Carnival or MSC to Cuba? Any Carnival cruisers sail with MSC?

[sailawaybellaluna]

Hi all!

 

I'm already thinking ahead to spring of 2020! 🙂  I like to have my cruises planned since looking forward to them is half the fun!

 

My husband and I would really like to travel to Cuba with our kids, but due to some of the restrictions on traveling there, we're thinking of doing a cruise that stays overnight in Havana. (We'd just like the security of having a doctor onboard the ship + internet in case of an emergency with the little ones).

 

I am looking at doing the Sunshine (refurbished Triumph) which does a 5-day sailing, also stopping in Nassau. (Not a fan of Nassau, so that isn't a selling point for me). The cost for an aft-balcony (my favorite type of cabin!) is the same as if we were to do the 7-day on the MSC Armonia in an oceanview cabin. The Armonia stops at a private island in the Bahamas (which I actually prefer to Nassau), as well as Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I've done these ports and I'm not super excited about them, but of course, 7 days at sea is always better than 5.

 

I'm intrigued by the MSC experience, and the fact that it is supposed to be more "European". I believe Armonia is the oldest ship in the fleet, so I'm not expecting much there.

 

I'm wondering if any Carnival cruisers have sailed with MSC recently, or even been on the Armonia and can give me some feedback?

 

What would you choose?

 

Thanks!

[scpirate]

Ammonia is older and smaller .only smaller ships can go to Cuba.i prefer msc my self.I did seaside last year and have it booked for next year.i am doing Cuba with carnival this year but that was my wife's choice.she like line dancing.only reason.

 

[Tapi]

We’ve sailed on MSC a few times, most recently aboard the Meraviglia in the Mediterranean, and it was leaps and bound better than anything that we’ve ever experienced on Carnival. Absolutely wonderful. But part of that was because we sailed on a brand new ship that’s second largest to Royal’s Oasis class of ships. So it’s not fair for me to predict what your experience will be aboard Armonia based on our experience. 

 

About Cuba, I would recommend that you pick based on itinerary rather than cruise line. As mentioned above, currently older and/or smaller ships are the only ones calling in Cuba. When we sailed there, we chose to sail on Royal’s Empress of the Seas (their oldest and smallest ship), first because it’s what fit our schedule, and second because it included an overnight in Havana. I HIGHLY recommend that you spend a night there.

 

We loved Havana, and a big reason why was because of what we did at night. We got off the ship, walked the streets of Old Havana as the sun set, and worked our way to a restaurant that we had pre-selected (O’Reilly’s 304). Fantastic food and ambiance! After that, some family members returned to the ship while others went back out to experience the amazing nightlife. The following day, we did the sightseeing part. and booked our own tour on convertible cars (considerably cheaper to do it this way than through the cruise line). After that we went to a rooftop restaurant overlooking the streets near the cathedral and had mouth watering Cuban food.

 

So once again, pick based on what itinerary gives you the most time in Cuba and place less emphasis on what ship or cruise line you’ll be sailing on. Have a great time! 

[30scruiser]

It’s not a direct comparison but Gambee has sailed both lines and reviewed them with scores for various categories so that may be a good place to understand what to expect on MSC (plus it’s fun to read his very thorough picture reviews)

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/

 

[Kermarkim]

I have only sailed on MSC Divina and loved it.  It was a different experience than Carnival.  Carnival is my favorite line and I sail with Carnival almost yearly.  I had heard so much good things about MSC that I decided to give it a try 2 years ago.  It was 8 days/7 nts.  Ports were Grand Caymen, Ocho Rios, Cozumel & Nassau.  We had an absolute blast.  I would say that MSC is more upscale with the food, cabins and entertainment (different shows every night including opera).  You may miss the typical Carnival events such as the Trivia games, Comedians, Hairy Man Contest, Love & Marriage, etc.  But other than that, the cruise had other activities to keep you engaged.  Also the way they do their alcohol beverage package is based on how much you think you will drink.  We purchased a package that came with 18 vouchers for each person and we never utilized it all because we are not drinkers.  Now the couple we were traveling with purchased several booklets on the ship with vouchers according to their needs and still didn't use them all.  At any event, I've never been on Armonia but I'm sure you will have an excellent time.

[jimbo5544]

12 hours ago, Tapi said:

We’ve sailed on MSC a few times, most recently aboard the Meraviglia in the Mediterranean, and it was leaps and bound better than anything that we’ve ever experienced on Carnival. Absolutely wonderful. But part of that was because we sailed on a brand new ship that’s second largest to Royal’s Oasis class of ships. So it’s not fair for me to predict what your experience will be aboard Armonia based on our experience. 

 

About Cuba, I would recommend that you pick based on itinerary rather than cruise line. As mentioned above, currently older and/or smaller ships are the only ones calling in Cuba. When we sailed there, we chose to sail on Royal’s Empress of the Seas (their oldest and smallest ship), first because it’s what fit our schedule, and second because it included an overnight in Havana. I HIGHLY recommend that you spend a night there.

 

We loved Havana, and a big reason why was because of what we did at night. We got off the ship, walked the streets of Old Havana as the sun set, and worked our way to a restaurant that we had pre-selected (O’Reilly’s 304). Fantastic food and ambiance! After that, some family members returned to the ship while others went back out to experience the amazing nightlife. The following day, we did the sightseeing part. and booked our own tour on convertible cars (considerably cheaper to do it this way than through the cruise line). After that we went to a rooftop restaurant overlooking the streets near the cathedral and had mouth watering Cuban food.

 

So once again, pick based on what itinerary gives you the most time in Cuba and place less emphasis on what ship or cruise line you’ll be sailing on. Have a great time! 

I would love to read more of what you did in Havana, maybe do a review?

[jimbo5544]

19 hours ago, sailawaybellaluna said:

Hi all!

 

I'm already thinking ahead to spring of 2020! 🙂  I like to have my cruises planned since looking forward to them is half the fun!

 

My husband and I would really like to travel to Cuba with our kids, but due to some of the restrictions on traveling there, we're thinking of doing a cruise that stays overnight in Havana. (We'd just like the security of having a doctor onboard the ship + internet in case of an emergency with the little ones).

 

I am looking at doing the Sunshine (refurbished Triumph) which does a 5-day sailing, also stopping in Nassau. (Not a fan of Nassau, so that isn't a selling point for me). The cost for an aft-balcony (my favorite type of cabin!) is the same as if we were to do the 7-day on the MSC Armonia in an oceanview cabin. The Armonia stops at a private island in the Bahamas (which I actually prefer to Nassau), as well as Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I've done these ports and I'm not super excited about them, but of course, 7 days at sea is always better than 5.

 

I'm intrigued by the MSC experience, and the fact that it is supposed to be more "European". I believe Armonia is the oldest ship in the fleet, so I'm not expecting much there.

 

I'm wondering if any Carnival cruisers have sailed with MSC recently, or even been on the Armonia and can give me some feedback?

 

What would you choose?

 

Thanks!

We sailed on the Orchestra when MSC first came over to the Caribbean.  It clearly was a challenge for them to try and adapt to the US market.  More recent reviews seem to indicate they have addressed some of those areas.  That said, we have no plans to venture out to MSC again.

[Tapi]

56 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

I would love to read more of what you did in Havana, maybe do a review?

I don’t know why I didn’t write a review on that cruise. Normally I do, specially if it’s something that I haven’t done before. Maybe I’ll sit down and work on that while the memories are still semi-fresh! 

[midwestman]

The difference between Carnival and MSC comes down to personal preferences.  I've done both, and prefer Carnival.  Sailing with MSC once, my wife and I both felt that unless you booked the expensive Yacht Club "experience," you get treated like a modern day equivalent of steerage.  I'm not saying that it was terrible, but you definetely tell the difference  For example, on the MSC Seaside, a large part of the ship is reserved for Yacht Club only, and only the Yacht Club dining room gets complimentary lobster.

 

I felt that MSC was good overall.  They had good drink specials (such as buy one, get one free beer on tap,) drink prices were fairly good, and I liked the shows, which are slightly shorter than traditional cruise shows.  The overall price of the trip was pretty good too.  MSC is geared a bit more to Europeans.  You'll hear more European languages being spoken by crew and guests, more wine being served, bottled water at dinner is more common, etc.

 

If you decide to go with MSC, here is a tip.  MSC will give you a "status match" for their loyalty program.  They will base it off your loyalty status with another cruise line or hotel company, but you can only do it once.  (And you need to cruise with MSC at least once every 3 years or you lose your loyalty status and have to start over.)

[AmBear]

On 2/28/2019 at 12:00 PM, sailawaybellaluna said:

Hi all!

 

I'm already thinking ahead to spring of 2020! 🙂  I like to have my cruises planned since looking forward to them is half the fun!

 

My husband and I would really like to travel to Cuba with our kids, but due to some of the restrictions on traveling there, we're thinking of doing a cruise that stays overnight in Havana. (We'd just like the security of having a doctor onboard the ship + internet in case of an emergency with the little ones).

 

I am looking at doing the Sunshine (refurbished Triumph) which does a 5-day sailing, also stopping in Nassau. (Not a fan of Nassau, so that isn't a selling point for me). The cost for an aft-balcony (my favorite type of cabin!) is the same as if we were to do the 7-day on the MSC Armonia in an oceanview cabin. The Armonia stops at a private island in the Bahamas (which I actually prefer to Nassau), as well as Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I've done these ports and I'm not super excited about them, but of course, 7 days at sea is always better than 5.

 

I'm intrigued by the MSC experience, and the fact that it is supposed to be more "European". I believe Armonia is the oldest ship in the fleet, so I'm not expecting much there.

 

I'm wondering if any Carnival cruisers have sailed with MSC recently, or even been on the Armonia and can give me some feedback?

 

What would you choose?

 

Thanks!

If you choose MSC, they had a match program that wold give you the same club perk level on their cruise line that you have on another line! Not sure if this is still being done, but best to ask!

[galaxieman63]

I've sailed both multiple times, and plan to sail both again in the future. MSC is very polarizing. My last cruise on MSC was a 12 night cruise that was the first cruise out of Miami following their repositioning cruise. Most of the crew came on the ship either for the repositioning or that cruise. There were definitely some new crew bugs being worked out. 
 

Communication on MSC ships seems to be lacking. I spent quite a bit of time in guest services the first couple of days for things that could have been fairly easily dealt with had information been more accessible. Even things like where to debark the ship in port weren't published. 

I'd say 1/5th or less of the people on the ship spoke English as their fist language, and a good portion of those that did were from the UK. 

Service in the dining room was typical of a restaurant in Europe. No one is really rushing, and the wait staff aren't overly friendly and talkative. It's a different experience than the staff in a Carnival dining room, for sure. 

The shows at night are really good, but they are definitely lacking for things to do during sea days. 

All of that said, I had a great time on my MSC cruises, but I mention them because nearly every American I spoke to seemed to be upset by those things, and I've had multiple American's tell me they'd never do MSC again. 

So, it's a question of what's important to you. With MSC I get a really nice cabin, really good food, good shows, and interesting itineraries, and a good price. I enjoy meeting and talking to people from other cultures, and I'm not offput that it's not "America First" on the ship.

Sometimes cultures clash. I witnessed some extremely rude behavior around elevators, for example. Service wasn't as friendly as on other ships. To me, I like that it's a truly international experience and it's not just a little bubble of America, hopping from tourist trap to tourist trap; but I can also totally understand people who have the attitude that they go on vacation to relax and know what's important to them to be able to do that.

 

[jimbo5544]

9 hours ago, galaxieman63 said:

I've sailed both multiple times, and plan to sail both again in the future. MSC is very polarizing. My last cruise on MSC was a 12 night cruise that was the first cruise out of Miami following their repositioning cruise. Most of the crew came on the ship either for the repositioning or that cruise. There were definitely some new crew bugs being worked out. 
 

Communication on MSC ships seems to be lacking. I spent quite a bit of time in guest services the first couple of days for things that could have been fairly easily dealt with had information been more accessible. Even things like where to debark the ship in port weren't published. 

I'd say 1/5th or less of the people on the ship spoke English as their fist language, and a good portion of those that did were from the UK. 

Service in the dining room was typical of a restaurant in Europe. No one is really rushing, and the wait staff aren't overly friendly and talkative. It's a different experience than the staff in a Carnival dining room, for sure. 

The shows at night are really good, but they are definitely lacking for things to do during sea days. 

All of that said, I had a great time on my MSC cruises, but I mention them because nearly every American I spoke to seemed to be upset by those things, and I've had multiple American's tell me they'd never do MSC again. 

So, it's a question of what's important to you. With MSC I get a really nice cabin, really good food, good shows, and interesting itineraries, and a good price. I enjoy meeting and talking to people from other cultures, and I'm not offput that it's not "America First" on the ship.

Sometimes cultures clash. I witnessed some extremely rude behavior around elevators, for example. Service wasn't as friendly as on other ships. To me, I like that it's a truly international experience and it's not just a little bubble of America, hopping from tourist trap to tourist trap; but I can also totally understand people who have the attitude that they go on vacation to relax and know what's important to them to be able to do that.

 

Interesting post and the second time in a couple of days I have heard of “sanitized cruising” Caribbean or otherwise.  Carnival is not on the largest cruise line in the world, they have that same moniker in the Caribbean with many ships and there are some limitations of ports (another way to say there are some key ports that many ships hit).  Just because it may not hit your or my warm spot, it does not degrade the experience.  Is St Lucia a better stop then HMC?  Is Grenada better then Cozumel?  Cruisers have options and they pick cruises based upon these.

 

The Caribbean not Europe, we found MSC (and it was a while back) to attract a large European crowd that came with all fixings (read that as smokers).  Having announcements read in 5 languages got old.  Service was at best OK.  You can say that is America first or the ugly American tourist syndrome, and there is some of that out there, but it is NOT Europe.  IF they really want to survive (kids sail free and honoring othe loyalty programs are gimmicks that work....for a while, then THEY need to adapt, not the American tourist.  Do not get me wrong, we travel to Europe a lot and enjoy the experience, but that said, when we sail in the Caribbean having that experience (if it is still happening) is NOT a plus, just the opposite.

[AmBear]

12 hours ago, galaxieman63 said:

I've sailed both multiple times, and plan to sail both again in the future. MSC is very polarizing. My last cruise on MSC was a 12 night cruise that was the first cruise out of Miami following their repositioning cruise. Most of the crew came on the ship either for the repositioning or that cruise. There were definitely some new crew bugs being worked out. 
 

Communication on MSC ships seems to be lacking. I spent quite a bit of time in guest services the first couple of days for things that could have been fairly easily dealt with had information been more accessible. Even things like where to debark the ship in port weren't published. 

I'd say 1/5th or less of the people on the ship spoke English as their fist language, and a good portion of those that did were from the UK. 

Service in the dining room was typical of a restaurant in Europe. No one is really rushing, and the wait staff aren't overly friendly and talkative. It's a different experience than the staff in a Carnival dining room, for sure. 

The shows at night are really good, but they are definitely lacking for things to do during sea days. 

All of that said, I had a great time on my MSC cruises, but I mention them because nearly every American I spoke to seemed to be upset by those things, and I've had multiple American's tell me they'd never do MSC again. 

So, it's a question of what's important to you. With MSC I get a really nice cabin, really good food, good shows, and interesting itineraries, and a good price. I enjoy meeting and talking to people from other cultures, and I'm not offput that it's not "America First" on the ship.

Sometimes cultures clash. I witnessed some extremely rude behavior around elevators, for example. Service wasn't as friendly as on other ships. To me, I like that it's a truly international experience and it's not just a little bubble of America, hopping from tourist trap to tourist trap; but I can also totally understand people who have the attitude that they go on vacation to relax and know what's important to them to be able to do that.

 

Since we go on all the cruise lines, like some things on one, other things on others, our opinion is MSC is equal to Celebrity, except one area,,,, Europeans cruise a lot on MSC in the med., so many chose it in the Caribbean because of their existing loyalty clubs,  so on MSC, you are cruising with more foreigners then Celebrity!

[galaxieman63]

5 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Interesting post and the second time in a couple of days I have heard of “sanitized cruising” Caribbean or otherwise.  Carnival is not on the largest cruise line in the world, they have that same moniker in the Caribbean with many ships and there are some limitations of ports (another way to say there are some key ports that many ships hit).  Just because it may not hit your or my warm spot, it does not degrade the experience.  Is St Lucia a better stop then HMC?  Is Grenada better then Cozumel?  Cruisers have options and they pick cruises based upon these.

 

The Caribbean not Europe, we found MSC (and it was a while back) to attract a large European crowd that came with all fixings (read that as smokers).  Having announcements read in 5 languages got old.  Service was at best OK.  You can say that is America first or the ugly American tourist syndrome, and there is some of that out there, but it is NOT Europe.  IF they really want to survive (kids sail free and honoring othe loyalty programs are gimmicks that work....for a while, then THEY need to adapt, not the American tourist.  Do not get me wrong, we travel to Europe a lot and enjoy the experience, but that said, when we sail in the Caribbean having that experience (if it is still happening) is NOT a plus, just the opposite.

 

I'm not saying one is better than the other, just highlighting the differences for OP. I enjoy both, and for different reasons. On my last MSC Cruise I very much enjoyed the stops in Cartagena and Puerto Limon; which aren't your typical Senor Frogs \ Diamonds International stops. Other times I very much enjoy the laid back private island experience. MSC only sailing out of Miami is a big drawback. I can drive to the nearest Carnival port in 3 hours, but Miami is a "must fly" trip for us. 

Honestly I didn't notice any more smoking on MSC versus Carnival, though the Casinos on both lines were stifling with cigarette smoke.

I will say that if MSC wants to be successful in the US they need to invest in two things: an American based marketing team and a website that works. I'd say that outside the community of avid cruisers, they don't have much brand recognition. Their commercials are generic. so they need to establish a brand identity.   

 

[Moz]

Interesting to hear so many different comments.  I am platinum on carnival and just took a MSC cruise last October.  MSC is like Macys and Carnival like Walmart.  The environment was beautiful,  food great, excellent shows plus wonderful clientele.  Hardly noticed that some were European really hard to tell unless they spoke their language among themselves.  There were many planned activities in the afternoon and the evenings offered several bands and parties so lots of fun and certainly as lively as Carnival.  Never found the staff rude and very professional.   We had stopped cruising Carnival a couple of years ago and went on NCL and RCL and found them excellent also.  Carnival has a good product but the clientele has gone downhill, hard to put into words that don't sound judge-mental.   All said we found MSC a great product.   This being a Carnival board I know the Carnival diehards won't agree with anything that isn't a Carnival product especially if they are John Heald fans or cheerleaders.

[crooooze]

We sailed the Divina and thought the food was really horrible... both with variety and taste... Subjective. I know.

[Tapi]

4 hours ago, galaxieman63 said:

I will say that if MSC wants to be successful in the US they need to invest in two things: an American based marketing team and a website that works. I'd say that outside the community of avid cruisers, they don't have much brand recognition. Their commercials are generic. so they need to establish a brand identity.   

Personally, I hope that they don’t crank up the American marketing more than they need to. One of the things that I most enjoyed about sailing on MSC (both in the Caribbean and in the Mediterranean) was the fact that they attract passengers from so many countries and that their product doesn’t revolve around Americans.

 

That the ships sail from US ports doesn’t mean that they need to fill them up with Americans. All they really need to do is to generate enough local business to complement their already established European base, and who are already flying across the Atlantic to sail in the Caribbean. 

 

Just a few years ago, MSC was operating one of their older and smaller ships in the US. This year, they’ll have 3 ships, 2 which are brand new, and one of those that is second largest in the world behind Royal’s Oasis ships, and they’ll be lunching their own private island. Assuming that they aren’t operating at a loss, I’m guessing that they have generated enough business to justify all of these upgrades.