MSC 1st and last time sailing this line.

[cruising nole fan]

Well, the family just got off of the MSC seashore out of Port Canaveral. This is approximately our 40th cruise on mainly Carnival, Royal and Princess lines. I must say that from beginning to end this was by far the worst cruise experience I have ever had. From the 3 hour wait to get on board to the horrible wifi reception to the smallest bathroom I have ever seen, this cruise sucked. Customer service is worthless and refused to help with any issues. The casino had the weirdest payouts on table games and the food was horrible. NEVER AGAIN! I am not quite sure how people repeat sail with this line. Looking forward to Princess 14 day in Feb. Rant is over, that is all!

[KyleClark]

Super!

[JT1962]

People either love or hate MSC. I’ve had mostly good experiences with them. 

[Two Wheels Only]

29 minutes ago, cruising nole fan said:

I am not quite sure how people repeat sail with this line.

All of my cruises with MSC have been great. Even when sailing Carnival, RCCL, or NCL, I didn't have a "bad cruise". Sure, some are better than others and no cruise is really 100% perfect but I've never had a cruise that made me say "never again" to any cruise line. 
 

Sorry that MSC didn't work for you. 

[Brighton Line]

1 hour ago, cruising nole fan said:

I am not quite sure how people repeat sail with this line. 

It starts with the price point and accepting some shortcomings. I have sailed twice and have not had issues. Yes issues with passengers behaving badly (great title for TV show) but not MSC crew. 

[Ed342]

23 minutes ago, Brighton Line said:

It starts with the price point and accepting some shortcomings. I have sailed twice and have not had issues. Yes issues with passengers behaving badly (great title for TV show) but not MSC crew. 

 Just off the Meri this morning. We too had no issues with any crew members. It was a Thanksgiving sailing with lot of families. Compared to the other guys, I would call this MSC Lite.

[RandomUser123]

I was on MSC Meraviglia 2 weeks ago and even though our cruise to Bermuda had to be changed to Port Canaveral and Nassau, i still enjoyed it. Food was good, drinks were good, entertainment was good, service was great. Wifi was fine for me. Everyone has different experiences i guess. We have already booked again for Oct 2024 cruise to Bermuda on Meraviglia. 

[Stockjock]

I've had issues w/customer service, but the onboard experience has been pretty good.  Bathrooms are fine for us, never had a long wait to get on.  I don't gamble much in the casinos, but in my experience, all of them have shaved odds versus land-based casinos.  I (usually) like the pricing and unlike some, I even like the often mediterranean style food.

But for sure, pick the cruise lines that you like the best.

Edited November 27, 2023 by Stockjock

[mets07]

2 hours ago, RandomUser123 said:

I was on MSC Meraviglia 2 weeks ago and even though our cruise to Bermuda had to be changed to Port Canaveral and Nassau, i still enjoyed it. Food was good, drinks were good, entertainment was good, service was great. Wifi was fine for me. Everyone has different experiences i guess. We have already booked again for Oct 2024 cruise to Bermuda on Meraviglia. 

We were on the same cruise (Meraviglia) and it was our first MSC one and we also enjoyed it. Even though we get 5 free drinks a day on Royal (how can you not miss that), we found a lot of positive. In our case, found the ship beautiful, loved the "anytime" dining experience, and the diversity and quality of musical entertainment.

 

Our biggest negative was the buffet, particularly for breakfast. Terribly organized and linear in nature. As a result, we went to the MDR the last 3 days of the cruise.

 

Happy cruising!

[peder]

Yet another data point that the move of the Seashore to Port Canaveral has been a disaster, at least at the start. OP, you'll get some resistance here, but your comments on this sailing are echo'd by many others that were on these initial Port Canaveral sailings.

[Sailor75]

Be careful complaining on here about MSC. I haven't been on the Seashore, but I liked the Seascape and Seaside which I imagine is very similar. Customer service isn't the best, nor drink service or drink variety, and yes bathrooms are small especially the shower; but, the ships are nice, I always find pretty good food to eat, and MSC is relatively cheaper; although the rates have been increasing which is why I've booked other lines such as Princess which includes gratuities. But, I'll be back on MSC once in a while to keep my diamond status; I like to vary my cruise lines.

[RD64]

5 hours ago, cruising nole fan said:

Well, the family just got off of the MSC seashore out of Port Canaveral. This is approximately our 40th cruise on mainly Carnival, Royal and Princess lines. I must say that from beginning to end this was by far the worst cruise experience I have ever had. From the 3 hour wait to get on board to the horrible wifi reception to the smallest bathroom I have ever seen, this cruise sucked. Customer service is worthless and refused to help with any issues. The casino had the weirdest payouts on table games and the food was horrible. NEVER AGAIN! I am not quite sure how people repeat sail with this line. Looking forward to Princess 14 day in Feb. Rant is over, that is all!

Well at least you realize it - time to move on.

[CRUISING FROM SC]

We heard boarding was delayed due to crew members smuggling several Mexicans into the US on the ship. If that is the case I have no desire to ever board one of their ships. That is so dangerous and if they could smuggle them on what else is going on that is illegal? 

[Sailor75]

2 minutes ago, CRUISING FROM SC said:

We heard boarding was delayed due to crew members smuggling several Mexicans into the US on the ship. If that is the case I have no desire to ever board one of their ships. That is so dangerous and if they could smuggle them on what else is going on that is illegal? 

They walk into the US all the time. But, I don't know if I can believe it's happening on MSC.

[Stockjock]

8 minutes ago, CRUISING FROM SC said:

We heard boarding was delayed due to crew members smuggling several Mexicans into the US on the ship. If that is the case I have no desire to ever board one of their ships. That is so dangerous and if they could smuggle them on what else is going on that is illegal? 

Unless we have confirmation from an official source, I would assume that this is not true.

[Sailor75]

Yes, I agree. There's documented reports of various issues on MSC, as is with other businesses too, to be fair; but, I haven't heard anything about this on the news.

[GOLDENBONNY]

1 hour ago, CRUISING FROM SC said:

crew members smuggling several Mexicans into the

omg really this is most ridiculous statement I heard on this boards for years. And why would they do it? Mexicans crossing USA boards by thousands every day )))

[GOLDENBONNY]

8 hours ago, cruising nole fan said:

Well, the family just got off of the MSC seashore out of Port Canaveral. This is approximately our 40th cruise on mainly Carnival, Royal and Princess lines. I must say that from beginning to end this was by far the worst cruise experience I have ever had. From the 3 hour wait to get on board to the horrible wifi reception to the smallest bathroom I have ever seen, this cruise sucked. Customer service is worthless and refused to help with any issues. The casino had the weirdest payouts on table games and the food was horrible. NEVER AGAIN! I am not quite sure how people repeat sail with this line. Looking forward to Princess 14 day in Feb. Rant is over, that is all!

I am sure MSC will get over it.  Also getting onboard has nothing to do with MSC but USA customs only after 40 cruises I am sure you should know that , and don't count too much on Princess WIFI its horrible and dose not work on many parts on the ship. Would love to have some details what help you did not get from customer service

[joeyancho]

I am always skeptical when a review says "everything " was bad.  With 53 cruises I know sometimes something is bad , but never everything.  I have sailed 5 different lines and find them to all be similar.  The differences come down to personal preference.  There is a reason MSC is the fastest growing cruise line.  I am about to take my second MSC cruise.  Things I like about them:  the ship was beautiful,  especially nicer than Carnival.   The food was really good.  Not the same old same old of other lines.  The international mix of passengers.  The reasonable price.  The itinerary,  a little different.   The crew was very friendly,  always calling me by name.  Finally,  the PIZZA. 

[sverigecruiser]

10 hours ago, cruising nole fan said:

 I am not quite sure how people repeat sail with this line. 

 

Great food.

 

Elegant ships.

 

Excellent staff.

 

YACHT CLUB.

[RandomUser123]

12 hours ago, mets07 said:

We were on the same cruise (Meraviglia) and it was our first MSC one and we also enjoyed it. Even though we get 5 free drinks a day on Royal (how can you not miss that), we found a lot of positive. In our case, found the ship beautiful, loved the "anytime" dining experience, and the diversity and quality of musical entertainment.

 

Our biggest negative was the buffet, particularly for breakfast. Terribly organized and linear in nature. As a result, we went to the MDR the last 3 days of the cruise.

 

Happy cruising!

I liked the lunch buffet and late night buffet was good too. I do agree breakfast buffet could be better. They do not have customized omelet station or eggs benedict or smoked salmon available like other cruise lines. You can only get those in MDR for breakfast on MSC. I certainly can see why some do not like the linear approach to the buffet but i am fine with it.

[Heartgrove]

42 minutes ago, RandomUser123 said:

 I do agree breakfast buffet could be better. They do not have customized omelet station or eggs benedict or smoked salmon available like other cruise lines. You can only get those in MDR for breakfast on MSC. 

 

I guess that it depends on the the market you are sailing in and the ship. We were on the MSC Preziosa from Hamburg in September and had those mentioned in the Buffet line.

[MsTabbyKats]

10 hours ago, joeyancho said:

I am always skeptical when a review says "everything " was bad.  With 53 cruises I know sometimes something is bad , but never everything.  I have sailed 5 different lines and find them to all be similar.  The differences come down to personal preference.  There is a reason MSC is the fastest growing cruise line.  I am about to take my second MSC cruise.  Things I like about them:  the ship was beautiful,  especially nicer than Carnival.   The food was really good.  Not the same old same old of other lines.  The international mix of passengers.  The reasonable price.  The itinerary,  a little different.   The crew was very friendly,  always calling me by name.  Finally,  the PIZZA. 

Even in YC....pizza was my main food!

Even before I converted to a YC sailor....MSC was my favorite line.  My only negative was dealing with customer service, pre-cruise.

 

[JamieLogical]

19 hours ago, cruising nole fan said:

the smallest bathroom I have ever seen

 

You've sailed Princess and found the bathroom on the Seashore to be smaller? What cabin type were you in on the Seashore and what cabin type do you sail on Princess? I have only ever sailed the Emerald Princess in a balcony, but I have been in pop-up camper bathrooms that were bigger than the one we had on Princess! And do NOT get me started on the shower curtain.....

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

 

You've sailed Princess and found the bathroom on the Seashore to be smaller? What cabin type were you in on the Seashore and what cabin type do you sail on Princess? I have only ever sailed the Emerald Princess in a balcony, but I have been in pop-up camper bathrooms that were bigger than the one we had on Princess! And do NOT get me started on the shower curtain.....

 

Okay, I just looked up pictures of the bathrooms in the balcony cabins on the Seashore (I have only sailed Meraviglia) and you are right that they do look very small. But at least they have a door instead of that damnable curtain!