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Look what arrived for me in the mail yesterday... nice that celebrity still will physically send you luggage tags upon request. Reminds me of the "old days"!

This trip report is all about new. New for me that is. New user on the CruiseHabit message board. New to MSC. First revenue cruise of my new cruise restart. For those that haven't heard MSC has some really attractive rates at the moment so with exactly 14 days until the sail date I decided to jump on board. MSC has a status match program that I exercised a few years ago. My status match was expiring so this opportunity will also keep my MSC status alive and well. It's always good to try new things and I'm looking forward to trying not only a new cruise lines but also a new class of ship, for me at least. With many cruise lines operating at reduced capacity as they restart operations I see this as a great time to try new cruise experiences. For this cruise I've booked a Fantastica balcony on deck 9. I haven't fully discovered what Fantasica means but it was a small per cruise upgrade over the base rate so why not? I've heard great things about Yacht Club but I'm going to save that for another occasion. It's just 3 nights and I look forward to more of an apples to apples comparison with the balcony cruises I've done on other cruise lines. I've added a wifi streaming package and an excursion climbing the Ocean Cay lighthouse. Other than that my plan is just to explore Ocean Cay, MSC's private destination and enjoy the salt air of a sea day on our way back to Miami. Here is the cruise itinerary: With that it's time to let the countdown commence...

The Lighthouse Spectacular is pretty... Spectacular! First let me state it's really hard to capture a show like this with still photography. I do have some video but I'm fairly certain the music is protected by copyright laws so I'm going to keep that for personal use. The sides of the lighthouse tower basically become a display surface that plays different scenes. Combined with the automated LED spotlights when choreographed to music it becomes alive. It's something you have to see for yourself. Really quite... spectacular! Unfortunately my weather app lied. That drizzle turned into a downpour that the spotlights are illuminating. That's rain. Heavy rain. Which sent the crowds on the beach scurrying back to the ship soaking wet. However next time, if the weather is good... I'll be on the beach!

YEA!! A Twangster report!!! Thank you so much! We're sailing the same itinerary in a couple of weeks and we're also first-time MSC (thanks @CruiseHabit Bill for the heads-up on the sale a couple weeks ago!). Were you able to status match prior to the cruise? If so, how did you receive your benefits (like the welcome cocktail and complimentary upcharge meal)?