Today is the first of two back-to-back sea days as the MSC World America begins her trip back home to PortMiami, but not before making a stop at Ocean Cay Marine Reserve in the Bahamas on Friday. Weather-wise, while hot, the afternoon was full of rain showers, hampering many of the activities outside, forcing a lot of people to be inside—whether hanging out at the buffet, chilling in one of the bars, or finding a covered spot to sit outside and just enjoy life.
Since it’s a sea day, I’m going to use this time to talk about drinks. Like most cruise lines, except Disney, MSC offers beverage packages that you can purchase as part of your cruise when you book it, later on as an add-on, or once you’re on the ship.
MSC Beverage Packages
MSC offers two packages: the Premium Extra Package and an Alcohol-Free Package. The Premium Extra covers premium spirits, liquors and cordials, wine and bubbles by the glass, high-end cocktails, draft and bottled beer, specialty coffee, tea and hot chocolate, fruit juices and smoothies, soft drinks, still and sparkling water, and all non-alcoholic beverages. It covers all drinks priced up to $16 with a maximum of 15 alcoholic beverages per day.
Now, you may be saying to yourself, “I was on MSC before, and there wasn’t a 15-drink-per-day limit.” You’re right. This is a change that rolled out a few months ago and pretty much falls in line with all the other cruise lines that offer a beverage package. The intent is to not over-serve and to also cut down on the number of people who still try to cheat the system by sharing drinks. The cost of the Premium Extra Package is $85 per day.
For those who don’t drink alcohol, there’s the Alcohol-Free Package. Priced at $33 per day, it includes mocktails and wellness cocktails, soft drinks, fruit juices, energy and sports drinks, still and sparkling water, and specialty coffee.
If you’re traveling with kids and are purchasing the Premium Extra or Alcohol-Free Package, they will be required to have the minors’ beverage package, which is priced at $22 per day and includes mocktails, soft drinks, fruit juices and smoothies, energy and sports drinks, still and sparkling water, and specialty coffees.
One great thing about any of the MSC beverage packages is that they can be used on their private island, MSC Ocean Cay. This has always been the case since Ocean Cay opened and is a HUGE plus for cruisers who want to hang out on the island and stay hydrated. Other cruise lines, such as Carnival and Holland America, charge you for all drinks—alcoholic or not—on their private islands. However, on island time, those 15 drinks can tally up quickly, so pace yourself, as once you hit the 15-drink limit, you’re cut off for the day.
There are a few places beverage packages are not accepted, such as the Jean Philippe Chocolat & Cafe onboard MSC World America. So, check for ship-specific exclusions once onboard.
MSC Wine Tastings
If you’re more of a wine drinker and want to learn a little more about different types of wine, MSC offers two wine-tasting opportunities during the cruise: a red and a white. The Blond Ambition tasting experience pairs white wines with a selection of fruits, chocolate, and cheeses. The Red Obsession package does the same with red wines. These are space-limited events, and each one costs $120 per person. If you’re going as a couple, you can save 15% off two experiences.
MSC WiFi Packages
It always bothers me when I see someone ask a question about WiFi access in a cruise Facebook group, and there’s always that ONE person who will come out blazing hot about how vacation time should be a time when everyone just disconnects.
Well, in today’s world, that simply isn’t possible, and I’d really like to challenge someone—anyone—to spend a week at sea without any access to their phone, email, internet, etc.
If you’re not that one person in the world who can go without internet access for a week, all of the cruise lines have you covered with bow-to-stern WiFi. But it comes at a cost. The majority of lines have switched over to Starlink over the past few years, and MSC is no different.
Internet onboard is provided via satellite and is slower than what you have back home, but that doesn’t mean it’s unusable. I work from the ship and also create a lot of my content onboard, which includes uploading lots of photos, files, and videos. Yes, they do take a bit longer to upload (about two hours for a 6-minute YouTube video), but it’s something you start and just let go.
For everyday stuff like checking email, jumping on a Google Meet, FaceTime call, or streaming music or video, the WiFi onboard is perfect. I did manage to find one remote spot on the ship where I wasn’t able to get a signal, but for the most part, the MSC World America has excellent coverage around the ship.
When it comes to price, it’s not cheap. MSC, like most cruise lines, offers most cruise lines, offers two packages. A basic package that allows you to check email and browse the web but not stream or do video calls. For most, this is sufficient. For those who need faster speeds to stream, make those FaceTime calls or Zooms, there is a browse-and-stream package available.
Pricing is going to depend on the number of devices you need to connect to the internet and the package. It’s important to note that with MSC, once you connect a device to the internet, you can’t just log out and start a session on another device like you can on other cruise lines. Your device is linked and cannot be unlinked, so no sharing.
If you have a phone and a laptop that you’re going to need to use for internet access, you will need the two-device plan, as you can’t share a single-device plan across two (or more) devices.
Since prices vary based on how many devices you need to connect and which plan you need, it’s safe to budget at least $25 per day for the lowest internet plan for two devices. Exact rates will be shown on the MSC website once your cruise is booked and linked to your online account. If you purchased a package with basic WiFi included, you can upgrade to the streaming package onboard through the MSC for Me app.
By the way, just like the drink packages work on Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, so does the WiFi!
Diamond / Blue Diamond Reception
At 4:30pm, the ship hosted a reception for their two highest tier guests, Diamond and Blue Diamond “Voyagers.” The reception was held in Panorama Lounge and featured hors d’overes and cocktails, with brief remarks by the cruise director, the MSC Foundation representative, Future Cruise rep, and the Captain himself.
This event was a bit unlike other Diamond / Blue Diamond receptions I’ve attended as there were just SO MANY people here! The Panorama Lounge is a large multi-tier event space and it was packed. Normally, these are intimate receptions with maybe 75 – 100 people attending. You would be able to get one-on-one time with the Captain and his senior officers and mingle with others.
That wasn’t happening here.
While the senior officers were here, they were not introduced, they just appeard as a group and disappeared. The Captain did however stay behind for photos.
I’m not exactly sure where all these Diamond / Blue Diamond cruisers came from all of a sudden, but I much prefer the smaller receptions that are more personal.
Hidden Speakeasy on MSC World America
MSC World America is holding a secret that not even the crew members are able to talk about. If you ask any one of them about it, they will look at you like you have three heads. Prod them for information, and they won’t spill the beans or even acknowledge its existence. Try as hard as you like, but nobody is going to talk about this special place onboard—a Prohibition-era speakeasy hidden deep within the bowels of the ship, outside of guest areas, and only accessible by a special invitation.
The other night, while sipping gin, a crew member slipped me a coin and stealthily took off into the night. The coin bore a QR code, so curiosity got the best of me, and I scanned it… it was an invite to the super-secret speakeasy with instructions on how to make arrangements to visit.
Following the instructions, I made a reservation for 9 p.m. on Wednesday and met at the designated spot—a British phone booth cleverly disguised as a photo op on deck 6. Sure, people take photos in front of it, inside it, but only a few know that it’s a portal to an experience you’ll never forget.
I arrived on time, and there were others waiting for our host to appear and welcome us in. A few minutes after 9 p.m., someone emerged from the phone booth to start taking small groups of us “downstairs.” Literally.
Passing through crew-only areas and down several flights of steep stairs in areas few passengers ever see, we finally reached our destination—the Speakeasy Bar.
We were greeted by our hostess, who welcomed us in, told us where she was from, and where she met her husband, Jack, “aka The Skipper,” who owns the speakeasy. Inside was an impeccably themed speakeasy complete with entertainment and a fantastic cast of characters who played their roles impeccably.
You’re only here for a short time, as this is more of an interactive show than anything else. There are three “shows” a night, and only 100 coins handed out per day, so getting one is tough. The experience lasts about 90 minutes, and it’s jam-packed with frivolity. From the speakeasy staff who dance and interact with the guests to the different entertainers, right down to the artfully crafted and presented drinks, the experience is something you would expect to see at Disney World, not on a cruise ship.
The drink menu features only a handful of cocktails available only in the speakeasy and presented in unique “vessels,” such as a smoke box for a whiskey cocktail, a gasoline can for a gin cocktail, and funky glasses for others. Each drink is accompanied by its own special presentation.
Drink packages are NOT accepted here, so all drinks are charged to your onboard account, plus an 18% gratuity.
If there was one thing I’ll remember from this cruise—and there was a LOT happening—this would be it. The experience, fun, drinks, atmosphere, everything about the speakeasy was fantastic.
Being chosen to get in, however, is pure luck. Crew members aren’t allowed to talk about it or even say they work there to keep the exclusivity and the mystique surrounding this best-kept secret intact. If you do happen to have one of those coins magically appear in your hand, consider yourself lucky and head to the phone to make a reservation!
Speakeasy Highlights Video
Check out this short video from my time spent at the Speakeasy Bar on MSC World America:
Dinner? How About Room Service Pizza?
My original plans called for going to the speakeasy and then heading to the All-Star Sports Bar afterward to grab dinner. However, when I arrived at the bar, I was told they stop serving food at 10 p.m. There were no other options for food except for Luna Park Pizza and Burgers, which was absolutely packed with people!
Not wanting to deal with all that, I headed back to my room and ordered pizza delivery. While pizza is free in multiple locations around the ship, taking it back to your room is a challenge, as they don’t have boxes, and plates are small, so room service it was. I ordered a supreme ($11.50), and it arrived about a half hour later and was great—just like all the pizza onboard.
That was the end of my night as I headed right to bed.
We’re spending the next day at sea as we continue to head to our final port of call on this inaugural cruise, MSC’s Ocean Cay Marine Reserve.
More tomorrow, and as always, thanks for following along.
MSC World America Day 5 Daily Program
Click here for the entire version as a PDF.
