MSC Seaside Review 1/20 - 1/27

[cruiser608]

Hello! I posted daily reviews on the MSC Seaside Facebook group starting from Day 2, so I decided to compile them all here along with all the photos. Each post will be a different day. Feel free to ask any questions!

 

Some background:

We had the Fantastica Experience and had a Balcony Cabin Room #15209. We were a group of 29, with all mostly with Fantastica, and ranged from ages 3 to 85. We had small children, teenagers, adults, and a few over 65+

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruiser608]

DAY 2: On board currently! So far really no complaints. We’re making an unscheduled stop in Bahamas today in order to let off a very ill passenger and continuing on to Antigua. Food is great, buffet lines are quick and seats are readily available. We have a party of 29 and were all comfortably seated near each other in the Seashore restaurant, not in the Marketplace Buffet for Dinner. The maitre’d and waiters were all very accommodating to our situation. Venchi Chocolate bar is great — the hot chocolate afogato is a must try (hot chocolate over gelato). Extremely worth it will g the Classic All-Inclusive Package. MSC for Me App & the hi-tech ship was VERY confusing at first — however, an hour of practice and navigation made me realize how useful it is. All reservations are done right through the app on my phone or any one of the numerous touchscreens locates all over the ship. It even has navigation and GPS around the ship. An amazing first day today!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruiser608]

DAY 2:

 

MDR Dinner today! Delicious - no cold food(unless it’s supposed to be!) We have Fantastica Balcony Room 15209 and is very spacious with plenty of room [emoji846] Right next to the Panaromic Lift and the Miami Beach Pool Bar! Water slide lines are short and go extremely fast. Slide boarding is great and free! Zip line is closed today unfortunately because of the weather! Another great day today and heading to the comedy show and The Wizard soon!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruiser608]

DAY 3:

 

MDR Dinner #3. We also got Mango Mojitos from the Seaview lounge for Dinner. We had a lot of rain today so pools were mostly empty & the slideboarding slide was closed and the zip line but the other two lines were fully operational. No problem with drinks today and bar tenders are recognizing us as well :) I included a picture of a Hot Chocolate from the Venchi Bar! Really great! We purchased the $50 Fun Pass and got to do the 5D Cinema, which is an interactive game where the seats move and you get to shoot at things on the screen. Wifi is still working without any problems even at sea. We saw Fly & BeerProv and both were very interesting, extremely different from other shows on cruise ships. Fly and The Wizard aren’t like the typical boring acrobatics and have more visual and musical elements and The Beer Prov is a different type of comedy show at sea which incorporates the audience and is different every night. It’s a fun late night activity and is a little dirty :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruiser608]

DAY 3 (INFORMATION):

 

Amusement park and fun pass prices. Bowling is for the lane, around 10 people can fit! Zip Line is now included in the Fun Pass as well. Spa Prices are also NOT the same on board. Book before you board, either through your travel agent or through the MSC website. A thermal pass is $190 as opposed to the $90 price online.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruiser608]

DAY 4:

 

Antigua today! We took an $8 taxi to the Jolly Island beach which is about 20 minutes from the port but very much worth it. There were representatives right outside the port and we got a taxi in about 10 minutes. I had breakfast today in the Biscayne Buffet on the 16th Deck, which is a lot smaller than the main dining one. Yes, the variety is a lot limited than the MarketPlace buffet, but it was very easy to find a seat and didn’t require us to walk around for a couple minutes. We had a small problem with disembarkation and had to wait about 30 minutes, but once the ship was cleared we were off in 5 minutes. I highly recommend going to the Jolly Island Beach where we also went Jet Skiing as well. Embarkation on the ship was also quick and easy. We were also delayed today, arriving at 11 AM instead of 7 AM because of an unruly passenger that had to be taken off the ship early on in the cruise, resulting in us making a stop in the Bahamas on the first sea day. Tonight was also Italian Night & the White Party. The Fantastica Experience gets a complimentary photo taken for them in the MDR and you can get it printed for free at the Photo Gallery. Tonight the “Butterflies” show was playing which was, to say the least, extremely different from the regular shows. It was a condensed Italian Opera, sung in Italian with English subtitles on the screen. Many people left early with disgruntled faces and some were happy when it was over. My stateroom is on the 15th deck and currently I can hear the music and footsteps from the pool on the 16th deck, and while it is muffled significantly, it’s still very noticeable, so keep that in mind.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruiser608]

DAY 4 PHOTOS CONTINUED:

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruiser608]

DAY 5:

 

St. Thomas was great today! We got here at 7 AM and disembarked at 8:30 AM. There were a ton of seats open at the Marketplace and the weather was great. We got a $9 taxi to Coki Beach with a representative right at the port and were there in 20 minutes. Coki Beach was great with clear and warm waters and had chair and umbrella rentals, bathrooms, and bars. We left at about 2 PM and went for lunch at the Marketplace again and wanted to finally try the Zip Line but it began to heavily rain. I attached the photos from the MDR and we also got to see the “Life In Music” show which was a bunch of small performances to different songs and went to the BeerProv show today. A little bit of a slow day today, but really no complaints and drinks were always timely!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruiser608]

DAY 5 PHOTOS CONTINUED:

 

[cruiser608]

DAY 6:

 

A fun and warm day at sea today! The zip line was finally open and we were able to ride, along with all of the water slides. The zip line was $10 for a single ride or $50 for an unlimited pass for the entire cabin. During our cruise, getting the $50 pass would’ve been a waste considering it was closed the first two days and only open on the port days and the final sea day. It was a panoramic and slow ride, only lasting about 30 seconds or so. Tonight was also formal night in the MDR, which is different from the other cruises since it was on the final sea day. Some people were dressed up & some were not since the rule was not really enforced. We also had lunch in the MDR which took about 45 minutes in total. It’s only open from 12-1:30 and the wait staff is a little slow, so keep that in mind. I wouldn’t have it every day as the buffet is a lot faster with more variety, but the food we had was great! (I attached the menu & pictures) We also saw Timeless, which we consider the best show out of all of them so far. It had an “American” theme at the end which was clearly catered towards the new market MSC is in. They played the National Anthem at the end also, which was odd and didn’t really fit with the rest of the show. We also got to do all of the 5D Cinema Games and the F1 Simulator. The 5D Cinema games are short but very fun. However, the F1 Simulator is very hard to control and glitched out on us multiple times. Tomorrow we will hopefully make reservations to try the Bowling on our Fun Pass!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruiser608]

DAY 6 PHOTOS CONTINUED:

 

[cruiser608]

DAY 7:

 

Our last day here at the Bahamas! Unfortunately it was extremely windy today so we decided to go to the pool and disembark at 12 PM to walk around and do some tax free shopping! The zip line was closed as well, and only 2 water slides were working unfortunately. There are plenty of stores around within walking distance, including high end brands like Gucci & Cartier. There’s a free shuttle right when you get off the ship to take you into downtown so you don’t have to walk. We got back at around 3:30 so unfortunately the Marketplace buffet on deck 8 was about to close and had almost no options left. The Biscayne Buffet on deck 16, however, was fully open for afternoon snack but was limited, which is the main difference between the two buffets. It had pizza, burgers, fries, and kid’s food like chicken nuggets and fish sticks. I posted the MDR dinner for this night and we got the chance to say goodbye to our waiter John. He was amazing! Extremely funny and made sure to memorize all of our names. We came specifically just for him. He made sure we always got our drinks and if they were taking too long went and got them himself. Julius at the Venchi Chocolate Bar was also great, remembering all of us when we come and waving to us. His hot chocolates and shakes are simply amazing. Service in the MDR was always fast, and on average we finished in about an hour. We also got to go bowling finally! You need to make reservations the day of and book for either an hour or 30 minutes. Each lane holds 6 people. $25 for 30 minutes or $45 for an hour. NOTE: If you want to purchase something on your Fun Pass, you need to make sure that you have enough to cover the entire cost as they cannot take off partial costs. I had $11 on my Fun Pass and I couldn’t pay for Bowling with my Fun Pass since it was $25 and I did not have enough. Today is also the Peter Punk show, a tribute to Peter Pan, but unfortunately no BeerProv as they go on from Saturday-Friday. We chose to do the Express Walk Way to disembark, which allows us to leave early from 6:30-7:30 but we need to carry our own luggage off the ship.

 

OVERALL:

There were a lot of different nationalities on the ship, not only American, and it is was great to experience some diversity and hear some different languages. People came from all over the world, from the UK and from Sweden. Crew members are also from different parts of the world including Italy and the Philippines, and although there is sometimes a language barrier, it’s not significant at all. Overall we all had a great time on the ship. Some highlights include the Venchi Chocolate Bar and Gelato, Waterslides & Ziplines, and the interior design of the ship. The ship itself is beautiful, but some parts of the design is very odd. For example, the 16th deck is split in two sections, one for the Biscayne Buffet and Pool, and one for the speciality restaurants, and you can’t access them unless you go up a floor. Service in the MDR was excellent, but drink service is iffy - sometimes we waited 20 minutes, sometimes we waited 5 minutes. One odd thing was that the bars never knew how to properly make an ice coffee, and usually made it with Baileys Creamer. We were only able to get a proper ice coffee once in the Marketplace Bar and they weren’t able to make it again. I highly suggest getting an All Inclusive Package as we had the Non Alcoholic Classic Package upgraded from the Mealtime Package for $90 and gave away our vouchers to family members. WiFi service was great with better than average speeds and worked throughout the entire ship. Food in the buffet and MDR was always hot and fresh and the pizza was absolutely mouthwatering! I loved all 7 Days and having sailed with RCL, NCL, and Celebrity, MSC has been great to me as a first cruiser and I would definitely sail with them again.

 

[cruiser608]

DAY 7 PHOTOS CONTINUED (OVERALL REVIEW POSTED ABOVE):

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[rose102798]

Hi. Loved your review. Thanks for taking the time to post. I have a question. You mentioned the White Party and Dressy Night. Are there any other theme nights?

[DCGuy64]

Thank you x 1,000,000! What fantastic and super sharp photos! I was so happy to read your review and learn more things about the ship. It was truly informative and entertaining to read. Back to the photos: my mouth is watering over the pasta dishes and I can’t wait to show my wife the yummy looking ice creams. Really glad you posted this. THANK YOU for putting in the time and effort on this, it’s extremely helpful. Do you mind a couple of questions? Was there any sewer smell, or any trouble with your cabin (doors, toilet, shower, etc)? Any problems with the elevators? And finally, since you said getting drinks in the MDR was sometimes a problem, could you buy drinks elsewhere and just bring them with you? Thank you so much again!!

 

Edited to say never mind about the smell, I see where you posted about that on another thread. Glad it wasn’t a big deal.

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[kimala]

I have a question about the “fun pass” ive read there has been a deal where you purchase $25 and msc gives you an extra $5 so a total of$30..and other denominations woth added $$ as well..my question is , Is the fun pass a seperate card in other words could I purchase 60$ all on one card and use it for myhubby and I or would I have to put 30$ on my sail card and 30$ on his sail card.?

[cruiser608]

Thank you x 1,000,000! What fantastic and super sharp photos! I was so happy to read your review and learn more things about the ship. It was truly informative and entertaining to read. Back to the photos: my mouth is watering over the pasta dishes and I can’t wait to show my wife the yummy looking ice creams. Really glad you posted this. THANK YOU for putting in the time and effort on this, it’s extremely helpful. Do you mind a couple of questions? Was there any sewer smell, or any trouble with your cabin (doors, toilet, shower, etc)? Any problems with the elevators? And finally, since you said getting drinks in the MDR was sometimes a problem, could you buy drinks elsewhere and just bring them with you? Thank you so much again!!

 

Edited to say never mind about the smell, I see where you posted about that on another thread. Glad it wasn’t a big deal.

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

 

There was a smell, but really, it was NO BIG DEAL! It was usually next to the waterslides, which is probably from the machinery or the sewage system. It is not widespread. No troubles with the cabin, and sometimes the elevators did not work or were very full. However they were the still very functional. I took the stairs a lot as well (worked off the buffet) Yes you can just take drinks from a different bar into the MDR with you, but make sure they make it on time! Bar service could be iffy and the one time we did that it took about 15 minutes to make us Mango Mojitos and we were late to dinner

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruiser608]

I have a question about the “fun pass” ive read there has been a deal where you purchase $25 and msc gives you an extra $5 so a total of$30..and other denominations woth added $$ as well..my question is , Is the fun pass a seperate card in other words could I purchase 60$ all on one card and use it for myhubby and I or would I have to put 30$ on my sail card and 30$ on his sail card.?

 

 

 

i posted a picture of the fun pass guidelines and it explains it. it is just a “package” on your card that you can use for amusement park areas. it won’t take money off our actual card when you spend money on amusement parks, instead it’ll take credit from the pass

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruiser608]

Hi. Loved your review. Thanks for taking the time to post. I have a question. You mentioned the White Party and Dressy Night. Are there any other theme nights?

 

 

 

pirate night, 70s night, gatsby night

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[tjlj]

thanks for the review...

[bombomba]

Thank you for the review. Love the food photos!

 

I'll be travelling with a big group too. Wondering how you arranged to be seated together in the MDR? Were your reservations linked and it was automatically assigned together, or did you have to go work it out once you boarded? Thank you!

[cruiser608]

Thank you for the review. Love the food photos!

 

I'll be travelling with a big group too. Wondering how you arranged to be seated together in the MDR? Were your reservations linked and it was automatically assigned together, or did you have to go work it out once you boarded? Thank you!

 

 

 

in my day 2 review i went over it a little bit, but our TA linked our reservations together and we were originally all seated at the same time but we went to the Maitre’d and had our tables

places near each other and also had one big table for 14

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[riclop]

Thanks for the detailed review and photos.

[lakelorain]

Excellent review. We sailed on the Divina and felt much like you. Different from other lines but very enjoyable. We also did Fantastica and would do it again. Felt we received more than enough attention from staff and very good service. Looking forward to booking another MSC cruise.

[CTBob]

Thanks, great review and photos. Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who liked the Seaside. I'm already looking for another cruise for next year. Bob