Fantastic vacation!! Ship overall was amazing!

MSC Seaside Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 58

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5
MSC Seaside

7 Night Eastern Caribbean & Bahamas (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 17, 2018

Ship: MSC Seaside

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 13146

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Overall the MSC Seaside was amazing! The most beautiful ship I have ever seen. Clean, classy and a lot of bling! The small kids pool area looked like fun and the kids club always had a crowd and taking part in different shows. The teen club was good too, my teens spent time there playing games and meeting new people. Lots of space from the disco garage, pool tables, ping pong, bowling, etc for teens to enjoy. There were 3 pools! Lots of room to swim, but like all ships, hard to get a lounge chair but we managed. There were dance classes and games during the day but not so much fun/energy as we have experienced with RCL or Disney. I couldn’t even tell you how many bars/ lounges were on the ship! They were all gorgeous! It wasn’t a party ship but there was always a party to find if you looked for it! We enjoyed the dancing and entertainment at the haven lounge each night and our teens usually stayed out until 1:30 am, dancing and hanging out. Although it’s a very large ship, felt small and safe. We’ve sailed Disney and RCL before so for comparison, the personal dining experience on Disney is top notch, RCL good but Msc horrible! To be fair, we only tried it one night but there was no interaction between the waiter, no smiles anywhere and the kids rather the variety of choices in the buffet. I was disappointed in this because I really like the dining experience. However, buffet was always a great variety and really really good food! Always a place open to sit which is a big thing we run into on other cruises, We loved it! **find Maria from Mexico, she is a sweetheart! So helpful and at the end of a very long work day working tables at the buffet, you can still find her smiling** Buffet also gave us time to hang out at the lounges around the atrium and have a drink before the show started...so although I always liked the dining experience, I think I’ve changed my mind. The shows on Disney and RCL were awesome...MSC is trying to appeal to North American markets but not quite there yet! A lot of opera!! We went to all shows and 3 were fantastic, the others ok, one completely awful Pizza is avail til 12 and the buffet open for yummy snacks til 2am...we always went up for a cup of tea and snack (old folgies) and even a game of cards! Clean and easy to locate washrooms are always important to me and this ship was my best experience for this Staterooms were a normal size but a great design- there is storage under the bed enough to fit 4 suitcases! The others didn’t have that...I unpacked everything and had loads of room for the four of us. Our room was in a great location and the bunk beds were perfect. Very disappointed there were no towel animals 😢I look forward to those! But it was spotless, every time I left I came back to a clean room with lots of towels 👍🏼 The Japanese specialty restaurant was delish, that’s all we tried There were lots of sewer smell talks on reviews, we did smell it in our cabin two mornings for a couple hours but it’s only gray water smell (if you camp, it’s the same smell) no big deal, just open the patio! I’m sure they must of released gray water at sea and there is a vent on the washroom floor, no doubt that was it, lots of time gray smells worst than black water! I would go on this cruise again. It is breathtaking! I wish the entertainment was a little more NA but other than that...don’t hesitate to sail this beauty.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Fastest I’ve experienced! We were a little later arriving (3pm) not sure if that’s the reason, but no line up at all, very friendly service

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Very disappointed in main dining room but buffet was delicious! So much variety...best buffet I’ve experienced Speciality restaurant Teppanyaki was my favourite dining experience!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
We spent some time in the amusement area and had fun bowling, the race car simulator and especially the 5D theatre! Did that twice! If you purchase $100, you get $160 in credit to use...this worked well for us Our teens took advantage of all activities excerpt the zip line that never opened! We paid $25 per cabin for unlimited use but apparently always too windy...even while we were at port??!

Entertainment

3 out of 5
The entertainment....3 shows were fantastic! 4 were not!! Needs some work in this area to attract North American clients

Children's Programs

4 out of 5
Teen club was great, my teens didn’t spend a lot of time there but did enjoy hanging out and playing board games

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
Our room steward Wian was the best! Always remembered our name, explained everything, always always a smile....and super clean! I love clean!! Maria from Mexico who works long hours at the buffet...she is the sweetest most friendly waitress on board Our waiter at the dining room...first impressions—-we never returned, sad.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Hands down the best design, layout and cleanliness I have ever experienced on any vacation! Just beautiful!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Great design! Super clean! But why no towel animals MSC??!!

Ship tip

Do a little research...for example there is a “white party” and “flower glory party” you can pack for

Ports of call

St. John's, Antigua

5 out of 5
Took a taxi (experience in itself! $8 government rate they say, but I walked away and bargained to get $5 each way) to valley church beach. The beach is amazing! Go there!! There were 7 of us, didn’t pay for taxi until we returned to ship Good shopping near ship as well

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5
Been here twice, this time we snorkelled with the turtles...oh my heart! Fantastic excursion

Disembarkation

2 out of 5
We waited and hung out enjoying our last few hours on the ship, no wait in line everything went smooth I sprained my ankle on an excursion and needed a wheelchair by the time I left...the treatment I received disembarking was humiliating for me and my family. From accusing us of lying to trying to separate us, it was a sad and painful end to Ann otherwise amazing vacation....I’m just gonna have to let that one slide because I have too many great memories
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11 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

CollinsFamCrew    6 years ago

@kwillia1994, the movies we saw playing were Beauty and the Beast, and one of the Pirates of the Carribean movies. But they had a different one each night.

andrewsmith    6 years ago

ptinehoutx    6 years ago

Check out my Feb 3 post under Ship Chat. I updated daily with lots of info and happy to answer questions too.

NThomasA0K    6 years ago

Sorry @ natashatsh! I went on about excursions! We booked the fantastica experience with the 12 drink vouchers each...I didn’t think that would be enough, but it was plenty for us

andrewsmith    6 years ago

kwillia1994    6 years ago

Thanks for asking your teens. That’s one of my teens favorite things to do so hopefully they are playing some good movies.

NThomasA0K    6 years ago

Didn’t sit and watch an entire movie, just lounged for a bit...there were several nights I noticed them playing but can’t remember at all what they were! Sorry! I’ll ask my teens when they get home I wish I were counting down with ya!! definitely in cruise withdrawal 😭

kwillia1994    6 years ago

Did you watch any of the movies outside? Do you remember what was playing ? Thanks for the review. Only two more weeks.🤗

NThomasA0K    6 years ago

In Antigua, just the taxi to valley church...St.Thomas we booked through MSC the two power island cat (also had funnel cake in a pub on the way back to the ship that was delish!)...in Grand Turk we took a train ride tour, but honestly not much to see, we did enjoy Margaritaville when we returned :)

natashatsh    6 years ago

Great detailed review. Which experience did you book?

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