First timer MSC Seashore Review

[PatandStu]

I have sailed Disney, RCI, Carnival, NCL & Celebrity. Our ta suggested MSC for a quick (inexpensive) getaway. 
I travelled with my adult daughter, booked a Bella inside with easy plus drink package, wifi, & gratuities. We sailed from Port Canaveral to Ocean Cay & Nassau. Here are our thoughts.

 

Embarkation: line up outside, then line up inside, then line up some more. Took about 90 minutes all in all. Dropped our luggage in our stateroom & went exploring. 

The ship: it’s beautiful & clean but hard to navigate. There isn’t a deck where you can walk the entire ship outside. There isn’t anyplace at the front of the ship to stand unless you’re paying for the spa or yacht club. The pools & jungle area are great & the slides are fun. 
Speaking of yacht club-there’s a definite “us & them”.  Most of the time it didn’t bother us, but a few times when we accidentally crossed the line, we were made aware of our lack-of-status. 
Finally, the elevators: that system might work in an apartment or office building, but it fails miserably on a cruise ship. We logged 10s of thousands of steps by taking the stairs most of the time. 

Food: disappointing. We didn’t starve, but if you’re going for wonderful meals, this isn’t the place to go. We did not do any specialty restaurants. The buffet is poorly laid out. You have to peruse the entire place to not miss anything. At times, the buffet was scheduled as open but the only station available was pizza. 

 

Stateroom: we were inside on deck 13, close to stairs. Spacious & clean. Beds are very firm. Attendant was ok, we didn’t request anything so we didn’t see him much. 
 

Ocean Cay: highlight of our trip. It’s beautiful, walkable (lots of walking!). Lots of beaches to choose from, none ever felt crowded. There is a buffet restaurant (double check the open time! It closed at 1:30) and food trucks and bars, all included in our package. We snorkelled & kayaked. We were looking forward to the night light show but it was cancelled due to “technical issues”. 
 

Entertainment: we enjoyed the music shows. Loved the last night when singers & dancers came out to chat with the audience. We did not go see the magician and heard from many folks that the show was high-school amateurish.  There were many venues for varied music in the evenings. 
 

Our last comment is about the staff. They are (mostly) efficient but not friendly or smiling. Service is basic at best. If you like the bartender to greet you with a smile, this isn’t the cruise for you. At our assigned dining venue, after the first night we were told with an arm wave “you know where your table is”.  When asked what time it was open the next morning for breakfast, the maître d didn’t know (or couldn’t be bothered) and told us there was a daily planner in our rooms & we could look it up. We did write a so-so review of the snorkelling staff (they didn’t seem engaged with the clients and bordered on rude).  MSC followed up our review with a phone call from guest services (at 9:45pm!). When we said we weren’t happy with the staff, they said “oh good, not us, excursion folk”. The only staff members who deserved a shout out were the kayaking staff who greeted us with enthusiasm, like they actually enjoyed their job. 
 

Will we do MSC again? Sure, if the price & timing is right. But we’ll know better what to expect. We are happy to answer specific questions. 
 

[Two Wheels Only]

28 minutes ago, PatandStu said:

We are happy to answer specific questions. 

 

28 minutes ago, PatandStu said:

Speaking of yacht club-there’s a definite “us & them”.  Most of the time it didn’t bother us, but a few times when we accidentally crossed the line, we were made aware of our lack-of-status.

 

What happened and how do you feel that it should have been handled?

[perakcruiser]

1 hour ago, PatandStu said:

Will we do MSC again? Sure, if the price & timing is right. But we’ll know better what to expect.

Take an older ship, ideally the Preziosa or the Divina. You will like it more. 

[PatandStu]

On the island we were waiting on a shuttle (I have minor mobility issues), 2 empty ones came by. One stopped but would not let us on - driver said “yacht club only”. I’m not sure how she knew we weren’t. 
Another time we were looking to walk outside on the ship & missed the sign. We were firmly told by another guest we were in the wrong place. As we were trying to navigate our way back, a staff member pointed us away from the yacht club. 

[PatandStu]

8 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

Take an older ship, ideally the Preziosa or the Divina. You will like it more. 

Are the food & service better on an older ship? If yes, why? 

[perakcruiser]

24 minutes ago, PatandStu said:

Are the food & service better on an older ship? If yes, why? 

This is impossible to say, because it depends on the main chef on the ship. And this is changing. Service is the same, actually when you write "Attendant was ok, we didn’t request anything so we didn’t see him much", MSC says perfect, that is how it has to be, he should do his job and try to be invisible. 

But the older ships are more relaxed and the front of the ship is accessible. I do not like the design of the new ships where YC and spa block the whole front and no deck to walk completely around. Also no outside stairs in the back of the ship. It is the atmosphere on board the Preziosa thanks to the design. 

[Two Wheels Only]

35 minutes ago, PatandStu said:

On the island we were waiting on a shuttle (I have minor mobility issues), 2 empty ones came by. One stopped but would not let us on - driver said “yacht club only”. I’m not sure how she knew we weren’t. 

 

The Yacht Club shuttles go directly to Ocean House and directly back to the ship (close to it). They generally only stop on the way back if a YC guest requests that the shuttle stop (at the Smiling Fish, for example). Very rarely are guests picked up in-between.

 

I don't know where you were waiting nor where you were going so I can't fully explain why you were not allowed on. For the most part, something as simple as towel color or ship card can tell if someone is a Yacht Club guest. The only female that I have seen drive a shuttle was a Yacht Club staff member so she may have not recognized you. If a shuttle is allocated for Yacht Club and you aren't staying in Yacht Club, the situation was handled correctly.

 

35 minutes ago, PatandStu said:

Another time we were looking to walk outside on the ship & missed the sign. We were firmly told by another guest we were in the wrong place. As we were trying to navigate our way back, a staff member pointed us away from the yacht club. 

 

You might have wandered into the Aurea area before reaching the Yacht Club area if you were outside. I don't know which deck that you were on. However, if you were in an area which you were not allowed to be, the guest and staff member did the right thing. As long as neither was rude, I don't see this as an issue.

[PatandStu]

I don’t mind invisible when I don’t need help. But, we were more disappointed with the lack of smiles or “welcome aboard” from those we did see. 

[tofubeast]

On 1/19/2024 at 2:54 PM, PatandStu said:

I don’t mind invisible when I don’t need help. But, we were more disappointed with the lack of smiles or “welcome aboard” from those we did see. 

I didn’t have that experience for our NyE cruise on the Seashore. Many of the staff were friendly and welcoming. We got lots of hellos etc.  

[morpheusofthesea]

On 1/19/2024 at 12:42 PM, PatandStu said:

Our ta suggested MSC for a quick (inexpensive) getaway. 

Went to the thesaurus and found some more apt synonyms. 

"

Synonyms

• cheap
• economical
• low-cost
• low-priced
• modest
• popular
• reasonable

• bargain
• budget
• buy
• cost next to nothing
• cut-rate
• dime a dozen
• dirt-cheap
• for a song
• half-price
• low
• marked down
• nominal
• popularly priced
• real buy
• real steal

I like 'cost next to nothing'.  The price of a weeks cruise on MSC is lower than what it costs the average US city to house and feed the homeless, with or without a drink package. 

[PatandStu]

10 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Went to the thesaurus and found some more apt synonyms. 

"

Synonyms

• cheap
• economical
• low-cost
• low-priced
• modest
• popular
• reasonable

• bargain
• budget
• buy
• cost next to nothing
• cut-rate
• dime a dozen
• dirt-cheap
• for a song
• half-price
• low
• marked down
• nominal
• popularly priced
• real buy
• real steal

I like 'cost next to nothing'.  The price of a weeks cruise on MSC is lower than what it costs the average US city to house and feed the homeless, with or without a drink package. 

I agree with the lower cost in comparison to other cruise lines. However, a smile is free and we didn’t get many of those by staff. 

[morpheusofthesea]

3 hours ago, PatandStu said:

I agree with the lower cost in comparison to other cruise lines. However, a smile is free and we didn’t get many of those by staff. 

I have, a tip always ‘turns a frown upside down’.

Edited January 22 by morpheusofthesea