MSC has changed somewhat. The office sucks (pool) but liberty has vastly improved. There are busses to take you to town ( every 2 hours in Greece, Italy, Portugal, etc etc) . I worked for the old MSC PAC , left for 30 years and came back as a paid “tour consultant “ Israel, Scotland, Dubai, Malta. I remember Subic in the 80s but no busses anywhere. We spent 12 days in Scotland and 12 in Portugal. Never did that commercially except prepo ships in Saipan, and Diego. MSC has so many medical rules you can play them like a fiddle to get more time off. You now have to see a dentist before being assigned. Take your 30 days approved leave then call your dentist to schedule your appointment. Oh well it looks like I have to wait 6 weeks for my cleaning. Schedule your primary care doctor annual physical sometimes after your dental appointment ( another 3 weeks off) throw in a colonoscopy and you have 4 months off. Getting old sucks but it gives you a few extra options for time off. MSC has good medical, and dental benefits which they pay if you take leave without pay ( you pay it back when you return to work). You may have to pay your dental when on LWOP (leave without pay). When my kids were small I worked 90/90 ( less time from home wasted flying to and from work on a 30/30 or 45/45).
I worked the Valdez oil run so I was never too far away in an emergency.
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When you say you did 90/90, do you mean you did 90 days on 90 days off? I was under the impression the way MSC did leave was that you accumulated leave over the course of your hitch and couldn’t take time off unless you checked into the pool?
I worked commercial shipping during 90/90 , days on/ day’s off . I worked 4 1/2 months on with MSC and have been off 3 months taking care of medical appointments. You can take FMLA family leave to care for a family members too ( no pay except sick leave.