We chose this cruise for the price, being a family of five and needing two state rooms. Also the size and age of the ship sounded good. I was worried about the negative reviews I read prior but I shouldn't have been. We have been on Princess, RC, Carnival and now MSC. The only one we would not do again is Carnival. I had read negative reviews on the food but we thought it was very good. We ate in the dining room every night, not a fan of the buffet. We always enjoyed it, especially lobster night and the baked Alaska! I had also read the staff was rude?? Not true in our experience we had a wonderful waiter and everyone was very helpful and friendly. This was also the first time on a cruise that my kids actually wanted to go to the shows. They were fantastic, way above any cruise ship shows we have seen. We loved the Mask show. The talent on the ship was great. I am so glad we chose this ship, we had a wonderful time. We would not hesitate to cruise with MSC again.
We walked to the straw market and enjoyed shopping. Purchased several neat wood carvings. The ladies in the front on the step are extremely pushy, recommend going to the back where the men are carving and going in that way. Very enjoyable other than the ladies in the front of the building.
Port in Miami was easy to navigate and boarding was smooth.
No need for a excursion. When you get off the ship you can walk right over to the water taxi and go across the short ride to the beach. We rented two chairs and umbrella and enjoyed the ocean. I would have liked to not constantly be asked to buy things from the ladies on the beach. I did buy things and don't mind selling but they walked back and forth and asked numerous times the same ladies the entire time we were there. After enjoying the beach we went in the shops and back to the cruise ship
Old San Juan and the fort are walking distance. We walked to the fort and around the shops. We have been to San Juan several times but it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed walking around.