First time sailing on an MSC ship from Miami. Any tips?

[ellie1145]

We are looking forward to our forthcoming cruise on Seascape, having enjoyed 2 cruises on Virtuosa from Southampton. It will be our 80th cruise and have enjoyed trips on several different cruise lines 

 

i have a few questions which I’m sure some of you kind people will answer. 
 

We are top tier so is there a special line for check in?

 

Does the ship pick up at each port like in Europe?

 

Do they serve water at dinner or do you have to pay for it? 
 

What is the internet like and is it cheaper to pre-book before we embark?

 

Do they still give a discount on internet packages to Diamond members?  
 

What adaptors are needed in the cabin?

 

Do they supply bars of soap or is it only the liquid kind? 

Many thanks in advance. 

 

 

 

Edited May 22 by ellie1145

[Tierun]

3 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

We are looking forward to our forthcoming cruise on Seascape, having enjoyed 2 cruises on Virtuosa from Southampton. It will be our 80th cruise and have enjoyed trips on several different cruise lines 

 

i have a few questions which I’m sure some of you kind people will answer. 
 

We are top tier so is there a special line for check in?

There will be 1 security line. After clearing security there is a separate check in for Diamond and Aurea guests.

 

Does the ship pick up at each port like in Europe?

Everyone will embark and disembark in Miami. It is different than Europe and much more time consuming.

 

Do they serve water at dinner or do you have to pay for it? 
Water will be available, but you will be served bottled water with the drink packages 
 

What is the internet like and is it cheaper to pre-book before we embark?

certainly cheaper booking beforehand. It’s not the fastest in the world, but pretty good for cruise ships 

 

Do they still give a discount on internet packages to Diamond members?  
As before cheaper to book in advance, but there is a discount when purchasing onboard.
 

What adaptors are needed in the cabin?

The cabin has USB ports, and US and EU outlets 

 

Do they supply bars of soap or is it only the liquid kind? 
Liquid soap.

Many thanks in advance. 

 

 

 

 Responded in RED

Edited May 23 by Tierun

[morpheusofthesea]

4 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

Does the ship pick up at each port like in Europe?

Not many know this, but there are those passengers that get on at different Caribbean ports. Not many, but those that do must be the first to be rounded up to go through CBP before the ship can be cleared before any other passengers can get off. These passengers are called "Downliners", having got on the ship 'down the line'. Many times these "downliners" do not follow procedure and have to be hunted down delaying ship clearance.

P.S. This is when the ship gets back to it's US port of departure.

Edited May 23 by morpheusofthesea
P.S.

[morpheusofthesea]

46 minutes ago, Tierun said:

 

We are top tier so is there a special line for check in?

Also Yacht Club has a separate security line in the terminal. One will be escorted into the terminal in small groups of 10-20 into the terminal and through screening then to separate room for check in and pictures and keycards and wristbands. One time there was only one screening machine working and the MSC escorts stopped the steerage line to butt the next group of Yacht Club folks in front of them. We were part of this first group to butt in front of the hundreds serpentining in the terminal. It was a nice 'touch'.

[ellie1145]

11 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Also Yacht Club has a separate security line in the terminal. One will be escorted into the terminal in small groups of 10-20 into the terminal and through screening then to separate room for check in and pictures and keycards and wristbands. One time there was only one screening machine working and the MSC escorts stopped the steerage line to butt the next group of Yacht Club folks in front of them. We were part of this first group to butt in front of the hundreds serpentining in the terminal. It was a nice 'touch'.

Sadly we are steerage so looks like will be joining the long lines! 🤣

[ellie1145]

12 hours ago, Tierun said:

 Responded in RED

Thank you so much for your comprehensive answers. They are most helpful. 👍🙂

[ellie1145]

11 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Not many know this, but there are those passengers that get on at different Caribbean ports. Not many, but those that do must be the first to be rounded up to go through CBP before the ship can be cleared before any other passengers can get off. These passengers are called "Downliners", having got on the ship 'down the line'. Many times these "downliners" do not follow procedure and have to be hunted down delaying ship clearance.

P.S. This is when the ship gets back to it's US port of departure.

That’s really interesting. Thank you. 👍🙂

[morpheusofthesea]

2 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

Sadly we are steerage so looks like will be joining the long lines! 🤣

It is not a sad event should one play it smart. Everyone shows up at 9:30 am, disregarding their allotted boarding times. Hence the need for YCers to butt in front of the lines. By noon, guests arrive and there is no longer a need to serpentine a line. Just go immediately through screening to check in to boarding. Boarding generally doesn't start til 11:30 waiting for the B2Bers to board first after clearing at 11:17 when the last stragglers (Zeros) are found hiding on the ship and escorted off by the Sheriff's department.

[mcoler181]

Get to the port early, we were there about 10.30 ish and one of the first lot on the ship.

 

Were in the buffet for 11.30 and it was dead, apparently its crazy busy on embarkation day but we missed it.

[mcoler181]

The cabin has two US, two European and I think two USB ports so being British you will need adaptors. 

[ellie1145]

7 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

It is not a sad event should one play it smart. Everyone shows up at 9:30 am, disregarding their allotted boarding times. Hence the need for YCers to butt in front of the lines. By noon, guests arrive and there is no longer a need to serpentine a line. Just go immediately through screening to check in to boarding. Boarding generally doesn't start til 11:30 waiting for the B2Bers to board first after clearing at 11:17 when the last stragglers (Zeros) are found hiding on the ship and escorted off by the Sheriff's department.

I love your description of the stragglers! 🤣

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, ellie1145 said:

I love your description of the stragglers! 🤣

Usually I'm berated for my use of descriptive pejoratives.

P.S. But in this case "Zeros" was the term used by the staff for those they have to round up at the end of the cruise to zero out and clear for the next group to board. I call them 'deadbeats' and 'louts'.

Edited May 24 by morpheusofthesea
P.S.

[ellie1145]

16 hours ago, mcoler181 said:

The cabin has two US, two European and I think two USB ports so being British you will need adaptors. 

Thank you. Much appreciated. 👍🏻

[ellie1145]

Out of interest, are the majority of passengers American or do Europeans (Germans, French, Italians etc) make up the largest contingent? 

[mcoler181]

1 minute ago, ellie1145 said:

Out of interest, are the majority of passengers American or do Europeans (Germans, French, Italians etc) make up the largest contingent? 

It was a real mixed bag but I'd say Europeans made up the largest contingent, Brits definitely in the minority, still lots of American though.

 

In the show one night the Entertainment director went through all the nationalities on board and was getting everyone to cheer when their country was called out, he must have covered most counties in Europe and South America, plus US and Canada. I've never been on such a diverse cruise. 

 

 

[ellie1145]

11 minutes ago, mcoler181 said:

It was a real mixed bag but I'd say Europeans made up the largest contingent, Brits definitely in the minority, still lots of American though.

 

In the show one night the Entertainment director went through all the nationalities on board and was getting everyone to cheer when their country was called out, he must have covered most counties in Europe and South America, plus US and Canada. I've never been on such a diverse cruise. 

 

 

That’s interesting. Thank you for posting. It was what I suspected. 🙂

[mcoler181]

1 minute ago, ellie1145 said:

That’s interesting. Thank you for posting. It was what I suspected. 🙂

Having only sailed Royal 4 times previously it felt a very different cruise with obviously Royal being mainly Americans. 

[ellie1145]

19 minutes ago, mcoler181 said:

Having only sailed Royal 4 times previously it felt a very different cruise with obviously Royal being mainly Americans. 

Yes, our Virtuosa cruises had a very different vibe. A bit more ‘excitable’ perhaps? At least it won’t be too much of a shock!
 

Luckily, we never sit round the pool on loungers so we won’t need to get involved in the daily battle to secure a chair! 🤣

[Av8tor]

From my only MIA cruise experience:  Don't depart or return on the same day as the Miami Marathon - road closures made it a MESS getting to/from the port!!!

[ellie1145]

1 hour ago, Av8tor said:

From my only MIA cruise experience:  Don't depart or return on the same day as the Miami Marathon - road closures made it a MESS getting to/from the port!!!

When is the Miami Marathon please?

[publicpersona]

8 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

When is the Miami Marathon please?

 

<invents google>

Feb 2, 2025