Onboard Seaside: Ship B+ to A- everything else C- to C+

[BermudaBound2014]

We haven't been on NCL in a while but I remember the officers giving out their cards with their phone extensions on them and them saying to call them if there were any problems and then they said "and we mean it." They said they wanted to take care of the problems on board and to not read about it on Cruise Critic ....lol.

 

 

 

I've been reading Cam's posts for years and I wonder if he cruises MSC enough that he is well known on board and for that reason his cruise experience may be different/better than others'.

 

 

Hi Mafig :). We did a 10 night on the jade in august and the officers still gave out cards. Cams posts are factually incorrect on many levels :(. Are you booked on seaside? I keep debating.

 

 

 

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[mafig]

Hi Mafig :). We did a 10 night on the jade in august and the officers still gave out cards. Cams posts are factually incorrect on many levels :(. Are you booked on seaside? I keep debating.

 

 

 

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I am. Booked July 7 in the YC. After I kept seeing YC as being Sold Out in April and May I decided to try July, even though I'm not thrilled about the possibility of a lot of kids (even in the YC).

 

June will bring up to beautiful New Jersey for a hs graduation (Asbury, .... not Asbury Park).

[The Admiral]

As this sailing on the Seaside comes to a close I will say I still want MSC to succeed not only with the seaside but with many other ships in the US.

 

So I will suggest these three changes in good faith they can make on the Seaside in the next three weeks that will get them 70% of the way there in making a huge improvement to the cruise experience on board the Seaside:

 

1) Have a more varied selection of food in the Biscayne Bay Dinner and lunch Buffet beyond the basic burgers, hot dogs and fries.

 

Suggestions: always have a skinless grilled chicken breast and plain baked potato or steamed vegetables (baked or broiled not made with any oils, butters or sauces) - you have a lot of elderly, child and other passengers that can’t eat fats in foods for health reasons and on this sailing the standard dinner menus and Buffets left them out in the cold.

 

Maybe add a made to order pasta or oriental and panini station like your competitors do to dinner buffet so passengers can get to choose ingredients that confirm to their palates and health/dietary needs without needing to go through the hassle of ordering special food from kitchen which winds up being the same choice every day.

 

Your competitors do this and you do have an Omelette station for breakfast so I know you can do it! And if anyone can blow everyone out of the water with a made to order pasta station I know it’s MSC ;-) viva Italia!

 

Please think of all your passengers and keep in mind those with need for no fat or sugar / low sodium free diets and incorporate just a choice or two each day in your restaurant and buffet lunch and dinner selections. (Shows you think of everyone)

 

And have a true alternative dinner buffet every night (even on “elegant nights”)...take it from a pizza lover, there’s only such much pizza and burgers one can take lol

 

2) Have the alternative menu available all 7 days and ensure your wait staff know it’s availabke all 7 days - enough said not everyone likes nor can eat heavily sauced, Oiled or buttered dishes for 7 days straight.

 

And maybe offer Steak in the dinner buffet frequently that way you have a good standard choice there. If passengers know theres steak and a good selection in the buffet they may by-pass the main dinning room and reduce your crowding for free style dinners in your main dining rooms, which to my observation this week was overwhelming dinning room staff having to find seating for passengers that were just showing up for dinner.

 

And I know you can do it because you had steaks as a choice on the first day lunch buffet.

 

3) have an actual kids menu (maybe with crayons like other lines do) with fresh food choices -not the same frozen and hard chicken nuggets and food -offered in the Biscayne bay buffet.

 

For kids it doesn’t have to be complicated a basic fresh pasta with butter, tomato or Alfredo sauce (child can choose how they want it), fresh Mac n cheese, plain skinless grilled chicken breast (for children on strict diets due to health reasons) and one other dish of your choosing.

 

...And most importantly if you choose to take this advice in the good spirits in which it’s being offered, when implemented train staff to ensure they are always consistently Carrying this out across the whole Ship and cruise to cruise!

 

MSC you’ve gotten a lot of feedback on this board and in surveys...it’s now within your power to make the necessary adjustments to succeed.

 

I hope my fellow cruisers will agree these suggestions are not unreasonable. Ciao :-)

[GOLDENBONNY]

As this sailing on the Seaside comes to a close I will say I still want MSC to succeed not only with the seaside but with many other ships in the US.

 

So I will suggest these three changes in good faith they can make on the Seaside in the next three weeks that will get them 70% of the way there in making a huge improvement to the cruise experience on board the Seaside:

 

1) Have a more varied selection of food in the Biscayne Bay Dinner and lunch Buffet beyond the basic burgers, hot dogs and fries.

 

Suggestions: always have a skinless grilled chicken breast and plain baked potato or steamed vegetables (baked or broiled not made with any oils, butters or sauces) - you have a lot of elderly, child and other passengers that can’t eat fats in foods for health reasons and on this sailing the standard dinner menus and Buffets left them out in the cold.

 

Maybe add a made to order pasta or oriental and panini station like your competitors do to dinner buffet so passengers can get to choose ingredients that confirm to their palates and health/dietary needs without needing to go through the hassle of ordering special food from kitchen which winds up being the same choice every day.

 

Your competitors do this and you do have an Omelette station for breakfast so I know you can do it! And if anyone can blow everyone out of the water with a made to order pasta station I know it’s MSC ;-) viva Italia!

 

Please think of all your passengers and keep in mind those with need for no fat or sugar / low sodium free diets and incorporate just a choice or two each day in your restaurant and buffet lunch and dinner selections. (Shows you think of everyone)

 

And have a true alternative dinner buffet every night (even on “elegant nights”)...take it from a pizza lover, there’s only such much pizza and burgers one can take lol

 

2) Have the alternative menu available all 7 days and ensure your wait staff know it’s availabke all 7 days - enough said not everyone likes nor can eat heavily sauced, Oiled or buttered dishes for 7 days straight.

 

And maybe offer Steak in the dinner buffet frequently that way you have a good standard choice there. If passengers know theres steak and a good selection in the buffet they may by-pass the main dinning room and reduce your crowding for free style dinners in your main dining rooms, which to my observation this week was overwhelming dinning room staff having to find seating for passengers that were just showing up for dinner.

 

And I know you can do it because you had steaks as a choice on the first day lunch buffet.

 

3) have an actual kids menu (maybe with crayons like other lines do) with fresh food choices -not the same frozen and hard chicken nuggets and food -offered in the Biscayne bay buffet.

 

For kids it doesn’t have to be complicated a basic fresh pasta with butter, tomato or Alfredo sauce (child can choose how they want it), fresh Mac n cheese, plain skinless grilled chicken breast (for children on strict diets due to health reasons) and one other dish of your choosing.

 

...And most importantly if you choose to take this advice in the good spirits in which it’s being offered, when implemented train staff to ensure they are always consistently Carrying this out across the whole Ship and cruise to cruise!

 

MSC you’ve gotten a lot of feedback on this board and in surveys...it’s now within your power to make the necessary adjustments to succeed.

 

I hope my fellow cruisers will agree these suggestions are not unreasonable. Ciao :-)

 

We can agree on one thing- necessary adjustment in personal opinion, I don't need any of the ones you put, and no matter what MSC will do, some one will come with some other different "necessary" adjustment.

[perakcruiser]

Maybe add a made to order pasta or oriental and panini station like your competitors do to dinner buffet so passengers can get to choose ingredients that confirm to their palates and health/dietary needs without needing to go through the hassle of ordering special food from kitchen which winds up being the same choice every day.

 

Your competitors do this and you do have an Omelette station for breakfast so I know you can do it! And if anyone can blow everyone out of the water with a made to order pasta station I know it’s MSC ;-) viva Italia!

 

Yes, a pasta station would be a nice thing. I like this a lot at their competitiors, but as MSC at the buffet always have three different pasta dishes to choose from and changes this every day, I also don´t really miss it.

 

I case of steak, certainly I couldn´t agree more. And find this reasonable also. But they offer already much more than some years before. Let´s be fair and acknowledge this beef improvement. I can imagine a person at his desk in the MSC office looks up, lifts his arms and shouts in Italian "They never can get enough, NEVER!!!" :')

[Hobby3333]

I am. Booked July 7 in the YC. After I kept seeing YC as being Sold Out in April and May I decided to try July, even though I'm not thrilled about the possibility of a lot of kids (even in the YC).

 

June will bring up to beautiful New Jersey for a hs graduation (Asbury, .... not Asbury Park).

Will be on the same cruise. First time with MSC and looking forward to YC.

[eroller]

Major design flaw.... The Seaside is same size (length) as the Carnival Vista and holds 1100 more passengers!! Gross tonnage is 155,000 vs Vistas 133,000... !

 

 

Not correct. You're comparing the double occupancy CARNIVAL VISTA with the total occupancy of MSC SEASIDE. That is not an apples to apples comparison.

 

In actuality, CARNIVAL VISTA carries 3936 pax double occupancy and MSC SEASIDE carries 4134 pax double occupancy, but of course MSC SEASIDE is the larger ship by gross tonnage giving her the higher space ratio.

 

Having sailed on CARNIVAL BREEZE (sister to VISTA), I found the ship extremely crowded especially the tiny pool areas, with not enough pools and bottlenecks throughout. A very high density ship. I'll be sailing on SEASIDE in a few weeks so I'll be comparing the speciousness.

 

I'm not taking these early reports as typical because one the ship is still very new and going through teething pains, and two because so far the only cruises have been holiday cruises, which tend to have the ship at max capacity, are loaded with kids, taxes the crew to the limit. This is true on any line. I avoid holiday cruises on any cruise line like the plague. I'll be more interested in reviews once the ship has settled in a bit and it's not a holiday cruise.

 

Regarding the buffet being used as a dining room assignment, no I don't agree with it one bit, and MSC has done this for years. It's done on DIVINA on cruises filled to capacity (holiday cruises). On regular cruises it's not an issue. I will say if MSC does this, they should be VERY clear about it in brochures and websites, that if you book this certain cabin category you may be assigned the buffet. That is only fair.

[MisterBill99]

Regarding the buffet being used as a dining room assignment, no I don't agree with it one bit, and MSC has done this for years. It's done on DIVINA on cruises filled to capacity (holiday cruises). On regular cruises it's not an issue. I will say if MSC does this, they should be VERY clear about it in brochures and websites, that if you book this certain cabin category you may be assigned the buffet. That is only fair.

They may warn customers that their dinner seating may be at the buffet but they don't warn other customers that their 20 hour extensive buffet will be limited for almost half that time. Closing half of the buffet for MDR seating as someone else described seems like a reasonable choice so long as the buffet choices aren't restricted for those who choose that. Let's see what the reports are from tomorrow's sailing.

 

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[riclop]

There has to be more in the evening buffet other then hot dogs hamburgers and rolls, on the Divina they always had pasta some type of chicken and carved meat so it's just hard to believe that all that has been eliminated.

[eroller]

They may warn customers that their dinner seating may be at the buffet but they don't warn other customers that their 20 hour extensive buffet will be limited for almost half that time. Closing half of the buffet for MDR seating as someone else described seems like a reasonable choice so long as the buffet choices aren't restricted for those who choose that. Let's see what the reports are from tomorrow's sailing.

 

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In the case of SEASIDE, there are two buffets so the issue of the buffet being limited to other passengers should be a non-issue.

 

Anyway it's my understanding that this really only happens when the ship is at 100% occupancy, which is generally only during holiday and some summer sailings when the ship is loaded with kids and all the 3rd, 4th, and 5th berths are filled. This is generally when I don't cruise, so I'm hoping it's not a problem on my sailing. 15 day countdown for me.

[MisterBill99]

There has to be more in the evening buffet other then hot dogs hamburgers and rolls, on the Divina they always had pasta some type of chicken and carved meat so it's just hard to believe that all that has been eliminated.

The upstairs buffet is very limited apparently, and intended for families. Not a bug deal for lunch. Very big deal for dinner.

 

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[eroller]

The upstairs buffet is very limited apparently, and intended for families. Not a bug deal for lunch. Very big deal for dinner.

 

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I've read conflicting reports on that. My friend that was on the crossing said the offerings were exactly the same, just on a smaller scale in the "family buffet". I guess I'll find out soon enough, but generally I don't eat in buffets. I try to avoid them. I will pass though to see what is offered though.

[Fredric22]

I appreciate the review admiral has provided but I also take certain things with a grain of salt. I've seen the dinner buffet described in other posts and it definitely has more than just pizza and burgers. It may not have been to his liking (it seems he is looking for plain, sauce free, healthy dishes) but there are entrees and pasta available according to others. Hopefully someone can post some pics of the dinner buffet soon so we can get a better idea. Also, the admiral may want to try Aqua class on celebrity. Their restaurant, Blu, focuses on healthier, lighter options. Definitely sounds like a better fit.

[riclop]

I appreciate the review admiral has provided but I also take certain things with a grain of salt. I've seen the dinner buffet described in other posts and it definitely has more than just pizza and burgers. It may not have been to his liking (it seems he is looking for plain, sauce free, healthy dishes) but there are entrees and pasta available according to others. Hopefully someone can post some pics of the dinner buffet soon so we can get a better idea. Also, the admiral may want to try Aqua class on celebrity. Their restaurant, Blu, focuses on healthier, lighter options. Definitely sounds like a better fit.

Yes i take his review also with a grain of salt because he says they had hot dogs hamburgers and rolls , no pasta or other dishes.

[seeriteR]

In the case of SEASIDE, there are two buffets so the issue of the buffet being limited to other passengers should be a non-issue.

 

Anyway it's my understanding that this really only happens when the ship is at 100% occupancy, which is generally only during holiday and some summer sailings when the ship is loaded with kids and all the 3rd, 4th, and 5th berths are filled. This is generally when I don't cruise, so I'm hoping it's not a problem on my sailing. 15 day countdown for me.

On the inaugural TA, Seaside was about 2/3 full and the Marketplace main buffet was closed for dinner. The upstairs buffet is intended for families but is not limited to hot dogs and pizza. Although we never ate dinner there we did wander through it after dinner. It is much smaller than the main buffet.

 

We only ate in the Biscayne buffet twice and were not impressed with the seemingly limited selection at breakfast and lunch. For example, no omelette station and no sweet potato fries.

[MisterBill99]

I appreciate the review admiral has provided but I also take certain things with a grain of salt. I've seen the dinner buffet described in other posts and it definitely has more than just pizza and burgers. It may not have been to his liking (it seems he is looking for plain, sauce free, healthy dishes) but there are entrees and pasta available according to others. Hopefully someone can post some pics of the dinner buffet soon so we can get a better idea. Also, the admiral may want to try Aqua class on celebrity. Their restaurant, Blu, focuses on healthier, lighter options. Definitely sounds like a better fit.

Stop making excuses for MSC. There's no need for him to book an expensive Aqua Class cabin to eat at Blu on Celebrity because the MDR menus have a good selection and everyday items are available. Plus their buffet is much better than Seaside's appears to be and they'll grill a steak or fish for you at dinner, made to order.

 

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[MisterBill99]

On the inaugural TA, Seaside was about 2/3 full and the Marketplace main buffet was closed for dinner. The upstairs buffet is intended for families but is not limited to hot dogs and pizza. Although we never ate dinner there we did wander through it after dinner. It is much smaller than the main buffet.

 

Yes, and the excuse for the Marketplace being closed for dinner then was that the staffing wasn't complete because the ship wasn't full. Let's see what this week brings.

 

And thanks for confirming that the upstairs buffet has less selection than the Marketplace. I believe the OP but apparently the MSC apologists do not.

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[The Admiral]

Yes i take his review also with a grain of salt because he says they had hot dogs hamburgers and rolls , no pasta or other dishes.

 

It’s not healthy food issue although some in my group needed some food that wasn’t drenched in butter or sauce. They never used the main buffet on the 8th floor for dinner because it was used as a main dinning room so the Biscayne bay buffet was extremely limited! Also the dinning room was almost always closed for lunch so if you didn’t like where buffet or wanted pizza you were out of luck.

 

Seaside just didn’t come close to the variety of food you expect in even a basic cruise line lunch and dinner buffet.

 

I did feel very sorry for the staff though, they all worked extreme hard and just seemed overwhelmed and at times contradicted each other on things, it’s like they were just thrown into the sailing unprepared and the fact the Seaside has way to many passengers for a ship that size just made minor things into bigger problems.

 

And before someone tells me I need to go on another cruise line with a smaller ship please see other posts about how MSC crammed more passengers into the seaside than they should have.

 

Just FYI Passenger Space Ratios:

 

Harmony of the Seas: 41.42 (33.9 when maxed out at 6,687 pax) (5,479 pax / 226,963 gt)

 

2018 NCL Bliss: 41.9 (4,004 pax /167,800 gt)

 

2019 Carnival Panorama; 33.93 (3,934 pax / 133,500 gt)

 

MSC Divina: 32.0 (4,345 pax / 139,072 gt)

 

MSC Seaside: 30.0 (5,179 pax / 160,000 gt)

 

The Oasis Clss ships on RCCL have more passengers tHan the seaside and have crowds but nothing as chaotic as the environment on the 12/30 sailing.

[camofwilliamsburg]

Those stats are readily available to everyone before you book a cruise. I feel most people trying MSC need to be a bit more open to something different. And also people need to stop comparing to other cruises you have been on. every cruise is different depending on the other passengers cruising with you. Every cruise line has pros and cons. It is up to the cruiser to pick which is more important when booking. Then go and enjoy your vacation without nit picking every single issue. Food is subjective as are the shows onboard. No one will be happy all of the time. You have to be able to pick and choose your battles, which I pick not to do any battling when on a cruise. Do your research then go and enjoy. MSC Divina always had a wonderful buffet. It was full of international food which changed daily. They had a lovely salad bar as well as fruit. They always had a carving station and a pasta station which had 3 different pastas which also changed daily. They had a wonderful cheese section as well as Indian fare, Mexican and American favorites. They had a lovely selection of burgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs and veggie burger choices. They not only had a salad bar they also had pre made small salads with the basic in it. They have the greatest pizza and the selections on Divina had about 6 different type of pies, maybe more!

You all had to know that Seaside is aiming at the families. Just look at the water park area. So if having lots of kids around is not your thing, then you should not book on this ship. To book and then complain is not helping anyone, esp you!

[lcpagejr]

It’s not healthy food issue although some in my group needed some food that wasn’t drenched in butter or sauce. They never used the main buffet on the 8th floor for dinner because it was used as a main dinning room so the Biscayne bay buffet was extremely limited! Also the dinning room was almost always closed for lunch so if you didn’t like where buffet or wanted pizza you were out of luck.

 

Seaside just didn’t come close to the variety of food you expect in even a basic cruise line lunch and dinner buffet.

 

I did feel very sorry for the staff though, they all worked extreme hard and just seemed overwhelmed and at times contradicted each other on things, it’s like they were just thrown into the sailing unprepared and the fact the Seaside has way to many passengers for a ship that size just made minor things into bigger problems.

 

And before someone tells me I need to go on another cruise line with a smaller ship please see other posts about how MSC crammed more passengers into the seaside than they should have.

 

Just FYI Passenger Space Ratios:

 

Harmony of the Seas: 41.42 (33.9 when maxed out at 6,687 pax) (5,479 pax / 226,963 gt)

 

2018 NCL Bliss: 41.9 (4,004 pax /167,800 gt)

 

2019 Carnival Panorama; 33.93 (3,934 pax / 133,500 gt)

 

MSC Divina: 32.0 (4,345 pax / 139,072 gt)

 

MSC Seaside: 30.0 (5,179 pax / 160,000 gt)

 

The Oasis Clss ships on RCCL have more passengers tHan the seaside and have crowds but nothing as chaotic as the environment on the 12/30 sailing.

 

Admiral... I know your not happy with your experience. However if you are going to quote passenger capacity and tonnage please use equal numbers for all lines. You overstated the Seaside big time. I can vouch your Carnival Panorama numbers are correct because I cruised on her sister ship the Vista and the passenger count and tonnage is the numbers posted by Carnival. The actual numbers for the Seaside are

 

• Capacity: 4,140 passengers.
  
• Gross Tonnage: 154,000.
  
• Length: 1059 ft
  

[eroller]

Admiral... I know your not happy with your experience. However if you are going to quote passenger capacity and tonnage please use equal numbers for all lines. You overstated the Seaside big time. I can vouch your Carnival Panorama numbers are correct because I cruised on her sister ship the Vista and the passenger count and tonnage is the numbers posted by Carnival. The actual numbers for the Seaside are

 

• Capacity: 4,140 passengers.
  
• Gross Tonnage: 154,000.
  
• Length: 1059 ft
  

 

 

Exactly. MSC SEASIDE actually has a space ratio of 37. Quite respectable. I don't know why people keep using the double occupancy of other ships while comparing the TOTAL occupancy of SEASIDE. It's not apples to apples. It's almost as if they are trying to make SEASIDE look worse than it actually is. FYI space ratios are ALWAYS calculated using the double occupancy figure, not total occupancy. That is industry standard.

[Sirgym]

What is the space ratio within the Yacht Club? Over 100 perhaps?

 

 

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[eroller]

What is the space ratio within the Yacht Club? Over 100 perhaps?

 

 

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Unfortunately we can't calculate it, because we would need to know the gross tonnage of just the YC area of the ship. It would be much higher though, that is for sure.

[Proseccoandsun]

We sailed on the Divina twice, most recently in August and agree they have a wonderful buffet. Seaside's was not as extensive or quite as good in our opinion, unfortunately. I found plenty for lunch, but it didn't have as many offerings as Divina....two pastas instead of three (and not as good in my opinion), fewer types of pizza, same tacos each day, more limited salad bar, fewer choices in the Mediterranean section (only salami and a few cheeses instead of the prosciutto and larger selection on Divina), same fries every day but they were good and hot. Sometimes they had sweet potato fries. But remember on Divina they had different fries every day? Waffle fries, wedge, shoestring, etc...? Burgers were tasteless and very dry on Seaside, too, according to my daughter and others. There was a lot there (carving station, wraps, fried chicken, and more mentioned above) but we preferred Divina's buffet.

Those stats are readily available to everyone before you book a cruise. I feel most people trying MSC need to be a bit more open to something different. And also people need to stop comparing to other cruises you have been on. every cruise is different depending on the other passengers cruising with you. Every cruise line has pros and cons. It is up to the cruiser to pick which is more important when booking. Then go and enjoy your vacation without nit picking every single issue. Food is subjective as are the shows onboard. No one will be happy all of the time. You have to be able to pick and choose your battles, which I pick not to do any battling when on a cruise. Do your research then go and enjoy. MSC Divina always had a wonderful buffet. It was full of international food which changed daily. They had a lovely salad bar as well as fruit. They always had a carving station and a pasta station which had 3 different pastas which also changed daily. They had a wonderful cheese section as well as Indian fare, Mexican and American favorites. They had a lovely selection of burgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs and veggie burger choices. They not only had a salad bar they also had pre made small salads with the basic in it. They have the greatest pizza and the selections on Divina had about 6 different type of pies, maybe more!

You all had to know that Seaside is aiming at the families. Just look at the water park area. So if having lots of kids around is not your thing, then you should not book on this ship. To book and then complain is not helping anyone, esp you!

[soccer2010]

Any details on dinner buffet of all the items available? Pictures if you have would be appreciated.