We chose this cruise because we had a limited time-frame to book and because it left out of NYC. I like that we don’t have to fly. We always park at the pier it’s $40 a day and it’s the closest parking. There are other options such as Uber and spot hero to find close parking but this works best for us. We have been to Bermuda before and we really liked it. Especially the fact the boat is in port over a 3 day period. We arrived at the pier about 11:00 and we had hardly any line to wait in. We dropped the luggage off with the porters (who work in part for tips $1-$2 a bag is standard. We wanted to avoid the craziness of the buffet for lunch so we just had some water and soft drinks in the starlight bar next to the casino because our room was not ready. Once it was we went up to the mini-suite we had bid on and won ($50) it had a larger bathroom with a multi jet larger shower and a double sink. The bed was a king (2 twins pushed together) it was not very comfy (the MSC bed was a foam bed ) very thin foam. Pillows were ok. The closet had sliding doors with several shelves (plenty of storage for 2) on one side and a bar with hangers on the other side. There is a small safe (4 digit type) in on one of the shelves. One thing we noticed was that the lights on either side of the bed had usb plugs to charge phones, iPads etc. the vanity area has two three prong plugs and one European plug. We always bring a power strip (non-powersurge type) so there are plenty of spots for us to charge things. There is a small coffee pot that uses pods, not a Keurig. They provide coffee decaf tea, cream, sugars and cups. It’s small one cup. They did away with the ice bucket and I noticed the stewards didn’t have a cooler with ice in the hall anymore. So think ahead of you want ice you have to get it from the buffet. The hair dryer is an economy type that is slow, but not having to carry one from home makes up for it. The cube stool under the vanity has a hard top that is removable and acts as a tray. We use it on the small table on the balcony. The balcony was not very large, just enough room for 2 chairs and a small metal/plastic table. The a/c turns off when the slider is open so we had to be sure the door was closed properly or the a/c wound turn off. The mini bar is not included, it’s all extra, it’s expensive. Also the bottle of water (Aquafina) with the tag is extra. It’s better to buy a water package once on board. We bought on line and it was more money. They don’t allow you to bring water or soda on board any longer. Wine may be brought on, but they charge a corkage fee (not sure how much). The ship will provide distilled water if needed for a cpap although it was difficult at first for the crew to understand what we were talking about. The vanity has a small tv with a few news channels, a movie channel and a bunch of ship channels. The TV can be used to check your account and reservations, but sometimes it takes s while for things to show up. We had s cabin on the 13th floor, sadly sandwiched between a family who were back and forth slamming the doors and yelling across our balcony. So it was noisy. The last thing about the cabin is that there is slot right inside the door that controls the power for the room. It’s designed for you to put your room key in when you come in and take it out when you leave. Any card with a magnetic strip seems to work. I used a casino card from another casino and we were able to continue charging our electronics.

The ship is really beautiful and clean. The elevators are ridiculous. There are 4000 plus people and only two sets of elevators. I use the stairs most times except when I had on heels. We didn’t go to any shows, game shows or slides because the boat was absolutely packed with kids. They seemed to be running unaccompanied in packs. Dashing on the elevators knocking wine all over me, no manners. We tried to partake in some of the games offered on the boat like the ropes, bocce, mini golf and pools and hot tubs, but they were often monopolized by the kids. They also ran the halls at all hours sounding much like a stampede. The hot tubs in the adult (H20 area) were full of adults who never seemed to leave. Somehow there were kids in the grotto area too. The movies they played in h2o were kid based. I kind of felt like I was in the wrong all the time wherever I went on the boat.

One thing i did for myself was book the Thermal Spa, it’s expensive $199 but it’s worth it. It has a thermal pool, hot tub, heated loungers, a snow room (-14 degrees), steam, sauna etc. they have fruit infused ice water, hot tea and oranges to snack on and the best part no kids! Don’t get me wrong I like kids, but not when they are acting like maniacs. I will never again book a cruise when kids are out of school. I learned my lesson. . Read more