How does MSC Cruises compare to NCL and CC

Hello

I've never cruised on MSC before but recently found an itinerary that may work for summer travel plans. How does MSC compare to NCL or CC? Those are the other 2 cruises lines I've cruised on but have never heard of MSC.

TIA

We sailed MSC for the first time in October. We had a fantastic time. The food was good to excellent. The staff was friendly and helpful. The shows in the theater were some of the best I've ever seen at sea.

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We sailed MSC for the first time in October. We had a fantastic time. The food was good to excellent. The staff was friendly and helpful. The shows in the theater were some of the best I've ever seen at sea.

 

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Hi BusyBlond,

I am interested too... have you cruised on NCL? If so how is it different? We have 8 NCL Cruises and one royal Caribbean... any cruise would be nice, but compared to NCL we won't cruise RC again. I am curious to know what the differences are between between NCL and MSC. we almost booked MSC, but then backed out.

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Unless you book an Aurea experience, you won't have the option of 'freestyle' dining, only fixed traditional. EM

Having just returned from a trip on the Armonia out of Cuba for 14 nights my answer is do not waste your money on MSC. This was our 78th cruise and we have been with MSC before , many moons ago, we had forgotten how bad they were. The food was poor, how can Italians ruin pasta/pizza, this crew did.

One thing for certain we will never go with MSC again.

Unlike NCL, there is no dim sum on MSC ship. :)

I don't have "recent" comparison information. I returned from a 11 day NCL Alaska cruise in October and we really had a good time. However, I haven't sailed MSC since 2011. At that time, we had an OKAY trip, but decided that while we enjoyed it as a "sister" cruise where we just wanted warm weather to sit and read books, we wouldn't cruise with our families as they wouldn't have enjoyed it. The reasons.....at the time, the buffet was VERY limited...wasn't even an option for dinner buffet...there was no comedy show and the activities were lacking overall....I remember having to sit with strangers at dinner and we didn't enjoy that......

Fast forward 6 years and I am taking my family on the Divina on the 28th of this month. The ONLY deciding factor in this decision was "cost". I am paying for 7 people, 3 cabins and I needed to keep the price as low as possible. However, I am going into this cruise with an open mind. I have read that MSC has worked hard to give American passengers what they expect.

I plan on reporting back on our experiences in detail when we return. I am planning on having a wonderful trip! Kim

Just to clarify, which cruise line do you mean by "CC"?

While we were on board the Captain, during his welcome speech, announce MSC are building another 10 ships. These will be similar to the new mega ship which is sailing this year.3/4 will be sold off but even so MSC will have to widen its itinerary and overall on board activities to satisfy the intended US/non European market. Based on my experience this will be a hard thing to do.. I concur that their prices are competitive, at the moment, but there is a standard which everyone will aim for for their money.Having sailed on every thing from VOD/ Thomson/ Cunard et al. I still will not travel on MSC again

Hello

 

I've never cruised on MSC before but recently found an itinerary that may work for summer travel plans. How does MSC compare to NCL or CC? Those are the other 2 cruises lines I've cruised on but have never heard of MSC.

 

TIA

MSC is much better.

We did NCL Getaway 5/2016 and are giving Seaside a shot 1/2018. I'm hoping MSC is a little more "organized" than NCL (similar to PCI & DCL) but that we'll have to give up some fun in dining.

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We sailed MSC for the first time in October. We had a fantastic time. The food was good to excellent. The staff was friendly and helpful. The shows in the theater were some of the best I've ever seen at sea.<br />

<br />

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<br />

<br />

Hi BusyBlond, <br />

<br />

I am interested too... have you cruised on NCL? If so how is it different? We have 8 NCL Cruises and one royal Caribbean... any cruise would be nice, but compared to NCL we won't cruise RC again. I am curious to know what the differences are between between NCL and MSC. we almost booked MSC, but then backed out. <br />

<br />

<br />

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I've sailed NCL, RCCL & Carnival approximately 6-9 times each. I enjoyed MSC as much as any of the others. As mentioned by others, unless you book the Aurea experience, you will not be able to have "freestyle" dining. We were assigned a table for 2 at the early seating and it worked out fine. We did not experience super long dining times that others have reported.

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Please visit my blog below as I have extensively reviewed the MSC Divina and compared Carnival and NCL! :) If you put in NCL, Carnival and MSC in the search box all my blog posts will come up! Hopefully they will help! :)

http://thecheerfulcruiser.blogspot.com/

Just to clarify, which cruise line do you mean by "CC"?

Sorry, CC meaning Celebrity Cruises.

Hello

 

I've never cruised on MSC before but recently found an itinerary that may work for summer travel plans. How does MSC compare to NCL or CC? Those are the other 2 cruises lines I've cruised on but have never heard of MSC.

 

TIA

We've only sailed once with MSC, in the Yacht Club on board MSC Preziosa. Here is the review on cruise critic - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2288693

We loved it.

Some videos. The experience started with embarkation.

[YOUTUBE]QYM1lHmhqS4[/YOUTUBE]

We stayed in Cabin 16008.

[YOUTUBE]m4_A7O2N-ro[/YOUTUBE]

An example of the meals in the YC restaurant.

[YOUTUBE]5ebsTYuJ4SA[/YOUTUBE]

Enjoy!

Just returned from the MSC Fantasia.

Food in the main dining room was good to excellent but Celebrity and NCL are still atop of it. Forget about the food in the buffet restaurant.

Shows? BusyBlond, sorry, but how can someone state that the shows on MSC are the best at sea? The male singer on our cruise was not able to sing any English lyrics without a bad accent and he simply was out of tune. Acrobats are great, danceing was o.k., singing was subpar (only two singers). Not to compare with shows on Celebrity or the musicals on NCL.

On the positive side: Good live music in all bars and the atrium.

Onboard prices are decent compared to Celebrity or NCL. A bottle of water was 2.60 Euro (one liter). Wine started at 4.50 Euro per glas. Cakes 1.90 Euro, maccarons 1 Euro, cupcakes 0.80 Euro.

Specialty restaurants... El Sombero Tex Mex - forget it if you´re used to Tex Mex food. Haven´t tried out the steaks. Sports Bar - not sure if I want to pay extra for a burger (4.50 Euro).

Service was good to excellent.

We´ve been in a regular balcony (Fantastica experience) but we had a chance to tour the Yacht Club. Yacht Club is a totally different thing. Cabins are more like regular balconies but the Top Sail Lounge, the sun deck with bar and the Yacht Club restaurant are looking really great. Includes beverages too.

Ship: Great hardware, nice design but in some areas the aisles are pretty narrow. So it´s even hard to pass each other.

steamboats

Somebody mentioned the Top Sail Lounge. Oh yes, it was awesome! Many drinks are included if you sail in the Yacht Club. Here are some examples.

[YOUTUBE]cvgEQmCuis0[/YOUTUBE]

They also do the drinks at the One Pool area, which is reserved for Yacht Club guests.

[YOUTUBE]QXW3gNUaN-8[/YOUTUBE]

Moving outside the Yacht Club, I made some videos of the buffet spread, for my own records.

Here you see the buffet spread for breakfast.

[YOUTUBE]IIMfGkDDH2w[/YOUTUBE]

This was the spread for lunch.

[YOUTUBE]XTNNERCn8Go[/YOUTUBE]

And this one for dinner.

[YOUTUBE]5K2ZlYP3-yY[/YOUTUBE]

The above are buffet areas which are open to all passengers. Yacht Club passengers can eat the buffet if they wished, but most times we dined at the YC restaurant.

Just returned from the MSC Fantasia.<br />

<br />

Food in the main dining room was good to excellent but Celebrity and NCL are still atop of it. Forget about the food in the buffet restaurant.<br />

<br />

Shows? BusyBlond, sorry, but how can someone state that the shows on MSC are the best at sea? The male singer on our cruise was not able to sing any English lyrics without a bad accent and he simply was out of tune. Acrobats are great, danceing was o.k., singing was subpar (only two singers). Not to compare with shows on Celebrity or the musicals on NCL.<br />

<br />

On the positive side: Good live music in all bars and the atrium.<br />

<br />

Onboard prices are decent compared to Celebrity or NCL. A bottle of water was 2.60 Euro (one liter). Wine started at 4.50 Euro per glas. Cakes 1.90 Euro, maccarons 1 Euro, cupcakes 0.80 Euro.<br />

<br />

Specialty restaurants... El Sombero Tex Mex - forget it if you´re used to Tex Mex food. Haven´t tried out the steaks. Sports Bar - not sure if I want to pay extra for a burger (4.50 Euro).<br />

<br />

Service was good to excellent.<br />

<br />

We´ve been in a regular balcony (Fantastica experience) but we had a chance to tour the Yacht Club. Yacht Club is a totally different thing. Cabins are more like regular balconies but the Top Sail Lounge, the sun deck with bar and the Yacht Club restaurant are looking really great. Includes beverages too.<br />

<br />

Ship: Great hardware, nice design but in some areas the aisles are pretty narrow. So it´s even hard to pass each other.<br />

<br />

steamboats

We sailed the Davina, maybe the shows were geared more towards Americans? The Michael Jackson tribute was absolutely amazing. There were some opera performances that wouldn't be my first choice for entertainment, they were however VERY beautiful and well done. The cast received a standing ovation at every performance.

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Just returned from the MSC Fantasia.

 

 

On the positive side: Good live music in all bars and the atrium.

 

steamboats

Can you elaborate a little more on this? Specifically, how late did the live music in the bars go on a typical night? Was it every bar every night, or just one or two bars each night that featured lived music? Lastly, what kind of music was it?

Sorry to throw a few questions at you, this is one I have been looking for an answer on. Thank you!

Just a note. The food in the Sports Bar is free on Divina.

Can you elaborate a little more on this? Specifically, how late did the live music in the bars go on a typical night? Was it every bar every night, or just one or two bars each night that featured lived music? Lastly, what kind of music was it?

 

Sorry to throw a few questions at you, this is one I have been looking for an answer on. Thank you!

Actually every bar had live music including the atrium. There were different performers like a duo with harp and guitar (but playing modern music), two ladies with piano and violin playing classic music, a female singer accompanied by a piano player, just a piano player...

Can´t be more specific about times as this is not listed in the daily program.

steamboats

BusyBlond,

We had the Michael Jackson show too which was one of the better ones. But most of the singing was recorded (so Michael was singing). The two singers only had two songs or so live.

Anyway all shows were the same mix of acrobatic, dancing and singing - just a different theme.

They were nice (not regarding the fact that the male singer was really bad). But nothing special. I have seen a lot of much better shows.

steamboats

Not even a free cruise will make me to go on NCL again . I don't mind Carnival but not my first choice.

Actually every bar had live music including the atrium. There were different performers like a duo with harp and guitar (but playing modern music), two ladies with piano and violin playing classic music, a female singer accompanied by a piano player, just a piano player...

 

Can´t be more specific about times as this is not listed in the daily program.

 

steamboats

Any jazz, latin music, etc?