Royal vs. MSC

[nayuval]

Hi,

Just posted this on the Royal board but woukd love to hear from MSC cruisers opinions.

 

Hi,

 

We just had our first cruise ever, we were on the Symphony of the seas, it was way above our expectation.

We were thinking to do another cruise next year, still in Europe, similar to the one we just had but still, few different port changes.

I saw MSC has 2 new interesting ships that can fit this, Seaview and the new to be launched - Belissima.

The ship is important to us because we have 3 children so we want a ship with activities for all - water park, slides, etc.

I see next year the variety of Royal ships is less attractive than the 2 MSC is offering.

I was warned however that after cruising with American cruise line, cruising on the MSC will be very disappointing.

Has anyone cruised on both lines and can explain if this is indeed the situation and how it is different?

Not in terms of drinks since in any case we had the packages on Symphony so plan to have them on future cruises.

 

Thanks

[SirWolf]

The Belissima is too crowded and has enclosed feel of a floating anthill.

Have you sailed on Bellissima or is your statement based on reviews ?

By the way... christening of MSC Bellissima is scheduled for March 2nd 2019 in Southampton. The itinerary is Western Meditteranean from March to November 2019.

[diesel1973]

In Jan. we did the new ship MSC Seaside followed by the RCCL Oasis. Have done many cruises on RCCL and X in the past and we thought we would try something different with MSC. Were very dissapointed with MSC and could not wait to get on the Oasis after MSC. We knew what we would get on the Oasis but on the Seaside you don't get what you expect,you get what they choose to give to you. Would never cruise on MSC again!!!

[citizenfrank]

In Jan. we did the new ship MSC Seaside followed by the RCCL Oasis. Have done many cruises on RCCL and X in the past and we thought we would try something different with MSC. Were very dissapointed with MSC and could not wait to get on the Oasis after MSC. We knew what we would get on the Oasis but on the Seaside you don't get what you expect,you get what they choose to give to you. Would never cruise on MSC again!!!

 

That is sad to read. Not because you are not entitled to a viewpoint or that such a view is not MSC friendly!

However, Seaside is a new class of ship, highly acclaimed & stunning, Oasis is the original Oasis class vessel & due a major re-fit now (very tired, very!).

But at least you have tried both & thus I respect your opinion.

[sidari]

Sailed on Oasis and Four other RCI ships, the last just two week ago on Voyager from Singapore. Also sailed Seaside twice and Five other MSC ships. Voyager is in a sad looking state on the outside and looks like it is owned by a company going out of business, on the inside it is looking reasonable but very dated along with a lot of the fixtures and fittings, the shows are still the same as those we saw on the earlier sailings and the promenade show is no different, food was reasonable but suffered from the usual cold offerings in the buffet.

Oasis and the rest of the class cannot be compared to anything else as they are totally different to anything else sailing and should never be compared to ships outside of the class.

We usually find those that do not like MSC are unable to adapt or expect the ships to be the same as the rest out there sailing the seas.

[frank808]

We have sailed 30+1 times on royal from grandeur to oasis class. We tried MSC for 2 weeks on seaside this past july in a yacht club deluxe cabin.

 

The room size was comparable to a junior suite on royal. The food was delicious and the pizza is the best we have had at sea. Service was exemplary from everyone in the specialty restaurants and yc area. It was more hit or miss in the other parts of the ship. In the buffet on deck 8 service for drinks was spot on. Also the champagne bar had some of the nicest and attentive servers even when they are slammed. In the seaside bar when there were less than 10 people there, service was horrible (I tried it on a few nights and slow and inattentive service every try) I think this is just the personalities of crew members. But all in all I give service a thumbs up as the positives outweighed the negatives.

 

The ship is beautiful though. Just didn't have the cohesion of royal ships with thought to access from bow to stern on most decks.

 

So many good things that we experienced that we have booked 4 more cruises with MSC for the coming 18 months. Just loved the value and service we received. Just dont like sailing out of miami. My favorite port in florida is port canaveral.

 

If you have any questions, ask away and I will try to answer them.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[markpghpa]

My wife and I were just on the MSC Seaside last week for a Western Caribbean cruise. We have also been the RCCL Oasis of the Seas and the Norwegian Epic. The biggest issue that we noticed was that the MSC Seaside had few free dining options with over 5,000 guests. For example, at dinner time, you could have the sit down option (anytime or scheduled) or 1 buffet was open. On the Oasis of the Seas, you could find pizza from a separate restaurant and other food.

[sidari]

My wife and I were just on the MSC Seaside last week for a Western Caribbean cruise. We have also been the RCCL Oasis of the Seas and the Norwegian Epic. The biggest issue that we noticed was that the MSC Seaside had few free dining options with over 5,000 guests. For example, at dinner time, you could have the sit down option (anytime or scheduled) or 1 buffet was open. On the Oasis of the Seas, you could find pizza from a separate restaurant and other food.

 

Both Buffet areas are open on Seaside during the day, along with one of the Dining rooms.

[Pier290]

We have sailed 30+1 times on royal from grandeur to oasis class. We tried MSC for 2 weeks on seaside this past july in a yacht club deluxe cabin.

 

The room size was comparable to a junior suite on royal. The food was delicious and the pizza is the best we have had at sea. Service was exemplary from everyone in the specialty restaurants and yc area. It was more hit or miss in the other parts of the ship. In the buffet on deck 8 service for drinks was spot on. Also the champagne bar had some of the nicest and attentive servers even when they are slammed. In the seaside bar when there were less than 10 people there, service was horrible (I tried it on a few nights and slow and inattentive service every try) I think this is just the personalities of crew members. But all in all I give service a thumbs up as the positives outweighed the negatives.

 

The ship is beautiful though. Just didn't have the cohesion of royal ships with thought to access from bow to stern on most decks.

 

So many good things that we experienced that we have booked 4 more cruises with MSC for the coming 18 months. Just loved the value and service we received. Just dont like sailing out of miami. My favorite port in florida is port canaveral.

 

If you have any questions, ask away and I will try to answer them.

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

How is the movement on the Seaside? I've heard reviews saying movement is very felt or not felt hardly at all...realizing it depends on the seas but we've been on every Celebrity ship and always felt lots of movement I was going since Seaside is a lot larger we wouldn't feel it as much....?

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Forums mobile app

[SirWolf]

I was going since Seaside is a lot larger we wouldn't feel it as much....?

We sailed on sister ship Seaview (Western Med , September 2018) and felt no movement at all. My DW is very sensitive to movement and as always we packed a lot of OTC remedies (gum, ginger, etc). DW did not even open one package and slept deep and relaxed. The Med sea was very calm the days we sailed in September. Our cabin was forward and on high deck (YC, deck 16) if this matters.

[Nunagoras]

It certainly surprises me how can someone rate an MSC ship, at least a Musica class or above as a 3 star ship!... As a southern European myself I can tell you that an MSC ship is far, but very far from a regular 3 star hotel in town!... At least it would be a good 4 star, if not a very nice 4 star plus in town. Yacht Club being almost 5 stars!... Agree that the RCI's Oasis class is a class of its own. If you want that experience level, it is unique in the market. So now, let us to compare ships on basically the hotel part. Is it MSC worse? No. In some cases it is even better, IMHO!... Is it different in some ways? Yes, of course!...

 

 

Basically speaking anyone whom has done a happy RCI cruise will be happy with an MSC cruise. Some ships might not have those "fun" activities... But bear in mind that they were built with cruises with long days in port and few if any sea days in mind! Water in the MDR is almost solved for the Americans by complimentary booklets or AI drinks packages in the package. Coffee service might be different... Just ask your server for an Americano if you want American coffee and they will be more than happy to provide!...

 

 

Have a nice day!...

[Nunagoras]

Hi Nunagoras,

3* cruising is a huge marketing segment where MSC is doing their successful business. The product is tailored to meet 3* expectations and priced accordingly (in most cases). There is nothing wrong about that.

The space between 3* and 5* has been filled by other cruise lines that deliver more sophisticated product for different price.

Don't forget that a "hotel part" is only a fraction of cruising experience.

It's a good thing to have more options for different budgets.

Our next cruise will be on MSC ship.

Happy cruising!

 

Hi! Thank you for the kind words! Well: Maybe such a cultural barrier here from the different places we live in, me in southern Europe, you probably the US or UK... But as a market analyst I am also, me thinks that 3* cruising belongs to the likes of Pullmantur, Thomson Cruises and probably some of the older generation mainstream lines ships, including eventually the MSC's Lirica class and a few other small operators that my memory can't remember now... And that is a market that is sort of stagnating right now... Regular MSC is far from that!...

 

Their product is not marketed to the 3* market nor have them 3* pricing! It is certain that they used to be the market bargain in the cruise industry. Not anymore largely from where I live, taking in consideration that while on the American lines you'll usually have some OBC included in the basic fare, MSC here gives nothing, so basically you'll have to add the gratuities cost to the basic fare, while on the American lines that OBC usually nearly pays for them... Well apart those few out of season cruises where MSC remain doing some of their heavy promotions... But those are becoming rare with the time! MSC is quickly growing on the 4* to 4*+ European cruising! Bear in mind though that here in Europe cruises tend to have long hours in port and few to no sea days. Almost all the MSC experience is built round that, so less "bells and whistles" on the ships...

 

 

Have a nice day!...

[Nunagoras]

Many thanks dear Ronbe65 for the kind words and for those lovely photos of my very own city, Lisbon!... :)

 

 

Yes... I'm attentive to the details... But, let us to see if can explain better my ideas: Let us to compare hotel chains here in Europe. You can compare such a nice 4* Marriott in Europe with such a 4* Novotel here too. Marriott will almost always to be better than Novotel for certain... But hey they are both nice standardized 4* hotels in town. So now: You can't really to compare Marriott or Novotel to the likes of 2* or 3* Ibis hotels. Of course nothing against Ibis. They have a right product tailored to that market segment. Indeed, you can't really to compare Marriott or Novotel to the likes of Ritz Four Seasons!...

 

 

So now in the cruise industry... It is the very same story!... Let us to put the RCI's Oasis class apart the game once that is a very unique experience you can only obtain there on the whole market for now... But even on those ships let us to remove that extra "wow" factor: With what will we stick?... IMHO when we compare both ships outside the specific details we notice that we will have the same 4* European hotel standard service! Maybe: RCI might be nearer such a nice Marriott in some aspects and MSC might be generally something like such a little bit better than Novotel and something little bit worse than the nice Marriott. But you can't really to compare RCI or MSC with the likes of Pullmantur! Again nothing against Pulmantur and not so long ago they were very successful doing what they did and remain somewhat doing, especially on their theme cruises like dancing or honeymoon ones! Simply those companies work for a far different audience! Again you can't also to compare both mega ship companies with the likes of Viking to just name that one for the obvious reasons!...

 

 

Have a nice day!...