MSC ranked among the worst cruise ships.....

[BermudaBound2014]

I suspect that those that love MSC are going to be terribly offended by this latest report. But for those considering a booking on MSC, this might be helpful as an overview. A general data. A summary of what most report. It's certainly not gospel. This is simply a meta-analysis of Cruise Critic reviews and subject to all the appropriate limitations of self reporting data. In other words, Cruise critic reviews were tallied and the 13 worst cruise ships identified.

 

Will everyone find MSC  bad? Absolutely not. But when you average in 1,000's of reviews on Cruise critic it appears  MSC has 4 ships that ranks among the lowest 13.

 

Did this stop me from booking MSC? Absolutely not. I believe the price I paid is an exceptional value and will adjust my expectations accordingly.

 

Will everyone hate the food and service? Absolutely not. But more reviewers report MSC food quality and service to be less than satisfactory when comparing to the competition.

 

Will some people LOVE MSC? Absolutely yes. But this study  looks for trends that appear in the majority of reviews.  Out layers absolutely exist.

 

Below are the 13 'worst' cruise ships identified by "far and wide'. You can determine if this study is credible or not.

https://www.farandwide.com/s/worst-cruise-ships-c8eb6e9ffd384546

 

13. Ovation of the seas

12. Quantum of the seas

11. Princess Majestic

10. MSC Meriviglia

9. MSC Lirica

8. MSC Arminiam

7. MSC Preziosa

6. Cruise and Maritime Magellin

5. CArnival Sunrise

4. Costa Deliziosa

3. Costa Fascinosa

2. Costa Favolosa

1. Costa Venzia

 

Before everyone loses their mind, YES we acknowledge many people love MSC. YES we acknowledge many people find MSC food great. Yes, we acknowledge that self reporting data is limited. This study only looks for TRENDS. I have read reviews of all 13 listed above, and must say that it seems the author did due diligence before reporting. Trends do exist here. Even among those members who frequently post here who are also very much fans of MSC, the over whelming response to Meriviglia as been less than stellar.

 

PS: I think it's very encouraging that divina and seaside are not on the list :). 

 

[mafig]

Agree with you about Seaside and Divina.  

 

Surprised about the Princess and Royal Caribbean ships.

[Beardface]

Ehh, as long as you're counting all historical CC numbers, MSC is always going to suffer, for a variety of reasons.

[BermudaBound2014]

9 minutes ago, mafig said:

Agree with you about Seaside and Divina.  

 

Surprised about the Princess and Royal Caribbean ships.

 

I'm not surprised about the two RCL ships because they have been sailing primarily outside the Caribbean/US. I've sailed on Anthem (sister ship) and there is a design flaw to these ships with the middle esplanade. Ironically, Anthem and Meriviglia were both designed to sail in cold weather so I"m not sure if that comes into play.  It's been since 2011 that I've followed Princess with any diligence, so I really can't comment there, but I was surprised. I am also surprised that some of the super old HAL vessels didn't make the list, although they do excellent itineraries. 

Edited February 3, 2020 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

5 minutes ago, Beardface said:

Ehh, as long as you're counting all historical CC numbers, MSC is always going to suffer, for a variety of reasons.

 

 Meriviglia is a new ship, so not sure how much history there is?

[cellfree]

Can we all get the spelling of “Meraviglia” correct?!?

[Nikita4]

Nice post, but there are some of the ships names incorrect, MSC Meraviglia, Costa Venezia... so I think that's not a really realistic thing.

[BermudaBound2014]

12 minutes ago, Nikita4 said:

Nice post, but there are some of the ships names incorrect, MSC Meraviglia, Costa Venezia... so I think that's not a really realistic thing.

 

18 minutes ago, cellfree said:

Can we all get the spelling of “Meraviglia” correct?!?

 

Nikita, the artical has the ships names spelled correctly, it's just the OP that is an idiot when it comes to spelling :). 

[Markanddonna]

I think Cruise Critic reviews are helpful at times, but what really matters is return passengers. I think MSC made some mistakes when they first entered the American market but now most of the reviews are positive. While I'm not a rapid MSC cheerleader, I see they offer great value and a unique experience. They are perfect for families who love the bells and whistles, those seeking refuge in the Yacht Club, and those who aren't bothered by the majority European passengers on the ships. Some people really dislike the announcements in several languages. The MSC ships in the Caribbean are generally being rated quite well.

[versuco]

We are experienced cruisers with 45+ cruises sailed.  We have been on both Armonia & Meraviglia and had a fantastic time on both of these ships.  We had the worst cruise ever on Holland America Veendam, buy still enjoyed Bermuda.  A vacation is what you make of it.   Also sailed on Divina & Seaside and found the service and dining to be just fine. 

[rwdtgb]

The negative reviews I read about MSC all start with something that went wrong and then almost everything becomes an issue with the ship, the food, the entertainment, the staff and guest relations. This can be said about most cruise line reviews. 

 

With that said we have been on MSC twice and yes on the Armonia and both those cruises rank as some of the best we have experienced. We have been on over 50 plus cruises to include Cunard, Costa, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Carnival. 

 

Do your homework know what you are purchasing, go with an open mind, don't let a negative dictate the rest of the vacation and look at everything objectively.

[BermudaBound2014]

40 minutes ago, ronbe65 said:

I would change the title of this thread.

It should have been "Costa, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Princess ranked among the worst cruise ships...."

 

Happy cruising!

 

that's actually a good idea, I will see if they will change the title to be more fair to MSC although the title does say 'among' to indicate others exist.

 

But to be most accurate, it should say something like 2 RCL ships, 1 Princess ship, 1 Carnival ship, 1 C/M ship, 3 MSC ships and 4 Costa ships ranked as the 13 worst in the industry.

 

Edited February 3, 2020 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

Uggh... spell check, auto correct, and my fast fingers totally butchered the list. It's embarrassing.

 

Here is the correct spelling of each ship:

 

13. Ovation of the seas

12. Quantum of the seas

11. Princess Majestic

10. MSC Meraviglia

9. MSC Lirica

8. MSC Armonia

7. MSC Preziosa

6. Cruise and Maritime Magellan

5. Carnival Sunrise

4. Costa Deliziosa

3. Costa Fascinosa

2. Costa Favolosa

1. Costa Venezia

 

 

 

[Petersnow]

I`ve been on the MSC Divina twice and on the Meraviglia back on January 2019 from Barcelona and the service and overall experience for both cruises was great. MSC dollar by dollar can`t be beat. Both are very good ships, the Meraviglia of course is a more recent ship and is absolutely stunning, but food is far better on the Divina, perhaps the Divina is more americanized!!! Besides, food is a matter of individual taste. European people on Meraviglia, well, that`s could be discussed on another topic!!! Way different culture!!!!

MSC is my cruise line, i`ve been on 4 Princess ships and they are fine ships, but MSC does things their way, and love their classy style of the ships and atmosphere!!!

 

My overall experience with MSC has been quite good, there is space to improve some things of course, but when you go on vacation, please travel with open mind and you will enjoy at maximum that time!!!

Edited February 3, 2020 by Petersnow

[sidari]

BB ... The correct name for the Princess ship is Majestic Princess on which we have sailed along with Costa Deliziosa.

[BermudaBound2014]

Sidari lol.... I was trying to do cruise line first, ship second. Regardless, I have messed the list up royally and can't seem to get it right. 🙂

 

Petersnow, I also think MSC is an exceptional value. Excited for our Seaside trip in April. 

[travelberlin]

I have been on the MSC Preziosa a couple of times and I am booked on another cruise on that ship. For me it is a beautiful ship and the experience is according to what MSC offers. If those ships on the list are the worst cruise ships, that list is a reminder of how nice actually cruising is 😃 I am willing to cruise anytime on the MSC Preziosa.

[Petersnow]

13 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Petersnow, I also think MSC is an exceptional value. Excited for our Seaside trip in April.

 

Absolutely BermudaBound20.  They can`t be beat for the value!!! We want to go on the MSC Magnifica for a 12 day schedule to Greece and Israel on December 17, 2020 but here in Puerto Rico we are dealing with the earthquakes situation and my wife works in a school, and for safety reasons, most schools are closed or being inspected by structural engineers. So we change plans to go on the Seaside to lower some costs hahahaha. But on June 2020 we will try Northern Europe maybe on MSC Virtuosa.

Regards

[electro]

To keep this in perspective, one must also take into account that most MSC negative reviews on CC are written by Americans who what everything to be like it is on American cruise lines.

Complaining about too many languages is a prime example.

[sidari]

22 minutes ago, electro said:

To keep this in perspective, one must also take into account that most MSC negative reviews on CC are written by Americans who what everything to be like it is on American cruise lines.

Complaining about too many languages is a prime example.

Electro ... To be fair this is an American centric website and the Majority of subscribers are from the USA so there will be a larger number of reviews written by them.

Edited February 3, 2020 by sidari

[CGTNORMANDIE]

I would not pay too much attention to a low MSC rating.  Most of the bad reviews concern something that went wrong and the inability for MSC customer service to solve the problem.  It is also important to remember that MSC is a new company in American waters and has had teething problems.  Basically most of these problems have been solved as MSC is a work in progress.  The reviews are markedly improved in 2019 when compared to the previous 3 years.  

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

3 hours ago, electro said:

To keep this in perspective, one must also take into account that most MSC negative reviews on CC are written by Americans who what everything to be like it is on American cruise lines.

Complaining about too many languages is a prime example.

 

I actually enjoy having all those different language speakers on board.  I got to practice my French when a woman asked for directions to the ladies room.  Where I live, I sometimes hear more French and German in the grocery store than English during "season."  The concierge on the Seaside last fall told me he spoke six languages fluently.  And another one sort of fluently.

[electro]

1 hour ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

I actually enjoy having all those different language speakers on board.  I got to practice my French when a woman asked for directions to the ladies room.  Where I live, I sometimes hear more French and German in the grocery store than English during "season."  The concierge on the Seaside last fall told me he spoke six languages fluently.  And another one sort of fluently.

I will take one announcement in 5 languages over 5 announcement in english any day!

 

[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

I feel a little vindicated seeing this.  I'm a diamond plus member on Royal---been on over 40 cruises, so obviously I love the line(when travelling with kids)   I went on the Anthem ship once(sister to Quantum) and I just wasn't a fan of that ship.  Have been told by others i'm nuts, so glad to see the only Royal ships that made this list were in the Quantum family.  I agree with Bermudabound2014, there is a design flaw in these ships.  I am booked on my first MSC cruise in the yacht club this summer, looking forward to it(on the Grandiosa).  If I am cruising without my kids, Crystal is tops for me, leaving for a cruise on Crystal within 2 weeks.

[neptuno]

Would have to agree regarding Meraviglia.  "MERAVIGLIA not so meraviglia.  Great galeria, not so crowded, but lacking variety of good dance venues for such a large ship.  btw, no breakfast at the buffet after 10am...*****?