Seaside Feb. 10th to 17th, 2018

[Mycykfamilytime]

Thanks so much!!! What drinks plan did you have?

 

 

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[TravelinGert]

We enjoyed eating in the deck 8 buffet for lunch. I found romaine, sliced radish, corn, and tomatoes in the front wellness area as well as fruit, nuts, and dressings I passed over. In the ethnic area at the rear I found mild Mexican style chicken and beef, freshly made tortilla chips, fresh guacamole, sour cream, rice, beans, and mild tomato salsa. In the Mediterranean section there was a spicy picked peppers and veggie mix plus several cheeses. In a cubby at the front filled with jars of condiments I spied Chipotle ranch dressing and found the resulting Mexican salad very tasty.

 

Besides the things I chose I saw 4 pasta choices, 3 pizza, a salad section with several more vegetables, 2 types of olives, 3 types of smoked meats, Asian stir fried vegetables, steamed rice, carving station with some sort of roast beast, mashed potatoes, gravy, steamed mixed vegetables, bread and rolls, hamburgers, hot dogs, 6 or 7 desserts, mixed fruit salad, whole fruits, yogurt, an enormous selection of condiments and sauces, and more.

 

For those with dietary concerns at least 1 dessert was a diet option. One bread option was gluten-free. Besides salad items there were several hot vegetables. Food items were well labeled in these regards. If you are a veggie who eats eggs and dairy there were more options like pasta salad in fresh made mayonnaise and a chilled grilled vegetable salad with cheese.

 

Generally speaking foods were replaced by schedule and kept at approximately established temperature. We never experienced hot dishes not piping hot.

 

Stylistically foods were first off served with very little salt certainly to accommodate those with dietary salt restrictions. Salt was on every table, though. Similarly foods were mostly served fairly lightly seasoned with chili and hot pepper sauces readily available. Over all we found the food thankfully very unlike American homogenized chains. Even the burgers were much better prepared with a lovely char and cooked to a beautiful medium.

 

Friends on the ship with allergies said they were able to rely on labels once they confirmed peanut oil was not used on the ship. Many glueten-free options including croissants at breakfasts were served in the MDR and express breakfasts and lunches were possible if servers were made aware of pressing schedule concerns. I know on one port day they breakfasted quicker than we managed in the buffet due to time spent by my spouse and I simultaneously circling the buffet in the same direction hunting each other.

 

However the promised non-dairy options were not present for other friends. After they mentioned being assured in advance of this to the Hotel Manager he got off the ship at our next stop to pick up several items for her. Over all I thought this was an unprecedented level of response.

 

None of the above is meant as any sort of medical recommend but for folks with managed levels of issues they do seem to do what they can.

 

As far as any recommendation goes from our experience the only real issue could very easily be solved with the MSC app. It is currently able to show me where I am on ship so my techie husband assures me it should be very trivial to code in ability to allow selected travel companions to track you. If MSC's IT people can't bash out the code in a few days they need to hire real pros. My spouse would be happy to suggest people he has worked with who could absolutely do it very easily due to years of experience coding those types of options. I know I would have joyfully embraced a small fee for the ability to track my spouse at several points due to the difficulty presented by the design of public spaces on the ship.

 

The atrium is gorgeous and we loved the ease of enjoyment of nightly live performances there, but the layered shopping, lounges, and public spaces in the interior and spread out outdoor spaces were far more difficult when hunting a person on board verses the ships with most things grouped on one or two levels we previously experienced. I can only imagine how annoying it must have been for parents on occasion.

[CTBob]

General impression and enjoyment of the cruise was excellent. Ship beautiful, cabin comfortable, beds excellent, food hot, fresh, well-prepared and presented with far more choice than expected. Would definitely cruise Seaside again.

Great to hear. Welcome home. Bob

[calgaryhhr]

As far as any recommendation goes from our experience the only real issue could very easily be solved with the MSC app. It is currently able to show me where I am on ship so my techie husband assures me it should be very trivial to code in ability to allow selected travel companions to track you. If MSC's IT people can't bash out the code in a few days they need to hire real pros. My spouse would be happy to suggest people he has worked with who could absolutely do it very easily due to years of experience coding those types of options. I know I would have joyfully embraced a small fee for the ability to track my spouse at several points due to the difficulty presented by the design of public spaces on the ship.

 

 

Maybe if you ask the kid's club nicely they can slap a wristband on the spouse and activate the kid's tracker on them. We had the tracker for our two kids and it worked great. You could actually see them move around the kids club rooms.

[Linda the Book Lover]

An announcement notified us rooms were ready appoximately 2:30. Our bags along with everyone else in our section of hallway were waiting against the doors.

 

Perfect! Thanks:D

[TravelinGert]

Through the week food options in deck 8 buffet remained excellent for breakfast and lunch. One day at lunch the offered rotisserie turkey at the carving station which was magnificent. Most pasta and fish options were really good.

 

We had dinner with friends in the Deck 16 buffet. It definitely was unusually limited as to choice for a cruise, but did offer a few standouts. There was some sort of white pizza, a pasta option, and a really nice steak. We definitely did not go hungry.

 

There was also an overly dry Sweet and Sour pork and another option that just was not to our taste.

 

We enjoyed being able to combine warm chocolate cookies with gelato from the pool bar along with Grand Marnier for our after dinner coffee.

 

Although it was a great night we were very happy to return to the MDR.

[sidari]

Gert ... Our friend has just been telling me about the food issue they encountered that you mention.

[Clarea]

Thanks for sharing your cruise.:)

[TravelinGert]

Maybe if you ask the kid's club nicely they can slap a wristband on the spouse and activate the kid's tracker on them. We had the tracker for our two kids and it worked great. You could actually see them move around the kids club rooms.

 

:'):'):hearteyes:Love this idea.:hearteyes::hearteyes::') Wish I had thought of it.

[TravelinGert]

Gert ... Our friend has just been telling me about the food issue they encountered that you mention.

 

Yes it was distressing for them. That type of dairy issue is not fun so I understand. I am lucky to be the odd one out in my family who doesn't have that issue.

[TravelinGert]

Great to hear. Welcome home. Bob

 

Thanks, Bob! We actually only just now walked in the door at home.

 

When we got back to our home airport somehow although they page passengers telling them they'll remove their luggage if they don't hop to it to check into their plane every five minutes in Miami they managed to put each piece of our checked luggage on a different flight. Luckily it was only two but neither arrived to the same terminal we did. :rolleyes:

 

 

We sensibly decided husband should ride the buses round to the terminals to fetch them then proceed to the long term parking while I went straight there with all our carry on gear to wait. Arrived and my clicker seemingly would not unlock our car. Eventually got someone sent over to jump us and immediately the alarm started to sound. I didn't realize your alarm would just keep on going off until the battery completely died anymore. Our previous car this one replaced would stop after a reasonable period specifically so as to save the battery.

 

Then we discovered during our short week away they have started a massive construction project re-routing all traffic around an overpass on little two lane service roads. All in all our normal under 2 hour commute home once we deplane ballooned to over four and a half hours. :eek:

 

Lucky for me I got to sleep the entire way home. :)

[TravelinGert]

Thanks so much!!! What drinks plan did you have?

 

 

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We received a classic plan as a booking bonus and upgraded for $112 to Deluxe.

 

A few words about drink plans, Venchi, and the bars and lounges:

 

There is an enormous selection of very reasonably priced drinks on this ship. We are not heavy nor particularly experienced drinkers. On the basis of alcoholic beverages and sodas the Deluxe plan would have been a great waste for the two of us price-wise. MSC kindly includes numerous other options which might make it more tenable on a price basis. I upgraded specifically for the Venchi options I desired and we enjoyed them daily. Since I had only expended $112 we more than covered the expense.

 

On the other hand I felt freer to be adventurous. If I did not enjoy a drink, I felt I could set it aside after a few swallows and order something else rather than feeling the need to choke it down. I tried a number of drinks I would have never otherwise sampled and found several I quite enjoy.

 

We found the service aspect of all the venues good, even when things were exceptionally busy. There appeared to be great effort to plump up staffing whenever any venue would get full. Venchi staff was so kind to us and really made a wonderful effort to make Valentines Day special, along with all the rest of the ship's crew. They made little heart-shaped chocolates and ensured I got some of them when I ordered my espresso with praline trio on Valentines.

 

There was also an excellent bartender at the Champagne bar as soon as we boarded we also saw giving training to a newbie in the Sports bar. I think he was Swedish and I am quite chagrined I have forgotten his name after he introduced himself so very politely. He brought joy with his friendly demeanor and excellent service, and we appreciated his hard work. In the end at least for us the joy was the main thing which has us longing to book another MSC Seaside cruise.

 

If anyone was wondering the new favorites I discovered on board included the Caymus Conundrum white wine and a red I need to look up from the MDR menu. I think it was a Luis Jadot? The Key Lime Pie martinis in the Seaview Lounge were wonderful. A Sports Bar bartender introduced me to Frangelico in Sprite which I enjoyed very much with a selection of cheese and fruit from the buffet. Almost as good as the Calvet, Reserve du Ciron Sauternes I enjoyed in the MDR with the cheese plate one night instead of dessert.

[Linda the Book Lover]

What a wonderful time you had! The Key Lime Pie martini already has my mouth watering to test it out. It is going to be forever before our trip arrives!

[TravelinGert]

What a wonderful time you had! The Key Lime Pie martini already has my mouth watering to test it out. It is going to be forever before our trip arrives!

 

It is amazing how fast something which takes so close to forever to arrive flies by! We did so much and experienced so much on this cruise. I wish I could write a review that would do it justice. The Key Lime Pie martinis are so good! The only drink we both had more than one of this cruise.

[cruzkitty]

Thank You for your Review! I am glad to read another favorable review of the Seaside. We will be sailing her in September. Happy UNPacking.

[TravelinGert]

I thought a lot about making this post on Shore Excursion experience a separate post largely because our experience with this was so different from the rest of our experiences on this cruise.

 

We only booked a ship's excursion for Grand Cayman. Nothing against ship's excursions just didn't want to do any organized excursion in Jamaica and wanted something not offered by the ship in Cozumel. We heard from two different couples they'd missed their ship sponsored excursion in Ocho due to being stuck in line waiting to get off the ship. We thought that couldn't be the whole story and paid it little mind.

 

In Grand Cayman we dutifully reported to the required location, collected our number stickers and tickets, and took a seat as directed. We were strenuously urged to keep hold of our tour tickets or we'd not be allowed on the tour land side. No one ever asked for our tickets land side, and when we tried to give them to our tour guide half way through he had us put them directly into the trash.

 

We had booked the GCA36 along with friends and thought we were to be on the same excursion. While waiting the couple in our friends group staying in the Yacht Club breezed by with number 1s along with two other friends who'd been to Grand Cayman before. They knew what we did not which is that there would be multiple buses. Apparently there had been an extensive fold-a-role when they went together to the Yacht Club desk and asked to do this tour together. Initially ships staff claimed even thought they'd booked the very same tour via the app they claimed it was a different tour. Finally after a couple of rounds of phone calls taking around half an hour they agreed to arrange it. Our feelings were very hurt they didn't think to include us initially but then we thought perhaps they were hurt we never asked. We just didn't know we needed to.

 

Anyways they were escorted by a butler from the Yacht Club all the way to the door of their bus as were the other Yacht Club tour groups. They got on the first tender and left.

 

After this they called 5-7 and lined us up to board the tender. This was the last effort at any kind of organization whatever by ship excursion staff. The placards for these and it looked like some more numbers were passed to an excursion staff person and that was the last we saw of the number 6 paddle.

 

We boarded the tender at most tenth and eleventh to board. Tender staff directed us to take seats in the upper portion where they were having people board until it was full, then started filling the bottom section. I saw passengers with 8s and 9s boarding for seating at the bottom and there were others I just didn't see them due to the wind lashing rain up under the cover we were under at that point. At the dock disembarkation was from the lower level and we were just about dead last off the tender.

 

We followed the crowd to the exit into a sort of court yard past another tender pulling into dock bearing yet more groups. Complete pandemonium reigned throughout the courtyard. There was no attempt whatever at any sort of organization. To one side of the exit onto the courtyard we spied tour guides holding numbers 5 and I think 12. To the other side we saw 7, 15, and a couple of others. Directly in front of us people milled about in front of a sort of tent around a guide holding number 4. Most of them were not wearing fours but rather milling about searching for their groups. More people pushed up behind us shoving us roughly aside in their haste to locate their groups.

 

After walking around befuddled for a couple of minutes an excursions crew person passed us trailed by two people wearing the number 6 like us. Success!

 

We trailed behind. Eventually we discovered they were heading for the desk inside the previously mentioned tent where the excursion staff person started chewing them out for having the wrong number and demanding to know how they'd gotten hold of it. They were a young couple and looked very nonplussed finally managing to stammer out they'd been handed the number stickers when they showed excursion staff on the ship their print out which showed a very different excursion to ours.

 

Eventually she marked out the sixes on the excursions tickets they'd received and sent them to go find and join the 7s. My husband had to point out where the 7s were as it was impossible for short folks like myself and the two of them to see the placard over the crush of the building crowd.

 

Next she turned the sharp focus of her attention on me and demanded to know why we weren't with our group number 6 insisting stridently we go get with our group. I had to speak over her to tell her we had followed her because we could not find our group and we'd love to join it if only we could find it. My husband asked could she please just show us where it might be?

 

Sighing heavily and muttering she corralled us to an open-ish area kind of behind and beside the tent, then after a moment suddenly sprinted off through the crowd toward the bus parking. There she spied a guy in a safety vest and turned on her sweetest demeanor to ask him to direct us to our van.

 

He had to flag down our driver as our van was in the process of pulling out.

 

Yup. I did just say we were almost left at the dock by our assigned driver and tour guide. Oh. And although we spied a bus with the #6 prominently displayed on the windshield our bus was actually #14.

 

After we were aboard six more people arrived wearing number 6 and joined our tour. The bus was not filled. We along with the rest who boarded after us speak only English. Luckily our tour guide spoke both Italian and English fluently. We asked and they told us this was never done. Tour groups were always organized in groups that only spoke one language. When we got to the stop at Hell we ended up talking to groups from 4 other buses there and discovered another bus of half Italians and half English speakers.

 

Later during the tour my spouse and I were the first to finish up at one of the stops. We walked up behind the tour guide and driver muttering to each other about the lack of organization of MSC causing them headaches. After they realized we were standing there, the bus driver apologized to us. She had been told there would be 8 Italian speakers in her group for the day and very emphatically instructed to get rolling to clear the area as soon as she'd gathered her group. Both also told us all this disorganization was rapidly becoming Seaside's excursions staff hallmark and they named a couple of tour companies who had already refused to work with them. They said they were definitely both going to be reporting the day's snafus to their tour company owner and would be recommended they also cease working with Seaside since it was giving their company a bad name with excursions staff doing everything except accepting blame for the mess they were creating.

 

That night we ran into six people who'd been shunted to other ship's excursions due to their excursion leaving before they managed to get off the ship although they'd been lined up with their group to leave the theater. One couple said they'd been allowing random priority disembarkation passengers to feed in interspersed with their group they thought, or at least they'd had people they did not see wearing numbers walking up from a side passage joining the queue.

 

Another couple said the same excursion staff person who'd griped at us tried to make them get on a bus for a different excursion they did not want to do, then told them they'd get no refund. We encouraged them to work their way up the chain as necessary considering most probably their tour guide left thinking they had everyone.

 

When we got to Cozumel my husband had to listen to a woman moan and complain the entire way through the long line up to get off the ship because she'd been left behind by her ship's excursion the day before due to inability to get off the ship in time. She said she had booked an excursion online through Trip Advisor for Cozumel and was very concerned she would be left behind again due to how late disembarkation opened. My spouse ended up letting her email her tour company using some of his internet connectivity.

 

Several things surprised me about all of this.

 

Firstly when we picked up our number 6 and sat down to await it being called, they took our information. We checked in individually with Excursion staff. Every one of them had some sort of radio / sat phone arrangement. It should have been trivial to count how many of each number and notify land side staff how many were on board the tender as it was crossing to the dock. Our driver indicated receipt of notification she was expecting 8 persons before we even boarded our tender.

 

Second why on earth did they not utilize the number placards better? Our previous experience was usually that someone lined up with us bearing the placard held high. That placard was carried ahead of us either by excursion staff or the tour guide it was handed off to until we had boarded our bus, and utilized throughout our tour as a mark to line up on usually before being counted back on the bus. Finally our guide would hand it off to ship's excursion staff waiting at the dock entry when we returned.

 

On our one smaller cruise instead each ship's excursion confirmation had a very prominent number on it. We disembarked and exited the dock via the usual visitor center to find tall signs with these numbers lined up in numerical order along the wide sidewalk area out front. An excursion crew member was standing on a step ladder with a bull horn exhorting ship's excursion passengers to find their number and stand with the group. They had used colored chalk to mark off squares for each group behind the signs. Each tour guide had a list of names and sorted us into line behind these boxes as they marked off our names. They notified their respective bus drivers via cell phone once most names were checked off and the buses pulled up to the curb to pick up each group.

 

They certainly never handed a stack of excursion group paddles to one person and shoved 6 or 7 groups on one tender leaving them to re-sort out the groups at land side with no organization as to how to find each group. The whole experience made me happy our Cozumel excursion was one I had booked directly via the tour operator and not via the ship.

[TravelinGert]

Although our experience with Excursions staff from MSC Seaside in Grand Cayman was not a good one, we were extremely fortunate with our actual tour. Our driver was Noveletta from Jamaica and she was wonderful. She navigated the rush of traffic deftly and we never felt concerned for our safety. Even my spouse who tends to be quite nervous of other folks driving was content with her care for our safety.

 

Our tour guide was knowledgeable and kind, and he managed providing all information in English and Italian very well. We were very happy with our experience with them and would love to do some other tour with them if they provide any others on our next visit to Grand Cayman. The bus was provided by Webster's.

[Keith1010]

Enjoying your posts.

 

Keith

[Jimbo59]

Although our experience with Excursions staff from MSC Seaside in Grand Cayman was not a good one, we were extremely fortunate with our actual tour. Our driver was Noveletta from Jamaica and she was wonderful. She navigated the rush of traffic deftly and we never felt concerned for our safety. Even my spouse who tends to be quite nervous of other folks driving was content with her care for our safety.

 

Our tour guide was knowledgeable and kind, and he managed providing all information in English and Italian very well. We were very happy with our experience with them and would love to do some other tour with them if they provide any others on our next visit to Grand Cayman. The bus was provided by Webster's.

 

 

We were on the same cruise. We did not leave the ship at Grand Cayman, but I noticed tender numbers still being called nearly three hours after arriving. This didn’t give people much time ashore since all aboard was at about 3:30 pm.

[TravelinGert]

We were on the same cruise. We did not leave the ship at Grand Cayman, but I noticed tender numbers still being called nearly three hours after arriving. This didn’t give people much time ashore since all aboard was at about 3:30 pm.

 

Wow. We got back early at Grand Cayman. Not sure of the time but could not have been later than 2 pm when we walked out to board a tender back. Friends who were staying in the Yacht Club were just coming off the first tender at the dock. Talked to them later and they said they had purposely booked the later version of the same tour we did there so as to sleep late. I never even saw a late tour offered so apparently that was just for Yacht Club.

[mabones]

Maybe if you ask the kid's club nicely they can slap a wristband on the spouse and activate the kid's tracker on them. We had the tracker for our two kids and it worked great. You could actually see them move around the kids club rooms.

 

This will be perfect for one of our friends! 🤪🤪🤪🤪

[gkbiiii]

How can MSC have mastered this, in ten years!

[TravelinGert]

I was specifically told last week by three officers in white they have been reading Cruise Critic regarding their ship. With the new Cruise Critic Meet and Mingles they'd have to be a bit curious though, surely?

 

Stood with the hotel side second in command for a bit discussing issues they've discovered on this ship, attitudes on CC postings, and what is being revised on future builds. Very intelligent, thoughtful fellow who clearly cares a great deal MSC be well presented under his watch. He said too late for Seaview but next ship inked would be slightly enlarged and the Haven Lounge was going to be a little bigger and more elegant with improvement to hallways. Also said the two sliding doors on the closets was not working out as well as they'd hoped and they'd have 3 on that ship. Not sure what closet doors that means exactly but sounds like they're making sure to learn from issues on this first ship.

 

I was really impressed with the Captain Massa. Some of the crew said he comes down to the crew mess to eat with them just to check up they're being well cared for in their dining hall which is something other Captains don't often do. We chatted with him briefly several times around the ship, and at both the black card and CC gatherings he made sure to go round and chat with everyone.

 

Andre was a hoot. He has a very good sense of humor. Only spoke with him briefly but he seems very likable.

 

Can't find the actual Hotel Director we had on their website. I was looking to remember what his name was. Something with flare like Zbignew but I don't think that was it. We spoke with him briefly and he made a good impression, my inability to remember names well not withstanding.

[Alexnessie]

However the promised non-dairy options were not present for other friends. After they mentioned being assured in advance of this to the Hotel Manager he got off the ship at our next stop to pick up several items for her. Over all I thought this was an unprecedented level of response.

 

None of the above is meant as any sort of medical recommend but for folks with managed levels of issues they do seem to do what they can.

 

Let's clear this up a little bit as I don't appreciate having my dietary needs and requests posted on cruise critic, especially when you clearly don't know the actual issue and the steps taken by shoreside and the ship in regards to it.

 

I am the person she's posting about, ex diamond plus on royal caribbean, left them as they provided the wrong food items, and had I not checked them I would have been MedEvac'd from the Allure. They also managed to "forget" to board the correct equipment for my deaf partner to be aware of ship alarms etc so there was a huge safety issue, also contributing to us leaving RCCL.

 

I have Crohns Disease and I am lactose intolerant. This means that I cannot use "non dairy" alternatives, I can only use dairy products containing lactase enzyme (Lactaid products in the NA market) or with the lactose removed. I can not use traditional alternatives such as soy or nut based products.

 

My partner is also lactose intolerant, however she can eat soy/nut alternatives in small amounts.

 

We booked with MSC approximately 2.5 years ago when Seaside was announced, and we were more than happy to bring our own DAIRY lactose free produce on board, as it can be purchased in any grocery store in Miami, for example Publix carries a large selection of great lactose free food and milk.

 

Our contact at MSC UK assured us this would not be necessary, as they would contact the port suppliers and have it on board for us. This was confirmed to MSC UK by the F&B manager on board leading up to departure, 2 days before we boarded.

 

On day 1 we were informed it was on board but could not be used as it was stocked in a locked fridge that the yacht club galley did not have access to.

 

On day 2, it was still not moved to the correct galley, okay these things happen, it's a big new ship, there is always communication problems.

 

On the morning of day 3 we were finally informed that it was never loaded onto the ship. We found out after disembarkation, from the shoreside F&B director, that the supplier went into administration shortly before the ship was loaded. I was mildly annoyed at this as I could have easily picked it up in Miami. I was even more so annoyed by it being covered up like this. I would have rather known on day 1 when there was still time for me to go off and get it! There was no problem with me paying for my own food and boarding it myself, I'd rather have done that to be safe.

 

I spent the afternoon contacting suppliers in Grand Cayman, instead of enjoying my holiday. I was getting a little tired of having to eat the same thing every night at this point. I found one place that said they might have the right food, which was passed onto the YC Director, who personally went to the market himself on Day 4.

 

Day 4, YC Director got some products for us, unfortunately they were the wrong kind (I do not blame him in any way, this could have been the result of mistranslation with the supplier in Grand Cayman.)

 

Upon very very careful reading of the contents of the produce and some quick maths, it was determined I could eat 3 of the 7 products in small amounts. This meant I could have a small "cheese" plate after dinner, or use it on sandwiches etc, but it was unsuitable for things like the Philly cheese steak, which I was told was lovely and wanted to try, as it doesn't really melt, it dries up like baked tofu.

 

Days 5 to 8 were uneventful, the food remained limited, which we were assured when booking would be taken care of.

 

Now would I cruise MSC again? Yes! I would!

 

The YC Director went to a great effort to take care of us, the YC concierge and butlers were fantastic, and the YC bar staff remembered our drinks by day 2.

 

I sat chatting to the Captain and the YC Director for about an hour one evening and I honestly believe that MSC is a company which cares about the individuals on their ships, not the numbers rolling into their bank accounts. Every time I saw Captain Massa he would ask me how the food was going, was my stomach okay, and did we need anything. The same goes for the YC Director.

 

The ship itself is beautiful, my only complaint is that it would be nice to have a bigger library with a few more chess boards as it was hard to get one unoccupied, and with it being on a main route to the South Beach bar there was a lot of through traffic and noise, not what you need in a quiet area.

 

I would like to mention also that MSC supplied and fitted a "deaf kit" to my Royal Suite for my partner. The strobe door bell and alarm clock worked perfectly, and the TTY system worked well too, if a little slow, which was understandable as this was connected to the standard Guest Services who then had to relay to YC Concierge.

 

All in all, I enjoyed it, and I will cruise MSC again. Next time I'll just carry on my own produce after clearing it with shoreside!

[TravelinGert]

I apologize for the confusion. I was not in any way aware of your issues and had only heard your partner could not eat dairy but it was resolved. I never really got to sit down with you and chat so that's all I really knew.

 

The friends I spoke of were actually people we met on Seaside for the first time who'd cruised on I believe they said NCL previously where apparently non-dairy options were always readily available. In particular apparently there was no available fully non-dairy creamer for their coffee which was remedied after we ran into Captain Massa, another officer, and the Hotel I think Manager. Not the director but his assistant anyways. During casual chatting they mentioned being most disappointed they couldn't find non-dairy creamer for their tea and coffee. When they got back from their Shore Excursion in Ocho Rios there was a bottle of their favorite in their cabin. Their room steward told them the big boss brought it by and said he'd gone ashore especially to pick it up for them. They were grateful for the help and told me I could share this on Cruise Critic.

 

I'm very sorry for the confusion.