For my first non-Carnival cruise, I would say it was a good experience. I enjoyed the cabin, the many pools and the galleria area. Ocean Cay is already beautiful. I can’t wait to see it in a few years. I think it’s a great think that MSC did with cleaning up the island and creating the Marine Reserve. There were some negatives like drink ordering, lengthy dinners in the MDR and disembarking. Overall, I would recommend MSC to someone looking for a less expensive cruising option, especially if they are not drinking or craving specialty dining. If you avoid the ‘extras’, you could really enjoy cruising and the island experience for a great price. However, for me, Carnival is still my preferred line.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
After reading many reviews about MSC’s embarkation in Port Canaveral, I was expecting to have a long wait after arriving at the port. I was pleasantly surprised when the total time from port arrival to boarding the ship was about 20mins.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Didn’t try any specialty restaurants. Ate breakfast and lunch in the buffet and dinner in the complimentary dining room. Overall, the food was average to slightly above, good options. Really enjoyed Italian night in the MDR.
The reason for the low review is the drink quality and bar service. Unfortunately I found the drinks were very weak. Happy I didn’t have an included drink package because it would have been a waste. Also, on two occasions we stood in line at the bar for 25+mins waiting for service.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Loved Silent Disco, the belly flop contest and the retro dance party. Also played Bingo, didn’t win, but it was fun. Other than that, I found the activity options to be slim in comparison to Carnival which has many different options at the same times throughout the day and evening.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Only went to one show called Cool. It was a song and dance tribute to the 70’s and 80’s. The singing was okay, but the roller skaters and dancers were INCREDIBLE!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
For this review, I’m choosing to focus on one person, room steward Mark. A very nice, personable and attentive person. He’s the person I interacted with the most and was a great representative of the ship and customer service.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Beautiful ship. The layout was a little confusing for me and took the full 3 days to work thru. Every area was clean and well kept.
If I had one complaint…too many mirrors. Especially the ones in the cabin bathroom.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Great room. Decent balcony. No tissues which I thought was odd. Didn’t like that there was no ceiling to the balcony so the balconies above could see down.
Ship tip
Be prepared to wait in line for everything. Drinks at the bar, food in the buffet, going to see a show, disembarking.
No excursions. Enjoyed the lagoon and lighthouse beach. Very pretty island. Can’t wait to see it grown up in a couple of years. The night lighthouse show and dance party were great.
Buffet lines were too long. Waited in line for 30mins on a beach day which for me was too long.
Not the best/fastest, but not the worst. I did the express process, carrying my own luggage. There was a little confusion because there was some type of technical difficulties in customs and a fuse blown impacting the elevators on the ship. I lined up at 6:30a and got off the ship at 8a and was in line for my GoPort shuttle at 8:15a.
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