TravelandLeisure85

We are on this sailing as well, and I am bummed to have such a late embarkation. Like you I also am wondering why it is only the Seashore making this call.

Have they communicated anything to you about a late arrival to Port Canaveral due to weather? We are embarking the Seashore on the 17th, and I just received an email stating that embarkation wouldn’t begin before 5:00 because of weather.

The cruise is July 2024–cruising in a premium aft balcony (not a casino rate). We don’t have any status with Princess, and our cruise is not paid in full. I was very surprised we were able to book this early, but it did let us do so last week.

We have the Premier package for an upcoming sailing in July. The app recognized our credits, but required a CC number before we could reserve. After reading the complaints on here of being charged, I ended up going to the website version, and was able to make a reservation for Crown Grill and Catch by Rudi without entering any payment information. Afterwards I went back into the app and was able to verify that the reservations were there.

We purchased the fun pass online before the cruise. I don’t remember the exact amounts of each activity, but I believe the simulator and 4d theatre were around $11 per person. For bowling you purchase by the game—I think you can choose between 30 minutes or an hour. 30 minutes was something like $30 maybe. To book a time you just go to the desk in the arcade on Deck 7.

Is 360 just a perk for those cruising in a full suite, or does it extend to mini-suites?

Do mini suites get an automatic invite, or is it just those in full suites?

We were assigned my time dining on our July Seaside cruise. It was a 3 night. The Seashore was MTD and Ipanema was set dining. I don’t like set dining times, so I was pleased.

We were just on the Seaside (not Yacht club) at the end of July and weed was a huge problem throughout our sailing. We smelled it in both the hallway and on our balcony, and saw people openly lighting up while docked at Ocean Cay.

Interesting. They were pretty strict on my sailing with the no drinks. From what I’ve read MSC’s reputation is that of being inconsistent, so not really surprising.

No—I never figured out why/how we got ATD with Fantastica. I was happy with the assignment so I just rolled with it. I would be curious to hear from someone else who recently sailed Seaside whether this was the case on their cruise, or if it was just an anomaly on my sailing. My sailing was sold out, but not sure if that had anything to do with it.

Yeah, I still can’t believe people were openly smoking either. The thing is—it wasn’t just one person; we witnessed several! MSC needs to come up with some way to address this.

Speaking of not being able to have drinks in hand—that reminds me of MSC’s policy of no drinks in the theater. I saw a lot of people unpleasantly surprised when they had to toss their cocktails to attend a show.

I get that—it’s just not really what I’m used to with other lines.

We had the Fantastica experience, which was why I was surprised when we got ATD. The entire Seashore restaurant was ATD on my sailing, so it seems like they opened it up to more than just Aurea guests. As for the weed smoke, I do think that the low prices are most likely the culprit. I will say that prices since I booked this cruise (in Jan) are no longer as “bargain basement,” so maybe that will help.

My 4 year old went to the Mini Club on the first 2 nights, and really enjoyed it. They had activities and did crafts. The only reason she didn’t go on the last night was because she was pooped, and fell asleep at the dinner table. My 12 year old briefly went to the Young club (12-14) on 2 nights, but didn’t like it. She said the kids looked high school age, and she felt awkward. The kids at the Young and Teen clubs pretty much just come and go as they please—it’s more a hang out spot.

Thanks for the kind words, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the Seaside at the end of July. I am definitely looking forward to the Yacht Club difference in December. It was hard to look at the Yacht Club signs/areas on this cruise without envy lol. With that being said, we still had a good time in gen. pop.

I enjoy reading trip reports on Cruise Critic, and find them extremely helpful, so I thought I would share my thoughts on my recent cruise on the Seaside out of Port Canaveral. Hopefully this can be helpful to someone who may be considering the Seaside. If you have any questions about the ship, please feel free to ask. Background: Our family isn't loyal to any particular cruise line and have sailed Disney (Magic), Royal Caribbean (Oasis), and Carnival (Dream, Glory). This trip consisted of my husband and myself (both in our 30's), and our two daughters (4 and 12). I usually wouldn't consider a 3 day cruise, but we were already scheduled to be in Florida for a beach trip, and the dates of this sailing lined up perfectly. The price was also hard to pass up, and I figured this would be a good time to try MSC for myself since I have heard so many mixed reviews on the product. Boarding: Our check-in time was 11:30, and boarding was efficient and went very smoothly. I would estimate we were on the ship about 20 minutes from entering the terminal. The ship: I thought that the ship was very beautiful. It definitely gives off a glitzy, Vegas-style vibe, and there were a multitude of areas to lounge. The Swarovski stairs are as beautiful as everyone says, and we got some amazing pictures on them. I also really enjoyed the highly themed "Garage Club" area next to the arcade area, although the bar there never seemed to be open. My 4 year old really loved the kids' water play area, but I didn't like the fact that all of the pools were so deep (6 feet). Normally on cruises we like to wade in the pool with a drink in our hand, but that was not possible due to the depth. Arcade/Fun Pass: We purchased a fun pass prior to the cruise for $80, which gave us $140 of funplay. I think this is worth it if you have kids or are just interested in the included activities. You could use these credits on: the zipline, bowling alley, 4d theatre, F1 simulator, billiards (pool), and the 2 arcade games. If you want to do bowling or billiards, I would recommend you make reservations the day you board. We waited until the last day, and found out reservations had to be made at least one day in advance, so we missed out. Also, you must have closed toe shoes to ride the zipline. We didn't realize this, and had only packed sandals and open toe shoes. Drinks/Bar Service: We had the Easy plus drink package, and I appreciated the large amount of bars. I had read on other reviews that it could take a long time for drink service, but that was not our experience. Even though this was a sold-out sailing, I never waited long for a drink. There were also roving servers in the lounge areas near the bar who were taking orders as well. My daughters really enjoyed having the minors' package and sampling the various mocktails. Entertainment: The main shows on our 3-night sailing were a comedian, a stunt/acrobatic show called "Peter Punk", and a Michael Jackson themed show called "Starwalker." I was really impressed with both "Peter Punk" and "Starwalker". The cast was extremely talented, and the shows should not be missed. The comedian on board performed 3 times during the cruise--two separate PG shows, and an 18+ adult show. Food: We had dinner in the Seashore dining room (the other dining room is called Ipanema). I was pleasantly surprised to find out that we were assigned anytime, or "My Choice" dining, as I didn't know that was an option on this ship. On this sailing anytime dining was exclusively in the Seashore, and set dining was in Ipanema. Our first two nights we ate around 6/6:30, and did not have any wait to be seated. On the third night we arrived a little after 7:00 and waited around 10 minutes. I thought the food in the main dining room was fairly good. I would put it on the level of my last Carnival cruise on the Glory. Service was good, if a little slow at times--I would estimate dinner usually took around an hour and a half. -One thing that I don't like about MSC is their lack of fast casual dining options--I knew this from my research going in, so it's more of an observation than a complaint. I am not a huge fan of buffets, but that was generally the only option for lunch each day. They did have breakfast in the dining room on all 3 mornings, so that was a plus. On Day 2 the daily planner listed lunch available in the dining room from 12-1, but when we arrived it wasn't open. The buffet can get crowded, but we would always have success finding a table and less crowds towards the back (the stations repeat). -There are no soft serve machines like most cruise lines, but you could get free ice cream in the Biscayne Buffet during certain hours (usually like 12-4). They usually only had 1 flavor, however we did enjoy it the one time we had it. Ocean Cay: We really loved the island, and had a great time. We ended up on Lighthouse beach and were lucky enough to run into a family that was leaving and let us have their chair/umbrella/bean bag setup. We were close to a bar and food truck that served burgers and hot dogs (we didn't go to the island buffet). Later that night we were able to watch the lighthouse show from our balcony (starboard side). Fellow Passengers: I would say the majority of the people on this ship were generally well-behaved and respectable, however there were certain groups that left a lot to be desired. It was generally easy to avoid these groups, and we didn't let it interfere with our vacation. Also, we smelled weed in the hallways several times throughout the cruise. I even saw several people openly smoking it when we were on the beach in Ocean Cay. There was literally a guy in the ocean puffing a joint---I thought that was pretty bold. MSC definitely needs to get some drug dogs on board like Carnival is beginning to do. Overall thoughts: We had a great time on this cruise, and I felt I got good value for money. It was not a premium experience, but I was not expecting one for the price paid. I probably won't book another 3 night cruise again--I felt that there was so much I was unable to do and explore on the ship. Luckily, we have a 5 night cruise booked in December on the Seashore, this time in the Yacht Club. I look forward to comparing the two experiences.

Thanks so much for posting all this. We are doing the Seaside 3 day in July, and it’s great to get a peek at the dailies. I know that you ate in the Yacht Club dining room, but do you by any chance have a copy of the MDR menus?

No, sorry, I didn’t mean casino play. It covers the zip line, simulator, bowling, and arcade games, I believe.

We are sailing the Seaside for the first time in July. I was able to purchase a fun pass online—it was $80 for $140 worth of play.