Let's compare MSC to Costa :)

[hsb5956]

Greetings All;

 

I have not cruised on MSC as of yet but considered the Canadian Maritime & Caribbean combo cruise 19 nights. Was on Costa 2010 older ship the Classica Asia cruise 13 nights Hong Kong, Taiwan, 4 stops in Japan, ended in Shanghai China. First off was an older ship showed her age but nice main central lounge area. Was cold weather for most of the trip so pool / deck activities were limited. Food was okay but not great some dishes were very tasty others not. Did not thing the lounge combo musicians were great but did ad a liveliness to pre dinner cocktail hours in the main central lounge. Only attempted 1 show and walked out was not very good. To be honest this trip was destination oriented touring almost every day and will late seating at 9:15 PM a leisurely dinner socializing was great then off to bed being needing to up early to catch the tours. Only had out of the 13 days 3 days on ship cruising which were catch up days laundry e-mail letter writing reading resting sleeping in. Did play trivia a couple times during cocktail hour or late morning. The small games that happened at cocktail time were sort of annoying mainly being they were repeated in 5 or 6 languages as all announcements were. Cabins were basic simply furnished but very old beat up dirty very worn and stained capering was in several cabins all had the same carpet issue needed to be replaced. Not much mingling between non English speakers and others or attempts to communicate. English speakers were about 20% of the 1,200 some passengers. But did develop friendships with 6 or 7 others. Staff were efficient smiles but not much communication with passengers looked way overworked. In some cases I felt management was overbearing not very cooperative when issues arose were very un pro the customer mainly small issues.

 

Tours were a let down in Japan Costa contracted with Grayline poor communication poor narratives but did get you to see sights as transportation. For the price of the tours should of been better run.

 

All and all was a okay cruise being Costa is the cousin to Carnival from that one sets certain expectations and it was better Costa then Carnival as an adult cruise. and older ship experience. Great value 3 cabin class upgrades had a mid deck porthole cabin was traveling solo with single supplement $1,600.00.

 

Yes I would cruise Costa again and cruise on MSC 5the international flavor is fun and different one needs to adjust ones expectations. Look at it this way we travel to other countries to experience other cultures so taking a Italian cruise company is an extension of the international experience.

 

Please your input thoughts comparisons please could be a interesting thread. Will post this as well on the Costa board as well.

 

Smooth Sailings To All

 

HSB5956 / Hugh

[Capricruiser]

There are many "MSC vs. Costa" threads on this forum. OP, please use the search option and you'll find all the answers you'd like. Let's not reinvent the wheel another time.

[Deckhandoug]

As you can see, both attract a certain class of passenger

[AmoMondo]

Hi Hugh

 

Like you, I've only sailed once on Costa and that was on an older smaller ship (Romantica) and that was for the itinerary which was amazing.

 

I found a few things better than MSC, some similar but on the whole, prefereed MSC. That said the vast majority of my MSC cruises have been on larger newer ships, so probably not fair to make comparisons.

 

The evening shows were definitely better on MSC, as were their spa packages.

[hsb5956]

Greetings AmoMondo ;

 

I see your from Scotland great part of the world was to the Edinburgh Festival 2006. Would like to celebrate New Years at one of the Scottish Castles some time heard it is fun.

 

I saw on your MSC list a couple itineraries I would enjoy and have been pondering. Italy - South America I assume very small group of English speakers on this one Italian Spanish Portuguese German then English speakers last?

Italy - Africa sounds wonderful as well.

 

The Costa Romantica and Classica which I was on are sister ships I liked the layout the main central lounge concept probably it's biggest plus.

 

How would differentiate the food quality, service , and ambiance dinning wise between MSC and Costa?

 

The buffet food on Costa was very uninspiring but adequate. Your input?

 

I found the worst thing but funny in a way was here I am in Asia en route to China and for tea they served Lipton Yellow Label and Green Lipton Tea as was what they called tea time in the afternoon just buffet goodies and tea and coffee not severed to you even. Such is life :) HA HA

 

Do you see any differences in between the two as far as customer service and staff attitude goes?

 

Smooth Sailings;

 

Hugh / hsb5956

[AmoMondo]

Hi again Hugh

 

I've added comments below to your questions - hope they help.

Greetings AmoMondo ;

 

I see your from Scotland great part of the world was to the Edinburgh Festival 2006. Would like to celebrate New Years at one of the Scottish Castles some time heard it is fun.

 

I saw on your MSC list a couple itineraries I would enjoy and have been pondering. Italy - South America I assume very small group of English speakers on this one Italian Spanish Portuguese German then English speakers last? Not so many Italians but loads of Brazilians and a fairly large group of germans. probably a few hundred English speakers onboard

Italy - Africa sounds wonderful as well. There were around 400 or so English speakers on this one and yes it was a fab cruise.

 

The Costa Romantica and Classica which I was on are sister ships I liked the layout the main central lounge concept probably it's biggest plus.

 

How would differentiate the food quality, service , and ambiance dinning wise between MSC and Costa? I found that Costa did not have as many choices available as MSC, but most of what I had tatsed nice particularly at dinner. I found Costa's buffet (not that I'm a great fan of buffets) ok - thought the salad selection could have been better. Service was similar - cabin and bar staff on both lines are great. Costa a little bit keener to try to sell you packages etc. Dining staff were similar - some excellent, some good and a few a bit indifferent. On Costa, despite the Maitre D' instructing the wait staff to seat me at an English speaking table almost every lunch time, they stuck me with germans - which was the worst option for me. Had they been French, Spanish, or Italian instead of English speaking, I'd at least been able to converse a bit. Thought MSC had a bit more life to the ship particularly in the evenings - didn't seem to be a lot going on on the Romantica after dinner.

 

The buffet food on Costa was very uninspiring but adequate. Your input?I'd agree with that. Difficult to compare on MSC as I almost never go to the buffet unless I miss the main dining room time. From the few times I've been, thought there was more choice - there certainly was a better selection of salads and fresh fruits. (Could be because they were larger ships though)

 

I found the worst thing but funny in a way was here I am in Asia en route to China and for tea they served Lipton Yellow Label and Green Lipton Tea as was what they called tea time in the afternoon just buffet goodies and tea and coffee not severed to you even. Such is life :) HA HA

 

Do you see any differences in between the two as far as customer service and staff attitude goes? pretty similar really although Costa may have the edge. Costa certainly seem to be a tad more organised.

 

Smooth Sailings;

 

Hugh / hsb5956

[jff50]

As you can see, both attract a certain class of passenger

Based on the reviews and comments I have read, they don't seem to appeal to the ugly American. I suggest that you stick to to those cruise lines that do.

[Deckhandoug]

Based on the reviews and comments I have read, they don't seem to appeal to the ugly American. I suggest that you stick to to those cruise lines that do.

 

Sorry, we can't comment on MSC vs Costa, the Ugly Italian has declared there are enough threads on this subject and to stop posting.:rolleyes:

 

Enjoy your cruise, I'm sure you will find yourself right at home:D

[jff50]

Enjoy your cruise, I'm sure you will find yourself right at home:D

Actually, I won't find myself right at home--since my preferred/most traveled cruise line (far and away) is Princess. But I'm open minded enough to recognize, appeciate and enjoy that there are several ways of doing things--and each has it's pros and cons.