MSC Seashore Cruise Review and MyVegas Rewards

[CruisinPedsNurse]

Hello to the OP. 
I will be sailing along with you on this cruise. I sailed on the seashore in March. I will try to answer all of your questions. 
A. Yes there is a separate area for Aires guests. It is on deck 19 or 20, past the water slides. You need your key card to get in. B. You can not bring any outside drinks on. We looked into this specifically as my husband is a Mt. Dew-a-holic. They serve coke on board. Since you have a drink package, go to any bar and they will give you a bottle of water. C. We did not make reservations for anything. I don’t know if this has changed since capacity has increased. We just simply walked in the dining room at our scheduled time. D. There will be vegan food. Idk specifically about meatless, as I would not get that, but they have plenty of Indian and international options, which tend to be geared more to vegetarians. Ask your wait staff the first night if you have dietary options. 
 

Hope this helps. See you onboard. 

[Bluewake]

On 7/6/2022 at 4:29 PM, Fishfan0073 said:

Has anyone ever done the Green Grotto Caves in Jamaica.  Being from South Florida we always look for interesting things that are not the beach, and this is one that caught my eye.  If anybody has any feedback on a trip to the caves that would be great. 

We also did an excursion to Green Grotto Caves during a port stop in Ocho Rios.   It was a walking tour through the cave and the surrounding grounds.   As I remember, there were quite a few steps as well as plenty of bats hanging upside down in various areas of the cave.  According to the guide, one wide area in the cave was once used as a dance/disco bar.  We found it enjoyable, plus you get to see some of the Jamaican countryside along the way.

[frank808]

On 7/8/2022 at 1:14 AM, alohayall said:

If the “dueling pianos” are on, playing in Times Square, they do a nice job of working through the music of the decades. Three different shows each night they are playing. It lasts about 45 minutes. Some decades or songs are better than others, but they do put on a show.  

They are on till the end of August. Was great watching them 3 or 4 times a week.

 

Do not miss the shows in the Cabaret Rouge. Dancers and singers are very good.

[Acrobatu2]

48 minutes ago, frank808 said:

They are on till the end of August. Was great watching them 3 or 4 times a week.

 

Do not miss the shows in the Cabaret Rouge. Dancers and singers are very good.

Anybody knows if in September on the Seashore there are some rock/funky bands, similar to  "off record.. on the rocks"? (a really great band that used to play on the Meraviglia ship).

[Fishfan0073]

OK so we are 40 days out.  Realization is starting to set in and I am starting to get lazier at work.  Vacation mode is setting in fast this time.  I am sure it is because of the time since we last cruised.  Hard to believe that it has been 4 years, but Covid killed our routine of land vacation and cruise vacation every other year. 

 

We took advantage of Amazon Prime days and ordered a few things(water proof bags for phones, conversion for the european plugs, and bought some new water shoes).  Checking to make sure the batteries for the GoPro still work.  Starting putting together the little things like stain stick, disinfectant wipes and spray, little bottle of aspirin and other items.  Wife just said we need to get the luggage out to make sure it is still OK.  Man that is a statement I never thought I would hear, but it has been that long since we were on a real vacation.  

 

We have booked one excursion so far the Amazing Turtle and Wildlife Encounter in Grand Cayman.  Probably will just walk to Senior Frogs in Cozumel and have some drinks and people watch, or stay on the ship and enjoy the quiet.  Not sure about Ocho Rios yet but we will figure something out.  

 

That is all for the update for now.  I will continue to post as we get closer and hopefully will do a full review with photos when we return.  

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Welp @Fishfan0073 it looks like we will be joining you on this cruise as we had to change the one we had booked for October.  Was hoping to cruise on the back end of hurricane season but it looks like we will be right in the thick of it.  Question:  did you purchase trip insurance?  I haven't yet because my flights and hotel are refundable.  But thinking I may purchase.

[TickledBlue]

36 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Welp @Fishfan0073 it looks like we will be joining you on this cruise as we had to change the one we had booked for October.  Was hoping to cruise on the back end of hurricane season but it looks like we will be right in the thick of it.  Question:  did you purchase trip insurance?  I haven't yet because my flights and hotel are refundable.  But thinking I may purchase.

Buying trip insurance is a matter of your life circumstances and how much risk you are willing to take on.   Buying any insurance is all about the offloading personal financial risk.   There's no single right answer for anyone to buy it or not.

 

When we were younger, I would purchase only medical insurance to cover out-of-country emergencies.  Medical only insurance was pretty cheap and covered very expensive evacuations and on-ship medical expenditures.    We never opted to buy medjet insurance that some swear by.

 

Lately we've been buying comprehensive trip insurance to cover most aspects such as trip delay, lost baggage, etc.   We are doing this now because of potential trip interruptions, death of family members (who aren't traveling with us), and medical.  So if you are in the middle of the cruise, it would be pretty pricey to have to leave it in the middle due to family member death.

 

I have made some claims against travel insurance that were all non-medical related and small.  The insurance companies did pay out but it was a real pain to gather all the documentation for them.

[Fishfan0073]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Welp @Fishfan0073 it looks like we will be joining you on this cruise as we had to change the one we had booked for October.  Was hoping to cruise on the back end of hurricane season but it looks like we will be right in the thick of it.  Question:  did you purchase trip insurance?  I haven't yet because my flights and hotel are refundable.  But thinking I may purchase.

We did purchase trip insurance.  We live in South Florida and do not have flights or hotels to deal with but sailing in Hurricane season adds a different set of circumstances that might occur.  Being that we live here we might need to cancel to get the house ready. 

[BikiniBlonde]

Fishfan0073, in your very first post, you mentioned you didn’t see many reviews with photos. Since you haven’t cruised in a long time, you may not know that everybody and their brother has a YouTube channel about cruising. So if you’re curious about what your MSC cabin will look like, or the restaurants, head over to YouTube. Bon voyage. 

[Gatordad1967]

15 minutes ago, BikiniBlonde said:

Fishfan0073, in your very first post, you mentioned you didn’t see many reviews with photos. Since you haven’t cruised in a long time, you may not know that everybody and their brother has a YouTube channel about cruising. So if you’re curious about what your MSC cabin will look like, or the restaurants, head over to YouTube. Bon voyage. 

isn't that the truth.... Great info on Youtube.

[Fishfan0073]

32 minutes ago, Gatordad1967 said:

isn't that the truth.... Great info on Youtube.

I have watched all the videos but most if not all of them are by people in the travel industry.  They are the same video basically.  I found it very helpful years ago to read the reviews from regular people sailing on these ships.  What they liked and disliked.  I try to formulate my own opinions but I still find it helpful.  Most of the MSC boards are about how bad their shore side customer service is or how bad their IT is.  I will say that I have had nothing but a good experience so far.  I am disappointed that I have not been able to find my exact cabin anywhere.  So I will make sure to upload a cabin tour when able.  We will be in an aft Aurea Balcony Cabin #11286.  Have found a few that are of similar cabins and mostly on the seaside.  I do think I found one that was on the seashore but a different deck.  

 

But thanks for looking out for us.  

[splicer]

I'm so glad to find a discussion that mentions the MyVegas rewards. I'm thinking of using my points for a free 4 night cruise but I've been wary. It's a relief to hear that it actually works. Does anyone know how it applies to traveling solo? When you booked, did the reward cover the cabin or the person? 

 

On a separate note, I can't find prices for the excursions. Anybody have a link?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Heather1972]

On 7/13/2022 at 11:56 PM, Acrobatu2 said:

Anybody knows if in September on the Seashore there are some rock/funky bands, similar to  "off record.. on the rocks"? (a really great band that used to play on the Meraviglia ship).

I don’t know… but that band made my cruise last September on Meraviglia!

[Heather1972]

2 hours ago, splicer said:

I'm so glad to find a discussion that mentions the MyVegas rewards. I'm thinking of using my points for a free 4 night cruise but I've been wary. It's a relief to hear that it actually works. Does anyone know how it applies to traveling solo? When you booked, did the reward cover the cabin or the person? 

 

On a separate note, I can't find prices for the excursions. Anybody have a link?

 

Thanks!

 

 

The reward is for up to 2 people, but you can use it solo. You pay the port fees, taxes and tips for 1 person. They will probably put you in a balcony cabin.

[TickledBlue]

11 hours ago, splicer said:

I'm so glad to find a discussion that mentions the MyVegas rewards. I'm thinking of using my points for a free 4 night cruise but I've been wary. It's a relief to hear that it actually works. Does anyone know how it applies to traveling solo? When you booked, did the reward cover the cabin or the person? 

 

On a separate note, I can't find prices for the excursions. Anybody have a link?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Regarding using MyVegas rewards, what @Heather1972said is correct.

 

Regarding excursion costs, you can go to https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise/excursions to see the excursions but the prices aren't going to be available until you have a booking.   For my upcoming cruise on the Seashore, the prices are reasonable (comparable to third party providers).   I'm sure that there's a little MSC mark up, but not outrageous. 

Edited July 20, 2022 by TickledBlue

[parallax]

I recommend Pancho's Backyard  in Cozumel if you want amazing food and drink.  When we go to Cozumel, we always stop there.

[Fishfan0073]

46 minutes ago, parallax said:

I recommend Pancho's Backyard  in Cozumel if you want amazing food and drink.  When we go to Cozumel, we always stop there.

Thank you will put that on the list.  Have been to Cozumel a couple of times before so much new for us.  We always just look for some place to have a drink and people watch.

[Two Wheels Only]

On 7/18/2022 at 12:23 PM, Fishfan0073 said:

 

We have booked one excursion so far the Amazing Turtle and Wildlife Encounter in Grand Cayman. 

 

We did this one in 2018 and we enjoyed it.

[F858MM]

Going on the Seashore in October, can I bring on my own bottle of water?

 

[poohdreaming]

On 7/29/2022 at 9:00 AM, F858MM said:

Going on the Seashore in October, can I bring on my own bottle of water?

 

No pack of water to bring on board.

However you can bring an empty water bottle to fill it up using their cups in the buffet.

[Fishfan0073]

Finally it is cruise week.  We are leaving this Saturday and now time has slowed to crawl. 

 

Final shopping trip with the wife was not to bad.  She says I need a new pair of sandals and three pair of shoes later I think we are finally done.  That is until something else comes up and then the last last minute shopping trip will take place.

 

Covid tests booked with Onpoint virtually for Thursday night, and my sister will come in on Friday.  All we have left to do is pack and wait for the time to pass.

 

This will be my last post pre-cruise.  All we need now is that negative test and Saturday to arrive.

  

This will be the longest 5 days ever.  

[journeymore]

On 7/6/2022 at 5:19 PM, bigblue1952 said:

We did the Green Grotto Caves in Jamaica in March 2022.  We really enjoyed the tour.  It was very interesting and informative.

Did you do the ship tour or catch a cab?

[bigblue1952]

3 minutes ago, journeymore said:

Did you do the ship tour or catch a cab?

 

3 minutes ago, journeymore said:

Did you do the ship tour or catch a cab?

We did the ship tour.