MSC or Costa for an Arabian Gulf Cruise

[Antonintassie]

Hi All

 

We spend sometime in Dubai for work and are considering a 7 day cruise around the Arabian Gulf as an add on break.

 

Couple with an older teenage son we are looking for some feedback on the MSC vs Costa we tend to book higher end travel products so I suspect we will book to balconies with an all inclusive drinks / room service deal .

 

We are non smokers but not anti smoking fanatics but do hunt down non smoking areas as a rule .We speak no Italian other than basic pleasantries but we do not get fazed by this and love italian food and wine.

[sthelder]

Neither MSC nor Costa could really be classified as higher end travel product.

 

But if I have to choose, I prefer MSC over Costa. No major advantage (like drastically better food quality), but small stuff add up to provide a better product.

 

Though I don't think MSC has 24-hr room service for its Gulf cruises (as there are no Yacht Club cabins).

[Antonintassie]

Thanks

 

We like the look of the ports and with flights the cruise is not much more than we normally pay to fly only .

We can always go 5 star out our favourite Dubai hotel we are leaning towards MSC

[AmoMondo]

Thanks

 

We like the look of the ports and with flights the cruise is not much more than we normally pay to fly only .

We can always go 5 star out our favourite Dubai hotel we are leaning towards MSC

 

Which Costa ship is it? That could sway it for me.

 

I do prefer MSC to Costa, although Costa probably allows slightly more smoking than MSC.

[Antonintassie]

less smoke would be better for us currently Lirica is on the run for MSC vot sure about Costa

[Norwegian Cruiser 73]

I've done a similar cruise on RCI a couple of years ago and the ititnerary is lovely. Muscat was very interesting and exotic. And the Lirica class is not to big, not to small.

 

Here is a photo I took of MSC Lirica in Genova last September. Note the large and roomy outdoor decks. Perfect for a Gulf Cruise.

 

Edited November 26, 2013 by Norwegian Cruiser 73

[Antonintassie]

Hi

We thought it looked good as well despite going to Dubai and couple of times a year we have never been to Oman and it looks like a great place to cruise and in Jan the weather is always great in the Gulf