Please help us! First time with MSC! Seaside cruise soon!

[Floridagal2213]

We haven't cruised in over 12 years (kids, life, etc) but have decided to recently book on MSC for a week this fall (new to MSC) !  We have read horrid reviews on the Seaside out of Canaveral but are trying to take them with a grain of salt!  I am SO glad I found this forum.  I thank all of you for the countless advice and reviews!  We have a few quick questions please! 

 

1.  We are a party of 3 (2 adults, one 10 year old).  Our room is balcony, midship and shows a "triangle" online.  Is the couch a pullout or something? I havent seen anything about an "open" couch to sleep more than 2.  

 

2.  Dining- yes we are the less popular late diners.....but how does dining work on MSC....we have no clue!!!   Is it anytime dining and can we get our own table for 3?  We would really prefer 8:30-9:30 dining times if possible.

 

3.  Can we order what we like or is it one app/dinner/dessert?  There may be some nights we would maybe like a few apps and split one dinner.

 

4.  Will we have the same server every night?

 

5.  Room service- where can I find menus and is this included?  If not, what are the prices?  

 

6.  My goodness we have read the service is horrible....is it hard to get a cocktail?   

 

7.  Is there any sort of late night dining (if not dining in the main restaurant)?  In the garage bar?  Anywhere?  If so, are there menus?  

 

Thank you everyone...we have so many questions and are so grateful for the input.  We are constantly looking for videos and menus for everything...not sure if there are any other recommendations for us.  Hope to talk to you all soon!  

 

 

[Essiesmom]

A triangle signifies a single sofa bed.  I don’t know if it folds out.  
Dining time and arrangement depends on what ‘experience’ you booked.  If you booked Aurea experience, you can choose to dine whenever you wish.  However, I suspect you are Bella or Fantastica, in which case your dining time and dining room will be assigned.  You will have an assigned table and the same staff every night.  You may or may not be sharing a table with others..  you can order as many items as you wish from the menu.  
Very late dining I am not sure of.  It would be in the buffet.  You can choose to eat dinner in the buffet instead of the dining room.  
Whether room service is free depends on the experience you booked.  EM

[Floridagal2213]

21 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

A triangle signifies a single sofa bed.  I don’t know if it folds out.  
Dining time and arrangement depends on what ‘experience’ you booked.  If you booked Aurea experience, you can choose to dine whenever you wish.  However, I suspect you are Bella or Fantastica, in which case your dining time and dining room will be assigned.  You will have an assigned table and the same staff every night.  You may or may not be sharing a table with others..  you can order as many items as you wish from the menu.  
Very late dining I am not sure of.  It would be in the buffet.  You can choose to eat dinner in the buffet instead of the dining room.  
Whether room service is free depends on the experience you booked.  EM

Yes I’m sorry. We are fantastica.  What time of dining will we get? Can we request a private table for the 3 of us? 
 

so what exactly is the sofa bed? 
 

any other places that offer food at night (or day) except for the formal restaurants and buffet?  Is the buffet 24 hours? 
 

thanks for your help so far!!!!

[Essiesmom]

Did you make a dining time request when you booked?  It’s been four years since I sailed Seaside and I think the ship was very full because there were three dining times.  I know there is a time after boarding when you can go to the dining room and ask about a table for 3.  
Your dining room, time, and table number will be on your cruise card.

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Okay, just browsed through cruisedeckplans.com and pinched a couple of pictures of cabins with a single sofa bed.  One shows it made up, the other just as couch.  There is also a video of cabin 14075 on YouTube if you Google it.   Bed is made up there.

[phred119s]

22 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Okay, just browsed through cruisedeckplans.com and pinched a couple of pictures of cabins with a single sofa bed.  One shows it made up, the other just as couch.  There is also a video of cabin 14075 on YouTube if you Google it.   Bed is made up there.

The made sofa bed is what we had last week on Meraviglia for our 10 year old. 
 

I, too, was worried with all the reviews, @Floridagal2213 .

we had a lovely time. We already had a birthday trip with friends for my daughter’s birthday booked on Seaside for July. Just this week, we booked it again in August as a surprise for her.  Go into it with an open mind! There were things we liked better about other lines, but equally there were things we liked better about MSC. 

[Scottdalfonso]

I will be going on my first MSC also, and have looked into some of the stuff you have (we will have an 11 yr old with us). I have seen the couches either made up like a bed as the picture above shows, I have also seen them pulled UP, where the back slides up and turns into a bunk bed of sorts. So I don't know if they all do that or not. We chose Fantastica also, and chose the early dining which is anywhere between 5:30-7:45 and I was told that the exact time is assigned closer to sailing time (maybe even on board). Looks like the full buffet is open pretty much all day up until about 1130, with a pizza bar set up until 1am. 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

“We have read horrid reviews on the Seaside.”  
Thousands of happy pax cruise every week on Seaside and, as usual, a handful of bad reviews come to the forefront to scare new pax like yourselves.  Pay them no attention and go and enjoy.

[Scottdalfonso]

37 minutes ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

“We have read horrid reviews on the Seaside.”  
Thousands of happy pax cruise every week on Seaside and, as usual, a handful of bad reviews come to the forefront to scare new pax like yourselves.  Pay them no attention and go and enjoy.

THIS.... people are always quick to write about stuff they didn't like, but rarely say "everything went perfectly, let me tell everyone!" 

[bruce85]

We are going on our third MSC in a year next month. Have sailed NCL and RCL also. Love MSC, yea service at the pool bars will be slow, but a short walk will get you faster service. We emailed and requested a table for 2 and received it. Check my previous posts for the email I used. We have always had the same server each night just like on other cruises.

[ready2cruzagain]

3 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

“We have read horrid reviews on the Seaside.”  
Thousands of happy pax cruise every week on Seaside and, as usual, a handful of bad reviews come to the forefront to scare new pax like yourselves.  Pay them no attention and go and enjoy.

Exactly! We have sailed 21 days on the Seaside and love it! I did not come home and right a review, I was happy. 

[ZoeyVictoria]

On 4/14/2023 at 8:20 AM, CGTNORMANDIE said:

“We have read horrid reviews on the Seaside.”  
Thousands of happy pax cruise every week on Seaside and, as usual, a handful of bad reviews come to the forefront to scare new pax like yourselves.  Pay them no attention and go and enjoy.

Thank you for the reassuring comments!  We have been on numerous cruises on other lines, and I took two 7-night cruises on the Divina in 2014 and loved both of them. But I read the horrible reviews tonight and was getting concerned. I have been praising MSC to my SO for the six years we have been together and don’t want to be proven wrong.  I feel better since I have seen the comments in this thread - thanks!

[mscdivina2016]

On 4/14/2023 at 3:20 PM, CGTNORMANDIE said:

“We have read horrid reviews on the Seaside.”  
Thousands of happy pax cruise every week on Seaside and, as usual, a handful of bad reviews come to the forefront to scare new pax like yourselves.  Pay them no attention and go and enjoy.

That's all fine and dandy until you are the one affected by an issue. 

 As MSC has gotten bigger in the USA on the last few years, along come more problems. Growth is problematic.  I see you have been on a break for several years.

  MSC has a huge presence now and you are correct that there are thousands of happy passengers but you cannot ignore the things they do.

Changing your cabin for no reason

Changing your sailing date.

Changing your embarkation port.

Charging you more after you are paid in full.

Downgrading your cabin with no reduction in fare.

Canceling ports and not refunding port charges or tours.

And of course the biggest.....

It seems if you call them, your booking gets screwed up.

 

I think they have a great Yacht club product and I overlook all of the above as it all has personally happened to me but I do keep booking knowing things can happen.

 

Can you assure people it won't happen to them? 

 When a ship holds 5000 passengers and an issue affects even 1/10th of 1 percent that's still 50 people.

 

 

 

 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

I might be “in dry dock” but I am well aware of the MSC pratfalls.  Building a giant fleet of ships is no easy thing.  Most of the problems at MSC seem to come from customer service.  The above list of grievances is a good indicator of what to watch out for when booking.