Msc considering have questions

[Cruisegirl6]

Hello, I am an avid cruiser on Royal Caribbean and Carnival and have cruised other cruise lines also but MSC.

 

We are considering trying a MSC caribbean cruise but need your input and feedback please:

 

1- For those who have gnomon MSC more than once what are the main reasons why you keep going back?

 

2- Can you compare Royal Caribbean to MSC, what are the likes, dislikes, differences, anything better about MSC?

 

3- Same with Carnival can you compare to MSC

 

4- Tell me about the food, dining, options/choices, do they have an open dinner seating time where we can go anytime we like under certain hours of course?

 

5- What is there to eat past midnight besides room service?

 

6- What are the cabins like, pros/cons?

 

7- Do they have a drink/alcohol drink package what is the cost and what does it include?

 

8- Are there more europeans or Americans on these ships, as passengers?

 

9- How is the crew and staff?

 

10- How is the service overall?

11- How is the casino, do they stay open to the wee hours of the night such as till 3am?

Edited April 6, 2016 by lyndamr

[Cruisegirl6]

This post has been on here a few hours, if it were on Carnival or RC boards I would have had many answers but having no answers only shows me its not a cruise line for us.

[vicocala]

Sorry to hear that. This is a slow board. MSC has only been in the USA and very limited at that for the last five years or so. There just isn't a large enough passenger base to compare with RCCL, CCL, HAL, Celebrity, Princess or NCL.

 

I have a B2B booked and I am looking forward to my experience. I would check out some of the reviews and read the boards before choosing not to sail a cruise line based on how many CC members post about it, but that is me.

 

Many of us here are new and have our first cruises coming up or it would be even slower.

[mairead224]

Hello, I am an avid cruiser on Royal Caribbean and Carnival and have cruised other cruise lines also but MSC.

 

We are considering trying a MSC caribbean cruise but need your input and feedback please:

 

1- For those who have gnomon MSC more than once what are the main reasons why you keep going back?

 

For me its the cabin size and the value that the ship offers. In Europe the kiddies more or less go free (although recently a small charge applies).

 

2- Can you compare Royal Caribbean to MSC, what are the likes, dislikes, differences, anything better about MSC?

NA

 

3- Same with Carnival can you compare to MSC

Carnival is somewhat more of a party atmosphere whereas MSC is more Eloquent I find. Bear in mind I have never done a US cruise only MSC and carnival in Europe

 

 

4- Tell me about the food, dining, options/choices, do they have an open dinner seating time where we can go anytime we like under certain hours of course?

 

The food is like and like with Carnival. While Carnival excelled in certain areas, MSC did in others. MSC are just introducing an open dinner seating this year so only time will tell how that works. As it stands MSC offers a 1st seating and a 2nd seating.

 

5- What is there to eat past midnight besides room service?

 

Pizza and midnight buffets and sorry cant comment on food past 2am.

 

6- What are the cabins like, pros/cons?

 

Honestly their cabins are very well decorated and a larger size than most other liners.

 

7- Do they have a drink/alcohol drink package what is the cost and what does it include?

 

YES - see several other threads on CC.

 

8- Are there more europeans or Americans on these ships, as passengers?

 

In Europe its mostly Europeans who originate mostly from Italy, Germany, France, Spain, UK etc etc.

 

9- How is the crew and staff?

 

Same with all liners. Some good apples some bad

 

10- How is the service overall?

 

11- How is the casino, do they stay open to the wee hours of the night such as till 3am?

 

YES YES AND YES!! My fav part of a cruise.

[LMaxwell]

Hello, I am an avid cruiser on Royal Caribbean and Carnival and have cruised other cruise lines also but MSC.

 

We are considering trying a MSC caribbean cruise but need your input and feedback please:

 

1- For those who have gnomon MSC more than once what are the main reasons why you keep going back?

 

2- Can you compare Royal Caribbean to MSC, what are the likes, dislikes, differences, anything better about MSC?

 

3- Same with Carnival can you compare to MSC

 

4- Tell me about the food, dining, options/choices, do they have an open dinner seating time where we can go anytime we like under certain hours of course?

 

5- What is there to eat past midnight besides room service?

 

6- What are the cabins like, pros/cons?

 

7- Do they have a drink/alcohol drink package what is the cost and what does it include?

 

8- Are there more europeans or Americans on these ships, as passengers?

 

9- How is the crew and staff?

 

10- How is the service overall?

11- How is the casino, do they stay open to the wee hours of the night such as till 3am?

I'm an avid RCI cruiser and some on Carnival besides the other "regular" lines. I will be on MSC this weekend. Look for a review

[nikkiw60]

I am new to MSC and I have got the answers to all the questions by spending time on this board and reading all the reviews. Have a look at Stuart's recent trip and also Live from MiAmi by Bermuda Bound. Skier52 who usually answers the cabin questions is on holiday (with MSC) and Bret from Florida are very good at answering.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[KSWind]

Hello, I am an avid cruiser on Royal Caribbean and Carnival and have cruised other cruise lines also but MSC.

 

We are considering trying a MSC caribbean cruise but need your input and feedback please:

 

1- For those who have gnomon MSC more than once what are the main reasons why you keep going back? Price

 

2- Can you compare Royal Caribbean to MSC, what are the likes, dislikes, differences, anything better about MSC? No.

 

3- Same with Carnival can you compare to MSC. No.

 

4- Tell me about the food, dining, options/choices, do they have an open dinner seating time where we can go anytime we like under certain hours of course? Plenty of restaurants. No open seating. Buffet open 20 hours a day - closed 0200 to 0600.

 

5- What is there to eat past midnight besides room service? Buffet until 0200.

 

6- What are the cabins like, pros/cons? Subjective. We liked 'em.

 

7- Do they have a drink/alcohol drink package what is the cost and what does it include? They have packages. They vary so I advise you to check them out on the web site.

 

8- Are there more europeans or Americans on these ships, as passengers? Depends, I guess. We've only sailed in Europe with MSC. 'mericans were a minority.

 

9- How is the crew and staff? Multilingual, laid back, friendly.

 

10- How is the service overall? Good without being overbearing.

11- How is the casino, do they stay open to the wee hours of the night such as till 3am?

Subjective. I do not use it but I am sure it is open late. The casino is a smoking area.

[skyking]

Subjective. I do not use it but I am sure it is open late. The casino is a smoking area.

 

Wait!!! Here is the US the casino was NON smoking and people had to use the smoking room with the doors that sits off the casino.

[CruiseIreland]

I have only sailed on MSC in the Med but I will give my views on your queries:

1- For those who have gnomon MSC more than once what are the main reasons why you keep going back? Value for money. I would rate RCCL & NCL higher for food and variety of entertainment.

 

2- Can you compare Royal Caribbean to MSC, what are the likes, dislikes, differences, anything better about MSC? Ships are flashier, almost too blingy but other than that, not a lot of difference apart from what I say above.

 

3- Same with Carnival can you compare to MSC. Never sailed Carnival

 

4- Tell me about the food, dining, options/choices, do they have an open dinner seating time where we can go anytime we like under certain hours of course? Usually 2 dinner sittings, approx. 7pm and 9.30pm. 2 gala nights on a 7 day cruise. Dress code not enforced as long as you're neat. White party and Italian night(dress in red, white and green). Baked Alaska parade usually on gala night. Anytime dining available for suite guests in separate area of MDR.

 

5- What is there to eat past midnight besides room service? Not sure. Room service is charged unless you are on Fantastica package.

 

6- What are the cabins like, pros/cons? Very nicely decorated. Tones of Brown/gold, Red and Blue.

 

7- Do they have a drink/alcohol drink package what is the cost and what does it include? Yes, cost in Europe is €26pppd, good value. In Carribbean, I think it's $35pppd.

 

8- Are there more europeans or Americans on these ships, as passengers? Mostly Europeans on European cruises. I gather it's less so in Carribbean but it's a line a lot of Europeans go to when sailing Carribbean, loyalty schemes etc.

 

9- How is the crew and staff? Crew very nice, Asian, Eastern European and South American. Usually well able to communicate with you. Guest Services have a reputation for unhelpfulness but I have never experienced this.

 

10- How is the service overall? Laid back. Hard to get a waitstaff sometimes.

11- How is the casino, do they stay open to the wee hours of the night such as till 3am? I think so. Bars all close quite early so sometimes casino was only place to get a drink after 1.00am. In Med casino is smoking, Carribbean non-smoking.

 

Give it a go but apparently the Yacht Club experience is superior to the Haven or Suite experience on NCL & RCCL. Itineraries and price aside, I would prefer to sail on NCL or RCCL but have no real issues with MSC. Port times can be very short in Med.

[Tracey/Thom]

Hello, I am an avid cruiser on Royal Caribbean and Carnival and have cruised other cruise lines also but MSC.

 

We are considering trying a MSC caribbean cruise but need your input and feedback please:

 

1- For those who have gnomon MSC more than once what are the main reasons why you keep going back?We are considering a 2nd cruise because we enjoyed it so much! We've cruised Carnival and Princess. Value for money, but also because we loved being surrounded by other nationalities. It didn't bother us that the announcements were in 3 languages (the first was English). It is a European cruiseline and not like Carnival. This is whey we liked it so much.

 

2- Can you compare Royal Caribbean to MSC, what are the likes, dislikes, differences, anything better about MSC? Havent' cruised RCL, but read the reviews, just type Divina Review into the search box, there's lots of information on here.

 

3- Same with Carnival can you compare to MSCCarnival is the fun ship, very casual, young. MSC is more elegant, refined, a little older, a little more formal (hence the elegance). We've cruised both, and depending on what kind of vacation you're looking for, both have merits. We would cruise both again.

 

4- Tell me about the food, dining, options/choices, do they have an open dinner seating time where we can go anytime we like under certain hours of course?

 

5- What is there to eat past midnight besides room service? There is a room charge unless you get the Fantastica experience (which we did, just to get breakfast in bed. A few extra dollars up front, well worth it to us!)

 

6- What are the cabins like, pros/cons?We had an interior and it was fine! It was much better laid out, and wasn't cramped at all. The colors were not brash. The shower had a nice open-out glass door, wather pressure was good. There was a retractable clothes line in the shower.

 

7- Do they have a drink/alcohol drink package what is the cost and what does it include?We purchased the 12-voucher drink package for $72. It covered cocktails, mixed drinks, pina coladas etc. it was great for us. It included gratuities. We loved the European service, not hassling you to buy a drink every 5 minutes. When you called them, they came.

 

8- Are there more europeans or Americans on these ships, as passengers? I would say it is about 60% American - everyone seated at our table in MDR was American, but we really enjoyed meeting the Europeans around the ship. If you want to be surrounded by Americans only, MSC is not for you.

9- How is the crew and staff? We thought they were great, the cruise director was South African, very young, but very professional, efficient, funny, we liked him. The captain and engineers were Italian, didn't really meet them, but saw them in passing. No complaints.

10- How is the service overall?We loved the service - it is NOT American. So go with an open mind, and you'll enjoy. Go with an attitude that you are in the room and everybody needs to fawn over you and you'll be disappointed. We personally prefer servers that bring us our food, check on it, and then leave us alone and not try to ingratiate themselves by interrupting us every 5 minutes. When we eat or drink, the server is not part of our party, we want them to do their job and go away.

11- How is the casino, do they stay open to the wee hours of the night such as till 3am?

Hope this helps

[LordCapybara]

1- For those who have gnomon MSC more than once what are the main reasons why you keep going back? Value, cleanliness and nice staff.

 

2- Can you compare Royal Caribbean to MSC, what are the likes, dislikes, differences, anything better about MSC? Royal has better kid programs, msc has more language friendly shows, acrobats, cirque-ish, as compared to rccl - comedians, plays..

 

3- Same with Carnival can you compare to MSC - no comparison, would take msc everytime, even if MSC was more money.

 

4- Tell me about the food, dining, options/choices, do they have an open dinner seating time where we can go anytime we like under certain hours of course? They have limited number of flexible time, or std 6 or 8:30 times.

 

5- What is there to eat past midnight besides room service? buffet till after 1, latest I went last week. unsure of closing

 

6- What are the cabins like, pros/cons? I have only stayed in very affordable balconies, excellent storage, but u can look that up online very easily.

 

7- Do they have a drink/alcohol drink package what is the cost and what does it include?

yes, premium was 60 a day, but included everything, unlimited gelato, from 2 gelato shops, pastries from amazing pastasserie, unlimited use of in room mini bar, I was drinkiong double dark and stormy's - 18.25 each, included..water bottles to, just found out not included in NCL pkg.

 

8- Are there more europeans or Americans on these ships, as passengers? 60/40 usa

 

9- How is the crew and staff ? nice, not in your face, every 2 seconds, but never had a problem getting poolside drink, MDR waiter amazing.

 

10- How is the service overall? Good, cabin steward did his job, that's about it. Casino is good, I played few nights until 2:30 or so....no craps, but did have hold'em table and tournaments.

 

11- How is the casino, do they stay open to the wee hours of the night such as till 3am?