My wife Peggy and I live near Orlando FL, and had never been on a cruise but were persuaded by our daughter to give it a try (Thanks, Kaitlin). I contacted a large travel agency about booking a cruise. After a phone "interview" regarding what we wanted from a cruise and possible destinations, our travel agent sent us four proposals from major cruise lines including MSC Seaside. Based primarily on price point we decided to cruise from Miami on a seven day (10/5 - 10/12/2019) western Caribbean cruise aboard MSC Seaside. After discussions with our travel agent we booked a Balcony stateroom with the Fantastica Experience. We like our drinks and good food, pre purchased the Premium Plus drinks package and Chef's Table experience in the Butcher's Cut specialty restaurant. We also pre purchased two week long passes to the Thermal Area of the spa, a massage for Peggy and a twenty piece laundry package, digital photo package as well as excursions in Ocho Rios Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. I do not intend to discuss what we paid for this and that.

While waiting for our cruise date to arrive, we learned about the Voyagers Club and MSC's match program. After determining that MSC would match Hilton Honors, we applied in that regard and were matched to "Black" based on my wife's Hilton Honors status. Black card status offers quite a few nice perks which are outlined on MSC's Voyagers Club web page. Additionally, we signed up for various cruise information pages on Facebook, Cruise Critic and others. While most of the reviews were positive, the negative ones stood out, particularly regarding rude staff members, slow elevators, pushy Europeans and bad food. We carried on with an open mind.

On 10/4/19, we drove down to Miami and checked in to the Double Tree Grand Biscayne. They have a package where you can stay overnight and leave your vehicle at the hotel for the period of your cruise. You need to call the hotel to book this package. We had a nice room and complimentary breakfast. The Double Tree does offer a shuttle to the port, but we opted for Uber. Read more