MSC worth it or not for solo crusing?

[heatherthompson]

Hello everyone!

 

I cruise solo and so far have only cruised on NCL. Has anyone solo cruised on MSC, what was your experience, how do you compare the food, experience, and overall cost to NCL? Does MSC have flexible dining? Do they have a thermal spa (much like the weekly thermal spa pass on NCL), overall is MSC solo friendly?

 

Thank you in advance for all the help!

[mef_57]

I can tell you more in May 2020 😊 I am booked for a 3 week repositioning cruise then.

No, MSC doesn't have anytime dining...unless you are in the high priced Yacht Club. I have been led to u derstand they seat solos together.

They seem to have some sort of thermal spa, but size will be ship dependent, I think. I found the pricing much more reasonable than several other lines.

As to solo friendly, it may depend on the itinerary and geographic location. It is much more European in style and demographics, so a lot more families. That being said, my 3 week repo shouldn't have many kids and there are at least a few solos on the Roll Call.

I would also ask on the MSC board and be more specific to the ship, or region.

[rkacruiser]

As a solo cruiser booked in Yacht Class on the MSC Meravigila for an early 7 day January cruise, I am looking forward to this new experience.  I have never experienced a "ship within a ship" concept with the availability to go wherever I wish when leaving the YC area as well as such an inclusive on-board experience.  As a solo cruiser, I don't expect to experience anything different from what I always do, but I do expect to experience an expanded universe of a cruise experience.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

I remember reading some years ago that MSC actually prohibited solo bookings.  That is, you couldn't book unless you had at least two people in the cabin.  Did that change, and when?  Or was it a sailing-specific rule?

[Lois R]

Hi, I have a couple of friends who have sailed solo with MSC so maybe that prohibition was lifted...(although I don't recall the rule about not being able to sail solo with them).

[maryann2]

I am sailing solo with MSC in a couple of weeks. It was a special 2 for 1 price  MSC Meraviglia Copenhagen to New York via Iceland.

I think sometimes the website doesn't allow solos to book but you can if you telephone.

 

Edited September 7, 2019 by maryann2

[maryann2]

On 9/5/2019 at 2:18 PM, mef_57 said:

I can tell you more in May 2020 😊 I am booked for a 3 week repositioning cruise then.

No, MSC doesn't have anytime dining...unless you are in the high priced Yacht Club. I have been led to u derstand they seat solos together.

They seem to have some sort of thermal spa, but size will be ship dependent, I think. I found the pricing much more reasonable than several other lines.

As to solo friendly, it may depend on the itinerary and geographic location. It is much more European in style and demographics, so a lot more families. That being said, my 3 week repo shouldn't have many kids and there are at least a few solos on the Roll Call.

I would also ask on the MSC board and be more specific to the ship, or region.

Off topic but Maria are you joining us on the QE Singapore to Sydney Nov. 2020.  Another great solo price.

It was lovely sailing with you last December.

[mef_57]

22 hours ago, maryann2 said:

Off topic but Maria are you joining us on the QE Singapore to Sydney Nov. 2020.  Another great solo price.

It was lopvely sailing with you last December.

Hi Mary. I wish CC would enable  their PM service as I saw you were on this trip. It was lovely to  sail with you in Dec and would love this trip, but I don't think it is feasible next year. Very sad.  Have a wonderful time.....but then I think you always do.

[Hey Tina]

I've cruised MSC solo in mid 2018. What was my experience? It was great. That's a very broad question so all i can say is it was great. I can't compare to NCL because my only NCL cruise was about 15 years ago. I had flexible/anytime dining with my Aurea booking. They have a thermal spa. I don't know what you consider solo friendly so that's another thing I can speak to.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

13 hours ago, Hey Tina said:

I don't know what you consider solo friendly so that's another thing I can speak to.

I divide solo-friendliness into 4 categories.

1. Official policies (Example: The Costa website is deliberately set up to prevent solos from booking.)

2. Ship layouts (Example: Norwegian's ships have dedicated studio cabins for solos, price nonewithstanding.)

3. Crew treatment (Example: Sometimes waiters have a tendency to say "just one" in reference to "how many?")

4. Fellow passengers (Example: Time and again on Carnival, I got "adopted" by existing groups of friends.)

 

Factoring in these categories, where does MSC rank in each one?

Edited September 11, 2019 by LandlockedCruiser01

[Hey Tina]

The MSC site allowed me to book a solo cruise 3x. No funny business involved (e.g. I didn't book for 2 and have one person just not show up). I prefer a full size cabin, so I don't know about the availability of solo cabins. I had a crew member ask me "What, you don't have any friends?" when I told him I was on the cruise alone. You could chalk that up to a language barrier and respond "Of course I have friends, don't you have any friends?" or you could let it bother you for the rest of your trip and go to guest services and cause a scene and demand compensation. I chose the former. I don't go on a cruise to make friends so again, can't speak to that, and even if I could, me making friends on one MSC sailing doesn't guarantee the same experience for anyone on a different (or even the exact same) sailing.  That being said I did have conversations with other cruisers. I wouldn't say I made friends, but again, I don't travel solo to make friends.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

15 minutes ago, Hey Tina said:

I had a crew member ask me "What, you don't have any friends?" when I told him I was on the cruise alone. You could chalk that up to a language barrier and respond "Of course I have friends, don't you have any friends?" or you could let it bother you for the rest of your trip and go to guest services and cause a scene and demand compensation.

That's no "langauge barrier"!  That's just plain old disrespect!  He should have never asked you that.  "Don't you have any friends?" means the same thing in every language.  And it's none of his business why you cruise alone.  What if you lost a loved one, and were cruising alone to help you grieve?

 

I'm less forgiving, so I'd have definitely gone to guest services and complained, preferably to someone in a white shirt with shoulder insignia.  While firing that crew member would be overkill, some form of reprimand or a reassignment to a non-customer-facing role is definitely in order.

 

While I wouldn't demand compensation outright, I have no moral qualms about leveraging the situation to at least try to get some free drink credits out of it.

Edited September 11, 2019 by LandlockedCruiser01

[Hey Tina]

Meh. My time is valuable and I didn't want to spend my time on vacation complaining about something that I know had no malicious intent and I strongly suspect was due to a language barrier. Everyone is different though and the more people in the guest services line mean less people in front of me at the bar or buffet so I welcome people complaining 😄

[LandlockedCruiser01]

22 minutes ago, Hey Tina said:

Meh. My time is valuable and I didn't want to spend my time on vacation complaining about something that I know had no malicious intent and I strongly suspect was due to a language barrier. Everyone is different though and the more people in the guest services line mean less people in front of me at the bar or buffet so I welcome people complaining 😄

Fair enough.  But I don't like my motives questioned, unless a person is required by law to do so.  And if my complaint helps future solo passengers by improving employee training, I've indirectly done some good for society.  Which I'll reward myself for with a fancy drink in a bar. 🙂

Edited September 11, 2019 by LandlockedCruiser01

[Zippeedee]

I am happy to hear MSC has opened up to solo cruisers. I gave up on checking their website because there was "nothing available" when I put in one guest, but plenty of cabins for two or more.

As for that question about not having friends? Depending on my mood I just might fake a very sad "I'm a recent widow" just to make him feel bad!  

 

I'm not quite ready to give up on NCL, I love free style dining and the options it includes. I also find a more relaxed atmosphere and the crew is much more comfortable with solo travelers.

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, Hey Tina said:

I had a crew member ask me "What, you don't have any friends?" when I told him I was on the cruise alone. You could chalk that up to a language barrier and respond "Of course I have friends, don't you have any friends?" 

 

My response to such a question, by either fellow guests or by a crew member, is "My traveling companion was not able to travel this time."  And, my response to whomever would be a truthful statement.

[utopiahereicome]

I sailed solo this summer on Seaside, my first solo cruise and first experience with MSC, and I had a great time!  The only “solo specific” activity listed in the planner was a “get together” at one of the bars around 5:30pm on several nights.  I was able to book an Aurea balcony as a solo and had “anytime” dining as part of the Aurea experience.  I have only done 1 cruise on NCL (Escape in Haven) and it was not solo - one food comparison is that there are less “free” dining options on MSC, they have nothing like O’Sheehan’s.  On Seaside, I enjoyed both the buffet and the dining room for dinner, was always seated at a 2 top but never asked about the option to sit with other solos so can’t speak to that. 

 

I did purchase a weekly pass for the thermal suite, and it was good but not as great as NCL Escape - there were no windows and the thalassotherapy pool was much smaller. 

 

I am sailing solo on Bellissima on 10/25 out of Barcelona in an “interior studio” that was at a great price with no solo supplement.  I did call to see if I could upgrade to a balcony cabin, but was told solos cannot be booked into a cabin that sleeps 4 and those are the only balcony cabins left on that sailing.  

 

[SandraDJ]

I sailed solo on the Bellissima maiden voyage from Southampton to Barcelona.

 

I bought a pass for the thermal area for the whole cruise.  It was the best experience that I have had.  Some smaller ships have thermal areas, which are appropriate for the size of ship - not great.  The other biggest was NCL Getaway.  The facilities on offer weren't as good and varied as Bellissima.  Bellissima was more relaxing.  On Getaway people were having loud conversations in what was labelled as a quiet area - not to mention people reserving the heated loungers,

[SandyFromMiami]

I have a feeling it depends a great deal on which ship. My only MSC cruise was on Armonia.

Booked as a solo, but a friend joined me just before sailing. At dinner the first night we were at an 8-top with a brother and sister. After that, we got a 2-top by the window every night. If I had been alone, I would have told the hostess that I preferred the large table.

The cruise staff on Armonia is fantastic and made sure to include everyone. No doubt they would have been just as friendly if I had been alone.

My fellow guests were mostly couples and a few groups cruising together. (The matching t-shirts gave them away.)

[wnybenefits]

Well....I am booked SOLO in the Yacht Club on Meraviglia in December 2020.  I honestly am looking so forward to some peace and quiet.  This is my version of social distancing, hahaha.

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, wnybenefits said:

Well....I am booked SOLO in the Yacht Club on Meraviglia in December 2020.  I honestly am looking so forward to some peace and quiet.  This is my version of social distancing, hahaha.

 

Having sailed as a solo cruiser on Meraviglia in YC during January, you will be pleased.  The YC Pool Deck/Grill/Bar area has plentiful and comfortable seating with good service.  Trying to find a bit of shade at times, though, is tricky.  Our Deck Attendant erected a couple of tents, as the wind allowed, over tables near the Grill which helped.  But, one may need to find one needs to keep changing position if one does not want to be in the Sun constantly.  If it's too sunny, retreat to your Suite's veranda and if it is on the shady side of the ship, summon your Butler and order whatever you wish.  

 

MSC Meraviglia is a great cruise experience.  Don't stay in YC all the time--unless that is what you wish to do, of course.  Entertainment and music are excellent.  While there is music/entertainment(?) in the YC Lounge, much better is outside the YC confines.