msc seaside yacht club avis

• MSC Cruises

An insanely detailed Seaside Yacht Club Review!

By Dr. Cocktail , March 3, 2018 in MSC Cruises

Recommended Posts

Dr. Cocktail

I recently sailed on the beautiful MSC Seaside in the Yacht Club with my partner and two friends. We sailed in an exterior suite while our friends had an interior “suite”.

Boarding: A hot mess

The new Terminal in Miami has a beautiful, curved driveway that goes to the main entrance. Too bad that security has closed this off so that they drop you off well past said entrance. In fact, if you take UBER, they drop you off even further. No problem as the stevedores are there to take your bags.

However - the location of the Yacht Club Tent? You guessed right - immediately next to the main entrance. Therefore, Yacht Club passengers actually have to drag their bags the furthest to board. Once there, the shoreside “butlers” guide you through security and up to the VIP check-in.

Continental Drift is faster than this process. In fact, we sat there for half-an-hour watching general boarding begin as the two ladies checked in a dozen or so passengers. MSC - are you reading this? It would be far more efficient to check Yacht Club in with everyone else in the fast moving general line and then move those guests to the VIP lounge.

We walked on ourselves and as I had studied the deck map, guided us to the forward elevators.

We went to the Yacht Club and were greeted by the Yacht Club manager - one of the few times that we saw him all week.

There was a general din as people lined up to speak to the Concierge, register their credit cards and reserve dinner with Luigi. As we knew what to do, we did what we had to but our friends commented on how NO information was provided. They really were, “WT#?!”

They flat-out told me/asked me: “This is supposed to be luxurious?”.

I don’t want to do a running comparison but in The Haven, the Concierge welcomes you and then tells you when your room will be ready, where and when you can have lunch and outlines the features of the Haven.

We then went to the Top Sail, had the first of many (many)(like, a lot) of cocktails and settled in.

I also was pleased to see that my good friend Nick (Nicholas Feuillatte) was on board and over the week, we had a lot of pleasant times together.

Our first lunch was excellent (lots of hugs and laughs with Arthur) and all was now good.

Accomodations

Our first impression was excellent - extremely large, plush, a restful (if a bit too brown) colour scheme and TONS of storage. Loved the self-lighting closets. We took two suitcases and could have easily unpacked a third.

The lighting was good but I would have liked a dimmer or switch that provided more options.

While we never watch TV, for those who do it is mounted in an awkward position for either the sitting area or the bed. It would be better to have it on a moveable mount. As it is now, the mounting apparatus made a lot of noise during the night with the ship moving as much as it did.

As others have commented, Seaside does move a lot. I don’t know if its because of her intrinsic design or because the Caribbean has been unusually windy these past few months.

The bathroom was huge, dripping in marble with tons of storage and a fantastic, glass walled walk-in shower with a rainshower head.

My only quibble was that the shower door opened into the room - easier for getting in but one always seemed to get a ton of water on the floor afterwards.

Still - an elegant, spacious and comfortable space.

Interior Design: a mixed bag

The interior design was interesting as while the decor was quite striking, the size and placement of rooms was far from ideal.

I loved the colours, surfaces and textures and the recurring motif of slashed and angular lines.

Unfortunately, many of the spaces were too large or too small for the needs that they served. As an example, people were literally overflowing in the Piazza Grande which was one of the few lounges to offer live music (more on that later) The spaces around the atrium such as the Champagne Bar, however, felt like they were in the middle of a shopping mall. The walkways bisected the areas removing any intimacy with people constantly walking by.

The entrance to the theater appeared to be an afterthought with a couple of zigs after the elevator lobby. There was no space for those who were waiting for the following show.

As the MSC ships become ever larger, they really must focus and concentrate on passenger movement and flow and where people are likely to go. While I’m not a fan of the overall product, this is an area that Royal Caribbean excels at.

Entertainment

I always divide entertainment into two categories - mainstage and lounges.

We enjoyed the almost nightly 10:30 “recitals” with soprano, tenor, violinist and pianist. While it wasn’t necessary Conservatory quality, it was a great addition to “usual” cruise ship offerings.

We only saw one show, Timeless, that was the usual MSC drug-induced, hallucinatory craziness. Time travel, Micheal Jackson and the American National Anthem. Why? Dunno.

The Yacht Club had very good performers but there were extremely looooooooooong breaks between performances.

The lounge entertainment is a definite step down from Divina … there are far fewer small lounges and there really wasn’t a lot happening. What is such a refreshing change from much of the industry on Divina is all that live entertainment

A telling change is in the Daily on Seaside - Divina would have a list of the various live events happening whereas Seaside doesn’t for the likely reason that there isn’t that much happening. Any event with live performers was ridiculously overcrowded as there was so little to choose from.

Cleanliness

I made this a separate category as this is the first ship I’ve been on where it has to be a category. Seaside uses many mirrors and reflective surfaces and many were covered in fingerprints and smudges. We were surprised at how sparkling the Yacht Club wasn’t. The Yacht Club elevator was always one gigantic smear. You NEVER saw anyone cleaning the staircases, elevators or glass walls and mirrors. It’s obvious that they just have really cut back on maintenance staff.

The food in the Yacht Club Dining Room, with one or two exceptions, was miles above that served on Divina. Much higher quality ingredients and far better preparation.

We dined at all of the specialty restaurants. We bought a dining package but then frequently went off script and paid the difference.

We had a superb lunch at Bistrot La Boheme. We were the only patrons present but the food (prefab pate notwithstanding…) was superb. Hot, fresh and great.

Butchers Cut was an enjoyable train wreck. Disorganized, loud and chaotic but with excellent food when it finally arrived. Portions were ridiculously large and dinner took over 2 and a half hours.

Roys was excellent - while not necessarily as excellent as one of their land based restaurants, pretty darn good for a cruise ship with one notable exception (details below!)

Ocean Cay was ….stupendous. Like, jaw-droppingly good. The decor was contemporary elegant and there were only 7 tables being served.

The meal package includes starter, main and dessert. We asked if we could have two starters and skip dessert and the initial answer was no but after checking with the Specialty Restaurant Manager, an exception was made.

I’m going into overdetail here because it was so superb. We started with the Crab Sampler (cold) that consisted of about 246 pounds (OK, I exaggerate here) of simple but beautiful crab legs and claws. This was followed by a dozen oysters (ridiculously generous) and finally perfectly prepared sea bass.

A meal like this on land would easily cost between one and two hundred dollars per person without alcohol.

The generally available wines and liquors in the Yacht Club and elsewhere were excellent …. FAR superior to what is provided in the Haven on NCL. I literally (and embarrassingly) went through a LOT of bottles of Nicholas Feuillatte.

To Smell or Not to Smell, That is the Question

The general tone on these boards about *ahem* “the smell” on these boards can roughly be translated to: “you stink”, “NO, YOU STINK”!

I was so excited to go on Seaside that I boarded completely forgot the issue. Now, I am not one to sit still and frequently go for walks to simply enjoy the ship and people watch. I am frequently accompanied by the Cocktail-of-my-choice and can be readily identified by my Golden-retriever-like happy face and big smile. Let’s just say, I love being on ships!

On the second day I was doing my rounds and walked by the Forest Aquaventure Park and literally stopped dead in my tracks. I was immediately transported back almost 50 years to Northern Ontario where my parents and I would go to their friend’s cottage and spend a week.

In those days, we would walk the path to the outhouse or privy when nature called.

Imagine if an outhouse exploded inside a tent. It was truly vile.

I turned on my heel and raced back to find my partner.

Now, as anyone in a long-time relationship knows, if you smell something truly terrible, you MUST find your spouse and make them smell said object. He was happily relaxing in the Yacht Club when I told him we HAD to go for a walk. After a bit of protest, he accompanied me and reached the same spot when/where his jaw dropped.

Now, anyone watching would have wondered who the two lunatics were as we were laughing hysterically, generally saying: “that’s the worst thing I ever smelled, Oh, that’s horrible, I heard it was bad but I didn’t think it was that bad”. We continued laughing and went back for more restorative beverages.

Over the course of the week, the odour would ebb and flow there and in the atrium, our friend’s inside Yacht Club Suite and most glaringly, at Roy’s.

My were on our way to dinner at Roy’s when I ran into Robert, the Specialty Restaurant Manager who we know from Divina. Everyone went ahead while I caught up with him.

When I got to our table, everyone had a wry smile and appeared to be waiting for me.

I asked: “what’s going on”, sat down and said: “holy &@^@&^” - it smelled like we were have dinner inside The Bowel Reconstruction Unit. Our friends wanted to leave but I wanted to speak to a staff member first. At that moment, the sommelier stopped by and asked if everything was ok. I leaned in and stated in sotto voce: “everything’s great but there seems to be an odour problem”. He became immediately serious and asked if we would move to the back of the restaurant. I said “of course” and the back corner was much less odiferously challenging.

To clarify, this was only over a week ago so yes, there are still some serious problems. You can check my signature … ships always have different mystery smells and unpleasant odours but nothing like this.

I really feel it is related to the ship’s speed and wind conditions. This may be while some encounter “the Force” and others don’t. Hopefully, a solution will be found in the coming weeks or months.

Spa and Gym

A 100% complete and utter First World disaster.

The gym appears to be huge but with the number of passengers (and frankly, active passengers from Europe) the gym is not nearly large enough by half. Many of the cardio machines are not working and there are no sign-up sheets for equipment so it’s a free-for-all when one becomes available.

Towels must be signed out (ridiculous) and there are no disinfectant wipes for the equipment available - just two (2)(deux)(due) spray bottles with paper towel (ridiculous and unsanitary).

The garbage cans were overflowing and during one workout, no one went to clean up the spilled cup of coffee sprayed over the gym floor.

One must sign into the spa depending on who’s manning the desk. Ridiculous again.

They then give you one Dollar Tree towel that you MUST return to get your key card back.

The change room accomplishes a miracle … while NOT providing you with towels, the floor is still covered with used towels and is messy and dirty.

Now, anyone using the spa has already “paid” in one way or another …. Just give us some *($^&*#&$&* towels!

The spa itself is dark with puddles of water everywhere. The therapy pool has many hidden levels - they should set up a second therapy pool to take care of the injuries you will get from using the first pool. The area is filled with rattan loungers in every corner - as if you wanted to lie in that dark, dank and unpleasant environment to relax.

MSC - please - board Breakaway/Getaway/Escape and walk through the spa and see how it’s done with lots of towels, coffee, tea, filtered and flavoured waters and tons of heated lounge chairs. Oh, and NCL has towels. Have I mentioned that yet?

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can honestly say that in a 7 night cruise, I never encountered a single staff member who didn’t smile, laugh or ask how I was doing. Just lovely people. Now, I am a firm believer in how an ounce of honey is worth a pound of vinegar so crew may respond to that. Or, they’re just great in any case!

So, the ship sorta’ smells and isn’t the cleanest, the entertainment is lacking and the spa sucks.

Would I go back?

In a heartbeat.

The crew are working hard, the ship is beautiful, the suites are excellent, the food is great but there are definitely problems.

For a ship that was only 10 weeks old and is not only a prototype for MSC but for the entire industry, however, they are doing a fine job. The true test will be in the coming months to see whether they can wrestle all of the problems under control.

For the Yacht Club, the value is unbelievable and unmatched in the industry.

I had actually booked three (!) Seaside Yacht Club cruises because of the great deals available and the increasingly insane prices in The Haven.

I plan on going on each and every one!

Link to comment

Share on other sites.

Enjoyed your review, very much.

A few questions:

Embarkation. I don't understand. When we were on Divina we were brought to a room, registered, had wine/champagne and then a butler brought us to the YC. I don't think we even saw the other passengers, so we wouldn't have known if they were moving faster than us or not. How is this different? BTW, who's Luigi.?

Were you Black Card?

We are. We might just do one specialty.

If you had to choose just one, which one would it be?

What about the pool area? How was it? Crowded?

Thanks again.

We're on her in July.

Booboochase

Dr. Cocktail, that was by far the most entertaining, hilarious, informative review I have ever read. Thank You!! Can I just say, I hope you are on our cruise in Jan of 2019 in the Yacht Club! Bravo.

Really enjoyed the review! Too bad about your boarding experience. Ours was pretty quick and it really made you feel special, as we were escorted all the way from dropping off the luggage up to the YC, where we were introduced to one of the Concierges who explained everything, and then a butler took us to our cabin. It was really nice and I have to say far superior to what we experienced in the Haven where we had to wait in long security lines along with everyone else.

I was also lucky enough not to encounter any smells, enjoyed the spa more than you, found the ship to be quite clean, but found the food much less appetizing than you. Mediocre at best.

Two things we certainly agree upon, I would return in a heartbeat and I do feel the YC is one of the best bargains and values in cruising right now.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts, in an entertaining way!

Two Wheels Only

I'll be on the ship in 3 months.....I have no idea of what to expect. :o

....but I promise to give a review when I get back. :D

Enjoyed your review..... Question...What time did you arrive at the pier/terminal?? I'm getting the impression early afternoon based on the crowds you mentioned.

Terrific review, thanks much!

Enjoyed reading this very much. We seemed to have faired a little better on our sailing. Easy boarding (not yc, but black card/casino guest). We felt so bad for the crew that we saw constantly cleaning all the glass and chrome(beautiful but so hard to keep fingerprintless- I like that word).

We loved all the shows, and wished we had more time at Butcher's Cut. Glad we never encountered the smell, but spent alot of time in the casino. Agree, all the staff was wonderful-must be extremely difficult to get everybody working as a team, and they were doing a fantastic job.

We are sailing again in April, hoping again for no smells and terrific staff.

Thanks again for your review-great reading

Safe sailing

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

This is an excellent review/report.

Enjoyed your review, very much. A few questions:   Embarkation. I don't understand. When we were on Divina we were brought to a room, registered, had wine/champagne and then a butler brought us to the YC. I don't think we even saw the other passengers, so we wouldn't have known if they were moving faster than us or not. How is this different? BTW, who's Luigi.?   No one was available to take us right onto the ship. They took us as far as the gangway. Luigi is the Maitred' Were you Black Card? Yes We are. We might just do one specialty. If you had to choose just one, which one would it be? No question - Ocean Cay   What about the pool area? How was it? Crowded? Crowded but always chairs available Casino? That's that place where they take your money and hold it for safekeeping? Sorry - wouldn't know!   Thanks again. We're on her in July.     :D

Totally my pleasure - I'm looking for positive changes this fall!

Really enjoyed the review! Too bad about your boarding experience. Ours was pretty quick and it really made you feel special, as we were escorted all the way from dropping off the luggage up to the YC, where we were introduced to one of the Concierges who explained everything, and then a butler took us to our cabin. It was really nice and I have to say far superior to what we experienced in the Haven where we had to wait in long security lines along with everyone else.   I was also lucky enough not to encounter any smells, enjoyed the spa more than you, found the ship to be quite clean, but found the food much less appetizing than you. Mediocre at best.   Two things we certainly agree upon, I would return in a heartbeat and I do feel the YC is one of the best bargains and values in cruising right now.   Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts, in an entertaining way!

Thanks for your nice comments! I think that they were aware that they had kept us waiting for so long so they just wanted us on board. It would have been an even longer wait to get someone who could take us right up.

I also feel that at present, every week will present a different experience as there appears to be a certain lack of consistency. Now, of course, we're all different but it's more than that. We both appear to have large and varied experiences on different ships. We were on Eurodam 8 weeks before Seaside and MSC's food compared extremely favourably. Many discussed the lobster tails available at The One Grill and how dried out everything was. No tails on our cruise but all the different cuts of chicken, lamb and fish grilled to perfection.

Again, likely teething pains.

Enjoyed your review..... Question...What time did you arrive at the pier/terminal?? I'm getting the impression early afternoon based on the crowds you mentioned.   Thanks

We got there before 11 am ... that's why we were so frustrated. We were among the first to arrive only to see general boarding begin while we were waiting....

Booboochase, Clarea, spidybabe,Keith1010 - Thanks!

Loved your review. Mark and I enjoyed meeting you on the Hurricane Irma Divina cruise. We both laughed about you going to get your partner so they could smell the odor as well. This is something we would most certainly do.

We are booked in November on Seaside so we have a ways to go; hopefully some of these "features" will be resolved by them. Any chance one of your next 3 Seaside cruises is Nov 10?

Thanks for the review. This is one of the most well balanced reviews that I have read.

Boarding seems like one of the few (very few) areas where non-YC is getting better reviews than YC cabins. Most are reporting general boarding is very quick whereas a few have reported YC boarding as a little slow. With the increased number of YC rooms on the Seaside, I wonder if they have increased on number of staff at check-in?

Loved your review. Mark and I enjoyed meeting you on the Hurricane Irma Divina cruise. We both laughed about you going to get your partner so they could smell the odor as well. This is something we would most certainly do.   We are booked in November on Seaside so we have a ways to go; hopefully some of these "features" will be resolved by them. Any chance one of your next 3 Seaside cruises is Nov 10?   Lori

So nice to hear from you!!!!

Actually, I have two booked... the first was one of three! Sorry ... not on board in November.....

I read some of Mark's comments on other threads ... it's interesting that you didn't encounter any smell issues. In the foreseeable future, each sailing will have its own surprises!

Linda the Book Lover

I loved your review and had a good laugh while reading. Your descriptions are wonderful.

Formula280SS

On Seaside now for a B2B. Some early thoughts (and also glad we actually got to Miami and made the first departure).

I recently sailed on the beautiful MSC Seaside in the Yacht Club with my partner and two friends. We sailed in an exterior suite while our friends had an interior “suite”.   Boarding: A hot mess   The new Terminal in Miami has a beautiful, curved driveway that goes to the main entrance. Too bad that security has closed this off so that they drop you off well past said entrance. In fact, if you take UBER, they drop you off even further. No problem as the stevedores are there to take your bags. Yep, totally confused the heck out of our GoAirport driver; who took our bags all the way the curb. However - the location of the Yacht Club Tent? You guessed right - immediately next to the main entrance. Therefore, Yacht Club passengers actually have to drag their bags the furthest to board. Once there, the shoreside “butlers” guide you through security and up to the VIP check-in. Yep, YC people arrive as early as 9:30. Couple of port employees smoking behind the area, no YC staff at all. We were told by a MSC porter (very nice) who worked the YC that it didn't open until 10:30. That's OK, but they showed up at 10:30 and then had to set up and try to get started. Three young (very nice) men were barely 20. Compared to Divina YC, it was really not well done outside. After entering with the first small group, the terminal screener for the YC group was overwhelmed. Continental Drift is faster than this process. In fact, we sat there for half-an-hour watching general boarding begin as the two ladies checked in a dozen or so passengers. MSC - are you reading this? It would be far more efficient to check Yacht Club in with everyone else in the fast moving general line and then move those guests to the VIP lounge. YC butlers told us to wait after security for everyone in our group; the port security told us not to wait but to proceed. The YC lounge was really nice. It was not set up, the first couple of butlers (shore-side only, they don't go on the ship) had to set up the beverage and apps station after the first groups had arrived. There was 1 lady processing the passports for the first half hour. We walked on ourselves and as I had studied the deck map, guided us to the forward elevators. We went to the Yacht Club and were greeted by the Yacht Club manager - one of the few times that we saw him all week. As a group, went to the YC concierge for brief chat. There was a general din as people lined up to speak to the Concierge, register their credit cards and reserve dinner with Luigi. As we knew what to do, we did what we had to but our friends commented on how NO information was provided. They really were, “WT#?!” They flat-out told me/asked me: “This is supposed to be luxurious?”. Understaffed for this particular day. Lot's of issues with APP, had to delete and redownload in order to book shows. I don’t want to do a running comparison but in The Haven, the Concierge welcomes you and then tells you when your room will be ready, where and when you can have lunch and outlines the features of the Haven. Agreed. We then went to the Top Sail, had the first of many (many)(like, a lot) of cocktails and settled in. I also was pleased to see that my good friend Nick (Nicholas Feuillatte) was on board and over the week, we had a lot of pleasant times together. Absolutely stunning venue, the best at sea IMO. Our first lunch was excellent (lots of hugs and laughs with Arthur) and all was now good. Yep, so good was our filet and sea bass (skin on) we never need dinner. Arthur still a blast, Mario NOT on the ship. Accomodations   Our first impression was excellent - extremely large, plush, a restful (if a bit too brown) colour scheme and TONS of storage. Loved the self-lighting closets. We took two suitcases and could have easily unpacked a third. Agreed. The lighting was good but I would have liked a dimmer or switch that provided more options. Still figuring out. While we never watch TV, for those who do it is mounted in an awkward position for either the sitting area or the bed. It would be better to have it on a moveable mount. As it is now, the mounting apparatus made a lot of noise during the night with the ship moving as much as it did. We'll never watch the TV, but you're right about the mount. As others have commented, Seaside does move a lot. I don’t know if its because of her intrinsic design or because the Caribbean has been unusually windy these past few months. Haven't noticed that, however, we've big navigational change due to pressure systems and waves to avoid. The bathroom was huge, dripping in marble with tons of storage and a fantastic, glass walled walk-in shower with a rainshower head. DW and I believe the best design, construction and decor at sea. My only quibble was that the shower door opened into the room - easier for getting in but one always seemed to get a ton of water on the floor afterwards. Yep. Still - an elegant, spacious and comfortable space. Yep. Interior Design: a mixed bag   The interior design was interesting as while the decor was quite striking, the size and placement of rooms was far from ideal. We love it. I loved the colours, surfaces and textures and the recurring motif of slashed and angular lines. Yep. Unfortunately, many of the spaces were too large or too small for the needs that they served. As an example, people were literally overflowing in the Piazza Grande which was one of the few lounges to offer live music (more on that later) The spaces around the atrium such as the Champagne Bar, however, felt like they were in the middle of a shopping mall. The walkways bisected the areas removing any intimacy with people constantly walking by. Went out a couple of times to get a feel for the ship, a zoo out there. The have so many more quality bar venues compared to Divina it is amazing. The Atrium is really unique. The entrance to the theater appeared to be an afterthought with a couple of zigs after the elevator lobby. There was no space for those who were waiting for the following show. Yep. As the MSC ships become ever larger, they really must focus and concentrate on passenger movement and flow and where people are likely to go. While I’m not a fan of the overall product, this is an area that Royal Caribbean excels at. Yep, the toughest to navigate for sure. Entertainment (None Yet)   I always divide entertainment into two categories - mainstage and lounges.   We enjoyed the almost nightly 10:30 “recitals” with soprano, tenor, violinist and pianist. While it wasn’t necessary Conservatory quality, it was a great addition to “usual” cruise ship offerings.   We only saw one show, Timeless, that was the usual MSC drug-induced, hallucinatory craziness. Time travel, Micheal Jackson and the American National Anthem. Why? Dunno.   The Yacht Club had very good performers but there were extremely looooooooooong breaks between performances.   The lounge entertainment is a definite step down from Divina … there are far fewer small lounges and there really wasn’t a lot happening. What is such a refreshing change from much of the industry on Divina is all that live entertainment   A telling change is in the Daily on Seaside - Divina would have a list of the various live events happening whereas Seaside doesn’t for the likely reason that there isn’t that much happening. Any event with live performers was ridiculously overcrowded as there was so little to choose from.   Cleanliness   I made this a separate category as this is the first ship I’ve been on where it has to be a category. Seaside uses many mirrors and reflective surfaces and many were covered in fingerprints and smudges. We were surprised at how sparkling the Yacht Club wasn’t. The Yacht Club elevator was always one gigantic smear. You NEVER saw anyone cleaning the staircases, elevators or glass walls and mirrors. It’s obvious that they just have really cut back on maintenance staff. In the YC, we've seen none of such. Outside, "big time" yep. Dining   The food in the Yacht Club Dining Room, with one or two exceptions, was miles above that served on Divina. Much higher quality ingredients and far better preparation. It's insane what they will do for you if you ask. We dined at all of the specialty restaurants. We bought a dining package but then frequently went off script and paid the difference.   We had a superb lunch at Bistrot La Boheme. We were the only patrons present but the food (prefab pate notwithstanding…) was superb. Hot, fresh and great.   Butchers Cut was an enjoyable train wreck. Disorganized, loud and chaotic but with excellent food when it finally arrived. Portions were ridiculously large and dinner took over 2 and a half hours.   Roys was excellent - while not necessarily as excellent as one of their land based restaurants, pretty darn good for a cruise ship with one notable exception (details below!) Giving it a try tonight, "elegant night." Ocean Cay was ….stupendous. Like, jaw-droppingly good. The decor was contemporary elegant and there were only 7 tables being served. Giving it a try Wednesday. The meal package includes starter, main and dessert. We asked if we could have two starters and skip dessert and the initial answer was no but after checking with the Specialty Restaurant Manager, an exception was made.   I’m going into overdetail here because it was so superb. We started with the Crab Sampler (cold) that consisted of about 246 pounds (OK, I exaggerate here) of simple but beautiful crab legs and claws. This was followed by a dozen oysters (ridiculously generous) and finally perfectly prepared sea bass. Nice. A meal like this on land would easily cost between one and two hundred dollars per person without alcohol.   The generally available wines and liquors in the Yacht Club and elsewhere were excellent …. FAR superior to what is provided in the Haven on NCL. I literally (and embarrassingly) went through a LOT of bottles of Nicholas Feuillatte. Yep. To Smell or Not to Smell, That is the Question   The general tone on these boards about *ahem* “the smell” on these boards can roughly be translated to: “you stink”, “NO, YOU STINK”!   I was so excited to go on Seaside that I boarded completely forgot the issue. Now, I am not one to sit still and frequently go for walks to simply enjoy the ship and people watch. I am frequently accompanied by the Cocktail-of-my-choice and can be readily identified by my Golden-retriever-like happy face and big smile. Let’s just say, I love being on ships! As our first YC group board and walked by the Atrium (I believe on 8) it was horrendous for about 75 feet. Really, really awful. On the second day I was doing my rounds and walked by the Forest Aquaventure Park and literally stopped dead in my tracks. I was immediately transported back almost 50 years to Northern Ontario where my parents and I would go to their friend’s cottage and spend a week. In those days, we would walk the path to the outhouse or privy when nature called. Yep. Imagine if an outhouse exploded inside a tent. It was truly vile. Yep, a 10 out of 10 for unacceptable. I turned on my heel and raced back to find my partner.   Now, as anyone in a long-time relationship knows, if you smell something truly terrible, you MUST find your spouse and make them smell said object. He was happily relaxing in the Yacht Club when I told him we HAD to go for a walk. After a bit of protest, he accompanied me and reached the same spot when/where his jaw dropped.   Now, anyone watching would have wondered who the two lunatics were as we were laughing hysterically, generally saying: “that’s the worst thing I ever smelled, Oh, that’s horrible, I heard it was bad but I didn’t think it was that bad”. We continued laughing and went back for more restorative beverages.   Over the course of the week, the odour would ebb and flow there and in the atrium, our friend’s inside Yacht Club Suite and most glaringly, at Roy’s. We encountered a 3 out of 10 on 8 on the way down steps to muster station in casino. Lounging in the YC pool, shielded by the forward deck, we frequently got a down draft of a 2 out of 10 sewer odor. My were on our way to dinner at Roy’s when I ran into Robert, the Specialty Restaurant Manager who we know from Divina. Everyone went ahead while I caught up with him.   When I got to our table, everyone had a wry smile and appeared to be waiting for me. I asked: “what’s going on”, sat down and said: “holy &@^@&^” - it smelled like we were have dinner inside The Bowel Reconstruction Unit. Our friends wanted to leave but I wanted to speak to a staff member first. At that moment, the sommelier stopped by and asked if everything was ok. I leaned in and stated in sotto voce: “everything’s great but there seems to be an odour problem”. He became immediately serious and asked if we would move to the back of the restaurant. I said “of course” and the back corner was much less odiferously challenging.   To clarify, this was only over a week ago so yes, there are still some serious problems. You can check my signature … ships always have different mystery smells and unpleasant odours but nothing like this.   I really feel it is related to the ship’s speed and wind conditions. This may be while some encounter “the Force” and others don’t. Hopefully, a solution will be found in the coming weeks or months. Using the YC interior stairway from 16 to 19, mid morning, it was awful when I went down to the stateroom. When I returned, massive wind/blowers/fans were on and all of the door were open. Spa and Gym   A 100% complete and utter First World disaster.   The gym appears to be huge but with the number of passengers (and frankly, active passengers from Europe) the gym is not nearly large enough by half. Many of the cardio machines are not working and there are no sign-up sheets for equipment so it’s a free-for-all when one becomes available.   Towels must be signed out (ridiculous) and there are no disinfectant wipes for the equipment available - just two (2)(deux)(due) spray bottles with paper towel (ridiculous and unsanitary).   The garbage cans were overflowing and during one workout, no one went to clean up the spilled cup of coffee sprayed over the gym floor.   One must sign into the spa depending on who’s manning the desk. Ridiculous again.   They then give you one Dollar Tree towel that you MUST return to get your key card back.   The change room accomplishes a miracle … while NOT providing you with towels, the floor is still covered with used towels and is messy and dirty.   Now, anyone using the spa has already “paid” in one way or another …. Just give us some *($^&*#&$&* towels!   The spa itself is dark with puddles of water everywhere. The therapy pool has many hidden levels - they should set up a second therapy pool to take care of the injuries you will get from using the first pool. The area is filled with rattan loungers in every corner - as if you wanted to lie in that dark, dank and unpleasant environment to relax.   MSC - please - board Breakaway/Getaway/Escape and walk through the spa and see how it’s done with lots of towels, coffee, tea, filtered and flavoured waters and tons of heated lounge chairs. Oh, and NCL has towels. Have I mentioned that yet? Yep. Experienced with NCL Spa makes every other line we've cruised simply look comparable horrible. Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Crew   I can honestly say that in a 7 night cruise, I never encountered a single staff member who didn’t smile, laugh or ask how I was doing. Just lovely people. Now, I am a firm believer in how an ounce of honey is worth a pound of vinegar so crew may respond to that. Or, they’re just great in any case! So far, one of the nicest crews we've have in quite a while. Summary   So, the ship sorta’ smells and isn’t the cleanest, the entertainment is lacking and the spa sucks.   Would I go back?   In a heartbeat. Yep, we're booked. The crew are working hard, the ship is beautiful, the suites are excellent, the food is great but there are definitely problems.   For a ship that was only 10 weeks old and is not only a prototype for MSC but for the entire industry, however, they are doing a fine job. The true test will be in the coming months to see whether they can wrestle all of the problems under control. Yep. For the Yacht Club, the value is unbelievable and unmatched in the industry. Yep, met some TA's who've been blown away by the YC venues, food and service "already." I had actually booked three (!) Seaside Yacht Club cruises because of the great deals available and the increasingly insane prices in The Haven. NCL has over-priced the Haven IMO, and the bidding leads to less pre-books. Also, simply not the same 'venues as the YC. Not even close, IMO. I plan on going on each and every one!

We were on the Divina in Sept during hurricane Irma too

Concerning Seaside...I'm a bit of a freak about planning...can anyone offer suggestions on which deck is better for YC? Currently booked on 16, starboard. There's a cabin left on 18, port.

On Seaside now for a B2B. Some early thoughts (and also glad we actually got to Miami and made the first departure).   Comments

Sorry and upset to hear that there are smells and odors in the Yacht Club too. Won't cancel, of course, but not happy at all.:mad:

Fix this, MSC!

Oh, geez. Sorry and upset to hear that there are smells and odors in the Yacht Club too. Won't cancel, of course, but not happy at all.:mad: Fix this, MSC!

We believe with high certainty that the smell at the pool in YC was because of where we were lounging; right in front (glassed off but open on top) from the heavy wood doors that lead to the inside YC stairway 'where the issue really was. IMO, in addition to people coming and going, they (MSC) opened all of the doors to 'vent the stairway and we happened to be lounging the closest to the door. How it got in the stairway inside the YC in the first place, we have no idea (but also, nothing compared to the boarding Atrium walk by experience; that really was very bad).

As a side note, the grill at the YC pool has been putting such great product that the YC restaurant for lunch is noticeably less attended than what we experienced on Divina.

Oddly, after having enough sun for first day at sea, and in the YC lounge near the port side on widow couch and table having a coffee, a touch of the smell. We moved to Starboard. ;)

Enjoyed reading this very much. We seemed to have faired a little better on our sailing. Easy boarding (not yc, but black card/casino guest). We felt so bad for the crew that we saw constantly cleaning all the glass and chrome(beautiful but so hard to keep fingerprintless- I like that word). We loved all the shows, and wished we had more time at Butcher's Cut. Glad we never encountered the smell, but spent alot of time in the casino. Agree, all the staff was wonderful-must be extremely difficult to get everybody working as a team, and they were doing a fantastic job. We are sailing again in April, hoping again for no smells and terrific staff. Thanks again for your review-great reading Safe sailing   Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

Spidybabe, did they do a CAS-match too? I never even thought of asking about becoming an invited guest. Did you have to call a different number?

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in

• Welcome to Cruise Critic
• New Cruisers
• Cruise Lines “A – O”
• Cruise Lines “P – Z”
• River Cruising
• Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
• Special Interest Cruising
• Cruise Discussion Topics
• UK Cruising
• Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
• Canadian Cruisers
• North American Homeports
• Ports of Call
• Cruise Conversations

Announcements

• New to Cruise Critic? Join our Community!

Write Your Own Amazing Review !

Click this gorgeous photo by member SUPERstar777 to share your review!

Features & News

LauraS · Started Friday at 03:57 PM

LauraS · Started Thursday at 08:42 PM

LauraS · Started Wednesday at 02:44 PM

LauraS · Started Wednesday at 11:22 AM

LauraS · Started Tuesday at 02:51 PM

• Existing user? Sign in OR Create an Account
• Find Your Roll Call
• Meet & Mingle
• Community Help Center
• All Activity
• Member Photo Albums
• Meet & Mingle Photos
• Favorite Cruise Memories
• Cruise Food Photos
• Cruise Ship Photos
• Ports of Call Photos
• Towel Animal Photos
• Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos
• Write a Review
• Live Cruise Reports
• Member Cruise Reviews
• Create New...

The Traveling Steve's

Our traveling adventure blog.

The Steve’s Review of MSC Seaside’s Yacht Club

Steve (DOS) and I sailed MSC’s Seaside cruise ship for the first time this past week; October 15 – 22, 2023 for a 7 night cruise to MSC’s Ocean Cay (MSC’s private island in the Bahamas), Costa Maya, and Cozumel Mexico. As this was a new cruise line for us, I’ll detail my/our experiences here in a bit more detail, similar to what I did when we first sailed Virgin Voyages this past July. Warning: this is a long post with lots of photos! (Sorry in advance for any typos!)?

First some quick ship stats: for the MSC Seaside (per Wikipedia)

• 153,516 Gross Tons
• Length: 1,059 Feet
• Beam: 141 Feet
• Total Cabins: 2,067
• Passenger capacity: Max 4,961
• Entered Service: December 2017
• Cost when built in 2014: €700 million Euros
• Country of Registry: Valletta, Malta
• Current number of cruise ships in MSC fleet: 23

DRIVE TO THE PORT: As we live in the Orlando, FL suburbs, the Port of Cape Canaveral (where the Seaside is currently sailing from) is only an hour drive from our house, which make it super convenient. Not only that, but Cape Canaveral, in my humble opinion is one of the easiest embarkation/debarkation points we have sailed out of. It is not the closest port, however, to the airport as it’s an hour’s drive via car or shuttle bus, unlike Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) which is a short distance from the FLL airport terminal.

ARRIVAL AT PORT CANAVERAL: MSC currently leaves from terminal 10, which is the former Royal Caribbean (RCL) Cruise terminal. We saw RCL’s Wonder of the Seas docked further down the terminal channel, so I guess they needed bigger space for their mega series of ships.

We arrived at Port Canaveral Terminal 10 around 10:45am, and the luggage drop off and parking were a breeze, thanks to the good signage and uniformed port staff providing directions. There was very little car traffic at this hour, and the tour buses coming from the airport had a drop off point just for them, so they weren’t interfering with the flow of traffic. We parked on the ground level of the garage (shaded area), took a photo of where we parked, and walked the short distance to the terminal with our carry-on luggage, taking a selfie along the way of us with the giant ship behind us. One huge thing that at least the Port Canaveral Terminal Garage 10 does, is collect the parking fee upon entry via credit card. This really expedites the traffic flow upon debarkation, something other port garages such as Miami do not do, which caused lengthy exit delays when we sailed out of there in late July on Virgin’s Scarlet Lady. Ideally Miami’s garage should at least have an EPAS exit, as their garages handle multiple cruise lines out of the same garage, with various lengths of cruises, so pre-paying is perhaps not an option there.

Once at the terminal, we quickly found the Yacht Club (YC) tent area where we were verified for YC, and then sent thru a quick security check line. From there we were directed to a dedicated large conference-type room in the terminal, where we would then check-in for our cruise. We had already completed the paperwork and had downloaded the MSC app, but we still printed out our travel documents per MSC’s website guidelines, which makes it easier should the phone need re-charging or an update when you’re trying to check-in. (I’m old fashioned I guess, but I always print my boarding pass for the airport for the same reason; don’t always trust the phone and/or app when I need it most.)

The check-in process was very quick and we were given a glass of champagne as we entered the room. We then received our room card key which indicated YC access. They did not have the blue wrist bands available at check-in, (which will also allow you to open your stateroom door), but we picked up our complimentary bands two days later onboard at the photo gallery. While we waited a few minutes for our boarding to commence, we sipped our glass of pre-boarding champagne together with the other YC guests, and toasted to an awesome cruise ahead!

After a short wait in the pre-boarding area, we were escorted in small groups aboard the ship where we were led directly thru the main lobby atrium. Here we met our personal shipboard Butler Agus, who assisted us from there. Agus helped us with our carry-on luggage and escorted us from deck five thru a few public areas, until we reached the forward elevators which took us to our “ship within a ship”, the Yacht Club section. The Yacht Club occupies the forward third of the 16th, 18th, and 19th decks aboard the Seaside. (There is not a deck 17 on this ship as it is an Italian ship, and 17 (like 13 in the US) is considered an unlucky number.)

Once in the Yacht Club, we had a seat in the Top Sail Lounge, which is the huge main cocktail lounge exclusive to the 200 Yacht Club passengers. We had yet another glass of the complimentary Champagne in the Lounge (actually Prosecco to be technically correct), and met some of our fellow passengers, while we again sipped our Bubbly. (And it’s not even 11:30am yet!). There was a nice assortment of snacks, nuts and pastries as well, but we skipped over those for now as lunch was in the near future for us. In a few minutes, we were gathered with a few other guests for a quick orientation of the Yacht Club’s services, amenities, meal hours etc, which was lead by the lead Concierge staff person, Raj. After the 10 minute or so orientation, we went to our cabin, which was just down the hall, also on deck 16. We knew from the moment we boarded that the Yacht Club was truly special, and this would be an awesome cruise!

STATEROOM : After the orientation in the Top Sail Lounge, DOS and I headed to our stateroom which was just down the hall. Our room was 16014, with 16 being the deck number, and 014 the room number. The room was quite comfortable, and categorized by MSC as a “Superior Yacht Club Suite”. While our room was not what I would consider a full suite, it was a nice sized Jr. Suite in size, similar to those on other cruise lines and quite spacious enough for us. We had a King sized bed, half open-sided wall adjacent to the bedroom, dividing off the living room sofa, a large bathroom (no tub) with decent sized shower and a large single sink vanity. Robes were provided for use onboard, and the large towels and bed linens were of very good quality.

The outlets for electronic devices were a bit lacking as they weren’t located on either side of the bed, but on the long table with pull out drawers. We brought a cruise-allowed power adapter (not a surge protector which are banned on all cruise ships) we bought on Amazon which is cruise-safe, and handled our other devices, such as our iPhones, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac Book. The is also a European power outlet under the TV, as well a couple USB outlets.

FIRST MEAL ABOARD: LUNCH! After briefly settling into our cabin and unpacking our carry-on items, we headed up to Deck 18 (only one level up due the “skipping” of the 17th floor per Italian superstition) to the Yacht Club (YC) Dining Room. I’ll talk at length about the Yacht Club further down in this post, but for now the relaxing lunch with wine made for quite a friendly welcome aboard and literally a taste of what was to come over the next 7 days. We met our waiter and assistant waiters, who would expertly serve us throughout the cruise.

EXPLORING THE SHIP: After lunch in the Yacht Club, it was time to venture out of the YC exclusive area, and explore a bit of the rest of this mammoth ship. I say “a bit” as even by the end of the cruise we felt like we had only seen some of the major ship venues, and never quite learned our way around the ship, even with the lighted ship maps located near the elevators and elsewhere.

The layout in some places could be a bit strange, such as on Deck 16 towards the mid/aft of the ship, where you needed to go down or up a deck to cross all the way to the back of the ship (due to a galley blocking part of the passageway) or the plethora of mirrors aboard in some corridors that had us saying hi to the “other people” coming towards us, only to realize we were saying hi to ourselves! LOL! ?

Part of the fun of going on a new ship, however, is getting lost finding your way around; it really is a beautiful ship with so many sectional venues that it will take some time to explore even the main parts of the ship by day and night.

MAIN LOBBY : At the centerpiece of the ship are the beautiful Swarovski decorated crystal staircases located in the ship’s main atrium. These staircases lead to several levels, and flank either side of the multi-level stage areas that are used for various musicians throughout the day and evening, as well as on the main open air bottom level of the lobby. The backdrop of the atrium is an ever changing myriad of colors and scenes, depending on the occasion.

There is a huge semi-circular bar which is visible from the staircases and overlooks surrounding them, and serves as a focal point entertainment venue for the numerous onboard events and parties. We even saw Elvis, and Michael Jackson one night!

ELEVATORS: The ship has two primary banks of elevators; one towards the forward of the ship; and one a bit past the middle of the ship. The main elevators are “smart” elevators, although I would say the “smart part” needs a bit of tweaking to them. The idea in theory is great, provide more efficient elevator access by matching groups of passengers going to the same floors, although at peak times that doesn’t work the best. Basically by each elevator there is a mini iPad type device where you select your floor, which is also indicated by the deck’s name; i.e, Miami Beach deck.

The elevator then calculates which elevator will be the quickest, and tell you the elevator (via letter and number, i.e. G5) and the approximate wait time. During slow periods, these worked fine, but when several hundred people got out of a show at the same time or returned from a busy port of call, things got a bit more hectic. Ideally each person in their group, say four people, should enter the floor number, not just one person from the group, so the elevator can calculate the capacity as 4 riders instead of 1. Unfortunately this is not obvious, and I don’t recall seeing signage to tell people to do this which at busy times can be quite crowded and confusing with multiple groups of people trying to ride as a single passenger, instead of their actual group size.

Busy periods aside, though, I really love this concept, as busy elevators on these mega ships in general (most other lines included) face the problem of over-crowded elevators, and people riding up to go down, and not getting off at the correct top or bottom floor; instead just getting on to secure their space in the crowded elevators. These “smart” elevators do not have any floor buttons once you are on board so you can’t change your mind or better yet, don’t have kids pushing every floor button of the elevator!

There is also one small bank of two elevators in the aft area of the ship by the aft pool, which are not the “smart elevator” type. There is also an elevator inside the Yacht Club for exclusive use of the YC passengers, but it only operates on the YC floors 16 – 19.

LOUNGES/BARS: According to the MSC website there are some 19 bars and lounges onboard! And, no we didn’t try all of them out on our seven day cruise! While we primarily used the Top Sail Lounge in the Yacht Club, as well as the YC’s pool bar, we did go to several of the other bars and lounges in the main part of the ship as well. We were concerned the main bars/lounges outside the YC would be jam packed all the time, but that really was not the case most of the time. While many were busy, with the exception of the large main atrium bar, and main and aft pool bars, we didn’t have trouble finding seats or barstools at some of the other bars and lounges. We tried the Sports Bar, which had a large selection of drafts (but oddly no IPAs such as Lagunitis here or elsewhere on the ship I could find), the Seaview Lounge, and the Haven Lounge, both of the latter offered live entertainment, as well as the main atrium lounge.

We didn’t try out the Champagne Lounge on the upper level of the main atrium, but walked by it several times as well as the Chocolate Bar; both of which looked nice but not overflowing with crowds.

There is also a small bar (more of a to-go bar) in the buffet area on deck 8 which is open late while the late night buffet is being served until 1am, which is fine for grabbing a brewski or drink to your table while munching on the midnight food and snacks.

GAME ROOM: We didn’t utilize the game room, but did pass thru the Game Room Arcade a few times when walking towards the back of the ship. There was a Formula One Race Car simulator, complete with an actual size car that can be “driven” around the large virtual screen track directly in front of it. It looked pretty realistic, and we watched a man probably in his early 40s having a ball with his racing skills!

There is also a two lane bowling alley in the arcade room, but we never saw anyone bowling, although we weren’t there very much other than just passing thru. I was hoping to video someone bowling as it must be quite tricky on a moving ship; I’m sure there’s lots of curve and gutter balls even from experienced bowlers!

There are also other video games as well, all of which required payment or a game pass of sorts via the ATM like kiosk or pre-pay on the cruise card.

SPA Area: We’re not spa kind of people (i.e. don’t get massages, use the treatment rooms etc) so we can’t speak for the Spa, other than it was quite large, and people we spoke to really enjoyed their massage and even the “mud treatment”. (I’ve always wanted to try that seaweed wrap treatment but DOS says “that’s phooy”, you’ll gain your weight back as soon as you drink water or alcohol! Possibly, but it does sound like fun!)

Any passenger on the ship can book the “The Thermal Suite Pass” (which is complimentary for Yacht Club Members), and provides access to the Thermal Suite area and and spa deck area; a private section of deck 16, just prior to entering the YC section. We did not use the Thermal Suite on this trip as we seemed to be too busy on this cruise (not sure what we were doing other than relaxing, but we seemed busy all the time!) We did walk thru the spa outdoor deck area on our daily walks around the ship for exercise, which is shown in the next couple of photos, which never seemed to be busy, and was a nice wide area of the deck as well.

We did like the cold towels the Spa staff handed to all guests when they came back from port, on the dock area near the entrance to the ship. The white washcloths were chilled (like Celebrity Cruises and Princess does), but also sprayed with an exotic Eucalyptus mixture that smelled divine. Of course they sell the bottled mixture in the Spa if you like it!

POOL FUN : The main (non Yacht Club) portion of the ship has several pools, divided into different sections. There is an adventure pool area that has a kiddie pool and other water activities, while there are 2 racing water slides that go out over the starboard side of the ship, while on the port side there is a similar, but larger twisting water slide that uses a raft to ride the slide down to the bottom. Scrunched in-between, in the center of the Adventure Club area, is another twisting slide that finishes on the bottom deck of the Adventure Club pool area. None of the slides were overly busy and were complimentary, although you had to sign a waiver and get a wrist band prior to riding them. Adults as well as kids seemed to be enjoying themselves! I’m sure in peak summer or holiday periods there would be hundreds more kids using these facilities, though on our mid-October sailing it was not overwhelming.

SAIL-AWAY PARTY: Sure enough, as quiet and empty as the ship was when we first got on and started exploring the ship, it quickly filled up by sail-away time. There was a big sail-away party at the aft pool deck area, but it was a bit too busy to see the entertainment staff, and a bit too noisy for us to enjoy, so we retreated back to the quite calm of The Yacht Club. I told Steve (DOS) at times leaving some of the crowded main areas of the ship was like being in a busy airport terminal, and then suddenly entering the calm of an airline’s international First Class Lounge! Not really an exaggeration either, as a couple of fellow Yacht Club passengers said something similar.

SHOPPING GALLERY : As expected for a ship of this size, there are several shopping areas aboard the ship, ranging from logo items, to duty free liquors and other items, to Swarovski crystals, jewelry, cosmetics, to men’s face creams to make you look ten years younger. Maybe I should have bought two of the face cremes to shave 20 years off my age!?

We’re not big shoppers except for souvenir type items, but we did purchase the ship’s Seascape model (which I try to collect of ships we have taken), which was priced at $56, and was a nice quality metal model on a wood base. I wanted an MSC cap, but oddly enough they were out of them, and I didn’t see any nice logo T-shirts that I cared for, so we settled for just purchasing the ship’s model.

We had the same issue on Virgin Voyages recently where they were out of their logo caps, and like on MSC, this was only on the second night. Don’t know if ships are having supply-chain issues or people are gobbling them up right away (I think the former as you they would want to advertise their product), so if you see something you want in the gift logo shop, I would buy it early on in the cruise.

CASINO: While we’re not gamblers, we did stroll thru the casino after the theater shows let out, as it was a passageway towards the mid to the aft of the ship, and you really couldn’t avoid it. Although MSC allows smoking in the casino, it really was very well filtered, and this comes from someone who is very sensitive to second-hand smoke. There were definitely plenty of slots for every type play you like, as well as many table games as well.

The huge bar served as a functional and aesthetically pleasing circular sports bar as there were TV monitors mounted from the ceiling pointed down to the bar below.

YACHT CLUB EXPERIENCE: Wow oh Wow! What can I say about this? The Yacht Club (YC) is an exclusive area for 200 or fewer passengers, which makes up only 5% of the ship’s capacity, yet offers the best service, food, and amenities aboard. The YC occupies the forward 1/3 of decks 16, 18, and 19, with YC cabins on decks 16 and 18 (there is no deck 17 on these Italian ships due to superstition of the number 17). The YC offers mostly similar “Superior Suite Balcony” cabins, although there are 2 Royal Suites, and a few inside cabins as well, all which receive the same Yacht Club service, although the Royal Suites do get a reserved onboard pool-side cabana and much larger suite. (There are other cabanas in the YC available complimentary to YC passengers, on a first-come basis, and can be reserved onboard.)

Note there are actually several categories of larger suites aboard the Seaside that are not in the Yacht Club area, and these do NOT include the 5 star Yacht Club admittance and perks; they are basically larger cabins located throughout the ship among the masses of other passengers. Even though we’ve had very large suites on other lines, the room on MSC was almost secondary as the service and amenities in the public Yacht Club areas were far superior than being in a large suite in a non-Yacht Club area, although the larger space would be good for families needing extra space. All of the rooms in the Yacht Club are in the same key-only accessible area, and it was like being at a Country Club as it was such a small group of passengers with such a high staff to passenger ratio. It was easy to meet most of the fellow YC passengers over the course of the cruise, and it really was like a family between the staff and passengers by the end of the cruise.

The Yacht Club is entered via a key-carded entry door, where the 24 hour Concierge desk and staff are located, and glad to answer any questions, assist with shore excursions, specialty dining, and any type special request you may have.

The long hallway internal to the YC is mirrored on both sides, a common design theme used throughout the ship; lots of mirrors everywhere! On the starboard side where our cabin was located, there is also another keyed entrance door which bypasses the Concierge, and lead down a couple hallways to our room.

At the end of the hall on deck 16, is the Top Sail Lounge, a large and elegant cocktail lounge exclusive to the YC passengers. It faces the front of the ship and has plenty of seating on chairs, sofas, and at the bar area as well. It is here where (well actually anywhere in the YC) you can truly relax away from the mass market crowds of passengers in the main parts of the ship. No loud music and shouting, although there is a piano player/singer who entertains in the evening and special events such as the Captains cocktail party, High Tea, etc, and one night there was a saxophone player entertaining as well.

During other times of the day and night there is light and soft jazz or supper-club type music piped in thru the speakers, which makes a subtle background effect, without being overwhelming, even in the pool lavatory! There are always plenty of staff serving the YC, and there is never a wait for a drink, be it bottled water or your favorite cocktail, wine, or beer, and all but the most premium wines and liquors are included both here and throughout the ship (with two exceptions, the chocolate bar and the gelato bar in the main areas of the ship.)

Meals Aboard: Unlike the main part of the ship which has 3 seatings in a couple of dining rooms, which require a reservation time, the YC is open seating, and offers 3 waiter-serviced meals a day, in addition to the YC buffet which is available until 7 -10 am for breakfast and normally 12 – 3pm for lunch. We usually ate at the outdoor buffet for breakfast and lunch as the service hours were later and longer than the restaurant, and it was quite an extensive buffet you could enjoy around the pool, or outdoor seating area.

We did have lunch in the Yacht Club Dining Room the first day, and breakfast in the Dining Room on Debarkation Day; both of which were leisurely and wonderful, but we preferred the casual poolside buffet most days for breakfast and lunch. (The YC buffet is not open for dinner, although they have hors d’oeuvres in the Top Sail Lounge for a pre or post dinner snack.)

We always had dinner in the YC Dining room, which was truly a treat! Dinner is served nightly from 6pm to 9pm, and is open seating with no reservation required for whatever time you like to dine between the posted hours. We requested the same section each night so we had the same wait staff, and normally dined around 7:30pm. The menu selections changed each night with the evening’s theming, but they always had a few classics you could order from if nothing was to your liking, which including a Filet Mignon, Salmon, Cesar Salad etc.

Unlike other mainstream US cruise lines, there are 3 courses offered instead of the usual four on RCL, Celebrity, Princess and others. The portion sizes are also a bit small than other lines, but we thought this was actually a positive thing as many times cruise lines oversize their portions, although that too has changed since COVID in serving size portions. MSC offers a choice of several starters, entrees, and desserts (including selections from the cheese cart which I loved.). If you wanted another entree or like Steve (DOS) another or different starter, the wait staff was only too happy to oblige. As drinks were included, we tried several different wines with different food pairings over the week cruise, and one night the sommelier surprised us with a Beaujolais to try with our starter. We never would have guessed what it was (he didn’t tell us initially) as it was quite complex; like a more full-bodied Pinot, than a Beaujolais which is usually a young and more simple wine. Our wine of choice however, was the French Medoc they freely poured, or the Oberon Cabernet Sauvignon.

The food, presentation, and service were truly outstanding in the YC, and the Chef visited us table-side a couple evenings, while the Maitre D’ always stopped by to check on us. Our waiter and assistant waiter were absolutely some of MSC’s best!

Outdoor YC Pool Area/Bar/Buffet: On deck 19 was the YC Sun Deck, pool, and bar/buffet and outdoor seating area and cabanas. This was a large area, although most of the lounge chairs were not shaded unfortunately. As the YC’s sundeck was in the very front of the ship, umbrellas would probably not work due to the wind, although the area was quite protected by full length window panels, which mostly blocked the wind. On the downside, the large window panels created a bit of an obstacle for taking photos, although for sunset photos or in-port photos such as MSC’s private island, we could get good and unobstructed photos from our room’s balcony, as the window panels did not block the view as they did on the sundeck.

The YC saltwater pool was deeper than it looked, at around 5 feet deep, although the sign said 4’8″. The pool was a fun place to socialize and cool off, and we used it most days due to the great weather.

There are also two whirlpools located a bit further forward of the sectionally partitioned YC club, which are on the forward part of the YC sundeck.

Little extras mean a lot: The Yacht Club includes so many little extra touches with attention to detail, which makes it so extra-special. Your choice of daily newspaper: Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, and others, which are condescended versions of the papers, and printed daily on site.

Evening chocolates on the pillow, and some type of surprise treat each evening, such as white chocolates in a plexiglass box, a bottle of Prosecco one evening, a box of 4 sampler chocolates in a gift box the last night, replenishment of your mini-bar beers, water, sodas per your request etc.

Butler Service is included along with your room attendant, and the Butler will escort you anywhere on the ship and even to the exit for port days and debarkation. This was a huge benefit, especially being led to the reserved Yacht Club section for the Theater production shows. The High Tea service was especially nice and classy, and served in the Top Sail Lounge.

Production Shows: There were FIVE Production shows on this 7 night cruise! (Most 7 and even 10 night cruises only have a maximum of three, filled in with other acts on the other nights). Each show was different and some were better than others, but were all energetic with 4 main singers and 9 dancers, with additional specialty-act performers on some of the shows, such as the Peter Punk and Michael Jackson show.

The show theater itself while very large with two aisles and a center section (with stadium type seating allowing for great views), seemed a bit under-sized for a ship this large, sailing with 4,300 passengers on our sailing, so a couple of the most popular shows actually had 3 seatings (7:30, 9:30, and 10:30pm) instead of two most nights, due to the capacity requirements.

Unlike most other cruise lines, the Cruise Director did not make an announcement forbidding photography or even video taping at each show, and it seemed like quite a few people discretely videoed some of the performance number highlights, including myself, which I have included a few short segments below of some of the shows.

We enjoyed all of the shows, although we did not go to the two comedy shows on the non-production show nights, with the Circus Spectacular and the final night’s Michael Jackson show really extra well-done.

PORTS OF CALL : MSC OCEAN’s CAY was without a doubt our favorite port stop on this cruise. Like other cruise lines, MSC has their own private island in the Bahamas, however on our itinerary we were docked at Ocean Cay overnight, allowing for two full days on their private island, something other cruise lines do not do.

The island is also reachable via a dock area, so there is no need to tender to the port. As our cabin was on the starboard (right) side of the ship, we had an awesome view of the private island, including the landmark lighthouse, which has a light show at night, overlooking the beach party there.

We absolutely loved MSC’s Ocean Cay, and as DOS and I both agreed, it reminded us of Royal Caribbean’s (RCL’s) Coco Cay, before they turned the quiet island into a “theme park” with gigantic waters slips, a hot air balloon, zip lines etc. Not that there’s anything wrong with that if you want a bit of adventure for the whole family, but we much prefer the more pristine and natural look of a tropical island without all the added frills which we could do onboard or at a waterpark back home if we wanted to.

As there is no tendering required, it’s quite easy to debark the ship, and quickly explore the island. Our ship was the only ship in port both days, so it really did feel like a private island without the crowds. As passengers in the Yacht Club, we were escorted down to the exit, and once on land directed to a golf-cart tram, which transported us to the other side of the island, to the exclusive Yacht Club compound on the private beach.

The Yacht Club section includes the only air-conditioned passenger building on the island for the club house bar. There was really no reason to access the bar most of the time though, as the service was exceptional, both on the beach as well as at the adjacent Yacht Club Ocean Restaurant. We did go in there a couple times for a quick bottled water or drink if we were passing by there for a restroom stop or to cool off a bit.

As lunch the first day was from noon to 2pm, (11:30am – 1:30pm on the second day), we were a bit early for lunch, so headed to the gorgeous private beach just steps aways from the restaurant/bar area. The private beach area was huge, and offered plenty of lounge chairs with umbrellas (complimentary). We had read that the beach itself could be a bit rocky, so we brought some waterproof beach shoes which were great for not only the water, but walking on the hot beach.

In addition to the complimentary beach chairs and umbrellas, beachside cabanas could be pre-reserved as well for a fee. As the service was so good to everyone, we really didn’t see a point in getting a cabana, and were quite comfortable with our beach chairs and umbrellas, as servers were constantly coming by on the beach to provide us beverages. The beach chairs were actually closer to the water as well. The Bahamian water was so crystal blue and clear, it invited most passengers in for a refreshing dip.

Snorkeling was not offered at the Yacht Club beach, possibly as there was no protective netting there (more in a moment – yikes! ?), but it was offered at the non-Yacht Club main beach areas for a fee.

We went to lunch around 1pm at the Yacht Club outdoor Ocean House Restaurant, which is covered in most areas, along with ceiling fans to cool off. The food has different menus both days, and unlike a Buffet for the non-Yacht Club areas we passed on the way in, the YC section has full waiter service. It is served by the same wait staff on the ship, so it’s nice they know you, and you know them for the service they provide with a smile.

Steve (DOS) had always wanted a lobster roll (served on the second day on the island) but doesn’t like mayonnaise, so he told that to the waiter, who in turn talked to the chef, and DOS got his lobster roll without mayo and loved it! Later on in the cruise, the chef actually came by our table one evening at dinner and asked him how he liked the lobster roll without mayo! Outstanding service, and passenger memory preferences as well!

After a leisurely lunch, we headed back to the beach to relax for a while and enjoyable the beautiful mid-October day in the Bahamas. We actually got more than we expected, with some “wildlife” viewing, swimming around in the water. Yes, we saw a few sharks really close to the shore! ? These were sand sharks, and I guess when everyone was at lunch and the water was empty of beach goers, they decided to swim close to the shore and feed on the tiny needle or other fish. I could not believe how close the sharks got to the shore; literally in a foot of water! ????

We, along with most our fellow passengers at the beach took photos and video of the sharks swimming around, although I don’t think anyone else got back in the water that afternoon. There is a lifeguard, and he cautioned people about the sharks, but it didn’t take much caution for us to avoid the water after lunch!

The next day, we didn’t see the sharks though, and it seemed safe to go back into the water. I looked up sand sharks when we got back to the ship and Wikipedia had this article on them. They are normally “docile” to humans and are not aggressive unless provoked. They are usually more active at night, so I guess we “got lucky” by seeing them in the afternoon!

In the evening of our first day at MSC’s Ocean Cay, there were two lighthouse shows, and a huge beach party on the sand. We intended to get off the ship and go to the party, but after a big dinner and a few drinks we felt a bit lazy, so watched the show and party from our 16th floor balcony; actually probably the best view from anywhere.

The beach party was adjacent to the lighthouse, and in full view for us as seen from our balcony, looked lively and fun as well. The beach party, and island “curfew” lasted until 11:30pm, at which point everyone rebounded the ship until the next day, while the “island people” who live there freshened up the island overnight.

There were two different light shows; one at 9 and one at 10pm, and in between the shows were rotating light effects; i.e. MSC logo, different color lights etc, and coordinated with music as well.

The second day on Ocean Cay was basically a repeat of the first day, but without any shark sightings.? It was nice to sleep in a bit, have breakfast aboard the ship, and then head back to the Yacht Club Beach Resort; it had a feel of staying at a nice Caribbean land resort. DOS had his lobster roll for lunch, while I had the lunch tournedos of beef, and an ahi tuna salad.

We sailed from Ocean Cay on our second day there, at 5:30pm for our next port, Costa Maya, which we would arrive in two days, after a day at sea on the way there.

COSTA MAYA, MEXICO: This is a newer Mexican port as far as tourism goes, but already it has gotten quite popular, and unfortunately crowded. The day we we docked here, there were a total of 4 mega ships in port, (RCL’s Adventure OTS, Allure OTS, Carnival Pride, and our ship MSC Seaside) and as the ships shared the two long dock areas, it was quite busy just walking down the long perpendicular dock ramps to the Costa Maya cruise entrance.

Once there, it felt perhaps a little less busy than Mardi Gras, with most passengers wandering around aimlessly watching the free show in the town square, going to the many bars there, shopping, some even swimming in the huge pool there, or like us heading down to the “swim with the dolphins” area to have a look.

We skipped on doing Costa Maya’s “Spa Treatment”, which consisted of women (and even some men) soaking their feet in an aquarium filled with tiny fish. Supposedly the fish gently chew on your dead skin, and somehow this “reduces stress” and “makes skin smooth and soft!”. I don’t know, but I got stressed just watching these ladies with their feet getting chewed on by those little fish! To each his own I guess; hey they’re in Mexico enjoying themselves. (At least the lady on the right. The lady on the left kept looking at her watch, like “how much longer do I have to have my feet in this horrible tank!”

We did not do a shore excursion or tour here on our own, as we stopped here last year in March 2022 on a Princess cruise and had gone into town on that trip. While there were mega ships in that day as well, as it was still the trailing part of the COVID pandemic, most of the ships were only sailing half full then, so while the port was busy in places (such as the taxi stand), the port itself was more like a ghost town compared to this trip’s visit to Costa Maya. The one part that was busy then was when we took a taxi into town, and it was a bit of a free-for-all getting a cab. The town itself wasn’t as busy as the hectic cruise port, and offered massages on the beach next to one of the many ocean front beach bars and souvenir shops. The town was worth a look if you hadn’t been, and it had much more of a feel for the “real” Mexico with its rustic sea-side village. You can view our stop in Costa Maya last year on this Princess post if you want to see the village town of Costa Maya.

COZUMEL MEXICO: We’ve been to Cozumel several times over the years, and always enjoy the stop there. While there were three or four ships in port the day we were there, Cozumel has several docks which are spread out by a couple miles, so it’s not nearly as overwhelming with crowds compared to Costa Maya, where the docks are all in the same area. We were docked at the International Cruise Port Terminal, which is the preferred terminal as it’s in town and the port area has some of the fun places to visit; i.e. Margaritaville and Señor Frogs among others. We had no excursions booked here, so basically wondered around the port area and into town for some exercise and bought a souvenir hat, being the big spenders we are!?

I first went to Cozumel in 1987 on my very first cruise, Bahama Star Line’s Veracruz, when Cozumel was not a well known port of call, and the ships that did stop there were much smaller than today’s mega-monsters. That first 5 day cruise on the Veracruz, got me hooked on cruising for life, and I have fond memories of the 3 cruises I took on her the first two years alone, eventually expending my cruise repertoire to now over 75 cruises on various cruise lines with different cruise lengths and regions of the world That tiny ship, the Veracruz was only 10,000 tons or so with perhaps 700 passengers, and there were no balconies, specialty dining, internet (Internet! ??? It wasn’t even invented yet!???), but it brings back great memories to this day, and many former passengers and staff have commented on my Veracruz post from a few years back with their stories down memory lane on her as well.

Anyway, sorry I digress down memory lane. What reminded me of Cozumel and the Veracruz, was the Hotel that you see in port, at the International Terminal where we were docked on the MSC Seaside. That Hotel has been there for years, although has undergone many renovations (even now) due to hurricanes and general upkeep and modernization.

It was formerly called “El Sol”, Spanish for “The Sun”. I never stayed there, or even visited the property, so DOS and I toured the lobby of the hotel and grounds, which although under partial renovation, looked very nice. Even though it was so close and just across the dock area from the cruise ships, it had a secluded feel to it, with a nice pool facing our ship, a nature walk with outdoor spa, whirlpool, bar etc, and was tropically landscaping as well. DOS even went to inquire on room types and rates at the Front Desk before we left, which is now called “El Cid La Ceiba”.

In my younger, “Veracruz” days, (pre-DOS) I would take the old Fiesta party boat as a shore excursion to a private beach, with unlimited rum punch and a piñata party and dancing on the way back to the port.

I’m sure they have something similar to the Fiesta boat now, but we skipped the party scene on this return trip to Cozumel, although did have a look in at Margaritaville and Senior Frogs. I settled for my souvenir cap from Ron Jon’s Surf Shop in Cozumel, and we made our way back to the ship for lunch. It was a beautiful day in Cozumel while we here on the MSC Seaside in mid-October 2023.

MISC/OTHER Onboard Experiences : On MSC Seaside, there were several other optional tours and events, wine tastings, backstage tours, Bingo, Slot Pulls etc you could signup and pay for, although we did not do any of them; not so much out of lack of interest, rather there were so many other activities to do, and hanging out by day at the Yacht Club pool area was one of them! ?

Behind-the-Scenes Tour: I would have loved to have taken MSC’s Behind the Scenes Tour, but it was quite an extensive tour and required lots of walking up stairs and other areas of the ship (per their description) and as I’m still recovering from my heart surgery last year and I didn’t want to over-exert myself, although I’m doing fine walking on level surfaces. The backstage tour includes off-limits areas to guests including the Engine Room, Galley, Bridge, and Backstage of the Main theater among others. The Backstage Theater tour was always my favorite on Celebrity Cruises, and I’m sure this all inclusive Behind-the-Scenes tour would fail to disappoint as well.

Wine Tasting Events: Another event that sounded promising was one of the wine tastings. We walked by the display table for the wine tasting event that was setup adjacent the Butcher Cut (Specialty steak dining venue), and it looked quite elegant with various size Riedel glassware and fine wines. We’ve done many ship wine tastings on many different ships, and have always enjoyed them, so from the descriptions of the wine tasting it sounded very nice; again it was more of a timing thing for us. We enjoyed one wine tasting event on Celebrity Cruises years ago, that got us hooked on the Riedel glassware and use it to this day (after breaking a few glasses over the years and replenishing them obviously!)? A proper wine tasting with Riedel should include a different type glass for each varietal tasted, noting the differences and shapes in the stemware, paired with the appropriate wine for the glass from which you are sampling.

Caviar Tasting : We did not do this, but met a couple of ladies in the Yacht Club who did, and loved it! I believe the cost was $50 for this tasting, which is held at Butcher’s Cut Steakhouse at various times.

Specialty Dining : There are several Specialty Dining venues on board, including the Butcher’s Cut, an Asian Restaurant, and a Seafood Restaurant. The Butcher’s Cut especially looked wonderful for me Steve (UNO) as I’m a steak and potatoes kind of guy, and the cuts of beef (and wines) are on display adjacent to the Specialty Restaurant’s Lounge and worth at least having a look. /

We actually enjoyed the Yacht Club Restaurant so much we didn’t even make it to one of the Specialty Dining’s Restaurants aboard (although I would have chosen The Butcher’s Cut if we had gone) as we had an included complimentary Specialty Restaurant dinner with my (status match) Diamond status on MSC. Passing up on a complimentary meal at Butcher’s Steakhouse tells you how much we enjoyed The Yacht Club’s restaurant. (Actually though, I was getting a bit Filet Mignon’d out by the fourth day!)?

Optic Eye: This was unique to us, and again we didn’t do this, but it was interesting, at least in concept. According to MSC, “it’s all the rage in Europe”, although we’ve never heard of it there either. Basically they scan your eyes with a device similar to one at an optometrist office, and it creates a colorful artwork design of your eyes, enlarged to make a poster, photo, canvas etc. I don’t know maybe it’s me, but I don’t think I would want my eyes staring at me all the time at home in the living room, but it is a unique conversation piece.?

BINGO! Everyone knows Bingo and if you play it, you know it! Onboard every cruise ship.

Zip Lining! This is one activity I definitely wouldn’t do, but was hoping to watch. They only offer it certain times of day, and unfortunately the last sea day was a bit windy so it was closed. I just wanted to video the brave souls that soared high over mid ship’s top deck toward the aft pool area. The zip line, (after you sign your life away waiver) costs $11 a zip. No thank you from the Steve’s, although it’s probably a blast if you’re an adventurer type.

I’m sure there are many other paid events and experiences aboard, but these caught my “eye” so to speak, out of interest even though we didn’t do them. There were plenty of free activities as well such as trivia, karaoke, dance classes, beach parties, pool parties, sail-away parties, etc, etc, etc. Whatever you do, you won’t be bored or run out of things to do, and you certainly won’t go hungry.

Farewell Day at Sea: The last day of the cruise is traditionally sad for us, as you have to pack up and realize the cruise is ending early the next morning. On this cruise, most likely due to the Yacht Club service, accommodations, easy itinerary and mostly casual clothes, we were really able to relax the last day.

Traditionally the first and last night of a cruise are very casual with the idea being passengers just arrived and/or have not unpacked their luggage, or on the last day have already packed up their luggage for the trip home. On MSC in the YC at least, about 50% of the passengers dressed up in semi-formal attire for the farewell Italian dinner on the last night of the cruise. This was the only night I wore shorts to the dining room as we had already packed and were only traveling an hour home to Orlando the next day. I felt a bit uncomfortable although quite a few other Floridians and others were wearing shorts as well. Some of the passengers also wore shorts to dinner on the port days, but mostly it was dress casual aboard except for the one formal night, which was not the last night of the cruise.

We spent a good part of the day by the pool area, having lunch as usual at the outdoor YC buffet. As a nice afternoon treat, the waiters come by and pass out your choice of ice cream too!

For dinner, it was Italian night, and all of the waiters were dressed in tuxes with the Italian flag colors for the tie and vest. Even the tables had alternating colors of red, white, and green of the Italian flag.

Disembarkation: We had our farewell breakfast in the YC Restaurant at 8am on disembarkation day, as the regular pool-side buffet breakfast was not served on the last morning. Having the full breakfast and not being rushed on Debarkation Day was especially nice vs the normal Continental Breakfast you get on some lines as you’re in a hurry to get off the ship and avoid crowds.

After breakfast, we waited for a bit with the other YC guests in the Top Sail lounge as we waited to be called; rather escorted down to the exit one last time. The “walk off” guests were called first; i.e. those passengers aboard the ship (everyone, not just YC) who were carrying their own luggage off the ship (as opposed to checked luggage), which must have been a few hundred passengers. No rush for us though as we were comfortably seated in the lounge area.

We disembarked around 9:10am, and were escorted all the way to the exit, following a roped off line so the passenger mix wouldn’t get in with our flow of YC traffic. Our luggage was waiting for us in the terminal, and we got a porter to assist us (very smart move!), who wheeled our luggage thru Customs and all the way to our parking spot in the parking garage. We were on our way home by 9:30am, and home by 10:35am; quite an easy disembarkation and trip home. Welcome Home!

Final Thoughts on the MSC Seascape after our first sailing:

• Certain areas of the MSC Seascape (more so than allowed on most other cruise lines) allow smoking. This seemed to be the main pool on the starboard side, but even the YC allowed smoking on the front portion (away from the pool though) starboard side. I don’t recall anyone smoking in the YC area however, so it wasn’t a problem for us, although on the main pool area starboard side there were quite a few smokers. The casino allows smoking but it is really filtered well, so wasn’t terrible just walking thru it, as we don’t gamble.
• YC is truly a class by itself, and is so worth it if you can afford it. Compared to booking a suite on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, or Princess, it’s quite a bit cheaper as well, and RCL doesn’t include the drink package with all but the very top suites, nor their Beach Club access on their private island (an extra $200 a person for the one day there!)
• The production shows in the theater do not allow you to bring a drink into them. Not a huge deal though as the shows are typically 30 -35 minutes. There were actually 5 production shows on this 7 night cruise, plus two comedy shows. The shows were shorter, except for the Michael Jackson show which lasted about 45 minutes vs 30 minutes for the others.
• YC service includes Butlers who will escort you anywhere on the ship, and for disembarking in port as well as final debarkation. While we normally only used this service for the theater shows and going off the ship, it really does save lots of time, and makes it much easier to attend the shows, as you don’t need a reservation for the reserved YC seating area. Main passenger guests need to make reservations for the shows and queue up, while YC passengers are escorted by a butler 10-15 minutes prior to show time in a dedicated seating area which always had seats for us and others, even on the full shows.
• YC guests do not need a reservation for dinner as it’s open seating in the YC Dining Room. Other guests must make reservations for dinner, and depending on the fare level you paid, you may not be able to pre-reserve your dining preference at one of the three seatings.
• To us it seemed a bit of an oddity, but there are ATM-like credit card verification kiosks several places aboard the ship, where you needed to verify your credit card to enable charging on your account. We just thought it was a given to charge your credit card on file, but I guess some people put down a cash deposit, and need to have a card cover their excess charges on board. We just provided a credit card and “activated” (that’s what MSC calls it) when we boarded, and we were good to go for any incidentals.
• The YC covers all meals, 2 internet devices per person, virtually all alcoholic and other drinks, Butler and Room Attendant services, complimentary room service (you can even order a whole pizza to your room!), dedicated Concierge service, nightly turn down service (with chocolates!), daily choice of newspapers, pillow menu, etc: so worth it all! Best of all are the dedicated spaces for it’s own restaurant, lounge, private pool and sundeck area, and the YC Beach section at Ocean Cay, as well as complimentary access to the Spa Thermal Suite.
• The YC does NOT include daily staff gratuities, shore excursions, spa, or gift shop items.
• MSC will “status match” their frequent quest program to another cruise line or an elite Frequent Flyer or Hotel Program. I got status matched with Hyatt Globalist which gave me Diamond status with MSC. It’s not a huge benefit, but provides a 5% discount, and one specialty dinner aboard. The YC restaurant itself was so good, however, we didn’t even go to one of the specialty dining venues, even though we had a complimentary meal at the speciality restaurant of our choice.
• At least on the Seaside out of Port Canaveral, the shipboard announcements were not as many in quantity as we expected. It’s possible these (except for emergency or Captain’s announcements) were muted in the YC area, but we didn’t hear any more than you would on a Princess or RCL ship. This would be different in Europe I imagine due to the many nationalities boarding there, as well as the different length of cruises, even within the same 7 or 10 day itinerary (people may disembark in one port, vs taking the whole roundtrip cruise like on the Seaside out of Port Canaveral).

Finally, If you’re still here reading this; thanks for sticking around! I’ll finish this lengthy post with the finale the MSC singers and dancers concluded the Michael Jackson show with on the final night of the cruise. This song was a fitting sendoff to everyone, and in effect the ship itself is a bit of the United Nations itself with the multiple nationalities from both crew and passengers, that make up this floating city. The video is taken from the back of the theater, so it’s not the best quality, but it gives a happy and bittersweet moment for the end of show and cruise. Thanks for reading, and God bless the crew members here and worldwide that work so hard for us, and are away from their families for months at a time, so that we may enjoy our cruises. Take care everyone, and safe and happy travels!

• ← Welcome Aboard the MSC Seaside’s Yacht Club!
• Happy Birthday to Steve DOS from DISNEY SPRINGS! →

6 thoughts on “ The Steve’s Review of MSC Seaside’s Yacht Club ”

Steves, thank you so much for taking the time to write this exhaustive description of your experiences. It is chock full of useful information that I will make good use of.

My pleasure! We enjoy sharing our experiences and tips with others. Thanks for your comments!

Hi both We are booked on MSC SEASHORE which I presume is mostly identical in October. Yacht Club….. I can’t wait for this top notch experience. Your review brought it to life especially the private island. Your writeup of the boarding experience was very informative and will mean hopefully we wont wait in the wrong queue with no fizz! Excellent and thanks

Hi Graham, glad you enjoyed my post on the Yacht Club. While we haven’t taken the Seashore, from what I’ve read (as it’s based in North America) it should be a very similar experience. As the Yacht Club is such an intimate and enhanced experience, you’ll meet many of your fellow YC passengers there, and everyone we met said they would only do the YC on MSC again it was so wonderful! Enjoy your trip on the Seashore!

Thank you so much for this really detailed review. We were suggested Yacht Club by our travel agent but we haven’t yet made a final decision based on so many negative reviews of both MSC and the Yacht Club. Your review makes me much more likely to give it a try this coming October!!

You will love the Yacht Club if you do it. Yes, MSC itself has had some negatives; mainly due to the ‘nickel and diming’, required reservations for shows etc in the basic MSC lower, non YC cabins.. The Yacht Club, however is in a totally different league. There are only about 200 passengers in the YC, and it feels like a “country club” setting. You are free to explore the ship ship anywhere, however it feels so special coming back “home” to the YC. I really think you will like it. We’ve sailed many cruises on many lines, and we were quite impressed with the level of service and attention to details. Enjoy!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

The best things in life are free.

Sign up for our email to enjoy your city without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush).

Déjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

• Things to Do
• Food & Drink
• Time Out Market
• Coca-Cola Foodmarks
• Los Angeles

Get us in your inbox

🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!

I tried a ship-within-a-ship cruise experience and it was worth it for the endless perks—here’s why

The MSC Yacht Club affords travelers a totally different cruising experience, but you’ll have to splurge.

I heard tales of luxury from people about the ritzy MSC Yacht Club , the ship-within-a-ship concept where discerning passengers enjoy their own area of the cruise ship that includes a dedicated restaurant, private lounge, separate pool and sundeck as well as private butlers and concierges to take of any whim while cruising. The elevated Yacht Club boasts priority everything while sailing MSC.

I sailed on a four-night cruise on the new MSC Seashore, a glitzy ship with Italian flair intermingled with references to New York City at every turn. Although the ship was well-appointed and had amazing dining, drinking and entertainment venues, and a bountiful Top Sail main buffet, thousands of passengers made the ship feel crowded at times, elevators were slow, and as I strolled through the general pools, they were boisterous and crowded.

RECOMMENDED: 10 things about cruising on an adults-only ship that might surprise you

Switch gears to MSC Seashore’s Yacht Club, passkey-protected for lucky guests, and is a 180 from the ship’s general spaces. Once you scan your handy Yacht Club wrist badge, or your room key, you’re instantly given entrance to a breathtaking retreat of 131 staterooms and suites. All this luxury does come at a price. Cruise fares will vary based on destination, time of year, and cabin category, but generally speaking you can expect to pay double for the Yacht Club. And from my experience, it’s worth it. Read more about why you should splurge.

You’re fast-tracked through everything

The Yacht Club’s exclusivity and impeccable service standard started from the moment I got dropped off at the Port Canaveral cruise terminal. There were hundreds of people waiting to board at 1pm on embarkation day. I saw in the distance a canopy that said MSC Yacht Club. My husband and I wheeled our carry-on luggage to the representative under the canopy. I gave her my name and within two seconds, she gave me a sticker to wear and up we ascended on the escalator to check in. Just five minutes later, I was directed to the dedicated check-in area for Yacht Club guests. To my right, I saw about 1,000 people serpentine through ropes to do general check-in. I felt a sense of relief; who wants to wait in that line? Five minutes later, a butler from the Yacht Club insisted on wheeling my luggage to board the ship and I was in my room in a total on 12 minutes from the time I stepped foot out of the car to my stateroom in the Yacht Club.

Relaxing and streamlined

In addition, Yacht Club guests have the freedom to get off the ship first for excursions. Your butler will happily escort you off the ship with a smile. Guests also can disembark on the last morning first, which is a big convenience. Your butler walks you right to the place you disembark, bypassing crowds and hassles. Port Canaveral is about an hour away from Orlando International Airport, and we took a 10 am flight home. We didn’t have to linger around until the afternoon for our flight home.

Another perk is that there’s a special seating area in the theater for shows. All the shows were excellent during my voyage. All other ship passengers have to make reservations in advance for shows but that’s not the case for the privileged Yacht Club passengers. As long as you arrive about 10 minutes before any show you choose, a crew member from the Club will allow you entry into a special roped-off section. Again, no rushing through dinner—you have the flexibility to plan your evenings your way.

Your Yacht Club package is packed with remarkable value

The price tag may sound daunting, but there’s lots of value there. All Yacht Club cabins and suites include a premium drink package that covers beverages up to $15. You can use this perk both in the Yacht Club and throughout the ship. In addition, your package includes a two-device Wi-Fi package, which worked well during my sailing. Finally, you get access to the thermal spa suite, which is a place to indulge after a day in port or a sea day. Commonly, there’s a taboo regarding mini-bars, but not in the Yacht Club. It’s stocked each day with the beverages you want; just tell your butler and consider it done.

You get perks ashore too

If your sailing includes a call to Ocean Cay, MSC’s private island, Yacht Club guests get an elevated experience there too. Yacht Club guests enjoy a private area, and a dedicated restaurant called the Ocean House. While other ship guests were hosted to a buffet of predictable fare, I enjoyed a lobster roll, and my husband chose carne asada. In my opinion, one thing that could be improved was the tram service to the Yacht Club’s private area. We were told the last tram back was 3:30pm if we didn’t want to trek a 15-minute walk in the heat. Since we were docked in Ocean Cay for the evening and weren’t sailing, I was a bit dismayed by this logistical quirk. I felt like I was keeping an eye on my phone to make sure I didn’t miss the last tram.

You have private areas with curated food and drink and outdoor spaces

Within the Yacht Club complex, there’s the Yacht Club Restaurant, Top Sail Lounge and the One Pool Buffet, which are all exclusive to Yacht Club guests. Obviously, the food and service are steps above other dining venues of the ship, I can vouch for that. Although the food is delicious, if you don’t want to pay extra to dine at the specialty restaurants or fuss in the main buffet, eating three meals a day in the Yacht Club restaurant can get a bit monotonous. The breakfast is the same daily, and lunch and dinner offer a menu with daily specials plus a few standby selections like a hamburger or pasta each day. Although the Yacht Club Restaurant concept is desirable, I would strongly suggest dining in other venues on board, especially for dinner. I thoroughly enjoyed specialty dining in Ocean Cay Restaurant, Butcher’s Cut, and Kaito Teppanyaki. I also want to mention that late afternoon high tea is offered daily at the Yacht Club Restaurant. It was one of the nicest I have experienced at sea.

Also available exclusively to Yacht Club passengers is the Top Sail Lounge, which offers panoramic water views and has chef-curated selections from morning through late night. We enjoyed popping into the lounge at all hours to try finger foods and sweets. The One Pool Buffet offers a more casual option for breakfast and lunch by the pool. The buffet has grilled fish, sandwiches and lots of delicious options if you want to dine outside.

There’s also an exclusive area with a private pool and two whirlpools for Yacht Club guests only. The sun deck loungers are very comfortable and I never had to worry about finding a lounger, there are ample. One issue I had was that there was almost no shade on the sun deck; there were shaded day beds for Royal Suite and Owners Suite guests, but beyond those, I couldn’t find any shade, which was disappointing.

You can justify the price at the end of your cruise

Overall, the best way to explain my enthusiasm for my MSC Yacht Club experience is this: it’s better to book an interior stateroom in the Yacht Club than a luxe cabin outside the Yacht Club. It’s worth the splurge and you return home feeling truly pampered and it’s money well-spent. And I make this prediction: Once you try a ship-within-a-ship concept like the MSC Yacht Club, you won’t want cruise any other way. Bon Voyage!

• Erica Lamberg

Share the story

An email you’ll actually love

Discover Time Out original video

• Press office
• Investor relations
• Work for Time Out
• Editorial guidelines
• Privacy notice
• Do not sell my information
• Cookie policy
• Accessibility statement
• Terms of use
• Copyright agent
• Modern slavery statement
• Manage cookies
• Advertising

Time Out products

• Time Out Worldwide

Msc Seaside: my Yacht Club experience

Msc seaside: 7-day eastern caribbean cruise out of miami. an in-depth travel diary by ernie roller from a yacht club experience. don’t miss many other msc seaside reviews on cruising journal , why msc seaside.

Ever since my first glimpse of the MSC Seaside renderings I knew she was a ship I wanted to sail. Based on the renderings it looked like Fincantieri ’s innovative Project Mille class of ships might finally get built. What makes this design so unique is that it’s not simply a floating box, as is the case with so many new cruise ships today. Instead we have a ship that actually has interesting lines, from the bow all the way back to the stern. In between a condo style superstructure that jets in and out creating a very unique look. Topside a generous amount of deck space, and even more open deck space on the lower decks with a mega-wide promenade deck and even an aft pool fairly close to the waterline.

The internal arrangement also proved interesting, with much smaller and varied venues instead of overly massive ones. Even the show lounge is purposely smaller but with more frequent shows. The main buffet was moved down to the promenade deck, something I’ve only seen on QM2 in a modern ship, but in a unique twist a second buffet was added. All the speciality restaurants are grouped around a central bar area and placed high on the ship. Finally lots of pools to go with all that deck space. A forward pool reserved for the exclusive Yacht Club , and indoor/outdoor large pool with retractable magrodome, a main pool placed slightly aft, and finally a unique pool placed all the way aft and on a lower deck, much closer to the waterline. In addition a large waterpark cleverly concealed and protected within the aft enclosure of the ship’s funnel. The gimmicks are few but some exist. You won’t find bumper cars, rock climbing walls, or a race track; but you will find the two longest zip lines at sea. In addition there are water slides jetting over the side of the ship and some glass walkways providing striking views, but generally the gimmicks are few on Seaside and frankly I appreciate that.

She is a ship for those that appreciate fun in the sun, and her outdoor decks are expansive and varied. I think that is one of her strongest design features. I’ve been enjoying cruises for about 40 years now, and in that time I’ve accumulated about 125 cruises on various ships and lines. I’m not loyal to any one line, and my weakness is new prototype ships. If there is a stunning new design, I’m likely to be booking my next cruise. Seaside certainly fit that bill, and moving forward we have some great new designs to look forward to. Virgin’s new ship and NCL’s new Leonardo Class both look modeled after Seaside and Fincantieri’s Project Mille. I’ll be sailing on both and it will be interesting to compare their adaptations on this unique design. The Virgin version is especially of interest as the first ship will be adult-only. That is very appealing to me. First though is the new Celebrity Edge making her debut later this year, and that is the next prototype ship that is heavy on my radar. She looks incredible and Celebrity rarely disappoints. So with expectations high we booked Msc Seaside and decided on the Yacht Club .

The price was about equal for a standard balcony cabin or a Yacht Club inside cabin. After weighing the pros and cons, the Yacht Club won out. On a 5000+ mega-ship it’s nice to be able to escape to the solitude and spaciousness of a private area. Really more than anything you are paying for space, which is always at a premium on a mega-ship. The Haven on NCL is the closest equivalent to MSC’s Yacht Club , and having already experienced The Haven I was quite familiar with the benefits of a “ship within a ship” concept. Another reason for the Yacht Club appeal is that generally speaking, MSC does not have the best reputation for food and service, and we hoped the Yacht Club would mitigate those concerns.

Having sailed on two previous MSC cruises , we were already familiar with some of MSC ’s shortfalls. Nothing that would prevent me from booking MSC, but something to be aware of none the less. MSC is a European value line making strides to become more prominent in North America. They have greatly altered the North American product compared to their European based ships, but MSC is not Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean, etc. and doesn’t pretend to be. Things are done a little differently and the passenger mix is much more international. If you go with the mindset that it will be just like one of those American-centric cruise lines you might be disappointed. Do your homework, read reviews, and discover some of the differences. If they are a deal breaker for you, then stick with what you know. Personally I embrace the differences and perhaps it’s one reason I do enjoy MSC . As I mentioned earlier I’m not loyal to any one cruise line. I love the variety that they all offer, and I’m happy to have MSC as another option right in my back yard.

Embarkation in PortMiami was from MSC ’s newly renovated Terminal F. The Yacht Club has a tent just outside the terminal entrance and that is where you drop off your bags. From there you are escorted through security then upstairs to the private Yacht Club embarkation lounge. Inside there is sparkling wine, juice, and snacks while waiting to be checked in. Once those formalities are complete a butler escorts you onboard and directly up to the Yacht Club for a quick orientation then on to your cabin and an introduction to your personal butler for the week. All in all it would be difficult to top this embarkation experience, especially when you consider how big and how many people this ship carries.

In various ports of call there would often be a Yacht Club representative outside the gangway with a Yacht Club sign. You could go to them and they would expedite you onboard the ship which was a nice touch.

MSC markets our Yacht Club inside cabin as a “suite”, but I already knew this was no suite going in. Basically a slightly longer standard inside cabin with upgraded carpet, bedding, towels, and amenities. Overall I was quite pleased with the cabin (16025) with a couple exceptions. Storage space was minimal. The closet was fine but no other drawers, shelves, or cubby holes. This is a problem shared by every standard cabin on the ship. We literally had to make use of all available space including under the bed. There was only one chair and a nice coffee table although there could have easily been room for two chairs, or a sofa instead of the chairs. Sparkling wine and fresh fruit were waiting. The bathroom was small, again standard size but with an extra rain shower type shower head and a magnifying mirror which are absent from standard bathrooms. In addition we had upgraded soaps and shampoos along with lotion.

Cabin service was excellent and completely unobtrusive. The cabin itself was extremely quiet. We made little use of our butler, but he did bring almost nightly turn down treats along with stocking the refrigerator to our preferences. One nice feature of the Yacht Club that I haven’t seen even on some luxury lines is morning delivery of a newspaper of your choice. The room service menu and breakfast hanging card were ok with their offerings, but certainly nothing special or extravagant. We found it odd that made to order eggs were not part of the room service breakfast menu. An egg sandwich was your only egg option. This is one area where a true luxury line out shadows the Yacht Club. The room service menu would be far more extensive and you could be served course by course should you choose to be. Mind you that would be rather silly in an inside cabin! We basically had to sit on the floor to eat the one time we ordered room service.

Food is a highly subjective topic. Ask 10 people about the same dish and be prepared for 10 different responses. For this reason I won’t spend too much time on it. Overall I found the food on Msc Seaside to be adequate but nothing special. There were some standouts, like steak, pastas, deserts, and bread. I found all those to be fairly exceptional especially the steak we enjoyed in Butcher’s Cut one evening. The variety could sometimes be lacking and other more American-centric lines do offer more nightly choices on the menu. None the less no one will starve and you could always find something that interested you.

Msc Seaside: I liked: Entertainment, design of the ship, Yacht Club experience

Within the Yacht Club , we enjoyed our own restaurant that was open seating and available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. Essentially you dine when you want (within the open hours) and with whom. Funny enough, we ended up dining at the same 2 to 3 tables the entire cruise, always in Arthur’s section who was one of the best and most entertaining waiters in all my years of cruising. Wow did we luck out getting him our first night onboard, although I’m sure the other Yacht Club waiters were exceptional as well. Other options within the Yacht Club were a small buffet adjacent to the Top Sail Lounge bar , and the Grill up on Deck 19 by the pool. I enjoyed the fresh grilled specialities at the Grill, yes even lobster and lamb chops, but oddly enough if I wanted a simple burger I had to dine in the more former indoor restaurant or go to the general buffet for the ship. My cravings for a burger did lure me more than once to the Marketplace Buffet , where I found them pretty good along with excellent fries.

In the main buffet we never had a problem finding a seat and the option to sit outside was welcomed in great weather. Towards the back of the buffet they had dispensers for soda, beer, and wine. All automated. Just wave your card or wrist band over the control panel and it would activate. Because we were in the Yacht Club all our beverages were included, but were they not you would have been charged at that point. One feature MSC has deployed to gain market share in North America is a status match program. Before your cruise just submit your highest status at a cruise line or hotel chain, and MSC will match it.

My Elite status on Princess was matched with Black on MSC , currently their highest level. This entitled us to a complimentary dinner in a speciality restaurant. We chose Butcher’s Cut being steak lovers, and we were not disappointed. It was an excellent dinner beginning to end. Another favorite option sometimes after dinner or even in the afternoon was Venchi the chocolate bar onboard. Many chocolate items (such as the chocolate ships) are made right onboard, and it’s fun to watch them getting made. There is even a wall of chocolate, although it was never working the entire cruise. My favorite was a chocolate/strawberry milkshake made with their excellent gelato. Just decadent especially with the fresh and real whipped cream on top. The best part, it was all included being part of the Yacht Club .

Yacht Club services

Service generally goes hand and hand with any dining experience, so I’ll mention that overall I found the service to be excellent. This was especially true in the Yacht Club where everyone was beyond polite and helpful, and always seemed willing to do whatever it took to make you happy. Around the rest of the ship service was great as well, with a crew that smiled and generally seemed happy to assist you.

Another nice feature of the Yacht Club was our own Concierge Desk . They basically handled any request, so there was never a need to wait in the line at the general Guest Services or Shore Excursion desks. Entertainment onboard was varied and excellent in my opinion. I looked forward to all the production shows and none disappointed. I can say that most others enjoyed the productions as well as every single one received a standing ovation. One evening was a shortened version of Madame Butterfly that I quite enjoyed. Very unusual to find an opera onboard a mass-market cruise ship, but MSC was proud to offer it and with good reason.

Entertainment

In large part what made the shows so successful were the talented performers. Singers that could actually sing and dancers that could truly dance. I found these performers to be more Broadway calibre than typical cruise ship standard. The theater size is smaller but to make up for the smaller venue there are more performances offered, usually three a night at a time that will work for you. Some are repeated later in the cruise. I’ve found the new ships of NCL have gone with the smaller showrooms as well along with more performances. The shows are shorter, only 30-40 minutes which means they can offer more of them. I really enjoyed this format and found them all just long enough. Along with Disney , Royal Caribbean , and certain shows on NCL these ranked as my favorite shows at sea. Reservations are required through the MSC For Me app or interactive screens, and more on that later.

Other entertainment ranged from the nightly violinist and pianist in the Yacht Club Top Sail Lounge to game shows, comedians, theme dance parties, and a nightly disco. Sometimes the disco was inside in the Garage Club, and other times outside at the South Beach pool bar. Keep this in mind if booking one of those aft view balconies. Movies were shown nightly at the large outdoor screen but with virtually no seating they were not well attended. A favorite venue onboard was the Seaside Lounge with the nightly smooth sounds of the Silk Jazz Trio. I really enjoyed their music.

Spa and technology onboard

During the day I made good use of the spa daily, and found the thermal suite area one of the best of any ship I’ve sailed. Visually pleasing, there are two types of saunas, two types of steam rooms, a snow room, salt room, heated loungers, outdoor private deck with hot tubs, a thalassotherapy pool, and the Geyser Kneipp , an interesting water experience I’ve never seen before. Access to the Spa’s thermal suite was included as part of our Yacht Club amenities, and a simple swipe of my key card or wrist band granted me access.

As a bit of a techie, I need to make mention of the technology onboard. I was impressed. I found Msc Seaside probably the most technologically advanced ship I have ever sailed, and this includes the newest and largest Royal Caribbean ship the Harmony of the Seas which I would say comes in a close second. I pre-purchased a very reasonable Internet package called the Surfer Package (one of three available). Priced at $44.90 for the entire cruise, it offered a total of 800MB on two devices with access to everything but audio & video streaming. In reality I had 2500MB at my disposal and I’m not sure why I was given the higher amount? At the end of the cruise I didn’t use even half the allotted amount, and this with uploading lots of pictures and using the internet multiple times a day. Initial setup was extremely simple and the MSC system recognized I had already pre-purchased a package.

After the initial log-on it remembered my device and I never had to log-on again, just push the “start” and “stop” buttons on the app to begin or end my external internet sessions. Keep in mind that an internet package is not required to access the general onboard services of the MSC For Me app , that is completely free. Speed was excellent (about as fast as Voom on Royal Caribbean) and I had no interruptions or dead zones, which has been common on other ships. Some little things, like waving your cruise card or wrist band instead of swiping them are nice touch. Some things I’ve never seen before on any ship, such as the camera phone in my cabin where I could FaceTime with fellow passengers. With Blue Tooth enabled on your smart phone, your exact location on the ship was always known. This will come in handy when eventually you will be able to order drinks from your phone (using the MSC For Me app ) and have them delivered directly to you.

Princess is already experimenting with this with their Ocean Medallion program which so far has had its share of teething pains and has been scaled back. Another first was the card slot in the cabin to activate electricity. The trick of using any frequent shopper card in the slot no longer works on Seaside. It now requires an RFID card such as the MSC cruise card to activate the electricity in the cabin. The frustrating thing about this is that you could not charge your electronic devices unless you were in the cabin. Still a great way to conserve electricity and fuel. Ground zero for all the onboard technology is the MSC For Me app . Easy to use and well laid out, you can do everything from booking shows and speciality restaurants, to looking at your shipboard account or even finding your current exact location onboard. You could also peruse the Daily Planner of activities or look at the dinner menu for that evening. Hand in hand with the app are the various interactive information screens around the ship, and the TV in your cabin. They essentially worked the same way, providing another option for those that don’t use smart phones or prefer not to carry one around.

Msc Seaside: I didn’t like: Food, some aspects of the service, and poor storage in the cabins. The ship could feel crowded at times.

For those in the Yacht Club , you also receive a wrist band which serves the same purpose as the cabin key card, with the exception of getting on and off the ship. I used the wrist band quite often as it was convenient not to have to carry anything in my pockets. For those in the Yacht Club , the two forward elevators (one in each bank port and starboard) have priority control using your cruise card or wrist band. There were two problems with this. One is that you are never given a tutorial of how it actually works or even that it exists, and second is the way that it’s programmed. Basically when you waved your card or wrist band over the reader just below the call button it would grant priority access to the elevator, wiping out all floor selections of those already in the elevator and bringing it directly to your floor. Now if you stepped on without again waving your card over the reader inside the elevator, nothing would happen and it would appear the elevator had shut down.

Everyone would get off and wait for another elevator, understandably frustrated. Eventually it would reset in a couple minutes. In fact you had to wave your card again inside the elevator and make a floor selection. Needless to say I used this feature rather sparingly as you might often be met with an elevator full of confused and pissed off people wondering why their floor was missed. Priority lift access aside, I would say the technology onboard worked quite flawlessly and effortlessly. I swiped my card all over the ship but was never wrongfully charged as the system knew everything was included in my Yacht Club package.

Interiors and design

If there is one word to sum up the decor on Msc Seaside , it would be “Glitzy”. This is a flashy, modern, high tech floating resort with lots of mirrors, chrome, glass, dramatic lighting and unique furnishings. The furnishings were so unique in fact that I created a special photo album just to showcase them. Overall I loved the design and decor of the ship, but if you’re a traditionalist that prefers more understated decor this is not the ship for you. Thankfully I enjoy both and I’m equally comfortable on a ship such as Msc Seaside as I am on Cunard. Personally I found the ship easy to get around but I had been studying the deck plan for months prior. Even so some of the flashy decor can be a little confusing when learning your way around, but fairly quickly I felt right at home.

One great thing about the design is the amount of glass and views to the ocean. Msc Seaside is definitely a ship that is open to the sea, and you can see the ocean from just about everywhere. Even the atrium has windows to the ocean on both sides, on every deck with lots of seating areas. It makes for a very impressive vantage point inside and out. Overall the general arrangement of lounges, bars, and restaurants is fairly straight forward with one exception. Up on Deck 16 the forward section is dedicated to the cluster of speciality restaurants situated around a central bar. It works very well and is accessed by the forward elevator banks.

The more aft section of Deck 16 is the Miami Beach Pool and just forward the Biscayne Bay Buffet . This is accessed by the aft or more midships set of elevators. You can’t walk between the two sections, so essentially Deck 16 is cut off into two sections. Technically there are doors port and starboard that connect the Biscayne Bar Buffet to the speciality restaurants forward, and I used them, but they are for crew only. So generally it means going up or down a deck, then forward or back, then back up or down to access the area of Deck 16 you wish to reach. Having already studied the deck plan in advance I was prepared for this so not a big deal.

Another great advantage of the Yacht Club was the beautiful forward facing, two level Top Sail Lounge and restaurant. The lounge and bar were on the first level, along with an outdoor deck overlooking the bow. The upper level was the restaurant connected to the lounge with a beautiful Swarovski crystal staircase. A massive two-level glass forward facing wall provided the exceptional views. Unfortunately for those not in the Yacht Club , there is no forward facing view that is accessible on the ship, unless you have a forward facing view cabin.

This was an Eastern Caribbean cruise departing Miami on January 20, 2018 to St Thomas, Antigua, and Nassau. When we initially booked the ports were a little different, but with a couple hurricanes some itinerary adjustments were necessary. One port that would have really interested me is Ocean Cay, the private island that MSC Cruises is developing in the Bahamas. This port was initially on our itinerary when we first booked, but it became obvious fairly quickly it would never be ready in time.

The development timetable has been adjusted a few times now, and I’m not actually sure when this new private island experience will be completed. I’m not even sure MSC is. We docked at each port and tenders were never required. As this cruise was all about the ship for me and I’ve been to these ports countless times, I really didn’t do much off the ship. Basically wondered around in each port but that was it. My priority was time spent on the ship, and I also love the atmosphere on the ship when the vast majority of passengers are ashore. It takes on a entirely different feel.

Disembarking

Back in Miami our disembarkation was as effortless as embarkation, maybe even more so. Perhaps one of the best disembarkation experiences of any ship I’ve sailed. We were requested to vacate our cabins by 8am which we did. After a leisurely breakfast in the Yacht Club restaurant and enjoying the company of Arthur one last time, we were escorted down to the gangway by one of the Yacht Club butlers. There was no line at all to get off the ship. We quickly retrieved our bags in the Yacht Club section of the terminal (closest to the exit) and proceeded through CBP, which again had no line. With no forms required, we simply presented our passports and were waved though. Next thing you know we were in the car and driving home. Effortless and efficient.

Conclusions

As with any cruise, MSC Seaside was not perfect. Cuisine could be upgraded and storage in the cabins could be better, but overall I would rate it a fantastic experience especially for what we paid. The Yacht Club inside cabins are a fantastic value, taking advantage of being pretty much all-inclusive while also receiving the special treatment and upgraded service & amenities. All this without breaking the bank. I’m certainly pleased with our decision, and I hope to someday return to Seaside, perhaps in a regular balcony cabin to compare how the experience differs. I think either way I would enjoy this special ship filled with energy and visual delight!

For those that haven’t viewed the photos, here are the three links: Over 600 ship pics!

Msc Seaside 01/20/2018: 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise out of Miami

Daily programs and menus

The unique seating styles of MSC Seaside

Don’t miss other Reviews about Msc Seaside on Cruising Journal and make your own Reviews!

Ernie Roller

Msc Seaside

Latest reportages, azamara pursuit: the south africa intensive voyage, ponant: expedition cruising a la francais, vista’s maiden call on new york, cfc: renaissance makes its debut and impresses, on crystal symphony: the return of crystal cruises.

• Locations de vacances
• Restaurants
• Locations vacances
• Récits de voyage
• Voitures de location
• Visites guidées
• Ajouter un lieu
• Forum de voyage
• Compagnies aériennes
• Travellers' Choice

Plans de bateaux et avis sur MSC Seaside

MSC Seaside

Vue d'ensemble, avis contrôle des avis.

• Excellent 107
• Très bien 76
• Médiocre 70
• Horrible 137
• Toutes les langues ( 457 )
• Anglais ( 315 )
• Italien ( 68 )
• Français ( 29 )

• Vacation Rentals
• Restaurants
• Things to do
• Things to Do
• Travel Stories
• Rental Cars
• Add a Place
• Travel Forum
• Travellers' Choice
• Help Centre

MSC Seaside Deck Plans & Reviews

MSC Seaside

Activities & entertainment

• Arts Classes
• Barber Shop *
• Dance Classes
• Deck Parties
• F1 Simulator *
• Forest Aquaventure Park
• Hair Salon *
• Hot Tubs (13)
• Hydrotherapy Pool *
• Interactive XD Cinema *
• Medi-Spa Center *
• MSC Aurea Spa *
• MSC Gym by Technogym
• Pedicure /Manicure *
• Spa Wellness Area *
• Sports Tournaments
• The Library
• Virtual Games Arcade *
• Waterslides
• Baby Club Chicco
• Doremi Studio
• Junior Club LEGO
• Mini Club LEGO
• Comedy Performances
• Haven Lounge
• Metropolitan Theater
• Miami Casino *
• Piazza Grande
• Asian Market Kitchen by Roy Yamaguchi - Asian *
• Seaside Bar - Atrium Bar *
• Shine Bar - Atrium Bar *
• Biscayne Bay Buffet & Pizzeria - Casual
• Marketplace Buffet - Casual
• Champagne Bar - Champagne *
• Wine & Cocktails - Clubby Bar *
• Venchi Cioccogelateria & Coffee Bar - Coffee & Pastries *
• Bistro - La Bohéme - French *
• Ipanema Restaurant - International
• Seashore Restaurant - International
• Jungle Bar - Pool Bar *
• Jungle Pool Lounge - Pool Bar *
• Miami Beach Bar - Pool Bar
• Miramar Bar - Pool Bar *
• South Beach Bar - Pool Bar *
• Ocean Cay Restaurant - Seafood *
• Sports Bar - Sports Bar *
• Butcher's Cut - Steakhouse *
• Aurea Bar - Suite Guests
• MSC Yacht Club Grill - Suite Guests
• MSC Yacht Club Restaurant - Suite Guests
• MSC Yacht Club Sundeck & Bar - Suite Guests
• Top Sail Lounge - Suite Guests
• Venchi Gelateria & Creperie - Sweets *
• Excellent 107
• Very Good 76
• Terrible 137
• All languages ( 457 )
• English ( 315 )
• Italian ( 68 )
• French ( 29 )

Upcoming itineraries

• CruiseMapper

MSC Seaside cabins and suites

Msc seaside staterooms review, floor plans, photos.

MSC Seaside cabins and suites review at CruiseMapper provides detailed information on cruise accommodations , including floor plans, photos, room types and categories, cabin sizes, furniture details and included by MSC Cruises en-suite amenities and services.

The MSC Seaside cruise ship cabins page is conveniently interlinked with its deck plans showing deck layouts combined with a legend and review of all onboard venues.

MSC Yacht Club Royal Suite with Balcony Jacuzzi

Layout (floor plan), msc yacht club deluxe suite, msc yacht club interior suite.

All passengers booked in MSC Yacht Club Interior Suites receive the following perks (bonus amenities and services):

• interactive large LCD TV, phone, electronic safe (in the closet), Nespresso coffee machine
• Myform Memory mattresses
• Dorelan pillows menu
• Egyptian cotton bathrobes, slippers
• luxury bedding (by Mascioni)
• 1 queen bed (or 2 single beds/ upon request)
• private bathroom with shower
• fully stocked mini-bar
• goodnight gourmet chocolates (by Venchi)
• Nintendo Wii gaming console
• Priority services (check-in / check-out, embarkation / disembarkation, tendering)
• 24-hour personal concierge, butler service, room service (free delivery)
• Unlimited drinks in all MSC Yacht Club venues (including the cabin's mini-bar drinks)
• All-inclusive (complimentary) free-time dining (lunches and dinners) in the exclusive MSC Yacht Club restaurant
• Unlimited drinks in all onboard bars and restaurants
• Free Thermal Suite access
• Direct access (via private elevator) to MSC Aurea Spa
• Exclusive access to "The One Sun Deck" and "Top Sail Lounge"

2-Bedroom Grand Suite Aurea

(balcony whirlpool) seaside suite, balcony suite, superfamily plus balcony cabin, superfamily balcony cabin, balcony cabin, oceanview cabin, interior cabin, handicap|wheelchair-accessible cabins.

For MSC cruise passengers with disabilities, the Seaside ship has a total of 54 accessible cabins (38x Inside, 9x Outside, 1x Balcony, 3x Yacht Club Inside Suites, 2x Deluxe Suites).

Follows the complete list of MSC Seaside cabins for disabled passengers. They are listed as type and categories, with cabin numbers in brackets:

• I1-Bella Inside rooms: 5020, 5048, 5051, 5150, 9075, 9093, 9126, 9161, 9197, 10096, 10132, 10160
• I2-Fantastica Inside rooms: 10079, 10213, 11079, 11097, 11128, 11171, 11204, 11211, 12071, 12086, 12089, 12122, 12163, 12203, 13066, 13073, 13086, 13122, 13167, 13198, 14087, 14120, 14163, 15063, 15100, 15139
• O2-Fantastica Oceanview rooms: 5150, 5160, 5162, 5164, 5166, 5167, 5169, 5171, 5173
• B2-Fantastica Balcony room: 10224
• YC1-Yacht Club Suites: 18024, 18029
• YIN-Interior Yacht Club Suites: 16039, 18026, 18033

Each of the handicapped staterooms features: larger size (compared to the non-accessible counterpart), wider doors (width 35 inches / 0,9 m, sitting-level keycard slot), wider turning spaces (5 ft / 1,5 m), ramped thresholds, beds with open bed frames, lowered vanity in the sitting area, amplified phones, captioned TVs, wider bathrooms (door width 35 inches / 0,9 m, roll-in shower, fold-down shower bench, grab rails, lower sinks and closet rods, raised toilets, hand-held shower head, seat height from the floor 0,4 m).

All ADA cabins also feature a convenient location near the elevators.

The ship’s gangways are all wide enough for most types of wheelchairs and disability scooters.

All decks provide elevator access.

All passenger lifts have visual, audio and Braille deck indicators.

During an emergency, dedicated crew personnel helps all disabled guests (also those with reduced mobility) to board the ship's lifeboats.

MSC Seaside cabins review

Of all MSC Seaside cabins (2066 total), 1610 are Outside and 454 Inside. All passenger accommodations have a double bed (convertible to 2 single beds). For accommodating more guests (up to max cabin capacity), 3rd and 4th additional beds are available in all cabin categories. The number of all cabin categories is 25, including the Wellness (Spa) grades SEW-Grand Suite, BW-Balcony, OW-Oceanview, and IW-Inside.

Follows the review of MSC Seaside staterooms as amenities, furniture and included (complimentary) services:

All passenger cabins as amenities offer twin beds (singles convertible to king, or double upon request), leather headboard, bedside tables and wall lamps, pillow menu, smart HDTV (infotainment system allowing Internet, bookings from the cabin, also itinerary/ports of call and tours/excursions information, movies on demand, live webcam views), direct-dial phone (onboard connections only), electronic safe box and lifejackets (in the closet), hairdryer, mini-bar/fridge, closet/wardrobe, sitting/lounge area (mirrored vanity table, chairs), en-suite bathroom (WC, sink, shower), individual air-conditioning (thermostat controlled), Wi-Fi Internet access.

All MSC YACHT CLUB cabins additionally have Nespresso machines. All Suite categories feature larger bathrooms with bathtubs.

Interconnecting “cluster cabins” are specifically designed for large families and family group travel. This new concept allows up to 3 cruise staterooms to be linked together and opened up. Seaside ship’s family cabins are in 3 main categories – FAMILY (max occupancy 6 passengers, 2 connecting rooms, 2 baths, 1 balcony), SUPER FAMILY (max occupancy 6 passengers, 2 connecting rooms, 2 baths /1 with bathtub, 2 balconies) and SUPER FAMILY PLUS (max occupancy 10 passengers, 3 connecting rooms, 3 baths, 2 balconies).

The new SJ3 category “Seaside Suite” cabins feature an in-hull veranda with a whirlpool bath. Category GS “Grand Suite” cabins are all forward-facing. Each of them features a large walk-in closet, 2 separate bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (1 with bathtub, 1 with shower), separate lounge room (wet bar, 4-seat dining table), spacious veranda. Both the Master Bedroom and the Lounge Room have individual access to the balcony via floor-ceiling sliding doors.

Balcony Suites category S2 (decks 9 through 15) are with larger verandas. Category S3-Suites (a total of 14 accommodations) are all located aft and feature large-sized balconies (furnished with 1 table and 2 chairs). These aft-corner suites (on decks 9 through 15) are designed as beach condos.

YACHT CLUB Royal Suites feature a separate bedroom (with bathroom and balcony access), large walk-in closet, separate lounge room (with wet bar and balcony access), spacious veranda (33 m2) with a 6-seat dining table and sun deck with loungers and a whirlpool bath.

MSC “BELLA" cabins” are in categories I1-Inside, O1-Oceanview, and B1-Balcony. Booking Bella-class staterooms additionally offer as extra perks: 20-hour gourmet buffet, organized daily scheduled activities, access to a dedicated swimming pool, modern gym, open-air sports facilities, plus earning MSC Club points for more perks on the next cruise.

MSC “FANTASTICA cabins” are in categories I2-Inside, O2-Oceanview, B2-Balcony, and all SuperFamily rooms. Booking Fantastica-class staterooms additionally offer as extra perks: 24-hour room service, 50% discount on fitness classes, specially dedicated to kids activities, free in-room dining (breakfast), free delivery, priority dinner sitting, cooking sessions with the ship’s Master Chef. These higher-grade cabins are with upper deck location and offer easy access to elevators and popular lounges.

MSC “AUREA cabins” are in category B3-Balcony. Booking Aurea-class staterooms additionally offers: a complimentary Aurea Spa package, Thermal Area unlimited access, 60-min massage PP (max 2 per cabin), 20-min Solarium usage, welcome cocktail party, plus priority services (check-in, embarkation, tendering), bathrobes, slippers, luxury spa products, 24-hour unlimited drinks (specialty coffee, wine and beer, cocktails, soft beverages, gelato ice cream).

MSC YACHT CLUB passengers enjoy an exclusive butler service (available 24-hours), dedicated concierge service (24-hour Concierge Reception), all-inclusive dining (a la carte menu, your-time dining in an exclusive gourmet restaurant, unlimited drinks (from cabin’s mini-bar and in all Yacht Club complex areas), exclusive “The One Sun Deck” (suites-only sundeck area) access, exclusive Top Sail Lounge access. The YACHT CLUB’s exclusive lounge areas are “Top Sail Lounge” (with its own restaurant) and “The One Pool Deck” (swimming pool, whirlpools, sundeck served by its own bar).

MSC’s “Super Family Plus” cabins are category B1-Balcony staterooms (location on decks 9, 10, 11). Facing forward, they interconnect with an interior room and another B1-Balcony (forward location too) making a “Super Family Plus”. Some of the aft-location B2-Balcony staterooms (location – decks 9 through 14) have an extra single bed and can be connected to make a “Super Family Plus”. When a balcony room is combined with an adjoining interior cabin it becomes a “Superfamily”. This type of cabins are modularly connected and also feature connecting verandas.

Passengers booked in MSC Wellness cabins (IW-Inside, OW-Oceanview, and BW-Balcony) receive access to dedicated sports facilities, training equipment, and amenities, along with the personal trainer, personalized fitness program, exclusive fitness-themed excursions, healthy food/drinks, charge-free laundry service (gym wear only).

MSC Seaside cabin and suite plans are property of MSC Cruises . All floor plans are for informational purposes only and CruiseMapper is not responsible for their accuracy.

Everything you need to know about MSC Cruises cabins and suites

A relative newcomer in the North American market, MSC Cruises is equal parts elegant and kitschy. The line tends to appeal to a wide swath of cruisers, from Europeans who like to party into the wee hours of the morning to American families who book because of affordable fares and "kids sail free" pricing.

To satisfy its diverse passenger base, MSC offers accommodations to fit all types of travelers. Rooms include inexpensive inside cabins that sleep two people, midlevel staterooms with windows and balconies, and high-end suites that offer cruisers with larger budgets a private oasis in the form of the MSC Yacht Club .

A variety of connecting rooms and cabins with extra bunks accommodate larger groups and families who wish to share space.

Because your cruise cabin will be your home away from home for several days, it's important to book one that fits your needs. That's especially true if you're sharing it with several people.

Whether you're looking at an inside cabin for a cruise with friends, balcony accommodations for you and your significant other or a suite for your family, here TPG breaks down what you can expect when you book a room on one of MSC's ships.

For more cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter .

MSC Cruises cabin primer

MSC Cruises has become one of the fastest-growing lines in the cruise industry, with about two dozen ships in its fleet. The vessels fall into six classes : Lirica, Musica, Fantasia, Meraviglia, Seaside and World.

Although cabin offerings can vary from ship to ship and class to class, the standard types remain the same: inside, outside, balcony and suite.

Additionally, you'll find the same basic amenities in each room, unless otherwise noted below. They include two twin beds that can be joined to form a queen- or king-size bed; an in-cabin bathroom with a shower, a sink, a toilet and basic soap, shower gel and shampoo; a couple of nightstands; a chair or sofa; a desk/vanity; a closet; a safe; a hair dryer; a minifridge; a phone; USB outlets and a selection of both North American and European outlets.

On all ships except MSC Lirica, MSC Opera, MSC Sinfonia and MSC Armonia, you'll also find an interactive TV that allows you to view the daily schedule, check your onboard account and choose from a selection of live TV programs and movies.

Twice-daily room tidying is provided by a room steward assigned to each cabin, and room service is available throughout the day for an added fee.

One confusing aspect of MSC's bookings is that you'll have to select an experience package in addition to a cabin type. Package tiers determine things like your ability to choose a specific cabin and preferred dining time and whether you'll receive welcome amenities in your room. Certain cabin types are only available in conjunction with certain package experiences and vice versa. Those are noted in each respective section below.

Accessible cabins , including accommodations for wheelchair users, are available on every ship in MSC's fleet. In addition to more space, they feature wider doorways and lowered sinks and toilets in the bathrooms, as well as grab bars.

MSC Cruises' experience packages

Here's what you get when you book each of MSC's three experience packages, which determine the perks you'll receive on your sailing.

• Accommodations
• Complimentary food in the dining room and buffet
• Broadway-style theater entertainment
• Access to the onboard gym, pool and kids club
• MSC Voyagers Club points
• One for-fee change to your cruise booking (with some restrictions)
• Drink package discount at time of booking
• All Bella perks
• Choice of specific cabin and location
• One free change to your cruise booking (with some restrictions)
• Ability to choose between early and late seating for dinner
• Room service (complimentary for breakfast, but fees apply for other meals)
• Discount on pre-cruise specialty dining package
• All Fantastica and Bella perks
• Flexible My Choice dining, which lets you eat at any time you choose between set hours
• Free 24-hour room service delivery
• Pillow menu
• A welcome package, including Prosecco and chocolates
• Complimentary access to your ship's solarium and thermal area
• A 10% discount on all spa treatments purchased on board
• Special Balinese massage offer when booked pre-cruise
• Complimentary use of bathrobe and slippers
• Priority boarding and luggage drop-off

Inside cabins on MSC Cruises ships

Inside cabins — rooms with no windows — are available on all ships in the MSC fleet. Ranging from 140 to 301 square feet (depending on the ship), they make for great sleeping because they're so dark. They're also ideal for passengers who are on a budget.

In addition to the standard amenities mentioned above, they provide room for anywhere from two to four passengers to sleep. (Rooms that sleep more than two feature bunks that pull down from the ceiling.)

These cabins are available with the line's Bella and Fantastica experiences.

If you're sailing solo, some MSC vessels offer cabins for one outfitted with a twin bed that converts into a couch. These interior studio accommodations are only available with the Bella package on MSC Meraviglia , MSC Bellissima and the line's World Class ships.

Ocean-view cabins on MSC Cruises ships

Ocean-view rooms are similar to insides in that they provide basic amenities — but with a view.

Offering 129 to 269 square feet of space (depending on the specific ship and ocean-view category), these staterooms allow you to see outside through a porthole or a window that doesn't open.

MSC's outside cabins are available to passengers who book Bella and Fantastica packages.

Additionally, if you're traveling with your family or another group, several of MSC Cruises' ships — particularly those in the Meraviglia and Seaside classes — feature space for as many as 10 passengers via a series of connecting rooms. Options are available at the ocean-view and balcony levels.

Balcony cabins on MSC Cruises ships

You might be surprised to discover that most of MSC Cruises' balcony cabins provide less interior square footage than what's available in inside or ocean-view staterooms.

Balcony rooms run anywhere from 129 to 205 square feet, but their key feature is, of course, a private balcony, which does add an extra 32 to 129 square feet, depending on the vessel and specific type of balcony room booked. These cabins are bookable in conjunction with MSC's Bella, Fantastica and Aurea experiences.

Although balcony cabins offer upgraded amenities, including MSC's brand of hand lotion and toiletries, they are largely the same as inside and ocean-view accommodations.

MSC's newest ships — including those in the Meraviglia, Seaside and World Classes — house connecting balcony rooms that can sleep up to 10 in the same group traveling together.

Additionally, on its World Class ships, the line has introduced inward-facing balconies, similar to the ones Royal Caribbean pioneered in 2009 with the debut of its Oasis Class vessels . On World Europa, for example, they overlook the ship's promenade, offering views of the activity below, rather than the ocean.

MSC Cruises suites

All ships in MSC's fleet have suites that can be booked as part of the Fantastica and Aurea packages, but it's Aurea that offers the largest number of perks, as outlined above.

The several types of suites vary by ship in terms of size and amenities. Some come with balconies, while others only offer floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows.

Junior Suites

Although this room type is listed as a suite, it's essentially a balcony cabin with a bit more space — 183 square feet of interior accommodation with a balcony that ranges from 140 to 183 square feet.

Standard suites include rooms with huge balconies larger than the cabin's interior space and ones with private whirlpool tubs. They run from 269 to 355 square feet, with balconies measuring 32 to 409 square feet.

Grand Suites

Coming in between 377 and 420 square feet, with balconies spanning from 32 to 495 square feet, Grand Suites — found on Seaside and World Class ships — come in two types. They include standard one-bedroom Grand Suites, as well as two-bedroom varieties.

The latter has one bedroom with a queen-size bed and another with two twins. It sleeps up to five passengers and offers two bathrooms — one with a shower and the other with a bathtub.

While most suites are designed for double occupancy, some suite accommodations on MSC Bellissima, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Virtuosa and MSC Magnifica can sleep up to five people.

MSC Yacht Club suites on MSC ships

All cabins located in the MSC Yacht Club — an exclusive, gated area on select ships — are called suites, even the smallest and least expensive, which don't have windows or balconies.

Yacht Club suite types range from insides to two-deck duplexes, all of which come with butler and concierge services, luxuriously appointed furnishings (such as real marble finishes, memory foam mattresses and Egyptian cotton sheets) and access to members-only restaurants, bars (alcohol is free there), lounges, pools and sun decks.

The Yacht Club features seven different types of rooms. Ships that have the MSC Yacht Club on board include MSC Bellissima, MSC Divina, MSC Fantasia, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Preziosa, MSC Seaside, MSC Seascape, MSC Seaview, MSC Seashore, MSC Splendida, MSC Virtuosa and MSC World Europa.

Note: Not all Yacht Clubs have the same suite types available.

MSC Yacht Club Interior Suites

Although these 161- to 226-square-foot cabins don't offer a view or fresh air, they are elegantly decorated and include all the Yacht Club benefits mentioned above.

MSC Yacht Club Deluxe Suites

These Yacht Club digs are the equivalent of a balcony cabin — but in a dedicated area that includes all the exclusive perks. They run 236 to 366 square feet and have balconies ranging from 54 to 86 square feet, so they also come with a bit more space, both inside and outdoors.

MSC Yacht Club Deluxe Grand Suites

Similarly, Deluxe Grand Suites are like the Yacht Club equivalent of booking a Grand Suite with more perks. Depending on the ship, they offer anywhere from 269 to 463 square feet of space, plus 65- to 129-square-foot balconies. Some Grand Suites also have two bedrooms instead of one. Further, these rooms on Seaside Class ships include bathrooms with bathtubs, as well as separate living areas.

MSC Yacht Club Duplex Suites

Rising two decks, MSC's duplex staterooms measure 495 to 635 square feet and come with 65- to 334-square-foot balconies. They feature living rooms with two-person sofa beds downstairs and master bedrooms upstairs, which also sleep two passengers.

Each of these accommodations comes complete with two walk-in closets and two bathrooms — one with a bathtub and one with a shower. Most duplexes on Meraviglia and World Class ships also have their own private whirlpool tubs.

MSC Yacht Club Executive and Family Suites

The line's Executive and Family Suites, available only on Fantasia Class vessels, are an excellent choice for anyone who wants to stay in the Yacht Club with a family or other group of more than two people.

This option, which is one type of suite (despite its confusing name), has space for up to five cruisers via a combination of bunk beds, sofa beds and beds that pull down from the ceiling, depending on the ship. The suites clock in at around 431 to 549 square feet, depending on the vessel.

The only drawback is that these staterooms have no balconies and no in-room dining areas, but they do include all the perks you'd find in Yacht Club cabins.

MSC Yacht Club Royal Suites

Although they only occupy one level, at 388 to 667 square feet, MSC's Yacht Club Royal Suites are right up there with the Duplex Suites in terms of space. They offer the second-largest amount of square footage after the Owner's Suites. They come with huge balconies comprising 355 to 753 square feet of outdoor area.

Additionally, bathrooms in these suites offer bathtubs on Fantasia, Meraviglia, Seaside and World Class ships, and the latter three have private whirlpool tubs, as well. All four classes' Royal Suites also include separate living room areas.

MSC Yacht Club Owner's Suites

The largest and most impressive of all MSC's cabins are the Owner's Suites found in the Yacht Club. Offering an impressive 840 to 1,119 square feet — larger than some land-based apartments — plus 269- to 670-square-foot balconies, they're some of the most luxurious rooms afloat.

Specific amenities vary by ship, but as an example, Owner's Suites on MSC World Europa offer floor-to-ceiling windows and walk-in closets. These accommodations on both the line's Seaside and World Class vessels also feature bathrooms with separate showers and bathtubs, as well as private whirlpool tubs and separate living room areas.

Bottom line

Although MSC Cruises' cabin types are straightforward, the line's add-on experiences can complicate things a bit.

Overall, what's key to remember is that MSC Cruises offers a wide variety of rooms and pricing to meet just about any budget or style of cruising. Each ship will offer accommodation choices from the least expensive, bare-bones interior rooms to the priciest suites, which come with butler and concierge services.

When you sail with MSC Cruises, you can expect function, style and comfort, regardless of the cabin type you book.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

• The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship
• A beginners guide to picking a cruise line
• The 8 worst cabin locations on any cruise ship
• The ultimate guide to what to pack for a cruise
• A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines
• 21 tips and tricks that will make your cruise go smoothly
• Top ways cruisers waste money
• The ultimate guide to choosing a cruise ship cabin

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Moscow Metro Font

Moscow Metro is a multi-line display typeface inspired by the Moscow underground map. It comes in Regular and Color versions.

Moscow Metro is ideal for posters and headlines, neon signage and other artworks.

• Share by email

Designed by: Nadira Filatova Website

License: free for commercial use.