My View: Trading Seascape for Seaside Semi-Live

NCteacherlovescruising · May 29, 2023

9 minutes ago, JAGR said:

Yacht Club

I thought so! Can’t wait!!

APDMOM · May 29, 2023

1 hour ago, ChattTenn said:

We had one of that letter too. We watched the video and called 881 TWICE then walked down to the said station to got our cruise cards scanned. We went to Guest Services (no body answered the phone) the person at the desk did not want to believe us. Their IT will need to fix the issues.

I can easily come up with a conspiracy theory about this issue 🤣

I agree - IT needs to improve. Ironically, I pay much better attention to the video than when we are packed like sardines in a small space... 🙂

APDMOM · May 29, 2023

Dinner Dishes:

We liked everything we ordered. Some dishes were just okay, but most of them are dishes we would order again. Even though I said on a previous cruise that I would not order the 'grouper' again, nothing else stood out as something I was in the mood for. So, I ordered the grouper for comparison.

So far, Seascape wins on meals - but it is only day one. The Chicken croquettes and salmon were better on Seascape.

Our Dinner:

APDMOM · May 29, 2023

Until next week, Port Canaveral:

Sailaway was during our dinner, so I did not get any good pics... Here are a few views from the balcony prior to sailing away:

Marella Discovery:

Coast Guard:

NASA - a hazy day, as usual:

APDMOM · May 29, 2023

Our View Forward:

Our View Aft:

Our View Below: Cracked glass on the port side of Infinity Bridge

APDMOM · May 29, 2023

The Show: Variety

Unfortunately, there were technical difficulties that caused the cancellation of the variety show. It will repeat on Friday, so we hope to report back on how it goes by then.

TIP: Making Reservations for the Shows: Once you are onboard, log into the free wifi on the ship. Check daily to see when shows are ready to book. Make reservations for your preferred time if you want to guarantee a seat at the shows.

Evening:

We enjoyed walking around the ship to see if we could find a 'favorite' performer in the public areas. The verdict is still out on this. The performers in the atrium were good, but the volume was WAY too loud to really enjoy the music. I do not understand the need for them to put the music that loud - really just not enjoyable or conducive to an 'easy listening' experience.

bruce85 · May 29, 2023

20 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Note About Boarding Times:

We received several tickets with different boarding times. We decided to arrive early because if we came at the most recent boarding time (1:30 PM), we would likely not find parking at the port. Nobody checked our boarding time - everyone was directed to the “Outside boarding window” line. There were no problems boarding. As previously stated, we did not even stand in line anywhere.

Nobody looked at our health questionnaires either.

I are sailing also. Our check in time was 2pm. We arrive at 10.50 and walked straight in no questions about check in time. Waited about 30-40 minutes before our group boarded.

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

My View: End of Day 1 - Port Canaveral

Marella Discovery at Sea

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

Boarding Info (Unfortunately, I did not get the daily program - will try to remember next Sunday)

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

Itinerary First 7 Days: (Forgot to post at the start)

skipsaur · May 30, 2023

On 5/30/2023 at 12:07 AM, APDMOM said:

"Muster Drill"

The MSC post-COVID muster drill is fantastic! It is more like a stroll than a drill. You watch a video on your stateroom TV, then dial a specific number from your stateroom to confirm you watched the video.

After this, you walk down to your muster station, get your card scanned, and you are done. The only thing is that you have to wait for everyone to complete the process. We just sat in a lounge to 'wait it out'. Unfortunately, I had an asthma coughing spell that had the tears rolling down my cheeks 😳

Quick question, what do you mean by having to wait for everyone? Did you have to wait at your muster station or were you allowed to leave after scanning your card?

I assume nothing is open on the ship until muster is complete but I'd like to know if I can go back to my room to wait it out?

Thanks!

PompeySailor · May 30, 2023

Enjoying your review 👍🏻

Like you guys we first dipped our toes into the MSC waters on Seaside in 2019 and really liked the product overall

We have Seascape in June and then back on Seaside in July out of PC so very interested to read all about it and to also see if she is still your favorite.

Have a Great Cruise 😎

Happy Days!

What parking garage and terminal did you use and sail from, TIA

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

5 hours ago, skipsaur said:

Quick question, what do you mean by having to wait for everyone? Did you have to wait at your muster station or were you allowed to leave after scanning your card?

I assume nothing is open on the ship until muster is complete but I'd like to know if I can go back to my room to wait it out?

Thanks!

@skipsaur You are correct. You can go to a lounge or back to your room until everyone is done. They just don't open anything until everyone is done. On Seascape, the first night dining was delayed due to some people not completing the drill. This time, the drill ended just before our 5:15 dining time.

All bars and ship venues are closed for the duration of the drill. We even found that we could not use wifi during this time - not sure if that was a coincidental glitch or if they disable wifi on purpose during the drill.

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

2 hours ago, PompeySailor said:

What parking garage and terminal did you use and sail from, TIA

We parked and left from Terminal 10 🙂

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

My View: Day 2 and 3 - Ocean Cay

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

Since this was an overnight stay in Ocean Cay, I will post the two days as one.

TIP: If you stay overnight in Ocean Cay, you have to be back onboard at 11:30 PM. We have now seen the lighthouse show from the ship and from shore on different cruises. Both are fun, but I enjoyed the one from the beach more. It tends to get crowded on the open decks on the ship when the lighthouse show starts. It was very open and uncrowded on the beach.

We spent most of our time on the quiet ship since we were recently at Ocean Cay. We also live close to the beach and don't stay out in the sun for hours at a time. Here are some morning views of Ocean Cay:

A thunderstorm off in the distance - We had a 30% chance of rain forecast, but saw mostly sunshine:

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

Island Walk:

I went for a walk on the island with my mom to see if the buffet is worth it. Unfortunately, there were very long lines and we ended up just walking around the shops (she was a professional shopper before it was even a job 🤣).

I don't think we can ever deny we are related...

I love Frangipani!

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

Evening Views of the Island:

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

Sunset over Ocean Cay:

TIP: If you want a great view of the sunset behind the Lighthouse with the water in the foreground - walk along the concrete edge by lighthouse bay before you get to the beach.

xcell · May 30, 2023

1 hour ago, APDMOM said:

Sunset over Ocean Cay:

TIP: If you want a great view of the sunset behind the Lighthouse with the water in the foreground - walk along the concrete edge by lighthouse bay before you get to the beach.

Nice sunset picture....

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

It was a beautiful evening - it was hard to choose 'just a few' favorite views:

APDMOM · May 30, 2023

Lighthouse Show: It is only about 5 minutes, but fun to watch

Ship at night:

mnpurple · May 30, 2023

You always do such nice reviews! I try not to be envious of those who get to enjoy Ocean Cay since we just couldn't dock, but these beautiful shots really make me envious. I'm questioning my decision to book our next cruise in Northern Europe toward the end of March. Not sure what kind of weather to expect, but no beaches!

APDMOM · May 31, 2023

2 hours ago, mnpurple said:

You always do such nice reviews! I try not to be envious of those who get to enjoy Ocean Cay since we just couldn't dock, but these beautiful shots really make me envious. I'm questioning my decision to book our next cruise in Northern Europe toward the end of March. Not sure what kind of weather to expect, but no beaches!

Northern Europe will be a unique experience too! We had a cruise booked to go there in 2020... Now, we are kind of content staying around the Caribbean because DH and DS just don't want to fly anywhere. 😄

APDMOM · May 31, 2023

Dinner: Day 2 - Ocean Cay:

Seaside vs. Seascape Note: Dinner was better tonight, similar to what we had on Seascape. So, last night may just have been a 'first day, changeover day' rush. The Texas BBQ was a favorite!

TIP: Main Meals: If you are a more picky eater, you can pretty much never go wrong with the chicken dishes on MSC. We have not found any chicken dish or rotisserie chicken that we did not like. They vary the flavor in the buffet every day.

TIP: Dessert - As people who LOVE dessert, the MSC desserts are just not that great. The only ones that we consistently enjoy are the cheesecake at dinner and the panna cotta in the Marketplace Buffet. For soft serve, keep an eye on when Biscayne Buffet is open for lunch. Otherwise, remind yourself how much money you saved by booking MSC and splurge on Venchi... more about Venchi to come.