MSC Seaview

Amazing Ship from your Irish guests

Me and my family left yesterday from a wonderful week on this beautiful ship sailing around the Med. Our stops were all fantastic and we loved getting off everyday to see each city. We cannot fault a thing about the MSC Seaview, all staff were so friendly and so nice and nothing was ever a problem with anything. Our 2 daughters jusy loved the water park and the slides. The food and drink were both incredible. The entertainment was just amazing, it was non stop. The theatre shows were outstanding every night, the singers were top class. Our room was spotless, towels replaced everyday and the turn down service every evening was so nice all thanks to ELMER our cabin Stewart, deck 15, he was so friendly and always had a smile on his face so thank you. Our daughters said this was their best holiday. We will definitely be cruising again with MSC.

Come and Experience MSC for yourself

Like many other Americans, I was nervous about planning my dream birthday vacation with MSC. I often thought about canceling my trip after reading some scary reviews online, fearing that I would be disappointed. Many negative reviews about the food and concerns about the older ships made me hesitate. Despite this, I decided to book my trip eight months before the actual sailing date. Buffet Food: I found the buffet food satisfactory, but my rating might be different if I were of European descent. I would give it a 3.5 out of 5, whereas my recent experience with Celebrity's buffet food was only a 3. The decrease in food quality may be due to cost-cutting measures implemented by cruise lines. Here are the positives about the buffet: You will always be able to find fresh fruits and vegetables. Make a decent salad. There is always grilled chicken and fish available. MSC has fantastic pizza. You will not starve. I had a great experience with the drink package. The customer service at the buffet was excellent. I could immediately get drinks at the bars or buffet during the trip. The non-alcoholic drinks were terrific. There were always great pastries, cakes, and sweets. Specialty Dining - Superior Food and Excellent Customer Service I bought the 4-meal package for specialty dining. In the future, I plan to choose the specialty dining option for dinner every night on the cruise. The fantastic specialty dining experiences more than made up for any disappointments I had with the buffet. Specialty dining was excellent! Cabins Clean, comfortable, and quiet. Ship Clean and beautiful MSC has some of the most beautiful ships on the market. The smart elevators worked without issue. Even when everyone was on the ship, I did not feel overcrowded. My experience was similar to what I had experienced on other cruise lines. I love the SMART ship technology. Excursions - 5 out of 5 I bought all of our excursions from MSC before our cruise. After comparing prices with other cruise lines, I found MSC's excursions to be fairly priced. We did the e-bike tour through Rome, and it was amazing! Our tickets always arrived in our cabin the evening before our excursions, with clear information about where to meet and how to exit the ship. The excursion team's execution and professionalism were excellent. I had no issues. I noticed that the MSC staff cared about older people and their mobility issues and catered to their needs. Embarkation and debarkation were a breeze. It was Barcelona's best exit and entry experience, and I am a seasoned cruiser.

16 Night Grand Voyage Beyond Expectations

Our cruise aboard the MSC Seaview was a 16 night Grand Voyage from Rio to Barcelona and went beyond expectations. The staff in the Specialty restaurants went the extra distance and we appreciated it. Our room attendant Ellison was great and had a smile for us each day. Mario who was in charge of the main dining area and Silver Dolphin restaurant always took time from his busy schedule to say hi. Joao in Excursions was always cordial and his recommendations were spot on. Kim also says hello to Liza from Brazil and Ister from Bali in the main buffet who made us feel welcome. If I misspelt any names I apologize. We had a balcony suite and any requests were dealt with promptly. We were blessed with great weather and smooth sailing all the way. Looking forward to future cruises with MSC beginning with the MSC Seaside out of Miami next year.

A very good repositioning cruise from Italy to Brazil

A) Embarkation: MSC allows passengers to choose a timeframe for embarkation. It was very fast and efficient. We had 11:00 to 12:00, and by 11:40 AM we were already inside our cabin. B) Cabin: extremely comfortable. Large, modern, spacious. Sofa is quite big for a ship cabin. Wardrobe and storage are limited, which is a little tough for a long trip like ours. Bathroom is modern and efficient. Toiletries are very basic. C) Ship: large spaces, modern decor, quite contemporary. Nothing of the traditional “Las Vegas” style that plagued cruise ships for years. As we were only 3,000 passengers (for a nominal capacity of 4,100, which could be extended to 5,100 using the sofa beds), lounges never felt over crowded. D) Service: very attentive, professional. People from a variety of nationalities E) Loyalty Program: I matched my Hilton Honors Diamond status with MSC loyalty program. However, as I did it after checking in, I had to reissue my card on board. It took just a minute and they were able to later give me all the perks. The loyalty match is something that one should not miss. F) Main Restaurant Food: it was excellent, as we like Mediterranean. We usually asked appetizer, salad, pasta and a second main course, then desert. One could feel ingredients were of very high quality (olive oil, prosciutto - which we are tons, freshly made pasta). Ice cream is splendid. Outside Italian specialties it was a hit or miss. However, it is very continental in its flavor and presentation (a new fork and knife come for evens course, which is great). Food was far better than Cunard and, due the recent cost cutting at Celebrity, equal or often better to that company. G) Main Restaurant Times: they offer 3 dinner times: 6:30, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. We were allocated at 10:30, which is too late for us. I was able to change to 6:30, in which about half of the tables were empty, hence even better service. By the way, they open the main restaurant for lunch even in port days (what Celebrity does not do anymore). I did not buy any beverage packages, which are super expensive: there were several good wines at € 30/bottle in the wine list. We drank half a bottle during dinner, and waiters stored it for us so that we could finish it the day after. H) Buffets: there are 2 onboard, on decks 8 and 16. I really don't like buffets, so I am bias. Two good things: deck 8 has sizable outside areas, and pizza is very good. Pastries are also excellent: they make superb croissants (people waited in line for batches coming out of oven). Choice of Fruits and salads was somewhat limited , nevertheless we had them fresh all the way along the long ocean crossing. I) Theater Shows: theater is not very large, thus they do 3 shows per day, and one must pre book via the App. Their own productions are short but very good. Some guest artists were excellent, some I would pass. J) Fellow Passengers and General Atmosphere: this is a very special itinerary. Not only the ship was at reduced capacity, but about 80% of the passengers were Brazilians returning from Europe. Majority of people in the 50-60s range (all the children on board fit - literally - one of the panoramic elevators). As the ship was getting ready to do a several months season along the Brazilian coast, it is prepared for Brazilians: almost all the artists performing in the lounges are Brazilian and there is Brazilian music everywhere. Several members of the staff are also Brazilian (reception , shops). Portuguese and English were the most common languages, although all official announcements were also done in Spanish, Italian, French and German. Brazilians like to party, so lounges were full, people danced and had a good time. In the piano bar, a more sophisticated atmosphere with excellent music. Dress code is relaxed, although in the elegant nights we saw a a few gentlemen sporting a tuxedo, but majority had khakis and a long sleeved shirt. Ladies usually dressed up (even when dragging husbands on jeans and polo shirts :-) K) Disembarkation People who disembarked in Salvador later told me it was quite messy. We disembarked in Rio, and the Diamond card gave us priority: it was easy and efficient. All immigration proceedings were done by the crew as we sailed (so no passport checking lines). Bags were ready and well sorted in the terminal. L) What I did not like: * MSC tends to do things last minute: luggage tags only arrived the night before disembarkation, passports were only returned the day before disembarkation, excursion tickets only arrived the evening before, etc. * Public bathrooms are small and got dirty quite fast. Flooring on those bathrooms very slippery after cleaning * Lack of emphasis on hand disinfection. Majority of the sanitizer dispensers did not work * Internet works very well, but MSC charges an arm and a leg (we paid over $ 400.00 for 2) as the basic package is far too weak and one has to upgrade to have connectivity Conclusions: 1) MSC improved a lot since our last cruise in 2015 2) This was a very special trip, as ship was not full. I have no idea how it feels with full capacity and thousands of children roaming around. With 3,000 passengers the ship felt about right, with good and attentive service. 3) MSC is not for people who want to travel in distant places, but still feel they have never left Smallville, USA. It is very continental, it feels different than US based lines. 4) This specific route is for people who like Italian food and Brazilian culture, music and vibe. 5) In a ship that was not full, MSC felt as a premium line equal or better than Celebrity, Cunard or Holland. Far superior to Royal or Norwegian. Again, I cannot judge how it feels when ships are at full capacity