MSC "Proesia" or Princess "Royal Princess"

[tricmurr]

Hello everyone. I am new here. We are taking a cruise in May 2016 to Europe. This will be our first trip to Europe. We are trying to decide between the MSC Proesia or the Princess Royal Princess. Room categories would be a balcony level/suite in both boats. Any suggestions or comments on the cruise lines would be appreciated.

 

thank you & happy holidays!

[Rockwife]

I strongly disliked the food on Poesia and would not sail MSC again because of it. Lovely ship, best massage I ever had at sea, but the food was not on point for me.

[Colo Cruiser]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

At the top right of the main

Princess community page there is a "search this forum" tab.

If you search "Royal Princess" there are many threads/info on her. ;)

And to the left of that in the sticky section there is a thread with 3000 photos of her.

Edited December 24, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[Bimmer09]

Hello everyone. I am new here. We are taking a cruise in May 2016 to Europe. This will be our first trip to Europe. We are trying to decide between the MSC Proesia or the Princess Royal Princess. Room categories would be a balcony level/suite in both boats. Any suggestions or comments on the cruise lines would be appreciated.

 

thank you & happy holidays!

 

Both these ships are beauties but that's due to good architects and shipbuilders.

 

As you have time you might want to check out the member reviews on CC- Poesia gets a 51% score and Royal P gets 66% (lowest in Princess fleet). You'll be reading other people's opinions but that's what you'll be getting on here anyway.

Princess is a known quantity to me and I know the food and service to be good. The usual complaints from U.S guests sailing MSC are food and service being below expectations.

 

I read the MSC boards and the member reviews and unless you book in the Yacht Club I'd say you have about a 51% chance of a good cruise. I'd go with Royal without thinking. Princess have been serving U.S. guests for 50 years to some acclaim...MSC are relatively new to the market and stumbled in somewhat blind.

 

Norris

[weedpindle]

This is another one of the questions that someone else cannot answer for you. What I may like, you may dislike, and so on. Just because some dislike the food on MSC, others rave about it ( I disliked it), but my opinion should not carry any weight about your decision. On the MSC Divina, I heard many people rave about the ship, service, and food. My opinion is don't sail with MSC. My opinion is worth exactly 2 cents. Also I hate broccoli, never eat broccoli.

[Murphey]

While understanding food is subjective, could you give some further explanation as to why you disliked the food? Thank you.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes.

[Gwendy]

Have sailed with both lines. Princess wins for me. English is generally the third language for announcements, they went to six languages on Preziosa! Bingo was hilarious. I found service was different. Mostly European passengers, naturally given the area. The staff were a bit offhand, the buffet was a mad scramble and frequently ran out of food particularly on port days when everyone seemed to get back at the same time. It is very subjective. I chose MSC for the itineraries and was not disappointed, they are beautiful ships and the experience was enjoyable as all cruises are but I may be spoiled or set in my ways, as an Elite Princess cruiser I prefer Princess, but if itinerary was good I would sail with MSC again. Their prices are more than competitive, but generally you get what you pay for. Look at passenger reviews, use a critical eye, and when you have chosen just enjoy and go with the flow. If it is not quite what you expected, treat it as an adventure.

[dreaminofcruisin]

My opinion of MSC Poesia which we were on several years ago was similar to Gwendy. Americans are definitely in the minority. I would say there were less than 100 on our cruise. My kids learned to be pushy in the buffet as there didn't seem to be any concepts of standing in line and waiting your turn. :rolleyes: We also booked for the itinerary and the price which was far cheaper. A plus of MSC was that one of my favorite shore excursions was on that ship -- since there weren't as many people who picked English as their first language, we had a smaller than usual group! Another concern I thought of after the cruise was that if there were some kind of cruise incident, it might be (?) a problem when not as many passengers spoke English. All that being said, I am sure you could go and have a lovely time if your focus is on the cities you will be visiting. It is definitely a different experience. I would always pick Princess if everything else was equal, but then if you posted on the MSC board, you might be more likely to get votes for MSC. Good luck with your decision and I am sure you will have a wonderful cruise whichever ship you pick!