Outstanding shows!

MSC Seaside Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 5
Helpful Votes: 92

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5
MSC Seaside

11 Night Western Caribbean & Bahamas (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 14, 2023

Ship: MSC Seaside

Cabin number: 13275

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Will definitely do an MSC cruise again. The ship is beautiful and the entertainment was great! The food was edible but nothing outstanding. They did have a surf and turf night and the lobster was great. If you don't like what's in the dining rooms, you can always find something in the buffet areas which have many stations. My only complaint is that this is an Italian registry cruise line and out of the many bars, we could only find an Italian red wine in the dining room. (Only stocked California wines). After mentioning to guest services, we learned this was an aberration caused by supplier issues. Hopefully this will be fixed by our next cruise. MSC is one of the few cruise lines that still has entertainers as part of the crew staff and still provides 3 shows nightly and a different one each night. The entertainment alone s worth it!

Embarkation

4 out of 5
Not bad. Aurea class advertised priority boarding, but there was no such thing. However, lines weren't long and check-in went fast.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Venue was beautiful, food was okay. However, the Buffets had quite a variety of choice, and the Pizza was great! Plenty of serving and drink stations so rarely had to wait in line.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Besides the main pool, the were a couple others more adult oriented and not so crowded or loud.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Entertainment like the cruises of old. The crew staff entertainers were outstanding. A different show every night and with 3 performances each night there was no trouble getting a reservation for one. We even had a quality Elvis impersonator. Music/dance venues about the ship provided something for all tastes from Rock to Ballroom to jazz to Latin dancing. Dance instructions were also provided at specific times for those interested in learning. Even the karaoke was fun!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Our cabin steward was outstanding. Kept ice in our champagne bucket for days till we decided to drink it. Saw to any of our needs quickly.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
We found crew staff constantly cleaning common areas. The layout was nice, open spaces and it was easy to learn your was around.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
More than enough room. Great balcony on port side that extended to aft so you could watch the ships wake in the water. Love this location ...great sunset photos.

Ship tip

Don't miss the shows and make sure you stop in the chocolate shop (Venchi) for all things chocolate (alcoholic drinks, coffee, gelato, and specialty treats.

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5
Great restaurants right at the port (Fishlips and Rusty's are two of my favorites. If you haven't visited Cape Kennedy yet, it's well worth the visit. I live in FL.and often drive up for a weekend and to visit Cape Kennedy.

Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Bahamas

5 out of 5
MSC's private Island, Ocean Cay is beautiful. Lots to do there, but keep in mind the rentals, kayaks, jet skis, etc., are not cheap.

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

3 out of 5
The shopping area by the port is extremely crowded. In the center is a large pool surrounded by sandy areas with lounge chairs. There are plenty of shops and bars, but with 3 cruise ships in port, it was way too crowded. My advice...book a tour and skip the shops.

Cozumel, Mexico

4 out of 5
Cozumel is not the safest place to wonder around on your own right now. If you want to see the town...take a tour. Otherwise, plenty of shopping and bars are available right there at the port.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
You can carry your own luggage off, but having booked an Aurea class suite, our group had priority disembarkation (first group off) so we elected to let the crew take our luggage off. Once called we walked rightoff and found our luggage easily. Having passports made it even quicker as your photo is on file and they just compare. It was fast and easy
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