The second day of this seven day Eastern Caribbean cruise on MSC Seascape is one of two sea days during this cruise. We’re currently sailing towards our first port-of-call, Falmouth, Jamaica. Originally, we were supposed to visit Ocho Rios, Jamaica, but in February 2024 the Carnival Magic collided with the pier so until repairs are made, ships are being routed to Falmouth.
A sea day is the perfect opportunity to see how the ship and crew handles a full load of passengers, so I set off early in the morning to check things out. Now, the Seascape can accommodate over 5,100 passengers at max capacity and all ships within the Seaside-class were designed to sail in the Caribbean so there are plenty of pools, sun decks, and open spaces for passengers to soak up the sun.
MSC Seascape Buffet Issues
My first stop was to walk through the buffet. The buffet on MSC Seascape is set up with individual stations such as hot breakfast, fruit, sweets, etc. These are duplicated on both sides of the buffet area. Walking through, it’s evident the walkway between the stations and the seating area is not wide enough. It was like trying to funnel four lanes of I95 into one. There’s no clear direction of where the line starts or ends and there were plenty of people just bouncing in and out, cutting people off. At peak breakfast time, it was VERY crowded.
There also doesn’t seem to be enough seating, as many people were getting frustrated that they could not find any place to sit and eat. Another thing I noticed is that people were wandering around looking for plates and silverware, as the stations where they were supposed to be were empty. Crew were doing their best walking around with trollies full of them to restock, but they just weren’t quick enough.
I did manage to grab a breakfast sandwich and some bacon before heading outside to eat.
Later in the afternoon, I wandered through again, and it was just as congested.
This is nothing unique to this ship or cruise line, I find the buffet to be a very frustrating experience on every large ship I’ve sailed on. Perhaps the worst buffet experience was on the Carnival Horizon, where the layout and lack of any type of flow was clearly evident.
I also was astonished at the amount of food waste. Throughout the day, I’ve seen passengers walk around inside, and also take food outside, that was piled 12″ high on plates. You would think we’ve just been told that there will be no more food for the remaining five days, so eat up. Seeing the crew scrape the massive amounts of wasted food into garbage cans was a sad sight.
MSC Seascape Outdoor Decks on a Sea Day
As mentioned, Seascape is designed to maximize the use of outdoor space. The ship has multiple pools including the adults-only Infinity Pool, Marina Pool, Jungle Pool (indoors), along with water slides, a water park, and multiple hot tubs. Decks 8, 16, 18, 19 and 20 (Yacht Club only) offer plenty of seating to hang out and enjoy the sun. All of these areas were packed on this sea day, with lounge chairs being as scarce as hen’s teeth. If you were patient enough, you could find one, but it took some walking around.
The Jungle Pool which is inside and covered by a retractable roof is a really well themed area to hang out in, but because it’s almost entirely enclosed, it was more like a sauna. However, it has its own bar that serves up cold drinks and also gelato so there are ways to cool off – liquid wise.
Bar servers are constantly walking around, taking drink orders, clearing tables, emptying ashtrays, cleaning up, etc. Service in all the outside decks has been fantastic and you never have to hunt someone down to order a drink, as there are multiple servers walking around checking on you constantly. Top-notch service!
When it comes time to order a drink, there’s no paper to sign. You simply tap your room key or wristband on the server’s tablet, and you’re done.
For smokers, there are plenty of smoking areas outside on this ship, including the largest area on Deck 8.
On a side note, my stateroom balcony overlooks one of the large hot tubs. These are used all day long by adults and kids and they do tend to get noisy especially when there’s a lot of kids in them.
MSC Pizza
Let’s talk pizza for a moment. While you don’t normally go on a cruise for pizza, when you’re on MSC you can’t pass it up. After all, this is an Italian line so you would expect perfect pizza and they deliver. All day long, they are cranking out huge pizzas that are simply fantastic. While the favorites are the thin round pies with the fresh San Marzano tomatoes, there are times during the day when they also offer a square Sicilian version that has a light, airy crust with the same fresh ingredients.
Diamond Cocktail Reception
As a Diamond loyalty program member, I was invited to a cocktail reception at 4:30pm in the afternoon. This event was attended by about 50 guests, Diamond is their top-tier loyalty level so numbers are generally lower and those who have attained that level are usually older and well-traveled. Upon arrival, the Captain and his senior officers welcomed each of us into the lounge where champagne, wine, and canapés were served.
One of the ship’s musicians and two dancers from the entertainment team provided entertainment.
The Captain gave a speech, formally introduced his staff, and they all mingled with us while a photographer was on hand to take a photo of each Diamond member in attendance.
Events like this are great ways to build loyalty.
Robotron!
Every ship has to have a gimmick and this one has Robotron. It’s a robotic arm that spins, turns, twirls and flips passengers 174 feet above water. Manufactured by KUKA, those who have been to Walt Disney World and visited EPCOT at some point, may have experienced the Sum of all Thrills, which is no longer there. At EPCOT the KUKA robot was used to take riders on a virtual ride of a roller coaster they designed themselves during the attraction’s pre-show. This same robotic technology is used at Universal Studios parks for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride, but those KUKA robots are mounted on roller coaster trains as opposed to being stationary.
Hours of operation during this cruise are:
- Saturday: 2pm – 7pm and 8pm – 10pm
- Sunday: 10am – 1pm, 3pm – 7pm, and 8pm – 10pm
- Monday: 3pm – 7pm and 8pm – 10pm
- Tuesday: 3pm – 7pm and 8pm – 10pm
- Wednesday: 3pm – 7pm and 8pm – 10pm
- Thursday: 10am – 1pm, 3pm – 7pm, and 8pm – 10pm
- Friday: 3pm – 7pm and 8pm – 10pm
I’m definitely going to check it out, but times haven’t aligned for me yet, but stay tuned!
Evening Entertainment: Premier
In the ship’s main showroom, the Chora Theatre, “Premier” is the name of the evening’s entertainment. Billed as an “exciting adventure where we set out for the bright lights of Hollywood! The show featured the the male and female leads singing songs from The Greatest Showman, Cinema Paradiso, Wizard of Oz, Rocky, Pretty Woman, and more. Their musical numbers were accompanied by dancers and projections on the large video screens which served as various backgroups for each song.
Reservations are required for the production shows and they can be made in the MSC for Me app. I’m not sure they’re really used tho, as once you show up for the theatre, there is one person scanning your room key or wristband, but others are just walking right in.
The show itself was much better than the one last night, however, despite rerquiring reservations, people were still coming in to the theatre more than half way through the performance and standing everywhere and sitting on steps. What made it worse was that many were having full blown conversations as if they were sitting at a bar rather than in a theatre. I have a few people dirty looks and even turned all the way around in my chair, but they didn’t care. Ignorance is commonplace and respect is nill these days.
However, MSC could do a better job with enforcing the reservations and closing the doors to the theatre once the show starts.
Captain’s Reception
The first sea day is always Gala Night, with the special Captain’s reception in which guests line up to have photos taken with him, followed by an introduction of the ship’s officers. It’s also the night of the Gala Dinner in the ship’s main dining room.
From 6pm – 7pm the Captain was stationed in the ship’s atrium and had a long line of those who wanted their picture with him. They actually ended up having to cut the line off as at 7pm he had to do his welcome speech. He’s quite a popular fella and is a comedian in his own right. He makes most of his own announcements throughout the day in a fun manner and has an incredible stage appearance. Many Captain’s don’t interact much with passengers, but our Captain is extremely outgoing and is visible around the ship quite a bit interacting with guests.
When I came back from the reception, in my room was a bottle of champagne on ice and a selection of macaroons!
Kaito Teppanyaki Dinner
For dinner, I used the second of two dining package credits I purchased for the ship’s Teppanyaki restaurant, Kaito. The restaurant offers lunch on sea days and two dinner seatings nightly, 7pm and 8:30pm. I had an 8:30pm reservation, which they request that you arrive 10 minutes prior. Once inside, the restaurant has eight teppanyaki tables.
The menu features different “packages” you can purchase each with a different price point. The Dining Package entitles you to the Senjo pacakge which has a sirloin as your main entree. For an additional $20 you can upgrade that to the next tier package that swaps out the sirloin for a filet. For an additional $40, you can opt for Waguy beef.
I went with the $20 upgrade, and is started off with a selection of fresh sushi.
Next up was the salad course followed by the miso soup.
While the main entree was being prepared, more seafood was presented which included whitefish, lobster, and scallops.
For the main course, my filet was cooked as I ordered it – blue, and it came with veggies and fried rice.
The meal ended with ice cream!
Throughout the evening, service was on-point with water glasses and beverages from the bar being delivered quickly. There was a birthday at our table so a cake was brought out and everyone at the table got a piece of it.
While the food and service was great, I just happened to be the only person who spoke English at my table! As I mentioned in my Day 1 report, MSC attracts an international clientele, since their roots are in Italy. My table mates all spoke French, so conversation was at a minimum between me and them. The one person who sat next to me spoke a little English, but not enough to have a conversation with.
Dinner lasted until a little after 10pm. It was a boat load of food to enjoy so I had to walk a lot of that off, so I spent some time walking the outside decks and checking out some of the late-night entertainment. Bars and lounges and entertainment go on till well after midnight, so there’s plenty of time to party before bed.
We’re scheduled to arrive in Falmouth, Jamaica at 9am tomorrow and we’re the only ship in port, so I’ll have more to share then!
As always, thanks for following along!