MSC vs Other Cruise Lines

[grandgeezer]

On 3/19/2019 at 9:58 AM, mickey89 said:

You have been lucky, MSC are renown for FREE children hence loads.....!  

Just advising the OP don't expect 5 star food and service when paying 2 star prices - as I said you get what you pay for, so don't complain afterwards, you've been warned.  Definitely once tried never forgotten - we'll give the main boat a big miss, even the Yacht Club has its shortcomings , we've tried it recently  

We are doing our second cruise on the Seaside in October, our first was last September. The Yacht Club experience got us hooked. I agree with the posting that says anything below that isn’t that great. We’ve done 46 cruises with 22 on Celebrity and 7 on RCL. They used to be the industry leader, now they are just one of the pack. We might do RCL again, but probably not Celebrity. We refuse to pay Cadillac prices for a Kia experience. The only thing that impresses us about X are the ships and crew friendliness. We can find better food, service and entertainment anyplace.

[Beamafar]

5 hours ago, glittergal1 said:

Hank you say "The YC is more akin to an upscale luxury line while outside the YC is more like a Carnival cruise"   No way is MSC like Carnival not by a long shot, weve just returned from our first and i will say last Carnival cruise never again, however we have 3 booked with MSC

Im presuming you didnt sail MSC in Europe? totally different experience again I would think

But please dont liken MSC to Carnival that really will put people off.

 

Couldn't agree more!  My first cruise was on Carnival - I thought I'd never cruise again.  Eleven years later, I tried MSC;  our next cruise will be our 22nd with MSC - 6th in Yacht Club.

 

ETA ... in response to the previous post (which was submitted as I was typing this one);  we did one Celebrity cruise in a Sky Suite - it didn't come anywhere near the YC experience.  It was the very first time I experienced not wanting to return to a ship after a port visit!

Edited March 21, 2019 by Beamafar

[emmas gran]

We cruised Preziosa in Jan and Mickey89 cruised same ship (2 weeks later) From the UK MSC did a fly cruise package with the flight carrying about 450 people--on ours there were no children probably the same for his. 

We were in YC and there were only 6/7 total in the 2 weeks bearing in mind the cruise picks up in 3 ports Barbados, Martinique and Guadeloupe - the rest of the ship yes there were children/kids as MSC had done promotions in Europe which included the pick up ports as they are part of EU. There were a few Americans/Canadians. 

Children behave as their parents allow, there were lots of toddlers allowed to wander in busy areas crying for thing and being ignored, that being said we returned to the sanctuary of YC most of the time and only ventured out to the casino or for Black card party.

We did see a teen close the emergency door by jumping up to reach the button and run away by the Safari lounge, crew said he would be on CCTV  and spoken to -don't agree with that behavior!!  Adults would also behave in rude ways at elevators, when this happened it was great to use the YC card to bypass them. 

[deliver42]

I've been on carnival and MSC. To compare both is an effort in futility. MSC is far superior to Carnival. It's closer to RCCL. The dress code, which isn't really enforced, suggest no shorts or torn jeans for dinner, That's all Untorn jeans are no problem at all.

[Caymus88]

11 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Nothing in the following says no jeans after 6pm;  the dress code is a suggested one and it's made clear what is not acceptable:

 

Thank you Beamafar. But still doesn’t answer my question

Re How strict is the dress code

We would be in the YC.  

 

[emmas gran]

On Preziosa a gentleman was turned away from the YC restaurant one evening as he had a T-shirt on supporting a soccer team. That the only observation I can make. Beamafar’s post does show no jeans on smart casual night.

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by emmas gran

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I've sailed once on MSC Seaside in the Yacht Club (out of Miami) and have another booked for this fall.  I thought the YC experience was superior to the suite experience on Celebrity with the exception of the food in the dining room.  Even in the penthouse on Celebrity, you don't get interesting snacks like chocolate covered peanuts and Pringles in your cabin--as many as you want!  You need to bring your own.  A full-size newspaper of your choice every morning.  Celebrity has eliminated its several page news thing.  I would never sail MSC not in the Yacht Club, way too many people and kids.  I am not big on crowds.

[pzsdd6]

MSC IS THE WORST CRUISE LINE OPERATING!

TERRIBLE BLAND LUKE WARM FOOD. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!

[emmas gran]

5 hours ago, pzsdd6 said:

MSC IS THE WORST CRUISE LINE OPERATING!

TERRIBLE BLAND LUKE WARM FOOD. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!

 

This guy has a gripe regarding a drink package and seems to be posting on every thread

[pzsdd6]

You’re correct. I do have a complaint about the drink package. This is exactly the place to voice those complaints and share that info with other cruisers. If you don’t like my posts then move on!

For those that might be interested, please read all the other posts regarding their similar issues and duplicate complaints. It has gotten so bad that MSC won’t even return calls or address the issue. I share my opinion so that maybe others won’t end up in the same place!

[deliver42]

This doesn't really have to do with customer service. They can't do anything contrary to corporate decisions. I do agree the watering down the drink packages is a bummer, and I don't like it either. As far as food is concerned, that's subjective, and I have no problem with the food in the dining room, only in the buffet, which is extremely limited.

[mickey89]

2 hours ago, pzsdd6 said:

You’re correct. I do have a complaint about the drink package. This is exactly the place to voice those complaints and share that info with other cruisers. If you don’t like my posts then move on!

For those that might be interested, please read all the other posts regarding their similar issues and duplicate complaints. It has gotten so bad that MSC won’t even return calls or address the issue. I share my opinion so that maybe others won’t end up in the same place!

You appear to have a problem with MSC, why on earth do a repeat cruise if they are so bad?

You will get no where with your aggressive tone, no wonder you get nowhere with MSC Customer Services.  

 

No one will listen to your rant when it is incoherent.  Grow up mate, life is too short .....

 

 

[SeaTheW0r1d]

Having been on all your lines, MSC is simply a step, down. You get what you pay for. 

 

All the staff have been great. Special mentions to:

 

Ronaldo (cabin steward)

Girlie, Isabella, Maria and Charlie (Piazza el Doge)

Cosme and Eric (Table 815 Villa Rosa)

[Hlitner]

21 hours ago, SeaTheW0r1d said:

Having been on all your lines, MSC is simply a step, down. You get what you pay for. 

 

All the staff have been great. Special mentions to:

 

Ronaldo (cabin steward)

Girlie, Isabella, Maria and Charlie (Piazza el Doge)

Cosme and Eric (Table 815 Villa Rosa)

We would agree (also having been on all those lines multiple times) with the exception of the Yacht Club.  To us, the YC was actually a step up (substantial) from Celebrity, Princess, etc.  The other lines do not offer anything comparable...with the exception of the Haven Suites on NCL and the "Grill" Suites on Cunard.

 

Hank

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

On 3/29/2019 at 10:23 AM, Hlitner said:

We would agree (also having been on all those lines multiple times) with the exception of the Yacht Club.  To us, the YC was actually a step up (substantial) from Celebrity, Princess, etc.  The other lines do not offer anything comparable...with the exception of the Haven Suites on NCL and the "Grill" Suites on Cunard.

 

Hank

 

I agree.  Yacht Club on Seaside was definitely a step up from the suite experience on Celebrity.  For a lot less money.  Although prices seem to be rising along with its popularity.