Considering a MSC cruise, what do I need to know.

[kaz828]

We have always done RC, was looking in to trying MSC but want to be sure I'm understanding what is and is not included. 

What about rooms, dining, any adult only areas (we are pool people)

[Two Wheels Only]

What ship are you considering?

[2aprilbabies]

I am not the OP, but I have the same question.

 

We are a family of 4: 2 50-something adults, 18-year-old, and 21-year-old.  We are limited to a specific week to sail and wanted to leave out of NY or NJ.  It seems we waited too long to book Celebrity to Bermuda and I just noticed Meraviglia for the week we can travel.  We haven't cruised recently, but in the past, we've cruised with Celebrity and Carnival.  We were happy with all our cruises.  I am seeing mixed reviews for MSC and wondering if it's worth us giving it a try.  

 

One member of the family needs gluten-free.

[ready2cruzagain]

8 hours ago, 2aprilbabies said:

I am not the OP, but I have the same question.

 

We are a family of 4: 2 50-something adults, 18-year-old, and 21-year-old.  We are limited to a specific week to sail and wanted to leave out of NY or NJ.  It seems we waited too long to book Celebrity to Bermuda and I just noticed Meraviglia for the week we can travel.  We haven't cruised recently, but in the past, we've cruised with Celebrity and Carnival.  We were happy with all our cruises.  I am seeing mixed reviews for MSC and wondering if it's worth us giving it a try.  

 

One member of the family needs gluten-free.

We have been on 6 Celebrity cruises, 18 Carnival cruises, 12 MSC cruises and numberous NCL and Princess cruises for a total of 56 cruises.  MSC is our favorite cruise line.

 

The biggest advice I can give you would be if you book MSC is not to compare it to Celebrity or Carnival. MSC is an Italian cruise line and very different. If you cruise on MSC and compare everything to RCCL or Carnival you will more than likely not like it. If you go with an open mind that MSC does things differently, you will more than likely enjoy it.  

 

[heatherb1958]

@ready2cruzagain - good sound advice which I agree wholeheartedly with.

 

More than 15 years ago when we were on an RCI ship docked next to an MSC ship we liked the look of I was put off trying MSC because a friend told me you had to pay for water at dinner !  , I was gobsmacked. Fast forward to when Status match was introduced and RCI's pricing getting ridiculous we tried MSC out of Barcelona and have never looked back . Yes at the time in Feb 2017 you did have to pay for water at dinner but MSC in their wisdom trying to break the UK market introduced free  tea,coffee and water at lunch and dinner in the MDR . 

Love everything about MSC from the ships, entertainment , and even the food 😍.  

[2aprilbabies]

4 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

We have been on 6 Celebrity cruises, 18 Carnival cruises, 12 MSC cruises and numberous NCL and Princess cruises for a total of 56 cruises.  MSC is our favorite cruise line.

 

The biggest advice I can give you would be if you book MSC is not to compare it to Celebrity or Carnival. MSC is an Italian cruise line and very different. If you cruise on MSC and compare everything to RCCL or Carnival you will more than likely not like it. If you go with an open mind that MSC does things differently, you will more than likely enjoy it.  

 

Thank you.  Your response was very helpful.  

 

Do you do Yacht Club?  I've read it's a ship within a ship, but I don't really know what that means. I also just noticed the Status Match.  We're Gold with Carnival so not sure if that will mean much with MSC, but I'll fill out the match - nothing to lose there.

 

We'll definitely go with an open mind, but can you share some of the major differences you noticed?

[2aprilbabies]

51 minutes ago, heatherb1958 said:

@ready2cruzagain - good sound advice which I agree wholeheartedly with.

 

More than 15 years ago when we were on an RCI ship docked next to an MSC ship we liked the look of I was put off trying MSC because a friend told me you had to pay for water at dinner !  , I was gobsmacked. Fast forward to when Status match was introduced and RCI's pricing getting ridiculous we tried MSC out of Barcelona and have never looked back . Yes at the time in Feb 2017 you did have to pay for water at dinner but MSC in their wisdom trying to break the UK market introduced free  tea,coffee and water at lunch and dinner in the MDR . 

Love everything about MSC from the ships, entertainment , and even the food 😍.  

Question about the entertainment: do you book the fee-based shows?  I can't imagine my son wanting to go, but my daughter probably would. I am a little concerned about my kids finding stuff to do since they are older (18 and 21).

 

Did you use the bowling alley or the F1 simulators?

[APDMOM]

We have been on NCL, RCL, Carnival, Costa, & Celebrity.  Found MSC and LOVE it!  Our favorite cruiseline, with RCL a close second.  

 

You will find more similarities than differences in what is included.  MSC drinks are much cheaper than other cruiselines too, so we don't even buy a drinks package.  We find great drinks between $7 and $10.  There are more expensive drinks, but we stick to the cheaper ones that we enjoy anyway.

 

Things people complain about:

 

• No 24-hour soft serve, and some ships charge for soft serve ice cream. In my opinion, you can buy GALLONS of soft serve for the price savings on MSC.
•  
• Different culture with 'cutting' in the buffet lines.  If you can set your mind that this is just a different cultural idea of buffet service, you can deal with the 'cutting' in lines.  In my opinion, it makes more sense to 'skip' forward in a line if you are not interested in getting soup while 3 people take their time to scoop soup.  I have not found anyone 'cutting' in line by jumping for a spoon I was just about to grab.  ...but then I grew up in a different country and I am used to plenty of cultures in one country. 😄
•  
• Announcements in different languages - this is not true on every cruise/ship.  I believe they taylor it to the passengers.  We have not found it to be a problem, as they go really fast through the languages.
•  
• Dining packages are not always worthwhile - do your research.  On MSC the dining package limits you to certain menu items, so it may be better to just pay the a la carte or full price, depending on the restaurant.
•  
• Entertainment is 'not that good' - Our first MSC Cruises on Seaside and Meraviglia in 2019 had excellent entertainment.  Our most recent cruise on Meraviglia showed the 'cut backs' after the shut down.  I hope they will return to the excellent quality from our 2019 experiences.
•  
• Poor customer service - We have not experienced this, as we have great service most of the time.  It is no different from other cruiselines in our experience. 
•  
• Very few 'free' dining experiences:  This is true, but again - for the $$ you save on MSC over other cruiselines, you can pay up for a different dining experience.
•  
• Buffet is the same every day - NOT true.  There are repeat items but you have to walk around the whole buffet to discover different items.  MSC buffet does not have the same organization and layout as the buffets on other cruiselines, so walk all the way around and you will find plenty of options.  We loved the daily ethnic section with different dishes from multiple countries and cultures.

 

The main things we LOVE about MSC as it stands now:

• We can often get 2 adjoining balconies for a lower price than 1 balcony (3 passengers) on RCL, Norwegian, or Celebrity.
•  
• Smaller portions food with LOTS of healty Mediterranean dishes. 
•  
• MSC Seaside is our favorite ship of 36 cruises to date.  I just hope the entertainment is sorted out by the time we board Seaside again in May.  The Michael Jackson show was one of THE BEST we ever experienced on a ship, so I hope we can see that again in May 🙂

 

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by APDMOM
Spacing

[APDMOM]

13 hours ago, 2aprilbabies said:

I am not the OP, but I have the same question.

 

We are a family of 4: 2 50-something adults, 18-year-old, and 21-year-old.  We are limited to a specific week to sail and wanted to leave out of NY or NJ.  It seems we waited too long to book Celebrity to Bermuda and I just noticed Meraviglia for the week we can travel.  We haven't cruised recently, but in the past, we've cruised with Celebrity and Carnival.  We were happy with all our cruises.  I am seeing mixed reviews for MSC and wondering if it's worth us giving it a try.  

 

One member of the family needs gluten-free.

 

We were just on Meraviglia in November.  If you would like to get an idea of the daily programs and see some tips (all posted in red if you want to skim-read), you can look at my trip report here:

 

 

[insidecabin]

For UK bookings the key is pay for everything you want before boarding it's cheaper.

 

There is nearly always a deal on the beverage at time of booking, check it as some cruise the premium extra  is only £15pppd once booked it is more expensive.

 

I understand US get easy plus on their deals.

[2aprilbabies]

@APDMOM- thank you so much for all your information!  I loved your review too!  The ship looks beautiful.  

 

For all you MSC lovers, did you book directly with MSC or use a travel agent?  I put in a query with CrusieCompete but the offers don't seem to be as good as booking it directly.

[APDMOM]

33 minutes ago, 2aprilbabies said:

@APDMOM- thank you so much for all your information!  I loved your review too!  The ship looks beautiful.  

 

For all you MSC lovers, did you book directly with MSC or use a travel agent?  I put in a query with CrusieCompete but the offers don't seem to be as good as booking it directly.

Since a previous travel agent went bankrupt and absconded with more then $2,000 of our money, we always book direct.  🙂

 

It is also nice to have 24/7 control of your booking to contact MSC.

Edited March 12, 2023 by APDMOM

[APDMOM]

52 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

For UK bookings the key is pay for everything you want before boarding it's cheaper.

 

There is nearly always a deal on the beverage at time of booking, check it as some cruise the premium extra  is only £15pppd once booked it is more expensive.

 

I understand US get easy plus on their deals.

 

Thanks for the European info.

 

US bookings do not always include the drinks package.  It depends on special sales.  We only got the package one time as an included perk.  🙂

[insidecabin]

1 hour ago, 2aprilbabies said:

@APDMOM- thank you so much for all your information!  I loved your review too!  The ship looks beautiful.  

 

For all you MSC lovers, did you book directly with MSC or use a travel agent?  I put in a query with CrusieCompete but the offers don't seem to be as good as booking it directly.

UK there seems to be quite a bit of margin for TAs as 15% is often offered against MSC online

Some say phone as MSC is more flexible than a lot of lines and will do a deal.

 

We booked our first MSC through US TA as the offers were better more recently they seem to be pushing heavy into UK 20% solo, discounted premium drinks and free kids.

 

New drinks prices yet to hit Virtuosa on board so difficult to tell what will work

Line is they will change when the change back to GBP and homeport Southampton.

 

 

 

 

[Morecruisesplz]

On 3/11/2023 at 12:03 PM, kaz828 said:

We have always done RC, was looking in to trying MSC but want to be sure I'm understanding what is and is not included. 

What about rooms, dining, any adult only areas (we are pool people)

Same here. 

[ChattTenn]

On 3/11/2023 at 1:03 PM, kaz828 said:

We have always done RC, was looking in to trying MSC but want to be sure I'm understanding what is and is not included. 

What about rooms, dining, any adult only areas (we are pool people)

We tried MSC first time in October 2021 after several cruises from many cruise lines.  Even though the food was not great at that sailing just after pandemic but we thought but the price was very good and the ship (Divina) was beautiful plus the service was wonderful. We gave MSC another try this past December on Meraviglia this time the price was also good and the food much improved.  Neither to say we already have 2 more cruises booked for later this year.  We only booked Fantastica with status match as Diamond member.

We also like RCI but their price is getting to expensive compares to MSC. 

[APDMOM]

On 3/11/2023 at 1:03 PM, kaz828 said:

 

What about rooms, dining, any adult only areas (we are pool people)

 

Forgot to respond to this... There are some 'secret' cabins on MSC ships, just like on other cruiselines.  We had amazing aft balconies on Meraviglia in November that were very 'cheap' compared to other cruiselines.  DH and DS paid $1621 for their room and mine was $909 -both facing the wake.  They opened the sleeve between the balconies and we had a super large balcony for 3 of us!  All for $2530 for 2 balcony rooms.  You can't find that anywhere else.  This was our balcony:

 

We did find that MSC ships have less storage in the room, so you will need to be creative with magnetic hooks and the over-the-door shoe hanger.  

 

The aft pool is for adults only, but the area is open to kids.  Nothing like the adults only solarium or serenity areas on other ships.  I do recommend the Thermal Spa pass on Seaside class ships.  That is a GREAT experience.

[shibby sails]

Going on my fist MSC cruise in June. Want to use the status match program. For those who have used this is it better to use one cruise line over another? I am diamond in both Carnival and RCCL. Is one better than the other to get a comparable match?

[heatherb1958]

21 hours ago, 2aprilbabies said:

Question about the entertainment: do you book the fee-based shows?  I can't imagine my son wanting to go, but my daughter probably would. I am a little concerned about my kids finding stuff to do since they are older (18 and 21).

 

Did you use the bowling alley or the F1 simulators?

 

I have seen most of the Carousel lounge shows on Meraviglia class ships.   Here in the UK they had been selling them  for half price on the cruise planner so it was worth it . 

No to the bowling and simulators, we have not used them . 

[Gatordad1967]

12 hours ago, shibby sails said:

Going on my fist MSC cruise in June. Want to use the status match program. For those who have used this is it better to use one cruise line over another? I am diamond in both Carnival and RCCL. Is one better than the other to get a comparable match?

Use as many as you have status.  We tried and used RCCL and Carnival.  I think our RCCL was better.

 

 

[kaz828]

On 3/11/2023 at 2:45 PM, Two Wheels Only said:

What ship are you considering?

We are open

[kaz828]

On 3/12/2023 at 6:41 AM, ready2cruzagain said:

We have been on 6 Celebrity cruises, 18 Carnival cruises, 12 MSC cruises and numberous NCL and Princess cruises for a total of 56 cruises.  MSC is our favorite cruise line.

 

The biggest advice I can give you would be if you book MSC is not to compare it to Celebrity or Carnival. MSC is an Italian cruise line and very different. If you cruise on MSC and compare everything to RCCL or Carnival you will more than likely not like it. If you go with an open mind that MSC does things differently, you will more than likely enjoy it.  

 

Thank you, what are the main things you find most different?

[ready2cruzagain]

6 hours ago, kaz828 said:

Thank you, what are the main things you find most different?

 

When comparing MSC to Carnival it is easy. MSC have much nicer ships, not gaudy like Carnival and they are well taken care of, Last time we were on the Glory it was basically falling apart.  Half the tiles around the pool area missing, rust everywhere, etc. Carnival would patch over rust or paint over it, MSC will fix it.  MSC takes pride in how their ships look.  

 

Menus, love MSC's menus.  We quit sailing Carnival when they went to meatloaf, fried chicken, etc in the MDR. But food is very subjective so won't really go there.  I hear people complaining about the buffet that they have only hot dogs and hamburgers but they need to walk past the first station and walk all the way around the buffet.  There is a lot more than that on the buffet.

 

Hated it when Carnival went to "let the cruisers entertain themselves" an example being the Hasbro Games. It got to where it was hard to even find a band playing.  The MSC ships we have been on (Meraviglia, Seashore, Seaside and Divina) had all kinds of entertainment. Multiple entertainers and bands at the same time in different venues.  Never a problem finding something to do at night time.

 

We love the diversity of the Main Theater Shows.  I like some opera thrown in with some jugglers.  For the first time ever on one of our MSC cruises last month they flew in a comedian.  I am not into comedy so we did not go but heard it was good from friends.  I did hear several people complain that there was no comedy every night like on Carnival.  So, if you want a comedy club every night, MSC does not have that, at least not on the ships we have  been on.

 

Simple things such as wash clothes in bathroom or a top sheet, never had a problem on Carnival with that but on MSC it is hit or miss. Last time we had to ask over and over for them but our cruise last Spring never had to ask the cabin steward for a thing. He was awesome.

 

"Free" dining restaurants such as the Blue Iguana or Guy's Burgers on Carnival, none of that on MSC.

 

Love, Love, Love the spa's on the newer MSC ships! Did I say LOVE!!

 

Depends on what port you sail out of but when we sail out of MIami on MSC announcements are made in several different languages. When we sail on MSC out of PC that is not the case, announcements were only in English. I would think because fewer foreigners sail out of PC.

 

Anyhoo, that is just a few of the things on top of my head that I can think of. I am sure there are a lot more.  As far as Celebrity goes, been a while since been on a Celebrity cruise so hard to compare.

 

 

[Stockjock]

To me, the biggie is to try to avoid calling customer service once everything is locked in.  Even if your dining time is wrong, just deal with it onboard.  Calling about even minor things can change your pricing substantially.

Otherwise...

Ships are very nice.

May be somewhat crowded, at times.

Drink packages a good value, especially when purchased at the time of booking.

Food decent, but can be hit or miss.

Service also hit or miss, but certainly is very good at times.

Entertainment, odd story lines and also hit and miss.

Many languages, which can get tedious.

Most cruises tend to be a good value.

More Europeans than most cruise lines, especially in Europe.  We're good with this.

Excursion pricing isn't too bad.

Despite some drawbacks, MSC is one of our favorite cruise lines.  Just set expectations accordingly.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

We were in the same boat as the OP. Been on a number of different cruise lines but mostly RCL. We have been looking at MSC as the price difference is exceptional. RCL have gone super aggressive here in the UK and Europe for pricing. Even though there seems to be lots of negative reviews online about MSC we decided to do a cruise to test the water. 

So we have booked to go on Virtuosa end of March.

We accept that MSC are different however having been on a lot of European cruises we understand how the culture is different compared to US cruises. From queuing to tannoys in different languages. In fact our brilliance cruise in aug from Italy had both of the above. 

So we booked a window view room for 2 adults and 1 child and have been offered lots of upgrades. However when we got our tickets through we have been automatically upgraded to a delux balcony for free. We dont drink so not worried about the packages and from our research its better to just pay onboard for any speciality resturants. We have pre paid for the two carousel shows and a fun pass for our daughter. 

We are looking forward to it and i plan to do a comparison review with RCL when i get back. 

I also like the fact for cruises out of UK the graturites are included in the price so you know the cost before you book.