We’ve had two great port calls, and now it’s time for back-to-back sea days to relax and see what else MSC World America has to offer.
One thing that has become increasingly clear is that the passenger activity level trends heavily toward the nightlife—more so than what we’re accustomed to. Admittedly, we’re fairly introverted in our normal life, and a typical Saturday evening includes watching TV on the couch and being in bed by 10 p.m. We’ve never been the types to go out bar hopping or clubbing all night.
We’ve noticed that many of the featured deck parties don’t even start until 10:30 p.m., and dining reservations go as late as 9:30—who eats that late?
Conversely, this ship is dead asleep until around 10 a.m. or later on sea days. Do they not realize they’re wasting the best part of the day?
Well—advantage me, I guess. I had my pick of spots on the sun deck to enjoy a cup of coffee and watch the waves go by.
Once I was joined by the girls, we grabbed breakfast—skipping the Eggos today, though.
My daughter also began to feel the difference in atmosphere, as the group she met on the first sea day seemed to have fizzled out. Between those who stayed out late the night before and slept in until noon, and others who had planned family activities, she was having a hard time finding someone to hang out with. Even the activity list was fairly weak to start the day, so we had the dreaded “tween boredom” settling in.
I finally convinced her to go with me to get signed off on the waivers to participate in some of the ship’s activities like the Jaw Drop slide, ropes course, and water slides. The line to do this on embarkation day was pretty long, and she hadn’t shown much interest in those features—until some of her new friends mentioned it. Peer pressure for the win.
I was still surprised that, even after 10 a.m., there was hardly anyone out on the decks as we walked around. The upside? There were only about 10 people—literally the only other guests we saw—lined up for the Jaw Drop. I convinced her to give it a go.
Of course, her enthusiasm was a bit tempered, as Dad just wasn’t who she wanted to hang out with.
The Jaw Drop has you entering the mouth of a shark—hence the name—then sitting on a foam mat to ride a cascading, enclosed tube slide from Deck 20 all the way 10 decks below to the promenade on Deck 8! (And yes, if you’re thinking “the math isn’t mathing,” I’ll touch on that later.)
There are scattered clear sections of the tube to allow light in and give spectators a chance to watch you plummet.
I went down first and was already wondering how long it would take before seeing Becca follow behind me—or if she’d pull a bait and switch entirely, as she wasn’t 100% sold on the whole experience.
As I approached the end of the slide, I came to a complete stop, with about another 30 feet to go! It took a few seconds of squirming and using my hands to push along the top of the tube to regain momentum and complete the ride.
I’ve heard this is a common occurrence (Becca had the same thing happen), so it seems there’s a slight design flaw in the angle of descent. I took a video on the way down, and upon watching it, realized the footage makes it look and sound a lot faster than it actually was.
In reality, it was a fairly casual speed down—not what I’d consider a “thrill ride” by any means. Maybe they could look into an alternative to the foam mats that would create less drag.
We rode the glass elevator back up, and I tried to talk Becca into checking out the water slides or ropes course—only to realize they weren’t even open yet. At almost 11 a.m.!
WATCH: Slides, Ropes Course, Swings… more!
Having checked another item off the list, we returned to the sun deck to plan out what we wanted to do next. While there was a fair number of activities listed in the daily guide, nothing really caught her interest—at least nothing that involved partaking with Mom and Dad.
We also came to realize that there were mixed communications within the chat group of her contemporaries, thanks to intermittent Wi-Fi disconnections. Unfortunately, some of her texts asking what others were up to went unsent, or incoming responses were outdated by the time she reconnected.
I think I had to reset her Wi-Fi four or five times throughout the morning. Angie and I had fewer issues, though I still needed to re-sign in at least once or twice a day.
A slight annoyance—nothing earth-shattering… unless you’re a hormonal tweenager who needs instant access to everything at all times!
Giving up, the kid bailed back to the room to veg out and read her book, so Angie and I ordered some sandwiches up on the Yacht Club sun deck.
While researching this cruise, I kept hearing good reviews of the lobster roll, so I had to give it a shot. Served Maine-style (mixed with mayonnaise and some herbs, served cold) on a hoagie bun with seasoned fries, it looked pretty appetizing earlier in the week when I saw another passenger order it.
I do prefer Connecticut-style (served warm, with lobster soaking in melted butter), but this held its own. Nothing spectacular, but it didn’t go to waste either.
In an effort to get Becca out and try to improve her day, Angie found an origami demonstration. This is something that Becca would normally jump at—she enjoys arts and crafts, and origami in particular—so they went off to check it out.
By the time they returned, I had about my fill of sun and heat for the day—maybe a little too much. A little air-conditioned cool-down was in order, so we headed back to the room to “chill.”
(Hey, if you don’t want the dad jokes, keep scrolling.)
The sun and warmth must have hit me more than I realized because I ended up dozing off. I was eventually woken up and informed it was almost time for our dinner reservation!
Dinner at Kaito Teppanyaki on MSC orld America
This was another of the specialty dinners we had been highly anticipating—Kaito Teppanyaki. I mean, how can you go wrong with hibachi-style cuisine and entertainment?
The food was good, and our chef did an excellent job setting the mood and energy level. I’m not sure if it was because I was still in a bit of a nap haze or the lingering effects of the heat all day, but I had a hard time matching that energy (completely a me thing, and no reflection on MSC or the presentation of the meal).
So much so that I didn’t even realize until writing this review that I didn’t take a single picture. I’m sure Scott can bail me out and share some of his.
Food was literally flying into open mouths as the chef tossed pieces of egg into the eager, gaping maws of participants. There were songs, some fun showmanship, and plenty of laughs. This is one time where you’re encouraged to play with your food.
I would absolutely recommend booking this venue when sailing on World America. It’s family-friendly, great for couples, and even perfect for solo travelers, as you’re seated around the grill in groups of about eight.
I will say, the only downside was the layout of the restaurant. There were three sets of grills arranged in rectangles, each with two chefs serving from the center, all within a room about the size of three staterooms.
If you’ve ever done hibachi, you know how loud it can be with all the pounding and scraping of cooking utensils as part of the theatrics. Most restaurants use an elevated ceiling to help with acoustics and to make the vent hoods less intrusive. But on a cruise ship, the logistics don’t really allow for that.
With six chefs each doing their own thing, it got rather loud, and at times, it was even difficult to hear our own chef. Design flaw? Maybe slightly, but I’m sure it’s a fine balance between maximizing return on space and maintaining a great guest experience.
Magic and White Night
As there were a variety of themed nights throughout the week, tonight’s was “White Night.” To be honest, I’m still not sure what the significance of that is. Maybe it was explained somewhere and I missed it, but other than wearing white clothes, does it have a deeper meaning?
It wasn’t even dressy white clothes—I saw guests in everything from white suits and gowns to shorts and T-shirts. As long as it was white, I guess it counted. Color me confused.
With this theme, there were a number of parties scattered around the ship, including an exclusive Yacht Club gathering out on deck. We opted instead to attend the Momentos show featuring the onboard illusionists.
Ugh—another letdown in the entertainment category.
They performed three variations of the same “disappearing girl in a box” trick that’s been around for generations, followed by a math trick using random numbers selected by the audience that resulted in the day’s date and exact time. (Seen it before, and it’s easily reverse-engineered with basic math.)
The rest of the performance consisted of uninspired uses of angles, mirrors, and lighting. They seemed to rely heavily on loud music and lighting effects for dramatization.
I enjoy a good magic show anytime, but this one fell flat.
Do not recommend.
Where the magic was really happening
After the disappointment of Momentos, Angie was ready to head back to the room, while Becca planned another attempt to locate someone she wasn’t spawned by to hang out with. Off to the adult arcade, I guess.
This ended up being one of the highlights of the day. I don’t care at all for slots, but I enjoy playing cards, so I spent all my time at the Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em table. If you’re not familiar, it’s similar to regular Hold ’Em, but instead, you’re playing against the house, like in blackjack.
There are a few different betting sessions, including optional bonus bets that pay out at higher ratios for exceptional hands. For example, if you get trips, it pays 3:1 on the bonus bet, regardless of whether you win the hand or not. Like anything else, it’s risk vs. reward—and in the long run, the odds are with the house. You can win the hand and lose the bonus, or hit a bonus and still lose the hand.
The high-end potential, though, can be a game-changer. A full house pays around 8:1, which can restock your chip stack in a hurry. The table was pretty hot, with good cards hitting consistently, and everyone seemed to be making money. Fun times all around.
On one particular hand, the woman seated next to me got a little over-exuberant while upping her bet and, in her excitement, reached under the table—grabbing my knee and shaking it suggestively! Realizing her mistake, she slowly turned her head toward me (while leaving her hand in place) and exclaimed, “You’re not my husband!”
Nope, afraid not.
We shared a laugh as she apologized and explained her husband had been occupying that seat earlier. No harm, no foul.
Indecent proposal #2 for the week. LOL.
That wasn’t even the most exciting thing to happen at the table either!
On one particular hand, the community cards came out J, K, 10, Q, 5—all of hearts—making a flush on the board. At a 7:1 bonus payout, everyone automatically won the bonus bets since the board played. What made this spectacular was that two players at the table held the 9 and A of hearts—giving one a straight flush at 400:1, and the other a ROYAL FLUSH for 500:1. You don’t see those hands very often, and it caused quite the celebration.
Unfortunately for the player with the straight flush, he didn’t play the bonus option—costing himself a $4,000 payout. The royal flush player, however, did, and on a $10 bonus bet, won $5,000, in addition to the $500+ he had laid out on the other betting lines.
I’ll take that over praying for a random spin to hit a jackpot on the slots any day!
It wasn’t long after that payout that the inevitable dealer change happened and all the luster quickly left the table. I know they will all say it was the scheduled dealer rotation yadda yadda but anyone that has spent time in a casino knows when a cooler is brought in. Within about six hands most of the players called it a night and went their separate ways. As my new girlfriend went to find her REAL husband I decided my night was over as well.
Video Tour of the Casino on MSC World America
Tomorrow we get another day at sea and I’ll cover a few items of note from around the ship and our stateroom. If you’re still wondering how do you get from deck 20 to 8 only going down 10 floors? Check back tomorrow to find out!
Daily Planner for Day 4
