Pier Pressure Portcast

What If The Best Cruise Value Is Not American?

• Jesse Hall and Rick Pruzinsky • Season 1 • Episode 4

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MSC Grandiosa has a way of resetting your expectations five minutes after boarding, and not because it tries to copy the big American cruise lines. The vibe is more international, the pacing feels more European, and the value can be borderline unreal if you know what to look for.

We talk through what surprised us most: a buffet that’s open for long hours and actually tastes like a tour of different countries, a theater lineup that felt “land production” good, and a ship design that hits you with wow moments like the galleria and its massive LED digital sky. We also get honest about the misses, from drink station limitations to a few flavors that clearly weren’t built for an American palate yet.

Then we head to Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, MSC’s private island near Miami, and share the practical hacks that change your day: get off early because free chairs go fast, know where to walk for the lighthouse views, and why a starboard-side balcony can pay off for Ocean Cay and Nassau. We also dig into the island’s environmental restoration story, how easy it is to navigate with paths and trams, and what amenities we’d love to see next.

If you’re comparing MSC Cruises vs Royal Caribbean or just trying to find the best value cruise out of Port Canaveral, this conversation will help you plan smarter and spend where it actually matters. Subscribe, share this with your cruise crew, and leave a review with your biggest MSC question so we can tackle it next.

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Welcome Aboard And Trip Highlights

SPEAKER_02

And he knows how to treat you right. Get your prescription to paradise because it's getting hotter.

SPEAKER_03

And welcome back to another episode of the Peer Pressure Portcast. We enjoyed uh the MSC grandiosa. Let's go, Grandy Man. Um, not too long ago, uh, middle of uh I'm sorry, the beginning of Jan January of this year. So we have some highlights that we're gonna bring to you guys. We have a lot to share, only because um this wasn't uh this wasn't a Royal Caribbean. I've never been on MSc. So we learned a lot about the cruise line, about the Grandiosa, the ship that we we uh enjoyed, and also a new port of call, the Ocean K Private Island, uh, that is MSc's exclusive island. Um boy, what do you want to start, buddy?

What MSC Cruises Actually Means

SPEAKER_04

Well, you know, let's just kind of talk about uh MSc and how it came from what it was to what it is. I think that's uh you know, you gotta know where you came from. Right. So uh MSC, obviously, uh what a lot of people don't know, and I'll just ask you, Jesse, this is the first one of Stump the Captain. Oh all right. So do you know what the acronym MSC stands for?

SPEAKER_03

Yes. Mediterranean Shipping Company.

SPEAKER_04

Perfect, right? So yes, they were founded in the 1970s, they're an Italian-based company, so it's got a little bit of a European swag, right? It is a little bit different. I think that's the biggest thing, uh, is is the mentality when you get on the ship. So uh just right off the top, uh, Mediterranean Shipping Company, that's what it stands for. You have a luxury brand also, uh, which is called Explora Journeys. So, again, if you're interested in that, we got you covered at Pier Pressure Portcast, um, founded in the 1970s and started cruising in 1988. So a little bit of that, you know, um South Florida swag was being started even before we knew. And you know, it's a relatively large company. There's 23 ships. Oh wow, and they have uh said by 2035 they might be the largest cruise line in the world because right now there is 12 ships on order. They have vowed potentially 35 ships by 20 to 35.

SPEAKER_03

So what does that mean? Is is that a lot of ships?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, so right now, uh, if you look in in the cruise world, uh, and again, vacation nation, you make up the cruise world, we make up the cruise world, not only are we sailors, we're also clients and part of the peer pressure podcast. That's right. Um, but basically, you know, right now Carnival, Royal Caribbean has approximately 28, 29 cruise ships.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

But because they are relatively an older company, right, after 25, 30 years, those ships become non-existent. So with Royal Caribbean, you have the Discovery class, which they're not putting out much information on that. Obviously, we know right now Royal Caribbean has the largest cruise ship in the world with the icon one and the icon two, the star of the seas right here in the people's port, aka port canaveral. Um, but what MSC is doing is they're creating what's called a world class. So right now, the hottest thing right now at the MIA, Miami, Port, Port of Miami, is the uh World America.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

And stay tuned because coming to the People's Port at the end of 2027 is gonna be the World Atlantic. Yes. So World Atlantic 2027, uh, again, they're doing big, big things. And you know, it it just doesn't stop there. There's a world cruise. Right. So 2027, you have the Magnifica, that's 121 nights, five continents, 25 countries, 45 destinations, starting Jan 5. So it goes uh four or five months.

SPEAKER_03

Four months, 122 nights.

Bigger Ships And World Cruises

SPEAKER_04

Yes, absolutely amazing, crazy, and just released 2028 World Cruise at a nice price tag, honestly. If you break it down day day by day, 18.5k.

SPEAKER_03

Wow, okay.

SPEAKER_04

So this one is 115 nights, six continents, twenty-nine countries, and forty-two destinations.

SPEAKER_03

That's just remarkable. You know, it's what an itinerary.

SPEAKER_04

It and you know, I think that's what's making them the world champs. And as you can remember when we were on the ship, you know, if you fly if you if you cruise out of Miami on a MSc cruise, it's about 50-50, Americans to non-Americans.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

However, when we're talking, we were just on the P uh when we were out of the People's Port, you're talking anywhere from that 60 to 90 percent of America. So it is a little bit different. But uh there was definitely a vast uh demographic difference throughout the whole ship, especially the music that they played. You know, so again, it's just amazing. MSC is doing big things, they were voted the cruise coach.com's three years running right now, best valued cruise line, because you can get the yacht club at a decent price. Yacht club is a ship within a ship. You can have suites for you and your family. Obviously, the balconies are amazing, but what they do better than anybody else, in our opinion, at Peer Pressure Portcast, you can get drinks in a Wi-Fi package, the dining, the specialty dining, you can add that in, and we can take care of all of it. So it's simple or just a phone call away. Uh, you know, the captain Jesse and the cruise coach, we've got you covered no matter which way you want to go. But you know, it's just so, so special what MSc is doing, not just with their private islands, so many things to come, uh, which we'll talk about here in a few. And the Grandiosa, uh, again, uh an amazing ship. 2019 is the theme of this episode because that is when Ocean K was created. Right. And when the Grandiosa went on its maiden voyage.

SPEAKER_03

Perfect. Something uh also unique, you know, you're talking about all of this uh amount of uh, you know, you're forecasting all these boats coming online, and it's only able to be hap uh to happen because most uh cruise lines don't have that luxury.

SPEAKER_04

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Right?

Yacht Club Ship Within A Ship

SPEAKER_04

Because they share a a uh a shipyard. Correct. And that's what makes MSc so unique because they have their own shipyard, because again, they started as a shipping company, a cargo ship, right? Yeah, a cargo ship. And and that was the thought is that you know, they started with uh one cargo ship, went to three within the first couple years, and then you know, it was that Italian mindset, let's do things a little bit different. Right. Many would say the best pizza at sea. Okay. So uh again, that's something you and I will talk about. You know, uh I'm gonna be honest with you, Royal Caribbean's uh Giovanni's might have something to say about that, but that's specialty dining. So you have the specialty dining, whether you pay for it with Royal Caribbean and uh Giovanni's, or it's included with the MSc, and that's really that's that's one thing we did like is the buffet is open for almost 20 hours, and it's not just a standard buffet. Yes, of course, you got your burgers, your hot dogs, but it's gonna have all those delicatessens from all those different countries, and that's I think what sets MSc apart.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, 100%. I did notice that the buffet not only is it like massive, I mean, I'm talking like a big portion of that deck. Correct. I mean, just after the of the pool deck, you know, you go inside and it's just from it's just wall to wall, just uh, you know, everything you could imagine. Cold, fruit, uh, hot, uh hot rotisserie, trays being splattered everywhere.

SPEAKER_04

That's a whole subject for another day. Yeah, no kidding. The guy that didn't do it, right? But no, it you're right. It it's so many things, you know. Um you know, that is what MSc does to set it apart. Is the quality of food in the buffet, right? I might say hands down is the best on the average cruise ships.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I wasn't disappointed with the food, actually. Uh and uh the service was pretty quick. Uh there was plenty of tables always available. I mean, that their staff is just running around, you know, just busting, you know, so as soon as somebody gets up, somebody's there collecting everything, busting it, wiping it off, ready for the next guy. So finding seating was never a challenge. Finding you may have had to wait at the at one of the beverage dispensaries, uh, because unless you're getting you know outside drinks from a bar, the only thing that they're serving inside is canned uh soda, so not even like a fountain. The only thing on fountain was really what I found was like iced tea, coffee, water. Now we would know, Jesse. Go ahead, say it. It wasn't really iced tea in your opinion. Oh, it was horrible. I mean, it was a mix. It was powdered. And most likely, you know, the grandiosa came from Italy just recently. We took what? The probably like one of the first handful of of actual cruises from Port Canaveral. So they still had a lot of leftover, I think, European menu items. Yes, they didn't have chocolate milk, they didn't have a couple things that I asked for. Uh the lemonade was much too tart, the iced tea was much too bland.

SPEAKER_04

However, however, we did find a left some leftover Heffenweisen. That's what I'm saying. Yeah, that that was a gem amongst gems. Uh again, Jim Ziarno, John Colorado, if you're listening right now, you would be so impressed. I had my first real Francis Connor Heffenweisen, not Dunkel, true Heffenweisen, had to roll it at the end. It was perfecto.

SPEAKER_03

So there was lots there was lots of carryover. And I think with this boat and the staff having just gotten to uh the States a month month prior. Right. So they're not used to American palate. Correct. I'm sure nobody taste tested that that lemon mix. They nobody taste tested that iced tea mix. They probably just threw some ingredients and just hope for the best, is what makes sense, actually. That's the most logical thing. You know, I'm sure nobody was really uh but they had a coffee bar, like espresso bar in the buffet, uh, you know, all a car, so you had to pay for those things. Uh, but it wasn't uh it wasn't horrible. Everything uh I think the staff, I mean, I think they overstaffed. I really think the ratio to to passenger to staff was actually pretty crap, and I say staff, it's crew. Crew to passenger was amazing as far as ratios. I didn't want for nothing the whole time. I mean, there was always somebody there, even though there may have been a slight language barrier, right? Because again, this this boat and the crew were stationed, or not stationed, that's more military, but they were uh local out of Europe for uh probably years. So they're all multilingual, just most of them didn't have uh English as one of the languages they spoke. But beyond the language barriers, everybody had a smile. Uh very, very thoughtful uh crew. And again, I didn't think we wanted for for much at all uh the whole time. No, but let's talk about the ship in the ship thing because I wasn't aware that such a thing existed, certainly not on other cruise ships. So, what does MSc have that other cruise ships don't?

Buffet Wins Drinks Misses

SPEAKER_04

So they have what's called the yacht club, that is the sweet, sweet life, is what we really talk about it. And that is, you know, you're gonna have your butler, you're gonna have everything taken care of, whatever you need, uh they're you know, uh a phone call away uh or a voice away. Um, you're gonna have your own special part of the ship. And you know, to be honest with you, a lot of clients dislike that idea, but again, it's just like anything else. It's you have your your general uh public and then you have that notch above. And I think that's what the yacht club does, is it separates you from the rest. But however, if you still want to go through and and do things with the general public, you're able to do so as well, you know. And again, with the yacht club, you also get the drinks package included. Right, they got a lot of cool things going on, and again, as you noticed, what part of the cruise ship was that yacht club found on is is the upper part. So they had their own specialty uh sun deck, they had their own specialty pools, they had their, you know, and again, you're gonna pay a little bit extra.

SPEAKER_03

So it's just like let's be honest, a little bit more extra. Yeah. I looked at some of the price tabs, I mean, for for the value that that we were able to get versus what a two-person occupant suite in the yacht club, uh, I would say they're getting, I mean, such an elevated, and I don't know the I don't know the ratio like butler to to state room, but I guarantee it was probably less than uh one to three. Yeah. Right. I mean, when when I saw after the fact we got off the boat and I was like, what is this yacht club? Went to some grandiosa groups, went to some MSc groups, and sure enough, as I was searching, there is MSc yacht club groups where it's a different thing. That clientele, yeah, they they they talk a different speak, you know, and and again for that traveler who's just looking for that elevated experience without doing you know, Ritz Carlton has sure, you know, uh uh a yacht at sea now. Uh there's also other, you know, you're seeing some luxury brands. Yacht charters, of course, are probably like creme de la creme because it's only you and your family on a boat where the ratio is probably one to one.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

But beyond the below deck, you know, fantasy, uh there is uh there is a desire for some clientele to not just go to a yacht charter or even a Ritz-Carlton experience, but they still expect a little bit of elevation. And now the only thing for me, I like to go forward in a boat. I like to go on top and as forward as possible because I love to look over the bow. I like to look, you know, have a look uh, you know, uh adjacent to the bridge or just under the the bridge deck or above the bridge deck and just have that forward view of just looking straight at the ocean. You you really couldn't do that. Everything forward was yacht club. Uh so you know, you have to have a uh a wristband uh or so on to access some of these spots. Yes. And uh I didn't see a whole lot of security, but I also didn't try to break in. But from what I look like, uh it was it was pretty much a upper echelon. Yeah, it was definitely a place with a more desirable real estate on the boat, which is for me forward and high, right?

SPEAKER_04

Right.

SPEAKER_03

So yeah, so yacht uh a yacht club at sea, uh a ship within a ship.

SPEAKER_04

Yep, you know, and and then the other side of it, you hit it, you hit the nail on the head, right? We we got a phenomenal price point. I'm not even I don't even say it it's I mean disgusting.

SPEAKER_03

Can I say no? Why would you? I'm kidding. You're in the business, so in this mind you, everybody who's listening, Cruise Coach has some deals, but also you know, when you're in the industry, you get some uh you know pretty good pretty good deals.

SPEAKER_04

And this was really cool because I called you the same day I talked, I reached out to our affiliate Blake at Maluna Travel and the Maluna Travel Network who were people with exact a complete blast. And and there's so many highlights from the ship. Uh, you know, the shows were lights out. Yeah. That that Michael Jackson show, phenomenal. I don't even know. I don't even know how to pronounce it. Abba, Abba, you tell me. Okay.

SPEAKER_03

And and again, Swedish disco.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, and we were front row for that, yeah. Uh, and front row for MJ. And then we got to see the magician from afar, who was a magician and did a little bit of comedy as well. But three nights of shows, and that's honestly the first time I've done three nights of shows on a cruise ship, and I was satisfied from start to finish.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, 100%. The show the shows, and I'm a show kind of guy. Having worked on a cruise ship, I hung out with the artists, you know, the band members, the DJs, because that's all that's all my background. I love I love performing, even though I did massage on board. I hung out with all the arts, artsy kind of, you know, so the dancers and musicians, and they work so hard. And doing massage, I would even help some of the musicians who maybe like sprained an ankle or you know, because they're just they they you don't understand how hard these people work on board. Uh every you know, every night's a new show. Every night they're just pressing themselves. And it's not just one show, it's sometimes two or three, even up to three different shows every night, and they're performing, and I can't tell you what they're sweating, they're doing the extremely fast costume changes, they're on and off the stage. We had these guys balancing each other on their heads. I mean, oh yeah. Oh, I forgot about that. Yeah, these uh these acrobats, you're right. And and this was like next level. Next level. And this is the the general offering. There was a pay for Circle Soleil. Yeah, there's two shows. Yeah, and that was in the carousel lounge. We never made it to those. I never felt the need to have to go see something else besides what the main theater was providing because it was so so good.

SPEAKER_04

You know, and that's the other thing is when you book a cruise, not only are you getting the cruise, right? You're getting the entertainment, you're getting your family's safety, you're getting the food, and it goes on and on and on. So, you know, and again, price point, we're going back to that for a minute.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

Theater Shows And Entertainment Surprises

SPEAKER_04

Taxes and fees, which obviously vary based on the port you're at. So we would just say taxes and fees plus about 20 bucks a day. Yes. I can't live off$20 a day on land. No, you can't. So, you know, when that that came, when we got that deal, and this was a deal available to the public, not just a TA rate or a travel advisor rate. I reached out to you and I said, Hey, uh, you know, we have an opportunity. Blake, Josie, you guys want to come on board? Yeah. Blake didn't even think twice. He had it booked uh uh, you know, within minutes. And again, you know, that grandiosa just knocking it out of the box. And and let me just go over a few facts. 2019, the grandiosa was started, or I'm sorry, on its maiden voyage, uh 6,334 guests, so it was a relatively bigger ship, 181, uh uh hundred thousand gross tonnage. Right. It's the uh I always mess this up because again, this is not my uh speak. Uh the Mare Agvilia, uh Meravigal, I can't even say it. Yeah. Uh plus class ship. So you have that's kind of like the Oasis class, uh, Meriganvillia, I hopefully. I can't, I can't.

SPEAKER_03

It's like Bougainvillea, sure. Whatever.

SPEAKER_04

Sure. I I mess things up, right? It's like tomato tomato. I'm not gonna get it right. Um, that's the the the plus class, and then you have the world class, which is the one above, so it's like oasis, and then icons, so it's the the the second level down. And the one nice thing about the grandiosa, it does three or four nights, and then it also does sevens. So you get the best of both worlds, unlike Royal Caribbean. The icons only doing sevens, the Utopia, the world's biggest weekend, is only doing three or fours, so you kind of get that different uh, you know, cruise. And again, that's what's also nice. And the other part is it does all the way up to 14 days. You can do, I think, uh 10 days on it as well. So it's the the itinerary is all over the place, um, but they do such a such a good job. And I could tell you, what's the one thing when you immediately when we walked on that cruise ship, what's the one thing that our jaw hit the floor?

SPEAKER_03

Oh, the uh the LED uh panoramic sky. It's it's like um digital sky. Digital sky. They they they uh compare to like Fremont Street in Las Vegas. Perfect. Because it they actually do like shows with like video shows. No, it was it was over the top. Um really, really fun. You know, there's again there are some other boats with like you know big, bigger, spacious interiors and and so forth, like Utopia, where it's like indoor outdoor, but this was enclosed, and you had all the shops, the elevated dining, all right there. It felt like a little you know city street, you know, and a popular place to go shopping. And uh, and yeah, the LED. I mean, they would turn that on, add the music to it. Wow, it was like it was a show.

SPEAKER_04

All right, stumped to captain number two. Okay, oh, how many feet was that digital sky? 250. One football field, 305 feet, so about a hundred yards. Okay, so you know, uh again, it was it was long, it was long, you know, and and and again, it's not just a digital sky. You have 12 dining venues, you have a Lego kids' club, so it's next world, it's not just for adults, right?

SPEAKER_03

A bowling alley, a F1 simulator, a sports complex that full basketball court, and not like topside where it's taken away from your uh wave rider or or other amenities on top. Right. This was like enclosed, mid ship enclosed. Wow, but with like full glass windows, so you have big views to the the ocean or or wherever your destination was, right? But it's indoor best well court, they put out the goalie. Soccer goalies and they were playing soccer at one minute. The next time I went by, they were playing basketball. There's certainly some crew that also assist and helping with a pickup game. So no one's ever like, you know, playing by themselves. I mean, it was it was really well done. Um, bowling, the little bowling alley, a couple lanes of bowling were available.

SPEAKER_04

Uh extra charge.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

Grandiosa Facts And Onboard Wow

SPEAKER_04

I mean, everything was kind of a la carte. Yeah, you know, F-1 simulator, which I think they were having technical difficulties. But again, I mean, 6,300 passengers. Right. You have 2,400 cabins. Uh again, I I thought for the quality of ship, again, the reason why MSc continues to be the best valued cruise line with the cruisecoach.com.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, there's there was tons of value. Uh the food, you know, can Royal Caribbean. I mean, are there other competitives like Norwegians known for food, celebrities known for food? I wouldn't say it's the foodie, you know, boat. Yeah. Um get specialty dining.

SPEAKER_04

If you're a foodie.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, if if you're a food, I mean, especially when you can get on at such a low base price. Correct. It's real easy to add an excursion. It's really easy to get that a la carte experience of you know, some of these elevated games and other experiences on board. Get that excursion on shore, right? Yeah. Uh, and also treat yourself to an elevated dining experience, you know, maybe just one night. And it's not that hor horrible of an upcharge. And it's, you know, sushi, it's a French bistro, it's a steakhouse. Steakhouse. You know, great options for that elevated experience. Man, I was walking by some of those tables where people, you know, left a couple bites. I mean, perfectly cooked steaks. I mean, I was like, I was I don't eat off people's plates, people, but boy, was I tempted. I mean, I looked at some, I was like, are you kidding me? I mean, beautiful cut steaks. You could tell it was like so tender. I could recognize a good cook steak, and I mean these were beautiful cuts of meat. Um, I was really jealous of some of the people, you know, and just cutting into like these nice thick fillets and stuff. And I was like, oh man, next time I'm not gonna miss out. Yeah, do get that elevated dining. And and if you're yacht club, you know, you have your own yacht club uh dining, yeah, where you're you know you're just gonna be impressed. Every meal is gonna be an impress, impressive thing. There's no more charges once you're in the yacht club status, everything's included. Uh, all your liquor and find uh elevated dining and all the experiences that only the yacht club uh is provided. So that's more about the boat, the brand, the history of MSc. Uh thank you, Cruise Coach. We definitely learned a lot.

SPEAKER_04

Appreciate you.

SPEAKER_03

I want to um a little vibe show. Should we go for the slideshow? I'm gonna have to add like some some little intro music. Oh, here's my picture.

SPEAKER_04

Come on, uh, so let's go to the slideshow. All right, let's see what we got. So, speaking of food, uh right now, uh, this is one of the venues on the island. This is the beach. You know, it had your typical burgers, uh, it had brownies, the pasta salad was lights out. I'd give that nine and a half out of ten. Uh, and again, that is included as well on Ocean K.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, so you know, have I looking at some of that, um, I really want to get to what Ocean K is. There you go. And uh and so forth. But first, let's start with the experience all the way from somebody driving on 528. You're gonna head east on 528, and this is some of the best uh you know reminders of where you're going. You see the destination, you see the terminals, you see the the boats in the port. And uh and you were even blown away with the newness of the terminal, bro. I'd I've I had not been, yeah, except for like the the newest terminal, like terminal three, but five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, more to come. World so largest port.

SPEAKER_04

So sorry, Miami. It's in our own backyard. Sorry. It's in the three, two, one. Sorry, MIA.

SPEAKER_03

Sorry, not sorry. Um, okay, so this is Ocean K. Let me I want to get to first, and uh, and I was supposed to get these organized. Bear with me. That's all right.

SPEAKER_04

Hey, we're we're busy humans, just like the rest of us.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, no, right. So here is the uh okay, show the travel sign. We saw that. Uh so yeah, we'll just start from the top up here. Uh Ocean K. So one of the hacks I guess we learned was get off the boat early, get off the ship as soon as they'll let you off the ship.

SPEAKER_04

Because there's very limited free chairs. Um actually very little chairs that are attainable. Again, they're gonna I think because the base price is so worth it, they're gonna try to nickel and dime you in places, but do you even consider it nickel and diamond? I mean, we got on the ship for a nickel or a dime.

SPEAKER_03

No kidding. So for for me, uh, you know, go uh go to the bar. Barcels are free. Yeah. Fair. That's a great idea. Go uh, you know, bring it bring your provide a towel, your pool towel, yeah, and just put it on the sand.

SPEAKER_04

And so right there, you see that uh down on the the right hand side there. Yeah, that was one of the the free seats, right? So you find that you got a little bit of shade. Uh again, I I think we were able to find a couple in the shade, which stay tuned, Vacation Nation. You're gonna see a little uh podcast from Ocean K.

Ocean Cay Arrival And Beach Hacks

SPEAKER_03

Yes, we we do have a nice little drop. And we're gonna make this a regular thing when we are able to cruise together. We're we're definitely gonna be doing these uh these little special uh anecdotal type shows, which are just you know, recorded live, uh limited uh amount of editing. We just want you guys to just experience it. Yeah, enjoy the sights, the sounds, the the people making faces behind us, and and everything else in between. Um, because honestly, this this is gonna give you the best rundown of what uh of what each port uh port of call that we go to has to offer. Yeah. And it's just gonna be a brief thing. I think we did like uh just under uh thirty thirty minutes of a of an impromptu little uh show right there uh on Ocean K. And uh you'll you'll see the again the sights and the sounds. Uh we're just we're wearing lapel mics. Like it was it was really just a very crude type um type video, but we felt we had to do it. The the images are beautiful. Look out for that. Yes. All right, stay tuned. So here of course is the before picture, before the the the masses left the boat. Uh we I think we were allowed, we we finished an early breakfast, and I think we were off within the first hour. Yeah. I would say like before 10 o'clock.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I would say, yeah, about 9 30. Yeah. Um, you know, and that's the nice thing about breakfast and the European mindset is if you want to go ahead and take two hours of breakfast, then take two hours of breakfast. You're not going to be pushed along like you will be on the on the typical American style ships. So, you know, it just that's one thing with MSC is it's your time.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So this is Ocean K, like you said, just again, some some really cool pictures throughout the whole island. And what's really nice is you can't get lost on the island. There's one sidewalk that goes all the way around, and it kind of puts you right in the in the in the the best views. Uh, you know, and again, this is a man-made island, right? So, again, if you know Vacation Nation, what Ocean K started as, we're not going to tell you. Go ahead and put it down in the comments.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, there you go. Perfect. Uh, next up is uh, I believe another grandiosa view, this one uh with the lighthouse.

SPEAKER_04

Yes, and and that, you know, that's something we didn't see when we first got off the ship. I had to beg and plead and say, hey Jesse, let's go, let's go check out the lighthouse, because you know, a lot of people don't know about the lighthouse. If you if you have a a four night, a lot of times you'll stay overnight attached to the island. And here's another hack from Pier Pressure Portcast. If you get a balcony, make sure it's on the starboard side.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, hack number one of the episode. Uh Starboard rooms for Nassau and for Co uh Ocean K. Yeah, actually. Yep. So here is uh another, I mean that's and that that's not stock, that's your photo, right? That is our photo.

SPEAKER_04

And what's crazy is do you know how many decks the Grandiosa is? Nineteen. Nineteen, that's right. One more deck than the Utopia of the Seas. So it's a little bit smaller of a ship, but based on the gross tonnage, it has one more deck, you know, and again, uh it's just a totally different vibe. You know, there's apples, some people love apples and the sweetness of apples, and some people love grapes. I would probably say not sour grapes, but I would say grapes, and that's what that's what this MSC is to us.

SPEAKER_03

Now, if you look uh just above the bow, you'll see I believe those are state rooms. Yes. Right? Just underneath the bridge. The bridge is the very long that uh piece of uh that deck that goes all the way to the very exteriors. That way the the captain could see behind the boat as well when docking. So it has an extended bridge, but above the bridge, so it looks like suites below the bridge, and above the bridge, that's where the dining and other yacht club amenities are. And it's a beautiful dining room.

SPEAKER_04

Again, the ship within the ship. You know, in the lighthouse, uh, we we had live music at the lighthouse, yeah, stunning views from the lighthouse. Again, if you happen to stay overnight or you stay late in the night, there's a lighthouse light show.

SPEAKER_03

Yes.

SPEAKER_04

Um, again, unlike any other private island, MSc continues to get better trying to be the the the largest cruise line in the world.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Another beautiful view. And that's a really cool view right there. Uh we won't we won't say uh I spy Jesse in the middle of the photo. Maybe we did, maybe we didn't. Um, you know, but that's a really, really cool view. We had to walk uh almost to the edge of the island right there to get it. And that's hands down one of my favorite views of the island.

Lighthouse Walk And Balcony Side Tip

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. I mean, you can't beat it. So let's talk about some of the shopping. There are some amenities on the island, and it the things are gonna get better, guys. Uh, it's very new, I will say that. Uh all of the foliage, meaning every tree, bush, shrub, uh, probably even the grass, uh, was imported. Correct. They have put in some infrastructure. I saw a water maker, uh, and also a uh sewage treatment center, so to speak, because they do have staff that live on that uh island full time. Yes. So they have accommodations, and which I think is pretty cool because it it's still it's gonna take a lot of maintenance, right? And you can't expect crew from the ship to then also have a uh a secondary job on on the island. Now, there are some cruise lines who still do that to this day, right? But for the most part, a lot of these private islands have a full-time staff that remains on the island. Right. Okay. So talking about, yeah, there's a couple boutiques to shop. These are sundries. These are the shops where you're gonna get a MSC shirt, visor, hat, uh, maybe sand in a bottle, and maybe the tower or sunscreen that you forgot on board, right? Right. So it's but the accommodations are there and they're just getting better. So lots to look out from there.

SPEAKER_04

And again, if you look at Royal Caribbean, yeah, you know, and and their private island, Coco K, that didn't happen overnight. You know, and and the one thing that you're seeing with this is again, 2019, Ocean K was created, 2019, the Grandiosa did its maiden voyage. So, you know, ultimately, there's so much that happens on Ocean K.

SPEAKER_03

And now what going yeah. So we're so just to just to close up the beach shack uh that we uh went over before, these are the included um complimentary, yeah. Complimentary, right? So it's a limited menu, guys. You know, you're not gonna get uh the top-notch, you know, uh type elevated dining on the island yet. For now, they do have a lot of these like with you know truth uh food truck inspired type little that's a great way to put it. Yeah, so uh you know, and again, they they put out the the limited amount of uh menu just so it's easier on the staff, and it's again not a big space, it's not a huge dining room. Right, they're trying to get through thousands of people uh you know to again accommodate for them so they don't go hungry while on the island.

SPEAKER_04

And you can either eat here with the beach shack, you can eat at the pavilion, and again, when we talk about more things to come, yeah, there's going to be seven dining venues on this island.

SPEAKER_03

So now, one of the fun experiences is some of the uh themed nights, right? So it was our first night that they had the white party or second night. Second night was the white party was the white party, and they invite everybody after the show, you know. So from dinner on, so dinner, theater, after theater, they remind you, hey, party on the top deck. So, you know, you're in your whites pretty much all throughout dinner in the show, all the way to the top deck party. It is a guided party, I want to say, to keep they kind of keep everything you know included. Yeah. So it's it's very family friendly, it's live music, and it's kind of like the uh, how do you say? I don't want to say uh an orchestrated, but it's like you know, they they do the uh choreographed dances, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

All the all the ones you would normally do at a wedding.

SPEAKER_03

Right, I guess. No, it is like a big wedding. I mean, kind of like electric slide and and uh and some of the other thing, you know.

SPEAKER_04

And that's not my style of of dancing. If I'm gonna go, I no disrespect, I got a little hip-hop in me. I want to dance how I want to dance, I don't need to be guided, right? But we understand why they do it because it does appeal to the average family.

SPEAKER_03

It includes everybody. So you're you're not hanging out going, I don't know how to dance to this, or this isn't my type of music. Yeah, it's live performance of lots of popular covers and lots of instruction. You know, okay, everybody, put your hands in the air, okay, now to the left. You know, so it's one of those kind of experiences. Again, for me, I know how to dance on my own. I want the light show, I want the the loud, you know, music, you know, and it's okay if it's not live, if it's recorded music, uh, with a DJ. Yeah, I'm totally content with that. But again, for the this style of cruise, which again, oh man, you got me saying again uh over over and over. So what I found is uh cruise coach was there wasn't a rowdy side of the cruise. Yeah, and I think that and it wasn't like a laid back, so it wasn't like totally like Norwegian or something, or celebrity like sleepy or even princess, more mature, let's let's call it the way it is. Well, mature, yeah. Well, you know, the difference. Yeah. So I'm trying I'm trying to say it without offending anybody. Right. But this was a hey, everybody's included, right? Hey, everybody's on the same level. There was no rowdy drinkers, right?

SPEAKER_04

There wasn't like the world's biggest weekend, people falling all over the place. Right. It it was actually the crowd was amazing, and I I I enjoyed it from top to bottom.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, the the things that they have available for the kids and the teenagers was abundant.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

Island Shopping Infrastructure And Growth

SPEAKER_03

And also for that type, you know, that maybe partier type, I would I didn't find uh like a sloppy person. Yeah, there was no nobody crashing in the hallways, no, nobody throwing up in the public areas. It was very tame, very family friendly, but it's still young. Yeah. So again, it wasn't like crying infants all the time, and it wasn't a lot of seniors, it was f mature families. Right. Uh we saw all over the world. Yeah, we saw a couple bachelorette parties. Uh okay, so there's more of Coco K. Yeah. And I think we're gonna jump back into Coco K. But before we do, I want to take us on a tour of uh of a video I found online and uh and it's gonna kind of go through the beginning of uh what Ocean K is. So we'll come we'll come back to the slideshow here, cruise coach. Uh let's indulge our audience with this uh this real quick video. Great education, yeah.

SPEAKER_08

My dream was not only to transform an island or create a destination, but was uh to actually have an impact that was environmentally correct.

SPEAKER_07

Previous tenants weren't exactly kind to the environment, it just metals. Metal all over the place.

SPEAKER_03

We gotta get all out.

SPEAKER_02

Probably the toughest project that I've never had to do. The job was to change the desert island to a green island.

SPEAKER_00

There is a global problem facing reefs. There are reefs here, they're clearly in decline and suffering pretty severely. Let's try and do something about it. What we're doing here is we're seeing if we can regenerate it.

SPEAKER_07

Our primary mission is to restore the natural underwater seascape of Ocean Key. What resources to protect, how to protect it, where to protect it.

SPEAKER_01

We've been pushing this for about five years now, so it's really exciting to make it happen. The things that we're looking to do will help us to build a brighter and better future for the environment around Ocean Key.

SPEAKER_07

Do we want to make sure that this is super safe and ready for our cast? This beach has to be exceptionally safe and exceptionally beautiful. It's a no plastic island, it's just a spectacular place. Totally phenomenal.

SPEAKER_01

Everything that we did revolved around the environment. Everything was thought of to make sure that we could protect the oceans.

SPEAKER_04

Again, we're talking 65 miles southeast of Miami.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So again, its own unique location. Not really like uh you would find Nassau and and some of the other Bahamas.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_04

Uh it's just right off the coast of Miami.

SPEAKER_03

Very close. In fact, it's like 60 nautical miles south of Bimini. Right. So if that's any kind of reference. Okay. And I didn't know it was part of the the the Bahamian chain or the Bahamian nation, Bahamian. Uh they uh tomato tomatoes. No disrespect. No disrespect. So the uh because it was essentially a sandbar that they built up and they manicured, and now they have it you know thriving with uh again all kinds of infrastructure. When we were there, they had piped music throughout the island, they had both pedestrian walkways as well as golf cart uh roads are or are or golf cartways, tram, tram, tramways. Right. So it was like so you gotta watch out because there's a lot of amenities and they're you know bringing passengers on and and the yacht club members they get uh escorted by golf carts. And so you gotta make sure when you're when you're walking, yeah uh to always be mindful, especially when there's bridges, because then both of the walkway and the golf carts kind of merge. So you just have to be aware, but again, they're not going that fast. You know, it's pretty easy to avoid a golf cart. Uh a lot of times they'll give you notice. And I never saw anybody get close to a collision. Like I mean, they they it really is well planned out and the infrastructure. Like I said, with all of the uh golf cart paved uh roads and the the pedways, you know, for pedestrians, you get to everywhere without having to, you know, step on sand. You could wear your f your slaps and your flip-flops and whatever other sandals, you know, throughout the island without even stepping on sand, you know, and you could get around. Uh so it's not like it's it's hard to navigate on on the island. It's everything's easy to get to. And if you go any further without an an amenity like a restroom, a shower, or a cabana, you're pro you're you're you know, you're doing you're doing it wrong. Because I mean I've I f I feel like there's all kinds of places to spread out. No planning bigger.

SPEAKER_04

Probably the one thing, one opportunity of growth that that they can have at Ocean K is maybe missing a pool.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, pool. Um or maybe like a shuffleboard, a volleyball, uh I don't know, cornhole.

SPEAKER_04

But I would say stay tuned.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, definitely stay tuned. There's more coming, and while we were there, it was another adjacent uh piece of land under construction. So I think that's gonna be even something else that's probably gonna be a bit you know, a la carte, maybe a little elevated experience. Maybe an adults only adults only little paradise sands potentially, or maybe a yacht club included experience. So what we did see was people on jet skis, people on stand-up paddle boards, people snorkeling, people swimming, people sunbathing, all the beach things you could do. Lots of drinking, yeah. The bars were crowded. I mean it it was it was enough to where everybody could do what they wanted without feeling like they were in a big line or a big rush, or feeling like they're away from everybody, yeah, or that everybody was. Too close to them, you know, so it was very comfortable. I found a very rela it was a very relaxing atmosphere. Yeah. And because embassy owns it, there was no other like cruise ship, you know, you had to share with people at the port at the same time, and and some people are are in more of a hurry, or you know, maybe there's lines at the popular excursions, every everything seemed to be adequately staffed and available, and I just I I really enjoyed it.

White Party Nights And Crowd Vibe

SPEAKER_04

And again, stay tuned because right now there's only one ship that can be there uh each day. They're gonna go to two ships. Uh as soon as we got off the ship, Seekers Cove is something that's gonna be a family beach area. Yeah you know, they're just there's gonna be more cabanas, and it goes the list goes on and on and on, right? And again, uh, you know, growth will happen. Yeah, and again, I think MSC is just doing big things, you know, 35 cruise uh cruise ships by 2035, Ocean K. Uh, they just bought some uh an area of billions and billions being put into Freeport. So stay tuned. MSC is doing big things on the rise.

SPEAKER_03

And there's another fun little picture. Little we love Ocean K. Yeah. Fun, fun. Uh you know, it I mean it can only get better. That's it. Because there's so many, there's so much possibility. Yeah. It it does sometimes feel like it was a rock quarry. Uh I won't say artificial sand, but it you could tell maybe it wasn't like uh shore sand. There was very little uh shells, um a lot more I don't you know, smaller rocks, you know, which probably were broken up boulders, maybe. Uh but that's that'll all come. That you know, all all the uh normal appeal of of what a private island should look like is gonna be happening. Uh I don't know if they're gonna be importing any other sand or anything else, but I tell you what, as more and more people tread on the sand, you know, break down the larger pieces of rock. Uh I'm not sure if it's gonna grow shells, you know, shells don't normally happen like that. But you tell it was a marine sanctuary first. Right. They improved it, they built it up, they've created all kinds of like little coves, and we're gonna see a map here soon. Uh more of that later. I mean, you got some good shots.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, you know, again, perspective is the key. That's a really, really cool shot.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Uh, I specifically, when I told you, I said, hey, I want to go check it out. Um, I wanted that shot. I saw I reproduced that shot again, you know, the power of influence. Someone took that shot and I said, Hey, uh, hey Jesse, I I know we've already walked 27 miles in three days. Right. But let's let's do a 28th mile and walk down that way.

SPEAKER_03

I didn't mind. It was it was I mean, the I mean the the we didn't edit this video this this uh photo at all. No. It the sky w was as turquoise as the water, water as blue, and uh dark blue as a sky. I mean CLT blue, baby. It was it was so deli oh man.

SPEAKER_04

You know, and and that's so much of it is taking it all in. You know, that's a a perfect view of the whole island. Uh you have wherever you want to go, obviously, once you get off the ship, they'll direct you. You'll go into you're you're gonna have that that main um uh that big tower, you know, and and that's gonna be that eye catcher. You're gonna have the shops you're gonna walk through, and then you just go around the island, you know. Uh what were what were some of the the uh you've got a better view of it than I do right there. What were some of the the beaches? South beach was one of them.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, so if you look there is Seekers, the family cove. Stay tuned. Yeah, you have uh Bimini Beach, okay, which just looks, I believe, to let's see, there's a compass. It looks to the northeast, more north, Bimini Beach. I mean, so just you're just looking at vast amounts of blue water.

SPEAKER_06

Right.

SPEAKER_03

And then you have like looks like the Ocean K Lagoon, which is really, really big. That's I feel like where most of the people were enjoying uh the swimming and and a lot of the action.

SPEAKER_04

And you might be able to walk across it. I know that was something my I try I kind of dared you. I said, Hey, you think you walk across it? I know you can swim across it.

How Ocean Cay Was Restored

SPEAKER_03

You could definitely swim across. There were some platforms in the middle of the lagoon that a lot of the kids were jumping off of. So they clearly swam up that uh platform, climbed on a platform, and were jumping off over and over again. Uh surfing beach. So there is a kayak and stand-up paddleboarding um area where you could launch those uh those amenities. And uh let's see, we have uh Paradise Sands, we have Sunset Beach, a nice long beach, again, open to just the water, and that just pretty much looks due west. And uh man, you know, just again, long beaches with huge views of crystal clear water. Uh Lighthouse Bay, of course, right between Lighthouse and the cruise ship. Uh awesome, you know. And again, these these are you can find beaches right off the cruise ship. You don't have to go too far, you don't have to be one of these people like us who have to explore and go to the whole thing. By the way, we are we we did have uh a really cool instance 360 uh tour of the island. Uh look out for that as well. That's that's gonna be coming up here soon. Another just wait. Another just wait. I mean, I can't tell you how many things we did that day. So here is Seekers. Again, this is a short little lagoon, lots of sand. Yeah, this is where we did find a uh a ping pong table or two, and some uh chairs that again were uh first come, first served. Uh but people just put down their towel. Uh lifeguards are abundant as well, and they are prepared to keep you safe. Uh again, here's an example of the a bridge that that connects two of the uh the adjacent uh uh I don't want to say islands, I guess they're their own individual island. But uh just a small, you know, little pass of water going through them. It it's it's not a big bridge, it's not a a far distance to to to traverse from one to the other. As you can see, if you hopped on the rocks, you could just swim from one to the other. But they do have nets to keep the bigger wildlife out. Right. Uh again, and then again.

SPEAKER_04

And that's that's the view. So that's the exact opposite. That's a 180-degree view from you were just looking out into the ocean. Now you're looking into the island cove.

SPEAKER_03

Perfect. So as we get down here more. Man, we took so many good photos. Um, this is just another looking back behind us towards the and there's trams too.

SPEAKER_04

So if you are our limited mobility uh, you know, client, we they have you covered. So if walking is an issue, yeah, all it takes is is you know, just find that handicapped section, find that area, and again, uh the island suited everybody.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, this uh these pavilions, as you could kind of look, you see that white structure. Um and uh I don't know if I could center it, but it's in the center of the screen now. That white pavilion is where people wait, and you just wait there and the trams will come by and grab you. Yeah, uh yacht yacht club uh passengers don't really have to wait, they have their own exclusive uh uh golf carts waiting with their, you know. So again, just a little bit more elevated. You get you get a lot for your money as a yacht club. I will say that. I've I found there's lots of value. Again, the cabanas are all a cart. There's an example of a cabana, the uh foliage, the the palm trees, not a whole lot came on again. It was a sandbar. We we watched the video, it was mostly just a sandbar. Everything has been imported, including these coconut palms. Yeah, there's plumbing throughout to make sure that everything, uh all the new foliage gets uh plenty of uh hydration. Uh let's see. Again, the car paths. There's the car paths, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes they merge, so you have to share the pathway, but for attention to signs. But yeah, pay attention. Um, don't wear your headphones or anything else, you know, to inhibit your hearing, and you'll be fine.

SPEAKER_04

It's absolutely amazing.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, back to the ship. Got some audio for this one. Yeah, Latin inspired. I found that I found that the music was good. For a party, decent lighting, you know, everybody hanging out, everybody having a good time.

SPEAKER_04

All ages, all included. I think they're all inclusive, right? So I mean it didn't matter how eight year eight years of age all the way to 88. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Now here's a view as you're coming into the port. The wow factor. Yeah, the wow factor.

SPEAKER_04

So and that's the brand new terminal we we alluded to earlier. It's jaw-dropping, yeah, the people's port, largest port, cruise port in the world.

Getting Around Trams And Cabanas

SPEAKER_03

That's right. So I think we're just gonna close it out with uh just some other pictures of uh the interior. These are some movies that we uh were able to get. Thank you, cruise coach, for all of these. Of course, and that's the chocolate chocolate factory.

SPEAKER_04

You know, that's uh that's an animated clock. They had they had chocolate bars in the shape of the ship.

SPEAKER_03

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So cool. Wow.

SPEAKER_03

Uh Latin salsa merengue type uh club, live music. People enjoying themselves. Get your mojito, sit on down. Uh let's see, what else did you grab? Oh, yeah, so this is the ABBA. Again, costumes were on time, the vocals were on time, the dancing was it was it was uh you know, something that you expect as a bigger production on land.

SPEAKER_04

And and you know, like I said, I I've never listened to this, you know, this group band, whatever they are from from back in the day. But these two girls knocked it out of the park.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah. The vocals again were were insane. Live music. Dancers everything was uh a premium, you know.

SPEAKER_04

And I think here's the other part. We we talked about it when off camera is you have the idea of what happened. Do you remember what happened after the Michael Jackson show? Oh, yes. There was a little uh worship, Brandon Lake. So not many cruise ships would play it, but there was actually Christian music being played, and it was really cool. Our group with uh the Maluna Travel Network and uh Peer Pressure Portcast, and a whole nother group of about 20. We were going back and forth and just uh worship, praise Brandon Lake, amazing. Yeah, uh again, giving credit to the one who needs to have all the credit. Yeah, so just let's listen to this lights out. Probably the most famous song. This was the one I did know, right?

SPEAKER_03

Everybody knows that one. All right, and then we had more outside right there, you know, the sunshine party.

SPEAKER_04

So that was night one. You just saw the white party, which was night two, so they did a really, really good job using the pool deck, deck 15. All right, visually appealing, you know, and that's probably what the staircase is, right? Something we alluded to. I never say it right, Swarfskis. Yeah, Swarovski Crystal uh staircase. Yeah, our jaw hit the floor. You know, again, that's what makes this cruise ship different. There you see the the digital sky right there, 305 feet of it. Um and and what's nice is this is very similar to the promenade on the uh uh the icon class. It's gonna be this is what's called the galleria. Um and you have that on deck five, and then you have the eateries specially dining on on uh deck six right above it.

SPEAKER_03

And we're getting to the last couple of uh slides. Or slides, yeah. There's your shopping right there. Yeah, plenty of shopping. Of course, on the last day is all the deal, so wait wait to shop till the last day. Everything's reduced. Yep. Uh yeah, some really good bargains. And another uh beautiful view of that bow. Uh this is uh where we're in Nassau.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Actually, this was uh first day when we got on the ship. Oh, this is Port Canaveral? This is Port Canaveral, the people's port. You sure okay. Maybe I maybe I don't recognize the uh the terminals in the background. Because I know we came bow uh first into Nassau as well.

SPEAKER_04

Yes, we were lucky to get slip one, yeah, and I think that's what that's what allows us to really be super, super close to that port right there and do the the world famous straw market.

SPEAKER_03

Uh one more of the chocolatier. You know, you would walk in and there would be somebody handing out like free samples. They had the macaroons, they had the truffles, they had uh chocolate on a stick. Uh everything was chocolate covered. You want the espresso, you want chocolate covered of almonds, like everything you could imagine. What a place. We may have sampled the samples. Oh, uh heavily. And and that and as you mentioned, uh in this in here, I'll pull pull the uh pull this picture a little bit more zoom in. Here's here's the uh in the center of the screen is those uh grandiosa chocolate boats, the chocolate ship. Chocolate ship in a box.

SPEAKER_04

Chocolate ship. That's a like chocolate ship. Not chocolate chip, chocolate ship. Love it. I love it. And and you know, and and it was always the chocolate was always flowing.

Best Beaches Lagoon And Island Map

SPEAKER_03

Speaking of flowing, yes, how about the we had a great cruise director, uh English bloke. Uh he phenomenal. Yeah, he introduced all the shows. He, you know, and it wasn't like one of these uh cruise directors that was everywhere all the time on the loudspeaker, you know, reminding you to all these things. It was actually the whole experience seemed pretty go as you will. There wasn't a whole lot of force, like meet us here for trivia, meet us here for karaoke, now here. You know, it wasn't one of those things like you the there wasn't like somebody on the loudspeaker all the time telling you what to do. You found it. There was plenty of ways to find you know your itinerary, the MSc app. If I was to grade an app about a cruise ship, I would give it like probably a a B B minus. There was a couple things that it it definitely could use more of. It's tough when you're checking in as well, the MSc from the app. You know, but the yeah, so there was a couple things which leaves it to you know a lot to be desired, but then for just what to do today. I mean, every the whole itinerary was on was on the app. All you had to do is you know, log on. Uh the app did work with the standard onboard uh internet, so you didn't have to get an internet package to use the app. Uh beyond that.

SPEAKER_04

And the the internet was we had an interior room, so that it was kind of touch and go. Um, but you know, that's it's just like anything else, you know. Uh there's some growth that needs to happen. But overall, value for value, we would probably say this cruise ten out of ten.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um food in the main dining room, six out of ten.

SPEAKER_03

Six and a half. I had I had some definitely some eight and nines as far as dessert. As far as meal. Yeah, I mean, those were about seven and a half as far as desserts go. The cheesecake was really delicious. Uh the tiramisu that I had was very nice. There was a couple other surprises in there, but I was delighted with the main courses and the offerings for appetizer. The menu changed all the time. You get multiple appetizers. Uh you get multiple desserts. You get multiple.

SPEAKER_04

However, if you can only get one entree. If it was elevated. If yes, yeah. Now you could also get a linguini dish to share. Yeah. We did that the first night. And um bolognace. And then if you want to go ahead and do a second entree, it's only five bucks more. So it's it's realistic, you know, and no lobster or anything on the uh the three night. Now, again, what makes this special is it's your typical three night for most cruise lines are Friday to Monday. Ours happen to be a Thursday to Sunday.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Yeah, and I th I like that Thursday to Sunday. Yeah. You're not what you're not getting into to port at Monday morning, no, trying to race to work. Uh, we've done that before, and and it's it's feasible because you know, we're local here at Porkinaverville. But for some other people, you know, trying to get that late uh uh Sunday night, you know, uh connecting flight out of MCO, for instance, probably a lot of a little bit easier than a Monday morning. Right. Uh anyway, just just to mention that because people are traveling into town from there.

SPEAKER_04

And you know, something else to mention, what makes MSc different, and again, we can go on and on and on. You're gonna see so much about MSc is the experiences. We got what's called the Bella Experience that basically just gets you on a ship. You can't make any changes. That's kind of the old guarantee style room. Now, luckily, we got the Bell Experience, it was the most cost effective of all the experiences. Right. However, we ended up getting a room on deck 13, which was a level above those who paid more per se. Uh because again, it goes up every two decks, it goes up uh in price. Then you have the Fantastica experience, which is your normal, you choose the room, you get to make one room change, uh, you get this and that. Um again, that's your average cruise experience. And then something that they do is the Orea experience, and that gives you the thermal spa. That gives you that that that next level, and then obviously from there you can go ahead and you know the rooms are going to be your typical interiors, which are roomy, um, ocean views, balconies. Now, again, most ships, the difference is there's not a lot of connecting interiors or ocean views. So you will, if you do want a connecting room, adjoining room, you will have to start off with the balcony. Then you have your suites, and then you have the creme de la creme top of the cruise ship, literally the yacht club. Yeah.

Back Onboard Design Chocolate And Music

SPEAKER_03

And I uh I would say, you know, save up, do the yacht club experience if you're trying if you're used to that elevated experience. You what I've heard is once you go to yacht club, you can never go back. So be careful. Uh, but if you are somebody who ha you know is a frequent uh cruiser and money is less of an issue, and you the value of the experience is outweighs you know any kind of monetary uh cost, then certainly splurge, get that experience. Uh, I would say that makes MSC definitely a little bit more unique. Uh some other things I did enjoy the Horizon pool. It's uh an old adult-only pool at the uh stern uh or uh aft ship. Yeah, you know, so you go all the way to the back and uh and again really nice. They have these uh like stadium style uh platforms with plenty of loungers to sunbathe on, and you're at the stern, right? Very, very quiet, nothing behind you but prop wash and uh and lots of ocean. The bar called the Attic, I believe. We didn't make it to there, but there is a after hours club or bar called the Attic. Uh next time I'll make a a visit there. They didn't do the carousel, didn't do a couple things. It's really hard to do everything in three days. But I would say everything that we did do, uh I would I would definitely say you know, lots of value, uh plenty of space, never felt crowded any space.

SPEAKER_04

Five pools, nine whirlpools, and that's probably another misunderstanding with uh MSC is the whirlpools, they're not hot tubs. So they're not gonna be your hundred and you know, above 104 to 110 degrees. It's a true whirlpool. Just jets. Yeah, just jets. So again, you know, the biggest uh talked-about thing in the industry is should kids be allowed in the whirlpools and in the hot tubs? Again, everyone has a different value of worth, everyone has a different value of family time, right? Again, just like anything else, is just make sure you're being respectful to all those around you. You're not too loud. I know a kid uh uh a kid walked over you, dripped a little bit while you were sunbathing, um, and and you were getting your tan on. Uh again, not my world, you know. But again, I think he was just from another country, didn't understand some things, but that's okay. Is we still treated him with respect, and uh, you know, overall, uh, you were able to get that that I got some sun, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

No, I was able to enjoy a lounger by the pool. I'm a shade kind of guy. I'm slim shady. But it was desirable for a lot of other things, you know, uh as far as again the bellow experience, getting on there, budget friendly, value through the roof. You still got to get off at an assault, still got to get off at the at the uh private island, still were able to do a lot of different things for you know, almost nothing out of pocket, everything everything you could do without having to splurge too much. So if you are a budget budget-friendly traveler, yeah, MSC is a great option.

SPEAKER_04

So basically, we want to give a shout out to our sponsors. Uh again, we we are nothing without our sponsors. We definitely appreciate LPT Realty. Um, again, yeah. Look for this guy. Actually, this guy. Yeah, whatever. That guy. Jesse Hall, the realtor. Uh, again, he's got you covered when it comes to uh finding the special spot here in Brevard. Please, uh, if you are over by 528 and 520, check out Amara Salon and Spa as well. Uh the the salon and spa on the boulevard, they'll get you right. So many things on the way to the cruise port. Uh we have To thank our boy Steve at FlowMason. That's right. So again, you can't see it. I'm wearing it right here, right now. Uh, that that dope uh peer pressure portcast uh exclusive right there. You see that on the screen. Again, 3P, the 3P Nation, Vacation Nation. Uh just go on the website, go to FlowMason.com, uh, and and and Steve's got you covered from start to finish. Again, FlowMasin Bromasin, and again, we are not ourselves without being ourselves, and and you'll see that right there. Uh, the CruiseCoach.com. Again, you want to book a cruise tastic adventure anywhere on the world. And I'm gonna just say it's something you and I haven't talked about. I'm gonna go ahead and and give myself a little Yeah, I was gonna give you a little plug, but a little a little label, so I'll let you go ahead and talk about it, and then I want to end with something.

SPEAKER_03

No, it's real quick, guys. Go to thecruisecoach.com. You're gonna find all of these uh input forms. You could request information regarding a cruise, your browse cruises, and so much more. Go to thecruisecoach.com today. That's right. And uh and yeah, just put out, you know, fill in the the little form uh Rich has provided, and uh he'll get back to you and he'll help you discover what uh what it's gonna look like for for you to get uh to be able to say yes please to palm trees.

Dining Scores Fare Types Sponsors

SPEAKER_04

That's it. You know, and so much about saying yes, please, to palm trees is about experiencing that flora bean cruise. What is a flora being cruise, Jesse? I'd imagine anywhere between Florida and the Caribbean. Bingo. You know, obviously they talk so much about cuisine, you know, uh the cuisine, the food, but I think it's it's that experience, you know. I think something that Peer Pressure Portcasts, we want to major in, right? We don't want to minor in things, we want to do things best of the best. Right. You see this on the screen again. Uh can't forget our biggest sponsor, where we are right here, Space Coast Podcast, brand new stadium. I mean, brand new stadium. Yes, stadium. This is a stadium, yeah. A brand new studio right here on A1A. Yeah. Uh, you know, satellite beach. Satellite beach. Uh, it's just literally steps away from the beach.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, and I'm I'm gonna claim it as the closest professional podcast studio to Porkinaveral. So if you ever want to join us in the studio before your cruise and come hang out, other uh travel experts, vloggers, and so much more, reach out to us. It'd be great to have you guys in the studio and uh and just share commentary and experiences and you know, even be able to produce something for you uh right here while you're visiting on the space coast. And of course, because we do recommend, you know, doing that uh little bookend, you know, hang out with us for a couple days here on the space coast, go enjoy your cruise out of Port Canaveral, come back, and then hang out with us for a couple more days. Exactly.

Prayer And Final Sendoff

SPEAKER_04

And you know, we can we are not ourselves without uh the Space Coast podcast studio, and obviously, last but not least, probably most important, we are not ourselves with the good without the good Lord above. Um again, also light company apparel. We've got you covered with Christian apparel brand as well. You want a little bit of Christian streetwear, we've got you covered. Find us on Facebook, Instagram as well. And last but not least, I think it's time for uh me to go ahead and pray us out. Let's bow our heads, dear Lord. We love you and we thank you. We thank you for every opportunity, every blessing, Lord. We thank you so much for allowing us to create a podcast for the world to see. We thank you so much for the light that you provide, Lord. We know right now so many people are suffering from this cold uh weather we have going on. Right now we are in a studio, we understand that, but right now the nation of America is suffering mentally, physically, emotionally, socially, Lord. We know that your light is brighter than anybody else. We pray for all those suffering from the cold that you'll go ahead and create warmth unlike any other. We pray for all those traveling that you'll go ahead and keep us safe as well, Lord. We just pray that you'll continue to guide this podcast with your light being the most important shining opportunity for others to go ahead and have a relationship with you, Lord. We know that we love you. We know that we have a relationship with you, and we know it's just not on Sundays, it's every day of the week, Lord. We know that this is a Christian-inspired podcast, and we know that we walk in your light. We know that it is your light that is brighter than any others, and Lord, we know that we are simply just the lighthouse and the beacon for your light. We love you and we thank you. In your name we pray. Amen. Amen. And again, Vacation Nation, stay tuned. So much more about Ocean K grandiosa and the Mediterranean shipping company cruise. All right, until next time.

SPEAKER_02

We love it, share the light, share the light. And he knows how to treat you right. Get your prescription to paradise because it's getting hotter. It's time to cruise all day and night.