Caribbean
Ports: Puerto Plata, San Juan, Ocean Cay
Pros:
Low cost, but you also get barebones amenities for that price. Outside of the buffet and main dining room privileges with the old-fashioned assigned dining times, everything is an add-on. Some people might consider this as nickel and diming, when comparing them to other cruise lines. But it can be great for those of us that look at a cruise ship as a floating hotel. You really need to do an apples-to-apples comparison to get a real feel for the line and to temper your expectations.
MSC offers four “experiences” ranging from Bella (the basic, which I had, since my room was comped) to Yacht Club, who have exclusive privileges, and anytime dining. The higher up to the ladder you go, the more that is included in your cruise experience. We were booked on Fantastica, the second tier, via a casino match offer, which includes (wi-fi and a drinks package).
Personally, I wish there was a cruise line that made it even more barebones, since I don’t eat 3 meals a day. I would much prefer a cheaper option, with one meal a day (say breakfast or lunch), and they scan you when you go into the buffet. Maybe an option to add a set number of dinners, which could be main dining room or buffet. On port days, I often only eat an early meal, so I’m the passenger that saves the cruise line money; I’d much prefer to eat locally.
Heck, I’d be happy to do “pay as you go” cabin cleaning. Do you really clean your room at home every day? I don’t, and I don’t find someone entering my personal space and moving my things around luxurious. But that’s just me. I’d prefer a cheaper cabin overall, with maybe one room cleaning included per 7 days, similar to how some hotels are dealing with room cleanings now.
Smokers will like this cruise line more than the American ones, since there are multiple places that you can smoke on this ship. The casino has decent ventilation, so thankfully even though I’m a non-smoker, the smoke didn’t bother me much. The multiple smoking areas is also probably geared toward the European clientele, since the vast majority of Europeans still smoke.
The night before disembarkation, they offer a later time to leave your luggage out, which is nice.
Free drinks if you are a casino player, this includes getting free drinks at the casino bar, which is such a plus compared to other lines. Many of the other lines only offer free drinks via servers, and I’ve found those servers are few and far between.
Cons:
Most of the failures of this ship lie in design and operations.
This is a ship filled with a lot of Europeans, who are traditionally sun worshippers. There is not nearly enough pool space to accommodate such a group. On a sea day, every deck chair on the ship is filled super early and remains that way until 3 or 4pm, even when there’s no person occupying them. Thankfully, the company seems to realize the need for extra deck chairs – they are the primary seating on every deck, even when there’s not a pool nearby. That probably satisfies most, but those of us that actually want to swim in a POOL and not sunbathe are just SOL.
A huge oversight is only one water/ice machine at each beverage station in the buffet, as well as the tiny cup sizes. There are at least two coffee dispensers for both regular and decaf, multiple dispensers for hot water and a couple for the juices/iced tea. But water and ice are overlooked, despite many people needing to refill bottles and cups to sit by the pool.
The buffet layout also has shortcomings including condiments placed at awkward places in the middle of the line, which slows down the flow of the line. When it comes to the line, despite the fact that there are two sides of the buffet that have almost identical offerings, passengers seem to insist on forming one line that goes in one direction. Signage would be helpful here, but it would need to be in multiple languages.
Signage would also be extremely helpful when it comes to the elevators. They are the new smart elevators, the ones that you type your floor button, but you need to do it for EACH passenger. My party only knows how to do it because there was signage on the last Carnival cruise were on. By the end of the cruise, people still did not completely figure it out.
Organized activities are sparse during the day compared to other lines. Maybe they found that most people are out soaking up the sun, so it’s pointless to offer too many activities. It’s probably one of the ways they cut down on costs. The daytime activities seem to be very heavy in dance classes and trivia, with the occasional BINGO.
Evening activities are more plentiful, but the production shows are definitely lower budget than most of the other cruise lines. For as large a ship as it is, the theaters aren’t very big. The talent is excellent, but the costumes and sets are minimalistic. Sadly, most of the best game shows that are traditionally offered (Love and Marriage, The Quest, etc) didn’t happen until the last sea day.
Most people that have cruised with other lines are used to casual dining venues that are included in the cruise price, many are often located near the pool, for an easy snack while you’re out enjoying the sun. Most cruise lines offer a pizza “stand”, with Carnival and Princess having exceptionally great pizza at these pool outlets. Princess often has a “café” near its atriums, open 24 hours, with sandwiches, pastries and coffees. NCL often has O’Sheehan’s Irish pub, featuring bar food at all hours. This is not the case on this MSC ship; there are no casual food options included – or even available. The closest you’ll find on Seascape is a taco place, at additional cost, and it’s tucked away on an interior deck. Most of the specialty dining restaurants are located in the same area, and all are in addition to your cruise fare. They do offer prix fixe options, but the a la carte prices are reminiscent of some Vegas Strip prices.
I found the biggest con on our ship/itinerary was Ocean Cay, MSC’s private island in the Bahamas. I’m not a huge beach person, but did an all day rental of a day bed to make the day more enjoyable (plus we both have issues getting up and down from towels/lower chairs). We were sent on a wild goose chase to find the rented day beds, and they turned out to be bean bag chairs (not pictured anywhere)! We proceeded back to the ship, and utilized the pools instead, but were refused a refund.
Service in the main dining room was very slow.
Summary:
I’d say be prepared. If you really like NCL, Royal, Princess, etc., this line will probably not meet your expectations. If you just want a bargain way to get around, a floating hotel, per se, this will probably work. But always compare apples to apples. If you like the extras that the other lines often include, compare the pricing for all the “extras” before you book this line.
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