On board now...march 17

[Winemyst]

Hi we are off the ship now. Happy to report that they switched our dining to 530pm. I had to put my foot down a bit, but they fixed it.

 

There were 3 dining times in the ipanema, 2 in the seashore I believe and they were using the half the buffet as a dining room. It was a sold out ship this week. Not sure if that makes a difference.

 

 

I will write a full report when I get home.

 

 

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[Elaine515]

Booked Bella then found out we couldn't pick our dining time or that we might not even get into a "real" dining room so switched to Fantastica exactly because of those reasons... Personally I do not like that they do not have enough space for all their passengers to eat in one of their two dining rooms... Pretending the buffet is a dining room..... bad planning

 

Glad it worked out for you... I get on next Saturday

[Winemyst]

Booked Bella then found out we couldn't pick our dining time or that we might not even get into a "real" dining room so switched to Fantastica exactly because of those reasons... Personally I do not like that they do not have enough space for all their passengers to eat in one of their two dining rooms... Pretending the buffet is a dining room..... bad planning

 

 

 

Glad it worked out for you... I get on next Saturday

 

 

 

Just be prepared, we booked fantastica a year ago and we still ended up with 945pm

 

 

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[Cullyman15]

Just be prepared, we booked fantastica a year ago and we still ended up with 945pm

 

 

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Said it before say it again...We are not Europeans and we will not be dining at 9:45PM if we are assigned this time we will try and have it changed and if they can't so be it. We will just have to eat in the buffet for the week, make the best of our cruise and never book on MSC again.

[asctony]

I Why not beef up the Sports bar like the one on Divina.

Sorry to disagree with you on the Divina Sports Bar. It is too small, menu too limited and way too much noise if anyone is bowling in there.

 

If they want to improve the Sports Bar, do it like NCL's O'Sheanns. that is one of the best we have experienced on any cruise line. Their menu is fantastic, specials each night, etc. The problem with that is the noise from the deck below which is open. But the service, food, selection, etc. is excellent.

[karmic50]

I also booked the first few months Seaside came out with the fantastica experience. We have two kids who eat early. I was assigned late sitting for dinner. I went to our assigned restaurant and spoke with gentleman there and he changed our time with a phone call. Very happy with MSC and will be back in November!

[c-ditty]

Just got off the same cruise as the OP. I too requested an early dining due to my young children and ended up with the 7:45 timeslot. I tried to get it changed to the 6:00 by speaking to staff at the MDR and at the buffet that converts to an MDR and got no where. Language barriers were part of the problem.

 

In the end the 7:45 dinner worked out fine. We booked a few of the 9:30pm shows and my 5 year old son fell asleep a couple of times and had to be carried all the way back to the room. My arms are still sore!

 

Smell wise, I could smell what I would describe as a dirty diaper/funeral home floral arrangement smell. I know its a weird description but its the only thing that I could compare it to. And I only really smelled it on embarkation in the reception area. Sometimes the "new car smell" of certain fabrics and materials in the ship kind of gave the same smell but it was very rare. And I agree, cancelling a cruise over the reported smell is completely unnecessary.

 

Sorry for hijacking....i'll be writing my own cruise review but thought I would chime in on the dining time switch.

[resstation]

Europeans typically eat quite late (10pm) with children. Though they've tried to accommodate early and late diners it doesn't seem to eork on the Seaside. Yet another reason we only book YC on MSC ships but regular balcony cabins on other lines are fine with us. Such a huge difference.

 

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[Elaine515]

Just be prepared, we booked fantastica a year ago and we still ended up with 945pm

 

 

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I show early on my boarding pass but it's just my husband & myself so time is not so important as eating in a "real" dining room is... I'll let you know next Saturday!!!

[kimala]

I Why not beef up the Sports bar like the one on Divina.

Sorry to disagree with you on the Divina Sports Bar. It is too small, menu too limited and way too much noise if anyone is bowling in there.

 

If they want to improve the Sports Bar, do it like NCL's O'Sheanns. that is one of the best we have experienced on any cruise line. Their menu is fantastic, specials each night, etc. The problem with that is the noise from the deck below which is open. But the service, food, selection, etc. is excellent.

..yes totally agree with you. I had never been on the Divina just heard that they had complementary food and at one time saw a menu posted..LOVE LOVE LOVE the Oshehans pub on NCL! You are absolutely correct the variety is everywhere from your typical burger and fries to Fish and chips to daily dinner specials including prime rib. something simular would aleviate the overcrowding in the MDR on Seaside.