JEWEL PARADISE COVE -Hilton's Curio Resort at Montego Bay, Jamaica

Husband had to have this as soon as we got off the plane!
Let's start this vacay!

View from our room...we saw three ships sail by in our 4 days!

This was waiting for us in the room upon arrival.  I guess they didn't want us get thirsty!

         Room was very nice and large.  Bummer though...the jacuzzi was not working.

Main bar at the center of the resort with swim-up bar and just steps away 

A week on MSC Seaside

The MSC Difference - MSC Seaside Review

Sailed from Miami to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Maarten Feb. 21, 2019

I wrote a blog about how beautiful this ship is last year.   I was treated to an overnight preview of the Seaside, but this is a review of my first full voyage with MSC.   MSC is somewhat newer to Florida sailing options and like every cruise line…they do some things different.  It was a great cruise and I did find myself comparing things but I want to say, I did enjoy my cruise and hope to go again on MSC.   Remember, don’t judge a ship or cruise line, on what you are used too!  Judge it compared to going to work back home!

Booking MSC

First, find the cruise route you desire.  Book your ship, then your cabin and your service level. You can choose multi levels of service from “no frills, room service, etc.” up to their Yacht Club Class.  In between they have Fantasica, Aurea Spa and Wellness, etc.  Make sure you check the ship layout!  The unique shape of the ship plays into a lot of factors.  Like the special cabins on Deck 9 with patios, the large overhangs over the balconies on the aft of the ship and more.  Your level will also determine things such as getting a robe, drink package class and other amenities.

Cabins

First, I need to explain as a TA I was given the opportunity to sail and review this ship at a great price but I did NOT get to pick my cabin.  I would not book this cabin again.

Because we were in cabin 15213,  I will point out some very necessary knowledge you will need to book your Seaside cruise.  The Balcony Cabins on the back of ship are under the Deck 16 platform the circles out…no sun…so…… choose a high deck in back if you don’t want sun on your balcony (would be nice if it was raining maybe). We were Port side and never saw the sun on the entire side of the ship on the way to Puerto Rico.  The biggest problem with being on Deck 15:  we were under the noisy area of Deck 16, deck chair noise above us and Deck 8 outside dining can be heard along with all the conversation. 

Another note:  Cabin layout changes every other cabin.  We could barely get into the closet as our bed was first and the sofa near the balcony. The bed in the next door cabin is reversed with the sofa near the closet.  However…a nice touch is that the sofa converts to bunk beds instead of having them over your head.  Very nice feature if you have 4 in your cabin.

There is definitely NOT enough drawer space in the cabins…but I loved the big drawer in the vanity with the blower dryer.  I was able to store my make-up, jewelry, brush, curling iron, etc. in there.

Please call me to help you pick the right cabin for You! 

Cabin Miscellaneous:  Balcony dividers open and snap in place halfway nicely. 

You must ask for robes unless you are booked in Aurea or Yacht Club and I was told they are only available if you have a Spa package/black card level passengers.

Room service dished not picked up promptly.  Dishes in the hall.  Good thing most cabin doors are inset!

Dining

Dining is also different.  Two Dining rooms with 3 services:  Ipanema at 5:15, 7:15 and 9:15 and the   Seashore at 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30.  Dinner is a bit rushed feeling as they are constantly removing dishes not used.  The Seashore dining room is near the aft and is open for served breakfast and lunch. Breakfast has the BEST Eggs Benedict at sea but you ask for butter even when ordering toast.  There is a definite language barrier but you will get by….haha.

The ship design with the dining rooms is a bit “old school”  You cannot walk thru levels with dining rooms.  It may tak awhile to remember to approach your assigned dining room form the floor below or over.

The ship also has TWO Buffet restaurants which you would think would be a benefit but it isn’t really.  The buffet on Deck 16 isn’t open very much, except for Pizza and the indoor grill….and…it is the one with the soft-serve ice cream, so I felt “denied” way too often…LOL.

There is no one coming around to refill your drinks or coffee.  It is all self serve literally.  On Deck 8 there is a bar with servers on one side.  Also on Deck 8, plenty of nice outside dining tables!

Specialty Dining

All specialty restaurants in the same area on Deck 16.  There are kind of out of the way to get to, but the best bar is up here.  The bartenders were actually great!  We had the privilege of dining with the TRIO package we pre-bought and enjoyed the food immensely.  We ate in the seafood restaurant “Ocean Cay”, the steakhouse “Butcher’s Cut” and the Pan-Asian restaurants.  Good to know:   menu, in each, are the SAME for Lunch or Dinner and not all restaurants are open every time/day.  You can book your Specialty dining in advance and you can make changes at the booth up on Deck 16, a feature like HAL to make reservations, which I love.

Specialty restaurants charged $5.18 for the water they serve you.  They ask if you want plain or sparkling water…so I said plain…then I find out they charged me.  That is only thing I didn’t care for!

Spa Thermal Area

I knew we wanted this service so we pre-paid and loved it. We were not disappointed with this purchase at all.  The only things I could think of for improvement would be a towel exchange,  We were forced to get a stack of towels when entering.  Only once  did an attendant come through offering an exchange.  There wasn’t much security so I am not positive people in the Spa weren’t free-loading.  It has plenty of showers, 2 suanas, 2 steam rooms, a Himalayan Salt room, large indoor Jacuzzi, 2 outdoor Jacuzzis with private sun tanning area, and a snow room! Separate dressing rooms and showers for Men and Women with lockers that are activated by your shipcard/bracelet.

Some Quick Miscellaneous Notes

• ·       MSC for Me is a great App!
• ·       Interactive stations throughout the ship to make reservations for shows and stuff.
• ·       The shows are great…as good as RCL for sure.
• ·       I feel the perfect demographics for sailing MSC is the 25-45 age group.
• ·     Elevators in the center and forward are in sections of 4 and 4…can’t see them all at once even though each bank of 4 is right next to each other…there is a thick section in between. One of the 4 shafts up front are for Yacht Club use only during peak times. The elevators in the aft are a bank of just 2 and go up to Deck 16, Bridge of Sighs.
• ·   Some of the staff can speak 6 languages…but there isn’t enough staff with good enough English.  A lot of major announcements were made in all 6 which made them lengthy.
• ·       Untrained bartenders
• ·       The aft area of the ship is where the party people hang
• ·       No separate concierge for Black cards
• ·       Quite a lot of foreign passengers which are ruder by American standards.  They will cut in front of you.  They will speak in their language loudly
• ·       Lot of long lines at guest service.  2^nd guest service area not open.
• ·   Photos are a mess.  Bad schedules, can’t find photos…scan thingy not working correctly
• ·    MSC does change the time in different time zones.  There is a small “time” on the phone inside the cabin and it also has alarm feature.
• ·       Our cabin had a fridge filled with mini-bar items.
• ·       Carry Off luggage disembarkation was very slow and disorganized.

Pictures to come