We sailed on MSC Cruises’ latest ship, MSC Seascape, when she debuted in late 2022. We had excessive hopes for this mega-ship, however sadly, it fell quick on a number of fronts. However, we determined to present MSC Cruises one other shot, this time in MSC Yacht Membership. Now, we’re again and share the place MSC Cruises shines and the place it falls quick with our MSC Seashore cruise ship overview.
Our MSC Seashore Cruise Ship Assessment
Complimentary Eating
One space the place MSC Cruises has made some minor enhancements is its complimentary eating.
The solely informal restaurant on MSC Seashore is the Market Buffet. The venue served breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks, dinner, and late-night snacks throughout our crusing. Thus, cruisers might normally discover one thing to eat most occasions of the day.
Whereas the format nonetheless leaves a lot to be desired, the meals high quality and preparation had been noticeably improved throughout this crusing. Whereas nonetheless not the very best buffet at sea, the meals was on par with another up to date cruise strains and positively extra American-ized than our final crusing.
Nonetheless, with two totally different sections usually that includes totally different choices, navigation could be chaotic, particularly throughout peak occasions. Having sailed on her sister ship, on embarkation day, I headed straight to the pizza station which is aft on this eatery. Like our earlier journey, the pizza is among the many finest at sea.
We had been completely happy to see the cruise line made some enhancements, equivalent to having indicators to label all meals gadgets.
Our breakfast on the Market Buffet was additionally on par with rival cruise strains. It supplied a wide range of choices, together with a {custom} omelet station.
General, we nonetheless really feel like a ship of this measurement wants extra informal, complimentary eating choices.
On condition that we stayed in MSC Yacht Membership, we had entry to the One Pool Buffet and Grill through the day. This smaller buffet supplied upscale choices together with grilled and fried seafood, steaks, and extra. The meals was noticeably higher ready and extra flavorful throughout our a number of meals. Likewise, within the morning, the Buffet and Grill supplied a breakfast buffet, with typical choices and a {custom} omelet station.
Equally, we didn’t dine in one of many essential eating rooms as we ate most dinners within the MSC Yacht Membership Restaurant. Nonetheless, we sampled a number of of the dinner gadgets additionally on the principle eating room menus. Once more, we’d say these meals and starters had been extra flavorful and higher introduced than the meals we had within the MDR over a yr in the past. So, this was actually one other step in the best course for MSC Cruises.
The large distinction is that the Yacht Membership Restaurant menus function most of the identical MDR dishes along with some upscale choices.
These unique menu gadgets from the MSC Yacht Membership Restaurant had been what you’d anticipate from a premium cruise line. Dishes just like the lobster ravioli and the included filet had been flavorful and well-plated. For dessert, you received’t wish to go on the tiramisu or New York cheesecake.
Likewise, service within the MSC Yacht Membership Restaurant was extra personable and higher timed. This restaurant had open seating, and we by no means needed to anticipate a desk for 2. Most dinners took between 75 to 90 minutes for our typical three-course meals.
Whereas we are able to’t touch upon the MDR eating expertise on MSC Seashore, this stage of service was critically missing throughout our conventional eating on MSC Seascape.
Specialty Eating
Whereas the complimentary eating on MSC Seashore nonetheless wants some work, its specialty eating is among the many finest at sea. The cruise ship affords 5 upcharge venues. Throughout our weeklong cruise, we dined at three of those specialty eating places for this MSC Seashore cruise ship overview.
All of those eating places are positioned on Deck 8 within the aptly named Chef’s Courtroom.
One sea day, we pulled up a desk at Hola! Tacos and Cantina. This Deck 8 eatery affords lunch and dinner choices most days of the cruise. The menu serves up completely sized bites impressed by Mexican avenue meals and Latin American favorites. Amongst our favorites had been the nachos and the al pastor and carne asada tacos. Whereas right here, you don’t wish to go up one of many custom-made margaritas.
At Hola! Tacos, company can both pay a la carte or $17.99 for an all-you-can-eat choice, which we expect is a superb deal.
On evening 3, we dined on the Butcher’s Reduce, among the best steakhouses at sea. My filet mignon was expertly seared to medium uncommon. Equally spectacular had been the aspect dishes and decadent desserts. You nearly can’t go flawed with something on the menu at this restaurant.
Nonetheless, in case you are eating with a specialty restaurant bundle, you might be restricted to just one starter, entree, aspect, and dessert. And in contrast to most different cruise strains that solely cost for further entrees, you WILL get charged even for an additional aspect or starter on MSC Cruises.
Lastly, on evening 6, we pulled up a stool at Kaito Teppanyaki. I used to be extra a fan of this multi-course dinner and a present than Heidi, notably as a result of the menu is extra seafood-centric. In comparison with different cruise strains, MSC Seashore affords extra upscale hibachi gadgets, with a number of programs that includes beef and seafood. This interactive eating expertise is all the time a enjoyable time.
The ship additionally contains a devoted seafood restaurant, Ocean Cay; nonetheless, there’s actually nothing on the menu for these in your get together who don’t like seafood. Lastly, Katio Sushi is a novel idea on MSC Cruises. This conveyor belt setup affords company an a la carte expertise with varied sushi choices. Or, at choose occasions, company pays a flat price for an all-you-can-eat 45-minute feast.
General, we really feel the meals on the specialty eating places is leaps and bounds higher than the complimentary eating places on the MSC Seashore cruise ship.
Nonetheless, the cruise line’s eating packages are somewhat complicated. The cruise line has varied packages however all of them embody particular eating places moderately than letting company determine at which eating places they’d wish to dine. Additional, company with a eating bundle have a extra restricted eating expertise menu, or they will pay further for different gadgets on the menu.
Pool Deck
On our cruise, MSC Seashore sailed at about 95% of double occupancy. Even nonetheless, not one of the out of doors areas ever felt crowded. MSC Cruises boasts that this ship has over 3 acres of out of doors house, and we are able to attest on this MSC Seashore cruise ship overview that there was ample house to name our personal.
The primary out of doors pool is the Lengthy Island Pool on deck 18 aft. With a central pool, two whirlpools, and loads of deck chairs, this house affords a relaxed seaside vibe through the day. It’s also residence to out of doors events and nighttime occasions if the climate permits.
Inside is the aptly named and themed Jungle Pool. This pool is close to the Doremiland youth space and contains a retractable roof. It additionally housed some complimentary tabletop video games, so it was a preferred spot for households and youngsters to take pleasure in, whatever the climate exterior.
Deck 8 is residence to an outside promenade that wraps ¾ across the ship. Aft is the Infinity Pool and is probably our favourite space on the ship. That is the adults-only house, though we didn’t see employees imposing the age restriction for these two wake-view swimming pools.
In addition to adjoining to the swimming pools, there are a number of seating areas on Deck 8 and extra loungers can be found on Deck 19 overlooking the Lengthy Island pool. Sizzling tubs and the Horizon Bar are inside strolling distance from this Deck 19 house.
Moreover, company with the Aurea Expertise have the unique High 19 Solarium, together with upgraded loungers and cabanas. The cabanas can be found on a first-come, first-served foundation.
To not point out, company who’re fortunate sufficient to be staying in MSC Yacht Membership have the One Pool all the best way ahead on Deck 20. This personal out of doors house boasts a pool, two whirlpools, and a close-by bar open a lot of the day.
Whereas there didn’t appear to be any points with crowding within the different public areas, having this reserved solar deck as company of MSC Yacht Membership was great.
Onboard Actions
This seven-day cruise included 4 ports of name. Together with stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, we additionally spent two full days at the cruise line’s personal island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.
Nonetheless, with solely two sea days, the cruise director and his group hosted varied included actions day and evening. Like several cruise ship, there have been each day trivia classes like title that tune or film trivia. These classes had been sometimes held in Instances Sq. or the Uptown Lounge.
One other standard occasion had been the a number of dance courses, seemingly on daily basis of the cruise, together with some arts and crafts classes.
Moreover, MSC Cruises companions with the Guinness E book of World Data to host onboard occasions. Throughout these trials, company compete to try to break world information, just like the quickest time to construct a Mr. Potato Head. Whereas we didn’t take part, it was enjoyable to look at.
There are additionally different sport reveals and cruiser challenges. Video games like This or That or Grasp Chef at Sea pit company in opposition to each other for pleasant competitions and prizes. There was additionally the very well-attended company vs. crew sport present.
Together with reside music all through the ship, Bingo classes, and extra, company might all the time discover one thing to do in any respect hours of the day. Simply make sure you seize a print copy of the each day schedule or use the MSC for Me app to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the enjoyable.
Leisure and Nightlife
Whereas there are fairly just a few daytime actions occurring all through the ship, there was by no means a uninteresting second within the evenings.
MSC Seashore hosted signature manufacturing reveals within the Madison Theater 5 out of seven nights. There was an early and late exhibiting to accommodate the totally different eating occasions. Whereas we discovered these reveals to be barely higher than Carnival’s Playlist Productions, they didn’t measure as much as the leisure choices discovered on Royal Caribbean or Norwegian Cruise Line.
However, these reveals had been an enchancment from the productions we sat by throughout our earlier cruise on MSC Seascape. Among the many higher productions was the formal evening’s Broadway revue present Encore and the ultimate evening’s Rock Royalty. The latter included a playlist of 1980’s rock music that had us singing alongside in our seats.
Friends do have to make reservations for these reveals. As soon as onboard, they will use the MSC for Me app or contact screens across the ship to e book particular person reveals. Nonetheless, since we had been staying in MSC Yacht Membership, we might bypass the strains and attend any reveals within the reserved seating part.
On the opposite two nights, headliner acts included a magician and a comic. Each had been common cruise reveals.
All through the remainder of the ship, reside music was accessible in most of the venues. The musical acts assorted from a jazz duo to an all-female rock band to a solo guitarist.
The opposite essential leisure house on the MSC Seashore cruise ship is aft on Deck 7. Le Cabaret Rouge is a comfortable lounge with wealthy colours and luxurious furnishings. This multi-story house is residence to selection acts all through the week. Our crusing featured tango dancers, a violinist, and a rock band.
Later within the night, Le Cabaret Rouge sometimes grew to become the ship’s evening membership open till 3 AM or later. However…Heidi and I by no means made it previous midnight.
Maybe the very best attended nighttime occasions, although, had been the events! MSC cruisers like to have an excellent time. And the cruise line ensures everybody can dance the evening away with its signature events, that are normally held both in Le Cabaret Rouge, the Atrium, or on the pool deck.
The Glow get together was standard with cruisers donning their finest neon gear.
The White Celebration and Silent Disco, held inside due to the climate, had been very well-attended too. Fellow cruisers packed the Atrium and Seashore Bar of their best apparel to take pleasure in these occasions. The truth is, I don’t assume we’ve ever seen so many cruisers get into the prompt themed apparel.
Sports activities Deck
Together with a number of family-friendly onboard actions and occasions, you’d anticipate finding a number of onboard points of interest and public areas on a mega-ship geared in direction of households. And MSC Seashore had simply that! Among the many better-themed onboard points of interest is the Pirates Cove Aquapark.
This elaborately designed waterpark options waterslides, a splash space for youthful kids, and a number of other water options. It affords twin racing physique slides, a raft slide, and a family-friendly physique slide.
Above the park is an “Adventure Trail”. However don’t be fooled; this isn’t an elaborate ropes course like discovered on another cruise strains and ships. As an alternative, it affords three totally different “challenges” specified by a straight line.
Like several massive cruise ship, the park was busier on sea days. However throughout our cease in Costa Maya, I had the waterpark to myself when it opened within the morning.
The sports activities court docket is aft of the waterpark on Deck 20. Whereas it appears like an afterthought, company can problem each other to a number of video games, like basketball or soccer. After all, most of the classes right here included pickleball video games as nicely.
Inside on Deck 18 is the Corridor of Video games. This arcade additionally boasts digital actuality experiences.
Signature to MSC Cruises is the F1 simulator. Friends climb into an F1 racecar for this immersive digital expertise. It’s truly harder than you assume. Different digital video games embody an XD cinema, a VR raft experience, and different extra typical arcade video games. These points of interest are an up-charge, however company can lower your expenses by buying a Enjoyable Cross.
As beforehand talked about, company can head to the highest stage of the Jungle Pool space for included tabletop video games like foosball and ping pong as nicely.
Lastly, ahead on Deck 8 is the health middle. This health club accommodates a wide range of state-of-the-art exercise tools from Technogym, free weights, and a biking room. Surprisingly, MSC Seashore doesn’t have a jogging monitor although. Nonetheless, we did discover many cruisers utilizing the Deck 8 waterfront promenade for morning walks.
Bars and Lounges
One other space the place MSC Cruises doesn’t actually stack as much as different mega-ships is its bars and drinks program. Whereas the ship boasts 20 bars and lounges, many are indistinguishable from each other. Bars just like the Shine Bar, the Champagne Bar, or the MSC Seashore Bar all have an identical design and look. There may be a number of silver and reflective surfaces, with little colour or theming.
Concerning theming, the one bars with a novel idea are the Sports activities Bar, its official title, and the Brooklyn Café. The previous contains sports activities artifacts and tools that appears prefer it was bought at a neighborhood House Items retailer.
The Brooklyn Café is the resident espresso store through the day and options reside jazz music within the evenings. With a yellow and brown colour palette, it’s a enjoyable spot that resembles a author’s nook.
Additional, most bars serve the model’s generic menu. The cruise line affords a pre-cruise “Easy Drink Package” and two further alcohol packages, so the menu focuses primarily on drinks included in that baseline bundle. Of couse, normal choices like our go-to Cosmopolitan or Outdated Customary had been on the menu.
One of many issues we take pleasure in doing on cruises is testing out distinctive drinks from the assorted signature bar menus across the ship. But, the one bar on MSC Seashore that did have a signature menu was the Cocktail Bar on Deck 8. Nestled subsequent to the specialty eating places, this bar serves globally impressed libations. Among the many distinctive choices are the Rickshaw and the Maui Magic Cooler.
We had the Premium Further Drink Package deal as a part of MSC Yacht Membership perks. This bundle covers all beers, wine, and cocktails by the glass as much as $16. In our expertise, this bundle basically lined all signature cocktails and combined drinks across the ship.
Staterooms
We beforehand stayed in a Deluxe Balcony stateroom on MSC Cruises’ sister ship, MSC Seascape. We felt that stateroom was on par with trendy cruise ships by way of format, décor, and performance.
For this cruise, we stayed in a Deluxe Suite, the commonest suite in MSC Yacht Membership. We had been assigned suite 18001, which is on the ship’s portside, all the best way ahead on Deck 18.
This suite measured about 269 sq. ft, with a big balcony that was 86 sq. ft. That is about 40% bigger than the deluxe balcony cabins discovered all through the remainder of the ship.
Upon coming into the stateroom, the lavatory was to our proper. Past the lavatory was the mattress with an outsized desk and self-importance space. Persevering with into the suite was the tv above the dry bar and the seating space, which consisted of a settee, espresso desk, and chair.
The design aesthetic was very similar to our earlier MSC cabin, which had a muted colour palette with impartial tones and silver accents. Though we knew the room was larger, we had been stunned about how spacious it felt. The seating space felt like its personal separate house. Really, it resembled a mini-suite you’d discover on a premium cruise line ship.
As a part of MSC Yacht Membership perks, company get a each day refill of the mini-fridge. There may be additionally an in-cabin espresso maker and complimentary room service, together with a few of the finest pizzas at sea!
One other noticeable improve from normal staterooms was the lavatory. With elegant marble finishes, the lavatory supplied a full-sized bathe with a waterfall head, premium eco-friendly tub merchandise, and a built-in bench. There was loads of cupboard space and an extra-long self-importance space harking back to a lodge on land, actually not the everyday cramped cruise cabin toilet.
There was additionally greater than sufficient cupboard space within the suite, even for over-packers like ourselves, with two separate closet areas. The three separate garments bars and sequence of drawers afforded loads of room to unpack and settle in for the week.
Sadly, the climate wasn’t the very best throughout our crusing, because it rained on fairly just a few events. Nonetheless, the balcony did supply the chance to chill out with ocean breezes. With two upright chairs and a desk, this balcony was longer and deeper than the same old deluxe balcony out of doors house.
With all of the suite enhancements and extra advantages of MSC Yacht Membership, we’re not sure if we are able to ever return to a normal room when crusing with MSC Cruises sooner or later.
General MSC Seashore Cruise Ship Assessment
There’s a lot to MSC Seashore that can enchantment to mega-ship followers.
The cruise ship affords a wide range of out of doors areas and swimming pools, a number of signature points of interest, and distinct eating venues. With ample bars and lounges, cruiser director-led occasions and actions, reside music, signature productions, and events nearly each evening, company can do as a lot or as little as they need through the cruise.
Whereas MSC shines in some areas, the meals and beverage program nonetheless wants some enhancements, notably on the subject of complimentary eating. The specialty eating places are nice, however the ship actually suffers on the subject of informal eating and quick-service choices.
Sure, the meals high quality is best than our final crusing with the model, however moreover the pizza nothing actually stands out. In comparison with Carnival Cruise Line with choices like Man’s Burger Joint or venues like Royal Caribbean’s El Loco Contemporary, MSC Cruises nonetheless falls quick.
The primary eating room meals high quality has additionally improved since our final crusing. However since we dined within the Yacht Membership Restaurant, we are able to’t touch upon the service within the MDR.
On an identical observe, whereas I appreciated the distinctive theater reveals, the manufacturing high quality was underwhelming. Many of the singers, dancers, and signature acts had been gifted, however the performances usually lacked elaboarate technical results, set items, and storytelling like some competitor manufacturers.
Nonetheless, many will probably overlook these shortcomings once they see the cruise fares. MSC Cruises affords among the best values at sea. With weeklong cruises beginning as little as $350 per individual or beneath $550 with Simple Plus Drink Packages, these sailings are an almost unbeatable deal.
These seeking to improve to the extra elegant and refined MSC Yacht Membership can nonetheless discover nice offers for entry-level suites, with week-long charges beginning at $2,200 per individual. Thus, company can take pleasure in a small ship really feel with this ship-within-a-ship expertise at a fraction of the price of a luxurious cruise line.
At these costs, MSC Seashore is actually a terrific choice for these in search of a Caribbean getaway that’s fashionable and complicated and affords loads of facilities for everybody within the household.
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