mrsfear

St. John's, Antigua

We did a Stingray and Snorkel excursion through MSC and had a blast. It was definitely a highlight of our trip and we would highly recommend it.

Miami, Florida

We enjoyed Miami very much. We arrived a few days early and spent some time exploring Miami Beach. On our disembarkation day, we did an excursion through a private company (via Viator.com). We did the Everglades tour with private ground transportation. They picked us up at the cruise port, took us to the Everglades where we did a fun fan boat tour while our driver stayed with our luggage, then they drove us to the airport. It was extremely convenient.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

We did a private excursion in St. Thomas. We had a driver take us in an open air taxi around the island, then to the beach. Our driver was a character and the drive was ... an adventure. He took us to a touristy place atop the mountain where we could get a good view of Magen's Bay, and then he took us to a more secluded beach, which was nice. We were a little worried about getting back to the ship on time due to traffic, but we made it with half an hour to spare so we were fine and ended up having a few minutes to do some shopping at the port.

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

Ship itinerary changed, and we went to Grand Turk instead. Grand Turk was an amazing port, and we would give it 5 stars. Our catamaran excursion was cancelled due to high winds, but we rolled with it and took a cab to Pillory Beach, which was gorgeous. We would go back to Grand Turk anytime.

MSC Seaside

Take some time to figure out the MSC for Me app. Once you figure it out, it makes it very convenient to schedule shows, book restaurants, and to track your children (if you've paid the extra fee for tracking). It is also the portal for your internet access (you receive an internet package as part of the Aurea experience, but there is no instruction sheet in your room so you have to figure it out on the app, which can be a little frustrating). I found that I used the app often throughout the day.