seaside park yacht club reviews

Seaside Park Yacht Club

Location & hours.

Suggest an edit

Seaside Park, NJ 08752

You Might Also Consider

School of Rock

9.4 miles away from Seaside Park Yacht Club

Music Programs for Kids and Teens

in Performing Arts, Musical Instruments & Teachers

Recommended Reviews

1 star rating Not good
2 star rating Could’ve been better
3 star rating OK
4 star rating Good
5 star rating Great

Select your rating

Overall rating

There it is! There is the 78 footer that I will never own, but thanks for allowing me to drool while in your club. This is a cool place to hang and check out the boats and learn how to sail. It has dining events and social gatherings for the locals. They don't accept cash, and instead you use a card that is affiliated with your account, which you can't get unless you are a member, which you can't become until you get nominations from other members. I wonder if Judge Smails is a member.

Browse Nearby

Restaurants

Things to Do

Booze Cruise

Limo Service

Social Clubs Near Me

People found Seaside Park Yacht Club by searching for…

Social Events in Seaside Park

Other Social Clubs Nearby

Find more Social Clubs near Seaside Park Yacht Club

Yacht Clubs

Seaside Park Yacht Club

seasideparkyachtclub.com

209 S. Bayview Avenue

P.O. Box 428

Seaside Park , NJ 08752

(732) 793-9611

Located on Barnegat Bay on the barrier island town of Seaside Park, New Jersey, SPYC was founded in 1899, beginning with a series of Sneak Box races for large cash prizes that evolved into first a Sneak Box owners club and soon afterward the Seaside Park Yacht Club.

From the Commodore:

“The Seaside Park Yacht Club is pleased to continue its commitment to our sailing tradition by becoming a Founding Member of the National Sailing Hall of Fame. The promotion of the spirit of sailing as a sport dates back to the Seaside Park Yacht Club’s founding in 1899, which was home to some of the earliest formal yacht racing contests in the United States. Our members have continued to honor and expand the tradition of the earliest races, and are delighted to join the NSHOF in the furtherance of sailing through recognition of its history and its future.”

Marilyn Lennon, Commodore

The Seaside Park Yacht Club (SPYC) owes its birth to Henry J. West of Gloucester, N.J., who inaugurated a series of sneak box races on Barnegat Bay for large cash prizes. The principal contenders in these races were the Life Guards who manned the then “Life Saving Stations,” which eventually became the United States Coast Guard stations.

The starting line was at the present Public Dock in Seaside Park and the course was the same as the present SPYC Course, except perhaps that it was longer, from the Public Dock to Westray’s Point to the Drawbridge to the Public Dock, four times around.

As a result of these races it was often suggested by the Captains that an Association of Sneak Box Owners be formed and that a club house be erected at the foot of the Public Dock. These discussions took place in the basement of the Cottage owned by Henry J. West and later by SPYC Commodore Robert Wolstenholme at the corner of 5th Avenue and the Bay. Later that year (1899) a meeting of all the cottage owners and yachtsmen in Seaside Park was held at the home of John Weaver and the Seaside Park Yacht Club was formed.

John Weaver was elected the first commodore and the Board of Directors was composed of the leading yachting enthusiasts such as Henry J. West; Harry B. Wyeth; John E. Creth; Dr. George H. Thacher; George S. Gandy and Harvey T. Weber.

The club house was built and soon expanded and boating boomed to an unprecedented degree in Seaside Park. As the area developed, the spirit of yacht racing grew and a series of contests between other early clubs: Island Heights, Bay Head, Mantoloking and Lavallette soon began. The older Toms River Yacht Club resurrected the Toms River Challenge Cup, which had been inaugurated in 1871. Barnegat Bay took on a racing fever unsurpassed in the annals of yacht racing.

SPYC, with its fleet of famous racing yachts, such as “Tsar”; “Mermaid”; “Lazy Jack”; “Another Old Maid”; “Fran Roy”; “Dorothy,” and others, swept everything before it. All along the Atlantic Seaboard, Barnegat Bay became known as the home of the world’s fastest catboats.

SPYC and other clubs on the Bay have played and continue to play an important role in the development of yacht racing in the United States. Barnegat Bay and SPYC are home to some of the earliest formal yacht racing contests in the nation and all the BBYRA clubs continue to honor that tradition in the annual contests that incorporate the old and the new. The Sewell Cup was presented as a perpetual trophy in 1900 by the then United States Senator from New Jersey, William J. Sewell and is still raced for every year. In later years the Rodman Wanamaker Trophies, the Middleton Cup (1921), the Morgan Cup, Stanger Cup, Wolstenholme Trophy, Doan Cup, Chance Cup, Thatcher Cup (1927) and others were offered.

The social features of the club are many. Over the years entertainments provided by the club members were many and varied. Cabarets, dances, card parties, and musical entertainments were staged every Friday and Saturday evening. The social program at Seaside Park and its delightful Club house were so popular in the ’30’s and ’40’s that the Seaside Park Yacht Club marina was filled with visiting boats from other Clubs who came for the swing bands and dancing on the deck on Saturday nights.

SPYC continues to hold a special place in the hearts of all BBYR sailors who traditionally wrap up the “official” sailing season on the Seaside Park Course on Labor Day weekend. Upholding tradition and creating new traditions on “Race Day” is a glorious finale to a summer well spent racing on the Bay.

For more information on SPYC History please contact: Joan Horvath Leach – Historian

Quick Links

Getting Here

The Sailing Museum & Hall of Fame

365 Thames Street

Newport, RI 02840

401.324.5761

[email protected]

Seaside Park Yacht Club

Play in the heart of downtown baltimore, marina info.

In Seaside Park, New Jersey, Seaside Park Yacht Club is based at Bay Front. NJ boaters can always be found in the waters of Seaside Park. No reviews by any members for Seaside Park Yacht Club have been submitted. Contact Seaside Park Yacht Club at 732-793-9611.

Location Info

Mega Yacht Slips

Fuel Prices

Payment types.

Max Length (ft):

Approach depth (ft): , dock depth (ft):.

Reviews: Seaside Park Yacht Club-PRIVATE

These are observations from the boating community. Waterway Guide information is verified regularly and all efforts will be made to validate any new updates submitted here. Thank you for taking the time to share comments about your experience.

Waterway Guide reserves the option of editing reviews and comments for grammar, clarity and the removal of defamatory or potentially slanderous language. When appropriate, reviews are forwarded to businesses for response prior to being made public. We will make every effort to be objective and impartial when posting reviews, but do not publicize details of disputes between parties.

Seaside Park Yacht Club-PRIVATE

Bay Front Seaside Park, NJ 08752 MM 15.5

Lat / Lon : N 39° 55.320' / W 074° 04.940'
Contact : Kathy Buerle
Phone : (732) 793-9611
Email : [email protected]
Website : http://seasideparkyachtclub.com

Current Review Policies

Comments are reviewed and/or verified by Waterway Guide staff and do not post immediately. Please use a valid email address so that we can contact you if we need clarification (email address will not be published).
Name will be published. Anonymous comments may not be posted.
Comments will be shared with the reviewed marina to offer them an opportunity to respond. If they choose to do so, the marina’s comments may also be posted in response to the original comment.
Comments containing foul or obscene language will be rejected or returned for resubmission.
Comments containing personal attacks will be rejected or returned for resubmission.
Off-topic content will be rejected.
Comments must describe commenter's personal experience – “hearsay” reports will be rejected.
Comments must be understandable and clear enough to inform other boaters.
URL links are allowed only if they inform the content – no “advertising” your business or blog.

Review this Business

The name field is required.

The email field is required.

LOA is required.

Draft is required.

The rating field is required.

The comments field is required.

Download The App
Destinations
Knowledge Center

Apple Sign-In

Sign up to get Navigation Alerts and News delivered to your inbox!

Invalid Email

Invalid Captcha

Check out our latest newsletter

Newsletter Sign-Up

The "kitchen" on a cruising boat is referred to as the .

The captcha question was answered incorrectly.

The email is invalid. Please close the modal window and try again.

Signing-up...

MSC Cruises

An insanely detailed Seaside Yacht Club Review!

By Dr. Cocktail , March 3, 2018 in MSC Cruises

Dr. Cocktail

I recently sailed on the beautiful MSC Seaside in the Yacht Club with my partner and two friends. We sailed in an exterior suite while our friends had an interior “suite”.

Boarding: A hot mess

The new Terminal in Miami has a beautiful, curved driveway that goes to the main entrance. Too bad that security has closed this off so that they drop you off well past said entrance. In fact, if you take UBER, they drop you off even further. No problem as the stevedores are there to take your bags.

However - the location of the Yacht Club Tent? You guessed right - immediately next to the main entrance. Therefore, Yacht Club passengers actually have to drag their bags the furthest to board. Once there, the shoreside “butlers” guide you through security and up to the VIP check-in.

Continental Drift is faster than this process. In fact, we sat there for half-an-hour watching general boarding begin as the two ladies checked in a dozen or so passengers. MSC - are you reading this? It would be far more efficient to check Yacht Club in with everyone else in the fast moving general line and then move those guests to the VIP lounge.

We walked on ourselves and as I had studied the deck map, guided us to the forward elevators.

We went to the Yacht Club and were greeted by the Yacht Club manager - one of the few times that we saw him all week.

There was a general din as people lined up to speak to the Concierge, register their credit cards and reserve dinner with Luigi. As we knew what to do, we did what we had to but our friends commented on how NO information was provided. They really were, “WT#?!”

They flat-out told me/asked me: “This is supposed to be luxurious?”.

I don’t want to do a running comparison but in The Haven, the Concierge welcomes you and then tells you when your room will be ready, where and when you can have lunch and outlines the features of the Haven.

We then went to the Top Sail, had the first of many (many)(like, a lot) of cocktails and settled in.

I also was pleased to see that my good friend Nick (Nicholas Feuillatte) was on board and over the week, we had a lot of pleasant times together.

Our first lunch was excellent (lots of hugs and laughs with Arthur) and all was now good.

Accomodations

Our first impression was excellent - extremely large, plush, a restful (if a bit too brown) colour scheme and TONS of storage. Loved the self-lighting closets. We took two suitcases and could have easily unpacked a third.

The lighting was good but I would have liked a dimmer or switch that provided more options.

While we never watch TV, for those who do it is mounted in an awkward position for either the sitting area or the bed. It would be better to have it on a moveable mount. As it is now, the mounting apparatus made a lot of noise during the night with the ship moving as much as it did.

As others have commented, Seaside does move a lot. I don’t know if its because of her intrinsic design or because the Caribbean has been unusually windy these past few months.

The bathroom was huge, dripping in marble with tons of storage and a fantastic, glass walled walk-in shower with a rainshower head.

My only quibble was that the shower door opened into the room - easier for getting in but one always seemed to get a ton of water on the floor afterwards.

Still - an elegant, spacious and comfortable space.

Interior Design: a mixed bag

The interior design was interesting as while the decor was quite striking, the size and placement of rooms was far from ideal.

I loved the colours, surfaces and textures and the recurring motif of slashed and angular lines.

Unfortunately, many of the spaces were too large or too small for the needs that they served. As an example, people were literally overflowing in the Piazza Grande which was one of the few lounges to offer live music (more on that later) The spaces around the atrium such as the Champagne Bar, however, felt like they were in the middle of a shopping mall. The walkways bisected the areas removing any intimacy with people constantly walking by.

The entrance to the theater appeared to be an afterthought with a couple of zigs after the elevator lobby. There was no space for those who were waiting for the following show.

As the MSC ships become ever larger, they really must focus and concentrate on passenger movement and flow and where people are likely to go. While I’m not a fan of the overall product, this is an area that Royal Caribbean excels at.

Entertainment

I always divide entertainment into two categories - mainstage and lounges.

We enjoyed the almost nightly 10:30 “recitals” with soprano, tenor, violinist and pianist. While it wasn’t necessary Conservatory quality, it was a great addition to “usual” cruise ship offerings.

We only saw one show, Timeless, that was the usual MSC drug-induced, hallucinatory craziness. Time travel, Micheal Jackson and the American National Anthem. Why? Dunno.

The Yacht Club had very good performers but there were extremely looooooooooong breaks between performances.

The lounge entertainment is a definite step down from Divina … there are far fewer small lounges and there really wasn’t a lot happening. What is such a refreshing change from much of the industry on Divina is all that live entertainment

A telling change is in the Daily on Seaside - Divina would have a list of the various live events happening whereas Seaside doesn’t for the likely reason that there isn’t that much happening. Any event with live performers was ridiculously overcrowded as there was so little to choose from.

Cleanliness

I made this a separate category as this is the first ship I’ve been on where it has to be a category. Seaside uses many mirrors and reflective surfaces and many were covered in fingerprints and smudges. We were surprised at how sparkling the Yacht Club wasn’t. The Yacht Club elevator was always one gigantic smear. You NEVER saw anyone cleaning the staircases, elevators or glass walls and mirrors. It’s obvious that they just have really cut back on maintenance staff.

The food in the Yacht Club Dining Room, with one or two exceptions, was miles above that served on Divina. Much higher quality ingredients and far better preparation.

We dined at all of the specialty restaurants. We bought a dining package but then frequently went off script and paid the difference.

We had a superb lunch at Bistrot La Boheme. We were the only patrons present but the food (prefab pate notwithstanding…) was superb. Hot, fresh and great.

Butchers Cut was an enjoyable train wreck. Disorganized, loud and chaotic but with excellent food when it finally arrived. Portions were ridiculously large and dinner took over 2 and a half hours.

Roys was excellent - while not necessarily as excellent as one of their land based restaurants, pretty darn good for a cruise ship with one notable exception (details below!)

Ocean Cay was ….stupendous. Like, jaw-droppingly good. The decor was contemporary elegant and there were only 7 tables being served.

The meal package includes starter, main and dessert. We asked if we could have two starters and skip dessert and the initial answer was no but after checking with the Specialty Restaurant Manager, an exception was made.

I’m going into overdetail here because it was so superb. We started with the Crab Sampler (cold) that consisted of about 246 pounds (OK, I exaggerate here) of simple but beautiful crab legs and claws. This was followed by a dozen oysters (ridiculously generous) and finally perfectly prepared sea bass.

A meal like this on land would easily cost between one and two hundred dollars per person without alcohol.

The generally available wines and liquors in the Yacht Club and elsewhere were excellent …. FAR superior to what is provided in the Haven on NCL. I literally (and embarrassingly) went through a LOT of bottles of Nicholas Feuillatte.

To Smell or Not to Smell, That is the Question

The general tone on these boards about *ahem* “the smell” on these boards can roughly be translated to: “you stink”, “NO, YOU STINK”!

I was so excited to go on Seaside that I boarded completely forgot the issue. Now, I am not one to sit still and frequently go for walks to simply enjoy the ship and people watch. I am frequently accompanied by the Cocktail-of-my-choice and can be readily identified by my Golden-retriever-like happy face and big smile. Let’s just say, I love being on ships!

On the second day I was doing my rounds and walked by the Forest Aquaventure Park and literally stopped dead in my tracks. I was immediately transported back almost 50 years to Northern Ontario where my parents and I would go to their friend’s cottage and spend a week.

In those days, we would walk the path to the outhouse or privy when nature called.

Imagine if an outhouse exploded inside a tent. It was truly vile.

I turned on my heel and raced back to find my partner.

Now, as anyone in a long-time relationship knows, if you smell something truly terrible, you MUST find your spouse and make them smell said object. He was happily relaxing in the Yacht Club when I told him we HAD to go for a walk. After a bit of protest, he accompanied me and reached the same spot when/where his jaw dropped.

Now, anyone watching would have wondered who the two lunatics were as we were laughing hysterically, generally saying: “that’s the worst thing I ever smelled, Oh, that’s horrible, I heard it was bad but I didn’t think it was that bad”. We continued laughing and went back for more restorative beverages.

Over the course of the week, the odour would ebb and flow there and in the atrium, our friend’s inside Yacht Club Suite and most glaringly, at Roy’s.

My were on our way to dinner at Roy’s when I ran into Robert, the Specialty Restaurant Manager who we know from Divina. Everyone went ahead while I caught up with him.

When I got to our table, everyone had a wry smile and appeared to be waiting for me.

I asked: “what’s going on”, sat down and said: “holy &@^@&^” - it smelled like we were have dinner inside The Bowel Reconstruction Unit. Our friends wanted to leave but I wanted to speak to a staff member first. At that moment, the sommelier stopped by and asked if everything was ok. I leaned in and stated in sotto voce: “everything’s great but there seems to be an odour problem”. He became immediately serious and asked if we would move to the back of the restaurant. I said “of course” and the back corner was much less odiferously challenging.

To clarify, this was only over a week ago so yes, there are still some serious problems. You can check my signature … ships always have different mystery smells and unpleasant odours but nothing like this.

I really feel it is related to the ship’s speed and wind conditions. This may be while some encounter “the Force” and others don’t. Hopefully, a solution will be found in the coming weeks or months.

Spa and Gym

A 100% complete and utter First World disaster.

The gym appears to be huge but with the number of passengers (and frankly, active passengers from Europe) the gym is not nearly large enough by half. Many of the cardio machines are not working and there are no sign-up sheets for equipment so it’s a free-for-all when one becomes available.

Towels must be signed out (ridiculous) and there are no disinfectant wipes for the equipment available - just two (2)(deux)(due) spray bottles with paper towel (ridiculous and unsanitary).

The garbage cans were overflowing and during one workout, no one went to clean up the spilled cup of coffee sprayed over the gym floor.

One must sign into the spa depending on who’s manning the desk. Ridiculous again.

They then give you one Dollar Tree towel that you MUST return to get your key card back.

The change room accomplishes a miracle … while NOT providing you with towels, the floor is still covered with used towels and is messy and dirty.

Now, anyone using the spa has already “paid” in one way or another …. Just give us some *($^&*#&$&* towels!

The spa itself is dark with puddles of water everywhere. The therapy pool has many hidden levels - they should set up a second therapy pool to take care of the injuries you will get from using the first pool. The area is filled with rattan loungers in every corner - as if you wanted to lie in that dark, dank and unpleasant environment to relax.

MSC - please - board Breakaway/Getaway/Escape and walk through the spa and see how it’s done with lots of towels, coffee, tea, filtered and flavoured waters and tons of heated lounge chairs. Oh, and NCL has towels. Have I mentioned that yet?

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can honestly say that in a 7 night cruise, I never encountered a single staff member who didn’t smile, laugh or ask how I was doing. Just lovely people. Now, I am a firm believer in how an ounce of honey is worth a pound of vinegar so crew may respond to that. Or, they’re just great in any case!

So, the ship sorta’ smells and isn’t the cleanest, the entertainment is lacking and the spa sucks.

Would I go back?

In a heartbeat.

The crew are working hard, the ship is beautiful, the suites are excellent, the food is great but there are definitely problems.

For a ship that was only 10 weeks old and is not only a prototype for MSC but for the entire industry, however, they are doing a fine job. The true test will be in the coming months to see whether they can wrestle all of the problems under control.

For the Yacht Club, the value is unbelievable and unmatched in the industry.

I had actually booked three (!) Seaside Yacht Club cruises because of the great deals available and the increasingly insane prices in The Haven.

I plan on going on each and every one!

Link to comment

Share on other sites.

Enjoyed your review, very much.

A few questions:

Embarkation. I don't understand. When we were on Divina we were brought to a room, registered, had wine/champagne and then a butler brought us to the YC. I don't think we even saw the other passengers, so we wouldn't have known if they were moving faster than us or not. How is this different? BTW, who's Luigi.?

Were you Black Card?

We are. We might just do one specialty.

If you had to choose just one, which one would it be?

What about the pool area? How was it? Crowded?

Thanks again.

We're on her in July.

Booboochase

Dr. Cocktail, that was by far the most entertaining, hilarious, informative review I have ever read. Thank You!! Can I just say, I hope you are on our cruise in Jan of 2019 in the Yacht Club! Bravo.

Really enjoyed the review! Too bad about your boarding experience. Ours was pretty quick and it really made you feel special, as we were escorted all the way from dropping off the luggage up to the YC, where we were introduced to one of the Concierges who explained everything, and then a butler took us to our cabin. It was really nice and I have to say far superior to what we experienced in the Haven where we had to wait in long security lines along with everyone else.

I was also lucky enough not to encounter any smells, enjoyed the spa more than you, found the ship to be quite clean, but found the food much less appetizing than you. Mediocre at best.

Two things we certainly agree upon, I would return in a heartbeat and I do feel the YC is one of the best bargains and values in cruising right now.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts, in an entertaining way!

Two Wheels Only

I'll be on the ship in 3 months.....I have no idea of what to expect. :o

....but I promise to give a review when I get back. :D

Enjoyed your review..... Question...What time did you arrive at the pier/terminal?? I'm getting the impression early afternoon based on the crowds you mentioned.

Terrific review, thanks much!

Enjoyed reading this very much. We seemed to have faired a little better on our sailing. Easy boarding (not yc, but black card/casino guest). We felt so bad for the crew that we saw constantly cleaning all the glass and chrome(beautiful but so hard to keep fingerprintless- I like that word).

We loved all the shows, and wished we had more time at Butcher's Cut. Glad we never encountered the smell, but spent alot of time in the casino. Agree, all the staff was wonderful-must be extremely difficult to get everybody working as a team, and they were doing a fantastic job.

We are sailing again in April, hoping again for no smells and terrific staff.

Thanks again for your review-great reading

Safe sailing

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

This is an excellent review/report.

Enjoyed your review, very much. A few questions: Embarkation. I don't understand. When we were on Divina we were brought to a room, registered, had wine/champagne and then a butler brought us to the YC. I don't think we even saw the other passengers, so we wouldn't have known if they were moving faster than us or not. How is this different? BTW, who's Luigi.? No one was available to take us right onto the ship. They took us as far as the gangway. Luigi is the Maitred' Were you Black Card? Yes We are. We might just do one specialty. If you had to choose just one, which one would it be? No question - Ocean Cay What about the pool area? How was it? Crowded? Crowded but always chairs available Casino? That's that place where they take your money and hold it for safekeeping? Sorry - wouldn't know! Thanks again. We're on her in July. :D

Totally my pleasure - I'm looking for positive changes this fall!

Really enjoyed the review! Too bad about your boarding experience. Ours was pretty quick and it really made you feel special, as we were escorted all the way from dropping off the luggage up to the YC, where we were introduced to one of the Concierges who explained everything, and then a butler took us to our cabin. It was really nice and I have to say far superior to what we experienced in the Haven where we had to wait in long security lines along with everyone else. I was also lucky enough not to encounter any smells, enjoyed the spa more than you, found the ship to be quite clean, but found the food much less appetizing than you. Mediocre at best. Two things we certainly agree upon, I would return in a heartbeat and I do feel the YC is one of the best bargains and values in cruising right now. Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts, in an entertaining way!

Thanks for your nice comments! I think that they were aware that they had kept us waiting for so long so they just wanted us on board. It would have been an even longer wait to get someone who could take us right up.

I also feel that at present, every week will present a different experience as there appears to be a certain lack of consistency. Now, of course, we're all different but it's more than that. We both appear to have large and varied experiences on different ships. We were on Eurodam 8 weeks before Seaside and MSC's food compared extremely favourably. Many discussed the lobster tails available at The One Grill and how dried out everything was. No tails on our cruise but all the different cuts of chicken, lamb and fish grilled to perfection.

Again, likely teething pains.

Enjoyed your review..... Question...What time did you arrive at the pier/terminal?? I'm getting the impression early afternoon based on the crowds you mentioned. Thanks

We got there before 11 am ... that's why we were so frustrated. We were among the first to arrive only to see general boarding begin while we were waiting....

Booboochase, Clarea, spidybabe,Keith1010 - Thanks!

Loved your review. Mark and I enjoyed meeting you on the Hurricane Irma Divina cruise. We both laughed about you going to get your partner so they could smell the odor as well. This is something we would most certainly do.

We are booked in November on Seaside so we have a ways to go; hopefully some of these "features" will be resolved by them. Any chance one of your next 3 Seaside cruises is Nov 10?

Thanks for the review. This is one of the most well balanced reviews that I have read.

Boarding seems like one of the few (very few) areas where non-YC is getting better reviews than YC cabins. Most are reporting general boarding is very quick whereas a few have reported YC boarding as a little slow. With the increased number of YC rooms on the Seaside, I wonder if they have increased on number of staff at check-in?

Loved your review. Mark and I enjoyed meeting you on the Hurricane Irma Divina cruise. We both laughed about you going to get your partner so they could smell the odor as well. This is something we would most certainly do. We are booked in November on Seaside so we have a ways to go; hopefully some of these "features" will be resolved by them. Any chance one of your next 3 Seaside cruises is Nov 10? Lori

So nice to hear from you!!!!

Actually, I have two booked... the first was one of three! Sorry ... not on board in November.....

I read some of Mark's comments on other threads ... it's interesting that you didn't encounter any smell issues. In the foreseeable future, each sailing will have its own surprises!

Linda the Book Lover

I loved your review and had a good laugh while reading. Your descriptions are wonderful.

Formula280SS

On Seaside now for a B2B. Some early thoughts (and also glad we actually got to Miami and made the first departure).

I recently sailed on the beautiful MSC Seaside in the Yacht Club with my partner and two friends. We sailed in an exterior suite while our friends had an interior “suite”. Boarding: A hot mess The new Terminal in Miami has a beautiful, curved driveway that goes to the main entrance. Too bad that security has closed this off so that they drop you off well past said entrance. In fact, if you take UBER, they drop you off even further. No problem as the stevedores are there to take your bags. Yep, totally confused the heck out of our GoAirport driver; who took our bags all the way the curb. However - the location of the Yacht Club Tent? You guessed right - immediately next to the main entrance. Therefore, Yacht Club passengers actually have to drag their bags the furthest to board. Once there, the shoreside “butlers” guide you through security and up to the VIP check-in. Yep, YC people arrive as early as 9:30. Couple of port employees smoking behind the area, no YC staff at all. We were told by a MSC porter (very nice) who worked the YC that it didn't open until 10:30. That's OK, but they showed up at 10:30 and then had to set up and try to get started. Three young (very nice) men were barely 20. Compared to Divina YC, it was really not well done outside. After entering with the first small group, the terminal screener for the YC group was overwhelmed. Continental Drift is faster than this process. In fact, we sat there for half-an-hour watching general boarding begin as the two ladies checked in a dozen or so passengers. MSC - are you reading this? It would be far more efficient to check Yacht Club in with everyone else in the fast moving general line and then move those guests to the VIP lounge. YC butlers told us to wait after security for everyone in our group; the port security told us not to wait but to proceed. The YC lounge was really nice. It was not set up, the first couple of butlers (shore-side only, they don't go on the ship) had to set up the beverage and apps station after the first groups had arrived. There was 1 lady processing the passports for the first half hour. We walked on ourselves and as I had studied the deck map, guided us to the forward elevators. We went to the Yacht Club and were greeted by the Yacht Club manager - one of the few times that we saw him all week. As a group, went to the YC concierge for brief chat. There was a general din as people lined up to speak to the Concierge, register their credit cards and reserve dinner with Luigi. As we knew what to do, we did what we had to but our friends commented on how NO information was provided. They really were, “WT#?!” They flat-out told me/asked me: “This is supposed to be luxurious?”. Understaffed for this particular day. Lot's of issues with APP, had to delete and redownload in order to book shows. I don’t want to do a running comparison but in The Haven, the Concierge welcomes you and then tells you when your room will be ready, where and when you can have lunch and outlines the features of the Haven. Agreed. We then went to the Top Sail, had the first of many (many)(like, a lot) of cocktails and settled in. I also was pleased to see that my good friend Nick (Nicholas Feuillatte) was on board and over the week, we had a lot of pleasant times together. Absolutely stunning venue, the best at sea IMO. Our first lunch was excellent (lots of hugs and laughs with Arthur) and all was now good. Yep, so good was our filet and sea bass (skin on) we never need dinner. Arthur still a blast, Mario NOT on the ship. Accomodations Our first impression was excellent - extremely large, plush, a restful (if a bit too brown) colour scheme and TONS of storage. Loved the self-lighting closets. We took two suitcases and could have easily unpacked a third. Agreed. The lighting was good but I would have liked a dimmer or switch that provided more options. Still figuring out. While we never watch TV, for those who do it is mounted in an awkward position for either the sitting area or the bed. It would be better to have it on a moveable mount. As it is now, the mounting apparatus made a lot of noise during the night with the ship moving as much as it did. We'll never watch the TV, but you're right about the mount. As others have commented, Seaside does move a lot. I don’t know if its because of her intrinsic design or because the Caribbean has been unusually windy these past few months. Haven't noticed that, however, we've big navigational change due to pressure systems and waves to avoid. The bathroom was huge, dripping in marble with tons of storage and a fantastic, glass walled walk-in shower with a rainshower head. DW and I believe the best design, construction and decor at sea. My only quibble was that the shower door opened into the room - easier for getting in but one always seemed to get a ton of water on the floor afterwards. Yep. Still - an elegant, spacious and comfortable space. Yep. Interior Design: a mixed bag The interior design was interesting as while the decor was quite striking, the size and placement of rooms was far from ideal. We love it. I loved the colours, surfaces and textures and the recurring motif of slashed and angular lines. Yep. Unfortunately, many of the spaces were too large or too small for the needs that they served. As an example, people were literally overflowing in the Piazza Grande which was one of the few lounges to offer live music (more on that later) The spaces around the atrium such as the Champagne Bar, however, felt like they were in the middle of a shopping mall. The walkways bisected the areas removing any intimacy with people constantly walking by. Went out a couple of times to get a feel for the ship, a zoo out there. The have so many more quality bar venues compared to Divina it is amazing. The Atrium is really unique. The entrance to the theater appeared to be an afterthought with a couple of zigs after the elevator lobby. There was no space for those who were waiting for the following show. Yep. As the MSC ships become ever larger, they really must focus and concentrate on passenger movement and flow and where people are likely to go. While I’m not a fan of the overall product, this is an area that Royal Caribbean excels at. Yep, the toughest to navigate for sure. Entertainment (None Yet) I always divide entertainment into two categories - mainstage and lounges. We enjoyed the almost nightly 10:30 “recitals” with soprano, tenor, violinist and pianist. While it wasn’t necessary Conservatory quality, it was a great addition to “usual” cruise ship offerings. We only saw one show, Timeless, that was the usual MSC drug-induced, hallucinatory craziness. Time travel, Micheal Jackson and the American National Anthem. Why? Dunno. The Yacht Club had very good performers but there were extremely looooooooooong breaks between performances. The lounge entertainment is a definite step down from Divina … there are far fewer small lounges and there really wasn’t a lot happening. What is such a refreshing change from much of the industry on Divina is all that live entertainment A telling change is in the Daily on Seaside - Divina would have a list of the various live events happening whereas Seaside doesn’t for the likely reason that there isn’t that much happening. Any event with live performers was ridiculously overcrowded as there was so little to choose from. Cleanliness I made this a separate category as this is the first ship I’ve been on where it has to be a category. Seaside uses many mirrors and reflective surfaces and many were covered in fingerprints and smudges. We were surprised at how sparkling the Yacht Club wasn’t. The Yacht Club elevator was always one gigantic smear. You NEVER saw anyone cleaning the staircases, elevators or glass walls and mirrors. It’s obvious that they just have really cut back on maintenance staff. In the YC, we've seen none of such. Outside, "big time" yep. Dining The food in the Yacht Club Dining Room, with one or two exceptions, was miles above that served on Divina. Much higher quality ingredients and far better preparation. It's insane what they will do for you if you ask. We dined at all of the specialty restaurants. We bought a dining package but then frequently went off script and paid the difference. We had a superb lunch at Bistrot La Boheme. We were the only patrons present but the food (prefab pate notwithstanding…) was superb. Hot, fresh and great. Butchers Cut was an enjoyable train wreck. Disorganized, loud and chaotic but with excellent food when it finally arrived. Portions were ridiculously large and dinner took over 2 and a half hours. Roys was excellent - while not necessarily as excellent as one of their land based restaurants, pretty darn good for a cruise ship with one notable exception (details below!) Giving it a try tonight, "elegant night." Ocean Cay was ….stupendous. Like, jaw-droppingly good. The decor was contemporary elegant and there were only 7 tables being served. Giving it a try Wednesday. The meal package includes starter, main and dessert. We asked if we could have two starters and skip dessert and the initial answer was no but after checking with the Specialty Restaurant Manager, an exception was made. I’m going into overdetail here because it was so superb. We started with the Crab Sampler (cold) that consisted of about 246 pounds (OK, I exaggerate here) of simple but beautiful crab legs and claws. This was followed by a dozen oysters (ridiculously generous) and finally perfectly prepared sea bass. Nice. A meal like this on land would easily cost between one and two hundred dollars per person without alcohol. The generally available wines and liquors in the Yacht Club and elsewhere were excellent …. FAR superior to what is provided in the Haven on NCL. I literally (and embarrassingly) went through a LOT of bottles of Nicholas Feuillatte. Yep. To Smell or Not to Smell, That is the Question The general tone on these boards about *ahem* “the smell” on these boards can roughly be translated to: “you stink”, “NO, YOU STINK”! I was so excited to go on Seaside that I boarded completely forgot the issue. Now, I am not one to sit still and frequently go for walks to simply enjoy the ship and people watch. I am frequently accompanied by the Cocktail-of-my-choice and can be readily identified by my Golden-retriever-like happy face and big smile. Let’s just say, I love being on ships! As our first YC group board and walked by the Atrium (I believe on 8) it was horrendous for about 75 feet. Really, really awful. On the second day I was doing my rounds and walked by the Forest Aquaventure Park and literally stopped dead in my tracks. I was immediately transported back almost 50 years to Northern Ontario where my parents and I would go to their friend’s cottage and spend a week. In those days, we would walk the path to the outhouse or privy when nature called. Yep. Imagine if an outhouse exploded inside a tent. It was truly vile. Yep, a 10 out of 10 for unacceptable. I turned on my heel and raced back to find my partner. Now, as anyone in a long-time relationship knows, if you smell something truly terrible, you MUST find your spouse and make them smell said object. He was happily relaxing in the Yacht Club when I told him we HAD to go for a walk. After a bit of protest, he accompanied me and reached the same spot when/where his jaw dropped. Now, anyone watching would have wondered who the two lunatics were as we were laughing hysterically, generally saying: “that’s the worst thing I ever smelled, Oh, that’s horrible, I heard it was bad but I didn’t think it was that bad”. We continued laughing and went back for more restorative beverages. Over the course of the week, the odour would ebb and flow there and in the atrium, our friend’s inside Yacht Club Suite and most glaringly, at Roy’s. We encountered a 3 out of 10 on 8 on the way down steps to muster station in casino. Lounging in the YC pool, shielded by the forward deck, we frequently got a down draft of a 2 out of 10 sewer odor. My were on our way to dinner at Roy’s when I ran into Robert, the Specialty Restaurant Manager who we know from Divina. Everyone went ahead while I caught up with him. When I got to our table, everyone had a wry smile and appeared to be waiting for me. I asked: “what’s going on”, sat down and said: “holy &@^@&^” - it smelled like we were have dinner inside The Bowel Reconstruction Unit. Our friends wanted to leave but I wanted to speak to a staff member first. At that moment, the sommelier stopped by and asked if everything was ok. I leaned in and stated in sotto voce: “everything’s great but there seems to be an odour problem”. He became immediately serious and asked if we would move to the back of the restaurant. I said “of course” and the back corner was much less odiferously challenging. To clarify, this was only over a week ago so yes, there are still some serious problems. You can check my signature … ships always have different mystery smells and unpleasant odours but nothing like this. I really feel it is related to the ship’s speed and wind conditions. This may be while some encounter “the Force” and others don’t. Hopefully, a solution will be found in the coming weeks or months. Using the YC interior stairway from 16 to 19, mid morning, it was awful when I went down to the stateroom. When I returned, massive wind/blowers/fans were on and all of the door were open. Spa and Gym A 100% complete and utter First World disaster. The gym appears to be huge but with the number of passengers (and frankly, active passengers from Europe) the gym is not nearly large enough by half. Many of the cardio machines are not working and there are no sign-up sheets for equipment so it’s a free-for-all when one becomes available. Towels must be signed out (ridiculous) and there are no disinfectant wipes for the equipment available - just two (2)(deux)(due) spray bottles with paper towel (ridiculous and unsanitary). The garbage cans were overflowing and during one workout, no one went to clean up the spilled cup of coffee sprayed over the gym floor. One must sign into the spa depending on who’s manning the desk. Ridiculous again. They then give you one Dollar Tree towel that you MUST return to get your key card back. The change room accomplishes a miracle … while NOT providing you with towels, the floor is still covered with used towels and is messy and dirty. Now, anyone using the spa has already “paid” in one way or another …. Just give us some *($^&*#&$&* towels! The spa itself is dark with puddles of water everywhere. The therapy pool has many hidden levels - they should set up a second therapy pool to take care of the injuries you will get from using the first pool. The area is filled with rattan loungers in every corner - as if you wanted to lie in that dark, dank and unpleasant environment to relax. MSC - please - board Breakaway/Getaway/Escape and walk through the spa and see how it’s done with lots of towels, coffee, tea, filtered and flavoured waters and tons of heated lounge chairs. Oh, and NCL has towels. Have I mentioned that yet? Yep. Experienced with NCL Spa makes every other line we've cruised simply look comparable horrible. Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Crew I can honestly say that in a 7 night cruise, I never encountered a single staff member who didn’t smile, laugh or ask how I was doing. Just lovely people. Now, I am a firm believer in how an ounce of honey is worth a pound of vinegar so crew may respond to that. Or, they’re just great in any case! So far, one of the nicest crews we've have in quite a while. Summary So, the ship sorta’ smells and isn’t the cleanest, the entertainment is lacking and the spa sucks. Would I go back? In a heartbeat. Yep, we're booked. The crew are working hard, the ship is beautiful, the suites are excellent, the food is great but there are definitely problems. For a ship that was only 10 weeks old and is not only a prototype for MSC but for the entire industry, however, they are doing a fine job. The true test will be in the coming months to see whether they can wrestle all of the problems under control. Yep. For the Yacht Club, the value is unbelievable and unmatched in the industry. Yep, met some TA's who've been blown away by the YC venues, food and service "already." I had actually booked three (!) Seaside Yacht Club cruises because of the great deals available and the increasingly insane prices in The Haven. NCL has over-priced the Haven IMO, and the bidding leads to less pre-books. Also, simply not the same 'venues as the YC. Not even close, IMO. I plan on going on each and every one!

We were on the Divina in Sept during hurricane Irma too

Concerning Seaside...I'm a bit of a freak about planning...can anyone offer suggestions on which deck is better for YC? Currently booked on 16, starboard. There's a cabin left on 18, port.

On Seaside now for a B2B. Some early thoughts (and also glad we actually got to Miami and made the first departure). Comments

Sorry and upset to hear that there are smells and odors in the Yacht Club too. Won't cancel, of course, but not happy at all.:mad:

Fix this, MSC!

Oh, geez. Sorry and upset to hear that there are smells and odors in the Yacht Club too. Won't cancel, of course, but not happy at all.:mad: Fix this, MSC!

We believe with high certainty that the smell at the pool in YC was because of where we were lounging; right in front (glassed off but open on top) from the heavy wood doors that lead to the inside YC stairway 'where the issue really was. IMO, in addition to people coming and going, they (MSC) opened all of the doors to 'vent the stairway and we happened to be lounging the closest to the door. How it got in the stairway inside the YC in the first place, we have no idea (but also, nothing compared to the boarding Atrium walk by experience; that really was very bad).

As a side note, the grill at the YC pool has been putting such great product that the YC restaurant for lunch is noticeably less attended than what we experienced on Divina.

Oddly, after having enough sun for first day at sea, and in the YC lounge near the port side on widow couch and table having a coffee, a touch of the smell. We moved to Starboard. ;)

Enjoyed reading this very much. We seemed to have faired a little better on our sailing. Easy boarding (not yc, but black card/casino guest). We felt so bad for the crew that we saw constantly cleaning all the glass and chrome(beautiful but so hard to keep fingerprintless- I like that word). We loved all the shows, and wished we had more time at Butcher's Cut. Glad we never encountered the smell, but spent alot of time in the casino. Agree, all the staff was wonderful-must be extremely difficult to get everybody working as a team, and they were doing a fantastic job. We are sailing again in April, hoping again for no smells and terrific staff. Thanks again for your review-great reading Safe sailing Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

Spidybabe, did they do a CAS-match too? I never even thought of asking about becoming an invited guest. Did you have to call a different number?

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in

Welcome to Cruise Critic
New Cruisers
Cruise Lines “A – O”
Cruise Lines “P – Z”
River Cruising
Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
Special Interest Cruising
Cruise Discussion Topics
UK Cruising
Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
Canadian Cruisers
North American Homeports
Ports of Call
Cruise Conversations

Announcements

New to Cruise Critic? Join our Community!

Write Your Own Amazing Review !

Click this gorgeous photo by member SUPERstar777 to share your review!

Features & News

LauraS · Started Friday at 03:57 PM

LauraS · Started Thursday at 08:42 PM

LauraS · Started Wednesday at 02:44 PM

LauraS · Started Wednesday at 11:22 AM

LauraS · Started Tuesday at 02:51 PM

Viking French Toast on The Viking Mars at The Restaurant

Existing user? Sign in OR Create an Account
Find Your Roll Call
Meet & Mingle
Community Help Center
All Activity
Member Photo Albums
Meet & Mingle Photos
Favorite Cruise Memories
Cruise Food Photos
Cruise Ship Photos
Ports of Call Photos
Towel Animal Photos
Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos
Write a Review
Live Cruise Reports
Member Cruise Reviews
Create New...

Seaside Park Yacht Club

Stories from the Seaside Park Yacht Club

P.O. Box 428 Seaside Park, NJ 08752 732.793.9611

Website: http://seasideparkyc.homestead.com/Index.html

SEASIDE PARK YACHT CLUB BECOMES NSHOF FOUNDING MEMBER

From the commodore:.

“The Seaside Park Yacht Club is pleased to continue its commitment to our sailing tradition by becoming a Founding Member of the National Sailing Hall of Fame. The promotion of the spirit of sailing as a sport dates back to the Seaside Park Yacht Club's founding in 1899, which was home to some of the earliest formal yacht racing contests in the United States. Our members have continued to honor and expand the tradition of the earliest races, and are delighted to join the NSHOF in the furtherance of sailing through recognition of its history and its future.”

Marilyn Lennon, Commodore

The Seaside Park Yacht Club (SPYC) owes its birth to Henry J. West of Gloucester, N.J., who inaugurated a series of sneak box races on Barnegat Bay for large cash prizes. The principal contenders in these races were the Life Guards who manned the then "Life Saving Stations," which eventually became the United States Coast Guard stations.

The starting line was at the present Public Dock in Seaside Park and the course was the same as the present SPYC Course, except perhaps that it was longer, from the Public Dock to Westray's Point to the Drawbridge to the Public Dock, four times around.

SPYC, with its fleet of famous racing yachts, such as "Tsar"; "Mermaid"; "Lazy Jack"; "Another Old Maid"; "Fran Roy"; "Dorothy," and others, swept everything before it. All along the Atlantic Seaboard, Barnegat Bay became known as the home of the world's fastest catboats.

The social features of the club are many. Over the years entertainments provided by the club members were many and varied. Cabarets, dances, card parties, and musical entertainments were staged every Friday and Saturday evening. The social program at Seaside Park and its delightful Club house were so popular in the '30's and '40's that the Seaside Park Yacht Club marina was filled with visiting boats from other Clubs who came for the swing bands and dancing on the deck on Saturday nights.

SPYC continues to hold a special place in the hearts of all BBYR sailors who traditionally wrap up the "official" sailing season on the Seaside Park Course on Labor Day weekend. Upholding tradition and creating new traditions on "Race Day" is a glorious finale to a summer well spent racing on the Bay.

BACK TO YACHT CLUB STORIES PAGE

The Traveling Steve's

Our traveling adventure blog.

The Steve’s Review of MSC Seaside’s Yacht Club

Steve (DOS) and I sailed MSC’s Seaside cruise ship for the first time this past week; October 15 – 22, 2023 for a 7 night cruise to MSC’s Ocean Cay (MSC’s private island in the Bahamas), Costa Maya, and Cozumel Mexico. As this was a new cruise line for us, I’ll detail my/our experiences here in a bit more detail, similar to what I did when we first sailed Virgin Voyages this past July. Warning: this is a long post with lots of photos! (Sorry in advance for any typos!)?

First some quick ship stats: for the MSC Seaside (per Wikipedia)

153,516 Gross Tons
Length: 1,059 Feet
Beam: 141 Feet
Total Cabins: 2,067
Passenger capacity: Max 4,961
Entered Service: December 2017
Cost when built in 2014: €700 million Euros
Country of Registry: Valletta, Malta
Current number of cruise ships in MSC fleet: 23

DRIVE TO THE PORT: As we live in the Orlando, FL suburbs, the Port of Cape Canaveral (where the Seaside is currently sailing from) is only an hour drive from our house, which make it super convenient. Not only that, but Cape Canaveral, in my humble opinion is one of the easiest embarkation/debarkation points we have sailed out of. It is not the closest port, however, to the airport as it’s an hour’s drive via car or shuttle bus, unlike Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) which is a short distance from the FLL airport terminal.

ARRIVAL AT PORT CANAVERAL: MSC currently leaves from terminal 10, which is the former Royal Caribbean (RCL) Cruise terminal. We saw RCL’s Wonder of the Seas docked further down the terminal channel, so I guess they needed bigger space for their mega series of ships.

We arrived at Port Canaveral Terminal 10 around 10:45am, and the luggage drop off and parking were a breeze, thanks to the good signage and uniformed port staff providing directions. There was very little car traffic at this hour, and the tour buses coming from the airport had a drop off point just for them, so they weren’t interfering with the flow of traffic. We parked on the ground level of the garage (shaded area), took a photo of where we parked, and walked the short distance to the terminal with our carry-on luggage, taking a selfie along the way of us with the giant ship behind us. One huge thing that at least the Port Canaveral Terminal Garage 10 does, is collect the parking fee upon entry via credit card. This really expedites the traffic flow upon debarkation, something other port garages such as Miami do not do, which caused lengthy exit delays when we sailed out of there in late July on Virgin’s Scarlet Lady. Ideally Miami’s garage should at least have an EPAS exit, as their garages handle multiple cruise lines out of the same garage, with various lengths of cruises, so pre-paying is perhaps not an option there.

Once at the terminal, we quickly found the Yacht Club (YC) tent area where we were verified for YC, and then sent thru a quick security check line. From there we were directed to a dedicated large conference-type room in the terminal, where we would then check-in for our cruise. We had already completed the paperwork and had downloaded the MSC app, but we still printed out our travel documents per MSC’s website guidelines, which makes it easier should the phone need re-charging or an update when you’re trying to check-in. (I’m old fashioned I guess, but I always print my boarding pass for the airport for the same reason; don’t always trust the phone and/or app when I need it most.)

The check-in process was very quick and we were given a glass of champagne as we entered the room. We then received our room card key which indicated YC access. They did not have the blue wrist bands available at check-in, (which will also allow you to open your stateroom door), but we picked up our complimentary bands two days later onboard at the photo gallery. While we waited a few minutes for our boarding to commence, we sipped our glass of pre-boarding champagne together with the other YC guests, and toasted to an awesome cruise ahead!

After a short wait in the pre-boarding area, we were escorted in small groups aboard the ship where we were led directly thru the main lobby atrium. Here we met our personal shipboard Butler Agus, who assisted us from there. Agus helped us with our carry-on luggage and escorted us from deck five thru a few public areas, until we reached the forward elevators which took us to our “ship within a ship”, the Yacht Club section. The Yacht Club occupies the forward third of the 16th, 18th, and 19th decks aboard the Seaside. (There is not a deck 17 on this ship as it is an Italian ship, and 17 (like 13 in the US) is considered an unlucky number.)

Once in the Yacht Club, we had a seat in the Top Sail Lounge, which is the huge main cocktail lounge exclusive to the 200 Yacht Club passengers. We had yet another glass of the complimentary Champagne in the Lounge (actually Prosecco to be technically correct), and met some of our fellow passengers, while we again sipped our Bubbly. (And it’s not even 11:30am yet!). There was a nice assortment of snacks, nuts and pastries as well, but we skipped over those for now as lunch was in the near future for us. In a few minutes, we were gathered with a few other guests for a quick orientation of the Yacht Club’s services, amenities, meal hours etc, which was lead by the lead Concierge staff person, Raj. After the 10 minute or so orientation, we went to our cabin, which was just down the hall, also on deck 16. We knew from the moment we boarded that the Yacht Club was truly special, and this would be an awesome cruise!

STATEROOM : After the orientation in the Top Sail Lounge, DOS and I headed to our stateroom which was just down the hall. Our room was 16014, with 16 being the deck number, and 014 the room number. The room was quite comfortable, and categorized by MSC as a “Superior Yacht Club Suite”. While our room was not what I would consider a full suite, it was a nice sized Jr. Suite in size, similar to those on other cruise lines and quite spacious enough for us. We had a King sized bed, half open-sided wall adjacent to the bedroom, dividing off the living room sofa, a large bathroom (no tub) with decent sized shower and a large single sink vanity. Robes were provided for use onboard, and the large towels and bed linens were of very good quality.

The outlets for electronic devices were a bit lacking as they weren’t located on either side of the bed, but on the long table with pull out drawers. We brought a cruise-allowed power adapter (not a surge protector which are banned on all cruise ships) we bought on Amazon which is cruise-safe, and handled our other devices, such as our iPhones, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac Book. The is also a European power outlet under the TV, as well a couple USB outlets.

FIRST MEAL ABOARD: LUNCH! After briefly settling into our cabin and unpacking our carry-on items, we headed up to Deck 18 (only one level up due the “skipping” of the 17th floor per Italian superstition) to the Yacht Club (YC) Dining Room. I’ll talk at length about the Yacht Club further down in this post, but for now the relaxing lunch with wine made for quite a friendly welcome aboard and literally a taste of what was to come over the next 7 days. We met our waiter and assistant waiters, who would expertly serve us throughout the cruise.

EXPLORING THE SHIP: After lunch in the Yacht Club, it was time to venture out of the YC exclusive area, and explore a bit of the rest of this mammoth ship. I say “a bit” as even by the end of the cruise we felt like we had only seen some of the major ship venues, and never quite learned our way around the ship, even with the lighted ship maps located near the elevators and elsewhere.

The layout in some places could be a bit strange, such as on Deck 16 towards the mid/aft of the ship, where you needed to go down or up a deck to cross all the way to the back of the ship (due to a galley blocking part of the passageway) or the plethora of mirrors aboard in some corridors that had us saying hi to the “other people” coming towards us, only to realize we were saying hi to ourselves! LOL! ?

Part of the fun of going on a new ship, however, is getting lost finding your way around; it really is a beautiful ship with so many sectional venues that it will take some time to explore even the main parts of the ship by day and night.

MAIN LOBBY : At the centerpiece of the ship are the beautiful Swarovski decorated crystal staircases located in the ship’s main atrium. These staircases lead to several levels, and flank either side of the multi-level stage areas that are used for various musicians throughout the day and evening, as well as on the main open air bottom level of the lobby. The backdrop of the atrium is an ever changing myriad of colors and scenes, depending on the occasion.

There is a huge semi-circular bar which is visible from the staircases and overlooks surrounding them, and serves as a focal point entertainment venue for the numerous onboard events and parties. We even saw Elvis, and Michael Jackson one night!

ELEVATORS: The ship has two primary banks of elevators; one towards the forward of the ship; and one a bit past the middle of the ship. The main elevators are “smart” elevators, although I would say the “smart part” needs a bit of tweaking to them. The idea in theory is great, provide more efficient elevator access by matching groups of passengers going to the same floors, although at peak times that doesn’t work the best. Basically by each elevator there is a mini iPad type device where you select your floor, which is also indicated by the deck’s name; i.e, Miami Beach deck.

The elevator then calculates which elevator will be the quickest, and tell you the elevator (via letter and number, i.e. G5) and the approximate wait time. During slow periods, these worked fine, but when several hundred people got out of a show at the same time or returned from a busy port of call, things got a bit more hectic. Ideally each person in their group, say four people, should enter the floor number, not just one person from the group, so the elevator can calculate the capacity as 4 riders instead of 1. Unfortunately this is not obvious, and I don’t recall seeing signage to tell people to do this which at busy times can be quite crowded and confusing with multiple groups of people trying to ride as a single passenger, instead of their actual group size.

Busy periods aside, though, I really love this concept, as busy elevators on these mega ships in general (most other lines included) face the problem of over-crowded elevators, and people riding up to go down, and not getting off at the correct top or bottom floor; instead just getting on to secure their space in the crowded elevators. These “smart” elevators do not have any floor buttons once you are on board so you can’t change your mind or better yet, don’t have kids pushing every floor button of the elevator!

There is also one small bank of two elevators in the aft area of the ship by the aft pool, which are not the “smart elevator” type. There is also an elevator inside the Yacht Club for exclusive use of the YC passengers, but it only operates on the YC floors 16 – 19.

LOUNGES/BARS: According to the MSC website there are some 19 bars and lounges onboard! And, no we didn’t try all of them out on our seven day cruise! While we primarily used the Top Sail Lounge in the Yacht Club, as well as the YC’s pool bar, we did go to several of the other bars and lounges in the main part of the ship as well. We were concerned the main bars/lounges outside the YC would be jam packed all the time, but that really was not the case most of the time. While many were busy, with the exception of the large main atrium bar, and main and aft pool bars, we didn’t have trouble finding seats or barstools at some of the other bars and lounges. We tried the Sports Bar, which had a large selection of drafts (but oddly no IPAs such as Lagunitis here or elsewhere on the ship I could find), the Seaview Lounge, and the Haven Lounge, both of the latter offered live entertainment, as well as the main atrium lounge.

We didn’t try out the Champagne Lounge on the upper level of the main atrium, but walked by it several times as well as the Chocolate Bar; both of which looked nice but not overflowing with crowds.

There is also a small bar (more of a to-go bar) in the buffet area on deck 8 which is open late while the late night buffet is being served until 1am, which is fine for grabbing a brewski or drink to your table while munching on the midnight food and snacks.

GAME ROOM: We didn’t utilize the game room, but did pass thru the Game Room Arcade a few times when walking towards the back of the ship. There was a Formula One Race Car simulator, complete with an actual size car that can be “driven” around the large virtual screen track directly in front of it. It looked pretty realistic, and we watched a man probably in his early 40s having a ball with his racing skills!

There is also a two lane bowling alley in the arcade room, but we never saw anyone bowling, although we weren’t there very much other than just passing thru. I was hoping to video someone bowling as it must be quite tricky on a moving ship; I’m sure there’s lots of curve and gutter balls even from experienced bowlers!

There are also other video games as well, all of which required payment or a game pass of sorts via the ATM like kiosk or pre-pay on the cruise card.

SPA Area: We’re not spa kind of people (i.e. don’t get massages, use the treatment rooms etc) so we can’t speak for the Spa, other than it was quite large, and people we spoke to really enjoyed their massage and even the “mud treatment”. (I’ve always wanted to try that seaweed wrap treatment but DOS says “that’s phooy”, you’ll gain your weight back as soon as you drink water or alcohol! Possibly, but it does sound like fun!)

Any passenger on the ship can book the “The Thermal Suite Pass” (which is complimentary for Yacht Club Members), and provides access to the Thermal Suite area and and spa deck area; a private section of deck 16, just prior to entering the YC section. We did not use the Thermal Suite on this trip as we seemed to be too busy on this cruise (not sure what we were doing other than relaxing, but we seemed busy all the time!) We did walk thru the spa outdoor deck area on our daily walks around the ship for exercise, which is shown in the next couple of photos, which never seemed to be busy, and was a nice wide area of the deck as well.

We did like the cold towels the Spa staff handed to all guests when they came back from port, on the dock area near the entrance to the ship. The white washcloths were chilled (like Celebrity Cruises and Princess does), but also sprayed with an exotic Eucalyptus mixture that smelled divine. Of course they sell the bottled mixture in the Spa if you like it!

POOL FUN : The main (non Yacht Club) portion of the ship has several pools, divided into different sections. There is an adventure pool area that has a kiddie pool and other water activities, while there are 2 racing water slides that go out over the starboard side of the ship, while on the port side there is a similar, but larger twisting water slide that uses a raft to ride the slide down to the bottom. Scrunched in-between, in the center of the Adventure Club area, is another twisting slide that finishes on the bottom deck of the Adventure Club pool area. None of the slides were overly busy and were complimentary, although you had to sign a waiver and get a wrist band prior to riding them. Adults as well as kids seemed to be enjoying themselves! I’m sure in peak summer or holiday periods there would be hundreds more kids using these facilities, though on our mid-October sailing it was not overwhelming.

SAIL-AWAY PARTY: Sure enough, as quiet and empty as the ship was when we first got on and started exploring the ship, it quickly filled up by sail-away time. There was a big sail-away party at the aft pool deck area, but it was a bit too busy to see the entertainment staff, and a bit too noisy for us to enjoy, so we retreated back to the quite calm of The Yacht Club. I told Steve (DOS) at times leaving some of the crowded main areas of the ship was like being in a busy airport terminal, and then suddenly entering the calm of an airline’s international First Class Lounge! Not really an exaggeration either, as a couple of fellow Yacht Club passengers said something similar.

SHOPPING GALLERY : As expected for a ship of this size, there are several shopping areas aboard the ship, ranging from logo items, to duty free liquors and other items, to Swarovski crystals, jewelry, cosmetics, to men’s face creams to make you look ten years younger. Maybe I should have bought two of the face cremes to shave 20 years off my age!?

We’re not big shoppers except for souvenir type items, but we did purchase the ship’s Seascape model (which I try to collect of ships we have taken), which was priced at $56, and was a nice quality metal model on a wood base. I wanted an MSC cap, but oddly enough they were out of them, and I didn’t see any nice logo T-shirts that I cared for, so we settled for just purchasing the ship’s model.

We had the same issue on Virgin Voyages recently where they were out of their logo caps, and like on MSC, this was only on the second night. Don’t know if ships are having supply-chain issues or people are gobbling them up right away (I think the former as you they would want to advertise their product), so if you see something you want in the gift logo shop, I would buy it early on in the cruise.

CASINO: While we’re not gamblers, we did stroll thru the casino after the theater shows let out, as it was a passageway towards the mid to the aft of the ship, and you really couldn’t avoid it. Although MSC allows smoking in the casino, it really was very well filtered, and this comes from someone who is very sensitive to second-hand smoke. There were definitely plenty of slots for every type play you like, as well as many table games as well.

The huge bar served as a functional and aesthetically pleasing circular sports bar as there were TV monitors mounted from the ceiling pointed down to the bar below.

YACHT CLUB EXPERIENCE: Wow oh Wow! What can I say about this? The Yacht Club (YC) is an exclusive area for 200 or fewer passengers, which makes up only 5% of the ship’s capacity, yet offers the best service, food, and amenities aboard. The YC occupies the forward 1/3 of decks 16, 18, and 19, with YC cabins on decks 16 and 18 (there is no deck 17 on these Italian ships due to superstition of the number 17). The YC offers mostly similar “Superior Suite Balcony” cabins, although there are 2 Royal Suites, and a few inside cabins as well, all which receive the same Yacht Club service, although the Royal Suites do get a reserved onboard pool-side cabana and much larger suite. (There are other cabanas in the YC available complimentary to YC passengers, on a first-come basis, and can be reserved onboard.)

Note there are actually several categories of larger suites aboard the Seaside that are not in the Yacht Club area, and these do NOT include the 5 star Yacht Club admittance and perks; they are basically larger cabins located throughout the ship among the masses of other passengers. Even though we’ve had very large suites on other lines, the room on MSC was almost secondary as the service and amenities in the public Yacht Club areas were far superior than being in a large suite in a non-Yacht Club area, although the larger space would be good for families needing extra space. All of the rooms in the Yacht Club are in the same key-only accessible area, and it was like being at a Country Club as it was such a small group of passengers with such a high staff to passenger ratio. It was easy to meet most of the fellow YC passengers over the course of the cruise, and it really was like a family between the staff and passengers by the end of the cruise.

The Yacht Club is entered via a key-carded entry door, where the 24 hour Concierge desk and staff are located, and glad to answer any questions, assist with shore excursions, specialty dining, and any type special request you may have.

The long hallway internal to the YC is mirrored on both sides, a common design theme used throughout the ship; lots of mirrors everywhere! On the starboard side where our cabin was located, there is also another keyed entrance door which bypasses the Concierge, and lead down a couple hallways to our room.

At the end of the hall on deck 16, is the Top Sail Lounge, a large and elegant cocktail lounge exclusive to the YC passengers. It faces the front of the ship and has plenty of seating on chairs, sofas, and at the bar area as well. It is here where (well actually anywhere in the YC) you can truly relax away from the mass market crowds of passengers in the main parts of the ship. No loud music and shouting, although there is a piano player/singer who entertains in the evening and special events such as the Captains cocktail party, High Tea, etc, and one night there was a saxophone player entertaining as well.

During other times of the day and night there is light and soft jazz or supper-club type music piped in thru the speakers, which makes a subtle background effect, without being overwhelming, even in the pool lavatory! There are always plenty of staff serving the YC, and there is never a wait for a drink, be it bottled water or your favorite cocktail, wine, or beer, and all but the most premium wines and liquors are included both here and throughout the ship (with two exceptions, the chocolate bar and the gelato bar in the main areas of the ship.)

Meals Aboard: Unlike the main part of the ship which has 3 seatings in a couple of dining rooms, which require a reservation time, the YC is open seating, and offers 3 waiter-serviced meals a day, in addition to the YC buffet which is available until 7 -10 am for breakfast and normally 12 – 3pm for lunch. We usually ate at the outdoor buffet for breakfast and lunch as the service hours were later and longer than the restaurant, and it was quite an extensive buffet you could enjoy around the pool, or outdoor seating area.

We did have lunch in the Yacht Club Dining Room the first day, and breakfast in the Dining Room on Debarkation Day; both of which were leisurely and wonderful, but we preferred the casual poolside buffet most days for breakfast and lunch. (The YC buffet is not open for dinner, although they have hors d’oeuvres in the Top Sail Lounge for a pre or post dinner snack.)

We always had dinner in the YC Dining room, which was truly a treat! Dinner is served nightly from 6pm to 9pm, and is open seating with no reservation required for whatever time you like to dine between the posted hours. We requested the same section each night so we had the same wait staff, and normally dined around 7:30pm. The menu selections changed each night with the evening’s theming, but they always had a few classics you could order from if nothing was to your liking, which including a Filet Mignon, Salmon, Cesar Salad etc.

Unlike other mainstream US cruise lines, there are 3 courses offered instead of the usual four on RCL, Celebrity, Princess and others. The portion sizes are also a bit small than other lines, but we thought this was actually a positive thing as many times cruise lines oversize their portions, although that too has changed since COVID in serving size portions. MSC offers a choice of several starters, entrees, and desserts (including selections from the cheese cart which I loved.). If you wanted another entree or like Steve (DOS) another or different starter, the wait staff was only too happy to oblige. As drinks were included, we tried several different wines with different food pairings over the week cruise, and one night the sommelier surprised us with a Beaujolais to try with our starter. We never would have guessed what it was (he didn’t tell us initially) as it was quite complex; like a more full-bodied Pinot, than a Beaujolais which is usually a young and more simple wine. Our wine of choice however, was the French Medoc they freely poured, or the Oberon Cabernet Sauvignon.

The food, presentation, and service were truly outstanding in the YC, and the Chef visited us table-side a couple evenings, while the Maitre D’ always stopped by to check on us. Our waiter and assistant waiter were absolutely some of MSC’s best!

Outdoor YC Pool Area/Bar/Buffet: On deck 19 was the YC Sun Deck, pool, and bar/buffet and outdoor seating area and cabanas. This was a large area, although most of the lounge chairs were not shaded unfortunately. As the YC’s sundeck was in the very front of the ship, umbrellas would probably not work due to the wind, although the area was quite protected by full length window panels, which mostly blocked the wind. On the downside, the large window panels created a bit of an obstacle for taking photos, although for sunset photos or in-port photos such as MSC’s private island, we could get good and unobstructed photos from our room’s balcony, as the window panels did not block the view as they did on the sundeck.

The YC saltwater pool was deeper than it looked, at around 5 feet deep, although the sign said 4’8″. The pool was a fun place to socialize and cool off, and we used it most days due to the great weather.

There are also two whirlpools located a bit further forward of the sectionally partitioned YC club, which are on the forward part of the YC sundeck.

Little extras mean a lot: The Yacht Club includes so many little extra touches with attention to detail, which makes it so extra-special. Your choice of daily newspaper: Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, and others, which are condescended versions of the papers, and printed daily on site.

Evening chocolates on the pillow, and some type of surprise treat each evening, such as white chocolates in a plexiglass box, a bottle of Prosecco one evening, a box of 4 sampler chocolates in a gift box the last night, replenishment of your mini-bar beers, water, sodas per your request etc.

Butler Service is included along with your room attendant, and the Butler will escort you anywhere on the ship and even to the exit for port days and debarkation. This was a huge benefit, especially being led to the reserved Yacht Club section for the Theater production shows. The High Tea service was especially nice and classy, and served in the Top Sail Lounge.

Production Shows: There were FIVE Production shows on this 7 night cruise! (Most 7 and even 10 night cruises only have a maximum of three, filled in with other acts on the other nights). Each show was different and some were better than others, but were all energetic with 4 main singers and 9 dancers, with additional specialty-act performers on some of the shows, such as the Peter Punk and Michael Jackson show.

The show theater itself while very large with two aisles and a center section (with stadium type seating allowing for great views), seemed a bit under-sized for a ship this large, sailing with 4,300 passengers on our sailing, so a couple of the most popular shows actually had 3 seatings (7:30, 9:30, and 10:30pm) instead of two most nights, due to the capacity requirements.

Unlike most other cruise lines, the Cruise Director did not make an announcement forbidding photography or even video taping at each show, and it seemed like quite a few people discretely videoed some of the performance number highlights, including myself, which I have included a few short segments below of some of the shows.

We enjoyed all of the shows, although we did not go to the two comedy shows on the non-production show nights, with the Circus Spectacular and the final night’s Michael Jackson show really extra well-done.

PORTS OF CALL : MSC OCEAN’s CAY was without a doubt our favorite port stop on this cruise. Like other cruise lines, MSC has their own private island in the Bahamas, however on our itinerary we were docked at Ocean Cay overnight, allowing for two full days on their private island, something other cruise lines do not do.

The island is also reachable via a dock area, so there is no need to tender to the port. As our cabin was on the starboard (right) side of the ship, we had an awesome view of the private island, including the landmark lighthouse, which has a light show at night, overlooking the beach party there.

We absolutely loved MSC’s Ocean Cay, and as DOS and I both agreed, it reminded us of Royal Caribbean’s (RCL’s) Coco Cay, before they turned the quiet island into a “theme park” with gigantic waters slips, a hot air balloon, zip lines etc. Not that there’s anything wrong with that if you want a bit of adventure for the whole family, but we much prefer the more pristine and natural look of a tropical island without all the added frills which we could do onboard or at a waterpark back home if we wanted to.

As there is no tendering required, it’s quite easy to debark the ship, and quickly explore the island. Our ship was the only ship in port both days, so it really did feel like a private island without the crowds. As passengers in the Yacht Club, we were escorted down to the exit, and once on land directed to a golf-cart tram, which transported us to the other side of the island, to the exclusive Yacht Club compound on the private beach.

The Yacht Club section includes the only air-conditioned passenger building on the island for the club house bar. There was really no reason to access the bar most of the time though, as the service was exceptional, both on the beach as well as at the adjacent Yacht Club Ocean Restaurant. We did go in there a couple times for a quick bottled water or drink if we were passing by there for a restroom stop or to cool off a bit.

As lunch the first day was from noon to 2pm, (11:30am – 1:30pm on the second day), we were a bit early for lunch, so headed to the gorgeous private beach just steps aways from the restaurant/bar area. The private beach area was huge, and offered plenty of lounge chairs with umbrellas (complimentary). We had read that the beach itself could be a bit rocky, so we brought some waterproof beach shoes which were great for not only the water, but walking on the hot beach.

In addition to the complimentary beach chairs and umbrellas, beachside cabanas could be pre-reserved as well for a fee. As the service was so good to everyone, we really didn’t see a point in getting a cabana, and were quite comfortable with our beach chairs and umbrellas, as servers were constantly coming by on the beach to provide us beverages. The beach chairs were actually closer to the water as well. The Bahamian water was so crystal blue and clear, it invited most passengers in for a refreshing dip.

Snorkeling was not offered at the Yacht Club beach, possibly as there was no protective netting there (more in a moment – yikes! ?), but it was offered at the non-Yacht Club main beach areas for a fee.

We went to lunch around 1pm at the Yacht Club outdoor Ocean House Restaurant, which is covered in most areas, along with ceiling fans to cool off. The food has different menus both days, and unlike a Buffet for the non-Yacht Club areas we passed on the way in, the YC section has full waiter service. It is served by the same wait staff on the ship, so it’s nice they know you, and you know them for the service they provide with a smile.

Steve (DOS) had always wanted a lobster roll (served on the second day on the island) but doesn’t like mayonnaise, so he told that to the waiter, who in turn talked to the chef, and DOS got his lobster roll without mayo and loved it! Later on in the cruise, the chef actually came by our table one evening at dinner and asked him how he liked the lobster roll without mayo! Outstanding service, and passenger memory preferences as well!

After a leisurely lunch, we headed back to the beach to relax for a while and enjoyable the beautiful mid-October day in the Bahamas. We actually got more than we expected, with some “wildlife” viewing, swimming around in the water. Yes, we saw a few sharks really close to the shore! ? These were sand sharks, and I guess when everyone was at lunch and the water was empty of beach goers, they decided to swim close to the shore and feed on the tiny needle or other fish. I could not believe how close the sharks got to the shore; literally in a foot of water! ????

We, along with most our fellow passengers at the beach took photos and video of the sharks swimming around, although I don’t think anyone else got back in the water that afternoon. There is a lifeguard, and he cautioned people about the sharks, but it didn’t take much caution for us to avoid the water after lunch!

The next day, we didn’t see the sharks though, and it seemed safe to go back into the water. I looked up sand sharks when we got back to the ship and Wikipedia had this article on them. They are normally “docile” to humans and are not aggressive unless provoked. They are usually more active at night, so I guess we “got lucky” by seeing them in the afternoon!

In the evening of our first day at MSC’s Ocean Cay, there were two lighthouse shows, and a huge beach party on the sand. We intended to get off the ship and go to the party, but after a big dinner and a few drinks we felt a bit lazy, so watched the show and party from our 16th floor balcony; actually probably the best view from anywhere.

The beach party was adjacent to the lighthouse, and in full view for us as seen from our balcony, looked lively and fun as well. The beach party, and island “curfew” lasted until 11:30pm, at which point everyone rebounded the ship until the next day, while the “island people” who live there freshened up the island overnight.

There were two different light shows; one at 9 and one at 10pm, and in between the shows were rotating light effects; i.e. MSC logo, different color lights etc, and coordinated with music as well.

The second day on Ocean Cay was basically a repeat of the first day, but without any shark sightings.? It was nice to sleep in a bit, have breakfast aboard the ship, and then head back to the Yacht Club Beach Resort; it had a feel of staying at a nice Caribbean land resort. DOS had his lobster roll for lunch, while I had the lunch tournedos of beef, and an ahi tuna salad.

We sailed from Ocean Cay on our second day there, at 5:30pm for our next port, Costa Maya, which we would arrive in two days, after a day at sea on the way there.

COSTA MAYA, MEXICO: This is a newer Mexican port as far as tourism goes, but already it has gotten quite popular, and unfortunately crowded. The day we we docked here, there were a total of 4 mega ships in port, (RCL’s Adventure OTS, Allure OTS, Carnival Pride, and our ship MSC Seaside) and as the ships shared the two long dock areas, it was quite busy just walking down the long perpendicular dock ramps to the Costa Maya cruise entrance.

Once there, it felt perhaps a little less busy than Mardi Gras, with most passengers wandering around aimlessly watching the free show in the town square, going to the many bars there, shopping, some even swimming in the huge pool there, or like us heading down to the “swim with the dolphins” area to have a look.

We skipped on doing Costa Maya’s “Spa Treatment”, which consisted of women (and even some men) soaking their feet in an aquarium filled with tiny fish. Supposedly the fish gently chew on your dead skin, and somehow this “reduces stress” and “makes skin smooth and soft!”. I don’t know, but I got stressed just watching these ladies with their feet getting chewed on by those little fish! To each his own I guess; hey they’re in Mexico enjoying themselves. (At least the lady on the right. The lady on the left kept looking at her watch, like “how much longer do I have to have my feet in this horrible tank!”

We did not do a shore excursion or tour here on our own, as we stopped here last year in March 2022 on a Princess cruise and had gone into town on that trip. While there were mega ships in that day as well, as it was still the trailing part of the COVID pandemic, most of the ships were only sailing half full then, so while the port was busy in places (such as the taxi stand), the port itself was more like a ghost town compared to this trip’s visit to Costa Maya. The one part that was busy then was when we took a taxi into town, and it was a bit of a free-for-all getting a cab. The town itself wasn’t as busy as the hectic cruise port, and offered massages on the beach next to one of the many ocean front beach bars and souvenir shops. The town was worth a look if you hadn’t been, and it had much more of a feel for the “real” Mexico with its rustic sea-side village. You can view our stop in Costa Maya last year on this Princess post if you want to see the village town of Costa Maya.

COZUMEL MEXICO: We’ve been to Cozumel several times over the years, and always enjoy the stop there. While there were three or four ships in port the day we were there, Cozumel has several docks which are spread out by a couple miles, so it’s not nearly as overwhelming with crowds compared to Costa Maya, where the docks are all in the same area. We were docked at the International Cruise Port Terminal, which is the preferred terminal as it’s in town and the port area has some of the fun places to visit; i.e. Margaritaville and Señor Frogs among others. We had no excursions booked here, so basically wondered around the port area and into town for some exercise and bought a souvenir hat, being the big spenders we are!?

I first went to Cozumel in 1987 on my very first cruise, Bahama Star Line’s Veracruz, when Cozumel was not a well known port of call, and the ships that did stop there were much smaller than today’s mega-monsters. That first 5 day cruise on the Veracruz, got me hooked on cruising for life, and I have fond memories of the 3 cruises I took on her the first two years alone, eventually expending my cruise repertoire to now over 75 cruises on various cruise lines with different cruise lengths and regions of the world That tiny ship, the Veracruz was only 10,000 tons or so with perhaps 700 passengers, and there were no balconies, specialty dining, internet (Internet! ??? It wasn’t even invented yet!???), but it brings back great memories to this day, and many former passengers and staff have commented on my Veracruz post from a few years back with their stories down memory lane on her as well.

Anyway, sorry I digress down memory lane. What reminded me of Cozumel and the Veracruz, was the Hotel that you see in port, at the International Terminal where we were docked on the MSC Seaside. That Hotel has been there for years, although has undergone many renovations (even now) due to hurricanes and general upkeep and modernization.

It was formerly called “El Sol”, Spanish for “The Sun”. I never stayed there, or even visited the property, so DOS and I toured the lobby of the hotel and grounds, which although under partial renovation, looked very nice. Even though it was so close and just across the dock area from the cruise ships, it had a secluded feel to it, with a nice pool facing our ship, a nature walk with outdoor spa, whirlpool, bar etc, and was tropically landscaping as well. DOS even went to inquire on room types and rates at the Front Desk before we left, which is now called “El Cid La Ceiba”.

In my younger, “Veracruz” days, (pre-DOS) I would take the old Fiesta party boat as a shore excursion to a private beach, with unlimited rum punch and a piñata party and dancing on the way back to the port.

I’m sure they have something similar to the Fiesta boat now, but we skipped the party scene on this return trip to Cozumel, although did have a look in at Margaritaville and Senior Frogs. I settled for my souvenir cap from Ron Jon’s Surf Shop in Cozumel, and we made our way back to the ship for lunch. It was a beautiful day in Cozumel while we here on the MSC Seaside in mid-October 2023.

MISC/OTHER Onboard Experiences : On MSC Seaside, there were several other optional tours and events, wine tastings, backstage tours, Bingo, Slot Pulls etc you could signup and pay for, although we did not do any of them; not so much out of lack of interest, rather there were so many other activities to do, and hanging out by day at the Yacht Club pool area was one of them! ?

Behind-the-Scenes Tour: I would have loved to have taken MSC’s Behind the Scenes Tour, but it was quite an extensive tour and required lots of walking up stairs and other areas of the ship (per their description) and as I’m still recovering from my heart surgery last year and I didn’t want to over-exert myself, although I’m doing fine walking on level surfaces. The backstage tour includes off-limits areas to guests including the Engine Room, Galley, Bridge, and Backstage of the Main theater among others. The Backstage Theater tour was always my favorite on Celebrity Cruises, and I’m sure this all inclusive Behind-the-Scenes tour would fail to disappoint as well.

Wine Tasting Events: Another event that sounded promising was one of the wine tastings. We walked by the display table for the wine tasting event that was setup adjacent the Butcher Cut (Specialty steak dining venue), and it looked quite elegant with various size Riedel glassware and fine wines. We’ve done many ship wine tastings on many different ships, and have always enjoyed them, so from the descriptions of the wine tasting it sounded very nice; again it was more of a timing thing for us. We enjoyed one wine tasting event on Celebrity Cruises years ago, that got us hooked on the Riedel glassware and use it to this day (after breaking a few glasses over the years and replenishing them obviously!)? A proper wine tasting with Riedel should include a different type glass for each varietal tasted, noting the differences and shapes in the stemware, paired with the appropriate wine for the glass from which you are sampling.

Caviar Tasting : We did not do this, but met a couple of ladies in the Yacht Club who did, and loved it! I believe the cost was $50 for this tasting, which is held at Butcher’s Cut Steakhouse at various times.

Specialty Dining : There are several Specialty Dining venues on board, including the Butcher’s Cut, an Asian Restaurant, and a Seafood Restaurant. The Butcher’s Cut especially looked wonderful for me Steve (UNO) as I’m a steak and potatoes kind of guy, and the cuts of beef (and wines) are on display adjacent to the Specialty Restaurant’s Lounge and worth at least having a look. /

We actually enjoyed the Yacht Club Restaurant so much we didn’t even make it to one of the Specialty Dining’s Restaurants aboard (although I would have chosen The Butcher’s Cut if we had gone) as we had an included complimentary Specialty Restaurant dinner with my (status match) Diamond status on MSC. Passing up on a complimentary meal at Butcher’s Steakhouse tells you how much we enjoyed The Yacht Club’s restaurant. (Actually though, I was getting a bit Filet Mignon’d out by the fourth day!)?

Optic Eye: This was unique to us, and again we didn’t do this, but it was interesting, at least in concept. According to MSC, “it’s all the rage in Europe”, although we’ve never heard of it there either. Basically they scan your eyes with a device similar to one at an optometrist office, and it creates a colorful artwork design of your eyes, enlarged to make a poster, photo, canvas etc. I don’t know maybe it’s me, but I don’t think I would want my eyes staring at me all the time at home in the living room, but it is a unique conversation piece.?

BINGO! Everyone knows Bingo and if you play it, you know it! Onboard every cruise ship.

Zip Lining! This is one activity I definitely wouldn’t do, but was hoping to watch. They only offer it certain times of day, and unfortunately the last sea day was a bit windy so it was closed. I just wanted to video the brave souls that soared high over mid ship’s top deck toward the aft pool area. The zip line, (after you sign your life away waiver) costs $11 a zip. No thank you from the Steve’s, although it’s probably a blast if you’re an adventurer type.

I’m sure there are many other paid events and experiences aboard, but these caught my “eye” so to speak, out of interest even though we didn’t do them. There were plenty of free activities as well such as trivia, karaoke, dance classes, beach parties, pool parties, sail-away parties, etc, etc, etc. Whatever you do, you won’t be bored or run out of things to do, and you certainly won’t go hungry.

Farewell Day at Sea: The last day of the cruise is traditionally sad for us, as you have to pack up and realize the cruise is ending early the next morning. On this cruise, most likely due to the Yacht Club service, accommodations, easy itinerary and mostly casual clothes, we were really able to relax the last day.

Traditionally the first and last night of a cruise are very casual with the idea being passengers just arrived and/or have not unpacked their luggage, or on the last day have already packed up their luggage for the trip home. On MSC in the YC at least, about 50% of the passengers dressed up in semi-formal attire for the farewell Italian dinner on the last night of the cruise. This was the only night I wore shorts to the dining room as we had already packed and were only traveling an hour home to Orlando the next day. I felt a bit uncomfortable although quite a few other Floridians and others were wearing shorts as well. Some of the passengers also wore shorts to dinner on the port days, but mostly it was dress casual aboard except for the one formal night, which was not the last night of the cruise.

We spent a good part of the day by the pool area, having lunch as usual at the outdoor YC buffet. As a nice afternoon treat, the waiters come by and pass out your choice of ice cream too!

For dinner, it was Italian night, and all of the waiters were dressed in tuxes with the Italian flag colors for the tie and vest. Even the tables had alternating colors of red, white, and green of the Italian flag.

Disembarkation: We had our farewell breakfast in the YC Restaurant at 8am on disembarkation day, as the regular pool-side buffet breakfast was not served on the last morning. Having the full breakfast and not being rushed on Debarkation Day was especially nice vs the normal Continental Breakfast you get on some lines as you’re in a hurry to get off the ship and avoid crowds.

After breakfast, we waited for a bit with the other YC guests in the Top Sail lounge as we waited to be called; rather escorted down to the exit one last time. The “walk off” guests were called first; i.e. those passengers aboard the ship (everyone, not just YC) who were carrying their own luggage off the ship (as opposed to checked luggage), which must have been a few hundred passengers. No rush for us though as we were comfortably seated in the lounge area.

We disembarked around 9:10am, and were escorted all the way to the exit, following a roped off line so the passenger mix wouldn’t get in with our flow of YC traffic. Our luggage was waiting for us in the terminal, and we got a porter to assist us (very smart move!), who wheeled our luggage thru Customs and all the way to our parking spot in the parking garage. We were on our way home by 9:30am, and home by 10:35am; quite an easy disembarkation and trip home. Welcome Home!

Final Thoughts on the MSC Seascape after our first sailing:

Certain areas of the MSC Seascape (more so than allowed on most other cruise lines) allow smoking. This seemed to be the main pool on the starboard side, but even the YC allowed smoking on the front portion (away from the pool though) starboard side. I don’t recall anyone smoking in the YC area however, so it wasn’t a problem for us, although on the main pool area starboard side there were quite a few smokers. The casino allows smoking but it is really filtered well, so wasn’t terrible just walking thru it, as we don’t gamble.
YC is truly a class by itself, and is so worth it if you can afford it. Compared to booking a suite on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, or Princess, it’s quite a bit cheaper as well, and RCL doesn’t include the drink package with all but the very top suites, nor their Beach Club access on their private island (an extra $200 a person for the one day there!)
The production shows in the theater do not allow you to bring a drink into them. Not a huge deal though as the shows are typically 30 -35 minutes. There were actually 5 production shows on this 7 night cruise, plus two comedy shows. The shows were shorter, except for the Michael Jackson show which lasted about 45 minutes vs 30 minutes for the others.
YC service includes Butlers who will escort you anywhere on the ship, and for disembarking in port as well as final debarkation. While we normally only used this service for the theater shows and going off the ship, it really does save lots of time, and makes it much easier to attend the shows, as you don’t need a reservation for the reserved YC seating area. Main passenger guests need to make reservations for the shows and queue up, while YC passengers are escorted by a butler 10-15 minutes prior to show time in a dedicated seating area which always had seats for us and others, even on the full shows.
YC guests do not need a reservation for dinner as it’s open seating in the YC Dining Room. Other guests must make reservations for dinner, and depending on the fare level you paid, you may not be able to pre-reserve your dining preference at one of the three seatings.
To us it seemed a bit of an oddity, but there are ATM-like credit card verification kiosks several places aboard the ship, where you needed to verify your credit card to enable charging on your account. We just thought it was a given to charge your credit card on file, but I guess some people put down a cash deposit, and need to have a card cover their excess charges on board. We just provided a credit card and “activated” (that’s what MSC calls it) when we boarded, and we were good to go for any incidentals.
The YC covers all meals, 2 internet devices per person, virtually all alcoholic and other drinks, Butler and Room Attendant services, complimentary room service (you can even order a whole pizza to your room!), dedicated Concierge service, nightly turn down service (with chocolates!), daily choice of newspapers, pillow menu, etc: so worth it all! Best of all are the dedicated spaces for it’s own restaurant, lounge, private pool and sundeck area, and the YC Beach section at Ocean Cay, as well as complimentary access to the Spa Thermal Suite.
The YC does NOT include daily staff gratuities, shore excursions, spa, or gift shop items.
MSC will “status match” their frequent quest program to another cruise line or an elite Frequent Flyer or Hotel Program. I got status matched with Hyatt Globalist which gave me Diamond status with MSC. It’s not a huge benefit, but provides a 5% discount, and one specialty dinner aboard. The YC restaurant itself was so good, however, we didn’t even go to one of the specialty dining venues, even though we had a complimentary meal at the speciality restaurant of our choice.
At least on the Seaside out of Port Canaveral, the shipboard announcements were not as many in quantity as we expected. It’s possible these (except for emergency or Captain’s announcements) were muted in the YC area, but we didn’t hear any more than you would on a Princess or RCL ship. This would be different in Europe I imagine due to the many nationalities boarding there, as well as the different length of cruises, even within the same 7 or 10 day itinerary (people may disembark in one port, vs taking the whole roundtrip cruise like on the Seaside out of Port Canaveral).

Finally, If you’re still here reading this; thanks for sticking around! I’ll finish this lengthy post with the finale the MSC singers and dancers concluded the Michael Jackson show with on the final night of the cruise. This song was a fitting sendoff to everyone, and in effect the ship itself is a bit of the United Nations itself with the multiple nationalities from both crew and passengers, that make up this floating city. The video is taken from the back of the theater, so it’s not the best quality, but it gives a happy and bittersweet moment for the end of show and cruise. Thanks for reading, and God bless the crew members here and worldwide that work so hard for us, and are away from their families for months at a time, so that we may enjoy our cruises. Take care everyone, and safe and happy travels!

← Welcome Aboard the MSC Seaside’s Yacht Club!
Happy Birthday to Steve DOS from DISNEY SPRINGS! →

6 thoughts on “ The Steve’s Review of MSC Seaside’s Yacht Club ”

Steves, thank you so much for taking the time to write this exhaustive description of your experiences. It is chock full of useful information that I will make good use of.

My pleasure! We enjoy sharing our experiences and tips with others. Thanks for your comments!

Hi both We are booked on MSC SEASHORE which I presume is mostly identical in October. Yacht Club….. I can’t wait for this top notch experience. Your review brought it to life especially the private island. Your writeup of the boarding experience was very informative and will mean hopefully we wont wait in the wrong queue with no fizz! Excellent and thanks

Hi Graham, glad you enjoyed my post on the Yacht Club. While we haven’t taken the Seashore, from what I’ve read (as it’s based in North America) it should be a very similar experience. As the Yacht Club is such an intimate and enhanced experience, you’ll meet many of your fellow YC passengers there, and everyone we met said they would only do the YC on MSC again it was so wonderful! Enjoy your trip on the Seashore!

Thank you so much for this really detailed review. We were suggested Yacht Club by our travel agent but we haven’t yet made a final decision based on so many negative reviews of both MSC and the Yacht Club. Your review makes me much more likely to give it a try this coming October!!

You will love the Yacht Club if you do it. Yes, MSC itself has had some negatives; mainly due to the ‘nickel and diming’, required reservations for shows etc in the basic MSC lower, non YC cabins.. The Yacht Club, however is in a totally different league. There are only about 200 passengers in the YC, and it feels like a “country club” setting. You are free to explore the ship ship anywhere, however it feels so special coming back “home” to the YC. I really think you will like it. We’ve sailed many cruises on many lines, and we were quite impressed with the level of service and attention to details. Enjoy!

MSC Seaside Cruise Review

I f you are looking for a good value for your money (and who isn’t these day?), then I’d recommend taking a look at MSC. On our recent fall cruise on the MSC Seaside, we found the Seaside to be clean, with nice open public spaces, and a gracious crew. The value of the cruise to the money we spent was fantastic, and this was the weighty factor in our choosing this ship and line.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

How to get to port canaveral cruise port, hilton orlando buena vista palace – disney springs area, wyndham grand orlando resort bonnet creek, cabana bay resort, booking your cruise on msc seaside.

Bella, Fantastica and Aurea Experiences: What are the Differences & Perks

Stateroom Perks and Features

All suites on msc seaside come with aurea experience perks, pre/post cruise option orlando theme parks.

The ship is home-ported in Port Canaveral, Florida. Port Canaveral is easily reached by flights into Orlando International airport, Orlando Sanford International, and even Jacksonville International airport. However, out of the three, Orlando is the easiest, both in terms of the number of daily flights, and ease of airport navigation.

My suggestion, especially if arriving through either Orlando International or Orlando Sanford International is to add a day to the front end and a day to the back end of your MSC Seaside cruise and explore the area. There is so much to do in Orlando, and certainly don’t discount Port Canaveral – it has a lot as well, including Kennnedy Space Center. Once you’ve arrived, you can either rent a car , or hire a car service to take you to the port on the day of embarkation.

Where to Stay If I Arrive Early

There are so many options here! You can stay in Orlando, and there are several hotels we like in this area. If you want to arrive a few days prior to your cruise and visit the theme parks – Disney or Universal, you can stay at one of the park-affiliated hotels. If visiting Disney, and staying in one of the affiliated hotels, you will get complimentary transportation to and from the resort and the park.

Hotel Options for Pre/Post MSC Seaside Cruise Stay for Disney World

I don’t know about you, but I hate having to pay for parking….especially at theme parks! So whenever we visit Disney or Universal, we try to stay at one of the theme park recommended hotels that offer shuttle service.

The Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace is located within the Disney World Resort and provides FREE theme park transfer service, making it one of our top choices for a theme park resort stay. Another plus is that it is connected to the Disney Springs dining and entertainment complex, which is one of my favorite places to visit.

The guest rooms have flat-screen TVs, small refrigerators (a nice perk!) and good bed linens. It is part of the Hilton brand, so if you are a frequent traveler and part of their reward program, you may get better pricing and/or perks. Amenities include on-site parking, breakfast, two pools, 4 restaurants, wifi throughout, fitness center, bar, and a golf course nearby.

The Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek is another hotel within the Disney resort group, and offers a FREE shuttle to the Disney parks. This hotel offers five swimming pools, they are pet friendly (Zach loves staying at the Wyndham!), two restaurants, and a spa. Perched on Lake Buena Vista with gorgeous tropical foliage, this hotel is amazing!

The rooms have flat-screen TVs, iPod docking stations, refrigerators, robes and spa amenities in each room. The spa is perfect for getting relaxed from all the park activities before you leave for your cruise. It offers both inside and outside treatment rooms, and a nail salon. There is also a fitness room and lagoon style resort pool. We’ve stayed at the Wyndham, though it has been several years, and one of our top reasons for choosing this hotel is that they are pet friendly, IF you are not visiting prior to a cruise departure, you’ll be really pleased with the dog-friendly option .

Hotel Options for Pre/Post MSC Seaside Cruise Stay for Universal Orlando

At Cabana Bay Resort not only do you get COMPLIMENTARY shuttle service to the parks, you also get EARLY PARK ADMISSION to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter & Volcano Bay water park an hour before the park officially opens, making this resort one of the best choices for a pre-cruise stay. All the rooms at the resort feature flat-screen TVs, and other amenities include on-site parking, six restaurants, two pools, coffee shop (I love hotels and resorts that offer this – I don’t function without my early morning cup of coffee!) and wifi throughout the resort.

10 Quick Facts About the MSC Seaside

The Seaside debuted in 2017, and was considered the 14th largest ship in the world
The Yacht Club provides more than other ship’s VIP sections. On the Seaside, the exclusive Yacht Club area is extremely large, covering 5 decks! In addition to the perks listed above, the private Yacht Club offers a themed restaurant, private theater, private pool and a private bowling alley!
The ship does not offer a quantity of dining experiences; however they are laser focused on the quality of the food that they serve.
The entertainment is high quality; one of the things we love about this ship is that the shows were all broadway quality.
There are nine bars and lounges onboard the Seaside, so there are plenty of options for sipping.
There are four pool, four water slides, three hot tubs.
The spa is phenomenal, and I loved the hydro therapy pool and heated ceramic beds
MSC puts a high priority on kids , so there are kids clubs for all ages, including teens, and a fun waterpark that will keep them entertained.
Dress onboard is casual during the day and business casual in the evenings.
They designed the ship for maximum passenger flow, meaning that there are shorter wait times for the elevators, even during the high traffic times.

What To Not to Take on a Cruise

First time cruisers, and even some seasoned travelers struggle with what to take on a cruise. Here is a list of things you don’t need to take on your MSC cruise:

Coffee maker/electric kettle
Beach towels
Candles / Incense
Expensive jewelry
Too many clothes/shoes
Power strip / Extension cord

What should you bring with you on your cruise:

A lanyard to keep your cruise card
Backpack / Beach bag
Cash for tips (PRO TIP: Prepay for your gratuities)
Cross body purse (women)
Waterproof phone case
Rain poncho

Cruising on MSC Seaside – What to Know & How to Plan

We were pleasantly surprised by our MSC cruise , especially the cost to value. MSC is a relative newcomer to the North American cruising market, having entered into the US market in 2017. It has undergone many changes during this time, and now, in my humble opinion, with the options it brings it is quickly becoming a major competitor for Carnival, Royal Caribbean and even Celebrity.

Prior to my booking our MSC cruise on the Seaside , I did extensive research, reading countless reviews across a myriad number of publications. The reviews were mixed, but there was one strand running through them all – MSC has a few quirks and snags that are still being worked through in the North American market. That said, in our experience, having taken two MSC cruises in 2023 they are working out their quirks.

The booking process is a multi-step and multi-stage process. First you choose where you want to cruise to; then your departure port option(s); in the US these departure ports are New York, Miami, Port Canaveral (Orlando), and debuting in 2025 will be Galveston. Once you choose your departure port, then you will choose your departure date, a selection of all the ports that encompass the destination will show, click on the port you want, and then a selection of dates will show, along with the length of the cruise, and the beginning price, along with the ship.

The next stage is to select the cruise you want, with the itinerary you want. Once you do that, a screen pops up that reads “Choose Your Cruise Offer.” We choose the Best Value because it includes a drink package, and it is still quite affordable. Once you’ve chosen your cruise offer, the window brings you the total cost of the cruise, without any upgrades. When you click “Next” you’ll be taken to a screen that reads “Select Your Stateroom Category.”

Choose your category, you’ll see the new total for the cruise, click “Next.” Now you choose your cruise experience – Bella, Fantastic, or Aurea. We prefer the Aurea experience, because of some of the perks like Anytime Dining that are included. Then you get to choose your stateroom (in both the Bella and Fantasia experiences, you will be assigned a stateroom). Finally the last few steps involve inputting your personal information, and voilá you’ve booked your cruise! The booking process is not hard nor complicated, but there are a lot of steps to the final “I’ve booked my cruise stage.”

Bella, Fantastica and Aurea Experiences : What are the Differences & Perks

MSC’s cabins are attached to bookable “experiences,” which are Bella, Fantastica, Aurea and MSC Yacht Club. Each of these experiences offers a list of amenities and multiple cabin types.

The Bella Experience is the most basic of all and includes all the standard amenities, including line-branded toiletries, free buffet and main dining room meals, and most entertainment. Fantastica adds a few perks, such as free breakfast delivery to the cabin and the chance to request preferred dinner sitting in the main dining room.

Passengers who book the MSC Seaside Aurea Experience will get the most spacious cabins, along with privileges such as priority embarkation and disembarkation; prosecco and chocolate on arrival; free 24-hour room service, and free access to the Top Exclusive Solarium, anytime dining, and other perks.

The MSC Yacht Club is the highest cabin category, and it really is an all-inclusive luxury experience! This experience offers access to the accommodations via key card. The experience also includes dining in a private restaurant just for the Yacht Club, a private sundeck and pool, and an exclusive lounge with food and drinks, 24-hour butler service, free access to the spa’s thermal suite, and luggage packing/unpacking services.

Now that your cruise day is finally here, and you are set to depart, so what can you expect onboard your MSC Seaside cruise?

MSC Seaside Cabins

The standard cabin sizes on the MSC Seaside are, by industry standards, average. They all have two twin beds that can be pushed together for a king. Every cabin includes a couch, small nightstands, hair dryer, desk with chair, and a minibar (you will pay for these items), a spacious closet with sliding doors, flat-screen TV that is interactive with the MSC for Me app, on-demand movies (again for a fee), news channels, and cruise information channel.

The lights are turned on with your cruise card, and near the door are two switches to let your cabin steward know the room needed to be made up – this was confusing, because the lights are outside your door in the hall, so we had to double check we had hit the correct button.

A major plus for us was the number of outlets, including USB outlets. We each had six individual electronics – our phones, smart watches, and kindles, and we were able to plug all of them in.

The bathrooms are small compared to other cruise lines that we cruised on. The counter area is small, but there is a lot of shelf space. The toiletries are shampoo and shower gel. We were disappointed there was no body lotion; especially on a Bahamas cruise where you want the lotion after a day in the ocean.

Interior: MSC Seaside interior cabins come in two different categories – Deluxe and Premium. All sleep up to five guests and range from 151 to 301 square feet. Instead of a sofa, these rooms have a chair.

Ocean View: The ship’s outside cabins are all located on Deck 5 and come in at 183 square feet each.

Balcony: Non-suite balcony staterooms on MSC Seaside range in size between 172 and 183 square feet (not including balconies). Deluxe balcony cabins have a 54-square-foot balcony with two upright chairs and a small drinks table; Deluxe Balcony Aurea rooms are all on Deck 9 and feature 97-square-foot balconies, two loungers, and a chair and table. Some cabins in this category also have showers with bathtubs.

Junior Suite: These units offer 183 square feet of indoor space plus a 172-square-foot balcony that has two loungers and a drinks table. Junior Suites can only be booked with the Aurea experience.

Deluxe Suite Aurea: Located on decks 9 to 15, these entry-level suites offer 215 square feet of indoor space, plus 86 square feet of outdoor space.

Premium Suite Aurea: The most basic Premium Suite on MSC Seaside comes in between 280 and 344 square feet and features large balconies ranging in size from 97 to 151 square feet. Units with terraces are slightly larger at 301 square feet; the highlight is the massive 409-square-foot outdoor space.

Premium Suites with private on-balcony whirlpools are 301 square feet apiece. In addition to large balconies (75 square feet) with upright seating and a small drinks table, they also include a sitting area with sofa, a small glass table and a walk-in closet.

Grand Suites: They range from 377 to 527 square feet with up to 183-square-foot balconies that hold several upright chairs and a couple of drinks tables. Each also offers an indoor dining table with chairs, a sofa and small glass table, and a walk-in closet.

These suites feature either one or two bedrooms, plus two bathrooms, including one with a tub.

Dining Onboard the Seaside

There are two main dining rooms on MSC’s Seaside, Seashore and Ipanema, and they are identical. You will be assigned to one of these two dining rooms. If you book in the Aurea experience, then you will be assigned a dining room, but you can dine anytime at the assigned restaurant during the open hours. Our first night onboard we were seated in a very private and intimate table by a window, and that is where we dined each evening. It was pleasant, and we felt as if we were on a date every night! You were not rushed to finish dinner, so we lingered and savored our meals and wine.

The food was tasty and well prepared, however the menu is not large. If red meat is not on the menu and you would like a steak, they will offer it, but it will be with an uncharge for the Linz heritage beef. The portions were not large, which appealed to Jim and I as we don’t like large portions, we prefer to order an appetizer, a salad or soup, our entree, and finish with dessert. The waitstaff was always smiling, pleasant and knowledgeable about the dishes.

The other dining venues on the Seaside included two buffet options, The Marketplace Buffet on Deck 8 (open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and the Biscayne Bay Buffet on Deck 16 (open for Breakfast & lunch), and both offer almost the same cuisine. We found that Biscayne Bay was noisy, because of so many families. We preferred the Marketplace. One standout item that MSC does well is their pizza. It is, in my opinion, the very best pizza I have eaten on any ship. Do not miss trying this stellar dish!

MSC does offer four speciality restaurants, the Asian Market, Ocean Cay, Butcher’s Cut, and Venichi 1878; however we opted out of these. We find speciality restaurants can be a niche change up on a longer cruise, but for a short 3 night Bahamas cruise, we did not try them.

Overall I believe that MSC is a great value for the money, and a cruise line that is a good choice for families. We’ve taken two cruises on MSC, one for my husband and I and one with our family. Both cruises were fun, relaxing, and best of all, a good value for the money.

What’s New On Betsi Hill Travel

3 Romantic North Carolina Mountain Getaways
14 Best Things to do In Wilmington, NC & Where to Stay
Dive Into Paradise: Discover 10 of the Best Snorkeling Spots in the Florida Keys!
10 Easy Tips To Packing a Suitcase Efficiently & Effectively For Two Weeks

If you are looking for a good value for your money (and who isn’t these day?), then I’d recommend taking a look at MSC. On our recent fall cruise on the MSC Seaside, we found the Seaside to be clean, with nice open public spaces, and a gracious crew. The value of the cruise to the money we spent was fantastic, and this was the weighty factor in our choosing this ship and line. Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to […]

IMAGES

Seaside Park Yacht Club in Seaside Park, NJ, United States
Seaside Park Yacht Club in Seaside Park, NJ, United States
Seaside Park Yacht Club in Seaside Park, NJ, United States
Seaside Park Yacht Club in Seaside Park, NJ, United States
Seaside Park Yacht Club in Seaside Park, NJ, United States
Seaside Park Yacht Club in Seaside Park, NJ, United States

VIDEO

MSC Seaside Yacht Club Suite 10839 tour
MSC Seashore Yacht club experience
MSC Seaside Yacht Club Deluxe Suite tour 16027
ULTRA LUXURY CRUISE: Sea Dream Yacht Club Ep. 1
MSC Seaside Yacht Club
Dubai yacht beach seaside

COMMENTS

Seaside Park Yacht Club
With so few reviews, your opinion of Seaside Park Yacht Club could be huge. Start your review today. Overall rating. 1 reviews. 5 stars. 4 stars. 3 stars. 2 stars. 1 star. Filter by rating. Search reviews. Search reviews. Louis R. Jersey City, NJ. 2375. 2177. 884. 8/16/2010. First to Review.
Seaside Park Yacht Club Reviews, Ratings
29 customer reviews of Seaside Park Yacht Club. One of the best Recreation business at 209 S Bayview Ave, Seaside Park NJ, 08752 United States. Find Reviews, Ratings, Directions, Business Hours, Contact Information and book online appointment.
MSC Seaside Yacht Club
For our experience, my wife and I chose the Yacht Club level of stateroom, and our three children joined us. Other staterooms available include inside (no windows), ocean view (window), balcony, and balcony suite. Some rooms hold two guests, while other rooms can hold 5-6. MSC Seaside was launched in December 2017 and quickly received a number ...
Seaside Park Yacht Club
On August 29, 1899 the Seaside Park Yacht Club was founded to promote yachting and rowing, to foster athletic sport upon the water, and to promote the general prosperity of Seaside Park. CELEBRATING 125 YEARS. EVENTS CALENDER. Become a Member. Join now 209 S. Bayview Ave., Seaside Park, NJ 08752
Seaside Park Yacht Club ⋆ The Sailing Museum
Seaside Park Yacht Club. seasideparkyachtclub.com. 209 S. Bayview Avenue. P.O. Box 428. Seaside Park , NJ 08752. (732) 793-9611. Located on Barnegat Bay on the barrier island town of Seaside Park, New Jersey, SPYC was founded in 1899, beginning with a series of Sneak Box races for large cash prizes that evolved into first a Sneak Box owners ...
Seaside Park Yacht Club
Seaside Park Yacht Club, Seaside Park, NJ, United States Marina. Find marina reviews, phone number, boat and yacht docks, slips, and moorings for rent at Seaside Park Yacht Club.
Seaside Park Yacht Club
Seaside Park Yacht Club is a NJ marina in Seaside Park with discounts, deals and promotions available on Marinalife. Destinations. find a marina. ... Seaside Park, NJ. Play in the Heart of downtown baltimore (5.0) See all reviews. 732-793-9611. Bay Front. Seaside Park, NJ. 8752
Seaside Park, New Jersey Yacht Club Documentary #SPYC
Since 1899, the Seaside Park, New Jersey Yacht Club has fostered a love for the sport of sailing on the Barnegat Bay, summer at the Jersey shore and sense of...
Who We Are
For over 124 years, Seaside Park Yacht Club has been a destination for sailors from around the area of all ages and generations for the summer season. Our club is rich in history with roots dating back to 1898 with the concept being developed in our forefather's basement. ... 209 S. Bayview Ave., Seaside Park, NJ 08752 [email protected] ...
Seaside Park Yacht Club
The Seaside Park Yacht Club is a cool & historic place to hang and check out the boats and learn how to sail. It has dining & social events and a competive group of sail boaters competing on Barnegat Bay.
Seaside Park Yacht Club-PRIVATE
Reviews: Seaside Park Yacht Club-PRIVATE. Thanks for your valuable feedback! Review Now. ... Seaside Park Yacht Club-PRIVATE. Bay Front Seaside Park, NJ 08752 MM 15.5 Lat / Lon: N 39° 55.320' / W 074° 04.940' Contact: Kathy Buerle; Phone: (732) 793-9611; Email: [email protected]
An insanely detailed Seaside Yacht Club Review!
I had actually booked three (!) Seaside Yacht Club cruises because of the great deals available and the increasingly insane prices in The Haven. NCL has over-priced the Haven IMO, and the bidding leads to less pre-books. Also, simply not the same 'venues as the YC.
Seaside Park Yacht Club
The Seaside Park Yacht Club (SPYC) owes its birth to Henry J. West of Gloucester, N.J., who inaugurated a series of sneak box races on Barnegat Bay for large cash prizes. The principal contenders in these races were the Life Guards who manned the then "Life Saving Stations," which eventually became the United States Coast Guard stations.
The Steve's Review of MSC Seaside's Yacht Club
The Steve's Review of MSC Seaside's Yacht Club. Steve (DOS) and I sailed MSC's Seaside cruise ship for the first time this past week; October 15 - 22, 2023 for a 7 night cruise to MSC's Ocean Cay (MSC's private island in the Bahamas), Costa Maya, and Cozumel Mexico. As this was a new cruise line for us, I'll detail my/our ...
I tried the cheapest MSC Cruises Yacht Club suite. Here's what to know
• Interior Yacht Club Cabin $1,709 per person • Balcony Yacht Club Cabin $2,740 per person . For my cruise, the premium drink package was $497 per adult, and two device internet package was $134.26 per person. The thermal cruise pass was $130 per day. So this alone would almost make it worth the upgrade, with $760 in benefits.
Membership Info
The Seaside Park Yacht Club is rich with history and tradition. From May through October, you and your family can enjoy boating and the many social events our members sponsor. Club functions on weekends range from casual cookouts to gala formal dinner dances. ... 209 S. Bayview Ave., Seaside Park, NJ 08752 [email protected]. N 39 55 39 W ...
MSC Seaside Cruise Review
On the Seaside, the exclusive Yacht Club area is extremely large, covering 5 decks! In addition to the perks listed above, the private Yacht Club offers a themed restaurant, private theater ...
Expert Review of MSC Seaside Cruise Ship
Check out Cruise *Critic's* expert review of the MSC Seaside cruise ship for the best insider tips on deck plans, cabins, food, entertainment and more.
Expert Review of MSC Seaside Cruise Ship
CRUISE REVIEW MSC SEASIDE - Yacht Club Class START DATE - May 14, 2023 - SEVEN NIGHTS Read more. Cabin Review. Yacht Club Royal Suite. Helpful 10 ...
Adult Sailing
SPYC offers an adult sailing program for club members who have no experience with boats or sailing. Through 10 hours of instruction over 5 weeks we will teach you: Boating safety. Parts of a sailboat and sailing terminology. ... 209 S. Bayview Ave., Seaside Park, NJ 08752
Yacht Club Review MSC Seaside
Club Level-There is no substitute! We recently sailed on MSC Seaside and stayed in the Yacht Club, an exclusive luxury experience within a mega cruise ship. ...
History
The Seaside Park Yacht Club (SPYC) was incorporated in 1899 to promote yachting and rowing, to foster athletic sports upon the water, and to promote the general prosperity of Seaside Park. For well more than a century SPYC has fulfilled that mission. The distinctive club house, built on pilings in the bay, is home to a thriving membership of ...
Officers
"Welcome to Seaside Park Yacht Club, the Sailing Mecca of NJ and the East Coast." - Commodore John Wurch. Stephen Degeorgis. Vice Commodore. Kathleen Buerle. Rear Commodore. ... Fleet Captain. Ryan Stack. Port Captain. 209 S. Bayview Ave., Seaside Park, NJ 08752 [email protected]. N 39 55 39 W 74 04 90 ...

Seaside Park Yacht Club

You Might Also Consider

Recommended Reviews

People Also Viewed

Browse Nearby

People found Seaside Park Yacht Club by searching for…

Other Social Clubs Nearby

From the Commodore:

Seaside Park Yacht Club

Location Info

Fuel Prices

Max Length (ft):

Reviews: Seaside Park Yacht Club-PRIVATE

Seaside Park Yacht Club-PRIVATE

Current Review Policies

Review this Business

Apple Sign-In

Sign up to get Navigation Alerts and News delivered to your inbox!

Newsletter Sign-Up

An insanely detailed Seaside Yacht Club Review!

Recommended Posts

Dr. Cocktail

Link to comment

Booboochase

Two Wheels Only

Linda the Book Lover

Formula280SS

Please sign in to comment

Announcements

Features & News

Stories from the Seaside Park Yacht Club

SEASIDE PARK YACHT CLUB BECOMES NSHOF FOUNDING MEMBER

The Traveling Steve's

The Steve’s Review of MSC Seaside’s Yacht Club

6 thoughts on “ The Steve’s Review of MSC Seaside’s Yacht Club ”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

MSC Seaside Cruise Review

Table of Contents

Stateroom Perks and Features

Where to Stay If I Arrive Early

Hotel Options for Pre/Post MSC Seaside Cruise Stay for Disney World

Hotel Options for Pre/Post MSC Seaside Cruise Stay for Universal Orlando

10 Quick Facts About the MSC Seaside

What To Not to Take on a Cruise

Cruising on MSC Seaside – What to Know & How to Plan

Bella, Fantastica and Aurea Experiences : What are the Differences & Perks

MSC Seaside Cabins

Dining Onboard the Seaside

What’s New On Betsi Hill Travel

IMAGES

VIDEO

COMMENTS