Stressed out by to much reading on Cruise Critic!!!!!!

[tobyt]

Go into the trip with an open mind and you will be fine, in fact more than fine...I had such concerns and the boards did not help at all...we couldn’t book YC even if we could sw8ng the cost it was fully booked. Yes there were differences but I was expecting them. We found MSC to be a new alternative nothing scary!

[Viccarol]

1 hour ago, CruisingFox27 said:

Very pleased to hear it Viccarol. Reviews are very subjective, and you need to assess what's important and relevant to you. One persons negative can be another persons positive. I read a hotel review which had 1*| due to it being remote and no organised day activities (it did say that in the description). This to us was delightful news, we booked, it was fabulous.

 

Be grateful you weren't reading these boards just after Seaside launched, there was no butter or no butter outside YC and according to these boards, you would've thought Armageddon was nigh 😂

Omg no butter!! Funnily enough that’s on the list of things my husband hates us running out of - along with bread, milk and beer 😂 although I think we might have managed on holiday without it but if it had been beer it may have been Armageddon 🍺

[kerryincork]

I have sailed 3 times with MSC and I like them a lot. I think the reviews come down to the ship not being American style.

 

I personally love bad reviews, the more extreme the better, it's my guilty pleasure.

I read one the other week where a woman was claiming the crew was going to kill her because she made a complaint about another passenger, she said she was terrified to leave her cabin! She ended here review by giving us her full real name and is she went missing were to call the police? Lol

 

I also don't read any of the 5* reviews. I always think the 3* reviews are most likely to be realistic. Generally these are sensible observations about the good and bad points about the cruis.

 

Any review that states that ALL the food was inedible or ALL staff were miserable or rude, etc. Is probably more a reflection on the cruiser than on the reality of the cruise.

 

There are always going to be meals you don't like or Staff who are not happy happy, unfortunately you will on occasion even come across rude staff. But not everyone and not all the time.

 

 

[Viccarol]

11 minutes ago, kerryincork said:

I have sailed 3 times with MSC and I like them a lot. I think the reviews come down to the ship not being American style.

 

I personally love bad reviews, the more extreme the better, it's my guilty pleasure.

I read one the other week where a woman was claiming the crew was going to kill her because she made a complaint about another passenger, she said she was terrified to leave her cabin! She ended here review by giving us her full real name and is she went missing were to call the police? Lol

 

I also don't read any of the 5* reviews. I always think the 3* reviews are most likely to be realistic. Generally these are sensible observations about the good and bad points about the cruis.

 

Any review that states that ALL the food was inedible or ALL staff were miserable or rude, etc. Is probably more a reflection on the cruiser than on the reality of the cruise.

 

There are always going to be meals you don't like or Staff who are not happy happy, unfortunately you will on occasion even come across rude staff. But not everyone and not all the time.

 

 

😱 I read a review of a hotel we are going to very soon that almost had the same issue!! All the other reviews of the hotel are fantastic and we’ve been before so know it’s faults - I’m sure if there was a real issue the hotel would have stepped in. 

 

I suppose it’s our differences that make life interesting - I’m fairly laid back on holidays as long as I can find a comfy sun bed and a cold drink I’ll be happy - also looking forward to seeing places in the med I’ve not been too 😀

[CruisingFox27]

There were alternatives but not butter, apparently. DH does prefer butter but it wouldn't ruin his holiday.

 

Totally understandable if it's beer 😉🍻

 

Very true Kerry. I love some of them, "the beach was too sandy" is still one of my favorites.

 

Although disconcerting if you've no benchmark or comparison. I have sat on a ship and had negative feedback from a fellow passenger and actually wondered if we were on the same ship. We've had a occasional meal which wasn't too good, I've politely requested an alternative but every meal and all inedible, mmm!

 

On our first MSC cruise DH had a meal he didn't think was very good, bland not inedible (1 on a 21 night cruise) and he didn't finish it, our waiter was mortified we'd not said anything immediately and didn't request an alternative.

[Epos Man]

I feel as though a lot of people do not do due research on what they are booking for, experienced cruisers sometimes being the worst they book without doing proper research then moan like crazy on the return.

 

We've looked at the next cruise being on a different line but as the wife says she likes MSC knows what she is going to get and is entirely happy with that.

[CruisingFox27]

A tip regarding food Viccarol, the MDR menu is laid out as 3 courses. It used to be 6, but the soup, pasta and starters are now all in one section. Do not be afraid to order more than one. If you would like 3 entrees and 3 deserts but no main, then order away. Or to interchange items on the menu, DH often requests mashed potato instead of the offered potato. Also, they are not overly generous with vegetables, we regularly order a side portion of vegetables. If it says 'with carrot' you may indeed get a carrot!

 

We have never found the staff not to be as accommodating as possible, although we've had a couple of requests lost in translation and received surprises 😀

[Viccarol]

1 hour ago, CruisingFox27 said:

A tip regarding food Viccarol, the MDR menu is laid out as 3 courses. It used to be 6, but the soup, pasta and starters are now all in one section. Do not be afraid to order more than one. If you would like 3 entrees and 3 deserts but no main, then order away. Or to interchange items on the menu, DH often requests mashed potato instead of the offered potato. Also, they are not overly generous with vegetables, we regularly order a side portion of vegetables. If it says 'with carrot' you may indeed get a carrot!

 

We have never found the staff not to be as accommodating as possible, although we've had a couple of requests lost in translation and received surprises 😀

Thanks for the tip 😀 Much appreciated 

[sconter]

I’m honestly glad I never discovered this website until after I returned from my 1st cruise otherwise I might never had gone. 

 

About a year later I found this website and went back and checked the cruise reviews for the cruise I went and I couldn’t believe I was on the same cruise as some of the people moaning about everything.  

[thecruisers6]

2 hours ago, Epos Man said:

We've looked at the next cruise being on a different line but as the wife says she likes MSC knows what she is going to get and is entirely happy with that.

I have a wife like yours 😀

We stumbled across Cruising as a last minute thing by chance on MSC Splendida. Fell in love with cruising by about midnight on day 1. 

Then booked 3 more cruises. 1 with NCL after finding this site and 1 with RC to see the difference for ourselves. The 3rd on MSC Divina. 

The NCL cruise was a complete disaster, the RC cruise we were bored stiff after 5 days. Divina we absolutely loved. 

Now have 2 MSC Cruises booked and would never risk another “so why are we not on an MSC ship” question again 🙄

 

[Epos Man]

1 hour ago, thecruisers6 said:

I have a wife like yours 😀

We stumbled across Cruising as a last minute thing by chance on MSC Splendida. Fell in love with cruising by about midnight on day 1. 

Then booked 3 more cruises. 1 with NCL after finding this site and 1 with RC to see the difference for ourselves. The 3rd on MSC Divina. 

The NCL cruise was a complete disaster, the RC cruise we were bored stiff after 5 days. Divina we absolutely loved. 

Now have 2 MSC Cruises booked and would never risk another “so why are we not on an MSC ship” question again 🙄

 

 

Well our first one was on Splendida 2017 then Musica 2018 and we are on Seaside June 2019 we have loved the first 2 and hopefully like the third as it'll be the first time the wife has had to cope with sea days which is one of the things she was against when we looked at cruising

 

[Viccarol]

2 hours ago, thecruisers6 said:

I have a wife like yours 😀

We stumbled across Cruising as a last minute thing by chance on MSC Splendida. Fell in love with cruising by about midnight on day 1. 

Then booked 3 more cruises. 1 with NCL after finding this site and 1 with RC to see the difference for ourselves. The 3rd on MSC Divina. 

The NCL cruise was a complete disaster, the RC cruise we were bored stiff after 5 days. Divina we absolutely loved. 

Now have 2 MSC Cruises booked and would never risk another “so why are we not on an MSC ship” question again 🙄

 

We sort of fell into cruising too as it was the only way my parents would go on hols with us - at the time DD was only 10 and a Disney nut, we are Disneyland Paris pros so Disney magic it was - since then my DH has wanted to go back on a cruise and the MSC cruise ticked a lot of boxes that’s why we booked it (can’t convince my dad though they are Fred through and through) we don’t need the Disney frills anymore they were right for that time but not now (although there is something magical about the sail away).

 

i can’t wait to get onboard now - roll on August 😀

[vtgumby]

My only advice is to NOT COMPARE it with any other cruise experience, advice offered up on this blog before we went on our first MSC and fortunately YC experience in April and it helped because its completely different than any NCL, Celebrity, or Azamara cruise we had been on and fun different, ESP entertainment wise...wait until the 5 or 6 language announcements, thats priceless and like I said, just fun.

It provided us lots of laughs and we'll definitely be back, already booked in YC for another ship but I'm going to sound like the newly found snob I am, no way would I do it outside of YC because of the sheer madness and may I say, lack of manners. We walked deck 15 to get to the YC restaurant and saw chairs everywhere, places chairs don't even fit and it was crazy, esp for a TA that isn't usually booked solid...it looked solid and we were grateful to have our private sanctuary to retreat into with a snack and cocktail at the barely half full sundeck.

Public areas are gorgeous (they do up the bling bigtime) and we observed some long waits for drinks but honestly, we didn't spend enough time in the common areas to comment further, embracing our solitude in YC, away from folks who lack the ability to say excuse me in whatever language they speak or other rude behavior, not a fan of being pushed and in this crowd lots of pushing was going on just walking, crazy and first time we've seen behavior like this from older folk who should know better.

Preziosa had a lovely theater, great layout for seeing and also a shoutout for their gym, 25-30 machines along with probably 10 treadmills/steps and a row of spinning bikes (class only use) so if you're cruising on Preziosa it will keep you fit.

Slap us a review when you're back, glad you are going to see for yourself and remembering everyone has an opinion, we found six Brits got started on the bad food theme and it continued for three weeks and while the food was completely tasteless it wasn't inedible (an overuse of salt on this cruise saved us) and it became almost a sport with them to condemn at all costs so as others mention, if everything is bad then its probably bad but a cruise always has more than a handful of unhappy folk having a crappy life and nothing is going to get in their way to have that crappy life and share it with others.

🙂

Happy sailing!

 

 

[max996]

57 minutes ago, vtgumby said:

My only advice is to NOT COMPARE it with any other cruise experience, advice offered up on this blog before we went on our first MSC and fortunately YC experience in April and it helped because its completely different than any NCL, Celebrity, or Azamara cruise we had been on and fun different, ESP entertainment wise...wait until the 5 or 6 language announcements, thats priceless and like I said, just fun.

It provided us lots of laughs and we'll definitely be back, already booked in YC for another ship but I'm going to sound like the newly found snob I am, no way would I do it outside of YC because of the sheer madness and may I say, lack of manners. We walked deck 15 to get to the YC restaurant and saw chairs everywhere, places chairs don't even fit and it was crazy, esp for a TA that isn't usually booked solid...it looked solid and we were grateful to have our private sanctuary to retreat into with a snack and cocktail at the barely half full sundeck.

Public areas are gorgeous (they do up the bling bigtime) and we observed some long waits for drinks but honestly, we didn't spend enough time in the common areas to comment further, embracing our solitude in YC, away from folks who lack the ability to say excuse me in whatever language they speak or other rude behavior, not a fan of being pushed and in this crowd lots of pushing was going on just walking, crazy and first time we've seen behavior like this from older folk who should know better.

Preziosa had a lovely theater, great layout for seeing and also a shoutout for their gym, 25-30 machines along with probably 10 treadmills/steps and a row of spinning bikes (class only use) so if you're cruising on Preziosa it will keep you fit.

Slap us a review when you're back, glad you are going to see for yourself and remembering everyone has an opinion, we found six Brits got started on the bad food theme and it continued for three weeks and while the food was completely tasteless it wasn't inedible (an overuse of salt on this cruise saved us) and it became almost a sport with them to condemn at all costs so as others mention, if everything is bad then its probably bad but a cruise always has more than a handful of unhappy folk having a crappy life and nothing is going to get in their way to have that crappy life and share it with others.

🙂

Happy sailing!

 

 

I feel the same way! I love MSC Cruise Lines, but I'd never cruise outside of the Yacht Club. Aboard Divina the trek to Le Muse was sometimes frustrating and sometimes comical! We ventured out one night, I remember on a cruise in 2017, to do some shopping and had some great family time, over all, but when we got back into the YC enclave and those glass doors slid shut behind us, it was like "ahhhh" - like going from Times Square in the heart of New York city on a Saturday night, to an over-water bungalow in Bora Bora.

[helen haywood]

I’ve sailed MSC Divina in both a basic balcony cabin and in YC.  We’ve also sailed on Carnival, Costa, Royal, Norwegian, Celebrity and Holland.  We loved both our Divina experiences!  While the YC was a luxurious experience, there were port days when we happily snuck out to go to the regular buffet.  We loved all the pastas, the cheese boards, the pizza!!

 

There were some language barriers with some of the staff.  I’m impressed with anyone who can speak more than one language and just came to realize I needed to be more specific and speak slower...

 

From reviews (and as one poster pointed out, most of them are from USA cruisers) I gathered that a lot of people had issues with cultural differences (like queuing.)  We have travelled extensively and have no problem accepting different norms while still looking out for ourselves.  We loved the different feel of MSC...very different from our regular lines.   Vive la difference!

 

I really think you will will have a wonderful time!

[Viccarol]

So a couple of weeks after my original post I’ve stopped reading anything to do with YC - can’t afford it (we’d need bigger than a balcony as we have our 16 year old daughter with us - so we’ve booked a suite) and it wasn’t available when we booked, so there’s no point in dwelling on it.

 

Its been lovely to read from fellow ‘normal’ passengers and those that have done both, and had a good time, on how much they enjoyed MSC - I just know we are going to too. Roll on August 😀

 

 

[dznymom]

I am frustrateded reading all the negativity bout MSC, and saddened by all the posts insisting that YC is the only way to go.  There are a few posters that continuously post the same negativity, and that's because they were either disgruntled because they didn't do their research, or they are just whiny in general.  Granted, I only have one MSC cruise under my belt, but it was in a Bella Oceanview and I throughly enjoyed myself, and never felt second class. I've booked another Bella Oceanview for the fall, and I am very excited to be going back.  I saw no need to upgrade to the Yacht Club.

 

Just for reference, my 50th cruise is next month, and many of them have been in suites with all the bells and whistles.  With 1 exception, I had a great time on every one of my cruises  no matter what stateroom I was in.  (I bet it would surprise you to know which cruise line I will never sail again)

 

But honestly, this is the most negative forum around, and I truly hope it doesn't make people second guess themselves.  Do your homework and then book with confidence.

[vtgumby]

1 hour ago, dznymom said:

But honestly, this is the most negative forum around, and I truly hope it doesn't make people second guess themselves.  Do your homework and then book with confidence. 

I thought mostly the same, it can't be that bad, etc etc and considered cancelling our 21 day TA but also like to experience it on my own and glad we stayed with it, it was a blast but as a person with only one MSC cruise under our belts we did find many of the 'issues' shared on this blog were definitely valid points so I suggest to go without comparison to other lines but also be aware of potential issues. Nothing deterred us from having a great time BUT I can't ignore things that were quite valid, we did our homework, we booked, and we came home with some thoughts. It won't change our fun but we also can't pretend crazy stuff wasn't happening and for me, yeah, I think old folks shouldn't be pushing people out of their way which of course could happen anywhere, it just seemed to happen on this cruise often.

🙂

I found that the negative vibe about the food to be spot on, even in the YC experience, so my feeling is it can't all be whiners and complainers, there must be some truth in the sheer numbers and our own experience said tasteless and bland food, not every item of course but all around not anything I'd cheer about.

For the same reason the rah rah about Azamara exists, we understood after cruising with them that they deserved the rah rah so while its all subjective and yes, there are PLENTY of cruising whiners, if there is enough smoke it usually indicates some fire.

Happy cruising to all!

Btw, issues and all, we'll definitely do another MSC cruise (already booked but yes, YC) and wouldn't hesitate to recommend with a few caveats.

[FTLcruisers]

We have sailed on MSC 6 times and have 2 more cruises booked with them.  Our first sailing was on the Divina out of Miami - we too had read some really bad reviews.  But, each night, our group of 6 would sit and try to figure out what these people who posted the bad reviews didn't like.  We loved the shows, the food, the variety of music and the beautiful ship.  Yes there tend to be announcements in several languages - yes the shows may be opera or classical music but we don't mind the announcements and like the music.  Go with an open mind, realize it WILL be different from any other cruise line you have used (since all cruise lines do things just a little differently) and enjoy your vacation.  You can choose to enjoy the journey or complain about every little thing which is what some people seem to do. 

[DebsLpool]

What a relief, we have finally cancelled our cruise on Bellisima, well worth losing the deposit for the peace of mind. I am a woman of a certain age with many years of travelling experience and am not easily  influenced by the thoughts and opinions of other people, but the more I read about this ship, the more I regretted the booking.I hadn't voiced my fears with my husband, I hoped I would become more optimistic as time went on, but after he started doing some research, hebegan to voice his doubts, albeit reluctantly.We then decided that if we both felt the same way, what was the point of trying to convince ourselves otherwise.

 

However I hope everyone who has booked on to this ship has a great time and it is everything you want it to be, at the end of the day we can only do what we think is best for us as individuals, happy holidays😎

[Markanddonna]

I'm glad I didn't fall into the trap of being influenced by negativity. I had a rocky start with MSC's website, but once that was fixed, everything else was smooth sailing. Now, MSC ranks up at the top and we have three out of our four future sailing booked on MSC.  We almost gave up cruising altogether after a disappointing NCL TA in 2018, but the MSC revived my enthusiasm.

[Até]

20 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

We almost gave up cruising altogether after a disappointing NCL TA in 2018, but the MSC revived my enthusiasm.

Have you looked at the reports from both the Getaway and Pearl TA's from this year?

[Markanddonna]

23 hours ago, Até said:

Have you looked at the reports from both the Getaway and Pearl TA's from this year?

Wow!  I knew about the Getaway problems, but the Pearl seemed like a REAL nightmare. I scanned the reviews and one person gave it a five star with no mention of the epidemic norovirus onboard. I've been on the Pearl and it is an older, but nice ship. That TA must have been hellish for the crew too.