Too large to handle

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 54

Review summary

"We chose this cruise as the first cruise with our baby, as we enjoy cruising as a couple before, and we wanted a relaxed way of vacationing the first time as a family. We opted for a cruise to the Mediterranean Sea, as we have seen a few places already, so we wouldn't be sad, if we missed a place due to the baby's schedule. We picked MSC as children travel for free and the Seaview was the newest of their ships. We traveled with MSC before, were never superthrilled, but we thought we would give Seaview a shot. The ship itself was huge, housing more than 5000 passengers and 1500 staff with 13 decks. A lot of entertainment for kids and adults, however everything had to be paid extra (e.g. F1 simulator, bowling, 4D cinema, ice cream/chocolate shop, etc.). The elevators were always crowded, as were the buffet restaurants. It seemed like the people were eating after fasting for a week, eating while filling their plates at the same time and filling IKEA ziplog bags with food. The theatre was small for such a big ship, and you had to reserve a seat for a show. Every night was overbooked, and people were sitting on the stairs. Dining was mediocre. Although there were many food options, the same thing came over and over again in very similar ways. Prime rib was fatty, fish dry and overcooked. At breakfast everything you ordered came at once, leaving you with at least one cold and softened dish (e.g. omelet, pancakes, toast). At breakfast, you were always bombarded with waiters who wanted to ""get rid of"" their sweet or savory bread, juices or coffee, before you even sat down. We had to book an exterior cabin, as we travelled with our 9-month-old baby, and upgraded to a balcony cabin for an additional €160 (turned out 73% of all the cabins are balcony cabins). The cabin was just enough for us 3 with a queen bed, sofa(bed) and baby crib. We had to ask three times for a baby crib/bed, before housekeeping came and set it up, although I reserved it upfront with our travel agency. Embarkation in Barcelona went swiftly, but as soon as we stepped onboard, we were overwhelmed with staff that wanted to sell things. Pictures, drinks package, kids club, specialty restaurants, etc. and unfortunately that remained throughout the cruise. We were constantly asked whether we wanted a drinks package or ""special"" menu (e.g. lobster for a surcharge, while at NCL it is included). Waiters seemed disappointed when we wanted water only (not sure, if they get a commission when selling drinks). Service was okay-ish with a baby. A baby chair was brought quickly, however service could have been faster. You were not always greeted by staff when you saw them. It doesn't hurt to smile, guys! A woman slipped on the wet floor in front of us, not being able to get up again, and we asked them to get medical assistance, and they were hesitant about it claiming she is ok. In the US, they would have gotten sued already. Later, we saw that they put a wet floor sign. What we disliked was that people embarked/disembarked at every stop, which meant a lot of noise through the hallways of people putting their luggage out/staff removing the luggage, safety drills that were announced throughout the ship and people with trolleys in the elevators on a daily. The worst experience was that at night 3, in the middle of the night at frickin' 2am, construction started loudly in the area below us with hammering and drilling. It took more than an hour before it got checked out and we were moved to another room. This is not normal. Construction in the middle of the night. Our baby woke up, we woke up, we had to pack our stuff and move to another floor at 3am. Due to the unfortunate weather, we could hardly explore the outdoor areas. Our experience with MSC Seaview was unfortunately worse than expected. I don't think we will book again. "

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Barcelona, Spain

Marseille (Provence), France

Messina, Sicily

Disembarkation

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