MSC SEASIDE Reviews

MSC Seaside, August 31–September 4.

The buffet was the one bright spot — decent variety, food that actually tasted like food. The main dining room was the opposite: bland, overcooked, and the lasagna everyone raves about was a sad, soggy mess. Staff was polite but nowhere near Royal Caribbean's level — slower, less attentive, more "we'll get to you eventually."

The beach party at the lighthouse was a disaster. Two guests showed up with a massive personal speaker and cranked it over the beach party's own music. Fifteen to twenty-five guests sitting around us had to get up and move — their whole evening ruined. I complained to at least seven different employees. Their answer? "We asked them to turn it down." That's it. The app explicitly states no personal speakers are allowed on the ship or at Ocean Cay. Yet MSC sells personal speakers in the onboard gift shop. So the company profits from the product while banning its use. When I asked the customer service rep what would happen if I bought one from their own gift shop, set it on the bar, and cranked it — he stared at me like a deer in headlights. He couldn't answer, because there is no answer. The rule exists on paper, the product is sold on board, and enforcement is a shrug.

I logged a formal complaint through the MSC Concierge app, naming the exact location — First Beach Shack Bar — twice. The bot confirmed speakers aren't part of the event setup, said it flagged Cruise Entertainment, and told me to point a crew member at the spot or dial 99. The crowd was already leaving. The music kept playing. I have video of the speaker drowning out the official music. After disembarking, I spoke with several other guests in the customs line who were at the same beach party. All of them were complaining about the same speaker. This wasn't one passenger's complaint — it was a widespread problem MSC failed to address.

When I went to follow up, the customer service rep offered me a free meal at a Japanese restaurant. I don't eat Japanese food. I told him my favorite spot on the whole cruise was Ola Tacos and asked for a complimentary meal there. He said it was completely booked. I walked past that restaurant a handful of times that evening — there were maybe three people in it and a wall of empty tables. It was not booked. That was a lie to avoid giving me the one thing I actually wanted. They also tried to deliver a romantic gift package — chocolates and wine — to my cabin, which I was sharing with my daughter. I declined. When I returned to customer service, the rep offered me a photo package I'd already paid for. Those photos were already printed. Offering me inventory they were going to throw in the trash isn't compensation — it's a dump.

The photo desk itself was a joke. A staff member pointed at a kiosk, shook his finger, and walked off. Another couple had to show us how it worked. When I went to pick up my prints, I stood there twenty minutes while they couldn't find them. I asked about express disembarkment at the photo kiosk — the app told me to ask there. She said she couldn't help, sent me to the excursion desk. That lady said no, go back to customer service. I bounced between desks until I gave up and walked off the boat when I felt like it.

Ola Tacos was genuinely good — best meal of the cruise. The Fun Pass is a ripoff — only a handful of attractions and the credit burns fast — but I still had fun with it. The room had a loud hum like a humpback whale on night one, but they fixed it the same day, fast and professional. That part I respect.

Our cabin attendant Jordan was the actual star of this cruise — friendly, always in the hallway, handled every request, kept the room spotless. He earned his tip personally. The photographer who took our photos was a hero too. One named hero, a pile of named failures.

Decent ship, decent itinerary, but the food, the noise, and the runaround dragged it down. Won't be back.