Amazing Ship
MSC Seaside Cruise Review to Caribbean
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 88
14 Night Caribbean And Antilles (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: April 20, 2019
Ship: MSC Seaside
Cabin type: Inside
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
Good all around cruise and was very relaxing. This cruise line needs to do some changing if they want to be successful in the US marketEmbarkation
My assigned embarkation time was 4:15 pm. I actually arrived at the terminal around 1130. I was through all the safety checks, received my cruise card, and on the ship by 1200. It was the fastest embarkation I have ever experienced
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food was some of the best I have ever eaten. The reason for the 3 rating is that it seemed like every day on the buffet at lunch and dinner there were hotdogs, hamburgers, and mashed potatoes. The desserts in the buffet also seemed to be mostly the same every day of the cruise. There were other foods offered that were different every day, but there was a lot of items I didn't like. The portions in the dining room were small and mostly really good. However I got risotto twice and it was undercooked both times.
Onboard Activities
This ship is lacking any semblance of activities while in port. Literally no sponsored activities were available to do from the time we docked until approximately 3 pm. As a solo cruiser who didn't book any excursions, there is only so much you can walk around in each port before you get bored and want to head back to the ship, The only thing available on the ship to do was swim or eat. There was also no area where only adults were allowed.
Entertainment
The entertainment was top notch and there was a different show every night. Each show has singers, dancers, and circus performers.
Service and Staff
My cabin steward was amazing but also kind of annoying for the reason he was awesome. I never had to want for anything. He would come into my cabin it seemed like 3 times per day. What got annoying was every time I would move the shower mat (he would fold it up and put it on the toilet because the bathroom was so small), he would put it back on the toilet when he entered my room. Also, I much prefer to reuse my towels so I hang them up every day and I never got to reuse them, he would replace them every time. Not that big of a deal, but still kind of annoying.
Ship Quality
The ship was by far the cleanest ship I have ever been on. There were crew members all over the ship cleaning constantly. The lay out was good but kind of confusing. This ship has mirrored walls in parts of it and I ended up walking into the wall a few times.
Cabin / Stateroom
The cabin has quite a bit of room for being an inside cabin. The only downside was the closet door slid from side to side so I could not get my suitcase inside the closet to get it out of the way. The bathroom, though, was by far the smallest bathroom and shower I had ever seen. I could not use the toilet without my knees hitting the sink. The shower was barely big enough to turn around in without touching the walls. I am not sure how a woman would be able to shave her legs in there unless she were to open the shower door and hang out of the shower
Ports of call
This port was pretty terrible. You had to leave the secured port area to do any real shopping. Only local vendors were in the secured port area. Whenever I did buy the few items from the local vendors, none of them ever seemed to have change. Once I went outside the secured area I was instantly approached by an older Jamaican man asking me if I wanted a woman and if I wanted weed. Extremely unnerving. I did what little shopping I waned to do and headed back to the ship as quickly as possible.
Thumbs Up
0
This is by far one of my favorite ports I have ever been to. The locals are extremely friendly and it is safe to walk around in the town. The prices are reasonable, the scenery is beautiful, and the prices are extremely reasonable.
Yet again I was offered prostitutes and marijuana in this port. I have been to Cozumel before and had not ever experienced anythign like this. The shopping was good and the prices were good. This port has some of the best vanilla I have ever had.
Pretty much the worst port I have ever been to. The only thing in the port are is a handfull of shops, a pool, and a dolphin encounter. I will definitely do more research before I get off the ship if I ever go to this port again.
Disembarkation
This was the fastest disembarkation I had ever experienced. I did the express walk off and carried my own luggage off the ship. Once disembarkation started, it only took about 30 minutes to get off the ship. I was not allowed to leave the ship until my account showed a zero balance. I prepaid $250 onto my account and the ship was showing they owed me $0.23. Security would not let me leave until I collected my $0.23. It very silly in my opinion