MSC Seaside Review

Really good cruise, could've been great. They are almost there

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on MSC Seaside
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jocko4279
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Jul 2018
Cabin: Aurea Suite with Whirlpool Tub

I chose this cruise because of the deal that was being offered. Kids were free (really free not like some other cruise lines bogus offers) drinks were included, and they also matched my Carnival status. It was myself, my wife and two kids 10 & 7. This ship is beautiful. Very clean, and always being cleaned. Really impressive, but the layout of the exterior and interior spaces seems to be a bit choppy, and you never really have one long flowing space. This is really evident in the pool areas. You have to go up down, around, etc. to check everything out, kinda bottles people up at points. Makes each area like a separate attraction. Another thing I noticed about this ship is that the AC is really lacking. You never get that refreshing blast of cold air when entering from outdoor spaces. Some places were downright warm, especially the elevators....speaking of elevators you will wait, they are always jammed. The tip here is to use the glass elevators all the way at the aft and then just walk around.

Water slides outside are really nice, but the way they are handled is not so efficient. First , they are not open the first day in Miami. Then you have to sign a waiver form the next day in a really long line. So long in fact that after standing there for 1/2 an hour we gave up. My kids and I are slide aficionados, and we didn't get on the slides till day three, then they were packed. Why not just put the slide waiver in the cruise ticket language, and eliminate the unnecessary log jam? The other thing that was annoying was on port days (4 on this cruise) the slides did not open til noon. 90 degree + weather all week and can't use them till 12 on port days, c'mon MSC. That really cuts down on the time you can enjoy them.

Our cabin was awesome. We had an Aurea suite with the whirpool bath (hot tub) on our balcony. Plenty of storage with a walk in closet. Bathroom sufficiently large enough, but the shower (as some have previously noted) has a strange half glass partition that does not cover the full opening. I'm told this is a European thing, but I figured out a way around it with a hack. Suction cups, and a cheap shower liner! The cabin was too warm for half the week. It took about 3 attempts with customer service to get the AC right.

Cabin Review

Aurea Suite with Whirlpool Tub

Cabin SJ3

great cabin. walk in closet. bathroom ok size. Lack of shower doors or curtain was strange. AC wasn't great first half of trip, remedied after that.

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