Our Experience on MSC Seaside

Our experience on MSC Seaside

The cabin itself is ok , the bed about queen size , with the smallest shower /bathroom I’ve ever seen , but it’s adequate. The ship itself is simply beautiful ., (except for the 2 buffets) . All chrome , glass and shiny , with gorgeous tiled floors . Very futuristic in design , however , it’s dreadfully lacking in soft furnishings . With so much molded plastic seating , you don’t know if it’s a bench you’re sitting on , or a piece of art . Due to all of these hard surfaces , the acoustics are atrocious . Everywhere you turn , there’s music and it’s blazingly loud . The main dining room has soft chairs , but that’s where they really dropped the ball . They lowered the ceiling , so consequently it’s near impossible to have any across the table conversation , as there is nowhere for all of the voices to travel . It’s a very noisy dining room indeed . Because it’s a relatively new in the North American market , prices are highly discounted , so consequently many of the local families bring their entire families along and take several cabins . This leads to overtired kids screaming through the late dinner sitting at 8.30 pm , adding to the racket in the low ceilinged dining

Staff seem confused , overworked and have no answers when asked directions . One can’t help but feel sympathy for them as they are obviously trying their best to cope with a heavy workload and language barriers . I questioned our steward about how many cabins he had to clean . . It was 3 more than Princess and 4 more than Celebrity , but these people do not have assistant stewards helping . We can see the strain in their pitiful forced smiles , and it’s painful to witness .

Drinks are obviously pre mixed , with no discernible alcohol in cocktails . I ordered a mojito . Traditionally mint leaves should be muddled with a little cucumber , however what I got was a half cup cucumber and mint leaves and a cup of ice , with a half cup of premix poured over it . “It was a salad with ice , in a water glass “ !

No daily programmes in English until day three .

No booklet paper maps of ship , instead you use interactive signboard near elevators

Blaring loud music , with thumping base in all public venues

Boarding was fast and pleasant .

Food served in deck 16 family buffet was cold and bland . A week later , we’ve realized that’s normal in all restaurants onboard . They are pitifully understaffed and waiters are overworked and run off their feet . Dinner time is so stressful for them , that you almost feel guilty to ask for a water refill or cream for coffee .

On day 4 of our 14 day cruise , they ran out of merlot .

That same evening the poor waiters had to announce to passengers that the soup was “off the menu” as they’d ran out of red beans for the Italian soup . I ordered ‘ surf n turf ‘ prepared to pay $25 . for this favourite of mine , only to be told by the maître de’ that they were out of the Bernaise sauce for the steak . I asked him why they didn’t whip up another batch , it was only 8.30 pm ? He responded that “ it’s a long process , etc . and I should order it the following evening instead “ .

Food served at Marketplace Buffet was tasteless and drab .

Placement of various types of foods was in old lunch counter buffet style , one long counter , but built around an interior kitchen , instead of today’s modern buffet stations . As we know , this type of buffet set up has never worked , and can actually erupt into chaos , when 5, 000 hungry passengers descend upon it , reducing the situation to an ear splitting noisy feeding frenzy of people bumping into each other in chaos .

Two of the elevators were always broken down .

.Several public washrooms overflowed and were left unattended for two days . The stench emanating from them wafted along hallways of three decks where they were located . Public decks 6 , 7 , 8 .

Today’s buffet lunch ,

Hot offerings : hotdogs , hamburgers. , macaroni , tacos , pizza

Cold offerings : brown lettuce , tomatoes , cold cuts , pre-made egg sandwiches , celery , cucumber , and enormous 2L. jugs with sticky handles full of salad dressing .

I personally have eaten a lot of bread and rolls this week , as food at dinner is simply inedible . Tonight’s starter consisted of some sort of thick stew wrapped in rice and rolled in breadcrumbs , then deep fried . It was disguised on the menu , written in French , but absolutely disgusting . A lot of stews and some revolting combinations , covered in semi warm cheese whiz . . They couldn’t possibly have an actual chef in kitchen , but perhaps instead a kitchen staff attempting to fake it , but it’s a disastrous fail . Essentially tasteless , bland , dishes served lukewarm on cold plates . No real butter onboard , only margarine . No real cream onboard , only dairy product .

The entire setup of restaurants and bars onboard feels very amateurish, and appear to be run by marginally skilled staff .

The truly hard working staff are the waiters and cabin stewards , and as stated earlier , we’re truly sad for them , as they’re carrying the burden of this beast . They don’t seem to have had much training and consequently it shows in the service , but they are so desperate to please that it’s sad . I’ve spoken ‘one on one’ with some of them and they say , “one complaint against them and they are fired “ . That’s a horrible threat to hold over someone . Obviously , they’ve hired these young people , given them a brief training session and have cheap labour at minimum wage .

I’ve also spoken with several of our fellow passengers , and the complaints are adding up . Most cabins on the rear half of the ship are assaulted daily with the pounding base of the music , throbbing at a volume that’s right off the chart , the screams , whistles , yelling of the DJ , the non stop pool games and contests . Sound comes right through the locked balcony door . None of the passengers to whom we have spoken intends to return to this cruise line . As for us , if we could have left this ship by day 2 , we would have , but as it happens we have arrangements made and previous commitments to honour , so we’ll see it through , but it’s deplorable and needless to say , we’ll never set foot on any MSC ship again . . . We’re sticking with our top three favourites . . .Cunard , Celebrity and Princess . . .

Below pics are Marketplace Buffet and Deck 16 Buffet and some of the dishes on offer . Scary stuff . Note the baby octopus . 🤢🤢

Wow, so glad I was able to have a totally different experience on the Seaside. All the staff we encountered were wonderful, and all but one cocktail waitress happy with their jobs and MSC. We even met staff we knew from NCL (23cruises) and they are much happier at MSC. Elevators are slow, but most just laughed thru our slow trips. Almost all our food was very good (husband is a chef), shows fantastic. Really nothing to complain about.

Safe sailing

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Our experience on MSC Seaside

The cabin itself is ok , the bed about queen size , with the smallest shower /bathroom I’ve ever seen , but it’s adequate. The ship itself is simply beautiful ., (except for the 2 buffets) . All chrome , glass and shiny , with gorgeous tiled floors . Very futuristic in design , however , it’s dreadfully lacking in soft furnishings . With so much molded plastic seating , you don’t know if it’s a bench you’re sitting on , or a piece of art . Due to all of these hard surfaces , the acoustics are atrocious . Everywhere you turn , there’s music and it’s blazingly loud . The main dining room has soft chairs , but that’s where they really dropped the ball . They lowered the ceiling , so consequently it’s near impossible to have any across the table conversation , as there is nowhere for all of the voices to travel . It’s a very noisy dining room indeed . Because it’s a relatively new in the North American market , prices are highly discounted , so consequently many of the local families bring their entire families along and take several cabins . This leads to overtired kids screaming through the late dinner sitting at 8.30 pm , adding to the racket in the low ceilinged dining

Staff seem confused , overworked and have no answers when asked directions . One can’t help but feel sympathy for them as they are obviously trying their best to cope with a heavy workload and language barriers . I questioned our steward about how many cabins he had to clean . . It was 3 more than Princess and 4 more than Celebrity , but these people do not have assistant stewards helping . We can see the strain in their pitiful forced smiles , and it’s painful to witness .

Drinks are obviously pre mixed , with no discernible alcohol in cocktails . I ordered a mojito . Traditionally mint leaves should be muddled with a little cucumber , however what I got was a half cup cucumber and mint leaves and a cup of ice , with a half cup of premix poured over it . “It was a salad with ice , in a water glass “ !

No daily programmes in English until day three .

No booklet paper maps of ship , instead you use interactive signboard near elevators

Blaring loud music , with thumping base in all public venues

Boarding was fast and pleasant .

Food served in deck 16 family buffet was cold and bland . A week later , we’ve realized that’s normal in all restaurants onboard . They are pitifully understaffed and waiters are overworked and run off their feet . Dinner time is so stressful for them , that you almost feel guilty to ask for a water refill or cream for coffee .

On day 4 of our 14 day cruise , they ran out of merlot .

That same evening the poor waiters had to announce to passengers that the soup was “off the menu” as they’d ran out of red beans for the Italian soup . I ordered ‘ surf n turf ‘ prepared to pay $25 . for this favourite of mine , only to be told by the maître de’ that they were out of the Bernaise sauce for the steak . I asked him why they didn’t whip up another batch , it was only 8.30 pm ? He responded that “ it’s a long process , etc . and I should order it the following evening instead “ .

Food served at Marketplace Buffet was tasteless and drab .

Placement of various types of foods was in old lunch counter buffet style , one long counter , but built around an interior kitchen , instead of today’s modern buffet stations . As we know , this type of buffet set up has never worked , and can actually erupt into chaos , when 5, 000 hungry passengers descend upon it , reducing the situation to an ear splitting noisy feeding frenzy of people bumping into each other in chaos .

Two of the elevators were always broken down .

.Several public washrooms overflowed and were left unattended for two days . The stench emanating from them wafted along hallways of three decks where they were located . Public decks 6 , 7 , 8 .

Today’s buffet lunch ,

Hot offerings : hotdogs , hamburgers. , macaroni , tacos , pizza

Cold offerings : brown lettuce , tomatoes , cold cuts , pre-made egg sandwiches , celery , cucumber , and enormous 2L. jugs with sticky handles full of salad dressing .

I personally have eaten a lot of bread and rolls this week , as food at dinner is simply inedible . Tonight’s starter consisted of some sort of thick stew wrapped in rice and rolled in breadcrumbs , then deep fried . It was disguised on the menu , written in French , but absolutely disgusting . A lot of stews and some revolting combinations , covered in semi warm cheese whiz . . They couldn’t possibly have an actual chef in kitchen , but perhaps instead a kitchen staff attempting to fake it , but it’s a disastrous fail . Essentially tasteless , bland , dishes served lukewarm on cold plates . No real butter onboard , only margarine . No real cream onboard , only dairy product .

The entire setup of restaurants and bars onboard feels very amateurish, and appear to be run by marginally skilled staff .

The truly hard working staff are the waiters and cabin stewards , and as stated earlier , we’re truly sad for them , as they’re carrying the burden of this beast . They don’t seem to have had much training and consequently it shows in the service , but they are so desperate to please that it’s sad . I’ve spoken ‘one on one’ with some of them and they say , “one complaint against them and they are fired “ . That’s a horrible threat to hold over someone . Obviously , they’ve hired these young people , given them a brief training session and have cheap labour at minimum wage .

I’ve also spoken with several of our fellow passengers , and the complaints are adding up . Most cabins on the rear half of the ship are assaulted daily with the pounding base of the music , throbbing at a volume that’s right off the chart , the screams , whistles , yelling of the DJ , the non stop pool games and contests . Sound comes right through the locked balcony door . None of the passengers to whom we have spoken intends to return to this cruise line . As for us , if we could have left this ship by day 2 , we would have , but as it happens we have arrangements made and previous commitments to honour , so we’ll see it through , but it’s deplorable and needless to say , we’ll never set foot on any MSC ship again . . . We’re sticking with our top three favourites . . .Cunard , Celebrity and Princess . . .

Below pics are Marketplace Buffet and Deck 16 Buffet and some of the dishes on offer . Scary stuff . Note the baby octopus . 🤢🤢

As this is about the food I just thought I would help on the stew/rice ball starter, since you would want to get that right in your blog. It is called an Arancini. It is a typical and popupar Sicilian dish. There were other starters so I am curious if you didn't like it why you didn't try something else? In my experience last week our waiters were very happy with their jobs, supremely accommodating and wonderful in every way. I also realize this is subjective because I spoke to others the same week who did not have great table service.

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Wow, so glad I was able to have a totally different experience on the Seaside. All the staff we encountered were wonderful, and all but one cocktail waitress happy with their jobs and MSC. We even met staff we knew from NCL (23cruises) and they are much happier at MSC. Elevators are slow, but most just laughed thru our slow trips. Almost all our food was very good (husband is a chef), shows fantastic. Really nothing to complain about.

Safe sailing

 

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Right on. My waiter very openly said he thought the pay was good with MSC and he works usually 13 hours a day, not 16.

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Would like to see the pictures you mentioned showing below.

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[ATTACH]416881[/ATTACH][ATTACH]416882[/ATTACH][ATTACH]1[/ATTACH][ATTACH]416883[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

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Chelsea, you mentioned several other specific photos- can you please post?

That lettuce does look skanky:(

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I don't know about this one.

I started being sympathetic and believing the OPs experiences, but then it just got to be too much. Everyone loves their pizza.<3

Although I did read a recent post (or review) about the lack of air conditioning in the elevators.

Chelsea, you mentioned several other specific photos- can you please post?

 

That lettuce does look skanky:(

 

 

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Unaccustomed ax I am to having my credibility challenged , you do indeed have a right to see the insects in question . These particular ones were at buffet on deck sixteen and at adjoining outdoor terrace . When we mentioned it to bar manager , he sort of blew us off , and pretty well chose to ignore it .

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In five dozen cruises over twenty years , this is only my second negative review .

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Do you have a photo of the "roach"? Of course there are flies - the world is full of them! They tend to get in when doors are opened while in port. :rolleyes:

Are you saying that the type of bugs crawling around the furniture and across the deck we're not sufficient to warrant noting ? These were crawling and most certainly not flies .

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Sometimes , no matter how fastidious one is with documentation , it simply isn't enough for some people .

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I don't know about this one.

 

I started being sympathetic and believing the OPs experiences, but then it just got to be too much. Everyone loves their pizza.<3

 

Although I did read a recent post (or review) about the lack of air conditioning in the elevators.

Yes the elevators are uncomfortable and hot. Chelsea I did love your description. Made me laugh and felt like I was there, again, but really who would want to be in an elevstor like that! Lol. Was just on Seaside last week and found it to be amazing. I can deal with a few minutes of crowded elevator. We tried to use the aft panoramic whenever possible, less busy and our cabin was aft.

Yes the elevators are uncomfortable and hot. Chelsea I did love your description. Made me laugh and felt like I was there, again, but really who would want to be in an elevstor like that! Lol. Was just on Seaside last week and found it to be amazing. I can deal with a few minutes of crowded elevator. We tried to use the aft panoramic whenever possible, less busy and our cabin was aft.

I usually attempt to subtly inject a little comic relief into my review wherever possible . Glad you spotted it .

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Particularly necessary to soften the edges of such a negative review as this .

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I was under the impression that they were roaches until someone here identified it and something else .

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I obviously do not have your expertise on insects , however the particular type of infestation was not so much at issue as the fact that deck sixteen was infested with bugs . To my mind , that is enough to warrant some sort of assurance from a staff member that a thorough spraying would be done in the area ASAP .

Also, in regards to the elevators try and use ones that you know will be less busy! If everyone is coming to our leaving the theater, don't use the forward bank... walk to the mid for example. I don't think we were ever on an elevator for more than 30-45 seconds the entire week.

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If a deck , particularly a buffet deck is infested by bugs , I shouldn't think the type of bugs would make much difference ad to whether or not people choose to eat there .Bugs on food is just wrong , regardless of type of bug . Do not become bogged down in the semantics .

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I wrote my review as I experienced it . I've spent considerable time here defending it . Suffice to say my experience on the MSC Seaside was not what many of you wanted to hear , and not the same as anyone else's . It was horrendous and if I hadn't had an obligation to write a review I'd have left before the 14 days ended . Apart from that , you may read it , discuss it , do what you will . It is my experience and it stands .

I thank you for taking the time to read it , and for voicing you opinions .

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Thank you for your review. You obviously had a very poor experience and that comes across in the review. At least you can now cross off MSC for future cruises. I’m sure an expensive lesson.

We just go off the Seaside had the complete opposite experience. We are a family of 5 who travelled with a family of 4. We never had an issue in the dining room when it came to conversation. Yes it was loud but we were able to hear each other and did not need to yell. We never saw bugs anywhere. Never saw lettuce like in your pics.

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Our experience on MSC Seaside

You haven't said when you sailed. It would be interesting to be able to compare and contrast your experience with that of others on your sailing. We might also get the opportunity to ask those who were onboard at the same time as yourself -- and who post here - if they were aware that there was an infestation onboard. Surely word would have gotten around, seeing as you spoke to several of the passengers? I don't remember seeing any mention of this on the many reviews that have been posted here. Again, it's hard to know 'til you indicate when you were onboard so I can check out the reviews from that particular week.

Thank you for your report.

Keith