MSC Seascape First Impressions: 9 Things I Liked and Disliked About MSC’s 4th Seaside Class Ship

I have sailed all four MSC Cruises’ coastal class shipand MSC Seascape is the best.

Apart from a few restaurants with different names, it is almost a copy of its sister MSC Seashore, launching in 2021 as the first ship in the Seaside EVO (short for evolution) subclass. of the line.

That said, there are still some notable aspects that have caught my attention. From big compliments to minor quibbles, here are my likes — and dislikes — on this splendid 18-deck wonder.

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what i like

robot

robotThe arcade game with the robotic arm on deck 19, sounds like a gimmick at first, but it’s actually a lot of fun.

The trip has three people and offers three speeds — slow, medium and fast. It lifts riders into the air, twisting and spinning them to the beat of their pre-selected music.

Not only was it more thrilling than I expected, it also ran for about three minutes each and provided a near 360-degree view of the ship’s outdoor surroundings. It’s well worth the $10 per ride.

yacht club

The first time, I stayed in the MSC Yacht Club, a private area that you can only enter with a special keycard.

I was overwhelmed by sheer luxury and superior service, with my butler delivering daily newspapers and specialty coffees, handling spa reservations, and escorting me out to dinner each night.

A stay at the Yacht Club comes with extras like extra cabin space (all cabins are suites) and an exclusive restaurant, lounge, and sundeck with swimming pool and hot tub.

In addition to the nicer and semi-private dig facilities, cruisers have priority boarding and disembarkation, butler and concierge service, unlimited mini-bar drinks in the cabin, complimentary alcohol at the hotel. Topsail Lounge, fine dining menu, a complimentary bottle of spirits, private elevator access, exclusive theater seating and other perks.

Americanize

One of the biggest pain points for MSC Cruises In recent years it seems that they cannot understand what the Americans want as the company continues to build ships specifically aimed at the North American market. I’m happy to say that I think MSC Seascape represents an important shift in that area.

In addition to shorter dinners and larger servings in the on-board restaurants, service levels are also heightened, even outside of the Yacht Club. The waiters were more attentive, the waiters were friendlier and I noticed more smiles from the crew members around.

That’s not to say the service isn’t good for other ships, but it’s certainly European. That means dinners typically last two to three hours, waiters check in less frequently during meals to see what you might need, and service throughout is often more rude, almost aloof.

It looks like MSC may have started training the crew in a more American style of service.

familiar

As this is the fourth ship in the Seaside class and the second in the Seaside EVO class, this ship is very familiar.

Those who have rowed on other people, especially MSC coast, will find that MSC Seascape feels like home. You’ll board the train knowing exactly where to go, which means you won’t have to spend time figuring out your way around before enjoying your stay.

You’ll also find your favorite places — Jungle pool, waterslide, kids club, video games, Bridge of Sighs, buffet and restaurants — all in one place.

venchi

Speaking of favorite places to return, I would be remiss not to thank Venchi.

The chocolate-themed bar on Deck 6, named for its partnership with the famous Italian chocolatier, assumes its role on MSC Seascape. It offers some of the best coffee and hot chocolate drinks (with or without alcohol) I’ve ever tasted, along with both fresh candy and packet chocolate for purchase.

Even more impressive are the chocolate sculptures handcrafted by the craft team for all kinds of special occasions. On my trip, they erected a bonsai tree, an anchor, a slightly creepy Santa Claus and an image of Doremi, the yacht’s mascot.

Venchi also has a lovely seating area with high tables and stools that look like chocolate sandwich cookies. It can be noisy during rush hour, but is usually a great place to meet friends, check email or simply relax with a drink.

What I didn’t care for

The noise is almost constant

In keeping with MSC trim standards, the MSC Seascape is elegant to the max. It drips with chrome and crystal. However, the charm clashed sharply with the noise levels everywhere on board.

One night during my journey, I was having dinner at Hola!, a Mexican specialty restaurant, right near the skylight. My dinner friend and I jumped out of our seats when a stage performance suddenly started at a ridiculous volume that, to be honest, prevented us from talking at the end of the meal.

Elsewhere, it’s hard to find a quiet place to read or work, as the lounges all seem to have live music or decibel-shifted tunes that feel wildly out of place.

Smoke

Smoking is allowed on board only in designated outdoor areas and in the casino. However, the ability to filter the air is not good at the back, which means that the smell enters the skylight, causing a slightly unpleasant experience for those who do not light.

Also, due to the casino’s central location, passengers are forced to walk through it to get from one end of the deck to the other unless they choose to go up or down the deck.

Given the smoky state of the area, I smelled of cigarettes for the rest of the night after just passing for 15 seconds on my way to the theater.

Capacity problem

Although my ride was not at capacity — only 3,065 passengers out of a possible 5,632 when all terminals were full — many seats felt crowded and couldn’t seem to handle the number of passengers. cruiser on board.

For example, the Times Square lounge, just outside Venchi on Deck 6, hosts many trivia sessions on rough seas, but there’s never enough room for everyone. Twice, I had to go around the corner and sit at one of the tables in Venchi as I filled out my answer sheet.

In addition, the ship has the same type of digital elevator button that MSC Seashore deployed when it launched.

The system that forces you to choose your floor before boarding and then assigns you a specific vehicle based on traffic, doesn’t work on Seashore and it doesn’t work on Seascape either.

In some cases, the screen would tell me my car would arrive in 20 seconds and then, inexplicably, updating to read it would take two minutes.

In one particularly nasty case, I was forced to walk from Deck 15 to Deck 6 – nine decks, 18 flights of stairs – in high heels because my estimated elevator wait time was a staggering four minutes.

Disposable utensils

I’ll admit that I’m not always as environmentally conscious as I should be. However, with how many cruise lines have touted their green initiatives, I pay particular attention to things like disposables when I’m sailing.

MSC Cruises makes a point of promoting its green efforts through The Foundation, its charity, which aims to protect oceans and wildlife, among others.

The airline has also used its private island Ocean Cay as a marine clean-up project and pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050 as part of a larger industry effort led by the Cruise Lines International Association, a organization supporting the tourism industry.

However, I noticed on MSC Seascape that the daily programs are still printed and left in each cabin nightly, along with brochures for shore excursions, spa rates, etc.

Plastic straws are still used for drinking and disposable butter chips are provided in the dining room during meals.

I was also quite shocked to find out that Hola! The Mexican restaurant on board provides cloth napkins but does not reuse them. Instead, they are thrown away after each meal. (A new dish comes with each, so I had five of them at the end of my meal.)