Seaside to avoid at all cost!

[SNJCruisers]

2 formal/elegant/gala nights this week. I have seen the attire run the gamut from sweats to tuxedos, so everyone should be happy.

I assume that the formals were on Sunday and Thursday? This just seems to be the mantra of MSC, consistently inconsistent. The 1/6 and 1/13 sailings each had only 1 formal night and now this week had 2.

[sidari]

On one of those dates they, MSC, forgot to add the elegant night to the daily info paper so that is how they ended up with one, on another week they forgot to add the Italian/Mediterranean night as they did on the Xmas cruise !

[EssG]

This is why you don't pay too much attention to these reviews. Same ship same week and yet totally different views, checkout Cruiselover and chefchick thoughts. Amazing

 

Spot on riclop

[DCGuy64]

Our family was on 1/13/18 sailing in Fantastica balcony and overall had a great time. Everyone loved the waterslides. Pizza was great, as well as pay for restaurants. MDR service was bad. and smell appeared form time to time.

 

And yes i am the guy who posted about "buttergate" to my surprise what i thought of as tongue in cheek minor quip, people saw as chief complaint.

 

But we booked Aurea Suite With Whirlpool Bath for November. The perks of Aurea will negate the negatives like fixed dinning time. and at 3k i have funds to book specialty restaurants for every night if i wanted.

 

Thank you! We're also sailing in a Fantastica balcony, I'm happy to read you had such a good time. And I thought the "buttergate" thread was hilarious! :')

[waterlove1234]

I have a picture of the drink menu and here are the ingredients for the Key Lime Pie Martini. Absolute vanilla vodka, lime cordial, coconut syrup, pineapple juice Served in a cracker crumbs rimmed glass. Hope this is what you were asking for.

 

Ah! I've been missing the coconut syrup. Thanks again!! That's exactly what I needed.

[LMaxwell]

Keep an eye out for Jim Zim's indepth review coming soon (it will post under Spaniel Lover).... Worst cruise out of 43.... Once you read his review and pros/cons of ship....You will have a real good idea what your willing to tolerate. He will compare his experience on MSC to the other lines....

His reviews are about the best done, but I think they don’t do entertainment and only do buffet dining (which is an Achilles heel for this ship) so need to read carefully to see their priorities vs your own.

[Beamafar]

I have a picture of the drink menu and here are the ingredients for the Key Lime Pie Martini. Absolute vanilla vodka, lime cordial, coconut syrup, pineapple juice Served in a cracker crumbs rimmed glass. Hope this is what you were asking for.

 

I've just taken a note of the ingredients in the hope that they'll have them on Splendida.

 

I absolutely love key lime pie but, as I'm the only one who eats it, I never make it. :( I notice that they don't offer it for dessert on MSC anymore (certainly not in the Med, IME) but have substituted it for a far inferior "lime pie" instead, which is totally different.

[Hlitner]

I do not normally criticize posters but rather prefer to speak to issues (pro and con). But the OP's post is totally absurd and meaningless. About all we get out of that post is that its noisy at Guest Relations (so just go when there is no music or crowds). A vacation is ruined....is meaningless without explaining why. We hope the OP returns here and explain some details. But as one who has been on far more than 100 cruises I would give the OP some common sense advice. Guest Relations counters are open 24/7. There are certain hours when that counter can be very busy and there are times when it can be nearly empty. If you have an issue or question, take a deep breath. If you really need to go to complain (unless there is a potential solution this might be a waste of time) then choose a time when there will be few crowds. On most ships this might be early in the morning or later at night. If you head to that area and see a long queue, just go off and have some fun...and return at a later time,

 

Hank

[nikkiw60]

I've just taken a note of the ingredients in the hope that they'll have them on Splendida.

 

 

 

I absolutely love key lime pie but, as I'm the only one who eats it, I never make it. :( I notice that they don't offer it for dessert on MSC anymore (certainly not in the Med, IME) but have substituted it for a far inferior "lime pie" instead, which is totally different.

 

 

 

We have had this in Florida made with ki ki lime liquor it was so good we brought a bottle back!

 

 

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[Beamafar]

We have had this in Florida made with ki ki lime liquor it was so good we brought a bottle back!

 

Sorry, Nikki - do you mean you had the cocktail or the pie? Either way, I'll watch out for it when in Miami next year.

[nikkiw60]

Sorry, Nikki - do you mean you had the cocktail or the pie? Either way, I'll watch out for it when in Miami next year.

 

 

 

Cocktail but maybe you could add it to the pie also..

 

 

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[Beamafar]

Cheers! :)

[js]

I'm still on the seaside from jan 20-27 2018, my vacation just got ruined. Can't wait to go back home asap. Trust me, I'm not the only one who is having bad experience on this cruise. The line up at the front desk is always long!! Worse part, you have to scream out loud or having hard time to have a conversation with the CSR because it's located next to the atrium and the music is always loud!! I'll write a more details review later.

 

Thank you for such an informative review :')

 

NCL "Away" ships are set up the same where Guest Service is also next to the Atrium and it can get loud but it certainly didn't ruin or even was a thought to me and my NCL Escape cruise in the summer was ranked as my top 3 but again, the Guest Services and Atrium wasn't a thought for me, I don't have to work there and didn't expect to spend my vacation hanging out and talking with GS :rolleyes:

 

Hope your cruise got a little better and would love to hear what exactly made you prompt to come here to say your vacation "just got ruined". What happened? Life isn't perfect, not one day is perfect so that can't happen on vacation either but I've never had a vacation ruined, maybe I'm lucky or maybe I have a different perspective on vacationing :cool:

[SNJCruisers]

The martini recipe with the Keke lime liquor sounds delicious, especially since it does not have coconut syrup in it, which makes no sense since Key Line Pie dies not contain any coconut to the best of my knowledge.

[MisterBill99]

So I wonder if the OP will return to tell us what their problem was that caused the cruise to be ruined.

[sjudis]

I want a martini now[emoji483][emoji483][emoji483]

 

 

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[nikkiw60]

I want a martini now[emoji483][emoji483][emoji483]

 

 

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3 weeks tomorrow! Key lime Martini, espresso martini, chocolate martini...

 

 

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[63galaxie]

I am also currently on Seaside but, unlike the OP, am having a wonderful time. I have all the butter I need. My food is hot. The crew is working hard to please, and although not perfect, I don’t expect perfection. What is confusing to me is why would anyone take time out of their vacation to throw out a cryptic message that the sky is falling but not take the time to be a little more specific. If anyone has concerns I will do my best to answer them but i can’t promise to be quick about it as I am too busy having a great time. ☀️

 

 

 

Just curious. Are you in Yacht Club or not?

 

 

 

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[63galaxie]

Just curious. Are you in Yacht Club or not?

 

 

 

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Never mind. I read your response that you are in the YC.

 

 

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[cruiselover168]

I'm still on the seaside from jan 20-27 2018, my vacation just got ruined. Can't wait to go back home asap. Trust me, I'm not the only one who is having bad experience on this cruise. The line up at the front desk is always long!! Worse part, you have to scream out loud or having hard time to have a conversation with the CSR because it's located next to the atrium and the music is always loud!! I'll write a more details review later.

So just got back from the trip. I just copy and pasted what I wrote to MSC. I apologize for my broken english.

1) on the way entering the ship, I don't see a single smile from any staffs. I don't feel welcomed to onboard.

2) One of the wheel of my luggage got smashed when it got delivered to my room.

3) Customer service desk is always packed. It seems like there is not enough staffs to serve all the passengers on board. Front Desk staffs don't have enough acknowledge to help the customers. We have to scream out loud to understand with each other because the music in atrium is always loud. On my first attempt to report my broken luggage, you guys told me "in order to file a complain, we will send you a survey at the end of the cruise. From there, you can report a complain and comments". When i wanted to speak with a supervisor, you guys told me "there is no one available, you can come back later"

4) Room isolation is terrible. I was on deck 15 AFT. Every times there is an event with music, I can hear it clearly. Also if some one walks heavily or run, i can hear their foot steps. We couldn't sleep well when there is any event located on AFT of the ship at night.

5) 6 elevators work out of 8 and they are so tiny that we have to wait at least 5 minutes every times.

6) PUBLIC places in atrium is way too small. when there is event, not enough room for people to pass, we had to squeeze

7) Restaurants

we are stuck to dine at the main dining room on deck 6. You guys didn't let us have a choice. Either we eat or starve (the other option is the MINI buffet on deck 16 which always serve BURGERS, PIZZA, HOTDOT!! tell me which cruise line doesn't offer this? it's just lack of varieties).

We can't even order to take out from the dining room. Again, we were starving after 2am because nothing is opened! What do you offer to eat if people gamble or dancing party until late? nothing

buffet on deck 8 is not always open! at night time, you guys convert it into a dining room. During the breakfast and lunch, we always had trouble to find a table because it was always full. During breakfast, you guys really lack of varieties! One toaster available for the entire buffet! room service is a joke, the menu is so limited and can't never be reached.

8) Shows are nice but too short! We have to be there at least 10 minutes before the show starts to have good view. Meanwhile the show last only 30 minutes and there is always people who are late and it's so disturbing to get up to let people pass by. Not enough game shows, comedy show only 1 per night and it's so late, like around 11:30pm. Your entertainment orientation needs to improve big time!

9) Shore excursions.

we were supposed to arrive at 9am at st johns, but the ship arrived at 11am due to some medical emergency.

MSC could've had orginazed the meeting time and place better. we already got 2hours shorten, we still

had to waste another 40 minutes to meet up the group and as always, there is

always people who are late. so by the time we got off the boat, we just got another 30 minutes wasted.

and by the time we got the beach, it was around 1.30pm. we just lost so much time!!

and again at st thomas, why group meeting at 10:15 when the ship arrives at 7am? port of calls and beaches

are very important to us and you guys just ruined it. not to mention the last port of call (bahamas), I understand

that it wasn't MSC's fault, but still...

10)Casino

seaside only offers limited slot machines and only 8 gaming tables and max bet is too low!

11) zip lines cost money! It's 10$/time

12) It was my firs time bringing my parents to cruise. After what they've just experienced,

I don't think they will cruise again.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2018 by cruiselover168

[nikkiw60]

So just got back from the trip. I just copy and pasted what I wrote to MSC. I apologize for my broken english.

1) on the way entering the ship, I don't see a single smile from any staffs. I don't feel welcomed to onboard.

2) One of the wheel of my luggage got smashed when it got delivered to my room.

3) Customer service desk is always packed. It seems like there is not enough staffs to serve all the passengers on board. Front Desk staffs don't have enough acknowledge to help the customers. We have to scream out loud to understand with each other because the music in atrium is always loud. On my first attempt to report my broken luggage, you guys told me "in order to file a complain, we will send you a survey at the end of the cruise. From there, you can report a complain and comments". When i wanted to speak with a supervisor, you guys told me "there is no one available, you can come back later"

4) Room isolation is terrible. I was on deck 15 AFT. Every times there is an event with music, I can hear it clearly. Also if some one walks heavily or run, i can hear their foot steps. We couldn't sleep well when there is any event located on AFT of the ship at night.

5) 6 elevators work out of 8 and they are so tiny that we have to wait at least 5 minutes every times.

6) PUBLIC places in atrium is way too small. when there is event, not enough room for people to pass, we had to squeeze

7) Restaurants

we are stuck to dine at the main dining room on deck 6. You guys didn't let us have a choice. Either we eat or starve (the other option is the MINI buffet on deck 16 which always serve BURGERS, PIZZA, HOTDOT!! tell me which cruise line doesn't offer this? it's just lack of varieties).

We can't even order to take out from the dining room. Again, we were starving after 2am because nothing is opened! What do you offer to eat if people gamble or dancing party until late? nothing

buffet on deck 8 is not always open! at night time, you guys convert it into a dining room. During the breakfast and lunch, we always had trouble to find a table because it was always full. During breakfast, you guys really lack of varieties! One toaster available for the entire buffet! room service is a joke, the menu is so limited and can't never be reached.

8) Shows are nice but too short! We have to be there at least 10 minutes before the show starts to have good view. Meanwhile the show last only 30 minutes and there is always people who are late and it's so disturbing to get up to let people pass by. Not enough game shows, comedy show only 1 per night and it's so late, like around 11:30pm. Your entertainment orientation needs to improve big time!

9) Shore excursions.

we were supposed to arrive at 9am at st johns, but the ship arrived at 11am due to some medical emergency.

MSC could've had orginazed the meeting time and place better. we already got 2hours shorten, we still

had to waste another 40 minutes to meet up the group and as always, there is

always people who are late. so by the time we got off the boat, we just got another 30 minutes wasted.

and by the time we got the beach, it was around 1.30pm. we just lost so much time!!

and again at st thomas, why group meeting at 10:15 when the ship arrives at 7am? port of calls and beaches

are very important to us and you guys just ruined it. not to mention the last port of call (bahamas), I understand

that it wasn't MSC's fault, but still...

10)Casino

seaside only offers limited slot machines and only 8 gaming tables and max bet is too low!

11) zip lines cost money! It's 10$/time

12) It was my firs time bringing my parents to cruise. After what they've just experienced,

I don't think they will cruise again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just erm Wow!

 

 

 

 

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[CruiseGal999]

So just got back from the trip. I just copy and pasted what I wrote to MSC. I apologize for my broken english.

1) on the way entering the ship, I don't see a single smile from any staffs. I don't feel welcomed to onboard. That's YOUR personal opinion and doesn't affect your vacation.

2) One of the wheel of my luggage got smashed when it got delivered to my room. This happens to MANY cruise passengers. I've seen it here on CC ... a lot. Buck up little camper ... it's called life happens.

3) Customer service desk is always packed. It seems like there is not enough staffs to serve all the passengers on board. There physically CAN'T be enough employees to assist 5,000+ passengers. Front Desk staffs don't have enough acknowledge to help the customers. We have to scream out loud to understand with each other because the music in atrium is always loud. On my first attempt to report my broken luggage, you guys told me "in order to file a complain, we will send you a survey at the end of the cruise. From there, you can report a complain and comments". When i wanted to speak with a supervisor, you guys told me "there is no one available, you can come back later" Again, life happens. Cruise line does NOT owe your for a broken wheel. Annoying? Yes. Vacation ruining? Only if you make it ruin your vacation. Which you did, clearly.

4) Room isolation is terrible. I was on deck 15 AFT. Every times there is an event with music, I can hear it clearly. Also if some one walks heavily or run, i can hear their foot steps. We couldn't sleep well when there is any event located on AFT of the ship at night. This is typical ... everyone can hear people walking, talking and running in the halls of a cruise ship. Did you choose your cabin #? Did you look at the location of the cabin before choosing that cabin? Did you go for a guaranty cabin and pay minimum cost? Again, this could be all your doing.

5) 6 elevators work out of 8 and they are so tiny that we have to wait at least 5 minutes every times. Again, very typical of any cruise line. Most people have to wait at least one cycle to get on an elevator. Nothing new or news worthy here.

6) PUBLIC places in atrium is way too small. when there is event, not enough room for people to pass, we had to squeeze Come ON ... it's a ship .... yeah ... spaces are small. Adapt.

7) Restaurants

we are stuck to dine at the main dining room on deck 6. You guys didn't let us have a choice. Either we eat or starve (the other option is the MINI buffet on deck 16 which always serve BURGERS, PIZZA, HOTDOT!! tell me which cruise line doesn't offer this? it's just lack of varieties). Tell this to starving people all over the world. Tell them that you were FORCED to eat in a beautiful dining room on a cruise ship. You could ask for 2 appetizers EACH, 2 entrees EACH .... you can eat to your fill. I have a hunch you did not read your daily newsletter and/or explore the ship to find all of the dining venues.

We can't even order to take out from the dining room. Again, we were starving after 2am because nothing is opened! What do you offer to eat if people gamble or dancing party until late? nothing Really? You are unhappy because you can't eat at 2am? OMG ... I can't even express what I want to say here.

buffet on deck 8 is not always open! at night time, you guys convert it into a dining room. During the breakfast and lunch, we always had trouble to find a table because it was always full. During breakfast, you guys really lack of varieties! One toaster available for the entire buffet! room service is a joke, the menu is so limited and can't never be reached.

8) Shows are nice but too short! We have to be there at least 10 minutes before the show starts to have good view. Meanwhile the show last only 30 minutes and there is always people who are late and it's so disturbing to get up to let people pass by. Not enough game shows, comedy show only 1 per night and it's so late, like around 11:30pm. Your entertainment orientation needs to improve big time! It's free cruise entertainment. Other cruiselines have better shows ... maybe. Comedy shows, with adult language needs to be late so kids don't attend.

9) Shore excursions.

we were supposed to arrive at 9am at st johns, but the ship arrived at 11am due to some medical emergency.

MSC could've had orginazed the meeting time and place better. we already got 2hours shorten, we still

had to waste another 40 minutes to meet up the group and as always, there is

always people who are late. so by the time we got off the boat, we just got another 30 minutes wasted.

and by the time we got the beach, it was around 1.30pm. we just lost so much time!!

and again at st thomas, why group meeting at 10:15 when the ship arrives at 7am? port of calls and beaches

are very important to us and you guys just ruined it. not to mention the last port of call (bahamas), I understand

that it wasn't MSC's fault, but still... I am sure the people with the medical emergency are SO VERY sorry that they interrupted your fun. There was NOTHING that could be done to avoid this.

10)Casino

seaside only offers limited slot machines and only 8 gaming tables and max bet is too low! Really? LOL .... This is beyond ... beyond ...

11) zip lines cost money! It's 10$/time Ok. So they do. Others have complained about this also.

12) It was my firs time bringing my parents to cruise. After what they've just experienced,

I don't think they will cruise again. Frankly, I don't think anyone wants to encounter you or your parents on any cruise. Hopefully, you will find a cruise line that is more to your liking and a ship that fits your unrealistic expectations and an itinerary that pleases you. Happy sailing.

 

 

 

 

 

See my comments above.

[nikkiw60]

See my comments above.

 

 

 

Very well answered!

 

 

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[CruiseIreland]

I note that OP's cruise experience, from posting history, before Seaside was on NCL Getaway, Western Caribbean. Would this have set the bar too high for poor old MSC? Do we let MSC away with crud that we would not accept from NCL or RCCL? I, for one, have sailed 5 times with MSC with 2 more Booked, including Seaside. Overall, the cruise/food/entertainment anmd service on those two lines exceeds that on MSC but you cannot beat MSC for value for money, even with the shortcomings outlined above.

 

 

OP: you let yourself sweat the petty things and ruin your vacation. Good luck with your complaint and I think you had best return to NCL for peace of mind. Ken

[sidari]

We can't even order to take out from the dining room. Again, we were starving after 2am because nothing is opened! What do you offer to eat if people gamble or dancing party until late? nothing Really? You are unhappy because you can't eat at 2am? OMG ... I can't even express what I want to say here.

Just a small part from the above post ... MSC have 24 hour room service! yes you pay for the food and no you do not get free room service if booked in a Bella experience cabin! A little bit of homework before any sailing for anyone would have told you this.