Longtime Royal cruisers tries MSC

[jules815]

5 hours ago, wayne_trisha said:

We are a month out from our Seaside cruise. Diamond on RCCl and their prices are ridiculous. Looks like the June 11th sailing has no insides so i cannot get the prices but the June 4th is currently listed at $3060 PP plus taxes/fess for an inside on Wonder OTS. We're on Seaside for less than $2700 total in a balcony with drinks, wi-fi, and $225 OBC. RIDICULOUS! Don't care that it is the newest Oasis class. Been on 10 or so Oasis class cruises and the upgrades/changes have little value to us.

Wait...over 3kpp for an inside on Wonder OTS??  Am I reading that right? We're only paying a little over $2600pp for a Deluxe Grand suite in the Yacht Club on Seascape and that includes our Premium drink package and wifi. (September 2023)

[wayne_trisha]

[wayne_trisha]

Add the drink package and wi-fi and I can easily see this hitting $8K.

[publicpersona]

19 hours ago, wayne_trisha said:

Diamond on RCCl and their prices are ridiculous. Looks like the June 11th sailing has no insides so i cannot get the prices but the June 4th is currently listed at $3060 PP plus taxes/fess for an inside on Wonder OTS.

 

First let me stipulate that MSC is far and away a better value in mass market cruising. I am also someone with 60+ Royal/Celebrity cruises who is now taking the occasional cruise on MSC just because of that value.

 

But there's something else at work here with cruise pricing. Royal uses dynamic pricing with very intelligent retail optimization for hospitality software. This can result is very bizarre pricing. Wonder inside today is $2481 but it could be $1200 next week, or $3800.

 

MSC does the same, though. I booked MSC Seaside 6/8 balcony 3 nt for $550 (w. drinks and wifi) a few days ago, then watched it go up to about $1000, and then back down to $679. Hmmm .. was it the CDC health inspection impact on demand? Maybe.

 

Bottom line is that it pays to watch pricing trends over time before booking.

[Morecruisesplz]

Today's lunch at buffet was very good. Tried the burgers inspite of a very long line. (Sea Day) They toast the bun, which makes all the difference. Hot and juicy.

Last night's dinner was very good again. Wife had steak off of Classic Menu. I had the blakened fish. Very tasty.

[wayne_trisha]

9 hours ago, publicpersona said:

 

First let me stipulate that MSC is far and away a better value in mass market cruising. I am also someone with 60+ Royal/Celebrity cruises who is now taking the occasional cruise on MSC just because of that value.

 

But there's something else at work here with cruise pricing. Royal uses dynamic pricing with very intelligent retail optimization for hospitality software. This can result is very bizarre pricing. Wonder inside today is $2481 but it could be $1200 next week, or $3800.

 

MSC does the same, though. I booked MSC Seaside 6/8 balcony 3 nt for $550 (w. drinks and wifi) a few days ago, then watched it go up to about $1000, and then back down to $679. Hmmm .. was it the CDC health inspection impact on demand? Maybe.

 

Bottom line is that it pays to watch pricing trends over time before booking.

While I agree RCCL uses dynamic prcing, Wonder OTS has NEVER been $1200. Go look at ANY ship out of Florida this summer and you can rarely find a cruise that is less then $200 per person per night for any cabin. RCCl has jacked their prices and based on the dynamical models can still keep raising prices due to supply/demand. F that. $8K for an inside cabin on wonder when you add drinks and wi-fi. Royal is not getting any of my new money (or old money that took forever to get back) any time soon.

[publicpersona]

9 minutes ago, wayne_trisha said:

While I agree RCCL uses dynamic prcing, Wonder OTS has NEVER been $1200. Go look at ANY ship out of Florida this summer and you can rarely find a cruise that is less then $200 per person per night for any cabin. RCCl has jacked their prices and based on the dynamical models can still keep raising prices due to supply/demand. F that. $8K for an inside cabin on wonder when you add drinks and wi-fi. Royal is not getting any of my new money (or old money that took forever to get back) any time soon.

 

That was meant to be an illustration. I was not asserting any specific price was available. That said, WOTS is $1123 for a balcony in the distant future. Also, inside for $1281 this summer (8/27).

 

But don't get me wrong .. I'm with you. My threshold for booking is somewhere between $75/$100 nt. So no Royal cruises currently on the books.

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by publicpersona

[Morecruisesplz]

Final night buffet was a miss. Only 1/2 of it open and staff not interested in refilling anything but pizza. Their pizza is great but we were looking for lighter options. We skip the MDR the last night as a rule and opt for lighter options the night before traveling. 

Shows the last 2 nights were excellent. Peter Punk and another which I cant remember the name of. MSC works the acrobats, magicians, jugglers, etc into each show. They were all superior to Royals shows or entertainment. 

[Morecruisesplz]

6 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Dup

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by fredmdcruisers
Dup

[Morecruisesplz]

On 5/8/2023 at 4:51 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

How are the prices?

See photo plz.

[wayne_trisha]

41 minutes ago, publicpersona said:

 

That was meant to be an illustration. I was not asserting any specific price was available. That said, WOTS is $1123 for a balcony in the distant future. Also, inside for $1281 this summer (8/27).

 

But don't get me wrong .. I'm with you. My threshold for booking is somewhere between $75/$100 nt. So no Royal cruises currently on the books.

 

 

 

Living near and driving by Port Canaveral 2X every day for work this is Definitely my preferred port. It really seems like it is becoming the premier port in Florida. I expect to pay a bit more, and I mean a bit, but NCL is leaving for the summer/fall, Disney is doing Disney (love our 2 cruises on Fanaasy), and Royal and Carnival have completely jacked prices so much that we have decided to skip a cruise for our anniversary in September (middle of hurricane season which has NEVER stopped us) and travel elsewhere. Not paying $500 per couple per night to visit destinations we have been to multiple times. 

[wayne_trisha]

32 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Final night buffet was a miss. Only 1/2 of it open and staff not interested in refilling anything but pizza. Their pizza is great but we were looking for lighter options. We skip the MDR the last night as a rule and opt for lighter options the night before traveling. 

Shows the last 2 nights were excellent. Peter Punk and another which I cant remember the name of. MSC works the acrobats, magicians, jugglers, etc into each show. They were all superior to Royals shows or entertainment. 

Ouch!

[Morecruisesplz]

15 minutes ago, wayne_trisha said:

Ouch!

But as an overall, general opionon MCS has the better product. Examples:

1. Food overall was much better

2. Beautiful ship and design.  (You can go in/out of bathroom at night without waking everyone else in the cabin; restrooms around the ship are SO clean; cabins are very clean and cabin steward seems always present in hallways.)

3. Prices are less with status match to Royal, you get a leg up to higher status.

4. Staff are all smiling and happy to assist. Any request we had was met with "of course."

What did we miss? 5 free drinks daily. We don't drink much but use our leftover free drinks at night for water. Paying for water adds up. There are some tricks to get free water on MSC but Royal is easy.

These are just our experiences and opinions. Your mileage might vary.

 

[wayne_trisha]

25 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

But as an overall, general opionon MCS has the better product. Examples:

1. Food overall was much better

2. Beautiful ship and design.  (You can go in/out of bathroom at night without waking everyone else in the cabin; restrooms around the ship are SO clean; cabins are very clean and cabin steward seems always present in hallways.)

3. Prices are less with status match to Royal, you get a leg up to higher status.

4. Staff are all smiling and happy to assist. Any request we had was met with "of course."

What did we miss? 5 free drinks daily. We don't drink much but use our leftover free drinks at night for water. Paying for water adds up. There are some tricks to get free water on MSC but Royal is easy.

These are just our experiences and opinions. Your mileage might vary.

 

 

51 minutes ago, wayne_trisha said:

Ouch!

I was entirely focused on the min-bar. I am over the moon excited for our cruise in just 32 days. We are the couple you see randonly walking behind the people having the time of their life, reading their kindles and people watching, and normally finding the uncrowded spaces. We cruise to be together, chill ,relax, and escape from normal life. Your review was great and excites me for our cruise11

[Vibe]

On 5/10/2023 at 7:27 PM, fredmdcruisers said:

Final night buffet was a miss. Only 1/2 of it open and staff not interested in refilling anything but pizza. Their pizza is great but we were looking for lighter options. We skip the MDR the last night as a rule and opt for lighter options the night before traveling. 

Shows the last 2 nights were excellent. Peter Punk and another which I cant remember the name of. MSC works the acrobats, magicians, jugglers, etc into each show. They were all superior to Royals shows or entertainment. 

I wonder if they scale down the buffet on the last night to encourage guests to eat in the main dining room. This way the people that remove their automatic gratuities and claim that they are going to tip in cash will go to the dining room on the last night and actually give the dining room crew their tips.

[Vibe]

Thanks for your review, it was great to read this, especially from the viewpoint of a frequent Royal Caribbean cruiser.

[Morecruisesplz]

2 hours ago, Vibe said:

I wonder if they scale down the buffet on the last night to encourage guests to eat in the main dining room. This way the people that remove their automatic gratuities and claim that they are going to tip in cash will go to the dining room on the last night and actually give the dining room crew their tips.

Maybe. I didn't know removing tips on MSC was a thing. 

[VernRDH]

Thanks for the review. We are also Royal loyals who are looking to branch out. I just got the email that my status match is done. 

I think the drinks will also be the thing we miss, but we can deal with it. 

Especially since I can book Aurea for less than a regular balcony on Royal.

[Morecruisesplz]

3 hours ago, VernRDH said:

Thanks for the review. We are also Royal loyals who are looking to branch out. I just got the email that my status match is done. 

I think the drinks will also be the thing we miss, but we can deal with it. 

Especially since I can book Aurea for less than a regular balcony on Royal.

Have to say that no free drinks kept us from partaking too much. We spent about $30/day on alchohol x7 is $210. Can't touch a drink package for that. We invested in refillable water bottles for use on MSC. Enjoy your cruise.

[Ocean Boy]

Reading this thread has just made me more likely to stray from RCI.

[ShillyShally]

9 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Reading this thread has just made me more likely to stray from RCI.

Same, I'll definitely do more price comparison on alternate options for future bookings!

[Morecruisesplz]

25 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:

Same, I'll definitely do more price comparison on alternate options for future bookings!

We are considering losing $900 in deposits for same old 3 weeks on Explorer January to move to 21 nights on Divina. The $s saved on having to eat in specialty restaurants on RCL make it a wash.

Your problem might be water. If I remember you like a specific brand. You can't carry any on and it's not free with Bella.

Imagine this: use the bathroom at night without waking everyone in adjoining cabins because of those rr doors that sound like a garage door opening. MSC ships are beautiful, clean and so well maintained. 

[ShillyShally]

4 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

We are considering losing $900 in deposits for same old 3 weeks on Explorer January to move to 21 nights on Divina. The $s saved on having to eat in specialty restaurants on RCL make it a wash.

Your problem might be water. If I remember you like a specific brand. You can't carry any on and it's not free with Bella.

Imagine this: use the bathroom at night without waking everyone in adjoining cabins because of those rr doors that sound like a garage door opening. MSC ships are beautiful, clean and so well maintained. 

I'm picky about water but truly can usually work with what is around - I don't know why I get leery about trying something new, I haven't had a bad cruise except some less enjoyable and that was usually company not ship!  I'm less worried about not liking things when travelling with DH since we're always happy to not be doing the usual grind of work, etc! 🙂  I may compare some upcoming trips to different ships to see which ones may be worth losing deposits on.  I'll definitely though be scoping out all lines for future trips, especially those that have flexibility in my funds!

[Morecruisesplz]

25 minutes ago, ShillyShally said:

I'm picky about water but truly can usually work with what is around - I don't know why I get leery about trying something new, I haven't had a bad cruise except some less enjoyable and that was usually company not ship!  I'm less worried about not liking things when travelling with DH since we're always happy to not be doing the usual grind of work, etc! 🙂  I may compare some upcoming trips to different ships to see which ones may be worth losing deposits on.  I'll definitely though be scoping out all lines for future trips, especially those that have flexibility in my funds!

The new menus were our breaking point to try other lines. Plus the unappetizing options in WJ for 3 weeks. Trying VV in December. Will report our experience. 

[ShillyShally]

1 minute ago, fredmdcruisers said:

The new menus were our breaking point to try other lines. Plus the unappetizing options in WJ for 3 weeks. Trying VV in December. Will report our experience. 

We're vegan so we're worried about the new menus because Royal was actual one we could always find something and then they had the separate menu but now with limited options, some with less than great reviews, I'm more tempted to try others. Though I have been able to get terrific veggie sushi in Izumi, but to your point, if we have to pay anyway.... Makes VV tempting so I look forward to your review!  We have an anniversary/birthday cruise booked this fall that we'll do and enjoy no matter what, but it will also be the deciding factor on how happy we may be to stay or stray 🙂