My husband and I recently returned from sailing on the MSC Seascape with my side of the family. It was truly a great time! We sailed for 7 nights and had 4 ports of call — Ocean Cay, Bahamas; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; George Town, Cayman Islands; and Cozumel, Mexico. I have already shared a post detailing everything I packed for this trip. You can find that here for tons of vacation outfit inspiration. For this post, I am focusing on our daily cruise itinerary including what we did at each port of call.
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Day 1 – Ocean Cay, Bahamas
Our first port of call was MSC’s private island, Ocean Cay. We had a great time at this beautiful island in the Bahamas! This was probably the brightest, most crystal clear water we saw throughout our entire cruise. What I enjoyed about the private island is that the food and drink packages still work, so you only have to pay for certain speciality items like the ice cream and coffee shops. There is a large buffet area with food and drinks included, plus several smaller food stands throughout the island. Although the island has some water activities to take part in, we spent our time enjoying the various beaches.
Day 2/6 – At Sea
This specific sailing on the MSC Seascape included two full days at sea. The ship had many daily activities to take part in, especially on the at sea days. We enjoyed the multiple bars, waterslides, casino, and Robotron – the first robotic coaster at sea. It did cost a small fee to ride the Robotron but the experience was truly one of a kind. There were also multiple themed parties at night on the ship, as well as other activities such as karaoke. Lastly, one of our favorite events to attend on a nightly basis were the shows in the theatre! There were a wide variety of shows ranging from singing, dancing, acrobatics, and even magicians.
Day 3 – Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Our next stop on the MSC Seascape was in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. There are several excursions you can book through the cruise line, however we decided to enjoy another relaxing day at the beach. We bought day passes for Hotel Riu Ocho Rios through the Resort for a Day site. It was fairly easy to book and coordinate. We were provided transportation to and from the resort which was about a 10 minute drive from the port. Included in our day pass was full use of the beach areas and pools, plus all food and drinks. Overall we had a great experience at this resort!
Day 4 – George Town, Cayman Islands
Our day in George Town, Cayman Islands was the most eventful out of them all! We chose an exciting excursion with many activities — Cayman by Land and Sea. During this full day excursion, we were transported to multiple stops in a comfortable bus with an informative tour guide. We first briefly stopped by the Governor’s House and Seven Mile Beach. Next was the Tortuga Rum Company where we were able to sample rum from the area and purchase a typical Cayman lunch. One of my favorite stops on this excursion was to the Turtle Center. We saw tons of turtles at this conservation facility, from baby hatchlings all the way up to turtles over 500 pounds.
Our final stop on land was to the rock formations of Hell. These formations were interesting to see and learn about, and the overall environment of the area was very cute and quaint. You could get your passport stamped for a small fee and even send a postcard at the post office. We then drove a short distance to a dock where we embarked on a 45 minute boat ride to Stingray City. Swimming with stingrays with the help of a knowledgeable guide was such an exciting experience and one that I will never forget! We thoroughly enjoyed the variety of this tour and highly recommend it for seeing as much as possible of this beautiful island!
Day 5 – Cozumel, Mexico
Our last stop on the MSC Seascape was to Cozumel, Mexico. We also stopped at this port when we cruised on the Norwegian Bliss in December. You can read about our excursion to the Tulum Ruins here. During this trip, we booked an excursion through MSC to Playa Mia Grand Beach Park. It was extremely hot on this day so we didn’t do much more than enjoy the water, food, and drinks. It was a little disappointing that the use of the umbrellas were not included in the price of our ticket. However, we really enjoyed the fresh guacamole and shrimp ceviche!
Final Recommendations
- Don’t forget to pack for theme nights. Most cruises have a formal night and white night, but every ship is different. We also had tropical night and Italian night on the MSC Seascape.
- Consider buying the drink packages and wifi packages before getting on board to save money and time. You can also buy excursions ahead of time so you know what to pack.
- Download the MSC app. This was very helpful for viewing the daily itinerary and making reservations for the nightly theatre shows.
- MSC was different from our previous cruise because the dining time was assigned after boarding and you dine at the same time and in the same location for the entire week. We were able to request to change our dining time on the first night and it wasn’t an issue.
- Take the time to enjoy all that the cruise has to offer! We enjoyed our time on the MSC Seascape and would recommend this sailing for your next family vacation.
