New to MSC.....lots of questions!!

Hello everyone,

My husband and I are thinking of taking our two children (10 & 15) on a Northern European cruise July 2016. The ship is the MSC Opera. My children have never been to Europe but have cruised the Caribbean many times and also experienced a cruise to Alaska (which we lOVED). In the past we have only cruised Royal Caribbean and Carnival. I know this ship/itinerary caters to Europeans and will be very different than your typical Caribbean cruise. My husband and I love traveling and have never been to Northern Europe so we are ready for anything! We love meeting people from all over and we love the sights, different geogrpahy etc.

I would love any opinions from those individuals that have done plenty of cruises on the typical lines found in the Caribbean (Carnial, RC, Princess, Norwegian) and compare them to your experience on an MSC cruise, in particular the MSC Opera.

How are the cruise lines the same/different?

What did you love or not love on MSC?

Will there be lots of European families on the cruise?

Anything else that pops to your mind would be appreciated.

How was the cruise for your children?

Thanks

Well I can't comment on now it compares to your typical US Cruise line Caribbean offering as my only experience of sailing in the Caribbean is with MSC. I've sailed on the Opera in Northern Europe and the Caribbean though and the 2 experiences could not be more different. Obviously the climate and ports are extremely different but so is the onboard atmosphere.

I'd expect the vast majority on the cruise you are looking at to be predominantly European with Germans and Scandinavians making up the biggest groups. There will a fair number of Italaians and some Brits and a few from other nationalities. There have Ben increasing numbers of Fussians cruising in Europe in the past few years.

As for Americans, you may be the only ones or no more than a dozen of you. That would be the norm.

The biggest differences you will notice will be more in the different nationalities than anything MSC does. They are unapologetically Italian though and in Europe cater to Mediterranean culture and tastes. Food and drinks you may take for granted in the US and on a US line may not be available. Don't expect things like iced tea (mind you on a North European itinerary you may be more interested in hot tea or hot chocolate!).

Other differences to expect are dinner times will be later, portions much smaller but more courses and expect dinner to take a while. There are up to 7 courses, not that you have to order that many. The shows in my opinion are great but they cannot rely on the spoken language, so are musical or visual. There is a reasonable amount of live music in lounges, I particularly enjoy the classical trios or quartets they always have onboard. They also usually have an operatic tenor and soprano or mezz soprano onboard, who will team up with the classical musicians to do a classical concert once during in he cruise. If you spend a bit of time onboard, you'll see that water is a contentious issue for many Americans sailing on MSC. They don't have the US tradition of automatically serving free iced water. They serve bottled water, still or sparkling. MSC USA makes a concession by giving US passengers vouchers to get bottled water, so you don't have to pay for it.

I have the same exact questions as the poster above...anyone else have a comment? I have done RCI, Carnival and Disney and see MSC cruising out of Miami at a good price.

We just came back a little over a week ago from a 1-week cruise aboard Divina in the Meditteranean and have decided to book March 26, 2016 out of Miami. While aboard the ship we met the British fellow who will be taking over as cruise director and he seems to have a lot of good ideas. If you have any specific questions I can answer them for you. We didn't have any specific issues with Divina and thought the shows were quite good.

I see you have done several RCL cruises - how did MSC compare? Same? Better? Worse? In what ways? Thanks so much!

We are seriously considering booking the Divina for July 2016 (Caribbean). We've sailed NCL, CCL and Princess. I feel dumb in asking some of these questions, but.... if we don't purchase any drink packages what drinks are included in the dining room and/or buffet? I did read that the buffet is open 20 hours per day.

Does anyone have a picture of the menus in the main dining room? Is the dining room included? Or is it ala carte? Or can you recall what menu offerings were? Were there any comedy shows? Are the kids programs pretty good?

What all is or is not included?

Thanks!

We are seriously considering booking the Divina for July 2016 (Caribbean). We've sailed NCL, CCL and Princess. I feel dumb in asking some of these questions, but.... if we don't purchase any drink packages what drinks are included in the dining room and/or buffet? I did read that the buffet is open 20 hours per day.

 

Does anyone have a picture of the menus in the main dining room? Is the dining room included? Or is it ala carte? Or can you recall what menu offerings were? Were there any comedy shows? Are the kids programs pretty good?

 

What all is or is not included?

 

Thanks!

You will find coffee, tea, water, and a variety of juices in the main dining room as well as the buffet.

Here is a link to plenty of information about MSC. The dining room menu may have changed since this was posted,,but it gives you an idea of what to expect:https://www.pinterest.com/msccruisesusa/

MSC Divina does not have any comedy shows but their production shows are outstanding:

http://www.msccruisesusa.com/us_en/MSC/MSC-Cruises-Entertainment.aspx?ref=facebook

MSC's kids clubs are excellent!!

http://www.msccruisesusa.com/us_en/Special-Cruises/Cruises-For-Families.aspx

http://www.msccruises.com/en-gl/Partnerships/MSC-Lego.aspx

You will find coffee, tea, water, and a variety of juices in the main dining room as well as the buffet.

Here is a link to plenty of information about MSC. The dining room menu may have changed since this was posted,,but it gives you an idea of what to expect:https://www.pinterest.com/msccruisesusa/

 

MSC Divina does not have any comedy shows but their production shows are outstanding:

http://www.msccruisesusa.com/us_en/MSC/MSC-Cruises-Entertainment.aspx?ref=facebook

 

MSC's kids clubs are excellent!!

http://www.msccruisesusa.com/us_en/Special-Cruises/Cruises-For-Families.aspx

http://www.msccruises.com/en-gl/Partnerships/MSC-Lego.aspx

Thank you so much!!!

One more quick question....do they have ice cream available at all hours? Not gelato, but the self-serve ice cream?

Thanks!

I'm also looking at booking an MSC cruise for next fall on the Divina in the Caribbean. I must say that I'm not too pleased with MSC's customer service thus far. The response time and quality of response is lacking. Hopefully they can finish up the details with me so I can book.

I'm also looking at booking an MSC cruise for next fall on the Divina in the Caribbean. I must say that I'm not too pleased with MSC's customer service thus far. The response time and quality of response is lacking. Hopefully they can finish up the details with me so I can book.

I spoke with a Personal Cruise Consultant that was fabulous on the telephone and then emailed back and forth several times but I haven't heard anything now since Tuesday. If he writes today and says that he was off yesterday then that would explain it - otherwise I'm not impressed either.

We are seriously considering booking the Divina for July 2016 (Caribbean). We've sailed NCL, CCL and Princess. I feel dumb in asking some of these questions, but.... if we don't purchase any drink packages what drinks are included in the dining room and/or buffet? I did read that the buffet is open 20 hours per day.

 

Does anyone have a picture of the menus in the main dining room? Is the dining room included? Or is it ala carte? Or can you recall what menu offerings were? Were there any comedy shows? Are the kids programs pretty good?

 

What all is or is not included?

 

Thanks!

I have pictures of the menus from our recent cruise around the mediterranean but I don't know if they change it for the American market. On our cruise free drinks like tea, coffee, juice, water were only available in the buffet and not in the main dining room.

I have pictures of the menus from our recent cruise around the mediterranean but I don't know if they change it for the American market. On our cruise free drinks like tea, coffee, juice, water were only available in the buffet and not in the main dining room.

It will be different in the US.

I spoke with a Personal Cruise Consultant that was fabulous on the telephone and then emailed back and forth several times but I haven't heard anything now since Tuesday. If he writes today and says that he was off yesterday then that would explain it - otherwise I'm not impressed either.

If you can,,,try and request David Maceus. He is our PVP and his customer service is outstanding!!!

One more quick question....do they have ice cream available at all hours? Not gelato, but the self-serve ice cream?

No. There were no self-serve ice cream machines. There is a gelato bar in the atrium on Divina (extra cost).

One more quick question....do they have ice cream available at all hours? Not gelato, but the self-serve ice cream?

 

Thanks!

Self Serve Ice Cream is available between 2:00pm and 5:00pm at the Auqua Park on deck 14.