MSC SEASIDE REVIEW April 14 sailing

MiamiSpartan · April 22, 2018

Just returned yesterday. A few notes: (if you are looking for yet another bash MSC review, you might wanna skip this one....[emoji41])

A little background on us: I am Tom and my hubby of 26 years is Rodney. I am from Chicago originally but have lived in Miami the past 26 years. Rod grew up in S America and has lived in Miami the past 40ish years. We are currently splitting time between Miami and Naples. We sailed with my sister and her husband from Andover MA, Rod’s niece from Naples and a close friend from Miami.

The cruise got off to a great start, as we had all booked inside cabins and when we went to check in we realized that we had all been upgraded to a balcony. Even though we didn’t spend a lot of time there, it was sure nice to have....(I’ll post pics at the end). We were in room 10152, which was a great location between two elevator banks.

Embarkation was super easy. We came in two separate cars since I had to go out to FLL to pick up my sister and her husband from the Boston flight… Rodney and his niece had driven back over from Naples to pick up our Miami friend. There were no long waits like there usually is when we board other larger ships.

I know this is been mentioned before, but make sure you do set up your room account when you get on the ship… They do not do this at the welcome desk. It is actually super easy if you just follow the instructions… There were people struggling to figure it out but we got it done in about two minutes.

One other note, because of the technology for their room keys, they do not punch holes in them for a lanyard if you are a person who likes to use a lanyard… We usually do when we sail. You either have to buy one of the ones on board that has the clear plastic sleeve that the keycard slides into, or you can buy one of the MSC FOR ME wristbands. They work just like the magic bands at Disney. We ended up going that route, and it was really convenient. As we did not leave until 7 PM, it gave us a lot of time to explore the ship… Which is gorgeous!

I’ll post more in a bit....

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champagne123 · April 22, 2018

Excited to read your review!!!!!

divajd37 · April 22, 2018

Great start to your review! My hubby and I will be sailing this Saturday. How much extra are the wristbands?. They seem to be more convenient.

MiamiSpartan · April 22, 2018

Great start to your review! My hubby and I will be sailing this Saturday. How much extra are the wristbands?. They seem to be more convenient.

$5.

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thegraminator · April 22, 2018

Great start to your review ! I'm following along !

shukapaw · April 22, 2018

Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more of your report

~Brian

MiamiSpartan · April 23, 2018

Steven Cloete the Cruise Director was amazing!! So funny!! I’ve only had one other CD engage the guests nearly as well.

One note I left off—I think this was my 36th sailing. Rodney has over 55...we don’t have more than 10 or 11 with any one line so our loyalty points stink.

MSC matches your loyalty points from your other line but do it at least a few weeks prior to your sailing.

People always complain about service on MSC but we had amazing service everywhere...!

Our room steward Dan Acosta was the best we’ve ever had. Our room was made up every time we left the room without us having to push the little button inside the door. (Didn’t even know about them until day 4...!) [emoji38]

Gerardo in Butcher’s Cut was great! We actually went back a second time...! He was really funny and had these crazy eyebrows....🤨🤨

Speaking of food, we ended up eating each night in a premium dining room and never ate in the MDR. We messed up when we booked. MSC has three dining times. We thought they had two so we requested early which actually means 5:15 which is just too early for us. The ship was close to full so they couldn’t switch 6 people. No worries. Butcher’s Cut is fantastic. Seafood was outstanding. Roy’s was great, both the Teppanyaki and other place.

Buffet was fine for lunch. Food was decent.

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Clarea · April 23, 2018

Heck of a nice upgrade to start the cruise! Looking forward to your reports.

OneParticularHarbour 71 · April 23, 2018

We were on this sailing as well and had a great time, looking forward to your review!

MiamiSpartan · April 23, 2018

Other notes on the ship: elevators can get crowded. Back glass elevators had a great view and not too many people seemed to take them.

Bridge of Sighs off the back of the ship has amazing views. Great photo ops! More glass bridges on level 8. Love the use of outdoor spaces on this ship. Love that the main buffet is on deck 8 which frees up the pool deck for other public places. Small buffet is on 16. Mainly geared to families. Burgers, hot dogs pizza, etc....

Theatre is great. You do have to book shows but contrary to things posted here, they do not charge you. [emoji849][emoji849]

It is just like RCI and NCL....

Lobby bar was always crowded. Great LED video screens above that change depending on the time of day. Very cool. We hung at the Seaview Lounge, which had live music. Smaller venue across from the sports bar which is the nicest sports bar I’ve seen on a ship....especially these cool private booths for 6-8 people to watch games .... neat set up. Nice bar outside premium dining on 16 that serves craft cocktails. Chocolate Bar is pretty great. Outstanding coffee from Segafredo! Gelato. And of course chocolate. My sister and her hubby hung there a LOT! Even the manager of my local Starbucks in Miami says it’s the best coffee she’s ever had LOL