Is MSC Right For Us?

Hello All!

My boyfriend and I would like to take a European cruise this upcoming September. We are torn between the MSC Armonia, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Magnifica, Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas and Norwegian Jade. The itineraries are all similar (Greek Isles) except for one that goes to Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza (MSC Armonia).

We are in our early thirties and like to have fun. We have both sailed on Royal Caribbean and liked that there were so many activities on board. I have also sailed on Carnival and had a good time. We would like a ship with activities on board (for the days/nights we are not at port), late night dining (24 hours preferred because my boyfriend sometimes wants a snack) and nightclub since we like to dance.

Should we stick with "what we know" or try MSC? Will we feel out of place as Americans? I was told MSC caters mostly to a European clientele.

Also, if we had the choice, we would visit both Santorini and Mykonos, but some of the itineraries go to one or the other. Which would you most recommend?

Thank you for your thoughts!

You're too young to 'stick with what you know' ! Try it - our experience on Divina (see my profile to read the whole review) was fabulous (to the Caribbean) and yes, there were lots of Europeans on board even though we sailed out of Miami. We didn't feel out of place at all, in fact it seemed like there were LOTS of Americans on board (too many of them complaining that things weren't done the way they expected it to be on a Carnival/RC/NCL ship).

So go with an open mind, after all you're going to Greece, you're obviously up for new and different things! We danced a lot - some of the music we'd never heard of (seemed like there were a lot of Brazilians in the nightclub) - but the music was great - and great to dance to. We'd definitely go MSC again!

I agree with the previous poster. Why be stuck on a boat in Europe with a boat load of Americans!!! I'm European and if I went on a US/Caribbean cruise then I wouldn't want a boat load of Irish!!! That is all part of the experience.

We did the med last year with carnival and I loved the fact that the majority of passengers were American!!! But then I am European!!

I'm also in my mid 30s and I would say that carnival had a much more fun atmosphere. MSC I find is more elegant and much quieter. Which did I prefer after weighing up the pros and cons, Carnival for fun yes!!! MSC for value and a nice surroundings!!

Sorry meant to add that if you are looking at going MSC then the Magnifica would be better than the smaller ships giving your requirements.

I was faced with this exact same decision a few weeks ago. What really helped me was to chart out port times and how many ships would be at each port. With that information, it was very easy for us to choose the 10 day RCL Rhapsody itinerary. Much more time in port, and at several stops we are the only ship in port which will certainly make for a nicer day. The NCL Jade itinerary is being offered at a great price, but there were 8 ships in Santorini on the same day (yikes), and the Orchestra/Sinfonia itinerary had really short port visits (some were only 5 hours).

I did think it might be fun to sail a traditional Italian line from Venice, but ultimately I let the itinerary be the deciding factor. Nothing at all against MSC.

Hope that helps,

You will get lots of different opinions , so its best to try it and form your own opinion like we did and we have been on 6x and 3 more booked.

Hello All!

 

My boyfriend and I would like to take a European cruise this upcoming September. We are torn between the MSC Armonia, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Magnifica, Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas and Norwegian Jade. The itineraries are all similar (Greek Isles) except for one that goes to Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza (MSC Armonia).

 

We are in our early thirties and like to have fun. We have both sailed on Royal Caribbean and liked that there were so many activities on board. I have also sailed on Carnival and had a good time. We would like a ship with activities on board (for the days/nights we are not at port), late night dining (24 hours preferred because my boyfriend sometimes wants a snack) and nightclub since we like to dance.

 

Should we stick with "what we know" or try MSC? Will we feel out of place as Americans? I was told MSC caters mostly to a European clientele.

 

Also, if we had the choice, we would visit both Santorini and Mykonos, but some of the itineraries go to one or the other. Which would you most recommend?

 

Thank you for your thoughts!

I`ve sailed on the Sinfonia back to back from Genoa & had a wonderful time, sailed years ago on NCL it was also very good but our last cruise on NCL from Miami was reall bad. They nickel & dime you, food & service was bad, at dinner you only get one set of silverware. No more NCL for us.

First thing is to go NOT expecting Royal or NCL. It's a different experience and if you want to enjoy it, you need to go with an open mind and don't get hung up on little details (don't get all huffy puffy because they are not refilling your glass of water every 5 minutes at the MDR as some have complained).

We also just returned from the MSC Divina and had a very enjoyable time, but we met some Americans who thought that MSC sucked and Carnival was so much better.