Seaside -14 April

[Cullyman15]

The cruise was 7-14 April

 

This was our 5th cruise, 2 with Carnival and 2 with RCCL. We were booked in a Bella Balcony cabin.

 

IMO this cruise was the best value for the buck. We found the food and the service was excellent in the MDR and in the Buffet. The ship is absolutely gorgeous and for those that are concerned about class of passengers and the Yacht Club don't be, we didn't notice any difference and NO the YC does not take up a 3rd of the ship do yourself a favour when you get onboard and look at the ship's map it is a very small section forward of the ship and there is more than enough room for everyone else. We did not notice a foul smell at anytime. The shows were excellent and there was no Opera night for those of you wondering, yes they sing an Italian song here and there but between the acrobats, the costumes and the sets you will be amazed. Once your dining is confirmed go directly to one of the smart screens (all over the ship) and reserve your seats the shows do SELL OUT !! as there are only 1000 seats in the theatre. There were 3 dining times in each MDR and 3 shows each night.

 

The crew is working very hard and yes some are still working on their English but we never had a problem getting what we needed. Our Cabin steward wasn't always around but he left his number for us to call if we needed anything, we called him twice and he showed up quickly. Check your tab daily in your room we booked a laundry package (20 items) and were charged on the 2nd last day. A call to customer service and it was removed promptly.

 

The pools are small and chairs as on most ships are at a premium around the pool so you will need to be up there early if you want one.

 

Ports, If you are a beach person you are going to be disappointed in the Mexico ports (Cozumel and Costa Maya) as the sea grass and murky waters continue to plague this region. One of the bad things we experienced was the tendering in Grand Cayman, we did not get off the ship until 1100 after picking up our number and waiting to disembark and we stood in line in the heat for 45 mins when returning. This is a good port to book an excursion from the ship as you will get off the ship quicker. If you are also thinking of staying onboard in one of the ports this is the one to do it in

 

Embarkation and de-embarking was the best we have experienced, we left our bags outside the cabin the night before and had a 0910 departure from the casino, we were at the MIA airport in less than an hour.

 

Hope this helps

[Cullyman15]

This cruise was 7-14 April the title did not load correctly and I can't change it

[Mattnvick]

Glad you had a great time and thank you for the impression on Grand Caymen. You happened to answer both things i was interested in finding more about.

[mafig]

Thank you for your review.

 

What show did you enjoy the most?

 

Did you go to the casino?

 

:*

[Cullyman15]

Thank you for your review.

 

What show did you enjoy the most?

 

Did you go to the casino?

 

:*

 

We are not casino folks and I really didn't pay attention to the show titles but the Michael Jackson guy was the best I have ever seen. It wasn't a complete MJ show but he did 3 or 4 songs and man can that guy dance. there isn't a bad seat in the theatre. Seaside has a production Company doing the shows so it is not like some other cruise lines where you might have one of the dancers serving you drinks in a bar after the show ;p

[floridian1]

Did you eat at any of the specialty restaurants?

[Cullyman15]

Did you eat at any of the specialty restaurants?

 

We did not but heard they were good. We had a meal time drink package that did not include the specialty restaurants so we did not go to them. We would have though if it was included if your listening MSC.

[bostonfred]

Also on sailing and had a blast...will post review later...Costa Maya was fine for swimming if you walked further down boardwalk and found sandy slots though the reef, spent couple of hours in the water..was very warm because it was shallow..

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Jaco5NC]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. It sounds like you enjoyed a wonderful week!!

[Clarea]

Thanks for the review.

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your review.

Keith

[thegraminator]

Cullyan , I see you had the mealtime drinks package . Can you tell me a little about it . . . Like what was your experience with the self service stations in the buffets, do both buffets ( decks 8 & 16 ) have the self service ? Did you try using the drink ordering buttons ? And was the drink service in the MDR timely, or would it be better to bring a drink into the dining room with us ? I always feel like the dining room servers were so busy get meals out that I hate asking them to get me a beverage.

 

Thanks for sharing any information you can and thanks also for sharing your review !

[Cullyman15]

Cullyan , I see you had the mealtime drinks package . Can you tell me a little about it . . . Like what was your experience with the self service stations in the buffets, do both buffets ( decks 8 & 16 ) have the self service ? Did you try using the drink ordering buttons ? And was the drink service in the MDR timely, or would it be better to bring a drink into the dining room with us ? I always feel like the dining room servers were so busy get meals out that I hate asking them to get me a beverage.

 

Thanks for sharing any information you can and thanks also for sharing your review !

 

sorry for just getting to this now I have been travelling the last couple of days. first off you are entitled to 2 types of beers on Tap Heineken and Heineken light I don't drink but the wife had one beer and said it was good.You get 2 types of house wines my wife only drank the white Chardonay and she said it was good, she asked for pinot grigio and was told politely "not included" Not sure what you mean by self service? you can walk up to one of the small bars they have in both buffets or you can push the call button and a waiter will respond pretty quickly, we used both and found both to work just fine.Our MDR servers were very prompt, after the first night they poured drinks right away so there was no waiting. Hope you enjoy your cruise, we were fortunate to be paired with another couple in the MDR whose company we really enjoyed and we also met another family who we managed to eat with in the anytime dining one night (wife over slept on her nap and we missed our 5:30 time). We did of course go over and explain to our new friends why we missed that night