Where does MSC line up?

I am new to MSC. Sailed Royal and Celebrity primarily and NCL and Carnival once. Sailing on 2nd NCL in November.

How does MSC compare to NCL with food, staterooms, service and entertainment?

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I am new to MSC. Sailed Royal and Celebrity primarily and NCL and Carnival once. Sailing on 2nd NCL in November.

 

How does MSC compare to NCL with food, staterooms, service and entertainment?

 

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I would score them about the same. Keep in mind all cruise lines have their premium and standard levels, compare them like for like. I would give MSC the edge on the theater shows, NCL the Premium level service(Haven), Royal the bar service, and MSC the over all cost advantage. Also you will see difference from ship to ship. Newer ships tend to be glitzier, nicer, more features, etc. Our next three cruises will be in new ships in three different cruise lines.

Cheers.

Very good value compared to NCL. the entertainment is very different due to the multinational guests. English is not the dominant language. So you have a lot of musical acts, with singing and circus type acts.

You won't have the choice of venues for meals that NCL has. MDR, Buffet (small) and speciality restaurant.

I personally like the food on MSC. I don't think there is any difference between the included MDR's food quality but style is different.

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I personally like the food on MSC. I don't think there is any difference between the included MDR's food quality but style is different.

 

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Yes it is very difficult to describe. I just keep thinking that the same food supplier does business with all the cruise lines that leave out of our home ports, Miami, and Ft Lauderdale, then how different can the quality of the meals be? I suppose it is which level of quality each individual cruise line buys from the supplier and what budget is designated per meal.

Cheers.

Just got off the Divina. Again, our biggest disappointment is in the food! Regardless, MDR or Buffet, food is never hot, mainly warm or cool. Cuts of prime rib is very thin. Many people complained that their cut of meats were also very thin.

Yes, I know you can get more and yes I know food is subjective. Some main dishes do not even come with a vegetable. However, this is MHO and out of of last 5 cruise lines we have sailed on the past year, MSC's food rates the lowest for us.

When you get a hamburger or fries in the Buffet, they are cold before you can get to the table. Food is subjective, so this our is subjective opinion.

Did Specialty Restaurants 6 times on this MSC Divina 11 day cruise. They need to add some selections to the menus. Yes, 2 fish, lamb, steak and surf and turf. Very worth while the price. But selection very limited in all venues. .

We still cruise MSC and will continue to.

Again, JOHO!!!

I'm in the same position as you as I'm going on my first MSC cruise so take everything I say with a grain of salt. But, from everything I've read on this board, the ships design are great, on par with (maybe better than) Royal, NCL, Celebrity and better than Carnival (Never been a fan of Carnival's design). I wouldn't put MSC's theater shows on par with Royal. Depending on the ship, Royal is running Broadway level productions. Many MSC productions are a small cast and are about 30 minutes long. But, It's all subjective, especially food, so I won't comment on that.

I’d place MSC one notch above Carnival but one notch below Royal Caribbean. Ships are beautiful, with a touch of modern elegance, but the overall product feels a bit on the budget side.

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Just got off the Divina. Again, our biggest disappointment is in the food! Regardless, MDR or Buffet, food is never hot, mainly warm or cool. Cuts of prime rib is very thin. Many people complained that their cut of meats were also very thin.

 

Yes, I know you can get more and yes I know food is subjective. Some main dishes do not even come with a vegetable. However, this is MHO and out of of last 5 cruise lines we have sailed on the past year, MSC's food rates the lowest for us.

 

When you get a hamburger or fries in the Buffet, they are cold before you can get to the table. Food is subjective, so this our is subjective opinion.

 

Did Specialty Restaurants 6 times on this MSC Divina 11 day cruise. They need to add some selections to the menus. Yes, 2 fish, lamb, steak and surf and turf. Very worth while the price. But selection very limited in all venues. .

 

We still cruise MSC and will continue to.

 

Again, JOHO!!!

Can you, just for reference’s sake, reveal which other lines you’ve cruised on that had better food so we know what you’re comparing MSC’s food to? That’s always helpful for me. Thanks.

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Can you, just for reference’s sake, reveal which other lines you’ve cruised on that had better food so we know what you’re comparing MSC’s food to? That’s always helpful for me. Thanks.

 

 

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Sure thing! didn't want to sound like a bragger. We are diamond+ on RCI, Elite+ on Celebrity, Elite on Princess, Black Card on MSC, Platinum on NCL, 3 Star on HAL, have 2 cruises on Costa.

In 2017 we cruised on Princess, Celebrity, RCI, MSC and NCL.

Hope this helps you to know what we are comparing Cruise Lines food to.

Sure thing! didn't want to sound like a bragger. We are diamond+ on RCI, Elite+ on Celebrity, Elite on Princess, Black Card on MSC, Platinum on NCL, 3 Star on HAL, have 2 cruises on Costa.

 

In 2017 we cruised on Princess, Celebrity, RCI, MSC and NCL.

 

Hope this helps you to know what we are comparing Cruise Lines food to.

Thank you, very helpful indeed. [emoji4]

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While we had a great time on our MSC cruise, I must admit that the food was not great. It’s was not “ugh!”, but more like “meh”. Repetitive from one day to the next, uncreative, and somewhat flavorless. We didn’t come across anything truly memorable.

From the cruise lines I’ve recently sailed on, I would rank them in this order (solely based on cuisine at their included venues, like MDR, buffet and room service):

1 - Princess

2 - Holland America

3 - Disney

4 - Royal Caribbean

5 - Carnival

6 - MSC

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Thank you, very helpful indeed. [emoji4] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Many people say it is European style food. Been all over the world and we don't believe MSC is European style food. If you like thin crust pizza and very, very little on it, then MSC Pizza is good. We like thick crust and a lot on our pizza.

Pasta and pasta sauce is very bland. Sandwiches in the buffet are mainly bread with a thin slice of meat. We had a BLT in the MDR as their daily breakfast special. OMG, 1 small piece of bacon, thin slice of tomato and lettuce, some onion and very little dressing. We are not big eaters, but if you have a BLT, put some bacon on it, please.I know you can ask for more. But, that is not the point. You should get more than 1 thin slice.

One evening in the MDR we know the Head waiters. I asked what he would recommend. He recommended the beef strips. They were tasty, but paper thin and only 5 3 inch slices with a little greens. No vegetables at all. In Galaxy SR I asked for a Baked potato. You had a choice of mashed, vanilla potatoes or fries.

These are just some examples of their food choices.

We sailed on MSC Lirica in 2006. Food was just about the same. Have not seen any improvement.

Other than the food, everything else is very good. Prices are very reasonable on drinks, soda, water, gelato, etc..

SR packages are 4 meals for $75. Classic drink package is $45/day. Other lines charge much more.

This is very subjective and very hard to answer as it depends on what you are looking for. I have been on Disney, NCL, Carnival and just got off the MSC Seaside a few weeks ago. I can tell you this the food was the worst on the MSC. My 10 year old son and wife will not go on MSC again. Me I’m a little more forgiving as they do have great shows and other things that were good but we cruise to enjoy food and the food in the buffet and MRD was not good. Son usually loves the kids clubs but MSC was very disappointing. Took to long to explain games with all the different nationalities and not much to do. He did enjoy the shows except for the opera Butterflies which we didn’t care for. Thought it would be fun to go since we hadn’t been to an opera but won’t do that again. Just to hard to understand when you can’t understand the language.

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I am new to MSC. Sailed Royal and Celebrity primarily and NCL and Carnival once. Sailing on 2nd NCL in November.

 

How does MSC compare to NCL with food, staterooms, service and entertainment?

 

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Hi, have a look at the live report from Nikki for the latest Seaside ‘truth’.

 

How does MSC compare to NCL with food, staterooms, service and entertainment?

 

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We have been on NCL Getaway twice - once with a balcony and inside room and once with 2 suites in the Haven. We have been on MSC Divina once with 2 balcony cabins and will be on Seaside in April, so my comparison will be based off the Getaway balcony and Divina balcony.

Staterooms:

The balcony rooms on the 2 lines were similar in size and storage, I think the actual balcony on the Divina was a little larger than the balcony on the Getaway. We received towel animals on NCL but not on MSC. The NCL balcony cabin had a coffee maker, MSC did not. From the reviews I have read of the Seaside, it looks like the cabins have much less storage and are overall a little smaller, including tighter bathroom space.

Service:

First, outside of the Haven, I didn’t find NCL’s service to be great - it was ok - some folks were wonderful, others not so much. With that said, I think the service is about equal on both lines with the edge maybe given to NCL just because on MSC, the employees don’t seem to be allowed to make decisions on their own - everything needs to be brought to their supervisor. It’s not that they don’t want to help, it’s just seems like their hands are tied. It’s a little odd.

Food:

On MSC, you are assigned a time and dining room for dinner. On NCL, you eat where and when you want for dinner.

I thought the main dining room food was about equal on both lines, with the edge maybe to MSC because I enjoyed their pastas and desserts more than NCL’s. I liked NCL’s buffet better - more variety and longer hours.

There are many more food venues to choose from on NCL. Divina didn’t have a 24 hr food venue like Getaway did. Really enjoyed MSC’s pizza and gelato. My 16 year old son said he had the best pizza he has ever had in his life at the specialty restaurant on Divina, lol.

Entertainment:

We only went to a couple of the shows on Divina and one of them it looked like they were lip syncing but we enjoyed them. I believe they had a different show each night. On Getaway, I think they had 2 or 3 shows that ran a couple of nights each. I think Getaway had more variety of entertainment in the evenings - nightly parties, dueling pianos, comedy, etc.

Getaway allowed smoking in the casino and that permeated out into other areas which I did not care for. Divina’s casino was nonsmoking when we sailed (I don’t know if that is still the case, I have read Seaside allows smoking in part of the casino).

Poolside entertainment was about the same on both lines.

Getaway had more outdoor entertainment - ropes course with zip line, mini golf, rock climbing, bungee jump, water slides - all included. Divina had more indoor based things - 4d theater, bowling, and formula one race car. There was a fee to use these. Divina had one slow water slide - Seaside looks to have a nice waterslide park and zip line. Divina had an indoor pool area, Getaway did not.

We enjoyed our cruises on both lines. We have sailed several different cruiselines and for the most part have enjoyed each of them. Some have things they do better or worse than other lines and I like to experience the differences.

If you have not already done so, MSC offers a nice perk with their status match program - they will match your loyalty level on other cruise lines which can give you some nice perks.

Enjoy your cruise!

Many people say it is European style food. Been all over the world and we don't believe MSC is European style food. If you like thin crust pizza and very, very little on it, then MSC Pizza is good. We like thick crust and a lot on our pizza.

I don't know where in Italy you live but when I have eaten pizza in Italy it has been thin crust.

When I think of pizza with thick crust I think "American pizza".

I do think that the food on our MSC cruise could be called "European style" but maybe that was because the cruise was in Europe and not because it was MSC.

How does MSC compare to NCL with food, staterooms, service and entertainment?

 

My opinion is that the food in MSCs Yacht Club was better on our first MSC cruise than it has been in NCLs Haven restaurant.

The service is also better in the Yacht Club than in the Haven, again my opinion.

I don't know where in Italy you live but when I have eaten pizza in Italy it has been thin crust. When I think of pizza with thick crust I think "American pizza". I do think that the food on our MSC cruise could be called "European style" but maybe that was because the cruise was in Europe and not because it was MSC.

I din't say that Italy pizza wasn't thin crust pizza. My point was that MSC food is not European food. I guess when we cruise Celebrity, RCI, Princess, HAL in Europe it is European food because we are in Europe. When we cruise them in Asia it is Asian. Not totally true.

Food is too subjective. All over Italy, all over the USA, food varies. There is no one style.

I have also traveled quite a bit in Europe and agree MSC food is not European. I ordered the Osso Bucco which I very much enjoy. When it arrived at the table I was shocked. Osso Bucco is a veal shank, not a veal chop with some terrible tasting sauce on it! The chef should have been arrested for impersonating an Italian!!!!! LOL Was not impressed with the quality,temperature(cold), and variety of food. Don't get me started with the quality (lack of)service. The whole cruise was a trainwreck,but to each his own!

While we had a great time on our MSC cruise, I must admit that the food was not great. It’s was not “ugh!”, but more like “meh”. Repetitive from one day to the next, uncreative, and somewhat flavorless. We didn’t come across anything truly memorable.

 

From the cruise lines I’ve recently sailed on, I would rank them in this order (solely based on cuisine at their included venues, like MDR, buffet and room service):

1 - Princess

2 - Holland America

3 - Disney

4 - Royal Caribbean

5 - Carnival

6 - MSC

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That's a great description for MSC food.... Not all ugh, more meh. I may have to borrow that :).

My food ranking (included venues)

Princess

HAL

NCL

RCL

MSC

Service Ranking (in terms of how attentive overall willingness to go above and beyond without being asked)

HAL

MSC Yacht Club

Princess/NCL/RCL all close enough, depends on server

MSC Fantastica experience

Entertainment: To me each line has high variations of entertainment based on the ship. The Away class and Oasis/Anthem class actually pay a great deal of money for their shows verses smaller ships in the same lines. For us, if we're not going with one of the ships with real broadway entertainment then I'd rank everything else about the same. MSC shows are shorter and there is little variety from show to show, but it's about the same in terms of caliber as we have experienced on the smaller ships of RCL/NCL/Princess.

Overall value:

MSC

NCL

RCL/Princess/HAL all about the same. Each offer some heavily discounted cruises, but for rack rate comparibility, MSC is almost impossible to beat.

I din't say that Italy pizza wasn't thin crust pizza. My point was that MSC food is not European food. I guess when we cruise Celebrity, RCI, Princess, HAL in Europe it is European food because we are in Europe. When we cruise them in Asia it is Asian. Not totally true.

Food is too subjective. All over Italy, all over the USA, food varies. There is no one style.

I absolutely agree with you that the food around Europe differ a lot but I still think that what MSC served on our cruise can be called "European style".

För exemple the pizza. Thin crust can absolutely be called European style while thick crust can be called American style.

If your point is that there isn't one food style all over Europe I agree with you.

Just off Seaside. The MDR food and service were excellent. Meats were served exactly as ordered - rare, medium rare, etc.

I would rate MSC food as equal to or better than Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America.

Just off Seaside. The MDR food and service were excellent. Meats were served exactly as ordered - rare, medium rare, etc.

 

 

 

I would rate MSC food as equal to or better than Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America.

I guess we were unlucky as our food in the MDR on the Seaside was the worst. Yes they cooked the meat to your order but the steaks were tough. No lobster unless you paid the up charge. Had Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo and it had one shrimp which I had to de-shell. We felt it was very bland. My son ordered cheese pizza which was a flatbed with melted mozzarella - no sauce? Eat in MDR all but 1 night and our best meal was that 1 night we eat at the Teppanyaki.

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