Pirate's First MSC Experience! A LIVE Seaside 8/20/23-8/27/23 Review

[pirate4me2]

I did like the fact that they swap the YC lunch menu up on the island, I was expecting the same thing as yesterday, so the change up was nice! 
We left right after lunch to come back to the ship. We both burnt some, even with SPF 50 reapplied, and we don’t want to miserable tomorrow. We showered, went to Topsail Lounge for frozen tomberlones (I know i didn’t spell that right, but whatever) and are back on the balcony chilling out. The drinks are great, and I feel like the Ocean Cay experience has been fantastic. I honestly think this is my favorite private island I have been to, and I want to come back! 

[PFK56]

Loving your posts! We are on Seaside YC for the Halloween cruise. I realized we are on the wrong side to see the lighthouse, but c'est la vie.

[awatt]

Love your trip report and great pictures!

[pirate4me2]

3 hours ago, PFK56 said:

Loving your posts! We are on Seaside YC for the Halloween cruise. I realized we are on the wrong side to see the lighthouse, but c'est la vie.

Oh I bet Halloween will be fun onboard! Have a great cruise!! 
 

32 minutes ago, awatt said:

Love your trip report and great pictures!

Thank you! 

[pirate4me2]

Mom and I hung out all afternoon until dinner time on our balcony. We finally decided at 6:15 to go to dinner, and neither of us were thrilled with the menu offerings tonight, but dinner actually ended up being great. Mom got the asparagus app, I got the oyster risotto, and my choice was the winner. For mains, mom got the chicken Kiev, I got the Jamaican Jerk Patties, and her entree blew mine out of the water. That chicken…so moist and tender, and an excellent breading. Mom got rum cake for her dessert, which she liked, and my chocolate soufflé was freaking amazing. Sorry for the sideways picture of it. 

[pirate4me2]

We went to the 8:00 rock star game show in the Haven lounge, and that was a lot of fun! It was high energy and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. If I had not known better, I would have almost thought I was “back home” on a Carnival ship.  When it ended, I told mom I wanted to ride the panoramic elevators up to deck 16 to experience both the cool elevators and the Bridge of Sighs. It was all cool, but honestly, I think I need to redo it in the daylight for better views. 

[pirate4me2]

At 9:00 we met Arnold at the YC concierge to go to the 9:15 theater show, Rock It. It was ok, on par with Carnival’s theater shows. I liked the volume better in the MSC theater, sometimes Carnival’s volume blows my ear drums, and the dancers in tonight’s show were very talented. The singers were nothing to write home about, which I have said about Carnival’s more than once. 
After the show we decided to grab a drink from the Top Sail Lounge, and call it a day from there. Tomorrow is our first sea day…kinda crazy! 

[Giskard]

On 8/15/2023 at 7:21 AM, pirate4me2 said:

Thank you so much for this tip! I will go do that now for sure....I can just see me running into a mirrored wall. 😂

And thanks for the live review, I am following along!

If I had read this PRIOR to our first MSC cruise I would have skimmed it thinking haha ... not really. But both hubby and I literally almost ran into glass walls on separate occasions on our Divina cruise in April!

[pirate4me2]

6 hours ago, Giskard said:

If I had read this PRIOR to our first MSC cruise I would have skimmed it thinking haha ... not really. But both hubby and I literally almost ran into glass walls on separate occasions on our Divina cruise in April!

So Divina has the mirrored walls too?! Darn, I was hoping it was just Seaside…the mirrors keep telling me to go on a diet, or skip dessert. 😂 Just kidding. But in all seriousness, they are a bit much!!

[psmarkle]

17 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

The water in the lagoon was so calm, and the beach was so nice…why is this not part of the YC area? They gave YC such a rough, not feet friendly beach, this surprises me. But whatever. I spent 45 glorious minutes in the water there, just lying on my back and not a care in the world…except that the itty bitty fishes may bite me, or a seagull poop on me. 
Around 11 we made the short hike back to the YC beach for drinks (rum punch, yum!) and to get in the ocean again. We hung there until lunch was served, about 12:15, and lunch today knocked it out of the park. I got the shrimp Caesar salad, which was fresh and crisp with 3 giant shrimp and a nice creamy dressing, and then I customized the burger. I took the advice from here and asked for it with the lobster roll meat on it, and OMG y’all…that was SO GOOD!!! 

Dang Girl, you're taking it to the next level with this idea! Have not thought of putting the lobster meat on the burger...adding that to my menu list in April now!

[pirate4me2]

2 hours ago, psmarkle said:

Dang Girl, you're taking it to the next level with this idea! Have not thought of putting the lobster meat on the burger...adding that to my menu list in April now!

It was SO DANG GOOD!!!

[pirate4me2]

Just experienced our first YC dining room breakfast. I was a bit apprehensive going as I was in jean shorts, a hoodie, and flip flops, but I asked the hostess “do I need to dress up for breakfast here, or go to the buffet?” She laughed and said no and escorted us to a table. Whew! 
I got the eggs Benedict with no Canadian bacon, a grilled tomato, and hash browns. Oh and a chocolate twist to start, which was DIVINE!! The eggs Benedict were awesome, they put Carnival’s to shame, and the tomato and hash brown were good. The coffee brought out was actually drinkable and fairly good, as opposed to Carnival’s ick that I always say no to. However, I did find myself kind of missing Carnival’s Sea Day Brunch menu, that’s always something I look forward to. But I understand that they serve both breakfast and lunch in YC restaurant, so really there’s no need for brunch. So we will see what lunch holds for us! 
We are now having some balcony time until the YC cocktail party at 11 in Top Sail. That sounds like fun! 

[mica178]

You are so lucky to have Arnold. He is the best! I had a different butler, who was fine, but Arnold made sure to take care of everyone in YC.

[KarenGretz]

I just moved my balcony to the starboard side! Thanks for the info!

[pirate4me2]

2 hours ago, mica178 said:

You are so lucky to have Arnold. He is the best! I had a different butler, who was fine, but Arnold made sure to take care of everyone in YC.

He is phenomenal, and based on the cheers at this morning’s YC party, he’s popular!! 
 

1 hour ago, KarenGretz said:

I just moved my balcony to the starboard side! Thanks for the info!

yay!!!! 

[pirate4me2]

Today has honestly been a WHOLE LOTTA NOTHING. I told mom I wanted to get a good start on my book, and I have achieved that!

 

We attended the YC Cocktail party at 11 in Topsail, which had some nice apps and drinks, and we got to see the YC director, all the butlers, head butler, captain, hotel director, etc, but after that we really just spent the afternoon on our balcony. A WONDERFUL (to me) thunderstorm came up and put on a good show for an hour or so, and I loved watching that. Our balcony has a nice overhang that allowed me to sit out there with my book and not get wet! 

We decided to go have dinner at 6:15. Tonight was elegant (sorry, Gala) night, and oh man…that menu was EXCELLENT. The blue cheese soufflé…if I ever end up on death row convicted of a crime I didn’t commit and get one final meal before execution, just bring me that and I will die happy. It was PHENOMENAL. I asked the waiter if I should order the champagne risotto or baked eggplant main course, and he ended up bringing me both. I LOVED the risotto, but the flavors of the eggplant dish…oh my!! Mom got the mushroom pasta dish, which I found just ok, but she preferred, but we both agreed that the eggplant dish was most flavorful.  Dessert was not necessary, but we are on vaca…so I got the chocolate mousse cake, which blew mom’s cheesecake outta the water. 
 

I’m now situated in the Top Sail lounge sipping the BEST expresso

marfini I’ve ever had made, listening to the piano entertainer and reading my book. It’s been a fantastic sea day. YC has achieved making me feel the most relaxed I’ve felt in a long time! 

[morpheusofthesea]

Ask the Maitre ' D, if he is related to Nicholas Cage (his dark haired brother?).

[mica178]

Love Ercan! 

[GA Dave]

On 8/21/2023 at 3:52 PM, pirate4me2 said:

After our late-ish night last night, I slept in until 9. What a treat that was! Even though our cabin (18028) is under the pool deck, I never heard any noise from above. I gotta say, I love our cabin location…1 deck down to concierge and Top Sail Lounge, same deck as the YC restaurant, 1 deck up to the pool deck. It’s also close to the stairs and elevators…just a perfect location! Added

bonus: check out our balcony view. I think this will be PERFECT for tonight, if I don’t feel like venturing out into the island again! 
 

I will be in 18004 next week. I sailed in 16022 in June and had 16023 last month. Looking forward to being on deck 18 for a change. Hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[GA Dave]

On 8/21/2023 at 4:54 PM, pirate4me2 said:

Mom and I were saying today that the lobster roll “innerds” would be so delicious on a salad! 

What I do is order a lobster roll without the roll and a cheeseburger and I put the lobster meat on the burger. So yumalicious!!

 

Edit: Just made it to the bottom of page 3 and saw you did the "lobster burger" combo! It is truly amazing. Glad you enjoyed it.

Edited August 24, 2023 by GA Dave

[pirate4me2]

13 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

I will be in 18004 next week. I sailed in 16022 in June and had 16023 last month. Looking forward to being on deck 18 for a change. Hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise!

I have that cabin next September with my husband, let me know how it is being so far forward please! 
 

9 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

What I do is order a lobster roll without the roll and a cheeseburger and I put the lobster meat on the burger. So yumalicious!!

 

Edit: Just made it to the bottom of page 3 and saw you did the "lobster burger" combo! It is truly amazing. Glad you enjoyed it.

That burger was SO GOOD!!! 

[tcruisin77]

2 hours ago, mica178 said:

Love Ercan! 

And Fabiana; they were both so nice to our family last month

[GA Dave]

24 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

I have that cabin next September with my husband, let me know how it is being so far forward please! 
 

That burger was SO GOOD!!! 

I will. I have been in the forward-facing balcony Deluxe Suites on Meraviglia many times and never had an issue. I just wish the Seaside-class ships had those as well. I love being able to see where we are going. It made for an amazing approach into NY harbor when I went on the reposition cruise!  

 

[jules815]

27 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

I have that cabin next September with my husband, let me know how it is being so far forward please! 
 

That burger was SO GOOD!!! 

Did you book another YC cruise while on board this week??

 

[shipgeeks]

I'm curious whether the young lady in the photo above, on the stairs, happens to be Ashley, from South Africa.  There is a certain resemblance.....great smile.

The Ashley that we met on Seaside was, at that time, the liaison for the English-speaking passengers. We met her at a social event, and had lots of happy moments with her throughout the cruise.  It would be nice to know she is still around.