Would a Celebrity fan be happy with MSC?

[ImpulsivePuppy]

I have to say that MSC's latest Caribbean advertising campaign has me intrigued. Celebrity is my absolute favorite line and every time I venture to 'try' another line I usually come back feeling that I will never stray from Celebrity again. But I am wondering about MSC. Are they more along the lines of what I would experience on Celebrity, RCCL, or another line? Thanks!

[The_Big_M]

Think of them as a Euro version of RCCL. Not the same as Celebrity. Also depends where you are sailing as the Caribbean product is more Americanised than the European product.

[alenushka]

Make sure to check their smoking policy (especially for European cruises)

[sayaguru]

NNNOOOO!!!!!:eek::eek:

 

Don't do it!! I tried once. Never again. And I have been on a few cheaper cruiselines (look at my signature).

 

Main reasons- food and service, or lack of.

[vino123]

Interesting question!

As Celebrity fans ourselves we have been lured to try MSC by their Yacht Club concept and the loyalty match they are offering.

 

Believe me we are very loyal to Royal and Celebrity but the prices and reviews of the MSC yacht club have convinced us to try it for a week this Christmas.

 

http://www.mscyachtclub.com/yacht_club/homepage.aspx

 

Not sure if I would cruise in a regular cabin on MSC but the Yacht club reviews are pretty impressive.

Guess we will find out for ourselves at the end of the year!

[Blondie008]

We are also looking at MSC just now - just for a break in the Med in March 17 - looking at their Aurea Suite experience - it looks great - have to say I emailed them and their response was very prompt and very upbeat and positive.

The weather wont be that hot (well Canaries + Morrocco we might get a wee bit of suntanning) - there are very few ships in and around the Med during March - we have done Costa many times and have had great experiences - never tried MSC - certainly a serious contender for us. Price for their SPA experience includes drinks, lots of welcome perks such as a free Balinese massage each - full 11 night pass to the thermal suites - yeah - its looking very attractive to us right now.

Not sure I would be taking them in the Caribbean - I am looking as I say at a winter break with a cheap short haul flight to Genoa.

We prefer NCL to Celebrity though for nightlife, (we have NCL booked for our TA crossing later this year) so we may well like MSC - Italians love late night vibe - even small kids dine very late - I'm not sure one can even compare MSC to Celebrity - just too different.

Celebrity has the edge when it comes to passenger/space ratio - There is no doubt about that on pretty much all mass lines. I am a huge Celebrity fan - for Alaska we would not use any other line than Celebrity - Its not a "party cruise" - so we will want that Celebrity Luxury - not too fussed on late nights for this one.

The Yacht Club however - who knows - perhaps similar to NCL's Haven?

I am waiting on flights coming out for March 17 - once I have those - think I am going to book :)

Oh and do you know about MSC's loyalty club? Whatever you are on another line - you send them your member data - and you inherit their equivalent - So if you are Elite on X- I think you get Black on MSC - very good perk!

[ECCruise]

Interesting question!

As Celebrity fans ourselves we have been lured to try MSC by their Yacht Club concept and the loyalty match they are offering.

 

Believe me we are very loyal to Royal and Celebrity but the prices and reviews of the MSC yacht club have convinced us to try it for a week this Christmas.

 

http://www.mscyachtclub.com/yacht_club/homepage.aspx

 

Not sure if I would cruise in a regular cabin on MSC but the Yacht club reviews are pretty impressive.

Guess we will find out for ourselves at the end of the year!

 

Relatives did Yacht Club a couple of week ago, and according to them (and they have done 75+ cruises) blew everything else out of the water. And that would include their many cruises on =X= including many in suites.

[missminnie]

We love Celebrity but fancied a change and managed to get a cheap week last December with flights & transfers etc so thought let's try it.

 

We loved it! We sailed the Med in Dec and whilst it was cold it was lovely & sunny. We sailed on Preziosa and even tried an inside cabin (we always have balcony or above). We loved the ship, plenty of things to do, lots of bars and choice. Yes the food isn't anywhere near Celebrity standards and the service isn't up to par with Celebrity but it was a lovely change.

 

We loved the amount of bars/venues onboard. You could walk from one end of the ship to the other and pass through about 7 bars. There was a great atmosphere and everyone was friendly.

 

Getting on and off at each port was a disaster though. There would be huge queues both getting off and trying to get back on. Not very well organised at all.

 

But for the price I would highly suggest trying them. We've already booked another 2 - one for this Sept staying in th Yacht Club and one for March 2018 sailing on their new Seaside ship. The Sept cruise was less than £1k for a week in their top suite and the one for March 2018 was £600 each for 2 weeks (booked it whilst it was on a special offer at launch).

 

Go with an open mind. They are different but we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Edited February 26, 2016 by missminnie

[Keith1010]

If you spend time on board comparing the experience you will likely not be happy. It will be different than Celebrity.

 

Keith

[vino123]

Relatives did Yacht Club a couple of week ago, and according to them (and they have done 75+ cruises) blew everything else out of the water. And that would include their many cruises on =X= including many in suites.

 

Good to hear. Thanks for that!

[gek]

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I was generally happy with my trip on the MSC Musica but my wife hated it. The itinerary, price and general design of the ship were good, but dining was a mess and the activities were crass. The crew were just OK.

 

Overall I would rate MSC way, way below Celebrity but I've heard that the Yacht Club experience is great.

[di T]

We are also looking at MSC just now - just for a break in the Med in March 17 - looking at their Aurea Suite experience - it looks great - have to say I emailed them and their response was very prompt and very upbeat and positive.

The weather wont be that hot (well Canaries + Morrocco we m,ight get a wee bit of suntanning) - there are very few ships in and around the Med during March - we have done Costa many times and have had great experiences - never tried MSC - certainly a serious contender for us. Price for their SPA experience includes drinks, lots of welcome perks such as a free Balinese massage each - full 11 night pass to the thermal suites - yeah - its looking very attractive to us right now.

Not sure I would be taking them in the Caribbean - I am looking as I say at a winter break with a cheap short haul flight to Genoa.

We prefer NCL to Celebrity though for nightlife, (we have NCL booked for our TA crossing later this year) so we may well like MSC - Italians love late night vibe - even small kids dine very late - I'm not sure one can even compare MSC to Celebrity - just too different.

Celebrity has the edge when it comes to passenger/space ratio - There is no doubt about that on pretty much all mass lines. I am a huge Celebrity fan - for Alaska we would not use any other line than Celebrity - Its not a "party cruise" - so we will want that Celebrity Luxury - not too fussed on late nights for this one.

The Yacht Club however - who knows - perhaps similar to NCL's Haven?

I am waiting on flights coming out for March 17 - once I have those - think I am going to book :)

Oh and do you know about MSC's loyalty club? Whatever you are on another line - you send them your member data - and you inherit their equivalent - So if you are Elite on X- I think you get Black on MSC - very good perk!

 

Hi Blondie, that's interesting the loyalty match! We have been with lots of brands but do at least three Celebrity cruises a year.

Have yet to try MSC they seem to do some nice itineraries though, please let our know what you think if you do go with them

[liverpoollad]

My wife & I have sailed MSC Musica, fabulous ship. food OK, very good theatre entertainment but the worst part for us was every announcement was in six languages, quizzes, deck games etc., this put us off MSC.

Is this still the case?? I don't know.

 

Cheers

[Iamcruzin]

Their website is a turn off for me. I couldn't figure out how to book or find prices. Seems like a lot of a la carte extra's in terms of room amenities. I could be wrong since I couldn't find pricing.

[The_Big_M]

Their website is a turn off for me. I couldn't figure out how to book or find prices. Seems like a lot of a la carte extra's in terms of room amenities. I could be wrong since I couldn't find pricing.

 

Their web site isn't great. But their pricing can be considered similar to Celebrity Big, better, best. i.e. you can choose whichever cabin grade, and then overlay that with different inclusions (at extra cost).

 

Just decide what level of extras you want, and then choose the cabin type you want.

[godfreyb]

We were in a taxi minibus on the way back to the Connie in Grand Cayman at the end of last year. There were some people in the bus on their way back to an MSC ship. They said the Europeans on board made it clear that they hated Americans and that they (Hispanic origins) told them that they were from their original countries and not the USA to steer clear of any trouble. They said the salads on board were terrible.

[Guytoplay]

MSC Divina was my first cruise in 2014. The ship was nice but I was not impressed with the service. Hotdogs, hamburgers and fries on the buffet, packed like a fast food joint, just set the mood. Slow bar service. Room service was good the entertainment was enjoyable.

[wallie5446]

Hey Michael!

Great to 'see' ya!;)

 

We have friends that sailed the Ruby Princess in 2012, and the Reflection in 2013 with us, then went with MSC in 2014. They like us are of the mindset any cruise is better than no cruise. That said, they will not book with MSC again.

 

Most of their cruises have been with Carnival.

 

EW

[capecodder2]

Think of it this way - MSC is basically a freight line, that is their main business - their cruise ships just consider people freight on their passenger ships, and that is how they are treated. Freight doesn't talk back, sometimes people do.

[DebbieMacG]

We were in a taxi minibus on the way back to the Connie in Grand Cayman at the end of last year. There were some people in the bus on their way back to an MSC ship. They said the Europeans on board made it clear that they hated Americans and that they (Hispanic origins) told them that they were from their original countries and not the USA to steer clear of any trouble. They said the salads on board were terrible.

 

I have to say this is the oddest thing I've heard in a while. Why would "The Europeans" on board hate Americans? What did they do to be hated by everyone? What trouble would there have been? :eek::confused:

 

I've done many cruises with people from Europe and America and never seen a hint of this! Heck I'm from Europe. (Although perhaps not for long!) :rolleyes:

[hockeymom21]

We had a great experience on our MSC cruise. Took our 20 year old daughter and a girlfriend. My only complaint and it's trivial... they do announcements in multiple languages. That's not really a complaint. They have great pool loungers with tops that flip up for sun cover if you prefer. I would do another anytime!

[stephenp]

Don´t do it.

 

I was on the Magnifica from Hamburg.

The worst Service and Food ever had on a ship.

even as a gift I would never set foot on MSC again.

[AuntieSasa]

Went on MSC Divina in January to the Bahamas. NEVER again. Buffet was horrible, and the MDR food was not much to talk about either. Bar service was super slow- had to wait at least 10 minutes every time I went up to get a drink. Ship was beautiful, but that did not make up for the service and food.

[Pluto_fan]

Quite a diversity of opinions! We've enjoyed all three of our MSC cruises, and would be happy to cruise with them again. We found the food and service generally good to very good. You can eat lunch in the MDR on embarkation day if you want to. :) Passenger mix more internationally diverse than a US-based line (our experience has all been in Europe). I hear the Yacht Club is wonderful, but haven't tried it ourselves.

 

OP, if you are willing to try something new, and the price and itinerary are appealing, why not go and form your own opinion?

 

Happy cruising!

[zoncom]

Read the Member reviews from top of this page. MSC is a budget line for Europeans.