Overall Comparison between MSC and Celebrity!

[cheeseheads4ever]

Well I’m sure this question has been on this site many times but not that I can find. We are cruisers that love to be on a ship. Withdrawals are in full swing with us now after not being on a ship in way over a year. We have traveled last 10 cruises on Celebrity but want to branch out some.

Have heard some good things and bad things about MSC. Ships are beautiful, staff friendly food good. Drinks good.what we like in the drink packages where we can get drinks(Martinis) anytime, anywhere. We like a low number of kids. Want a balcony room. Are there anything with MSC such as procedures that we should know about?

we really won’t do any spa stuff but will hit the gym just to work off some of the Martinis. One thing we heard is with the drink pkg extra plus that goes upto $9 a drink if you order a $15 martini it’s not just the difference you pay for it’s the complete $15. We like martinis and cocktails. Not wine drinkers. Coffees and water during the day. If anyone who has been on the ship that starts with an M cant even spell it and has tips and suggestions for us please send us your ideas. Any add on prices we need to know about? Any places you have to eat or drink at?

Thanks to all for your future input to help us out..Just want to make sure we will not be disappointed!

.

[SalthMate]

2 hours ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

Well I’m sure this question has been on this site many times but not that I can find. We are cruisers that love to be on a ship. Withdrawals are in full swing with us now after not being on a ship in way over a year. We have traveled last 10 cruises on Celebrity but want to branch out some.

Have heard some good things and bad things about MSC. Ships are beautiful, staff friendly food good. Drinks good.what we like in the drink packages where we can get drinks(Martinis) anytime, anywhere. We like a low number of kids. Want a balcony room. Are there anything with MSC such as procedures that we should know about?

we really won’t do any spa stuff but will hit the gym just to work off some of the Martinis. One thing we heard is with the drink pkg extra plus that goes upto $9 a drink if you order a $15 martini it’s not just the difference you pay for it’s the complete $15. We like martinis and cocktails. Not wine drinkers. Coffees and water during the day. If anyone who has been on the ship that starts with an M cant even spell it and has tips and suggestions for us please send us your ideas. Any add on prices we need to know about? Any places you have to eat or drink at?

Thanks to all for your future input to help us out..Just want to make sure we will not be disappointed!

.

 

Hi. My last cruise (Oct 2nd) was on Celebrity Edge and my previous cruise was on MSC Meraviglia. So, I think I can offer a decent comparison. The top thing for me was price and value. I wasn't planning on the MSC Meraviglia cruise but someone tipped me off about the price. At the time, MSC was offering balcony staterooms for the price of an inside (2 category free upgrade). The MSC Meraviglia was doing short 3 & 4 day cruises out of Miami, so I did a B2B to make it like a full 7 day cruise. All in, my cruise fare was $638 for a 7-day  cruise in a balcony stareroom! So, price/value was the biggest difference for me. Both ships were beautiful but I give the Edge the "edge" (no pun intended) because to me, she is both beautiful and innovative/modern. The staff & crew on both ships were fantastic (you could tell they were happy & grateful to be back to work and it definitely showed). MSC Meraviglia had a better spa & thermal suite than Edge. 2 long, rectangular hot tubs/whirlpools (Edge did not have any). MSC Meraviglia's faux stone walls made the thermal suite into a grotto. Beautiful. The basic drink package on MSC was unsat, i e. only 2 beers - Lite & Heineken. I hade to upgrade the package (but then, there was a huge variety of beers, wines & liquors available). So, I would say both cruises were awesome (mainly because of the crew/staff). MSC is definitely "big bang for the buck" however. I think MSC is trying to increase their "footprint" in the U.S. market and are undercutting their competitors (NCL, RCC & CCL). This will give you a clue; I booked MSC Meraviglia again for Nov 20-28th on an 8-day S. Caribbean cruise. Hope this helps.

Edited October 23, 2021 by SalthMate

[Stockjock]

I've also done multiple cruises on MSC and Celebrity.  My take.

MSC customer service is horrendous, but the on ship experience is pretty good.  Something I told my GF tonight, "Celebrity will screw you, but at least they call to tell you they're screwing you.  MSC doesn't call".  In other words, communications from MSC is often poor.

If you have a problem on Celebrity, if you call they might be able to fix it.  On MSC, their agents mean well but they will mess up your reservation as often as not.

Generally, MSC offers a better value.

MSC's loyalty program is better, in my view.  They offer status matching and legitimate discounts of up to 20% through Voyager's Club.

Both ships have nice cabins.  I probably prefer MSC's, especially on their newer ships.

Celebrity more upscale, in terms of the ship and clientele.  But MSC is certainly several cuts above Carnival and similar.

Food quality is better on Celebrity.

Celebrity has better drinks in their drink package.  Also, if you buy a more expensive drink on Celebrity than what is allowed by your drink package, you pay the difference.  On MSC, you pay the full price of the drink.  That said, often MSC's drink package pricing is quite a bit better.  I have a 10-night summer cruise out of Northern Europe booked.  The drink package only cost me about $150 per person for 10 nights on MSC, which at $15 per day was a great value.  Pretty sure I couldn't touch that pricing on Celebrity.

Both have decent entertainment.  More of a European twist on MSC.  More piano, opera and of course plenty of rock too.  Announcements in more languages on MSC, which can get tedious.

MSC's crew is not bad, but on Celebrity it will be more service-oriented and friendly.

Both good choices.  Let us know if you have any additional questions.

And always remember the MSC Golden Rule:  Once your reservation looks the way you want it to, for God's sake, don't call MSC about anything!

Edited October 23, 2021 by Stockjock

[perakcruiser]

MSC and Celebrity are my favorite cruise companies. But for different reasons, comparing is not so easy, because MSC is way cheaper. If you have been spoiled by Celebrity for many years then you should go for MSC only with the newer ships and not with Lirica- or Musica-Class. 

 

The annoying Over-Friendliness of the Celebrity crew not appears on MSC, that is a good thing for many. Gyms are great, overall the (new) MSC ships are more spectacular, Celebrity food is better. But no drama, MSC has a lot of exciting signature dishes. 

 

Indeed both are great choices, but really keep this in mind:
 

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

And always remember the MSC Golden Rule:  Once your reservation looks the way you want it to, for God's sake, don't call MSC about anything!

 

Just to add: "And when onboard, for God's sake, only go to the ship reception if it is really, really, really necessary."

 

[Morgsmom]

10 hours ago, Stockjock said:

And always remember the MSC Golden Rule:  Once your reservation looks the way you want it to, for God's sake, don't call MSC about anything!

This should be a "Sticky" thread!!! 🙂

 

[cheeseheads4ever]

Love it! Thanks for the responses. If anyone else wants to contribute to this thread feel free.

I will remember the MSC Golden rule!

Thanks again…

[mafig]

13 hours ago, Stockjock said:

And always remember the MSC Golden Rule:  Once your reservation looks the way you want it to, for God's sake, don't call MSC about anything!

So true!😁

[Seadweller001]

Celebrity:  pricey and amenities vanishing.  M class ships not renovated are not they appealing.

 

Crew is disingenuous with some ridiculous compliments.  We are not movie or glamour stars.  
 

Food in MDR good most nights.  Luminae is a step up from the MDR.

 

Top loyalty level get no free Specialty Restaurant dinner.

 

After 11 pm the ship is asleep.

 

No dedicated private island.

 

MSC:  the YC.  AMAZING, enough written about it.

 

Coco Key (cay), AMAZING, worth the price of admission.

 

More relaxed atmosphere.

 

Diamond Members, much easier obtained than Zenith Level, get a free Specialty Restaurant Dinner.

Better value for the money.

 

My prediction:  in 10 years MSC will be the largest cruiseline in the world, privately owned with ZERO accountability to shareholders.

[cheeseheads4ever]

Just a couple more questions that popped in my head. How is the drink service onboard?

We are looking at a cruise that has the Easy Plus package included. So seeing how my wife drinks martinis. We won’t be getting those in the Easy Plus package so we would have to upgrade to the Premium Plus Package. So would we just pay so much per day to upgrade. Like Celebrity you can pay $12 a day including gratuity to upgrade from Classic to Premium.

I know both have to have drink pkg if one person has it but can one have easy plus and one upgrade to premium plus or do both have to upgrade.

Sorry for all the questions. Hopefully no confusion.

[perakcruiser]

7 hours ago, Seadweller001 said:

My prediction:  in 10 years MSC will be the largest cruiseline in the world, privately owned with ZERO accountability to shareholders.

This will not take 10 years. They are unstoppable. 

[Seadweller001]

16 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

This will not take 10 years. They are unstoppable. 

That would be great but RCL is going crazy with new builds.  Deep pockets in RCL.

[intr3pid]

MSC is a mass-market line, while Celebrity tends to serve a premium market.  It's not a good comparison.  One is a low-cost Walmart, while the other is sort of a Whole Foods. 

 

The only comparable aspect between the two is their concierge experience, which is truly cost effective on MSC.  MSC's Yacht Club (YC) is its saving grace.  If you aren't sailing in YC, you are looking at a significant downgrade to your Celebrity cruise experience.

 

MSC's newer ships look shiny, but every cruise line is building new ships.  Including Celebrity.

 

The biggest issue with MSC is its horrible information system.  Being a privately owned company with no accountability is one of the factors.  They have had to undercut the big three to get folks to sail, which has meant almost zero investment in their backend and other non-revenue systems.  A poor website hasn't been updated in years, and their customer service can't solve a problem even if their life depended on it. 

 

If you want to sail on MSC coming from a Celebrity experience, here are the only two scenarios I recommend:

 

1.  Sail concierge (MSC's Yacht Club)

2.  Use MSC's low-cost cruises to sail a bit more during the year but stick with Celebrity for prime vacation time.  There is a reason why those cruises are so cheap.

 

In either situation, pack your patience at the door.  Treat it as a different experience which you can still enjoy once you are on board.

[SalthMate]

Wow, I sure didn't experience the poor customer service on my MSC Meraviglia cruise. Of course, I booked and pre-planned the cruise online, so no personal interaction with the MSC office. And the crew onboard was fantastic and would go above and beyond to please. Excellent customer service onboard, imo. I believe MSC Meraviglia is a newer MSC build, so she was "new & shiny". I thought she was a beautiful ship but I gave Celebrity Edge the "edge" (no pun intended) because she was beautiful AND innovative/modern. However, the spa & thermal suite on MSC Meraviglia wins over the Edge, hands down. But MSC wins on price & value. To be fair, I'm comparing 2 newer, more modern ships in the MSC & Celebrity fleet. I can't comment on the lines' older cruise ships. I'm booked on MSC Meraviglia again and have a bid in to upgrade into the YC. Fingers crossed 🤞...

[WannaCruise365]

12 hours ago, SalthMate said:

Wow, I sure didn't experience the poor customer service on my MSC Meraviglia cruise. Of course, I booked and pre-planned the cruise online, so no personal interaction with the MSC office. And the crew onboard was fantastic and would go above and beyond to please. Excellent customer service onboard, imo. I believe MSC Meraviglia is a newer MSC build, so she was "new & shiny". I thought she was a beautiful ship but I gave Celebrity Edge the "edge" (no pun intended) because she was beautiful AND innovative/modern. However, the spa & thermal suite on MSC Meraviglia wins over the Edge, hands down. But MSC wins on price & value. To be fair, I'm comparing 2 newer, more modern ships in the MSC & Celebrity fleet. I can't comment on the lines' older cruise ships. I'm booked on MSC Meraviglia again and have a bid in to upgrade into the YC. Fingers crossed 🤞...

I agree 100%. ! Our Meraviglia cruise in August couldn’t have been better. Customer service excellent! Crew super! I also do all my own booking online. 

[publicpersona]

If entertainment is important to you, know that Celebrity usually (but not always) has production shows with mostly live music. MSC uses canned music, but their singers and dancers are better than on Celebrity.

 

And getting down to details .. on Celebrity, when you have wi-fi for one device, that means one device at a time but you are welcome to switch around by logging off and back on. On MSC, one device means one device dammit.

[Seadweller001]

MSC canceled my 10/28 Divina Cruise, 2.5 weeks later FULL refund applied to my CC.

 

EXCELLENT customer as far as I am concerned.

[Gatordad1967]

Both are excellent cruise lines.  Celebrity is more akin to Holland America than MSC.  Great Food, but lacking a lot of amenities for families.  We have stayed in balcony cabin and suites on both.  My advice is if you do choose MSC, go in with an open mind.  We did and had an awesome cruise. 

 

 

[cheeseheads4ever]

Well we booked today. Trying a 3 nighter. We are excited to get on a cruise ship. Do you all recommend booking a specialty dining online of wait till you are onboard to hopefully get a discount?

Also… we got the extra plus drink pkg but my wife likes Martinis. Customer service said we could upgrade to Premium for $20 a day. But online they say $20 to premium plus..

confusing.

Where do I find the list of bars?

[SalthMate]

12 minutes ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

Well we booked today. Trying a 3 nighter. We are excited to get on a cruise ship. Do you all recommend booking a specialty dining online of wait till you are onboard to hopefully get a discount?

Also… we got the extra plus drink pkg but my wife likes Martinis. Customer service said we could upgrade to Premium for $20 a day. But online they say $20 to premium plus..

confusing.

Where do I find the list of bars?

 

Congrats on your booking. Which MSC ship? As far as purchasing a specialty dining package, you should get a discount from the cruise line by purchasing it in advance, before the cruise. Same for the drink package. When I was on my MSC Meraviglia cruise, I upgraded to the Plus drink package which for me, had more than enough variety/choice of alcohol. I think the Premuum Plus Package is for the top-shelf stuff. If your wife likes her martinis made with top-shelf liquor, the Premium Plus may be worth the extra cost. For a list of bars, check out one of the cruise ship deck plan sites online (i.e. cruisemapper, cruise deck plans, etc).

[cheeseheads4ever]

We are going on the Meraviglia. This is all so different. We usually wait till onboard to haggle for discounted specialty dining. 

We are excited to go finally. Just need to figure out the little tricks on cruising on MSc.

We are happy with room and location. Should be fun just need to get our status match ok’d so we can get our discount… It turned out we can status match IHG or Celebrity but both are gold. Are they fairly fast with cocktails or slow..should be fast with half the cruisers onboard..

Thanks for your help!!

[SalthMate]

50 minutes ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

We are going on the Meraviglia. This is all so different. We usually wait till onboard to haggle for discounted specialty dining. 

We are excited to go finally. Just need to figure out the little tricks on cruising on MSc.

We are happy with room and location. Should be fun just need to get our status match ok’d so we can get our discount… It turned out we can status match IHG or Celebrity but both are gold. Are they fairly fast with cocktails or slow..should be fast with half the cruisers onboard..

Thanks for your help!!

 

I loved the MSC Merviglia. Beautiful, beautiful ship. Staff & crew were fantastic. The cost of the cruise was also fantastic; MSC gave me a balcony stateroom for the price of an inside!

 

Yeah, you shouldn't have to "haggle" onboard for a discounted price on a specialty dining package. If anything, the discounts go away if you wait until you get onboard to buy your dining package. Buy it online before your cruise. You'll love the Finecut Steakhouse.

 

No problem with the speed of the service. You're correct, the reduced pax capacities definitely help but I think MSC Meraviglia's staff/crew are excellent and would provide quick turnaround service even if the ship was at full capacity.

 

Have a great cruise on MSC  Meraviglia! I'll be back on her on Nov 20-28th (Thanksgiving cruuse!). Do the Italians eat turkey for Thanksgiving? 😂

[perakcruiser]

4 hours ago, SalthMate said:

Have a great cruise on MSC  Meraviglia! I'll be back on her on Nov 20-28th (Thanksgiving cruuse!). Do the Italians eat turkey for Thanksgiving? 😂

No. And Thanksgiving has a different date all around the world for a obvious reason 😉

 

But as MSC USA now seems to be allowed to do more and more their own thing there should be a Turkey on the menu für US Thanksgiving. Especially when no other nationalities are allowed anyway. 

 

[cheeseheads4ever]

Thanks so much for the info! Very much appreciated!

[SalthMate]

40 minutes ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

Thanks so much for the info! Very much appreciated!

 

My pleasure (hope I'm accurate, lol). Do you guys live in Wisconsin? I see by your CC screen name and picture that you're Packer fans. I live in Muskegon, MI so earlier this season, I took the SS Badger (historic auto/passenger ferry) from Ludington, MI to Manitowoc, WI and then drove over to Green Bay (stayed in a hotel). Punched one of my "bucket list" items by attending the Packers vs Lions game at Lambeau Field. Awesome experience (of course, my Lions lost 😩).

 

Marty

Edited October 26, 2021 by SalthMate

[cheeseheads4ever]

Yes lived in Green Bay for 30 years of my life. Attended every single packer game while there. Retired and move to Daytona Beach to retire and have been here for 8 years. Love it. Just have to dodge a Hurricane of two but this year we were lucky.

I have more questions but will rest them for now…

Thanks again..