MSC Cruise first time advice please

[LindaIk]

Hello

 

We are booking our first cruise and would love some advice please.

 

Firstly, the MSC website. My goodness, it’s so glitchy. Did anybody else find this?

 

 

We have found some cabins midship on the Virtuosa, but the only deck they had available was 11. Will this be okay for less motion? 

 

We are looking to go to France and Spain, but from looking at a Map, all the ports are on the outskirts of the Bay of Biscay. Would this mean we would travel through it for the whole 7 days, or is it less choppy on the outskirts?

 

Any other tips/advice for travelling with MSC?

 

Thanks in advance ☺️

[phissy]

Lindalk…..WELCOME to Cruise Critic.

You will find many here that are happy to help or give their perspective on cruising.

MSC can be confusing at first. It may take some time to breakdown the differences in experiences and the different ships.

Some have lots of experience over the years and many are new to MSC since Covid.

MSC has very attractive pricing and some value features of newer ships Vs older ships.

 

Happy cruising and again, welcome.

Edited February 9, 2023 by phissy

[Incognito1]

We are wanting to book our first MSC cruise, 10 days in May out of Hamburg.  The price is very attractive.  I've read that MSC does not want gratuities given directly to staff.  Does that mean the price I'm seeing (US site) is BEFORE an automatic service charge?  And, can OBC be used to pay these charges if they're not included?

 

(Yes, I checked their very confusing, horrible website first and did not find the answer.)

[elmsliebev]

Re Bay of Biscay: I've travelled throuh there a few times and ot's never been particularly rough. It's only the stretch when you're going directly across it that you would feel real motion. Staying closer to the land shou;dn't be a problem, but of course it depends on whether you're particualarly prone to seasickness. 

[mscdivina2016]

Always use a TA!!!!!

[Georgia_Peaches]

First, do your research on MSC and know what you are getting into. I love MSC but the product is different from American cruise lines. 
 

Second, book using a TA.  Don’t navigate MSC (and their website) alone. 
 

And watch some videos of your chosen ship. Get a feel for the cabin category and experience that would suit you before booking. 
 

[morpheusofthesea]

7 hours ago, Incognito1 said:

.  Does that mean the price I'm seeing (US site) is BEFORE an automatic service charge?

Yes, before a service charge of $98 per person added to your hotel bill.

[morpheusofthesea]

7 hours ago, Incognito1 said:

And, can OBC be used to pay these charges if they're not included?

Yes again.

[morpheusofthesea]

7 hours ago, Incognito1 said:

I've read that MSC does not want gratuities given directly to staff

That is just bait.

[perakcruiser]

11 hours ago, Incognito1 said:

(Yes, I checked their very confusing, horrible website first and did not find the answer.)

Maybe you should have a look at their UK site where you immediately see the real prices including all taxes, fee, tips, service charges and even bottled water and coffee in the dining room. That makes things much easier and less annoying. 

Edited February 10, 2023 by perakcruiser

[showingdiva]

The MSC UK website is flaky.

 

Irrespective of whether you book through a TA or directly with MSC, formulate your plan, double check everything ... and stick to it.  Changing anything with MSC, especially by means of phoning customer services, can result in a whole lot of crazy shenanigans, quite often resulting in your chosen cabin, dining preference, boarding time etc inexplicably changing.

 

Virtuosa is a beautiful ship.   Huge, but beautiful.   Deck 11 and a mid ship cabin is about as central is it comes.   Tips are included, but if you encounter exceptional service, a little extra is welcome.

 

The Bay of Biscay is sea.   How it will be at any time of year is like asking how long a piece of string is.   But ... I can identify the cruise the OP is looking at.  It's port intensive, and the most open part of the BoB will be after leaving A Coruna.  Even if you've partied into the night, you will still be asleep for most of it.    Assuming OP is from the UK, take Sturgeron with you.   You will be fine.  Don't let any stories about the BoB be your defining moment about whether to book this cruise.

 

[HardToPort]

OP
 

The entire hospitality industry was decimated during Covid. Hotels, resorts, airlines, cruises, tourist experiences. They lost money, staff, momentum. The industry is working hard to recover and MSC is no exception, especially when it comes to staffing. So I expect the occasional hiccup.

 

Yes, MSC has a wonky website. For less experienced travellers a TA might be a good option. The site rejected my post booking web check in on Tuesday and Wednesday yet yesterday (Thursday) I completed my web check in just fine. 
 

with most cruise lines I prepay my gratuities which are currently $14.50 daily on MSC (slightly higher in YC). There was no mention of this during my MSC booking / check in process. I’ve since found out these are added to your bill about midway through the cruise. You can still give your room steward or favourite waiter or serving staff a bit extra. Anyone who tells you additional grats are discouraged is uninformed. MSC management might discourage extra tipping but the $30 I give my room steward and the $10 or $20 I tip a serving staff is gratefully accepted. I do these tips early in the cruise, not the last day. I will generally have a “favourite” bar and staff are assigned to one location. An early tip and a polite manner usually results in my favourite drink getting prepared when they see me come in even if there is a line up. Know the names of your favourite servers and greet them with a smile.

 

I’ve never dealt with MSC’s customer service but complaints about them are many. My only suggestion is, do your best to resolve any issues while still on board. It seems the process becomes more difficult once you’re off the ship.

 

Per your cabin question, any midship cabin feels the front to back ocean movement less than forward and aft cabins. However, the higher up you are the more pronounced the roll is. Having said this, modern ships are very stable unless you run into extreme weather in which case all bets are off and hold on to the guard rails!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

yeah, MSC website was glitching really badly yesterday. Showed my cruise in Nov 2023 as sold out whereas it was not even close to it 4 days ago.... back to somewhat normal today, but cabins are only available on deck 11 and above. Crazy. 

[ThankfulJourneys]

We cruised with MSC for the first time back in November on the Seascape. It was a 17 day journey from Rome to New York. I also found their website a little clunky but I have learned to like it compared to others. I am currently book another six cruises this year because of the their great prices and the destinations work for us.  What I do like is that there are no marketing bait and switch pricing offers that the other three bigs lines promote. I have to go through the book process to get the taxes added to the final price then I back out or open another tab to compare to another cruise. 

The gratuity for our 17 day trip was 170 pp making it $10 per day. I still gave our favorite staff a little extra cash and they were super appreciative. I called the help desk before the gratuity was added and they asked if I booked under the US site, and if so the gratuity was automatically added. Then they said that I could have it removed if I wanted because it is optional for the cruisers from the UK.  We we did see a line of international travelers the next day at the customer desk requesting for it to be removed.

 

I think you will enjoy deck 11 on the Virtuosa. We will be on it in August. TIP: Check the deck plan to see if you will be under a loud area such as the Market Place buffet or a dance floor. Download the App MSC for ME once your cruise is booked. 

 

My question to the forum: Should I become a travel agent since I cruise so much? I always book direct with the lines. 

[cementhands]

Looking into a 7 nights MSC cruise outta of port canaverale Florida soon and I’m concerned about smoking and pool area. Is it a big issue as I remember years ago certain cruises had much more smoking. Recently onboard Ncl getaway spice H20 was thick with smoke day and night

. So far I’ve been impressed by msc activities onboard activities!

Seems like a lot of fun and live music too!  
Still doing my due diligence research any experience msc Information greatly appreciated.

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

15 hours ago, cementhands said:

Recently onboard Ncl getaway spice H20 was thick with smoke day and night

see, when I complained about everything being permeated with smoke on Getaway, a lot of people didn't quite believe me.

[perakcruiser]

On 2/10/2023 at 10:55 PM, ThankfulJourneys said:

I called the help desk before the gratuity was added and they asked if I booked under the US site, and if so the gratuity was automatically added. Then they said that I could have it removed if I wanted because it is optional for the cruisers from the UK.  We we did see a line of international travelers the next day at the customer desk requesting for it to be removed.

Would be interesting to know who still can remove as MSC stopped this for almost all markets I know except the USA. Because of the very long lines of removers you mentioned. 

 

Pretty sure MSC has the data, that US pax usually don´t remove, so they leave the remove options so that they can advertise the fake prices in the USA as the US lines do. 

[Suzieanna]

Hi Lindalk, welcome to the board

 

Deck 11 is a good choice as it has cabins directly above and below - hence no noise of buffet chairs/sunbeds being moved etc.

 

I would like to add about booking through a travel agent.    If you choose one one of the "bigger" ones, ie one you might see on tv - always bear in mind the man doing the talking knows very little about the ships, and the people on the phones know even less!   From my experience (and from what I have read here) they will tell you pretty much anything to get you to book.    They are okay though if you know exactly what you want. 

 

I have been through Bay of Biscay (generally day 2 of the cruise if leaving from Southampton) on many occasions, and have only really felt noticeable movement once, but like an earlier person said its like how long is a piece of string.   Get your seasick meds just in case!

 

An important tip for any cruise on any ship is keep your important stuff (paperwork/passport, jewellery, meds) with you in a holdall.   Do not put this stuff in your case because you may not see this again for several hours.    You may want a change of clothes, a bit of make up and your swimming costume in this bag too so you can hit the pool straight away.

 

There is tons of information here about Virtuosa.   She is a beautiful ship.   I am sure you will have a lovely time.