Cruise Review: MSC Seaview

Except for a few technical tweaks and a warmer interior color scheme, MSC Cruises’ new MSC Seaview is identical to the pioneering MSC Seaside, which the line introduced late last year. These strikingly modern, daringly innovative 4,132-guest vessels turned the once-dismissive “new ships look like a floating block of flats” adage into a selling point. Indeed, their distinctive aft quarters were designed to emulate a Miami Beach condo, with nine unapologetically vertical, balcony-lined decks rising from the stylish Sunset Beach Pool area atop the stern.  

Like Seaside, Seaview features include a glass-bottomed catwalk that juts 100-plus feet over the Sunset Beach Pool, and boardwalks on either side of Deck 8 with neighborhoods of seating, deck chairs and two more glass-bottomed catwalks that hover over the sea.  

Additional pool areas onboard Seaview include the sliding glass magrodome-topped Jungle Pool and the open-air Panorama Pool, which is situated beneath a huge LED screen and a stage for outdoor concerts and celebrations. Seaview’s more novel attractions consist of ziplines that plunge 436 feet from the top of the funnel to a platform above the stern, and five waterslides that spiral down to the Forest Aquaventure Park in the base of the funnel.

Odeon Theatre, the main showroom, has been pared down to accommodate 934 guests, relinquishing more space for other venues; to compensate, three (instead of two) extravagantly produced shows are staged nightly. By syncing up with their digital devices and/or special wristbands, guests have access to interactive network MSC For Me to reserve tickets for these shows, track their children, make reservations for specialty restaurants, book excursions and much more.

Dining choices onboard Seaview abound, with extra-tariff restaurants such as Pan Asian Market Kitchen by Roy Yamaguchi, which features a sushi bar, a teppanyaki grill and an Asian-fusion restaurant; seafood spot Ocean Cay Restaurant from Michelin-starred chef Ramon Freixa; Butcher’s Cut steakhouse; and French-themed L’Atelier Bistrot. And, of course, there are the included Golden Sand and Silver Dolphin full-service dining rooms, and the Marketplace and Ocean Point buffet restaurants.  

The 5,000-square-foot Doremi youth center has six age-specific venues in partnership with Lego and baby product brand Chicco. A host of family-friendly bells and whistles range from the Interactive XD Cinema, two full-length bowling lanes and a virtual games arcade to a Formula One simulator. 

There are also myriad shops, the MSC Aurea Spa, 19 bars and lounges, a casino and a pair of Venchi chocolate and gelato bars. Meanwhile, in the heart of the ship, there is a four-deck atrium with a huge LED screen, three live musicians’ balconies and staircases studded in dazzling Swarovski crystals.

Like MSC’s Fantasy- and Meraviglia-class ships, Seaview has the MSC Yacht Club, an all-suite, ship-within-a-ship enclave with its own private sundeck, pool, grill, restaurant, lounge and boutiques.

There are a wide range of stateroom categories, from economical Interiors to a pair of 667-square-foot MSC Yacht Club Royal Suites. Exclusive to Seaside and Seaview are suites with wraparound balconies that overlook the stern, as well as suites with whirlpool-festooned balconies.     

Unlike Seaside, which sails Caribbean itineraries from Miami year-round, Seaview will sail the Mediterranean in summer and deploy to Brazil and South America in winter.  

The Details
MSC Cruises 
www.msccruisesusa.com