Only ever sailed RC, will I like MSC?

[welshrich]

Hi, We've done about 30 cruises with RC but have been looking at MSC as the prices and ships look great, has anyone done both and can offer some thoughts, would I like MSC if I've only ever sailed RC? We are Diamond plus on RC so its a big bonus that MSC offer status match.

 

tia.

[1fifthavenue]

I guess it depends what you really like with RC and what keeps you going with them?

 

I think the key differences you'll note with MSC are that the food is different - expect 6 or 7 courses. Lobster and steak don't really feature on the menu. The current fleet don't have loads of speciality restaurants like you get on RC

 

The entertainment is different - owing to the multi-lingual passengers it's more about dance and music than singing / comedy - where RC and NCL have shows like Grease and Priscilla, MSC don't.

 

The drinks packages on MSC are great value

[deliver42]

I'm Emerald on Royal, and sailed on the Divina last May. They are different, but we totally enjoyed MSC. Great cruise prices compared to Royal, and good drink packages available. The ship itself is amazingly luxurious in the public areas, and there is live music in the lounges every night. I believe the food is comparable. They don't have a whole lot of games poolside as does Royal, but they have theme nights 3 nights poolside. They don't have a Royal Promenade (who else does?), but they make good use of the Atrium. We've booked a 2nd MSC cruise for April, 2018 on the new Seaside. I hope this helps somewhat.

[Aulanis]

It might depend on where you are going and possibly when and what you like to do?

We went on our first MSC cruise in Jan but we have only been on 1 RCL LOTS cruise and it was poor, though it was a repositioning cruise and regular RCL cruisers said not to judge by that cruise.Our MSC ship the Poesia was very good as were the crew apart from the Customer Service desk!

One thing we did not like was that there were only around 200 Brits out of around 2300 passengers and we did not seem to meet many of those. Almost every day was a port day and as we had been to a lot of them before thought there would be plenty to keep us occupied on the ship but that is not the case. Another thing we found odd was that there was no seating or beds on the promenade deck so you couldnt have a quiet snooze in the shade. The pool decks consequently were packed out and noisy. Another distraction was that there were several places where people boarded and left the ship so we heard the lifeboat drills

several times in 14 days. The shows were different - we didnt think they were even as good as Thomsons Freds or P&O and the second week was just an exact repeat of the first!! which was poor considering we were in the Caribbean with other ships in the area and an airport

available almost every day you would think they could have brought in

a different act. The food was good but not great and was sometimes

a bit cool. We only ate in the MDR and were allocated a table for 2

so that was a bit boring.LOL Our language skills are poor so asking to share wasnt really an option. The reviews for msc often come up as poor but if they relate to the med in school holiday time its what you can expect. Queues at the buffet - not refilled quick enough and Many children. MSC is family orientated so sometimes a bit rowdy on our ship. Tantrums in the MDR ,running up and down corridors riding the lifts. - I blame the parents!!.

Dress code not really followed and certainly not enforced - shorts and vests in the MDR.

The cruises are usually cheap, on ours on the last day they let us keep our cabin until 2pm which was best we have ever had and luggage handling was good.

 

Really there are good and not so good points same as most cruises but

I would say you have to try for yourself but do your homework as to what you want before you book and ask on the MSC threads to make sure you are likely to get what you want.

 

Just a final thought the US cruisers seem to get better service than

we do - perhaps they pay more.? Compare the fantastica experience on the US MSC site with that on the UK site - 12 free drinks for them!

 

MSC also have different packages for different ships in the same part of the world and different packages on the same ship in different parts of the world. Maybe all cruise lines do this to some extent but I have

lost out twice in two cruises (one still to be taken, booked for price and itinerary ) with msc.

[LMCruise]

I think the key differences you'll note with MSC are that the food is different - expect 6 or 7 courses.

 

This is not true for current Divina sailings (and I suspect upcoming Seaside sailings). The meal is three courses: starter/app, main, and dessert. Of course, you can order as many as you like and your server will offer them accordingly. Some servers better than others...ours last week brought my cheese plate before my baked Alaska. I had to request the baked Alaska because I could see it melting on the servers stand.

 

The food on the Divina was much more similar to our cruises on Royal, Carnival, etc. In fact, we were a bit disappointed in the "Americanization" of the menu (as compared to our experience on the Fantasia).

[1fifthavenue]

The food on the Divina was much more similar to our cruises on Royal, Carnival, etc. In fact, we were a bit disappointed in the "Americanization" of the menu (as compared to our experience on the Fantasia).

 

 

I think I'd be disappointed with that too!

[LMCruise]

I think I'd be disappointed with that too!

 

 

On our Fantasia sailing, the risotto and pasta were amazing. On Divina, they were just merely acceptable. I noticed a lot of "meat and potato" type dishes on Divina, both in the dining room and buffet. There was certainly more beef on Divina, and the cuts were larger/thicker.

 

For pasta or risotto on Divina, dine in Eataly or Italia. We met the chef that runs that kitchen. He's from Naples, third generation chef, and does an amazing job with the pasta dishes.

[danny8826]

We also have only sail with Royal and this would be our first time with MSC.

We have booked on the MSC Meraviglia.

To be honest, I'm a bit nervous and don't know what to expect.

[heatherb1958]

Hi Richard, as you know we just got back from our first experience on MSC. We LOVED it and so glad we got to experience a true Mediterranean cruise line and not the Americanised version of MSC in the Caribbean.

 

I don't know which area you are considering booking or what time of year as that will have a considerable impact on your experience just like any cruise with RCI.

We did not miss the CL or DL , the only thing I missed was my RCI free wifi perk, had to go back to the old days of buying coffees in port , lol:D.

[danny8826]

Hi Richard, as you know we just got back from our first experience on MSC. We LOVED it and so glad we got to experience a true Mediterranean cruise line and not the Americanised version of MSC in the Caribbean.

 

I don't know which area you are considering booking or what time of year as that will have a considerable impact on your experience just like any cruise with RCI.

We did not miss the CL or DL , the only thing I missed was my RCI free wifi perk, had to go back to the old days of buying coffees in port , lol:D.

 

 

 

HI Heather,

I think you were on one of the RC's cruises that we were on.

I just booked the Meraviglia for Christmas. It looks like it sails out really quickly.

What time of the year were you on the MSC cruise? Where did it goes? Do you mind sharing how it was? How's the food, entertainment, and activities?

 

 

Thank you.

Danny

[heatherb1958]

HI Heather,

I think you were on one of the RC's cruises that we were on.

I just booked the Meraviglia for Christmas. It looks like it sails out really quickly.

What time of the year were you on the MSC cruise? Where did it goes? Do you mind sharing how it was? How's the food, entertainment, and activities?

 

 

Thank you.

Danny

Hi Danny, we just got home today!!

Sailed round trip out of Barcelona.

I started to write a mini review and my iPad ran out of juice.lol, still unpacking the suitcases.

It was a truly Mediterranean experience, we enjoyed the food , multiple nationalities onboard though the announcements were in English first on the whole.

The ship was absolutely spotless. I loved that there weren't any trash cans/bins in the elevator areas so we never ever saw discarded cups/plates left on top of them like we often do on RCI ships, disgusting.

I am going to write a review.

[little britain]

Waiting to read that review Heather!!!!

 

 

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[danny8826]

Hi Danny, we just got home today!!

Sailed round trip out of Barcelona.

I started to write a mini review and my iPad ran out of juice.lol, still unpacking the suitcases.

It was a truly Mediterranean experience, we enjoyed the food , multiple nationalities onboard though the announcements were in English first on the whole.

The ship was absolutely spotless. I loved that there weren't any trash cans/bins in the elevator areas so we never ever saw discarded cups/plates left on top of them like we often do on RCI ships, disgusting.

I am going to write a review.

 

 

 

Oh cool...

The one I booked with MSC will also sail out of Barcelona.

I'm really looking forward to being on that new ship.

 

Can't wait to read your review.

[alexkrn46]

We wanted a MED cruise in the spring and costa and msc were our choices. We went with MSC Fantasia and had a wonderful time. We are Diamond Plus on Royal and stayed in the YC.

 

Our of the whole ship there were only 4 Americans but plenty of people who speak English. Be prepared for very different dining experience. Many items we were not familiar with like Scorpian Fish. The atmosphere is more formal people calling you mr and mrs. We never felt nickeled and dined.

 

Msc ships are the cleanest ships I have been on, and the captains have lots of experience.

 

If you sign up for tours make sure you sign up for the English speaking tours

[lakelorain]

We also have 30 cruises(RC and Celebrity) and are Diamond Plus on RC. Just tried the Divina and loved it. It is the most Americanized of the MSC fleet but still had a Mediterranean flair. Most of the guests were European or Argentinian which sometimes made it difficult to communicate but that didn't cause any major problems. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves and many partied way into the night. Even children were up late and appeared to be well behaved.

 

The ship was spotless and the most beautiful ship we've been on. The crew was fantastic. The officers and department heads went out of their way to hold conversations with you and get your feed back on how they were doing.

 

Food in the Main Dining room, in our opinion, was comparable to RC and Celebrity except that food that was supposed to be hot, was very hot and cold food was cold. Breads, pasta, pizza and desserts were fantastic. Service was excellent. The buffet also managed to have hot food and scrambled eggs that were really good. There were always seats in the back of the buffet no matter what time it was.

 

The European style of the ship was not completely lost. Many of the special drinks were made with European wines and spirits. Music and shows were both American and European. Bars and lounges were also done in a variety of styles. Drinks were about half the price of RC/Celebrity. Bar service was also excellent. With your drink, you were given chips and bar snacks.

 

One thing we especially liked was that all the chairs in the bars and lounges were very comfortable unlike some of the chairs we've sat in on RC and Celebrity.

 

Boarding was quick and easy as was disembarkation.

 

We felt at home immediately on the Divina. When we boarded the buffet wasn't open yet. They invited us in to sit at a table and have a drink while we waited. Every staff member and officer that passed us welcomed us and many stopped to talk.

 

The status match is great. You get a lot of extras including a discount.

 

I did a full review under the review section. http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=566494

 

On the negative side, the pools are small. We don't use them so we didn't care. There were a few other small negatives but I have never had a perfect cruise nor do I expect to have one.

 

We hope to book a MSC cruise in Europe in the near future.

[heatherb1958]

Waiting to read that review Heather!!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

Hey, you can ask me direct questions next week!!! Lol:D

and I'll bore you to death with the photos. Xx

[Benzbuddy87]

I guess it depends what you really like with RC and what keeps you going with them?

 

I think the key differences you'll note with MSC are that the food is different - expect 6 or 7 courses. Lobster and steak don't really feature on the menu. The current fleet don't have loads of speciality restaurants like you get on RC

 

The entertainment is different - owing to the multi-lingual passengers it's more about dance and music than singing / comedy - where RC and NCL have shows like Grease and Priscilla, MSC don't.

 

 

The main dining rooms on the Divina do not have 6 - 7 courses, though you can opt for a tasting menu in Galaxy Restaurant (one of three specialty dining on the ship). Galaxy Restaurant also offers an a-la-carte menu. Whole lobster dinners are available in all specialty dining restaurants for about $20. I believe it is offered in the main dining rooms as well, though there is a surcharge. Based upon the low cruise fare, I have no objections to the surcharge.

 

I liked all of the shows on the Divina, except for one - which was okay. Divina has two Vegas style shows - StarWalker (Michael Jackson) and The Mask - which I believe are top notch. The entertainment is non-stop, high energy ... not something which I experienced on Freedom of the Seas. Personally, I have found that comedians and jugglers (etc) on many cruise lines are lacking in entertainment value. That aside, MSC Seaside will feature a comedy lounge when it debuts in Miami (December 2017), and will also have nine restaurants. A link to an article on the Seaside (page 50 - 51) is pasted below.

 

MSC offers a loyalty match program, based upon your status with most cruise lines, or some hotels

 

http://www.lehtiluukku.fi/lehti/cruise-business-review/_read/1-2017/141362.html

[Benzbuddy87]

I'm Emerald on Royal, and sailed on the Divina last May. They are different, but we totally enjoyed MSC. Great cruise prices compared to Royal, and good drink packages available. The ship itself is amazingly luxurious in the public areas, and there is live music in the lounges every night. I believe the food is comparable. They don't have a whole lot of games poolside as does Royal, but they have theme nights 3 nights poolside. They don't have a Royal Promenade (who else does?), but they make good use of the Atrium. We've booked a 2nd MSC cruise for April, 2018 on the new Seaside. I hope this helps somewhat.

 

When in April are you sailing? We are part of a group of 350+/- sailing on the Seaside on April 28th.

[deliver42]

We are on the cruise just before you. April 21.

[bug18]

When in April are you sailing? We are part of a group of 350+/- sailing on the Seaside on April 28th.

 

 

Wow that is a big group you are travelling with.

[heatherb1958]

Just in case anyone missed it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2466857

 

 

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[Deeliteful]

Hi, I am looking at MSC for next Year because of the status match and good reports I've seen. However, trying to get the status match online asks for proof (as well as the number), I don't have a card or anything stating Diamond status with RCL how do you do the match?

Also probably sailing solo and out of school holidays, any thoughts on solo cruising with MSC?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Pat

[heatherb1958]

Hi, I am looking at MSC for next Year because of the status match and good reports I've seen. However, trying to get the status match online asks for proof (as well as the number), I don't have a card or anything stating Diamond status with RCL how do you do the match?

Also probably sailing solo and out of school holidays, any thoughts on solo cruising with MSC?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Pat

 

 

Hi , all you need to do is take a screen shot of your profile page showing your status on the RCI website. Fill in the registration form online with MSC and attach your screenshot. Very simple to do. We got replies very quickly

 

 

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[Deeliteful]

Now why didn't I think of that!:confused:

Thanks Heather

[heatherb1958]

Now why didn't I think of that!:confused:

Thanks Heather

 

 

Your are welcome.

 

 

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