Living the Sunshine Life
Travel > Cruising > My MSC Seaside 2026 Experience
And the Seaside Returns to Miami
In March 2026, the MSC Seashore left Miami to travel to Ocean Cay. I love taking photos and talking about cruise experiences, so I put together this blog loop with details about the trip — and the ship, the food, and all the fun.
This post is just one of a few posts from the trip. Go to the main page for my March 2026 MSC Seaside experience to see all the posts! You can also use the navigation below to go to the next post.
Day 4 - Returning to Miami
Boo. Cruise lines like to consider disembarkation day a “day.” Today shouldn’t be considered “day 4” when it’s just a moment.
You can’t go to the gym or spa, there are announcements every few minutes reminding you to vacate your cabin, and cabin stewards are hustling to flip rooms all around you.
Still, I’m a clean and kid-free cruiser who tips, so my cabin stewards usually aren’t too forceful about me lingering maybe a little too long. You still need to be out of the cabin at a respectful time to allow them to work, but I definitely am not leaving early…
Packing takes maybe 15 minutes, and an extra few minutes to double-check nothing is under the bed or still in the safe. Or stuffed in the crevice of the couch. Or left on the balcony chair.
And a few minutes to cry along with Peppa the Pig.
Basically all you can do after you leave your cabin is go to the buffet.
Finding everything for my bagel breakfast sandwich means a walk around the whole buffet — wimpy bacon, emmental cheese, chives from the Asian station, and mesclan salad leaves.
Along the way I noticed a few new items that seemed pretty interesting, especially the Indian-inspired tiffin breakfast of sweet potato puree with a poached egg and chickpea/kale salad. (The pinwheels are covered in a beef mix, and the eggs are deviled with tomato, bacon, and cheese sandwiched between.)
I also noticed that I hadn’t seen that gawd-awful biscuit and gravy nastiness any time during the sailing. MSC, I really do hope you’ve taken it off the menu. But what happened to the lovely southern biscuits you had finally begun baking for the biscuit sandwiches? They were delicious!
And over my third cup of coffee I finished my book and passed it along to the crew member who had also been captivated by the orange and yellow cover. 🙂 On to the next reader. I hope she doesn’t mind al the dog-earred corners and the scuffed up cover. That book has gone places… I’m glad to be finished!
Bye, bye, book.
A little stop at one of the lounges outside the exit to check email and make a phone call, and then that was it. A lovely crew member walked over to politely tell me and the others that it was time to go. 🙂
Yup, time to walk past the comfy-looking seating in the terminal, through customs (nope, nothing to declare), pay my parking fee, and join the morning traffic flow on I-95.
It was fun. Can’t wait for the next one. 🙂
All the Posts for This Experience!
1. This has to be the Best Cruise Itinerary Ever!
2. When a Campsite is Cheaper than a Hotel Room
3. First Impressions of the New MSC Terminal at Port Miami
4. First Impressions of the MSC Seaside
5. My MSC Seaside Abode, Cabin 11197
6. A Full First Day on the MSC Seaside
7. Sea Days Are for Relaxing…and Eating
8. Shh! The Bestest Quiestest Spot at Ocean Cay
9. And the Seaside Returns to Miami
10. Fill out the Cruise Survey!
Overall...
What a fun cruise. Too short for my liking, especially since I’ve gotten used to being at sea for weeks at a time, but the stop at Ocean Cay was exactly what I needed.
MSC has been posting news about changes it has been making to Ocean Cay, its private island in the Bahamas. All these changes concern me, since the beauty of this island is it’s deserted island vibe. Other cruise lines have thrill rides, luxury treats, and landscaping…things that need infrastructure and create waste. It’s good to see that even with the extra construction being done, Ocean Cay is being maintained as a simple marine reserve.
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Jenny Claire is an award-winning educational materials writer, travel journalist, and food critic, formerly based in New York City and Taiwan. She calls a cute cabin in the woods of rural North Central Florida home, but lately she’s been spending most of her time cruising and traveling. She also was a secret travel critic and writer — but her lips are sealed on those details!
Living the Sunshine Life