Royal or give MSC a try ?

[spookwife]

doesn't MSC allow  for a much more liberal smoking policy indoors and out?  that's what has been keeping me away.  

[Tapi]

3 hours ago, Merly said:

This is true. People getting off and on at every port. This meant long queues trying to get off and often delayed us leaving for our day in port.  People everywhere with luggage. Constant announcements in various languages. On an evening when trying to have a quiet drink there were people all over the place in life jackets as they had to do a muster drill for new arrivals. That is just one of the reasons we will never go on MSC again.

Sorry that you had a negative experience, but it’s quite opposite to what we encountered. What itinerary/ship did you sail on?

 

The muster drill was held without life jackets. We just went to the main theater for about 10 minutes. In and out. Not disruptive whatsoever. Throughout the week, we didn’t see anybody wearing a life jacket or people everywhere with luggage. Unless we were by the entrance to the main theater during muster drill, we didn’t know who was a new passenger. As mentioned before, newly arriving passengers were pretty much invisible. In the morning, passengers finishing their cruise debarked simultaneously with in transit passengers, so we were never held up from going ashore, specially since there were no customs/immigration. And by the time we returned from our day ashore, new passengers were in the most part settled in to their staterooms.
 

The main indication that someone was finishing their cruise was because we’d see luggage outside some doors as we walked to our stateroom at night, but it was hardly something that made me dismiss sailing on MSC again.
 

The only thing that was similar to your experience was that announcements are indeed made in multiple languages throughout the week. Yes, they are long messages, but we found it amusing, just listening to how a message is said in different languages. 
 

Once again, sorry that your experience was different than ours.

Edited November 17, 2019 by Tapi

[Tapi]

13 minutes ago, spookwife said:

doesn't MSC allow  for a much more liberal smoking policy indoors and out?  that's what has been keeping me away.  

Not any different than any other cruise line we’ve sailed on. We’ve had it worse sailing in the Caribbean on American cruise lines. My wife is a stickler for cigarette smell. She hates it and makes a big deal out of it, and she didn’t complain about it all week. Indoors, the ship was mostly smoke free except for the casino. The only time we’d get a hint of cigarette smell would be walking through the casino on our way to the Carousel Lounge to attend a Cirque du Soleil performance. There were designated smoking areas outdoors, but they could easily be avoided. Smokers didn’t affect our enjoyment one bit.
 

In our experience, smoking on MSC was not an issue, and it would not be something to keep me from sailing on them. 

Edited November 17, 2019 by Tapi

[JP82]

I think as English speakers we often sound pretty ignorant complaining about announcements in other languages as well?

 

I'm gonna try and look at it as adding to the international flair of the trip!!

[deliver42]

Do MSC. I'm sure you won't regret it. Been on the Divina twice and loved it. Looking at MSC again for 2021 in the Carib.

[matj2000]

36 minutes ago, spookwife said:

doesn't MSC allow  for a much more liberal smoking policy indoors and out?  that's what has been keeping me away.  

 

I believe they have the same indoor policy as other lines

 

However I remember there were much more people smoking in general.

 

Mainly because there were many Italians & Euro's on the ship

 

And it seems all Italians smoke cigarettes.     still...….

[kernow]

1 hour ago, spookwife said:

doesn't MSC allow  for a much more liberal smoking policy indoors and out?  that's what has been keeping me away.  

From memory, Magnifica (the ship OP is talking about) allowed smoking in the casino and a couple of outdoor areas so pretty much the same as Royal.

[George C]

1 hour ago, matj2000 said:

 

I believe they have the same indoor policy as other lines

 

However I remember there were much more people smoking in general.

 

Mainly because there were many Italians & Euro's on the ship

 

And it seems all Italians smoke cigarettes.     still...….

Not all lines are similar for smoking Celebrity is totally different no smoking in casino or anywhere indoors. But I sometimes re that are about the same as rccl. Suite perks for there yacht club seem amazing . Will sail seaside in 13 days.

[toxicfairy]

16 hours ago, matj2000 said:

There is nothing wrong with MSC. 

 

Just the RC loyalist don't like it because it is not RC..

Not completely true. We went on MSC Seaside with a very open mind. It just turned out it really was not enjoyable for us. We made the best of it. We enjoyed the. Chocolate bar ...they make a delicious chocolate martini😁. The ship it self was beautiful. It just happens the dinning room we were put in was more drab than my kitchen at home! Dark wood paneling and low ceilings. I had 2 meals that were not edible due to a large amount of gristle. We tried a few specialty restaurants also. My husband had a fish dinner that had more bone than fish. It wasn't all bad but even my daughter said that one MSC cruise was enough for her. We still had fun but it was not our cup of tea. I am open to trying new lines but I also know what i like. And this was not it. I'm sure there are plenty of others that love it. I also wouldn't do Oasis class again. Didn't like that either. I love the Freedom class and think that size is big enough for us. My kids are grown so I also have no interest in the newer ships  that look like a theme park.  Every one is entitled to an opinion. I'm not a cheerleader for any Brand. I'm a cheerleader for things I myself enjoy. Different strokes for different folks!

 

[trump]

Thanks for all the replies to my post - you guys never disappoint me.  IF I do sail MSC, I promise to report back and let you know what I thought.  A special shout-out to Tapi - loved seeing the photos - you got an amazing deal !

[Tree_skier]

22 hours ago, mafig said:

We have been on MSC in the Yacht Club twice and will happily go again

This seems to be a recurring theme with MSC.  Pay the premium for yacht club or be prepared to be disappointed.  

 

We did MSC Orchestra W. Med in May of 2017 and enjoyed the cruise but we enjoyed it because of its port intensive nature.  We did not pay for the premium YC experience. We had six ports of call in 7 days.  We tolerated the experience on the ship.  Very crowded everywhere we went.  Getting served a drink by a server in a bar was a nightmare. The pool bar was utterly hopeless. You had to fight your way to the front and once there pray that the bartender noticed you.  If you sat at a table or lounger waiting for a server by the pool to come take a drink order and bring it to you would ensure that you remained sober all day long. 

 

Of the many add-on packages that they offered one was an ice cream package.  You could purchase a ten pack of coupons for gelatos.  The only place to redeem said coupon was at the pool bar... see above for pool bar experience. It was worse when you were standing there with a  gelato coupon in your hand.

 

Food in the MDR was definitely a step down from RC's MDR and service was ambivalent at it's best.

 

Entertainment was boring.  Our cruise had a Grease headliner show but it wasn't the actual musical it was just songs from the soundtrack and folks in 50's style costumes.

 

The ship was decent as far as how it looked in and around the common areas and our cabin was what you would expect from a balcony cabin.   It would compare to a vision class ship.

 

MSC's redeeming quality was that it got us some very interesting ports of call for a very good price.  

[CanadaRob]

For me after trying MSC it would have to be less than half the price to do another one.  Med is expensive so maybe that’s the break you need to make it happen.

[Junkhouse]

17 hours ago, matj2000 said:

 

I missed a port day on RC 2 years ago.

 

Do I need to boycott them?

I don’t remember seeing a RC ship running into a dock and taking it out for several days.

[mafig]

45 minutes ago, Junkhouse said:

I don’t remember seeing a RC ship running into a dock and taking it out for several days.

Your memory is short.

I remember Royal, Celebrity, Carnival, NCL and probably all the cruise lines having ooopsie moments.

 

I seem to recall Gradeur sailing with a huge gash in her hull for several months.

Edited November 17, 2019 by mafig

[mafig]

1 hour ago, Tree_skier said:

This seems to be a recurring theme with MSC.  Pay the premium for yacht club or be prepared to be disappointed.  

 

 

That's where research comes in.  (Thank you Cruise Critic.)

 

All the problems you had on your cruise with MSC.....I knew about them all.  That's why I selected the Yacht Club.  MSC was a new cruise line for me, so before I booked I did a lot of research.  

Edited November 17, 2019 by mafig

[Tree_skier]

17 minutes ago, mafig said:

That's where research comes in.  (Thank you Cruise Critic.)

 

All the problems you had on your cruise with MSC.....I knew about them all.  That's why I selected the Yacht Club.  MSC was a new cruise line for me, so before I booked I did a lot of research.  

Absolutely agree, I signed up for CC after I booked that cruise but didn’t spend any time in the forums. It is only since that Cruise that I have become a CC junkie. 🤪

[dani negreanu]

23 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Then don't take O class in the Med - RCI also does interporting.

 

No interporting for Allure in the Med next year, as far as I can see.

(We interported from Rome when Allure was in the Med in 2015, and very much enjoyed the day when 2/3 of the ship disembarked in Barcelona...)

[little britain]

20 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

No interporting for Allure in the Med next year, as far as I can see.

(We interported from Rome when Allure was in the Med in 2015, and very much enjoyed the day when 2/3 of the ship disembarked in Barcelona...)

Strange. Harmony is Interporting in 2021 from Civitavecchia 

[dani negreanu]

4 minutes ago, little britain said:

Strange. Harmony is Interporting in 2021 from Civitavecchia 

 

5 years ago I was able to choose between Barcelona and Rome as departing port.

For 2020 the only choice is Barcelona...

Regarding 2021, I can see only up to May, and Royal doesn't show. I'm using a very large online TA from Miami.

Personally, I prefer to board in Civitavechhia, that's the reason I'm giving Allure a miss for 2020.

[toxicfairy]

2 hours ago, mafig said:

That's where research comes in.  (Thank you Cruise Critic.)

 

All the problems you had on your cruise with MSC.....I knew about them all.  That's why I selected the Yacht Club.  MSC was a new cruise line for me, so before I booked I did a lot of research.  

In our case I did some research but it was a new ship so there was only so much research to be had. They were marketing to the US market new ship out of florida doing Caribbean. Turns out they were marketing it in Europe as just a new ship with Caribbean ports lol. We learned that on the ship after talking with other passengers who were surprised to hear that in the US the commercials were saying it was geared for their US passengers. 

[Tapi]

4 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

This seems to be a recurring theme with MSC.  Pay the premium for yacht club or be prepared to be disappointed.  

The first time we sailed on MSC, we did the Fantástica Experience. It was good. I considered that cruise to be one notch above Carnival and one notch below Royal. I wouldn’t call it disappointing, just not memorable. 
 

For our second MSC Cruise (the one that I referenced on my previous post), we had the option of doing a smaller stateroom in the Yacht Club or doing a bigger Aurea suite with no Yacht Club benefits. Since we were traveling as a family, we went with the bigger Aurea suite and it was the absolute right decision. While we didn’t have Yacht Club perks, the Aurea experience was great, and it delivered an absolutely memorable cruise. The list of perks wasn’t as extensive, but it was still a pretty generous list. And in any case, it was hard to complain when I was paying a fraction of what Royal would’ve charged for similar accommodations. 
 

So while the Yacht Club consistently gets great reviews, it’s not the only way to enjoy an MSC Cruise. 

Edited November 18, 2019 by Tapi

[Tapi]

5 hours ago, trump said:

A special shout-out to Tapi - loved seeing the photos - you got an amazing deal !

Thank you! One of the reasons why got a great deal was because we sailed during Thanksgiving week. While it’s a big holiday in the US, in Europe it’s not so prices were considerably cheaper than the Caribbean sailings that I had been pricing out from US ports. 

[little britain]

9 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

5 years ago I was able to choose between Barcelona and Rome as departing port.

For 2020 the only choice is Barcelona...

Regarding 2021, I can see only up to May, and Royal doesn't show. I'm using a very large online TA from Miami.

Personally, I prefer to board in Civitavechhia, that's the reason I'm giving Allure a miss for 2020.

Harmony goes from Rome  weekly from July 8, 2021 until 21 Oct, 2021 FYI.

[dani negreanu]

29 minutes ago, little britain said:

Harmony goes from Rome  weekly from July 8, 2021 until 21 Oct, 2021 FYI.

 

Thanks, LB.

See you on Apex 😁

[little britain]

A review for those thinking of trying Msc in Europe by a RCI loyalist