Will a Celebrity Cruiser be Disappointed sailing on MSC?

[cheeseheads4ever]

I’m sure this has been covered but we are regular Celebrity Cruisers. We are tossing around trying MSC just for a change.Ive read reviews years ago and they were horrific. It seems hit or miss. Wondering if they have improved? We were thinking of sailing out of Port Canaveral.

We are in our late 60’s

Can MSC cruisers comment on what we can expect?

Food, drinks, entertainment. Not sure what ship sails out of Port Canaveral? 
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[perakcruiser]

4 minutes ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

We are tossing around trying MSC just for a change.Ive read reviews years ago and they were horrific. It seems hit or miss. Wondering if they have improved?

MSC has not improved, but the reviews you read are from horrific people not from a horrific cruise line. 

 

Switching between MSC and Celebrity since 2011, both know how to do their business very good. Both are not perfect. But both can be recommended 100 percent. MDR food is better at Celebrity, must be obviously with the price gap. 

[Essiesmom]

Seashore is currently sailing from Port Canaveral.  I was on her in December and will be again in June.  She is a beautiful ship.  Yes, the MDR food might not be up to Celebrity expectations, but I was on Summit in June 2023 and was very disappointed in the food,  both MDR and evening buffet.  For my money, I’ll sail MSC.  EM

[carlmm]

The two cruiselines are different but both can be enjoyed. Depending on what you expect resp. like.

E.g. Celebrity has sommeliers, MSC has not. Evening entertainment is much more lively and much longer on MSC.

IMHO MDR food is more varied on MSC, the service on Celebrity is more relaxed.

 

Anything particular you are looking for?

 

[Homosassa]

The horrific reviews are from cruisers who don't understand that they are sailing on an international cruise line (roots in Italy) that serves an international clientele and not sailing on Carnival, NCL or RCCL.

 

We cruise Celebrity (also Princess, HAL, and Viking Ocean) and greatly enjoy MSC.

 

I especially enjoy the food in the MDR as it is Italian (Italian American) cuisine as well as food that is like one would find in Europe, Asia, and South American.

 

It is unfortunate that MSC has decided to gear some of the food offerings in the MDR to the food tastes of some US cruisers.

Edited May 1 by Homosassa

[cheeseheads4ever]

We are easy to please people but just got off Beyond and as far as the 4 MDR restaurants with their menus there were times we almost opted for the buffet.

One night I only found one item that I would eat. Of course the French onion, shrimp cocktail and Caesar salad are appetizers but not an entree. I guess I don’t understand that concept.

We are looking for something new. Good food and drinks.

I will search you tube…..

Thanks for the help!

[ChattTenn]

Just returned from MSC Seashore our 5th with MSC and had been enjoyed it and also enjoyed everyone before this one..  Before this cruise we read so many bad reviews from people whose stated that everything was so bad that they would NEVER cruise with MSC again and so on. 

The buffet got plenty things to eat. MDR also has many items for everyone to choose from.  The ship is beautiful and spotless everywhere, the staffs were nice.  We are not a fan of elevator and their shows some  were good and some not too great but with their price is lower then other lines we would go with them again.

Edited May 1 by ChattTenn

[CruiseDawg5772]

We previously sailed Celebrity as our first choice. I know some would disagree, but I would never sail MSC without the Yacht Club. But dollar for dollar inside the Yacht Club is the best deal and experience in cruising in my opinion. 

[Mezqal]

@CruiseDawg5772 is right a 💯%....

 

If you book YC, MSC will blow you away, for the non YC classes it depends when and where you will travel on wich ship.

[di T]

7 hours ago, CruiseDawg5772 said:

We previously sailed Celebrity as our first choice. I know some would disagree, but I would never sail MSC without the Yacht Club. But dollar for dollar inside the Yacht Club is the best deal and experience in cruising in my opinion. 

Celebrity is the line we have cruised the most (40+ cruises) but will try yacht club this October, have sailed in inside, balcony and aqua class on Celebrity.But found the inside yacht club price was good value, looking forward to trying MSC. Have traveled with a lot of other lines and will be good to see how they compare.

[Beamafar]

12 hours ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

We are easy to please people but just got off Beyond and as far as the 4 MDR restaurants with their menus there were times we almost opted for the buffet.

One night I only found one item that I would eat. Of course the French onion, shrimp cocktail and Caesar salad are appetizers but not an entree. I guess I don’t understand that concept.

We are looking for something new. Good food and drinks.

I will search you tube…..

Thanks for the help!

Lots of reviews on here with photos of menus and food offerings which will give you a flavour (😜) of what to expect. 

[cellfree]

2 hours ago, di T said:

Celebrity is the line we have cruised the most (40+ cruises) but will try yacht club this October, have sailed in inside, balcony and aqua class on Celebrity.But found the inside yacht club price was good value, looking forward to trying MSC. Have traveled with a lot of other lines and will be good to see how they compare.

Did our first Yacht Club Interior a month ago, after 12+ MSC cruises and 25+ Carnival cruises and a sprinkling of other Lines. Loved it. A week after home booked another as I found an available Interior on husband’s birthday, good reason, right? Enjoy!

[morpheusofthesea]

It depends. Outside the Yacht Club one might be disappointed with the crowds and lines. Nothing on MSC to match Celebrity's Cafe al Bacio. Wifi is now the same on both. Entertainment is like food, subjective...but one will find enough entertainment for a week's cruise. 

  If one is traveling in the Retreat, one will surely become addicted to the Yacht Club. The YC beats out all cruiselines' suite class we have tried so far, RCCL, Celebrity, HAL, Princess,NCL, Regent and even MSC's sister cruiseline Explora Journeys for butler service. 

  Here is a work around for the crowded Marketplace buffet... Get up early. I took this 360 degree walk about the MPB at 7 am it took 5 minutes. On port days there are no lines at noon. Sea days try Hola Taco, "All You Can Eat" $18.

  

[mnocket]

If you are a suite passenger on Celebrity and are considering the MSC Yacht Club, you will be pleasantly surprised.  

 

If you are a non-suite passenger on Celebrity and are considering a MSC cabin outside of the Yacht Club, you will likely be disappointed. 

[shipgeeks]

OP, much good info above.  My recommendation would be to study the four MSC "experiences", and to look into doing a status match with your X status.

Re the experiences, which one you choose will determine not only your cabin, but your dining, and other factors.  We were fine with Bella (the lowest) because it gave us set dining, which is a must for us.  Aurea has anytime dining, access to the spa, etc.

We loved our MSC cruises because they were a much more international experience (pax makeup, foods, shows, and more). I'm not sure that is the case so much any more, but I would have no hesitation in finding out!

[PTC DAWG]

If going in Yacht Club, you’ll be fine…regular cabins, not so much..fact is, I wouldn’t sail on MSC in a non YC room..I’ve done it, once..3 times in YC so far since. 
 

Elite on Celebrity if that helps..I much more enjoy the entire Celebrity ship overall vibe over MSC. Regular Verandas suit me fine on Celebrity..Aqua for a splurge…the Retreat for a special time on E Class. 

[STLCRUISIN]

After 49 cruises with Celebrity and reaching Zenith we are doing our first MSC cruise in January, 25 on the Seaside. We booked the YC to try it out since Celebrity Retreat prices are now in the stratosphere. We still have some future Celebrity cruises booked in regular veranda cabins but we're looking forward to MSC.

[JamieLogical]

I sailed Celebrity several times after the restart, but ultimately switched to sailing MSC as pricing on Celebrity became more and more prohibitive and I kept reading about more and more cuts on Celebrity. To be clear, I only sail in "steerage" (did get one great deal on Retreat on the Summit on a short cruise post-COVID, but have otherwise sailed exclusively in balconies on all lines). MSC ships will feel more crowded and not do quite as well with what I call "live music in small spaces", but MSC is generally a MUCH better value for your money. On Celebrity, I always had to upgrade to the Premium dink package just to get Bailey's in my coffee. On MSC, the included Easy Plus package covers Bailey's. Unlike many reviewers, I really like the MDR food on MSC. The main drawback on MSC is fixed dining times versus MyChoice dining or whatever they call it on Celebrity.

 

I never found the main theater entertainment on Celebrity to be all that great, so I would say MSC is at least on par, though they do not allow drinks in the theater!

 

The buffet, to me at least, is similar between both lines, but MSC has by FAR the best pizza at sea.

 

MSC ships may not have Al Baccio, but they do have espresso machines at every single bar so you can get specialty coffees at any bar on the ship, including Cafe Mochas, Cappuccinos, Lattes, etc.

[peder]

I'm already feeling priced out of Yacht Club, yet prices for similar options on other lines are at times a literal order of magnitude higher.

 

Feels like an industry-wide correction on demand is overdue, but because MSC YC is a great product and because it would still be a lower price than competitors, I think YC prices might only continue to rise, even if prices come back to earth with other lines.

[Tierun]

MSC is more family oriented. Its value has replaced RCCL as our preferred option with the family. Celebrity is our preferred choice as a couple. When sailing X we usually go with Aqua class and MSC has the Aurea experience that is very comparable. Knowing what to expect and understanding it won’t be the same as what you’re used to is key to enjoying MSC. 

[momofmab]

On 5/1/2024 at 11:11 PM, CruiseDawg5772 said:

We previously sailed Celebrity as our first choice. I know some would disagree, but I would never sail MSC without the Yacht Club. But dollar for dollar inside the Yacht Club is the best deal and experience in cruising in my opinion. 

I agree with this.  We went from Beyond in an IV cabin to the YC on MSC.  While I would sail again on Celebrity in a non-suite category, I would not sail on MSC in anything other than YC.

[momofmab]

14 hours ago, peder said:

I'm already feeling priced out of Yacht Club, yet prices for similar options on other lines are at times a literal order of magnitude higher.

 

Feels like an industry-wide correction on demand is overdue, but because MSC YC is a great product and because it would still be a lower price than competitors, I think YC prices might only continue to rise, even if prices come back to earth with other lines.

 Yep, and MSC YC still has a lot of wiggle room, price-wise, when compared to suites on the other mass-market lines, who don't show any signs of a price adjustment.  We used to cruise in suites exclusively pre-Haven/Retreat/Star Class but are not willing to pay the going rates.  We have the luxury of cruising whenever we want (and can get to the FL ports fairly easily), so we try to choose less popular (less kid) weeks.

[Cruzinforpeace***]

We were long time Celebrity cruisers; balcony and suite class.  We recently sailed MSC in February and loved it.  Overall we felt the value was much better on MSC.  We sailed Aurea level and it was better than Celebrity in many ways (entertainment, food, service twice daily cabin service, anytime dining and spa access for Aurea level).  We’re cruising the same ship (Meraviglia) and itinerary in July we loved it so much. My husband refuses to go on another cruise line since our February cruise.

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

We were long time Celebrity cruisers; balcony and suite class.  We recently sailed MSC in February and loved it.  Overall we felt the value was much better on MSC.  We sailed Aurea level and it was better than Celebrity in many ways (entertainment, food, service twice daily cabin service, anytime dining and spa access for Aurea level).  We’re cruising the same ship (Meraviglia) and itinerary in July we loved it so much. My husband refuses to go on another cruise line since our February cruise.

 

 

Does Celebrity not do twice daily cabin service anymore?!?!

[Cruzinforpeace***]

12 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

 

Does Celebrity not do twice daily cabin service anymore?!?!

You’re right. I think they did as of last summer. Maybe I heard they stopped?  I know most of the other cruise lines have stopped.

Edited May 4 by Cruzinforpeace***