Compare RC and MSC...

[mafig]

We also loved the Yacht Club.

While mentioned infrequently, we appreciated the fully stocked and replenished mini bar.....the daily newspaper.....the restaurant being open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day (not just sea days).

 

They do throw a nice Cruise Critic party.😊

[Minnieme321]

We loved MSC. We’ve cruised RC, Disney, MSC,& Carnival. We were on Poesia and had a wonderful time. I think on any trip it’s what you make of it. We are on vacay and plan to have fun and see/try new things- For us that’s part cruising. My kids were teenagers when we were on MSC a few years ago for 7 day Western Caribbean balcony. It was a great experience for them to appreciate that there is a whole wide world out there and varied nationalities that are like them but different and just as important as “Americans”. The announcements in 5 languages got a little old but tuned out once we heard what we needed. We would definitely book again. Ship was lovely, extremely clean, and great shows. Interesting because they transcended language barriers. For our family it was a nice change especially for my kiddos to see and appreciate other nationalities. It’s a different vibe being in the minority, we met and had great conversations with other guests and opened their eyes/ humbled in a way their perspective on the world. My TA wasn’t sure about us booking it, she said we would either love or hate it. She never had people in the middle. With that being said, I’m glad we gave iit a chance! 

[GUEST71919]

12 hours ago, George C said:

Seems like most of the complaints on msc were not from people in there yacht club, we also did a msc cruise about 12 years ago and loved the food. I love rccl entertainment and do not think msc will be that good, only entertainment we have ever seen better was music charters.  I am sure it will not be perfect but neither are rccl cruises. 

 

I am sure that would make a difference in perceptions - all our cruises on NCL have been in the Haven and I feel sure there would be some differences in how we see those cruises for that reason alone. While we would like to try the Yacht Club, we are very reluctant at this point since the reviews definitely sway to the negative even though there are some genuine raves among those (we learned our lesson the hard way on the NCL Epic so we now do not assume the negatives are just from extra picky cruisers) 🤦🏼‍♀️

Edited July 12, 2019 by 2Beeze

[grandgeezer]

2 minutes ago, 2Beeze said:

 

I am sure that would make a difference in perceptions - all our cruises on NCL have been in the Haven and I feel sure there would be some differences in how we see those cruises for that reason alone. While we would like to try the Yacht Club, we are very reluctant at this point since the reviews definitely sway to the negative (and we learned our lesson on the NCL Epic to not assume the negatives are just from extra picky cruisers 🤦🏼‍♀️

 

On the other side of the coin, you can’t assume that all the positive reviews, on a y cruise lines, are just from the cruise line cheerleaders.

[GUEST71919]

1 hour ago, grandgeezer said:

 

On the other side of the coin, you can’t assume that all the positive reviews, on a y cruise lines, are just from the cruise line cheerleaders.

Of course not, I didn’t  suggest otherwise.  There are many more negatives responses that I have seen than positive ones over time and various boards and posts and my point was that I take them all seriously. We are trying to make a good choice for our family as anybody else would since we work long hours and aren’t close to retirement - we just don’t want to waste the time we have with cruises we would find disappointing if at all possible.

Edited July 12, 2019 by 2Beeze

[grandgeezer]

1 hour ago, 2Beeze said:

Of course not, I didn’t  suggest otherwise.  There are many more negatives responses that I have seen than positive ones over time and various boards and posts and my point was that I take them all seriously. We are trying to make a good choice for our family as anybody else would since we work long hours and aren’t close to retirement - we just don’t want to waste the time we have with cruises we would find disappointing if at all possible.

I take all reviews with a grain of salt. If you check you can find good and bad reviews for every cruise line, every ship. If I find a cruise that I find interesting, at a fair price, I check it out no matter what the reviews tell me. Everybody has different taste and expectations and I would hate to miss out on a great cruise because of something I read on line or heard. For example, our all time favorite cruise was a transatlantic on Celebrity Solstice and the following 13 day Med cruise after it. We were standing in line at Heathrow and the I noticed the people in front of us had Solstice luggage tags on them. I asked how they enjoyed the cruise and to them it was the world's worst and they would never ever sail Celebrity again, they are going back to Princess.

MSC Seaside would be in our top ten, out of 48 which includes all the major lines except Carnival. 

Like stated in an earlier post, we are going back to MSC, not RCL or Celebrity, no matter what the reviews on line say, we made our decision based on experience.

 

[little britain]

On 7/11/2019 at 12:37 AM, tcmagnum said:

Looking at booking our first cruise with MSC and looking for opinions on the difference...

 

Thanks!!

 

You may find some ideas in my recent review.

 

I have booked YC on their new Seashore ship for 2021 to see how it compares. 

 

Edited July 12, 2019 by little britain

[GUEST71919]

6 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

I take all reviews with a grain of salt. If you check you can find good and bad reviews for every cruise line, every ship. If I find a cruise that I find interesting, at a fair price, I check it out no matter what the reviews tell me. Everybody has different taste and expectations and I would hate to miss out on a great cruise because of something I read on line or heard. For example, our all time favorite cruise was a transatlantic on Celebrity Solstice and the following 13 day Med cruise after it. We were standing in line at Heathrow and the I noticed the people in front of us had Solstice luggage tags on them. I asked how they enjoyed the cruise and to them it was the world's worst and they would never ever sail Celebrity again, they are going back to Princess.

MSC Seaside would be in our top ten, out of 48 which includes all the major lines except Carnival. 

Like stated in an earlier post, we are going back to MSC, not RCL or Celebrity, no matter what the reviews on line say, we made our decision based on experience.

 

 

I’m glad you had a great time! But like you, we have to make our own determination about what is the most likely bang for the buck money and time-wise. As a researcher, I do my best to make that evaluation as objective as possible.  But since most of the data we all must use is human opinion (swayed by every possible variable and the least objective data passive) coming up with the right decision is dicey at best.  I would hate to miss out on a great cruise due to bad reviews and I would hate to waste my money on a bad cruise but relying on good reviews. So while we all make mistakes in those decisions, we all do our best in balancing the evidence!

Edited July 12, 2019 by 2Beeze

[Extra Kim]

On 7/11/2019 at 3:47 PM, Arzeena said:

Like a poster above mentions, rude, insulting and not willing to solve any problems (they created in the first place) for the passengers. Management is terrible. 

We have had the exact same experience. Not on MSC, but on Celebrity.. If that would have been our first cruise on Celebrity, I would never sail with them again. Now I know that it's not how it normaly works, but I still would not book Equinox as long as Jack is a supervisor onboard.

[Extra Kim]

We have spent 18nts on MSC during 2018. Sailed 11nts on Meraviglia and 7nts on Seaview, both in Europe.

 

I'm willing to sail on MSC again, but I wouldn't pay the same for a MSC cruise as I would for a cruise with Royal.

 

Don't go and expect to get the same experience as you would on Royal, MSC is different. Some things are better on MSC and some things are better on Royal.

[tobyt]

We truly enjoyed the shows on Seaside although there is a sameness to each with the exception of the Michael Jackson tribute which was awesome. We struggled with the buffet....especially for lunch but going to the dining room helped. I also found timing and hours for snacks odd and I missed options found on other lines. One of the primary issues I had was the clean factor, it was far below other lines. The glossy black by design should have been modern but always covered in fingerprint grease....ewww. Our cabin had ground in dirt and sand which never seemed to have been vacuumed. The bathrooms throughout the ship were always in need to freshening. I have never seen so many uncleared tables, glasses and dishes all over for long periods of time. Room service dishes lingering in the hall for several days.  But...price is a driver and we will continue to make decisions based on the itinerary price and the ship details.

[mdxter]

On 7/10/2019 at 10:28 PM, renza said:

We you are sailing from American ports you need to learn to  cater to Americans.  All the cruise lines do there best to want you to come back and sail with then. Not the case on Seaside. That’s the number one complaint from everyone sailing on it. Customer service is just down right rude. 

We have just sailed the Opera out of Venice (June 23-30) and totally agree with your assessment about the MSC Customer service. The on board service desk as well as the 1800 MSC USA are down right Rude. They do not like Americans and we figured it was expected since we were sailing from Venice. After 9 with Carnival and 1 with RCL, for the first time ever we could not wait to get off the ship. It was that miserable.    

[Extra Kim]

4 hours ago, tobyt said:

One of the primary issues I had was the clean factor, it was far below other lines. 

Strange since both Meraviglia and Seaview were spotless. But I guess that as with all ships, the crew will be what makes or breaks the experience.

I wouldn't want to go back on the Navigator for the same reason, it was dirty. I know that she have been in drydock since we sailed on her.

[Extra Kim]

3 hours ago, mdxter said:

They do not like Americans and we figured it was expected since we were sailing from Venice.   

I would say that it's not an American thing, it's just the Italian way. Guess why I never would book a vaccation in Italy 😉

By the way, I'm Swedish.

[mdxter]

10 hours ago, Extra Kim said:

I would say that it's not an American thing, it's just the Italian way. Guess why I never would book a vaccation in Italy 😉

By the way, I'm Swedish.

We will continue to visit Italy because of the historic sights but will lower our expectations when it comes to feeling welcomed and customer service.  Folks in Capri and Amalfi Coast were a little nicer but not that much. 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

Italy bashing...how nice!🙄👎🤮

[soccer2010]

We went on Seaside last May in an interior room.  While different than RCCL, we loved it.  The food was very good and the entertainment was excellent unless of course you want to see the same RCCL shows again … and again.  The service is different as they are a little more reserved but just ask for what you want or need and no problem,  The ship is beautiful and can't wait to go again.  Probably doing an MSC Mediterranean next year as my daughter is on an MSC Mediterranean right now.

 

[Extra Kim]

10 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Italy bashing...how nice!🙄👎🤮

Well that's my opinion and I stand by it. 

 

Not like you never bash things..🤔

[Thorben-Hendrik]

6 minutes ago, Extra Kim said:

Not like you never bash things..🤔

I do!👍

Especially intolerance!👍

[mdxter]

8 hours ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Italy bashing...how nice!🙄👎🤮

Not Bashing... Just calling it like we see it. We find the locals in Venice were especially rude to visitors. Maybe they were tired of tourist ruining their city but they certainly don't mind our money. Maybe where we come from (Southeast US), we are always friendly and greet folks with a smile and hugs. Again, we will have to lower our expectations when visiting Italy.  

[Thorben-Hendrik]

6 hours ago, mdxter said:

Maybe where we come from (Southeast US), we are always friendly and greet folks with a smile and hugs.

That's not everybody's cup of tea either......there are cultural differences - you either like them or not!👍🤔

[xcell]

My wife thought there was a lot of places to sit and watch the ocean pass you by on MSC.

 

As per the entertainment -- we are going to skip it on our next sailing. The best thing about the entertainment was that it was a short show. Kind of repetitive. 

 

We sailed YC and we like that (not loved it, just thought it was good value for what we paid but the prices are going up and up on these rooms now). It was a nice place to escape the crowds which in the main part of the ship, seemed like a lot.

 

The price for MSC Is good, so I would tell you to try it at least once and decide for yourself if it is your style or not.  YOu never know -- we jumped from Royal to NCL and almost never went back on NCL because the first cruise was not like a Royal cruise. However, fast forward 10 years and we have cruised equally on both.

 

 

 

 

[sgmn]

8 hours ago, mdxter said:

Not Bashing... Just calling it like we see it. We find the locals in Venice were especially rude to visitors. Maybe they were tired of tourist ruining their city but they certainly don't mind our money. Maybe where we come from (Southeast US), we are always friendly and greet folks with a smile and hugs. Again, we will have to lower our expectations when visiting Italy.  

The only contact we had in Venice was when we dropped off our car hire in the city centre and they were extremely helpful there. I do try and learn a few words of the local lingo even if just please and thank you 

[mdxter]

7 minutes ago, sgmn said:

The only contact we had in Venice was when we dropped off our car hire in the city centre and they were extremely helpful there. I do try and learn a few words of the local lingo even if just please and thank you 

We have traveled to over 23 Caribbean islands. Own a condo in St thomas since 2005. On this trip, we stayed in Rome for 2 days. Drove to Naples from Rome and stayed there for 3 days. Drove to the Amalfi Coast for a day. Took the day ferry to Isle of Capri. Took the Fast train (Italo) from Rome to Venice and spent 2 days in Venice before getting on our cruise. I'd say we had a lot of interaction with the locals. Since our first cruise in 1999, we have never taken a tour with the cruise company. We have always ventured out on our own and hung out with the locals and immerse in the culture. I can tell you the Greeks were very nice and welcoming.  

[Extra Kim]

13 minutes ago, mdxter said:

We have traveled to over 23 Caribbean islands. Own a condo in St thomas since 2005. On this trip, we stayed in Rome for 2 days. Drove to Naples from Rome and stayed there for 3 days. Drove to the Amalfi Coast for a day. Took the day ferry to Isle of Capri. Took the Fast train (Italo) from Rome to Venice and spent 2 days in Venice before getting on our cruise. I'd say we had a lot of interaction with the locals. Since our first cruise in 1999, we have never taken a tour with the cruise company. We have always ventured out on our own and hung out with the locals and immerse in the culture. I can tell you the Greeks were very nice and welcoming.  

Not sure what your point is, I have been to 24 different ports of call in the Caribbean, 25 if you count Key West. But what has that to do with Italy?

 

The Greeks? We are talking about Italians.