We arrived in Dbn via the airport and used the transfer busses which was excellently organised. We did not explore Dbn prior to our cruise as we had a direct flight from Jhb to Dbn the morning of embarkation.

EMBARKATION: When we arrived at the harbour it was absolute chaos, it seemed like majority of the passengers had been waiting in line for hours due to a system problem with home affairs? We had to wait in the lines for about 2 hours without anything to drink (because you are not allowed to take anything onboard the ship). We had two toddlers, a pregnant lady and a pensioner in our group and the long wait in the extreme heat (even inside the building) was torture. We really feel that MSC should warn people about the possibility of delays at the harbour and advise people to bring something to drink/eat for incase. There is no where to sit but the floor and there was a lot of elderly and disabled people who really struggled.

THE SHIP: The ship is beautiful and maintained very well. Some advice on the pool area, arrive very early to get a seat in the shade otherwise you are stuck in the sun - and with kids one cannot sit in the sun for hours without any shade. The pool is salt / ocean water - my little daughter cried about her eyes burning so take swim goggles for incase. Take some US Dollars in cash to gamble in the casino - it was just peace of mind to rather spend cash instead of charging it against the room and stressing that one might overspend. Buy a prepaid photo package - the photo's are very expensive almost $20 per photo. Also buy drinks/ice cream packages it's worth it. Read more