Comparing Costa to MSC

[OceansOfTravels]

Hello,

 

I found a very good deal on a cruise from Singapore on the Costa Fortuna I am thinking about booking. I was recently put onto MSC two years ago when I sailed the Divina from Miami, and I loved it so much I booked the Seaview from Barcelona shortly after returning home. I liked MSC both as an American from Miami, and has an American from Barcelona. I enjoy the international passenger base, the Italian-based cuisine, and the general ambiance of the ships. So, I am wondering, what should I expect on a Costa cruise from Singapore? Will there be enough english-spakers onboard for announcements to be made in English? How will the excursion variety be for English speakers, if Costa is like MSC where it offers the same tour in all different languages? Can anyone draw comparisons between Costa and MSC?

 

Nothing is final yet, I am just looking at my options and trying to think of something cool to do next January. Thank you in advance!

[tenpin]

Like most things it is a matter of personal choice.

 

There is very little between both lines I think Costa wins on price & by staying loyal to them you get great perks.

MSC wins on food choices in our opinion, but apart from those two things there is very little between them if you like one then almost certainly you will enjoy the other.

Regardless of numbers you will always get  announcements in English & the lowest number we have had of English speakers was 27 when we were on a part world itinerary if fact it was better as English host held lots of get togethers and quizzes for us.

We also have never had a fully English tour but normally just two language's.

The number of sea days is a concern for most English speaking guests as unless you like those type of get togethers it can get a little boring not talking to any one but the waiters/cabin staff.

 

I would be guided by Itinerary & value for your buck.

 

 

[OceansOfTravels]

4 hours ago, tenpin said:

Like most things it is a matter of personal choice.

 

There is very little between both lines I think Costa wins on price & by staying loyal to them you get great perks.

MSC wins on food choices in our opinion, but apart from those two things there is very little between them if you like one then almost certainly you will enjoy the other.

Regardless of numbers you will always get  announcements in English & the lowest number we have had of English speakers was 27 when we were on a part world itinerary if fact it was better as English host held lots of get togethers and quizzes for us.

We also have never had a fully English tour but normally just two language's.

The number of sea days is a concern for most English speaking guests as unless you like those type of get togethers it can get a little boring not talking to any one but the waiters/cabin staff.

 

I would be guided by Itinerary & value for your buck.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for your detailed response! It only has one sea day and 6 ports I think, so the itinerary is very port-intensive. Not much time really on the ship at all really.

 

I'm glad you brought up loyalty because I have a question about that if you don't mind. I am likely going to book a guarantee inside, which says that I "cannot collect Costa points" (I forgot the exact wording, I'm sure you know) when I went to do a mock booking. Does that mean I cannot get any loyalty points for the cruise? If that's the case, then I may look at NCL's cruise option, because it's relatively similar and I would be upset not collecting any sort of loyalty benefits for a cruise that was over a week and involved over 24 hours of travel to reach.

[tenpin]

That is true the so called Guaranteed cabins do not collect loyalty points however that said you may consider a premium cabin given the perks that now come with that grade of cabin.

Choice of meal times & drinks package makes them comparable with standard cabins if you like more that four drinks/coffees a day. You will also get double club points the higher your choice.

 

Do compare the prices of premium cabins to standard guaranteed & look at other site apart from Costa's often they can be better, we do book direct with Costa UK. knowing lots of agents & get great deals by asking for a better price.