MSC Cruises
Seascape
May 25 – June 1, 2024
We decided on a cruise with MSC after reading their status match policy. My husband, Robert, travels a lot so he came in with Diamond membership by status matching his Hilton level. The best perks were priority boarding, exclusive party, and treats in our cabin.
Highlight of this Cruise
Ocean Cay is MSC’s private island and was our favorite part of this cruise. They did an amazing job building this beautiful island. We had the best beach day with plenty of chairs and gorgeous water. Lunch was buffet style with many tasty options at Seekers Food Court. We enjoyed our day so much we made it a point to watch the documentary on how they built the island as soon as we returned home.
Food
The Aegean dining room was hit or miss for us. Some of the food was good and some was ok. The service was good and the dining room was beautiful.
We decided to purchase a dining package that included some of the specialty restaurants. Everything we ate in the specialty dining spots was very delicious and worth the extra money.
Butcher’s Cut was their steakhouse. The steak was very tender and cooked perfectly. Sauces served with steak included forest mushroom, pepper, chimichurri, and bernaise. We tried them all but my favorite was the forest mushroom. Our sides were mashed potatoes and fried mac & cheese. I indulged in the lava cake for dessert while Robert had the banana date pudding.
Ocean Cay was their seafood restaurant. I love tuna so I ordered it for my entree and it was fabulous. Robert had the seafood pasta after we shared a crab cake as our appetizer.
Kaito Teppanyaki and Sushi Bar was the perfect place to satisfy asian food cravings. We ate at the hibachi grill and both ordered Samurai. This included sushi, salad, white miso soup, salmon, prawns, fried rice, sirloin steak, and ginger ice cream with pineapple. We were full and really enjoyed the experience.
When we read about “Bites from the Chefs Court” on social media we knew it was a must try experience. It was an extra charge and a lot of food so we shared it. We tasted fried rice from Teppanyaki, a slider from Butcher’s Cut, 3 tacos from Hola, tuna tartar, and sushi. It was only available on sea days.
Entertainment
Performances in the Chora Theater were wonderful. The dancers and singers are very talented. In Concert was my favorite show. We also enjoyed and laughed at the comedy show with Kente Scott.
Activities
We were lucky enough to be one of the few to purchase the “Behind the Scenes” tour. This is a tour of hidden areas and there are only 20 spots available. Areas we toured included backstage of the Chora Theater, the galley where food is prepared, laundry facilities, engine control room, and the Bridge. Each area had someone in that department to explain daily functions and answer questions. This informative tour was split into 2 days.
Master Chef @sea juniors was very interesting to watch. We were probably the only adults there without kids but we love Master Chef so we had to check out this competition. Kids competed in a food decorating competition. They had a great time.
The only theme party we made it to was the White Party. The music was great. It was a lot of fun. Maybe we will make it to more theme night parties on our next MSC voyage.
Ports of Call
Puerto Plata time was spent floating on the lazy river at Taino Bay. It was free for cruisers and I love lazy rivers. There was a pool, plenty of chairs, and several cabanas. We then went for a short walk outside the port to see Umbrella Street. When we returned to port we browsed the shops and grabbed a bite to eat before heading back to the ship.
San Juan explorations involved seeing local sites. We were planning to do this on our own but there were several strong recommendations that we use a government appointed guide. Our guide showed us everything we wanted to see. These guides don’t charge anything but tips are greatly appreciated.
Nassau was very crowded with several ships in port. We went to the Pirate Museum, looked around some shops until we were tired of crowds and then made our way back to the ship.
We had a great time cruising with MSC and can’t wait to sail with them again.
