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MSC Seaside Live Blog Day 7, Nassau, Bahamas/The Final Day

Evening Sunset Colors on MSC Seaside

This morning we woke up to the last day with that terrible feeling of it being our last day of the cruise, but a beautiful last day in Nassau and a great way to sunset our very first (but certainly not last) cruise with MSC.  This will prove to be a somewhat short post, partially because we really took it easy and did "more of the same", taking in another round of what we enjoyed most about MSC.  Also though, we were lucky enough to tour and enjoy MSC's Yacht Club today, learning about all it has to offer guests in this exclusive suite area.  MSC was one of the lines integral in creating the "ship in a ship" experience, and we want to talk all about that...in a future article.  While this leaves a bit of a gap in our final day's post, we hope you see it more of a teaser, and we're really excited to share photos and information about Seaside's Yacht Club in an upcoming post. Still we managed to enjoy a nearly empty-ship, take in more impressive entertainment, and say goodbye to new friends on this, the last day of our first MSC cruise. read more

MSC Seaside Live Blog Day 6, Sea Day

Wake Trail on MSC SeasideAs much as I love visiting new places, I really love sea days.  This is especially true when on a ship that has a lot to offer, and at a point in the cruise that I’ve found my favorite spots.  What I’d not done until today was really site outside and enjoy the Caribbean.  Today’s weather was perhaps the best of the cruise, so I set out to take some of it in and then enjoy more of the wonderful entertainment on MSC Seaside. read more

MSC Live Blog Day 4 - Sint Maarten/St Martin

MSC Seaside as seen from Great Bay Sint Maarten

Today we arrived in Philipsburg, which is a city on the island of Saint Martin, and a destination I’ve not visited in around fifteen years.  There are two parts of this beautiful and politically unique island: The Dutch side – Sint Maarten, and the French side – St Martin.  The border is completely open, and noted only by roadside markers.  The French side is part of the European Union, and is an overseas collectivity of the country of France, it’s largest city is Marigot.  The Dutch side is one of the four countries which make up the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and it’s largest city is Philipsburg.  read more

MSC Seaside Live Blog - Day 1, Embarkation Day

MSC Seaside berthed in PortMiami

Waking up knowing I'm going on a cruise that day always feels great.  Interestingly, knowing the ship wasn't scheduled to set sail until 7:00pm made things feel a bit less rushed, even though 4:00pm sailings out of South Florida give us plenty of time to get to the ship ahead of schedule.  We had some breakfast, double-checked our packing list (we don't need a repeat of this day) and got into a Lyft to head to the port around 1:00pm. read more

MSC Seaside Live Blog Preamble

South Beach Pool on MSC SeasideThis Saturday (July 7) we'll be setting sail and enjoying seven nights in the Caribbean while bringing all the details to you.  What makes this particularly exciting for us is that like our November sailing on Holland America, we're trying out a cruise line that is completely new to us: MSC Seaside.  To add to the excitement, we're scheduled to sail to a couple of ports that we've not visited in many years.   read more

New cruise ships are huge - except when they're not.

Empress of the Seas & Oasis of the Seas - photo: RoyalCaribbeanBlog.comOver the years cruise ships have become bigger and bigger - bringing attention and fanfare with every superlative.  On the news, on social media, and in ads it seems cruise lines are constantly trying to "out-build" each other.  While there is no doubt that many consumers are excited about these giant vessels, did you know that they don't represent the majority of new ships?  Let's talk about why mega-ships are so popular, and what the average new cruise ship size actually is.   read more