Live from MSC Seaside, Genoa, May 22-29, 2021

[petra75]

Hallo everybody,

we are ready to start another cruise!

 

After the ones on MSC Grandiosa https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2759896-live-from-msc-grandiosa-genoa-september-6-13-2020/ and Costa Smeralda https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2764098-live-from-costa-smeralda-savona-october-31-november-7-2020/ in 2020 we hope you'll find fun and some useful informations in our new live!

 

We will be happy to answer all your questions but please be patient, we have not bought any internet package so we'll keep in touch when in port. By the way this time we booked 3 excursions out of 4 ports, of course with MSC, no other choice yet, and two of them last about 8 hours!

 

Our itinerary:

5/22 Genoa dep. 7:00pm

5/23 at sea

5/24 La Valletta (Malta) 8am-6pm

5/25 Syracuse 7am-5pm

5/26 Taranto 9am-6pm

5/27 at sea

5/28 Civitavecchia 7am-7pm

5/29 Genoa arr. 8am

 

We have booked the cruise just a couple of weeks before departing in our usual inside cabin.

 

Before coming to Genoa we had to take a first stub, for us Italians that has to be taken within 96 hours from the date of boarding, I believe for other EU citizen is 48 hours but no worries, if you are already in Italy you can easily find a Pharmacy or clinic to get tested. That's a news compared to the others cruise we took during pandemic, where we had to do the covid test only during checkin in port. But that does not mean you avoid that, there's another mandatory swab to take in port before embarkation, and counting!

 

 

Embarkation was the usual mess, I don't know in other ports but if you embark in Genoa prepare to queue! First we queued for our first Covidtest from home to be controlled, then for our second Covid test to be done, then we could relax a little waiting for the number we were given after the swab but when they called the number we queued again waiting for check in. We were speechless, why don't they give the same number to just few people so that we have to wait in line for a short period?

Anyway we could finally board at 3 pm, having the checkin time at 1:20 pm, and at least this time they were strict with that. We could leave our luggage at 12 pm but we were invited to show up for embarkation not before 1pm, and the same was told to a family that arrive just before us at 13 pm but had the boarding time at 14:15 pm

 

 

 

[petra75]

Here's the list of the excursions available, don't mind the dates the are for next week, I don't think they will be very different from week to week, maybe they'll add more beach days during summer.

There is a package of 3 half-day excursions for 99 euros but was sold out when we booked, we were not interested anyway but it is better hurry if you are.

 

Malta

 

 

 

 

 

[petra75]

Syracuse (we'll take the “Inspector Montalbano country”, but never watch that TV serie, odd Italians!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taranto (we'll take the “Taranto city of culture and art”). I don't know why there are not description here, but in a nutshell the two in Taranto are both bus and walking tour of the city, while Ostuni and Alberobello are town nearby. We went to Alberobello from Bari when on another cruise, recommended!

 

 

[petra75]

Civitavecchia (ours is “Bomarzo Park and Viterbo”)

 

 

 

 

 

[shipgeeks]

Petra, I'm so happy for you that you are on another cruise, and I'm happy for me that I'll get to read them!  I greatly enjoyed your past posts.

And I saw your post just in time.  I looked at the Genoa webcam, and there you go.

Bon Voyage!

[portofrome]

Bon Voyage, Petra. Looking forward to reading more about your cruise.

Have a wonderful cruise!

[Preziosa]

We were on Seaside from the 8. Th to 15 th of May 2021. So now I Can Dream back. We had a great Cruise. Have a wonderful cruise

[petra75]

Hello from a sunny La Valletta, being from North Italy were this year spring has not yet arrived we're really enjoying today's weather.

 

Yesterday we were at sea so we had the time to explore the ship. It's the first time on this class for us and so far we like it better than the Grandiosa class. I'd say that inside is a more classical style, at least compared to the kind of ship we are used to, with a big Piazza and some smallish venues where you can find different type of entertainment.

 

 

 

 

 

[petra75]

Buffet is divided in small isles and is of course served. We find for this kind of service the one with a unique long line better, since here when you reach every different one is often a problem to understand what way the others are going to walk. The variety of food is not great but of good quality.

Even if we are about two thousands, so less than half of the ship capacity, at peek hours both the two identical lines of the buffet are opened so no waiting at all for food, just at the entrance since at breakfast and lunch there is the mandatory temperature check and the stop at sink to wash your hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[petra75]

Beside the zip line, that we were told it will not open at least during this cruise, everything outside is open, like waterslides, baby aqua park, sports arena, etc. And every swimming pool and whirpool we were able to find are as well, there are really a good number and we could see there are others at top19, aurea spa as well.

 

[petra75]

On 5/22/2021 at 6:18 PM, shipgeeks said:

Petra, I'm so happy for you that you are on another cruise, and I'm happy for me that I'll get to read them!  I greatly enjoyed your past posts.

And I saw your post just in time.  I looked at the Genoa webcam, and there you go.

Bon Voyage!

 

On 5/22/2021 at 7:50 PM, portofrome said:

Bon Voyage, Petra. Looking forward to reading more about your cruise.

Have a wonderful cruise!

 

On 5/22/2021 at 9:32 PM, Preziosa said:

We were on Seaside from the 8. Th to 15 th of May 2021. So now I Can Dream back. We had a great Cruise. Have a wonderful cruise

 

Happy to hear from you all again!

Preziosa, if there is something you wish to add about your experience on Seaside here please do!  

[Nunagoras]

Many thanks Petra for the wonderful review!...

 

While I have never gone on both the Mera (Grandiosa) and the Seaside class of ships, and while ironically all the Seaside class ship concept was entirely designed with the American market in mind and the Mera with the rest of the world in mind, me thinks that Seaside is incredibly more identifiable with the whole MSC concept from the beginning than exactly the Mera one!... Eventually the Mera ship class seems for me like such a white branded RCI Oasis Class experience... While I may one day to book a Mera cruise, I can see myself more comfortable on a Seaside Class... If I want the original Oasis Experience, I know where to search for it!...

 

May I ask you if you can publish, even if at return home, the PDF for the continental Europe sailings to compare with the ones for the UK sailing actually being shown on the Virtuosa live thread, please?

 

Have a nice day and a nice sailing!... Enjoy well your cruise!... :)

[shipgeeks]

Petra, Which tour are you taking today in Valletta?  We are watching the port webcam, with the comings and goings of passengers and crew.  Maybe we will see you!

221 people are watching!

Edited May 24, 2021 by shipgeeks
add

[Preziosa]

On our cruice one week ago We We thinking that the diningrooms where very sad to see. Nothing on the tables Normaly the tables Are very beautyful covered. 

[Nunagoras]

1 hour ago, Preziosa said:

On our cruice one week ago We We thinking that the diningrooms where very sad to see. Nothing on the tables Normaly the tables Are very beautyful covered. 

That seems to be unfortunately a sad trend on the whole mass market tourism industry these covidical days, and it may be one to stay after all of this has faded away... Even at certain above the average venues... Hope that all this goes fast...

[petra75]

Yesterday we went to our first excursion to Sicily country. It was a long one and involved long trip by bus but we were aware of that since it was well described by MSC and it was between sea and hills, so nice to see.

 

 

 

First we went to Scicli and we had a walk around the town visiting a couple of churches and from outside some places you could know if you watch the Montalbano TV serie, well, so we were told by our guide! Anyway she told us in those places they are grateful to Montalbano, or better to Camilleri, the Italian writer of the books the TV serie was written after, since being in the Sicilian country they were mostly unknown before, at least definitely less visited than the towns by the sea!

 

[petra75]

Then it was time for Modica, known for its chocolate, were we had a chocolate tasting and time to buy in the same place chocolate or other Sicilian food and wine. The place is the one you can see at bottom left of the following picture and it's the same place where we had our lunch later. Sorry, no food porn, we forgot, too busy eating. We had an entrée with salami and cheese, pasta and one of the best cannoli we have ever eaten!

Before lunch we visited the church that was just in front of the restaurant.

 

 

 

Last stop was in Ragusa where we had just an hour or so to walk around. No visit inside any church this time since it was closed at the time we where there.

 

 

 

It was a quick visit in every town but they seem really worth coming back one day.

 

[petra75]

On 5/24/2021 at 3:23 PM, Nunagoras said:

Many thanks Petra for the wonderful review!...

 

While I have never gone on both the Mera (Grandiosa) and the Seaside class of ships, and while ironically all the Seaside class ship concept was entirely designed with the American market in mind and the Mera with the rest of the world in mind, me thinks that Seaside is incredibly more identifiable with the whole MSC concept from the beginning than exactly the Mera one!... Eventually the Mera ship class seems for me like such a white branded RCI Oasis Class experience... While I may one day to book a Mera cruise, I can see myself more comfortable on a Seaside Class... If I want the original Oasis Experience, I know where to search for it!...

 

May I ask you if you can publish, even if at return home, the PDF for the continental Europe sailings to compare with the ones for the UK sailing actually being shown on the Virtuosa live thread, please?

 

Have a nice day and a nice sailing!... Enjoy well your cruise!... 🙂

 

I didn't know about the market they were built for but I definitely quote you everithing you said about MSC vs RCL.

Ok, we will publish some pdf we kept when at home.

[petra75]

On 5/24/2021 at 3:36 PM, shipgeeks said:

Petra, Which tour are you taking today in Valletta?  We are watching the port webcam, with the comings and goings of passengers and crew.  Maybe we will see you!

221 people are watching!

 

We didn't take any tour in Valletta, the only port we decided to stay on the ship for this cruise, not really fans. And doing so we maybe avoid one more swab. 

 

On 5/24/2021 at 10:18 PM, Preziosa said:

On our cruice one week ago We We thinking that the diningrooms where very sad to see. Nothing on the tables Normaly the tables Are very beautyful covered. 

 

Definitely, in these days we find dining room are really just for eating

[CruisingFox27]

Thanks Petra, looking forward to reading more about your latest cruise adventures 😀 

[marielco]

Would you share some dining room menus?  I am interested to see if the meals differ from those of the UK Virtuosa published recently as taking a Med cruise with MSC in September.  

[MarkusToe]

May I ask what type of Covid test is needed?

PCR or the cheap ones?

[Até]

1 hour ago, MarkusToe said:

May I ask what type of Covid test is needed?

PCR or the cheap ones?

On the MSC sites it recently changed to say PCR or antigen.

 

https://www.msccruises.de/gesundheit-und-sicherheit

[portofrome]

2 hours ago, MarkusToe said:

May I ask what type of Covid test is needed?

PCR or the cheap ones?

Just boarded today and the antigen (rapid) is fine.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 5/24/2021 at 7:57 AM, petra75 said:

 

 

 

What was NOT good about the food? 

I am also curious what was served in the Ethnic section of the buffet.

I am so happy for you, since you seem to be enjoying your cruise very much! I am considering MSC for next year (Caribbean), since my 2020 MSC maiden voyage was cancelled and we never got to try it.