How can there be such widely varied opinions of the Seaside?

[baklabending]

I have never seen such polarized reviews about a cruise ship. Some loved the Seaside and some hated it. The weighting in opinions seem almost 50/50.

 

very strange

[CGTNORMANDIE]

New ships have problems. This sounds like a repeat of the Meraviglia when it first started sailing. I always give a ship at least 6 months minimum before booking on it. I keep telling anyone who will listen...

“MSC is a work in progress”. They will continue to improve as time rolls on and their product will definitely not be a clone of the mass market cruise companies. Sal

[gkbiiii]

Let me sum it up this way: your either Yacht Club, or your not. YC guests love the experience and others outside YC often don't. This is what I found on Divina, which is why I will never go non-YC on MSC again!

[seeriteR]

Let me sum it up this way: your either Yacht Club, or your not. YC guests love the experience and others outside YC often don't. This is what I found on Divina, which is why I will never go non-YC on MSC again!

I agree. We were on Seaside for the inaugural transatlantic 21 day sailing. I have yet to read a poor review from a YC cruiser.

 

I gave it 2 out of 5.

[gkbiiii]

The only poor reviews they were getting was the staff levels of YC, with the Dining Room, cabin stewards, and butlers. I hope it is brought to Divana YC the staffing level.

[Two Wheels Only]

I have yet to read a poor review from a YC cruiser.

Just playing devil's advocate, what if these first few weeks are to get people to book the Yacht Club?

 

What if the zip-line fee for those not in the Yacht Club is an attempt to persuade people to book the Yacht Club next time?

 

Why is it that people in the Yacht Club are spared from the "septic smell" while other parts of the ship are not? Do Yacht Club people think that their �� doesn't stink?

 

 

Why does the Yacht Club get real butter while the rest of the ship.....just kidding.:p

[lcpagejr]

All kidding aside.... If MSC can't provide consistent service to the other 93% (non yacht club) passengers.... They've got /will have big problems.

[gkbiiii]

I had a 45 min meeting with the Hotel Director of the Divina and I asked him point blank: why did MSC not, simply build a luxury "Yacht Club Fleet" to directly compete with Crystal. He and the captain went on & on about the Yacht Club. This seems to be MSC's true passion, so why bother with a mass line anyway. They are successful with YC, so why bother competing with Carnival & NCL? Really all they care about, is their precious YC!

[gkbiiii]

My meeting was revealing and conformed what I sensed early on in the cruise. If your not YC they simply don't care!

[Love2Cruz2015]

I’m a non YC cruiser and since I cruise several times a year I choose not to book YC. However, I was on the orchestra and thoroughly enjoyed my time in Europe. I disagree that the staff doesn’t care, I thought the crew went above and beyond. my opinion.:D

[nikkiw60]

Let me sum it up this way: your either Yacht Club, or your not. YC guests love the experience and others outside YC often don't. This is what I found on Divina, which is why I will never go non-YC on MSC again!

 

 

 

We had a super time on Divina and had booked Fantastica, we loved it!

We have Aurea booked in a couple of weeks on Seaside- watch this space!

At this moment we have no interest in Yacht club!

 

 

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[sidari]

Total number of reviews, very tiny compared to the numbers of those who have already sailed, most of whom are not members of CC.

Usually those who shout the loudest in a car accident are the least injured, it appears that this is also the case here coupled with a certain number who are determined not to like MSC regardless of the product. Some people cannot adapt to new things and want what they have at home, so far after 6 cruises on 6 different ships outside of the YC we have had few problems including Seaside over Xmas, we will be on Seaside again at the end of April.

[Beamafar]

I had a 45 min meeting with the Hotel Director of the Divina and I asked him point blank: why did MSC not, simply build a luxury "Yacht Club Fleet" to directly compete with Crystal. He and the captain went on & on about the Yacht Club. This seems to be MSC's true passion, so why bother with a mass line anyway. They are successful with YC, so why bother competing with Carnival & NCL? Really all they care about, is their precious YC!

 

I have absolutely zero interest in sailing with a luxury company such as Crystal. However, I love the YC as I can enjoy the amenities that large ships offer, as well as getting a higher standard of service and food that YC offers. I say this having sailed 18 times on MSC: 4 occasions in YC (my upcoming cruise is also a YC booking) and 14 occasions in cabins other than YC - minimally in Fantastica balcony categories.

[Spaniel Lover]

Having sailed on the Seaside last week, I can tell you exactly why there are such widely divergent reviews.

Generally speaking, if they stayed in the Yacht Club, they loved it.

If they are from Europe, or have traveled to Europe extensively, they love it.

If they are from the United States, and especially if they have sailed previously with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, or Princess... they are disappointed in many aspects because they encounter things that either are not tailored to American tastes or things that they have seen done so much better on other cruise lines.

I'm going to be posting a full review of my cruise, which will show detailed examples of the things I'm alluding to here... it just takes time for me to edit photos and videos and write a detailed, comprehensive review. I'll post it when it's ready, and you'll see why I say that although there were some really great things about my cruise on the MSC Seaside, overall it was (by far) the worst cruise I've been on... and I've been on 43 cruises.

[resstation]

Its YC or another cruise line for us. Sailed twice on Divina in YC and the difference is, frankly, staggering. MSC is getting exactly what they want. The people who don't mind paying a little more for YC at a price point MUCH MUCH less than the comparable amenities on other cruise lines AND the people who just want to go on a cruise and pay the least possible amount - and then complain about it later. They have a win-win product. There are only a certain amount of cabins in the YC which are almost ALWAYS sold out so MSC is not manipulating their poor service to get more people to book YC.

[renysmom]

I think those traveling to the US which have experienced MSC before expect it to be a the same experience (Opera, dining, fashion, etc.) while those from the US expect more of a Disney, Royal vibe. Seaside seems to be trying to find her happy medium between the two (which is exactly what they said they would be) and its settling pains

[DCGuy64]

Having sailed on the Seaside last week, I can tell you exactly why there are such widely divergent reviews.

Generally speaking, if they stayed in the Yacht Club, they loved it.

If they are from Europe, or have traveled to Europe extensively, they love it.

If they are from the United States, and especially if they have sailed previously with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, or Princess... they are disappointed in many aspects because they encounter things that either are not tailored to American tastes or things that they have seen done so much better on other cruise lines.

I'm going to be posting a full review of my cruise, which will show detailed examples of the things I'm alluding to here... it just takes time for me to edit photos and videos and write a detailed, comprehensive review. I'll post it when it's ready, and you'll see why I say that although there were some really great things about my cruise on the MSC Seaside, overall it was (by far) the worst cruise I've been on... and I've been on 43 cruises.

 

 

Thank you for your post, I look forward to your full review. We've cruised with NCL, Carnival and RCI, as well as with Costa. My wife and I are Americans but we LOVE the European experience (I love hearing them do muster drills, trivia, etc. in 5 languages, for instance), so it sounds like we'll enjoy our first MSC experience. Thanks, again!

[Reenie75]

Because some people are natural cry babies and complainers. Unless it's a legit reason, I read somewhere 3 days in and one that complaining geez Louise I wouldn' want to cruise with them! Seaside looks beautiful and I can't wait to sail it. 7 months to go!

 

Btw I'm excited about their Europe/American outlook. Love meeting new people and trying new things!

[BestNC Cruiser]

Having sailed on the Seaside last week, I can tell you exactly why there are such widely divergent reviews.

 

 

 

Generally speaking, if they stayed in the Yacht Club, they loved it.

 

If they are from Europe, or have traveled to Europe extensively, they love it.

 

If they are from the United States, and especially if they have sailed previously with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, or Princess... they are disappointed in many aspects because they encounter things that either are not tailored to American tastes or things that they have seen done so much better on other cruise lines.

 

 

 

I'm going to be posting a full review of my cruise, which will show detailed examples of the things I'm alluding to here... it just takes time for me to edit photos and videos and write a detailed, comprehensive review. I'll post it when it's ready, and you'll see why I say that although there were some really great things about my cruise on the MSC Seaside, overall it was (by far) the worst cruise I've been on... and I've been on 43 cruises.

 

 

 

Yep. I canceled my seaside “general population” cruise for this spring break. I will be going YC at a later date.

 

 

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[Beamafar]

Yep. I canceled my seaside “general population” cruise for this spring break. I will be going YC at a later date.

 

Now, there's a much more PC expression to use than "steerage"! :p

[8420PR]

MSC has always seemed to get very mixed reviews on cruisecritic, with a larger proportion of people who 'hate it' than other lines.

 

Personally, sailing a mixture of MSC (5 cruises) and NCL (3 cruises), I've enjoyed and had fun on every single MSC cruise, but it is very different from NCL and I go with the expectation that if I pay a lot less for MSC than other cruise lines then it's not going to be as polished (though there are many things I prefer on MSC).

 

I feel sorry for those that have a bad holiday (on all cruise lines) - hopefully those that complain about 24/7 misery, due to a one-off issue that they can't get over (though I appreciate some people can't help that a single bad experience (e.g. excursion cancelled) makes everything else terrible). There are some very balanced reviews on this forum, that I think paint a more realistic picture.

 

The Yacht Club is very nice (we've sailed once) and makes many things easier, however I think in terms of fun per dollar, there is more value from a standard cabin. That said, the YC is good value and if the price is right we'll book it in future.

 

I can think of a few friends that I wouldn't recommend MSC to - largely because they would let an issue such as no espresso after dinner in the restaurant ruin their holiday (as opposed to going to a bar after dinner).

[jimbob22]

I have much cognitive dissonance regarding this cruise. It's not easy driving distance for us, and thus I'm very hesitant to book it.

 

On the one hand, I priced out the aurea suite with balcony jacuzzi for family of 4 over a break and it was around $5,100, which is only around $1,100 more than we'd pay for two inside rooms on another line for same time. So I think we could get a really awesome room on the Seaside for a reasonable price.

 

But some of the things I like most on a cruise are getting out of bed and going to really nice, well stocked, breakfast buffet, without having to wait on coffee, utensils, food, etc. And when the evening MDR is really slow, we sometimes like a really well stocked lido buffet where you can barely decide what to get because it all looks so good.

 

It doesn't sound like this ship satisfies those desires at all.

 

I guess I'm very 'irritation-averse' when on a cruise. I'm willing to pay a bit more and/or give up the deluxe suite in order to avoid these kinds of irritations. I do plan on monitoring reviews; we know people that went on Divina and loved it, so we're not at all writing-off MSC.

[lcpagejr]

I have much cognitive dissonance regarding this cruise. It's not easy driving distance for us, and thus I'm very hesitant to book it.

 

On the one hand, I priced out the aurea suite with balcony jacuzzi for family of 4 over a break and it was around $5,100, which is only around $1,100 more than we'd pay for two inside rooms on another line for same time. So I think we could get a really awesome room on the Seaside for a reasonable price.

 

But some of the things I like most on a cruise are getting out of bed and going to really nice, well stocked, breakfast buffet, without having to wait on coffee, utensils, food, etc. And when the evening MDR is really slow, we sometimes like a really well stocked lido buffet where you can barely decide what to get because it all looks so good.

 

It doesn't sound like this ship satisfies those desires at all.

 

I guess I'm very 'irritation-averse' when on a cruise. I'm willing to pay a bit more and/or give up the deluxe suite in order to avoid these kinds of irritations. I do plan on monitoring reviews; we know people that went on Divina and loved it, so we're not at all writing-off MSC.

 

I too am very easy going and pretty much go with the flow....But I agree the issues you mentioned would be a agitators and definitely irate me

[SeaShark]

Having sailed on the Seaside last week, I can tell you exactly why there are such widely divergent reviews.

Generally speaking, if they stayed in the Yacht Club, they loved it.

If they are from Europe, or have traveled to Europe extensively, they love it.

If they are from the United States, and especially if they have sailed previously with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, or Princess... they are disappointed in many aspects because they encounter things that either are not tailored to American tastes or things that they have seen done so much better on other cruise lines.

I'm going to be posting a full review of my cruise, which will show detailed examples of the things I'm alluding to here... it just takes time for me to edit photos and videos and write a detailed, comprehensive review. I'll post it when it's ready, and you'll see why I say that although there were some really great things about my cruise on the MSC Seaside, overall it was (by far) the worst cruise I've been on... and I've been on 43 cruises.

 

 

That is interesting...I look forward to your review. If you don't mind my asking...and since you mentioned it...If I had asked you before your Seaside experience, which of your 42 previous cruises did you consider to be the worst and why??

[Fighterone]

Just playing devil's advocate, what if these first few weeks are to get people to book the Yacht Club?

 

What if the zip-line fee for those not in the Yacht Club is an attempt to persuade people to book the Yacht Club next time?

 

Why is it that people in the Yacht Club are spared from the "septic smell" while other parts of the ship are not? Do Yacht Club people think that their �� doesn't stink?

 

 

Why does the Yacht Club get real butter while the rest of the ship.....just kidding.:p

Just read that the YC toilets are not flushing right now!

Another point is that the YC sailing was fully booked on 12/23/17 we were on.