MSC improved?

[daka]

We were on MSC DIVINIA about 3 years ago and our feeling was that they had not yet "acclimatized" themselves to the USA market...

If you were on back then and again recently, have you noticed any changes?

(our field of reference is Celebrity and Princess Caribbean cruises)

[Cruisergal1208]

We were on MSC DIVINIA about 3 years ago and our feeling was that they had not yet "acclimatized" themselves to the USA market...

If you were on back then and again recently, have you noticed any changes?

(our field of reference is Celebrity and Princess Caribbean cruises)

 

I like the statement from someone the other day - - If you come on an MSC ship expecting it to be like X,Princess, RCL, etc. you will be disappointed. We like the different vibes found on Divina. The Seaside seems to have a more vibrant vibe. The food is always subjective but we love the food. The service level has improved a lot. But we have only sailed in the YC so that is where I'm comparing. I hope they never become just another "American" cruise line. What we like, others may not, that's what makes it easy to spread out the travels over the other lines. We find each has it's own niche.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

I waited many years before I ventured out on MSC Divina last October. Having followed MSC ever since they formed an American division more than a dozen years ago. After studying them and talking with management over that time period I was fascinated with the way they were building new ships and growing their fleet. The Divina and her three sisters were the turning point...IMHO. The introduction of the Yacht Club, is to me and other ocean liner historians, the biggest innovation in cruising in the new Century. MSC has been extremely consistent in one area...and that would be in their desire to continually improve their product and service as they grow. In that sense...they are a work in progress. YES...they have bungled a lot of things along the way and they have had to fix a lot of design problems and continually up their game in all areas...and their web site is still a challenge. Despite all the negatives the product continues to excell and improve over time.

 

Consider the daunting logistics of growing from a ragged three ship fleet to the extreme size MSC will be in four more years. Right now MSC needs a crew that is somewhere around 20,000 at sea and another 10,000 plus resting onshore. They have had to train this crew in the past three years and introduce most of them to English. Just the expansion of the food prep crews involves 10’s of thousands in training and the continued upgrade in meal prep. Quite a miracle when you think about it.

[MISTER 67]

We had scheduled an MSC cruise back in 2016 but after reading so many bad reviews we were scared off and cancelled. A few months later we found a very good deal and decided "what the hell, it can't be that bad''. As soon as we checked in on the Divina and had lunch we were already happy as clams at high tide. Everything was great from the service to the entertainment. One of the first things we found out is that MSC does not gouge, there were some great prices on board from the Logo Shop to the Fragrances shop and the price of drinks. We have now sailed 4 times on MSC and our next cruise is on the Seaside Sept 1st. We have already been upgraded on that cruise from an inside cabin to a veranda and of course we are getting the free drinks, we aren't drinkers, usually only a cocktail before dinner but will probably have a glass of wine at dinner.

One other thing that is great is the loyalty match program, we are Elite with Princess and were given Black Card Membership, very nice perk but now with our points we are Black Card anyway.

One thing to remember is that don't believe everything you read.

[sidari]

Mister 67 ... Good to see another MSC convert.

[daka]

OK, gonna' try MSC again...looking for April 2018 Mrs Daka Birthday cruise...

Nice to see that we can get a match of Loyalty....

[sidari]

April 2018 ? Bit late ... ;p

[daka]

Oops 2019....

[NCTribeFan]

I'm sailing MSC for the first time in December on Divina. When I first started considering MSC a few years ago (after being in San Juan and seeing Divina docked for the day and thinking "what a gorgeous ship!"), I read comments about MSC being "too Italian" and I thought "how can anything be "too Italian?" There were even comments about there being too many Europeans on the ship! Seriously? I don't understand why people travel if want things to be just like they are at home. :(

 

I have over 30 cruises, most on Carnival, one on RCI, 3 on HAL, and recently tried NCL (and have booked another TA on NCL for next spring).

 

I personally am looking or different experiences. I don't want them all to be just sightly different from all the others. Luxury cruises aren't in my budget so finding anything to differentiate the usual mass-market lines is a good thing, imo.

 

I expect to enjoy MSC. I'm very interested in some of their TA/repo itineraries. And the prices are very appealing.

[skt4cruise]

We have our first MSC cruise in 11 days and we are searching for our next one already, probably book on board. We are in YC and its very hard to find a suite open clear into 2020! Somebody loves it!

[glittergal1]

We were on MSC DIVINIA about 3 years ago and our feeling was that they had not yet "acclimatized" themselves to the USA market...

If you were on back then and again recently, have you noticed any changes?

(our field of reference is Celebrity and Princess Caribbean cruises)

 

MSC is an Italian Cruise line with a very European Vibe maybe those from the USA should see it this way and not expect an "American type cruise"

[champagne123]

We also had the Seaside booked last year and cancelled. (reasons beyond our control). We now have the Divina booked for January, 2019 and the Meraviglia, October, 2019 and cannot wait!!! Eventually we will re-book the Seaside also!

[asctony]

MSC is an Italian Cruise line with a very European Vibe maybe those from the USA should see it this way and not expect an "American type cruise"

Cruised Divina 3 times, Lirica 2 times and Sinfonia. We never thought it was European or American vibe. In fact we don't think it is much different than any other cruise line we have cruised on.

Please help us to understand European vibe vs American. Thanks.

[April42749]

MSC is an Italian Cruise line with a very European Vibe

maybe those from the USA should see it this way and not expect an "American type cruise"

 

I sailed MSC almost 4 years ago (Divina out of Miami) and I loved the fact that it was not American. The ship itself was beautiful....and the pizza.....omg...the pizza. Real authentic pizza, right out of my childhood. On our cruise the people were rather upscale. They were dressed well all day long (I don't mean formally....I mean they had great sense of style, even at breakfast) and looked fabulous.

 

I wanted to sail MSC again, but life got in the way, and in addition, I like to sail out of NYC (10 minutes by cab from the pier). So, we didn't.

 

As soon as I found out there'd be a few sailings from NY....I signed up. From what I understand, the ship I'll be on, the Meraviglia, is even more beautiful than the Divina. If only 10/2019 would hurry up!

 

For the record, we stayed in a small balcony (and it was small). No YC....and we loved it anyway!

[champagne123]

I sailed MSC almost 4 years ago (Divina out of Miami) and I loved the fact that it was not American. The ship itself was beautiful....and the pizza.....omg...the pizza. Real authentic pizza, right out of my childhood. On our cruise the people were rather upscale. They were dressed well all day long (I don't mean formally....I mean they had great sense of style, even at breakfast) and looked fabulous.

 

I wanted to sail MSC again, but life got in the way, and in addition, I like to sail out of NYC (10 minutes by cab from the pier). So, we didn't.

 

As soon as I found out there'd be a few sailings from NY....I signed up. From what I understand, the ship I'll be on, the Meraviglia, is even more beautiful than the Divina. If only 10/2019 would hurry up!

 

For the record, we stayed in a small balcony (and it was small). No YC....and we loved it anyway!

Us too! Are you doing the Canada/NE cruise or the repositioning cruise? We are doing the repositioning one...and as I have stated above...we are very excited to sail that beautiful new ship.

[Hlitner]

The reason we booked MSC (our 15th cruise line) was for the very reason that it is not yet....an Americanized cruise line :). Early in our cruise life (back in the 70s) we used to enjoy Sitmar Cruise Line...because of its Italian atmosphere and crew. Why should MSC become just one more "Americanized" cruise line? Personally I do prefer fresh Pasta to meatloaf :).

 

Hank

[April42749]

Us too! Are you doing the Canada/NE cruise or the repositioning cruise? We are doing the repositioning one...and as I have stated above...we are very excited to sail that beautiful new ship.

 

We're on the 10/8...to Quebec and back. The one other "short sailing" is the Boston/St John etc itinerary, which we've done every year since "forever".

 

I always wanted to do a Quebec sailing, but in general that's the last stop and you have to find your own way back to NYC. DH likes to keep things simple.

 

So...this works out great. I've been looking at the youtube videos.....oh, that Swarovski staircase (I'm a big fan of bling)! And it looks like the piano in the atrium is on a Swarovski platform.

[deliver42]

We are booked on our 2nd Divina cruise this November, We loved the last one very much, in 2015.

[citizenfrank]

I'm sailing MSC for the first time in December on Divina. When I first started considering MSC a few years ago (after being in San Juan and seeing Divina docked for the day and thinking "what a gorgeous ship!"), I read comments about MSC being "too Italian" and I thought "how can anything be "too Italian?" There were even comments about there being too many Europeans on the ship! Seriously? I don't understand why people travel if want things to be just like they are at home. :(

 

I have over 30 cruises, most on Carnival, one on RCI, 3 on HAL, and recently tried NCL (and have booked another TA on NCL for next spring).

 

I personally am looking or different experiences. I don't want them all to be just sightly different from all the others. Luxury cruises aren't in my budget so finding anything to differentiate the usual mass-market lines is a good thing, imo.

 

I expect to enjoy MSC. I'm very interested in some of their TA/repo itineraries. And the prices are very appealing.

 

Very similar background to your cruise history, thus I agree with your posting 100%.

Did you enjoy NCL? Personally I like their business model & their new(er) ships. Did a TA with them not so long ago Eastbound with the full drinks package thrown in (before they went crazy 'giving' it as standard...yeah right!), it was a great trip.

Forget Orange...for me MSC is the new black! ;p

[Beamafar]

... As soon as I found out there'd be a few sailings from NY....I signed up. From what I understand, the ship I'll be on, the Meraviglia, is even more beautiful than the Divina. If only 10/2019 would hurry up!

 

Meraviglia is a real departure from anything else in MSC's fleet (as is the new Seaside class). To me, it seemed like they had taken different aspects from (a) RC, (b) X and © NCL and tried to incorporate them all on one ship e.g. (a) Galleria Meraviglia, (b) decor in some of the lounges and © "Flexi-dining" (which was a disaster and had to be done away with!)

 

A poster on the site (NorwegianCruiser) felt the very same as I did - Meraviglia doesn't have an MSC feel to it (he felt that, with Seaview, MSC had regained it).

 

I say all this just as an FYI.

[NCTribeFan]

Very similar background to your cruise history, thus I agree with your posting 100%.

Did you enjoy NCL? Personally I like their business model & their new(er) ships. Did a TA with them not so long ago Eastbound with the full drinks package thrown in (before they went crazy 'giving' it as standard...yeah right!), it was a great trip.

Forget Orange...for me MSC is the new black! ;p

 

I enjoyed NCL very much. Even though Star was going into dry dock immediately after we arrived in Barcelona (and I'd read so many posts about how broken down and old she was), I thought she was lovely. I expect to see some wear & tear on a ship given the # of bodies they carry, and I certainly don't look for those signs. Hey, I'm a fan of Carnival Fantasy, the oldest ship in the fleet. She feels like "home" to me. So there's some rust around the windows. You're at sea, not in a land-based luxury hotel!

 

Anyway, liked NCL enough to purchase a Cruise Next voucher (as did all my friends who sailed). We were debating between Star and Epic TAs doing the same itinerary on the same date next spring. Then we found the Jade TA from NY-Rome and decided to give that a try.

 

We also did a semi-B2B. Stayed in Barcelona 3 nights then boarded the new Carnival Horizon for a westbound return. I've really enjoyed Carnival, but it's the exact same on every ship despite the differences in ship size and age. And since I mainly sail for the itinerary, the ship isn't so important to me.

 

I do prefer a "smaller" ship (100,000 gtw or less) to the jumbo ships. Yes, there's probably more to do on the bigger ships, but I don't spend my sea days running from one venue to another. I use those to relax.

 

Since I'm usually sailing solo these days, I typically book inside cabins. Since I don't have a balcony, I do often have a difficult time finding anywhere even semi-quite to sit and read.

 

I loved HAL's Koningsdam! Perfect size; beautiful decor; not too-loud bad pop music blaring in every public space 24/7. And the Caribbean sailings seem to draw a slightly younger demographic. Hey, I'm 65 and still feel young on HAL. But despite what a lot of people post, I never had any difficulty finding anything to do in the evening. I don't need to stay up until 2 dancing and drinking! Shutting down at 1 a.m. is plenty late enough for me. ;p

 

Honestly, my biggest concern about Divina is that she's too big for my tastes. We have 4 sea days, but I don't want to spend all of those wandering around trying to see everything!

[CGTNORMANDIE]

I believe the OP posed a question that should be addressed if we stay on topic.;)

[daka]

I believe the OP posed a question that should be addressed if we stay on topic.;)[/quote

 

Thanks, but....never happens

[asctony]

Cruised Divina 3 times, Lirica 2 times and Sinfonia. We never thought it was European or American vibe. In fact we don't think it is much different than any other cruise line we have cruised on.

Please help us to understand European vibe vs American. Thanks.

Still looking for responses. Thank you.

[vidpro7]

Do they still make announcements in several languages all day long on MSC?