MSC Seaside Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This cruise was the worst we have ever been on. The food, the overworked staff, and cleanliness were the problems that we saw on this ship. We have never seen any of these problems on any other ship. We all got colds and gastrointestinal problems which we attributed to overall lack of cleanliness in food preparation and general cleaning on the boat. On other boats you would always see crew wiping down railings and always busy cleaning open areas. Bartenders were overworked and it was hard to even order a drink. Behind bar was a mess because they were so busy trying to help customers. In the buffet they covered juice dispenser after breakfast so no juice was allowed for remainder of the day so only choices were water, coffee, or hot tea. It seemed as if cost-cutting had impacted the cruiser's experience. The rating which includes port calls should not be interpreted as a better rating for the ship and its services.

Ship was late getting back and took way too long to get off. Schedule was for 7:30 got off at 10:00am. We were an hour late getting back but 2.5 hours late getting off. Would love to go back to Ocean Cay but would not book the week again.

Don’t bother. If this was my first cruise ever, I’d never cruise again

You tend to see that people either love or hate MSC. We actually fell in the middle. I mean, 7 days on a ship can't really be bad can it? Let me take that back since there are a few examples where it can. anyway, they do some things very well and some things very bad and the buffet could have certainly been better. However, if the price is right, our cruise wasn't so bad that we wouldn't take another cruise with them before giving up on them if it turned out the same.

I wish told us about using points from other curises found many passengers had a much better deal than us. some guests, booked an interior and got a balancy, some had a balancy for 580, some got upgraded from balancy to a suite

If you buy on msc...really study the pricing of all the offered levels. When you start tacking on the different add on packages, it can get pricey. If you are a foody and enjoy variety, this is not the cruiseline for you.

Nice ship, friendly staff, great private island, less expensive than other lines. Food was good but not great, entertainment was just OK and not a lot of it.

Had fun with friends. Private island was awesome! They cut too many corners on service. Not flexible at all. Tried to charge us for a movie we did not watch. We will not be cruising MSC again.

I went into the cruise with lowered expectations because of reviews especially those comparing to Royal. But as I Diamond passenger on Royal I actually think MSC is very good for the price point. The food and entertainment was better then I thought it would be. And the crew actually felt like a family which I love from Royal. So yes I would cruise MSC again.

FYI MSC does charge a $250 security deposit upon boarding, unbeknownst to us. Would like to have known that at time of booking. Found out on day two, but didn't ruin our cruise though, it was refunded after the cruise. Must see the Swarvoski crystals stairs. A lot of cruisers and staff were sick and tested positive for Covid and the flu after the cruise. Hope MSC put in place a Covid-flu protocol before setting sail. Definitely cruising with MSC again.

I signed up for early dining though your website and got 9:30pm dinner time. Couldn't change it so had to do buffet every night. Poor choices because same food day after day for 7 days. Very disappointed because I have autoimmune and can't eat that late so I specifically asked for early dining and didn't get it.

Our 3rd trip in 3 years on MSC to the same destination but all 3 were different ships. This ship definitely was our least favorite with a very poor design to move around. Our weather was great. The ports went fine. Food was ok but nothing spectacular--main restaurant and buffet. Even though our room was supposed to be "deluxe" , it was the same as others. This year, the weather was cooler so the balcony was more enticing. The main theatre entertainment was good---not the #1 shows they say, but we didn't attend their stand up comedian as I felt most likely not for a family. We didn't take in much of the other entertainment as like I said first, the ship was poorly designed and hard to get around. The one steel drums I wanted to see was in the very heavy smoking section. I never heard/saw any entertainment in the atrium that was worth stopping to listen to. I will give MSC credit that this year check-in was so much better than the fiasco last year. But they still have their fiasco for leaving the ship. Their accounting system has to be a total disaster. We were held for a room refrigerator charge and we didn't even have access to the refrigerator--probably our bill wasn't big enough. This year's emergency drill was more organized than last year's for sure. It would still be better if they had the deck along with the "muster" letter on your room card. And even with us watching the video/calling in and going to the "muster" location to have our cards scanned, we received a nasty letter stating we did NOT complete the mandatory drill. So overall, I would not book a cruise on the Seaside again. We just did not like the flow of the ship, availability of shops/entertainment, and of course the MSC continued disembarking problem.

You get what you pay for. Cheap buffet food, over crowded with people, the ship is new. The bathroom is very small.

We gave MSC a try because we couldn't imagine it could be so terrible. It was an epic failure. We would not go again if it was free. We couldn't be more disappointed in the food, limited activities, the ships Layout or how poorly designed the ship is. We spent the entire trip waiting for elevators, being packed like sardines, getting lost because there is no flow and being hearded like cattle to get food that's lower quality then fast food...absolutely terrible. The only people who looked like they may have enjoyed it were the ones who were drunk. Everyone else's vibe was annoyed including the ships staff. I have never seen so many unhappy people. We cruised 15 times and never seen so many people so excited about getting off the ship to go home...usually its the worst part. On the Seaside...getting home is the highlight. I dont have enough time to write about how horrible it was bc I would be here all day. All I can say is spend the extra money on a real cruiseline bc what u save with MSC isn't worth what you lose. It was a Big mistake and I regret it.

My very first 2 cruises were on Carnival, followed by 17 with Royal Caribbean and the this cruise… which has to be my less favorite. I didn’t like anything about this cruise. Constant long lines everywhere, horrible food, the private island didn’t have adequate chairs and umbrellas and of course, long lines for the only one buffet they have and long waits at bars. This company fails to comparison. If you want a cheap, substandard cruise, be my guest. That was a first and last.

I've watched videos on YouTube on MSC seaside showing buffet which had carving table many selections etc that is no longer the case It is not the case on my cruise MSC seaside 4-day cruise pizza cold hot dogs and hamburgers salad bar that was very modest and watered down lemonade that was the buffet for lunch and dinner every day of the cruise except the last day when they ran out of lettuce and offered a salad bar with no lettuce this is not a luxury Cruise this is not even getting your money's worth out of a budget cruise I rode on the MS Davina and the past enjoyed it very much That's why I booked this Cruise but MSC I don't know nothing on the buffet was what was on the YouTube videos nothing but pizza 24 hours a day can't do that for 4 days straight sorry beautiful s*** beautiful rooms ocean cay probably the best private island but the food is unacceptable not worth the money

As a first time cruiser I was so very impressed. I wish I hadn't waited so long to get on board. I am currently looking into my next MSC cruise. I would encourage everyone to experience a cruise. I will spend all of my vacation money on cruising

It was fairly relaxing, but our cabin was aft and subject to the smoke and noise from the people on Deck 7 and our room steward was invisible.

We did this cruise as a quick unexpected vacation. It was a great value for us, and easy as we live only 90 miles away. We would go again or on another MSC destination cruise.

The dinners were terrible and being an Italian line I was expecting much more! 1 clam & no sauce on linguine. 3” square chicken w/campbells soup for parm. One 1”cube of meat short ribs & 3 chunks of fat. Lasagna was 3” square/1” tall & if you wanted more (it sucked) there was a charge. Ridiculous! I supervised inmates in a prison who cooked better!!!