MSC Cruise line - OK for Americans

Good morning all!

I am sure that somebody has answered this in the past but I needed some current feedback.

My history with cruising is that I am a RCCL Diamond member. I am sailing the Splendour out of Venice in Nov '14 (including this 2014 cruise I will have cruised 4 times to Europe). I like to book cruises at least a year in advance & saw one that caught my eye (the ports that it is going to are ports that I have not been too). It is a Mediterranean cruise out of La Spezia, Italy on the MSC Armonia for Oct'15. I tried finding cruises with RCCL but this cruise is at least $400 cheaper! I recently sailed on the MSC Divina for a short 2 night cruise to the Bahamas to get a feel for MSC. As this ship was "Americanized" I did not get the true European feeling of the ship.

I was wondering if any Americans have cruised MSC in Europe recently & what they felt about the ship, the fellow passengers & the crew. I do speak English & Spanish. Did they have announcements in English (I know that they have multiple announcements in multiple languages) & if you booked shore excursions with MSC did they provide a tour guide in English?As far as size of ship I have sailed 3600+ on RCCL & the Splendour this Nov will be just over 2k passengers so size of ship does not concern me.

Thank you to anybody that can help me with this?

I'm not American so can't comment on that aspect of your question. I have sailed a lot in the Med and this year on the Armonia. She is a much smaller ship than the Divina but still rather elegant and charming - not all the bells and whistles though of the Fantasia class. She will have been stretched by the dates you're considering so as well as having some new balcony cabins, may have a few extra features.

It is mostly 5 languages spoken onboard (occasionally 6) of which English is always one. The others are Italian, Spanish, French and German. There are very few announcements though (thankfully). Italians are likely to be the biggest majority followed closely by Germans. There can be literally dozens of nationalities onboard. I almost never do shore excursions so can't comment on them.

Thank you AmoMondo. As I see you are from the UK & you speak English did you find it hard in finding other passengers to speak with? As I stated I speak English & Spanish but just curious.

I'm not American so can't comment on that aspect of your question. I have sailed a lot in the Med and this year on the Armonia. She is a much smaller ship than the Divina but still rather elegant and charming - not all the bells and whistles though of the Fantasia class. She will have been stretched by the dates you're considering so as well as having some new balcony cabins, may have a few extra features.

 

It is mostly 5 languages spoken onboard (occasionally 6) of which English is always one. The others are Italian, Spanish, French and German. There are very few announcements though (thankfully). Italians are likely to be the biggest majority followed closely by Germans. There can be literally dozens of nationalities onboard. I almost never do shore excursions so can't comment on them.

Thank you AmoMondo. As I see you are from the UK & you speak English did you find it hard in finding other passengers to speak with? As I stated I speak English & Spanish but just curious.

Not at dinner as they always seat you with English speaking passengers. On some cruises there weren't very many English speaking passengers. I'm not bothered about chatting at breakfast, to be frank, I'm a bit anti social until a wee while after breakfast and I've woken up properly!

Sometimes at lunch in the MDR, there weren't other passengers around who spoke English. If I was seated wit people who could speak French, Spanish or Italian, I'd have a go and so often would they, sometimes it was hilarious. As I travel on my own, I'm quite used to my own company and like to do ports on my own anyway. At bars before or after dinner, if passengers around me didn't want to chat or didn't speak the same languages, I'd invariably chat to the crew.

If it is really important to you to be on a cruise where you can talk to a lot of other passengers, MSC might not suit. Then again if you like meeting new people from different countries with different mannerisms and behaviours, you may well enjoy it. I think for the Med, MSC are a great choice as you get to experience the Mediterranean way onboard as well as ashore.

Thank you for the information. It is not that important for me to be on a cruise to talk to "hundreds" of other passengers. I mainly go on a cruise for the itinerary (which again this one caught my eye). You are correct that it might be interesting meeting others from different nationalities. I am slowly leaning towards MSC but will do a bit more research.

Again. Thanks!

Not at dinner as they always seat you with English speaking passengers. On some cruises there weren't very many English speaking passengers. I'm not bothered about chatting at breakfast, to be frank, I'm a bit anti social until a wee while after breakfast and I've woken up properly!

 

Sometimes at lunch in the MDR, there weren't other passengers around who spoke English. If I was seated wit people who could speak French, Spanish or Italian, I'd have a go and so often would they, sometimes it was hilarious. As I travel on my own, I'm quite used to my own company and like to do ports on my own anyway. At bars before or after dinner, if passengers around me didn't want to chat or didn't speak the same languages, I'd invariably chat to the crew.

 

If it is really important to you to be on a cruise where you can talk to a lot of other passengers, MSC might not suit. Then again if you like meeting new people from different countries with different mannerisms and behaviours, you may well enjoy it. I think for the Med, MSC are a great choice as you get to experience the Mediterranean way onboard as well as ashore.

My history with cruising is that I am a RCCL Diamond member.

I was wondering if any Americans have cruised MSC in Europe recently & what they felt about the ship, the fellow passengers & the crew. I do speak English & Spanish. Did they have announcements in English (I know that they have multiple announcements in multiple languages) & if you booked shore excursions with MSC did they provide a tour guide in English?As far as size of ship I have sailed 3600+ on RCCL & the Splendour this Nov will be just over 2k passengers so size of ship does not concern me.

Thank you to anybody that can help me with this?

I am not American but Canadian so hope I can help.

I sailed on the Armonia this year in May. I also loved the ports. I also sailed on the Preziosa last October.The Preziosa was full of children as it was half term in Europe and children sail free.Very few on the Armonia.

I am Diamond on RCCL and also on Carnival. Not fond of Norwegian as I dislike their freestyle dining. I like to get to know my tablemates. I usually travel solo but my son joined me on the Armonia.

I love MSC in Europe as you are "abroad" once you set foot on the ship.

The announcements were few but were in many languages.

The tours are usually with English and German speakers mixed together so in both languages. I have heard that if not enough English speakers etc the tours might be cancelled.

There were Americans, Australians, South Africans, Canadians and British on board so lots of English speaking.

Let me know if you need any more information.

I did a Baltic cruise with RCCL a couple of years ago from Stockholm and the announcements on that were in many languages also.

This is a review of the Armonia a week after mine.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2054885&highlight=armonia+review

Thank you for the information. Good to know there were many English speaking passengers on your cruise. I read your review of the Armonia & looks like you had a good time. I believe I am slowing "leaning" towards the Armonia due to the price & the ports (which I have not been to any of them -= Marseilles, France - Palma De Mallorca, Spain - Valetta, Malta - Messina & Salerto, Italy). The only item that I will have to get used to if I book this cruise is once onboard the currency will be the Euro. Again, thanks for your information & I enjoyed your review :)

I am not American but Canadian so hope I can help.

I sailed on the Armonia this year in May. I also loved the ports. I also sailed on the Preziosa last October.The Preziosa was full of children as it was half term in Europe and children sail free.Very few on the Armonia.

I am Diamond on RCCL and also on Carnival. Not fond of Norwegian as I dislike their freestyle dining. I like to get to know my tablemates. I usually travel solo but my son joined me on the Armonia.

I love MSC in Europe as you are "abroad" once you set foot on the ship.

The announcements were few but were in many languages.

The tours are usually with English and German speakers mixed together so in both languages. I have heard that if not enough English speakers etc the tours might be cancelled.

There were Americans, Australians, South Africans, Canadians and British on board so lots of English speaking.

Let me know if you need any more information.

I did a Baltic cruise with RCCL a couple of years ago from Stockholm and the announcements on that were in many languages also.

 

This is a review of the Armonia a week after mine.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2054885&highlight=armonia+review

I am currently living in Germany (non military) living on the Economy like a local. I speak very little German. However, even the street vendors and homeless people speak more than enough English to communicate. I have had very interesting conversations that are combinations of both languages and we always seem to figure out what the other person means! I rarely get a chance to even practice my German. So if there are a lot of Germans on board good possibility you can communicate with them! Good chance for Brits too which would expand your options!

Also, if you want to avoid a lot of kids---you can find the school holidays online. We get 6 wks summer, 2 wks fall, 3 wks Xmas and 2 wks at Easter. Plus a myriad of long holiday weekends in May/June. They stagger the weeks a bit so the entire country isn't off the same dates.

I wouldn't let it stop me from taking a cruise I liked. We tried to book a MSC Baltic one for next week but all the 4 person cabins were sold out and ended up on NCL. However MSC prices are much better. We actually like NCL because of the Freestyle dining but we have kids and like the flexibility. I am hoping to take the Splendida out of Barcelona in December depending upon how broke we are after this Baltics trip next week!!!

http://www.schoolholidayseurope.eu/

Thank you for the information. Good to know there were many English speaking passengers on your cruise. I read your review of the Armonia & looks like you had a good time.

Again, thanks for your information & I enjoyed your review :)

Sorry that was not my review but was by Steph7021. I posted the link as I thought you might be interested in a recent review of the Armonia.

Sorry I did not notice that but thank you for posting a link because it was quite helpful :)

Sorry that was not my review but was by Steph7021. I posted the link as I thought you might be interested in a recent review of the Armonia.

Well it's done. :) I went ahead & booked this cruise for October 2015. I am going to give MSC in Europe & try. Thank you all for the information & comments!:)

Well it's done. :) I went ahead & booked this cruise for October 2015. I am going to give MSC in Europe & try. Thank you all for the information & comments!:)

Keep an eye out for news and reviews regarding the Armonia following her "Renaissance":

The MSC Lirica renaissance programme will follow the dry dock schedule below:

• MSC Armonia (2004): 31 August to 17 November 2014

• MSC Sinfonia (2005): 12 January to 16 March 2015

• MSC Opera (2004): 2 May to 4 July 2015

• MSC Lirica (2003): 31 August to 9 November 2015

The four Lirica Class ships were built between 2003 and 2005 at the STX yards in Saint-Nazaire, France. They are currently 251 metres long, weigh 60,000 tons and carry 2,069 travellers. After the “renaissance programme”, the ships will be 275 meters long, weigh 65,000 tons and carry 2,680 travellers, boasting 193 additional cabins (plus 59 new cabins for crew members).

Wow! Thank you for the information. I knew the ship was going in drydock for 3 months but I did not know it was going to be that extensive. When I was booking yesterday the vacation planner asked if I wanted a cabin on Deck 11 & I thought it was weird when Deck 11 is currently the pool deck. He told me the ship was going into dry dock but didn't know how much was changing. To play it safe I booked a cabin that I can "see" now (on Deck 10) but will be interesting once all the changes are made. :)

Wow! Thank you for the information. I knew the ship was going in drydock for 3 months but I did not know it was going to be that extensive. When I was booking yesterday the vacation planner asked if I wanted a cabin on Deck 11 & I thought it was weird when Deck 11 is currently the pool deck. He told me the ship was going into dry dock but didn't know how much was changing. To play it safe I booked a cabin that I can "see" now (on Deck 10) but will be interesting once all the changes are made. :)

Main changes are they are exerting a block of balcony cabins in the middle of the ship. There currently aren't any, just balcony suits, outsides and insides.

The UK site has just the accommodation deck plans for post stretch showing the location of the extra cabins. They have not as yet published what they are doing with the extra section on the public decks of 5 & 6 where the lounges, bars, shops, restaurants and reception etc are located or what they are doing to the middle of the pool deck.

Marie ... It was last year when we were on Opera and we were talking to one of the members of staff from the Duty Free about the size of the shop, he told us that the shops were going to be remodeled and made somewhat larger. It will be interesting to see if that is in fact what they do.

Well it's done. :) I went ahead & booked this cruise for October 2015. I am going to give MSC in Europe & try. Thank you all for the information & comments!:)

Hi usateg, I am from the US and sailed back to back to cruises on MSC last September from both coasts of Italy. The ships were great Orchestra and Fantasia, the ports were wonderful (they were our 6th and 7th European and 43rd and 44th cruises) and the price was fantastic. We had no problem communicatng with Staff and Crew or

passengers. We are not big drinkers but most other people thought the drink packages were a good deal. Because we were from North America we got drink coupons for 1 liter of water each evening in the dining room, the food was very good in the dining room, the buffet was typical. As stated earlier they sell tours based on language and if not enough sign up it could be cancelled. This happened on one of the tours we wanted so we agreed to join a German/Italian group. The guide could also speak English so she did give us some comentary in English. The evening shows were the best we've seen in a long time, don't miss them! You just need to be flexable and have a good attitude and you will have a great time, I know we did.

Marie ... It was last year when we were on Opera and we were talking to one of the members of staff from the Duty Free about the size of the shop, he told us that the shops were going to be remodeled and made somewhat larger. It will be interesting to see if that is in fact what they do.

Well I wouldn't mind the shops being a bit bigger,, they are a bit cramped but I'd really prefer extension to the restaurant and an extra bar if they're carrying more passengers. A speciality restaurant might be nice too. Actually if they don't extend the restaurant, we will be sitting on each other's knees as it don't recall there being masses of space to accommodate extra tables.

Guess they will also need a few extra crew cabins as well.

Guess we will need to wait until they eventually get around to publishing the full new deck plans.

Wow! Thank you for the information. I knew the ship was going in drydock for 3 months but I did not know it was going to be that extensive. When I was booking yesterday the vacation planner asked if I wanted a cabin on Deck 11 & I thought it was weird when Deck 11 is currently the pool deck. He told me the ship was going into dry dock but didn't know how much was changing. To play it safe I booked a cabin that I can "see" now (on Deck 10) but will be interesting once all the changes are made. :)

Congratulations on booking! We're Americans and have greatly enjoyed our MSC cruises. Have a wonderful cruise!

This thread has been very interesting to me with the information on the stretching of the Lirica-class ships. I'm considering either the Sinfonia or the Orchestra for a Norway cruise next summer (currently booked on NCL for a 14-night cruise, but might have to change to a shorter itinerary). For the Sinfonia (due to be stretched early 2015), I've checked both MSC USA and various travel agent sites, but nobody shows "regular balcony" (non-suite) cabins at all. :confused: Did you book through MSC USA, or a travel agent?

Thank you, Beamafar and AmoMondo, for the information on the upcoming changes (especially the deck plans...of course they aren't on the US site, and I would not have thought of looking on the UK site!).

 

Thank you for the information on the upcoming changes (especially the deck plans...of course they aren't on the US site, and I would not have thought of looking on the UK site!).

Unfortunately MSC hasn't divulged the new layouts and additions in the "renaissance" refits.

I booked directly through MSC USA.

Congratulations on booking! We're Americans and have greatly enjoyed our MSC cruises. Have a wonderful cruise!

 

This thread has been very interesting to me with the information on the stretching of the Lirica-class ships. I'm considering either the Sinfonia or the Orchestra for a Norway cruise next summer (currently booked on NCL for a 14-night cruise, but might have to change to a shorter itinerary). For the Sinfonia (due to be stretched early 2015), I've checked both MSC USA and various travel agent sites, but nobody shows "regular balcony" (non-suite) cabins at all. :confused: Did you book through MSC USA, or a travel agent?

 

Thank you, Beamafar and AmoMondo, for the information on the upcoming changes (especially the deck plans...of course they aren't on the US site, and I would not have thought of looking on the UK site!).

I booked directly through MSC USA.

Thanks. I will give them a call.