Unexpected gem

MSC Seaside Cruise Review

tango15

Contributor Level: Third Mate

3 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 52

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean & Bahamas (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 26, 2018

Ship: MSC Seaside

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9056

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 3 years ago

Review summary

We thoroughly enjoyed the Seaside. It was her inauguratal season and we just didn't see many of the complaints we'd read about online. The ship was beautiful and the staff were fantastic. I didn't notice a difference in the service vs an "American cruise line" and we felt like the staff were great for the entire cruise. Eventually we'd love to try out the Meraviglia as well!

Embarkation

5 out of 5

We had the Aurea package, and it made us feel like total VIP. They had a private area and we were checked in and ready to go in less than half an hour. I did not like that I had to find a kiosk once onboard though to register a card and set it up.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

This had a ton of complaints online and we were concerned before boarding. Maybe we're just not overly picky but we found the food to be wonderful across the ship during our cruise.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

The kids loved the separate wading pool and deck and they also loved the water slides!

Children's Programs

2 out of 5

My children were older and spent much of their time in our suite this cruise. But they did check out the children's programs and did find them to be lacking.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The only complaint I had was that people are rude and leave their cups and plates literally anywhere and everywhere. This includes the stairs. 🙄 The clean up of said items could sometimes be slow and you'd see things scattered for hours before being picked up.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

We booked an Aurea suite with the jacuzzi tub on the balcony. It was definitely unique but we found ourselves let down by how often the water just wasn't super warm by the time the tub was filled. Otherwise this room was beautiful. All the space you could ever want in the living area, and it had a huge walk in closet! The bathroom could have also been bigger considering the overall size of the room. But honestly, we didn't spend much time in it so it wasn't a huge deal.