Is MSC also cutting back?

[MISTER 67]

We've been on 69 cruise including 5 on MSC, all 5 have been pretty good.

Our favorite lines are Holland America, Princess and Celebrity. Our last cruise on HAL was pretty bad with lousy food and bad entertainment and only fair service. From what I read on the Celebrity and Princess boards cost cutting measures the modus operandi for those 2 lines also, it seems like Jan 1, 2023 arrived and things have really taken a dive on most cruise lines. We have always thought that MSC was not a nickel and dine operation with very fair onboard pricing with drinks, photos and speciality restaurants and no gouging. My question is has MSC also joined the cost cutting frenzy that the other lines have implemented. We sail on the Celebrity Reflection in a few weeks and if things are as bad as what I've read , we just might spend our vacation dollars somewhere else instead of cruising.

Edited February 12, 2023 by MISTER 67

[emmas gran]

Friends just did 14 days on Seaside in YC, they enjoyed the vacation BUT more 

passengers than Meraviglia even though a smaller ship. This was their only comment worth noting 

[ready2cruzagain]

Has MSC cut back...yes. Just off of the Meraviglia, 11 days.

 

Was there a cut back in food, not that I could see. As a matter of fact it was an improvement over our Seashore cruise last March. MDR had filet mignon and lobster tail (7-8 ounces) on gala night which I have not seen anywhere in a long time.

 

Service, not as many crew members versus guests and definitely can tell it at times.  Not sure if this is a cut back or they can't get people to work since Covid.

 

Loyalty perks, definitely cut back. No more chocolate ship per member. Now one tiny chocolate bar per cabin, no more welcome back gift (at least not on our cruise). 

 

Entertainment, did not see a cut back on this. As a matter of fact there was a fly on comedian which I have never seen on MSC.

 

Were there enough cut backs to make us try another cruise line...No. We have sailed Celebrity, NCL, Princess and Carnival also. From what I see they all have cut backs.  

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by ready2cruzagain

[JT1962]

All cruise lines have had cutbacks and reductions in staff. I was on the Divina last month and the only real difference I noticed from October was differences on the Voyagers Club Diamond amenities - I got a chocolate bar rather than chocolate ship and was told I needed to go to guest services to get my gift (I forgot to go, so don’t know what it was.).  Service was a little slower in the dining room, but that could have been due to our group requesting to sit together and be added to the wait teams normal number of tables and the assistant waiter seeming to be new to the role.

 

I think all of the cruise lines are struggling with staffing issues. MSC may be struggling more than some since they seem to have large fluctuations in passenger counts between the 3-4 day & 7 day cruises. I see reports of 4,000+ on some of the ships on the 3-4 day cruises, then 1,800 - 2,400 on a 7 day cruise the following week. That makes it difficult to properly staff the ship, since they can’t hire temporary employees for a full cruise, as a land based business might be able to do, or not schedule employees for a slower week. The obvious answer is do not book more passengers than the crew can’t handle, but that’s difficult to do when the cruise lines need all the paying passengers they can get.

[Markanddonna]

1 hour ago, JT1962 said:

I think all of the cruise lines are struggling with staffing issues. MSC may be struggling more than some since they seem to have large fluctuations in passenger counts between the 3-4 day & 7 day cruises. I see reports of 4,000+ on some of the ships on the 3-4 day cruises, then 1,800 - 2,400 on a 7 day cruise the following week. That makes it difficult to properly staff the ship, since they can’t hire temporary employees for a full cruise, as a land based business might be able to do, or not schedule employees for a slower week. The obvious answer is do not book more passengers than the crew can’t handle, but that’s difficult to do when the cruise lines need all the paying passengers they can get.

MSC is struggling with cutbacks, many relating to the lack of staff. For example, the MDR at lunch on sea days went from serving 90 mins to just 60. There was a long line to get in at breakfast or lunch. We were told the kitchen couldn't handle both the demands of the buffet and MDR, so therefore the hours were reduced. Not enough staff to keep cups, glasses and silverware in the buffet. I walked around the entire buffet a few times and couldn't find those items. This happened on multiple days. 

 

The crew, although very overworked, was always pleasant, smiling, and tried their best to serve everyone.

 

We are very hesitant to book any more cruises beyond the two that are within the next ninety days. Cruising has taken a hit on many lines and if some of them survive, it will take a while for them to get back to better standards. This past 17 day cruise was so very disappointing.

[Georgia_Peaches]

I haven't been on MSC enough times (only 2 sailings) to be able to recognize cutbacks but I can say that having sailed both times on YC, I didn't feel the impact of cutbacks if they exist.

[JT1962]

30 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

MSC is struggling with cutbacks, many relating to the lack of staff. For example, the MDR at lunch on sea days went from serving 90 mins to just 60. There was a long line to get in at breakfast or lunch. We were told the kitchen couldn't handle both the demands of the buffet and MDR, so therefore the hours were reduced. Not enough staff to keep cups, glasses and silverware in the buffet. I walked around the entire buffet a few times and couldn't find those items. This happened on multiple days. 

 

The crew, although very overworked, was always pleasant, smiling, and tried their best to serve everyone.

 

We are very hesitant to book any more cruises beyond the two that are within the next ninety days. Cruising has taken a hit on many lines and if some of them survive, it will take a while for them to get back to better standards. This past 17 day cruise was so very disappointing.

I didn’t experience those issues on the Jan 20 7 Day sailing. I ate at the MDR 4 days for breakfast and 2 days for lunch with no wait to be seated shortly after opening. I was out in 40 min or less each time. I never had an issue getting glasses, silverware or a seat at the buffet. Sounds like your sailing was more crowded.

[Markanddonna]

6 hours ago, JT1962 said:

I didn’t experience those issues on the Jan 20 7 Day sailing. I ate at the MDR 4 days for breakfast and 2 days for lunch with no wait to be seated shortly after opening. I was out in 40 min or less each time. I never had an issue getting glasses, silverware or a seat at the buffet. Sounds like your sailing was more crowded.

The January 20th sailing was better. We had about 600 more passengers on Jan 27 and they were also a more demanding group. The sea days on your sailing were pretty normal. It was close to anarchy on the last day of the Jan 27 cruise when we couldn't go to Ocean Cay. The pool deck had angry people laying and sitting on the ground, on ledges...unreal! We didn't get to eat in the mdr at all for lunch or breakfast, partly because my husband got food poisoning from the scallops and then became quite sick. Bur it was very crowded because others wantwd to avoid thw buffet. I got to see the ship when everyone else was at port on excursions though, including many visits to the medical center with him. I enjoyed the sun and warmth. 

[RandomUser123]

69 cruises, nice!!!!