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I suggest you do self disembarkation for the best chance of getting off ship quickly. You willhave oppty to be the 1st off before they begin calling assigned colors/zones. MSC has a tendency of being a bit disorganized with large crowds so if you are planning a late morning flight out of MCO do self disembarkation and have your transportation already setup. Depending on traffic its atleast a 45 min ride to MCO from port...then you have to factor in TSA checkin as well as dealing with Disney crowd.

At this time...for regular cruisers , especially just couples....cruising in YC is your best bet. Pricing is not that high if you book 9 or more months out and in addition to the 5% discount you get as a Voyager club member...you get an additional 5% between 9-12 months and and/or and additional 10% on bookings over a year out. Can't beat the price and quality of service in YC. Treated so well. We cruised Odyssey of Seas this past thanksgiving with a Large balcony cabin... after factoring in costs for Drink package, internet, etc.... Our cruise later this yeat on Seascape is LESS in Yacht Club with all the amenities included.

Never...ever...heard of portvfees and taxes dropping..let alone 50-65%

Ive cruised MSC twice previously....fortunately both in YC. I would never cruise MSC outside of YC due to many of the issues you encountered and inconsistencies of service and product that I observed while walking the ship outside of YC

"The YC ist much better than the rest off the ship, service, food and so on." You can't be serious??? Have you ever cruised in YC?? I guess lines for drinks, kids running around ship, crowds on sea days, crowds on tendering, lines for food in buffet, average MDR food, etc is your cup of tea!!

Book it!! Sister ship to Seaside so you will be very familar with layout. I've already booked Seascape for Thanksgiving...Will be our 3rd MSC cruise..all in YC

YC has its own embarkation area and boarding procedure. I assume Suite would be first for non YC passengers

I was on Odyssey over Thanksgiving and I can confirm passengers strolled into dining room with tshirts, backwards cap, and shorts on Formal Nights.... I guess we shouldnt call them formal anymore.

Enhanced DL is not required...Many States have continued to push back the deadline for switchover. Regular license will be just fine

All good points. But for Carribean... Ive cruised to all islands (ABC too) except those southern most carribean islands you cruise from a San Juan departure. This includes Mexican Riviera routes...Passports not required for US citizens. Its obvious the Princess example you illustrated was a longer cruise and likely included Central/So America stops (Colombia. Panama Canal cruise). I have found cruiselines are very accurate and remind you what doc's you need for your cruise except for MSC. Which isn't surpring because you will ger 4 different responses from 4 different people. Being that most of their sailings are European and Middle East they tend to state the same document requirement for all their cruises...this is why you read more questions on BC vs PP on MSC board.

Yes..There is still a white tent. Typical MSC poor communication. They do YC very well....but anything to do with customization (pre cruise) continues to be confusing and inconsistent!

I have cruised 20+ times on Carribean itineray type cruises...All departing and returning to same FL ports (closed loop). This includes 2 cruises on MSC. Have used BC and Govt ID for all. Most recently back from Thanksgiving Cruise on Odyssey of Seas. Do not get scared by some posters telling you different. While there are some "piece of mind" benifits of a Passport (missing ship at a port, getting ill, needing to leave cruise early due to a family emergency,etc)...the liklihood of this ocurring is very rare. Enjoy your cruise!!

I woud assume the process will improve as more sailings occur... However, having sailed Seaside twice (before panademic)...I must admit I did see long lines and disorganization. This where sailing in YC added most value. Only dealt with Immigration lines.

You will be fine with BC's...regardless. Just make sure your 17 year old has a picture ID

What a fond memory we had of Maya Chan from 2019...Took my family there and we had a blast. Wonderful owners and atmosphere! Your right...the ride to/from was interesting to say the least. Thanks for sharing the photos and rekindling our memories!

especially last 2 days of cruise....and when the Maitre'de literally spends 2 min talking about it when giving farewell on last night...its a bit commercial

I wouldn' hold your breath for any refunds.... My experience was a little different. We booked a cruise on Seaside in 2019 that had Ocean Caye as a port stop. Unfortunately due to delays in completing we received a letter a month before cruise saying Nassau was substituted due to island not ready. Said we would receive a future cruise credit for 20% of our total cruise fare (taxes excluded). Wrote to MSC when back from cruise and followed up several times asking for a future cruise certificate. Slow response (are we surprised)...never gave me the actual amount and eventually told me to call MSC for the details. Well we all know what spectaculor customer service MSC has...so never got an answer. Then Covid hit....so I just gave up. So beware lol!

I tend to agree with your summarization. When I booked my fist MSC cruise in 2018 on Seaside (Yacht Club).... I was so excited and intrigued by the Ship in a ship concept and a riduclously attractive price. I then started reading reviews...many from Europeans, as they tore apart MSC (lol) and the wonderful sewage scent on the ship I was scheduled to sail in several months. As an experienced cruiser, 20+ cruises, I just chuckled at the reviews and comments and just used the comments on how I should navigate the ship. Experiences can change from cruise to cruise and is not a common (weekly) occurence....else how could the line remain in business?? Happy to say my 1st MSC cruise in YC blew away any and all expectations I had! So impressed, we cruised on Seaside in YC a year later...same wonderful experience. Was it 100% perfect?? of course not. But I was not going to critique every experiece good/bad.Sure we had some "off" entries in dining room...but overall we found food above average and wonderful and friendly service. The perks of YC, such as on islands where tendering is involved where you have a seperate line and dont have to wait 1/2 hour in hot sun to return to ship has value, concierge asssistance and not having to wait in enormous guest service line has value, Butlers taking you to shows and escorting you off ship has value, Having your own dedicated deck , bar/lounge, and dining areas has much value. We also travel during Holiday periods due to our work (only time we both can travel) and I will admit I do not think I would cruise on MSC outside of YC during these busy travel periods.Maybe Aurea due to dedicated deck area...but families and kids literally everywhere in common areas....just nice to have your own retreat and choose when to walk and enjoy other areas of ship (such as Sports Bar!!) We are booked on Seascape (again in YC) for Thanksgiving 2023 and are so looking forward to reacquainting ourselves with MSC. And to the initial poster of this thread...We cruised Odyssey of Seas this past Thanksgiving and had a wonderful cruise ....Probably our best Royal Carribean cruise ever....but I did miss the YC experience although the Solarium was a nice area to get away from the deck crowds!!

MDR still has their weekly offering... Rumors they may be limiting to just one . (being tested out on a ship). WE cruised on Odyssey over Thanksgiving and it was offered on 2 nd formal night. I never asked for a 2nd but our waiter automatically offered and immediately brought out

Cruised them twice in Carribean and a 3rd scheduled for next Thanksgiving...Granted all will have been in Yacht Club, which imo is the best value at Sea, but the ships are beautiful, well laid out and have a very contemporary feel and look in their design. Great for families too. On par with other main stream cruise lines

We were on Odyssey over Thanksgiving.... went thru immigration around 8:15am ...with BC's....No line

Done over 20 carribean cruises....favorite itinerary hands down is ABC's. Curacao is our favorite island!

We cruised on Odyssey over Thanksgiving. For what its worth...we found the MDR and Windjammer food very good...Beef and Pork dishes may have been the best we've ever had on a cruise. The Solarium is wonderful...The Seaplex and Playmakers can't be missed. Enjoyed the Casino....First time in a long time I didn't lose alot of money. Staff were friendly and service met/exceeded my expectations. Plenty of storage options in cabins. This was a full ship with over 1200 children...and while the pool areas did get crowded on Sea Days.... there were plenty of seats on the deck over looking the pools. Ship really never felt crowded . We really enjoyed the Odyssey of the Seas

We were on Odyssey over Thanksgiving and my wife and I bothe agreed the beef dishes were outstanding.....and believe it or not I thought the cheesburgers in Windjammer were the best tasting beef burgers I have ever had in my 20 + years of cruising.