MSC Concerns

[DCGuy64]

On 10/10/2021 at 9:10 AM, Tapi said:

 

 

OP: My best piece of advice is that you give MSC a try so that you can create your own opinion. I didn't fully understand what MSC was about until I sailed on them and I got to experience what they had to offer. I personally consider their overall product to be somewhere between Carnival and Royal Caribbean but with a European vibe which I love. MSC's larger ships like the Meraviglia have the "wow" factor that you find on larger Royal Caribbean ships. 

 

The two comments below show how subjective opinions can be.

 

 

We found the food on Disney to be OK, and at par with cruise lines that charge a fraction of their prices. They do have some of the best and most polished service we've ever experienced at sea, and their rotating restaurant concept is unique, but we found the food quality and taste to fall short of the hype. 

 

As far as MSC's food goes, we appreciate the varied selection at the Marketplace (buffet) which has everything from your  basics, to selections catering to a more international clientele (yes, there are some items that may not appeal to everybody, but that's part of the reason why I enjoy MSC since I get to sample new things). At the MDR, I find their offerings to be at par with other mass market cruise lines. 

 

 

Sailing MSC in the Mediterranean was a wonderful experience for us. We had sailed MSC once before in the Caribbean and we found the MSC experience in the Mediterranean to be far superior. In fact, to this day its been one of the best family cruises that we've taken. 

I agree with @Tapi. We love MSC and its food for exactly the reasons others DON'T like them, namely the European vibe. We've never had a bad meal on MSC, and some of them have been downright outstanding. In September when we were on the Splendida, I got the featured pasta every day at lunch and one of the homemade pastas every night for dinner. I was in heaven. Of course, what makes our cruises special is the staff, and we couldn't have been more pleased with them. They treated us like family.

[Gatordad1967]

On 10/10/2021 at 8:12 AM, Markanddonna said:

I've been on five other cruise lines and consider MSC to be a good value. There are some things that are different- not necessarily bad. The biggest problem is that they seem, even before the pandemic, to not have their act together with their website and customer service before the trip. On board, I had great experiences (four sailings) with the staff and those at the CS desk.

 

To be honest, I think a number of things have changed on all cruise lines since the pandemic. The cruise lines are bleeding money and looking for little ways to save money.

 

After a MSC Med cruise, I would likely not do a sailing in Europe again.

hey neighbor, we are in Galena

[Gatordad1967]

On 10/11/2021 at 10:10 AM, styles27 said:

You nailed it and described me to a “T”.  We never frequent chain restaurants and if I’m going out for dinner or any meal it better be as good or better than I make at home. 
I too am a from scratch (recipe developer not follower) cook

I stopped listening to negative food reviews when one time while vacationing in Mexico at a high end resort I overheard 2 ladies in the restroom talking about the Mexican food at the resort not being as good as what they eat at Taco Bell lol

 

It is what it is but I feel sorry for people who aren’t willing to explore outside of the “chain restaurant food”  box. 
 

We enjoyed our meals on MSC Divina in 2019 much more than the food we have eaten on other mass market cruise lines in the past.
We were in YC so that may be the reason but we’re sailing in Nov on Divina (not in YC) so we shall see if there is a big difference. 

Agreed, go into every cruise with an open mind.... 

[intr3pid]

One thing I recommend is not to compare any cruise line - much less MSC - with your Disney experience.  Disney's themed cruises are in a different bracket altogether.  Go in with an open mind and focus on the positives.  With one caveat, however.  That is, try not to make any major changes to your cruising plan - because if you do, that's when all the MSC administrative hell will break loose!

[Janet&Carl]

On 10/10/2021 at 11:25 AM, Susan in Maine said:

My friend and I are booked on the Divina next April. We booked it because it sails out of Port Canaveral and their private island.

 

For reference, I've sailed on Carnival, Princess, Disney and Royal Caribbean (my favorite). My friend has done Carnival and RCL.

 

After reading these boards, I have a couple of concerns. 1) Seemingly random reassignment of cabins. 2) quality of the food. I understand the MSC experience is different than the other US mainstream lines, and I'm looking forward to it. However, if the food isn't very good, I can stick with Carnival! And I love the cabin we've got and wouldn't be happy with that changing.

 

So........how concerned should I be about these issues? Should I stick with MSC or look for another cruise?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Never had my cabin changed - those that book a category rather than specific cabin might but I have ALWAYS had the cabin I booked.

 

[Janet&Carl]

1 minute ago, Janet&Carl said:

 

 

Never had my cabin changed - those that book a category rather than specific cabin might but I have ALWAYS had the cabin I booked.

 

 

 

P.S. We looove MSC food 🙂 look forward to it and after 10 cruises we still love it.

[hamrag]

On 10/12/2021 at 6:11 PM, DCGuy64 said:

.......We love MSC and its food for exactly the reasons others DON'T like them, namely the European vibe......In September when we were on the Splendida, I got the featured pasta every day at lunch and one of the homemade pastas every night for dinner.....

Ditto re the European vibe, but if you ate pasta for lunch and dinner for a week you must have been suffering chronic pasta deprivation these past 18 months or so! You need counselling services....🤣

Edited October 14, 2021 by hamrag

[Janet&Carl]

On 10/11/2021 at 2:37 PM, CampNCruise74 said:

I would like to hear more about your med Cruise if possible on MSC.  We were thinking about in a few years when our kids get older taking them on one of those.   What was your experience and how is it different from stateside msc? Thanks,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kids are VIPs on MSC - they will love it no matter their age.  Mine started cruising with MSC when they were 10 and 14 - they still looove cruising on MSC now they are 21 and 25.  We first sailed in the med Western then Eastern, then round the boot Genoa to Venice - then Northern Europe, Norway then we tried USA out of New York.  I can tell you I didnt like the cruise out of NY and its the only cruise I havent enjoyed.  It wasnt the ship or the food but it was the fellow passengers - all you heard all week was whinging. We sailed the following week out of Ft Lauderdale on the same ship, MSC Poesia, the same food same staff different passengers and it was Party Central we all had a ball.  

 

Cruising in the med is our favourite but we now cruise the longer repo cruises to and from there.  Our next is Kiel to Genoa 19 nights.

[Janet&Carl]

37 minutes ago, DarkStar8081 said:

 

So Disney without the schtick. Is that a fair statement?

Never cruised Disney so cant compare - and have never heard the word schtick !! what is that ? we are Australians prefer to go to Europe for the whole history thing and have not spent much time in USA - perhaps we are a bit too nerdy ?

[shipgeeks]

1 hour ago, Janet&Carl said:

 

 

Never had my cabin changed - those that book a category rather than specific cabin might but I have ALWAYS had the cabin I booked.

 

We've never had our cabin changed either.

However, there is a lot of discussion on another cruise line's forum about all the cabin changing that is going on at the moment.

[styles27]

The one and only time we cruised on MSC in the Mediterranean we chose and booked a specific aft facing balcony  on deck 11.
We printed out our luggage tags with that room number on them and tickets etc. Went to Rome spent a week there before boarding Divina. 
The night before our cruise I looked on the MSC site to be sure I had all the info needed and I noticed my aft balcony on deck 11 was switched to a room on deck 15. 
I wasn’t happy as I had chosen the room on deck 11  because the balconies are larger. 
Little did I know my room change was a free upgrade to the Yacht Club. 
It was amazing!

 

Booked same room on deck 11 on Divina again for 11/14/21. So far my chosen room is still showing as assigned but maybe the upgrade Gods will wave their magic wands upon us again the day before we leave. 😉

[PRH]

Wish we had a cabin assignment.  We carefully chose and booked a cabin only to find out a month later that we'd been changed to guarantee.  Then we were assigned to an aft balcony which was ok only to be changed back to guarantee 48 hours later.  We are still without a cabin assignment and cannot print out any documents as a result.  Our TA said we should have one no later than two days before sailing!  None of this has been done with any notice.  We board Nov 7th.

[styles27]

46 minutes ago, PRH said:

Wish we had a cabin assignment.  We carefully chose and booked a cabin only to find out a month later that we'd been changed to guarantee.  Then we were assigned to an aft balcony which was ok only to be changed back to guarantee 48 hours later.  We are still without a cabin assignment and cannot print out any documents as a result.  Our TA said we should have one no later than two days before sailing!  None of this has been done with any notice.  We board Nov 7th.

Where was your original room? Maybe it was one of the ones that they block off for Covid quarantine?

 

[dexddd]

Lots of recent reports of people getting rooms changed.

 

Disney is a very unique experience.

[Gatordad1967]

15 hours ago, DarkStar8081 said:

 

So Disney without the schtick. Is that a fair statement?

not really.  Disney is 100% focused on kids and the dumb mouse..... No casino.

 

On MSC, they have awesome kids club, but cool things for adults to do.

[Homosassa]

15 hours ago, Janet&Carl said:

 and have never heard the word schtick !! what is that ? 

Schtick comes from the Yiddish Schtik meaning comic routine or device (also has evolved to refer to a specific area of interest or expertise).

[JAGR]

On 10/14/2021 at 8:50 AM, Gatordad1967 said:

hey neighbor, we are in Galena

Westerville for us!

 

[Morgsmom]

15 hours ago, DarkStar8081 said:

 

So Disney without the schtick. Is that a fair statement?

Oh, no, MSC is not Disney at all.  A Disney cruise is a thing of beauty - if you can get over (or enjoy) all of the "Mouse" attributes.  The service, and customer service, is top notch and the food is great. Their specialty dining blows MSC out of the water.  However, it is very expensive and there are kids.  Lots of kids, even when the kids should be in school.  I wouldn't even begin to compare them.  

[CampNCruise74]

They did change my room, Bella class room to Bella class room.  I booked in February for a recent fall sailing.  SEE THE DIFFERENCE!?  Not cool.  The Solution; pay $210 to upgrade to Fantastica on the boat to get a room where I can see out my balcony in the aft area. They re-booked my old  room to someone else right after I paid in full in June.  Grrrrr.   Still love MSC though. 

 

Edited October 15, 2021 by CampNCruise74

[Gatordad1967]

1 hour ago, JAGR said:

Westerville for us!

 

Need a central ohio group cruise!

[PRH]

12 hours ago, styles27 said:

Where was your original room? Maybe it was one of the ones that they block off for Covid quarantine?

 

Can’t know with no communication!  We reserved a specific cabin, paid for it in full and then later we’re changed to guarantee status without notice.  

[shipgeeks]

5 hours ago, Gatordad1967 said:

Need a central ohio group cruise!

We keep wishing for an MSC ship sailing from Baltimore.

[MonsterJoe]

6 hours ago, CampNCruise74 said:

They did change my room, Bella class room to Bella class room.  I booked in February for a recent fall sailing.  SEE THE DIFFERENCE!?  Not cool.  The Solution; pay $210 to upgrade to Fantastica on the boat to get a room where I can see out my balcony in the aft area. They re-booked my old  room to someone else right after I paid in full in June.  Grrrrr.   Still love MSC though. 

 

That's fair play, though, right?  Because in Bella you don't pick your cabin anyway?

(Hey, it's only half obstructed, ya? :))

I'm not needling you - I'm just wondering if I understand things correctly.

[Gatordad1967]

33 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

We keep wishing for an MSC ship sailing from Baltimore.

That will take awhile I believe.

 

[CampNCruise74]

4 hours ago, MonsterJoe said:

That's fair play, though, right?  Because in Bella you don't pick your cabin anyway?

(Hey, it's only half obstructed, ya? :))

I'm not needling you - I'm just wondering if I understand things correctly

No worries, but yes I did pick the cabin with Bella and always have been able to booking straight thru msc. I just happened to pick the best dang one that is aft though because it's high and only half blocked. When I found that they changed my room upon ticket issuance, I called and they said they switched it after I made payment, no reason cited, I then asked if I could get my old room back but they said it was booked.

 

For us the half blocked vs full blocked was very important, particularly since I have 6 year old which would very obligingly stand on a chair with a full block to see over like his big sister can. 

 

All I could think about was that poor 18 month girl in Miami whose grandfather dropped her out the cruise ship windows on RC to her death. Tragic.