MSC impressions?

[AFuncruiser]

I crossed the Atlantic on the Divina. The ship is exceptionally beautiful. The food is sub par. MSC has a way of nickel and diming you to death.

MSC ships are cheap for a reason.

 

Dennis

Jacksonville, Fl

 

560 days at sea

50 cruises

12 cruise lines

T/P, T/A, Hawaii, Central & South America, New Zealand & South Pacific, Rio/ Amazon, Alaska

[Bosjoe]

MSC has a way of nickel and diming you to death.MSC ships are cheap for a reason.

 

I don't think its anymore nickle and diming then any other cruise ship Most mainstream cruiselines have extra fees. All the newer ships have something extra to pay for, from Ice cream to cup cakes specialty coffees and teas, from steam rooms to gym classes.

[AFuncruiser]

I don't think its anymore nickle and diming then any other cruise ship Most mainstream cruiselines have extra fees. All the newer ships have something extra to pay for, from Ice cream to cup cakes specialty coffees and teas, from steam rooms to gym classes.

 

Having been on 50 cruises I can attest that your assumptions are erroneous..

MSC has their hand out at every turn..

MSC cruises are cheap for a reason.. Why do you think they take one of the most beautiful mid range ships afloat and practically give it away...

 

Dennis

Edited April 1, 2014 by AFuncruiser

[Bosjoe]

Having been on 50 cruises I can attest that your assumptions are erroneous..

MSC has their hand out at every turn..

MSC cruises are cheap for a reason.. Why do you think they take one of the most beautiful mid range ships afloat and practically give it away...

 

Dennis

 

Well I do not know what you considered nickel and diming on Divina was. My opinion is valid, we are just going to have to disagree. I don't care if you been on 2 or 100. I have had half the cruises you have been on and still can't see any difference on extra fees then on rccl or celebrity. 50 cruises so what, were they 15 years ago when fees were pretty much not around.

 

Since you reference prior on the solarium and a fee, well celebrity has cabanas, a fee, Hal and princess have fee areas, ncl has a fee for sun space too. Rccl no fee areas yet.

Edited April 1, 2014 by Bosjoe

[RMS Olympic]

I am assuming the prices are very low until they develop a customer base. I priced out their other ship that sails in the Caribbean out of the Dominican Republic and found the prices for Americans much higher.....similar to Celebrity pricing.

Growing their North American business is very costly but I assume they realized the ship would have to be subsidized till they can compete with the big boys this side of the pond.

I am sailing Divina this September and am very curious to see what its all about. Its a European product so I expect differences, even the crew behavior.

The current comments remind me of the old Costa Cruise Line prior to Carnivals takeover. Costa had a bad rep yet I loved it...till it became a carnival product with a Costa Stack.

Nickle and diming continues to keep the ticket prices so low. I now pay less to get on a ship than I did in 1979....so the revenue has to come from some place. I found fault in NCL's dinning business model....now RCI is following on the Quantum class. The industry continues to change unless you go very high end.

To each his or her own......I am just happy in these economic times I can cruise as often as I can.

A clean bed, a hot shower a good barman and something to eat......and a spot out on deck.......I don't need much more:D

[donnatello]

We sailed on MSC about 5 yrs ago out of Fla. We enjoyed it, but being 1st generation Italian and having sailed many times over the years on the "Italian Line" I was a bit disappointed that it was not as "Italian" as I was expecting. Officers are Italian, most crew and staff is not, dining was good, but again, not quite as 'Italian" as I was expecting. Breakfast buffets were more comparable to what European hotels offer. A good number of Europeans, but not 50%. A a lot of smokers and smoking policies were very lax. I'm anxious to get some feed back about the "Divinia" as I understand it's positioned out of Fla year 'round and it's primary appeal is supposedly not to the European market.

[NCMtnBoys]

To each his or her own......I am just happy in these economic times I can cruise as often as I can.

A clean bed, a hot shower a good barman and something to eat......and a spot out on deck.......I don't need much more:D

 

We're the same way. We aren't foodies, we don't have to be catered to at every turn, we don't care if we see our room steward, we don't have expectations. We just want a nice ship, comfortable cabin, three meals a day and to get to our ports of call. We're not hard to please.

 

That said, I booked our first MSC cruise this past Tuesday for April 19 for $299pp balcony guarantee. Too good to pass up.

[keithm]

I was on the MSC Lirica in 2009 out of Ft Lauderdale to the southern Caribbean, it was more than 50% Europeans, everything was in 5 languages, the menus, announcements, shows, etc. I found some of the Europeans to be rude...cut in line, unfriendly, etc. overall

had a nice time, would not do another MSC or Costa Cruise unless it was free. Maybe things have changed since then.

On all the cruises I've taken I've found New Yorkers to be the rudest of all! Especially the transplants to the Ft.Lauderdale area. I'm orginally from the NY area, but escaped as a child. The accent's still there when I say "coffee".

[keithm]

We're the same way. We aren't foodies, we don't have to be catered to at every turn, we don't care if we see our room steward, we don't have expectations. We just want a nice ship, comfortable cabin, three meals a day and to get to our ports of call. We're not hard to please.

 

That said, I booked our first MSC cruise this past Tuesday for April 19 for $299pp balcony guarantee. Too good to pass up.

$299? damn that is a good price.

[NCMtnBoys]

$299? damn that is a good price.

 

Yea, my invoice states per person: cruise fare $149; port charges $150; taxes $118.75. We booked at category B1 guarantee and were upgraded to a B2. Miami-St Maarten-Tortola-Great Stirrup Cay on Divina. Hard to say no!

Edited April 5, 2014 by NC Mtn Boys

[Bosjoe]

We're the same way. We aren't foodies, we don't have to be catered to at every turn, we don't care if we see our room steward, we don't have expectations. We just want a nice ship, comfortable cabin, three meals a day and to get to our ports of call. We're not hard to please.

 

That said, I booked our first MSC cruise this past Tuesday for April 19 for $299pp balcony guarantee. Too good to pass up.

 

You will have a great time. I tried to do that same date but the airfare from up here is to high it's school vacation week.