MSC in general seems like the rookie on the team feeling their way around the North American market. Given time I'd rate them up there with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian but right now they've got some kinks to work out.
Specific to the Seaside. The main dining fair needs to improve. Being able to order any drink while in the main dining needs to also be made available. The elevators are a serious serious issue. There simply are not enough of them on board. They are slow and always packed. We literally had to ride the elevator in the opposite direct we wanted to go just to get ourselves in the elevator to avoid long waits or potential full elevators...The price was right with MSC so I can't complain there and overall my complaints aren't ones that would deter me from cruising MSC again, so in my opinion go for it. Buy the specialty dining and if you can splurge do the Aurea package or even Yacht Club.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Fast and smooth.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
We had the 5:15 dining time. Service was always fast. Adult beverages are limited in the main dining so be aware. Food was fairly limited in my opinion and not very flavorful at all. I was really expecting a bit more in this area. Bar areas had very slow service. This was one of the biggest problems I encountered. Sometimes you could walk right up and get service and other times you had to struggle to even get the bartender to make eye contact with you. Bars were greatly under-staffed, each one could've used 1 or 2 more bodies.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Pools are nice and didn't get as overcrowded as I had expected. Note: the main pools are all 6ft deep and have shallow splash/sunshelfs connected to them. Casino is small but I actually left with some of their money :)...Other areas such as bars and lounges are very nicely done.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Largely European singers with noticeable accents. Shows were similar in nature. Frankly, some simply made no sense with very random things acts scattered throughout. However the BeerProv was pretty funny.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
Traveled with my 2 year old son and was hoping the kids pool area would've been something he could enjoy. However, it was way too intense for a 2yr old. Water cannons, huge tipping buckets of water, deeper water than expected, etc...
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Was very hit or miss. Some staff seemed miserable which I understand because they were really overworked in my opinion. While others seemed very happy to be working there. Main dining servers were always great!
I've had the same experience with elevators on both NCL and RCCL. It the nature on the ships, especially the larger ones. If you can't stand waiting or going the wrong way for a bit then take the stairs, better exercise that way. Glad to see that you had a good time though. 😁
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