Princes vs. MSC...

[20165]

Im hoping the answer to this is no comparison, but we just got off a MSC cruise out of Miami and are a bit shell shocked so we wanted to ask some questions about Princess since we haven't been on them in about 20 years.  We have a Princess cruise booked 12/16/23 on Sky princess and my family is questioning if we should do it or book some other vacation give the experience we had last week.  We are seasoned cruisers, have been on most mainstream cruise lines.  RCL, NCL and Celebrity.  We have been trying different cruise lines lately because our kids are getting older.  Late teens, early 20s.  We did Celebrity Edge over the holidays last year and loved it.   The main issues we had with MSC was way over crowding and some of the rudest passengers we have ever encountered on a cruise.  Im sure overcrowding contributed to that.  Some other annoyances was 22 separate charges on my credit card with no end of the cruise bill to show what they were for, making reservations for the shows, and the zoo like atmosphere at the buffet.  

So, like i said above, i hoping the answer is the Princess cruise will be nothing like what experienced last week, but again we havent been on Princess in a long time and it is owned by Carnival which we also avoid like the plague...

Thanks 

[Lady Arwen]

Princess is very comparable to RCCL, Celebrity, HAL and is nothing like MSC.  Our good friends decided to give MSC a try and absolutely hated it for numerous reasons.

You will find Princess more to your liking.  Sky Princess is a beautiful ship and has all the amenities you would need and even though it’s a large ship it doesn’t feel overcrowded.  Good choice!

[antsp]

Avoid, Avoid, Avoid. 3 years or so ago we did a 7 day MSC Grandiosa out of Barcelona, very cheap. I don't care what anyone very says I would never set foot on MSC again. Nothing went wrong that effected us directly, is just that their overall product is poor. 

[Buckeye10640]

I am mostly  a Princess cruiser, have sailed Carnival, NCL, and Celebrity. Have not been on MCS but was considering it, based on the fact I may be able to get a better solo cabin price than on Princess, so I appreciate your perspective on MSC.  

I think you will be OK on Sky. I have never had issues with buffet seating, you dont have to make reservations for shows although I do recommend arriving 1/2 hour early for popular production shows. You will find ocasional incorrect drink charges but I check our account daily, report incorrect charges to guest services and they have been removed. Food and drink ordering via the app can be spotty, things may arrive late or not at all. Deck chairs may fill up on sea days.  I have not seen any big issue with rude passengers.   We have done 10 day sailings early Dec the last 2 years on Enchanted and I would not hesitate to go again. Enjoy!

[roadster08]

We just did an Alaskan cruise earlier this month and were pleasantly surprised at how relaxed and uncrowded the public space is were on the sapphire. Princess. The medallion system worked well for us in keeping the charges accurate on our bill. In addition to the medallion, the servers generally checked verbally. What are cabin number was as a double check.

 

I think part of the reason why this ship seemed so uncrowded was because there are numerous public spaces, not just one big open area for each venue. For example, there were five main dining rooms on the ship, not just one or two. There were also multiple pool areas, and one was covered which was fortunate because it was a little cold to go in the hot tubs outside for me in the Alaska area, although there were some brave souls in the outdoor hot tubs.

 

I found the cruisers on princess to be very relaxed and friendly. Agree with you completely that an  overcrowded ship does make people more aggressive and less considerate. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by roadster08

[20165]

Thanks for the info everyone and those that asked about MSC, i would highly recommend against trying it.  We have enjoyed cruising with our family for years, and this last MSC cruise really put a bad taste in everyone mouth for cruising.  Luckily we had 2 good cruises last year on Celebrity so im really trying to make sure this next one goes off without a hitch to get everyone back on board with cruising. 

thanks again.

[Bgwest]

10 minutes ago, 20165 said:

Thanks for the info everyone and those that asked about MSC, i would highly recommend against trying it.  We have enjoyed cruising with our family for years, and this last MSC cruise really put a bad taste in everyone mouth for cruising.  Luckily we had 2 good cruises last year on Celebrity so im really trying to make sure this next one goes off without a hitch to get everyone back on board with cruising. 

thanks again.

You’ve not elaborated on what you disliked about MSC. 
Would you mind expanding on your experience?

[dreaminofcruisin]

I think you will find Princess much better than MSC. We did MSC years ago and it was a 1 and done for us also.  That being said, your cruise dates are getting pretty close to the Christmas holidays, so it will likely be more crowded than usual for a Princess cruise. I think you'll still be fine, but just bear in mind that the crowds and number of families might be higher than average.

[20165]

13 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

You’ve not elaborated on what you disliked about MSC. 
Would you mind expanding on your experience?

Sure, its on the MSC board under this title.

Seascape June 11-18 review. Warning, it isnt pretty...

[memoak]

Right after restart we had no problems with crowds. Now we are noticing full ships and lots of crowding. Just off 2 weeks in the Discovery in Alaska. 600 kids one week   On sea days any area near the Piazza was jammed and so Lourdes you had to yell to be heard by your neighbor. 45 minute wait for a table at GiGi’s, 1 hour wait for sushi. No more Royal class for us. Back to Crown, Ruby and Emerald for our next 6 cruises

[KKB]

3 hours ago, 20165 said:

Im hoping the answer to this is no comparison, but we just got off a MSC cruise out of Miami and are a bit shell shocked so we wanted to ask some questions about Princess since we haven't been on them in about 20 years.  We have a Princess cruise booked 12/16/23 on Sky princess and my family is questioning if we should do it or book some other vacation give the experience we had last week.  We are seasoned cruisers, have been on most mainstream cruise lines.  RCL, NCL and Celebrity.  We have been trying different cruise lines lately because our kids are getting older.  Late teens, early 20s.  We did Celebrity Edge over the holidays last year and loved it.   The main issues we had with MSC was way over crowding and some of the rudest passengers we have ever encountered on a cruise.  Im sure overcrowding contributed to that.  Some other annoyances was 22 separate charges on my credit card with no end of the cruise bill to show what they were for, making reservations for the shows, and the zoo like atmosphere at the buffet.  

So, like i said above, i hoping the answer is the Princess cruise will be nothing like what experienced last week, but again we havent been on Princess in a long time and it is owned by Carnival which we also avoid like the plague...

Thanks 

 

Princess was our 1st cruise 20 years ago...fell in love with cruising. 

Have sailed all the mainstream lines except Holland & a fan of them all. 

Had not cruised Princess for 10 years--got an offer last summer & now. have done 4 since then! 

 

I tried MSC for the 1st time in Feb. in the Caribbean.

Holy crap, hot mess & YES--THE RUDEST PASSENGERS I'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED. Total disregard for common courtesy.

I got off thinking, don't love it, don't hate it. Can't totally put my finger on it...but...

 

I had them booked in May in Europe. It was already paid & a heck of a deal.

I figured no way things would be the same.

AGAIN RUDEST PASSENGERS EVER--numerous times saw people PUSH young children out of the way (and there were NOT many children on that cruise, so if it occurred more than once, by different people...wow, no words).

I, too, found a random $80 charge on my bill. No one could determine what it was for & it took me THREE visits to GS to get it removed. 

SO few activities on sea days/evenings (dance lessons were offered several times a day...) Evenings--shows, sit & drink while listening to music and casino were the only options. 

 

Nope, will NEVER do MSC again--you get what you pay for I guess. 

(it didn't seem possible that I would have the rude passenger issue in Europe with a totally different demographic than Caribbean. But reviews were correct--there seems to be a bizarre MSC culture that attracts/cultivates the attitude)

 

I suspect you will have a lovely time on the Sun Princess. We did the Discovery last Sept & it was lovely!

Edited June 25, 2023 by KKB

[MissP22]

9 minutes ago, memoak said:

Right after restart we had no problems with crowds. Now we are noticing full ships and lots of crowding. Just off 2 weeks in the Discovery in Alaska. 600 kids one week   On sea days any area near the Piazza was jammed and so Lourdes you had to yell to be heard by your neighbor. 45 minute wait for a table at GiGi’s, 1 hour wait for sushi. No more Royal class for us. Back to Crown, Ruby and Emerald for our next 6 cruises

I think a lot of your crowding problems were caused by the fact that it is Alaska's busy season and possible the time of day you arrived at each venue. Even if you were on the Crown, Ruby or Emerald you might have experienced the same delays. 

[memoak]

1 minute ago, MissP22 said:

I think a lot of your crowding problems were caused by the fact that it is Alaska's busy season and possible the time of day you arrived at each venue. Even if you were on the Crown, Ruby or Emerald you might have experienced the same delays. 

1,000 less people sounds good to me

[MissP22]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

1,000 less people sounds good to me

True, that they have less people but at the same time the they provide services based upon the number of people sailing. 

It's been so long that we've sailed on anything other than Royal class ships I may have forgotten how it was. 

[memoak]

8 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

True, that they have less people but at the same time the they provide services based upon the number of people sailing. 

It's been so long that we've sailed on anything other than Royal class ships I may have forgotten how it was. 

We were on the Emerald in March for Panama. Very little crowding anywhere. You do give up things like the sushi bar and large pizzeria but also don’t have the huge lines to disembark at every port

[helenb]

We love MSC, but we only sail Yacht Club with them. I would never want to be out in the 'main crowd'. Too many people, too much nickel-and-diming, not enough peace and relaxation.

 

On Princess, we sail in a 'regular' cabin, and enjoy it very much. While it is not as 'pampering' as Yacht Club, Princess has much better entertainment options than MSC (or any other cruise line we've sailed, save Disney). There are no weird charges on the bill, and the bill is settled on a credit card without having to go to guest services to set things up or close things out. We hav sailed many times on Princess, and have 2 more cruises for next year already booked with them. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by helenb

[MissP22]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

We were on the Emerald in March for Panama. Very little crowding anywhere. You do give up things like the sushi bar and large pizzeria but also don’t have the huge lines to disembark at every port

That might explain a lot since I don't eat sushi or pizza and mostly sail the Caribbean and I'm never in a rush to get off the ship at any port.

We'll be sailing on the Ruby this year so I'll be able to experience a smaller ship once again. 

And no to MSC- I've heard to many so-so comments about them. 

They sound like the some of the old Costa ships from years ago which we hated.

[memoak]

48 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

That might explain a lot since I don't eat sushi or pizza and mostly sail the Caribbean and I'm never in a rush to get off the ship at any port.

We'll be sailing on the Ruby this year so I'll be able to experience a smaller ship once again. 

And no to MSC- I've heard to many so-so comments about them. 

They sound like the some of the old Costa ships from years ago which we hated.

We mostly laughed at people lining up to get off in ports even before the ship even announced that the gangway was open. On Royal class ships we generally use the pizza and sushi on sea days for lunch but the crowds were ridiculous on the Discovery   We also saw many more first time cruisers than ever before taking a “bucket” list cruise who had no idea how things work

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

That might explain a lot since I don't eat sushi or pizza and mostly sail the Caribbean and I'm never in a rush to get off the ship at any port.

We'll be sailing on the Ruby this year so I'll be able to experience a smaller ship once again. 

And no to MSC- I've heard to many so-so comments about them. 

They sound like the some of the old Costa ships from years ago which we hated.

 

22 minutes ago, memoak said:

We mostly laughed at people lining up to get off in ports even before the ship even announced that the gangway was open. On Royal class ships we generally use the pizza and sushi on sea days for lunch but the crowds were ridiculous on the Discovery   We also saw many more first time cruisers than ever before taking a “bucket” list cruise who had no idea how things work

 

Unless we are tied to a specific time for an excursion, we also don't rush off the ship.  We learned a long time ago to wait an hour then stroll off. 

 

This thread is very timely as Mrs Ldubs and I were recently wondering how MSC might compare to our experiences on Princess, RCI, or Celebrity.  

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

We mostly laughed at people lining up to get off in ports even before the ship even announced that the gangway was open. On Royal class ships we generally use the pizza and sushi on sea days for lunch but the crowds were ridiculous on the Discovery   We also saw many more first time cruisers than ever before taking a “bucket” list cruise who had no idea how things work

I always hit the buffet at lunch when they first open. There's no one there at that time. The food is always fresh & people haven't had the time to mess up the place. 😉 

[J13C85]

 

 

7 hours ago, 20165 said:

Im hoping the answer to this is no comparison, but we just got off a MSC cruise out of Miami and are a bit shell shocked so we wanted to ask some questions about Princess since we haven't been on them in about 20 years.  We have a Princess cruise booked 12/16/23 on Sky princess and my family is questioning if we should do it or book some other vacation give the experience we had last week.  We are seasoned cruisers, have been on most mainstream cruise lines.  RCL, NCL and Celebrity.  We have been trying different cruise lines lately because our kids are getting older.  Late teens, early 20s.  We did Celebrity Edge over the holidays last year and loved it.   The main issues we had with MSC was way over crowding and some of the rudest passengers we have ever encountered on a cruise.  Im sure overcrowding contributed to that.  Some other annoyances was 22 separate charges on my credit card with no end of the cruise bill to show what they were for, making reservations for the shows, and the zoo like atmosphere at the buffet.  

So, like i said above, i hoping the answer is the Princess cruise will be nothing like what experienced last week, but again we havent been on Princess in a long time and it is owned by Carnival which we also avoid like the plague...

Thanks 

We sailed on MSC Meraviglia in October 2019 on a 10 Day Canada/New England cruise in the Yacht Club (10 months prior we did a 10D Mex Riviera cruise in a suite on Grand Princess) One of the reasons we chose MSC was the YC was cheaper than a 10D Caribbean cruise in a Club Class Mini sailing in the same time frame.

 

Meraviglia was a gorgeous ship (the staircases were breathtaking) and the YC experience was amazing.  Their "ship within a ship" product was reasonably priced, our 3 private decks had almost everything we would need (a full lounge, a pool deck, and a dedicated restaurant) That said, it was quite clear that people outside the YC were having a completely different experience than those of us in YC.  Everything outside the YC was so crowded. The one time we went to the spa it was packed, the interior promenade was always jam packed during any events or sales.  It was loud and the atmosphere was that of a non stop party (hello Carnival). When we ventured out (like we briefly did for the white party) as soon as we had our fill of the crowd it was right back to the YC.  The difference was surreal, the loud White Party with music blaring and people boisteriously having fun, and you step through through those YC club doors and it is quiet, there is someone playing soft mysic in the lounge and it was like we were on a completely different ship. With YC we had dedicated areas for leaving the ship (and we were accompanied by our butler) so we rarely stood in line and when we returned there was a dedicated YC entry point staffed by YC butlers who escorted us back inside the ship so no waiting). Again, we could see that those outside the YC were having a completely different experience.  We rarely ventured outside YC for food or drink (we did one specialty restauraunt). YC took care of our reservations and our butler escorted us to the restaurant to ensure we waited in no lines.  Same when we went to the Cirque show, butler escorted us and made sure we never stood in line. Again completely different experience as there were very long lines to get into Cirque. Everything about the YC was first rate and our takeaway was we would sail MSC again but only if in the YC.

 

As for Sky, we sailed her in a full Suite last November (the week after US TG) and she carried a load of about 4400 that week. We don't typically eat in the Buffet so I can't speak to that (although it looked very crowded). Alfredo's was packed on sea days there were always lines. It looked like the MDR was busy most nights as there were crowds outside waiting for their tables. There were lines at the International Cafe but those moved quickly. Got in to Sabattini's easily (had a reservation one night and the second was spur of the moment). Good Spirits Bar was always crowded in the evening (we never did get in and get to try one of their specialty cocktails). Shops were always manageable (people milling about but still easy to shop). Gelato place was rarely busy.  Atrium did get crowded during events but you could usually find a place to sit. Princess Live Bar (our favorite and you could get specialty coffees from them) was never crowded.  We could always find a nice peaceful place to sit near the Crown Grill bar (probably our favorite spot on this ship). Pools were jam packed as you would expect.

 

Sky doesn't have an F1 Simulator, or a Waterpark, or a bowling alley, or a ropes course, etc.  The experience on Sky was much more sedate than what you would expect to find on ships with those things who are marketing to a different demographic than Princess does.  I would compare the "General Admission" experience that people receive on MSC to that of a Carnival or RCCL crowd (and to me it seems like all three are marketing to the same crowd).  For "general admission" I would say MSC is not as good as Carnival and WAY WAY below RCCL. OTOH, the MSC YC experience compares favorably to the Princess Suite experience (as the Princess Experience is not "Ship within a Ship").  Overall, when Sky had 4400 people on it, there were crowds (tendering back to Sky from Princess Cays was a nightmare as the lines were huge and there was no special queue for suites/elites, not a complaint, just a statement of fact), but it was still easy to find peace (and those crowds were usually polite and kind) and outside the YC on Meraviglia that did not appear to be the case.

 

Lastly (finally, lol), you are on Sky on Dec 16.  Are you on the 7D or are you doing a B2B?  We sail on her on Dec 23 and it is our first B2B, and our first XMAS/New Year's cruise (we booked this at appx 600 days out and got a killer deal on a suite as the 14D was only about 30% higher than the 7D we did last year) and we xpect much bigger crowds this year, lol.

[Cancun01]

9 hours ago, 20165 said:

Im hoping the answer to this is no comparison, but we just got off a MSC cruise out of Miami and are a bit shell shocked so we wanted to ask some questions about Princess since we haven't been on them in about 20 years.  We have a Princess cruise booked 12/16/23 on Sky princess and my family is questioning if we should do it or book some other vacation give the experience we had last week.  We are seasoned cruisers, have been on most mainstream cruise lines.  RCL, NCL and Celebrity.  We have been trying different cruise lines lately because our kids are getting older.  Late teens, early 20s.  We did Celebrity Edge over the holidays last year and loved it.   The main issues we had with MSC was way over crowding and some of the rudest passengers we have ever encountered on a cruise.  Im sure overcrowding contributed to that.  Some other annoyances was 22 separate charges on my credit card with no end of the cruise bill to show what they were for, making reservations for the shows, and the zoo like atmosphere at the buffet.  

So, like i said above, i hoping the answer is the Princess cruise will be nothing like what experienced last week, but again we havent been on Princess in a long time and it is owned by Carnival which we also avoid like the plague...

Thanks 

If you haven’t been on Princess in 20 years I think you will also be a bit shell-shocked!!!  We haven’t been on them in 5 years and the changes are very noticeable but tolerable. There is certainly no comparison to even 10 years ago. 

The response from @J13C85reflects our thoughts.

 

 

 

[Cruise Raider]

We've cruised quite a bit since the post-Covid restart, mostly on Princess but did a side by side sailing on both Celebrity followed by switching berths and boarding the Discovery.  While Celebrity used to be our absolute favorite, we have to say we were just kind of bored.  There were some awesome things about Celebrity but the food and wine, activities, shows and events onboard Princess were worlds better.  
 

Since you haven’t sailed on Princess in quite some times, these are some of their improvements:

 

A greatly expanded room service menu that you can order without charge from just about anywhere on the ship.  You can even order a whole pizza with salads to be delivered to your seat in a lounge, in the piazza, in your room, etc. and they are really yummmmmmy!  
 

Their beds and bedding are so comfortable.

 

The medallion and associated app makes life so much easier.  Some people hate them but we’ve had very good luck with it aside from being a bit glitchy now and then.  You can locate your shipmates (with their permission), order food, review what’s on the schedule, dining room menus, make reservations for dining, check on your bill, order extra items for your cabin, such as extra hangers, pillows, room service tray pick up, chat with the crew to report a problem, bookmark any events, activities, shows, etc. and purchase future cruise deposits.  
 

The WiFi is switching over to Starlink (or something like that) throughout the fleet.  
(PS .. the WiFi on Celebrity was absolutely worthless) 

 

Plus and Premier pricing options will include beverage packages, WiFi, gratuities, juice bar, special desserts, fitness classes … plus, photo packages, specialty dining, Princess prizes, etc for the higher priced package.  They really can be a good deal.  
 

I’m sure there are more things others could add to my list.  

Rude passengers can happen upon any cruise line and I am sure that’s the more full capacity sailings we see now may add to that rudeness. 

 

[Bgwest]

It is so nice to read positive reviews instead of the constant bashing, bashing, bashing, that is so prevalent on cruise critic.

Thank you to the happy, positive people.

[capriccio]

9 hours ago, helenb said:

We love MSC, but we only sail Yacht Club with them. I would never want to be out in the 'main crowd'. Too many people, too much nickel-and-diming, not enough peace and relaxation.

 

On Princess, we sail in a 'regular' cabin, and enjoy it very much. While it is not as 'pampering' as Yacht Club, Princess has much better entertainment options than MSC (or any other cruise line we've sailed, save Disney). There are no weird charges on the bill, and the bill is settled on a credit card without having to go to guest services to set things up or close things out. We hav sailed many times on Princess, and have 2 more cruises for next year already booked with them. 

Our experiences and opinions are similar to yours. 

 

We have been elite on Princess since 2015 or so and have sailed in full suites about 4 or 5 times.  In 2020 right before Covid, we did a one week cruise on MSC in the Yacht Club (a ship within a ship concept that Princess doesn't currently offer) which was wonderful.  MSC matched our Princess status and service, food, and ambiance was first rate.  When I was asking my long-term TA about booking an MSC cruise she sighed but when I said Yacht Club she exclaimed, 'thank goodness that's all I would recommend for you.  It's wonderful and you'll love it."  It was but the rest of the ship was too big and too crowded and we have no interest in sailing any of the other 'experiences.'  Retaining an MSC loyalty level requires a booking every 3 years (extended post-Covid) so we have another booking in the Yacht Club this December.  The fare was cheaper than a Princess full suite.

 

Post-Covid we have 52 days on Princess (4 cruises) but none in full suites.  Mini-suites are fine for us (we like the space) on Princess but if I really want to be pampered staying in a full suite, MSC is much better.  We'll look at the Sun Princess after the first reviews come in from the initial passengers and maybe try one of their new cabin categories.