This was our 9th cruise with MSC and first on the Seaside. While the ship is very large most of the time we did not feel crowded so it was easy to forget that it carries 5000 passengers. We would cruise on it again.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We had a problem in the dining room the first day at sea for breakfast, it was like we were invisible, so while the food was good we did not go back for breakfast. First night in the dining room service was a bit slow and some courses were not that hot but it got better over the week. We ate all of our lunches in the buffet on deck 8, very good selection and breakfast had good selection. Had our last lunch at the buffet on deck 16 and while we had more than enough to eat there are many fewer choices than on deck 8. We did not try any of the specialty restaurants. We enjoyed the area and bar on deck 7 South Beach, nice and quite.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We only went to the shows that were theatrical in nature and enjoyed them very much. As usual the costumes were great. We wet up the reservations on the first day, so we got all that we wanted.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
We did not meet the room steward until 6 pm day of embarkation and asked for ice twice a day an we only got ice at night. One afternoon we ran out of toilet paper and of course did not get any until evening. Ran out of Kleenex on Friday and did not get a new box at all. Our waiter and his assistant in the dining room were both very good.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had a handicap ocean view. The cabin was very large, if you have a wheelchair or scouter they will fit in very well. The bathroom has a large shower area so the wheelchair will fit in and a very large curtain that surrounds the shower area. We were very disappointed in how little small of an area for thee closet, it has two places to hang items with one having a handle to pull down to put on or take off items but there were only 6 hangers for us. There are only three drawers which because there are two large cubby areas above we managed to do with. There are two large portholes to look out and there are two chairs for sitting. The safe is at the very back of one shelf in the closet area and it is not real easy to use due to it being so far back.
Ship tip
Make sure to get a map or two of the layout of the ship,as soon as you get on, as it is so large. Go to as many shows as you can, I don't think you will be disappointed.
We took a catamaran snorkeling excursion thru the ship and it was very good. We got to see a bunch of the island while sailing. And could easily see a bunch of damage from the hurricanes of 2017. We did not get into Philipsburg but heard that a lot of stores were not open.
We did get off and went up Bay St looking for a Duty Free Liquor store and found many shops were closed and went back on the street that runs along the pier and it was dirty.
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