New to MSC

My husband and I cruise about 3 times a year but have always cruised Carnival. Now that I finally have retired, we want to branch out and try other cruise lines. We just booked a 7 day cruise on MSC Devina out of Miami for October 2017. We are very excited to be trying a different cruise line especially this one since we got it at a fantastic price. We went for the guaranteed room ( we were going for an inside Fantasia) but the agent suggested going for the guaranteed since I really did not want my cabin Way up front, whew. Okay so now here are the questions.

For those that have cruised Carnival, what are the major differences?

How is the food (I know food is subjective)?

My husband and I have each been given 12 drink vouchers. When can we use them and what kinds of drinks are included (cocktails, specialty coffees, water etc.?)

Do we need to make reservations for shows etc.?

Other than main dining room and buffets, what are some of your other favorite (free and paying extra) places to eat on the ship?

We both love to dance, although we usually don't stay up passes 10:00 or so, are there bands playing around the ship in the evening?

I'm sure I will have many more questions as we get closer to the cruise.

Please feel free to add any more info. That will help us enjoy this cruise.

We will be at level gold and are very laid back cruisers. We have enjoyed every cruise we have ever taken because we believe a cruise is what you make it. We do not sweat the small stuff.

Thank you for any helpful information you can give me and am looking forward to this cruise.

Can't answer all your questions since we don't cruise Carnival. We've done more than 70 cruises - most on Royal Caribbean & Celebrity - we recently started using Princess too. We love MSC and have been on the Divina 3x and are going on again at the end of this month. We love Italian food so we really like their food since we tend to go for the pasta dishes. The buffet has a great selection of all kinds of food and some great desserts!! Pizza is the best!! There are really no free eating places that I can think of around the ship like on other cruiselines. Our favorite specialty restaurant is The Galaxy. In my opinion, specialty restaurants are not one of the strong points of MSC. There are 3 lounges on deck 7 so, based on what performers are in there, you should be able to find somewhere to dance. There is typically music in the atrium and also in the lounge near the casino (small dance area). The entertainment in the theater is the best we've seen on any cruiseline - no need to make any reservations. Your drink tickets will basically get you a drink from any bar or restaurant on the ship - here's the description from their website for the "More or Less Escape Pass" and I believe your vouchers are the same as that: consumption of a wide range of drinks from the Bar and Wine list including wines by the glass, draft, bottled or canned beer, canned sodas, fruit juices, mineral water, a wide selection of coffee-based drinks, premium teas, hot chocolate delights, a selection of call-brand spirits, cocktails, as well as take-away ice cream in a cone or cup.

Not sure you know about their loyalty match program - since you have cruised on Carnival, you can submit info regarding your status on that line and they will assign you what they consider to be an equal level on MSC. Because we were elite on Celebrity, we were slotted into MSC's black level (their highest) so we get some nice perks. If you didn't do it before booking, just go to their website and search loyalty match - you submit the info on email. Once you find out your level/member #s just call and have them add it to your reservation.

I'm sure you will love the Divina - she is a beautiful ship.

Marianne

Thank you. Yes we did do the price match and we are gold. Thanks for your info. Do they sell bottled water on the ship by the case?

We are Platinum on Carnival and sailed on the MSC Divina for our last cruise. I can't answer all of your questions but hopefully I'll give you some valuable information.

- Both cruise lines cater to a budget minded clientele, however you'll see many more nationalities (mostly European) onboard MSC.

- Although budget minded, MSC ships are beautiful with a touch of elegance (think of Swarovski crystal staircases in the atrium).

- No need to make reservations for shows. Main theater productions are professional and entertaining although some performances are somewhat repetitive. Because of the wide range of nationalities (and languages), MSC relies heavily on non-verbal forms of entertainment. There will be plenty of music throughout the ship, but once again, understand that it's a European ship. For example you may find a (well attended) opera singing duo in the atrium. DJ music played by the pool may be more of a Euro-techno beat instead of Jimmy Buffett or Bob Marley inspired beats. You will also find singers and bands playing throughout the ship at night.

- People on Carnival rave about Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana cantina burritos. On MSC they rave about the pizza and the Italian food. Personally, I was a bit disappointed with the food on our sailing, maybe because I set my expectations a bit too high so I didn't enjoy the food as much as I could've. We did agree that the pizza was great though. They do serve it free of charge at the buffet but they also serve specialty pizzas for an extra fee at a different location which most reviews that I've read say it's worth the extra charge.

Be excited about trying new things that you may not find on US based cruise lines and do understand that, even though burgers and fries will be available, they are mediocre and are offered to appease Americans who may be too picky for European cuisine.

- We didn't like that there was no "anytime dining" option when we sailed offered to our stateroom class (Fantástica). We absolutely HATE having assigned dining as we feel that it takes flexibility away from our vacation.

- Like you, we were given Gold status on MSC to match our Platinum status on Carnival. With that, we received a few perks including an additional 5% discount off our cruise fare (we had to call and request that since it wasn't done automatically), vouchers for free drinks, complimentary photo (they tell you specifically from which night), passes for the thermal suite at the Aurea Spa (which we LOVED) and a logo item (a blue baseball cap with the MSC logo in white). These perks were greatly appreciated, specially considering that we were first timers.

Overall, we ranked our experience on MSC a notch above Carnival, mostly because of the beautiful ship decor and more toned down atmosphere, as well as the generous loyalty match program. But overall, the quality of the product in terms of cuisine, entertainment and customer service target a similar demographic. Just go with a very open mind and understand that MSC is not Carnival (and vice versa). Embrace the differences and try not to make any comparisons.

Feel free to click on my photo review (the link is in my signature). Hope it's helpful!

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