The MSC Seaside 'difference'?

[asctony]

MCS claims that its trying adapt for an American market. IMHO it's failing to do so. In practice you have 1st class passengers in the yacht club. Business class passengers in Aurea cabins. Premium Economy class- Fantastica and Basic Economy in Bella. (credit to Billy Miller for apt analogy) Most people who book have no idea of these distinctions. Person in Bella will most likely assigned to eat dinner at buffet that is turned into restaurant for the night. You will not have to eat at high bar stools but atmosphere will be lacking for some. Bella passengers will also not get drink vouchers.

I believe you can also say the same thing about Celebrity, NCL and RCi with their different categories. They are all going to a Class System. Some people want all the stuff inclusive. Others do not. This stuff is not new and will only get worse. Happy Cruising!!

[cbelc]

I traveled Bella in a very obstructed balcony stateroom. Our dining experience was great, even if my vegetarian fare was terrible. And I bought a drink coupon book. I felt like royalty, just like I do on every cruise. The Yacht Club folks were secluded and now I’m wondering if their vegetarian food was better than mine. I might feel weird having a personal butler.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Tapi]

I was super excited for the language classes....

 

To call it a class is a bit of a stretch imo.

 

 

Yes, I agree that “class” may be a bit of a stretch, but let’s be realistic here. How much can people actually expect to learn from a language “class” on a cruise ship, that is designed to be more of a form of casual entertainment than a genuine educational course? Yes, some premium cruise lines do offer true educational series, but MSC is not it In my very humble opinion, anybody expecting to develop, even a very rudimentary knowledge of Italian after these classes, has some very unrealistic expectations.

 

With all of that said, the language lessons at the kids club provided a way for my kids to break the ice and communicate with children who spoke other languages. Little things like “hello” and “my name is” were enough to begin a cruise friendship and play. [emoji3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[DCGuy64]

I believe you are talking about MSC since you are on this forum. If you were to go on to the other Cruise Line forums I know you would get the same responses such as Cheerleaders, overselling of how great or bad this and that was. Just look at every day life. Listen and watch TV. It is the same ole poooooooooo. I have learned over the years to try and overlook shortcomings. Enough said. Happy cruising on any cruise line you choose as it is your choice.

 

 

 

Don’t be fooled by any of the nonsense being peddled by lcpagejr. He hasn’t sailed on the Seaside, and yet he only chooses to listen to the negative reviews and not the positive ones. Over and over others like me have tried to explain to him that MSC’s strategy is not to replace any of the current players nor is it to provide a 100% Americanized cruise experience. We’ve shown him links with quotes from MSC executives showing exactly what their strategy is. They are not planning to take over the Caribbean, they are just trying to increase the amount of American passengers. At the same time, they have been very upfront about offering something different from the other cruise lines, which means more of a European-style experience. And plenty of people who have sailed previously with MSC including people just off the Seaside have raved about it, but he doesn’t want to hear any of that. He won’t listen to anything we have to say and he continues to bash MSC. Just ignore him.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BermudaBound2014]

Yes, I agree that “class” may be a bit of a stretch, but let’s be realistic here. How much can people actually expect to learn from a language “class” on a cruise ship, that is designed to be more of a form of casual entertainment than a genuine educational course? url]

 

 

MSC has changed the way they market the language class. When i sailed, it came with a cost ($15, think) and was marketed as perk of fantastica. I didn’t expect an all out syllabus, but was hoping to learn something. My expectations were aligned with classes offered by HAL and Princess where i did learn some great camera and editing techniques respectively.

 

As admitted in my initial reply, my expectations were misaligned, but it was my first MSc cruise and I didn’t get “it” yet ;).

 

I no longer see the type of language class I attended offered. Kudos to MSc for that :).

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[iambumbo]

Its obvious I am being piled on by MSC enthusiasts.... That is fine. But I will make 1 prediction. MSC will be a 1 hit wonder with the "majority" of the N American market. Yes...Out of curiousity. people will try them. But the majority will say "been there done that" to a future cruise on this line. Too many better and more consistent product offerings with the other lines.

 

I would seem to be a prime MSC target-- an American who's sailed about 13-14 cruises from RC, Carnival, NCL, and Celebrity and willing to try something new if the price is right. The Seaside layout looked very interesting when I first heard about it, and the price point was reasonable, so we are booked on a March sailing. Before I even set foot on Seaside though, I'm pretty sure I will likely be a one-and-done on MSC. Why?

 

Because the itineraries are pretty boring. Standard western/eastern that go to places I've already been a bunch of times. Would love to do another southern but MSC doesn't sail out of San Juan so to get to Martinique or Guadeloupe, we'd pay over twice as much as a San Juan flight, making that option cost-prohibitive. I know more ships are on the way but by the time they expand their ships/itineraries years from now, odds are I'll have moved on and won't come back, even if we had a great experience. If MSC is serious about cracking the American market, give us some atypical ports that will make you stand out and give us a reason to choose you over the numerous alternatives.

[Tapi]

I would seem to be a prime MSC target-- an American who's sailed about 13-14 cruises from RC, Carnival, NCL, and Celebrity and willing to try something new if the price is right..

 

...Before I even set foot on Seaside though, I'm pretty sure I will likely be a one-and-done on MSC. Why?

 

Because the itineraries are pretty boring.

 

 

Greetings, from another American who has also sailed on most major cruise lines and who was willing to try something new if the price was right, and who was pretty sure that MSC would be a one time thing.

 

We got lured into sailing on the MSC Divina because of multiple promotions which made the cruise fare too good to pass up, even though the 7 night itinerary was downright awful. But I figured that, at those prices, I’d give MSC a try and never sail on them again.

 

Well, 2 years later, we are booked on MSC again for this November. But we are not going back to the Caribbean from Miami. We are going across the Atlantic to sail around the Mediterranean from Rome, visiting Malta, Spain, France and Italy. Hopefully it won’t be “too boring”! [emoji6]

 

To be completely candid, the last thing on my mind was to sail in Europe this year. Its not a destination that I was considering, partly because I considered it to be cost prohibitive. But sailing on MSC out of Miami opened that door and created a curiosity about what else MSC has to offer.

 

I realized how affordably we could sail in other regions of the world aboard MSC. We will once again be taking advantage of several promotions which will allow us to sail for less than what our last Western Caribbean cruise out of Port Canaveral last November cost. Even after including airfare, it will still be more affordable!

 

So MSC’s promotions worked on me the way that they were most likely intended to work. They lured me in with ridiculously cheap prices so that I would give them a taste in hopes that I would return for more, and it worked! Don’t be too surprised if it happens to you too. [emoji6]

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited January 29, 2018 by Tapi

[Tapi]

MSC has changed the way they market the language class. When i sailed, it came with a cost ($15, think) and was marketed as perk of Fantástica

 

 

We sailed in June 2016 and also had a Fantástica stateroom. I remember the kids language class listed as one of the Fantástica perks, but adult language classes (or whatever you want to call them) were offered free of charge at a lounge various times during the week. No other classes were offered for an additional fee, regardless of stateroom class.

 

I did walk by one of those classes one time but didn’t stay. Based on what I saw, I would’ve been angered if I’d paid for it. As you mentioned, it wasn’t more than a staff member having attendees repeat after him several basic words and phrases in Italian.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[lcpagejr]

I would seem to be a prime MSC target-- an American who's sailed about 13-14 cruises from RC, Carnival, NCL, and Celebrity and willing to try something new if the price is right. The Seaside layout looked very interesting when I first heard about it, and the price point was reasonable, so we are booked on a March sailing. Before I even set foot on Seaside though, I'm pretty sure I will likely be a one-and-done on MSC. Why?

 

Because the itineraries are pretty boring. Standard western/eastern that go to places I've already been a bunch of times. Would love to do another southern but MSC doesn't sail out of San Juan so to get to Martinique or Guadeloupe, we'd pay over twice as much as a San Juan flight, making that option cost-prohibitive. I know more ships are on the way but by the time they expand their ships/itineraries years from now, odds are I'll have moved on and won't come back, even if we had a great experience. If MSC is serious about cracking the American market, give us some atypical ports that will make you stand out and give us a reason to choose you over the numerous alternatives.

 

Excellent points.... We are very similar to your situation...Done East and West itinerary's numerous times....as well as Belize, etc. Even made it down to the Panama Canal on a 8 dayer about 10 years ago. Just completed the Southern itinerary in November....So I've hit it all....except the smaller islands which as you stated would be out of San Juan if a ship was there. MSC should try and differentiate themselves with different ports...but in fairness...as the ships get bigger....ports get more limited (look at Oasis class for RCL!)

[gkbiiii]

The captain of the MSC Divina told me, that it was MSC's plan to be the world's largest cruise line in ten years. Also, to reach the number two status, in five to seven. I believe the language class is a Black Card benefit. One key area holding them up, is the multi-year holdup in the introduction of their private island. If it is as impressive as it is made out to be, it would be a game changer in the US based, Caribbean market.