Comparing MSC to NCL

[cruisekitty22]

We love NCL  for all it offers. How does MSC compare for a balcony room,.  Do people on board speak English or is it all foreign languages 24/7?  How does the food, drinks ect compare?   Do they offer a good drink package?  How much is the cost?  How is it sailing from Brooklyn?  Sorry for so many questions.  We are used to NCL and have yet to try MSC. 

[Essiesmom]

From Brooklyn, the main language will be English, with other language announcements depending on the percent of guests from those areas.  Food is subjective.  Never had a drink package on any line.  I think balcony rooms are large.  Suggest you read a lot of threads here, particularly the Live From that are not Yacht Club.  @JamieLogicalcan answer a lot of your questions.  EM

[JIMESOPUS]

@cruisekitty22 Hi, With over 20 NCL cruises we tried the Meraviglia last September. 

Quick question, did you do the tier match that MSC offers?

Cost - for us comparing our 6-day to Bermuda vs the Joy 5-day we saved over $1K, and we even got an upgrade to the Yacht Club at a very low bid.

Driving to Brooklyn was OK, but it could have been better there was so much stuff happening that week, UN week.

The language was mostly English.

The food was great, the Buffet was open longer than NCL, and the pizza was great.

 

[JamieLogical]

So, I did my first 7 cruises on NCL before COVID and three more post-COVID. I have recently done 5 MSC sailings and I definitely think MSC is a much better deal for the money. The included drink package "only" covers drinks up to $10, but those drinks include more than what is covered by NCL's basic Free at Sea drink package which allegedly covers drinks up to $15. For instance, on NCL, a shot of Bailey's is $16, but on MSC it is only $8. So it is covered in the package on MSC, but is an upcharge on NCL.

 

The other things I really appreciate about MSC are the included room service breakfast and evening turndown service, two things that NCL has eliminated post-COVID. Also, MSC's included wifi is unlimited where NCL only includes 150 minutes. I have never had any issue with the wifi on MSC trying to do things like browse the internet, check email, post/read Cruise Critic, upload photos for my live blogs, and remote desktop for my job. However, with the included wifi on MSC, major streaming services are blocked for watching videos, so you will have to pay to upgrade your wifi if that's important to you.

 

Pizza on MSC is AMAZING. Some people don't love the assigned dining times in the MDRs coming from NCL, but they have not been a problem for me, since I tend to eat around the same time every evening anyway.

 

Let me know if you have specific questions.

[JamieLogical]

Here is the drink menu from my February sailing. Anything under $10 would be covered by the Easy Plus drink package. Anything else, you would pay the difference plus gratuity on the difference.

 

 

QR_K_BAR-LIST-GENERIC_OTHER_DAYX_EN_1707699405.pdf

[Yorkvillain]

@JamieLogical you are such a wealth of information on this MSC board! Thank you for always answering everyone’s questions in so many threads. 
 

Have you ever seen a class pass in the gym on MSC like NCL and Royal have? 

And with the Easy Plus drink package, do you know if you can grab multiple bottles of water at once or is it strictly one at a time? 

 

 

[JamieLogical]

24 minutes ago, Yorkvillain said:

@JamieLogical you are such a wealth of information on this MSC board! Thank you for always answering everyone’s questions in so many threads. 
 

Have you ever seen a class pass in the gym on MSC like NCL and Royal have? 

And with the Easy Plus drink package, do you know if you can grab multiple bottles of water at once or is it strictly one at a time? 

 

 

 

I can't answer any quests about the gym, but you can definitely get multiple bottles of water at once. I would usually grab two, but I believe you could get 4 at once if you can carry all of them. I always have my room stewart empty my fridge on the first day and bring water bottles back with me to the room every night when I head to bed so my fridge is always stocked with some bottles.

 

Edited March 24 by JamieLogical

[Yorkvillain]

24 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I can't answer any quests about the gym, but you can definitely get multiple bottles of water at once. I would usually grab two, but I believe you could get 4 at once if you can carry all of them. I always have my room stewart empty my fridge on the first day and bring water bottles back with me to the room every night when I head to bed so my fridge is always stocked with some bottles.

 

Oh that is great. Thank you! 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

10 hours ago, cruisekitty22 said:

We love NCL  for all it offers. How does MSC compare for a balcony room,.  Do people on board speak English or is it all foreign languages 24/7?  How does the food, drinks ect compare?   Do they offer a good drink package?  How much is the cost?  How is it sailing from Brooklyn?  Sorry for so many questions.  We are used to NCL and have yet to try MSC. 

 

I've only sailed in the Yacht Club on MSC, so it isn't a fair comparison to the standard NCL experiences I've had. MSC feels very much like Carnival, except with much better food. I got the drink package once because it was included, but I drink so little, it wasn't an issue.

 

My take on MSC is, it is a MUCH better value than NCL and with much better food. The beer, wine and drinks were all reasonable. Entertainment and activities are a draw.

 

Ships leaving a U.S. port (Miami, Brooklyn, Port C, etc) will be mostly Americans and the food will cater more to American tastes than a cruise originating in Europe would.

[muttley]

MSC is a much better value but they do take even more shortcuts than the other lines. If there is a booze or soft drink brand they carry and you must have it don't be surprised if they don't have it or run out even in YC. Things like the buffet that closes at 1am? closes exactly at 1am with the workers already shutting down ovens and stations 15-20 minutes before that. Forget about finding a few slices of pizza at 5 minutes to closing time. I always get to the buffet 30 minutes before it closes to get some hot food.

I never go to shows. Some people say they are great and others of course say they are lousy. The classical musicians who play in the main hall often are good but the lounge muscians can be pretty bad imho. The casino is smaller than others i've seen.

The bowling alley and video arcade games are often broken. Arcade games so broken they are turned around to face the wall. 

They have the typical pool deck party games and trivia and stuff. Trivia is world related with things like logos of exotic cars or country capitals or name that plant or animal.

TV has a few channels in english, spanish, german and maybe french but the selection isn't very good. The sports channel is ESPN Carribean. tvpassport.com is one site that has schedules.

 

 

 

[JamieLogical]

14 minutes ago, muttley said:

MSC is a much better value but they do take even more shortcuts than the other lines. If there is a booze or soft drink brand they carry and you must have it don't be surprised if they don't have it or run out even in YC. Things like the buffet that closes at 1am? closes exactly at 1am with the workers already shutting down ovens and stations 15-20 minutes before that. Forget about finding a few slices of pizza at 5 minutes to closing time. I always get to the buffet 30 minutes before it closes to get some hot food.

I never go to shows. Some people say they are great and others of course say they are lousy. The classical musicians who play in the main hall often are good but the lounge muscians can be pretty bad imho. The casino is smaller than others i've seen.

The bowling alley and video arcade games are often broken. Arcade games so broken they are turned around to face the wall. 

They have the typical pool deck party games and trivia and stuff. Trivia is world related with things like logos of exotic cars or country capitals or name that plant or animal.

TV has a few channels in english, spanish, german and maybe french but the selection isn't very good. The sports channel is ESPN Carribean. tvpassport.com is one site that has schedules.

 

 

 

 

NCL's buffet isn't open after dinner, so I doubt any NCL cruisers will complain about MSC shutting theirs down at 1:00am.

[peder]

29 minutes ago, muttley said:

MSC is a much better value but they do take even more shortcuts than the other lines.

 

It's like MSC started without any preconceived notions of what should be available on a cruise line and approached the entire concept differently. I guess if you don't overstock wine or spirits, you are less likely to dump out half-finished bottles at the end of a sailing. If you don't overstock, you need less storage space overall. And most customers must not care about getting specific brands at the bars or must not care about having a ton of TV channels because MSC has no trouble filling their ships despite some peculiarities. And that extra scrutiny on unnecessary cost allows MSC to be a price leader.

[JamieLogical]

I don't really ever watch TV on a cruise, so the lack of channels hasn't bothered me. The one caveat to that is that I watch all of the Bills games during NFL season and I am happy to report that MSC has every single NFL game available on a different channel in your stateroom, so I have never had any problem catching a Bills game. Wish the same could be said for Princess, where I ended up missing two Bills games on a 15-day cruise. 😭

[Yorkvillain]

On NCL you can choose Teppanyaki as part of your 3-night dining package. Can you choose Teppanyaki on MSC with a 3, 4 or 5 night dining package? 

[Yorkvillain]

17 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

I don't really ever watch TV on a cruise, so the lack of channels hasn't bothered me.. 😭

Same here. On the Vision of the Seas a few weeks ago, we turned the TV off on day 1 and literally never turned it back on the rest of the trip. 

[peder]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I don't really ever watch TV on a cruise, so the lack of channels hasn't bothered me. The one caveat to that is that I watch all of the Bills games during NFL season and I am happy to report that MSC has every single NFL game available on a different channel in your stateroom, so I have never had any problem catching a Bills game. Wish the same could be said for Princess, where I ended up missing two Bills games on a 15-day cruise. 😭

 

Just FYI for anyone reading this thread, do not assume that a non-American sailing will have NFL games. We've done Western Europe and Japan sailings that had very limited English-language programming. Not unexpected, but our TV was effectively just a piece of wall decor.

[muttley]

How long have they had every NFL game? This is news to me. I go solo and eating and drinking and tv sports go hand in hand. We missed last year's Super Bowl on the Divina because the previous cruise was a Jamming music theme charter and the passengers damaged many things including the sat/video/audio systems somehow. 

MLB is hit and miss. I did 14 nights before covid just as the playoffs were starting and almost no MLB. I wasn't happy.

I haven't been on NCL since covid but isn't the pubs still open 24/7? On MSC even the YC stops room service at 3am? That was my point. I like to eat.

I'm not knocking MSC just pointing out some of their weaknesses. Their prices for solos can be awesome. I'm doing a YC solo inside 7 night from Port Canaveral in may and 14 nights from NYC solo not YC in november and NCL and Carnival can't come anywhere near in price.

Edited March 24 by muttley

[ready2cruzagain]

4 hours ago, muttley said:

MSC is a much better value but they do take even more shortcuts than the other lines. If there is a booze or soft drink brand they carry and you must have it don't be surprised if they don't have it or run out even in YC. Things like the buffet that closes at 1am? closes exactly at 1am with the workers already shutting down ovens and stations 15-20 minutes before that. Forget about finding a few slices of pizza at 5 minutes to closing time. I always get to the buffet 30 minutes before it closes to get some hot food.

I never go to shows. Some people say they are great and others of course say they are lousy. The classical musicians who play in the main hall often are good but the lounge muscians can be pretty bad imho. The casino is smaller than others i've seen.

The bowling alley and video arcade games are often broken. Arcade games so broken they are turned around to face the wall. 

They have the typical pool deck party games and trivia and stuff. Trivia is world related with things like logos of exotic cars or country capitals or name that plant or animal.

TV has a few channels in english, spanish, german and maybe french but the selection isn't very good. The sports channel is ESPN Carribean. tvpassport.com is one site that has schedules.

 

 

 

Wow, not sure why MSC ship you sailed but looks like you didn't like them at all. Oh and NCL now closes their buffet at 9:30pm and no pizza or anything after that. On the Epic in January if you wanted to eat after 9:30pm you had to go to O'Sheehan's which was the only restaurant open and it was packed.

 

NCL's tv in January was the worst that I have ever seen. They had just a few channels, way less than MSC.

[ready2cruzagain]

On 3/23/2024 at 11:53 AM, cruisekitty22 said:

We love NCL  for all it offers. How does MSC compare for a balcony room,.  Do people on board speak English or is it all foreign languages 24/7?  How does the food, drinks ect compare?   Do they offer a good drink package?  How much is the cost?  How is it sailing from Brooklyn?  Sorry for so many questions.  We are used to NCL and have yet to try MSC. 

 

We have done 11 NCL cruises and 14 MSC cruises. We have 2 more NCL cruises booked this year and then going back to MSC. 

 

Sailing out of the US, English is the main language spoken and never came across a crew member that did not know English. Crew is awesome and unforgettable on MSC.

 

IMO MSC is a way better cruise line than  MSC as far as food goes. Our cruise on the Epic in January the food was sad. Very little beef in MDR. Turkey the main item 2 nights out of 7 other nights were pork dishes (tenderloin, ribs, bratwurst) and fish every night which I love fish but their fish consisted of Swai, Salmon, Blue Fish, Pollack and Tillapia, no Grouper, Snapper or Swordfish. We missed the lobster, Snapper, Grouper, Filet Mignon, Pasta dishes, etc that MSC' MDR serves.  Of course, food is subjective.

 

NCL does not include bottled water, MSC does include bottled water on their drink packages. NCL does not include coffee drinks, MSC does include coffee drinks if under the threshold, of $10? (drawing a blank right now). We find the basic drink packages on MSC to be much better than NCL's basic drink packages.

 

Can't help with sailing out of Brooklyn.  

 

Never thought I would miss MSC as much as we did! The problem is the itineraries stink out of FL. I wish they would have better ports and that is why we switched to NCL. Like I said, 2 more booked on NCL this year then going back to MSC.

Edited March 24 by ready2cruzagain

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, Yorkvillain said:

On NCL you can choose Teppanyaki as part of your 3-night dining package. Can you choose Teppanyaki on MSC with a 3, 4 or 5 night dining package? 

 

Per the "fine print" at the top of the menu, you get the Sencho menu with the dining experience. The menu is similar for all, except for the protein. We had the Shogun which was amazing. Filet, Butterfish, Scallops, and Lobster

 

[JamieLogical]

4 hours ago, muttley said:

How long have they had every NFL game? This is news to me. I go solo and eating and drinking and tv sports go hand in hand. We missed last year's Super Bowl on the Divina because the previous cruise was a Jamming music theme charter and the passengers damaged many things including the sat/video/audio systems somehow. 

MLB is hit and miss. I did 14 nights before covid just as the playoffs were starting and almost no MLB. I wasn't happy.

I haven't been on NCL since covid but isn't the pubs still open 24/7? On MSC even the YC stops room service at 3am? That was my point. I like to eat.

I'm not knocking MSC just pointing out some of their weaknesses. Their prices for solos can be awesome. I'm doing a YC solo inside 7 night from Port Canaveral in may and 14 nights from NYC solo not YC in november and NCL and Carnival can't come anywhere near in price.

 

Another poster might have been correct about this only being available on US sailings? I was on the Divina out of Miami for the Super Bowl this year and you could definitely watch the Super Bowl anywhere on the ship, including your stateroom. To be fair, I have also been on NCL for two previous Super Bowls and it was available onboard as well. For regular season games, on other cruise lines, the games I want to watch have been hit and miss, but I have been on the Meraviglia for many regular season games and have not missed a single Bills game yet!

 

I saw a Bills playoff game on the Celebrity Equinox once and another Bills regular season game on the NCL Breakaway once, but definitely most other liens only have 2-3 games available during the regular season, whereas my MSC US sailings have had every game available on the stateroom TVs, if not elsewhere on the ship.

 

Edited March 24 by JamieLogical

[Yorkvillain]

15 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Per the "fine print" at the top of the menu, you get the Sencho menu with the dining experience. The menu is similar for all, except for the protein. We had the Shogun which was amazing. Filet, Butterfish, Scallops, and Lobster

 

 

 

$20 pp to upgrade to Shogun. Got it. Thanks Bird!

[AmbitionatBay]

We just got off the Meraviglia today.  Previous to this cruise we have been Norwegian loyalists but wanted to try something new and also a new itinerary.  Meraviglia and Bahamas checked both those boxes.  The price was definitely better too.
 

I won’t duplicate what everyone has posted here but will say everything was excellent. We did the Aurea experience because the one thing we really liked about NCL was the free style dining and wanted to eat on this cruise whenever the moment hit.  The staff in the dining room were fabulous and always got us in right away with the same waiter each night.  Food I feel was a step above NCL ( except the baked chicken breast - lol. No seasoning breading or anything).  We did not do any specialty dinners - just lunch at Holas. 
 

We feel the staff on this ship from room stewards to bar tenders to wait staff were WAY friendlier and more accommodating than the NCL staff.  Not that I ask for anything special.

 

We do prefer to sail out of Manhattan but it’s not really a deal breaker for us. Just a few extra miles down the road.  Embarkation and debarkation were very smooth. We did have priority for both.

 

We will def sail with MSC again. Obviously, each sailing has many variables which can affect the outcome - weather, mechanical issues, traffic, etc but we feel it’s how you handle all of those situations that can make or break your trip.  

[BirdTravels]

23 hours ago, Yorkvillain said:

Have you ever seen a class pass in the gym on MSC like NCL and Royal have? 

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, Yorkvillain said:

 

$20 pp to upgrade to Shogun. Got it. Thanks Bird!