MSC World Europa already a huge disappointment

[RBrowny]

2 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

According to a Brit video that popped up today, the indoor pool is definitely for all. The exclusive Aurea sundeck is on deck 20 above and beyond the indoor pool. And to say the least, it isn't the most beautiful area of the ship. It seems incomplete right now. Time will tell, but the ones paying those over inflated Aurea prices would deserve something better, just IMHO.

Yeah, I thought it was, after seeing some videos it does look like it's for everyone. 

 

Yeah, I wasn't too sure, it wasn't until I seen more videos of the full ship that the yacht club area doesn't seem up to the standard you'd expect when paying more for it.

[Germancruiser]

Why not just wait and see, when the ship comes out? I thought the OP already sailed the ship, but then I found out- reading further - that the ship is still under construction. 😳

[sidari]

8 hours ago, Germancruiser said:

Why not just wait and see, when the ship comes out? I thought the OP already sailed the ship, but then I found out- reading further - that the ship is still under construction. 😳

The ship is completed and sailed to Spain prior to heading to Qatar and the christening.

[sidari]

12 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

According to a Brit video that popped up today, the indoor pool is definitely for all. The exclusive Aurea sundeck is on deck 20 above and beyond the indoor pool. And to say the least, it isn't the most beautiful area of the ship. It seems incomplete right now. Time will tell, but the ones paying those over inflated Aurea prices would deserve something better, just IMHO.

Have to agree that it does not look too great especially compared to the Top 19 on Seaside, hopefully the areas to the sides of the indoor pool will also be for Aurea guests.

[Nunagoras]

1 hour ago, sidari said:

Have to agree that it does not look too great especially compared to the Top 19 on Seaside, hopefully the areas to the sides of the indoor pool will also be for Aurea guests.

Time will tell. It seems not that premium, but it also seems quite incomplete, maybe there are more materials they'll only to receive in Spain...

[Hlitner]

I think the OP has to understand that all cruisers have their own likes, dislikes, and preferences.  While some want buffets others want MDRs.  Some could care less about cuisine while others cruise to eat.  For us, we would not consider cruising on MSC unless we were in the Yacht Club...while others would never spend the extra money to be in the Yacht Club.   MSC also has its target groups (just like every other line).  Amenities that might appeal to American could turn-off many Europeans.  A Gin Bar might be a strong attraction for folks from the UK, but a Tequilia Bar might hit the spot with many Americans.  Personally, I would prefer a Scotch and Cognac Bar...but that is not going to happen.  

 

We can find faults (from our point of view) on every ship we have cruised, and also find things we like.  MSC is a true innovator in the cruise industry with its entire "Experience" mode of operation.  Their Yacht Club concept is the best ship within a ship concept in the industry.  Having pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner is somewhat unique to MSC.  Trying to compare the Oasis Class to the World Europa is the wrong approach since MSC is trying to do their own thing and not necessarily duplicate a RCI vessel.  

 

So, let's give MSC a chance and "wait and see" the reaction to the World Europa once there are some real passengers with real experience.  If MSC has missed the mark with their design, they will likely make adjustments on future builds and likely do some redesign on the World Europa as they find what works and what fails.

 

Hank

[Acrobatu2]

13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think the OP has to understand that all cruisers have their own likes, dislikes, and preferences.  While some want buffets others want MDRs.  Some could care less about cuisine while others cruise to eat.  For us, we would not consider cruising on MSC unless we were in the Yacht Club...while others would never spend the extra money to be in the Yacht Club.   MSC also has its target groups (just like every other line).  Amenities that might appeal to American could turn-off many Europeans.  A Gin Bar might be a strong attraction for folks from the UK, but a Tequilia Bar might hit the spot with many Americans.  Personally, I would prefer a Scotch and Cognac Bar...but that is not going to happen.  

 

We can find faults (from our point of view) on every ship we have cruised, and also find things we like.  MSC is a true innovator in the cruise industry with its entire "Experience" mode of operation.  Their Yacht Club concept is the best ship within a ship concept in the industry.  Having pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner is somewhat unique to MSC.  Trying to compare the Oasis Class to the World Europa is the wrong approach since MSC is trying to do their own thing and not necessarily duplicate a RCI vessel.  

 

So, let's give MSC a chance and "wait and see" the reaction to the World Europa once there are some real passengers with real experience.  If MSC has missed the mark with their design, they will likely make adjustments on future builds and likely do some redesign on the World Europa as they find what works and what fails.

 

Hank

I think as we say in Italy " the ship is sailed" it means that MSC had their" big opportunity to innovate", the MSC world Europa is already their future ship and their approach was wrong on my opinion, It seems that they they wasted good location and space for kids stuff, and actually, they are following RC.

Example, their top 20 solarium is the worst of the fleet, and I paid premium for that (being in aurea experience), also the lack of a sky lounge is, in my opinion and according to  a more conservative cruiser audience, a huge let down, (they used that space for the gym and the kid club; still is not making any sense to me, as a fellow cruiser noticed, why use a prime location for gym and baby club???).

There are 2 deck with arcade games, on deck 8 and on deck 19, it is redundant.

About YC you are totally right. 

 

And finally, I never praised RC, but I recognized that they know how to "risk" and innovate, did you see their "Pearl  district" on board of the Icon of the sea? The Pearl  district is so beautiful and magnificent,  I expected that MSC came up with that idea.

 

By the way, no hard feelings, I just was annoyed about how RC got so much attention and already sold out on the Icon of the sea.

 

PS. I still believe MSC is a great company, and I will enjoy my time on board, (I love the new cigar lounge, spacious and classy).

PPS. There is a secret location on board, you can access only by appointment and standing by an  old London telephone boot, not kidding, is inspired to the  prohibitionist era. 

 

 

 

[Hlitner]

8 hours ago, Acrobatu2 said:

I think as we say in Italy " the ship is sailed" it means that MSC had their" big opportunity to innovate", the MSC world Europa is already their future ship and their approach was wrong on my opinion, It seems that they they wasted good location and space for kids stuff, and actually, they are following RC.

Example, their top 20 solarium is the worst of the fleet, and I paid premium for that (being in aurea experience), also the lack of a sky lounge is, in my opinion and according to  a more conservative cruiser audience, a huge let down, (they used that space for the gym and the kid club; still is not making any sense to me, as a fellow cruiser noticed, why use a prime location for gym and baby club???).

There are 2 deck with arcade games, on deck 8 and on deck 19, it is redundant.

About YC you are totally right. 

 

And finally, I never praised RC, but I recognized that they know how to "risk" and innovate, did you see their "Pearl  district" on board of the Icon of the sea? The Pearl  district is so beautiful and magnificent,  I expected that MSC came up with that idea.

 

By the way, no hard feelings, I just was annoyed about how RC got so much attention and already sold out on the Icon of the sea.

 

PS. I still believe MSC is a great company, and I will enjoy my time on board, (I love the new cigar lounge, spacious and classy).

PPS. There is a secret location on board, you can access only by appointment and standing by an  old London telephone boot, not kidding, is inspired to the  prohibitionist era. 

 

 

 

We no longer cruise on RCI (that ship sailed once they decided to get into the Mega ship game).  Thirty years ago it was our favorite line and DD was Diamond before age 14.  It is possible we would try one of those mega ships when, and if, we took our grandsons on a cruise.  As to MSC, I do understand their emphasis on amenities for teens and kids as their target group are families.  But, for us, MSC is all about the Yacht Club.  On our recent Seashore cruise, we only left the YC enclave to go to a few of the shows and one port day, when the ship was empty of passengers, we want to the Lido at lunch to grab some pizza.  Otherwise, we spent all of our time inside the YC.  In fact, we never even bothered to go look at the kids/teens facilities.  We think that MSC does a fantastic job with the YC (which is the only reason we cruise on the line).

 

Hank

[Nunagoras]

9 hours ago, Acrobatu2 said:

I think as we say in Italy " the ship is sailed" it means that MSC had their" big opportunity to innovate", the MSC world Europa is already their future ship and their approach was wrong on my opinion, It seems that they they wasted good location and space for kids stuff, and actually, they are following RC.

Example, their top 20 solarium is the worst of the fleet, and I paid premium for that (being in aurea experience), also the lack of a sky lounge is, in my opinion and according to  a more conservative cruiser audience, a huge let down, (they used that space for the gym and the kid club; still is not making any sense to me, as a fellow cruiser noticed, why use a prime location for gym and baby club???).

There are 2 deck with arcade games, on deck 8 and on deck 19, it is redundant.

About YC you are totally right. 

 

And finally, I never praised RC, but I recognized that they know how to "risk" and innovate, did you see their "Pearl  district" on board of the Icon of the sea? The Pearl  district is so beautiful and magnificent,  I expected that MSC came up with that idea.

 

By the way, no hard feelings, I just was annoyed about how RC got so much attention and already sold out on the Icon of the sea.

 

PS. I still believe MSC is a great company, and I will enjoy my time on board, (I love the new cigar lounge, spacious and classy).

PPS. There is a secret location on board, you can access only by appointment and standing by an  old London telephone boot, not kidding, is inspired to the  prohibitionist era. 

 

 

 

Well: Actually; the Icon is not sold out. TA's have blocked most of it, and RCI doesn't want the classic doubles to stay there. Let the hype to cool down a little bit and we'll see.

 

Regarding the World Europa; I believe that it is megaship done right. New generations oriented? Yes, but with a classy twist of itself, and with kids and teens venues relegated to its clear spaces, against the Icon where they are anywhere. Some of the main complains on most MSC ships is that there isn't enough gym and buffet space. On World Europe, only the buffet more than doubles the Oasis of the Seas one, for example. Bear in mind the ship is being finished during the travel to Qatar. Some today's photos of the YC areas do give an entirely different perspective from what was shown a few days ago on the first videos wave. There are more chairs, more tables, complete carpeting, etc. Same might to be said for the Aurea venues.

 

One thing is indeed true on your concerns: Lack of bar/lounge space for the ship's size. I hope, at least, MSC to use the tea place in such a liberal way. Premium breakfast at morning, tea house by the late afternoon and just turn it on a classical music with bar venue from 6:30PM onward. That would help. It won't solve the issue, but helps solving it. The "secret location" seems a pick from MSC catering to the Virgin crowd, eventually. It's a truly 18+ venue for the very adult activities to take part on. Again: Something for everyone in such a balanced way.

[sidari]

19 hours ago, Acrobatu2 said:

I think as we say in Italy " the ship is sailed" it means that MSC had their" big opportunity to innovate", the MSC world Europa is already their future ship and their approach was wrong on my opinion, It seems that they they wasted good location and space for kids stuff, and actually, they are following RC.

Example, their top 20 solarium is the worst of the fleet, and I paid premium for that (being in aurea experience), also the lack of a sky lounge is, in my opinion and according to  a more conservative cruiser audience, a huge let down, (they used that space for the gym and the kid club; still is not making any sense to me, as a fellow cruiser noticed, why use a prime location for gym and baby club???).

There are 2 deck with arcade games, on deck 8 and on deck 19, it is redundant.

About YC you are totally right. 

 

And finally, I never praised RC, but I recognized that they know how to "risk" and innovate, did you see their "Pearl  district" on board of the Icon of the sea? The Pearl  district is so beautiful and magnificent,  I expected that MSC came up with that idea.

 

By the way, no hard feelings, I just was annoyed about how RC got so much attention and already sold out on the Icon of the sea.

 

PS. I still believe MSC is a great company, and I will enjoy my time on board, (I love the new cigar lounge, spacious and classy).

PPS. There is a secret location on board, you can access only by appointment and standing by an  old London telephone boot, not kidding, is inspired to the  prohibitionist era. 

 

 

 

I agree with you regarding the lounges and the Top 20 area which in the photo below looks like an afterthought though it remains to be seen how the reality of a sailing will look. Seaside has the best idea of two buffets in two different locations, the buffet on Oasis of the seas is small and the reason for that is there are so many other places on the ship you can eat breakfast and lunch.

[doones2]

12 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We no longer cruise on RCI (that ship sailed once they decided to get into the Mega ship game).  Thirty years ago it was our favorite line and DD was Diamond before age 14.  It is possible we would try one of those mega ships when, and if, we took our grandsons on a cruise.  As to MSC, I do understand their emphasis on amenities for teens and kids as their target group are families.  But, for us, MSC is all about the Yacht Club.  On our recent Seashore cruise, we only left the YC enclave to go to a few of the shows and one port day, when the ship was empty of passengers, we want to the Lido at lunch to grab some pizza.  Otherwise, we spent all of our time inside the YC.  In fact, we never even bothered to go look at the kids/teens facilities.  We think that MSC does a fantastic job with the YC (which is the only reason we cruise on the line).

 

Hank

I guess I find it hard to only use a very small area of the ship during your sailing.  How can you review a ship if you don’t see it all?  Hey, to each his own.

[Hlitner]

2 minutes ago, doones2 said:

I guess I find it hard to only use a very small area of the ship during your sailing.  How can you review a ship if you don’t see it all?  Hey, to each his own.

Good point and perhaps that is why we have not done a ship review in years.  Do not get me wrong, when we go aboard a new (to us) ship, DW and I will generally spend a couple of hours walking all the public decks just to see what there is to see.  We recently did this on the MSC Seashore (although we never went into the kids/teens area) during our first few hours on the ship.  On the other hand, I have seen the morgue on one ship and also visited the crew area on that same ship.  Not sure I want to visit the morgue or brigg on every ship :).  It is no different when we fly Business Class on a large aircraft.  No reason for us to spend time visiting economy or trying out their bathrooms.  Perhaps if I worked for the Points Guy and was reviewing a new A350 I would roam the aircraft, but that is not my thing.

 

Consider that on MSC we can go out to the regular pool deck, sit in a lounger packed together like sardines, and say we have done our duty.  or... We can just go to the YC's pool deck, grab some nice loungers with thick cushions and think...."glad to be in the YC."

 

 

[peder]

On 10/24/2022 at 8:22 PM, Acrobatu2 said:

The reality is that the World Europa has very little to offer.

 

2) Top solarium for Aurea guest without a dedicated Bar exclusive only for Aurea.

 

Reviving an old thread, but I've seen pictures that suggest the World Europa's Top 20 Exclusive Solarium has a dedicated bar?

[morpheusofthesea]

5 hours ago, peder said:

 

Reviving an old thread, but I've seen pictures that suggest the World Europa's Top 20 Exclusive Solarium has a dedicated bar?

What is so special about that? Top 19 on Seascape has the bar as well. What am I missing?

[peder]

3 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

What is so special about that? Top 19 on Seascape has the bar as well. What am I missing?

 

On the Meraviglia-class ships there is no bar in the Top 19/Top 20 area. Apparently at times (or as staffing allows) they will have someone up there taking drink orders, but there's no dedicated bar/galley serving drinks right there).

[CruisingFox27]

5 hours ago, peder said:

 

On the Meraviglia-class ships there is no bar in the Top 19/Top 20 area. Apparently at times (or as staffing allows) they will have someone up there taking drink orders, but there's no dedicated bar/galley serving drinks right there).

Do they not have a pop up bar, as they do on the Fantasia and other smaller class of ships? We've sailed several of those and there's always been a pop up bar on the Aurea sun deck. 

[Acrobatu2]

On 6/18/2023 at 12:09 PM, peder said:

 

Reviving an old thread, but I've seen pictures that suggest the World Europa's Top 20 Exclusive Solarium has a dedicated bar?

I was wrong on many topics about this ship, I had my best cruise vacation on board of the MSC Europa and I confirm there is a bar on the Top 20 lounge and is exclusive to Aurea guest. I wish I could delete this thread

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, Acrobatu2 said:

I was wrong on many topics about this ship, I had my best cruise vacation on board of the MSC Europa and I confirm there is a bar on the Top 20 lounge and is exclusive to Aurea guest. I wish I could delete this thread

 

Please post a lengthy review.  😁

[peder]

1 hour ago, Acrobatu2 said:

I was wrong on many topics about this ship, I had my best cruise vacation on board of the MSC Europa and I confirm there is a bar on the Top 20 lounge and is exclusive to Aurea guest. I wish I could delete this thread

 

Oh that's awesome! A lot of the reviews I've seen have been mixed, glad you had a great time!

 

I'm intrigued by the World America, and its new concept that they've dubbed "The Harbor". Seems like they have a lot of flexibility with this class of ships to adapt them to each market.