Day 2 onboard MSC Seaside, the ship that “follows the sun,” finds us spending the day at sea en route to our first port of call, St. Maarten. So far the weather has been great, the sea calm, and the MSC Yacht Club is worth every penny.
So let’s start there. As I mentioned in yesterday’s report, the MSC Yacht Club is a “ship within a ship” where the accommodations come with their own private restaurant, pool, bar/lounge, pool bar, concierge, and butler to take care of every whim and a host of other perks including free WiFi (up to 3GB), free drinks (alcoholic and non) and upgraded suites.
With 5,100+ passengers on board, the respite the Yacht Club provides from the masses is welcome, especially when you’re on vacation to relax. We have ventured out into other public areas of the ship and even though there are 5,100 people on board, you don’t really notice it because the spaces have been designed to be open and airy rather than boxed in and tight.
Sure, there are times when you reach one of the more popular bars and there are plenty of people huddled around getting a drink and socializing, but for the most part, you don’t feel you’re part of a very large group of vacationers.
The one area where you really feel crowded on any ship is the buffet and the same can be said here. No matter how many tables, no matter what the design, and no matter how many different stations there are, there’s no getting around the fact that hungry people are going to congregate in this area.
On MSC Seaside, the buffet features multiple stations: pizza, salad, grill, kids, panini, pasta, bread, and desserts, as well as drink stations and a bar. Tables are set up in small “rooms” making it less cafeteria-like as well as several communal high tops. There are also quite a bit of tables outside in the promenade area and aft where you can dine alfresco. During our trips to the buffet to grab a few slices of the best pizza at sea (and maybe on land), we didn’t find it overwhelming and were able to grab a table – however, we did not go at peak times.
Back to the Yacht Club for the moment. We have pretty much caught ourselves saying, “thank God we booked Yacht Club,” when going around the ship at night when fellow passengers are hurrying to get to dinner, or leaving the show, or rushing to grab a cocktail at the closest bar.
We’ve pretty much spent most of our evenings in the Top Sail Lounge – exclusively for Yacht Club passengers. There’s live musical entertainment, full bar service, and finger foods throughout the morning, afternoon, and evening. Plus, the area features an outdoor deck where you can have your cocktail and a nice cigar.
By no means do I want to sound pretentious, but the cost of the Yacht Club for two people is still less than a couple booking regular accommodations on say, Disney Cruise Line. Our butler has been outstanding – constantly checking on us whether we are in the lounge, the restaurant, the pool deck or just wandering around the ship. He reminds us continually that if there is anything we want, he will get it for us.
Some other notes about the ship before I go into some of the day’s activities. The ship is large, with plenty of open space as I mentioned earlier. The pools are small, but there are many – the Yacht Club pool, South Beach Pool, Miami Beach Pool, and Jungle Pool. MSC Seaside also has the Forest Aquaventure Park which has a ropes walk, water park, and other water features to keep kids entertained and cool.
Zip Line, yeah there’s one of those for an extra charge.
Bars. There are plenty. It seems as though everywhere you turn there’s a bar. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but you will never go thirsty on this ship. In fact, there are 19 bars to quench your thirst.
(Just as I finished that sentence, our butler came over and handed me a martini…. At 10:21am. He knows me well and I didn’t even ask for one!)
Yesterday was a lazy day. We slept in then headed to the Yacht Club pool for some breakfast before going downstairs to the lounge for a Captain’s reception at 11am. Drinks and canapes were served as the Captain welcomed the Yacht Club guests and introduced members of his staff.
During the captain’s remarks, he tipped his hand to some plans MSC has for the future. He notes that MSC plans to build 10 ships in the next 10 years – four of them being 800 passenger vessels that will be all Yacht Club accommodations. In other words, MSC is getting into the small ship, luxury cruise line business to compete with Regent, Crystal, Seaborn, and Azamara. The first of their small ships will hit the water in 2022.
Following the reception, we enjoyed some cocktails at the pool bar before wandering around the ship, grabbing a bit of lunch then heading back to our suite for a nap. All this doing nothing tires you out, you know!
We booked seats for the 6:45pm show – The Dream in the Metropolitan Theatre. When I say “booked” I mean, you go onto the MSC for Me app and make a reservation for the show. As I mentioned yesterday, the theatre on MSC Seaside is a bit small, so reserving seats for the more popular shows is a must – although for the past two nights, nobody has ever checked to see if we had reservations or not.
The show itself was a Cirque-style show, like all shows on MSC. It features popular songs from Broadway shows accompanied by a cast of dancers, a pole dancer (yes, a pole dancer), and a hula-hoop guy (I honestly don’t know what else to call him, but he had a body like a snake). The show lasted 30 minutes and concluded with songs from Disney’s Aladdin.
From there, we walked through the ship’s casino which wasn’t busy. It’s not busy because it’s non-smoking – just like on MSC Divina. You would think that MSC would realize that pulling a slot machine handle and sucking on a Camel go hand-in-hand and generates money, but they keep their casinos smoke-free, unlike other ships where you get lung cancer just by walking through.
We grabbed a pre-dinner drink (well, drinks) at the Yacht Club Lounge before heading to one of the ship’s three Asian restaurants. Yes, this is an Italian ship where there are three Asian restaurants but not one Italian joint.
That boggles my mind. But as long as there’s pizza, I’m OK with it.
We purchased a package for $90 per person that entitles us to dinner at each of Chef Roy Yamaguchi’s restaurants – Asian fusion, sushi, and teppanyaki. This was Asian fusion night.
The menu was a three-course experience that included an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. We could also order additional items from the a la carte menu for an additional charge or substitute one of our courses for something from the a la carte for half price.
We both started out with the Pork Bao Buns which came with two per order and featured a nice amount of pork belly with slaw and a sweet Asian sauce. I’m a sucker for Bao Buns and these were delicious.
We also ordered the Treasure Box for 2 off the a la carte menu, which featured a selection of appetizers for $19 that included pork spare ribs, two pieces of sushi, pork dumplings, a crispy crab cake, and shrimp egg rolls. A nice selection where every piece was delicious – note about the crab cake, it was all crab – no filling here!
For entrees, we chose the grilled lamb chops and the filet mignon. The filet was cooked a perfect medium rare and was fork tender – a welcome change from the strip steak that was fatty and just plain awful from the Yacht Club Restaurant the night before.
The lamb chops came three per order, I asked for them to be cooked medium well to well and they were done perfectly and had just the right amount of spice to cover up the “taste” of lamb. They were also delicious.
We also ordered a side of lobster fried rice from the a la carte menu – $19. We probably didn’t need to order this as we had a lot of food already, but the rice was good with plenty of chunks of lobster throughout.
The package included dessert, which we skipped because frankly, we had a lot of food and we were stuffed.
The food here was far better than what we had the night before in the Yacht Club Restaurant and the ambiance of the restaurant was relaxed. It was not busy and we were only one of a handful of tables dining at 8:30pm.
After dinner, we headed back to the Top Sail Lounge at the Yacht Club and had a few more cocktails before retreating to our stateroom to call it a night. When we got back, a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries was waiting for us. A nice touch to end the evening.
Today is another day at sea and I booked a private cabana at the Yacht Club pool for both today, our next sea day on Thursday, and our port day in Nassau on Friday. Cabanas feature two lounge chairs, a table, a cooler stocked with beverages of your choice, the service of our butler, and the privacy of our own little “fort” looking out at the sea.
We just popped open a bottle of Prosecco, had breakfast in the cabana, and plan to have lunch, afternoon sushi, and just spend the day here relaxing as we soak up the sun – when it comes back out! We are headed into an area of rain and the wind is picking up a bit. An announcement from the bridge told us we are heading into some weather so be careful if you’re out on open decks.
The cost of the cabana on port days is $59 and on sea days is $99. Worth it if you ask me! It’s just another bit of privacy on an already private pool deck.
Tonight, dinner is in the Yacht Club restaurant where I hope the food is better than the first night. Tomorrow we are dining at the ship’s steakhouse – Butcher’s Cut – where you have the option of selecting a $39 three-course fixed-price menu or ordering a la carte.
That’s all for today from MSC Seaside, more tomorrow… so stay tuned, and thanks for joining me on this journey around the Caribbean on the ship that “follows the sun!”
Personal Day-By-Day MSC Seaside Cruise Review:
Photo Tour of MSC Seaside
My Photo Tour of the MSC Seaside will showcase the ship’s stunning design, innovative features, and world-class amenities. We’ll take you through the ship’s impressive atrium, with its sparkling Swarovski crystal staircase, to the lush greenery of the outdoor promenade. You’ll get an up-close look at the MSC Seaside’s thrilling water park, chic lounge areas, and luxurious spa facilities. And of course, the ship’s many dining options, from casual beachside bites to elegant specialty restaurants.