This is my first Cruise Critic review and only the second cruise for my husband and I. I am writing this as I found other reviews very helpful to our enjoyment of this cruise. Our first cruise was on the Carnival Triumph in 2015. We enjoyed Carnival but wanted to try a few cruise experiences before committing to a loyalty program. After this cruise, we are still looking.
The Seaside, being a new ship is beautiful and clean. The Atrium area is glitzy with mirrors and crystal lighted stairs. These stairs could be a bit hard to navigate if you have vision difficulties, especial with depth perception. The elevators ran fine most of the time. We only had one instance when the elevator didn’t run and that was when a large crowd was reembarking the ship at one time.
The ship is laid out fairly well with a long corridor throughout the ship in the public areas. This is where many shops, services and lounges are located. There are several outdoor deck areas which is one of the things that drew us to this ship. I loved being able to sit outside even if I wasn’t next to a pool. However, I was a bit disappointed about not being able to walk all the way around the ship. The front of the ship on every level is only open to Yacht Club members (first class).
Room 13020 was a comfortable room, forward on the starboard side. There was plenty of space for two people, four would be tight. We had no storage problems; however, we did bring two folding drawers, some extra hangers and an over the door hook as was recommended in an earlier review. There was plenty of storage space under the bed for suitcases and dirty laundry. The balcony was quiet and relaxing I was glad we were not near the buffet seating area.
We did exit the ship and walked in the downtown area. The area by the port felt overwhelming with people trying to get us to take a tour, get a taxiride or buy a trinket. We visited the local museum which was interesting but did not have indoor plumbing.
We did eat lunch at Hemingway's Caribbean Cafe which was excellent. The owner was on site and very friendly. We ordered lots of appetizers so we could try everything. The Conch Fritters were amazing and it was the BEST Key Lime Pie I've ever had.
Best port ever! No need to pay for an excursion when the beach is right there when you walk off the ship.
We walked to the end of the beach to Jack's Shack and had a wonderful lunch of fried conch and carribean jerk chicken. My hubby sat in the shade with a few beers while I enjoyed the sun in the water and played beach volley ball.