Is MSC Seascape really THAT bad?

[ellie1145]

6 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Just in case some of you missed my 5 minute 360 degree walk through of the Market Place Buffet at a typical 7 am morning. It starts getting crazy after 7:30 am.  Also MPB is really quite nice noon times when it is in port and still open.

Wow thank you for posting that video. It looks great. 

[morpheusofthesea]

2 hours ago, Beamafar said:

@morpheusofthesea Thanks so much for tip about Indian butter chicken being listed in the healthy options section of the menu - I discovered that it’s on tonight. 

Sometimes, even I, can stumble onto something helpful to someone reading.

P.S. But I think I have to give credit to another poster who pointed this out to me when I complained I couldn't find it on the menu all week.

Edited May 22 by morpheusofthesea
P.S.

[Beamafar]

20 hours ago, mcoler181 said:

Is the brunch a new thing? If not we missed that in February. 

 

 

They had it for the first time on Seascape last week.  I believe it had already been introduced on Meraviglia.  It seems to be a big hit, especially not having to be up early on a sea day to catch MDR breakfast. 

[tofubeast]

We sailed the Seashore for New Years and had an awesome time. I posted a review on here of our Fantastica experience.  Had so much fun, we booked the Seascape and will be departing when you’re arriving! 

[mcoler181]

8 hours ago, Beamafar said:

They had it for the first time on Seascape last week.  I believe it had already been introduced on Meraviglia.  It seems to be a big hit, especially not having to be up early on a sea day to catch MDR breakfast. 

We never once made the MDR for breakfast in two weeks on Seascape unfortunately, from memory I think it was only open 7-8, something like that.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, mcoler181 said:

We never once made the MDR for breakfast in two weeks on Seascape unfortunately, from memory I think it was only open 7-8, something like that.

 

[mcoler181]

15 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

 

Yeah we always used the Buffet, a few sea days we skipped breakfast and went for lunch early before the chaos. 

[ellie1145]

10 hours ago, tofubeast said:

We sailed the Seashore for New Years and had an awesome time. I posted a review on here of our Fantastica experience.  Had so much fun, we booked the Seascape and will be departing when you’re arriving! 

Hope you have a great time! Think we will too!!

 

Bon Voyage! 

[Isasprings]

I just came back from my birthday cruise onboard the Seascape!

This sailing was FANTASTIC!! From star to finish!  

[KittyCruz]

On 5/22/2024 at 4:15 AM, ellie1145 said:

We are due to sail on Seascape on June 15th and the reviews on here are pretty horrendous. 
 

We have sailed on Virtuosa out of Southampton twice and we were agreeably surprised. We’ve just got off Anthem of the Seas Norway cruise and felt the buffet was very poor and Virtuosa buffet was excellent especially the beautiful desserts. 

 

But the reviews make Seascape sound like the ship from hell! 
 

I know more people post about the negatives than the positives but it’s a little worrying.

 

 

 

 

We sailed YC back in November and really enjoyed ourselves. 

I think there is something  to what you said that  more people will complain than say something nice, but I went back to the reviews and there are actually quite a few good or positive ones since I left ours.  

We found crew both in and outside of the YC to be really great!  From the folks who were cleaning handrails to the bartenders that made your drinks

I think a cruise is what you make of it, there are things we all have to deal with (lines, wait times, oddball cruise passengers) but at the end of the day its a vacation and time to enjoy and relax

[ellie1145]

1 hour ago, KittyCruz said:

We sailed YC back in November and really enjoyed ourselves. 

I think there is something  to what you said that  more people will complain than say something nice, but I went back to the reviews and there are actually quite a few good or positive ones since I left ours.  

We found crew both in and outside of the YC to be really great!  From the folks who were cleaning handrails to the bartenders that made your drinks

I think a cruise is what you make of it, there are things we all have to deal with (lines, wait times, oddball cruise passengers) but at the end of the day its a vacation and time to enjoy and relax

Thank you for that. I absolutely agree that a cruise is what you make of it. 
 

 On our last cruise 4 days ago on Anthem, we overheard a passenger (a Brit, to my shame) reading the riot act in the Buffet. We thought that at the very least he had found a toe in his burger or a piece of the anchor in his soup. But no, he was complaining about the custard (vanilla sauce) which he said was cold, and heaven forbid, there were flat plates available, not bowls. 
 

We sat there with our proverbial mouths open wishing the ocean would swallow him up as he berated one of the senior staff about this most heinous of crimes. This went on for a full 20 mins or so and the staff member was mortified and tried to placate him  
 

Honestly, if cold custard is all you have to complain about then you are very lucky. I guess he would be one who expressed the belief that it was the cruise from hell.

 

No cruise is perfect but some people just like to complain. 
 

We are looking forward to seeing the ocean from our balcony, being able to relax after a very hectic year in which we moved house, some nice ports and lovely beaches. As long as the ship and our cabin are clean, the bed is comfy and there are no bed bugs we will be more than happy. And not having to shop, cook or wash up will be a win win for us. 
 

Thank you for all your positive comments. We can’t wait to sail. 

[BeeeJay]

I spent 6 weeks on MSC Seascape and will be returning on the June 15th cruise as well.  

 

I spent the first 2 weeks in Yacht Club, the last 4 in Gen Pop.  I went on a 2-week Southern Princess cruise right after.  I had a blast on all of it.  MSC Gen Pop is def a ***** show, but the ship is nice and you can always grab some pizza or a burger easily.   I hung out in the adults only area during my Gen Pop stint and had an absolute blast with excellent service as I tipped a small amount.

 

I guess my answer is if I rebooked after 6 weeks aboard, I didn't think it was that bad at all!  Enjoy your cruise and see you onboard!

[ellie1145]

2 hours ago, BeeeJay said:

I spent 6 weeks on MSC Seascape and will be returning on the June 15th cruise as well.  

 

I spent the first 2 weeks in Yacht Club, the last 4 in Gen Pop.  I went on a 2-week Southern Princess cruise right after.  I had a blast on all of it.  MSC Gen Pop is def a ***** show, but the ship is nice and you can always grab some pizza or a burger easily.   I hung out in the adults only area during my Gen Pop stint and had an absolute blast with excellent service as I tipped a small amount.

 

I guess my answer is if I rebooked after 6 weeks aboard, I didn't think it was that bad at all!  Enjoy your cruise and see you onboard!

We look forward to seeing you! Thank you for your positive comments .👍🏻🙂

[BirdTravels]

On 5/22/2024 at 5:15 AM, ellie1145 said:

We are due to sail on Seascape on June 15th and the reviews on here are pretty horrendous. 
 

We have sailed on Virtuosa out of Southampton twice and we were agreeably surprised. We’ve just got off Anthem of the Seas Norway cruise and felt the buffet was very poor and Virtuosa buffet was excellent especially the beautiful desserts. 

 

But the reviews make Seascape sound like the ship from hell! 
 

I know more people post about the negatives than the positives but it’s a little worrying.

First and foremost, don't believe everything you read on the internet. Most of it is totally fake news. 

 

We sailed on the Seascape in March and had a wonderful cruise. The ship is stunning and service wonderful.

 

If you want a peek at some of the ship's facility, here's my live post from that cruise in March. 

 

[ellie1145]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

First and foremost, don't believe everything you read on the internet. Most of it is totally fake news. 

 

We sailed on the Seascape in March and had a wonderful cruise. The ship is stunning and service wonderful.

 

If you want a peek at some of the ship's facility, here's my live post from that cruise in March. 

 

Wow! What a fabulous ‘Live From.’

 

Thank you so much! I’ve started reading it and it’s fascinating.

 

A few questions, please.

 

1. What time did you get to the port?

2. Do they provide any water with dinner or is this extra?

3. Do you know how much the internet package is, and did you get a discount for being Diamond? (We are also Diamond). Apologies if you discuss this in your review, but I’ve not got to the end yet…😉

4. If you do the Back to Back, do you get any perks on the second cruise?

5. We normally do Late Dining, but hadn’t realised it was THAT late 🫢

    We are only Fantastica so no anytime dining for us, but what are the chances of changing to Early Sitting at 7.30?
 

Many thanks!

 

 

 

 

[Essiesmom]

 Because drinking water with meals is an American practice, water is provided at meals, sometimes from a pitcher of ice water, other times from a bottle at room temp.  
No internet discount for Diamond.  It is best purchased online before cruise.  It is per device, you cannot switch back and forth among devices.

No special perks for doing B2B.  EM

[Scottdalfonso]

I don't actually have anything  to base it on since I'm booked for the first time in December. BUT the Seascape seems to be the one that actually gets mostly good reviews or more positive then negatives. The ones I see with constant negatives are the Seashore and Seaside.  I've read and watched enough blogs, reviews and youtube vids that I feel confident that Seascape will be just fine and looking forward to it! 

[Beamafar]

Just off Seascape after B2B (our 29th MSC cruise, as an FYI).  While we had a great time, we will not book another on this ship.  The crew were amazing; the food was shockingly bad most of the time.  The buffet offerings were very limited, especially considering the size of the ship. 

 

The entertainment was the worst we’ve experienced on our many MSC cruises.  The ‘comedy’ show in the Cabaret Rouge was a joke - but not a funny one.  We felt like we were at a children’s party.   The ‘singers’ were awful at times.  We hung out at CR every night, despite this, as we had a blast with all the bar staff there.
 

We also dined several nights in Aegean MDR as the service we received was top-notch (better than YC).  We had personal service from a head waiter there, who insured we had food in front of us from the time we sat down (produced a plate of cheese and fruit while we ordered and awaited our appetisers).  Our food always came out so hot that we had to wait for it to cool before attempting to eat it.  He also waited on us when we went to the (wonderful) brunch events on sea days (even though we wouldn’t always be seated in his designated area).

 

It was service and interaction with the crew that made this cruise so special for us (I received a gift of a box of Venchi chocolates from the bar manager who we befriended).  I’ve read so many reports on this forum about rude Europeans on MSC ships;  well, our experience was that the rudest, loudest passengers onboard were American and the reason we wouldn’t sail on this ship again. 

 

 

[BirdTravels]

10 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

Wow! What a fabulous ‘Live From.’

Thank you so much! I’ve started reading it and it’s fascinating.

 1. What time did you get to the port?

We had a 1:00 check-in time, but showed up at the port at 10:45, checked in, and walked right onboard the ship. 

 

2. Do they provide any water with dinner or is this extra?

Our beverage package included bottled water, so the waiters served us San Pellegrino nightly.  

 

3. Do you know how much the internet package is, and did you get a discount for being Diamond? (We are also Diamond). Apologies if you discuss this in your review, but I’ve not got to the end yet…😉

I think that we paid $139 for one Browse & Stream package. 

 

4. If you do the Back to Back, do you get any perks on the second cruise?

Other's may know differently. I think that it depends if it was booked as two 7-day cruises (a true back-to-back) or one 14-day reservation.  

 

5. We normally do Late Dining, but hadn’t realised it was THAT late 🫢

    We are only Fantastica so no anytime dining for us, but what are the chances of changing to Early Sitting at 7.30?
It is up to you. From the Daily program, late dining was really late. We were Aurea so we had MyChoice dining at any time. 

 

 

I would reiterate that we had a lovely cruise. But, we cruise frequently. This year we have already done 1 MSC, 1 Royal Caribbean, and 2 NCL cruises. All ships, regardless of cruise line, are running well over capacity. Our expectations are that things will be crowded, elevators will be crowded, buffets will be crowded, shows will be crowded and we are not going to slam a cruise line for being busy.  On the Seascape, while the "front" of the buffet was always busy, the back (toward the back of the ship) had very short or no lines. If you walk in the buffet and pick the longest line to stand in, you kinda get what you picked. Our room was at the back of the ship and we used the aft scenic elevators to the back door of the buffet, so we always got food quickly and sat back there too. 

Edited May 27 by BirdTravels

[morpheusofthesea]

3 hours ago, Beamafar said:

I’ve read so many reports on this forum about rude Europeans on MSC ships;

Maybe you could reference a few. I just did a cursory search on CruiseCritic of the two words, rude and Europeans and only came up with your post where the two words were used together. Even so, anecdotally I tend to agree with you that most of the chairhogs are American that we have encountered. The interlopers though are all nationalities.

  Other than that we would tend to agree with you on the entertainment (but having been on recent other luxury cruiselines and finding a lack of any entertainment) we are thankful for what entertainment does exist in other venues to choose from on the Seascape. Besides Le Cabaret Rouge there is the Loft Cafe, the Uptowne Lounge, the Atrium, The Chora Theatre, and the dueling pianos with available seating at all these.

  We found the service at the MDR, the one time we stopped by for a dessert, to be great as well. 

 We never eat at the buffets, but read the same reports. 

 In conclusion, we agree with you. We too would never travel on any MSC ship outside the Yacht Club ,  "where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average." Garrison Keillor

Edited May 27 by morpheusofthesea

[sidari]

6 hours ago, Scottdalfonso said:

I don't actually have anything  to base it on since I'm booked for the first time in December. BUT the Seascape seems to be the one that actually gets mostly good reviews or more positive then negatives. The ones I see with constant negatives are the Seashore and Seaside.  I've read and watched enough blogs, reviews and youtube vids that I feel confident that Seascape will be just fine and looking forward to it! 

We were on the Seaside inaugural out of Miami and sailed on it again six months later, no issues that I can recall. The Captain can make or break a cruise where the crew are concerned which can be noticed by passengers and we were lucky enough to have sailed with the then two best MSC Captains Pier Paolo Scala and Marko Massa, though there are also two former Princess Captains, Tuvo and Dino Sagani who we also sailed with on a Princess cruise.

We will be on Seascape in December and hope one of the last two will be in charge 

Edited May 27 by sidari

[Sharon_and_TC]

As many have said - and of course, many more, including me, will say it again.   A cruise - for the most part - will be what you make it.  If something goes wrong you can allow it to ruin your cruise or you can chalk it up to experience, and find something else.  One nice thing about a cruise - is that there is ALWAYS something else.

 

If something goes awry, if you address it to the proper people in the proper manner, I've found it will usually be resolved.  That's not limited to cruises, but to life in general.  Bring the issue up, allow the powers that be to correct it, and move forward.