Change from RCI to MSC -- differences?

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Hi everybody,

 

We did 2 med cruises with RCI in 2012 and 2013...We loved them both. Now we're looking into a cruise on the MSC Magnifica next August, which sails to Scotland and Ireland from Hamburg. Will we be likely to like it as well? What are the main differences?

 

 

Thank you for all your thoughts!

 

Stef

[Elmartellama]

We're in the same situation, since so far we've only sailed wiith the Liberty of the Seas. We have given MSC a try and we'll be sailing on the MSC Fantasia out of Venice next June.

 

In general, the most common opinions over here are:

 

- MSC focuses on the European market (implying you may "suffer" a minor cultural shock if you are american)

- MSC has a more varied and international audience. It seems that some people are annoyed because of multilingual announcements.

- Food: subjective, some say worse, some say better, some say it's the same

- Shows: little use of languages, more visual

- Kids: having more nationalities this is a problem to many english speaking families

- Service: they don't smile all the time for the whole day. More "european" attitude.

 

Good MSC aspects:

 

- Nice beautiful ships

 

- People also seem to praise, in general, the Allegrissimo package. Some say good value, some say it's not that much worth it. Many critics to the quality of wine included.

 

I've booked MSC because:

 

- The MSC Fantasia is a very nice ship and has the features we need: many swiming pools, many jacuzzis, nice interiors, 20h buffet

 

- The itinerary is the best departing out of Venice by far. My opinion

 

- The price was very good

 

Things I'm afraid of

 

- They don't offer My Time Dining. That's a big minus to us. We don't want to be seated at a table where people may have prejudices towards us or our way of life, even if they are polite and behave. I know I am a bit paranoical, but all the same we like it better when we can have our guaranteed table for 2 at the time we want to eat.

 

Of course I will ask a table for two once onboard, but that may not be possible

 

Please MSC introduce My Time Dining for once!!!! I know you have something similar for the suites, but it's not that hard to do it for the rest of your customers.

Edited September 25, 2013 by Elmartellama

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Thank you Elmartellama,

 

Yeah, we really enjoyed the my time dining as well. Bummer. I don't know what times they have for dinner. I'd rather sit at a table with a lot of people...but I don't speak any Italian. Is that the most frequented language on an MSC ship? Since we'll leave out of Hamburg I'd expect a lot of German speakers as well, which would be great for our kid.

 

My parents went on a cruise on the MSC Musica and loved it!

 

So excited! and I'll write an extensive review afterwards:D.

 

Stef

[AmoMondo]

Thank you Elmartellama,

 

Yeah, we really enjoyed the my time dining as well. Bummer. I don't know what times they have for dinner. I'd rather sit at a table with a lot of people...but I don't speak any Italian. Is that the most frequented language on an MSC ship? Since we'll leave out of Hamburg I'd expect a lot of German speakers as well, which would be great for our kid.

 

My parents went on a cruise on the MSC Musica and loved it!

 

So excited! and I'll write an extensive review afterwards:D.

 

Stef

 

In the Med, a lot of passengers will be Italian but there are always a lot of Germans too. On Western itineraries there will also be French and Spanish too. English speakers are a much smaller number but at dinner they always seat you with people who spaek your language and if possible, nationality. Sometimes at the English speaking tables you also get Scandinavians but they speak English as well as we do. I always ask to be seated at a large table on second sitting and often am at a table of 8, occasionally smaller (as first dinner tends to be more popular with English speakers for some reason)

[tbmrt]

Prior post - comment re: MSC offering My Time Dining in future:

- They don't offer My Time Dining. That's a big minus to us. We don't want to be seated at a table where people may have prejudices towards us or our way of life, even if they are polite and behave. I know I am a bit paranoical, but all the same we like it better when we can have our guaranteed table for 2 at the time we want to eat.

 

Of course I will ask a table for two once onboard, but that may not be possible

 

Please MSC introduce My Time Dining for once!!!! I know you have something similar for the suites, but it's not that hard to do it for the rest of your customers.

 

Since we like to dine alone sometimes, we chose My Time Dining on RC and found that the seating for 2 was only available in bad locations in the dining room. Although we asked to be changed to a new location on 2 nights, the only tables for 2 were sort of in the back of the upper dining room. Felt like we were "in a corner" and couldn't enjoy the "ambiance" of the dining room, any speeches, waiters show, do much "people-watching, etc.

 

Think we'll stick with regular dining in the future. This always worked out for us except for 1 occasion when we had to ask to be moved due to 2 really obnoxious tablemates. They complained constantly throughout dinner and we didn't want to spend the rest of our cruise listening to this.

[Elmartellama]

Since we like to dine alone sometimes, we chose My Time Dining on RC and found that the seating for 2 was only available in bad locations in the dining room. Although we asked to be changed to a new location on 2 nights, the only tables for 2 were sort of in the back of the upper dining room. Felt like we were "in a corner" and couldn't enjoy the "ambiance" of the dining room, any speeches, waiters show, do much "people-watching, etc.

 

Think we'll stick with regular dining in the future. This always worked out for us except for 1 occasion when we had to ask to be moved due to 2 really obnoxious tablemates. They complained constantly throughout dinner and we didn't want to spend the rest of our cruise listening to this.

 

Well, on the Liberty of the seas we were seated next to the windows. Even if you are not in the middle of it all, as it was partially a corner, we felt that it was a nice location since there were usually nice views of the sea. We liked that area very much, it was quite relaxing. Oh, what a great memories :D I need cruising so bad!

Edited September 26, 2013 by Elmartellama

[earn]

We have mostly sailed RCI, but took our first MSC cruise in the Caribbean last year. We are booked to sail for 17 nights on Preziosa next march, so I suppose that says it all. Our sons will be 15 and 13 when we cruise, and have really enjoyed the much quieter Teen clubs on Transatlantics on RCI. They did not enjoy the teen club on Poesia last year, but to be fair don't go much with RCI either if it is not a transatlantic. My only worry for next years cruise is that they will be bored on sea days, odf which there are many! However the thrill of visiting South America for the first time and crossing the equator, will hopefully compensate for that.

 

Overall I would rate MSC and RCI much the same, and agree with most of the comments made already. They don't sell the coke package, which is a big negative for the boys. WE are considering the Allegressimo, but don't drink that much and for four of us for 17 nights it works out at around £1000. last year we bought the drinks packages where you effectively buy 10 and 2 free (I think), and they worked out quite well for us.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise.

[Skier52]

Prior post - comment re: MSC offering My Time Dining in future:

- They don't offer My Time Dining. That's a big minus to us. We don't want to be seated at a table where people may have prejudices towards

 

Please MSC introduce My Time Dining for once!!!! I know you have something similar for the suites, but it's not that hard to do it for the rest of your customers.

 

 

They have gone part way to freedom/ My Time dining.

 

Here is a transcript of two of their press release from November last year Dinner is served in the buffet between 19:00 and 22:00

MSC Cruises’ has recently transformed the buffet restaurants on board MSC Splendida , MSC Fantasia and MSC Poesia . With the help of famous Italian food designer Paolo Barichella from food and lifestyle designers Enocultura , the buffet area has been restyled around new concepts of presentation and service, offering guests a sensational casual dining experience morning, noon and night.

The buffet is the most visited dining area on board, particularly during breakfast and lunch, and continually enhancing this area is a priority for a company which prides itself on making each cruise a gastronomic voyage of discovery.

MSC Cruises has also recently introduced more flexible opening times for the buffet service, with buffet restaurants across the fleet now open non-stop for 20 hours a day, from 6:00 until 2:00, meaning that guests can now satisfy their rumbling stomachs at any time of the day and into the small hours of the morning, with no extra charge. As room service is available 24 hours a day, MSC Cruises has made sure that every hour of the day is covered.

True to its Mediterranean roots, MSC Cruises believes that good food is a way of life and wants guests to experience its Mediterranean approach to dining and to enjoy a vast choice of different proposals wherever and whenever they want to eat.

“The idea behind the new buffet was not only to increase the quality of service and variety of fresh choices, but to create a real gastronomic experience and reshape the way we present food on board,” said Enrico Borniotto, General Manager of MSC Italcatering. “Guests can now enjoy watching our skilled chefs prepare a range of fresh dishes, from MSC’s signature authentic Italian pizzas and breads to perfect sautéed pasta and tasty cuts of meat. Aside from redesigning the area in terms of decoration, we essentially tried to bring on board the concept of the visible kitchen. Some guests cannot imagine that most of the food is fresh on such big ships and that pasta, pizza, bread and desserts are handmade. This is an extraordinary added value and should be presented to guests with great pride.”

“Restyling the buffet areas of the MSC fleet was an exciting project for me, said food designer Paolo Barichella. “I am used to working with restaurants and chefs from all over the world, but this was my very first experience of working for a cruise company. This restyled area will enable guests to discover MSC’s high quality, fresh products in a holistic way.”

The redesigned buffet now includes many different speciality corners, arranged in an appealing way and with a more intuitive feel for guests trying to decide what delicious dishes to pick.

Fruit and vegetables are now sliced and diced in front of guests at the salad and fruit corner, where fresh products are arranged by colour to help guests get the necessary five a day, the ‘colour way’.

The carving show corner provides delicious cuts of meat from turkey to beef, while beef burgers, hotdogs, chips and a selection of sandwiches, piadina wraps and traditional focaccias can be found at the grill take away corner.

Various types of delicious homemade bread, from breadsticks to bread rolls, bretzel buns, rye bread, French baguettes, seed bread rings, grissini, and artistic MSC logo breads can be found at the bakery corner, and guests can even enjoy watching MSC bakers producing the daily selection of bread at the special bakery show corner.

MSC’s authentic Margherita pizza, as well as a pizza of the day, puff pastry jalousie and stuffed calzoni can be found at the pizza corner, while the pasta station offers up different pastas cooked directly in front of guests, including pasta au gratin, home-made stuffed pasta, and ravioli and tortellini.

The Mediterranean corner provides a large selection of traditional cheeses, including provolone, gorgonzola, gouda, grana padano, ricotta, mozzarella, brie, and camembert, as well as cuts of high quality origin-certified cured hams, Mortadella and salami, ready to be carved in front of guests.

Children will be delighted with the specially conceived children’s corner, where they can find a special selection of healthy and tasty items adapted for kids’ taste buds. MSC’s youngest guests will also enjoy the dessert corner, where different sweet treats including cakes, crème bavaroises, cupcakes, puddings, tarts and mousses take pride of place every day.

Five different daily dishes can be found at the daily specials corner, offering a full menu including soup, pasta gratin and sautéed pasta, rice and hot dishes with meat, fish and vegetables, while speciality recipes from a diverse range of countries including Morocco, Spain, Greece, Indonesia, China, Mexico and India can be found at the ethnic corner, which offers four different choices from the daily country of choice.

Finally, guests can find the perfect wine or soft drink for their meal on the tailor-made buffet bar list and at the beverage station, which offers a wide variety of hot and cold drinks.

The redesigned buffet is currently available on board MSC Splendida and will be on board MSC Fantasia and MSC Poesia before they leave Genoa for Brazilian and US shores this month. The project will be rolled out across the whole fleet by summer 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flexible buffet hours reflect MSC’s Mediterranean approach to dining

 

A cruise is a voyage of discovery and MSC Cruises knows that the gastronomic experience is an incredibly important part of this journey. In fact, as a company inspired by Mediterranean values, MSC Cruises knows that good food is about more than just delicious meals, it’s a real way of life. The company is therefore constantly looking for innovative ways to enhance the gastronomic experience on board and, besides the impressive main and speciality restaurants, has recently introduced a more flexible buffet service.

 

The buffet is now open non-stop for 20 hours a day, from 6:00 until 2:00, meaning that guests can now enjoy more flexible times for traditional main meals, as well as satisfying rumbling stomachs at any time of the day and into the small hours of the morning, with no extra charge.

 

These enhancements are a direct reflection of the company’s identity. “Our Mediterranean way of life teaches us the importance of spontaneity,” said MSC Cruises Corporate Product Manager Andrea Gangale. “By extending the buffet service, we have introduced a more relaxed and flexible approach to dining. Our guests can enjoy MSC’s famous Mediterranean and international cuisine whenever they feel like it, and not when the clock dictates that it’s time to eat.”

 

For the most important meal of the day, the buffet has something for everyone. A full breakfast service including a complete continental and cooked breakfast is available from 6:30 to 10:00, while late risers can enjoy a continental breakfast, including pastries, yogurts, delicious cold meats and cheeses, from 10:00 to 12:00.

 

Lunch can also be enjoyed over an extended period, with lunch menus available from 12:00 to 15:30 in the buffet.

 

For those who fancy an afternoon snack or a casual late lunch, the buffet offers guests many options from 15:30 to 18:00, including items from the grill, pizzeria and salad bar, as well as soups, pasta, vegetables, fish and meat specialities, fruit and desserts.

 

The buffet provides a complete and uninterrupted dinner service from 19:00 to 22:00, while the grill is open continuously from noon until 22:00 and the pizzeria corners stay open from noon until midnight.

 

For those who’ve been having too much fun to stop for dinner, a midnight snack is even available in the buffet from midnight until 2:00. As room service is available 24 hours a day, at certain times with an extra charge, MSC Cruises has made sure that every hour of the day is covered.

 

Shifts may vary by half an hour depending on the itinerary and season.

 

Edited September 26, 2013 by Skier52

[Elmartellama]

I don't know, but it looks just as an enhanced buffet, not a proper dining experience where they serve you.

 

I like the My Time Dining in Royal just the way it is, in the MDR :D

[Cruzinbabe06]

Thank you for posting this.

 

We are on the Poesia in October and was concerned about the dining experience.

 

We are a group of 4 adult coworkers, 2 African Americans, 1 Pakistan American and 1 Jamaican American, 1 is a vegetarian and 1 is very picky and if it don't look right, won't go near it.

 

With that being said, reading MSC reviews, I had already decided every meal will be in the dining room.:eek:

 

However, reading this makes me very happy. Like finally someone is listening to all the complaints.

 

For me, this 20 hr. buffet makes me feel like I can relax and not have to rush to dine at certain times and if we miss the dining room a nice meal can still be had in the buffet.

 

It sounds very appealing, especially the ethnic corner, and I will post a full review when we get back.:)

 

I'm so excited.:D

[cruisetrail]

RCI vs MSC has been covered to every detail just recently.

 

Thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1895665

[bltrn]

Hi everybody,

 

We did 2 med cruises with RCI in 2012 and 2013...We loved them both. Now we're looking into a cruise on the MSC Magnifica next August, which sails to Scotland and Ireland from Hamburg. Will we be likely to like it as well? What are the main differences?

 

 

Thank you for all your thoughts!

 

Stef

 

 

Cruisetrail has NEVER cruised on MSC and I would be VERY careful about what he says. :cool:

[AmoMondo]

Thank you for posting this.

 

We are on the Poesia in October and was concerned about the dining experience.

 

We are a group of 4 adult coworkers, 2 African Americans, 1 Pakistan American and 1 Jamaican American, 1 is a vegetarian and 1 is very picky and if it don't look right, won't go near it.

 

With that being said, reading MSC reviews, I had already decided every meal will be in the dining room.:eek:

 

However, reading this makes me very happy. Like finally someone is listening to all the complaints.

 

For me, this 20 hr. buffet makes me feel like I can relax and not have to rush to dine at certain times and if we miss the dining room a nice meal can still be had in the buffet.

 

It sounds very appealing, especially the ethnic corner, and I will post a full review when we get back.:)

 

I'm so excited.:D

 

I'm not a fan of buffet dining anywhere but have to day that the ethnic corner o 'sc is my favourite when I do venture in. May well work for your group with there being differences in what you like to eat.

 

There was an experiment on a ship recently with a small section of my time in the MDR whilst the majority were on 2 seatings. There was a poster who mentioned it but said it felt a bit weird as they were dining crossing the time of the seating change so were almost alone for a bit whilst waiters bustled around to straighten the rest if the MDR for the next seating.

 

I for one, sincerely hope they do not move to My time, as I'm a fan of fixed dining. It gives structure to my evening and I enjoy eating with the same people each night.

[Elmartellama]

^^ My Time dining is never mandatory, so whoever prefers fixed dining should not be affected by it.

 

As stated before, usually My Time Dining is confined in a small part of the dining room. In RCI usually located on the upper and smaller levels. This way everyone is happy ^_^

[Po10472]

Hi

 

We sailed on the MSC Orchestra in October 2012 and absolutely loved it. It's a European ship which caters for all nationalities so of course there's lots of different languages but that's what makes a holiday. We had no problems with the language and at dinner we were seated with other English speaking guests so they are aware of the language barriers and try to accommodate this. In my opinion it comes down to patience really in how you communicate. The ship was spotlessly clean and really well laid out and decorated, the ship had a lovely coconut smell to it. The staff was friendly and helpful and the food in the dining rooms were excellent. Sure the buffet was a wee bit hit or miss and yup, not everyone in Europe stands in line, but tis not the end of the world. The pasta is divine as is the fresh bread. We purchased the Allegrissimo package and it too was excellent, we were able to drink what we wanted and as we love our cocktails found this to be the best option. We were in a balcony cabin on the 14th deck and it was spacious, clean and had a power shower. We enjoyed MSC so much we're booking the Preziosa for a cheeky wee week in April.

 

We have also been on Thomson and Carnival and they all have their pro's and con's but a holiday is what you make it, go with no expectations and you'll enjoy yourself better.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Thank you all for your nice comments! I'll try to board without prejudices and will write an extensive photo review afterwards! Sigh -- still so long of a wait.

 

Stef

[hebbie67]

Hi Stef,

 

We've just got back from a week in UAE on MSC Lirica. Following our first cruise on Adventure of the Seas last summer, this was a cheap winter sun break for us and our expectations weren't high - but we had a fantastic time!!

 

Obviously we can only compare one ship of each cruise line, but these are our personal thoughts:

 

RCI was better for:

- Food: MSC buffet was lukewarm (especially breakfast) but if you had breakfast in the dining room it was made to order and hot.

- Cabin steward: we asked for ice once and got it every night, asked once on MSC and got it once! Both were unobtrusive and provided plenty of clean towels etc

- Non-Smoking: some of the MSC bars allowed smoking;not to our personal liking!

- Announcements in English only

- No signatures required for drinks package - MSC you sign for everything!

- Bellinis at breakfast - not on MSC menu:(

- Waiters served drinks in the theatre

- Entertainment/dinner sittings - we prefer to eat first, but you had to go to the show first on MSC if you were 2nd sitting

- My time dining - only 2 sittings on MSC (incidentally we were allocated to a table of 8, but requested a table of 3 as soon as we boarded and this was accommodated with no problem)

- Souvenir glasses - on RCI just paid for glass if on the package, on MSC you had to buy the glass and drink

- Helipad access - no access on MSC

- Teen club; our 15 year old attended a couple of sessions on MSC but the language barrier (with others of her own age) proved too difficult

- Spa pools could be used at night - covered over by MSC

- Cruise Director; Clo O'connor was great - just get the MSC guy at all!

- Captains announcements - missed these with MSC

 

MSC was better for:

- Muster drill was taken seriously; you had to take your life jacket and put it on, and were given muster drill cards which had to be handed in when you showed up.

- Cabin: nicer decor on MSC and we could afford a balcony suite!

- Allegrissimo drinks package was excellent and also included bottled water unlike RCI premium package

- Open deck restaurant areas

- Price! we had a really good value fly/cruise package with drinks package thrown in

- Luggage on arrival was much quicker

-Value, hands down winner

 

We found staff to be very friendly and efficient on both lines and were expecting their to be a language barrier on MSC -but they all spoke English with no problem

 

Entertainment - we thought MSC has better quality singers/dancers/acrobats but we did miss having some comedians

 

We would sail with MSC again without hesitation and have already got our next RCI trip booked. Will also keep our options open to trying other cruise lines too as we've certainly got the cruising bug now!

 

These are our personal views - but of course not everyone will agree!

 

Hope your planning is going well!

 

Heb

[Typhoon1]

Having just spent seven days onboard the Divina, I'd think long and hard before switching cruising lines.

 

Royal Caribbean delivers a quality product. MSC, just adequate.

[houstoncruisers2001]

Cruisetrail has NEVER cruised on MSC and I would be VERY careful about what he says. :cool:

 

I just love how cruisetrail trolls these boards and can't resist to post what they post then someone comes in right behind them and squishes them like a bug.