New to MSC

[orgutierrez]

I am considering booking an MSC cruise in March 2016 on the Musica Dubai roundtrip. The itinerary looks really good, visiting interesting ports such as Khasab, Muscat or Abu Dhabi but I don't know what to expect of MSC. I usually go on cruises with my family on lines like HAL, Celebrity or Princess and have never been on MSC. How's the food like? What's the service like? Which are the predominant nationalities on this MSC cruises?

 

Thanks.

[orgutierrez]

Nobody? :eek:

[solorizor]

I am considering booking an MSC cruise in March 2016 on the Musica Dubai roundtrip. The itinerary looks really good, visiting interesting ports such as Khasab, Muscat or Abu Dhabi but I don't know what to expect of MSC. I usually go on cruises with my family on lines like HAL, Celebrity or Princess and have never been on MSC. How's the food like? What's the service like? Which are the predominant nationalities on this MSC cruises?

 

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

Hi I travelled solo to Rio and really enjoyed myself. Food is pretty average and there is loads of Italian Spanish German traveller s . But I met a few lovely ladies who sat with me at dinner with 5 other solo men[emoji12]the crack at the table was brill. I ended up chumming around with them the rest of the hol. Get drinks package well worth it. Preferred it to RCI[emoji21]

[Bra_BE2014]

Nationality wise, I'd say mainly Italian with a bit of all European nationalities around, Very few Americans on Med routes. I'd suggest you to read through the threads, this question of new to MSC inquiring about food has been discussed in recent posts ad nauseam. Happy Cruising!

[TeDaKi]

I am considering booking an MSC cruise in March 2016 on the Musica Dubai roundtrip. The itinerary looks really good, visiting interesting ports such as Khasab, Muscat or Abu Dhabi but I don't know what to expect of MSC. I usually go on cruises with my family on lines like HAL, Celebrity or Princess and have never been on MSC. How's the food like? What's the service like? Which are the predominant nationalities on this MSC cruises?

 

Thanks.

 

Hi, I'm also doing this cruise on the MSC Musica, but in January 2016.

Like you, this will be my first MSC cruise, and I've also mainly cruised with Celebrity, HAL and Princess.

I plan on writing a photo review of this trip (similar to my HAL Viking Passage photo review - see link in my signature). :)

[stuart2468]

I did this cruise itinerary back in 2014 and it is a lovely itinerary. Kassab is very interesting to see even from the cruise ship. Dubai & Abu Dhabi are wonderful cities. Loved them.

 

As you'll come to discover, MSC tend to get a very mixed bag of reviews. My U.A.E cruise was taken just 3 months after i did my first cruise on Preziosa. All i can say is from my personal opinion, is that i absolutely fell in love with cruising & MSC.

 

Ships- Sailed Lirica Class & Fantasia class. I preferred the Preziosa only because of the indoor pool option. This is great for sea days that are not great weather wise. But both ships lovely.

 

Food- I am baffled as to how anyone can find fault with the food. I enjoy a good meal, and will be the first to complain if its not a good one. But every meal i have had on board has been really lovely. And i love that it so easy to try new dishes that i probably wouldn't order in a restaurant if i were paying. Snails being the prime example!

 

During our first meal on Preziosa (it was a busy lunch in the Buffet) a Canadian group sat along side us on one of the large tables. We'd just boarded. We began to chat, and they were telling us of their views of the ship. They were not happy with the food, and found it outrageous that you couldn't get a burger in the MDR. Personally this is exactly the type of meal i would not want in the MDR.

 

Entertainment- Most of it is really really good. There is the odd thing that doesn't meet personal taste, certain singers/dancers.. but on the whole its good. One show i loved was when 2 opera singers came on board in Barcelona. I loved this and had never considered going to an opera before.

 

To compare... i did RCI on Allure this year. I'd chose MSC over RCI any day of the week.

Edited November 9, 2015 by stuart2468

[solorizor]

I did this cruise itinerary back in 2014 and it is a lovely itinerary. Kassab is very interesting to see even from the cruise ship. Dubai & Abu Dhabi are wonderful cities. Loved them.

 

As you'll come to discover, MSC tend to get a very mixed bag of reviews. My U.A.E cruise was taken just 3 months after i did my first cruise on Preziosa. All i can say is from my personal opinion, is that i absolutely fell in love with cruising & MSC.

 

Ships- Sailed Lirica Class & Fantasia class. I preferred the Preziosa only because of the indoor pool option. This is great for sea days that are not great weather wise. But both ships lovely.

 

Food- I am baffled as to how anyone can find fault with the food. I enjoy a good meal, and will be the first to complain if its not a good one. But every meal i have had on board has been really lovely. And i love that it so easy to try new dishes that i probably wouldn't order in a restaurant if i were paying. Snails being the prime example!

 

During our first meal on Preziosa (it was a busy lunch in the Buffet) a Canadian group sat along side us on one of the large tables. We'd just boarded. We began to chat, and they were telling us of their views of the ship. They were not happy with the food, and found it outrageous that you couldn't get a burger in the MDR. Personally this is exactly the type of meal i would not want in the MDR.

 

Entertainment- Most of it is really really good. There is the odd thing that doesn't meet personal taste, certain singers/dancers.. but on the whole its good. One show i loved was when 2 opera singers came on board in Barcelona. I loved this and had never considered going to an opera before.

 

To compare... i did RCI on Allure this year. I'd chose MSC over RCI any day of the week.

 

 

I agree with u RCI had no appeal to me whatso ever. Staff where far nicer on msc!!!

[MyMustang]

We are an American family from the western US and just spent 11 days on MSC fantasia going from Italy to Greece to Israel and back. It was our first Mediterranean/European cruise and we did it for the destinations not the cruise line or the ship which we found lacking and disappointing. The layout of the ship was OK our state room was large and well-kept. Getting on and off the ship was fine but we didn't really enjoy MSC. Overall I think Europeans are more subdued than what you may be used to in the US Caribbean or Mexico. The ship was simply not fun and the staff members walked around like zombies rarely speaking to us or anyone else, the food wasn't very good--with little variety. On our 11 day cruise I gained 0 pounds-- for example.

Most people on the ship were European either from Italy Germany France or Spain, very few Americans. Every public announcement was in five languages.

I would recommend going on your cruise for the destinations, as they are fabulous, but do your research on the courts and excursions before hand since communication board will be difficult and you will get a little help from customer service.

Edited January 10, 2016 by MyMustang

[suron]

I am considering booking an MSC cruise in March 2016 on the Musica Dubai roundtrip. The itinerary looks really good, visiting interesting ports such as Khasab, Muscat or Abu Dhabi but I don't know what to expect of MSC. I usually go on cruises with my family on lines like HAL, Celebrity or Princess and have never been on MSC. How's the food like? What's the service like? Which are the predominant nationalities on this MSC cruises?

 

Thanks.

 

My son and family live in Dubai and I have been fortunate enough to do the cruise from Dubai three times. First was with RCI on Serenade of the Seas in Feb 2013, then MSC Lirica in March 2014 and then on Orchestra in Feb 2015 - on the last cruise the family joined me (their first ever cruise and they loved it). I did reviews of all the cruises:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=217006

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=253499

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=273028

 

There are still lots of things we have not seen at the various ports of call so plans are being made to sail on MSC Fantasia on 17th Dec. I will spend a month in Dubai in total - I am lucky in that my son works for Emirates so I am able to travel in style in Business Class for £480!! I just love Dubai and the UAE and I am sure you will have a great time. Good Luck with your plans

 

Suzanne

[Iluvcruising2]

We sailed on the MSC Preziosa and here are some videos of the food in the main buffet areas. Not sure if it is exactly the same as the Musica, but it should be similar.

 

Buffet breakfast on MSC Preziosa

[YOUTUBE]IIMfGkDDH2w[/YOUTUBE]

 

Buffet Lunch on MSC Preziosa

[YOUTUBE]XTNNERCn8Go[/YOUTUBE]

 

Buffet dinner

[YOUTUBE]5K2ZlYP3-yY[/YOUTUBE]