Carnival versus MSC

[dawcruiser]

I have sailed with MSC 4 times and can say MSC is now my favorite cruise line.  Service has always been great.  Staff exceptionally friendly.  For the money it is, I my opinion, the best value for your money.  I am 76 and don't expect as much now as I did 30 years ago, my first cruise was in 1988.  My next cruise, 1/22/23, will be my 39th.  And in April I take my 40th.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

8 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

I thought I read somewhere that MSC wasn't selling the drink package on shorter cruises?

(found the page)...

 

So, yep - the option is still going on (for drinks and wifi). This is for the 4/27 sailing on the Seaside (3-nt). I thought I'd check and see what the Liberty (also out of Pt. Canaveral) 3-nt on 4/28 would run. It's $5 less, at $224pp. Of course, it's difficult to pass up on MSC's offer of an additional $80 getting you three days of wifi and drinks. They definitely have their sights on Carnival, among others. They'll be able to pick some up, no doubt!

 

 

 

Apparently, if you don't pick this option during the booking process, they don't later offer (prior to sailing nor once onboard) any type of drink package. I thought that the "Easy Plus" package offered at this rate was bare bones, but found that it probably covered enough for us. I was told by one of their reps that I "might" be able to upgrade once onboard to the premium beverage option, though they didn't know what that might run. Looking online, it comes in at $20 more pp/pd - which is what some people report paying... again, assuming that doing so would be an option.

 

HERE'S a link comparing their different packages. You'll have to scroll to the second chart, as the first one pertains to cruises IN THE PAST... so, yep, they really need to up their IT game !!

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

12 minutes ago, dawcruiser said:

I have sailed with MSC 4 times and can say MSC is now my favorite cruise line.  Service has always been great.  Staff exceptionally friendly.  For the money it is, I my opinion, the best value for your money.  I am 76 and don't expect as much now as I did 30 years ago, my first cruise was in 1988.  My next cruise, 1/22/23, will be my 39th.  And in April I take my 40th.

 

I see in your signature that you sailed on the Regal Empress. Now THAT is one ship that I didn't shed a tear for when they sent her to the scrapyard. Frankly, that ship is the only one I've ever been on that I could not wait for it to be over, and that takes A LOT (for me) !

 

Edit - I'm sure in "its day", it was something.  🙂

 

Tom

[Georgia_Peaches]

I’ve never had a bad cruise….ever. Having said that, MSC are different and I maintain that it’s Yacht Club or not at all….as it’s another world to what you described. No lines or crowds to speak of. 
 

The line ups you described are the worst and I would be frustrated as well. Sorry you had delayed boarding. 
 

Our “worst” cruise was on the Carnival Fantasy back in 2005. That was back when they still had a topless sunbathing deck. DH and I would hide out up there to avoid the frey around the pool. I’m not an exhibitionist so my top remained secure but the lady across the way, with her boobs to her knees, reminded us that most people really do look better with clothes. 😊. Still, we laugh about it all these years later. We witnessed a domestic dispute in the casino…which we still reference from time to time. I guess what I’m saying is even though it was a “bad” cruise we still had fun. 
 

I’m glad you gave MSC a try. Now you know if it works for you and your family. And I totally agree that Carnival has sail away down!!

 

Thank you for your review!

Edited January 11, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[asalligo]

16 hours ago, LatinaInTexas said:

What I loved most was the drink ordering system. They just tap your card and that's it. No taking it, no waiting for it to be returned, no slip to fill out, and no need to tip extra.

They were using pen and paper on MSC Meraviglia. 

 

 

[RandomUser123]

I am doing MSC Meraviglia in November out of New York to Bermuda. My first time doing MSC and the deal was too good to pass up for me, my wife and kids. I have seen mixed reviews and many similar to yours about the long embarkation. I am hopeful my experience will be different. My previous experiences with Carnival (out of Baltimore) and Royal Caribbean (out of Bayonne) have been fast embarkations. 10 months away so maybe there will be improvement...

[thistimeplease]

4 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

OP thanks for the review. I will find out for myself next week. Have sailed over 50 cruises here, Carnival Platinum, NCL Sapphire, Princess Platinum and have sailed on Celebrity several times. I have been on 10 MSC cruises. 

 

Will just point out a few things.

 

MSC is not in charge of Port Canaveral. That is customs and the port authorities so people need to start putting the blame where it belongs. Also, not sure which cruise you were on but was it the one were a passenger went overboard the cruise before you causing the ship to be late to the port and therefore boarding late?

 

Food is subjective. We love MSC's food. Hated Carnival's when they went to meatloaf, fried chicken, Golden Corral food in the MDR.  Never had a problem with lines, have seen them when walking through the buffet later in the mornings but never bothered us because we don't wait till the last minute to try and get to the buffet.

 

The shows are shorter, 30 to 40 minutes and quite different. Very unique. 

 

I have never had a bad cruise and doubt if I will on our b2b next week on the Meraviglia.  Will post a review when I get back. Happy cruising.

 

I hope you are going to do some type of review as I would like to read what you thought.  We've been on both RCL and NCL and are very excited for our May cruise on the Seascape.  We found a lot of things we like about each cruiseline but so far NCL is our favorite.  We do seem to have a great time no matter what vacation we take so not too worried.

[thistimeplease]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I’ve never had a bad cruise….ever. Having said that, MSC are different and I maintain that it’s Yacht Club or not at all….as it’s another world to what you described. No lines or crowds to speak of. 
 

The line ups you described are the worst and I would be frustrated as well. Sorry you had delayed boarding. 
 

Our “worst” cruise was on the Carnival Fantasy back in 2005. That was back when they still had a topless sunbathing deck. DH and I would hide out up there to avoid the frey around the pool. I’m not an exhibitionist so my top remained secure but the lady across the way, with her boobs to her knees, reminded us that most people really do look better with clothes. 😊. Still, we laugh about it all these years later. We witnessed a domestic dispute in the casino…which we still reference from time to time. I guess what I’m saying is even though it was a “bad” cruise we still had fun. 
 

I’m glad you gave MSC a try. Now you know if it works for you and your family. And I totally agree that Carnival has sail away down!!

 

Thank you for your review!

Haven't sailed Carnival and not sure we ever will but NCL Breakaway's sail away from NY was one I'll never forget.  The Getaway from Miami was pretty spectacular as well.  

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Not sure why, but up until this moment I thought this was on the Carnival board, and not MSC!

 

Well, either way - good info 🙂

 

Tom

[jules815]

22 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

Thanks for the comparison. We have been debating on trying MSC, my mom is really intrigued by the Yacht Club idea they have. 

If you book Yacht Club on any MSC ship, you won't be disappointed.

[jules815]

4 hours ago, dawcruiser said:

I have sailed with MSC 4 times and can say MSC is now my favorite cruise line.  Service has always been great.  Staff exceptionally friendly.  For the money it is, I my opinion, the best value for your money.  I am 76 and don't expect as much now as I did 30 years ago, my first cruise was in 1988.  My next cruise, 1/22/23, will be my 39th.  And in April I take my 40th.

Great attitude! Enjoy your upcoming cruises. Cheers!

[skittl1321]

This was an interesting read. We gave up on Carnival after our last cruise where we just felt like it was not for us- the food was horrible (I literally walked the entire buffet and didn't pick up a single thing to eat; and the main dining room was uninteresting with horrible service compared to previous sailings). We were tired of the same activities.  So we are giving MSC a try. 

 

Now I'm wondering if we made a mistake, but alas, I guess I will find out in the summer.  If MSC is not for us, next year we have Royal.  Carnival's prices were always excellent, but the experience just went downhill every cruise we did with them.

 

I will say, I am hoping MSC's food is as good as it sounds. Looking at Royal's new menus, I can barely find anything I want to eat, and MSC's every single day there is at least something I am excited about.  But I'm a pasta person...

Edited January 11, 2023 by skittl1321

[Griff4AU]

On 1/10/2023 at 1:16 PM, pirate4me2 said:

Thanks for the comparison. We have been debating on trying MSC, my mom is really intrigued by the Yacht Club idea they have. 

I have a recent thread where I talk about my first MSC cruise and I go in to pretty great detail about Yacht Club. 

As a one sentence summary, I think YC is special and there isn't anything similar to it short of the super-elite cruise lines. I think it is leaps and bounds more special than Haven. (OK, that's 2 sentences). 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

36 minutes ago, Griff4AU said:

... I think YC is special and there isn't anything similar to it short of the super-elite cruise lines. I think it is leaps and bounds more special than Haven. ...

 

In a nutshell (does not have to be once sentence, lol) - what makes it leaps and bounds more special than the Haven?

 

Tom

[pirate4me2]

46 minutes ago, Griff4AU said:

I have a recent thread where I talk about my first MSC cruise and I go in to pretty great detail about Yacht Club. 

As a one sentence summary, I think YC is special and there isn't anything similar to it short of the super-elite cruise lines. I think it is leaps and bounds more special than Haven. (OK, that's 2 sentences). 

Ohhh, I will have to find the thread and read up on it! 

[LatinaInTexas]

5 hours ago, asalligo said:

They were using pen and paper on MSC Meraviglia. 

 

 

That's odd, even if we were in a lounge and ordered the person just tapped the card on their pad. I know also at the bar we frequented they also had places on the bar where you tapped your card yourself. Did your cabin have a charging station on the desk where you just lay your phone on it to charge? Wondering if just the new ships have the new technology.

[IntrepidFromDC]

Can we bring our own water/wine/other on MSC cruises? TIA

[carlmm]

2 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Can we bring our own water/wine/other on MSC cruises? TIA

No, you cannot.

Compared  to American cruise lines, drink prices are low.

[CampNCruise74]

MSC has been consistent with three shows a night on all their boats which is great.  You even get to reserve your seat through the app.  Never ever overbooked from what I have seen.  

 

 

[Oceansaway17]

On 1/10/2023 at 6:28 PM, AtSeaWithChris said:

MSC is on the bottom of my to do list.

aw we have the same list I see.

I know the ships are supposed to be pretty but if the food and entertainment is just ok, then I would rather do Carnival newer ships and hear less languages in announcements.

[mowogo]

2 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

aw we have the same list I see.

I know the ships are supposed to be pretty but if the food and entertainment is just ok, then I would rather do Carnival newer ships and hear less languages in announcements.

MSC presents an international experience on newer ships for the price of Spirit/Conquest class sailings.  That for me tips it toward MSC, but then I’m ok with the different language announcements as that is much more common in European destinations.  On the plus side it means a lot fewer announcements so you don’t have them stopping to advertise every sale in the EFFY boutique.  

[RD64]

3 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

aw we have the same list I see.

I know the ships are supposed to be pretty but if the food and entertainment is just ok, then I would rather do Carnival newer ships and hear less languages in announcements.

Perhaps a generalization, but why is it that Americans are so opposed to multiple language announcements? It just reinforces the Xenophobic stereotype. If multi-language announcements are so detrimental to your enjoyment of the cruise, then back to Carnival / RCL / NCL you go.

[ready2cruzagain]

10 hours ago, RD64 said:

Perhaps a generalization, but why is it that Americans are so opposed to multiple language announcements? It just reinforces the Xenophobic stereotype. If multi-language announcements are so detrimental to your enjoyment of the cruise, then back to Carnival / RCL / NCL you go.

Last March on the Seashore I did not notice them doing multi-language announcements but then again, that does not bother me.  

Edited January 13, 2023 by ready2cruzagain

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

As long as there's sufficient numbers of (whatever language) folks onboard to benefit from it - it makes sense to at least relay important information to them as well. I'd certainly appreciate announcements in English if I found myself in a situation where I was in the minority.

 

There are some lines that just attract a more cosmopolitan group of guests, then there's Carnival. 🙂 

 

Tom 

[styles27]

Carnival vs MSC?

If you asked me that question 3 weeks ago I would have said hands down MSC is much better and they attract many pax from all over the world which adds to our vacation experience in a positive way. 
 

Just got off Divina this morning after 2 weeks (an 10 day and an 4 day combined) and the first 10 days was crazy. 
It’s not the crew or the ship that was the problem it was the passengers. I’ve never cruised with such rude and obnoxious people in 40 yrs of cruising. Worse than the worst Carnival pax hands down.
 The majority would run you over to get in or out of an elevator without so much as an excuse me or sorry!
The buffet was a nightmare the first 10 days. No napkins or flatware by 10 am. Tables not being bused so others could sit and eat. Foreigners not wanting to wait in line so they’d just push in front of people to get this food. Room service left in the halls for hours and hours

Just a complete sh.. show. 

We left Carnival because of the passengers it was attracting…not all were bad but a lot of them were out of control drinking and obnoxious. 
Unfortunately with MSC lowballing the other cruise lines those Carnival pax are going to MSC. 
 

Will only cruise with MSC in the Yacht Club going forward. 
 

Having said that, Divina had a lot of music around the ship and “name that tune” type games multiple times a day so it wasn’t in line with your cruise having limited things to do.

It was just 3800 pax was way too many and the crew couldn’t keep up.

Our last 4 days was much better with around 2000 pax. (We did a B2B.)

So for us we experienced an MSC cruise that was in line with Carnival. Not better or worse. 
The older I get the less patience I have with ignorant people.