This was an interesting cruise. It was basically unplanned, and only cruise fanatics would understand the necessity.

We had decided to sail MSC for the first time at Christmas in 2019, on the MSC Divina. We had booked in the Yacht Club, their suite, and we were very much looking forward to the cruise. In addition to being in a suite, we were MSC Black level (now Diamond), because I had filed for them to status-match us from Norwegian, where we were Platinum Plus.

Then we noticed my status expired just before the Christmas cruise. What? We called to check and were told if you don’t sail every three years, your status resets. So, we had to sail between March and just before the end of November.

So, we booked this cruise, a seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise, basically the same as the one we had just taken on the Bliss, and the one we were about to take on the MSC Divina, just to protect our Black status.

It was fun. MSC is radically different from traditional American-targeted cruise lines, but it is a nice change, if you are ready for it.