I’ve never met a cruise I didn’t like. On a yacht that holds 35 or a megaship with 6,000, shaking across the Drake to Antarctica or drifting through the Caribbean, I’m happy to eat chicken and salad if the pickings are slim, or sit by the pool with a book if there’s nothing to do. As long as there’s sea air, a balcony and a cup of coffee, I’m in.
I was fine with ignoring the mixed reviews I’ve heard and read about MSC, which range from five-star raves to absolute pans, from both travel advisors I trust and posts on social media. I wanted to give MSC a try and see for myself. So we booked a quick five-night Caribbean trip out of Port Canaveral and brought along a couple of friends for a long weekend in the sun.
I’ll start by noting that among the 50 or so cruises I have been lucky enough to sail, none was a five-day itinerary out of Florida. As I expected, my fellow travelers were a more cost-conscious, more blue-collar, crowd than I usually sail with. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing; we travel, after all, to meet people who are not just like us. The group of eight friendly souls sitting behind us at the show one night, for example, was sailing MSC together for the fifth time. Dave from Georgia told me he’s on his 35th cruise; he and his group of neighbors in a 55+ community like MSC for its entertainment, its private island, and its price tag. Like me, they would rather travel often than blow their budget on first-class, he said.
As always in travel, a successful trip starts with setting expectations and putting the right customer in the right bed. I agree with Dave. You get what you pay for. If your goal is to pay less and travel more, you can have a wonderful five-day escape on MSC Seashore. But not everything will be perfect.
We’ll start with the food. It’s hard to spoil breakfast—but MSC’s misses the mark with the little things: In the buffet, runny eggs, no French toast, and an omelet station so hidden we didn’t find it until the last day (it’s all the way at the rear and around the corner). In the dining room, there’s no chocolate milk, no decaf coffee. At dinner, it took 45 minutes to get our drinks; when we sent back a baked potato and asked for one without sour cream, it took 30 minutes to get a replacement. Then they brought four more—but they were cold.
Some say the service issues are due to a European approach, where the guest is not always right. I wondered if it was a language barrier. And I will say that our steward was attentive and cheerful. But if your vacation will be ruined by small issues—and a check-in process that took over an hour—this may not be the cruise for you.
If you are looking for a great beach experience, though, welcome aboard. Ocean Cay is beautiful, unspoiled, and blessed with bountiful uncrowded beaches and inexpensive cabanas. We paid $250 for the day for a cabana that included two floats and water in a cooler, and split it with our friends. The sand was a little rocky and the cabana was a little far from the food, but we bobbed and tanned and read and chilled and drank and laughed. Alas, the evening light show at the lighthouse hasn’t been working “for a couple of months,” they said. But we came back in the morning and it was still beautiful.
During the day there are multiple musical venues and lots of bars, plus the casino and the mandatory bingo (no, we didn’t win the free cruise but my husband won an Effy bracelet for me playing Name That Tune!). We caught the end of the magic show (not entertaining, but not my thing)—but the musical review shows were amazing, with talented singers, songs we all know and a dancer so good you just couldn’t keep your eyes off her.
Everyone told me that the Yacht Club is an amazing experience, and perhaps we will come back and give it a try. But our goal here—like that of most onboard, I think—was to have a cheap date at sea. And for $650 a person (half the price of Yacht Club), we ate too much, drank too much, sat in the sun, watched the waves, had free wifi and a great show every night, and got to hang out with our friends on a beautiful new ship for six days.
“Every cruise ship has its pros and cons,” says my fellow traveler Anthony Felicio. “Set expectations and always keep the cup half full.”
Cheryl’s 40-year career in journalism is bookended by roles in the travel industry, including Executive Editor of Business Travel News in the 1990s, and recently, Editor in Chief of Travel Market Report and admin of Cheryl Rosen’s Group for Travel Professionals, a news and support group on Facebook. As an independent contractor since retiring from the 9-to-5 to travel more, she has written regular articles about the life and business of travel agents for Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent, and Insider Travel Report. She also writes and edits for professional publications in the financial services, business, and technology sectors.
