new to msc

[lolalow]

Hi - I'm new to MSC, First cruise coming up in November on the Seaside.  for years been wanting to go but the reviews always made me book elsewhere.  I finally got a price I couldn't walk away from.  I have sailed Disney Carnival and RCCL for comparison's sake.

 

What drinks are available for free at buffet?  At Dining room.  We are big water drinkers and I hear there are to packaged water deliveries.  Is this true?  We also cant bring it on the ship correct?  Sort of stinks we have to run back and forth to buffet to get water.  

 

Is there a hot cocoa machine on board at buffet?

 

We booked 2 rooms the second being for my 21 year old son.  They said I had to put his name twice on room because no single occupancy.  Are we going to have problems when we board that he has two tickets for his room with both being him?  It seems so odd that you can't just put one name and be charged more as other cruise lines do it.

 

Are we able to get a table for two for the dining room?

 

Is there a show equivalent to love and marriage show?

 

Do the beds seperate?

 

Which terminal do we sail from and what time can we start boarding?  What time is busiest at port?  We want to avoid long lines at port my son has ankle contractures, and we will be requesting wheelchair assistance because he can't stand for long periods of time.  I will have a scooter for myself as I have very bad fibromyalgia which makes standing for long periods of time very difficult.  Is there a separate line or do we hop in line with everyone else?  Still would like to arrive when least amount of waiting as my son has autism and waits are difficult for him.

 

What do I need to know about safety drill?  do they do the loud alarms?  That usually freaks out my son, on other cruises he is allowed to stay in room and watch briefing to avoid the loud sounds and mass chaos of everyone going where they need to get.  

 

Pool towels available by the pools or take one from room?

 

 

Anything else I need to know about first time on msc?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shipgeeks]

Free drinks in buffet: coffee, teas, juices, milks, iced tea, water.  The water in the cabin tap is fine; if we want water to carry somewhere we just take a refillable bottle.  Water in MDR will be provided by waiter and/or pitcher on the table.

[shipgeeks]

Beds can be separated by cabin steward.

Shows and activities are less language-dependent, as there will be many nationalities aboard, so something like love & marriage show might not be offered.  Fewer comedians, more visual shows.

[shipgeeks]

Announcements will be in multiple languages, but will be brief: "Ship is now cleared to go ashore", but not "art auction/sales in the shops/bingo blah blah.....".  It is best to use the planner to keep track of desired activities.

[JamieLogical]

5 hours ago, lolalow said:

Hi - I'm new to MSC, First cruise coming up in November on the Seaside.  for years been wanting to go but the reviews always made me book elsewhere.  I finally got a price I couldn't walk away from.  I have sailed Disney Carnival and RCCL for comparison's sake.

 

What drinks are available for free at buffet?  At Dining room.  We are big water drinkers and I hear there are to packaged water deliveries.  Is this true?  We also cant bring it on the ship correct?  Sort of stinks we have to run back and forth to buffet to get water.  

 

Is there a hot cocoa machine on board at buffet?

 

We booked 2 rooms the second being for my 21 year old son.  They said I had to put his name twice on room because no single occupancy.  Are we going to have problems when we board that he has two tickets for his room with both being him?  It seems so odd that you can't just put one name and be charged more as other cruise lines do it.

 

Are we able to get a table for two for the dining room?

 

Is there a show equivalent to love and marriage show?

 

Do the beds seperate?

 

Which terminal do we sail from and what time can we start boarding?  What time is busiest at port?  We want to avoid long lines at port my son has ankle contractures, and we will be requesting wheelchair assistance because he can't stand for long periods of time.  I will have a scooter for myself as I have very bad fibromyalgia which makes standing for long periods of time very difficult.  Is there a separate line or do we hop in line with everyone else?  Still would like to arrive when least amount of waiting as my son has autism and waits are difficult for him.

 

What do I need to know about safety drill?  do they do the loud alarms?  That usually freaks out my son, on other cruises he is allowed to stay in room and watch briefing to avoid the loud sounds and mass chaos of everyone going where they need to get.  

 

Pool towels available by the pools or take one from room?

 

 

Anything else I need to know about first time on msc?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assuming you are not in the Yacht Club, the beds do separate. Leave a note or let your room steward know you want them separated.

 

If you are Bella or Fantastica you will have an assigned dining time, room, and table. If your reservation is linked with your son, it will likely be a table for three (four).

 

For the safety drill, you watch a video in you room, dial in on your phone to confirm you have watched the video, and then go to your muster station when your deck is called. It is definitely hectic in terms of the number of people moving around, but I do not believe there were any alarms.

 

You will have beach/pool towels in your room, but I believe there is a towel exchange near the pools

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

By making him use his name twice on the same reservation, you also got charged double taxes. They used to book singles at a higher price (with only taxes for 1) but it seems of late if you try to book 1 person, it tells you there are no cabins available forcing you to book the same name for two. You could try to call MSC Reservations and try to remove one of them and see what happens. If they can't or won't remove one name, you'll have to input all his information twice at Online check-in (T-20 days) in order to get the needed Embarkation Docs to be emailed to you. When you check-in at the pier, make sure they remove one name and then double check at Reception on board to assure the cabin is only billed for Gratuities x 1, not Gratuities X 2.

 

On my last MSC cruise in the Caribbean, there was something called a "Romeo & Juliet Game Show" searching for the most perfect couple on board. That's as close to a Newlywed Game as they offered.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Seaside leaves out of pier 10 in port Canaveral. You will be given a boarding time in your ticket package. On our seaside cruise last week boarding was pretty dead with no waiting for anyone at all. (11 am). Frankly, I’d never seen it like that. 
 

You can get water from various places around the ship…bars, stateroom, buffet, MDR. 
 

On our cruise announcements were only in English but I have been on Seashore and the announcements were in English and Spanish. 
 

Beds can be separated… in yacht club too (at least in the interior rooms). 
 

I did not see separate lines for scooters or wheelchairs but the trip up from parking to check in requires an escalator/elevator so it’s possible that those using the elevator ended up in a different check in/security line.