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

[Fighterone]

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??

You make excellent points here. Can't wait to read your review. We were YC on the inaugural sailing on 12/23 and we loved it despite a few dining room issues.

[mafig]

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

.

 

 

Now you've got my attention! Where did you read that?

[sidari]

43 cruises is impressive, how long were they and where?

[nikkiw60]

43 cruises is impressive, how long were they and where?

 

 

 

Hi Dave

The poster has a YouTube channel with all the cruises on I think?

I have just had a quick look.

 

 

 

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[Two Wheels Only]

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

 

[Youtube]yQ5rbPlsdHw

 

This is unacceptable!

[Fighterone]

Now you've got my attention! Where did you read that?

A closed group on that site we are not allowed to mention the name of here, LOL. Seriously

 

 

 

 

 

Toilets not flushing on floor 18 of Yacht Club. Oooh boy!!

Edited January 25, 2018 by Fighterone

[windlicht]

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!

 

Nonsense!

[mafig]

Fighterone,

I see that you were in YC in December.

 

How did YOU like it?

Any problems? What were they?

Did you notice any lack of staff?

Was your cabin cleaned in a timely fashion?

Did you find your butler missing in action?

How was the food?

Was the pool area crowded?

 

AND, would you do it again?

[windlicht]

The amount of prejudice and stereotyping on thsi website is astonishing.

Europeans this (Europe has many different cultures and within those cultures many different people with different opinions and values); Americans that (same is true for America); YC passengers this and ALL other passengers that.

For real!

 

Whether you enjoy your vacation is 99.9% up to you.

[Lovetocruise2002]

43 cruises is impressive, how long were they and where?

 

 

 

He has a website too. Just google "jimzim". Lots of great info!

 

 

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[Fighterone]

Fighterone,

I see that you were in YC in December.

 

How did YOU like it?

Any problems? What were they?

Did you notice any lack of staff?

Was your cabin cleaned in a timely fashion?

Did you find your butler missing in action?

How was the food?

Was the pool area crowded?

 

AND, would you do it again?

 

There were a couple of minuses such as the tent before embarkation and the baggage tagging. The long wait to be escorted to the cabin by the butler, the debarkation was a bit of a problem for us also and of course, that website is an absolute mess.

 

This was our first experience in YC and my 3rd cruise on MSC for a total of 29 cruises with 9 different cruise lines.

 

Problems were minor for us and almost ridiculous to mention: newspaper delivery scarce, dinner in YC Restaurant not great the first couple of nights (food cold and service slow)

 

Cabin was kept spotless! Steward worked so hard to get all the assigned cabins cleaned twice a day! He said he slept in between shifts. No time to party. I believed him since he had at least 20 + cabins to clean.

 

We did not notice any lack of staff except at the YC concierge area. Only 1 person worked at that desk. Matter of fact, our butler seemed to be everywhere we were: captain's party serving drinks, YC Grill serving drinks and cleaning off tables, private escort to restaurants and at disembarkation.

 

Our butler never missed a beat. It was service 24/7. If our butler was not available, another showed up with our room service order. Our butler apologized for being 5 minutes late the one morning we ordered room service for breakfast.

 

The food at the YC grill was fabulous! Fresh scrambled eggs made in front of us in the morning best homemade hash browns you can have and so much more. Lunch at the YC Grill was also wonderful: fresh made pasta, shrimp, lobster, top quality! Plenty of radicchio and other greens at the salad bar, a big plus for me.

 

The pool was never crowded. I spent a lot of time there and the max I saw were 3 people in it.

 

Yes, we will book again but only YC.

 

Absolutely great cruise line! These minor glitches were to be expected for an inaugural cruise. I've had far worse on another line that had we boarded (on an older ship) after a repositioning from Europe to Galveston.

 

Hope this helps!

[SeaShark]

43 cruises is impressive, how long were they and where?

 

It looks like he has the complete list available in his signature.

 

The amount of prejudice and stereotyping on thsi website is astonishing.

 

Name-calling and judgmental. Don't forget to also point out the name-calling along with how judgmental some people are. :o

[DCGuy64]

It looks like he has the complete list available in his signature.

 

 

 

Name-calling and judgmental. Don't forget to also point out the name-calling along with how judgmental some people are. :o

 

:') That last sentence made me burst out laughing, thank you, I needed that!

[mafig]

There were a couple of minuses such as the tent before embarkation and the baggage tagging. The long wait to be escorted to the cabin by the butler, the debarkation was a bit of a problem for us also and of course, that website is an absolute mess.

 

This was our first experience in YC and my 3rd cruise on MSC for a total of 29 cruises with 9 different cruise lines.

 

Problems were minor for us and almost ridiculous to mention: newspaper delivery scarce, dinner in YC Restaurant not great the first couple of nights (food cold and service slow)

 

Cabin was kept spotless! Steward worked so hard to get all the assigned cabins cleaned twice a day! He said he slept in between shifts. No time to party. I believed him since he had at least 20 + cabins to clean.

 

We did not notice any lack of staff except at the YC concierge area. Only 1 person worked at that desk. Matter of fact, our butler seemed to be everywhere we were: captain's party serving drinks, YC Grill serving drinks and cleaning off tables, private escort to restaurants and at disembarkation.

 

Our butler never missed a beat. It was service 24/7. If our butler was not available, another showed up with our room service order. Our butler apologized for being 5 minutes late the one morning we ordered room service for breakfast.

 

The food at the YC grill was fabulous! Fresh scrambled eggs made in front of us in the morning best homemade hash browns you can have and so much more. Lunch at the YC Grill was also wonderful: fresh made pasta, shrimp, lobster, top quality! Plenty of radicchio and other greens at the salad bar, a big plus for me.

 

The pool was never crowded. I spent a lot of time there and the max I saw were 3 people in it.

 

Yes, we will book again but only YC.

 

Absolutely great cruise line! These minor glitches were to be expected for an inaugural cruise. I've had far worse on another line that had we boarded (on an older ship) after a repositioning from Europe to Galveston.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

Fighterone, I cannot tell you how happy you have made me.

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly.:hearteyes:

[Fighterone]

Fighterone, I cannot tell you how happy you have made me.

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly.:hearteyes:

 

Great!

 

You are a seasoned cruiser from what I see in your signature. Like us, you seem to enjoy the adventure of trying different cruise lines. You also live in FL, so do we as we love the proximity to the MIA and FLL ports.

The experience of "the ship within a ship" is comparable to that of the luxury or premium lines that include a butler, IMHO. The MSC Seaside lists a space ratio of 31. This is a bit crowded and certainly does not apply to the YC area.

 

When are you sailing?

 

Are you a member of any other groups on any other sites that you can share here?

[chefchick]

Again, one person wrote there were troubles with the toilets not flushing and everyone assumes that the whole place smells of sewage. I am on deck 16 and , yes, our toilet didn’t flush for a total of 3 minutes!!!! You know what I did? I waited and then it worked!!! I assume someone tried to flush something they shouldn’t have and they had to stop the system long enough snake it through and then they started it back up again. Honestly people calm down! If you are looking for problems you WILL find them. I prefer to enjoy my vacation.

[mafig]

Great!

 

You are a seasoned cruiser from what I see in your signature. Like us, you seem to enjoy the adventure of trying different cruise lines. You also live in FL, so do we as we love the proximity to the MIA and FLL ports. I see SW Florida. We are Punta Gorda. We used to try all the different lines, but lately we've been sticking with Celebrity, because I wanted to get to Elite so I could be Diamond on Royal Caribbean for a transatlantic (maybe) and wanted to Black Card match on MSC.

The experience of "the ship within a ship" is comparable to that of the luxury or premium lines that include a butler, IMHO. The MSC Seaside lists a space ratio of 31. This is a bit crowded and certainly does not apply to the YC area. We were in the YC on Divina and I was hoping that Seaside wouldn't be disappointing. Sounds like we should be OK.

 

When are you sailing? July. Not my favorite time, but I was having a hard time getting a YC1. Didn't want to go during peak hurricane season (especially after last year) and did not want to wait until November. We've got graduations in June too.

 

Are you a member of any other groups on any other sites that you can share here?

 

I seem to spend most of my time here. LOL.

Thanks again!

[DCGuy64]

Again, one person wrote there were troubles with the toilets not flushing and everyone assumes that the whole place smells of sewage. I am on deck 16 and , yes, our toilet didn’t flush for a total of 3 minutes!!!! You know what I did? I waited and then it worked!!! I assume someone tried to flush something they shouldn’t have and they had to stop the system long enough snake it through and then they started it back up again. Honestly people calm down! If you are looking for problems you WILL find them. I prefer to enjoy my vacation.

 

 

 

Well said! I like your positive attitude. Glad you’re enjoying your cruise. Since you’re a chef, can you comment on what you’ve particularly enjoyed as far as food is concerned? Any favorites? Thanks!

 

 

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[chefchick]

Well said! I like your positive attitude. Glad you’re enjoying your cruise. Since you’re a chef, can you comment on what you’ve particularly enjoyed as far as food is concerned? Any favorites? Thanks!

 

 

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We are in the YC so I cant speak to the main dining room food or the buffets. So far the meats have all been very good as are the pastas. Desserts and the cheese plate in particular have been especially good (something I can’t say for NCL or Carnival for instance) We did go to Ocean Cay last night, and maybe we just ordered poorly, but it was our least favorite meal so far. Honestly, I am not cooking or cleaning so I have no complaints...if one course or meal is not to my liking there is always something else available within an hour or so. Hope that helps.

[Fighterone]

I seem to spend most of my time here. LOL.

Thanks again!

mafig, we are neighbors, Cape Coral.

[BermudaBound2014]

I believe there are such widely varied opinions because there are widely varied expectations.

 

MSc grossly exaggerated the seaside product. The advertisements were truly spectacular. But the reality remains- in terms of cost MSc is a budget cruise line (and getting cheaper by the day lol). To think msc is not cutting cost is probably both naive and unfair. Imo- The trick to enjoying MSc is to understand where the cost cutting is likely to take place prior to booking.

 

 

 

 

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[just erica]

We are in the YC so I cant speak to the main dining room food or the buffets. So far the meats have all been very good as are the pastas. Desserts and the cheese plate in particular have been especially good (something I can’t say for NCL or Carnival for instance) We did go to Ocean Cay last night, and maybe we just ordered poorly, but it was our least favorite meal so far. Honestly, I am not cooking or cleaning so I have no complaints...if one course or meal is not to my liking there is always something else available within an hour or so. Hope that helps.

 

Ahhh, you are YC! That explains why you are enjoying it so much.

[Nunagoras]

May I come in?...

 

As per my relatively small but consistent market analysis knowledge the answer to that question regarding a large variety of opinions on Seaside rely on the fact that MSC is, and will ever be, a niche market cruise line for such a niche market cruisers demographics!

 

Indeed: MSC is growing here in Europe. There are areas where they shine for the demographics they are serving. Europe is a very complex area with many cultures and languages spread on a relatively "small" area... For example, their usually superb management of partial charter groups on their specific languages makes them such a unique product not only on the cruising, but far from that on the general tourism industry...

 

But now, if you ask me: has MSC any chances on the broader worldwide cruise market, and most specifically on the English speaking cruise market and even more specifically on the USA market? To be humble and honest my most sincere answer is a strong no, unless they try to capture cruisers that are sort of related to the demographics they better serve. Their recent announcement of a ship to do summer in the NY area is definitely not occasional. Think on all of those Italian, Spanish or Portuguese descendants living on the all the New England area and you'll get the figure. Let alone the very fact that for the Europeans it is mostly far cheaper and / or convenient to fly from Europe to NY than to Miami.

 

TBHH, my prospect for MSC in the US is solidly appointing to a huge restructure of their service there. No way will they be able to retain 3 ships in Miami plus one on NY running at a loss or marginal profit... But they can have one mega-ship in Miami, another in NY and perhaps another possibly mid ship in the Alaska doing what they very well know to do, granted they have the proper agreements and collaboration with airlines like the way they are being successful on their Middle East operations partnering with Fly Emirates.

 

There is a place for such a niche market cruise line in the cruise industry! And that is a win-win for the industry as a whole. The other cruise lines will not bother with it because they're focusing on really different demographics and general product structures... And if they want, they can just create their own product for the MSC demographics. Nowadays we have Carnival doing that with Costa lines, and till very recently we had RCI sort of doing it with Pullmantur.

 

As an European from a non English speaking country, Portugal, MSC has a very good product. Is it perfect? No, by any means, but it perfectly suits my needs considering all that is involved. And if I want a properly supported Portuguese language partial charter grouping to have access to those so many wonderful places around the world... So MSC is definitely the way to go!...

 

Hope to have helped a little bit!

 

Have nice sailings and a nice day!... :)

[lcpagejr]

May I come in?...

 

As per my relatively small but consistent market analysis knowledge the answer to that question regarding a large variety of opinions on Seaside rely on the fact that MSC is, and will ever be, a niche market cruise line for such a niche market cruisers demographics!

 

Indeed: MSC is growing here in Europe. There are areas where they shine for the demographics they are serving. Europe is a very complex area with many cultures and languages spread on a relatively "small" area... For example, their usually superb management of partial charter groups on their specific languages makes them such a unique product not only on the cruising, but far from that on the general tourism industry...

 

But now, if you ask me: has MSC any chances on the broader worldwide cruise market, and most specifically on the English speaking cruise market and even more specifically on the USA market? To be humble and honest my most sincere answer is a strong no, unless they try to capture cruisers that are sort of related to the demographics they better serve. Their recent announcement of a ship to do summer in the NY area is definitely not occasional. Think on all of those Italian, Spanish or Portuguese descendants living on the all the New England area and you'll get the figure. Let alone the very fact that for the Europeans it is mostly far cheaper and / or convenient to fly from Europe to NY than to Miami.

 

TBHH, my prospect for MSC in the US is solidly appointing to a huge restructure of their service there. No way will they be able to retain 3 ships in Miami plus one on NY running at a loss or marginal profit... But they can have one mega-ship in Miami, another in NY and perhaps another possibly mid ship in the Alaska doing what they very well know to do, granted they have the proper agreements and collaboration with airlines like the way they are being successful on their Middle East operations partnering with Fly Emirates.

 

There is a place for such a niche market cruise line in the cruise industry! And that is a win-win for the industry as a whole. The other cruise lines will not bother with it because they're focusing on really different demographics and general product structures... And if they want, they can just create their own product for the MSC demographics. Nowadays we have Carnival doing that with Costa lines, and till very recently we had RCI sort of doing it with Pullmantur.

 

As an European from a non English speaking country, Portugal, MSC has a very good product. Is it perfect? No, by any means, but it perfectly suits my needs considering all that is involved. And if I want a properly supported Portuguese language partial charter grouping to have access to those so many wonderful places around the world... So MSC is definitely the way to go!...

 

Hope to have helped a little bit!

 

Have nice sailings and a nice day!... :)

 

Very nice summarization. Appreciate the feedback and history of MSC. I would tend to agree....Unfortunately they have been marketing themselves in the North American market as wanting to be a serious competitor to the Carnivals, RCL, NCL, Princess of the worlds.... As I said earlier in another post.... They should have left it alone and your "niche"...different experience logic would be right on!!

[DCGuy64]

May I come in?...

 

 

 

As per my relatively small but consistent market analysis knowledge the answer to that question regarding a large variety of opinions on Seaside rely on the fact that MSC is, and will ever be, a niche market cruise line for such a niche market cruisers demographics!

 

 

 

Indeed: MSC is growing here in Europe. There are areas where they shine for the demographics they are serving. Europe is a very complex area with many cultures and languages spread on a relatively "small" area... For example, their usually superb management of partial charter groups on their specific languages makes them such a unique product not only on the cruising, but far from that on the general tourism industry...

 

 

 

But now, if you ask me: has MSC any chances on the broader worldwide cruise market, and most specifically on the English speaking cruise market and even more specifically on the USA market? To be humble and honest my most sincere answer is a strong no, unless they try to capture cruisers that are sort of related to the demographics they better serve. Their recent announcement of a ship to do summer in the NY area is definitely not occasional. Think on all of those Italian, Spanish or Portuguese descendants living on the all the New England area and you'll get the figure. Let alone the very fact that for the Europeans it is mostly far cheaper and / or convenient to fly from Europe to NY than to Miami.

 

 

 

TBHH, my prospect for MSC in the US is solidly appointing to a huge restructure of their service there. No way will they be able to retain 3 ships in Miami plus one on NY running at a loss or marginal profit... But they can have one mega-ship in Miami, another in NY and perhaps another possibly mid ship in the Alaska doing what they very well know to do, granted they have the proper agreements and collaboration with airlines like the way they are being successful on their Middle East operations partnering with Fly Emirates.

 

 

 

There is a place for such a niche market cruise line in the cruise industry! And that is a win-win for the industry as a whole. The other cruise lines will not bother with it because they're focusing on really different demographics and general product structures... And if they want, they can just create their own product for the MSC demographics. Nowadays we have Carnival doing that with Costa lines, and till very recently we had RCI sort of doing it with Pullmantur.

 

 

 

As an European from a non English speaking country, Portugal, MSC has a very good product. Is it perfect? No, by any means, but it perfectly suits my needs considering all that is involved. And if I want a properly supported Portuguese language partial charter grouping to have access to those so many wonderful places around the world... So MSC is definitely the way to go!...

 

 

 

Hope to have helped a little bit!

 

 

 

Have nice sailings and a nice day!... :)

 

 

 

Thanks for your post. Are we allowed to write in foreign languages? If so, muito obrigado pela tua perspectiva sob a indústria de cruzeiros. Adoro o teu país! [emoji1201]

 

 

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