NCL Jade or MSC Magnifica - need help deciding **quick, need this today :)**

[Seraphine]

Hi all

 

We've cruised before but not on these two lines. This would also be our first cruise in Europe. The dates work, but I'm not sure if the price difference is the only thing we should consider and would appreciate your input.

 

 

 

NCL Jade - January 2

Mon Jan 2 Malaga, Spain

7:00pm Tue Jan 3 At Sea

Wed Jan 4 Barcelona, Spain 5:00am 7:00pm Thu Jan 5 At Sea

Fri Jan 6 At Sea

Sat Jan 7 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal 8:00am 5:00pm Sun Jan 8 Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands 8:00am 6:00pm Mon Jan 9 Arrecife, Canary Islands 8:00am 6:00pm Tue Jan 10 At Sea

Wed Jan 11 Malaga, Spain 8:00am

Total price for a quad room: CAD $2871

 

 

 

MSC Magnifica - December 27

Tue Dec 27 Venice, Italy

3:00pm Wed Dec 28 Bari, Italy 10:00am 4:00pm Thu Dec 29 At Sea

Fri Dec 30 Rhodes, Greece 7:00am 1:00pm Sat Dec 31 Nazareth / Galilee (Haifa), Israel 1:00pm

Sun Jan 1 Nazareth / Galilee (Haifa), Israel

8:00pm Mon Jan 2 At Sea

Tue Jan 3 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 7:30am 2:00pm Wed Jan 4 At Sea

Thu Jan 5 Venice, Italy 9:00am

Total price for a quad room: CAD $3708

 

 

We have a 6 year old boy and a 2 year old girl, so childcare is an issue (MSC has no babysitting/club for kids under 3, but NCL takes kids 2 and up into their club). I would be willing to overlook this if the itinerary was good.

 

My husband is not a huge fan of Spain (lived there for a time and always likes to go to new places on holidays rather than places he's been before). He's very keen on the Greece/Israel sector of the MSC cruise. I don't know if that's worth an extra $900 to him.

 

Thoughts?

[John Bull]

Both have relatively high on-board pricing, other that that they're chalk & cheese.

 

Itinerary is usually a big factor in europe, these two are very very different, and I'm a little surprised you haven't long-ago zeroed-in on either east or west Mediterranean.

As usual, the Italian ship offers quite short days in port, eg Athens in just a morning??

And a risk of current problems/change of itinerary (Haifa & Athens)

Weather-wise not an ideal time to visit the Med. City sight-seeing is perhaps a better bet in winter, but Xmas-New Year there's likely to be holiday closures.

 

Figures don't make a lot of sense, MSC are usually known for low ticket pricing & free child places.

Perhaps time-of-year is the reason for price differences?

Esp for flights.

 

Not been on Jade, but Magnifica is a beautiful new ship, more stylish than comparativly brash NCL. And rather more formal, esp in the evenings.

 

US ambiance vs Italian ambiance.

MSC is perhaps an acquired-taste for Brits & north Americans.

 

Clientele on Jade is likely to have high proportion of north Americans, english as main language. Magnifica is likely to have high proportion of Italians, italian as main language. "language" means tannoy announcements, best crew fluency (first language for officers etc, second language for waiters, bar staff, etc).

 

MSC date means travel from Canada over Xmas.

NCL date means travel twixmas or New Years Day/eve.

 

Not he sort of decision to make without taking your time to research both ports-of-call and ships.

Without careful research, Jade is probably the safest option.

 

JB :)

[Seraphine]

Both have relatively high on-board pricing, other that that they're chalk & cheese.

 

Itinerary is usually a big factor in europe, these two are very very different, and I'm a little surprised you haven't long-ago zeroed-in on either east or west Mediterranean.

As usual, the Italian ship offers quite short days in port, eg Athens in just a morning??

And a risk of current problems/change of itinerary (Haifa & Athens)

Weather-wise not an ideal time to visit the Med. City sight-seeing is perhaps a better bet in winter, but Xmas-New Year there's likely to be holiday closures.

 

Figures don't make a lot of sense, MSC are usually known for low ticket pricing & free child places.

Perhaps time-of-year is the reason for price differences?

Esp for flights.

 

Not been on Jade, but Magnifica is a beautiful new ship, more stylish than comparativly brash NCL. And rather more formal, esp in the evenings.

 

US ambiance vs Italian ambiance.

MSC is perhaps an acquired-taste for Brits & north Americans.

 

Clientele on Jade is likely to have high proportion of north Americans, english as main language. Magnifica is likely to have high proportion of Italians, italian as main language. "language" means tannoy announcements, best crew fluency (first language for officers etc, second language for waiters, bar staff, etc).

 

MSC date means travel from Canada over Xmas.

NCL date means travel twixmas or New Years Day/eve.

 

Not he sort of decision to make without taking your time to research both ports-of-call and ships.

Without careful research, Jade is probably the safest option.

 

JB :)

 

 

Hi John

 

I really appreciate your post, thank you.

 

I'm a little confused... we aren't travelling from Canada. We're in Scotland, so that's why we're opting for a med cruise this time.

 

It's a short notice option as we've just come off a cruise (14 day Disney TA) that had been long planned for and enjoyed. However because we've got small kids, we're having to research options that fit into the school schedule for the next while. This is really "last minute" for us... normally, we are big planners.

 

To me, I'm more about the ship, and my husband is more about the itinerary. We've both travelled extensively, but him moreso... there's not many options for him to go where he hasn't already gone.

 

We had a hold on the Jade option that ends tonight, hence the urgency in our request.

 

 

UPDATE - we've decided to not go on a cruise this winter, and will put the money towards a bigger holiday this summer. We're hoping to go to Hawaii, and could arrange something for July or August. I had hoped we could have something else in the meantime but neither of us were jumping for joy for either of these options (it was a schedule thing rather than a burning desire to go to the Canaries) and it makes sense to just delay it. Thanks for your help though!

[navybankerteacher]

NCL itinerary is better -- Atlantic islands will have fairly warm conditions, while Bari, Venice and even Rhodes (on MSC) are likely to be damp and cold that time of year. Also child care is significant factor.

[John Bull]

Hi Seraphine,

 

CAD $2871 :confused:

I read the pricing in your post as Canadian dollars.

Rather than Scottish groats :D

 

Neither of your options would have me jumping for joy either, especially without more time to research two lines you've not cruised with.

 

So a wise decision not to cruise over the Xmas school holidays.

At least until the icy blast of winter makes you drool over the Med. :rolleyes:

But I'd rather drool over Hawaii :)

 

JB :)

[Seraphine]

Hi Seraphine,

 

CAD $2871 :confused:

I read the pricing in your post as Canadian dollars.

Rather than Scottish groats :D

 

Neither of your options would have me jumping for joy either, especially without more time to research two lines you've not cruised with.

 

So a wise decision not to cruise over the Xmas school holidays.

At least until the icy blast of winter makes you drool over the Med. :rolleyes:

But I'd rather drool over Hawaii :)

 

JB :)

 

 

So sorry John, I forgot that!

 

Our travel agent is a friend in Canada, and the quotes were in CAD.

[peachquilter]

So sorry John, I forgot that!

 

Our travel agent is a friend in Canada, and the quotes were in CAD.

 

Seraphine - I would jump at the chance to travel on the Jade again. Two years ago we sailed from Southampton down to the Med for two weeks. We have nothing negative to say about the cruise, the ship or the service. One thing we really, really like on NCL is the Freestyle Dining. No formal nights and there are so many restaurants to chose from. We have sailed with NCL on three occasions and by far our favorite and usually the least expensive cruseline.

 

Marilyn

[Seraphine]

Thanks Marilyn - I'll keep that in mind for next time!

 

We may use NCL for our Hawaii holiday (cruise and stay) and the good review is encouraging. We quite like traditional dining, but I'm willing to try anything once :)

 

This board is an incredible asset - I hope you know how good you guys are!