Trying to add some positivity

[TheycallmeDrew]

I have seen a ton of posts with peoples negative experiences and I am not discounting them but since most folks post about the bad stuff I thought I would do a brief post on my positive experience with MSC. I will try to be brief. I did a solo 11 day trip on the Meraviglia out of Port Canaveral in fantastica inside cabin.

 

Pre-embarkation

- I booked through a TA who used the US site and this caused issues since I am Canadian and could not enter my address information because even though this is a mostly positive review the truth is MSC needs to work on their web sites.

- Customer service was friendly but hit or miss trying to resolve this issue but got it fixed

 

Embarkation

- no issues and was typical to my Royal, NCL and Holland experiences

 

Cabin

- a bit smaller than some but suited my needs and I don't spend much time in my cabin except to sleep so was just fine

 

Crew

- fantastic. Cabin steward though I didn't see him much was friendly and quick to provide me what I needed. Bar staff were super friendly and if had time would have real conversations and share their lives with you. I am now facebook friends with some and may try to see them if our schedules permit. Entertainment staff came and hugged me as I was leaving the ship. Dining manager super friendly and when he found out I was a fan of the Indian food on board offered to bring me some in place of what was on the menu the next night. I would say 95% of my crew interactions were super positive

 

Food

- found the food to be better on average than my last couple of NCL main dining room meals. Buffet was good though I usually only ate lunch there or pizza at night. For specialty dining only did Hola twice and with the all you can price they lost money feeding me! 

 

Entertainment

- having read reviews of MSC I had been prepared for non-speaking shows due to language but for this cruise in US waters all the shows were in english. I loved the Carousel shows

 

Disembarkation

- I self disembarked with my luggage and though line was long it moved steadily so no issue

 

So there you go. Just my experience. Doesn't make anyone else's experience wrong. But if you were to ask me if I would sail MSC again? I would say Already have my next trip booked for 2024!

[KennyFla]

Thanks for posting.  Great to hear both sides.

[DCGuy64]

Thanks for the review. I know the MSC website is notoriously unpopular (I have to say that my experience has been about 85% positive, and it varies depending which browser I use). However, I book the cruise for the cruise itself, not the website. Our travel agent does most of the legwork, anyway, so I actually interact with the website very little. About the only time I use it is for providing information to get our cruise documents. The onboard experience has been nothing short of amazing for us, especially being in the Yacht Club. It's such a bargain for what you get. We're booked for 2024 also! Thanks again for your review, it's good to see MSC getting some much-needed love!

[optimusprime82]

Negative people have a convenient way of having a miserable time, it's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. All the things the OP described seemed fine but could be, "the worst cruise ever" to others because they're a bit disconnected to reality.

 

Like almost everyone here, we've had some cruises that weren't quite as good as others but I've never had one that I would describe as "bad" because of something that the ship or its crew are responsible for.

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, optimusprime82 said:

Negative people have a convenient way of having a miserable time, it's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. All the things the OP described seemed fine but could be, "the worst cruise ever" to others because they're a bit disconnected to reality.

 

Like almost everyone here, we've had some cruises that weren't quite as good as others but I've never had one that I would describe as "bad" because of something that the ship or its crew are responsible for.

Well said. I once heard someone say "whether you had a bad cruise or a good cruise, you're right." 😝

[mickey89]

Recently enjoyed a 14 day Caribbean cruise aboard MSC Seaside in their Yacht Club.  It was our third YC cruise and overall the cruise was definitely an improvement over the earlier cruises. The food in the YC was the main reason for the better experience, it was excellent. Alas it is extremely unlikely that we will repeat due to the ridiculous increase in cost.

We paid £5400 for a YC balcony cabin, now the same cabin on the same ship, same itinerary, same time of the year is now £12600.  Wow, that's eye watering...........bye, bye MSC.

[JamieLogical]

If this was the 11 day out of Port Canaveral to Brooklyn on 4/9, I was onboard with you! I agree with everything you said. The crew and service were fantastic. The Rock Circus show in the Carousel Lounge was one of my favorites I have ever seen. Embarkation/Debarkation were slow, but steady.

 

The only thing I disagree with you on is Hola! losing money on the all you can eat price. I made the mistake of doing the all you can eat on my first visit there and was hard pressed to order $18 worth of food, since their prices are so low. I ended up eating there about 6 more times (I was on the following sailing as well) and only spending ~$7 each time. Their food is delicious and Henry, my server there, was amazing and adorable.

[TheycallmeDrew]

25 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

If this was the 11 day out of Port Canaveral to Brooklyn on 4/9, I was onboard with you! I agree with everything you said. The crew and service were fantastic. The Rock Circus show in the Carousel Lounge was one of my favorites I have ever seen. Embarkation/Debarkation were slow, but steady.

 

The only thing I disagree with you on is Hola! losing money on the all you can eat price. I made the mistake of doing the all you can eat on my first visit there and was hard pressed to order $18 worth of food, since their prices are so low. I ended up eating there about 6 more times (I was on the following sailing as well) and only spending ~$7 each time. Their food is delicious and Henry, my server there, was amazing and adorable.

No this was last November but I enjoyed reading your trip review! And for Hola... you have not seen me sit down and destroy some tacos ... and Guac and chips .. and Queso ... with a burrito followed by some Dolce du Leche ... you get my point.

[mvh]

58 minutes ago, TheycallmeDrew said:

No this was last November but I enjoyed reading your trip review! And for Hola... you have not seen me sit down and destroy some tacos ... and Guac and chips .. and Queso ... with a burrito followed by some Dolce du Leche ... you get my point.

Does the $10 limit on the Easy Plus cover the Margarita's in Hola now? Can you pay the difference now or no drinks pkg allowed? Still getting mixed answers or opinions.

[TheycallmeDrew]

5 minutes ago, mvh said:

Does the $10 limit on the Easy Plus cover the Margarita's in Hola now? Can you pay the difference now or no drinks pkg allowed? Still getting mixed answers or opinions.

I can only tell you when I was there not only could I buy the margarita  with my easy plus package but they let me buy it for my dining companion since I was not having an alcoholic beverage with my meal.

Edited May 5, 2023 by TheycallmeDrew

[mvh]

25 minutes ago, TheycallmeDrew said:

I can only tell you when I was there not only could I buy the margarita  with my easy plus package but they let me buy it for my dining companion since I was not having an alcoholic beverage with my meal.

Nice, although I'm sure it all depends on the waiter, the day of the week and how nice you ask. The one thing that is consistent with MSC is its inconsistency. 

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, mvh said:

Does the $10 limit on the Easy Plus cover the Margarita's in Hola now? Can you pay the difference now or no drinks pkg allowed? Still getting mixed answers or opinions.

 

It only covers the Classic Margarita. I had MANY on my 18 days aboard the Meraviglia in April.

Edited May 5, 2023 by JamieLogical

[paddy1112]

We have been on Seashore from Genua two weeks ago. This was a cruise which we booked after two canceled ones due to C. We booked this with an italien TA as when we booked the original cruise booking in Italy was significantly cheaper then booking in Germany. 

We really enjoyed the cruise and the service all over the ship. We stayed in YC but spend a lot of time outside in the evening.

Only negative is that MSC seems to be unable to organize their chargeable shuttle service into Valencia and Marseille. It is obvious that most people want to leave the ship early. And with a 5000+ vessel there is a need for a lot of buses at the start.  

But apart from that a great week and looking forward to Seascape in October