Our first MSC cruise sailing in the Yacht Club

Hello, I would like to say my wife and I have had past experiences cruising with Norwegian, Carnival and most recently Celebrity in 2023 five cruises in total so we are somewhat veteran cruisers. We are not MEGA ship people per say but this ships itinerary and time frame revolves around our wedding anniversary so we chose to give it a try in there ship within a ship concept in the Yacht Club. The only way we would sail a ship of 6,700 passengers was in yacht club and that choice was a wise one. The ship is stunning and has plenty to offer especially for families. We enjoyed exploring the ship in small doses when we would attend shows or speciality restaurants. Even at the end of October the ship was at max capacity with many families and children so if you think sailing in the fall will help you avoid that think again! Lol. Most of our time was spent in yacht club and it was spot on with service, food and entertainment. Also even though the pool and hot tub are on the small end it never got crowded on deck 22 and was very relaxing and stress free and never a issue getting a lounger either and there were servers and drink carts coming around on sea days as well. The service was very much top notch for us in yacht club and in our eyes worth doing again and as I said this was our first experience with MSC and the ship within a ship concept of yacht club. Would we do it again? Yes Would we sail MSC again ? Yes but only in yacht club. Did we feel like there was value? Yes we do. I have read very mixed reviews of MSC and World America and even yacht club but we felt EVERYTHING from the ship to the yacht club were on point. Also the speality restaurants we had dinner in Hola Tacos and Eately were fantastic! Our meals in yacht club also fantastic and la Brasserie as part of yacht club for dinner only is not to be missed. Our preferred line to cruise on is Celebrity but we will definitely cruise MSC again trying out there slightly smaller sea class ship in the Yacht Club when we see a itinerary we like in the future.

MSC World America - pleasantly surprised

Although we came onboard with mixed feelings based on reviews, we enjoyed our cruise. MSC world America ship was comparable to one of the mega ships now sailing on other lines. Very clean, neat layout, modern feel. The specialty restaurants were yummy with a few up charge items available at some of them. Interior room for two was adequate. No sofa. Just a chair and stool which made the area feel a little more spacious. Closet space for hangers was smaller than most. The toilet area seemed a bit more cramped than other lines. There is a phone in the room next to the tv, but there is also the chat option on the app which is free so you can communicate through out the cruise with fellow cruisers. Service at all the restaurants we tried and at the many lounges was almost always outstanding. A special call out to Zimik at the Dolce Vita lounge. She was so sweet and attentive. We kept going back just to visit her. Loved her! We were able to book all our shows and dinners as soon as we got on board which was a good idea as some of the shows were quickly booked to capacity - especially the Odyssey. Our favorite shows were the Queen symohonica and “the hall of fame” with a packed house and the crowd clapping & singing along at both events. Most of the other shows were karaoke type quality. Not our favorites compared to other cruise lines. Although you could not book dining times for the specialty restaurants beforehand, you could do it as soon as you board. On our particular sailing, with many cancellations the day of, we were able to change our reservations around as needed. If looking for your way around, the map feature on the app is not helpful at all with constant freezes and missing information. Our room steward was also very good. He kept our towels fresh and ice in our bucket. Uni was very good. The stops were ones we had done before. We only booked one excursion thru the cruise at Roatan for a beach day with lunch. We had a credit to use the thermal spa for 1 hour each which we also enjoyed. The spa had friendly staff who gave us a tour and explained all the available features. Also had a 1 hour session with the onboard acupuncture. Jean (the therapist) was knowledgeable and treated some neck pain caused by stress. Didn’t feel the relief i was expecting but others may have better experiences. For Roatan. Neither the MSC nor the RC ships will dock by a beach area. Our ship docked at a pier which is very crowded to get in and out of because of the abundance of taxis. There were 2 mega ships at this port on our day there. The excursion we did to a local beach took about one hour to get to the beach (30 minutes of which was just trying to get out of the Pier port). There are also a few shops in the pier area if you just want to get out and walk around for a little while. A wade “pool” and bar area at the pier was bombarded with kids and very loud adult music. The excursion at Tabyana Beach was all we could wish for… There were no pushy salesman around although a few people did come by and offer to braid hair and sell souvenir T-shirts but not as much as we have experienced on other beaches. This particular beach area excursion we purchased thru MSC also included a free snorkel tour with a guide (accepts tips) who pulls you around as you hold onto a floating life guard preserver and he will pause and explain things to you. My tour guides name was Dylan. He was very knowledgeable and took us out to the end of the reef where the colors were spectacular! The lunch included in this tour consisted of rice and beans, grilled or barbecue chicken, hamburgers or hotdog, coleslaw, and fresh fruits, along with lemonade and tea. I really enjoyed it. Only downside is water is only available for purchase and all other drinks are not included. Another downside was having to wait for the bus to be full when it was time to go. We had to wait around in the shady tree area about 30 minutes. It takes another 45 mins to make it back to the pier. Bahamas - the day we went was a pretty windy day. We had pre-purchased the two chairs & umbrella package before the cruise ($39) it can also be purchased on board or at the actual beach for $49. A lot of people were just grabbing chairs and pulling them to the shady areas under the Palm trees & shrubs. Because of the wind, we were not allowed to open the pre-purchased umbrellas. We could cancel our reservation and get our money back, but we would also lose the chairs. In mid October the water at the bay was cool almost cold. Other swimming areas around the island had pretty big waves because of the windy conditions. Sunset beach, though, was not getting the winds so the waves were very small there. There were also more rocks along this shoreline, so not as much sand areas for chairs although once you got in the water, it wasn’t as rocky. And although posted signs say there were no life guards on duty & swim at your own risk, there were occasional lifeguards making rounds on jet skis in those areas. The beach area in close proximity to the boat does have a lot more wind coverage and so umbrellas were allowed to be open there. That area is first come, first served and no reservations required. So they are taken up pretty early on in the day. Buffet lunch included the usual burgers, hot dogs & fries or sweet plantains along with bbq chicken, grilled fish, rice & beans, coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, and an assortment of fruits. We enjoyed our long day at the beach. Very relaxing way to end the cruise.

A wonderful birthday cruise!

We were part of a group of 20 adults celebrating a few birthdays and had a fantastic time! First of all this ship is absolutely beautifully designed! All the spaces are gorgeous and elegant. We love the way that certain spaces had an individual feeling all of their own. The second aspect that really made our cruise wonderful was the very friendly, courteous and helpful crew. Everyone that we came into contact with was very helpful. Our favorite port was Ocean Cay.Marine Reserve. The beach is absolutely beautiful and the most gorgeous shade of blue. The water was so pristine and clear. We found dinner in the main dining room to be delicious. The waiters were great about helping us celebrate the birthdays. We went to a couple of specialty restaurants. The Hibachi was spectacular. The food, the entertainment and the customer service there exceeded our expectations. Breakfast at the buffet can be a bit crowded. We opted for the a la carte breakfast at the dining room. The quality of the food was great and the service was very fast and efficient. We really enjoyed the shows especially Odyssey, Queen Symphonic and Cinesonic. I particularly liked the cabaret style seating and the ambiance at the Pamorama Lounge. We had a fantastic the at the Karaoke show where the emcee was hilarious! The Speak Easy lounge was a great surprise. We had such a great time. It is a very different experience. Try to do it in the beginning of the cruise if you have the chance. As the week progressed it got more crowded. There is really something for everyone aboard the World America. We would like to commend the following crew members for making our cruise memorable: Yogi and Hermar at the Hibachi restaurant, Miguel, photographer, Chutima, massage therapist, Irfan, head waiter, and Keno our waiter in the dining room who was our friend by the end of the cruise.