The MSC Seaside is a beautiful ship with something for anyone of any age. For the most part we had a very good time on this ship. We would definitely like to see improvement in the cuisine offered in the buffet and main dining rooms. We would also like to see more port time. We felt that for the cost (which is very reasonable) it is worth taking a cruise with MSC. As they are fairly new to the Caribbean cruise market, we are sure that with time and improvement they will be very highly rated.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was very easy, not very time consuming from start to finish.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The first couple of days of our 7 night cruise, the food was very good. But, as the days went on the dining room food in our opinion went downhill. Very bland. We feel that the quality is not up to par with other cruise lines that we have sailed. Our biggest complaint was that very often the buffet had only one side open. With the amount of travelers on this ship we feel that both sides of the buffet should have been open which could have helped relieve the congestions and many disgruntled customers. Also, the buffet needs to offer more selections. It seemed that the same food was served every day. We did have a wonderful dinner in the steakhouse (great food and great service),
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Not much to say here as we are a senior couple, we did not participate in the activities. But, watching those who did, we felt that they were very much enjoying themselves.
Entertainment
Unfortunately, my husband and I were far too tired at night to see the shows.
Children's Programs
We did not travel with young children.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
We did find the staff to be very friendly and attentive. There were many who seemed to work very long hours, yet still smiled. Only once did we meet our room steward. On other cruises we were able to get to know our stewards, spend time talking with them, etc. But on this cruise they were no where to be found.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
No complaints here. Crews were constantly working on the ship, cleaning, refurbishing, etc.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
We were very pleased with our cabin. The bed was very comfortable and the cabin well cleaned. Our only complaint was that room service dishes seem to stay in the hallways far too long.
Ship tip
Don't pay for the wifi. We did and except for the first day we were not able to access it and received very little help from guest services.
Though we were disappointed that we did not have very much time here we found it to be very clean, very enjoyable. It would seem that much has been done to clean up and rebuild the port tourist areas that were devastated by the hurricane.
We did a private island tour (not booked through the ship), visited Paradise Point (enjoyed banana daiquiris, Megan's Bay beach and other sites. A good time was had by all.
Since St. Maarten is one of our favorite islands, we were extremely disappointed that we had to return to the ship by 1:30 in the afternoon. My husband and I have spent much time here and were very disappointed that we did not have enough time to show our children our favorite island. Instead we took a catamaran to Maho beach (with snorkeling and watching the planes). This was fun but not at all what we had wanted to do.
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