Last spring I got an offer from Mohegan Sun to pick up a cruise from MSC. My comp was for an inside stateroom, and there were lots of cruises to choose from up to 9 days in length. I had never sailed MSC which is a European based cruise line , and didn't know much about them so I did a ton of research. I eventually decided on the Seaside which was just launched at the end of December. She is a very large state of the art ship, and I am looking forward to seeing the new technology and their way of doing things which is quite different from our typical American cruise ships.
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I will be sailing with my sister, which in itself is an adventure. We are opposites. She is sheltered and has many fears and phobias, and well, I am not and don't. She is full makeup from wake up to bed time, and well, I am makeup maybe on formal night. She likes the room at 78 degrees, and I like it at 66. She loves wine, and well, SO DO I! We do have something in common besides the same parents ;)
I really wanted to keep this cruise cheap, but I do get claustrophobic so I upgraded to an ocean view as it was super cheap. The jump to a balcony was a few hundred more, and I cheaped out. SO, for a whopping $179 apiece we are getting a 7 night cruise on a brand new ship.
I was able to status match to their top loyalty level so we get a few perks like early boarding, a free dinner in a specialty restaurants, late debarkation, and a number of other things. We are also entitled to free drinks in the casino for booking through the casino, so we didn't bother with purchasing a drink package. We did splurge on a week long thermal spa pass, since we have no balcony and this is going to be a spring break cruise so pool loungers will likely be in short supply. Also, Sis is totally a Spa person. The spa is supposed to excellent, and though I am so not a spa person, I am entitled to a 30 minute massage with my pass, so if I don't chicken out, I may have my very first massage!
Due to all the hurricane last summer/fall, our itinerary got all switched around and I am not particularly excited about any of our stops, but it still beats the hell out of another nor'easter! We'll stop in Nassau, Bahamas; St Thomas, USVI and Antigua. We actually booked a ship's excursion to the beach in Antigua to keep Sis from having an anxiety attack. We will likely do beach days in Nassau & St Thomas as well, but we'll see.
So, I fly out to Fort Lauderdale (non-stop!) later this afternoon & we have a car service to take us to the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami. We will be very close to the ship and will Uber over there tomorrow around noon. I purchased an internet package for the duration of the cruise, so I am hopeful that I will be able to update this thread as the week goes on.
