I should warn you....this will be a very in-depth review as I found it difficult to get good info on MSC when we were planning our cruise. I am hoping this will answer questions for everyone...especially US people who may not have heard of MSC.
This was my 18th cruise, I am a 47 year old female, 1st time on MSC. Sailed Carnival, RCCL, Norweigen, Holland America and Disney. We did the 1/30/18 sailing for 11 nights. We had 22 people in our group, ages 4 to 74. Most everyone was 18-52. We picked this due to dates, 11 days, and the PRICE was super reasonable. We upgraded to the "Deluxe" drink package prior to embarkation. I'll discuss drinks later.
EMBARKATION - they told us 3pm as our time to get to the port. Sailing was 7pm. We arrrived by noon and were on the ship before pm. It was super easy, but you do set up your credit card on the ship, not at embarkation. You have 48 hours to set up your account.
We had an AFT facing cabin and loved the larger balcony. We hung a hammock. Plenty of space in the room and underbed storage for suitcases. Bathroom as nicely laid out with folding shower doors.
Super easy embarkation.
We took a bus to Eagle Beach. It was a nice beach, but getting beach chairs/drinks was rediculously expensive. $60 for 2 chairs & umbrella. $7/beer