MSC Cruises vs. Royal Caribbean

We have been on three great cruises with Royal Caribbean. Next summer we consider trying MSC Cruises, mostly because they are cheaper than Royal Caribbean. But I am nervous about MSC Cruises not being as good as a Royal Caribbean cruises. When I look at cruisecritic.com it says 77% Loved It with Royal Caribbean, and only 55% Loved It with MSC Cruises.

What is the big different between MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean? And should I be nervous for booking with MSC Cruises when I am used to Royal Caribbean?

Next summer our cruise will be in Europe, and the group will consist of two at the age of 50 and four at the age of 18-20.

We are in "the same boat" as you in that we've been on 3 RC cruises and are now trying MSC in just a couple of weeks! We have a small group of us going out of Barcelona on Fantasia as we needed a 7-day itinerary to allow for other fun time in Europe. Didn't like RC's 7-day offering personally.

I'll try to report back with a better comparison. So far what I'm seeing is that while the pricing appears WAY cheaper over RC, MSC seems to not include as much (i.e. coffees, etc.) so you have to spend on drink packages. Still a great deal in my opinion, but takes away from that "all-inclusive" feeling that I have enjoyed in the past. It's been awhile though, so it may just be the way it is with all the cruise lines these days...

We were on Preziosa in August. We paid£154 each for the drinks package for the week and was well worth it. It included coffee ice cream and bottled water as well as the usual beer, wine by the glass, spirits and cocktails. Our average daily bar tab was about. £100 so we saved about £400. Wedding spend £100 per day on alcohol by the way!! I our opinion the package was more than worth it.

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We spent even!! Auto spell grr!!

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2 different experiences , but give it a try for something different and you may like it and you will be saving a lot of $$$. We do both and have been on the divina 5x. It's good to try different lines and keep things fresh.

We have been on three great cruises with Royal Caribbean. Next summer we consider trying MSC Cruises, mostly because they are cheaper than Royal Caribbean. But I am nervous about MSC Cruises not being as good as a Royal Caribbean cruises. When I look at cruisecritic.com it says 77% Loved It with Royal Caribbean, and only 55% Loved It with MSC Cruises.

 

What is the big different between MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean? And should I be nervous for booking with MSC Cruises when I am used to Royal Caribbean?

 

Next summer our cruise will be in Europe, and the group will consist of two at the age of 50 and four at the age of 18-20.

I am presuming that you are from the U.S since you have been on a number of RCL cruises. We sailed on MSC for the first time in April 2015 on the Divina out of Miami. Here are my observations:

1/ Boarding was a "hot mess". Luckily, we arrived at the port early, received an early assignment number and were called to board early. Other folks were left in a hot, crowded, disorganized mass of unhappy cruisers.

2/ We booked an oceanview cabin, which was very roomy and nicely appointed. One issue was cabin servicing. Ours was fine, but friends we traveled with were not happy. The cabin steward was a "ghost". Never saw him and room was not serviced until late afternoon. Even though they asked for ice to be serviced, it never happened. He did not receive the "extra" tip our friends usually provide.

3/ Food was good, although not what an American cruise line provides. Smaller portions, mostly Italian cuisine (had NO problem with that!) and the buffet is not "user friendly" (very large and no continuity). However, the pizza was sublime!!

4/ On MSC the drink prices and wine bottle prices are reasonable. They have good package prices on their website. I encourage you to use them. We are diamond with RCL and Elite with Celebrity, but feel their onboard drink prices are excessive. This from someone who lives 30 minutes away from NYC!!

5/ There were lots of teens, 20's and 30''s on our cruise and they were having a GREAT time! Lot's of good music, fun pool games, etc. They will not be bored.

6/ MSC does not try to be RCL or CCL and will still provide you with a very good vacation experience. Be open to a more "Continental" experience and hopefully, you can just go with the flow.

We are also planning on booking the Divina for our summer family Caribbean cruise. We usually alternate between Carnival, NCL, and Royal but the prices on the Divina look very intriguing. We are just not convinced 100% yet due to some of the reviews.

I was on 4 MSC cruises, this year we sailed with the biggest on the world Royal-Allure of the seas. Altough I must say, that Allure is truly remarkable ship and you have everything (really anything :D) on it to do, I missed MSC experience...I love everything about MSC and I would definitely sail with them again (shortly:D). You will enjoy it, just go open minded and do not bother with negative comments about this cruise line..have fun:D

Having just got off MSC Musica from Venice and previously cruised Royal C. from Barcelona, I'd say you have to weigh why you're cruising.

We cruised MSC because the port stops we wanted in Greece were far superior to Royal's offering. Royal had two days at sea while MSC had none. I'd rather got on a 3 hour tour of Montenegro than have a day at sea.

That being said -- if you want better service and food -- Royal is the way to go. MSC is sadly lacking in that department.