MSC Seascape
7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise - March 9, 2024
We’re looking forward to our upcoming 7-night Caribbean cruise on the MSC Seascape. We’ll be visiting some favorite places such as Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Ocean Cay! We also have the new-to-us port of Montego Bay, Jamaica. This is the cruise Jennifer won at CruiseWorld (a conference for travel advisors) in November. We had to pick three cruises and we got our top choice! All opinions are our own. We purchased the drink and wi-fi packages ourselves. We chose the Easy Plus drink package, so all drinks up to $10 are included.
Itinerary
Saturday - Dec 9 - Miami, FL
Sunday - Dec 10 - Sea Day
Monday - Dec 11 - Cozumel, Mexico
Tuesday - Mar 12 - George Town, Grand Cayman
Wednesday - Mar 13 - Montego Bay, Jamaica
Thursday - Mar 14 - Sea Day
Friday - Mar 15 - Ocean Cay, Bahamas
Saturday - Mar 16 - Miami, FL
Embarkation Day
Embarkation was very quick and easy! We went straight up to the Marketplace Buffet for lunch then started exploring the ship.
We stayed in a balcony cabin with a mid-angled balcony. We found the cabin very roomy with plenty of storage.
For our first night on board MSC Seascape we went to Green Wave Restaurant (one of the main dining rooms) for our dinner reservation. They have 3 seatings at 5:45pm, 7:30pm and 9:30pm. Our original assigned time was 9:30pm, but that was too late for us, so we requested a new time on board. We were given 7:30pm which works much better for us.
We ordered Caesar Salad, Greek Salad, and we both had Prime Rib. For dessert we had Grandma’s Chocolate Cake and Warm Apple Crumble.
After dinner, we headed over to the Chora Theatre for IMAGINOCEAN. Then we went to Uptown Lounge for Who Wants to be a MSC-illionaire Game Show and karaoke.
We had a great first day on MSC Seascape! Tomorrow we’re at sea on our way to our first port stop.
Sea Day
We enjoyed a very leisurely day at sea on MSC Seascape. It was just what we needed! A good portion of the day was just staring out at sea while relaxing on our balcony. A cruise balcony is my happy place, so I loved every second of it.
This evening was Gala Night on MSC Seascape, so we got dressed up and went to the Captain’s Welcome Speech in the Atrium where they handed out free glasses of bubbly to everyone.
Captain Michele Tuvo is so funny and we’ve enjoyed listening to his announcements this cruise. He gave a nice speech and toast, then it was time for dinner! But first, we had to take a picture on the stunning Swarovski staircase (each step contains around $40,000 of crystals).
Since it was Gala Night the Green Wave Restaurant featured the Gala Dinner.
We started with lobster bisque, Caesar salad, and creamy salmon rilletes. We both ordered Filet Mignon for our entrees. Then for dessert we had strawberry cheesecake and royal cake.
After dinner, we decided to head back to the stateroom and relax. We enjoyed looking at the night sky from our balcony.
Tomorrow is the first port stop of our cruise: Cozumel, Mexico. We have no plans, so we’re just going to walk around the port area and see what we find.
Cozumel, Mexico
Today, the MSC Seascape was in Cozumel, Mexico for the first port stop of our cruise!
We had no plans for the day, so we went down to Green Wave Restaurant for a leisurely breakfast.
We both ordered Your Choice of Eggs to Order. Jay had poached eggs with bacon and sauteed potatoes. I ordered scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and hash browns.
Then we headed out to walk around the port.
After a little shopping, we got back on board the quiet ship and enjoyed some time at the empty adults-only infinity pool.
Later, Jay took an afternoon nap (I think his favorite thing about cruising is napping) while I read on the balcony. I watched the NCL Escape sail away and then said goodbye to Cozumel as it was our turn to leave.
We had decided to skip lunch for an early dinner at Hola! Tacos & Cantina, a Mexican-inspired specialty restaurant. We chose the all-you-can eat option for $17.99 each and enjoyed a variety of chips and salsa, queso, tacos, and quesadillas.
After dinner, we watched the sun set from the Bridge of Sighs. Then we enjoyed the entertainment in Le Cabaret Rouge. We ended the night with comedy by Frances Dilorinzo in the Chora Theatre.
Tomorrow, we have our next port of call in George Town, Grand Cayman. We last visited the Cayman Islands eleven years ago on our honeymoon cruise. We’re excited to see it again!
George Town, Grand Cayman
Today, the MSC Seascape was in George Town, Grand Cayman for the second port stop of our cruise!
We had pre-booked a Crystal Caves tour through Shore Excursions Group. With four cruise ships in port today, the meeting area for independent tours was chaotic. Then there was miscommunication between our tour operator and bus driver. But once we made it to the caves, it was worth it. We explored three different cave systems. Lake Cave was our favorite of them all.
We made it back to port with plenty of time to get back on MSC Seascape. We watched Disney Fantasy leave from our balcony then we said goodbye to Grand Cayman as we sailed away.
Earlier in the cruise we purchased the Duo Dining Package for $99 each which includes Butcher’s Cut Steakhouse and Kaito Teppanyaki.
Tonight we had dinner reservations at Butcher’s Cut. The dining package includes the Dining Experience menu. Jay wasn’t a fan of the options at first, but he was a convert by the end of our meal and we both thought it was fantastic.
I ordered the baked goat cheese, filet mignon, asparagus, and peanut butter & milk chocolate cookie. Jay ordered the shrimp cocktail (the shrimp were giant), double lamb chops, onion rings, and lava cake. We wish they had more wine options by the glass (especially since a lot of guests have drink packages).
We have an early morning tomorrow in Montego Bay, Jamaica. This is the only new-to-us port of the cruise and we’re excited to see it!
Montego Bay, Jamaica
MSC Seascape was in Montego Bay, Jamaica for the third (and only new-to-us) port call of this cruise.
We had pre-booked the Rose Hall Great House and Highlights tour through Shore Excursions Group. Since we were the only ship in port today, it was so much easier finding our tour group than yesterday.
We started our tour at Sam Thorpe Square and Montego Bay Cultural Centre.
Then we visited Montego Bay’s oldest church, St. James Parish Church, built in 1775.
We made a quick stop at the infamous Doctor’s Cave Beach, then we went to the haunted Rose Hall Great House. Here, Annie Palmer murdered all three of her husbands and many of her slaves until she was in-turn murdered.
We made it back to the ship with plenty of time. Though, it took awhile to get through security on the ship.
We saw that the Inter Miami match would be played in the Sports Bar this evening, so we decided to skip dinner in the MDR and just go with the flow.
We enjoyed watching Inter Miami win and made some new friends in the Sports Bar. Unfortunately, MSC Seascape is not serving bar snacks like they did on MSC Magnifica, so we went up to the buffet around midnight for some late-night pizza (for a late-night dinner).
Tomorrow, we’re at sea on our way to Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Bahamas.
Last Sea Day
We had another leisurely day at sea on MSC Seascape today!
We slept in, then went to lunch in the Green Wave Restaurant. Service was very slow, but we enjoyed the food.
We started with crispy Maryland crab cakes, golden-fried mozzarella sticks, and white bean soup. Jay ordered a chicken caesar salad while I had seared spiced mahi-mahi. We shared the fresh fruit plate for dessert.
After lunch, we went back to the stateroom because Jay needed to get some work done. I read on the balcony then took an afternoon nap.
We had dinner reservations at Kaito Teppanyaki. This was part of our dining package.
I chose the Sencho menu while Jay had the Shogun menu with an upgraded Wagyu steak. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal!
After dinner we went to the theater to see Leah Canali perform. Then Jay headed to bed while I watched Dueling Pianos. Afterwards, I went to late night comedy with Frances Dilorinzo in the theater.
On my way to the room for bed, I stopped and watched the Rock ‘n’ Roll Party in the atrium. Sadly, the disembarkation tags were waiting for me when I got back to our room. How is our cruise almost over already?
Tomorrow we’re at the last port call of our cruise: Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Bahamas. We’re looking forward to a very chill beach day!
Ocean Cay, Bahamas
For the last port call (and day) of our MSC Seascape cruise, we were at Ocean Cay - MSC Marine Reserve, Bahamas.
We spent most of the afternoon at our favorite place on Ocean Cay: Bimini Beach! We took a break to head over to one of the Beach Shacks for lunch. The line was long and took a while, but in the end we got our hot dogs which hit the spot.
After we were fully baked in the sun, we headed back on board the ship. We decided to head to the Aurea Spa to use our complimentary hour in the thermal spa for being Gold MSC Voyager’s Club members. It was amazing, there were so many options!
We started in the snow room, then visited the different steam baths (my favorite was the dark sensory steam bath). Next we spent some time in the hydrotherapy pool. Then we tried the cold rain and cold storm rooms. After that we visited Jay’s favorite, the Vertical Kneipp. We tested out the warm breeze room then different saunas. We ended our spa visit with another dip in the hydrotherapy pool!
Though we didn’t want to leave, it was time to pack and get ready for dinner. On our way to the MDR, we caught the sunset and lighthouse show on Ocean Cay.
We had our final dinner on MSC Seascape in the Green Wave Restaurant.
For dinner, we ordered French onion soup, Thai chicken lettuce wraps, Steakhouse Selection Filet Mignon ($19.99), grilled chicken breast, warm apple strudel, and grandma’s chocolate cake.
We ended our final night on board with Dreamscape in the theater then MSC Factor (a guest talent show) in the atrium.
Miami, FL
We woke up in the morning back home in South Florida.
We enjoyed a final breakfast in the Green Wave Restaurant then made our way off the ship.
Customs was quick, then we said a final goodbye to the ship as we made our way to the parking garage before heading home.
We have a while to go until our next cruise… 9 months until we’re on board the Sun Princess! Until then, happy cruising!
