X Cruisers who have tried MSC- opinion?

[SPacificbound]

I decided to fill out the matching offers on MSC. They have some different/interesting voyages.

 

If you have taken an MSC cruise, what did you think?

 

TIA

[The_Big_M]

MSC is more comparable to RCL, a mass market line more for family groups with more activities on board. Ships are great, service isn't a strong point. I enjoyed them, but they're not targeting the same market as Celebrity.

[twoflyers]

All you have to do is go onto the MSC boards and you will find folks who say it's the worst cruise they've ever been on or others who say it's different, but they enjoyed the differences and they are willing to "go with the flow".

We are part of the latter group. First, it's a beautiful ship. The cabins are larger than on most of the main line cruise lines - especially the ocean view cabins. The dining venues can be a bit challenging - especially the buffet area. It's very long and finding seating can be difficult when you factor in that there may be 500+ children onboard. The last cruise we did in August had 1000 kids of all ages, so say good-bye to the very limited and small pool areas.

There are lots of complaints about the portion sizes in the main dining room, but we have never found that to be an issue. We usually order an appetizer, a salad, and an entrée and MAYBE a dessert. More than enough food!! Service is courteous and efficient, but the wait staff does not try to be your best friends for a week, like on U.S. cruise lines. Oh, and those "Best Friends" don't even recognize you on the last day of the cruise. :rolleyes:

We enjoy sailing on the Divina. We like the value that they offer for a seven day getaway. We are Elite with Celebrity and so were awarded Black Card status with MSC. We get a 5% discount on our cruise fare, two complimentary specialty dinners and enjoy the two bottles of complimentary Prosecco delivered to our cabin. We love sitting and sipping on our balcony, reading and relaxing.

We have sailed on MSC twice and will sail again with them in February, so we are believers. :D

[BosoxI]

Once we determined that we didn't care for the ship's public areas and found it's buffet a madhouse, we retreated to the Yacht Club which we liked more than any suite arrangement on any other ship we'd traveled on. I would return to the YC without hesitation, but we would prefer Celebrity in regular cabins, based on conversations with fellow passengers. OP, give it a try and judge for yourself.

[Essiesmom]

We have sailed MSC twice, and I just booked another tonight. I like theprice, I like the ship, I know a lot about the cabins. I like that the entertainment is mostly music, all live. Yes, the food can be a little different, but we are also big on the soups, salads, appetizers. And yes, you can get ice water at dinner in the MDR, but likely it won't have any ice in it. Service can be slow, strange...But we don't want all our cruises to be like visiting Ruby Tuesday in different locations. EM

[reilly1]

I am one of the people who rate MSC as the worst cruise ever - out of more than 30. Just my opinion though. Service was terrible, too many announcements in lots of languages all day long, entertainment mediocre. As I say, just my own opinion. Others love MSC. Very family friendly, so lots and lots of kids.

[Ti2m]

We actually loved our MSC Splendida cruise out of Barcelona. Mostly because of the crew and itinerary (Marseille, Genoa, Malaga, Casablanca, and Lisbon). Also I felt it was a good price for a 9 night cruise. They honored our platinum status a gave us free gratuities. The premium drink package was the best value of any we have had. It included candy, desserts, and gelatos. We enjoyed most of the entertainment. Great pizza and breads also. However I can't even compare it to any other cruise line that we've sailed. It was a unique experience for us.

 

There is a language barrier. Announcements are done in 4 or 5 languages. There is a lot of disorganization. Many fellow passengers just butt in line or pushed to the front. This was new to me. Even guest services allowed this. At one point I thought there was going to be a little riot there. MSC Port shuttles were the same. Embarkation and debarkation also chaotic.

 

The MDR experience was the worst I've had (my wife disagrees). Food choices in the MDR were few and few of my selections were very good. Like I said my wife liked her selections more than I did. The lemon cake that was outstanding and also a braised chicory that I loved. Our table mates were awesome and that is the only reason we returned night after night. The breakfast and lunch buffets were fine. I did not gain a pound on this cruise.

 

I drink Manhattans which the lounge servers did not understand what a Manhattan was. I went directly to the bartender and he understood. I only had a problem once or twice after that. Everyone of the lounge and bar staff were terrific. The entire staff was pleasant.

 

We sailed with a lot of what seemed to be extended families but not a lot of children. The children were mostly well behaved. We only met one other couple from the US. Most passengers were from Italy and Germany. Many of the Germans were quite friendly and we had quite a few passengers and some crew that enjoyed speaking English with us.

They also wanted to talk about the US election but we refused LOL (this was in October). The ship was nice but it is a bit dated. Everything was spotless clean. The brass and Swarovski crystal staircases are beautiful.

 

This may sound critical but we would definitely do MSC again based on the price and itinerary. It was far from perfect but the crew and the itinerary made it wonderful vacation.

[dodger1964]

We did 7 night Splendida out of Southampton this year.

 

Our first non Celebrity cruise.

 

We received "black" status via the match program (from Celebrity elite plus).

 

We would 100% sail MSC again...AS LONG AS the price was cheaper.

 

IMHO it is a small step below our Celebrity experience, but we saved so much money it wouldn't even be a close call.

 

I found the on board staff to be very similar to Celebrity. All good from my perspective.

 

We only had the "bella" experience in a balcony cabin, and that worked perfectly for us! The cabin we had was great, balcony was double wide (we were in one of the rooms that are turned 90 degrees from normal...and it was GREAT!)

[SPacificbound]

Thank you all for taking the time to share your experience! :)

[Byron_1978]

We were less than impressed with our MSC cruise earlier this year, and as you can see we already have a new X cruise booked.

 

Was the cruise that bad? No, it sure wasn't. We had lots of fun.

Will we book with MSC again? For sure. As long as the price is right (and it has to be more than just a bit cheaper than X).

 

The main differences for us:

- Service is less:

Only a few of the staff said hello when passing them in the hall. Some even tried to cut you off if a cart was still in the hall.

Plates and glasses were left on the tables in the buffet for very long, even after the people have left. It's not that there were no waiters, they just weren't interested in doing their work.

 

- Food was not so great:

First let me say that pizza and pasta were to die for.

The buffet didn't offer many options during the evening. Pasta bar in the buffet was even closed for dinner.

The menu in the MDR was also not that appealing to us.

 

- Cabin:

Probably around the same size as X, but it felt worn out. This was on Splendida, which is a relatively new ship.

 

But all this is personal so mileage may vary.

We will go back to MSC mainly for the price. We paid less than half for that MSC cruise as we did for our previous X cruise. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys...

 

We really would like to try the Yacht Club though.

[Jeremiah1212]

No first hand experience here, but did heavily consider Divina for this winter.

 

I think the European based ships are probably different, but I read too many mixed review to sell myself on it. With Celebrity most of the negative complaints are because of overall atmosphere is too dull and boring for people who enjoy a RCL/NCL type ship more. Specifically with Divina, there were too many specific complaints all across the board. Service, food, drinks, etc. We've been to Europe several times and would be perfectly fine a more Euro flare, but at the end of the day I was not sold.

 

My impression is their overall product is still too European for most US cruisers which leads to more negative reviews from US customers. It will be interesting to see how that changes with more Miami based ships in the future.

[mafig]

Loved the Yacht Club!

 

 

I would not consider any other category, basically because the ship (Divina) just feels too crowded. "Kids Sail Free" promotions are run all the time.

 

But like I said before the Yacht Club is wonderful.

Edited December 1, 2016 by mafig

[florisdekort]

If you're going for a suite, I highly recommend MSC. The Yacht Club is amazing and rivals the most premium, expensive cruise lines. It truly is a small ship (yacht) experience.

If you're NOT going for a suite, expect Royal Caribbean with European dining.

 

 

 

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[BMT]

Another vote for the Yacht Club.

 

A truly amazing experience - down to a private bar and pool, not forgetting the wonderful lounge and restaurant. The service was exemplary.

 

A drawback is that it is on very high decks - 15/16 I think - you need to be an excellent sailor to withstand the swaying in rough seas. That was Divina. A nurse on board warned me about this!!

[riclop]

Msc is way better then X, especially entertainment.

[SPacificbound]

I filled out the online form last night and this morning received the MSC Voyagers Club Black, so that was certainly simple enough.

 

There is a Grand Voyage out of Durban, 22 nights ending in Venice 2018. It is online but not available for booking yet. I am all ready. :)