We’re on the final two days of our eastern Caribbean cruise on MSC Seaside and Day 6 saw us at sea en route to Nassau, Bahamas – a port I always question why cruise lines still visit.
High crime rates, and not much to do except be harassed in the straw market, or head to Atlantis to blow money in the casino. When MSC opens their private island, Ocean Cay, this January the Nassau will no longer be a port of call, I’ve been told.
Frankly, there is no reason to visit Nassau and most cruise passengers know this and spend the day onboard rather than venturing off the ship.
The final sea day of the cruise saw us chilling out and relaxing in a private cabana on the Yacht Club pool deck – an amenity well worth the price, $99 on a sea day, $59 on a port day. As mentioned earlier, the cabanas come with two lounge chairs, a table, storage, a cooler stocked with your favorite beverages, and the attentive service of your butler.
When you’re not relaxing, you can take a few steps outside the cabana and hit up the pool, sit at the bar, or grab something to eat from the grill. That’s pretty much what we did for most of the day, except for some time going around the ship exploring areas we didn’t get to visit.
Once again, the weather was wonderful… a light breeze kept the heat from the blazing sun at bay, but it certainly does tire you out! After all, a long day of doing nothing, coupled with the heat, makes one want to take a nap – which is exactly what I did for about an hour.
Throughout the day, our butler brought us food – fresh fruit and pastries in the morning, chocolate-covered strawberries in the afternoon, lunch from the grill, and at 3pm fresh sushi, chips and salsa, and some Italian meats and cheeses.
Other than that, there isn’t much to report about the afternoon!
Around 5pm, I headed back to our suite to grab a cigar and head out to the outdoor deck adjacent to the Top Sail Lounge in the Yacht Club. With a glass of Johnny Walker in one hand and a Cohiba in the other, a pre-dinner cocktail and a smoke were what kept me occupied for the next hour. During this time, I had that entire area to myself – a welcome relief from the craziness that was going around in other areas of the ship where crowds of people were everywhere.
The evening show was called Fly and was another song and dance show, this time minus the roller skaters, that featured Broadway tunes, some classics, and of course, the cast of Cirque performers who performed acts and danced in the background as the singers did their thing.
As noted in yesterday’s report, I wasn’t a fan of the previous night’s show, but tonight brought the entertainment level back up a notch as it was a good show with familiar songs and entertaining dancing and performances – albeit all the shows are a bit strange.
Upon leaving the theatre I noticed my cell phone wasn’t with me – damn-it I said, I lost my passport card yesterday, I wasn’t going to lose my cell phone tonight! Thankfully I found it under the seat I had in the theatre.
In the ship’s dining room and in the Yacht Club Restaurant, lobster was the main attraction and formal was the suggested attire for the evening.
We passed on both.
Dinner for us was going to be around two in the ship’s steakhouse, Butcher’s Cut. Many of the ship’s staff were questioning our reasoning for missing lobster night, but after the two nights of disappointing meals in the Yacht Club Restaurant, we decided to forgo it.
We chose the $39 Steakhouse Experience package that allowed us three courses from the fixed-price menu. For appetizers, we chose the shrimp cocktail and the tomato bisque soup with grilled cheese.
The shrimp cocktail once again was good with nice size firm shrimp and a spicy cocktail sauce. The tomato bisque was a very large portion that had a smoky taste – but the accompanying grilled cheese did not have the cheese melted…hmmm.
For entrees, we went with the 8oz filet mignon and a 14oz New York sirloin. Both were cooked to our desired temperatures, were seasoned perfectly, and were simply delicious once again. The steaks came with four different sauces, but they weren’t needed as the meat was flavorful on its own.
Sides tonight included jalapeno creamed corn and brussels sprouts.
In keeping with the theme of the lobster night, we added a 7oz Maine lobster tail to our steaks for an additional $18 each. Sweet, tender, and delicious.
There was no room for dessert once again.
After dinner, we walked around the ship and stopped at the Seaside Bar in the ship’s beautiful atrium where huge video screens that span three decks provide visual stimulation and give life to this vibrant hub of activity. It was also the first bar I found that had Fernet which was my choice of after-dinner cocktail.
Most of the public areas of the ship were busy with people dancing and enjoying a few nightcaps – we joined in, stopping at the ship’s disco – the Garage Club only to find a handful of people and not much going on as the “action” was happening elsewhere around ship.
A few more drinks and it was back to our stateroom where I caught up on the day’s events via CNN and wondered just what that network is going to report on once Trump is out of office!
Well, I won’t go there!
Our final port of call is Nassau as I mentioned earlier, and the ship arrived here around 7:30am. We depart and head back to Miami at 4pm where tomorrow morning it’s back to reality as we get the heave-ho at 7am so a fresh group of passengers can start their adventure just as ours ends on MSC Seaside.
Personal Day-By-Day MSC Seaside Cruise Review:
Photo Tour of MSC Seaside
My Photo Tour of 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.