MSC Seaside – Part 1 – Our Cabins

Well, after a fantastic couple of days in Miami we were more than ready to embark the Cruise we had waited many months to join. Of the 11 people in my party, 3 of them were Cruise Virgins.

We pre paid transfers to the port on embarkation day and right on cue our wonderful driver arrived and we were off!

It was only a short 20 minutes to the port from our hotel and as Miami Port is one of the largest ports in world, I was anxious that we had a huge wait ahead of us waiting to board.

We had booked Aurea Suites for most of our party so there was a separate Queue available for such guests. It wasn’t a problem for the other cabins ( Fantastica) to check in along side us.

I wouldn’t say the port staff were rude but they didn’t waste time making sure we moved along smartly at all security checks and could come across as very stern. My daughters thought they were rude and felt a little bit uneasy with their approach but I think it was to keep the embarkation process flowing as we were soon on the ship and heading to our cabins.

The Whole process from Hotel to Cabin took less than an hour. Pretty good going I would say. One of the smoothest check ins i have experienced with any cruise line.

Like I mentioned, we had booked an Aurea Suite with Whirlpool as well as a Balcony cabin right next door. We had chosen the aft Aurea suite based on feedback from other guests. Our Whirlpool was shielded by our Balcony divider next door which actually helped block out the wind whilst at sea.

Here is a picture of the Aurea Suite (14211) with the beds out. Still plenty of space

These cabins hold upto 5 guests although there are actually 6 beds. The have twin/Double beds by the Balcony doors, a double sofa bed that as you can see makes up into a full sized bunk bed as well as another single sofa bed in the corner. These were neatly put away each morning to allow more space for everyone throughout the day.

You may think that having 5 people in one room is quite a squeeze but to be honest, there was more than enough room as all our guests were adults too ( Teens to be honest).

Storage in the Suite was helped by it having a full sized walk in wardrobe. Plenty of shelves and hanging space. We also used this space as a dressing area as it was separate. Again, this was useful with there being a mixture of ages sharing.

We also had a Bath with shower overhead. Another plus in my eyes.

The real pièce de résistance was the Whirlpool on out balcony.

As I mentioned earlier, the whirlpool was shielded from the wind by our balcony divider – Shown at the back of this photo.

It was left empty and we were able to fill with Cold or warm water whenever it suited us.

Next door with 3 occupants was the Balcony Cabin. ( 14205)

Ample space in here again with a rather large double and another single sofabed.

As you can see, behind the sofabed is the double wardrobe. Adequate for a 7 night sailing, but rather tight if travelling for any longer. We found access into the wardrobe difficult and annoying due to the third bed being so close up to it.

Both cabins were kept spotlessly clean throughout our 14 night cruise. Nothing was too much trouble for Dexter, our Steward.

Next time, I will show you around this amazing ship and all she has to offer.

Until then, thanks for reading

Di x