My wife and I love spending time together in a Jacuzzi...
And in the past we've paid as much as $1600 a night for a high-end cruise ship cabin with a private Jacuzzi.
Our recent cruise on MSC Seaside was a bargain in comparison...
At less than $500 a night for this large cabin with it's own Jacuzzi on the balcony.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that the time we spent together in that Jacuzzi...
enjoying the view, a few drinks, and some great conversation...
Was the highlight our cruise.
Let me give you a tour of our cabin, 14211, known officially by MSC as a "Suite With Whirlpool Bath".
I want to start by just showing you on the deck plans...
That this cabin is HUGE compared to a regular balcony cabin.
Look at our cabin, 14211, and then look at 14205, the cabin next door...
Which is a regular balcony cabin.
Ours is nearly twice as long as theirs...
And all that extra space allowed MSC to build a few extra features in to ours.
To help you visualize even better how much longer our cabin is than all of the neighbors...
Here's the hallway outside our cabin.
That's our door on the left, and down the hall is the door to our neighbor, 14205.
The length of that hallway between those two doors...
Is all the additional length that our cabin has and theirs doesn't.
Let's go inside and you'll see.
From this view from the inside, we're looking at the door that leads out to the hallway.
To the right of that, is a door to our bathroom.
I'll take you in there in a minute.
And then there's another door on the right there...
And that leads to something that you don't see very often in a cruise ship cabin...
It's a walk-in closet!
We'll get back to that in a minute, too.
Now we're in what is essentially the living room of this suite.
Well, MSC calls it a suite. I wouldn't really call it that.
To me, the word suite indicates that there's a bedroom in a separate room from the living room...
And they're separated by a wall and a door.
Cruise ships use a different definition, though.
Maybe it's a European thing, I don't know.
On cruise ships, when they say suite, what they mean is that it's a cabin that is superior in some way to a regular cabin.
Our cabin is much larger than a regular cabin, so they call it a suite...
Even though, as you see... there's nothing, not even a curtain...
That separates the bedroom from the living room.
Now that you've had an overview of the inside of the cabin...
Let's go out on the balcony, and look at the best part... that Jacuzzi.
I'm happy to say the Jacuzzi is big enough to comfortably fit two people.
It's not as big as I thought it was going to be.
MSC released a video while the ship was under construction...
Here it is now...
It's a computer generated rendering of what they projected the balcony and the Jacuzzi would look like.
It didn't completely match up with the final product.
Most noticeably, the rendering shows a step to use when getting in and out of the Jacuzzi.
No such step existed on the real thing.
Also they showed plants on the balcony in their rendering...
Which they never actually had on the real thing.
And I just think their rendering makes the Jacuzzi look a little bigger than it really was.
But it's OK... the Jacuzzi's fine. I liked it a lot.
And as I said, the time we spent in there was truly the highlight of our cruise.
If you like the idea of having a Jacuzzi on the balcony of your cruise ship cabin...
You'll like these 28 whirlpool suites on the MSC Seaside.
Now here's the view from our balcony, and notice that we're looking back towards the rear of the ship...
And we see the water going past and everything behind us.
14 of the 28 whirlpool suites are like this.
They are towards the back of the ship, and they face towards the back.
This would be what I recommend you chose, due to the wind.
The 14 whirlpool suites up at the front of the ship, that face forward...
Are probably quite windy when the ship is in motion.
These rear facing whirlpool suites are nicely wind blocked.
Just be aware that you don't have privacy out on your balcony, or in your Jacuzzi.
This is the view from our balcony...
And all those other balconies that you can see from our balcony...
They can also see you.
If privacy is a big deal for you, pick a cabin on one of the higher floors.
That way you have the least amount of people looking down in to your Jacuzzi.
But if peace and quiet is more important than privacy...
Chose a cabin on a lower floor...
Because on the upper floors, you can easily hear the noise of the music...
And all the activities at the Miami Beach pool, which is directly above.
Here on the balcony, there are two chairs and an ottoman.
And then tucked behind, in the corner, are two more taller folding chairs.
So there's actually four chairs for the balcony.
Back inside the cabin, let me show you why there's four chairs on the balcony...
Because this cabin can sleep a LOT more than just two people!
Now this week, it's just my wife and me...
So, we have things set up for maximum sitting space for us.
Just the two of us.
But check this out... this little love seat in the corner can open up in to a single bed!
So, bring a grand kid along with you.
Or, men... if you make one more bad joke about your mother in law...
This is where you'll be sleeping!
Now wait until you see what happens when you pop open the couch!
You're probably thinking it opens up like a sleeper sofa... but no.
It's even better than that.
Bunk beds!
Can you believe that?
So, bring THREE grandkids with you.
Now I should mention that I didn't want to bother our cabin steward...
And have him make up these extra beds just for this video. So...
You're going to have to imagine sheets and blankets and pillow cases.
And notice that in this cabin...
The big TV is directly across from the couch... which turns in to bunk beds.
So, if you need to occupy the grandkids for a while...
Just put 'em on the bunk beds and turn on the TV.
They'll have a great view of that TV.
Speaking of the TV...
Some of the American passengers may be a little disappointed with the channels available.
There's a bunch of Pay-Per-View movies, at eight bucks a piece...
And a bunch of channels with information about the ship...
Shore excursions, safety procedures... stuff like that.
But you cannot get ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox.
And if you own a hat that says "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN"...
You're going to be really disappointed to learn that...
The TV gets four different versions of CNN, but not Fox News!
Now I've shown you already that the love seat and the sofa have beds hidden inside of them.
But wait, there's more!
Look up in the ceiling above the main bed.
There is a secret compartment up there in the ceiling, and...
Here's what happens if you ask your stateroom steward to pop it open for you.
Yet another bed!
Now they only let you book a maximum of five people in this cabin, but...
It actually can sleep six.
So, when you saw the Jacuzzi on the balcony...
You might have been thinking that this was a cabin designed for a romantic couple.
And it certainly would work for that, but...
If you pop out some of those extra beds, it also makes a pretty cool family cabin.
The main bed can split apart in to two singles, or...
Be configured like you see here in one king sized bed.
On the right side of the bed, there's a USB charging plug.
But unfortunately, no AC outlet.
And on the left side, no AC outlet or USB outlet.
There are some generous connections at the desk, though.
And this was one of the few cruise ships where I didn't have to use...
A six-outlet power strip to charge all my electronic stuff at night.
You've got two USB charging plugs...
Two 110 volt American style power plugs...
And two 220 volt European style power plugs.
And if you want to convert those 220 volt sockets to American style 110 volt sockets...
Amazon sells some little converter plugs that work really well.
Just make sure you get the right ones!
Under the desk, is a small refrigerator...
And it's filled with drinks and things you can purchase for an additional charge.
They are NOT included with the cost of the cabin.
A very unusual feature of this cabin is that it has a walk-in closet.
Now I'm sorry I had a hard time getting good video of it...
Because there's just one light bulb in the ceiling.
Not very good light.
The walk-in closet SOUNDS like a great idea...
And there is an awful lot of storage space in there, but...
It's very impractical.
Royal Caribbean has a much nicer, simpler idea in the cabins of some of their newer ships.
They have two closets, one on either side of the couch.
And that makes it really easy for two people to get dressed at the same time.
Because they're not bumping in to each other like they are in this walk-in closet.
Now let's take a look at the bathroom.
One unusual thing that you quite often don't have in a cruise ship bathroom is a bath tub.
So, this tub/shower combination is a nice feature of this bathroom.
The shower head slides up or down on a rail, which makes it great for tall people or short people.
And you can pull it off and go handheld with it, too.
Unfortunately, there's just one sink and not a whole lot of room in this bathroom.
All the room is taken up by that tub.
I wish they hadn't devoted so much of this cabin's extra space to all the extra beds...
And had made the bathroom a little larger instead.
And here's the really weird thing about this bathroom!
See that piece of glass that separates the shower from the toilet?
Well, that's all the glass there is.
There's no sliding glass door, not even a shower curtain.
I read somewhere that this is a European trend in bathroom design.
I hate it.
When I showered, water bounced off me and ended up EVERYWHERE.
All over the floor, the cabinet, the sink... even as far as the door.
It was a gigantic mess...
That I certainly didn't want to leave for either my wife or the cabin steward to clean up.
So, I ended up having to wipe down the entire bathroom with a towel after I took a shower.
I wish they had just put in a shower curtain.
Oh, and here's another really dumb idea.
The storage rack for the fresh towels... it's inside the shower.
That's a REALLY bad place to store dry towels.
Now I want to show you something you might not figure out on your own...
Especially if it's your first cruise.
When you first get onboard, and you walk in to your cabin for the first time...
All the lights and the power is off.
To get the power on, you have to insert your room key card in to the slot by the door...
And leave it there until you're ready to leave the room again.
Without your card in the slot, the lights will not go on.
And about two minutes after you pull your card out of the slot...
The lights, and even the power to the electrical sockets, lose power.
So, if you want to charge an electronic device while you're away from your cabin...
Be sure to leave your key card in the slot.
When you do leave your card in the slot...
There's a little wrist band that you can wear around the ship...
In place of having your key card with you.
You can make purchases using the wrist band...
And it will even unlock the cabin door.
I thought it was kind of funny that THIS was the artist's concept...
Of what these electronic wrist bands were going to look like.
VERY stylish.
And this was the reality of what the wrist bands ended up looking like.
Not stylish!
Now I've shown you around the cabin, but...
There's something else very important that you need to know...
About the 28 whirlpool suites on the MSC Seaside.
They are what MSC classifies as an Aurea cabin...
And that automatically entitles those who stay in this cabin...
To some pretty great perks.
The best one is a drink package that basically entitles you...
To free beer, wine, cocktails and soft drinks for the entire cruise.
Now it doesn't cover the expensive wines and champagnes...
Or the most expensive brands of liquor...
But it worked out great for us.
Everything my wife and I wanted to drink during our cruise was completely covered.
No charge. Not even a gratuity requested each time they give you a drink...
Like they do on some cruise lines.
We loved it.
But wait, there's more!
They didn't stop at free drinks.
There's four different Gelato stations on the MSC Seaside...
And most passengers have to pay extra for that, but...
It's free for passengers staying in one of these whirlpool suites.
Another fantastic perk that comes with this suite...
Is that you get access to the thermal suite in the spa.
All the steam rooms, and all the relaxation facilities...
Including this wonderful large thermal pool, all at no additional charge.
You also have access to an uncrowded outdoor relaxation area...
Including a Jacuzzi, just outside the spa.
And believe it or not... two free massages in the spa.
That's two per cabin, not two per person.
When I first heard about the free massages, it sounded too good to be true, but...
It was true. There's was no catch.
I loved it.
In addition to having access to those facilities in and around the spa...
You also have access to an exclusive un-crowded sun deck on deck 19...
With its own bar, and some really comfortable patio furniture.
You know, MSC Seaside carries over 5000 passengers.
To avoid the crowds by the main pool...
Use your exclusive access to the sun deck on deck 19...
And enjoy a much more quiet and relaxing time in the sun...
Or on one of the couches at the bar...
Or even in one of several large Jacuzzis.
Another perk of staying in one of the whirlpool suites...
Is that you get priority boarding in Miami...
Which allows you to bypass some of the line during the check-in process...
And get onboard the ship faster.
There's also priority access to the tenders at any ports...
Such as Grand Cayman, where they use tenders to get you ashore.
Those are some great perks that come with a pretty great cabin with it's own private Jacuzzi.
And I know you're probably thinking that it sounds like we had a great cruise.
And there really were some great parts...
Especially having our own Jacuzzi on the balcony.
But I have to be honest and say that out of the 43 cruises we've been on...
Our cruise on the MSC Seaside was...
All things considered...
The worst of all 43 of those cruises.
The cabin and the Jacuzzi and the free drinks...
And the free massages and the free gelato were all great...
But there were so many other things about this cruise that weren't to our liking...
That when it was all said and done...
We remembered more bad things about MSC Seaside than good things.
We especially disliked the entertainment in the evenings...
Which seemed way more oriented to a European audience than an American one.
There was just WAY too much opera for our tastes.
And we really disliked the whole food situation, too...
Which also seemed to be oriented to European tastes...
And not so much American.
And when you dislike the food on a cruise...
That's going to end up being a bad cruise.
I'll post a full review of our cruise on my web site at JimZim.net
And I'll take you through all the things that didn't sit so well with us...
And cause me to say that, as much as we loved the big cabin and the private Jacuzzi...
We won't be sailing with MSC again anytime soon.
I'll wrap this up for now, and...
I'll leave you with links to a couple of other videos...
I shot during our cruise on MSC Seaside.
Click on one to view it, and thanks for watching.
I'm Jim Zim.