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I live in Jamaica but my daughter lives and attends college in the United States and last week while she was on Spring break we went on 7-day cruise out of Miami, Florida. We sailed on MSC World America, which is a new ship that was launched last year. The ship’s godmother and godfather are Drew Barrymore and Orlando Bloom respectively. The port stops were Mexico, Honduras and MSC Ocean Cay which is MSC’s private island in the Bahamas. This was my fourth cruise, but I was nonetheless amazed at how enjoyable a cruise is. I like to call a cruise an all-inclusive hotel on steroids. There is just so much to do on this floating machine that sails on the never-ending ocean.

First, I want to describe the magnificent ship. It was beautifully crafted with 20 decks, multiple restaurants (both free and paid), large theatres, lounges, bars, pools, hot tubs and many other amenities. We stayed in a partial ocean view cabin that was on the inside of the ship overlooking the promenade but with a limited view of the ocean. Looking out on the ocean every day was such a calming feeling. The ship was beautifully decorated, especially on decks 6, 7, and 8 where all the stores, theatres, specialty restaurants, and lounges can be accessed. These decks had winding glistening stairs and screens with videos of the ocean in the roof. It was gorgeous. The top decks hosted the pools, waterslides, and many activities for children and adults.

Except for Ocean Cay, I have never been to any of these cruise ports before. Our first stop was in Roatan, Honduras. This is an island on the coast of mainland Honduras. It felt very much like Jamaica and surprisingly the residents speak a mix of Spanish and English and a broken English that is very similar to the Jamaican patios. Our tour guide told us that the people on the mainland speaks mostly Spanish and they do not speak the broken English at all. We did a tour of an animal sanctuary that mainly consisted of monkeys, sloths, birds, iguanas, and deer. We took pictures with the monkeys and the birds and found the experience to be very enjoyable. After the tour we walked around the cruise port and visited the shops. The cruise port, like many others, has many shops, bars, restaurants and swimming pools. The other thing I like about cruising is that the cruise ports are full of activities, so if you do not want to go on an excursion you don’t have to.

Our second port stop was in Casta Maya, Mexico. Because of the recent upheavals in Mexico, I was a little apprehensive about going to Mexico prior to the cruise, but my research revealed that we were on the other side of the country and were not in harm’s way.  The cruise port itself was beautiful and entertaining, but it was isolated from town’s or walkable areas. The excursions like the Mayan ruins were over an hour away. We decided to go to the beach, which was fifteen minutes from the cruise port. While on the beach we could still see our cruise ship in the distance. The beach was a vibe, and we enjoyed the few hours we spent there even though we did not go in the water. Instead, we lay on beach chairs under an umbrella and read from our Kindle’s and enjoyed the scenery. The beach was quite packed by the way.

Our third port stop was at Cozumel, Mexico. This is an island off the coast of Mexico that inhabits approximately 160,000 people. The island, though small, was vibrant with walkable attractions just outside the cruise port. We took a taxi and went on an island tour. On the way we stopped at a tequila brewery where the process of making tequila was explained. We bought tequila and took it back to the ship. Unlike other cruises we have been on, they did not take our alcohol at all and return it the day before debarkation. We were allowed to take it to our room.

Our final port stop was Ocean Cay, Bahamas. This is a beach day, and we reserved our spot on the beach beforehand. The water was cold, ice cold. But we nonetheless enjoyed it and stayed in the water for quite some time. There is not much to see on the island. It is just a relaxing beach resort type island. It was a nice calm day which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Throughout the cruise we did many fun activities. Each night we dressed based on the theme and attended events such as the glow party, Caribbean night party, theatre shows and even watched the Formula 1 movie. On our port days we bought souvenirs from the different countries we visited and captured numerous pictures and videos. Overall, it was a good cruise; the ship was gorgeous, the food was good, the staff was nice, and the entertainment was good. As always,