2019 Western Mediterranean and Transatlantic Cruises on MSC
Boarding the MSC Seaview - Rome -- October 30, 2019
Please click here for video of our trip on this day.
It's time to board our first cruise, on the MSC Seaview, for the 8-day Western Mediterranean Cruise. After the past few days exploring Rome, all of us were ready to get on the ship and relax a little while enjoying the food and amenities on the Seaview.
After cleaning up the apartment we took everything downstairs to wait for our ride that would take us from Rome to Civitavecchia. Emanuele and his associates will again come in two vehicles to take us all there. He was held up a little but we had no problem getting to port in time for an early check-in.
Waiting outside the apartment. Our rental unit is in the same building as the Hotel , but not part of it.
On the fifth floor.
The fruit stand right outside of the apartment.
Street view
After a long ride we arrived at the Port of Civitavecchia safely.
Emanuele in the middle and his associate.
Checking in was a breeze with no lines or crowds probably because not everybody was boarding here. MSC usually board and debark passengers at every port they stop at so the embarking and debarking procedures aren't that massive.
After boarding, we were taken to the lounge to sit and be lectured by some crew members who wanted to sell the drink and dinner packages. They really tried very hard to sell these even before sailing!
Like most cruises, we were then directed to the buffet restaurant for lunch while waiting to get inside our cabins. There are two buffet restaurants on Seaview and we generally went to the one on deck 8 since it was closer to our cabins. I must say that the food was surprisingly good, especially the pesto pizza and the roasted chicken and pork were all good.
First plate of food including a piece of their fantastic pizzas.
It wasn't that crowded at first but got filled up soon after.
Surprised to see fresh persimmons being served at the fruit bar.
Back in our room a bowl of fresh fruits was waiting as members of the Voyagers Club.
The Seaview took better care of the Voyagers Club members than the Divina, as we later experienced.
We were upgraded from an inside to a balcony cabin through the bidding procedure for $55 per person for the first two passengers. A good deal for $110 extra. It was still a little crowded for the four of us but we figured we would be in port everyday and only needed it for sleeping during the week. The balcony made a difference though.
Seaview is just a little over one-year old. As can be seen here, the tissue box was empty. When I asked the room steward, he said they only provide Kleenex to VIPs and Black card members now. He was kind enough to secretly slipped a box to me but I thought that was really strange.
Nice day in Civitavecchia.
We figured that since this is a port-intensive sailing, we probably won't have much time spent on board. This would be a good chance for us to check out the ship.
Adult pool in the aft of the ship.
Almost like an apartment building.
Geleto station
The famous MSC crystal staircase.
Atrium
This is a modern, stylish ship which has a lot of shining effects.
Port of Civitavecchia
Zip-lining
There are certainly a lot of fun activities on board the Seaview to keep passengers busy. It's a huge and beautiful ship.
The mandatory drill took place at 5:00 and it was easy and painless. We did not find any life jackets in the cabin and we were told that they will distribute when necessary. After the assembly, they took us to the station in groups, then dismissed us in about two minutes.
Dinner was assigned at a table for 10 in the Golden Sand Restaurant on deck 5. Food was quite good and tasty. Unlike our first MSC cruise in 2012, the menu is now more like any other main stream cruise lines instead of the Italian style of courses.
We were assigned to early dining at the main restaurant which fit us fine.
Seafood and Vegetable Potstickers Combo
Pork Loin in Tuna Salad
Potato Lentil Soup
Prime Rib
Lasagna
Opera Cake
Fresh Fruit plate
"For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." --Romans 6:14
Most interesting to get a feel through your photos for how big this ship is.
ReplyDeleteWould like to hear about the Voyagers Club: how many days you need and what you receive.
Great first day!
Patricia
We had only one MSC cruise in 2012, so we were just the new kids on the block. But, MSC has a status match program which worked fine for us. We used our Platinum status on NCL and they matched is with Gold status on MSC. I believe we get to keep that status for three years or sail with them again within that period. The problem was not all ships treat their Voyagers Club members equally. We received gifts and fruit baskets on Seavew but only fruit baskets on Divina. Seemed like Divina was more on the 'ignored' side. I don't remember all the benefits but I believe priority tendering was one; also discounts on booking cruises.
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