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Hello from the Seaside in St. Thomas

slei15

By slei15,
in MSC Cruises

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slei15

slei15

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I will post a full detailed review when we get home, and I apologize after today no internet until we are back in Miami, but a few quick highlights at the halfway point...

 

Bars are horrendously slow. The new technology takes forever, they are understaffed, and don’t make drinks with any sense of urgency.

 

Food has been tasty and above expectations. Dining room service has been much better since the assistant maitre’d started helping with our table on night 3 (full details will come in the review).

DO NOT RELY ON THE APP OR INFOSCREENS. The times are wrong and a very large group of us were not allowed into the dining room the first night due to the incorrect time. More to come on that story as well.

 

We now have our own personal guest services rep who is AMAZING.

 

We fully expected minor quirks/issues with this being the inaugural. The issues we have had are not new ship issues, they are lack of caring/staff training items. The crew is 50% from Meraviglia, 50% Divina. You would expect them to know better.

 

Good news or bad news depending on the user, there are no double sofa beds on this ship. Every “double sofa bed” on the deck plan is actually a pull up bunk bed, turning into 2 twins.

 

Outside of suites, storage is a major issue. Inside-balcony have the same closet, with 2 drawers, 3 shelves (one of which has the safe) and a couple rods. Divina storage was much better and more usable.

 

Deluxe drink package is amazing. Includes everything but super-premium. Chocolate bar everything is included except the actual chocolates.

 

Ship is beautiful but does have some design oversights. More in the review.

 

Overall, things are improving as the cruise moves forward, but it was definitely a sour taste at the start.

 

Last note, the chocolate covered gelato ice cream bars (included in the deluxe package) are the most incredible things we have ever tasted.

 

 

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seapad

seapad

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Thanks for the great overview review. Looking forward to reading your detail thoughts. You mentioned about the limited storage space, and there are 2 rods in the closet....is that like a upper and lower rods (2 tiers)? That might help a bit where we can almost double the length of the closet...is that the right assumption?

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dn52

dn52

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Currently on board and agree with nearly all the above points:

- bar service incredibly slow

- storage in rooms much less than divina. No shelves beneath the television, no upper storage above the rail in the wardrobe. No drawers underneath the main counter.

- theatre smaller than divina and not as nice decor. Also when people enter late they actually walk in front of the spotlights disturbing the performance. This is due to much lower ceiling in there.

- my experience has been that the food has been poor, in some cases very poor. Main dining room for dinner, service is surly and slow, and we have been getting courses arriving at different times - once with 15 minute delay between my main course arriving and then the last main course to arrive. Quality of food very hit and miss. Mostly miss I’m afraid to say. Often really overlooked, and often just warm not hot. Portion size small. The saving grace has been the buffet is pretty good and the steak restaurant food quality good. Both steak and Asian restaurant have issues with speed of service. Issues are all present on the divina, but amplified on the seaside.

- the buffet feels less impressive than on the divina. I think because there are two, they are individually smaller than the one main one on divina so that was a bit of a disappointment at first. Despite there being two, it is often the case that one is closed whilst the other is open. However I have found it easier to get a seat, helped by the availability of seating outside of the buffet.

- The open areas of the ship are beautiful and availability of sun loungers has been very good

- dress code last night in st Thomas was white night and this evening whilst we are at sea is formal. They’re doing a great gatsby event in one of the lounges which will be good for those who made the effort to wear a tuxedo

 

 

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relaxatsea

relaxatsea

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On Boarding Day, was there a room to store your carry-on bags?

 

On our recent Divina cruise, there was a small office on the same deck where we boarded.

 

We gave them our roll-on bags, and they gave us a ticket. It was great to be able to eat lunch without carrying the bags with us.

 

Thanks so much for all of your great information!

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toxicfairy

toxicfairy

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could any one on board tell me what storage is like in a regular suite and a regular inside? There will be 2 adults in each cabin and we tend to dress for dinner and always dress up for formal so plenty of clothes. Should we bring some over the door type storage ( like the foldable sweater storage that can clip over a door)? Starting to get worried about space we are not a wear it twice in a cruise type family especially in the summer in the Caribbean.

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jcruiser8888

jcruiser8888

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Look forward to your review. Really curious to see how things run at the end. I guess as long as they are improving then they are making an effort which is whats important for success in the future.

We are also on the Oct 13 sailing and I am following all the reviews for the inside scoop on the new Seaside. We are loyal to RCL but this ship looks so interesting we're going give MSC a try.

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Lovetocruise2002

Lovetocruise2002

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We are also on the Oct 13 sailing and I am following all the reviews for the inside scoop on the new Seaside. We are loyal to RCL but this ship looks so interesting we're going give MSC a try.

 

We are in the same situation. Pretty loyal to Royal but MSC was too good of an offer to pass up. We booked the Yacht Club for this July. Will be comparing to Sky Class on Royal for sure.

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kathiean

kathiean

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We are in the same situation. Pretty loyal to Royal but MSC was too good of an offer to pass up. We booked the Yacht Club for this July. Will be comparing to Sky Class on Royal for sure.

 

Having done both Sky Class on RCCL (twice) and YC on Divina (13 times), I can guarantee you that there is NO comparison between the two. Yacht Club, hand's down, is by FAR the superior product!

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