MSC Seaside Reviews

Overall we had a great time on the magnificent MSC Seaside. The ship is huge and you definitely need to check the floor maps frequently as it's easy to get lost. The spa was nice and the thermal salon would've been nicer if others respected the intended atmosphere and were more quiet and relaxing instead of acting like they were at the kiddy pool. Lots of very rude other passengers, and most non-English speaking.

Seaside is beautiful, shows spectacular, need to adjust the drink on us package, staff not all need to be trained in customer interactions, need to add lobster night and not charge for it like the other cruise lines.

Anthony Shalovsky was extremely helpful when I lost my purse on your Nassau 360 excursion. He deserves a raise. He helped me fill out the paperwork & stop my credit/debit cards. Then when your Excursion Manager found my purse he filled out all the paperwork to reverse it. I was so impressed with his patience with me, if I could have gotten over the counter I would have hugged him. I say Thank You from the bottom of my heart.

On board entertainment good be better, Nightly shows seemed to be very similar with a different name.

We ate at the specialty restaurants four times because the food at the included restaurants were not good at all. If you want something different than what they offer there is an upcharge, this is not the case with other curiselines. As for the entertainment, the only one we found that was somewhat good was the comedy show. Sorry MSC but you lost our business, you need to cruise back across the Atlantic ocean and attend to the Europeans you are used too.

I had a blast this was my second experience on the msc cruise lines. My first was msc Divina and now msc Seaside..The food was great entertainment was wonderful love the zip line and also the water park for the little ones.. definitely planing on our next cruise with MSC..

WE HAVE BEEN ON 32 CRUISES ON 8 DIFFERENT CRUISE LINES AND THIS CRUISE ON MSC SEASIDE WAS THE BEST EVER. GRANTED THE YACHT CLUB EXPERIENCE IS MORE COSTLY THEN THE OTHER CLASSES BUT IT IS CERTAINLY WORTH EVERY PENNY. MSC STARTED THE BROADWAY AND VEGAS ON BOARD SHOWS WHICH OTHER LINES HAVE NOW COPIED BUT IT HAS NOW BUILT A SHIP FOR AMERICAN TRAVELERS, DECOR,FOOD,AND ACTIVITIES ARE GEARED TOWARD AMERICAN TASTES.

The reviews on youtube are mostly accurate. My kids found it pretty good. I like the design for the most part. The zipline was probably the worse. I haven't seen anyone gone on it since they charge $10 per zip. Better make it free or schedule a free run like how their competitor does it for premier experiences. For the buffet, I think they need optimizing of placement of utensils and plates. They cause chaos when placed separately. Spoons are the worse. They're not placed next to things that need a spoon. The worse part is seeing the serious waste of food because the trays are too big. You see people taking half a dozen hot dogs, then abandoning it. The pools are flat bottomed and for those that don't know how to swim, it's a big problem. Better take those away and put in something that fits a broader audience to keep us all engaged, which is what counts towards having fun in the first place. Last piece of advice is don't bring a power strip, drones or a list of things that might be confiscated till the end of your cruise. You might not get it back because the port staff does not respect your belongings or take care of it even with a claim check. I'm awfully upset that they lost my article and I'm going after them to get compensated. They didn't have a trace of my belonging that they've entrusted a security company to administer security and I lost an hour of my time waiting a hopeless wait. So someone has to pay up for losing and breaking things in their care.

the ship is awesome, staff is great, entertainment is great, the size of the rooms are small.

Mostly ok, dinner was long and portions small , mmain course came at different times like 1/2 hr between 6 People. When we got off the ship, it was crazy trying to locate our ride as you had thousands of people doing the same thing at the same time . Madhouse

great ship good food 3 star service good shows nice room size

I went on 8/11/18. The ship left at 7 pm. We had a sea day the following day and we took the kids to the water adventure park. That is a huge plus, and it is large. The water slides are great. The breakfast buffet food never changed. The lunch and dinner buffet changed slightly each day, but not enough. It was very consistent day to day. The shows were not my type. The shows had weird names and the costumes were more antique looking. They also had an opera type show that put me to sleep. I prefer Carnival's shows.

Ship is beautiful plenty of activity food was tasteless. would not recommend

Very impressed with MSC Seaside! Excellent food, service and facilities. Would highly recommend it to others. Only two complaints:1 - the mandatory safety presentation was a joke. Not informative at all. Took over an hour waiting for passengers to arrive and only demonstrated how to put on life vests but didn’t even tell us where we would find them in case of emergency and nothing about emergency procedures. 2 - allowing people to enter late for stage shows and to wander all over looking for seats which was quite disturbing during the otherwise excellent performances

Not good. I would not book on MSC again with its current offering. Americans expect an all included experience. They don't want staff constantly pecking at a tablet over each beverage and food transaction. Although the staff is really, really great, I experienced being charged $112 for a dinner that was on my pre-paid food package. It was a simple mistake but their system need to inform the waiter based on my room number if my dinner is included. Imagine having to get a pay package for water. Water. The ship had a great coffee and a chocolate bar, with an up charge. The water park was outstanding, again with a fee. The theater shows really showed the lack of connection with the Western market. Few familiar tunes ( I guess to avoid the royalty expense.), lots of full length ball gowns and little dancing. The billing was clear but the story line most times was incoherent. The Micheal Jackson impersonator was talented but the song was 36 years old. My daughter called the performances a cultural train wreck. They did have the best voices on stage I have heard. I saw something I have never seen or done before. A line of over 50 people were challenging their charges on their bill at check out, me included. The program may suit the EU market. But they have a long way to go to get my family of 5 back.

Our family of three (husband, myself, and 9 year old son) just returned from a July Western Caribbean sailing to Ocho Rios, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Nassau. This was our first experience onboard MSC, and while we had read many reviews, the cruise was somewhat last minute, so we approached the cruise with an open mind and excitement to try an entirely new cruise line. We’ve been on 30 cruises with all the major mass market lines, mostly in Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean and Canada/New England. Our Cabin: We enjoyed balcony cabin 10245, a Deck 10 balcony, somewhat Aft. We learned mid way through the cruise that the aft elevator bank was uncrowded and optimal for moving around the ship, plus the views are incredible facing the wake and rising up to the Bridge of Sighs. The cabin was well appointed with ample charging ports, however closet and stateroom storage was limited. The bathroom shower was small and my 6ft husband felt cramped, however we did appreciate the glass shower door, and shampoo/shower gel dispensers. As someone who doesn’t love bar soap for hand washing, I also appreciated the liquid hand-soap dispenser near the sink. Bathroom storage was adequate, but a bit more space in the bathroom would be beneficial. The bed was very comfortable and the pillows were perfect for us, a rarity for a cruise. One of our favorite features of this room was the sofa that converted two a bed. The sofa portion rises up, creating a “bunk” for your third guest to watch TV or hang out on top, while the bottom was made into a bed. I imagine the top bunk can accommodate a 4th person as an alternative setup. This was a favorite spot for our son to watch Cartoon Network after a long day in port, and he loved climbing the little bunk-ladder to access the top area. The balcony was fully covered and generously sized, overlooking the Deck 8 seating area for the buffet. You could often hear guests in this area while they were eating, as well as some music/noise from the pool, but it was never loud or distracting. The Ship: The ship is gorgeous and the outdoor-focused design concept is something we appreciated on the ship. We prefer ships with a “connected to the sea” appear, versus a shopping mall/Las Vegas design. The Bridge of Sighs, Champagne Bar, Thermal Suite, Deck 8 wrap around and Aft pool were some of our favorite spots. We didn’t spend any time in the pools, except for the Forest Aquaventure Park, which our son loved. Wristbands are needed for the zip line and large waterslides, and you’ll want to get that out of the way early in the cruise. Food/Dining Rooms: We tried as many dining spots as we could, but in 7 days, we missed some of the Specialty options. Here’s what we experienced: • 3 nights in MDR- both formal- the main dining area on this ship is bustling, and tables are quite close together. For a more quiet experience, try Butcher’s Cut or Ocean Cay. Food in the MDR is pretty standard for a mass market line. The pasta/Italian options seemed better than some of the others. As with any other cruise, if you don’t like something, send it back. • Teppanyaki is excellent and you’ll be smiling through the entire 2 hour experience. Excellent for families. • Ocean Cay is excellent with a crab appetizer that could be a meal. The 3 course experience is expensive, but can be used as one of your dining package options, should you purchase one. We returned a second night as we enjoyed the food and service so much. • Butcher’s Cut serves brunch on sea days for very reasonable a la carte prices. Not many people seem to know about this, so it’s an uncrowded treat on the first sea day. • Lunches: We tried Room service, buffet, brunch in Steakhouse, and lots of lunches ashore. The buffet pizza is excellent if you like the more Italian style pizza (thinner crust, less cheese) and seemed to be always available. The Deck 8 buffet did get crowded at times, but the outdoor seating is a nice escape during good weather. • Food/Favorites: Gelato, Coffee, Pizza, Venchi – and we LOVED soda’s served in cans, versus “bar coke”. We hit the main Venchi location at least 4 times and fell in love with the coffee, hot cocoa and cocktails. Don’t miss it! Experiences onboard: The Thermal Suite is the best I’ve ever experienced at sea. With a snow room, and several sensory steam rooms, I could have visited every day. If you can, invest in the pass, or better yet, book the Aurea experience which includes the pass. On our sailing, pricing in USD was as follows: • $70 day pass/$105 couples • Cruise/week Pass: $200 pp $300 couple Entertainment: We attended 2 Shows, Peter Punk and “Fly”. Both were excellent and just the right length (under 45 min). The crowd LOVED them, and we appreciated that most nights they offered 2-3 seatings. It’s best to reserve through the MSC for me app or a kiosk. The open deck White Party was AMAZING and absolutely one of the highlights of this cruise. It was well attended and the staff taught a number of dances- including some international ones which you could tell the guests loved. Kid’s Center: We had an excellent experience with the kids center onboard, and our son loved the massive supply of legos in his age group. Internet packages: I had a 6gb package for up to 4 devices, but there are other choices, including an unlimited one for one device for $90 per cruise. I would recommend an unlimited package, if one is available to you. I got about 7 hours of use out of my 6gb and still had some remaining at the end of the cruise. Waterslides are fun and awesome for kids and adults alike on this ship. The only annoyance is you need a wristband to use them, and the lines can be long. Get the wristband/waiver out of the way on day 1 or 2 so it’s not a buzzkill. TIPS: • If you have loyalty with another line, be sure to research Status Match with MSC • Download the MSC for me app • Try the Aurea experience • Thermal pass is worth the $ • Look at the pricing and at least consider the yacht club- pricing is similar to premium experiences on other lines • Get wristbands early for zip line and waterslides • Keep an open mind re: dining and passengers: both are European, but we saw it as an adventure, something new, exciting and different • Book a room with a large bath/shower stall if shower space is an issue • Use the aft evelator Things we missed; • Laundry and irons • More storage in room • Bigger shower What we could live without: • Closures at buffet. Pizza and hamburgers only during some still busy times. • Tables are too cozy in the MDR. • Wristbands for waterslides is a buzzkill. Waiver should be signed at check in or allowed online. • Variety of drink packages for passengers in different “experiences” on the ship can be confusing. • Several pools have no shallow end, forcing swimmers to hang on the side or tread water. Things we liked: • Thermal Suite • Bridge of Sighs • Kids Center • Entertainment • White party • Aft pool • Coffee, Gelato and Pizza don’t disappoint. Visit Venchi! Best Features for Families: • Waterslides & Forest Aquaventure Park • Kids menus in specialty restaurants • Yacht Club is family Friendly

The new design has many improvements over others but the design and size of the bathrooms is a concern. The cruise never seemed crowded. Assigned meal times need to end and open seating the norm as other cruise lines have adopted.

Boarding ,the ship itself is beautiful ,but there was something spilled in the entrance to elevator on the carpet like spilled milkthe size of a plater it was there the first day till the last day until i rubed i rubbed it with my foot and it went away pathetic

We have taken Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Costa, and Norwegian cruise ships in the past. This was our first experience with MSCSeaside cruise ship and totally loved it! We recommend this cruise ship. It was spectacular. It's been the best cruise ship that we've taken so far. We would like to take this cruise ship again.

We are MSC Cruisers for LIFE! The Yacht Club experience is like no other!