No more "Loyal To Royal" help!

As I D+ with Royal, I'm starting to see the quality of the food and service declining. I'm so ready to move on to another line and being that MSC is matching loyality, I'm now ready. Anyone tried MSC and can compare it to Royal? I'd be so grateful for any help to make a decision of which ships to try from Miami.

Thanks in advance

Your Diamond status on Royal makes you Elite on Celebrity. Have you considered trying them? They have an excellent product.

As I D+ with Royal, I'm starting to see the quality of the food and service declining. I'm so ready to move on to another line and being that MSC is matching loyality, I'm now ready. Anyone tried MSC and can compare it to Royal? I'd be so grateful for any help to make a decision of which ships to try from Miami.

 

Thanks in advance

I am also Diamond on RCL. What do you mean MSC is matching loyalty; can you please explain or refer me to the details.

You will note many HAL threads that also complain about declining food and service so I'm not ready to give up on RCL yet. The suggestion that you consider Celebrity, particularly their newer ships, is a good one.

We tried the MSC Poesia once and loved the ship decor, but the attitude of the staff was unacceptable. Did no show any interest or effort to help. We heard this complaint over and over from other passengers that shared table with us.

Having been to Italy several times, we expected better food, but that did not happen. We would try them again if they were the only ones that had the one and only itinerary that we really want, but we would think twice because I can only imagine the attitude you will get if you have a problem. This was our experience with MSC. Expect a bad attitude and indifference.

I am also Diamond on RCL. What do you mean MSC is matching loyalty; can you please explain or refer me to the details.

 

You will note many HAL threads that also complain about declining food and service so I'm not ready to give up on RCL yet. The suggestion that you consider Celebrity, particularly their newer ships, is a good one.

This link might help Has any Royal Diamond members done status match on MSC?

As I D+ with Royal, I'm starting to see the quality of the food and service declining. I'm so ready to move on to another line and being that MSC is matching loyality, I'm now ready. Anyone tried MSC and can compare it to Royal? I'd be so grateful for any help to make a decision of which ships to try from Miami.

 

Thanks in advance

I'm a C+ and I really enjoyed the service and food on my cruise. I am looking

forward to the Rhapsody & Jewel later in the year!

Sailed the Divina from Miami about ayear ago. Stay with RCL or Celebrity and why not give Princess a try. We were very happy with Princess. Divina a big disapointment. Just my 2c worth.

Another vote for Celebrity here. You will be Elite in their Captain's Club if you are D+ in Crown and Anchor.

We checked out Celebrity after we reached D+ and realized that we would be in our mid-eighties before we reached Pinnacle. So we gave up on reaching Pinnacle and decided to try other lines. We started with Celebrity and liked them so much, we now are close to Elite Plus in their Captain's Club.

We especially like elegant Celebrity Solstice Class ships. If you want to sail from MIami both Reflection and Eclipse sail out of that port.

We are Royal Pinnacle, Princess Elite, and Celebrity Elite Plus due to our number of sailings on each line-not reciprocity. We think there has been a decline in all cruiseline offerings since we began cruising 12 years ago; however, we still hold Royal as our favorite. We cruised MSC Divina last year and thought the best of it was their entertainment-we especially like the opera performances and the itinerary to Bermuda. As for the rest, status match would not entice us back on-unless their was a great itinerary and an extremely low price. Service was lacking, food was severely lacking, and the ship was meh! We did try NCL Getaway last year and were so impressed we went back for a second cruise and plan for another one soon. Food was terrific, entertainment very good, ship was welcoming and lovely. Can't say anything about the rest of their fleet, but we do recommend Getaway to our friends.

We tried the MSC Poesia once and loved the ship decor, but the attitude of the staff was unacceptable. Did no show any interest or effort to help. We heard this complaint over and over from other passengers that shared table with us.

 

Having been to Italy several times, we expected better food, but that did not happen. We would try them again if they were the only ones that had the one and only itinerary that we really want, but we would think twice because I can only imagine the attitude you will get if you have a problem. This was our experience with MSC. Expect a bad attitude and indifference.

We went on MSC Splendida in 2012 and we felt exactly the same way. When there is a problem, no one wants to be responsible, and it's always the customers fault. The ship was fine, and the food OK. I didn't feel totally comfortable with the wait staff and the crew. I must say that they have excellent itineraries and priced right though. I will only consider them again if the price is right and the ports are interesting.

In 2015 MSC was not ready to take those that are loyal to royal. I went to the Divina and I have to tell you that the ship and public venues are beautiful, the food at the MDR was superior and well prepared to royal but service was really poor. No one were smiling at you or ready to say just a simple good morning. I believe the ship was sailing out of America for the first time and they were not used to the demands of American. One simple aspect is tips, they were sailing from Europe which tips is not that common compared to the USA. I felt the employee were working with the mentally of "'I'm here because I have to work with a fixed salary".

I might definitely try them again specially now when they have been sailing out of Florida for a year now and they are used to the American market. Prices are sometime half of what a royal cruise cost and even though royal shows are great MSC shows are amazing but that can be subjective. I have to admit that booking online in MSC is like visiting a website back in time, is not like royal that you have many buttons to click and a bunch of info about your reservation.

Another vote for Celebrity here. You will be Elite in their Captain's Club if you are D+ in Crown and Anchor.

 

 

 

We checked out Celebrity after we reached D+ and realized that we would be in our mid-eighties before we reached Pinnacle. So we gave up on reaching Pinnacle and decided to try other lines. We started with Celebrity and liked them so much, we now are close to Elite Plus in their Captain's Club.

 

 

 

We especially like elegant Celebrity Solstice Class ships. If you want to sail from MIami both Reflection and Eclipse sail out of that port.

Quick question. I know carnival= college student ready to have fun. Royal= university grads and lots of family and NCL= people that's just book a cruise because they want a vacation. I don't have any experience with Celebrity but every time I'm at the port waiting for my family to pick me up I see hundred of passages with gray hair boarding Celebrity ships. I'm not trying to offend them but I am right to see that Celebrity attract an older range of passengers?

I'm thinking about checking out celebrity. I've sailed CCL, RCI and NCL. I will not go back to CCL and NCL can be hit or miss, but have always gotten the best value on NCL. I love Royal caribbeans entertainment and adult only area, but their prices are higher than NCL by a lot with no perks. I don't think I could cruise without an alcohol and dining package now.

I know celebrity is always offering similar booking perks as NCL, but I too am afraid the average age will be older and night life non existent

I've also heard Celebrity casinos are smoke free which is a huge plus for me. On the NCL escape, the casino which is open to decks 6,7,8 had overwhelming smoke that traveled to those decks and it was such a turn off. So thinking about giving celebrity a go if I can find a good itinerary

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In 2015 MSC was not ready to take those that are loyal to royal. I went to the Divina and I have to tell you that the ship and public venues are beautiful, the food at the MDR was superior and well prepared to royal but service was really poor. No one were smiling at you or ready to say just a simple good morning. I believe the ship was sailing out of America for the first time and they were not used to the demands of American. One simple aspect is tips, they were sailing from Europe which tips is not that common compared to the USA. I felt the employee were working with the mentally of "'I'm here because I have to work with a fixed salary".

I agree with your impression, but the basis is not correct.

On European sailings, there is a fixed service charge - which is actually pretty much what RCL tipping is anyway. The amount is also comparable. So there is no significant difference in remuneration or structure for the staff.

Haven't sailed on MSC but have had multiple sailings on Celebrity (and 5 other different cruise lines) and Celebrity so far wins my top vote for food quality and service. My favourite thing about Celebrity is that you can get anything from the MDR delivered to your stateroom for no extra charge (other than a tip of course), no need to be in a suite or anything. We have frequently eaten out on our balconies and it is wonderful. We also hate smoke and like to use the Casino, and love Celebrities smoke-free policies.

And we did not find it an "older" passenger line either - hubbie and I are 33 and plenty of people our age, that being said I don't know how itinerary plays into the age factor, as we have only cruised Celebrity in Europe.

So I can definitely recommend giving Celebrity a go and you can get your perks level converted to the equivalent on Celebrity.

Quick question. I don't have any experience with Celebrity but every time I'm at the port waiting for my family to pick me up I see hundred of passages with gray hair boarding Celebrity ships. I'm not trying to offend them but I am right to see that Celebrity attract an older range of passengers?

Not necessarily. I've read plenty of reviews from people of all ages that go on Celebrity because there are fewer children and these are from people in their 30's. Once the last person in our group reaches Diamond status on Royal we will switch over to Celebrity. The youngest in our group is in her 30's. I'm sure there are lots of "gray hairs" on Celebrity, but I've been on Royal cruises where it was mostly "gray haired" people. ;)

We are Royal Pinnacle, Princess Elite, and Celebrity Elite Plus due to our number of sailings on each line-not reciprocity. We think there has been a decline in all cruiseline offerings since we began cruising 12 years ago; however, we still hold Royal as our favorite. QUOTE]

 

Amazing cruise record in just 12 years. Congratulations!

We too are D+ and very happy with Royal but like to sail other lines too for variety. We did our first MSC cruise on Musica around the UAE and Oman a few weeks ago. We did the loyalty match and were black which is their top level. Nowhere near as many benefits as RCL/X but it was nice to have a few extras.

We enjoyed MSC and will sail them again, we liked the food and found the staff friendly. The service to us was good, but it is not the 'in your face' American style service that you get on American ships. Being from the UK this was fine with us but I think can be a problem for some Americans. There seemed to be a lot less fast food style snack food, MDR is open for lunch and dinner everyday and serves multiple courses, sometimes too slowly for American tastes :).

I think the main thing to remember is that MSC is a European line and caters to European tastes while RCL is American and caters to American tastes, neither is necessarily better but different. If you go into it willing to embrace something different you will probably enjoy it.

If you decide you want something more American give Celebrity a try, we enjoy them too.

Julie

Did MSC long time ago, loved the food, I think its good to try other lines, we prefer RCCL in general but have cruises MSC, Costa, NCL, Princess, Celebrity, Hal and carnival, only line I would never sail again is NCL

Your Diamond status on Royal makes you Elite on Celebrity. Have you considered trying them? They have an excellent product.

Celebrity has the best food of the companies ive been on.

I am diamond on Royal...about 25 points from Diamond Plus. I have noticed the decline over recent years (nothing terrible, just gradual.) I do prefer Royal to Carnival, but I have found that Norwegian is comparable to Royal very much. While it might not have the same concept since Norwegian is more freestyle, I very much enjoy their food, service and entertainment. Both are top notch and I have to say the food I enjoyed and the service I experienced were both better than Royal.

With that said, I am also eager to try Celebrity next year and MSC the year after that.

FYI...the status match process was quite irritating. Do not believe the 2-3 day timeframe they give you on the website. It took 2 submissions and several calls to the office to get my status match through. Then they did it wrong and I had to write back and they eventually corrected it. I wanted to book the new Seaside and have the 5% applied, but since it is 2 years away, I wasn't in a terrible hurry.

I believe there is a thread in MSC forums that said a D+ member tried MSC Yacht Club on the Divinia and loved it. Worth checking out.

We are Royal Pinnacle, Princess Elite, and Celebrity Elite Plus due to our number of sailings on each line-not reciprocity. We think there has been a decline in all cruiseline offerings since we began cruising 12 years ago; however, we still hold Royal as our favorite. QUOTE]

 

Amazing cruise record in just 12 years. Congratulations!

 

Yes, considering many people cruise a life time and never reach Pinnacle, that is amazing. Then to throw in the cruises on the other lines, they must be on a ship almost all of the time

We are very fortunate to do what we love in our retirement. We started with just one or two cruises a year, then they just kept increasing over time. As you all know-it's addictive!

Our most time in a year was 250 days but mostly we have settled down to around 150 cruise days a year now.

We too are D+ and very happy with Royal but like to sail other lines too for variety. We did our first MSC cruise on Musica around the UAE and Oman a few weeks ago. We did the loyalty match and were black which is their top level. Nowhere near as many benefits as RCL/X but it was nice to have a few extras.

Out of all the big cruise operators - who has the best loyalty program with the most perks? Does any program really stand out from the rest in a positive way?

We are very fortunate to do what we love in our retirement. We started with just one or two cruises a year, then they just kept increasing over time. As you all know-it's addictive!

Our most time in a year was 250 days but mostly we have settled down to around 150 cruise days a year now.

Wow, I am very envious