MSC Seaside Feb 3-10

My other half (male) and I (female) - both in our 30s, sailed on the Seaside Feb 3-10.

A few notes before I get into more detail:

- This was my first time cruising ever, and his second (previously did a Disney Cruise)

- We had a balcony room on Deck 11 with the Fantastica Package

1. Embarkation:

- It was very quick for us, but our plane was very late getting into Fort Lauderdale so by the time we got to Miami it was somewhere around 3-4pm.

- We were able to get into our room right away but our luggage didn't come until almost 7pm.

2. Room:

- I thought our room was nice and enough room for just the two of us. Storage space was small but luckily my other half didn't bring nearly as many clothes/shoes as I did!

- One thing I really liked about our room was our bathroom - I had read stories before we left that the bathrooms were very small, and tall people would have trouble with space - especially in the shower and on the toilet. My boyfriend is 6'4, so I was worried he wouldn't fit in the bathroom, but luckily we ended up with a room with a bath tub/shower combined, so we had lots of space! The only awkward thing was the door that covered only half of the tub and did not open and close, so if you weren't careful when showering you would get water all over the floor.

- The bed was VERY comfortable!

- One disadvantage of the room were that for some reason we got put in a room that was attached to the room next door, even though we did not travel with the other people and did not request this. They had several kids in the room and it was VERY easy to hear them when they were in there, especially when they were getting ready for bed... sounded like they were rearranging the entire room! Not a huge deal since we were usually still up when they were going to bed, and they didn't seem to be in the room much at the same time we were in our room throughout the week.

- Another thing we didn't like about the room was room service: There were a few mornings we ordered breakfast (the night before) and everything came the next day but usually a half an hour to an hour later (which wasn't a huge deal because we were on vacation). The frustrating thing was when we tried to order room service later on that week during the days. The first day we tried the phone rang, and rang, and rang... no answer. It was frustrating since our package included "free" room service, yet it didn't seem like we'd be able to even use it other than ordering breakfast the night before. Luckily we tried again on a day we were at a port, and they answered that time.

3. Food:

- We requested an EARLY dining time weeks before the cruise, and when we got on our ship our card said our dining time was at 8:30pm. Not sure why this got changed but we just ended up keeping the 8:30pm time.

- We got the Trio Package before we left. We ended up trying the Butcher's Cut first, and it was amazing! It was our first meal on the ship which maybe wasn't a good idea, because after that everything didn't seem as good! My boyfriend is not a fan of seafood so we asked if the Seafood restaurant had other options (which I had read somewhere prior to the cruise that they did), but we were told on the cruise they don't have other options besides seafood and that we could instead go to the French restaurant. Well... the French restaurant looked pretty sad - I don't think we saw a single person eating there all week. Eventually someone ended up telling us we could go back to the Butcher's Cut, so we went again a few nights later! The Asian Restaurant was our last meal of the trio package which was also amazing.

- Buffets: We only ever ate breakfast and lunch at the buffets. Breakfast was pretty good but started to get extremely repetitive. It was also PACKED on the mornings that we were at ports. Lunch was my least favourite meal. It was also very repetitive and I felt like they did not have many healthy options at all (for those people who want to try and eat healthy at least a few of the days!).

- MDR: Our waiter was really nice... but he was extremely slow. Because we were on vacation, we didn't really care too much he was slow! The food in the MDR was just okay. The bread was probably the highlight. Overall the meals in the MDR were nothing to write home about. Again, I think we made a mistake eating at the Butcher's Cut the first night!

4. Excursions:

- We did excursions at all of our stops: Bahamas (Dolphin Swim), St. Thomas (Snorkeling) and Antigua (Zip Line).

- All of them were amazing, except one downfall: Our snorkeling excursion said we were going to be taken out on a "power cat" to the snorkeling location, and then after snorkeling there we would be taken somewhere else to snorkel with the sea turtles. So it sounded like it was a full day of snorkeling. When we got off the cruise, we were taken to a boat that was not a catamaran in any way, we went snorkeling for maybe 45min total (which was amazing) and then had to get back on the boat and were taken to a beach and dropped off there. Literally... dropped off. They anchored out in the water and then if we wanted to get off and go on the beach we had to go through the water first? Awkward for those of us walking through the water with bags and purses. At this point the boat ended up turning into a booze cruise, which may have been appealing for some, but we paid a lot of money to snorkel and ended up doing that for 45 min total the whole day.

- Definitely recommend the Zip Line in Antigua!

5. The Ship:

- Beautiful ship. Everything is obviously new and very modern which is nice.

- Lounge chairs: Unfortunately if you want a seat even remotely close to the pool or in a good location you have to go out on the days at sea by 7-8am to put your towels on them, otherwise they were all taken. I hated being one of those people, but we had no choice - everyone else was doing it!

- Sewage smell: We didn't notice at all. Maybe once or twice briefly? But it wasn't anything even worth noting.

- Pools: We actually only went in once or twice briefly, and the first thing I noticed was how deep they were! In Canada we have shallow ends and deep ends in our pools, I am 5'6 and was struggling to keep my head above water.

- Elevators were slow during busy times but we usually took the stairs anyway so didn't use the elevator much.

6. Shows:

- We saw most of the shows, and really liked them all (especially the show with Michael Jackson - Timeless I think it was??).

- The only show I wasn't a fan of was the Beer Prov (Adult Show) which was late at night. We ended up walking out after 10-15 minutes into it... I didn't not find it funny or entertaining at all. They definitely need to change that one.

Others:

- We were surprised that many of the staff barely spoke any English. It was sometimes frustrating as we were trying to ask the staff things and they didn't understand at all. It was hard to get answers.

- I found there were a lot of VERY pushy/rude passengers on the ship. I guess this probably happens on all ships but I was surprised how rude people can be and how it doesn't even phase them?

- All Inclusive Drink Package: We actually considered getting this, and I'm sure glad we didn't - we didn't even end up using all 24 drink vouchers with the Fantastica Package!

Overall, we had a great time because 1) we were on vacation, 2) in the Caribbean, 3) out of the brutal snow and cold winter we've had in Canada, and 4) in the sun and warm weather :) We are already planning our next cruise; however, we both said at the end of our trip we wouldn't cruise with MSc again.

Thank you for your nice writeup/

Appreciate your balanced report.

Keith

Thank you for your review.

Did you have a guarantee category?

If not, you can tell by looking at the deck plans whether your cabin is connecting or not. We always avoid connecting, for the very reason you mentioned.

I did notice just before we left for the cruise it said we were connecting with the room next to us. I also looked at a deck plan on another website (can't remember which website), and it showed we weren't connecting... so I figured it was a mistake saying that we were. I was going to try calling MSC and asking but didn't want to have to deal with them on the phone again. Most times I called I didn't find the people very helpful.

Thanks for sharing your experience ! It sounds like even though it was not a " perfect " cruise , you made it best of it with your positive attitude !

I have been reading a lot about people stating that they were bothered with the motion of the ship or how unstable it felt. Did you experience this ?

I appreciate your honest and informative review !

I found there were a lot of VERY pushy/rude passengers on the ship. I guess this probably happens on all ships but I was surprised how rude people can be and how it doesn't even phase them?

Interesting you should mention this.... When we cruised on Costa, we noticed the same. One thing that bothered me was that people (non-americans) would not give you any space. When ever we were in lines I could literally feel people breathing on my neck. Not sure if this a foreign thing....but it it really stood out when we cruised on ships with a balanced mixed of nationality's

Thank you for reminding me... I completely forgot to mention that part!

From the second we left Miami, it was rocky! I wasn't sure if it was just extra windy or rough when we left Miami but it continued the whole trip when we were at sea. If anything, we were a little light-headed at first leaving Miami because we weren't used to it. But as the days went on we adjusted to it and luckily it didn't bother us at all! I had brought the patches for sea sickness with me just in case but we didn't end up needing them :)

I wouldn't say it was really rough... but definitely noticeable - eating dinner, watching a show, laying at the pool, in bed, etc we would notice it.

You mentioned that you were able to go to Butcher's Cut twice. Were there any issues when you arrived for the second visit? How do they track where you have/have not eaten as part of the three? We too would like to skip the seafood but would love to double up on the steakhouse.

We asked someone at the front of the speciality restaurants the second or third day and whoever we were speaking to told us it would be fine to do the Butcher's Cut again. I was still wondering when we went in for the second time if they would question it but no one said anything!

I think it depends what staff you speak to... they seem to all have different answers!

Thanks, Jac. Would you say the trio is worth doing? Did you book onboard? Is the $69 pricing inclusive of gratuities etc.?

Thank you for your review, JacButtons. I like your “can do” attitude, it’s important to stay positive. [emoji4] Was it hard to go back to [emoji1063] after being in the sun [emoji274] for a week?

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I would definitely recommend the trio package - in my opinion they were by far the best meals of the trip!

We booked the package for $69/person several weeks before our trip. I'm not sure if you could get the same package on the ship for the same price.

At the end of the trip you'll get your bill with a 'daily service charge' added which goes toward gratuities. We still tipped occasionally throughout the week if the service was outstanding, but I don't think you're expected to tip when you eat with the trio package. From my understanding I think most cruises do this.

Thanks, Jac. Would you say the trio is worth doing? Did you book onboard? Is the $69 pricing inclusive of gratuities etc.?

Check your email as your cruise gets closer. I received a email about 1 month out with specialty dining options (supposedly priced at 25% off). The trio was listed at $69 and you reserved directly on the MSC site