New to MSC

Good Afternoon.

My husband and I primarily sail with Celebrity and occasionally RCCL. Friends of ours sail with MSC only and we are looking to book a cruise together.

Will anyone who has sailed with Celebrity/RCCL be able to compare/contrast the lines?

For reference, we are all active and fun loving in our mid to late 50s, and one 60 yr old!

We primarily cruise RCI, but have also cruised Celebrity. We recently completed our first MSC cruise on Divina. The biggest contrasts we experienced were the customer service issues with MSC. They are not up to RCI/Celebrity standards, and that was our biggest complaint. They are working hard to draw North American cruisers by offering status match (we matched to their Black Card level,) along with very good pricing, and those aspects of it were very nice. It made it very appealing to us to try MSC, however, it won't be enough to keep us coming back. We had two issues that needed to be resolved early on in the cruise that never should have happened, and while they were resolved, it wasn't without aggravation on our part, and frankly, the whole episode left a bad taste in my mouth.

On a more positive note, the ship was gorgeous, and the entertainment was very good. We really enjoyed those aspects of the cruise. We also enjoyed the very international ambiance of the cruise in general.

Personally, I think MSC needs to get their act together if they are going to seriously complete with RCI and Celebrity over the long haul. So, for the time being, we'll continue with RCI/Celebrity.

As stated above, MSC is seriously lacking on the customer service front. This is partly due to their rapid growth in the US/Canadian market in such a fast time frame, but, in my opinion, also due to its European roots. Europeans are much more "independent" (for lack of a better word) when it comes to travel, and mostly life in general. This means you will have a Guest Service department, both onboard and at the call center, that will treat issues much more nonchalantly instead of promptly. Your dining staff will not ask you "how is everything doing?" often, if ever, because they are trained that many Europeans perceive this as being pushy and annoying. Americans sometimes see this as being inattentive. Dinner will take 2 hours, as Europeans tend to treat their meals as whole events, which can lead to frustrated Americans when they feel as though they've spent too much time eating.

However, this is me reciting what I see on these boards, I absolutely loved my cruise on MSC, have another one booked, and have submitted to have off to book a third. I really loved the international passengers on the ship, which came with many different food and music choices, which I liked. Depending on when you go, there could be many children on board, but if you go during a low time or during a more expensive voyage, it will likely be very classy. The ship is very modern and elegant, and I enjoyed the spacious cabins and the pristine lounges. I liked the entertainment options, it was nice to listen to and appreciate opera for a change. However, I did notice a lack of planned ship activities, MSC doesn't nearly compare with Royal or Carnival in that regard. Again, a much more "independent" way of holiday, they assume you will come and amuse yourself.

So, in conclusion, it is just a different experience than Royal, and likely Celebrity too, which I haven't sailed. It is truly worth a shot, and once you move past their terrible Guest Relations team, you may find yourself falling in love with a new cruise line, or realizing why you love your regular cruise line. Best of luck on your cruising! :)

I've sailed Divina in both a regular balcony cabin and also several times in the Yacht Club. If you price Yacht Club against NCL's Haven or Celebrity's Suites you will be amazed at how much less MSC's pricing is. We are Diamond on Royal and Elite Plus on Celebrity. We loved MSC.

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