RCI cruiser wanting to try MSC...Help!

[toxicfairy]

Ok so we have done 6 ( or 7?) cruises with RCI. The last was supposed to be August 27th but it got Cancelled and after the way everything was handled lets just say our money is not going to them again at least not for a while. That said I'm looking at MSC for next june/july. I don't get vacation time so can only cruise the summer when I'm off.

What is MSC like? What is the dress code like? We really ,hmmm ,REALLY enjoy dressing up for formal nights and wearing dresses the other nights for dinner. Hubby wears suits for formal nights and Dockers pants with button down for other nights. Would we stand out or fit in? I also don't quite get the different tiers. Also suite and Grand suite what is the difference? Are inside rooms terribly small, as in a 26 yr old and her 21 yr old sister would they come out still likeing each other? Any other help you can provide would be wonderful! I'm looking at the Seaside? The new one ( not sure i got the name right) it has the same itinerarie as what we just lost out on, only it goes out of miami.

[Cherries Jubilee]

I've never sailed RCI so I cannot compare. I've only sailed Divina. I dressed up every night and I never felt out of place. I'm not quite sure anyone did much looking at others' attire.

 

My sister and I had the smallest balcony room. The size of the room did not affect our relationship ;).

 

I found MSC to be a laid back relaxing cruise outside of the bustle of the buffet. If that is what you're looking for you'll like it. Also you have to be content with each other's company as the mix of passengers makes it a tad more difficult to find new people to mingle with.

[seadude]

I am Diamond with Royal Caribbean and I have a YC suite for easter and a b2b for summer both on MSC Seaside. I reserved for a Yacht Club on easter last year and was the best experience that I had on my almost 30 cruises so far. WE got a Suite for the same price than a regular balcony ar RCL. I remember seen guest dressed up for formal nights so you are not going to feel out of place and you are going to see some $$$, the Seaside its a beautiful ship.

[Norwich Cruiser]

We are very loyal to RCI having cruised with them on numerous occasions.

But just returned from MSC Meragavilia (not in the yacht club) and had a great cruise excellent food crew and entertainment.

We have rebooked the same ship for January 2018 and also there new Belissamo for 2019.

The only true way of finding out is to book it but I honestly don't think you will be disappointed.

[toxicfairy]

Ok I talked to a travel agent today but they were closing before I was done work so she is going to call me back tomorrow. Does any one know if I do say the fantastica how is it? Does a 'Grand suite' get you more "perks" than one listed as just 'suite" ?

[agnesd]

We usually travel Crystal Cruises and are trying Divina Yacht Club!!

 

 

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[L454S]

We did Divina this past New Years sailing. You won't be sorry you tried it. Much better price, great service, about equal with food(subjective). Only fixed dining, no my time...not a problem for us. Always something to see or do.

 

We booked the new Seaside for this January and will try the YC......good luck!!!

[Kateann61414]

I've done a cruise with Celebrity and the MSC Divina and I love MSC. You can't beat the pricing. We did fantastica and it worked out great for us. We got 12 free drinks each with it and the rooms are in better spots than their lower experience (Bella). If you like all inclusive I recommend Aurea experience or Yacht club. As long as you don't come in a prom dress you won't stick out. People like to dress up. Our room was a nice size. It was a balcony and had a couch so we had plenty of room.

 

 

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[toxicfairy]

Well...I did it! I booked the Seaside for the July 14th sailing. Got an inside for my dd's (26&21 when we sail) and a suite for us. I did the fantastica for both cabins. Didn't want to go too overboard until we know if we like MSC. Excited and nervous to try something new!!

[seadude]

Enjoy your cruise, Wellcome on board!!!

[Norwich Cruiser]

Congratulations I am sure that you will be pleasantly surprised.

[toxicfairy]

Thank you for the help. If any one has any thing else I should know or any tips I would live it!

[thegraminator]

You are going to love MSC ! We were loyal to RCI also and tried the Divina mostly because of the price difference . We were not disappointed in the least! The upgrade to Fantactica is well worth it ! One bit of advice , if you are thinking of purchasing photos , per purchase a package before you board . It will save you a lot of money , and their photography staff does a fabulous job.

Edited September 10, 2017 by thegraminator
Adding information

[toxicfairy]

I am confused with their photo packages. I assume the price is per cabin? Also the $99 is that all photos on a memory card?

 

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[jimdicap]

Honestly, this thread is a breath of fresh air....so much negativity re: MSC that to read this thread was a delight. I am booked on the Seaside May 2018 and am going in hopeful but apprehensive!

[thegraminator]

About the photo package / yes it is per cabin not per person as advertised , and I understand the price has gone up, but I don't know how much .

 

Here is what my experience was... we had 3 cabins and I thought I could select any 100 photos I wanted. What I should have done was to purchase a package for each cabin. But anyway , once on board as we were collecting our photos , the photo manager Gary explained that I could only select photos that included my husband and/or myself . Now I do love him, but who needs 100 photos of just us ! I wanted photos of all the family . And the same package was not available to buy on board . So Gary told me to continue collecting the photos taken of our entire group which he placed into a folder for me. On day 5 we had well over 250 photos and he offered me a deal of all the photos (in various sizes) plus a CD with every photo taken for an additional $149.00. I think I made out well . It was alot of pictures , but I am a scrap booker so I have used most of them . The quality was excellent !

[toxicfairy]

Thats what I do too. I like to put some in frames and the rest in scrap books.

 

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[BermudaBound2014]

We usually travel Crystal Cruises and are trying Divina Yacht Club!!

 

 

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Unlike most on here, I was not overly impressed with the Yacht Club on Divina. It was certainly very nice, but I did not find that the YC was 'over-the-top' in any area. I walked away from the experience happy because I received an excellent value for my vacation dollar. I think that adjusting expectations to align more closely with the price paid is wise when selecting MSC. With that said, I am very much looking forward to hearing about how the YC compares to Crystal. Enjoy~!

[Bossa Nova]

Unlike most on here, I was not overly impressed with the Yacht Club on Divina. It was certainly very nice, but I did not find that the YC was 'over-the-top' in any area. I walked away from the experience happy because I received an excellent value for my vacation dollar. I think that adjusting expectations to align more closely with the price paid is wise when selecting MSC. With that said, I am very much looking forward to hearing about how the YC compares to Crystal. Enjoy~!

When did you sail? I'm concerned that the best YC/Le Muse staff from my December 2016 cruise may have left for the newly launched MSC ships. I'm on Divina/YC again in January. Thanks. - Dan

[TrinaLC]

Need to know where Arturo/Le Muse ends up! He is worth the trip itself :)

[Beamafar]

Need to know where Arturo/Le Muse ends up! He is worth the trip itself :)

 

There are quite a few MSC crew members that I feel the same way about! We were really lucky to find some of them were aboard Meraviglia when we sailed in June. Most of them are expecting to be on Seaside's early sailings. I was so tempted to book just for this reason. However, having experienced being on a new ship so recently, there's no way I want to chance doing it again for quite some time!

[mudcatkevin]

Thank you for the help. If any one has any thing else I should know or any tips I would live it!

 

My wife and I went on Divina last May. A friend told me about the YC. I pulled the trigger and paid for the yacht club for what I would have paid for the normal suite on RCI. I wasn't disappointed. I am not a picky person by any means. The service in the YC was very nice. I know you are not in the YC yet. ???

So I would like to give you what I observed while onboard.

 

1. MSC does NOT try to be an American Experience. Other cruise lines caters to that.

It is not comparable because their paradigm is not like American cruise lines.

2. MSC will have many nationalities onboard.

3. The ships are very elegant .

4. Service is pretty good.

5. The buffet can get crowded.

6. The food can be Euro style, but with an American twist.

7. I would have guessed that more than 50% of passengers did not have English as primary Language.

8. Based only on my experience, MSC tries very hard to make your cruise wonderful.

9. My internet was awful. (BTW I didn't cruise to play on internet)

10. The photo package is worth it.

11. Almost every head of department came to our Meet and Mingle and talked to us personally.

12. Do the "Status Match" program to get better deal.

13. If you are a military vet, they give you ten percent discount on fare.

 

If you are considering the YC, it comes with a great deal of perks. I could let you know these later, if you like. I am returning May 2018 to Seaside, booked while onboard.

 

I hope these help and these are just my opinions/observations.

 

Kevin

[toxicfairy]

My wife and I went on Divina last May. A friend told me about the YC. I pulled the trigger and paid for the yacht club for what I would have paid for the normal suite on RCI. I wasn't disappointed. I am not a picky person by any means. The service in the YC was very nice. I know you are not in the YC yet. ???

So I would like to give you what I observed while onboard.

 

1. MSC does NOT try to be an American Experience. Other cruise lines caters to that.

It is not comparable because their paradigm is not like American cruise lines.

2. MSC will have many nationalities onboard.

3. The ships are very elegant .

4. Service is pretty good.

5. The buffet can get crowded.

6. The food can be Euro style, but with an American twist.

7. I would have guessed that more than 50% of passengers did not have English as primary Language.

8. Based only on my experience, MSC tries very hard to make your cruise wonderful.

9. My internet was awful. (BTW I didn't cruise to play on internet)

10. The photo package is worth it.

11. Almost every head of department came to our Meet and Mingle and talked to us personally.

12. Do the "Status Match" program to get better deal.

13. If you are a military vet, they give you ten percent discount on fare.

 

If you are considering the YC, it comes with a great deal of perks. I could let you know these later, if you like. I am returning May 2018 to Seaside, booked while onboard.

 

I hope these help and these are just my opinions/observations.

 

Kevin

Thank you. We may do YC at a later date but for now i booked fantastica for us until we know if we like the cruise line. It is difficult because it is a new line for us but also a new ship in general. So I can't get a lot of info on the ship. I'm hoping to get the photo package but have to figure out how much it is. I like to get all the photos i can

 

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Edited September 11, 2017 by toxicfairy

[NYHartChapp]

Ok so we have done 6 ( or 7?) cruises with RCI. The last was supposed to be August 27th but it got Cancelled and after the way everything was handled lets just say our money is not going to them again at least not for a while. That said I'm looking at MSC for next june/july. I don't get vacation time so can only cruise the summer when I'm off.

What is MSC like? What is the dress code like? We really ,hmmm ,REALLY enjoy dressing up for formal nights and wearing dresses the other nights for dinner. Hubby wears suits for formal nights and Dockers pants with button down for other nights. Would we stand out or fit in? I also don't quite get the different tiers. Also suite and Grand suite what is the difference? Are inside rooms terribly small, as in a 26 yr old and her 21 yr old sister would they come out still likeing each other��? Any other help you can provide would be wonderful! I'm looking at the Seaside? The new one ( not sure i got the name right) it has the same itinerarie as what we just lost out on, only it goes out of miami.

 

We have sailed Carnival, NCL, RCI, HAL and last spring tried MSC Divina...you will love it! You won't stand out at all. Enjoy.

[NYHartChapp]

Oh, and we were in Yacht Club. Wonderful. Were in The Haven on the Breakaway and while it was very nice, I think I liked YC better.