This was my first MSC cruise and I am a veteran cruiser. I wanted to try this line because we are thinking about cruising the Mediterranean next year. There were so many people in line that regretted this decision and wished they had their money back. I was one of them. We had one good day out of 3.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Is no stars an option? It took five hours to get on the ship in a line with thousands of hungry and tired children and passengers. The line was backed up 1/4 mile down the street into Terminal G and that was before you entered the queue line in the building. It was absolutely awful. Then, when we finally got on board, they removed all food and made everyone go to the casino to muster (with lifevests) and held us there for another hour while passengers were still boarding.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The Bella drink package has very limited choices. The frozen drink machines didn't work on the island. The food is mediocre, but I rarely care about that.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The main pool area is weird and is it hard to keep up with small children because you can't see them behind the walls. The garden pool area is lovely and peaceful. There are a lot of hot tubs.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Women parading around in thongs and jiggling their butts at the audience.... An Italian singer trying to sing Whitney Houston ('nuff said)
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
They take the children to the shows in the theater, which are not appropriate for them. It is a small area and they combined toddlers and elementary children.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Our waiter, Wyrtha from Indonesia was wonderful. Our stateroom attendant, Chris, was very nice but not extremely attentive. The customer service people are rude and roll their eyes at you when you have a question. After waiting five hours to get on the ship, the least you can do is smile at me.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful everywhere.... I loved the ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The beds were a little hard, but everything was well-appointed. Nice closet and bathroom space.
Ship tip
Don't go on it. I have waited for someone to reach out and apologize for the debacle that happened on our ship. That has not happened. There was no thought about hospitality.
I will probably not cruise out of Miami again. However, because we were unable to leave port on time, we got to see Miami at night from the ship. That should be a new thing for cruise ships. It was lovely to sit on the deck and look at the skyline.
MSC canceled all shore excursions so were stuck in the port (which is not a great one) and left us to the manipulative local organizers for transportation. It was a trainwreck.
This is the most beautiful cruise-owned island that I have ever been on. However, the shuttles cater mostly to priority guests so expect to walk a lot. When we were headed back to ship, carrying a toddler, Darrin stopped to get us despite the priority service of his shuttle. He was awesome and so much fun!
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