Rakaia

Watched the USPHS inspector giving Odyssey a once over a few weeks ago when she was in Port Canaveral. I'm also with the gov'mint doing inspection duties (Veterinarian with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service) so I find this kind of thing super interesting to watch (and I'm jealous...his job looks like a lot more fun than mine! )

So...for me I'm finding that MSC offers a very good value for the $. So pricing is definitely a factor. Not the only factor by a longshot though. We cruised on Meraviglia and loved the Aurea level (we called it "suite lite)...true anytime dining (no long line, no need to try to make reservations...just walk up. We were always seated quickly), unlimited access to the Thermal Spa included (AWESOME perk), nice cabin touches like a room diffuser, slippers (which are yours to keep) and a robe, prosecco/chocolates waiting in the cabin on embarkation day and a pillow menu. We also had access to a private sundeck deck and hot tub in a prime location as well as priority boarding on embarkation day...all for half the price of a plain 'ol balcony on Symphony the same week (and our price included a drink package for 3 AND wifi!). I also LOVED the private island (beautiful!), really enjoyed the food (definitely more European in feel which I thoroughly enjoyed) and found the ship beautiful (my daughter loved the waterpark area!) and crazy clean. Nightlife was also much more active than I've found on Royal. See the pic for White Night...SO much participation!! Downsides...definitely not as many venues for free food/snacks. You're pretty much limited to the buffet and MDR. Really not an issue though as the buffet was extensive (pizza was fantastic and you can watch them making the mozzarella!) and was almost always open (and open very late). Poolside entertainment was a bit lacking (but pools were large for ship pools!)with no live music. All in all, I hope our cruises next year measure up. So far, we are MSC fans!

Their loyalty scheme is pretty confusing! Yes, the status match is a thing and pretty straightforward. It is based more on spending (including shopping, casino, etc) vs. nights. Leveling up quickly is possible with lots of opportunities for double points and bonus points. They also status match other loyalty programs (hotel, casino, etc). We matched using Marriott Titanium and Royal Platinum (both matched to MSC's Silver level). If we had waited just a tad, we could have matched to MSC Gold as we were 1 night away from RC Emerald. Ah well. What makes no sense is that I'm now MSC Diamond where my husband is still Silver and my 12 year old is Classic (kids can't status match). I think it's due to spending and future bookings being under my name... In any case, most of the Diamond perks I will get on our next cruise are extendable to our whole cabin (or at least to a +1....sorry kid, Mom and Dad are getting a free specialty dining date night and you're hitting the kids club that night ). One big downside is that the status is not lifetime. You must cruise at least once every 3 years or you're dumped back down to the base level. Currently I believe the RC status match looks like this: Gold= Classic, Platinum =Silver, Emerald, Diamond and Diamond + = Gold and Pinnacle = Diamond. There's a new "Blue Diamond" but I don't think there are matches to that yet. You do the match through the MSC website, took about 2-3 days for mine to process.

Yup! We love Royal but after trying MSC last May (at 1/2 the price of the same itinerary as Symphony, even at the Aurea level with a balcony *including* internet and drink package)...it was a no-brainer to go again with MSC (we have 3 booked next year). MSC is a great value! We had a blast last time and can't wait to go again. Will definitely still be on the lookout for any good deals on Royal (just got off Odyssey 2 weeks ago; it was the last of our decently priced RC cruises) but in the meanwhile, bring on the superior 'za and fresh mozzarella!

Yeah....we've gone MSC for next year as Royal's prices are just getting nuts. Sucks but they will continue to push it higher and higher as people will still pay. No reason unfortunately for prices to drop when there's $$ to be made. Same thing happened with Disney. Was a great family vacation until the majority of families couldn't afford it anymore.

Last Dec on Anthem out of Bayonne, it was held in 270 (it was cold/rainy). The Dec before it was a decently sunny/temperate day so many people were on the upper decks outside for sailaway. Odyssey is the same class as Anthem so I image the same options will exist?

We've done this exact trip the past 2 summers with our daughter (she was 10 and 11 for those trips). It's great! I personally love Liberty and Bermuda. Sure, Liberty's older and smaller than RC's megaships but she's by no means small or ancient (she can do with a refresh soon but still a beautiful ship)! Great layout (one of my favorite pool decks as well as dining rooms) with great kid's activities (really nice kid's swim/ play area as well as waterslides, a Flowrider, ice skating, etc). Bermuda itself is beautiful. We did Horseshoe Bay (pro tip...if you want to see gorgeous stretches of beach.. walk to the left when you get to Horseshoe...see my pic. No lifeguards over that way so stick to the main part of the beach for serious swimming...but very much worth the walk!). Best way to get there is jump one of the vans/minibuses from the port...$7pp each way from what I recall. Another fun area near the port is Snorkel Park. Small calm beach area (does cost to go in but it's not too expensive) within a quick walk of pier. Fun for kids, very calm for snorkeling and swimming (last 2 pics from Snorkel Park)

We always stay right near there at the Marriott Residence Inn. Definitely recommend it too!

Have you tried the Indian selections? Often really tasty vegetarian options.

As soon as that first Facejammer cheeseburger coyly waves at me while whispering "hellooo sailor!". Buh bye healthy food. Seriously though, I walk a ton, try to always take the stairs and *do* try to moderate myself a little bit. I'll enjoy what I want but not go nuts. Weight gain is minimal and gone within days (I think it's mainly from the drink package!)

This was our experience (last Dec on Anthem out of Cape Liberty...before they listed "multi outlets " on the official RC website). We questioned the confiscated item (first in pic) once onboard (as it hadn't been an issue on prior cruises), one of the ship's electricians informed us of the upcoming ban on multiple outlets. The second item in my pic is what was not confiscated that day (and what we now bring). Only USB, no cord. I'll add that I also bring a rechargable power bank for use next to the bed. That way I can charge my phone while I sleep and still use it as an alarm clock (yeah, I set an alarm clock on a cruise When we cruise with the kiddo during school, we get up early for classwork/homework). I recharge the battery during the day.

I've always made my MyTime MDR reservations right after booking (so sometimes a year or so in advance). Only payment at that point is the deposit...

We are cruising on Odyssey in Dec and agree it's a strange choice for Bayonne in winter (we have a kid who won't be able to swim indoors I guess?). I discussed the lack of an indoor pool with aforementioned kid and she reminded me that we barely used the indoor pool on Anthem anyhow the past two years as it was a madhouse. Uno marathon in 270 on cold days it is then

Head waiter Clavian Monteiro on Liberty (My Time deck 3) is awesome. We had him last August and he was simply fantastic. We saw him again last week on Liberty and he not only remembered us but kept an eye out for us to make sure we had amazing service the whole cruise even though we weren't in his section. Such a pleasant guy! Our table waiter Eka and assistant Imade in the deck 3 dining room last week on Liberty were also really standout. Super personable. We looked forward to seeing them every night.

My tl;dr summary: Dancers shaking their buttocks. No fruit pies. Only 1 origami. RC sux. You're welcome.