This was by far the best cruise we've experienced. My wife and i want to go back on another sailing with the Seaside, we met amazing people, we had amazing food, we partied, we relaxed (the thermal area in the Aurea spa is totally worth it), we drank, we explored... all around it was an amazing vacation. Now a word of caution, if you are offered a photoshoot with the ship's professional photographer, and money isn't exactly abundant, ask for a price list and a bit of a preview before committing to anything. And last but not least, prepay as much as you can (Dining experience, Aurea Spa thermal areas, etc) the value is much better.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Quick, and efficient, my wife and i were dropped off, and before we knew it we were on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The specialty restaurants, and MDR were amazing! the buffets were really good, yes it's true the food is a bit repetitive, but the Marketplace buffet is so huge, that you can eat something different every day. The Italian food in all venues was the best. One thing i would say, and the reason why i'm leaving 4 starts on food and drink, is the bars seem to be a bit understaffed, with that many guests, they are really good at keeping track of the order of arrival of the people waiting, but 1 or 2 more bartenders would make such a difference.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The pools were amazing, the slides were super fun, the zip lines was out of this world. We also did the F1 simulator and the 3d roller coaster, all was more than we could ask for. Yes the zip line, F1 simulator and 3D roller coaster cost extra, but unless you're riding them constantly, i don't see why people wouldn't pay the small fee.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
DJ Gianluca was the best DJ on a cruise ship! The shows were amazing (we attended 3), the atrium entertainment was also welcomed, especially from the champagne bar, with the best bartenders in the entire ship! And Starwalker was the best show we've ever seen on a cruise.
Children's Programs
We have no children.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room stewardess was very nice, attentive and sweet, we hung out a lot at the champagne bar and the bartenders there were the best. Other than the understaffed bars in other areas, everybody was nice, smiled and really made you feel like they were there to make your vacation a great one.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship is beautiful, i felt like i was in an enormous yacht with all the luxuries in the world. Italians really know luxury if you want my opinion, we were in an inside cabin, and we felt like we were staying in 5 star accommodations.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This stateroom was definitely bigger than our last RCCL cruise cabin, but smaller than what we've had in Carnival, but we were confortable. The bed and pillows were top notch, the bathroom was fairly standard, but one thing we loved was the shower did not have curtains, it had a glass wall (very much welcomed). Our stewardess ensures our room was always made and that it always looked as if nobody lived in the stateroom lol. no complaints on my end. I have read that the storage space has been a problem for other cruisers on this ship in their staterooms, but i think that depends a lot on how much stuff you bring and how organized you are.
Ship tip
Download the app, reserve your shows ahead of time, plan your nights with the app, and enjoy the ship to the fullest. If you're into parties, don't miss the White party, the 70's party, the silent party and the pirate party. Also the champagne bar is awesome!
It was nice to see the island, we got off to a CVS and Walgreens pharmacy, so it's nice we could buy a few things we needed on the ship in such an accessible store from the port. The pier was simple but the waterfront was a very nice place to take pictures and walk around.
Loved it! best stop we've experienced! We got off, walked around, found a funicular to the mountain, we spent the day admiring the view, having bushwhackers and enjoying the food in the restaurant a top the mountain. They were also some shops which had very interesting stuff. Totally recommend St. Thomas as an interesting DIY island to explore.
We docked very early in St. Maarten so everything was still starting the day when we got off, we got to visit a few stores, but everything was very commercial unless you had a prepaid excursion, all we were able to find were taxis and water taxis to downtown "where all the stores are".
quick and simple, we choose the express disembarkation as our time to get off with regular disembarkation conflicted with our ride, and other than the longish line at the immigration and customs area, it was very smooth from the ship to the terminal.
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