NCL vs MSC

[Califonria cruiser]

Trying to compare Norweigan Jade and MSC Divina for a possible cruise June 22nd.

 

So far here are my thoughts, any input?

 

MSC Divina has only set time dining and buffet, gorgeous, new ship and very international passenger set. Any chance lots of British kids on board or they not out of school yet? Limited hours in ports and not sure why? Food gets mixed reviews and no free water so fator that into the cost.

 

 

NCL Jade- older ship, more geared toward North Americans, food doens't get great reviews, but compared to MSC not sure which is better, anytime dining and very casual clothing like jeans are allowed. longer times in port.

 

Can anyone compare the kids club facilities? Compare the food or the feel? For our family of 4 the base price is almost the same, so just trying to figure out more info to decide!

 

Jenn

[AmoMondo]

Haven't sailed NCL so can't comment on the comparison. School holidays in Scotland start first week in July and the rest of the UK a few weeks later so no, June 22nd is not school holidays in the UK. However, there are never very many Brits onboard at any time, so when the UK school holidays are is not something to concern yourself with, unless you're hoping for other English speaking kids onboard?

 

It is however summer holiday time in Italy, so there will be a lot of Italian kids onboard.

[sharecruises]

I have only sailed in caribbean (and alaska but that is different)

 

Have sailed both NCL Pearl and MSC Poesia

 

I loved the Pearl...great staff....fabulous shows...

lots of fun....but...horrible food in main dining room. You just about have to upgrade to specialty restaurants....which was a problem since I sail with a group. The group "feel" was not there.

We hated the main dining room...tables for 6 spaced out, we did have a standing reservation as we had more than 20 people (that is the only way you can get that) but it was problematic.

Pretty spotty service, bad food by night three everyone...including me...took off for the specialty restaurants extra $$ but better food

 

The downside was no real "group" feel

 

If we wanted to dine together in dining room for breakfast we had to have the entire group together , no holding seats for late comers

 

we never made it to lunch in main dining room

 

shows were great but group rarely sat together as once again there were different times /options

 

For a group I truly prefer the "traditional" style of msc

 

show before dinner...then seating with "mingle" ability in main dining room

 

option to have tables in main dining room for breakfast/lunch and msc lets me hold space for others...gave us the same tables we used at dinner in fact which was great

 

I like having the dress up nights...the captains party ...all the "cruise" stuff that was on cruises before "freestyle" came into play

 

Buffet on NCL was much better (but again not so good for group seating)

I hear the buffet on MSC has improved, and seating there is very nice for group. And if the food has not improved, no biggie....I loved breakfast and lunch in dining room on MSC

 

The "beauty" of Poesia over Pearl is plain to see....the materials used are so much nicer, the design is so much better.

I also love the wider hallways on MSC. NCL has very narrow hallways

 

Drinks (buy the 10 coupons get 2 free) on MSC were cheaper than on NCL. Bottles of wine are cheaper on MSC.

Edited March 11, 2013 by sharecruises

[Pluto_fan]

Hi Jenn,

We're a family of five and have taken two family cruises on NCL and will soon be on our second with MSC. Bottom line, we like both. :) Honestly, I think you will find them more similar than different. Our experiences...

 

Dining: Freestyle with NCL, set dining time and table with MSC. We like having the same waitstaff each night, who learn our preferences and interact with our children, so we enjoy that on MSC. We were satisfied with the food on both. Our family loves Italian food and found the food on MSC to be fine-to-great. If your family does not like Italian food you might be less enthused. Husband and I enjoyed the 7 Euro carafe (half liter) of wine...quite a bargain compared to NCL. We also like MSC's breakfast option of the "quick menu" sit-down breakfast, which we found just as fast and much less hassle than NCL's buffet for breakfast. (NCL might have something similar and we just never tried it?)

 

Kids clubs: Our boys (now 14 and 12) have never been interested in participating in organized kids' activities, so I can't comment directly. Our daughter (now 5) loved the club on NCL Sun last year, but the year before was too shy to try the club on the MSC Musica. She is really looking forward to trying the club on the MSC Opera in a few weeks, so I can let you know what she thought when we return. I will say that there will almost certainly be more English-speaking kids on NCL.

 

Regarding time in port...I had the same concern when we booked the Musica. As it turned out, since the cruise was so port-intensive, it turned out to be a blessing in disguse to have comparatively short port times. If we had had long port days every day, we would have been wiped out and not relaxed as much. ;) Of course if there are several things you know you want to see in a particular port, or if the city you want to see is far from the port, you need to think carefully about whether it will work. It is nice to have more flexibility and not feel like you have to rush to get back to the ship on time.

 

If budget is a factor, it's worth considering the daily service charge. For our upcoming trip I was looking at MSC Opera and NCL Spirit, both 9-night cruises. There will be six of us, three adults and 14-, 12-, and 5-year olds. On NCL our service charges would have been $648; on MSC, 189 Euros, or about $250. Maybe not a huge difference in the big scheme of things, but that's $400 we can use for something else. And for the record we did not notice a difference in the level of service.

 

I think it's possible to have a great trip on either. Have you sailed with NCL before? If so, I would lean toward trying something new. Is it your first trip to Europe? If so, you might feel more comfortable with a more familiar (North American) environment aboard, since your experiences ashore will be all new. But, "when in Rome...", it might be fun for you to have the Italian cruise experince while you are cruising the Med! Either way, have a great trip!

[sidari]

Having travelled on the Jade on 3 occasions although 2 cruises because one was a b2b i would say that the MDR on the Poeisa service and food wise was much better,on the Jade on some nights we waited almost 30 minutes to get a starter, on Poesia it was more like 10.

 

The MDR on Jade was under used because many people went to the smaller Dining room which was always full and usually after a cetain time had a wait time.

 

Both NCL and MSC are very similar except for the passenger base where NCL will have more American passengers, i think people from Europe including the UK are more likely to try MSC than those from America who it seems tend to stick to the tried and tested (not all of course) Europeans are more likely to try something different.

[GOLDENBONNY]

Trying to compare Norweigan Jade and MSC Divina for a possible cruise June 22nd.

 

So far here are my thoughts, any input?

 

MSC Divina has only set time dining and buffet, gorgeous, new ship and very international passenger set. Any chance lots of British kids on board or they not out of school yet? Limited hours in ports and not sure why? Food gets mixed reviews and no free water so fator that into the cost.

 

 

NCL Jade- older ship, more geared toward North Americans, food doens't get great reviews, but compared to MSC not sure which is better, anytime dining and very casual clothing like jeans are allowed. longer times in port.

 

Can anyone compare the kids club facilities? Compare the food or the feel? For our family of 4 the base price is almost the same, so just trying to figure out more info to decide!

 

Jenn

 

If very casual clothing on cruise is for you so choose NCL for anything else choose MSC.

[VABeach]

Trying to compare Norweigan Jade and MSC Divina for a possible cruise June 22nd.

 

So far here are my thoughts, any input?

 

MSC Divina has only set time dining and buffet, gorgeous, new ship and very international passenger set. Any chance lots of British kids on board or they not out of school yet? Limited hours in ports and not sure why? Food gets mixed reviews and no free water so fator that into the cost.

 

 

NCL Jade- older ship, more geared toward North Americans, food doens't get great reviews, but compared to MSC not sure which is better, anytime dining and very casual clothing like jeans are allowed. longer times in port.

 

Can anyone compare the kids club facilities? Compare the food or the feel? For our family of 4 the base price is almost the same, so just trying to figure out more info to decide!

 

Jenn

 

I have sailed NCL Jade out of Venice, and MSC Splendida out of Barcelona... so I may or may not be of any help.

 

My opinion is: NCL is more casual and more American. MSC is more Italian and more Italian. :p

 

So, you have to understand what that means.... MSC will have more Europeans than NCL, and the food will be different.

 

I assume you already understand "American", so I'll explain what I mean by "Italian". Not as much Party Style Drinking, Not as Casually Dressed, Food is Authentic Italian - Not Olive Garden, People will speak other Languages.

 

By "Food is Authentic Italian" I mean, Breakfast will be something like: Smoked Salmon, Muselix with Warm Milk, and Poached Eggs.... that scares some people. I think that's why people rate the food low - they never knew that Olive Garden isn't real Italian Food. :rolleyes:

 

I enjoyed both!! :D

[Califonria cruiser]

Thank you all for your honest feedback, this is the most info I've seen when I've asked anything about MSC. it just seems not that many Americans have travelled it.

 

I was hoping for some English speaking kids for my daughter, but that is no biggie. My daughter is a huge kids club fan, but honestly she will make friends no matter what. My hubby is English and has Italian relatives, some of which don't speak English and the kiddos had no problem interacting and entertaining each other.

 

We have been on NCL before but it was to Hawaii and we were sorely disappointed with the food and the entertainment. We went on Celebrity last time we cruised to the Med but that was a while ago.

 

I think I am going to give it another week to make the final decision and research the ports. I really want to go to Istanbul but we have been there before and it is amazing, that is a huge draw for MSC Divina but I would love to see Split if we did NCL Jade.

 

How do they know to give us free water in Europe since we are Americans? Never heard of that.

 

Jenn

[sthelder]

How do they know to give us free water in Europe since we are Americans? Never heard of that.

 

Apparently, it's based on how/where you booked your European cruise. If it's via MSC US/Canada or a North American TA, they will provide a bottle of 1L mineral water per cabin per day (water vouchers, to be presented to the waiters when making order).

[Alex71]

Apparently, it's based on how/where you booked your European cruise. If it's via MSC US/Canada or a North American TA, they will provide a bottle of 1L mineral water per cabin per day (water vouchers, to be presented to the waiters when making order).

 

That's correct. We once booked through an American TA and also received the booklet with free water vouchers. When booking through German TAs, we don't get it, although they will throw in other perks such as free excursions. You can always buy 14 of these water vouchers for 26 EUR, so not a huge cost either way.

Edited March 13, 2013 by Alex71

[VABeach]

I really want to go to Istanbul but we have been there before and it is amazing, that is a huge draw for MSC Divina but I would love to see Split if we did NCL Jade.

 

Split was ok. It definately isn't Dubrovnik.

[bltrn]

My family sailed on the Norwegian Jewel, from Dover, UK, to the Baltics on 5/29/08. I would like to tell you a few things about our trip. I have tried to express my feelings by phone, but it appears that NCL could care about those of us who work 9-5. They work those hours and appear to care less about those of us who are looking for a vacation. It seems that with today's economy, you just may have SOMEONE who would listen. Apparently not. (Guess what? Most other lines do!!!).

 

Our ports of call were absolutely amazing and we would not have missed them for the world. However, the ship experience was horrible. This was the 7th cruise for our family. I will not mention any of the lines that we have traveled with, but each experience was far superior to NCL. It began with the cruise itself. Their description made NO mention of the difficulties it would take to get to the port of embarkation (or back). After my initial booking, it took me several months to coordinate everything. Unless we wanted to pay a minimum of $160.00 dollars for a cab from the airport to downtown London, we had to take a bus to Victoria Station and walk three blocks with all of our luggage to get to our hotel (which I had to research and pay for myself). THEN, we had to get to Charing Cross Station (12 Pounds cab fare), to catch the train to Dover Priory. THEN, it was an additional 8 Pounds to get from the train station to the ship! (I won't go into the return trip).

 

Once we got to the ship, I thought things would be fine. On the second day, one of the persons in our cabin became ill. Before she woke me up, she discovered that she had her period. She went to the reception desk to look for tampons. The person behind the desk gave her two packages with a handwritten receipt. At approximately 9 AM, I went with her to the ship's Doctor. She was told that she would have to stay in the cabin for at least 24 hours, as they feared that she had the "Norwalk" virus, and that she would receive a $200.00 credit which would appear on her statement at the end of the cruise. SHE DID THAT. During that day, I went to the Excursion desk to book an excursion in Russia, as I was afraid they may sell out quickly, and I took her card. Whoever was at the desk had NO problem booking the excursion without her presence and using her card , even though she wasn't there. Was that her fault? When we questioned why she had not received the credit on the last day of the cruise, we were told that they had her on camera outside of the cabin on the day that she was confined. I would like to see that evidence! I felt that they were looking for any excuse to not give her that which she was entitled to. I would love to see those tapes! Furthermore, how long did it take for your employees to input a handwritten receipt???

 

The meals on the ship were mediocre at best. You call it "Free style dining". I call it "Free-for-all dining". With the exception of a couple of restaurants, there was a cover charge of $10.00 to even enter, not to mention more charges if you wanted something extra. As far as I was concerned, we paid enough to go on this cruise. The Garden Café, (where most people ended up) had very bland food. I feel that we were served leftovers from the high priced restaurants. Any time we entered the restaurant, we were unable to touch anything. We were handed EVERYTHING, including plates and utensils, salt and pepper, ketchup, etc. One could not even enter an eating establishment without having your hands sprayed. If we tried to even pick up the tongs to serve ourselves a salad, the crew chastised us. There was one morning when I had to wait for FIFTEEN minutes for two slices of toast! I also have issues with the crew. Our cabin steward was overly friendly, to the point of being obnoxious. If I heard "I only want to make you happy!" one more time, I could have vomited.

 

We took two younger persons with us. One was 20 and the other 26. Had we known that the average age over 80 years of age, we may have reconsidered our plans, as there was very little for them to do. As it is, I am 54 years old and I was bored to death after 10 PM. There was no one around at that time! I tried to amuse myself at the casino, but last call was at 1:30 AM. Also, on the last day of the voyage, ALL of the hot tubs and pools were closed. (Wasn't it to be a relaxing day at sea?) In brief, the staff was horrible, the food was blasé, the entertainment was ridiculous, and the pre and post trip information was non-existent.

 

I would never recommend NCL to anyone. I participated in their post-cruise e-mail, but have heard nothing in response. I don't think they even care! That's why I am putting this in writing and will be more than happy to share it with anyone who will listen. I intend to share my concerns with all of the major on-line booking companies. I have requested that they please do not send any further promotions to my e-mail or home address, but they continue to

[sthelder]

I suspect the extreme caution taken might be due to Norovirus outbreak on board. It's not uncommon for the ship to take precautionary actions but they might not announce it to the guests.

[sharecruises]

Yes, NCL does have the "washy washy" person at door of buffet etc to spray hands all the time but usually they do not restrict use of tongs, etc,

 

I think your ship must have had a noro outbreak they were trying to contain. Also to be fair, in the US NCL has quite a lively nightlife and good entertainment.

 

My guess is a Northern European cruise - like an Alaskan cruise - will have less party animals and more older people.

 

I sailed Carnival to Alaska and the demographic was nothing like a Carnival cruise in the Caribbean LOL....much much older

[monicajay]

Love the freestyle dining on NCL. It is my major complaint about MSC. I would be much happier eating at whatever time I wanted.

 

Other than that and the bad service in the MDR at Breakfast, I am very happy with MSC.

[CarolinaMamma]

Sounds like you have summed up the differences well. I have not sailed either line, but a couple of things to think about:

 

As port-intensive as med itineraries are, how much do you foresee using the kids' club? I have not read great things about MSC's kids' club, but we won't use it much. I think it may be even more "relaxed" (aka a free-for-all) than kids' clubs on American ships. We are quiet people and just can not take the chaos, except for my 6 year old daughter, who is adaptable and makes friends easily.

 

If spending a lot of time in port is a priority, then maybe it's better to go on an older ship with more time in port. (I read somewhere, Rick Steves, maybe, that the reason some lower-priced lines have shorter times in ports is so that they can make more money selling drinks and having people gamble in the casinos while they are at sea.)

 

How adaptable are your kids? If they are young, they may be able to play quite well with kids who don't speak English. You would be surprised. (We are on an expat assignment in Europe and our kids have quickly made friends with other kids from a number of places. Our neighbors, who are from Spain, play outside with our kids all the time despite the lack of shared language.)

 

How do your kids like eating in the MDR and doing "adult" activities on the ship? (We, and our kids, like getting to know the same waiters, and at 13, 9 and 6, they are all old enough to sit through the long dinners. They like the ritual and they like getting dressed up. They like going to the shows, etc. But if your kids don't like these things or can't sit still during them so it's no fun for anyone, then a good kids' club is going to be important.)

 

Do you want a European experience or an American experience? European means you will not have some of the "comforts of home," but if you can roll with that, it will be good for your kids to learn that people do things differently in other countries. IF they are old enough to appreciate it.

 

How much water do you drink? We drink a LOT of water, and I do not ever like to limit how much water I drink. I will easily down a liter at dinner, especially after walking around all day. And with the food taking so long to arrive, my kids have invariably downed their drinks long before the food comes. In Europe, we can easily spend 25 Euros on just our water in some restaurants. My husband and I also drink 2 or 3 coffees a day, and maybe a cocktail or a glass of wine while on vacation. We decided to book the Allegrissimo all-inclusive package for all of us. I think that will make it feel like a lot more of a vacation, not having to think "ka-Ching" every time we get a bottle of water. It was something like $31 per day for adults and $16.50 for kids. The kids' package also includes smoothies, mock tails and ice cream in a cone (but not sundaes). So maybe when comparing prices, add in the price of the Allegrissimo package (plus 15% service charge) to MSC's base rate.

 

Finally, have you looked at Royal Caribbean? Back when I was looking, they had some deals comparable to NCL, and they are probably a step up and very family oriented. In our case, the msc Preziosa price was significantly less than NCL.

[pmacher61]

Apparently, it's based on how/where you booked your European cruise. If it's via MSC US/Canada or a North American TA, they will provide a bottle of 1L mineral water per cabin per day (water vouchers, to be presented to the waiters when making order).

 

That's correct. We once booked through an American TA and also received the booklet with free water vouchers. When booking through German TAs, we don't get it, although they will throw in other perks such as free excursions. You can always buy 14 of these water vouchers for 26 EUR, so not a huge cost either way.

 

This water controversy (is tap water freely available or not) strikes me as silly. I have lived in So America for the past decade. Tap water is not served in restaurants, only bottled water which is priced the same as a soda pop. I almost never ask for tap water because I prefer not to drink the tap water in my locale (though I am now impervious to any temporary health risks).

 

The tap water on ships is purer than most bottled waters. If I wanted tap water during a meal aboard MSC and was told I could not have it, I would ask to speak to the maitre and insist it be served to me. If necessary, I would seek to lodge my request with the hotel mgr. If my request was still not honored, I would reduce my automatic service charge (tip) by 50% and I would bring a pitcher of iced tap water with me to every dining area (incl specialty dining rooms). I would make sure my cabin steward kept me stocked with pitchers and ice. (I would take care of him for the extra service).

 

If I was prevented from bringing my own tap water to a dining area, I would remove 100% of the automatic tips and apply it to the cost of bottled water. Anticipating what some might argue, to wit, you are punishing crew for a management decision, my reply is that if my conduct were universalized management would soon find it had crew problems and it would be required to change its policy, a policy which is driven by profit motive but which is not in the best (health) interests of its customers.

Edited March 15, 2013 by pmacher61

[Pluto_fan]

Excellent post, CarolinaMamma. You summed it up very well!

 

Are you sure you don't want to spend an extra day in Genoa and sail on the Opera with us? ;) I think our kids would have a great time together.

[VABeach]

The tap water on ships is purer than most bottled waters.

 

Thank you for being one of the few people in the world who realize this! ;)

[AndreasZ]

Msc may have more beautiful ships but ncl is better in all other respects. Food is very good, entertainment excellent, etc On Msc everything is average. Besides, Norwegian Jade is a beutiful ship too, and has English as its primary language, unlike Msc. That's a huge advantage for me. Go with NCL.

[GOLDENBONNY]

Msc may have more beautiful ships but ncl is better in all other respects. Food is very good, entertainment excellent, etc On Msc everything is average. Besides, Norwegian Jade is a beutiful ship too, and has English as its primary language, unlike Msc. That's a huge advantage for me. Go with NCL.

 

 

Better for you for my family we will never cruise any NCL ship again :eek: