Not usually the cruise person who likes the big and flashy. Who usually books cruises based upon itineraries, I decided to take a cruise on the new MSC World America for fun. This cruise out of Miami, Florida, was a simple Western Caribbean cruise with stops in Playa Carmen, Cozumel, Roatan Honduras, and MSC’s private island in the Bahamas, Ocean Cay.
I had heard that MSC was one of the few cruise lines to match frequent cruisers’ level status with yours from other existing cruise lines like NCL. I immediately sent them my NCL level information, and within days, I was accepted at the Gold Level with MSC. Very impressive since they only have 2 more levels above that one! This Gold Level gave us a few more perks. These included 5% cruise discount, access to shows without reservations, embarkation and debarkation privileges, 1-hour thermal spa, Formula 1 simulator, various on-board discounts, and a $50 on-board credit.
MSC has a brand new cruise terminal in Miami, and of course, the MSC World America was using it. It is impressive, and with my 12 pm assigned check-in time, it was very easy with Uber drop off. Baggage was dropped off outside the terminal, and then with your boarding pass and passport, you were whisked through check-in and security. MSC has taken advantage of facial recognition, and it really works very quickly, even upon the return to Miami. My previous experiences with NCL with much smaller ships for embarkation and debarkation have been a nightmare, so this was a pleasant surprise, especially considering the size of the ship.
The MSC World America is one of their largest, being 1,094 feet long, 154 feet wide, and has 22 decks. It can accommodate 6,762 passengers and 2,138 crew members. So like I said before, it is a monster! Was it crowded? YES! They do have a new elevator system that sends elevators to the proper selected floors, so you do not have any buttons inside. However, many times the elevators stopped on your pickup floor, only to be completely full. I would think they should know this based on weight and cameras, and the elevator should not even stop. Many of the public areas were indeed crowded and full, so maneuvering around the ship was difficult at best. The buffets, of course, were on many occasions the same.
We had chosen an interior (atrium) aft balcony room, which I felt was small, and the bathroom was very small. I saw that across the hall, the regular balconies were much larger, and I would certainly choose those instead. The other issue was the noise drifting up from the World Promenade area on deck 8. Let me tell you, silent disco is not so silent when everyone thinks they need to sing instead of you hearing the music! That area usually did not stop with the noise and music till about midnight each night. So that would not be my favorite cabin location unless you are going to be out and about that late anyway. The TV was interactive, and there seemed to be a lot of movie choices.
With 20 pools and jacuzzis, you would think that there would be plenty of space, but unfortunately, not and was just as busy and crowded on any ship with just 1 pool. There is an adults-only area on deck 19 aft that has 2 pools, so it is a bit quieter, however, still very busy. The top deck 20 consisted of all the extras like the children’s play area, ropes course, arcade games, Formula 1, bumper cars, and the huge swings that go outside the ship’s decks.
There are 17 restaurants and 18 bars scattered around the ship, and the free dining includes 2 buffet areas and 4 huge dining rooms. We were assigned to the one on deck 5, while the rest are on deck 6. Menus change daily, so there are some interesting selections, including a 1/2 lobster tail with filet, and on another dinner evening with shrimp. You never see lobster for free on NCL anymore! The other dining option was a pizza and burger joint that was open for lunch and dinner. They served about 6 different pizzas, burgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers, French fries, small salads, fruits, and bite-sized desserts.
The entertainment on the MSC World America Cruise was actually quite good, from the small individual or group shows in the lounges to the big World Theater production shows. They also had another entertainment venue aft, called the Panorama Lounge, which was a tiered show room. It had several shows, including an excellent “Orchestra Queen” show.
There was also the Luna Lounge, where they held other activities, including movies, game shows, kids’ activities, and themed parties. During the day, it features interactive experiences like a VR Drone Academy, Digital Dance Academy, and large-scale game shows. Evenings are dedicated to large-scale shows and interactive musical concerts, but I did not visit that venue. In addition, The Loft provided a swanky adults-only venue where stand-up comedy, karaoke, and dueling pianos keep the good times rolling.
Would I choose this ship again? Probably not, it was simply too big and too crowded for me to have an enjoyable cruise.
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