Overall, the cruise was nice. Luxurious ship, good service and friendly staff most of the time. However, I need to mention the following points related to those with dietary requirements, swimming pools and the Excursions office: 1) The main buffet on the ship (Marketplace Buffet) does not take dietary requirements into consideration. I struggled explaining my vegan needs and some staff could not even understand what I was talking about. I had to ask lots of questions and staff members seemed to be unsure about their answers most of the time. This could be easily resolved by tagging each dish with its suitability for different dietary requirements. In addition, vegan options were limited to only salad at some points and I couldn't find a single vegan dessert over the whole cruise except some fruits. I tried The Silver Dolphin restaurant one night and the service was not better. 2) There's no adults' swimming pool on the ship. All pools are full of kids which makes it impossible for an adult to swim. I couldn't even enter any of the three main pools over the whole week as they were so crowded. One pool can be specifically allocated for adults who want to enjoy swimming away from the kids. 3) The most disappointing part of the cruise was the last day when Barcelona city tour (ending in the airport) was cancelled because of the low number of participants. Although I talked to the excursions office two days before the tour they couldn't manage to arrange any alternative. As a result, all what we could do on our last day was waiting for our flight from 8am till 5pm. While we selected this cruise in particular (and obviously paid more) because it covered four countries, we ended up visiting three (France, Italy and Malta) and just passing through the fourth (Spain). I believe that more effort could have been done in arranging an alternative (another city tour already took place and all what was needed is to arrange a taxi drive to the airport by the end) or at least we could have been informed in advance to book a hotel in Barcelona for an extra night to enjoy the city. Read Less

This was our first cruise as a family with children between the ages of 8 and 12. Embarking and disembarking was a breeze. We loved that everything was so new and clean. Service was varied. Some bar staff was downright rude, complaining about making milkshakes, refusing to give us a drink menu, or overheard mocking guests. However the server in the Silver Dolphin did a fantastic job. Food - my young son has celiac and probably my biggest disappointment is that the buffet was not celiac friendly. Nothing in the buffet is marked. They also had no «kid» friendly celiac meals such as gluten free pizza or other things that most kids want to eat, such as french fries, chicken nuggets, hamburgers. If you have celiac you basically have to eat in the formal sit down restaurant. This is simply not good enough for children with celiac and is very inflexible for families. I am not sure how other cruises handle this. Activities and pools - great outdoor spaces BUT the pools were very overcrowded. People seriously argued over sun loungers. They need bigger pools. Kids loved the waterslides. The kids never wanted to leave the ship at any of the ports. We found some areas of the ship to be too noisy for our liking, especially at the back near the Panorama pool. The entertainment was insane loud...we measured at 95 decibels?! We prefered to sit near the lower pool ok deck 7 or on the side near the Sports bar on deck 8. Excursions - we found to be too pricy and pretty much did our own thing. There are plenty of taxis waiting at the Messina port, so do not waste money on a shuttle. In Genoa, there are markers you can follow on the ground for a self guided tour and the aquarium is within 10-15 min walk from the port. In Naples, we took a taxi to and from Pompeii. In Messina, we took the train to Taormina on our own. Valletta—walking distance to the center of town. Take the elevator to the top (1 euro)... be aware that the bus excursion takes you all over the island but does not drive around the center old town attractions of Valletta. Elevators - the elevators located mid-ship were painfully slow. How 8 elevators could be so poorly programmed is a mystery. Use the elevators located in front or back or take the stairs. Overall we loved our cruise because there was something for everyone. The kids had a fantastic time. We enjoyed the port visits. It wasn’t a perfect trip and I wouldn’t recommend it for families who have children with celiac, but other than that I can say it was great. Read Less

We chose the MSC Seaview because my inlaws cruised with MSC 10 years ago, and wanted to try the new Seaview ship during its inaugural season. The Pros would be be: the ship was beautiful, all brand new. We had no issues with our embarkation and check in, very smooth and quick. Our bags arrived at our room within minutes of us, so we were able to quickly change and head to the pool. The food was amazing, so much selection, the service was great too. A few times the servers got confused with orders, but that was to be expected with a new ship, no big deal. The shows and entertainment were so much fun. Cons if I have to think of a few, the rooms are very small. Especially for 4 of us (2 adults and 2 children). Not enough closet space to unpack our clothes, so my husband and I lived out of our suitcases for a week. And let's not even talk about the size of the shower. We had a balcony, which alleviated the tightness of the cabin. Also, on our At Sea days, the ship was extremely crowded. Not enough lounge chairs for the amount of guests. On port days, we could easily find somewhere to sit. But on the at sea day we ended up sitting on 2 chairs and taking turns in the pool. People would put a towel on their lounge chairs and leave for hours on end. The ship said they monitored the situation and would only allow people to leave for 30 minutes, but we never saw that happen. Also, my father in law would order a soy milk cappuccino every morning at breakfast at the buffet, and by the time it arrived we had already finished our breakfast. The servers explained that they didn't have soy milk in the kitchen, so it had to be made at one of the bars and brought over, which took quite a long time. We thought they had forgotten about the order. I imagine my father in law is not the only passenger with an intolerance to dairy. The TV channels in the room did not have any children's programming in English. Also, everything to purchase on the ship is extremely expensive. They promote the specialty restaurants, but then when you look at the menu the prices are sky-high. Would have been nice to try one of them, but we just stuck with the main dining room and the buffet for the week. Read Less

In mid July we made a Western Med cruise on the Seaview. The ship looked beautiful and was brand new. We had a balcony cabin above the smokers deck (deck 8). If you want a non smoking experience you have to avoid the balconies on deck 9! The pools are great, and waterslides were amazing! Our 6 year old daughter was given a wristband wich allowed her to go on all the waterslides! The kidspool is great although there is no sitting space for adults...which is a fault... The restaurants were great. The staff is great! The cabin was well taken care of. We loved the jungle pool. It was the best place were there was a little shade. You need the shade during summer. The ports were all good, although we did not like there were extra costs for getting in to town. A free shuttle should be normal...but...that is what you get for the low pricing! All the food was good, but only the pizzas were great! One thing that annoyed me is that the Yacht club is getting more and more space on the ship....which means normal passengers can not have a complete experience of the ship...the top floors/decks were not allowed to normal passengers....this is getting worse on every new ship... The entertainment was great! We have been on Celebrity, HAL and MSC. Though the first two are better, MSC gives true value for money. They speak a lot of languages but no Dutch at the kids club, which is sad, because there were lots of Dutch children onboard.... Read Less

Background: I, a 50+ Swedish woman, have only cruised with NCL before and I usually cruise together with my husband. However, this time my youngest daughter, 21 years old, came along. Pre-cruise in Barcelona: We arrived to Barcelona one day in advance and stayed at hotel Serhs Del Port. From the hotel we walked a few minutes to a bus stop near the Monument of Christopher Columbus where we took the Cruise Port Shuttle Bus T3 and a single ticket was €3. Bus to cruise terminal Embarkation: Since we had to check out from our hotel at 11 am we arrived at cruise terminal A at around 11.15 and when handing over our suitcases we, as Black Card holders, got Priority boarding. The check-in doesn’t start until 12 o’clock so we sat down and relaxed while waiting. At around 11.30 people started to queue for the check-in, some of which even had boarding group 3 and we could not understand why they were queuing. Just before 12, people with Priority boarding were asked to come forward to the check-in desks but a lot of people without Priority boarding also tried to get in. However, the MSC-staff easily manage to take care of the situation and we were let forward. We tried to use our electronic tickets after having done a complete check-in online, but they were not able to access this information. Luckily, I had also brought the printed cruise ticket and embarkation form. We received our cruise cards and after the obligatory embarkation photo we could enter the ship. Since the cabins shouldn’t be ready until 2 pm we decided to have our first free drinks in the Sunset Beach Bar. Sadly, all the sitting area close to the bar is a smoking allowed area, so we moved up to deck 8. We realised that the Marketplace Buffet was situated inside and decided it was time for some lunch and we had great views over Barcelona. When doing the web-check-in you could only choose between early or late dinner seating and we had asked for late dining and hoped to get a dinner time at around 8 pm. Your dining information is displayed on your Cruise card and we were assigned to the Silver Dolphin Restaurant for a 22:00-seating. From 2 pm you could visit the Dining Info point outside the Silver Dolphin for Inquiries and we were first in line and had no problem to change our dinner time to 20:00 from day 2. Cabin: We stayed in a Fantastic balcony cabin, 14208 at the starboard side. The cabin was a good size with comfy beds and a sofa. The storage in the wardrobe was a bit limited and could have been planned better, but for two people and 7 days cruising it worked. The bathroom is a little compact but had a nice glass enclosure and there were two shelfs of ok size over the sink. The balcony had two chairs and a footstool. The cabin was very well sound proofed both to adjacent cabins and the outside. The curtains keep all the light out when closed. Our cabin steward was not very social but kept our cabin very clean and fresh. We do though miss the towel animals you get every night on NCL. When arriving to the cabin we found one big bed despite having asked for twin beds and some other person name and photos were on the tv-screen. We got worried that we were in the wrong cabin but after a visit to the guest service everything was solved. Back in the cabin around 2.30 pm our suitcases had arrived, and we could unpack. We realised we needed more hangers and after a phone call we received 10 more hangers immediately. Dining: We had breakfast in the Ocean Point Buffet on deck 16 every morning and never had any problems to find a table for two. We had thoughts to use the room service, but it was so convenient to take the stairs up to the buffet and the staff were so attentive and nice. The buffet had plenty of breakfast food options and we found everything we usually have for breakfast during holiday and much, much more. Very easy to order a cappuccino and everything arrived very fast. When we had lunch on the ship we also used the buffet restaurants and were very pleased with the selection of food. For dinner we were assigned to the complimentary Silver Dolphin Restaurant and had a very nice table next to the window and very nice guests around us. Our two waiters really took great care of us. The dishes on the menu sounded delicious, but the quality of the food was lower than expected. I would say the food was comparable with what you are served in a Swedish lunch restaurant that cooks for thousands of guests. The taste was for the most okay, but it did not look very appetizing and it lacked finesse. The size of the portions also differed from very small to normal. As a Black card holder, we were able to have a complimentary meal in one of the speciality restaurants and chose Butcher’s Cut. We were entitled to choose 3 courses from the Dining Experience Menu and all the food both tasted and looked delicious. Bars: We had the All-Inclusive Restaurant & Bar drink package included in the cruise. Two whites, two reds and one rosé wines by the glass selected by a sommelier was included in the package. Also included was a flute of dry or sweet sparkling wine and we enjoyed all the wine we drank even though we are no wine experts. Our intention was to try all bars on the ship and try as many different drinks as possible, but a seven-day cruise with only one sea day resulted in a lack of time to visit all bars. Entertainment: Since it was our first time on MSC we went and saw all the shows in the Odeon Theatre. They all lasted 30-40 minutes and we enjoyed them all, but even if every show has a special theme they had a lot of similar elements. It was very easy to make a reservation using the MSC For Me app. We attended some fun parties and activities in the Atrium, at the Panorama pool and in the Haven Lounge. The entertainment staff were great about getting people involved in the activities. However, this could not be said for the Cruise Director who only took part when introducing the Show in the theatre every evening. It was impressive that he did so in five different languages, but he lacked involvement and did it in a very boring way. Ports: We got off in most of the ports and choose to do our own thing except for the organized MSC-tour to Etna and Taormina. Marseilles: Followed the green painted line by foot 8-9 minutes to the bus stop for the free shuttlebus which took us to Jolette from where we walked to the Old Port. We then took Le Petit Train up to the church Notre-dam de la Garde with a great view over the city centre. Genoa: Easy to walk along the sea to Porto Antico and then we took a walk on streets that looked nice and continued to Via Garibaldi which is lined by beautiful palaces. Naples: There were thunderstorms with rain during the morning, so we decided to stay on the ship even if the weather improved a lot. We have been to Naples and Pompeii before. Messina: Took the MSC-tour to Etna and Taormina and had a great Italian guide who spoke very good English. The bus ride from Messina to Mount Etna took 1 hour and 45 minutes but the scenery was amazing and the guide gave us a lot of information so it felt very quick. We stopped at the two inactive Silvestri Craters which were formed during the eruption 1892 and we had time to climb the lowest crater. Sadly, it was a bit cloudy, so we couldn’t see the top of Etna. We continued to the little town of Taormina and had a guided walk for 30 min and then had about 2 hours free time for lunch and to explore the very pretty village. Valetta: Stayed most of the day on the ship and had the pool almost to our self. We have visited Valetta before and just took a short stroll during the afternoon. Disembarkation: Since we had Black Card-status we could disembark already at 8.30am, but we went to Guest Service and asked for a later disembarkation and got 9.30pm instead. Our meeting point was the Venchi Bar on deck 6 and we got a bit confused since nothing happened until 9.45am when an announcement came that we could go to the exit. Almost no que and easy to find the luggage. There was a taxi que, but we only had to wait around 15 minutes before we were on our way to the airport. Summary: We had an amazing week on a beautiful ship with so much to do and explore. The Service was overall great, but we had been spoiled from NCL that the Senior officers are very social around the ship and that was not the case on Seaview. We had a very positive first experience with MSC and next time we would like to try Yacht Club. We have done some vlogs from our cruise which can be found on You Tube: The Eriksson Family Adventures https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuaqlABQtAq4w7pMrrZfLHw Read Less

Had originally planned to do a Baltic cruise on NCL for a family of 4 in 2 cabins, but prices were high and no deals to be had. Not sure if the fact that the dates coincided with the World Cup in Russia were to blame, but the overall price was out of our budget. I find that NCL are very expensive now they only do the Premium all inclusive package, particularly if you are very moderate drinkers. Having a browse around one evening, ended up on the USA Expedia website, although we are UK based. This site has an excellent search facility, and found the MSC Seaview, which at the time was several months away from being finished. This was a western med cruise and is unique in the fact that you can get on at most of the ports of call, getting off a week later at the same port. Prices vary dramatically between embarkation ports, getting on a day earlier or later can save hundreds or even thousands of pounds for a family of 4. Genoa and Barcelona are expensive, we chose Marseille and saved a fortune, although we had to fly from Stanstead rather than Manchester to get decent flight prices. Marseille port is quite a distance from the airport.Taxi was close to 50 Euro. MSC seem to be trying hard to get American cruisers on their European ships at the moment, USA prices are considerably less than the prices on the MSC UK website. Extra benefits were $500 on-board credit if you paid by Mastercard, 14 drinks vouchers per person for the Fantastica package, and free bottled water for all cabin types.We were unsure if Expedia USA would take bookings from the UK, but when we phoned them they said it was not a problem, although that turned out to be not entirely true. We booked 2 cabins, a Fantastica cabin for myself and my wife and a Bella cabin for the 2 girls (15 & 21) paying the 2 deposits in dollars, by a fee free Halifax Mastercard. Within an hour we had had an email saying one of the deposit payments had not gone through and could we contact our cruise consultant again, (Expedia agents do not have international dialing rights as I think many of them are home based). We eventually managed to contact her and she dealt with MSC directly while we waited on the line, although it took her 30 minutes to get through to them. Next day my wife noticed that there were 3 deposit amounts on the credit card statement. we spoke to Expedia and were advised to contact MSC directly as it transpired that Expedia hadn't actually taken the payments at all, but had passed the card details to MSC to take payment directly, this was mirrored on the statement that showed MSC as the merchant. Contacting MSC call centre was a nightmare. Waits on hold of up to an hour before speaking to an agent and finding someone who could resolve it was frustrating. I spent around 3 hours on the phone over a period of a week or so before speaking to someone who resolved it. To be fair to MSC it was a few days after a major hurricane and they were busy trying to recover from the disruption. I had reason to speak the them just prior to the cruise and the call was answered in under 5 minutes. As we had booked via USA, we were associated with the USA MSC website. You cannot put your booking number in the UK website and see your booking. Unlike the Expedia website, the MSC site is a dog. We had constant problems from start to finish. It doesn't always behave as you might expect and things reset to default or just disappear. Online Check In was a nightmare, The UK address not helping, but it mainly just doesn't work. ( Tip: If you can't get your UK address in, complete the field for the second person in the cabin first, then tick the box that says "same address for all passengers"). We uploaded images for our identification picture multiple times, but they disappear if you make any changes to any other fields. When we boarded, they took new pictures any way, which over wrote the ones we had already uploaded. I wouldn't bother with the pictures before boarding again. We'd been watching the GBP USD exchange rates, and decided to pay the final balance a few weeks before we actually needed to, but we hit problems again, Our plan was to pay for one cabin in USD, pay the card off in GBP, then pay the second cabin the week after. Unfortunately the payment was processed twice again by MSC, pushing the card to its limit. It took a further 3 weeks of phone calls and emails to Expedia and MSC to get this resolved. When we eventually came to pay for the 2nd cabin, neither Expedia and MSC were able to process the payment. More phone calls and emails, we were given various reasons including a policy change and technical difficulties. I tried again a week later ready for a bun fight, but it went through in 2 minutes with no issues. we subsequently booked excursions and other add-ons via the website with no issues I probably would book through the USA again, but I'd be more prepared for the problems. I've booked through NCL via their USA call centre in the past and had no issues at all. To the cruise, eventually! Boarding at Marseille was extremely quick. Less than 30 minutes after arriving at the port we were on the ship. We were given our drinks vouchers as we checked in. Both rooms were ready. The fact that people get on and off every day means the numbers at any particular port are much smaller. There is no last night depression either when every one is getting off the next day. I think less than 500 got on that day. Most seem to board at Genoa and Barcelona. The ship is absolutely stunning. Lots of chrome and mirrors, although at times it's a bit difficult to tell where you are. Some parts of some decks can only be reached by certain lifts. Didn't have much trouble getting a lift, although we used the 2 panoramic elevators at the back most of the time as we were towards that end. There is loads of outside space, for eating, drinking and sunbathing. You cannot get to the front of any deck as its reserved for Yacht Club guests. They tend to walk around behind a butler holding a big Yacht Club paddle. Quite funny really, although a bit annoying at times. We were 8PM dining in the Silver Dolphin Restaurant had a table of 4 just for us which is how we like it. I was a bit disappointed in the dining experience overall. Limited choices some nights, Way too many veggie and vegan options unless you're into that sort of thing. We always felt a bit rushed and were out by 9:15 most nights. Portion sizes were very small with hardly any vegetables etc. The food wasn't warm enough for me, although I do like my food very hot. If you had anything other than wine it was impossible to get a 2nd drink as the staff were too busy. We did the Butchers Cut steakhouse one night, That was excellent. The steak was hot and one of the best I've ever had. There are 2 buffets, the largest on deck 8 and a smaller one on deck 16. we never had issues getting a seat at either. We actually ate outside most of the time. Always managed to find plenty to eat. Food temperature was the usual buffet lottery. Lots of sunbeds to be had, but bear in mind they are spread all over the ship on various decks. If you want a prime spot by one of the pools you will need to be up early. Lots of hot tubs around, never had a problem getting into one. There are bars all over the ship, both inside and outside, something for all tastes. Some are smoking bars, so avoid these if you are not a smoker. Seating was never really an issue, if one was full, just head off to another. Service was good, and drinks prices pretty reasonable for a cruise ship. We had paper drinks coupons, some that came as part of the Fantastica package, others we bought online before boarding (Beer, Wine & Water Easy, Soda, coffee) Not really a fan of the paper vouchers, would much rather see them electronically on your account. Had 3 issues using these, where the staff didn't correctly zero them off the hand held terminals they use to take orders. Had to go to Guest Services to get resolved, although they were dealt with quickly and efficiently. Had some great coffees and chocolates in the Venchi Chocolate and coffee bar on deck 5 Was not impressed by the entertainment on the ship at all. The main shows were very short and pretty much the same every night. A random selection of songs and dance routines, with no speech that made no sense whatsoever. Every night there were 2 bendy girls, a rope artist and a roller skating duo who appeared at random points during the show, while the dancers changed into the next costume. Compared against what NCL are doing, it was dire. We gave up after 3 nights and went to the bars instead. Other singers around the ship were very average. The DJ who deafened every one on the Deck 16 outdoor stage had a repertoire consisting of "Oh Yeah" and "One, Two, Three, Four" Did one tour to a village on Sicily by coach, reasonably priced. Otherwise did our own thing. Conclusion: Great value cruise on an awesome ship. It's a bit different to the American companies with a more European feel. Needs some work on the main dining to appeal to the American market. Entertainment needs a total rethink. Read Less

First off, we are tough critics so keep that in mind while reading our review. We chose MSC Seaside for a few reasons. The biggest is that last year we cruised the MSC Divina for the first time last year and absolutely loved it. Our party has 3 generations (teenagers, middle-aged/50, and in-laws in their 80s) traveling and without fail all thought the Divina, and its staff, were the best we ever had. This lead us to try the Seaside. This was somewhat of a last-minute trip so we did not have many options room wise. We ended up booking the lowest option (guaranteed cabin x3) at the Bella experience. The Unlimited Drinks special was going on. We ended up getting assigned balconies (woohooo) for staterooms on the 12th floor. Great way to start. Our thoughts are as follows: Cons: – MSC Website is the worst I have ever used. It baffles me as to why they have not fixed it. We struggled with it last year and this year. They almost lost the sale due to it. If you can’t get a website right, how can we trust you to sail a ship? -Timing/logistics seem to need a review or overhaul. For instance, the cruise critic party was at 10:00 AM. We got notice on our door at 9:00 AM. The White Night Party was on an evening before a port, however Italian night was the night before at sea. We were all dragging in port wondering why the 10:30 PM party was held the night before an 8:00 AM port. The Black Party was held at 5:00. Our dinner was 5:15. Just odd timing on things. -Quiet space on the ship is hard to come by. The ship is amazingly beautiful but the thump thump thump music coming from the main lobby permeates most areas that are meant for congregation. This made it tough for us to find space with all three generations to relax and talk. I was somewhat surprised by the music choices on elegant nights as well. I expected something a little more elegant but that did not happen. -Drink package is odd. No real place to find out what is included and most wait staff tell you something different each time. The drinks you are entitled to are free however there is a service charge (tip) for each drink. No one could explain to us what it was (we were told it was tax). HOT TIP – go to the self-service drink station on deck 8 buffet. You card will dispense beer and wine that are included in your package. It is completely at your leisure and no tip is added, -The gym is too small -I only saw the zip line operate once. Not sure why it was closed most of the trip -It can get pretty crowded in the food areas -The “library” is odd. I have never seen a library that has a pool table, checker boards and is a main walkway. I think it was more of an afterthought. -Got zinged by the minibar again. We were charged for something we did not take. HOT TIP-when you check in have the steward inventory the minibar in front of you then ask them to lock it for the duration of the cruise (we forgot this go around) -You can keep Nassua Pros: -Staff was great. Still love Rom (waiter in the for-fee dining area) -Lots to do. There was always something going on. We took many dance lessons and the instructors were fun and patient -Little kiddos seemed to LOVE that water park which was fun to see -Food was good and plentiful. Not “amazing” but good and reasonable. -Rooms were nice. Love the couch. Storage is tight as is the toilet area but something must give. -Getting on and off the ship was the best we have ever experienced. -The ship truly is amazing. You must ride the elevator at the back of the ship while at sea. The views are amazing -The bridge of sighs and infinity bridges were super cool -I was easily able to find deck chairs on the sides of the ship when I wanted a little sun nap. I am not a big at sea pool guy so this option was perfect for me - I thought the MSC for Me app was helpful. If they would add person to person “texting” or adult tracking it would be amazing. The onboard touchscreens throughout the ship are super handy too -The evening shows were really good. We don’t usually go to many shows but found ourselves going to most and were not disappointed. HOT TIP – If you are going to a show use the MSC app or a touch screen to reserve a seat. We were in the 5:15 dining rotation and could make the 6:45 show if we were there promptly at 5:15. The 8:00 show is usually booked solid so book early if you want that time. -I rode the slides with the kids and made the Mrs. try it once too. Lots of fun (I got dizzier on the brown kids slide than the adult blue slides) -Elegant night and Voyagers party served drinks and snacks. The elegant night “Happy Hour” started at about 4:45 but was not very well advertised but is a great way to start out the night -The way they do pictures is great. There are viewing stations where you scan your card and can bring up digitals of all your pix. Much easier than playing where’s waldo and looking at a wall full of other people while looking for yours Overall, we enjoyed the trip and would do it again. Read Less

My family and I are just off the MSC Seaview, cruising the Med. This was our 8th cruise, all previous cruises having been with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian (and one with Mein Schiff). Since quite a few people ask about the differences between RCCL, Norwegian and MSC, this review is a review of the Seaview and a comparison with RCCL and Norwegian. General This is a brand new ship – super condition, really fresh and clean. It’s simply massive – there is no way you can find someone unless they tell you where they’re going to be and at what time – you’ll find that it takes you 30 minutes to check the main common areas, and rather frustrating when you go back to your cabin and find them already there! There are plenty of lifts, but still a lot of waiting time. This was rather annoying. The panoramic lifts at the back tended to be totally empty. Given the immense number of passengers and crew on board, the ship never felt crowded except during breakfast. There is lots of outdoor space. For a quiet time in the sun, the deckchairs and armchairs along Deck 8 are a guarantee. The cruise had the biggest variety in nationalities and age groups that we have seen in 9 years of cruising. I now understand what some cruisers mean when they say that it is “too European”. Being European myself, I found this to be absolutely normal, but it does mean that there are many less Americans on board than you’d find on the RCCL or Norwegian. It had a number of obnoxious people, but so do RCCL and Norwegian. We found the staff to be genuinely friendly and enthusiastic to help. This being a new ship, we did get wrong directions a good number of times, but this goes with being on a new ship and didn’t bother us. Cabin Our cabin was 15125. We are four family members – 2 adults and 2 girls aged 10 and 12. The cabin was crowded, and felt rather like a slum! The wardrobe is tiny and very badly planned – the main side cannot be accessed except through a small space between the bed and the wardrobe. The cabin is right under one of the dining rooms. This didn’t prove to be a particular problem – we did hear moving chairs, but it was in the afternoons rather than early morning or late night. We had the Fantastica programme. The main advantage were the many many drink vouchers we received – we didn’t use them all! Incidentally, there seems to be some confusion on what the vouchers cover – some waiters accepted them for ice cream, and others did not. As for the wine and beer covered by the vouchers, we didn’t feel that they covered only the low-end choices at all. Food The specialty food restaurants did not impress us at all, contrary to the ones on RCCL and Norwegian. One of the dishes in the seafood restaurant – the octopus one - I literally disliked – there was too much going on in one plate. On the last night we went to the main dining room and were pleasantly surprised. If I were to go on Seaview again I wouldn’t bother with the specialty restaurants at all. In the buffet restaurants, I thoroughly recommend the pizza slices. We found some of the waiters to be somewhat inexperienced and a bit lost with the orders. For example we had one waiter serve us dessert wine in a liquor glass, and another waiter poured the beer like it was a soft drink – fast and without inclining the glass, meaning it frothed immensely. Some other specific comments The sports and gym activities are simply very poor – no real sports programme, no walking or running track. The Seaview has some 20 bars. However we found that we missed the atmosphere in the intimate bars of some of the RCCL and Norwegian ships – there was no real atmosphere at all, since it felt like walking through a mall with different artists playing in different corners. The information in the daily leaflet is rather poor. Same goes for the information about the locations: specifically for Malta for example, it highlighted the wonders of a trip to see the Azure Window… The Azure Window was totally destroyed by wind one year ago. The activities for pre-teens were not clearly identified. This was the first cruise where my children simply did not make friends. Granted, this may have something to do with their age too. Original embarkation and disembarkation was rather lengthy. We had a disembarkation time of 11am, however we had to clear the room by 8am. You’re not allowed to take your luggage yourself, which means you spend some 3 hrs wandering around the ship or in a corner somewhere. The billing method is not fantastic. Our bill arrived at 8am of the final morning, meaning that if you had any claim you’d be stuck in the queues at reception. My cabin had onboard credit, but it was split between my husband and I. When the bill came we noticed that they debited me for all that we spent, but did not take into account the credit of my husband, so he was asked to go and claim it back reception. The shows are good, particularly the costumes and the stage design. Incidentally there is no omnipresent and loud Cruise Director, which is quite an advantage to our minds! The smoking policy is quite strict – smoking only allowed in some areas. It is not strictly implemented – we had to stop our cabin neighbours from smoking on the balcony. Read Less

I am in the Baltic's for work, and had a set time to take a vacation, so my choices were limited on where and when I could go. I have been on two cruises with RCCL, one in the Mediterranean and one Caribbean some years ago. Both were really nice experiences. I was going to book on the Symphony of the Seas, but wow, they are getting very pricey. I stumbled online across the not yet finished MSC Seaside. I knew nothing about MSC Cruise lines so I did a lot of research and found many negative comments and some excellent ones. The dates worked out so I took the chance and booked my cruise on the Seaview, purchasing an interior cabin on the 10th deck. I purchased a welcome bottle of prosecco and the All inclusive drink package. I found MSC's website a tad confusing and lacking on detailed information. After much reading on this site it made things somewhat more clear. I had even conflicting information when I called the company! I was nervous about going on a new ship (possible delays, mechanical issues etc) and on a new line for me. After reading so many posts about MSC and the Yacht Club, I upgraded to the Yacht Club Interior Accessible cabin, 18033. They cancelled and refunded my prosecco and drink package as YC comes with the All Inclusive Deluxe package (very confusing as MSC told me on the phone it was a different package). My heart crashed when I read online that the ship delivery was being delayed, but thankfully for me it was only the first cruise that was effected. I was on the second. The big day arrived and I was so excited. I arrived in Messina from Catania by train and walked to the port, which was not far, but wow it was hot! I was so VERY disappointed that the port of Messina would not even allow us to go into the terminal to wait to board! There was everyone waiting to board sitting on their luggage on the sidewalk in the very hot sun, looking like a bunch of refugees! I had to wait for about 2 hours and it was getting so hot it was very uncomfortable. I went to the cafe immediately across the road, which was not yet open and thankfully there were some table and seats under the umbrellas. I knew the port terminal was not the biggest or fanciest but not to let people in was totally unacceptable. It was open for passengers disembarking or going of ship to sight see. Once they finally decided to let the mass into the terminal, I saw a member of the Yacht Club with a sign. Once we met, I was embarked quite quickly. One note, I have to say that the MSC Seaside security team were the most professional I have seen! Great work and kudos to them for what they do to keep us safe! The butler escorted me (the long way as he got slightly lost) to the YC concierge desk and they introduced themselves and explained how things work and what was available etc. First impressions after the terminal fiasco were amazing! Such a beautiful ship! The cabin was beautiful and very well appointed. Many upgrades such as a welcome bottle of prosseco and fresh fruit waiting. The cabin for the most part was perfect. Only issues was the closet is tight for space, and the plugs, Euro 220v and North American 110v plugs, 2 of each are very close and if you use an adapter it blocks the 2nd plug. There are also USB plugs as well. The other tiny issues were the toilet was a bit picky to get to flush and the shower water temperature went up and down as you showered. I'm guessing new ship issues. The cabin was kept very well and the staff were very friendly and professional. The phones in YC cabins are amazing high quality phones that even have video chat available! I ate breakfast and dinner in the YC Top Sail restaurant every day, except one night I ate in the Butchers Cut Steak restaurant. The service was excellent, and the food very good. No complaints, however I found that the YC kitchen didn't go quite as far for the above and beyond as i have heard from other reviews on this site, but it was still very good. The YC Lounge provided a very relaxing atmosphere with excellent live music and top notch service! Went to the buffets on decks 8 and 16 for a few snacks and the food was good but the areas can get VERY busy at times! The gelato was soo nice! The bars were excellent and service as great. Sometimes the bartenders were slammed with orders but worked so well and as fast as they could. I hate to do this, as the service was excellent in all the bars I went to, but I have to say an extra thank you for the above and beyond service I received from Anna and the others in the Champagne bar! They went the extra mile and made for VERY memorable times! The shows I thought were short but well done, but they do not use musicians, but recorded music and did recycle some acts and props between shows but they were still entertaining. Make sure to make a reservation! This is easily done using the cabin TV, the stations all over the ship or the MSC For Me app, which for the most part worked very well. Couple of times it got a little out of sorts, but not a big deal. As YC I had free access to the Thermal area of the spa! What a wonderful and very relaxing getaway! The only issues was an alarm kept going off, another tiny new ship issue which I hope they fix soon, and one thing that did annoy me a bit, is how loud some of the people in the spa were. Just a cultural thing, but perhaps they should put up a sign or something to remind them to just be more quiet. The pool and whirlpools in the YC were wonderful and quiet and the others were good but did get quite busy at times, which is to be expected on a ship this size. I was blown away on how well they engineered all the deck space outside which gave lots of room to lay outside or eat at the tables. One weird thing I did notice is there are no garbage receptacles to be found and sometimes you had to go the distance to get rid of garbage. The zip line was fun but not something I would do too many times. The water slides were fun as well, and children seemed to enjoy the water park! I did love the Formula one simulator, but twice the experience was messed up when Captain Scala made one of his many multi language announcements. Normally i wouldn't mind, put when you are paying 10 Euro for 5 minutes, I expect the full experience uninterrupted. The bridge should let the arcade know when they are going to make an announcement so we can wait till after they are done to race! The bridge of Sighs is very nice and the aft elevators offer an amazing ocean view. I booked my shore excursions before my cruise and there was some minor issues booking, and they cancelled my excursion in Barcelona at the last minute (well after supper the night before) due to not enough people. I was disappointed to say the least as it was the one I was looking forward to the most. These things happen but I wish I had more time as I would have found a way to go on my own. I also found that in the Yacht Club you don't know your meeting time till very late at night, and couple of times I had to go to the concierge desk to ask, so I wouldn't miss my timings. The excursions I did go on were well done and I was happy with them. One funny thing, I read about on this site was how Yacht Club members can hijack the elevators, and all the issues that go with it. Well that didn't seem to be an issue at all on my cruise. MSC has signs on one fore elevator, port and starboard stating priority for YC members. People, including myself did use the service and there were no complaints. Some people thought this was funny and challenged us to elevator races! The only thing that I think that could have been better is the mandatory safety briefings held in the muster assembly area. They seemed a tad disorganized and some people didn't pay attention at all. Some muster areas are in the arcade area and had people walking right trough and making noise during the briefing. Passengers and MSC should put more effort into safety as when(god forbid) things do go bad it's too late to try to learn! All in all, I had a very positive first experience with MSC Cruises. The Seaview is an amazing beautiful and steady ship and her master, Captain Scala was very approachable and ran a very good ship. many of the employees were very happy to be on the Seaview and under his command. There were a few minor things, but nothing is perfect. I had an excellent vacation, which went far too quickly. I would have no issues recommending this cruise and would love to do it again if the chance were ever to arise again. I am very happy I paid the difference and upgraded to Yacht Club, as it is like a ship within a ship. When the masses got a bit much, I just went to the YC area and relaxed. Thanks to all who worked so hard to give me a great vacation! Read Less

This is a beautiful brand new ship, with absolutely loads of outdoor space and a fabulous 'boardwalk' outdoor eating area which wraps around the deck 8. Even though the ship was full, we can honestly say we never felt crowded. There were lots of children activities with the slides and bowling alleys and zippiness etc, but quite expensive... you could buy a package but bowling in particular we thought very expensive. The 3d simulator ride was great. They had one art auction in the week which was fun, but I think will be looking to increase those. The shows were of a very high standard, but all a little 'samey' in my opinion with the dance and singing cast doing every night, so there were no surprises. We were extremely disappointed to learn that (despite having clarified this in advance as it was our reason for choosing this ship over another) there is no comedy club / or any type of comedy, an no outdoor movies. There is a big screen but it was used for images only. So I did feel that the entertainment in the evening was somewhat limited to the usual duos etc in the bars if you didn't feel like the shows or casino. The food in the main restaurants was average, but the buffet was way above average and excellent food. Also, all of the specialty restaurants were excellent, and the Tappenyaki one was worth it just for the show! The only downside was with the Atelier Bistro - whilst although the food was lovely, the ambience was hindered by it being next to the atrium and the band / kids disco etc that was playing whilst we were trying to eat... even the staff were complaining about this. Service was on the whole good. I found that alot of the staff spoke very limited english so found it hard to make myself understood sometimes, but generally the staff were pleasant and helpful. The MSC app was an excellent addition.. Overall a lovely cruise on an incredibly beautiful ship, just a few minor issues that need sorting out. Read Less