MSC versus Norwegian versus RC for Mediterranean Cruise with 2 Teen Girls in July

Help! I know I am really late to this party, but we all just decided we wanted to cruise the Greek isles versus flying and staying in hotels. It is quite expensive to do this last minute so I am asking which of the three cruise lines would be best for a mom with 2 teen girls? Our only requirements are a balcony, decent food and nightly entertainment.

Most ships go in and back to Venice so we would stay the night before the cruise. Many thanks for all your insight! I hear up and down about MSC for the younger group.

Karin

The question should be: Why are your cruising the Greek Isles? If it is to see the Greek Isles and Venice, then you should be looking at the itinerary and the times spent in port. All itineraries are not the same as to the time in port. If it is to spend the evening partying and drag yourselves out of bed to go sightseeing, then spend more time researching the nightlife on the three cruise lines you are asking about. And going in to Venice the day before does not leave enough time to do it justice. Unless you are flying in from Europe, you will be too jetlagged to see much the day you arrive, and the next morning you will be checking in for your cruise. EM

We traveled last year to Italy and spent time in Venice; it is merely a jumping off point for us. All three ships have roughly the same stops, and as to nightlife, was just asking about its availability (not "partying" with two teens!). I was more curious about the ships themselves as we are fairly novice in cruising...

Depends on if you want to spend more time with your girls or want to have more time for yourself. If you go MSC the possibility is quite high that the kids spend a lot of time in the teens club and will not have to much interest to spend the evenings with you.

That's fine! One is 18 and one is 16;). ;)

I was just asking about overall ship ambiance and amenities since I don't have much to compare against.

Thanks! Karin

Which NCL ship?

The Star.

It seems that the MSC has only a cabin in the very front on top and another MSC ship has a cabin underneath the pool- neither optimal. RC is the most expensive (but it is last minute).

Hi Karin,

If I was taking two teenagers on a cruise out of Venice I would looking at all the reviews of the ships doing that itinerary. I believe its the Rhapsody of the Seas ,NCL Star and MSC Musica....I'm looking at that itinerary for myself for next year. Have a great cruise whichever you pick.

I did the Rhapsody 11 night out of Venice to the Greek Isles and Croatia with my two teenage boys, 14 and 18 last July. To date, it is my favorite cruise. My boys had a blast on the Rhapsody even though it does not have all the bells and whistles of the newer ships. They made great friends from all over the world. Since we were off the ship during the day mostly, they pretty much just had dinner with me then left to hang out with their friends until curfew. Both my boys are still in contact with the kids they met on that trip. I did write a full review (link is in my signature) but I'll warn you, its super long!!

The Star is one of the oldest in the fleet from 2001. It is currently in drydock. We have been on Star twice and sister ship Dawn once. They are nice enough ships. IF the Star gets the same upgrades/refurb as the Dawn did, it should be looking very nice.

NCL has suites and the ones on 12 were added a few years back and their lowest level suites on 12 are usually quite reasonable in price.

As far as things for the kids, not really much at all. There would be the kids clubs though.

Musica is a great ship for Young people

I've done NCL and MSC, and for me the food on NCL is a head and shoulders above MSC. I really really wanted to give MSC a chance as you hear so many complaints, and I'm not hard to please- but the food was not good. However on NCL I struggle to think of meals we didn't really enjoy. Service was also much much better on NCL. However, thr MSC cruise was substantially cheaper, so you do have to take this into account. We won't choose MSC again I'm sad to say.

The food and service are both better on Royal and Norwegian, and everyone speaks English.

The shows, entertainment and activities are all in English.

While MSC has only 1-2 % English speakers.

But every 7 night MSC cruise has 6 main production shows, while Royal and Norwegian have only 3 each. The other nights have guest performances.

MSC is inexpensive compared to the others

Very few English speaking tourists, but the entire crew can speak and understand English

If all 3 cruises had the same ports and price, I would 1st choose Royal, then NCL.

Although MSC has 6 shows, some are in Italian.

You should choose MSC only if it is substantially cheaper.