Proseccoandsun

Their beef is excellent from Eataly, but not a romantic setting. I've heard great reviews of Galaxy but I've never eaten there. I'm surprised at the negative above - most love it. Happy Cruising.

My husband agrees with you! The YC wait staff encouraged everyone to have lobster as an appetizer and as a main course with the beef. They just kept bringing them out!

We just finished a cruise on Divina first week in October. The lobster was an extra charge in the dining room and it was served once in the Yacht Club dining room. We are from Boston and we don’t usually order lobster because it is never as good as what we get at home. I have to say that the lobster we had on Divina was as good as anything we have at home. We were really surprised at the quality.

Great info and great deal. Thanks for looking into it!

Just got off the phone with MSC. The dining package is for three dinners one in each restaurant for a total of $69 per person. When I booked agent advised I had to pick dates for the dinners times for dinners will be made when you board via MSC app or calling to restaurant booking number or on your TV if you do not download their app. It is a three course dinner in each of the restaurants drinks are not included unless you have the beverage package which makes sense. You may need to check on which beverage package you have because as I read the description for classic which is what I received when I booked it states not accepted in specialty restaurant. I upgraded to premium package for $56 per person for the entire cruise which is good anywhere and is for premium brands, special cocktails, and different hopefully better wine selection. Sign into MSC and read over enhance your cruise you need to log in to get to that point. Thanks for making me aware of the deal a great buy for $69 as the steakhouse is $75 by itself. Any questions

You could always check in earlier on the Divina.

I am curious to find out about this too for Seaside. Mine is currently saying "Your check-in time 16.00 Miami..". I wouldn't want to wait until 4PM to board.

I'm not 100% positive but I heard about this. From what I read, it's 3 separate meals. One in each restaurant. Please let us know what MSC tells you. It really does sound like a great deal.

Agreed Pete. I thought it was referring to drinks outside of YC no matter the cost (in package or out). If you're asking for top shelf uber expensive drinks, then yes...a charge plus 15%.

\if you sign for a drink that is not $0.00 but a proper cost it WILL have 15% added for BAR Service Charge , this is distinct from the Daily service charge, which is not a percentage but a fixed amount per person.

 

 

Pete

That wouldn't be bad during the day, but I just can't imagine my husband hooking a rubber bracelet to his belt loop with his tux on gala night. I don't want to wear it either. Dresses don't have pockets and I have no need for a purse on a cruise. I guess basically, I just don't want to wear one anywhere on my person, lol.

Does anyone know (maybe I missed it) if guests are given a choice of using a cruise card on Meraviglia? I think things will be similar on Seaside. Whatever the case, I'm sure we'll manage.:)

We had this as a free option on our first Royal Caribbean cruise but it wasn't available on the other 4 RC cruises we've done. Just my two cents but to me they're much preferable to the cards. If you don't want it on your wrist, you can easily hook it to a belt loop or around a strap. Waterproof, too so you never have to worry about leaving it when you go in to swim or sit in the hot tub. Just take it right in there with you.

Yes, that was the case on the Divina. I imagine timeframes would stay similar. I'm on the first Seaside sailing out of Miami so will certainly keep you updated. Can't wait!

\o/ Yay! \o/

 

Can't wait to see what a Meet and Mingle on the Seaside is like!

 

Any word on approximate time frames? I saw where some have said Meet and Mingles were held at 10:30 AM on the first sea day on other MSC ships in the Caribbean. Our first day out is a sea day so it sounds like a great time to get the party starting. :)

Sure, why not? A friend who has several upcoming cruises said he just paid off his April 2018 cruise this weekend. People do pay in advance. His also happened to be a RS on Seaside.

Nice catch - I totally missed that:)

 

 

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The 15% gratuity does NOT apply to pre-purchased packages or to YC. When you're outside of YC, they will give you a receipt that shows $0.00. When you're anywhere in YC they don't ask for your room number or your card so they wouldn't assess the 15% in one place but not another.

As far as: "The gratuities are added automatically to your account at a specified rate per day, irrespective of your consumption. However, I don’t know if gratuities are added if you get a drink that is outside your package. Perhaps someone else in the forum can answer that."

The daily charges are different. These charges cover everything that is done for you on the ship and goes to dishwashers, laundry help, bartenders, waiters, pool attendants, bus boys, etc...That charge is currently $12.50 per day/pp until 2018 in the Caribbean.

This is what you can read if you expand THE IMAGE FIFTH DOWN ON POST #5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pete

There's no additional charge on those drinks in YC. They're really very accommodating and go out of their way to get you whatever you want to keep you happy! I'm on Seaside in YC this Christmas and will most definitely do a review and lots of pictures! We're so excited!

Oh my that is a fantastic list. I am presuming the ones with prices next to are upcharge?

Secondly, do you pay extra grats on the included drinks, or is that already accounted for in the price of the YC?

 

I'm looking to do 2018/2019 Christmas/NY on the Seaside :). It looks fantastic. Most likely gonna book in the next couple days. Just finalizing a few things. Deffo going for YC though :)

There's also the panorama pool where the huge movie screen is. There is one in YC with 2 hot tubs in a separate section.

Here are the 4 main pools:

SOUTH BEACH POOL (Aft)

PANORAMA POOL (Pool deck)

JUNGLE POOL (pool with sliding roof)

FOREST AQUAVENTURE AND ADVENTURE PARK (play area)

quote=ilovetotravel1977;54361945]From what I can tell on the website, there are three open pools (Miami, South Beach, Jungle Pools) and one in the Yacht Club?

Is the Jungle pool essentially the kids/family pool? The thing that DH isn't a fan of on NCL is the lack of pools, so if Seaside has three, hopefully that will make him happy.

We definitely prefer a paper thin cruise card in a pocket or purse to a bulkyish rubber wristband. Plus I wouldn't want to wear something with YC emblazoned on it...a bit tacky in my opinion.

If it should be the new norm you can have it in your pocket, or in your husband pocket, if you wants too so that's probably not a problem.

 

I don't think that they are optional for kids.

You can drink anywhere on the ship if you're in YC and anything in your mini-bar! They'll restock it with what they see you drinking the most or you can ask them for something different. I believe the official answer to top shelf liquor is that it's not included even in YC. And that would be especially true in other bars/lounges on the ship. But in YC you can ask for a gin and tonic, for example, with the better gin, but I don't think you can order anything at all (the $500 bottle of champagne, top shelf scotch, etc...) without paying more. There's quite a selection though of what's included. Try googling drink menus for the ship you're looking at.

YC includes alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, gelato, specialty coffees, smoothies, shakes, bottled water, etc...If you can do it, I'd highly recommend it! Their service is excellent, personalized, and the private spaces are quite nice on a packed ship. Their private restaurant offers samplings from speciality restaurants on different nights, and their food is wonderfully prepared.

Question about Yacht Club.

 

I know it's unlimited drinks in YC areas and mini bar (I presume that's of any kind?), but when they talk about complimentary drinks in other areas can anybody tell me a bit more about what's included there? So I presume it's standards bars/dining venues on the ship? Is it free drinks, alcoholic/non-alcoholic? Is there a large selection? How do you know what's complimentary and what's pay? Does that mean if you splurge on the YC you don't need to buy a drinks package?

 

Sorry for all the questions!

 

Cheers

I don't have any menus, but can say we love the food on Divina and the menus offer something for everyone. At lunch I would tend to try a vegetarian option, but had their beef frequently at dinner - it's top quality (we live near NYC and have some pretty great steakhouses near us). You can't beat their pastas and sauces, risotto, or their pizza! Fresh baked pastries made in their pizza ovens every morning gives you flaky delicious croissants and pain au chocolat! The buffet is also huge and has a lot of variety. If the buffet isn't for you, the MDR has nice offerings for all meals.

I far preferred the food on MSC to both RC and Carnival, but my family is Italian and I love Mediterranean food. But food is always a matter of taste. I hope you try MSC and love it!

I hope they're optional and not the new norm. I don't like wearing them when at amusement parks and museums - neither do my kids. I wouldn't want to wear them on formal night (or any night), at the pool and get a tan with it, etc...Cruise cards are easy. My husband always has a pocket to put mine in, lol. But I do hope it's a matter of choice on Seaside.

The only change is to the 1-6 sailing.

The 12-23 is eastern (as scheduled), 12-30 is western (as scheduled), 1-6 changed to western, 1-13 remains western (as scheduled).

This is so strange. So, now the eastern itinerary changed to a western, and the western itinerary that was suppose to be on the ship the week behind the Jan. 6th sailing, is going to be eastern? Why didn't they just keep the Eastern on Eastern and the Western on Western. We were just told that we were going to Antigua to replace St. Maarten, and St. Thomas to replace San Juan, and now they did a complete switch-a-roo?

Thank you so much - this is helpful!

Coming back from a cruise with the Meraviglia. From 7 years you can allow your child to sign in/out by himself, so he can walk around the ship. On european cruises the club close at 11PM. I didn't saw "kids around the clock" but it could be different for US cruises.

And on the first day usually you don't have long lines. The seaside is a new one so everything is bigger and more organised than with the older MSC ships. They took the children to eat in the evening each day at the buffet (with a dedicated place) and they sometimes go in the theatre.

Jumping into this thread late but need advice and info, please! This is our first cruise with the kids. They are 11 and 15, and we'll be on Seaside in December.

What is the sign up procedure for the Kids Clubs? Long lines the first day? (Is it even available the first day?) Best way to sign up? Do you think they'll take kids to the water park on Seaside or do more activities in the club area? Does the 15 year old need to be signed in/out by us every time? Thinking if we're at dinner, and she's done...can she go on her own? I know I'd want her accompanied, but she's at that independent age, lol.

Yes, people do wear nice shorts in the MDR, but I wouldn't recommend wearing them on gala night. I never ate in Galaxy so not sure how fancy, but in the Eataly Steakhous people often talki about the lack of ambiance in there...excellent food, but the decor isn't what you'd expect. Plastic chairs, kind of stark ( I guess some would call it modern, lol), bread in paper bags. But their steaks are excellent and the pizza in the Eataly Pizzeria is excellent!

I bought my husband some really nice linen dress shorts. Can he wear these to dinner at night, or no?

Is there a difference between what you wear in the pay restaurants compared to what you must wear in the general dining room?

There is liquid soap and shampoo for sure. No conditioner and I don't remember if there was lotion...Happy Saililng.

Have you booked? When are you sailing?

Heard back from TA. We are in same boat but MSC says they will not let us have room for 5 since just 4 of us. MSC said even if they did let us book the Inventory Team would move us out if we selected it.

Mark said on another social media site that he will be taking some cabin pictures early next week!

Is he allowed to take pictures of the cabins? Do his pictures have to be approved before they are posted?

Great information in your review - thank you! We're on Seaside in December so I was curious and pleased to see the configuration of your suite. The shorter wider room does look much better. I'm hoping it's the same on Seaside. I think we'll have tall wardrobes rather than walk in closets. I noticed the other day that Seaside YC suites don't have a bathtub, so I suspect it will be a similar configuration to yours on Meraviglia. I'm surprised about the loungers in One Pool - that was one thing I loved about YC on the Divina...there were always an abundance of loungers, even on the busiest of sea days.

Thank you for posting!

I think at this point, to be expected. These islands are in really devastating conditions. I'm hopeful St. Thomas will be ok by December. It sounds like they're on track and making repairs - much more so than Puerto Rico. I feel so bad for the people there.

Not surprising.