Look, I've been singing Virgin Voyages' praises for years – the kind of loyalty that borders on obnoxious. But I'm about to confess something scandalous in cruise circles: I just had a full-blown vacation affair with MSC Cruises. And holy ship, it was good. So good that I'm not even pretending to feel guilty about it.
When Mom Needs a Vacation But Kids Exist
As a travel planner who's built a business curating getaways for the discerning (and occasionally high-maintenance) traveler, I hit the classic parental wall: how do I maintain my bougie cruise standards while traveling with two boys whose idea of sophistication is not burping the alphabet at dinner?
Virgin Voyages has been my adults-only escape with Joe, but unless we wanted to "accidentally" leave our kids (11 and 14) at the port terminal (tempting, but frowned upon by DCF), we needed an alternative.
Enter the MSC Seascape, sailing out of Miami to San Juan, Puerto Plata, and Ocean Cay.
Spoiler for the attention-challenged: this European cruise line just schooled most American companies on how to handle my family without making me want to swim back to shore.
Yacht Club vs. Aurea: The "How Much Do You Love Your Family" Test
Here's where my insider knowledge pays off (you're welcome). MSC's booking tiers might as well be called "Peasant," "Slightly Less Peasant," "Actually Comfortable," and "Did You Just Win the Lottery?"
The MSC Yacht Club is their ultra-premium "ship within a ship" concept – completely separate pool deck, exclusive restaurant, butler service, and a place to hide from other people's children. It's the unicorn of cruise experiences at roughly $3,000-4,500 per person for a 7-night sailing.
We went with Aurea instead – the sweet spot at about $1,500-2,200 per person. This got us priority boarding (honestly worth it right there), flexible dining times, and access to the thermal spa.
Let me pause for a religious moment about this thermal spa – it's not just a room with some hot water, people. It's a multi-level sanctuary of wellness that made me question all my life choices leading up to this point. We went in this thing every-single-day.
There's a collection of saunas ranging from "pleasantly toasty" to "Joe Rogan." Cold plunge pools that Joe was overly excited about. A salt room that was always packed, because I guess, health?
But the crown jewel? The contraption we affectionately dubbed "The Gauntlet" – a shower system where you push a button and get rapid-fire doused with alternating floods of ice cold then hot water. Joe would watch me do it with a huge masochistic grin on his face and cheer me on like a coach. But when you finish you feel ready to run a marathon, endorphins pumping.
This thermal wonderland became our daily escape. We let the kids do whatever while we went. This is where I contemplated changing my legal name and starting a new life as a permanent spa dweller, possibly marrying that heated tile lounger in a small civil ceremony.
Pro tip: MSC's drink packages aren't included with Aurea, and they're not cheap ($29-$69 per day per person). We skipped them because I'm not paying $276 daily so my tweens can drink unlimited Shirley Temples. That money went to excursions instead which we'll never financially recover from.
Our room attendant Jerry kept our cabin spotless and snuck in like a ninja every time we left.
The Food: Where MSC Makes American Cruise Lines Look Like Gas Station Snacks
The biggest surprise of our trip? The food was legitimately, unexpectedly excellent. Excellent for a cruise, not like for real excellent. But I think you know what I mean. They definitely over achieved.
MSC is an Italian brand and it absolutely excels with pizza. You have to find it in the aft section of the buffet, but it's Neapolitan style and as authentic as buffet pizza gets. It dissapointed us only slightly with the coffee offerings. Being Italian we assumed greatness. However, we figured out quickly how American we are with our coffee. The iced coffee selection on this ship was let's just say "not great." In that, it's practically non existent. The traditional hot coffees (like they drink in Europe) were spot on. This is an are where MSC can still learn about their American audience. They've done a great job over the years adjusting to US tastes, but haven't lost the euro style.
Butcher's Cut their speciality steakhouse served us a slab of beef so massive it should have its own zip code (oh say can you seeeeee). Joe spent the rest of the evening experiencing what he dramatically refers to as "the meat sweats," which involves heart palpitations.
We hit up HOLA! Tacos for lunch with ultra low expectations for some reason, but it was really good.
We did the hibachi style restaurant Teppanyaki, which is essentially a Kobe or Benihana. We knew what we were getting into, and the chef actually exceeded expectations again. We've been to Kobe 50 times and actually saw some new tricks.
The unexpected MVP was Kaito Sushi Bar with its hypnotic conveyor belt of colorful creations. It turned dinner into an Olympic sport of "staring at what you want and praying it makes it past the fat guy." Joe tried uni (sea urchin) on a dare and made a face so complex it deserves its own emoji. Worth every penny just for the photographic evidence I'll use as leverage for years to come.
Port Adventures: Where We Got the Full Caribbean Experience (Coolant Leaks Included)
In Puerto Plata, we headed to Damajagua Waterfalls – 27 natural waterslides carved by rushing river water. Let's be real: we shared this experience with about 100 other thrill-seekers, but that communal energy made it passable. Highlights included my 14-year-old launching himself from heights that activated my life insurance policy mental calculator, and Joe disappearing so completely underwater after one particularly enthusiastic plunge that I was sure a body was going to float up. The look of relief on my face when he finally surfaced prompted him to ask if I was "already mentally spending the insurance money." (#RIPKing)
Joe was nervous we were going to miss the boat which departed at 4:30pm, but we soldiered on and did the dune buggy tour. So gad we didn't skip this. It was a 1 hour adrenaline fueled mudfest, and I am still getting mud out of my nether regions. Everything feels half safe in the DR, and maybe that's part of the appeal. Five seconds into this tour and we were so coated in mud that you just surrender yourself to it.
In San Juan, we got the authentic Puerto Rican experience when our guide showed up an hour late, popped the hood of his car, and topped off the coolant while casually explaining that "island time is a way of life, Papi." And when I say "Papi," I mean he called ALL of us Papi – me, Joe, both kids – apparently Puerto Rico's gender-neutral term of endearment. Once we got going, he took us to the island's western coast with secluded beaches that made me question whether we'd somehow teleported to Hawaii. The day ended exploring a river gorge with donated floatation devices, which looking back now I still wonder if we were supposed to tread water for an hour. Luckily, some nice passerby's handed us their rafts.
After that, we talked ourselves around Old San Juan which is lovely by all accounts, and reminded me of a small town in Spain. We got our pics of El Moro, the crown jewel fort that you pass by upon docking.
Ocean Cay: MSC's Private Island That Doesn't Suck
Can we talk about cruise line private islands for a second? Most are overhyped patches of sand with overpriced drinks and the ambiance of a crowded mall food court at Christmas.
Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve somehow breaks this curse. We alternated between jet skiing (where my 14-year-old channeled his inner speed demon, and strategic lounging on pristine beaches. The ship stayed docked until 9pm, meaning we didn't have to abandon our perfect beach spot at 2pm like common cruise peasants. To be honest though, we headed back to the ship for the thermal spa again.
Ship Entertainment: Solid B-Minus Effort
If I'm keeping it fully transparent (and when am I not?), the entertainment wasn't going to win any Tony Awards. The production shows had impressive technical elements but sometimes felt like watching someone's ambitious high school theater production with only a slightly bigger budget.
That said, the acrobatic performances were genuinely impressive. My 14-year-old, who typically maintains a carefully cultivated expression of teenage boredom, actually whispered "That was sick" during one particularly gravity-defying move, which in Gen Z language is equivalent to a standing ovation.
Kid's Stuff
Our ship offered a full deck dedicated to family activities, including age-specific kids’ clubs: Baby Club (6–36 months), Mini and Juniors Club (3–11 years), Young Club (12–14 years), and Teen Club (15–17 years). Amenities include LEGO-themed play areas, an aquapark with water slides and a splash zone, a VR zone, a Formula Racer simulator, and an XD cinema. Trained staff run organized games and activities throughout the day, and there's also a family disco and dedicated family dining options.
The Business Decision: Becoming an MSC Travel agent
This trip was such a revelation that I've officially added MSC to my agency's specialty cruise offerings and am a certified MSC custom cruise travel agent. Virgin Voyages still reigns supreme for adult-only luxury and those times when you want to pretend you don't have children, but MSC has claimed the family-friendly crown in my professional playbook. We will not be sailing on Carnival or Royal anytime soon.
The Bottom Line: Book MSC (But Do It Right)
Skip the confusion of MSC's tiered booking system and let a pro handle it. Visit Jess.Travel for insider cabin recommendations and package guidance that the booking algorithm won't tell you.
Jess is the owner of Jess.Travel, a boutique travel planning agency specializing in curated cruise experiences. When not sailing the high seas with her family, she's busy ensuring her clients receive VIP treatment on their own adventures while maintaining her coffee-to-patience ratio at sustainable levels.
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