My daughter attends a modified year-round school, which means her breaks are a glorious two weeks long! For her October break in 2025, we decided to shake things up from our usual Carnival adventures and try something new… a cruise line we’d been eyeing for a while: Royal Caribbean.

And if we were going Royal, we were going big… Icon of the Seas big! We booked a Surfside Suite for October 4–11 and started counting down the days (stay tuned for a full review of our Surfside experience!).

Trying Something New Before Icon of the Seas

A few weeks before the cruise, though, I noticed something that sparked an idea… MSC’s newest ship, World America, had the exact same Saturday-to-Saturday schedule as Icon. My husband didn’t have two full weeks of PTO, but since I work from home, I asked if he’d be okay with me and our daughter hopping on World America for the first week. Being the amazing husband he is, he said yes!

So, my daughter and I set sail for a week of fun… sliding down giant water slides, eating endless pizza and burgers, and making core memories together on MSC World America.

The Big Switch: Our Side to Side Cruise Transfer

Then came time for the big switch… our “side to side cruise” transfer (also known as a “dock to dock”). Luckily, this couldn’t have been easier. MSC World America and Icon of the Seas are next-door neighbors at the Port of Miami — terminals A and AA — which meant our “transfer” was literally one mega ship’s distance apart!

It wasn’t totally seamless… we got a bit turned around figuring out where to go. We initially went down to the rideshare pickup area, but after chatting with a few port workers, we learned we needed to go up one level to reach the Icon terminal. We walked past the cruise line transfer buses heading to the airport, crossed the street into the Icon zone, and waited for my husband (who was running a little late thanks to a last-minute swimsuit stop at Ross 🤭).

Once we reunited as a family, we boarded Icon of the Seas and began another seven days of pure bliss.

Tips for Planning a Side to Side Cruise

Overall, doing a side to side cruise was surprisingly easy… especially since both ships were at the same port. If you’re planning a similar setup with different cruise lines in Miami, just know you might need a short taxi or rideshare between terminals (unless you’re up for a walk!).

The Port of Miami houses several ships across multiple cruise lines, so your experience will depend on where each ship docks.

If you have questions about how to plan or navigate a side to side cruise, feel free to email me or DM me on Instagram — I’d love to help you make it smooth sailing!

– Caileen Walker
Instagram: @walkers_around_the_world
Facebook: Caileen Walker – Fabulous Adventures Travel
Email: caileen@fabulousadventurestravel.com