MSC: what you can bring

What MSC says

• Alcohol: you may not bring alcoholic beverages on board. Boxed wine and other containers are prohibited. Security may inspect any container — water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, canteens — and will dispose of alcohol hidden in them.
• Bought on board or in a port: hand it to security when you re-board. It is held and returned just before the end of the cruise (not to anyone under the drinking age, which is 21 sailing from the US).
• Water, soda, juice: not allowed on board, carry-on or checked, on embarkation day or port days. The one exception: factory-sealed purified or distilled water for a medical device or for mixing infant formula.
• Food: no outside food, including partly eaten or home-cooked. Unopened, dry, packaged, commercially produced snacks are fine.
• Empty bottles and tumblers: MSC's published rules do not mention them. Expect security to look inside any container; an empty one is usually waved through, but that is security's call on the day.

Source: MSC Cruises USA luggage page and Guest Conduct Policy (updated July 16, 2025). The ship's own instructions always win over this page.

Weapons — real, replica or toy

• Firearms of any type, imitations and replicas, and ammunition
• BB, airsoft, pellet and paintball guns; CO2 pistols; stun guns and tasers
• Tear gas, pepper spray, mace
• Handcuffs and other restraints
• Spear guns, spears, bows of any kind and arrows, crossbows, slingshots

Blades

• Swords and daggers (including Skean Dhus and Kirpans)
• Knives of any kind — switchblades, butterfly, hunting, Ulu knives
• Scissors, utility knives, box cutters, razors, X-Acto knives
• Throwing knives, ninja stars, steel-tip darts
• Dive knives are taken by security and handed back only for a dive excursion

Blunt weapons

• Clubs, brass knuckles, batons (including extending), baseball or cricket bats, nunchuks

Explosives & flammables

• Explosives of any type, firecrackers, sparklers, flares
• Gasoline and other flammable or combustible materials

Heat & flame

• Clothing irons and steamers, kettles, hotplates, coffee makers
• Candles, incense, hookahs — anything with an open flame
• Allowed: hair dryers, curling irons, hair straighteners

Electrical & wheels

• Extension cords and surge protectors — only with approval through the Accessibility & Medical Requests form
• Segways, hoverboards, unicycles, motorized luggage and scooters — only with that same approval; approved mobility aids are fine
• Laser pointers
• Drones and RC aircraft: you may bring a drone but it stays in the cabin; flying it on board or at Ocean Cay gets it confiscated until the end of the cruise

Also

• Any form of alcohol (see Drinks & food)
• Illegal drugs, medical marijuana, THC products
• Your own scuba gear — tanks, dive knives, spears
• Inflatable beds and rafts may not be inflated or used on board
• Smart glasses and other devices that record discreetly are not allowed in public areas

MSC calls its list illustrative, not exhaustive — security can refuse any item. Source: MSC Cruises USA luggage page.

• Up to two checked bags per person, each no bigger than 90×75×43 cm and no heavier than 23 kg (about 50 lb)
• Up to two carry-ons per person, each no bigger than 56×45×25 cm
• No more than 100 kg or 8 pieces per cabin in total; anything over the limit is refused at check-in
• Checked bags reach the cabin late afternoon to early evening — so your carry-on holds documents and passport, medications, money and valuables, electronics, nappies, a change of clothes for the evening, and anything you need in the next few hours
• Fragile and valuable items travel as hand luggage only; MSC does not accept liability for them in a checked bag

Source: MSC Cruises USA luggage page.

Tell MSC ahead of time and the team is ready for you when you arrive: a wheelchair at the curb, an accessible cabin, an easier door. The form also covers priority on embarkation and disembarkation, so it works for leaving the ship too. MSC asks for it at booking, or at least 30 days before sailing.

What you can ask for

• Wheelchair or mobility assistance at the terminal; bringing your own wheelchair, scooter or walker (declare it)
• An accessible cabin
• Priority at embarkation and disembarkation for a medical condition
• Oxygen, CPAP, dialysis supplies, refrigerated medication, a sharps container in the cabin
• Hearing: a TDD kit in the cabin; vision: Braille and deck indicators are fitted; cognitive conditions and autism
• Special diets — gluten-free, kosher, halal, vegan — and factory-sealed special foods you need to bring
• Extension cords and powered mobility devices, which are otherwise prohibited
• Pregnancy, children with medical needs, and a travelling helper

Open MSC's Accessibility & Medical form Read MSC's accessibility page

Both links go to MSC Cruises USA. Dockside does not see what you send them.

From MSC's own welcome sheets, handed out on board. Yacht Club and stateroom guests get different times and phone numbers, so pick yours.

Everyone

• Safety drill, required by law: go to the assembly station on your boarding pass and watch the safety video (in the MSC for Me app or on the cabin TV, any time on embarkation day). Your boarding pass is scanned. Cruise Cards do not work for purchases until you have checked in at your assembly station.
• Alcohol: none can be brought on board. Bottles are collected and returned before the end of the cruise.
• Wi-Fi and the MSC for Me app: join the MSCSEASCAPE-HOTSPOT network, then download the free MSC for Me app (the QR codes on the sheet, or the barcode on your Cruise Card). Internet packages at mscwifi.com.
• Cruise and Travel Show: first sea day, 10:15 am, Chora Theater, Deck 7.

Source: MSC Seascape welcome sheets (Yacht Club and stateroom), Nov 2026. Times can change from sailing to sailing; the sheet in your cabin or suite always wins.

• Drinking age sailing from the US is 21, set at the start of the cruise. Drinking games are prohibited. Staff can refuse service.
• Smoking only in marked areas — never in a cabin or on a balcony. A violation is a $250 cleaning fee. Must be 18 to buy or use tobacco.
• Smoking areas on MSC Seascape (cigarettes and e-cigarettes): Loft Café, Deck 8 midship, starboard, outside; Infinity Pool, Deck 8 aft, starboard, outside; Horizon Bar, Deck 19 aft, starboard, outside; MSC Signature Casino, Deck 7 midship, smoking section, while seated and playing. Yacht Club guests also: Top Sail Lounge terrace, Deck 16 starboard forward, outside, and the Yacht Club pool, Deck 20 starboard. Cigars only in the open-deck smoking areas.
• Guests under 21 sail with a parent or guardian on cruises with a US port. Under 18 cannot be unaccompanied after 1:00 am.
• During facial recognition at embarkation or disembarkation you may be asked to briefly remove a face covering.
• Any symptoms of illness — however mild — go straight to the cabin and call the medical center. Not reporting is a policy breach.
• Nothing goes overboard, ever. Chairs and sunbeds cannot be reserved; towels left on one for over 30 minutes may be moved.

Source: MSC Cruises Guest Conduct Policy, updated July 16, 2025.