MSC vs NCL food/beverage

[NickG420]

It's almost as if different people enjoy different things and have completely different tastes....

Who would have thunk it? 😁

[skipsaur]

5 minutes ago, NickG420 said:

It's almost as if different people enjoy different things and have completely different tastes....

Who would have thunk it? 😁

 

Hey, knock off the rational, level-headed thinking!

 

I for one am really enjoying the amount of debate soft serve is generating. It's such a wholesome, on-topic point of contention for a cruise forum. 😂

[NickG420]

6 minutes ago, skipsaur said:

I for one am really enjoying the amount of debate soft serve is generating. It's such a wholesome, on-topic point of contention for a cruise forum. 😂

Just don't mention washcloths...😲😳

[JamieLogical]

My last NCL cruise was in October, before they switched to the fixed MDR menu for dinners. I just came off the Meraviglia in April. I definitely thought the food was much better on MSC in the MDR. Getting lobster and mussels in the MDR for no upcharge reminded me more of Celebrity. I really really really loved the desserts on MSC. They weren't as cloyingly sweet as the desserts on NCL, but had rich flavors.

 

There was no comparison between the pizza on the buffet. I think that NCL and MSC's buffets were otherwise pretty much tied for me. I do think NCL had a stronger late night snack offering

 

I always miss O'sheehan's/The Local on other cruise lines. It's nice to have an included sit-down restaurant that isn't as formal as the MDR and is available at all hours.

 

NCL's specialty dining is better overall, but I LOVED Hola! soooooo much on the Meraviglia and you could not beat the prices. I did the Teppanyaki on MSC and definitely didn't like the format of the menu as much as the way it works on NCL. I did Butcher's Cut and it was definitely as good or better than Cagney's, but I'm not huge on steak houses generally. I did Ocean Cay and, with it's fixed tastings menu, it definitely felt more limited than Ocean Blue. I missed Le Bistro or any kind of French option. Also surprised there was no Italian restaurant on an Italian cruise ship, but I guess with all the fresh made pasta in the MDR, it wasn't really necessary.

 

For drinks, I would take MSC any day of the week. Even though NCL has my beloved Mr. Worldwide, which is my favorite cocktail ever. NCL's "included" drink package is just SO expensive with the service charge, whereas there is no separate service charge for the included package on MSC. Plus, NCL's "included" package covers less and less every time I sail with them. It allegedly covers drinks up to $15 now (I think?) but that no longer even covers Bailey's for my coffee! Speaking of coffee, the fact that coffee and water aren't included on NCL is still just completely absurd to me. Meanwhile, the Easy Plus package that was included on MSC "only" covers drinks up to $10, but Bailey's is only $8 (half as much as on MSC). MSC has now moved to the model that other cruise lines had of only charging the difference for drinks outside of your package. I actually struggled to find something outside of my package that I even wanted to try and I ended up hating it, so went right back to the stuff that was covered. And, of course, all the bottled water and coffee you want. In fact, they had espresso makers at pretty much every single bar, so getting my daily Americano with Bailey's was easy. Finally, MSC had table service throughout the ship that was very quick and friendly. There were multiple times I didn't even have my butt in a chair at one of the lounges and there was someone rushing over to take my order.

[mawvkysc]

50 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

My last NCL cruise was in October, before they switched to the fixed MDR menu for dinners. I just came off the Meraviglia in April. I definitely thought the food was much better on MSC in the MDR. Getting lobster and mussels in the MDR for no upcharge reminded me more of Celebrity. I really really really loved the desserts on MSC. They weren't as cloyingly sweet as the desserts on NCL, but had rich flavors.

 

There was no comparison between the pizza on the buffet. I think that NCL and MSC's buffets were otherwise pretty much tied for me. I do think NCL had a stronger late night snack offering

 

I always miss O'sheehan's/The Local on other cruise lines. It's nice to have an included sit-down restaurant that isn't as formal as the MDR and is available at all hours.

 

NCL's specialty dining is better overall, but I LOVED Hola! soooooo much on the Meraviglia and you could not beat the prices. I did the Teppanyaki on MSC and definitely didn't like the format of the menu as much as the way it works on NCL. I did Butcher's Cut and it was definitely as good or better than Cagney's, but I'm not huge on steak houses generally. I did Ocean Cay and, with it's fixed tastings menu, it definitely felt more limited than Ocean Blue. I missed Le Bistro or any kind of French option. Also surprised there was no Italian restaurant on an Italian cruise ship, but I guess with all the fresh made pasta in the MDR, it wasn't really necessary.

 

For drinks, I would take MSC any day of the week. Even though NCL has my beloved Mr. Worldwide, which is my favorite cocktail ever. NCL's "included" drink package is just SO expensive with the service charge, whereas there is no separate service charge for the included package on MSC. Plus, NCL's "included" package covers less and less every time I sail with them. It allegedly covers drinks up to $15 now (I think?) but that no longer even covers Bailey's for my coffee! Speaking of coffee, the fact that coffee and water aren't included on NCL is still just completely absurd to me. Meanwhile, the Easy Plus package that was included on MSC "only" covers drinks up to $10, but Bailey's is only $8 (half as much as on MSC). MSC has now moved to the model that other cruise lines had of only charging the difference for drinks outside of your package. I actually struggled to find something outside of my package that I even wanted to try and I ended up hating it, so went right back to the stuff that was covered. And, of course, all the bottled water and coffee you want. In fact, they had espresso makers at pretty much every single bar, so getting my daily Americano with Bailey's was easy. Finally, MSC had table service throughout the ship that was very quick and friendly. There were multiple times I didn't even have my butt in a chair at one of the lounges and there was someone rushing over to take my order.

 Loved MSC desserts too. 
Sounds like Mera has improved on drink service. We had bad service (bar servers and bartenders)out of PC. You were on a NY cruise? Maybe they’ve upped their game on Mera. Out of Florida they seemed to have the bad reviews overall for service shipwide. Did love the water and specialty coffee being included. 

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, mawvkysc said:

 Loved MSC desserts too. 
Sounds like Mera has improved on drink service. We had bad service (bar servers and bartenders)out of PC. You were on a NY cruise? Maybe they’ve upped their game on Mera. Out of Florida they seemed to have the bad reviews overall for service shipwide. Did love the water and specialty coffee being included. 

 

I was on the repositioning cruise from PC to NY and then on the first 7-day sailing out of NY. I had read SO MANY bad reviews about slow bar service, but that was almost never the case for me. The only time bar service was a little slow was when bars were completely slammed, which is just to be expected. When you have 40 people trying to order a drink at the same bar at the same time, of course it's going to be a bit slow. They aren't magicians! But overall, I found the bars to be well-staffed with servers and bartenders. High demand was very occasionally an issue, but low staffing did not seem to be.

[mvh]

This topic of food always makes me laugh. No cruise food is great. Some are just not as bad as others. Nothing is excellent on any cruise including specialty restaurants. These comparisons are hilarious. It's like comparing Applebee's to TGI Friday's. Sure it's edible, but not great, nor do I expect it to be on cruise.

[bundtkate]

8 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I always miss O'sheehan's/The Local on other cruise lines. It's nice to have an included sit-down restaurant that isn't as formal as the MDR and is available at all hours.

The Local was a pleasant surprise on NCL. I never liked Reubens before but my uncle got me to try one at The Local and it was actually good! The Caesar salad was also nearly identical to what was served in the Haven, it just didn't have 3 whole anchovies on top. I will admit I missed the anchovies, but I'm sure some would consider that a feature instead of a bug and it was a solid late night option regardless.

8 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Speaking of coffee, the fact that coffee and water aren't included on NCL is still just completely absurd to me.

This was bonkers to me. At the risk of poking another CC bear and starting a debate about the drinkability of cruise ship tap water, availability of bottled water and specialty coffee are basically what make a drink package worth it for me. I don't drink soda and would have to work to drink enough alcohol to break even, but I will drink 2-3 bottles of water and at least one specialty coffee per day which lowers that bar enough it's almost always worth the cost.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

21 minutes ago, bundtkate said:

 

This was bonkers to me. At the risk of poking another CC bear and starting a debate about the drinkability of cruise ship tap water, availability of bottled water and specialty coffee are basically what make a drink package worth it for me. I don't drink soda and would have to work to drink enough alcohol to break even, but I will drink 2-3 bottles of water and at least one specialty coffee per day which lowers that bar enough it's almost always worth the cost.

Same!  We aren’t big drinkers, but bottled water and specialty coffee, maybe a cocktail by the pool or pre-dinner drink, then wine with dinner makes it worth it. I think I read that MSC doesn’t have specialty coffee included in their package. Is this correct?

[bundtkate]

3 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I think I read that MSC doesn’t have specialty coffee included in their package. Is this correct?

Someone who has sailed more recently should confirm, but when I was last on MSC (Sept. 2021), specialty coffee was included so long as you got it from one of the bars and not Venchi. This was the old Easy package and, as I understand, the new included package covers more than the old Easy package. I also seem to recall you're in Yacht Club on your upcoming sailing so you'll have the top of the line package which means I'd be even more surprised if it's not included for you.

[MsTabbyKats]

30 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Same!  We aren’t big drinkers, but bottled water and specialty coffee, maybe a cocktail by the pool or pre-dinner drink, then wine with dinner makes it worth it. I think I read that MSC doesn’t have specialty coffee included in their package. Is this correct?

I am not a coffee drinker but my husband was having cappacino multi-times per day.  I'm not sure if that qualifies as a specialty coffee. He had it in the YC dining room and pool deck buffets.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

17 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I am not a coffee drinker but my husband was having cappacino multi-times per day.  I'm not sure if that qualifies as a specialty coffee. He had it in the YC dining room and pool deck buffets.

Not to me. I’m thinking more like a cafe mocha. If not, I’ll just add my chocolate collagen powder like I do at home. 

[mawvkysc]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Same!  We aren’t big drinkers, but bottled water and specialty coffee, maybe a cocktail by the pool or pre-dinner drink, then wine with dinner makes it worth it. I think I read that MSC doesn’t have specialty coffee included in their package. Is this correct?

Espresso based coffees are included from the bars. There is usually one special chocolate venue per ship and they serve fancy coffee drinks too. Those are the ones not included. 

[JanR]

10 hours ago, mvh said:

This topic of food always makes me laugh. No cruise food is great. Some are just not as bad as others. Nothing is excellent on any cruise including specialty restaurants. These comparisons are hilarious. It's like comparing Applebee's to TGI Friday's. Sure it's edible, but not great, nor do I expect it to be on cruise.

I understand your sentiment.  However, we did Oceania in November-December and would argue that their motto of "Best Cuisine at Sea" is pretty much spot on.

[JanR]

NCL is the line that DW and I have sailed on most often and we did a B2B on the MSC Preziosa in the fall and just got off of 118 days on the Poesia.

 

In October, we were on the NCL Sky and for the first time ever, we were deeply disappointed with the food.  It wasn't that it was not as good as we had always had prior to COVID, it wasn't good at all.  We were even disappointed with Le Bistro and Cagney's which has always been a slam-dunk good meal.

 

The Preziosa was in the YC and the food was good...not great (hat tip to MVH), but good.  On the World Cruise, the food was OK.  Although a WC has a large asterisk next to it.  There was no specialty restaurant so the only food options was the MDR and the buffet.  In the MDR, the menu was split between the revolving menu on the left and the anytime menu on the right.  The go-to meal for us when nothing else looked appealing was the steamed salmon which was consistently good.  The problem (challenge?) with the revolving menu was that it really did change every day of the cruise.  So the chefs/cooks literally had 118 different menus to prepare for the cruise instead of the normal 7-14 that most ships galleys had to perfect.  Thus, the asterisk.  

 

There was always something on the menu that we enjoyed and was good.  We were happy when we would get something very good--pork belly was a sure winner as was their Indian food.  In fact, the chef made us different Indian dishes just for us off of the menu which was very, very good.

 

The base drink package on NCL is better than the MSC's "Easy" package due to having a wider variety of available beers (MSC only had Heineken on the package) and spirits available.

[JamieLogical]

7 hours ago, JanR said:

The base drink package on NCL is better than the MSC's "Easy" package due to having a wider variety of available beers (MSC only had Heineken on the package) and spirits available.

 

That's apples to oranges though. Not sure the situation on a world cruise, but usually, the included package on MSC is the Easy Plus and the "included" package on NCL is the Premium. The "included" package on NCL actually costs $20pp/day (is it even more than that now?) due to additional service charges. Both MSC and NCL do charge a higher base cruise fair for bookings that include the drink package.

 

Were you to buy drink packages out of pocket, MSC's Easy Package costs $46/day, MSC's Easy Plus costs $61/day, MSC's Premium Extra costs $85/day, NCL's Premium costs $109/day, and NCL's Premium Plus costs $138/day. Meanwhile, the MSC Easy Plus definitely covers more than NCL's Premium. Even though MSC's Easy Plus "only" covers drinks up to $10 and NCL's Premium covers drinks up to $15, NCL's drink prices are so inflated that their package actually has fewer covered choices. For example, MSC lists Bailey's as $8, while NCL lists Bailey's as $16!

[JanR]

6 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

That's apples to oranges though. Not sure the situation on a world cruise, but usually, the included package on MSC is the Easy Plus and the "included" package on NCL is the Premium. The "included" package on NCL actually costs $20pp/day (is it even more than that now?) due to additional service charges. Both MSC and NCL do charge a higher base cruise fair for bookings that include the drink package.

 

Were you to buy drink packages out of pocket, MSC's Easy Package costs $46/day, MSC's Easy Plus costs $61/day, MSC's Premium Extra costs $85/day, NCL's Premium costs $109/day, and NCL's Premium Plus costs $138/day. Meanwhile, the MSC Easy Plus definitely covers more than NCL's Premium. Even though MSC's Easy Plus "only" covers drinks up to $10 and NCL's Premium covers drinks up to $15, NCL's drink prices are so inflated that their package actually has fewer covered choices. For example, MSC lists Bailey's as $8, while NCL lists Bailey's as $16!

The Easy Plus is included only if you are in the Yacht Club or in a suite on MSC.  If you are in a balcony, ocean view or inside room then there is no package available and the least expensive package is the “Easy” package. 
 

On NCL, most passengers I’ve encountered take the Free at Sea package.  My opinion (and certainly these will vary from person to person) is that this NCL package was marginally better than the MSC Easy package.        

[JamieLogical]

14 minutes ago, JanR said:

The Easy Plus is included only if you are in the Yacht Club or in a suite on MSC.  If you are in a balcony, ocean view or inside room then there is no package available and the least expensive package is the “Easy” package. 
 

On NCL, most passengers I’ve encountered take the Free at Sea package.  My opinion (and certainly these will vary from person to person) is that this NCL package was marginally better than the MSC Easy package.        

 

Maybe that's a European itinerary thing? I sailed on two MSC sailings in April (one Aurea and one Fantastica) and I am booked on three upcoming sailings in Fantastica Balconies and all of them included the Easy Plus package. All are North America itineraries, though.

[JanR]

9 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Maybe that's a European itinerary thing? I sailed on two MSC sailings in April (one Aurea and one Fantastica) and I am booked on three upcoming sailings in Fantastica Balconies and all of them included the Easy Plus package. All are North America itineraries, though.

Really?  Perhaps it is an European thing as I have only done the Baltics/Norwegian fjords and the World Cruise with MSC.  Good to know.  In that case, the only thing that might (just might) still give an advantage to NCL is that if you order something not on the drink package, you pay the difference between the drink cost and the maximum allowed by the package.  On MSC (at least the itineraries that I've sailed) you pay for the entirety of the drink with no offset for the package.

 

Regardless, as for the OP's concern, if you are receiving the Easy Plus package gratis, it's not a bad deal at all.

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, JanR said:

On MSC (at least the itineraries that I've sailed) you pay for the entirety of the drink with no offset for the package.

That seems to have changed now as well…

[JanR]

10 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

That seems to have changed now as well…

Hmmm...we might have to take MSC to the Caribbean instead of Europe!!!

[JamieLogical]

16 hours ago, JanR said:

Really?  Perhaps it is an European thing as I have only done the Baltics/Norwegian fjords and the World Cruise with MSC.  Good to know.  In that case, the only thing that might (just might) still give an advantage to NCL is that if you order something not on the drink package, you pay the difference between the drink cost and the maximum allowed by the package.  On MSC (at least the itineraries that I've sailed) you pay for the entirety of the drink with no offset for the package.

 

Regardless, as for the OP's concern, if you are receiving the Easy Plus package gratis, it's not a bad deal at all.

 

This changed at the end of March. You now pay the difference, which I agree is a huge improvement.

[Super Curly]

Am I understanding it correctly that on MSC (we will be on our first MSC cruise: the Splendida next May) serves no tap water (iced or not) anywhere but the buffet? We are not drinkers and enjoy ice water with dinner in the MDR. I hope we don't have to fill water bottles in the buffet and carry them to the MDR.

[JamieLogical]

4 hours ago, Super Curly said:

Am I understanding it correctly that on MSC (we will be on our first MSC cruise: the Splendida next May) serves no tap water (iced or not) anywhere but the buffet? We are not drinkers and enjoy ice water with dinner in the MDR. I hope we don't have to fill water bottles in the buffet and carry them to the MDR.

 

The most certainly serve tap water (or at least cold water in glasses) in the MDR! At least they did on both my sailings on the Meraviglia in April.

[mawvkysc]

3 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

The most certainly serve tap water (or at least cold water in glasses) in the MDR! At least they did on both my sailings on the Meraviglia in April.

It may be different in Europe, bit I think if you book through MSC USA then they will serve you tap water.