MSC Seaside 12/22/18 ~ Christmas in the Yacht Club

[LisaLisa87]

Hi everyone. We returned on Saturday from the December 22 Eastern Caribbean sailing on Seaside. Traveling with me were DH and DD, who is 15. This was our first time on MSC. I booked this cruise in late March 2017 thinking it would be a great way to celebrate my 50th birthday, which was on 12/23. I'm pretty sure we capitalized on a pricing error as the price for 3 in a YC Deluxe Suite seemed low, especially for a holiday sailing. In any case, I jumped on room 16018 and then settled in for a l-o-n-g wait. We had really high expectations going in, and for now I'll just say that our expectations were met (or exceeded) in some areas but not in others. More details to come. This won't be a review so much as a brain dump of my thoughts about our experience.

 

Itinerary

Day 1: Miami | departure: 5pm

Day 2: At Sea

Day 3: San Juan | arrival: 5pm, departure: 1am

Day 4: St. Thomas | arrival: 7am, departure: 7pm

Day 5: St. Maarten | arrival: 7am, departure: 2pm

Day 6: At Sea

Day 7: Nassau | arrival: 12pm, departure: 7pm

 

Show Schedule

Night 1: Timeless
Night 2: The Wizard
Night 3: My Life in Music
Night 4: Fly (Christmas Edition)
Night 5: The Dream
Night 6: Peter Punk
Night 7: Starwalker

 

Pre-Cruise 

• We flew in to Ft. Lauderdale the day before the cruise and took an Uber to Miami, where we stayed at the Intercontinental downtown. We had stayed at this hotel once before and loved the location. There is also a Starbucks in the lobby, which is super convenient. We belong to the loyalty club for the hotel, and we were each given a $3 voucher to use at Starbucks. My only complaint about this hotel is that the elevators are extremely slow, even when you consider that the hotel has 30-something floors!
• We took an Uber to the port on Saturday morning. It's a quick drive, and I think we arrived at the YC tent at around 10:30. There were a few other guests there, and after waiting for two more groups to check in, we were escorted into the terminal. Check in was quick and painless, and then we were shown to the YC lounge in the terminal to wait until it was time to board.
• While we were waiting in the lounge, I purchased a WiFi package and booked all the shows. That sounds easy, but it was surprisingly difficult and time-consuming as I kept losing my connection to the WiFi. With a little persistence, I was able to get them all booked. I learned after boarding and seeing a sign on the YC concierge desk that the WiFi packages are discounted a little if you purchase before boarding. I'm pretty sure I paid $139 for the Premium package, and the price on the ship was $155. The Premium package gave us 6 GB of data to use on up to 4 devices. (We ended the week with about 1.5 GB left.)
• A butler escorted us on to the ship and took us straight up to the YC lounge. I didn't make note of the time, but I think we boarded at around 11:20. We ordered drinks and waited while staff from the restaurant made their way from group to group. I had booked all 8:30 shows and said that we would like to eat dinner at around 6:45. The hostess recommended 6:30, so that's what we went with. Incidentally, our dinners in the YC restaurant typically took only about an hour, so we could probably have eaten as late as 7:00pm and still gotten to the shows in plenty of time.
• While we were still working on our drinks, we were told that our rooms were ready so we headed that way.

That's all for now. In my next post I'll list my favorite and least favorite things about the cruise.

Edited December 31, 2018 by LisaLisa87

[shukapaw]

Thanks for writing this report. Looking forward to more.

 

~Brian

[DMH15]

Thank you Lisa, Lisa.  I am also flying into FLL and have a Miami hotel.   Can you tell me appox what your UBER cost?  Thanks 

[LisaLisa87]

1 hour ago, DMH15 said:

Thank you Lisa, Lisa.  I am also flying into FLL and have a Miami hotel.   Can you tell me appox what your UBER cost?  Thanks 

 

Hi DMH. The cost of the Uber from FLL to our hotel was $40.92 plus tip. The trip from Port of Miami to FLL was cheaper, at $33.74 plus tip. The trip from the hotel to POM was $7.77 plus tip.

Edited January 1, 2019 by LisaLisa87
accuracy

[jvsnana]

Enjoying your report LisaLisa!  Can't wait for more!!

We will be in 16028 in 3 weeks and would like to know how you liked your deck 16 location?

[LisaLisa87]

42 minutes ago, jvsnana said:

Enjoying your report LisaLisa!  Can't wait for more!!

We will be in 16028 in 3 weeks and would like to know how you liked your deck 16 location?

 

We loved our location. It was quiet and close to both the concierge area and the forward elevators and stairs. On our cruise, the port side rooms seemed to have better views when we were docked, but that wasn't a big deal for us. We would definitely book on deck 16 again, but possibly a bit further back next time. 

[DMH15]

3 hours ago, LisaLisa87 said:

 

Hi DMH. The cost of the Uber from FLL to our hotel was $40.92 plus tip. The trip from Port of Miami to FLL was cheaper, at $33.74 plus tip. The trip from the hotel to POM was $7.77 plus tip.

Thanks much.  I appreciate it.  I like to budget in advance   To be on the safe side $50 each way should work.  

[mafig]

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[jvsnana]

12 hours ago, LisaLisa87 said:

 

We loved our location. It was quiet and close to both the concierge area and the forward elevators and stairs. On our cruise, the port side rooms seemed to have better views when we were docked, but that wasn't a big deal for us. We would definitely book on deck 16 again, but possibly a bit further back next time. 

Why a bit further back?

[LisaLisa87]

37 minutes ago, jvsnana said:

Why a bit further back?

 

There was a set of double glass doors that started just in front of our room and ended just in front of room 16012. The doors connected the cabin hallway to the more "public" hallway that went from the main entrance to the YC all the way up to the Topsail Lounge. The doors closed quietly, but their presence so close to our room meant there was more foot traffic in our part of the hall. So I would prefer a room a bit further back (even 16020 or 16022 would be fine), but I would still choose 16018 over a room on deck 18.

 

Seaside Deck 16 by LCT Flickr, on Flickr

[jvsnana]

Oh.. I see.  Thank you for including the photo too.

Happy New Year and I can't wait for more of your review 🎉

[LisaLisa87]

Before I get to my Top 10 lists, I'll share my thoughts about our room and the YC in general. We stayed in a Yacht Club Deluxe Suite. According to MSC, these rooms are approximately 269 sq ft with 86 sq ft balconies. The interior square footage is a bit less than a junior suite on RCCL's Oasis class (287 sq ft) and much less than a grand suite (371 sq ft). For those traveling with kids, there is also very little division between the bed area and the sitting area. That wasn't a huge deal for us, but we do prefer more separation, even if it's just a curtain. The room was definitely large enough for the 3 of us for 7 days. The amount of storage space worked for us as well, but I could see it being tight for a party of 4. The balcony was a good size. My only complaint is that we asked for but never received a third chair. There was definitely enough room, so I'm not sure why this request was a problem. The bathroom wasn't huge, but it was nicely done and had plenty of storage space. The shower was nice as well -- plenty of storage space and good water pressure. Some photos:

 

Room Pic 5 by LCT Flickr, on Flickr

 

Room Pic 4 by LCT Flickr, on Flickr

 

Room Pic 2 by LCT Flickr, on Flickr

 

Room Pic 1 by LCT Flickr, on Flickr

 

Room Pic 9 by LCT Flickr, on Flickr

 

I'll try to embed a video, but I'm not sure whether it'll work:

 

 

We really liked the setup of the YC. The Topsail Lounge is huge, with lots of seating and a great view over the front of the ship. It is much larger than the suite lounge on both RCCL Oasis class ships and DCL's Dream class. Likewise, the restaurant is large and nicely laid out (much larger than Coastal Kitchen). The spaciousness of sundeck and pool area are amazing considering the relatively small number of people utilizing them. Having the grill on the One Pool deck was so convenient and we ate breakfast there most days as well as lunch several times.

 

Unfortunately, we did deal with some crowd issues. The YC was at or near full capacity since so many were traveling with kids and extended families. We were told that there were 285 YC passengers for our sailing, and that this was not typical. It was clear that the staff were not used to dealing with so many people. This was most noticeable in the restaurant (especially early in the cruise) and on the sundeck. Most of the reviews I've read have indicated that getting lounge chairs on the sundeck was never an issue, but we experienced some serious chair hogging. One day DH and I went up to the One Pool grill for breakfast at about 8:30am. When we finished, we started looking for lounge chairs. We had to go all the way around the front of the ship, where we finally found the last 2 available chairs. Most days there were towels (along with the occasional book and/or flip flops) on almost every chair, with only about 1/3 being occupied by actual people. Sometimes the chairs would stay that way for hours. It was common for people to use the chairs for a little while in the morning, leave their towels and personal belongings, and come back hours later. There was no effort on the part of YC staff to remedy this problem. The weather for our sailing wasn't the greatest, so I can only imagine what it would have been like if the sun had been shining all day!

 

Overall, we had a great experience in the YC, and the crowding we experienced would not prevent us from booking again. I'll talk about food and beverages in another post.

Edited January 1, 2019 by LisaLisa87

[floridian1]

2 hours ago, LisaLisa87 said:

 

So I would prefer a room a bit further back (even 16020 or 16022 would be fine), but I would still choose 16018 over a room on deck 18.

 

Nice review, I will be staying deck 18 on the other side, why do you prefer deck 16.

[LisaLisa87]

55 minutes ago, floridian1 said:

Nice review, I will be staying deck 18 on the other side, why do you prefer deck 16.

 

Some people have reported hearing occasional noise from the sundeck above. We're cautious about this issue as we experienced it on Brilliance of the Seas when we were in a junior suite below the pool deck. We could hear lounge chairs being moved around very early each morning. It didn't last long, but it almost always woke us up.

[PompeySailor]

Enjoying your review 

Liking the RC comparisons 👍🏻 Very useful to us.

 

Happy Days!

 

 

[cyndyga]

I moved to 16018 from 16036 because of noise reported from above hope it wasn't a mistake lol how noisy was the foottraffic was there talking noise early or late? Thanks!!!

[LisaLisa87]

18 minutes ago, cyndyga said:

I moved to 16018 from 16036 because of noise reported from above hope it wasn't a mistake lol how noisy was the foottraffic was there talking noise early or late? Thanks!!!

 

We heard no noise from above and very little from either side. I think we heard the people to our left once. The rooms were very quiet. We heard people talking as they walked by a couple of times in the morning and at night, but that could happen pretty much anywhere. Rooms 16018 and 16036 would be a toss-up for me. If I remember correctly, the starboard "side entrance" to the YC was near 16036 (although it could have been 16032 - MSC's deck plans are definitely lacking in detail). At the end of the day, I don't think there's really a bad room on deck 16. I can't speak to deck 18 we didn't spend any time in the cabin area up there!

Edited January 1, 2019 by LisaLisa87

[LisaLisa87]

48 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

Enjoying your review 

Liking the RC comparisons 👍🏻 Very useful to us.

 

Happy Days!

 

 

 

I'll try to keep them coming. We've become fairly loyal to Royal, and we'll likely be deciding between MSC and RCCL for our next cruise.

[gotta cruise again]

47 minutes ago, cyndyga said:

I moved to 16018 from 16036 because of noise reported from above hope it wasn't a mistake lol how noisy was the foottraffic was there talking noise early or late? Thanks!!!

 

29 minutes ago, LisaLisa87 said:

 

We heard no noise from above and very little from either side. I think we heard the people to our left once. The rooms were very quiet. We heard people talking as they walked by a couple of times in the morning and at night, but that could happen pretty much anywhere. Rooms 16018 and 16036 would be a toss-up for me. If I remember correctly, the starboard "side entrance" to the YC was near 16036 (although it could have been 16032 - MSC's deck plans are definitely lacking in detail). At the end of the day, I don't think there's really a bad room on deck 16. I can't speak to deck 18 we didn't spend any time in the cabin area up there!

 

DH and I were just in 16036 week of 12/15-22/18. Very quiet; maybe once or twice heard like a scrape or two but that could have been from the YC balcony above. Those couple of times were not in the middle of the night/early AM so likely just the cabin above. We visited with the couple in 16038 and they didn’t mention noise problems but then again, I didn’t specifically ask.

 

The sliding glass door is in front of cabin 16032. It opens automatically every time anyone within YC walks past the door; from outside, you have to use YC card/bracelet; it does remain open for several seconds so a non-YC person could slip in (saw that happen first day or so but butler was in y’all and took care of helping those folks find what they were looking for). Every time we opened the door when just walking down the hall, we always paused a moment to make sure no one just entered.

[LisaLisa87]

Thank you, Gotta Cruise, for adding your experience. Very helpful!

[LisaLisa87]

Here are the Daily Planners, minus the shopping inserts.

 

Seaside Eastern Caribbean - Day 1

Seaside Eastern Caribbean - Day 2

Seaside Eastern Caribbean - Day 3

Seaside Eastern Caribbean - Day 4

Seaside Eastern Caribbean - Day 5

Seaside Eastern Caribbean - Day 6

Seaside Eastern Caribbean - Day 7

 

More later!

[LisaLisa87]

I'll try to cover everything else in the context of my 10 favorite and 10 least favorite aspects of the cruise, starting with my favorites. The items at the top of the list are things that are a Big Deal to us and will play into our decision about when/whether to sail with MSC again. The items lower on the list are things that were nice and added to our enjoyment of the cruise, but probably won't factor in to our decision.

 

10 BEST

1. Price (not the same as value - I'll save my thoughts on this for a later post)

2. The amenities and service offered in the YC

3. Most beverages included for YC guests (+ the mini bar)

4. . Breakfast and lunch at the One Pool Grill

5. The shows (most of them)

6. Venchi (even though we had to pay for it)

7. The pizza

8. The cappuccino

9. The Teppanyaki restaurant

10. The constantly replenished bottled water in the room (still and sparkling)

Bonus - The El Morro & More Walking Tour in San Juan

 

I need to get ready to go work for the first time in 12 days, so I'll elaborate on each of these this evening.

Edited January 2, 2019 by LisaLisa87

[Beachin2]

Thank you for doing this review.  We are "straying" away from Royal this fall on this ship, 16049 for 2 weeks in the YC, so looking forward to learning from your first hand experience!

[floridian1]

Your review is very helpful. Disappointing to see that you had to pay for Venchi though. a Few weeks ago a cruisecritic member (woman sailed with her mom - sorry i dont remember her username, hopefully she chimes in) got the venchi for FREE! There was a sign at concierge that said Venchi would have a charge but she never got a charge. If you've been following the YC drink package changes thread there has been alot of conversations about this. MSC seems to change their mind on if venchi is included or not with every sailing.

 

Did you try the crepes and gelato (and was there a fee?)

[LisaLisa87]

11 minutes ago, Beachin2 said:

Thank you for doing this review.  We are "straying" away from Royal this fall on this ship, 16049 for 2 weeks in the YC, so looking forward to learning from your first hand experience!

 

Seems like lots of Royal folks are making the jump! Two weeks in the YC sounds heavenly, and you should have a smaller crowd in the fall.