MSC Seaside Review: The Good, Bad and Unbelievable

MSC Seaside Review MSC Seaside is MSC Cruises year-round cruise ship departing from Miami and their first brand new ship to start cruising exclusively from the United States. I recently sailed on the MSC Seaside on a 7 night Eastern Caribbean itinerary to Nassau, Bahamas, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas and St. John's, Antigua. The following is my account of the experience I had with my family and my observations and comparisons to other cruises I've experienced over the past 20 years. UPDATE: June 22, 2018 - I just came back from my second cruise on MSC Seaside. This time I sailed to the Western Caribbean stopping at Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Mexico and Nassau, Bahamas. I'm happy to report that my cruise was equally as good as the first one, but I have a few updates. On this cruise we were a party of five, so we chose a two-bedroom Grand Suite #12001. The suite was incredible, with a master bedroom, separate bedroom, two full bathrooms and plenty of space and storage. The main drawback was since these rooms are located all the way forward and have a glass wind barrier atop the slanted solid hull of the ship, there is virtually no view from the balcony. Even while standing, the view down to the water was minimal. They are no longer operating the slide board water slide, instead they are using single and double rider inner tubes and repurposing the same side. Apparently, guests were getting stuck using the boards and thankfully, I can personally attest that the speed using the tubes is much faster and wilder. MSC has improved the efficiency in the dining room. Service was definitely quicker than we previously experienced and we received our dishes without large waits in between. You no longer need to bring your towel back to spa reception after using the Thermal Suite, instead, they have a basket outside the changing rooms. For some reason bowling, the 5D Theater and the F1 Simulator were closed almost all day while we were in port. In addition, bowling is closed during dinner hours because of the noise. With 4 port calls during our cruise, this made getting the Fun Pass (see activities section) not worth it as they were open so few hours during the entire cruise. Entertainment Shows were a perfect length (approx. 30 minutes) and featured a diverse array of singing, dancing, theater, acrobatics from a very talented cast. The small size of theater can make getting seats difficult, but the Metropolitan Theater allows guests to be more immersed in the performances. Every evening the show will be repeating 3 times to allow as many guests as possible to experience it and you must make a show time reservation in advance using the MSC for ME app or one of the many display screens onboard. Reservations are held until 5 minutes before the start of each show, then they open up space for all guests. There were some common elements throughout all of the shows, but the high energy performances, stunning visuals and great acoustics made watching each show delightful. The highlight of the week’s entertainment was the show “Timeless”, featuring a series of unbelievable performances by one of the best Michael Jackson impersonators. Elsewhere around the ship, you can find live music of all varying types, comedy shows and occasional movies on the outside screen. Tip : Pick your preferred show times on the first day of the cruise. Select show times that give you enough time for dinner before or after the show. Food & Beverage Buffets For casual dining the MSC Seaside is limited to buffet options only. Something not seen on other ships, is two separate buffets. The larger main (Marketplace Buffet) on Deck 8 features a large variety of foods commonly found on cruise ships, plus freshly made pizzas, pastas and rotisserie chicken. The pizza is by far the best I’ve had on any cruise ship. This location offers an incredible amount of outdoor seating along the expansive promenade. Another great feature are the self-service bev