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Has anyone sailed with MSC?


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We're thinking of taking a short cruise on MSC in the Mediterranean next year. It has a good itinerary and fits neatly between an already booked Celebrity cruise and land touring. We've sailed with Princess, Celebrity and RCCL and realise MSC is considered a level below these. Does anyone have any first hand experience of MSC? What differences will we notice and what extras should we book/plan for? The ship and general activites seem much the same.

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Below? No, I don't agree with that.

 

RCL is also considered below Celebrity, and I find MSC comparable. MSC cater for the European mass and family market, whereas RCL caters for the US mass and family market. They both carry larger number of passengers, and both have more across the family activities onboard. They aren't the same though. I rate MSC higher for ships and entertainment, but lower for food and service.

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This is what I posted in response to a query last February about MSC

 

We did a 10 night cruise from Genoa to Rome last September. The ship was lovely, food plentiful and good, entertainment excellent, rooms spacious we had a balcony for 3 and it was plenty big enough for us.

The downside was the passengers, lots of pushing, shoving, yelling, and kids running around at all hours of the day/night.. Several times were woken early hours of the morning 1 -2 am by kids and adults very noisily going back to their rooms.

Lots of extended family groups which resulted in the buffet area being used for family meals. Kids on tables unsupervised and adults on other tables.

Don't know if I would go again with MSC, perhaps if it was an essential itinerary I might be tempted but it would have to be at a ridiculously good price. The fact everything was spoken in several languages was not an issue with us guess we tended to just tune out.

I haven't been on Holland America but from those you listed I think Carnival would be the closest. Any cruise is better than no cruise but just be aware that manners vary from country to country and family to family. We had lots of Italians, Spanish, French and German, the balance taken up of many different nationalities.

We have sailed P & O UK and P &O Australia, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, MSC Cunard so you can see we are not particularly attached to any company. We go for itinerary and price, and the MSC fitted our needs to fill in between land travel and a river cruise.

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Thanks for the replies. The difference seems to boil down to the size of the ship and heaps of noisy kids. The cruise is only for 7 nights so maybe we can cope by enjoying the excellent Italian food washed down with a good bottle of chianti :cool:

 

Yes the size of the ship is the key and cruising outside of school holidays. I ate very well because I was lucky to share a table with a chef and his Italian wife, who recommended the best Italian food to try.

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We went out of school hols. Not just noisy kids the adults were just as bad. No discipline or control. Other ships we hardly see the kids as they are at kids club.

I love kids have taken my own grandkids on several cruises but they know how to behave and not be a disturbance to others. They also know that it's wrong to through food across the table.

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We went out of school hols. Not just noisy kids the adults were just as bad. No discipline or control. Other ships we hardly see the kids as they are at kids club.

I love kids have taken my own grandkids on several cruises but they know how to behave and not be a disturbance to others. They also know that it's wrong to through food across the table.

 

I just wish MSC would try a ship based in Australia, for a season, as I think it would be a huge success. However, I don't need to cruise with MSC overseas again, for reasons you are aware of.

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Our first and only cruise on a non luxury cruise line was with MSC back in 2000.

It was a cross between Butlins and Fellini’s “Ginger e Fred”.

I have to say that I would never do it again, but at the time we enjoyed the whole experience in an ironic way. Lots of Euro bogans were in evidence. But they were on the whole so much more fun than the Australian or American kind.

Turn your irony meter up a few notches and you will have great time.

The last time I was in the Caribbean we were sitting on a quiet beach with 3 or 4 others when suddenly a mass of wonderfully exuberant Italians with MSC towels and lanyards arrived. They were all so friendly and happy, even though they only had an hour or so to sit on the beach as it was part of some excursion or other.

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Not quite the same ... but. We had gaps in our European itinerary in 2017 and we found a Costa cruise that started and finished on just the right dates. It moved us from the Italian Riviera to Amsterdam, just as we wanted. Went around the coast of France, Spain, Portugal and ended in Amsterdam.

 

We had heard horror stories about Costa, but we decided that we would give it a go because it was a Port Intensive cruise and the ship was merely a floating hotel.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed Costa and will book with Costa again. So, I would say, take a risk if the price is right.

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I've sailed with MSC and Costa. It's a different experience. It's European...and if you are in Europe...why not?

The size of the ship is irrelevant. A large and crowded Princess ship will provide the same frustrations as a big and crowded MSC ship.

I'd go again IF the price and itinerary suited.

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I've sailed with MSC and Costa. It's a different experience. It's European...and if you are in Europe...why not?

The size of the ship is irrelevant. A large and crowded Princess ship will provide the same frustrations as a big and crowded MSC ship.

I'd go again IF the price and itinerary suited.

Thanks Vozzie and Blue Elephant. We're thinking the same way. We sailed on one of the RCCL megas in the states and there were kids and large families everywhere. I reckon we can probably cope with that if as you say the price, itinerary and timing are right. Cheers.

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We have sailed twice on MSC In The Carribean and will sail again October. I fine the food to be just as good as any other mid range cruise company . THe pricing can't be beat, at least for now on the USA market. shows are on,y 30 mins and seem duplicarive. STaff is very friendly . some people are annoyed by the announcments being made in 5 different language , after a few days I didn't even notice. the do not pressure you to buy things, such as dri is and photos. a fine the to be a relaxing cruise and I am a type A personality. Lol

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Just remembered one of the things I like about MSC and Costa in the Med....their itineraries are usually a continuous rotation...that is, every Port is a beginning and an end. When you arrive to board you think...where the hell is all the other passengers??? the answer is...they probably got on at one of the other ports before yours. there's a continuous stream of embarking and disembarking at most ports. Makes for smaller lines...

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As others have noted the Mediterranean is port intensive.

 

We are not spending much time on the ship apart from sleeping and eating.

 

If we had not been given a complementary cruise by Royal we would have considered Costa or MSC as we liked the open ended options to board at one port and finish at another.

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