MSC Seaside Review
Good value for what we paid, but not as high-end an experience as MSC touts
Rating by category
Additional details
We have cruised extensively in the past, mainly with Princess and Disney, but also tried Carnival and Viking. We were excited to try MSC, particularly given the good price we got. We learned about MSC through a lot of reviews and ads in some parents' magazines we read.
I must say that MSC did not live up to the hype for our group. We still considered it a good value for the money, but quality overall was notably inferior to Princess and Disney, to which MSC appears to be setting themselves up as a competitor. I will give some of the "thumbs downs" here first--to fill you in on the areas we found problematic--but then please keep reading for some aspects we liked, as well!
Embarkation went VERY smoothly and quickly. We also disembarked in good shape, but were assigned to an incorrect departure group and had to both discover on our own and then go to have that corrected--they didn't seem to notice that we had paid for the bus transfers, weren't just walking off ourselves. We would have missed our transfer, and possibly our flight, if we hadn't discovered the error. Judging from the people we saw at the purser's desk, that didn't seem to be an unusual problem to have.
Cabin Review
Fantastica Balcony Stateroom
The cabin was small, but about what we expected. Organization wasn't great, though. There were a few areas of "wasted space" where more shelving/drawers could have been placed, and the only storage area/cabinet available in the desk was completely occupied by a stocked minibar fridge--the attendant merely offered to lock it (rather than empty it) when I told him we didn't want the service. Would have preferred to have drawers/shelves there. Good choice of a backless stool that fit completely under the desk instead of a chair; we used that as more shelving. Only toiletries provided were pumps for shampoo and shower gel on the shower wall. Two cups for toothbrushes were mounted on the wall, and were dirty in the bottom. Our attendant kept up with clean towels and making the beds very well, but that seemed to be the only service given. Our kids' bunk beds were left up all the time--on our Disney cruise they were made back into a couch (more useful) during the day every day.
Port Reviews
St. Thomas
We spent the day with a family friend who lives there. The Pirate Museum was surprisingly good (short walk from the dock).
Nassau
Our "See and Sea" sightseeing tour was cancelled due to heavy seas. We left the ship briefly to walk around the port/shopping area, but it was the same stores as everywhere and somewhat sad/rundown. Didn't spend much time on shore.