Just off the Seaside..a few notes

[PTC DAWG]

First off, it was the Bride and I.  55 and 53 years old, born and raised in Atlanta GA.  

 

Embarkation was as easy as I have ever experienced on any cruise.  We arrived at 12 Noon or so and basically walked right on the the ship....same with our self disembarkation, we had our own carry on bags and went on our merry way with ZERO wait at 7:30 AM.  Well done.  

 

Had a balcony cabin on deck 14...Fantastica....cabin was as expected...bed by the balcony, which we prefer.  Bathroom was small, as expected, shower was even smaller than expected.  We are not huge people, but I can see how someone bigger could find it tight.  

 

Ship design is striking, very pretty in my opinion.  The atrium area is very nice, with bars on most every level...speaking of bars, we upgraded the Easy package to Premium before boarding, and this was the best thing we did.  Drinks were top shelf, always call your spirit, we were never disappointed.  Was nice to be able to get a "shot" of your preferred bourbon and a can of COKE on the side to mix as you chose.  

 

I thought the nighttime entertainment was VERY lacking, I am comparing this to my last two NCL cruises on their away class ships.  Only so many Beatles cover tunes you can hear a guitarist play in the atrium.  Dance classes in the Haven at night were way too long in my opinion.  Went on for almost an hour,  shorter with more actual music would have been nicer to me. 

 

I found the pool on the rear of the ship to be a smoky scene...problem was you had to walk through the "smoking side" to get to the mens or women's bathrooms...more than once smokers brought their cigarettes into the restroom...now I'm not one to complain about smokers, but it was thick in that area, and along the entire starboard side of the ship on deck 8.  

 

Main pool seemed lacking in entertainment....and shade of most any kind.  Jungle pool was nice, plenty of shade to be found...I really liked the design of this area.  

 

We saw one show, The Peter Pan Punk show....was entertaining in a bizarre way.  We had the late Micheal Jackson show scheduled for the last night, but that was a mistake, we were worn out by then.  

 

Did not eat in the main dining room the first time.  It's just not for us.  

 

Steak House was great, filet's were spot on...sides of asparagus, Brussel Sprouts were great.  

 

Ate twice at the Sushi Bar, dinner, both times without reservation, no issues getting seats at the sushi bar itself.  Food was great.  Went ala carte...

 

Casino was small, in my opinion, the lack of a craps table was disappointing, but I knew that going on.  Not many table games, only one roulette table.  Spanish 21 is a little different, but was enjoyable.  $10 min the tables was what I usually saw.  

 

Port times were a little odd, except for St Thomas...enjoyed the water ferry to Water Island....had drinks at Dinghy's....

Nice dinner in Old San Juan at Barrachina in Old San Juan...got off the boat briefly in St Martin, but they had announced road closings and for people to be careful getting back, water taxi to town line was incredible...just walked around port and rebounded to a nice empty ship...same in Nassau...

 

There were more young European kids on the boat than I expected...not really an issue, just an observation, I experienced no rudeness from fellow passengers that some have expressed here..

 

All said, enjoyable cruise for the most part, price was right and weather was perfect.  Ship entertainment could use some work in our opinion. Even at port in Nassau, we could hear music coming from our neighboring ship, the Celebrity Equinox, they had a band playing by the pool...dead on the MSC.  

 

Booked on Celebrity this fall, might be a while for MSC.  

 

Best thing, Drink Package upgrade to premium for $27 per day pp.  from the provided Easy Package.  

 

Worth thing for us, night time entertainment/activities.  

 

Happy Sailing.  

 

 

 

[max996]

Good review, thanks for the information. My wife and I (both 50 - also from Atlanta, GA (College Park)) will be taking our first voyage aboard Seaside on June 29th in the Yacht Club. We've sailed with MSC Cruises several times before always in the Yacht Club though. We're not show people at all, but we did like the Michael Jackson show (a little bit). The Yacht Club offers an almost entirely different experience on an MSC ship that I'd invite you to try. I personally think the YC is the best value at sea for that class of service. Sounds like you guys would have loved the Top Sail Lounge, and I think you should give it try one day in your future.

We also have a voyage aboard the MSC Meraviglia on the books for March 2020 and I'm looking forward to their private island opening later this year.

Thanks again for the review.

[puglady12]

Do you recommend eating at Barrachina?  We sail on the 11th and want to get off in San Juan for dinner. No idea where we should eat!!  Is it within walking distance?

[JAGR]

15 hours ago, puglady12 said:

Do you recommend eating at Barrachina?  We sail on the 11th and want to get off in San Juan for dinner. No idea where we should eat!!  Is it within walking distance?

It is a 10-15 minute walk from the outside of the pier MSC uses to get to Barrachina's.  Address is 104 Calle Fortaleza, San Juan.  It is slightly up a hill going to it, but not stressful. About 700 meters/765 yds.  You would be advised to get a reservation.  Number is (787) 721- 5852.

Edited May 7, 2019 by JAGR

[sctd71]

Kinda a dumb question. When you went through customs did you have to do face to face with an agent (like we have done forever) or the new way with facial recognition? 

[JAGR]

There was no Customs stop, only the facial recognition part. I would note that if you are not carrying a US passport, you are likely going to be asked to produce your foreign-issued passport then and there.  I was one of the first sailings to go through, Miami, and did not know about the examination process on the second floor.  I had my Irish passport tucked away, waiting until we went downstairs.  Oh, well....

Lesson learned.

[sctd71]

Thanks for the info  

[PTC DAWG]

4 hours ago, sctd71 said:

Kinda a dumb question. When you went through customs did you have to do face to face with an agent (like we have done forever) or the new way with facial recognition? 

Facial, I have no idea when they scanned me before.  It was strange...

[PTC DAWG]

20 hours ago, puglady12 said:

Do you recommend eating at Barrachina?  We sail on the 11th and want to get off in San Juan for dinner. No idea where we should eat!!  Is it within walking distance?

Yes, it was excellent, we went without reservation, checked in, found a seat at the bar, after about one drink (Pina Colada) ...they called too say our table was ready.  

 

Had the grouper and shrimp....

[jeepfan2006]

20 hours ago, puglady12 said:

Do you recommend eating at Barrachina?  We sail on the 11th and want to get off in San Juan for dinner. No idea where we should eat!!  Is it within walking distance?

We got off the ship for a few drinks in Old San Juan and then took a short taxi ride to Oceano's for dinner. It was fantastic. Roof top dining on the beach.

[puglady12]

Good to know thanks!!