Seaside vs. European MSC cruises

[WonderMan3]

I have seen several people comment over the past year that they felt the experience on Seaside cruising the Caribbean was different than MSC's European cruises. I have heard the term "more Americanized" used on more than one occasion. I recall one poster saying they hated their European MSC cruise but loved Seaside and would only do North American cruises with MSC going forward.

 

Can someone please describe differences between the experiences? Was it in the service? Food? Were there different alcohol options or was American coffee more plentiful? Or was it just because there were more American passengers? This comparison has come up multiple times here so I'm just curious as to what the specific differences were.

 

Please only comments from those who have actually cruised MSC both on Seaside and on their Europe itineraries. Thanks.

Edited October 7, 2019 by WonderMan3

[mnocket]

2 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

I have seen several people comment over the past year that they felt the experience on Seaside cruising the Caribbean was different than MSC's European cruises. I have heard the term "more Americanized" used on more than one occasion. I recall one poster saying they hated their European MSC cruise but loved Seaside and would only do North American cruises with MSC going forward.

 

Can someone please describe differences between the experiences? Was it in the service? Food? Were there different alcohol options or was American coffee more plentiful? Or was it just because there were more American passengers? This comparison has come up multiple times here so I'm just curious as to what the specific differences were.

 

Please only comments from those who have actually cruised MSC both on Seaside and on their Europe itineraries. Thanks.

Would especially like to hear from those who can compare Yacht Club experiences.

[PRH]

Divina in the Caribbean and Seaview in Europe—both in YC.  Differences—menus and portion sizes—larger portions and more heavy sauces on  Divina.  Food a little better on the Seaview but still not great.  Otherwise, alcohol, etc. about the same, including American brands.  Language is obviously a difference as announcements are made in at least five languages in Europe.  We have only found one staff person (grill cook) who did not speak at least some English.  Since the two ships are very different in size and features, hard to describe all the physical differences.  Many, many small children in YC Seaview!  

 

What neither tells you is that you can order a beef filet and Caesar salad in the evening, burgers and fries at the pool grill.

[camofwilliamsburg]

Europeans order sparkling water..... no tap water is available on the European Cruises.

[mvh]

Just got off the Preziosa 2 weeks ago  (Northern European cruise).  We had a great trip and loved most of the ports.  However, the cruise itself was sooooo boring.  It is a beautiful ship and I didn't mind that there where only 100 Americans out of 4,000 people, it's just that there was literally nothing to do when we were on the ship.  The shows were brutal with no variety. Other than the guitar player/singer in the pizza bar the entertainment was just bad.  None of this mattered to us, because we were going for the ports and not the ship. With that said, we got an incredible deal, so I can't complain too much.  On the flip side, we go to the Caribbean for the ship and party and the Seaside did not disappoint last year.  We loved the ship and the value.  Trying out the Meriviglia in January and hoping to have the same experience.  A cruise is what you make of it. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

15 minutes ago, mvh said:

it's just that there was literally nothing to do when we were on the ship. 

We felt that way about NCL's Jade....

 

But European itineraries a very port heavy and that's the entertainment you are getting. :)

[sidari]

1 hour ago, ronbe65 said:

Actually there is nothing "americanized" ("fake news") other than a cruise director that is a native speaker of English (British or American). There will be more Americans on board. That's it.

MSC offers somewhat better food in the Caribbean that is more noticeable in the buffet. Table water in MDR is free (they charge for it in Europe).

Mediterranean cruises are more hectic as passengers embark and disembark in a few ports.

A cruise on MSC Fantasia or MSC Seaview in the Mediterranean can be a good value for cruising on budget.

Happy cruising!

 

 

On our two Seaside and two Divina cruises out of Miami, American passengers were not the highest in number. In 2013 on the Divina TA from Venice all the wall hung pictures in the buffet were covered over with pictures of American film stars, European wines were replaced by US made wines and US style meals.

The atmosphere onboard in the US is different to that on a European cruise where the Majority of guests are usually Italian, meal times are later on European cruises.

Despite having spent about 34 days on Divina we preferred our 7 days on Preziosa in Northern Europe.

[mvh]

4 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

We felt that way about NCL's Jade....

 

But European itineraries a very port heavy and that's the entertainment you are getting. :)

I agree 100% and we knew that going in.  I really wasn't complaining, just stating our experience.  Yes, I would do it again.

[lifeasme123]

On 10/6/2019 at 10:40 PM, WonderMan3 said:

I have seen several people comment over the past year that they felt the experience on Seaside cruising the Caribbean was different than MSC's European cruises. I have heard the term "more Americanized" used on more than one occasion. I recall one poster saying they hated their European MSC cruise but loved Seaside and would only do North American cruises with MSC going forward.

 

Can someone please describe differences between the experiences? Was it in the service? Food? Were there different alcohol options or was American coffee more plentiful? Or was it just because there were more American passengers? This comparison has come up multiple times here so I'm just curious as to what the specific differences were.

 

Please only comments from those who have actually cruised MSC both on Seaside and on their Europe itineraries. Thanks.

We were on Meravigilia (June 2017) from Naples, Seaside ( Jan 2018) from Miami and Musica (June 2018), Divina (Dec 2018).  In a heartbeat, we would sail again in Europe with MSC.  We are back on Meravigilia this month...very excited!  Here are some things:

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation: 

• In US, you start and end at the same port (Miami)  
• In Europe, there are passengers embarking and disembarking at different ports of the cruise.  This made the disembarkation very easy because you are not ending the cruise with everyone.

MDR:

• In Europe, meals in MDR tend to take longer and portions are smaller, both of which I like.
• In US, there is tap water, coffee and tea at no charge.
• In Europe, for NA passengers they gave us bottle waters at lunch and dinner.  There is no tap water.This water package is applied to your cruise card. 

Passengers

• In US, split about 50/50 of US passengers vs International Passengers.  At the time when I cruised on Seaside, I do not believe many US cruisers have heard of MSC.   We met mainly those from South America and South Africa. 
• In Europe, both sailings most of the passengers were Italian or Spanish.  Most did not speak English, but that is our problem and not anyone else's, as we are in Europe.  Eventually we did meet people with did speak English.  
• I did not that more people did not stand in line during our 2 cruises.  I do not know if that is a cultural difference.
• I also noticed a lot more smoking on the European cruises, and many times not in the designated areas.

Service

• In US, we like our servers and cabin stewards to check in on us, to be proactive:  how are the meals?  Do we need more drinks?  Do we need anything.
• In Europe, the servers only come to us when we call for them.  They linger in the background and leave us be to enjoy our meals with the family.  I heard this complaint multiple times from Americans who were also on the cruise.  They were upset having to ask for this and that.  Again, I do not know if this is a cultural thing, but we had no issue with that.  

Food

• Buffet food selection is catered to the region.
• Milk selection is different:  Our young daughter noticed that with her cereal and breakfast.

Kids Club

• If you are traveling with children and intend for them to use the kids' club, this is something to consider.  In Europe, most of the children at that age do not speak English.  Our daughter ended up making friends with two girls, one from Italy and the other from Brazil, and none spoke the others' language.  Our little girl has been traveling a lot since 6 months old and has learned to adapt.  However, I heard American parents complain on the ship about having to watch their kids because none wanted to go to the kids club.

 

Currency Conversion:  For our European cruises, the US to Euro conversion was great.  We were buying drinks and shopping at almost 1:1 conversion.  Of course this has nothing to do with the cruise itself, but it was a bonus for us.

[lifeasme123]

52 minutes ago, lifeasme123 said:

We were on Meravigilia (June 2017) from Naples, Seaside ( Jan 2018) from Miami and Musica (June 2018), Divina (Dec 2018).  In a heartbeat, we would sail again in Europe with MSC.  We are back on Meravigilia this month...very excited!  Here are some things:

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation: 

• In US, you start and end at the same port (Miami)  
• In Europe, there are passengers embarking and disembarking at different ports of the cruise.  This made the disembarkation very easy because you are not ending the cruise with everyone.

MDR:

• In Europe, meals in MDR tend to take longer and portions are smaller, both of which I like.
• In US, there is tap water, coffee and tea at no charge.
• In Europe, for NA passengers they gave us bottle waters at lunch and dinner.  There is no tap water.This water package is applied to your cruise card. 

Passengers

• In US, split about 50/50 of US passengers vs International Passengers.  At the time when I cruised on Seaside, I do not believe many US cruisers have heard of MSC.   We met mainly those from South America and South Africa. 
• In Europe, both sailings most of the passengers were Italian or Spanish.  Most did not speak English, but that is our problem and not anyone else's, as we are in Europe.  Eventually we did meet people with did speak English.  
• I did not that more people did not stand in line during our 2 cruises.  I do not know if that is a cultural difference.
• I also noticed a lot more smoking on the European cruises, and many times not in the designated areas.

Service

• In US, we like our servers and cabin stewards to check in on us, to be proactive:  how are the meals?  Do we need more drinks?  Do we need anything.
• In Europe, the servers only come to us when we call for them.  They linger in the background and leave us be to enjoy our meals with the family.  I heard this complaint multiple times from Americans who were also on the cruise.  They were upset having to ask for this and that.  Again, I do not know if this is a cultural thing, but we had no issue with that.  

Food

• Buffet food selection is catered to the region.
• Milk selection is different:  Our young daughter noticed that with her cereal and breakfast.

Kids Club

• If you are traveling with children and intend for them to use the kids' club, this is something to consider.  In Europe, most of the children at that age do not speak English.  Our daughter ended up making friends with two girls, one from Italy and the other from Brazil, and none spoke the others' language.  Our little girl has been traveling a lot since 6 months old and has learned to adapt.  However, I heard American parents complain on the ship about having to watch their kids because none wanted to go to the kids club.

 

Currency Conversion:  For our European cruises, the US to Euro conversion was great.  We were buying drinks and shopping at almost 1:1 conversion.  Of course this has nothing to do with the cruise itself, but it was a bonus for us.

Clarification:  In US, there is also free coffee and tea.

 

Musica - Greek Cruise

Meravigilia - Med Cruise

Seaside - Caribbean Cruise

Divina - Caribbean / Panama Canal cruise

[perakcruiser]

On 10/7/2019 at 7:13 PM, ronbe65 said:

MSC offers somewhat better food in the Caribbean that is more noticeable in the buffet. Table water in MDR is free (they charge for it in Europe).

Before the Europeans get too excited and then disappointed, this is only valid on Carribean cruises that include Miami. With the others, sorry, no free water ;)

 

 

Edited October 8, 2019 by perakcruiser

[sidari]

UK and Ireland guests have water included regardless of the cruising area.

[Tapi]

On 10/6/2019 at 10:40 PM, WonderMan3 said:

 I recall one poster saying they hated their European MSC cruise but loved Seaside and would only do North American cruises with MSC going forward.

We are backwards. We loved MSC in the Mediterranean, easily one of the best cruises I’ve taken,  but thought that MSC in the Caribbean was at best mediocre.

 

lifeasme123 pretty much described what we experienced, and the differences that we noticed.