SilverLocks Cruise Review on MSC Seaside on Mar 31, 2018

MSC Seaside Cruise Review

SilverLocks

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 17

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

Sail date: March 31, 2018

Ship: MSC Seaside

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

The Seaside is a beautiful ship but I wouldn’t recommend anyone sail with MSC. The level of rudeness combined with constant miscommunication and poor safety, hygiene, and customer service made this the worst cruise I have ever been on in 20 years of cruising. — POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE: I cruised as part of a group of 40. Most of us had at least two (most of us many more) poor interactions with staff. Collectively, we have been cruising for more than 20 years and have more than 75 cruises between us. We all agreed it was the rudest we have ever been treated. The staff was dismissive, indifferent, and in many cases downright surly. They went above and beyond for Yacht Club members and treated everyone else like steerage. — SAFETY ISSUES: Despite being advised, a person with nut allergies was served nuts. When it was pointed out, the server and manager continued to dispute the matter. Only when the nuts were presented to them did they acknowledge the error. No efforts were taken to address it for other guests (it’s not listed on menus) and no attempts to apologize were made. Several of our cabin doors required being slammed shut to engage the locks. When we pointed this out to stewards, no attempts were taken to address (maintenance never came). — KIDS CLUB, LACK OF STAFF: The kids club was total bedlam on all the occasions we visited. It’s simply too small for a fully booked boat with more than 1000 kids on board. They don’t have enough staff. We were charged extra for the child tracker/GPS bracelets which didn’t work. My daughter was injured; no incident report or notification was filed. When I contacted both the kids club and guest services, my complaints were ignored or dismissed. At one point, the guest services person suggested my daughter must have been doing something wrong to get hurt. The kids in our group largely declined to go, stating there were no organized activities like on other cruises we have taken and older kids made it difficult for smaller kids to play. — UNSANITARY CONDITIONS: On more than one occasion, we encountered unhygienic and unsanitary conditions in our rooms, or were served spoiled or moldy food, in one instance at one of their specialty dining establishments. While we were told we would credited for the tainted items, we were not. When this was mentioned at guest services (during what became a daily trip to deal with billing discrepancies), they said they would need to verify with the beverage manager who never called back. At the buffets, people didn’t wash or sanitize their hands but to be fair, there was no staff person posted with a sanitizer bottle and the machines they have in place were often empty. People (men) using the buffet topless was also just gross. — EXCURSIONS/ACTIVITIES: Excursions were poorly staffed or misrepresented what would be included. One excursion had people with wheelchairs and disabilities unable to participate but this was not advertised at all. Another left nearly a hour late and didn’t provide the tour as stated. The activities were short (less than an hour) and often had rules that seemed arbitrary. For one arts activity which was just cutting paper to make mosaics, only 20 people were allowed to participate and people under 18 were not allowed. For paper, glue sticks and scissors? They seemed unprepared for people to actually participate in activities on sea days, often turning people away. — SPA SERVICES/GYM/CLASSES: The spa area was overbooked and small, with no chairs available except for a port day. Similar to the pool decks, people reserve chairs for hours and staff does nothing to curtail or address the practice. Two of us were charged for products recommended during facials even though we didn’t agree to purchase them or sign any paperwork. The gym was nicely outfitted but always crowded. There were only two classes a day and they were the same three for the whole cruise. They had a lovely cycling room for those interested in that. The evening class (at 5:30) was in direct opposition with the first dining time. When asked if a class could be done in the afternoon if enough people signed up, they looked at us like we were crazy. — BILLING ISSUES, CUSTOMER SERVICE: Several of us encountered billing discrepancies (being charged for things you didn’t purchase, double charged for items, not receiving credits promised at Guest Services or by restaurants) and visited guest services nearly daily. The bracelets for charging seem to only work intermittently- had to change mine twice. On more than one occasion, the guest services counter shut down while we were in line waiting. On other ships, you typically can address all matters with customer service. We would wait online to address issues only to be told “I can deal with this but you’ll need to go to that line to deal with that.” This is not a need for the customer to always be right. I prepaid my gratuities and was then charged again on the ship. When I presented my receipt/email printout and showed the credit card charge on my phone, I STILL didn’t get credited. No apologies, no resolutions, just a shoulder shrug. Frankly, I was really excited about this trip and the opportunity to be on a new, larger ship. I enjoy European travel and was undeterred by the complaints about the food (though I know understand the concerns). The Seaside just seems completely unprepared for the number of people they sold to...the staff is not empowered or engaged with seeing all patrons have a good time, and unwilling to address matters that could easily be resolved. I gave a two star review because the ship was beautiful and we got there and back safely. [I shared my thoughts on social media and because people challenged whether i had the experience to write this review and in the sake of transparency, I stayed in the Fantástica balcony (14165) with beverage vouchers, purchased spa service, a trio dinner package, a fun and zip line pass, and additional specialty meals and beverage (water) plans. We also as a group engaged with the staff using the business center for meetings and the Garage nightclub for group gatherings (3 each). This is my 14th Cruise - haven’t added them all since I joined here - and I travel quite a bit outside (including Europe, Spain being my favorite) of that as well.]

SilverLocks Cruise Review on MSC Seaside on Mar 31, 2018

Overall rating:

Review summary

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