Aboard the Seaside LIVE! Not Good!

I feel your frustration Sailfish. The best you can do is to stay positive and roll with the punches . I walked into the mirrors on the Divina 3 times ! Ya just gotta laugh it off !

Try to enjoy the rest of your cruise , and please continue to post your experiences . I appreciate your honest opinion !

Sounds like a typical maiden voyage to me. It is not unusual to have the yard workers onboard working hard to fix all the problems and put on the finishing touches. It will probably take another month to straighten out most of these issues. Maiden voyages are usually more of a shakedown cruise.

Thanks for your review.

If people didn’t speak up about the bad stuff, then it would never get addressed. So thanks for your honesty.

Thanks for the report.

We are making most of the good weather and trying hard to not let the issues get to us. We have been on many transatlantic voyages out of drydock, where there are issues. So some things not so shocking. But no excuse for lack of cleanliness. Just saying.

 

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Agree, not acceptable, don't care what logo is on the funnel. If they take your money for a vacation the excuses don't wash. This is why I never ever will sail a maiden voyage, I do not need to pay to be a guinea pig on a shakedown cruise, although I really would expect the company to have their best foot forward and that doesn't seem to be the case either.

Sorry to hear about the negative aspects of your cruise. Hopefully there are some positives to counterbalance your experience.

On the subject of lack of crew and the stewards having 20 cabins to attend to - AFAIK, this is the policy on other MSC ships. Certainly, I've been told that before by stewards. So, whatever problems there are with the cabin service, it's doubtful that'll improve much unless MSC is planning to change this. From experience, the stewards have little time to get to know the cabin occupants, let alone make towel animals anymore with the extra workload that they now have.

Your info. is excellent. How is the entertainment in the various lounges? Sports Bar operating? What is the per person package price for the three dinner specialty dinner package? Do they have a per cabin package price for the F-1 Simulator, bowling, and the movies?

We appreciate your great coverage of the ship.

Really appreciate the feedback on Seaside. Thanks!

Some background on me, so you get a better idea of my comments. Should have included this before. We reside in Thailand part of the year, so we always take transpacific cruises to Asia or the South Pacific when we can. Then when we are ready to return to Florida, we take the latest transatlantic back. We fly on a short flight to Thailand once we get to Asia, and fly to Europe to catch a Transatlantic. We often do this route in reverse in the Spring. I am not particularly loyal to MSC or any other line. But rather cruise out if necessity. We are Elite on Celebrity, Diamond Plus in Royal, and we have equivalent status with Carnival, Princess and even MSC.

We find these repositioning cruises to be less expensive than flying to Asia. It is easier on my body and if we get lucky, it proves to be a nice vacation!

We are used to seeing all kinds of issues after a ship goes through drydock. We never let problems affect our trip. We bring stuff to keep us entertained... books, a guitar, watercolors, computer, etc. Some lines provide a good variety of activities, some don't.

This is not our first MSC cruise. We are very familiar with their service philosophy, the entertainment, activities on these longer voyages (or lack thereof).

Despite everything, we are having a great time. We have been in Asia for 84 days! So, this voyage is a nice change.

My intention was to post some observations. I always appreciate knowing the good, the bad and the ugly. Helps me to prepare.

So take what I say with a grain of salt. Always smart to do some research and to get first hand info.

Will try to answer questions. Just remember, I am not your typical cruiser. BTW, I am in my 50's now, still enjoying scuba diving and retirement most of all!

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Finally, I would not hesitate to go with MSC again...even the Seaside, if the dates and cost met our requirements. Oh, and forgot to mention, we have an inside cabin. Last year, on Divina, we booked a balcony. We go in any stateroom type that presents us with the best deal. Not at all picky.

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Hope it gets better for you.

Finally, I would not hesitate to go with MSC again...even the Seaside, if the dates and cost met our requirements. Oh, and forgot to mention, we have an inside cabin. Last year, on Divina, we booked a balcony. We go in any stateroom type that presents us with the best deal. Not at all picky.

 

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You have an awesome outlook and sounds like a great view on life! I look forward to more of your feedback, both good and bad. I am much more forgiving on a maiden or inaugural sailing. If the issues persist a month or two down the road is when the red flags really go up.

Enjoy what remains of your trek to the new world!

We are having a nice time. Someone asked about entertainment. All the production shows have been Opera. Same singers with occasional dancer back up. We have been in the ship since Dec 6th, as we boarded in Barcelona. We reserve the shows via the interactive screens in the hall, head out there after dinner just about every evening, and 5 minutes later, we leave. I actually like Opera, but not every night. This will I am sure change once the ship starts it's run from Miami.

There is one guy in the sports bar that we absolutely love. An acoustic guitar player, who is amazing. He plays a lot of variety, but if you are a fan of "unplugged" versions of rock, you will want to see him play nightly. Standard Beatles, but also Tom Petty, U2, Tracy Chapman, classics, even Sinatra!

Other venues I can't comment on, as we usually resort to the free movies on pay per view. With no TV programming, they have a free section. But normally, it is $8 per movie; I know because they are still making billing mistakes!

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Had my hair cut and highlighted in the salon the other day. The gal doing my hair did an awesome job. Spent an hour in the Thermal Spa area yesterday. The thermal bath was cold! Employees remarked that 84 degree temps is normal. I don't think so! All the other stuff is nothing. It's a great place to relax, but the steamrooms are like every steamroom I have ever been to. Kind of a let down. The cold room was cool, not freezing. Employees are nice. Tiny dressing room, very cramped. Dirty towels every where. Hopefully they get their act together.

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Had my hair cut and highlighted in the salon the other day. The gal doing my hair did an awesome job. Spent an hour in the Thermal Spa area yesterday. The thermal bath was cold! Employees remarked that 84 degree temps is normal. I don't think so! All the other stuff is nothing. It's a great place to relax, but the steamrooms are like every steamroom I have ever been to. Kind of a let down. The cold room was cool, not freezing. Employees are nice. Tiny dressing room, very cramped. Dirty towels every where. Hopefully they get their act together.

 

 

 

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Are the steam / sauna co-ed

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Thanks for the information and looking forward to any more information you post.

I will be on a Spring break cruise in March with my wife and two kids. We did Davina for spring break last year and enjoyed it. We will be on deck 15 in a fantastica balcony cabin.

Have you seen anything about the all in one package for the entertainment items, ie. bowling 5D Theater F-1 racer.

Also, do you know what drinks are included with the mealtime drink package?I saw some drafts at the buffet in one video.

Thanks

We have the mealtime package. Draft beer, house wine, soda pop and bottled water are included. No hard liquor or beer in bottles. The entertainment package I heard was expensive, but don't know the exact cost. Someone in the dining room mentioned$80 for this transatlantic sailing. But so much misinformation going around about every thing. Lots of complaining, so some info is for sure false or speculation.

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The steamroom and sauna are co-ed. Only changing areas are segregated.

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Thank you for posting, Sailfish. I hadn't thought about walking into mirrors. Oh. my. Told my spouse and he just rolled his eyes. He knows I'll be the first one to follow suit and maybe we should just cancel the drink plan.

Ha. Ha. No. We might need the drinks to help us weather the storm sounds like.

Sorry to hear of the negative aspects. Hopefully they're just struggling a bit to get it together but will all learn to pull together quickly with the cleanliness issues.

It does sound all very typical of maiden inaugural voyages, and cruises where the ship has just left a major dry dock. Things are not completed, crew still learning and bit overwhelmed, and sometimes a construction zone exists. It shouldn't be this way but the reality is that it is, as cruise lines rush to get the ship in revenue service and shipyards make unrealistic construction timelines to garner the business. SEASIDE even a bit more so, because she is a prototype ship so there is no benchmark. The design is all new to the crew as no sister ships exist. Also it was MSC's first build at Fincantieri in Italy, so I'm sure that also posed some unique challenges. Add lots of new technology and that complicates things as well. Funny I don't think our carpet was ever vacuumed on QUANTUM either. It did bother me a bit, but the cabin stewards seemed pretty overwhelmed so I didn't push the issue.

 

I've done inaugural maidens on Carnival, NCL, Royal Caribbean, and Princess. All had their share of problems, with NCL and the inaugural QUANTUM OF THE SEAS crossing probably being the worst. The NORWEGIAN EPIC was a complete disaster in the beginning. In fact she acquired the nickname EPTANIC. It actually took a couple months for her to start running smoothly. On QUANTUM there were tons of technology challenges, from a/c in the cabins to a new order system for the waiters, and an entirely new dining concept (which has since been abandoned). Still I managed to enjoy them all, and sometimes the glitches were part of the fun. It was also interesting to watch it all come together a bit more with each passing day.

 

Anyway hope you're making the most of it. Being the first is exciting on a ship, but it does come with some sacrifices. If you want things to be perfect, avoid inaugurals and any first cruises out of a dry dock. There are bound to be issues, on any cruise line.

Hey eroller! I was on the Quantum's TA from Southampton and it was my first cruise ever and the first cruise as a couple for hubby and I. Somehow we muddled through and had a good time and here we are trying out MSC. Guess we learned a bit, though, as we've booked for February instead of the transatlantic this time. :cool:

How has the internet been on board coming across? Any speedtest.net ping times or speed reports?

How has the internet been on board coming across? Any speedtest.net ping times or speed reports?

On the Seaside Facebook group a great guy named Joey has been streaming some live reports from the ship, as well as lots of uploaded videos so I’m guessing it’s pretty decent.

issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey eroller! I was on the Quantum's TA from Southampton and it was my first cruise ever and the first cruise as a couple for hubby and I. Somehow we muddled through and had a good time and here we are trying out MSC. Guess we learned a bit, though, as we've booked for February instead of the transatlantic this time. :cool:

Lots and lots of issues on that crossing, I’m guessing far more than Seaside is experiencing, but a great ship and a great time. My biggest issue on that crossing was the a/c. Couldn’t get it below 77 degrees in the cabin. The thermostat was locked. Took about half way through the cruise to get that fixed.

Lots and lots of issues on that crossing, I’m guessing far more than Seaside is experiencing, but a great ship and a great time. My biggest issue on that crossing was the a/c. Couldn’t get it below 77 degrees in the cabin. The thermostat was locked. Took about half way through the cruise to get that fixed.

Yeah we had an oceanview and the temperature didn't get below 80 degrees for the first two days. We went by guest services twice and the only reason it finally got fixed I very sweetly asked a passing ship's maintenance guy could he look at it. He radio'd in after he fixed it and was told there was no outstanding ticket to fix it! :o

Ah well fixed is fixed. Other than that our room was immaculate the entire cruise so really not the worst thing ever. Those poor maintenance and repair people, though. I bet they still have nightmares about that TA. :eek: ;p :D

Really looking forward to Seaside and thankful for this thread. Great to hear what the possible challenges are ahead of time and also about some of the possible enjoyment.

Compared to most Atlantic crossings, the internet hasn't been bad as most. Not fast, but okay. If you pay for the more expensive package your speed might be faster. I just have the SURFER package, so I have no complaints.

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Sailfish, thank you for your honest review. I don't think anyone expects everything to run smoothly on a maiden voyage and a swarm of fitters / maintenance folk is to be expected.

However, it is not acceptable for public toilets to be dirty and cabins not cleaned. I could compromise on most things but not cleanliness and hygiene - there is no excuse, even on a maiden voyage.