A great cruise with wonderful service and staff that went out of their way to make every moment special.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was fine. Came a little after my assigned time due to traffic but the staff didn’t seem to care too much about checkin time. The process was very orderly and easy to understand.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
I was hesitant to try MSC due to other poor reviews about the food. I’m not sure what other people eat but I never had a bad meal. I ate mostly in the MDR and the food was wonderful every night. Perfectly portioned and not over salty. The only specialty restaurant I tried was Holas and it was great. Try the queso dip! The buffet was ok for lunch/dinner but a zoo at breakfast so I only went the once. The selection for lunch/dinner at the buffet was more than sufficient with good flavors. Love how the buffet had Al freso seating out back.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Love the selection of pools. It was better than most other ships IMO because they were all in their own separate zones. Plenty of deck space as well with the starboard/aft terraced being a highlight. There was plenty to do aboard without it being overwhelming like some other cruise lines. There were plenty of activities I didn’t attend like trivia and karaoke. Too busy enjoying the sun decks!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The theatre show was different each night. Each was just a random selection of song/dance numbers with a central theme about 45 minutes long. Never a show with a plot but that’s ok. I loved singer Mackenzie and got a big crush on Dance Captain Matt. The Quest game show in the Cabaret was a BLAST. My only real complaint is that the bar music and non-theatre performances were lacking a bit. The “dueling pianos” are just fake piano frames with keyboards inside.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Unparalleled service from room stewards, MDR waiter, and most bartenders. It was the first cruise I’ve been on where I didn’t meet a staff member that didn’t seem happy. Shout to all the Lord Cafe bartenders that remembered my name and drink favorites after day 1. Also, big shoutout to Stella who organized the LGBT/solo meetups. It really made me feel like the cruise line wanted everyone to feel special. My only real complaint is that some of the bartenders were really really slow and seemed undertrained . But this was a rarity .
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The design can be slightly confusing when you’re used to the “mall” design of an RCCL ship. For example, you have to go through certain venues to get to other parts of the ship at times. But it was nice having windows and exits to the terraces on the promenade decks. You never felt like you were in a tomb. Always a clean ship wherever you went.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Cabin was fine for an interior. It was built for two but thankfully I was solo. It would’ve been a struggle if two of us were in there. If you’re a big man/woman, good luck showering. Very small shower. But the room also had more storage than I’ve seen and that was a huge plus.
Ship tip
The easy plus package is all you need unless you’re super picky about your liquor brand. If you’re searching for chairs on a sea day, try deck 19.
I did the Damajagua falls excursion through MSC. It was fun and beautiful but our group was kind of big so we had to stop way too many times during the hike to let people catchup . They need to have higher fitness standards for the trip.
Next time, I’ll stay in port. The port area is like a 5 star resort with beautiful didnt and a huge pool and massive lazy River . Gotta go back for that!
I did the walkoff early with my luggage. Very long line, even though I got in line 30 minutes early. They should force people to wait in the proper waiting area until disembarkation time. It was smooth going through customs.
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