CELEBRITY/RCI FAN DOES MSC

[wendychloecruiser]

BACKGROUND:  seven day cruise out of Southampton, to Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Hamburg and LeHavre.  Mother, 88yrs, and daughter 50’s, active and love to participate in activities like trivia.  Mom uses a scooter on cruises due to severe arthritis which makes walking long distances challenging.  

SHIP:  I liked the ship.  It isn’t particularly easy to navigate as there are multiple bars and rooms but that’s why there is a readily available map and guide.  It was very easy to find a hideaway to escape the crowds.  The Swarovski Crystal staircase is beautiful. It was clean. 

DINING:  I found the dining room horrible for me, my mom generally enjoyed it.  I don’t eat meat and the options were abhorrent.   Everything was cold and tasteless.   The buffet in both our opinions was disgusting although my mother didn’t have to navigate the bun fights as I usually chose for her knowing very well her likes and dislikes.  It was truly chaotic.  The buffet did not have a natural flow and was always an incredibly unpleasant dining experience.  The food was very cold.  The only way to get a hot cup of tea for my mom was to go to the barista and get boiling water from the bar.  The urns of “hot water” were either cold or empty.  I have read that people eat food colder in Europe...I call BS to that.  This food was inedible except for the wonderful fruit available at breakfast.   We tried one specialty restaurant (Butcher’s Cut) as it was gratis having been granted a “Black Card” in MSC’s reciprocity offer as I am Elite Plus with Celebrity and Diamond Plus with RCI.  (The other specialty restaurant was was Asian fusion that I could have enjoyed but definitely not mom’s thing).  Mom’s veal chops were like hockey pucks and my salmon was again cold and over cooked.  It would have been an incredibly expensive meal (+++€120) and I would have had a hard time not seriously challenging paying for a meal as it was THAT bad.  One good caveat was that I lost weight...a fairly big feat on a cruise. 

CABIN:  We were in our first accessible cabin.  I am a firm believer that accessible cabins should be for wheelchair dependent people, not for someone like us that can manage, albeit sometimes challenging, to be able to fit a scooter inside a cabin.  As we only booked two months before the cruise it was actually the only balcony available.  I must admit the space was wonderful...the cabin steward...not so much.  I actually wrote IN THE DUST on the table “please clean me” to no avail.   Mom used the little milk cups for one cup of tea on the first day and despite daily requests, it was never restocked nor were the tissues or tea bags.  One morning he told me that “he was too busy to clean our room.”    I just chuckled to myself and took fresh towels off his cart. 

ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES:   The shows were OK, some better than others.  What I did find rather amusing was that two of the shows were VERY similar just different music and costumes.  The cirque-like performer with a big ring did the same routine.  The aerialist..same..different colour silk.  Trio of acrobats...exactly the same tumbling etc.  It was a really weird dejavu.    There are multiple performers in the many bars around the ship that was wonderful.  The multicultural influences were also fabulous. As for activities, the staff didn’t show up for one of the trivias...no response when I queried this with guest services.  When they did show up it was OK though.  The staff were very nice and personable.  What was annoying was that as people can embark and disembark at all the ports, Hamburg was considered a big turnaround day and there were no activities at all until 3pm and that was “hair analysis” in the spa. No trivia/nothing.  Furthermore, Hamburg was on a Sunday and there is notoriously nothing open except for the Zoo and a “Miniature” Park. The trip actually felt like several,  but very short back to back cruises in relation to the activities offered during the day.  A caveat is to say that I do not expect nor desire an “adult day care” atmosphere of a ship but it is nice to have a few things going on during the day.  

 

BOTTOM LINE...  would I go on MSC again?   I highly doubt it though never say never.  I now know what to expect from MSC which was one of the goals of this trip.  Despite all the banter about how the service, activities and food on CELEBRITY and RCI have dropped a bit it’s still FAR superior than MSC...IN MY OPINION.  

[Tee & Chilli]

Thanks for sharing. What ship did you sail?

[wendychloecruiser]

Oops...PREZIOSA 

[suesnake2002]

Thanks for your review. I always find these reviews very interesting. Alot of things could be one off, or subjective. 

But to be able to write in dust, and just plain out and out to busy to clean room is totally unacceptable. 

Sometimes I see other lines with different itineraries, cheaper prices. But I guess you get what you pay for. 

[gerif]

Funny you should mention the food. My friend’s granddaughter just returned from an MSC cruise (don’t know which ship) and said that the food was horrible. Now it wasn’t that they served Italian food as she is of Italian descent and has traveled in Italy, it was just bad. She begged her grandmother to make her a good meal as soon as she got home. 

[Cruisegirl6]

Thank you for the review!  I am glad you posted it, unfortunately you had what I call the Carnival cruise experience on MSC.  I was considering MSC but would you believe I finally taking my first Celebrity cruise (it will be my 93rd cruise, we are both 56) this December on the Edge?!  I was tossing MSC or Celebrity just to try something different (I love RC as it is my favorite cruise line so far) and glad I chose the right to try.  Thank you again.

[venicia]

We were on MSC Seaside and are Royal, Regent and Princess cruisers.  Same feeling as you,  I won't say never since that is a long time, I will say very doubtful.

 

We were also granted Black Card status and we stayed in the Yacht Club.  The cruise would have been almost unbearable if not for the amenities of the Yacht Club.  Our cabin Stewart and butler were fantastic and our cabin was lovely.  The Yacht Club lounge and restaurant are excellent.  

 

You are probably asking your self why I found the cruise to be less than good.  We were very disappointed with entertainment, just as mentioned, different costumes but same routine.  Costumes were very nice though.  Food outside YC very disappointing and crew not nearly as friendly as the other cruise lines.  

 

Any food outside YC was extremely disappointing, flavorless and cool and no seasoning.  For an Italian ship I would have expected excellent pasta and gravy.......I am able to make better Italian dishes than what we were served.  Yes, we have been to Italy numerous times and each region has their own way of preparing food, but I always gain weight in Italy.

 

We as well went to Butcher's Cut for our Black Card meal.  You receive a different menu than what is normally offered, a limited menu.  The menu was fine for us, but the food was very disappointing.  DH and I both got the 6 oz filet, it was cooked medium but a bit cool and flavorless.  I don't know how you can do that, but they managed.  Our sides were mac & cheese, it was ok and overcooked broccoli.  Our server highly suggested a lobster tail to go with the steak and we paid the extra for it.  IT WAS GOOD!  

 

We went to the Hibachi for one dinner and it was nice but we have better restaurants for much less cost here at home.  Food was plentiful and presentation was very nice.

 

My conclusion, if you sail in the Yacht Club its a nice ship..........I will say I would never sail outside the YC.  Best news of all, I lost over 5 lbs on this cruise, unfortunately it found me when we got home.