I wish MSC had more ports

[karmamule]

On 5/30/2023 at 8:46 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

Then there are those like us that care less for ports of call. We just love sailing on the newest MSC Yacht Club vessel sailing from 'our' homeport so we do not have to fly (DW 12 suitcases). We love that there are as many stops as possible which unloads the ship and find many of us smiling all the time with the YC all to us as well as the entire ship on port days. We figure as the new MSC ships keep being produced , like World America, which will take Seascapes place out of Miami, then the Seascape will be moved to another perhaps new US port like Galveston or Charleston or New Orleans (I do not even know if these places have ports). Meraviglia is now NY. Then there is the California coast. Exciting things are happening.

 

We booked a 14 day YC on Seascape for next year and have been to all the ports multiple times. We'll definitely get off the ship for the 2 days at Ocean Cay but other than that we'll very likely just enjoy the empty ship like you're saying.

 

We are cruising with some friends for the 1st leg of the trip so they may end up cajoling us into being a bit more active but otherwise, yeah, lazy days lounging around on an uncrowded ship are golden.

[cruiseguyinorl]

12 hours ago, sfaaa said:

MSC was openly talking about going to Alaska for a number of years but it never materialized.

 

In a sit down discussion with SVP of Port Operations for MSC many months ago, he said that Alaska was still on the table for as early as 2025. However, as you can imagine, there was extreme pushback from existing cruise lines operating there. The negotiations with all the government agencies, services and vendors was very frustrating and things were only happening at a snails pace. So 2025 may be optimistic.

 

We also discussed Galveston which they have since signed the letter of intent. When asked about Tampa, he said they have pulled all plans for that port at the moment as it was going to dilute the Port Canaveral occupancy rates, which at that time were still on the lower side. As for more Caribbean ports, they will try to bring back the longer more exotic ports but he was surprised more Americans don't take advantage of sailings from Martinique or Guadeloupe which the Seaside is doing this winter for example. There are some amazing ports but I pointed out the US folks aren't typically as comfortable traveling international to cruise not to mention air cost.

 

They were also tossing around West Coast but I got the impression that discussion didn't really go anywhere for the time being. In others discussions with previous VP's, I was told that the reason they go to the common ports was that it made the cruise line easier to sell as it offered something familiar. I countered that with the fact they need to offer something different to stand out from the rest. Otherwise, why wouldn't folks just take RCI, NCL, etc when the name MSC still is unfamiliar to most. I think in the end we agreed to disagree. Lol.

 

Anyway, hope this helps.

 

Bret

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, karmamule said:

We are cruising with some friends for the 1st leg of the trip so they may end up cajoling us into being a bit more active

Or one might suggest to friends that having seen the sights before that they go on ahead and have great time. The dinner conversation will be most animated, one will be told how much has changed and one has missed the greatest tour of a life time. (One always misses the greatest tour of a lifetime when one stays behind). Even when the tour turns out to have been a 'death march' in the tropical sun when others are trying to get their money refunded at the excursion desk.

[pirate4me2]

I would love to see some other islands included in the US sailings. 🙂

[ready2cruzagain]

2 hours ago, cruiseguyinorl said:

As for more Caribbean ports, they will try to bring back the longer more exotic ports but he was surprised more Americans don't take advantage of sailings from Martinique or Guadeloupe which the Seaside is doing this winter for example. There are some amazing ports but I pointed out the US folks aren't typically as comfortable traveling international to cruise not to mention air cost.

 

 

It surprises me that he was surprised. I love the itineraries out of Martinique or Guadeloupe but I would never fly there to cruise out of those ports when NCL and other cruise lines out of the USA goes to most of those ports.  

 

We haven't flown in years and drive to the ports. There are a lot of people that drive to ports in the US.  Like I said in a previous post, due to the lack of ports that MSC is going to in the Caribbean we are going on NCL again in 2025 after our 14th cruise on MSC. Love the product but the itineraries are getting old.

 

I want to go to Barbadoes, St. Lucia, St. Croix, St. Martin even Bonaire, Grenada, Aruba and Curacao sound good at this point though we have been there numerous times years ago. 

[laudergayle]

40 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

I want to go to Barbadoes, St. Lucia, St. Croix, St. Martin even Bonaire, Grenada, Aruba and Curacao sound good at this point though we have been there numerous times years

Yes…but on MSC from a US (even Puerto Rico) port.  Both a 7 and 10 day cruise. Now that sounds good.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, pirate4me2 said:

I would love to see some other islands included in the US sailings. 🙂

I am reminded of our very first cruise on NCL Sunward II in late 1978 or 79. We were stopping at two or 3 different islands on that short cruise itinerary. During a port talk by the cruise director he referenced the wrong island as our next port of call and was promptly corrected by the passengers present. "Oh !" he exclaimed.  "Sorry, but the secret is that there is really only one island out in the Caribbean and we just leave every evening and come back and dock at a different part of the same island in the morning."  Kind of like the t-shirt of today "Different island, same sh?t."

[shipgeeks]

The problem I see is that they need to continue sailing from ports that make flying in from overseas (UK, Europe, South America) comfortable and affordable. Thus, Miami, followed by Port Canaveral. The passenger mix is one of the main appeals for us, and it fills the ships.  Not sure how many people overseas would be interested in flying further, in order to do an Alaska cruise, for example, and that only once, at most.

When we last sailed MSC, we did 7 + 7 nights. That option is hardly ever offered now.  Frequently 7 + 4 + 3, which does not appeal to us, even though we don't care about the ports.  But for those who do, port options are very limited on these short cruises.

When we first sailed MSC here in 2002, the itineraries were all around 12 nights.  It made the flights worthwhile!

[hamrag]

6 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I agree that they should use a newer ship on the longer itineraries in the Caribbean. For us 7 days from Miami is too short and since we prefer the newer ships we don't plan a Caribbean cruise right now.

 

We will probably cruise in the Mediterranean until MSC use one of their newer ships for longer itineraries in the Caribbean.

Have you considered the Antilles Caribbean, doesn't touch the USof A, nice itineraries?

[hamrag]

9 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I think they had some plans that were scuttled by Covid.  They had planned to put an Armonia class ship in Tampa…not that it would have added new ports, but opportunities.  I suggested the same class ship would fit nicely into JAX.  They do visit other Caribbean ports, but not from the US.  For their European guests, they should add a stop in NOLA or Galveston…EM

I think you might find that most European guests prefer the Antilles Caribbean cruises, which do not touch the USofA. These cruises commence and end in the Caribbean, no need for the sea days to get there from Florida or Texas or anywhere else USofA! 😉

[sverigecruiser]

5 hours ago, hamrag said:

Have you considered the Antilles Caribbean, doesn't touch the USof A, nice itineraries?

 

Can you give an example of itinerary and ship?

 

I have researched flying to the Caribbean but thought that the airfare was too high compared to flying to Florida, especially in business class.

[hamrag]

4 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Can you give an example of itinerary and ship?

 

I have researched flying to the Caribbean but thought that the airfare was too high compared to flying to Florida, especially in business class.

MSC Seaside from Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe or Fort-De-France, Martinique offers two different itineraries for 7 night cruises. If you do a B2B you have 14 nights, albeit you repeat both of these boarding points. Fortnightly, Barbados is used as a boarding point but this is extremely popular with Brits and all are sold out.

 

The 2 itineraries are:

Saturday, Fort-de-France, Martinique

Sunday, Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe

Monday, Roseau, Dominica

Tuesday, St. Maarten

Wednesday,Antigua

Thursday, St. Kitts

Friday, At Sea

Saturday, Fort-de-France, Martinique

Sunday, Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe

Monday, St. Lucia

Tuesday, Barbados

Wednesday, At Sea

Thursday, St. Vincent

Friday, Grenada

Saturday, Fort-de-France, Martinique

 

From FdF, the ship sails at 11pm and from PaP at 7pm so there's plenty leeway timewise particularly at Martinique. Cannot comment on airfare, as we've always done this one from Barbados! Also YC cabins are difficult to find on these sailings!

 

This ship is based in Port Canaveral mostly, and repositions from there on November 19th 2023 with a 9 night cruise ending Barbados or 13 nights ending in FdF. We highly recommend Barbados for a few days post cruise if doing the 9 night reposition.

Edited June 2, 2023 by hamrag

[sverigecruiser]

33 minutes ago, hamrag said:

MSC Seaside from Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe or Fort-De-France, Martinique offers two different itineraries for 7 night cruises. If you do a B2B you have 14 nights, albeit you repeat both of these boarding points. Fortnightly, Barbados is used as a boarding point but this is extremely popular with Brits and all are sold out.

 

The 2 itineraries are:

Saturday, Fort-de-France, Martinique

Sunday, Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe

Monday, Roseau, Dominica

Tuesday, St. Maarten

Wednesday,Antigua

Thursday, St. Kitts

Friday, At Sea

Saturday, Fort-de-France, Martinique

Sunday, Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe

Monday, St. Lucia

Tuesday, Barbados

Wednesday, At Sea

Thursday, St. Vincent

Friday, Grenada

Saturday, Fort-de-France, Martinique

 

From FdF, the ship sails at 11pm and from PaP at 7pm so there's plenty leeway timewise particularly at Martinique. Cannot comment on airfare, as we've always done this one from Barbados! Also YC cabins are difficult to find on these sailings!

 

This ship is based in Port Canaveral mostly, and repositions from there on November 19th 2023 with a 9 night cruise ending Barbados or 13 nights ending in FdF. We highly recommend Barbados for a few days post cruise if doing the 9 night reposition.

 

Thank you. That may absolutely be an option in the future but it depends on airfare and also the possibility to book YC. We book the cruise as early as possible but when we don't know about the airfare we might hesitate to book the cruise before we can book the air and then all YC may be sold out.

[hamrag]

51 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Thank you. That may absolutely be an option in the future but it depends on airfare and also the possibility to book YC. We book the cruise as early as possible but when we don't know about the airfare we might hesitate to book the cruise before we can book the air and then all YC may be sold out.

Why not have a look at airfares as if you were going this winter, to give you an idea of what the cost may be in future years?

[sverigecruiser]

41 minutes ago, hamrag said:

Why not have a look at airfares as if you were going this winter, to give you an idea of what the cost may be in future years?

 

I can absolutely do that to get an idea. When I have done that in the past the cost has been around the double to fly to an island in the Caribbean compared to fly to Miami and that's a little too much, I think.

 

I haven't researched it after the pandemic but guess that the cost is higher now. Normally we fly with British Airways but the cost to fly with them to Barcelona this summer was almost 1000£/each and that is too much.

[LuckyStar]

On 5/29/2023 at 9:03 PM, RichYak said:

Lol, I thought this was going to be a post about power outlets and USB ports. I’m such a nerd. 

Same...

[Bgwest]

On 5/29/2023 at 5:37 PM, laudergayle said:

Sailing from the US, I wish MSC had more ports. 

Scroll through the board for any cruise line and you will find the very same sentiment expressed. 

[mmbcater]

On 5/30/2023 at 5:40 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I wonder why they don’t offer them anymore. 

It's in the planning stages! Galveston is next and then they will expand to the West coast. But it all takes time. I believe when MSC World America arrives they will deploy more ships across the US! Galveston will bring Belize and Honduras.... 

[dexddd]

On 6/1/2023 at 2:25 PM, cruiseguyinorl said:

 

In a sit down discussion with SVP of Port Operations for MSC many months ago, he said that Alaska was still on the table for as early as 2025. However, as you can imagine, there was extreme pushback from existing cruise lines operating there. The negotiations with all the government agencies, services and vendors was very frustrating and things were only happening at a snails pace. So 2025 may be optimistic.

 

We also discussed Galveston which they have since signed the letter of intent. When asked about Tampa, he said they have pulled all plans for that port at the moment as it was going to dilute the Port Canaveral occupancy rates, which at that time were still on the lower side. As for more Caribbean ports, they will try to bring back the longer more exotic ports but he was surprised more Americans don't take advantage of sailings from Martinique or Guadeloupe which the Seaside is doing this winter for example. There are some amazing ports but I pointed out the US folks aren't typically as comfortable traveling international to cruise not to mention air cost.

 

They were also tossing around West Coast but I got the impression that discussion didn't really go anywhere for the time being. In others discussions with previous VP's, I was told that the reason they go to the common ports was that it made the cruise line easier to sell as it offered something familiar. I countered that with the fact they need to offer something different to stand out from the rest. Otherwise, why wouldn't folks just take RCI, NCL, etc when the name MSC still is unfamiliar to most. I think in the end we agreed to disagree. Lol.

 

Anyway, hope this helps.

 

Bret

Thanks for info.  As far as those off island embarkations, other than maybe NYC, flights very tough to get there.