Will I like MSC if I like Celebrity?

[Panda3]

Hello,  I’m a long time cruiser, started with carnival in the 80s, then Royal Caribbean in the 90s and oughts, and now have been doing Celebrity.  We love Celebrity over all cruise lines as we are in our early 50s.   MSC looks like it caters to families with little kids but there was this Mediterranean itinerary we loved.  It may be an impossible question, but will we feel too old on MSC.  I see a bunch of water slides, etc…

[Maria63]

My DH & I are in our early 60s, and our favorite lines are Celebrity & RCI (due to loyalty benefits), but we have also cruised with Viking, Azamara, Cunard, HAL, Princess, Costa, and MSC (both YC and non-YC).

 

To be blunt, I would recommend that you do a thorough research before booking, and you need to be aware that the YC-reviews and experiences do in no way reflect the experience on the rest of the ship. MSC is a very different product than Celebrity, and generally much more lively, noisy, and crowded. On the newer MSC-ships with the Galeria-design (for instance World Europa) you will struggle to find a quiet lounge, and as the YC takes up most of the front of the ship, there is nothing like an observation lounge in the front for non-YC.

 

However, if the itinerary is port-intensive and you plan to do lots of excursions, MSC can be a very sensible choice budget-wise, as the experience on the ship itself might then be a secondary consideration. In the Mediterranean MSC allows you to embark in most ports along the itinerary, so you have lots of flexibility and choices in how you plan your flights and pre- & post-cruise travels

[deliver42]

Other than the Yacht Club MSC is a lot more crowded than any Celebrity ship, and I don't even include kids. Figure a Carnival ship times 1 1/2 people given the same size ship.

[perakcruiser]

10 hours ago, Panda3 said:

MSC looks like it caters to families with little kids but there was this Mediterranean itinerary we loved.  It may be an impossible question, but will we feel too old on MSC.  I see a bunch of water slides, etc…

This is only true for the new MSC ships. The Armonia for example is very comparable to the Infinity. As a enthusiastic MSC and Celebrity cruiser I think I can recommend you MSC with no limitations. MSC is king in the Med. Their many different itineraries cover all wishes. 

 

Well, certainly there are limitations. If you cruise the Med in European summer holiday it is very busy. "Too old" is never a problem as the Italians love to cruise with all generations alive, so there will also be a lot of 90+ old guests. And all other ages as well. 

 

Overall, simple rule, if you can enjoy holiday in Italy, you will enjoy your cruise with MSC.

[Georgia_Peaches]

We like Celebrity too and gave MSC a try back in 2022.  We sailed YC and really enjoyed the experience.  The ship itself is a lot of fun, very blingy, lively...lots to do...and then at the end of the day, we escaped back to the quiet of the YC.  We enjoy both lines for different reasons but I wouldn't book with MSC in any category except YC.

[mnocket]

imho Most Celebrity cruisers will only be happy sailing MSC if they sail in the Yacht Club - in which case, they will be very happy. 

[heatherb1958]

Ignore the naysayers  re you must only sail in YC if you do MSC . 

If you are cruising In the Med where people are getting on and off the ship at each port , which we love because it makes each day feel like a B2B change over day , the demographic changes constantly so it is refreshing.  We have done 14 cruises with MSC and only one of them was in YC , we decided unless we got a fab deal like the one we had we would never book YC again. Yes the service was excellent,  the enclave was a haven of peace , the pool deck area was gorgeous , we were on Grandiosa , but we have always been more than happy with 'Downtown ' as the YC director called the rest of the ship and didn't feel our experience exceeded expectations as the service has always been good in Downtown.

 

We enjoy MSC food and they have the best pizza , crew are not in your face  like on American lines but if you are friendly towards them they respond likewise.

Having said all that I would still not cruise out of the USA with MSC , the company have dumbed down their Italian experience from what I have read on here to try and satisfy the market... 😔. 

MSC Cruise prices are excellent value , the ships are beautifully maintained , the shows we enjoy , the cabins are comfortable . I can't think of anything  we don't like. 

 

We have done 5 cruises with Celebrity,  last one was Silhouette to the Baltics September 23,  we liked the ship, the entertainment , disliked the food in  the dining room though our servers were very good and changing dishes out , the buffet was amazing . Celebrity prices are expensive , MSC wins for us .

 

[JamieLogical]

I sailed Celebrity several times post COVID, but all of my most recent sailings have been on MSC. I loved Celebrity and if the price points were the same, I would probably pick Celebrity every time. But the fact of the matter is the price points are nowhere near the same. In terms of value for my dollar, MSC is a significantly better deal. There are more children on MSC, for sure, but like on Celebrity, the kid's clubs usually do a decent job of keeping kids out of the public spaces that I am trying to enjoy, so I haven't found the extra kids to be much of an issue. I think the thing I miss most from Celebrity is the live music in small venues. MSC has a bit of that, but a lot of time it's something like a person with a guitar playing along to a backtrack from their iPad and singing. I do miss the string duos or intimate trios in the bars and lounges on Celebrity. I also really hate that when MSC does have music in their lounges, they don't have the specific times listed in their app or the daily... they will just say something general like 7:00pm-10:00pm and you have no sense of when the breaks will be.

 

What I do like that both MSC and Celebrity still have that the Big Three have done away with are nightly turndown service and free continental room service breakfast.

[Stockjock]

I like them both, but there are distinct differences.  Let us know if you have any specific questions.

[Tierun]

MSC is a mass line more akin to RCCL. However Aurea is very similar to Aqua class on Celebrity. That being the case, we are ok with both. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 1/23/2024 at 8:32 PM, Panda3 said:

It may be an impossible question, but will we feel too old on MSC.

no. My parents (73 and 75) really enjoyed Seascape. But they enjoy any cruising.

We are in our late 40s and liked the ship, but not so much the MSC product in general.

 

On 1/23/2024 at 8:32 PM, Panda3 said:

Will I like MSC if I like Celebrity?

 

I feel that after Celebrity you will like MSC only if you are in Yacht Club or at least Aura. That's just my imho. We traveled in steerage class (not Aura), and we feel that in general MSC offers less in steerage class than other cruise lines. But, apparently, their YC shines.

 

17 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I also really hate that when MSC does have music in their lounges, they don't have the specific times listed in their app or the daily... they will just say something general like 7:00pm-10:00pm and you have no sense of when the breaks will be.

yes! this! 100%. In the dailies it would say something like: live music, contortionists, acrobats, Sweet and Sour circus, magician 7-10 pm in Le Cabaret Rouge. You have no way of knowing when to show up to see the circus or the acrobats. We showed up several times just to see something we didn't care for.

 

17 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

But the fact of the matter is the price points are nowhere near the same. In terms of value for my dollar, MSC is a significantly better deal.

yes, the price point of Bella or Fantastica is better than the equivalent inside or balcony cabin on a Celebrity ship, but you also get a lot less for it. It's like you get a crowded Walmart for the price instead of Whole Foods. I personally shop at Walmart at home for the price point, but I don't get the Whole Foods experience for it.

 

So, if one is only looking at the price - MSC wins.

Edited January 26 by Itchy&Scratchy

[heatherb1958]

On 1/25/2024 at 9:34 PM, JamieLogical said:

I sailed Celebrity several times post COVID, but all of my most recent sailings have been on MSC. I loved Celebrity and if the price points were the same, I would probably pick Celebrity every time. But the fact of the matter is the price points are nowhere near the same. In terms of value for my dollar, MSC is a significantly better deal. There are more children on MSC, for sure, but like on Celebrity, the kid's clubs usually do a decent job of keeping kids out of the public spaces that I am trying to enjoy, so I haven't found the extra kids to be much of an issue. I think the thing I miss most from Celebrity is the live music in small venues. MSC has a bit of that, but a lot of time it's something like a person with a guitar playing along to a backtrack from their iPad and singing. I do miss the string duos or intimate trios in the bars and lounges on Celebrity. I also really hate that when MSC does have music in their lounges, they don't have the specific times listed in their app or the daily... they will just say something general like 7:00pm-10:00pm and you have no sense of when the breaks will be.

 

What I do like that both MSC and Celebrity still have that the Big Three have done away with are nightly turndown service and free continental room service breakfast.

 

 

Hi there, don't know where your MSC cruises have been sailing from but here in the Med all the lounges have live music with more than a solo artist  , especially the older ships as they have more and bigger lounges , love Preziosa and Magnifica for that. It was one of the  things we noticed on our first cruise on Splendida out of Barcelona , even the cafe had a  live group playing fab music . Granted this was all before Covid  and we have only sailed on Meraviglia class since start up and that class of ship has fewer venues for music , Pub has a guitar player/ singer,  Galleria lounge has the party band and Sky lounge as a jazz set up of some sort . 

MSC don't have pool bands , at least we have never seen one , they do have great parties though , love their White night .. 

 

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, heatherb1958 said:

 

 

Hi there, don't know where your MSC cruises have been sailing from but here in the Med all the lounges have live music with more than a solo artist  , especially the older ships as they have more and bigger lounges , love Preziosa and Magnifica for that. It was one of the  things we noticed on our first cruise on Splendida out of Barcelona , even the cafe had a  live group playing fab music . Granted this was all before Covid  and we have only sailed on Meraviglia class since start up and that class of ship has fewer venues for music , Pub has a guitar player/ singer,  Galleria lounge has the party band and Sky lounge as a jazz set up of some sort . 

MSC don't have pool bands , at least we have never seen one , they do have great parties though , love their White night .. 

 

 

I have only sailed on the Meraviglia so far

 Will be sailing on the Divina in 15 days. Meraviglia had "bands" playing in the Meraviglia Lounge, but there were always way too loud. They had jazz in the Sky Lounge. They had a guy with a guitar on the Brass Anchor, but again always WAY too loud for no reason. That is a small, enclosed venue where an acoustic guitar would be more than sufficient, but it was always amped and very loud. There were often a pianist or solo singer in the Infinity Lounge that could be heard from the Edge Bar and the Campaign Bar.

[PatandStu]

I have sailed both. MSC was certainly more affordable BUT we weren’t in yacht club &felt a real sense of “them” and us. 
ship was gorgeous. Food was a disappointment. Service was not friendly at all, they all did their jobs but it was as if it hurt to smile. As stated, entertainment wasn’t well shown on daily planner.  
im going back to Celebrity, I leave it to my ta to find me big sales & promotions. 

[bucfan2]

Quite the extreme for us:  Sailing outside of YC, we'd choose several other lines ahead of MSC.  If were doing an upper suite, we'd choose MSC YC before RC/Carnival/Celebrity.....MSC YC experience is superior.

[GrnXnham]

We just got back from our MSC Seashore 4 night cruise to the Bahamas.

 

There was almost ZERO children on board. Most people were over 60. Of course, I'm guessing that this is just because of the time of year we cruised. The water slides weren't getting a lot of use but the weather was colder than average also.

 

We walked through the children's arcade room several times and it was completely dead. No one was using it.

 

We enjoyed the laid back quiet atmosphere.