muttley

I look for the best price and usually that is not a no single supplement cruise. I'll take a cruise that is $400 and a $200 supplement over a $1000 no supplement similar cruise. MSC is far and away the best cruise line for lowest prices for solos in the usa imho. They are coming to Galveston nov 2025 with a new terminal. MSC has daily meet ups for solo passengers and solo cabins but not a dedicated solos lounge like some NCL ships have. The first one is almost always hosted by a crew member and if they feel good you might get free cheap booze if you don't already have a booze package. They usually have that first meeting a chocolate cake or finger foods and sandwiches that are very very good. But honestly the solo cabins on MSC aren't as comfortable as NCL. Many solos take other cabins and sometimes insides can be less and even outside rarely cheaper when still available and solo is filled up and what the solos were going for. The biggest complaints of the cabins are the beds are too low and the matress is lousy but there are others like the layout is bad for moving around and using draws etc... Insides are so much better.

Don't get a cabin in the MSC Yacht Club. Sharing tables isn't allowed in the Yacht Club restaurants and switching to the regular dining rooms is a pain. The matre d's in the dining rooms do a back and forth he's yours to take care of not mine. In the Yacht Club you can say Peter, Paul, Mary and i are Yacht club members met and want a table for us but you can't do the i'll share or join anyone.

I don't remember seeing life guards at Ocean Cay. What i did see is people leaving their half finished alcoholic drinks all over the place if that is a concern.

How long have they had every NFL game? This is news to me. I go solo and eating and drinking and tv sports go hand in hand. We missed last year's Super Bowl on the Divina because the previous cruise was a Jamming music theme charter and the passengers damaged many things including the sat/video/audio systems somehow. MLB is hit and miss. I did 14 nights before covid just as the playoffs were starting and almost no MLB. I wasn't happy. I haven't been on NCL since covid but isn't the pubs still open 24/7? On MSC even the YC stops room service at 3am? That was my point. I like to eat. I'm not knocking MSC just pointing out some of their weaknesses. Their prices for solos can be awesome. I'm doing a YC solo inside 7 night from Port Canaveral in may and 14 nights from NYC solo not YC in november and NCL and Carnival can't come anywhere near in price.

MSC is a much better value but they do take even more shortcuts than the other lines. If there is a booze or soft drink brand they carry and you must have it don't be surprised if they don't have it or run out even in YC. Things like the buffet that closes at 1am? closes exactly at 1am with the workers already shutting down ovens and stations 15-20 minutes before that. Forget about finding a few slices of pizza at 5 minutes to closing time. I always get to the buffet 30 minutes before it closes to get some hot food. I never go to shows. Some people say they are great and others of course say they are lousy. The classical musicians who play in the main hall often are good but the lounge muscians can be pretty bad imho. The casino is smaller than others i've seen. The bowling alley and video arcade games are often broken. Arcade games so broken they are turned around to face the wall. They have the typical pool deck party games and trivia and stuff. Trivia is world related with things like logos of exotic cars or country capitals or name that plant or animal. TV has a few channels in english, spanish, german and maybe french but the selection isn't very good. The sports channel is ESPN Carribean. tvpassport.com is one site that has schedules.

I filled out the form and didn't get a choice of any pillow and i finally started getting a newpaper halfway through the cruiseafter constantly asking but not the one i wanted. But they did print the whole paper not just the first few pages. Many top shelf boozes were not available even first day. I had a inside and asked to have the bed pulled apart every day but it didn't happen. I like to sleep with my body against the wall and hate beds centered in a room. But i haven't given up on YC. My first was on Meraveglia last year on the first cruise when they repositioned from Miami to NYC so that may have worsened the snafu and i'm going out of Orlando in may.

My only YC was done solo. When i asked the first night to be seated with anyone willing to have others join them or i'll take a table and anyone who wishes can sit with me they said no in no uncertain terms. I could say i need a table for 4 because i met tom, dick, and harry who are also in the YC and we want a table but i couldn't ask to join others. They take the...i don't know what to call it...privicy? seriously.

Yes. I just compared the booking numbers and i assume they are in order. Many people say always use a travel agent but with MSC i always book direct. The website and customer service is getting better but still needs improvement imho and i won't take a chance getting a problem involving both a agent and msc.

It surprised me a bit.

The buffet will close at 1am probably. If you are 3am snackers bring sandwich bags or tupperware and bring stuff back to the room fridge. If you like milk or chocolate milk, yogurt etc.. find the two tiny spots that have it at the breakfast buffets. Even ordering your steak rare in the dining room will get you a piece of shoe leather. The muster/emergency drill is a confusing pain in the bottom more complicated than just go to your station at assigned time. Most people say the wifi stinks.