After 10 family cruises (usually between 16 & 20 family members from pre-teens to grandparents) & wonderful experiences on every one of them (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity & Holland America), I felt compelled to come to CruiseCritic to post this review of our MSC Seaside Christmas cruise (their first "American" cruise out of Miami on 12/23/17) & warn anyone considering this cruise line/ship of what they are getting into.

I will go into more detail below, but it pretty much comes down to these 2 things:

1) This ship can NOT handle 5,000 people - ever! Maybe 3,500 or so, but that's it. It's hard to describe because we've never experienced anything like it on any of our previous 10 cruises, but this ship always felt cramped & crowded. There were lines everywhere & people were getting very upset & frustrated. The restaurants, elevators, theater, pools (which are more like bathtubs), activities (zip line...), bars, buffets, and even the balcony staterooms & bathrooms were all cramped & crowded. (Side note: there is simply no excuse for a shower that small in this size/class ship). Read more