Investigate the ship. I made the mistake of passenger size, not ship size. MSC Seaside is much smaller than Harmony RC. yet about the same passengers and about half the crew. Yeah, way different experiences.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Embarkation went quickly, but they weren't checking embarkation reservation times or health questionnaire. Show up at will.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
All of the bars we went to were slow, you could figure a 20 minute wait at least. There were many reasons for this, under staffed, overwhelmed and not properly managed. I felt sorry for them.
The Biscayne Bay Buffet & Pizzeria
2 out of 5
Not enough staff. I felt sorry for them, some had the deer in the headlights expression. The pizza was good.
Ipanema Restaurant
5 out of 5
We much preferred main dining over the buffet. WAY! It seemed there were several new wait staff, who needed guidance, we all start somewhere. The room was lovely. Our waiter was very attentive and professional, his assistant waiter, not so much.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Entertainment
5 out of 5
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the theater productions. They seem to be well managed and well choreographed. They were also family friendly, at least the 7:30 showings were.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
This one is hard to answer, because it was so hit or miss. Our room steward was really on the ball. The gal we spoke with in customer service should not be in customer service, not even over the phone. A lot of the bartenders acted as if they were new, we one had one that acted comfortable at his job. It was like he was Tom Cruz in the movie Cocktail, compared to most of the overwhelmed bartenders. Main dining wait staff was great, our head server for dinner was topnotch. I couldn't go to either buffets, to loud, to hard to find a seat, wash stations were a mess. Why? When you could go to the MD?
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Our room was clean. The main areas were clean. Public bathrooms were clean. The wash areas for the buffets were a mess.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
It was a standard balcony cabin. Small bathroom, not terribly. The closet was tough to get into, because the couch was in front of the sliding doors. We felt it has adequate storage, we were on a 3 day cruise, still ample enough for a 7 day.
Ship tip
Have a dollar or two ready for the bartenders, if you don't want to wait 20 minutes for a drink.
It went quickly, we took our own luggage off early. We were uncertain about getting out of the parking garage. We had heard that could be a problem. Yes, I am sure it is later in the morning. That is more a port problem than MSC.
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