This cruise was a good time but more stressful than necessary. MSC still has some learning to do to make this a more enjoyable experience.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
The embarkation process was very unorganized. We had to wait a while and expected to wait longer to board when a man in an MSC shirt came up and just said everyone in this section get on board quick! So we did and ended up being on rather quickly but it wasn’t intended to be that way. There was minimal direction once on board. And they lost my luggage so we had to go down to the main floor after dinner and search for it.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The food started out really good then declined throughout the duration of the cruise. We felt as though if you wanted good food you had to pay extra at specialty dining. The buffet was a nightmare. It was overcrowded and they even ran out of plates and silverware. The specialty Mexican restaurant was fabulous. Great food and service for a good deal. However, the bars were way overcrowded and definitely needed more bartenders to serve all the passengers.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The entertainment on board was very.. entertaining. The shows didn’t really make sense but they were fun to watch! And they actual Italian opera singers the last night and we could tell everyone was really enjoying it.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Despite the unorganized manner in which things were on the ship I think the staff were doing their best. They had to deal with many rude customers and people complaining about wait times. It was obvious they were very stressed and overworked which I don’t feel I’ve seen on other cruises. But I think they tried to make the best of it and were still very nice to us.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
This is easily the most stunning ship I’ve ever been on. The decor is very contemporary and elegant. It is a shame that such a beautiful ship is so poorly run.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabin was a standard balcony sized cabin. You could tell everything was new. However, once they told us we could go to our cabin ours still hadn’t been cleaned.. so the guy came in and cleaned it as we were arriving. The location is at the back of the boat but there is an elevator super close which ended up being nice.
Ship tip
I would recommend booking your excursions on your own and not through MSC. (Their excursions were overpriced and very chaotic.) I would also recommend going to the buffet at non-peak times. Usually around 2-3 it was so busy we couldn’t find a plate or a seat. Also if you’re ordering drinks go ahead and order 2 at a time.
This is the nicest cruise port I’ve ever seen! Most of the time I always want to leave the port but this one had a resort within the port with a pool, bar, and beach access! We already had an excursion planned so we didn’t utilize it but it looked incredible. Also so many cool shops! We did a super fun waterfall excursion but the port itself looked amazing.
We got to San Juan at 5 pm but couldn’t get off the boat until about 7 pm. Which really cut our time short here. Such a cool stop but no time to do anything.
We did an excursion through MSC and it just wasn’t worth it. We didn’t get near as much time as if we just went ourselves and once again everything was unorganized and chaotic. Making what should be easy and relaxing very stressful.
Their island is stunning!! But they need more staff on it. Me and a friend waited an hour and a half for two drinks because they only had one bartender for a whole section of the island.
The worst disembarkation process I’ve experienced. We opted for the “express” checkout. There was nothing express about it. We walked to the end of a very long line that ended across the ship in the theater where we waited for over an hour with at least a couple hundred other people. Apparently we couldn’t get cleared by customs to deboard though we suspect the same issue happened the week before as passengers were still getting off at noon the week before when we were getting on. There was no staff to explain or help organize the line. Just chaos.
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