MSC Seaside, URComped and the Casino, etc.

[riddle]

I am going on the MSC Seaside next month as a solo.  I have gone solo on NCL many times and enjoy.  I know the MSC experience will be different but that is fine.  I have a few questions from those who have cruised the Seaside recently.  I am a guest of URComped so I am a gamble who will spend considerable time in the casino.

 

1.  I will get free drinks in the casino.  I am not a huge drinker and don't drink much during the day so I have held off on another drink plan.  Is the casino generally open after you hit open waters and therefore available for alcoholic drinks?

2.  I have "heard" that plain tap water is not available in the main dining rooms.  Is this correct?  If so, what beverages are available?

3.  I have "heard"  there is no soap in the bathroom except in the shower.  Is this true?

4.  I know the casino is on the small side.  If you have cruised this ship and are a gambler (slots) are there enough games that will allow me to have reasonable assurance of getting a future comp if I play daily for several hours or will the size limit me?

5.  Can I access my room account for cash for the casino and if so is there a fee to do so?

6.  Is video poker available?

[psmarkle]

Riddle,

 

I, too, am a fellow "gaming enthusiast," and I sailed the Seaside back in July in the Yacht Club.  This was my 31st cruise, and it was my favorite (again, a lot of that is due to being in the YC...heaven!). Enjoyed her so much, we're sailing her again next July! 

 

Prior to the Seaside, we, too, were NCL cruisers who booked thru the Casinos At Sea department every cruise.  I take several family members, so I pay the difference between the comp'd room on NCL as we upgrade to suites or the Haven...still saves several thousand$. For me personally, NCL Casinos and staff are THE best of any ships we've sailed.  Having said that, I'll give you my perspective on the Seaside's Casino.

 

- The casino staff was the least enjoyable part of my cruise, but still nothing too bad, just not as attentive and personal as NCL.  And this was still my favorite cruise!

- Although smaller, I still found the casino plenty big, but they do not have a craps table which is about the only game I play.

- Yes on the video poker.  If you search on Youtube, there is a video someone posted doing a casino walkthrough

- I brought plenty of cash, so do not have first-hand experience on charging my room, but pretty sure they have it.  I do know they have an ATM right by the casino. I call it "The Pick 4" machine as I always play the same 4 numbers and money comes out every time! LOL

- On drinks, again because I was in the YC, I had free drinks everywhere (more on that in a minute).  I do not know if the casino dept has a free drink card waiting for you in your room like on NCL.  If you have the "Drinks on Us" pkg, then you're covered to include in the casino.

- Casino seemed to be open whenever we were not in port

- Since there are no craps tables, my choices were blackjack, roulette, and one 3-card poker table.  I get bored at roulette quickly, so I then tried 3-card poker.  Found it pretty easy to learn, and pocketed a little sum...which my wife "redistributed" through the slot machines (except for the couple hundred I hid away 😉 ) After the 1st 2 nights, I pretty much didn't play anymore as those games just weren't my choice.

- The casino staff (the boxes and pit bosses) were proficient, but not engaging. To espouse more on my comment earlier, the staff were the lower point in an otherwise spectacular cruise...and it wasn't even that bad which is why we're booked for next summer! When I cruise, I like to drink martinis.  This is the only time all year I drink them.  Not sure how I got started on that, but it's my little vacation treat each year.  I have 1 martini in particular that I got the recipe on a Princess Cruise years ago.  My first night in the casino, I had no problem ordering it.  But the second night, the waiter wouldn't get me my martini because the bartender said it counted as 2 drinks vs 1 (hello, what's a Long Island, then??).  I asked the waiter to go back and show the bartender my YC Card as all my drinks were free.  He comes back and it's still no.  I call the box over and explain to her, and she just shrugs and says there's nothing she can do.  Really?  So, I tell her to hold my spot at 3-card poker (it fills up fast with only 1 table), I take the elevator to the Yacht Club where my favorite bartender sees me and starts making my martini before I even get to the bar!  I told him what happened in the casino and he said they were not correct and he'd talk to the YC manager to see if he could inform the casino staff.  So, I saunter back down to the casino, get back to my seat, and when the box sees me, I lifted my martini glass and smiled at her.  I guess I was a little bit of a jerk with that move, but....

 

So, as I said, no major problems and I'm already counting the days until we sail again in July.  But, since you mentioned you're a frequent NCL casino cruiser, I wanted to provide a little more detail as you are familiar with the level of service by NCL casino staff.

 

[Magnelasagne]

PSmarkle-  I have only sailed once, this summer on Symphony, and i was very happy they had two texas holdem tables, as this is the only thing I like to play in the casino, and I also find it a good way to be social and meet other cruisers. Do you know if there are any texas holdem on msc?  Booked on Bellissima next year, so if anyone have experience from Meraviglia that would be nice also, as I guess the casinos will be similar to Bellissima

[Spidybabe1]

Thru URCOMPED we have sailed 1x o Divina, 1x RC and 2x on  the Seaside and loved each sailing.  This is after 26 NCL comped cruises. Now its MSC for us. Free drinks in the casino,  no craps, free water at dinner, liquid soap in shower and sink, no conditioner,  casino is large enough with one side non smoking, and one side smoking.  Never felt overly crowded. Wonderful, beautiful ,clean ship, with great staff  food and entertainment. We loved it, sailing New Years on the Armonia 

Safe sailing 

[wmwmarmstrong]

Hi All

 

I have recently signed up for URComped. I can only sign up for RC and HAL. I was wondering why MSC wasn't included. Do they have a higher player limit?

I would much perfer MSC then the other two cruise lines.

[riddle]

21 hours ago, wmwmarmstrong said:

Hi All

 

I have recently signed up for URComped. I can only sign up for RC and HAL. I was wondering why MSC wasn't included. Do they have a higher player limit?

I would much perfer MSC then the other two cruise lines.

I can only say to email your URComped representative.  Mine is Tyler and he is very prompt with answers even if he has to contact the cruise line.  I have not found anything not to like about URComped.

[wmwmarmstrong]

 

Riddle

Thank you I will, I have Lexi.

 

Merry Christmas to all fellow cruisers!

[gkbiiii]

I could not play in the casino due to the excessive smoke, which is the worst i have come across.  It was so horrible!

[megnut78]

On 12/23/2018 at 6:40 AM, Spidybabe1 said:

Thru URCOMPED we have sailed 1x o Divina, 1x RC and 2x on  the Seaside and loved each sailing.  This is after 26 NCL comped cruises. Now its MSC for us. Free drinks in the casino,  no craps, free water at dinner, liquid soap in shower and sink, no conditioner,  casino is large enough with one side non smoking, and one side smoking.  Never felt overly crowded. Wonderful, beautiful ,clean ship, with great staff  food and entertainment. We loved it, sailing New Years on the Armonia 

Safe sailing 

Thanks for the info!  We are sailing in January on our first comped cruise through URCOMPED on the Seaside.  We are trying to decide if we want to get a drink package and I was wondering if you are able to get drinks in the casino bar when the casino is closed for the free drinks in the casino?  Thanks for the other info!!

[Beamafar]

T

12 minutes ago, megnut78 said:

Thanks for the info!  We are sailing in January on our first comped cruise through URCOMPED on the Seaside.  We are trying to decide if we want to get a drink package and I was wondering if you are able to get drinks in the casino bar when the casino is closed for the free drinks in the casino?  Thanks for the other info!!

 

The bar is only open when the casino is.

 

Riddle ... I haven't been on Seaside, but I've been on many of the other ships in the fleet and have charged amounts on my cruisecard to my onboard account on all of them.

[Waterboy13]

Seaside also has 2 Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em tables. That's my main game, so I made sure to check before going. For those not familiar, this is not Player vs Player Texas Hold 'Em. All players play against the dealer. It is also different from Texas Hold 'Em Bonus.