Love Royal but would consider MSC?

So my wife and I are in our mid 20s and we're 1 cruise away from Diamond. We'll be hitting that after our cruise next year. I've been seeing more and more pm MSC and their new ship coming out in December (msc seaside) looks really awesome. I've seen some bloggers on the Divina and I'm intrigued. I read today they also match other loyalty programs so I'm not sure what emerald would put us at on MSC but I'm kind of considering it for a future cruise.

With us really enjoying Royal, what would we miss? Has anyone done an msc lately and also love royal? Lately some of the cut backs have been noticeable. We typically only cruise once a year living in northern Wisconsin. In the future, msc seaside in the future??

Thoughts from others who have considered it or done it!

Some threads on the sunject of MSC:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2466857

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2438328

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2427873

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2463103

We have 26 RC cruises, 3 Celebrity and just tried MSC Divina. Loved it. Here is my review. http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=566494

It was fun to try something a little different. We would do it again.

Does anyone know what emerald status would match to with MSC? I didn't see that in any of the threads; only diamond

Does anyone know what emerald status would match to with MSC? I didn't see that in any of the threads; only diamond

I don't know, but I'd wait to do the status match until you are Diamond on RC, because that gets you MSC's highest level, Black.

We have quite a few RCCL cruises (& Princess). We tried the Divina in 2014 and will never sail MSC again.

We often had to wait 10 minutes for an elevator (more at busy times). My husband is not able to do the stairs so we had no choice.

Many passengers were rude--a lot of pushing and shoving, closing elevator doors in other people's face as they were trying to board, cutting in lines, etc. People smoking where they wanted (smokers who obeyed the posted areas were even annoyed).

Dining was early or late only and dining room service was slow. The buffet was very limited at dinner. The alternative restaurant did not look enticing & was very pricey. I will say the pizza place (extra$$) was good. We like to have options to eat when we would like and we really did not have this on MSC.

Part way through the cruise we were told that children under 8 are not allowed in the swimming pools, only the little area around the main pools with about 6 inches of water in it. I clarified several times--I always swim right with DD so we're not talking kids alone (was sure someone had confused the swim diaper/non potty trained rules). The worst part was that they would not do anything when people were putting babies that were clearly not potty trained in the one area they said children could be.

The ship was beautiful, the gelato was fantastic and the kid's club staff did a good job. Also, I like to have some drinks, but not enough to justify the drink passes on RCCL. The coupon booklets that were available for MSC were nice. We paid for the coupons and used those. It proved to be a small savings and easy to manage.

I don't know, but I'd wait to do the status match until you are Diamond on RC, because that gets you MSC's highest level, Black.

Good idea!

We are D+ and have booked MSC Seaside for April 2018. We got a great price and the status match sealed the deal!

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Sailed Carnival, NCL, Disney, Princess, Royal and MSC once, the worst cruise ever so I would never go back with MSC even if it was a free cruise!!!!!!!

We Sailed on the Divina and absolutely LOVED it. The service was great, food was wonderful, and the shows were the best I have seen on any cruise. Highly recommend it!

Divina is a beautiful ship.....probably one of the nicest ships I've ever sailed, that includes RCCL AOS and Anthem.

Service was top notch in all the bars and restaurants. Entertainment was good, but not like the Ice Skating show, nor some of the other big production numbers you'd find on RCCL's bigger/newer ships. Still, very entertaining. I noticed a couple of times, some of the shows' headliners would perform ad hoc in the atrium with whatever band was playing there at the time. Usually not more than 10-15 minutes, but a real treat to see them up close. All were talented.

Food is some of the best I've had on any cruise ship. While the buffet sometimes didn't have the far reaching selection of an AOS, it was all good quality, prepared well, and served fresh. The pizza is the best at sea (and probably better than 90% of the pizza you get on land)....certainly better than what you'd get on an RCCL cruise.

Cabins are similar. Room steward service was great.

I did status match to Black Card (from NCL). Got some nice perks like dinner at Eataly (the very best specialty dinner I've had on ANY cruise ship) and the afore mentioned Proseco, plus a Captain's Party.

There was no "Come to the art auction" type of badgering. Got a massage and found they charged about 1/3 less than what RCCL (or NCL) charges, and again, no hard sell for any elixirs.

Drinks were generous and reasonable (for a cruise ship).

Pricing and the status match did the trick for me. I liked it so much, I'm sailing in the Mediterranean on their other new ship, the Meriviglia this upcoming November. Pricing the Divina...I was able to stay in the Yacht Club for about the price of a Superior Ocean Balcony on the AOS.

Divina truly is a beautiful ship. Seaside is supposed to be one better.

I would not hesitate to sail MSC.

I too booked the Seaside for the 8 day 7 night on 4/28/18. For our Deluxe Suite with yacht club it came out to 4300 I am spoiled with Royal's crown loft and coastal kitchen. Hopefully this will be a good experience. Time will tell but first the Oasis in November[emoji1]

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Great cruiseline. Great service. Status Match to Diamond level is to their top tier. Going on Divina for 2nd time in a few weeks, will likely book Seaside while onboard if they offer any promos. MSC consistently comes in at 1/2 to 1/3 the price of comparable Royal Caribbean and I feel they offer the type of service Royal used to pride themselves on

We were on the Divina last year and it was the worst cruise experience we have ever had. Even factoring in the cheaper price point, in my opinion, the cruise was overpriced for what you get. Service was bad and sometimes downright rude (especially from customer service). Food was mediocre at best and, in my opinion, cruise line management could not care less. After the cruise, I sent them a two page letter detailing my disappointments and asking them to at least have the courtesy to respond, and I heard nothing. We have been on 8 RCCL cruises, 2 NCL, 1 Celebrity and 1 Carnival and always felt that we got a good value for the money we spent, but not on MSC. I agree with other posters that I would never use MSC again.

We were on the Divina last year and it was the worst cruise experience we have ever had. Even factoring in the cheaper price point, in my opinion, the cruise was overpriced for what you get. Service was bad and sometimes downright rude (especially from customer service). Food was mediocre at best and, in my opinion, cruise line management could not care less. After the cruise, I sent them a two page letter detailing my disappointments and asking them to at least have the courtesy to respond, and I heard nothing. We have been on 8 RCCL cruises, 2 NCL, 1 Celebrity and 1 Carnival and always felt that we got a good value for the money we spent, but not on MSC. I agree with other posters that I would never use MSC again.

Other than a room steward with zero personality (but did his job efficiently) we had excellent service everywhere on the ship, especially the bar staff and entertainment staff. They don't do the fake best friend stuff on MSC. If you want someone to pretend like you are their favorite person on the planet, not on MSC. But if you want to be treated graciously and have good service, when you request it, no problem at all. I think they are trained to just not be so in your face all the time, they take a step or two back and wait for you to make a request.

I DID notice on my cruise some people who were covered head to toe in RCI logo wear bad mouthing MSC at every trivia event. And I did meet a really nice couple who were die hard Carnival fans and even though they said they were having a good time and we ran into them and chatted multiple times everything they said was a comparison to Carnival.

I think some people get the status match and go onboard and are immediately out of their comfort zone because they know EXACTLY how Royal or Carnival runs things and they are creatures of habit. They came for the status match but never embraced the idea of things being different. Those who are more brand agnostic seem to come away from MSC loving the clean ship, good service, good entertainment, and value packed pricing.

FWIW, I thought the buffet was very good and had choices I've not seen on Princess, NCL, RCI, or Carnival. When I go again in May I'll have to see if that is still true and take some photos or videos

Most of my cruises have been on Royal or Disney but I did do one MSC Divina cruise in 2014 and I LOVED it. Less than half the price. Ship is gorgeous and super clean. They are really clean freaks : ) I found the food overall to be much better. I do love my real pizza and cheese/baguette etc. The drink were perfectly priced with those drink vouchers. Eataly!!! Wine bar ..just as good as vintages IMHO. Gym was great and we could buy our way onto a private sundeck with little nested loungers for two and a private bar. I think it was $18 for half day. (plus you paid for your drinks with your vouchers).

Now I will say that if smoking bothers you or cultural differences are a problem...maybe take another line.

What's intriguing to me is on a brand new ship you can get one of their biggest suites for about the same price as a balcony on royal

 

Now I will say that if smoking bothers you or cultural differences are a problem...maybe take another line.

Please elaborate what you mean by this? Is smoking allowed everywhere on the ship, especially the dining areas and pool deck? Do the cabins smell like smoke?

Thanks for your response.

The polarity of the responses on this thread are so intriguing!

Please elaborate what you mean by this? Is smoking allowed everywhere on the ship, especially the dining areas and pool deck? Do the cabins smell like smoke?

 

Thanks for your response.

 

The polarity of the responses on this thread are so intriguing!

No my cabin did not smell like some but I felt like there was more smoking on the balconies and in general just more smokers. I did not have any effect on my vacation but I realize it does both others.

I would love to try MSC again, did it about 12 years ago on a very old ship (Melody) , food was great, I will be diamond plus by end of this year, but have cruised most of the major lines, like the fact that suite have there own pool area on MSC

Please elaborate what you mean by this? Is smoking allowed everywhere on the ship, especially the dining areas and pool deck? Do the cabins smell like smoke?

 

Thanks for your response.

 

The polarity of the responses on this thread are so intriguing!

Here's a middle of the road response-

Been sailing rcl for decades. Sailed Msc twice last year; "regular" in April, and yacht club in June. I also sailed rhapsody in August. I only mention this because I found it much easier to compare the experiences when sailing so close together.

Short version- if cost was close, I'd pick RCl (or any of the mainstream lines) each and every time. For me, Msc lacks some of the quality I enjoy when cruising. However; cost is more often than not, MUCh cheaper on MSC, which makes it a better value- by a mile!

Service was fine on MSC, but it didn't necessarily come with a smile and enthusiasm. Subdued is the word I use. Some consider the servers aloof.

Other than pizza (which was outstanding), the Food on MSC was lacking for me. Wait staff in the MDR and LeMuse (YC restaurant) were exceptionally slow. 2.5-3 hour meals is the norm. It's fine, very European - and I'd tolerate if it was of good quality, but it wasn't for me. Even the steak from the steakhouse was unbelievably tough.

Specific examples for me- herring is served instead of salmon. One night at the buffet the meat carving station had meatloaf. Another it was ham, then turkey. No prime rib at all first sailing (did find it once second sailing but they had only one hunk and when that was done out came chicken thighs). No white meat chicken. Fruit was cut up nice, and salad bar had decent toppings, but the salad dressing reminded me of watered down dollar store brand. Food is very subjective, but if you look at the reviews, food is the thing most often complained about.

I also found the MSC activities/entertainment were lacking overall. The shows were good- much like the old days of cruising with singing and dancing. 40 minutes tops. Nothing like a Broadway show with an actual plot and set (although costumes were good).

No comedy club as language is a barrier. They attempt quest but insist that it's a family friendly version- and again the language differences change the experience. Host rattles off quest in English- then the translation is flashed across the screens in several languages. Very Different.

The daily activities were more subdued also. I was looking forward to the language class but unfortunately it was 20 minutes and nothing even remotely close to educational. I was also looking forward to Aqua biking but that wasn't offered either cruise.

Pool area is ridiculously crowded. MSC space ratios are poor in terms of industry standards, but to make it worse for crowding, kids sail free. Also, the entire starboard side of the pool is blocked off with table selling trinkets- no lounge space available port for smoking and starboard for shopping- making shade extremely rare.

Smoking is a problem if you are sensitive. Europeans smoke more and this is a European experience. Entire port side of main pool is heavy smoking. I had smokers on balconies next to me both times. It's forbidden, but accepted. Even the bathroom has a built in ashtray.

MSC does a much better job with cleanliness of the ship and onboard pricing. The divina was beautiful. Drinks and laundry are reasonable- huge plus for MSC. Embarkation and debarkation were well organized also.

There isn't anything that would stop me from sailing MSC again except pricing. If MSC starts pricing their ships like other mainstream lines, I'll pass. But when I'm looking for an excellent value and a good (but not great) experience onboard- MSC is a solid choice which I will always consider.

Hope this helps in some small way.

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I should also add- rcl web site sucks. It's terrible. Shameful even. But it's heads and tails above the web site MSC offers.

The MSC website is actually dangerous as there was a period of time last year where passport numbers, names, and addresses were compromised. People would sign on, get their name and address but a random persons gender and passport number. Total breach of confidentiality.

Seriously, due to the poor shore side experience offered by MSC several agencies quit selling MSC entirely. Don't assume your regular ta will even sell you a MSC cruise. I haven't seen the passport issue recently, but it looks like the MSC website hasn't improved much in the last year.

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We did two MSC cruises. Poesia (smaller ship) and Divina. Both from Florida.

Enjoyed Poesia a bit more as it was more Italian experience with more singers (even opera singers) from there.

As crowd is more international they have production shows every night (less speaking more dancing and singing).

Ships are really beautiful and spotlessly clean. Cabins are cozy.

In our view weaker points were nightly buffets and quality of meat in MDR, but other than this food was good.

I would definitely try.

Now we have one line that after three honest tries we won't be repeating again.

Please elaborate what you mean by this? Is smoking allowed everywhere on the ship, especially the dining areas and pool deck? Do the cabins smell like smoke?

 

Thanks for your response.

 

The polarity of the responses on this thread are so intriguing!

Smoking, at least in the US, is not allowed in cabins, not allowed on balconies, only one side/section of pool deck, not allowed in the casino, they do have a smoking lounge inside but it is behind closed doors (and a rather nice bar area). The smoking policy is about equal to Celebrity and more restrictive than RCI.

So my wife and I are in our mid 20s and we're 1 cruise away from Diamond. We'll be hitting that after our cruise next year. I've been seeing more and more pm MSC and their new ship coming out in December (msc seaside) looks really awesome. I've seen some bloggers on the Divina and I'm intrigued. I read today they also match other loyalty programs so I'm not sure what emerald would put us at on MSC but I'm kind of considering it for a future cruise.

 

With us really enjoying Royal, what would we miss? Has anyone done an msc lately and also love royal? Lately some of the cut backs have been noticeable. We typically only cruise once a year living in northern Wisconsin. In the future, msc seaside in the future??

 

Thoughts from others who have considered it or done it!

Plenty of threads on the same subject.