Celebrity vs MSC

We're avid fans of Celebrity cruises and have cruised with them a number of times. My sister and her husband have been frequent cruisers on Holland America and are now getting ready for their first cruise on the MSC Davina in the eastern Caribbean. They say they've done their research and are excited to try a new line for them.

For anyone who has cruised MSC what do you think?

Been on Celebrity and others. Never on MSC however Ive read enough reviews across all lines to know MSC scores a fair bit lower than X and other mainstream lines. Personally whilst the odd bad review has to be taken with a pinch of salt, a pattern of poor reviews suggests underlying problems. For me, the food and the 'Italian' trait of not queuing/pushing would irritate me.

However they do seem to still get pasengers onboard so must appeal to some.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

We have been on three Celebrity cruises and one MSC cruise. Celebrity is much better, and we are willing to pay considerable more to go on Celebrity versus MSC. For our cruise in three weeks, we are paying an additional $1800 to take our kids. We would not go on MSC again. If it was all we could we afford, we would do a land based vacation that fit within that same budget.

Here is a review of the one MSC cruise that we did back in February of 09:

"While we had a good time, we would not cruise MSC again or recommend it. We have done both Princess and Celebrity and there is no comparison. We chose MSC because of the ports of call and the difference in price with the kids sail free option. Next time we will pay to take our 14 month old on a different line. It just wasn't worth it.

Embarkation and debarkation went extremely smoothly. We arrived at the ship around 12 and were inside and had our dinner table changed by 12:40 or so. They had put us on the first dinner seating even though we requested 2nd. As soon as we got on the ship we went to get it corrected and they were very accomadating. Embarkation and debarkation was a very fast and efficient system. If you have a tough flight to catch I recommend getting a porter to help you with your bags. Ours got us a cab as soon as we got out and there was a sea of people waiting for cabs.

On both of our previous cruises, Princess 10 day and Celebrity 11 day, we had normal balconies. This cruise we got an aft bacony, 8195. We did have concerns when booking the cruise with engine noise and being directly above the shaker lounge. We called MSC and talked to their reps and asked about noise from the engine and the lounge. they assured us that you would not hear either. Well they were partially right. The first three nights when the ship was traveling 20 knots we could not hear the lounge because of the engine noise and vibration. They were both nonstop. We had to open the closet doors partially, but not all the way, because of the rattling. You could not have any glass touching anyhthing, fruit bowl and plate etc. it was so loud when sitting out on our balcony you could not talk to each other in a normal voice, you couldn't hear each other. I have never experienced anything like that. The 4th night we were only traveling 80 miles and the boat was going half speed so there was no engine noise. Of course that meant at 10pm the shaker lounge speaker in our room was activated. Good lord. I apoligize to whomever was in 8197 sorry about the crying. Our 14 month old son was up from 11pm to 3am. To say the staff was useless that night, might be an insult to those that consider themself useless. It's always amazing how people can understand you until there is a problem, then there is a language barrier. And while I agree with others that the majority of the staff was very nice, I think just about every employee from italy was rude. It was amazing. My wife said she's not sure if she wants to go to Italy any more if everyone there is this rude. The next day they moved us to a different room but only had one available because a family had debarked in Antigua.

Our dinner server and waiter were very helpful and did an excellent job. Constantin and Carlo also did an excellent job talking and playing with our son. You just have to realize that you will have to ask for a water refill every time you want it. They were working their butts off because the ship was so full.

"Hunger is the best spice." I was amused the first time in my life I heard this phrase and laughed about how true it is. Well, it definitely applied to their food. Bland is the best way to describe the food. I don't think they used many spices at all. Very blah. The caprese salad was fantastic and our server got it for us on the final night even though it wasn't on the menu. I had a steak three different times and they were not good. Very mediocre cut of meat that was not tender. I am amazed at people who said the lobster was good, it was very low quality and not good. Your best option is to do the sit down lunch and breakfast vs the buffet, the quality is much better.

The rudeness of the guests was mind blowing as well. It is sad when a simple excuse me or thank you become so scarce. Their were so many loud and rude people it was disappointing. We had a couple large tables full of Italian Americans near us at dinner. It was as loud as a HS cafeteria the whole time.

The thing that impressed me most about the ship was the number of lounges that they had. It seemed like every 30 feet you walked you were in a new area with different music. From a live piano player to people dancing the selection was very wide and appealing. Plenty of places to sit down and relax.

St Maarten was our favorite stop and the definitely have the best duty free shopping of the four stops.

Overall we enjoyed ourselves but that was a product of our attitude, not this cruise. When reading all of the reviews prior to the cruise I kept a positive attitude and kept reassuring my wife. I told her it doesn't matter how the cruise is we can just sit out on our balcony and enjoy each other and the view. With our room we couldn't do that until last 3 days. There are just too many other options out there that are far superior for a little more money for us to do this line again. i've even read some people enjoyed the food which is mind blowing. I don't think there were two dishes that I would be proud to serve at my home. but that's the beauty of their being so many lines to choose from, something for everyone. I don't know if our blacony was so much louder because it was the lowest level of aft balcony or what. We will just stick with the normal balcony in the future and a different line.

Good luck to those of you about to head out and enjoy yourself. There will be plenty of people complaining about how bad it is because there will be many unhappy people. Be sure to avoid them and enjoy your time there. When everyone was debarking in Nassau we went out and walked the deck rather than wait in line with the complainers. It makes such a huge difference.

Josh"

If you want to follow the whole thread here is the link, it's not very long:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=933937

Was on the Davina last year. The Yacht Club was fabuloso:D Amazing - can't praise it sufficiently. 7 star facilities, amenities, food and service. Superb.

However, I wouldn't cruise on her if I wasn't in the Yacht Club (suite section). Say no more.

When are they looking at going?

We have friends that sailed the Reflection with us last Nov that are booked in May. And another couple that are booked in Sept on the Davina.

Thanks to all the posters for sharing their information. I think they are planning to go in April. I'm hoping they have booked in the Yacht Club category.

With the exception of the Yacht Club there is simply no comparison. MSC is crowded, crass and noisy. The ships themselves are beautiful but in my opinion the food, entertainment and service are way below even Carnival standards.

However, I've only cruised with them in Europe and I've heard reports that the general standard of MSC is raised once the ships leave the waters of the Med. You might find they are at least OK in the Caribbean but nowhere near Celebrity standard.

I agree with jhans24 and gek. Ships are beautiful, but food and entertainment not up to Celebrity, Princess, or RCCL. I would never book again. Some of the staff seemed rude at times. We did a b2b in the Caribbean on the new Orchestra a few years ago. (friends convinced us to go with them). Very smokey casino, and other inside areas as well.

hello Susie b

for what it is worth here goes,

we have booked celebrity (1st time) for a Sydney to Hawaii cruise,as we have never been on celebrity before,i cannot comment on their ships, but, I can comment on the msc poesia from keil in Germany to Iceland and return.

firstly it was a wonderfull cruise to see the volcano (we got close-up) that stopped one side of the world from travelling (that was not so good),secondly the ship etc

the poesia was as spotless as any cruise ship we have been on, the general staff (cabin and entertainment and bar) were as good as we have found on any cruise,we had previously cruised on four cruise ships and found the food on msc poesia was up there with all of them.

the major staff reception etc left a lot to be desired,they were (especially the complaints section) as as rude as you would find.

I believe the crew entertainers last night show with the water fountains etc, was probably one of the best pieces of entertainment I have ever seen on a cruise ship.

we travel for destinations, not ships or ships points etc,so what I would say is go with the flow,don't take any crap from people pushing in etc etc ,and I am sure you will have a great time.maybe with your destination you may not encounter a lot of " pushers etc . then at the end of it all ,theycan make a decision on whether it was o.k or not.

always remember 'their on a cruise ship, oh what a feeling'

happy cruisin

Sailed once on Poesia in 2010. Just done our 6th cruise on Celebrity. Say no more! No comparison in my opinion.

Beryl

We're avid fans of Celebrity cruises and have cruised with them a number of times. My sister and her husband have been frequent cruisers on Holland America and are now getting ready for their first cruise on the MSC Davina in the eastern Caribbean. They say they've done their research and are excited to try a new line for them.

 

For anyone who has cruised MSC what do you think?

We just did both cruise lines back to back. Although we were on a full ship charter on the MSC Divina the heart and sole of MSC was still there. MSC is very different from any other cruise line. The Divina is trying hard to Modify their product a little but the heart and sole of their Italian product is still there. (They've hired a number of bar staff and servers from Carnival and Royal).

Food is always very subjective, but we found it VERY good, especially the pasta dishes. The buffet has a very large selection, but one does have to walk through all the sections to see the offerings (we witnessed several people just grab a table in the first section and complain about the lack of choices).

One highlight for us was our meal at the Galaxy Disco Restaurant, there is little to no information available online about the venue, but we were very glad we tried it. The service and food was impeccable! (Especially the scallops and the lobster pasta)

A little tip about the cabins, you have to insert your key card in a slot to turn on the lights in the cabin. If you don't take your key card out the attendant won't service your cabin because he/she thinks you are still in the cabin. (We witnessed a few people who kept a different card in there all the time and get upset their cabin was serviced).

The other thing, the ship is Gorgeous!! Also, the ship's in house production shows are not to be missed! They literally blow the competition away in quality!

We would have no issue sailing the Divina again!

Results are in...they loved it!

MSC vs Celebrity is like a comparison between Kia and Mercedes Benz!!! :D

While Celebrity offers a lot of extra Premium benefits, MSC just offers basic features and has many items at extra cost which other lines offer for free.

So if you are used to Celebrity or Princess, you will be disappointed with MSC, IMHO.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app