MSC 14 Day Carribean Cruise Sept with kids

[Bigmaan]

Hello All,

 

 

Australian Family of 4 ( mum/dad daughter 16 & son 13 ). About to book a 14 day cruise departing Miami in late September 2017. A few questions please to ease my mind :

 

1. We have done 4 long cruises on Royal carribean and 3 on carnival. Love them both probably more RCL as kids club and activities great.

 

2. Never done a MSC cruise before so first time and seeing mixed reviews.

 

3. I understand that September-October is Hurricane season.... big worry.

 

4. The price of this 14 day cruise is fantastic and appears great value. Covers both sides of carribean as well.

 

5. Is there any particular down side to all this ? I know they say language is an issue but be keen to get any feedback from parents of teenagers who have done this one. Happy KIDS happy parents.

 

6. We love the activities on board like trivia and games etc....

 

Kind Regards

 

Bigmaan

Sydney

Australia

[1025cruise]

Well, first thing to know is that a 14 day cruise will not attract a lot of families. Too long.

 

You might want to ask on the MSC forum for more info on the cruise line.

[SuiteTraveler]

The MSC ships that sail out of Miami have a mostly English speaking clientele, so there should be no issues about language onboard. I was on the MSC Divina last March and it was great. We were in the Yacht club which I highly recommend if you can afford it. If not, you still get the great nightly music shows - your kids should enjoy those as well as you and your spouse - they are among the most professional shows I've ever seen at sea with real Broadway level talent. Even the dancers are highly choreographed and constantly in sync with each other to a degree not seen on other cruises. MSC ships are very elegant compared to Carnival or RCCL. I saw kids onboard Divina having a great time playing ping pong, using the pools - the slide is not much of a slide, but kids still have a good time on a cruise even without all the fancy slides and waterpark facilities. From what I understand the MSC Seaside will have a waterpark, so if that is the ship you are considering, I think you will enjoy it. Food is very much Neopolitan - lots of seafood. Bread onboard is outstanding, pizzas are true Neopolitan type pizzas. So it's less American than Carnival or RCCL.

 

In regards to Hurricane season, DO buy cruise insurance. The ships will go even if there is a hurricane in the Caribbean and the Captain will completely avoid the hurricane so you may get surprise ports changed at the last minute or miss a few ports. If the hurricane is bearing down on Miami on embarkation day, they might rush or delay departure - hard to know - basically, the cruise company will be doing everything possible to keep the ship away from the hurricane at all times. So the ship might come into Miami late if there is a hurricane over Miami on embarkation day/disembarkation day. Keeping this in mind, plan an extra day or two in a hotel at either end of your cruise. Being from Australia, I'm guessing you have plenty of vacation (my dh is an Aussie)! There are lots of great things to do in the Miami area or you could always go to Orlando or Key West - both great areas to visit.

 

Just as an alternative suggestion since you have teens, you might want to consider an NCL cruise on one of their mega ships such as Epic or Getaway or Escape - these ships are loaded with options for teens - probably you will hardly ever see your teens if you go on these ships!

[cb at sea]

Don't worry too much about hurricanes....ships WILL avoid them. It's not a "given" that there will be a storm...just that conditions can be right for them to form.

[Essiesmom]

Just a comment on SuiteTraveler's opinion: Although most passengers on Divina/MSC will understand English, it may not be their native language. You will hear lots of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German onboard. As far as families, the 14 day cruises of Divina are actually a B2B of two 7 day cruises, eastern and western Caribbean. There is lots of information about Divina on the MSC board here at CC. EM

Edited November 12, 2016 by Essiesmom

[preschool teacher]

I have been on 2 MSC cruises...loved them both..great food and entertainment...have fun!