First MSC Cruise in 3 Weeks. A Few Questions.

[surfjock27]

Taking our first MSC cruise on MSC Seascape in 3 weeks. Diamond on CCL and RCCL, so not really new to cruising. 
 

1. Can we order more than one drink at a time on Easy Plus? Like if I wanted a Tito’s & Tonic with an extra shot of Tito’s? Or, is it 5-10 minutes between drinks like CCL and RCCL?

 

2. CCL makes you sign for every drink on the package and RCCL does not. Which does MSC do? 
 

3. Aurea here. I’ve heard that we need to make reservations to use the thermal spa, is this true? This one concerns me a little because we booked Aurea specifically for the thermal spa and sometimes we may just decide to go on a whim. 
 

4. How does debarkation work? Same as CCL and RCCL, where we can carry our own luggage off early?

 

5. We’ve been to all the islands numerous times, so we may not get off the ship much in port. Are there activities throughout the day, while in port, to keep us busy?

 

6. For those who have been on CCL, RCCL or both, what’s something I should know about MSC that’s different? 
 

Thanks in advance. 

[dexddd]

We have not sailed that ship but six others. You can do traditional colored tags night before or carry off your own.  Last few trips for US citizens has been facial recognition.

[Itochen33]

Hello my dear!

 

i will try to answer your questions.

 

1. Depends on the Ship and the bartender... i have so far not encountered any problems with ordering a extra shot in any drink. But i DID hear about some bartenders not doing it from others.

 

2. Like RCCL. If it's included in your package they safe the paper and you don't have to sign or sign on a tablet.

 

3. i would advice you to book the absolute latest time you want to go every day. If you go earlier on a whim they usually accomodate you if there is space in the thermal area.

 

4. Same! The times for self debarkation are pretty early though and plan a bit more time to go through customs with your luggage... at least that is what i remember from last year... could have changed by now.

 

5. YES! There are plenty of activitis for those who stay on board. if the things they offer are to your liking is up to your preferences though...

 

6.Uff... was loyal to Royal for a loooong time... there are a lot of things that are different but there are also a lot of things that are essentialy the same... WAY to much to list all of them here without specific questions...

 

Feel free to ask though! i am curently on the Bellissima myself and if i can find out an answer i am happy to help!

 

Cheers from the Med!

[ready2cruzagain]

3 hours ago, surfjock27 said:

Taking our first MSC cruise on MSC Seascape in 3 weeks. Diamond on CCL and RCCL, so not really new to cruising. 
 

1. Can we order more than one drink at a time on Easy Plus? Like if I wanted a Tito’s & Tonic with an extra shot of Tito’s? Or, is it 5-10 minutes between drinks like CCL and RCCL?

 

2. CCL makes you sign for every drink on the package and RCCL does not. Which does MSC do? 
 

3. Aurea here. I’ve heard that we need to make reservations to use the thermal spa, is this true? This one concerns me a little because we booked Aurea specifically for the thermal spa and sometimes we may just decide to go on a whim. 
 

4. How does debarkation work? Same as CCL and RCCL, where we can carry our own luggage off early?

 

5. We’ve been to all the islands numerous times, so we may not get off the ship much in port. Are there activities throughout the day, while in port, to keep us busy?

 

6. For those who have been on CCL, RCCL or both, what’s something I should know about MSC that’s different? 
 

Thanks in advance. 

Have not done the Seascape but have sailed the Seashore, Seaside, Meraviglia and the Divina. Should be basically the same.

 

1.  Yes, no waiting between drinks.

 

2.  You do not sign for drinks. The paper receipt is thrown in the trash.

 

3. No you do not make a reservation for the thermal spa. You did need to during Covid restrictions but this is no longer the case.  Was just on the Meraviglia and had one hour thermal use due to Diamond status, we did not even have to make a reservation.

 

4. Yes, you can carry your luggage off the ship

 

5.  Lots of activities on port days, usually by the pool area.

 

6.  What is different?  Lots.  This is an Italian cruise line, do not go on the ship and compare it to American cruise lines.  They do things different.  Keep an open mind. Do not compare every little thing to CCL or RCCL or you will get a headache 🤣  

 

Have fun!

[Homosassa]

The pizza is 1000% better on MSC than on RCCL or Carnival.

[Oxo]

10 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

The pizza is 1000% better on MSC than on RCCL or Carnival.

Have you tried Princess, Celebrity, NCL?

Opinions are just that. I have a totally different opinion. LOL

[ready2cruzagain]

26 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

The pizza is 1000% better on MSC than on RCCL or Carnival.

I much preferred Princess and Carnival's pizza over our last pizza on the Meraviglia. Same ole 3 pizza types everyday, pepperoni, margherita (actually just marinara) and a pizza with white sauce. None of which were good, they use to have much better pizza but since Covid their pizza has gone downhill!  It is all a matter of taste I guess.

[kessdarln]

10 hours ago, surfjock27 said:

Taking our first MSC cruise on MSC Seascape in 3 weeks. Diamond on CCL and RCCL, so not really new to cruising. 
 

1. Can we order more than one drink at a time on Easy Plus? Like if I wanted a Tito’s & Tonic with an extra shot of Tito’s? Or, is it 5-10 minutes between drinks like CCL and RCCL?

 

2. CCL makes you sign for every drink on the package and RCCL does not. Which does MSC do? 
 

3. Aurea here. I’ve heard that we need to make reservations to use the thermal spa, is this true? This one concerns me a little because we booked Aurea specifically for the thermal spa and sometimes we may just decide to go on a whim. 
 

4. How does debarkation work? Same as CCL and RCCL, where we can carry our own luggage off early?

 

5. We’ve been to all the islands numerous times, so we may not get off the ship much in port. Are there activities throughout the day, while in port, to keep us busy?

 

6. For those who have been on CCL, RCCL or both, what’s something I should know about MSC that’s different? 
 

Thanks in advance. 

ICYMI, MSC does status match.

[surfjock27]

17 hours ago, Homosassa said:

The pizza is 1000% better on MSC than on RCCL or Carnival.

Hey neighbor! Crystal River here. 😀

[surfjock27]

11 hours ago, kessdarln said:

ICYMI, MSC does status match.

Yes, thank you for this. We were able to get matched a few weeks ago. It’s definitely a nice perk. 

[Homosassa]

17 hours ago, Oxo said:

Have you tried Princess, Celebrity, NCL?

Opinions are just that. I have a totally different opinion. LOL

Princess pizza used to be excellent when it was the qualify held over from Sitmar.  It has slowly been downgraded to mid west Pizza Hut quality.

 

Celebrity and NCL pizza  are the same mid west quality.

 

Carnival pizza is several notches below them.

 

MSC actually makes pizza that adheres to the standards of the Associazione Versace Pizza Napoletano.

 

So, yes, you may think that the stuff you get from Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Caesar's, etc.; is pizza, but that is like comparing a can of SpaghettiOs (or Olive Garden fare) to the pasta on MSC.

 

 

[Homosassa]

2 minutes ago, surfjock27 said:

Hey neighbor! Crystal River here. 😀

I noticed that.

 

If you like pizza from Moschello's in Homosassa, you will like MSC pizza.

[surfjock27]

1 minute ago, Homosassa said:

I noticed that.

 

If you like pizza from Moschello's in Homosassa, you will like MSC pizza.

Moschello’s is our favorite! Thanks for the advice. 

[Oxo]

46 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

Princess pizza used to be excellent when it was the qualify held over from Sitmar.  It has slowly been downgraded to mid west Pizza Hut quality.

 

Celebrity and NCL pizza  are the same mid west quality.

 

Carnival pizza is several notches below them.

 

MSC actually makes pizza that adheres to the standards of the Associazione Versace Pizza Napoletano.

 

So, yes, you may think that the stuff you get from Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Caesar's, etc.; is pizza, but that is like comparing a can of SpaghettiOs (or Olive Garden fare) to the pasta on MSC.

 

 

I traveled all over the world. Tried pizza in Italy. I don't like thin crust with nothing on it.

Now live in MI. Jets Detroit Pan Pizza is the best. Godfathers pizza was the best, but went out of business. 

 

Standards mean nothing. I would rather have Olive Garden fare compared to the meals I have had on some of MSC ships. Been cruising MSC since Jan 2006. 

 

Opinions are opinions. Food is very subjective.

 

 

[KKB]

23 hours ago, surfjock27 said:

Taking our first MSC cruise on MSC Seascape in 3 weeks. Diamond on CCL and RCCL, so not really new to cruising. 
 

1. Can we order more than one drink at a time on Easy Plus? Like if I wanted a Tito’s & Tonic with an extra shot of Tito’s? Or, is it 5-10 minutes between drinks like CCL and RCCL?

I ordered a shot of fireball & my fav bartender said "you want a double"? He typically filled my wine glass to the top. 

 

2. CCL makes you sign for every drink on the package and RCCL does not. Which does MSC do? 

Nope
 

3. Aurea here. I’ve heard that we need to make reservations to use the thermal spa, is this true? This one concerns me a little because we booked Aurea specifically for the thermal spa and sometimes we may just decide to go on a whim. 

They were very insistent that reservations were required but I cannot comment whether you could just walk in--I'm sure if there was availability at that time it wouldn't be an issue.
 

4. How does debarkation work? Same as CCL and RCCL, where we can carry our own luggage off early?

Yep you can do that

 

5. We’ve been to all the islands numerous times, so we may not get off the ship much in port. Are there activities throughout the day, while in port, to keep us busy?

Yes; I found port days to have almost as many activities as sea days tho occasionally there weren't enough people interested to get some things going.

 

6. For those who have been on CCL, RCCL or both, what’s something I should know about MSC that’s different? 

Have sailed Celebrity Princess Carnival RCCL NCL & DCL.

MSC was different. I can't QUITE put my finger on it why. Some days there was little on the schedule that interested me--and that is UNUSUAL. 

There were some odd issues with our saling...and on the surface things were more like other ships than not. I didn't LOVE it...but I didn't hate it & would try them again. 
 

Thanks in advance. 

Just finished my 1st MSC cruise on Divina.

[kessdarln]

On 2/25/2023 at 9:09 AM, surfjock27 said:

Taking our first MSC cruise on MSC Seascape in 3 weeks. Diamond on CCL and RCCL, so not really new to cruising. 
 

1. Can we order more than one drink at a time on Easy Plus? Like if I wanted a Tito’s & Tonic with an extra shot of Tito’s? Or, is it 5-10 minutes between drinks like CCL and RCCL?

 

2. CCL makes you sign for every drink on the package and RCCL does not. Which does MSC do? 
 

3. Aurea here. I’ve heard that we need to make reservations to use the thermal spa, is this true? This one concerns me a little because we booked Aurea specifically for the thermal spa and sometimes we may just decide to go on a whim. 
 

4. How does debarkation work? Same as CCL and RCCL, where we can carry our own luggage off early?

 

5. We’ve been to all the islands numerous times, so we may not get off the ship much in port. Are there activities throughout the day, while in port, to keep us busy?

 

6. For those who have been on CCL, RCCL or both, what’s something I should know about MSC that’s different? 
 

Thanks in advance. 

First MSC , Spendida in a month. YC (milestone splurge) and the spa reservation thing surprised me. First time Spa too and hoped to just come and go.  Planning to skip two ports, so should be easily accessed. 😄 

Emma does a nice job explaining the difference.  

 

[KarimaJ]

On 2/25/2023 at 4:31 PM, Oxo said:

Have you tried Princess, Celebrity, NCL?

Opinions are just that. I have a totally different opinion. LOL

I like carnival pizza the best, then celebrity. The rest I don’t care for. I’m hoping MSC is better.

[Homosassa]

On 2/26/2023 at 9:55 AM, surfjock27 said:

Moschello’s is our favorite! Thanks for the advice. 

The family that owns Moschello's came down from the NYC/LI area and , therefore, learned pizza as it came over from the Italian immigrants.

 

 

[Oxo]

21 hours ago, KarimaJ said:

I like carnival pizza the best, then celebrity. The rest I don’t care for. I’m hoping MSC is better.

Food is very subjective. We like thick crust with everything on it. 

Everyone has their own liking. Enjoy and Happy Cruising!

[Homosassa]

46 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Food is very subjective. We like thick crust with everything on it. 

Everyone has their own liking. Enjoy and Happy Cruising!

Absolutely and from your previous posts, I now understand why you do not care for the MSC food.

 

It would be like someone who has an appreciation for Mad Dog 2020 being offered a Chateau LaFitte product.

[Oxo]

29 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

Absolutely and from your previous posts, I now understand why you do not care for the MSC food.

 

It would be like someone who has an appreciation for Mad Dog 2020 being offered a Chateau LaFitte product.

So, you like MSC (Mad Dog 2020) food. LOL

We cruised CELEBRITY, MSC, NCL and RCI last year and are doing same year.

We consider, as many others, that MSC food is fair in quality, selection, presentation, taste when compared to the other lines.

Don't tell me it is European. Been around world and tasted food around the world. 

Woof woof!

 

 

 

[kessdarln]

On 2/27/2023 at 12:30 PM, KarimaJ said:

I like carnival pizza the best, then celebrity. The rest I don’t care for. I’m hoping MSC is better.

I have a good feeling about the pizza since they bake their own bread and make their own mozzarella. 🥐🥖🧀🍕💖