neptuno

Parking right at the port is convenient, relatively safe and very expensive.

Best bet for techno will be the disco late.

Try forum North American Homeports/ Florida. Lots of info.

A few years ago we rented a car from a major brand, off-site but they picked us up and dropped us off. Drove all over the island with no problems, stopped at several beaches and snorkelled. Great day.

Premier Cruise Parking in the ramp near Whole Foods is $12. Sometimes have to wait in line for the shuttle, and return from Port shuttle is hard to catch, so Uber/Lyft return is recommended.

Park N Go used to be worth it, but last time I checked they were only $1 less than the port!

Fellow cruiser recommended $7 Brightline parking in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. Has anyone tried these ramps with any satisfaction?

Excellent! Thanks for the tip. Probably should post this in North American Homeports/Florida Departures.

Alaska would be a nice addition, but I think the OP was referring to sailings out of Florida, which I would agree have become very un-attractive. Nassau is a great place to get mugged, be careful how far you may stray from the cruise docks. On a positive note, San Juan could be a great two nighter, there is so much to see and do in Puerto Rico, but often takes more than a few hours. Hopefully St. Thomas will be back soon., which could also be an overnighter. Either would be better than two nights at Ocean Cay, but perhaps docking logistics might prevent overnighters at San Juan or St. Thomas?

Keep trying, it can be frustrating. It took MSC nearly 18 months after numerous emails to get our points correct.

OP mentioned North American originations, not sure if that includes Fort de France. But as one who frequently has sailed MSC from Florida, we enjoyed the Eastern caribbean quite often, St. Thomas, St. Maarten and even San Juan (the milk run). Better was the Southern caribbean, longer, 10 or 11 nights on Divina. Any stop at Aruba or Curacao, or Cartagena is worth a few extra nights aboard. Colon, not so, next time we'll take transport to Panama City. Bottom line is Ocean Cay is not worth it, although enjoyable for a day and a sunset, more than a day would only make MSC like a Norwegian Sun booze cruise, only without any decent snorkeling yet.

Shorts are definitely not appropriate in the MDR any night. Try the buffet.

Agree with OP. MSC is cheap for a reason. Anyone been to Ocho Rios lately, they dock at the industrial port.

Yes! We love elegant nights. Unfortunately there are those who chose to ignore elegance, wearing tank tops, pool shorts, flip flops and baseball caps to the MDR. Perhaps MSC could do a better job in directing those ignorants to the buffet.

There was a great story a few years back about a 70 year old US Marine who was accosted by a local in Puerto Limon. The local ended up deceased. The 70 year old US Marine was not charged with any crime.

Unfortunately MSC has lowered its standards regarding US sailings, which are mostly Caribbean. Of course, we love casual dining in the Tropics, but honestly, the difference now compared to ten years ago when MSC was new to Florida from Europe is sadly disapointing. Dinner dress was once the European norm. We still dress for dinner in the MDR, OR if not in the mood, attend the buttet.

Gosh, after millions of deaths internationally over the past years, and the cruise industry struggling to survive and make a come-back, it does not seem unreasonable to require masking of employees/crew, especially for their own safety and welfare of their livelihoods and families abroad who depend upon their incomes, much less the whims of their guests.

Generally speaking drink packages cost more once on board because gratuities are added to the charge. If pre-paying compare the cabin price with and without the package; the package price varies greatly when included with the cabin fare, as little as $150 up to $350 per week per person. So, you can figure how much you need to drink each day to break even over a la carte bar pricing (which is expensive). We like the packages when included with the cabin fare if less than an additional $200 per week per person as it is a great convenience not to have to sign and tip for each coffee, beer, soda, wine etc.

Good luck. I took me over a year and numerous emails to get my promised points. Even worse, MSC shows little appreciation of their past customers. In my case, years ago they did not provide the promised gold pin when status was achieved. Then they changed the rules and Black Status was simply gone without notice or explanation. Now you need to sail every three years to maintain.