Skid

You are not suppose to share a drink package. That is one of the factors that likely lead to the new rule of each adult in the same cabin having to purchase an alcoholic one (if you decide to purchase).  Actually, if you are caught sharing, they can (so I have heard) take away your package.
Here is a blog by @Matt to the explain the packages:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/royal-caribbean-beverage-package-costs-info-tips
Look for sales in the cruise planner. That will happen closer to your sail date. Following the postings here too as people and @Matt usually post it when there is a sale going on. But again, it varies by ship and sailing.
 

@ShakeDownCruise and @bellemiche thank you so much for such a comprehensive comparison. I know that many here, myself included, have been looking for a true comparison from experienced RC cruisers. Many "good" reviews that I have read so far of the Seaside are either from first time cruisers or those coming from carnival (sorry, not trying to offend anyone but I have to read those with a grain of salt). 
Anyway, this feedback is much appreciated as I too am trying out YC on the Seaside come July.  I'm pretty loyal to royal as well but like @ShakeDownCruise mentioned, the price was less than a JS on Harmony, I like newer ships, and Hubby did not want to sail Harmony again after just doing it last summer, so that left Seaside. Thanks so much for sharing! I'm looking forward to experiencing it myself but my next few cruises after July are also still with RC. I have a feeling it still won't compare with RC. While on board Anthem, a good friend was reading my blog while on the Seaside and I hear that CK food still rocks the Seaside ? And well, I love to eat and sleep on a cruise so that's a huge deal for me lol!

@ShakeDownCruise we were on the March 10th sailing. We too also decided to try Seaside because of the pricing. We enjoyed our trip, but still prefer RC and Celebrity. Here are our takes on it:
Positives:
Yacht Club was great, although we hardly saw our butler (but she did escort us when disembarking past the “regular” line to our own line where we were first to get off ?). Having our own deck & buffet & lounge away from the crowds. Never had to look for a lounger. The pool was cold and the whirlpool was more like bath water LOL. We had breakfast out on deck 19 in the morning and lunch there in the afternoon. On Friday they had grilled lobster! Being escorted on and off when in port, especially in Grand Cayman (a YC perk). A butler brought us right to the gangway and we were on the first tender. On the way back, there was a HUGE line down the street. We saw a butler with a sign and just showed him our card. He brought us and others past everyone and right to the tender.  Because we were black card holders (we did the status match) we received a free dinner in one of the specialty restaurants. We went to Butcher’s Block (delicious). We also chose to go to the French restaurant which was $23 US PP and it was fantastic (they had escargots, French onion soup, steak, crème brulee). Having access to the thermal spa area was a plus. Large area, didn’t feel crowded – they also have a room with “snow” to cool off. Mom really enjoyed getting gelato almost every afternoon at Venchi. We also enjoyed their chocolate martinis and bought some of their chocolate to take home for souvenirs. The room was wonderful and the bathroom was gigantic for a cruise ship bathroom .  
Cons:
We didn’t feel like there were good choices/options in the Yacht Club dining room and a couple of nights we didn’t care for our meals. But the service was good and it was never crowded nor did we ever have to wait when we went around 6:30 pm. My cousin and her hubby had the Aurea experience and were on deck 9 with the extended balcony (9207). I don’t recommend this room. People on the decks above can look down on you and it was also above an outdoor restaurant. They did enjoy having the 2 massages with their packages and access to the thermal spa area. They said that the main dining room was a little chaotic. I know that it often took 2 hours for them to eat and they went at 6:30 pm (she said some kids were crying) -long waits in between courses. A friend  was also on the ship and they had 8:30 dining and it also took 2 hours to eat. The entertainment was no where near what we are used to on Royal. We only went to one show because it wasn’t very good☹. The muster drill was chaotic. We met in the casino. There were a few workers demonstrating how to put on a lifejacket and instructions were over the loudspeaker. People were still talking, drinking, not paying attention.  HUGE line up for self disembarkation. It took my friend an hour to get off.  

So how does the MSC Seaside stack up against Royal?
 
Some background info:
My family of 4 just returned from our weeklong spring break cruise on MSC Seaside.  This is our 15th cruise, 8 with Royal and 6 with Disney.  Our last 5 cruises in a row have all been Royal as Disney went from high priced to crazy priced.  Additionally we really enjoy many aspects of Royal equal or better than Disney at this point.  Every future booking that we currently have is on Royal so we are mostly drinking the Kool-Aid around here.  I originally switched to this MSC sailing in place of an Oasis sailing as it was cheaper, a brand new ship, a better room, and better perks.  We stayed in Room 11003 which was advertised pre-build as a 2 bedroom suite with a giant wrap around balcony.  It actually ended up being a one bedroom suite with an above average but one sided balcony.  Our travel agent was able to get us some OBC for this false advertising.  Overall my thoughts below are mostly when comparing Seaside to Oasis class although I have been on Brilliance, Enchantment, and Indy.
 
Let’s get to a bullet form of positives and negatives
 
Here is a list of positives for Seaside as it compares to Royal:
With our Aurea Package drinks and spa access is included on top of a cheaper room we easily saved $500 per person of additional cost from Royal. Doubles (and sometimes triples) drinks were no problem and sometimes encouraged by the bar staff. Mixed drinks were all from canned soda which is a better quality soda.  Often they would give you the can with your drink.  The cost of after hours kids club can be billed per night per kid and is less expensive than Royal.  Their after hours pricing was $6 per hour, $10 for the night, and $50 for the week. The vibe of the adults only aft pool area was very cool. Overall I would rate the Seaside MDR slightly better than any of Royal’s that I’ve been in.  Close but overall food quality I would score a bit better. PIZZA-No single item clearly dominates over Royal more than the nonstop fresh and quality New York style pizza.  50% of my weight gain on this cruise was directly from pizza I am sure of it. The kid’s water park was slightly better than any of the Royal splash pads.  It was an enclosed and shaded area with 4 slides and a large splash pool and an additional toddler slide area.  Room service was included with our Aurea package all day except from 11PM-5AM. A bowling alley, we bowled twice and really enjoyed this. Gelato and gelato ice cream bars are included with the Aurea package.  The chocolate ice cream bar in particular was awesome. The main stairways are gorgeous in the atrium area.  It is a beautiful ship for sure. Ocean views are everywhere.  I told someone it reminded me of a Brilliance ship on crack.  If Oasis class is called too inward facing this is certainly its foil. The value of our room size for what we paid was great; MSC is trying to buy some business of course since they are the new ship in town. The supporting team below the cruise director was very good. Tons of places to eat outside.  All around the main buffet you could eat outside. The Jungle pool area was a hit for our family.  It has a retractable roof that they usually had half closed.  It created some warmth on the cooler days.  It was similar to the Solarium but having it family friendly was a plus for us.  Lots of shade too. The tipping was completely unexpected by the employees.  I like to tip throughout my cruise on Royal but maybe because of the European origins of MSC, you couldn’t even add a tip to a bar item if you wanted to.  From a cost perspective this is a positive but I actually like to tip so a mixed bag.  Push buttons by your room entrance door that would put a color above your door so your cabin steward knew if you wanted privacy or wanted your room serviced.  Plus they knew if you were in the room even if you didn’t ask for privacy since your room card had to be in the holder by the door. Way more roaming drink servers all around the ship than Royal.  They did a better job with seating the theatre each night.  Attendants would check every row and fill every seat and escort the last 50-100 people to the last seats available.  Splitting parties as necessary. Very nice sports bar. The selection of the buffets was less than Royal but I thought the flow and food quality was slightly higher. The talk about tons of opera is completely unfounded.  Across the 7 shows I doubt there was more than 10 minutes.  There is some music from Phantom of the Opera and other musicals but Royal does entire productions so I think that’s a non-issue. The ocean views from many of the bars in the atrium were beautiful.  
Here is a list of negatives as it relates mostly to Royal:
No kids club on day one, major bummer, it was only open for family time. As many have mentioned, it did have a faint sewage smell when we first entered.  I don’t know if we just got used to it or if it improved throughout the week.  The only place I continued to smell it all week was in the shower before I turned on the water. No Michelob Ultra on the ship, my wife’s drink of choice! My drink of choice Jack Daniels was not on the Aurea package.  For $80 a person for the adults we both upgraded to the deluxe package so that I could have my drink of choice.  Royal has Gentleman Jack as well which they don’t have.  One plus to this was that the upgrade to deluxe gave us unlimited access to our room’s mini bar.  It was stocked with 4 different beers, all of your major sodas, a few weird European juices, water, Pringles, a few hard liquors, and some other snacks.  You would leave a form daily and your room attendant would reload it with no additional charge. We tried morning room service twice and it was late and very limited in selection.  There was a special breakfast sandwich that you could pay $2 for but both times we ordered it they didn’t have it.  One time our delivery guy went back and got us a few eggs Benedict instead which was nice of him.  Overall though not much to get for breakfast by room service. The entertainment was good but not as good as Royal’s on Oasis class.  They had a different 30 minute show every night.  We went to all 7 shows so it was good but still what the Oasis ships offer can’t be matched at sea. The ceilings felt lower than some of the newer Royal ships in some areas.  I have no data to back this up but being a tall guy I felt closer to the ceiling at times than on newer Royal ships. No hand washing was required for people that walked into the buffet.  This was shocking after seeing Disney and Royal really push this.  They had nice soap and water hand washing stations and sanitizer always available but many people just walked on by and there were no employees there to compel them to do the right thing. The service was good but as a whole I think I would rate it slightly lower than Royal’s. Not a single bar of soap anywhere, just pump stations in the showers and at the sink. Their towel policy was bizarre in that you could only trade them out at one spot on the whole ship.  The main expectation was that they are kept and replenished in your room by your attendant.  If you lose one supposedly it’s a $20 charge. Less vegan options at the buffets than with Royal. Essentially no arcade whatsoever.  There were only 2 racing games and 1 air hockey table in the entire ship.  Our kids love the arcade on Royal. Internet speed was good and 6 gigs to share for 4 people for $130 wasn’t a bad price but the no-worry nature of Voom can’t be beat. There are significantly less activities than on most Royal ships, especially on seas days. Our balcony wall was white so you couldn’t see anything from the chairs but white. The splash pad hours were poor.  Closed the first day (and we had our suits) and on other days it closed pretty early. Water was everywhere in the kids pool area.  No employees were using squeegees to keep it relatively dry.  It made a shocking difference on a busy day and I think a few lawsuits and they will change this. Not enough covered hot tubs.  Also the main pool area was totally devoid of shade for the most part. Embarkation was good but the first hour on the ship was very crowded and disorganized.  We waited in places we didn’t need to wait because staff wasn’t directing well. No bar service in the theatre. Not enough room to eat breakfast outside on the balcony for the level room we had. Vegans don’t get offered dessert at dinner. No alcohol allowed near the pools or hot tubs.  You can’t leave your drink behind the hot tub and sip it; you had to leave it by your chair. You could not get the same servers every day or the same table.  In our dining room it was first come first serve.  If we weren’t early we couldn’t get the server and table we wanted. Reservations are needed for the late night kids club (we never tested this room so not sure if it held up). Overall the kids clubs were nice but things appeared much more chaotic and we didn’t feel comfortable with our kids there to the same degree that we do on Royal and Disney.  AdventureOcean staff really is great. The bowling is timed with no warning so we got shut out of our tenth frame. Kids weren’t allowed in the spa to tour even on the first day.  Kids Club is closed and the Spa doesn’t allow kids, someone at MSC hasn’t connected the dots there.  Let the families check it out the first day like they do on Royal.  Essentially you can not use the spa on the first day if you have kids. While the pizza is amazing, they stop making it at midnight even though the buffet is open until 2am.  Room service is the only way to get food for the really late hours when you shouldn’t be up anyway.  
 
Overall what is our final evaluation?  I would say that we had a great time on this cruise.  All in all I don’t think the Seaside or the American MSC experience is as good as the Royal experience but it’s not a landslide victory.  I think if pricing or benefits drop the total cost of a Seaside cruise a fair amount lower than a cruise on one of Royal’s newer ships that it is worth checking out.  We would sail on Seaside again but we didn’t rebook onboard and I am not looking at their website on a regular basis like Royals!  If you fear the Carnival clientele I can say that the Seaside guests were similar to what I’d see on Royal except that there were many more foreigners as you would expect.  I also saw numerous Disney Castaway Club Lanyards as previously loyal Disney cruisers look for a more reasonably priced cruise vacation.  I think in the end Seaside is a great thing because it puts pressure on the big 3 and Disney in the Florida market.  When there is competition and all of these companies keep trying to one up each other ultimately the consumer wins.  I think the new sports bar on Symphony is a response to the sports bar on MSC Seaside and other ships as Royal has been lacking in that arena.  Royal wouldn’t be dropping wheel barrels of money into Coco Cay if it didn’t feel the need to stay ahead of the competition.  So if you can live with 7 days on a beautiful ship where you don’t earn any crown and anchor points this could be a ship for you to try if the stars align.  I also think if you are a bigger ship person you might prefer this over many of the older Royal ships.  However overall if you are a loyal to Royal type I don’t think it will convert you but you’ll enjoy the experience and probably enjoy jotting down all of the different nuances between the brands as my family did.
 
Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to answer them and thanks for reading if you made it this far!

Well, it was definitely worth pushing him for it!  The end result is amazing!

Me neither!  It kept saying - too big!  Here is a pic from 2 years ago.  We had it taken on the deck of our cruise (RC of course).  The photographer was REALLY pushing black and white inside the studio.  I love how they turned out and told the photographer that if he offered sunset pics like this, I'd bet more people would book more sessions!!!
 

I had Casey on Serenade in 2013 and thought the same. I felt as if his Staff were running the show, and I had issues with some of his scheduling of shows (1 show per evening at 10.30pm for many evenings during summer holiday cruise). He was sometimes funny, but the Morning Show was dull. He seemed to lack the charisma needed to pull off a solo morning show (most CD's do it with their AM). Casey's wife had a daughter recently so he has moved to a land based job for Celebrity.
I agree with everything you said about Abe, but what I really liked about him was that he really wanted to make an impact on the guests' experience and make sure that they had as good a time as possible. He did go the extra mile as a CD and should have been selected for Symphony. Bobby was the opposite. 
Chris was great, but he left because there was no space on the CD schedule. They really should have promoted him to CD. He was fantastic as an Assistant on Anthem in 2016 whilst John Blair and his wife were the CD & AM and neither were good.

We probably have not been on as many cruises as you guys, but Abe Hughes is the best we have had by far. Not only was he really funny, but was just a mound of energy. I truly don't think he sleeps---he is all over the ship all the time. At the time we saw him, his AM was Chris Hopkins-also fantastic, but I think Joe01 said he is no longer with Royal. On the other hand, other than hosting events we never saw Casey Pelter even once. Abe's morning show was terrific, Casey's was boring. We have no recollection of other CDs we have seen, which makes Abe stand out even more.
This has been posted before, but when you have a chance check out Abe's L&M game on Harmony. It's the entire show-about 45 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhOQjdBBhYs
 

We probably have not been on as many cruises as you guys, but Abe Hughes is the best we have had by far. Not only was he really funny, but was just a mound of energy. I truly don't think he sleeps---he is all over the ship all the time. At the time we saw him, his AM was Chris Hopkins-also fantastic, but I think Joe01 said he is no longer with Royal. On the other hand, other than hosting events we never saw Casey Pelter even once. Abe's morning show was terrific, Casey's was boring. We have no recollection of other CDs we have seen, which makes Abe stand out even more.
This has been posted before, but when you have a chance check out Abe's L&M game on Harmony. It's the entire show-about 45 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhOQjdBBhYs
 

About the love and marriage show...two weeks ago we saw Clo host the love and marriage show.  By the far the funniest one I have ever seen!  Mostly because of her and her jokes.  She is one of the better ones for sure!  If any of you ever have the pleasure of sailing with her or Tim Connor, make sure you attend all of the events.  She even made the Captain's talk funny!

Tim Connor is now on the Independence. I've watched both him and Clo do the L&M show and they are both really good. Abe Hughes (whose L&M I saw in person) was hilarious, and then there was Bobby... 
Sorry, but looking at how many great CD's work for Royal, it further confuses me as to why Bobby got SY.

I've always booked on my own but I can see everyone's points in using a TA!  I may do that next time.  

Saw this today in a local nautical theme store.

FYI, I e-mailed [email protected] several months ago for a May sailing. Not only did I request a table for 2, but I requested a specific table number. We had sailed that ship last year and loved the location. I know they may change the configuration, but gave them the last reservation also.  They responded immediately saying that I should resubmit the request when down to 50 days or less. I did resubmit on Saturday (2 days ago) and today I received a reply with a copy of the confirmation from the ship to corporate. Could not have asked for better or faster customer service. Of course, we will still go to MDR upon embarkation to reconfirm.

If you want traditional dining and have not selected it yet, I would get on that asap.  I have found from past experience that traditional dining fills up fast, even for cruises I booked almost a year out.

Another benefit of checking out your table as soon as you get on the ship--there can sometimes be a bit of a wait to get in the MDR as people line up to be shown to their table--especially on the first night.  You will already know where yours is and can walk right to it.

FYI, I e-mailed [email protected] several months ago for a May sailing. Not only did I request a table for 2, but I requested a specific table number. We had sailed that ship last year and loved the location. I know they may change the configuration, but gave them the last reservation also.  They responded immediately saying that I should resubmit the request when down to 50 days or less. I did resubmit on Saturday (2 days ago) and today I received a reply with a copy of the confirmation from the ship to corporate. Could not have asked for better or faster customer service. Of course, we will still go to MDR upon embarkation to reconfirm.

Saw this today in a local nautical theme store.

Saw this today in a local nautical theme store.

Saw this today in a local nautical theme store.

Great article in NY Times re the conditions in St. Martin and the differences there between the Dutch and French sides. Beautiful pictures also.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/travel/st-martin-after-hurricane-irma-.html
Here are the last 3 paragraphs.
Each day, progress is beginning to take hold. By the end of June, inventory on the Dutch side of the island is expected to grow by 560 rooms with properties like Divi Little Bay Beach Resort and Oyster Bay Beach Resort expected to reopen. On the French side, roughly 600 rooms will be added by year-end, according to the Kate Richardson, the director of St. Martin’s tourism office, including intimate boutique-style properties. Among them: the Hotel La Plantation on Orient Bay (April), the Mediterranean-style Le Petit Hotel (June) and the Grand Case Beach Club (October).
New tourist attractions are also welcoming visitors. In November, Rainforest Adventures opened a new zip line — the Flying Dutchman — in Emilio Wilson Park. Visitors can tour a new museum dedicated to the history of the site, a former plantation dating back to the 1700s, and dine in a refurbished stone building that was once the sugar cane boiling house. And with the island’s natural attractions still intact, tour operators continue to offer sailing trips, snorkeling excursions and hikes up to Pic Paradise, the highest spot on the island.
“There are some things that the hurricane just couldn’t take away, said Marc Petrelluzzi, whose family owns Le Petit Hotel and its beloved sister property, L’Esplanade. “It’s the view. It’s the sea. It’s the beaches. It’s the vegetation. It’s nature.”
They also did write ups on St. John and Dominica and San Juan. You can see them here. Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated islands in the Caribbean last September. Six months later, how are they recovering? To find out, writers for Travel spent time in St. John, Dominica and San Juan, P.R.

Great article in NY Times re the conditions in St. Martin and the differences there between the Dutch and French sides. Beautiful pictures also.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/travel/st-martin-after-hurricane-irma-.html
Here are the last 3 paragraphs.
Each day, progress is beginning to take hold. By the end of June, inventory on the Dutch side of the island is expected to grow by 560 rooms with properties like Divi Little Bay Beach Resort and Oyster Bay Beach Resort expected to reopen. On the French side, roughly 600 rooms will be added by year-end, according to the Kate Richardson, the director of St. Martin’s tourism office, including intimate boutique-style properties. Among them: the Hotel La Plantation on Orient Bay (April), the Mediterranean-style Le Petit Hotel (June) and the Grand Case Beach Club (October).
New tourist attractions are also welcoming visitors. In November, Rainforest Adventures opened a new zip line — the Flying Dutchman — in Emilio Wilson Park. Visitors can tour a new museum dedicated to the history of the site, a former plantation dating back to the 1700s, and dine in a refurbished stone building that was once the sugar cane boiling house. And with the island’s natural attractions still intact, tour operators continue to offer sailing trips, snorkeling excursions and hikes up to Pic Paradise, the highest spot on the island.
“There are some things that the hurricane just couldn’t take away, said Marc Petrelluzzi, whose family owns Le Petit Hotel and its beloved sister property, L’Esplanade. “It’s the view. It’s the sea. It’s the beaches. It’s the vegetation. It’s nature.”
They also did write ups on St. John and Dominica and San Juan. You can see them here. Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated islands in the Caribbean last September. Six months later, how are they recovering? To find out, writers for Travel spent time in St. John, Dominica and San Juan, P.R.

We have not done that exact excursion, but a different one that included a stop at a little alligator preserve/zoo type thing.  I can see the moderate part being getting on and off the airboat, and while you are seated the whole time the boats do move fast, and turn on a dime, spin around and the captain/driver makes it a fun ride (well, ours did anyway).  That can be scary to some people.  But we all wore seat belts.  You did get some spray when the captain was having fun.  Our zoo activity included a lot of walking; maybe the "Fish Camp" does as well?  

My Time Dining uses Deck 3 entrance, and Traditional uses decks 4 & 5.  Your sea pass card will tell you which one to go to.  In the meantime, here is a recent tour of the ship, in case you're interested in seeing the dining rooms:  
 

The CD, in short, is responsible for managing all the on board activities for the cruise.  He/she has manages many people and activities so the Activities Manager assists him/her.  A good CD doesn't make or break a cruise but does enhance it if they are fun, active, comical.  They host/lead the major activities such as show intros, The Love and Marriage show, the Morning show, Belly Flop contest, Sexiest man contest, etc. 
There is usually one active CD per ship.  Sometimes there might be 2 during a transition or training.