APDMOM

My View: Day 2 and 3 - Ocean Cay

We parked and left from Terminal 10 🙂

@skipsaur You are correct. You can go to a lounge or back to your room until everyone is done. They just don't open anything until everyone is done. On Seascape, the first night dining was delayed due to some people not completing the drill. This time, the drill ended just before our 5:15 dining time. All bars and ship venues are closed for the duration of the drill. We even found that we could not use wifi during this time - not sure if that was a coincidental glitch or if they disable wifi on purpose during the drill.

Itinerary First 7 Days: (Forgot to post at the start)

Boarding Info (Unfortunately, I did not get the daily program - will try to remember next Sunday)

My View: End of Day 1 - Port Canaveral Marella Discovery at Sea

The Show: Variety Unfortunately, there were technical difficulties that caused the cancellation of the variety show. It will repeat on Friday, so we hope to report back on how it goes by then. TIP: Making Reservations for the Shows: Once you are onboard, log into the free wifi on the ship. Check daily to see when shows are ready to book. Make reservations for your preferred time if you want to guarantee a seat at the shows. Evening: We enjoyed walking around the ship to see if we could find a 'favorite' performer in the public areas. The verdict is still out on this. The performers in the atrium were good, but the volume was WAY too loud to really enjoy the music. I do not understand the need for them to put the music that loud - really just not enjoyable or conducive to an 'easy listening' experience.

Our View Forward: Our View Aft: Our View Below: Cracked glass on the port side of Infinity Bridge

Until next week, Port Canaveral: Sailaway was during our dinner, so I did not get any good pics... Here are a few views from the balcony prior to sailing away: Marella Discovery: Coast Guard: NASA - a hazy day, as usual:

Dinner Dishes: We liked everything we ordered. Some dishes were just okay, but most of them are dishes we would order again. Even though I said on a previous cruise that I would not order the 'grouper' again, nothing else stood out as something I was in the mood for. So, I ordered the grouper for comparison. So far, Seascape wins on meals - but it is only day one. The Chicken croquettes and salmon were better on Seascape. Our Dinner:

I can easily come up with a conspiracy theory about this issue 🤣 I agree - IT needs to improve. Ironically, I pay much better attention to the video than when we are packed like sardines in a small space... 🙂

Dinner in the MDR: Everyday Options: Tonight's Options:

"Naughty" Letter from the Captain: We do love the way the muster drill is done. We just can't believe there are people who actually still try to skip out of it. I wanted them to make it serious and put people off the ship if they try to skip out. I mean they are breaking the law, right? Well, I am no longer saying that... The muster drill is "fantastic" until you get this from the captain: Now, DH is the epitomy of 'rule following'. DS is the most honest guy you have ever met. So much so, we had to check "Yes" about being sick in January and missed a cruis on Odyssey as a result. They had followed the directions carefully, called the designated number, and received the message that their response had been recorded. Apparently, MSC IT issues extend to the ship... DH called guest services and told them even the detail of the message he received after dialing the 881 number, and guest services said they would send an email to the appropriate authority. We have not heard back yet, so hopefully they are cleared.

"Muster Drill" The MSC post-COVID muster drill is fantastic! It is more like a stroll than a drill. You watch a video on your stateroom TV, then dial a specific number from your stateroom to confirm you watched the video. After this, you walk down to your muster station, get your card scanned, and you are done. The only thing is that you have to wait for everyone to complete the process. We just sat in a lounge to 'wait it out'. Unfortunately, I had an asthma coughing spell that had the tears rolling down my cheeks 😳

TIP: If your suitcase is not by your room, walk along your deck and see if you find it lined up by the 'holding' area in the hallway. We walked past our suitcases when the rooms were ready and we were able to grab them and unpack by 2:30. Rooms were ready at 2 PM.

Good morning! We look forward to hopefully meeting you. You can now only prepay at the terminal. You just drive up to where you usually get your ticket. A port employee stands there and confirms you are on Seaside, then gives you the total, which you pay by credit card. They give you a payment confirmation, which you display in the dashboard of your car. Unfortunately, the price is the same. 😬

Buffet Lunch: TIP: Seaside has 2 buffet restaurants - one on deck 8 (Marketplace) and one on deck 16 (Biscayne). The one on 16 has soft serve ice cream. If you choose the one on deck 8, I recommend the far back area, as it is the least busy. There is also outdoor seating in that area. Walk all the way around the buffet if you want to see all the options. Some repeat, but other don't. The ethnic food area is our favorite.

Note About Boarding Times: We received several tickets with different boarding times. We decided to arrive early because if we came at the most recent boarding time (1:30 PM), we would likely not find parking at the port. Nobody checked our boarding time - everyone was directed to the “Outside boarding window” line. There were no problems boarding. As previously stated, we did not even stand in line anywhere. Nobody looked at our health questionnaires either.

Port Arrival Timeline: First glimpse of our ship… 10:45 - Prepaid for our parking and easily found a parking space on the first floor of the parking garage. TIP: Take pictures of your checked luggage in case they get misplaced/lost. 11:10 - All checked in and ready to board - we never waited in line. We sat down to wait for our number (Boarding group 12), when a kind co-cruiser informed us that gold could board. 11:32 Walking up the gangplank 11:40 Our view from the Marketplace Buffet:

Thank you @Fissues - Glad to have friends in high places 😁

I will try - I am not technically allowed in there, but I can try to take pictures through the glass 😁

Will do that, yes. We will be in Ocean Cay tomorrow.

I bet you were in Biscayne 🙂 "No soft serve" is probably one of the biggest lies/myths for MSC ships...LOL! Say 'hi' if you see us around the ship!

Hello from MSC Seaside! We recently cruised on Seascape (March Spring Break) and we are now on Seaside. I will do some comparisons between the ships, with Seascape fresh in mind. We were also on Seaside exactly 4 years ago, so I look forward to seeing what may have changed. To date, Seaside is our favorite ship. Will this still ring true after this cruise? We will know in 11 days 😄 We are booked on the 7+4 back to back sailing. For those who are not familiar with "My View" trip reports, here are some quick notes: I will post tips in bold red for the skim-readers. If you have requests, please ask - I will do my best to find answers. It may not be right away, but I make a 'to do' list and reply when I get a chance. I will likely get a day or 2 behind, since the cruise comes first. LOL! I will post the dailies at the end of each daily report. Come join us virtually, as we embark on this adventure!

Thank you for the trip report! We still have a long wait for Horizon, but we already enjoy doing our research 🙂