Tell me about MSC

[LHARTWICK]

We've cruised several of the main lines: CCL, PCL, X, RCCL and HAL. We've been alternating between CCL & PCL over the last few years. Tell me about MSC. I'm looking at an October cruise for our 25th anniversary. We are already booked on CCL, but the Oct MSC fare looks very tempting. If I can get out of our CCL booking w/o paying any fees or losing our deposit, I may switch. The MSC cruise I'm looking at is the Divina. Looks like a gorgeous ship!!! Would certainly make a special anniversary. How's the food, entertainment, rooms, etc.? Looking at a balcony cabin. Thanks!!

[irishnyc]

You probably want to ask on the MSC board. ;-)

 

My only experience with MSC is their sea container division. Can't help you there unless you plan to stowaway. :D

[Sfdtiller]

We've cruised several of the main lines: CCL, PCL, X, RCCL and HAL. We've been alternating between CCL & PCL over the last few years. Tell me about MSC. I'm looking at an October cruise for our 25th anniversary. We are already booked on CCL, but the Oct MSC fare looks very tempting. If I can get out of our CCL booking w/o paying any fees or losing our deposit, I may switch. The MSC cruise I'm looking at is the Divina. Looks like a gorgeous ship!!! Would certainly make a special anniversary. How's the food, entertainment, rooms, etc.? Looking at a balcony cabin. Thanks!!

 

 

Probably best to ask on the MSC board, but from all I've read it is incredible. Food is great, pizza is edible, shows are real performances. One negative is they have quite a few additional fee areas such as restaurants. But the MDR food is supposedly so good that I don't think I will mind.

Lots of people also complain about dining times, 2+ hours and lack of waiters at your beck and call, lack of ice water unless you ask.

So remember It is an Italian cruise company, they do things in a European style. This is why I am trying them, I want the laid back touch.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[joybaby]

WE have sailed MSC 3 times, all in the Carib. - in Europe your client will be mostly European.

All announcements are in 5 languages.

Food is subjective, however if you are an adventuresome eater, you may like it. Lots of unusual food with sauces. I like it bec. it is N. Italian food. (not red sauces and pizza.) The buffet is very good.

I don't remember many extra fees. Drinking water is available at all meals.

Shows are outstanding, all live and mostly non verbal since the crowd is so mixed.

Beautiful and outstanding décor.

Rooms are ample but not as big as CARNIVAL.

.

The prices are LOW in Sept. I would go in a heartbeat, but we live in FL and absolutely hate the drive to Miami.

If you have traveled abroad I would say go for it, if you have only traveled the US and are not very adventuresome, it may be a stretch for you.

The staff is polite but does not fall all over you like the American cruise lines.

[Velvetwater]

Over here MSC is known for having a mix of non english speaking guests with a few American/British thrown in.

 

I believe its mainly Italian/Spanish.

 

This language thing will affect the entertainment as some things will be multi-language and some things will not on board but it would be a great experience I think as we have found lots of friendly folk when we have been to Spain and Italy.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Velvetwater

[LHARTWICK]

My apologies - I thought I was on the MSC board since I had just been reading those posts. I clicked CCL by mistake. Thanks!!

Edited February 20, 2014 by LHARTWICK

[Cruzinbabe06]

I sailed on the Poesia last year on a 9 night med. Cruise.

 

Our balcony cabin was the most beautiful cabin I've had in all my cruises. Our stateroom attendant was excellent. Our dinner team was good. No coffee at dinner. We would go to the buffet after dinner for tea or coffee. We would always order appetizer, salad or soup, pasta, entree, then dessert. We never went hungry.

 

Sailaway was lame. Italian music playing and Italian dancing was the norm. Entertainment was OK. 1 English speaking channel, which was CNN. We had our DVD player with movies from home.

 

We spent a lot of time in our cabin on this cruise.

 

The price we paid was under $600. Definitely got our monies worth.

 

If the price was good, I would sail with them again.

[LMaxwell]

Parents just booked Divina 7 night Balcony at $249 a person. Just got email from agent with prices ranging from $199-$244 for insides basically all of September and October. I don't know if they are selling THAT badly or these are just promos or what, but at those prices I'd be a guinea pig and try it out (I am already booked elsewhere in October but strongly considering switching given the prices).

 

On the MSC boards you will find that people in the Yacht Club love it, but that a lot of ship space is devoted to YC areas. Not sure how crowded this makes other areas feel or not.

 

Entertainment is highly rated.

 

Still, for the prices how can you go wrong?

[mattp269]

We've cruised several of the main lines: CCL, PCL, X, RCCL and HAL. We've been alternating between CCL & PCL over the last few years. Tell me about MSC. I'm looking at an October cruise for our 25th anniversary. We are already booked on CCL, but the Oct MSC fare looks very tempting. If I can get out of our CCL booking w/o paying any fees or losing our deposit, I may switch. The MSC cruise I'm looking at is the Divina. Looks like a gorgeous ship!!! Would certainly make a special anniversary. How's the food, entertainment, rooms, etc.? Looking at a balcony cabin. Thanks!!

 

Mrs H:

 

Although the Carnival board wouldn't be the first place I would look for assistance with MSC I would like to offer you my observation of the MSC Divina from Miami. I went on a 7 night trip in December 2013. The ship sailed to Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and to the NCL private island in the Bahamas.

 

The ship is stunningly beautiful. Other cruise lines should take a look at the Divina's theater which has no columns blocking the view and has regular theater seating. The central atrium / lobby is stunning as well, it has a 3 story Swarvoski Crystal lighted staircase that is just beautiful.

 

The balcony room was very nice and spacious and well decorated. The room and the entire ship was kept spotlessly clean. I was very impressed that there was no rust or chipped paint to be seen. The maintenance crew even used pressure washer at night to keep everything clean. Carnival could learn a number of lessons from MSC concerning the public areas of their ships.

 

Now, that said, that's about all the good I have to say about MSC. The buffet was very disappointing as there was no egg/omelette station in the morning, the burgers / fries and sandwiches were pre-made and were sitting under heat lamps. Don't look for snack items at the buffet at off hours as there will not be any. The food and service in the dining room for dinner was hit and miss. The bar service tends to be very slow on the Divina. We actually learned to order drinks from a wait staff person as this seemed to be much faster than actually walking up to a bar. MSC doesn't have an entertainment staff like you would see on other cruise lines. The daily program had very few activities. The shows in the evening were entertaining.

 

If you get it for a great price and don't need entertainment during the day and like to be 'adventurous' with food, it's a great choice.

 

Matt

[sjn911]

Here is a Holland American thread with photos and opinions...

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1993092

[camofwilliamsburg]

Read my posts and my review also on the board, Divina jan 18-Feb 1. You will get an idea of what we experienced. Also, I have posted detailed info on a night on Divina, listing all activities. All of your questions have been answered time and time again, and you should read through all the info and make a decision.

For us, MSC is our favorite.

Edited February 20, 2014 by camofwilliamsburg

[KSWind]

Keep an open mind and be a little adventurous (especiallly if cruising in Europe) and you will not be disapointed.

[maleagle]

if you travel with an open mind and are prepared to let small matters pass then you will not be disappointed. Definitely go for a balcony, and enjoy the scenery from your cabin. Food and service acceptable and entertainment excellent although because of the language barrier there are only musical shows and no individual entertainers (comedians, magicians etc).

[Cruisergal1208]

Quote: Food and service acceptable and entertainment excellent although because of the language barrier there are only musical shows and no individual entertainers (comedians, magicians etc).

 

That is not entirely true. On our December cruise on Divina, there was an English speaking comedian. The individual musicians at the different lounges spoke English as well. The main stage shows were beautifully performed and we could still enjoy even the Italian operatic show. Like it has been said, go with a good attitude and smile and you will be a happy cruiser.