Td6462

This week was almost 4700 so I'm pretty happy about 3700.

Guest services has indicated as of 10 minutes ago that "everything next week is the same" "for now". Being less than 36 hrs before departure it is my opinion that they will have parts waiting in Miami. They flew in someone from Italy to GC in 16 hours. Cost is not an obstacle for MSC. Especially as the ship is "freshly delivered". With 3700 people coming in for the next cruise, it's my opinion next week will go ahead but if they can't fix the problem in Miami we'll have a reduced schedule next week and potentially a delayed departure as Nassau is our first stop. Everything is functioning fine around the ship. We're just moving slowly. Currently 16 knots. Oncoming cruisers might expect a boarding delay as the app has us now arriving in Miami at 8 am. It was a 7 am arrival.

Guest services says 3700

Currently yes. I do notice a difference in the ac in the halls and common areas but cabins seem unaffected.

We were already at ocean cay on Monday. I have to imagine we need to go there first to allow the terminal to load on Saturday in Miami before limping into port on Sunday.

We are b2b 1/15 & 1/22 so I am also curious as to what will happen.

In cabin notice.

@JT1962 Now with GC in the books I have a better answer (sort of). The program came last night and said tender tickets would be available at 8:30 AM in the casino. I went at 8:10 to wait in line and they were already handing them out. We didn't arrive in GC until 2:30pm (originally scheduled for 10AM). Engine troubles. The disembark process was rough. Semi organized but passenger mix I think has a lot of impact. They called tickets 2 numbers at a time and had us meet (after your number was called) in the restaurant on 6 aft. The masses had gathered in all the common areas and it was dense to be nice. We were called at 2:45 pm and made it ashore at 3:49 pm. I actually have never had a tender port before so I'm not sure how it should have gone. I would say it was rough at best. Best advise I can give is get in line early for tickets to get a low number and be close to the meeting point as they take groups down to deck four by ticket number. They didn't wait long between calling groups so it got very congested and with all the nationalities people were confused. The signage was clear but the staff directing was stressed at best. We made it ashore and enjoyed the couple hours but I feel it could have gone much smoother.

We're on Seascape currently and departure from Cozumel was on time yeaterday. Overnight was choppy/rough as we had a 45 to 50 knot head wind. We awoke this morning to an announcement that we would be arriving in Grand Cayman 4.5 hours late today. The announcement said there was a software issue with the engine's and while not a safety issue slowed our speed. I checked and we had a consistent speed of 14.5 knots. We arrived in GC at 2:30pm and our back on board time was 7pm. Tendering with ticket #4 we arrived on island at 3:49pm. After dinner we inquired with some of the bar/house kepping/ maintenance staff at different venues and they all had the same info. The "software" issue apparently has resulted in the loss of 3 engines and we are currently sitting in the harbour in GC and it is currently 8:30 pm. The hub bub from staff is we are likely staying here for the night. They are flying someone in from Italy to assist. We are scheduled for Jamaica tomorrow.... The math doesn't currently workout at 14.5 knots to make it back to Miami on time for Sunday at 7 am. Time will tell... Announcement just coming across know. Jamaica canceled. Proceeding umder current power and arriving at Ocean cay Saturday afternoon. No more info. Compensation will be announced shortly. Secondary announcement says 50% compensation of cruise fare and excursion reimbursement.

4700 is the pax count this week.

The lines aren't unreal. It is a bit difficult to navigate due to the way it is set up but we've had great luck going to the back of the marketplace. Beverage servers have been pretty quick most times. Maybe 5 or 6 minutes. You can also get it yourself from the marketplace bar. I'll post all 14 days of programs once we get home. We are eastern and western caribbean so it'll give a complete view of both itineraries. Cheers!

Yes in the marketplace desert section durring mealtimes. Only mealtimes not snack hours. It was suggested by the staff to just have the kids get 2. The elevators work great. It's the people not knowing how to use them that causes a problem. There is a backup on port days/ dinner times but that's typical of any ship I think. We are 15 forward. I am disappointed in the size of the balcony. It is considerably small than a RC standard balcony. The bathroom is also smaller. It's manageable but very tight with the 4 of us.

We sailed 28 days with Royal last year. Full disclosure we love to travel to Italy for weeks at a time. The food is different compared to the typical American cuisine. The quality of the ingredients is notable. There is always something to eat. There is a notable difference between the lines in dinner options on the buffet. MSC offers a simple dinner buffet keeping with typical European "dinner" experience. Personally, I would appreciate more (American dinner like choices)at the dinner buffet, but that's not the demographic. Everything we have eaten has been satisfying and high quality but it is not the same as the endless amounts of mediocre "all you can eat" we have experienced on our other cruises.

With the pass she was told she does need to make an appointment on sea days. Port days she may go at her leisure. She did say today (sea day) it was not kept up with as well as yesterday (port day). Dirty towels and cups all around. It was not like that yesterday. So far it has been very enjoyable in her opinion.

Yes

GC is still a few days away. However, shore ex and guest services have indicated that YC has there own. Shore ex goes first. Tickets will be available in the casino and the times for tickets will be indicated in the daily guide the day before. GS had no valuable details on the process and I inquired with the GS assistant manager.

Today was our first sea day and the Jungle pool bar was open serving ice cream (soft serve and gelato) cone and small cup $4 and $6 for large cup. We also got the easy plus and kids drink promo with our fare. After some intense foot work and getting several different answers, the answer from the F&B director is soft serve is only included in the minors package. All others have a charge. Kind of crazy that premium doesn't include it! I verified by trying my own card independently and the charge to me with a premium would have been $4 for a small soft serve cone. Hope this helps.

Family of 4 on Seascape from 1/15 to 1/29. We are in a balcony with Bella experience. My wife has the thermal pass and we have upgraded our easy plus drink package to premium. I'm happy to try to answer questions as our vacation time allows. I'm not doing a live on this trip. Sorry, no YC questions as I can't help...

I find your input across the boards to be very valuable. So much so that we decided to book an MSC trip after a posting you did on the other RC site you are on. The post was regarding the other cruise line and their current pricing strategy regarding 3 & 4 days out of Florida and peak pricing. I had originally planned a 14 day out of Barbados with RC, after a some research we made the jump and are doing a B2B on Seascape next week. We sailed 7days in 2021and 28 days last year on that one cruise line. When weighing cost vs. experience it seemed to make more sense for us to try something new. We enjoy Europe and the European vibe. I'm hoping for a little more of that and not so much of a theme park feeling. It was as you mentioned a bit different to wrap my head around the "pricing options" but we can always adjust on a future cruise.

I know just a few sailings have happened at this point. How has the 7AM docking been working out with departure times? Any recent cruisers have experiences to share? Only done RC cruises previously and I'm curious if the process is similar? Is self departure possible and timely? The flight schedule is tricky for us that day.

As I had said early in the thread "following along out of curiosity". You must have missed the review I did the 1st week she was out of PR. Seems like not much has changed since our cruise 11/6. I've never seen anything like it before.

Having sailed 4 times this year with our kids 12,11 & 4 the itinerary is great for budgets! I would do Odyssey as it is newer and has a good mix of everything for all age groups. Enjoy coco cay as there's lot's to do for free. 4 times there this year and still haven't done everything. Waterpark is overpriced IMO. Haven't been to Labadee yet but the DR has a wonderful pool area in the port that is also free. Odyssey gets my vote!

Following along out of curiosity!

Everyone has their own experiences on board each ship. For us, our kids preferred Odyssey and Symphony. I agree that for older kids (that you mentioned) the activities may be pleasant. Again, I was just encouraging a thorough review before booking and offering my opinion and experience from our B2B 3 weeks ago.