Seaside OR Armonia???

[tcmagnum]

We have narrowed our cruise down to Seaside or Armonia.

Either ship we will do the Aurea Experience.

 

Armonia with Aurea cabin 1201(or 1203) or 1011.

Smaller/Older ship with less people which my husband will be happy about.

$2700 for both of us which our checking likes (including easy drink package).

 

Seaside with Aurea cabin 9245.

Bigger/New ship which sounds good to me.

$3500 for both of us which our checking can handle, but it is more (also has easy drink package).

 

Anyone with opinion on either of these rooms?  Ships?

History...

- Husband finally has agreed to go on a cruise - he doesn't like crowds.

- Aurea suite will give him a room with a tad bit more room than a normal balcony room if he

needs to escape.  And a balcony for escaping also.

- Aurea also has the private sun deck to escape on...

 

I've done several cruises and usually on the older/smaller ships (last one was Europe on RC Jewel last month).

- I don't mind the crowds.  I usually can find a quiet spot to read.

- I do like the idea of a bigger/newer ship to try something new.

- Bigger/newer means more people but should also mean more places for everyone to spread out.

- Venchi = Sounds like my kind of heaven!!

 

Lol.  I know real world problems here, but I can't get him to give me his opinion.  Lol.  Gotta love my hubby...

[BermudaBound2014]

Is this a holiday cruise? There are no circumstances where I would pay that kind of money to sail on MSC; it's too high for the product (IMO).

 

Needless to say, I wouldn't consider either. 

[Essiesmom]

I haven't sailed Armonia yet, that comes next month.  I have sailed Seaside.  It's a lovely ship, but complicated.  Since this is the cruise to persuade your husband to like it, I would go with the smaller ship  And adjust your expectations.  If he likes it, you can up your game for the next one.  EM

[mafig]

27 minutes ago, ronbe65 said:

Hi tcmagnum,

 

 

Stay away from Armonia and Meraviglia.

For a smaller/more comfortable cruise ship experience look at HAL/Celebrity.

 

Happy cruising!

 

Why Meraviglia.  ??

Hal does have smaller ships. 

Celebrity M-class are "smaller."  S-Class are larger, but very nice and not at all "hectic."

 

 

[Touringmom]

 I have found that the criticism of the smaller and older ships is unfounded. We are scheduled on the Armonia this winter and when I read reviews I find that the people who give it poor reviews are needlessly picky. The people who give it great reviews have gone with an open mind and enjoy themselves. We went on the carnival pride last year and the reviews were just as polarized but when we got there we totally enjoyed ourselves.  In my opinion, a smaller ship offers a lot of benefits including the fact that there are fewer people in Port when you get there because there are fewer people on the ship! 

[Touringmom]

 FYI the Armonia is scheduled for drydock late November/early December so it will be refreshed if you’re planning to sail after that. 

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

Can only comment on Armonia. We enjoyed her and didn't feel crowded. I've done big ships on other lines, small and medium. Mom prefers medium to small. She isn't a crowd person. We like the food in La Pergolia (aurora and fantastica suite anytime restaurant), pizza and gelato (it's included on this ship). I have a review a few pages back and one on the main review on here. 

[MISTER 67]

We sailed on the Seaside last winter after 4 cruises on the Divina, you can have the Seaside, too much glass and mirrors plus too much loud EDM in the Atrium, no classical strings music at all in the Atrium, we felt that MSC was going after a younger clientele with the Seaside.

We're  planning on sailing on the Meriviglia in March, hoping it's just a larger version of the Divina which is one of our favorite ships.

Edited July 22, 2019 by MISTER 67

[Beamafar]

On 7/20/2019 at 4:10 PM, ronbe65 said:

Meraviglia = Closed space & Crowds. This is something the OP wants to avoid.

 

Totally agree!  We were on Meraviglia on her first Med sailing at the tail end of the inaugural and said, at the time, that we would only sail her if in YC.  However, the OP has asked about Seaside vs Armonia.

 

We were on Armonia in January and loved the atmosphere onboard a smaller ship.

 

We haven't been on Seaside ... we'll be trying out her sister ship, Seaview, in 5 weeks' time.  Looking forward to experiencing the latest MSC modern designs onboard.

[Norwich Cruiser]

We enjoyed them both but have a preference for Seaside.