8 things I LOVED and HATED about my MSC Seaside cruise

On any cruise vacation you’re bound to come across things you enjoyed and, unfortunately, those things you would rather forget. Regardless of whether you book the cheapest or most luxurious cruise, no cruise vacation is perfect, after all.

I recently returned from a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on MSC Seaside. For the most part, I enjoyed everything about my week onboard, from the food to tropical destinations and fun activities.

Like any cruise, though, there were a few things I disliked, such as aspects of the ship’s design, the entertainment, and a seemingly unnecessary extra fee at MSC’s private island.

Here are 8 things I loved and hated about my MSC Seaside cruise.

[MomDocTravels]

I agree that charging for umbrellas on a cruise line’s private island is crazy. We found free umbrellas at lighthouse beach at ocean cay but Msc doesn’t advertise that. Apparently that’s the only beach where they are free.

[zach]

First time I've ever seen a positive review for MSC's food.

[elitegamer]

I was on a 8 day cruise from oct 1 to oct 8 on the seaside. Loved every second of it🤩

[JHFHOLLERBACH]

Paying for an umbrella is really not pleasant. Many cruise companies are going beyond reason by charging for things that are expected to be free. Regarding the shows, I think you can't evaluate it by just attending one of them. On a 7-night cruise, even on companies like NCL, Royal Caribbean and Princess there are always one or two nights with not very interesting shows. Thank you for providing important information for anyone looking to go on a cruise. Greetings from Brazil.

[kenyapp]

lol I am planning on bringing a beach tent to get around the umbrella issue

[joethecomputerguy]

Love your annunciation of the Italian type words. Are you Italian? How come no pics of you in vids??? You sound very cute.

[XenMaster]

Just watched your other MSC loved/hated video before this one and wondered if you ran into the same issue with the no free water on this cruise?

[Mommybunny]

Is food and wifi included at Ocean cay? like Cococay?

[iosdeals]

I actually prefer the atrium type of central hub rather than the promenade. The promenade on MSC Grandiosa was interesting only for the digital ceiling, some of the animations were really interesting. But it felt empty. Most of the shops were closed most of the time, the specialty restaurants were empty all the time. It felt strange - you had to pass through the promenade to some key locations couple times a day, but unless there was some event happening, 90% of the time it felt like walking through a holywood backstage, with fake facades, and 10 different architecture styles. And then everyone mingled in the main lobby anyway, but it was 2-3x smaller than on Seaside/Seaview/Seashore, so it felt crowded and noisy.

[nyariimani]

As a solo cruiser, I didn't like how impossible it was for me to get a solo table at the sit down dinner. I even went directly to the dining room when I boarded and they told me it wasn't possible. I suffered through politics on my first night and just didn't go back. On the fifth night the maitre'd called me and asked why I wasn't coming back and I said I'd asked for a solo table and was rejected, then tried the group table and it's just not worth it. She said she'd find me a solo table if I came back, but I just wasn't in the mood to try again.

[Song-iivj]

Thanks for the information, I will be sailing Jan 2025.

[micheltravelstheworld]

Cruise lines are all about lining up until you understand that 5 minutes later makes the difference.

[angela]

Thank you for this review! We just sailed with Seaside and were underwhelmed and couldn’t wait to get back home. Times were off for almost everything, bar service was extremely slow, and the Michael Jackson tribute show literally depicted a stripper on a pole with split legs for the entire Dirty Diana song (super awkward especially seeing a confused 5 year old girl in front of us). Crew seemed like they hated life and avoided customer smiles at all costs. Super odd cruise.

[mikefranks]

Pay for an umbrella or pay for drinks can’t have it all