quick and efficient.

Cabin (Interior): small cabin and small bathroom, limited storage. Limited English TV channels. If you really like towel animals, you'll be disappointed. Cabin was fine for us.

Elevators: typically quick

MDR: excellent quality food, portions good size, slightly smaller than RCL & CCL. Fish was excellent as other dishes were. Italian dishes were just Okay (really). If you want dancing and singing waiters then you will be disappointed. Seaside now has 3 dining times> There was a lot of waiters, working hard and efficient, food came fast. Dinner was usually around an hour and 15 minutes. The waiters we had were professional and efficient but not very engaging in conversation. Not a problem for us as we vacation to be engaged with our group of 4. Oh the dreaded dinner photo "opportunity" each nite ... not on MSC as they came by one nite only :)

Buffet (breakfast and lunch): high quality food but a little lacking in options and the same everyday. The ethnic section each day consisted of chicken and meat tacos and chips and salsa. Again the quality is better than RCL and CCL. Call buttons at table and server came quickly to see what beverages you needed. The big disappointment for me was the pizza that was only Okay (really just okay and it was reported to be best at sea).

Snack options: limited buffet selections for snacks. Ice cream machine only in upper deck buffet which we went to once and they served you a small cone with minimal ice cream.

Main Theatre Entertainment: much better than RCL and well CCL should just give up. The singers were excellent, the dancers very good and then many had special talents that were included in the shows ... African gymnasts, contortionists, hoola hoop specialist (amazing), a pair of great athletes that did I guess more gymnastic stuff, a talented ballet pole dancer, ballet dancers, illusions.

Comedy: the only comedy was beer-prov. We didn't enjoy it. CCL wins this one by a mile.

Pool/deck: We hung out at the South Beach pool Adults and 16+). Almost no announcements and half the area was for smokers. This worked great for us.

South Beach Bar: right next to the pool and service was great. My spouse had the soda package and you never felt like a tip was expected or even wanted when ordering a soft drink. We each got 12 free drinks for the week. You gave them your coupon and your seapass and you had nothing to sign for. Again no tip expected and I didn't see very much tipping, so a dollar got you a very generous pour.

Up-selling: very little. The specialty restaurants is all they pushed. The photographers were there but they didn't bother you unless you asked them.

European feel: not so much.

We are in our 50s and been on about 10 cruises, so the staff that is more laid back and not a party atmosphere was great for us.

Value: extremely great value for the price.

We met Captain Massa at a meet and mingle on a Divina Caribbean cruise last July and he and my husband became close due to their rivalry over their soccer teams. He was probably the most personable captain we have ever met. He had told us he'd still be on for the Divina's grand voyage in March and we were so disappointed to get on the ship and find he wasn't. (My husband had even bought a soccer jersey for Captain Massa's team!)

 

Marianne

Who is Captain Massa's team and who is your husband's team?

We want to swap 1 person in each room for each other.

We have 2 rooms with 2 people in each. We want to officially swap between them.

How hard is it and how close to your cruise and you change room assignments?

While we enjoy what is called business casual for main dining, all of the complainers are not going to change this ... you are in the minority. Suggesting they have other options, I would say, so do you. At best, you may be able to convince a cruise line to have a floor, a section, etc where the rules will be enforced. My suggestion is to continue doing dressing up and enjoy yourselves.

We chose Early Dining. I hear that there are now 3 main dining times.

* what are the 3 dining times?

* how do I find out which one we have?

Is room service food free? Is there a delivery charge? We are Fantastica.

I will say that our cruise last year on RCCL, we thought that service and food on the Adventure had noticeably improved from the same cruise the year before ... but they don't have a free hamburger joint or free Mexican, both right by the pool on Fascination. I am looking forward to our Carnival cruise.

You can snorkel about anywhere on Bonaire for free ... although you would need snorkeling gear. It is one of our favorite islands but for little ones, probably not a lot to do. A few adults could go on a tour and I would recommend Twizzy Cars. They are little electric cars and Hans will give you a great tour of the island.

No.

yes

We sailed Carnival 10 years ago. Since then, we have sailed maybe half a dozen cruises on RCCL, We like RCCL entertainment much more than Carnival. Giving Carnival Fascination a try ... great ports and I can tell you there was no Guys Hamburgers or Blue Iguana 10 years ago. I have heard good things about both of those and its no extra charge so it sounds like they managed to add some things of value to me and they are significantly less expensive than RCCL for a similar cruise. We still like RCCL, but they've had cutbacks as well.

If you just want a relaxing beach experience, there is a great beach that's not busy at all. Reflections on Surfside beach is great. 20 minute walk or short taxi ride. Chairs, umbrellas, beach bar and grill, changing room, etc that is nice and laid back.

I am a "to each their own" kind of person so I really don't care what others do with their lives....but TO ME I find it tacky because to me it screams "I am too cheap to buy a drink so I have made my own to save a few bucks" now that might not be the case for every yeti carrier or even most but that's how I look at it....I am not well off and don't throw money around in the "real" world but I do think while on "vacation" we should splurge and treat ourselves a bit and if you pay $12 for a drink so be it...you worked hard and deserve it...its sorta like coupons....nothing wrong with them but if I was on a first date with a guy and he busted one out I'd find that tacky and assume he's cheap.....be it the case or not.....

"to each their own" would mean that you wouldn't put down someone else for what they do. Cheap to me is not paying your fair share or expecting someone to pay for you. What you described, I would call thrifty.

Can you post cost for each tour/excursion?

In case anyone wondered I'M the one who comes on board with 4 "Please do not slam your door; simply hold it until it closes. Thank you." notices. I have only had to place 2 in mailboxes for it to stop.

I through the one in my mailbox away. Thanks for the thought anyway.

St Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk beat any Western port that I have been to ... in my opinion

Looking to hear other reviews and opinions of the refurbished Fascination. Usually when its as bad as described here, there are tons of negative reviews by now.

Being From KC, I hope you will agree that his BQ on Board is a Joke!!!:eek: Carnival would have do better to Franchise " A Bryant's or My Favorite "Gates"....Real KC BQ!!!!

 

Mike

STL

KC BBQ is good but it is over rated.

Also note that a lot of complainers are thin-skinned ;p

I think when I'm on the Seaside in a couple months I'm going to grab a seat by customer service with a few beers. Listening in on all the irate people at customer service might be the best entertainment on the ship.

Don't forget to grab a plate of cheese to go with the whine.

Because some parents take a vacation from parenting when they go on vacation. They let their precious little darlings run amok all over the ship while they bake in the sun or quaff a beer at the bar. They're members of the me generation that don't realize that parenting is a 24/7 responsibility for 18 years. So it's no wonder that sometimes there will be kids in a venue at 11:15 pm. :mad:

Well, we're in our 50s and our kids are in their 20s. They were better kids than we were. Overall, I believe that those born in the sixties and earlier are on average more selfish than those born the 1990s. I think some generations are legends ... in their own mind.

Yes the pizza is offered in the buffet for dinner and I agree it is the best pizza at sea and focaccia! But how much pizza and hamburgers can you eat for lunch and dinner before you say enough? Yes they have some other although minimal dinner choices at buffet.

 

In Reply to other poster that thinks I’m “trying to get even”: I’m Not trying to “get even” simply relaying my experience last week, I personally don’t care if folks believe it or not. And maybe it was the staff at my table that was at fault for the MDR shortcommings but either way it’s quality control issues at either the manager or staff level.

Settle down Francis. Some one stated they thought there were only 2 options after 3 pm and I responded to that. I am not saying good or bad about MSC or Seaside as I have yet to sail on MSC. I've read your opinion many times already. I would like to hear more other opinions before I decide to keep or cancel my 1st MSC Cruise

I wish someone would post some pictures of the "small" evening buffet. A picture is worth a thousand words...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

me too

I would think the small buffet that includes what is reported to be good pizza.