'don't Look Down': How I Swung Over The Edge Of A Cruise Ship From 160 Feet High

MSC World America: The most American cruise ship yet

MSC World America, the newest ship from MSC Cruises, features 19 dining venues, 18 bars and lounges and many more.

• MSC World America's Cliffhanger swing ride lifts passengers 160 feet above the ocean.
• The ride costs $5 and has height and weight requirements.
• Other new onboard activities include an outdoor activity park, LEGO activities, and a "Dirty Dancing" concert.

My stomach dropped as my seat lurched backwards, pointing me towards the shoreline. On the Cliffhanger swing attraction aboard MSC Cruises’ newest ship, MSC World America, there was just a T-shaped bar between me and the open air.

The four-minute ride started slowly, with a red machine resembling a claw lifting me up and out over the railing of Deck 20. Then the swings got bigger.

“Don’t look down,” a fellow rider said. I heeded that warning, keeping my eyes trained on the line’s Bahamas private island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.

My racing heart slowed a bit as I watched the sweeping view of aquamarine water and white-sand beaches on a sunny spring day, though I held the metal bars of the swing tight with both hands. In what felt like just a few seconds, the motion subsided, and my seat retreated back to the deck.

I went again the next day.

“You don’t think about a swing as something that’s gonna be thrilling,” William Monts de Oca Rivera, MSC’s Head of Guest Experience Innovation, said in a press briefing during a preview cruise in early April. “But when that is 160 feet above the water and the ship is in the middle of the ocean, you're gonna feel something.”

Cliffhanger is one of several rides and other activities on board the cruise line’s newest U.S. flagship, which set sail on its maiden voyage from Miami on April 12.

Passengers must meet height and weight requirements to ride (they have to be at least 47.24 inches tall – just under four feet – for example). Minors need to be supervised by an accompanying adult.

A maximum of four people can ride at once.

The ride costs $5 per person.

Other new onboard activities include:

• The Harbour: World America boasts the first outdoor activity park of its kind in MSC’s fleet. In addition to Cliffhanger, guests can traverse the High Trail Ropes Course where they can glide through mid-air on two Sky Rail ziplines; climb into a shark’s head and drop 11 stories on the Jaw Drop @ The Spiral dry slide; choose from three water slides at the Harbour Aquapark; ride bumper cars and more.
• LEGO activities: Parents and kids alike can hone their construction skills in the LEGO Family Zone, a dedicated space for toy brick building. Passengers can put those abilities to the test at the LEGO Family Game Show – billed as a first at sea – where teams compete for Master Builder status. Dancing LEGO characters will also make their way through the ship once every sailing at a LEGO parade.
• ”Dirty Dancing in Concert”: Dancers, singers and other musicians perform songs from the beloved movie starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey during the roughly 45-minute show, complete with the iconic lift. Guests can get in on the dancing during a themed after-party. Longer matinee showings are performed alongside the film.

The reporter on this story received access to this event from MSC Cruises. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of content.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.