Cruising with MSC.......ahhhh

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 14

Helpful Votes: 368

Review summary

Seaside Review We are veteran cruisers, cruising since 1988, and decided to try MSC as something different from the mass market cruise lines, and basically that's what we found, something "different", though not necessarily better. It being our 30th cruise (not bragging here, we've been very fortunate, and have been able to cruise more often than some due to judicious asset management, and the fact that one of us is a travel advisor certainly helps!) we decided "OK MSC, we're going to spend the least amount possible, impress us". While there were definitely some positives, the nasty negatives were there as well, and we'll try to cover both adequately. Remember what's most often said about opinions..... While not "bargain basement" priced, the Eastern Caribbean itinerary on MSC Seaside was very reasonably priced, and included the "Easy" drink package, something that, for the most part, answered our "adult libation" needs nicely, the exception being the occasional morning Irish coffee, but again, we were waiting to be impressed. Talking to other passengers (the ones with whom we could communicate, many many languages were spoken aboard) the common denominator as a reason for crusing MSC was PRICE, many saying they could cruise 2 weeks on MSC for close to what they could do one week for on a "standard" cruise line ("standard" meaning Carnival, RCCL, NCL, Princess, etc). Many senior Florida residents had cruised MSC numerous times, and again, price being their main objective, but some were very positive about Seaside, while others vastly preferred other MSC vessels, and HATED Seaside (their words). Embarkation was easy and not crowded (we boarded around noon) though we were non-plussed about not taking our credit card for onboard purchases until AFTER we boarded, again, different from what we were used to. Once onboard, we followed a crew member's directions, found the machines indicated, and though we're senior "technology challenged", we had no problems. We actually tried to get the young lady checking us in to take our card, but she very respectfully declined. We had done the "inside guarantee" room, choosing the "Bella" experience (not going into the differences here, already stated that we were trying to allow the cruise line to show us what they had) and hadn't gotten our room assignment until Wednesday 9/11, just before we sailed on 9/14, and were pleasantly surprised to find we had been given a balcony upgrade, though we spoke with many who had had the same lucky windfall. Either way, thanks MSC, the upgrade was greatly appreciated. Seaside is drop dead GORGEOUS!!!! Anyone who says differently must have vision issues. Not laid out like some others we've sailed, but not unreasonably so. Staff is constantly cleaning and polishing, and their dedication is obvious, impeccably clean and sparkling! We've sailed other comparably sized ships who carried, according to their websites, 1000 less passengers than did Seaside, so perhaps "passenger density" had something to do with it, and while we rarely if ever waited in line aboard Seaside, there were a LOT of people on the ship. You noticed it at lunchtime in the buffet, in the shops during sea days, though rarely in the dining room (we had early dining, 5:30pm, something many feel is too early, but we find to our liking as we're not night owls). Any complaints we heard about the ship were, again from "seasoned cruisers", was "too many people". Food was average at best, and this from someone not hard to please when it comes to food. As do most lines currently, "extra charge" items are offered on the standard menu, along with "constant" items on the menu, with regional or ethnic items different nightly. Our biggest disappointment was with the Italian food. My wife being half Italian, we're somewhat discriminating when eating Italian food, and more than once we commented that her family recipes were in no danger of being outdone. One meal, Lasagna Bouglinaise (forgive the spelling) was, for lack of a better term, awful. Again, Italian ship line, Italian executive chef, and I've tasted comparable from another "Italian" chef (Boy-ar-dee). Over cooked, mushy noodles, and the sauce was, to say the least, inadequately spiced. Remember about opinions? Just our 2 cents, but the food certainly wasn't a highlight of the cruise. Buffet food was pretty much the same, some of it tasty, some not so much. Breakfast (where we always had breakfast, though we unsuccessfully tried alternatives) on the buffet was lukewarm at best, and in some cases, COLD! This is a big deal, MSC, had read other reviews prior to boarding complaining of the same thing. We didn't do any specialty restaurants, so can't comment, though they seemed expensive to us. The one exception was attempting to eat breakfast in the dining room one morning, and I (male) was told I didn't meet the criteria for the dining room dress code, as I was wearing a tank top and swimming trunks (not wet, we'd just left our room). My wife was wearing a bathing suit under a cover-up, which showed every bit as much "skin" as did my tank top (perhaps it's because she's more visually attractive than am I?) but they said her attire was fine and fully acceptable. Again, we follow rules, so we said "OK", turned around, and headed for the buffet. She was more upset by this than I was, but again, we follow the rules. The night before ("Elegant night") we saw 4 young men walk in the dining room the same time as us wearing T shirts, shorts, some wearing tennis shoes, others flip flops or sandals. We failed to see the difference, but again...... Entertainment was of the "Carnival" variety, with a couple of exceptions, overly LOUD! Why do musicians performing in smaller venues feel the need to test their audiences' ability to withstand murderous noise levels? I can understand it outdoors, during large parties, etc, but the Latin duo, the "party band", the DJ in the Atrium, all were, at least to senior ears, too loud! Exceptions were the Swing Quartet (AWESOME BAND!) Marcus, the piano bar performer, at least of the ones we saw. We attended one show, "Fly" which was fantastic, but Vegas style-revues aren't our favorites, though we tip our hats to the performers, they were incredible. The volume being generated by the party band changed our minds about attending the "White Party" on deck 16 outdoors. I realize others don't necessarily agree with us on this item, but we've cruised with other lines who's bands and mucisians don't feel the need to stretch the performance levels of the their electronics when playing. Again, our 2 cents. Staff was for the most part, completely outstanding, can't say enough positives about them, smiling, friendly, in some cases remembering your name. We decided not to let the example provided by one jerk in the Photo department color our opnions of the crew as a whole, they were again, second to none in service, courtesy, and respectfullness. We weren't prepared for the bombardment of crew people trying to "sell" us more, either upgraded drink package, specialty dining, photo packages, spa packages, etc, but other lines are doing this as well. Though while not at the same level of envelopment, it continued throughout the week. We did 2 shore tours, both through MSC (again, show us what you got), and while we had a good time on both, the one on St Martin demanded that you wear a life jacket (the full coverage kind, like you wear while boating) not only while on the speedboat, but in the water as well, something seasoned snorkelers who enjoy free diving will inevitably balk about. The venue chosen was "cloudy" underwater, and we don't fault the tour operator for that, but I believe they could've provided snorkel "vests" as the tour operator did on St Thomas, but it's small stuff really. Only did shore excursions on those 2 islands, took some pics of the ship in San Juan, didn't get off the ship in Nassau. Disembarking in Miami surprisingly painless, given it's Miami, but maybe that's why they do it so well. Off the ship (not express walk-off) shortly after 8AM, transfer bus to the airport immediatly as you stepped out of the terminal with your luggage, again, painless. Our biggest negative on MSC was the amount of non-American passengers, and before one jumps to conclusions, it had nothing to do with the people, their nationality, or their ethnicity! We've cruised in large groups, and even more so just ourselves, one couple, and one of the enjoyable activities of cruising is interacting with fellow passengers, comparing experiences, etc, and I believe that's how we learn, from each other. We both found, on numerous occasions, when attempting to strike up a conversation with a fellow passenger, whether in the pool, elevator, restaurant, etc, that there was a definite language barrier (let me state that our dinner companions were English speaking Americans, so I feel MSC did that correctly anyway). Some spoke English surprisingly well and we enjoyed interacting with them, but for the most part, we felt as if we've missed something without the conversation and interaction with our fellow passengers, at least to the extent we normally do. To sum up, MSC may be a big deal in Europe, but for our cruise dollar, when cruising out the US, we'll probably continue on with the mass-market cruise lines catering to mostly an American clientele. While MSC does some things really well, and first-timers will no doubt love them (as they have nothing to compare them to) they fall short in other areas, not sure if it's specific people or generic to MSC, but while we enjoyed our week with them, it's not something we'd pursue again, given the knowledge we now have of how things are done aboard their ships. Cruznuts

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

Nassau, Bahamas Did not visit port

Disembarkation

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