MSC vs. Carnival. Which do you prefer and why?

[Lidolounger]

Platinum with Carnival, Elite with Princess.  We sailed on the MSC Divina, which was our least favorite cruise.  We expected a more European feel, and it was.  Shows are more musical due to all the languages spoken.  We missed the comedy and guest interaction shows.  We found food to be very limited outside of the main DR.  Balcony cabin was smaller and several maintenance issues IE a front of a drawer was laying next to the drawer, leaking toilet and a hole in the wall by the TV with wires hanging out (none of these were fixed during our cruise even after contacting cabin steward, guest services and maintenance)

On the plus side, the ship was beautiful and loved how drink stations and bars were adjacent to all food areas.

Would we seek out another MSC? Probably not.  If there was a great deal or itinerary, sure.

Our preference remains Princess, that being said, we have 2 Carnival cruises booked.

[hyaduckh]

28 minutes ago, Lidolounger said:

Platinum with Carnival, Elite with Princess.  We sailed on the MSC Divina, which was our least favorite cruise.  We expected a more European feel, and it was.  Shows are more musical due to all the languages spoken.  We missed the comedy and guest interaction shows.  We found food to be very limited outside of the main DR.  Balcony cabin was smaller and several maintenance issues IE a front of a drawer was laying next to the drawer, leaking toilet and a hole in the wall by the TV with wires hanging out (none of these were fixed during our cruise even after contacting cabin steward, guest services and maintenance)

On the plus side, the ship was beautiful and loved how drink stations and bars were adjacent to all food areas.

Would we seek out another MSC? Probably not.  If there was a great deal or itinerary, sure.

Our preference remains Princess, that being said, we have 2 Carnival cruises booked.

I think the limited itinerary is the main reason we have not sailed on MSC yet. We keep looking for an itinerary that we like. Maybe when MSC comes out with their luxury ships the itinerary will improve.  After our last cruise on Carnival where we had one of the 8 extended balconies and one of the most expensive cabins on the ship but we could not enjoy it because of the constant pot smoking that stunk up the balcony so bad I had to go inside and even then it was stinking up the room. I even saw them smoking and reported it and nothing happened. It may be better on Carnivals bigger ships but I like the smaller ones. My favorite of all the the Carnival ships I have been on is the Legend. 

I have heard other complaints about the MSC Divina also so I will probably avoid the ship.

[AllgoodOnTheRoad]

MSC really was the worst cruise we have taken 

 

[Heartgrove]

The video in the previous post  is very biased comparing a Carnival ship that caries 2000 passengers to a MSC ship that carries 4000 passengers - twice the amount. Also two different ports (Port Canaveral vs. Tampa) where it probably is the port staff and Passport Control as the limiting factor. In my experience for example San Diego is often hit or miss for good and bad Embarkation/Disembarkation. Compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges.

 

I have sailed once on Carnival and once on MSC. For that matter, I have sailed once on Viking Ocean but that is a different story as it was "One - and Done."

 

We sailed the Carnival Legend from Baltimore to Nassau this past January and the MSC Splendida from Genoa, Italy last October to Sicily and the boot of Italy. We have a Caribbean cruise booked on the Carnival Venezia in November 2023 basically because of an $800 non-refundable deposit switched from an additional sailing on the Legend that we don't want to lose. Actually we are disappointed as Baltimore is only 3-1/2 drive instead of having to fly to cruise. Perhaps when the Carnival Pride make a return to Baltimore we will give it a try. But we found the Legend very "tired."

 

Regarding MSC, we had read all of the positives and negatives but decided to give them a try on a Mediterranean cruise. We chose a 7-night sailing on the MSC Splendida which has a capacity of 3,300+ passengers. It is only seven years younger than the Legend (2002 vs. 2009) and looks more up to date. Genoa's cruise terminal dates from 1930 and sees over a million passengers a year yet we were through checkin and aboard in less than 1/2 hour.  One thing that may make boarding quicker is that MSC does what I call "bus stop" boarding as each port on the cruise usually has embarkation/disembarkation for the RT cruise.

 

Food was as good if not better than Carnival so food may be subjective to the individual ship's galley staff. The stateroom was better appointed. Passengers were better behaved as well. I could continue with more point to point but you can see I have made my choice. We have a 10-night cruise in September from Hamburg, Germany, and two 7-night cruises from two different ports in Italy next year before our Transatlantic return on HAL.

 

We have not sailed MSC from Florida but do enjoy sailing on them in Europe. Perhaps the contrasting venue makes a difference as well.

[asalligo]

I wanted to love MSC, I really did, the price of cruising has just gone up so much this year, but the cruise we took on MSC was really not worth our money. Food, entertainment, service. All just bad. It was hard to find any redeeming factor in the cruise. I guess the ship was nice. 

 

 

[asalligo]

16 hours ago, KKB said:

On both cruises (which was odd--2 very different demographics), I have never encountered more rude passengers in my life!

Complete disregard for common courtesy & politeness by far too many--ramming trays in the back of others in the buffet, ignoring lines, physically moving children aside, etc.--and sadly, I saw these things multiple times.

We experienced something similar to this. For some reason the MDR did not open on time and when we arrived there was a line that we got in, but as others showed up they did not get in line. They just pushed their way to the front and MSC did nothing to enforce any queue. We were like the tenth couple when we arrived and when dinner finally opened there must have been 100 people in the hallway in front of us. Almost like getting in first was a sport to them. 

 

 

[Petersonfcu]

16 hours ago, havanadaydreaming said:

Have only sailed msc, ncl and ccl. 

 

We like them all.  For different reasons.  

 

Msc is the "most different" of the three. My biggest critique was sloooooow mdr.  Like 90-120 mins. But i cleared my plates.  

 

Some folks ***** about the captain making announcements in 4 languages.  Merica! Didnt faze me, c'est la vie los amigos. 

 

The shows, i was told, are not language based due to multi nationalities of guests. We loved 75% of the shows. 

 

Stunning ships. Gorgeous. 

 

Cabins are pretty much the same. Staff also, very solid. 

 

Great pizza in buffet. Many choices daily

 

We sailed MSC once, and do not plan to repeat the experience.  Here is my list of reasons why.

 

1)  We were on the MSC Divina repositioning from Miami to Brazil.  After we booked, MSC changed the dates of our cruise, moving it back six days.  Uggh.  Making it worse, MSC did not inform us of the change.  We found out about it only after reading a thread on cruise critic.  When we called MSC, they said, "oh, yeah, sorry about that!  Here is some OBC . . ."  Turns out they made the change not out of operational necessity, but because they wanted to rent the ship out as a floating hotel during the world cup in brazil.

 

2)  Guest services were nonresponsive and surly.  We thought they treated us like cargo, not passengers.  Oh yeah, MSC is primarily a cargo line.  Guess that is the root of that.

 

3)  The commenter above says that all the announcements were in four languages.  Well, on our cruise, all the announcements were in SEVEN languages.  It was like an episode of MASH . . . the constant drone of the PA system.  In the theatre they even made a joke out of it . . . the Captain made a preshow announcement in seven languages, and then added TURKISH at the end for an eighth language.

 

4)  Yeah, the pizza was good.  But not the rest of the MDR food.  And the MDR service was lousy.

 

OK, the caveat here is that we sailed on the Divina more than a decade ago.  Maybe MSC has improved.  But we aren't going back to MSC to find out.

[sgttami]

I only sailed MSC once (Divina in 2017) and  I can't say I had a bad time but didn't have a desire to go on another.  The ship was beautiful but I found it to be very dressy all the time.  Casual night was more like elegant night!  Food was hit or miss and MDR took forever.  Crew were OK but not as friendly as Carnival's.  I did like that they honored your highest status on another line and was able to use my RCL Diamond+ but that's about it.

 

I prefer the Carnival Comfort and unless I get an offer I can't refuse, I doubt I'd sail MSC again.

[KKB]

18 hours ago, hyaduckh said:

 

 

I would expect rude passengers on any cruise. We are older and like a slower lifestyle and are hoping that MSC will make us happy which Carnival did not. We have sailed Carnival a lot and hope MSC can fill the void. Disney and Princess are our favorite though but are higher priced. We would love to sail the higher class of ships but we need to fit in the lower classes like Carnival and MSC. Our neighbors only sail MSC and they rave about it.

Oh rude guests everywhere...there were just A LOT more than usual. it was bizarre.

Now, if you have never sailed any other line, you might like it.

I had a comped cruise & the rest were DIRT CHEAP--still not cheap enough to go back.

And I'm a gal all about value...

 

Celebrity is our fav, followed by Princess--honestly I'd put Carnival right up there too. 

But our Carnival was 14 day Hawaii cruise--our bartenders said stick w/ the longer cruises on Carnival.

Only sailed DCL once--it was great, but at 30% higher price, we didn't see the value.

 

MSC is not a slower pace--it s crowded & loud. Hard to find a quiet corner (I was on smaller ships: Preziosa & Divina). Many wonderful crew members as on other lines. 

Owner of the salon I went to felt the same as me...but I met a gal on the Europe trip that LOVED MSC.
 

[KKB]

1 hour ago, Petersonfcu said:

We sailed MSC once, and do not plan to repeat the experience.  Here is my list of reasons why.

 

1)  We were on the MSC Divina repositioning from Miami to Brazil.  After we booked, MSC changed the dates of our cruise, moving it back six days.  Uggh.  Making it worse, MSC did not inform us of the change.  We found out about it only after reading a thread on cruise critic.  When we called MSC, they said, "oh, yeah, sorry about that!  Here is some OBC . . ."  Turns out they made the change not out of operational necessity, but because they wanted to rent the ship out as a floating hotel during the world cup in brazil.

 

2)  Guest services were nonresponsive and surly.  We thought they treated us like cargo, not passengers.  Oh yeah, MSC is primarily a cargo line.  Guess that is the root of that.

 

3)  The commenter above says that all the announcements were in four languages.  Well, on our cruise, all the announcements were in SEVEN languages.  It was like an episode of MASH . . . the constant drone of the PA system.  In the theatre they even made a joke out of it . . . the Captain made a preshow announcement in seven languages, and then added TURKISH at the end for an eighth language.

 

4)  Yeah, the pizza was good.  But not the rest of the MDR food.  And the MDR service was lousy.

 

OK, the caveat here is that we sailed on the Divina more than a decade ago.  Maybe MSC has improved.  But we aren't going back to MSC to find out.

Nope, exactly the same.

[KKB]

18 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

That's horrible. Being in queue to eat is not supposed to be a contact sport. That would certainly ruin a cruise.

I've read their customer service leaves a bad taste for some people because their demeanor is more distant and abrupt, but for passengers to treat each other poorly is unacceptable.

Thanks for the info.

Bartenders & servers were fantastic like other cruises--I befriended several on each cruise.

Guest services & officers left something to be desired.

[JimmyTheSaint]

We are platinum on Carnival and one and done with MSC so you know who we favour. MSC was the best designed cruise ship we've ever sailed on, truly special, fabulous fixtures and fittings, really lovely stateroom. That's where the good news about MSC starts and finishes. Everything else was spectacularly hopeless. Entertainment, food, customer service and the overall atmosphere on board were dreadful. I could go on and give many details and examples of why I've written the previous sentence but I'd be here for a few hours that I can't spare. We will never ever consider sailing on MSC in the future, not at any price.

[Illbcruzn4life]

11 hours ago, sgttami said:

I only sailed MSC once (Divina in 2017) and  I can't say I had a bad time but didn't have a desire to go on another.  The ship was beautiful but I found it to be very dressy all the time.  Casual night was more like elegant night!  Food was hit or miss and MDR took forever.  Crew were OK but not as friendly as Carnival's.  I did like that they honored your highest status on another line and was able to use my RCL Diamond+ but that's about it.

 

I prefer the Carnival Comfort and unless I get an offer I can't refuse, I doubt I'd sail MSC again.

On Meraviglia it was not dressy at all. Wore shorts to dinner every night except for the Gala night. I don't like dressy anymore.

[asalligo]

20 hours ago, Petersonfcu said:

Maybe MSC has improved.  But we aren't going back to MSC to find out.

 

Nope, pretty much the same now. 

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 7/19/2023 at 6:36 PM, hyaduckh said:

I guess I didn't make myself clear to some. I prefer MSC. We am looking forward to out first cruise on MSC. We are older and Carnival does not enforce its policies like others we have cruised, Disney, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. So I stand by what I said I prefer MSC. All cruise lines have their good sides and bad sides. I may change my mind after sailing on MSC but for now Carnival is at the bottom of my list. 

If you think Carnival is lax in enforcing their policies you are in for a rude awakening on MSC.

[havanadaydreaming]

MSC had probably the best excursion at sea i've ever done.  it was a wine tasting (and im not a wine guy) where you could blend you own wine.  and then take a bottle or two with you home.  i took two.  Cracked one open for Xmas dinner which was fun.  

 

there were four types of red wine you tasted then mixed them in percentages you liked.  I think i was 50% malbec and 25% two others.  Cab?  Merlot?  i have no idea.   

[Squirreladd]

Outsider looking in:

 

I have been on carnival several times now, but looking at MSC I think of an Martial arts saying "all the way out or all the way in" 

 

It looks like MSC is not all the way in the US market (yet). This is not saying they don't have enough ships but rather the ships they do have in the US, don't cater to US cruisers, no comedy clubs, long dinners and so forth. They should make changes to the US ships to make them more appealing to Americans. 

 

I love the concept of competition. I want MSC to compete more as it will be better for us all. However I am an American, you want my money accept I have different habits and interest then those old world people.

[Tripmode33]

1 hour ago, havanadaydreaming said:

MSC had probably the best excursion at sea i've ever done.  it was a wine tasting (and im not a wine guy) where you could blend you own wine.  and then take a bottle or two with you home.  i took two.  Cracked one open for Xmas dinner which was fun.  

 

there were four types of red wine you tasted then mixed them in percentages you liked.  I think i was 50% malbec and 25% two others.  Cab?  Merlot?  i have no idea.   

Princess has this concept on board their ships with Vines wine bar. We recently did it on the Grand. Group of ten. Not expensive and very enjoyable way to spend a couple hours on a sea day afternoon.

Elite on Princess but having great fun getting to know Carnival. Our next two cruises are on Carnival Splendor and really looking forward to them.

[ray98]

I can chime in on this....we did an MSC cruise a couple of months ago on the Seaside for a phenomenal price that included drinks and Wi-Fi.  I did lots of research weeding through the negative experiences and watching Youtube reviews and decided it was worth the risk.  It couldn't be that bad....right?  We have lots of experience on Carnival, RCCL and NCL so I really didn't think the overall experience could be that different....more of the same with a "European" flair.

 

There were things they did well.  The ship itself was beautiful.  It was in great condition and spotless.  The private island with an overnight stay is a 10.  The island was wonderful with something for everyone looking for a beach day; sun or shade under the palms, facing the ocean or the calm of the lagoon, crowded or secluded.  Plenty of beach bars with wonderful views.  They had an evening beach party with bonfires, a neat laser-light show on the lighthouse and the drink package worked on the island.  It is really what the experience at every private island should aspire to be.

 

Unfortunately for us that was the extent of the highlights.  We found the things really important to us, food and drinks, were just not up to par.  Starting with the MDR, the food was okay but the service was painfully slow averaging 2 hours.  You don't really know how much you miss eating when you want until you go back to set dining times.  Those long meals and being assigned a dining time that didn't work very well for us drove us to the buffet which we found was a total miss.  The food was repetitive, unimaginative and was simply not served with quality in mind.  It was hard to find a dish at the proper temp, most were served cold even if you happened to be standing there while they were putting a fresh pan out from the back.  I did not have a single piece of meat from pork chop, cut of beef or chicken that was not a thinly cut dried out mess. 

 

I am not a picky eater at all and there were a couple of nights I basically grazed and left most of the food on the plate at the end of the meal.  In our experience the big 3 are all pretty similar when it comes to dinner choices, meaning there were always a couple of 'anchor' dishes on the buffet that were on the MDR menu for the night being served there.  MSC was having none of that.  Every night was the same, some basic cuts of bland meat like a paper thin pork chop, 1/2 dozen rice dishes and the most basic of pasta dishes.  The last thing is you don't really know how much you miss the quick serve options like Guy's burgers, El Loco or The Local until they are not there and you know you are heading back to the buffet that will have the same thing as it had yesterday.

 

For the drinks, bar service was slow.  The main bar for example probably has 40 seats and a long line of walk ups and I never saw more than 3 bartenders working.  Then two specific drinks for example that are dear to me, Margaritas and Bloody Mary's. Drinks I've had countless times, in countless places, that I drink pretty much every day I am on vacation, were the absolute worst I've been served....ever.  I don't know what mix it was but it was bad, no resemblance to the classic mixtures.  The BM tasted like straight tomato juice and many bars didn't have anything but a lime wedge to make it better.  It was like making is spicy with hot sauce or horseradish was an unknown concept to them.  I asked and was given a puzzled look and a 'no we don't have that here'.  The only upside is they did do well at the sports bar, it had a great selection of beer and bar food such as wings you could order.  Also, the specialty coffee was outstanding.

 

All in all the only thing the cruise had going for it was the price and in the future I'm not sure that would be enough to lure us back.  If the price was comparable to that of the competition we would never give them another thought.

[Illbcruzn4life]

The mention of the bloody marys reminded me of the one morning I went to the buffet for breakfast and they had a cart setup just for bloody marys and picked and chose what you wanted in it. Delish!

[AllgoodOnTheRoad]

On 7/20/2023 at 1:48 PM, KKB said:

Now, if you have never sailed any other line, you might like it.

I had a comped cruise & the rest were DIRT CHEAP--still not cheap enough to go back.

And I'm a gal all about value..

I hear this a lot, we love MSC, we thought it was awesome! That's great, what other lines have you tried. Oh, none, we really like MSC. Man, you really do not know what you are missing. 

[Theosprey247]

The thing that’s holding me back from trying MSC (and Virgin) are the itineraries (at least the ones they have when I can sail). Plus they don’t sail from the west coast.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

We've sailed MSC once (earlier this year). We were in the Yacht Club, and enjoyed everything about that part of the experience. The rest of the ship, not so much - but, we're giving it another try next April on the Seashore. Perhaps that sailing won't be like the Seaside - with a failing health inspection on embarkation day AND a large Expedia travel agent group which had (for them) all the specialty restaurants booked for every night - kind of like a ship takeover...  😞

 

Tom

[Illbcruzn4life]

42 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

We've sailed MSC once (earlier this year). We were in the Yacht Club, and enjoyed everything about that part of the experience. The rest of the ship, not so much - but, we're giving it another try next April on the Seashore. Perhaps that sailing won't be like the Seaside - with a failing health inspection on embarkation day AND a large Expedia travel agent group which had (for them) all the specialty restaurants booked for every night - kind of like a ship takeover...  😞

 

Tom

Enjoy your 2 weeks on the Seashore. We will also be onboard for 2 weeks in April, but in Gen pop.

[Julienatul]

I have sailed MSC 3 times (non yacht club) and Carnival about 30 times in addition to RCCL, NCL and Disney. There are positives and negatives to both of the lines.

 

MSC ships are absolutely beautiful. Hands down,  they are one of the most gorgeous and decorated to the hilt. The Swarovski crystal staircases, Bridge of sighs, elaborate lounges and decor designs are much fancier than your typical Carnival ship. I prefer the food on Carnival. There is more variety and the quality is better. The selections on MSC  are limited and almost exactly the same food is presented every day on the buffet. There is no free alternative food venues like on Carnival.  MSC does offer nice discounts to the specialty restaurant throughout the week during your sailing. For instance,  we got 40% off and a bottle of wine to eat at the Teppanyaki restaurant on the Seascape a few months ago.  The shows are better on MSC,  in my opinion. They are only about 40 minutes long,  so they are easily worked into your evening. The Casinos on MSC ships are very small so if gambling is your thing, MSC may not be for you. Stateroom service is better on MSC. Staterooms are serviced twice a day and I find they exceed your expectations. Dining and Bar service is better on Carnival.  The Vibe on MSC is more relaxed. It is not a spring break/party ship/ heavy drinking atmosphere. There are not pool games and loud music and constant activities late into the evening like Carnival. It is quieter and more of a relaxed European/family vacation vibe. It is much calmer.  

 

For me, I prefer MSC just due to the atmosphere. My last two Carnival sailings were not what I value for my family. We are not big drinkers/partiers and we are just looking for the more relaxed family friendly vacation. The behavior of passengers has changed on Carnival and rules are not enforced. I don't want to be surrounded by drugs or smoke while enjoying my balcony,  and don't need my children witnessing physical fights on the pool deck or buffet lines because people cant be respectful of others. Both occurred on my last 2 Carnival sailings last year. People can say it occurs on all lines,  but that isn't the case in my experience. It happens a lot more on Carnival.  My family cruises many times a year and I have not experienced that same thing on MSC or NCL recently. MSC will address the smoking and drugs, if it is reported. They do not tolerate it. They also enforce dress code to an extent. We were turned away from the dining room at lunch because a family member (male) wore a tank top. We were surprised but fine with it, rules are rules. Carnival used to be my favorite line but until they clean up their act and enforce respectful behavior, we wont be sailing them.  I am just happy there are enough cruise lines for everyone to enjoy. If you like to drink like a fish, gamble your night away, smoke weed and party into the wee hours, then you will likely not be happy with MSC.