I wouldn't say that we would never go on another MSC cruise but it is unlikely. We don't go on a cruise to be confused and frustrated even by little things. Maybe this was a cruise Europeans liked (all announcements were done in 5 languages) and I think half the ship was from somewhere else besides the US.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We were able to drop off our luggage, park the car, then proceed to the terminal. Once in the terminal, it was fairly easy to check in. MSC has their own terminal.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The food was pretty good, buffets were good too. The specialty restaurants were very good. The drink options, not so much. MSC chose to sell vouchers as drink packages. In the past, we have opted for a soda package which on other lines covers sodas, water, juice and non-achoholic drinks. We got 2 "soda/alcohol" voucher booklets, a coffee voucher booklet and a water booklet. We were told by our travel agent that they would deliver water to the room each day. Nope. Vouchers. On top of all this, we had a package called "Fantastica" that applied to meals but it was confusing because sometimes the employees didn't know what was included. I gave out at least one voucher when I didn't have to. Also, if you are in the buffet, you can get "Bar Service" but not everything that a bar would make. So the whole drink thing was confusing and frustrating. NOT A FAN OF VOUCHERS!
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Zip line and water slides were an extra charge ($5 for zip line). Fitness center was very nice. I worked out once on the ship. Pools are designed such that there is a shallow area (6 inches or less) around the perimeter of the pool then there is a 6 foot drop off. So you can sit on the edge and get a little wet or tread water or swim. Hot tubs were a little cool. I could've used about 5-10 degrees more.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
MSC attracted audiences to their 3 evening shows each night with a troupe of singers, dancers, acrobatics and a little magic. Each show was loosely based on a storyline but was very well done. I'm not a fan of canned music but I could see how this was best for the venue.
There was a 4-piece band, but I felt like they were just phoning it in and weren't too excited about performing. There was also the occasional instrumentalist (saxaphone) or singer for background entertainment which were okay. There was never any Caribbean music.
The piped in music around the ship was very eclectic. One moment they were playing a recent country hit, the next was Low Rider. Someone needs a music program manager.
Children's Programs
We do not have children.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
We found a diverse quality of service on MSC. The room steward (Gushti) was excellent. We also found the occasional exceptional employee, one in the excursions area and Paul, the bartender in the Sports Bar. Unfortunately, one bad experience taints everything and that is what we had in the main dining room. We were going to try to make a 6:30 show so our travel companion started to leave with a cup of coffee. This has never been an issue on any other line but this waiter would not let her leave with a cup of coffee. This resulted in a complaint to the matre'd and we were switched to another table whose waiter did an excellent job.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
MSC's Seaside is a beautiful ship. We enjoyed eating on the back of the ship and enjoying the view.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin steward (Gushti) did a wonderful job. Cleaned about 2-3 times a day. I just wish he made towel animals.
The bed was very comfortable. The balcony was also very nice.
Ship tip
Make sure they know what their drink packages entail because some of the employees don't.
We chose a very popular excursion, the Jamaica bobsled/Dunn's Falls. Because SOOOOOO many people wanted to do this, most of our time was spent standing in line. All this could have been done in 3 hours but we spent about 2 additional hours standing in line. Ugh.
The chairlift, bobsled and Falls were great, it was the standing in line that was a bummer.
We went to the Turtle Adventure which is designed to be an interactive park and promote sea turtle awareness. One of the things that is offered is to hold a baby sea turtle. I was called "disrespectful" by one of the employees of the park because my husband wanted to take a picture of me holding the turtle. What they really want is for you to buy one of their pictures of you holding a turtle. Turned me off.
They also have a significant pool for turtles and tropical fish which you can swim/snorkel in. I prefer snorkeling in the ocean.
Nassau is a place I would like to come back to sometime. We did a snorkeling excursion which was decent. The catamaran took us to the reef and got us back fine. They provided snorkels but no fins. Their briefing was minimal. If this was my first time snorkeling, I would have felt uncomfortable. They also had a broken railing as you climb back on the boat.
Disembarking is never fun but it seemed to go well except that our travel companion had money coming back to her. The customer service desk was not any help so we had to wait while someone got her refund. Why don't they just credit it back to the credit card?
Tommyboy08 all with you on that. I look at the towel animals as being cute for the kids but if we don't get them then it's not going to run my cruise. And I've also learned that if you want to order a drink from the bar them get the bat menu first so that you can see what that bar offers, it can change from bar to bar.
Was on the Divina. Found the different languages not a problem at all. Enjoyed the conversations with different people. Towel animals- what can I say? They are cute for 10 seconds. If they are not there so what? Used vouchers on the Divina- no problem.
I lhink it is great that they do the anoucements in many languages, it reminds you that diversity is part of cruising. If I didn't want diversity then I would rent a little house boat instead of cruise lol. And if they were so needing a coffee to go then don't argue with the waiter and just go back to the cabin and make a coffee or get one from a different coffee stop on the ship. Why argue with staff when you should be on vacation relaxing?
Our cruise on Divina was about 70% non-American. We liked the diversity. They might have given you a to-go cup to take your coffee from the dining room. Complaining on a ship can get people fired. Or they have to walk the plank. I just got one booklet of drink tickets. I used one for my afternoon gelato and one for my evening frozen mojito. That and the buffet pizza gave me enough calories to gain my usual 7 cruise pounds as the vegetarian fare in the dining room was truly awful. Maybe next cruise you can take a deep breath and be more relaxed about stuff.
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