By: Shub Masood, Administrative Assistance
This summer, my parents, children, and I cruised along the Eastern Caribbean with MSC Cruises aboard their brand new ship, the Seaside. I was a little nervous about trying out a European cruise line, because I didn’t know if the service and other quality standards would be up to par with our American criterion, but we were so pleasantly surprised!
When I first boarded the ship, I noticed how shiny and new everything looked. The best way to describe the Seaside is “sparkly.” Everywhere you look, there were glossy, polished surfaces; from the Swarovski crystal staircase mid-ship, to the towering elevators, modern, metallic bars, furniture, and interior design. The gym is state-of-the-art, and although we only used it once, we thoroughly enjoyed it.
The food aboard the Seaside was surprisingly good. We really enjoyed the buffet and even the dining room had a different theme every night, with the waiters dressing according to the theme. My kids loved the “late night snack” time buffet from 11:30pm-1am. We went there every night, even if we weren’t hungry!
My absolute favorite part of the ship had to be the Chocolate Café.
It was a chocoholic’s dream, offering an array of scrumptious options— chocolate milkshakes, gelato, drinks, coffees, etc. Delicious!
The first port we visited in the Eastern Caribbean with MSC Cruises was the island of St. Maarten.
Though we didn’t purchase an excursion through the cruise line, we took a water taxi across to the beach and enjoyed swimming and jet skiing in the beautiful ocean.
There were also some nice jewelry and fresh juice stands in that port that we took advantage of.
Our next stop was San Juan, Puerto Rico. Here we visited Castillo San Cristobal, which a fort is built in the 1600’s.
This fort was built by Spain, and was key during the Spanish-American War. The views of the city from here are breathtaking. We then were given the opportunity to walk around Old San Juan and sample some delicious coffee and empanadas.
We then had a couple of days at sea in the Eastern Caribbean with MSC Cruises, and there were so many fun things to do. My son played basketball most of the time, but we also zip lined on the ship, saw movies up on deck, shopped in the duty free shops, and attended a silent disco. My dad said that the nightly shows on board were some of the best he has ever seen.
Our next and last port of call in the Eastern Caribbean with MSC Cruises was The Bahamas. We chose an excursion to Atlantis, and it was the one my kids were most looking forward to.
We took a bus to the resort and spent the day looking at aquariums and sliding down the countless waterslides, some of them ending in the shark tank.
The resort is beautiful, and this excursion, though a little pricey, was well worth it.
All in all, I would definitely sail on MSC’s Seaside again, and have recommended it to all my friends.
Shub Masood
Administrative Assistance