It’s my birthday week, and I could think of nothing better than to—well… take a cruise! This time I took the drive up to Port Canaveral (Orlando, FL) for a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on MSC Cruises’ MSC Seashore — a Seaside EVO-class ship that joined the MSC Cruises fleet in 2021. She was the lead vessel in the class, which is the next generation of the original Seaside class, consisting of the Seaside and Seaview. MSC Seashore is designed to accommodate around 4,540 guests at double occupancy, with a maximum capacity of up to 5,877 passengers, and is staffed by about 1,648 crew.
Seashore is about 16 meters longer than the ships in the original Seaside class and features an expanded MSC Yacht Club — the line’s luxury ship-within-a-ship concept — more environmentally friendly features, and, like her sister ship Seascape, a New York City-inspired design, featuring a 9.5-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty in the casino.
This booking was really (really) last minute. I was trying to get booked on MSC World America out of Miami, but due to MSC’s policy regarding the number of solo passengers they allow to book — which is crazy — I was unable to book a reservation for one person. Two, yes, but not one. (Read more about this policy here.) So, having not sailed on MSC Seashore and being able to book a stateroom for one, I clicked the “Complete Booking” button and started packing.
For this adventure, we’ll be visiting Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, MSC’s private island in The Bahamas, for an overnight, and then it’s off to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico, before returning back to port on Sunday.
Embarking MSC Seashore at Port Canaveral (Orlando)
Port Canaveral is one of those love-it-or-hate-it ports for me. Love it, because it’s easy to get around, parking is very convenient, and it’s not nearly as maddening as Port Miami. Hate it, because it’s a 2.5-hour drive for me, and the terminals are old and not really set up to handle the number of passengers the new, bigger ships hold.
My assigned boarding time was 2:00 p.m., so I left Delray Beach around 10:45 a.m. and arrived at the port a little before 1:30 p.m. Parking here is easy. You pay as soon as you enter the garage, and the amount you pay is for the number of days for the cruise. So, for this cruise, seven days of parking cost $145.52. For those doing a back-to-back cruise, guess what… you may be on a ship for 14 days, but you’re only paying for seven days of parking. Call that a small win for you and a loss for the port.
Now, here’s where I begin to hate Port Canaveral. Once parked and my bag handed off to the porter, I crossed the street to get in line to enter the terminal. Since the terminal is small, the line to get in backs up outside the building with little shade to protect you from the Central Florida heat and sun. They had staff controlling the number of people they would let in at a time to avoid overcrowding inside, but outside was still a mess.
I asked if there was a priority line for Diamond and Aurea stateroom guests and was told there wasn’t until after security. So I stood in the main line. Someone walked over to the tent where Yacht Club guests check in for their priority embarkation and asked the same question I did, although to a different person. They were told, yes, take the elevator upstairs. So I followed suit. Communication, people! Communication!
Once upstairs, the line for security was snaking around like the line for Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom. There didn’t seem to be any incentive for the security people to move people through quickly, unlike Port Miami where you’re herded through like cattle. In that ONE situation, I do like Port Miami. But that’s where that love affair ends.
With security cleared, it was off to the priority line, which was empty, so I ended up going right to a check-in desk where a selfie was taken and my passport checked. That was it. Total time from bag drop to first steps on the ship: roughly a half hour. Not bad.
MSC allows (encourages) you to head immediately to your stateroom once you board. Even though rooms are still being given the final touches, they ask you to go to your room, drop off your bags, and grab your stateroom key card. This is one policy I love! While some cruise lines don’t allow you to go to your room to drop off bags (unless you’re a certain loyalty level or stateroom class type), MSC lets you. But it’s one of those things where you know the room is not ready—just drop your bags, grab your card, and leave!
With key card in hand, it was off to my muster station to check in. Muster drills on almost all of the cruise lines now are pretty much lip service. Post-COVID, there are no more in-person muster drills where you stand shoulder to shoulder on a hot open deck, life vest around your neck, listening to someone tell you how to wear it should you need to abandon ship.
Now, all you do is head to your muster station, have your key card scanned, and watch a video. On MSC, you have to dial a phone extension to complete the process, but that’s it.
While highly unlikely, in the event of an abandon ship, I’d hate to see the chaos that would arise since the introduction of these new muster drills. Granted, nobody paid attention to them before, but with cruise lines all adopting this new style of muster drill, all it’s going to take is one incident and we’re back to the old-fashioned kind.
MSC Seashore Aurea Balcony Stateroom 9254
For this cruise, I’m staying in a balcony stateroom, 9254, which is located on deck 9 aft. This particular stateroom is in the Aurea class. On MSC, there are three classes of rooms: Bella, Fantastica, and Aurea. Bella is the least expensive and the cruise line picks your room for you, so if you want to choose your location, Bella is not… Bella. Fantastica is the next step up where you can choose your stateroom and get a few extra perks. Then there’s Aurea, where you get to choose your stateroom, which is located in the “best locations” on the ship. Aurea also gets you anytime dining (Bella and Fantastica do not), access to the private Top 19 Solarium, welcome Champagne, and Aurea suites have coffee makers. Then of course, there is the ultra-luxe Yacht Club, which is an entirely different experience.
Stateroom 9254 is much like any other balcony stateroom, however it does have a large extended balcony, as you’ll see in a minute. Inside, it has a king bed, which can be separated into two twins, a sofa bed, fully stocked minibar, safe, and large-screen TV. Over on the desk/vanity area, there are two US and two European outlets, two USB ports, and a wireless charging mechanism. There is one more USB plug located on only one side of the bed, so USB ports are sparse.
The room itself is laid out very well, with this particular stateroom having the bed near the balcony doors and a very large mirror opposite the bed so you can watch yourself sleep.
The bathrooms on the Seaside-class ships are tiny, and the shower is no exception. When on the toilet, your knee does hit the vanity, and I’m not that tall! The shower, for larger individuals, may be challenging since there is a glass door instead of a shower curtain, which makes it restrictive for people of size. Storage in the bathroom is limited to a few shelves.
When it comes to closet space, there is a large wardrobe with shelves and drawers. I can’t imagine fitting clothing for a week-long adventure for four people in the closet, so if you’re sharing this room with more than two… pack light.
Out on the balcony, it’s easy to see how much larger the extended balcony rooms are. If you look at the faux-wood deck area, a normal balcony room would take up just that amount of space. The green area is the extended portion, which allows for two lounge chairs and two regular chairs to be placed out there. Key note: when you’re in the “green zone,” all your neighbors above and alongside can see you, so if it’s privacy you’re after, stay out of the green.
Lights and climate control are controlled by your stateroom key being in the slot next to the door. This system also alerts your stateroom attendant via a small light panel in the hallway whether you’re in your stateroom, whether you have pressed the “Do Not Disturb” button, or have pressed the “Cabin Service” button to request the room to be made up. All these buttons are located just inside the door.
MSC Seahore Stateroom 9254 Full Tour Video
Exploring MSC Seascape
With the muster check-in and stateroom tour out of the way, it was time to do some exploring. Having spent a lot of time on MSC Seascape, the two ships are nearly identical. Decks have been renamed, a few venues have been given new monikers, but as far as decor and layout… they are mirror images of each other.
One thing I do love about this class of ship is the atrium. This five-story central hub is home to parties, the line’s signature Swarovski crystal staircases (perfect photo spot), and the four-story video wall that’s used for visual effects during the nighttime parties — it’s dazzling. Couple that with lots of sparkling chrome, and it has plenty of wow factor.
Having just come off the inaugural sailing of MSC World America in April, I’m really having a hard time — and it’s only been one day — trying to convince myself I should be in love with the newest ship in the fleet, but I tend to prefer the layout of the Seaside-class ships, and to me, they are way more elegant.
When it comes to MSC, you won’t find a mass-market cruise line with more elegant ships. Since they are an Italian line, the European influence in design is everywhere. It’s definitely not gaudy like Carnival and Costa ships that were designed during the Joe Farcus era, and they’re not sterile like Carnival’s new Excel-class. While they aren’t as “fun” as, say, Royal Caribbean’s interiors or as themed as Disney’s, they are what I would call comfortable elegance.
One thing that also stands out with MSC is cleanliness. Crew are constantly out cleaning, polishing, painting. It’s hard to find a speck of rust on an open deck or a finger smudge on a piece of chrome.
Since it’s summer, it’s family vacation time and there are a lot of families with kids onboard. So what’s there to occupy their time? Well, there are a few different pools, including a jungle-themed pool, a pirate-themed water park, an adults-only pool, and more. Waterslide? Yeah, there’s one.
When it comes to bars and lounges, there are more than 20! Including a Venchi chocolate bar that offers up delicious chocolate made right here on the ship, along with chocolate-themed alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
When it comes to food, in addition to the main dining room and buffet, there are additional specialty restaurants onboard which include the line’s signature steakhouse, Butcher’s Cut; Hola! Tacos and Cantina for Mexican food; Ocean Cay for seafood; Kaito Sushi; and Kaito Teppanyaki. All of the specialty restaurants are located in a central area on Deck 8, while the main dining rooms are located on decks 5, 6, and 7.
Then there’s the casino.
Dinner at Hola! Tacos & Cantina on MSC Seashore
Speaking of specialty dining, for dinner, I decided to visit Hola! Tacos & Cantina, which offers both an à la carte menu and a $24.99 all-you-can-eat option — which is a great value.
Before I get into dinner, I’m going to talk about specialty dining on MSC for a minute. There are two different ways to dine in specialty restaurants:
- You can pay the published price for the prix fixe menu, which they all offer (with some upcharge items), or
- You can buy a package that gives you either 2 or 3 dinners from the same prix fixe menu at a discounted price.
These packages can be purchased pre-cruise or onboard — in fact, the crew is ALL OVER THE SHIP selling these packages on embarkation day. They are incentivized to sell them, so if you want to help a crew member out and help them reach their goal to get some extra time ashore, purchase onboard. There’s no advantage to pre-purchasing them, as the price is the same onboard as it is online. I purchased the 3-dinner package for $139, which includes gratuity.
If you purchase a package, I always say DO NOT use one of those package credits at Hola! — it’s a waste of money since the other restaurants you can choose to use those credits at have a much higher price point. Why use a credit at a $25 restaurant when you can use it at the $55 steakhouse?
Hola’s all-you-can-eat menu is truly all you can eat. Start off with some chips and salsa, then move on to some tacos, a burrito, maybe a quesadilla, and finish it off with dessert. Whatever you want — eat up! They will keep the food coming. They also have a great selection of Mezcal cocktails, so if you’re into that style of tequila, you’ll want to enjoy a few of those as well.
Since it was embarkation night, most people opted to hit up the buffet or the main dining room, so the restaurant was pretty empty. In fact, I was the only one there, except for one of the ship’s officers having dinner. Hola is located just off the atrium on Deck 8, and it’s wide open, so it’s quite loud — especially with the band or DJ entertaining in the atrium. It also adds a bit of fun to the evening, and you get to do a lot of people-watching!
Dinner was very good, and my server kept the food coming! Again, I highly recommend checking it out on any of the MSC ships that have a Hola!
Main Dining Room Menu – Day 1
For those curious as to what was being served in the Main Dining Room, here’s a peek of the Day 1 menu.
Yacht Club Restaurant Menu – Day 1
And for those living the Yacht Club life, here’s a look at what was being served in their private dining room.
On the Hunt for Engine!
After dinner, I embarked on a hunt for a gin I was introduced to a few years ago on MSC Seascape and has since become one of my favorites. It’s an Italian organic gin called Engine. I went from bar to bar without any luck until I stumbled into the Brooklyn Café — which really isn’t a café, it’s a bar with a large seating area and a stage for live entertainment. While they didn’t have it on the shelf behind the bar, the bartender, Jonas, told me to hang on. He went to the back of house and returned with a… can. Yes, Engine gin comes in a can rather than a bottle.
As an added bonus, I asked if they had Fever-Tree tonic. Needless to say, I found my spot!
After a few G&Ts, and being that it was a long day, I called it a night and headed back to my room.
We’re currently sailing toward MSC’s private island, Ocean Cay Marine Reserve in The Bahamas, where we’re scheduled to arrive around 8 a.m. tomorrow and will remain there until noon on Tuesday. So be sure to stay tuned for more info about the Seashore, our destinations, and MSC Cruises in general as the week goes on!
Daily Planner Day 1
