We chose the MSC Seaside because the sail dates,price and the fact that it is a new ship were appealing. Even though the ship got mixed reviews, we thought we would keep and open mind and make the best of it no matter what.

Before I get into what we didn't like, I MUST say that the theater entertainment was the BEST I have ever experienced on a cruise. Every night was wonderful with the most handsome and beautiful dancers and singers to contortionists and acrobats, jugglers, strongmen and comedy mixed in. World class entertainment and the cruise director was funny and very entertaining as well. However, the lounge entertainment was mediocre at best.

We didn't experience any of the issues with foul odors which some reviewers did, however we did find that the Fantastica balcony stateroom which we stayed in was very awkward. Specifically, the television was in a spot where, even from the couch, you had to swivel it out from the wall in order to see it. In order to see it from the bed, you had to swivel it out so far that it blocked your path to the bathroom so you would have to duck under it. As for the bathroom: we had a full bathtub and with a handheld shower head. The shower head was nice but there was no shower door, only a glass partition that went a little over a third of the way along the tub. So in order to keep from getting water all over the bathroom, you had to face the corner and spray the shower head into the corner. Also, as many reviewers stated, there was very little storage. One sliding closet door only opened about 8 inches and the other would get stuck closed so I had to place a shim at the bottom track to keep it from closing all the way. There were only two drawers and two small shelves about 6 inches deep and 12 inches wide. Read more