Only Cruised NCL Considering MSC Seaview

We have cruised 4 times on NCL and are considering a Med cruise from Barcelona on MSC Seaview at the end of June 2018.

We are a British couple, early 50s should we be concerned about cruising MSC or should we just go for it? What are the main differences between NCL and MSC? On a MSC Med cruise will the passengers be a similar mix of nationalities to those on NCL?

For me, the overall experiences are more similar than different. We thought we were hooked on NCL after our initial cruise on Escape. But the price and value of Divina Yacht Club in Caribbean lured us to MSC. For the VALUE, there is no comparison in my mind between NCL and MSC YC. For us, YC was truly all-inclusive as we did not feel the need to book a specialty restaurant and had any-time dining in the YC restaurant. No extra surcharges, all beverages included. I can tell you there is much more room on MSC pool decks.

The one thing we loved on NCL was the anytime dining for our non-Haven cabins.

We cruised with NCL last May. An 8 day Caribbean out of Miami. Balcony suite with the 3 specialty restaurants and drinks included. Had a great time. This year we are doing a holiday (Honeymoon) in Europe and wasn't considering a cruise but checked NCL as an option to include in the trip. The price was about $5,200 for a Mediterranean cruise for both of us with the same options as last year (To be fair, it was a NCL 10 day cruise not an 8 day). Then I came across MSC Meraviglia and the YC club offers. Wow, how could we not try it out. It was about a grand less with the perks of the YC. We are not sure if the butler is a big deal but like the idea of less crowded areas a lot.

We also reserved The Seaside YC for 2018 out of Miami. If we like our experience with MSC Meraviglia we will be doing that one as well.

We will be cruising in August so I'll post our opinion about the cruise once we get back home.

We have done 11 NCL cruises before we went on our first MSC cruise in the Yacht Club. We are now hooked and have now done 6 MSC cruises in a row. 2 already this year with the next one on the maiden trip from a Venice to Miami. We have also noted that the NCL prices for the Haven area are now over priced compared with the Yacht Club which we also feel give much better value for money.

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I too have enjoyed NCL over the years, (just got off the escape yesterday) but got tired of the same ports out of Miami. Just booked on Seaview for July 6 out of Barcelona next year. Got the Yacht Club suite for a great deal, from what I see is included. Have not sailed MSC, but it is a brand new ship and looks like it will be very nice.