Food on msc cruises

[Craiglk]

How is the food on the buffet and main dining rooms?  I have heard mixed reviews about it.  Also, is it worth it to get the specialty dining plan on board

[Morgsmom]

Hi @Craiglk and welcome to Cruise Critic.  You will get as many answers as there are posters.  It truly depends on what you like to eat and how you like to dine.  

[Craiglk]

Thanks for the kind welcome I have seen videos on YouTube about a formal night how strict is the dress code on the formal night

[Morgsmom]

10 minutes ago, Craiglk said:

Thanks for the kind welcome I have seen videos on YouTube about a formal night how strict is the dress code on the formal night

LOL!  there's a lot of debate about that.  It is considered in good form for gents to wear pants and a collared shirt and ladies to wear a pantsuit/dress/dress pants.  HOWEVER in actuality it's a free for all.

[JT1962]

As Mogsmom said, there are as many opinions on the food and many things on MSC. Most seem to either love it or hate. I found the food to be comparable to or better than the food on other lines I have sailed (primarily Carnival & Royal Caribbean). I sailed in a Fantastica Balcony and ate in the main dining room, buffet and steak house (1 night). 
 

My recommendation is to give MSC a try. I was pleasantly surprised based on many negative reviews I read prior to my cruise. They have some great rates and Ocean Key is excellent. Worst case scenario is you’ll find it’s not for you, but you may find you have a new option for cruising.

 

Some things I found regarding food: 

 

- There are usually less choices on the dining room menus than other cruise lines, however, you can order multiple items from each section on the menu. 
 

- There tends to be less beef than on other cruise lines sailing from the US.

 

- Shrimp Cocktail, Steak & a few other items cost extra in the dining room on nights other than “Elegant” night. 
 

- The menus are more European than most lines sailing from the US, but I always found items I liked. 
 

- There are almost always a chicken, fish / seafood, pasta, vegetarian and one other meat item on the entrees each night. 
 

- The Steakhouse was excellent. I had the 3 Course Tasting Menu. 
 

Below is a link to my post after my cruise on Meraviglia in January that includes some menus. These may not be the same as what you might see if you book a cruise, but will give you an idea of what they serve: 

 

 

[Steppy08]

I haven’t sailed MSC since 2016, but I found their food very comparable to the other lines, perhaps a bit better in some areas. 
 

The cheese selection on board was something I still talk about. I ate so much cheese that week. 😂

 

the one thing I was disappointed in was the pasta. I guess I was expecting it to be better since, you know, they are Italian and European. It was mediocre. That was of course in the main dining room so the speciality restaurants may be better. 

[eagletwo]

1 hour ago, JT1962 said:

As Mogsmom said, there are as many opinions on the food and many things on MSC. Most seem to either love it or hate. I found the food to be comparable to or better than the food on other lines I have sailed (primarily Carnival & Royal Caribbean). I sailed in a Fantastica Balcony and ate in the main dining room, buffet and steak house (1 night). 
 

My recommendation is to give MSC a try. I was pleasantly surprised based on many negative reviews I read prior to my cruise. They have some great rates and Ocean Key is excellent. Worst case scenario is you’ll find it’s not for you, but you may find you have a new option for cruising.

 

Some things I found regarding food: 

 

- There are usually less choices on the dining room menus than other cruise lines, however, you can order multiple items from each section on the menu. 
 

- There tends to be less beef than on other cruise lines sailing from the US.

 

- Shrimp Cocktail, Steak & a few other items cost extra in the dining room on nights other than “Elegant” night. 
 

- The menus are more European than most lines sailing from the US, but I always found items I liked. 
 

- There are almost always a chicken, fish / seafood, pasta, vegetarian and one other meat item on the entrees each night. 
 

- The Steakhouse was excellent. I had the 3 Course Tasting Menu. 
 

Below is a link to my post after my cruise on Meraviglia in January that includes some menus. These may not be the same as what you might see if you book a cruise, but will give you an idea of what they serve: 

 

 

Wow! Best response I’ve seen on Cruise Critic in a long time. Well said. 

[alohayall]

(Seashore, December 2021). At dinner, the buffet would have a Caesar salad station (with protein available), a carved meat w/au jus or gravy, potato or starch and a green veggie or two.  Burgers, hot dogs, fries.  Other side: rice, pasta dishes (about 5-6). Assorted pre-made sandwiches, salads, breads.  Desserts, fruits. PIZZA.

 

I think lunch and breakfast had a whole lot more, making a big serving area.  
 

Pizza was also every late night.  They would make pizza by request; you were not limited by what was already made.  Each night I was able to have their marinara on whole wheat - which I discovered on Day 1.  
 

I ate most of my dinners in the buffet after reading MDR menus. What I ordered in the MDR was decent food, just not always what I wanted to eat.

 

I had the 3-course dining experience at Butcher’s cut steak house. (Complimentary with Status Match program; my top level Disney status = MSC too level Diamond.  This was done before cruising.  Status Match into MSC Voyager’s Club, VC, loyalty program can also save you 5% in cruise fare on select sail dates).  At the time I sailed, purchase of the Butcher’s cut meal was ~ $39 + 15% gratuity.  It was an excellent meal. More than I could eat in one sitting. So they boxed up my leftovers. (Mini fridge in room kept the steak fresh and I ate it for breakfast.)
 

I decided to dine at the teppanyaki restaurant for lunch on a Sea Day.  There were 3 guests, which takes away part of the fun experience.  The food was good quality; I chose the top level selection at perhaps $59.  But I get more enjoyment at my local teppanyaki with a filet dinner at < $20. I won’t be repeating that venue.

 

Marinara pizza on the buffet

 

Caesar Salad at Butcher’s Cut. Shaved Parmesan and Parmesan crisps.  Cheese and bacon roll. As excellent as my filet was, the salad is what I look forward to repeating.

 

Buffet on Ocean Cay.  The kiwi was one serving.  Not everything was great. But it was enough.  Lunch only, for a few hours. There are also some food trucks, complimentary and for-fee items (I think mostly seafood for $)

 

There’s Coke in every photo.  I just purchased it as I wanted plus some bottled water for night (pills).  I did not spend as much as a drinks package would have cost. 

[wcook]

I enjoy the food on MSC. But if “great food” is a priority, MSC might not be the line for you. 
 

As for dress code on formal night - don’t show up to the MDR in jorts. But as long as you’ve got the basics (pants/shirt/shoes) you are fine. If you want to participate, think sparkly rather than look-how-much-money-I-spent. 
 

 

Edited July 23, 2022 by wcook

[Nunagoras]

Pretty much everyone has said it all before me, thanks, let me to give my 2 cents:

 

If you're used to such an RCI Oasis class vessel, which is my possible comparison cruise wise: Bear in mind that I compare only European sailings in both lines.

 

Breakfast and Lunch buffets - Same quality in both lines. Oasis has a little edge because space available give us more options.

 

Dinner buffet - Same quality, but Oasis has a clear edge because by default MSC buffets are seen as a "last opportunity" to eat if you fail your allocated MDR time slot, so generally less options. Things might to be different on the US sailings, but here in Europe MSC dinner buffets are really that poor.

 

MDR breakfast, lunch and dinner - Same quality, but MSC has a clear edge here. Smaller portions than on Oasis, generally better, more refined food presentation, less entertainment from the crew, less pressure to purchase specialties or a la carte paid items, a quieter ambiance; all of them command for a more familiar and relaxed meal. Service can to be a bit slower on MSC, but by default an holiday meal in Europe is set to be a family social event. They may have that settled down on US sailings (If I happen to make another Oasis cruise, I'll perhaps to have all my dinners from the buffet, because it is where the edge is really).

 

All in all: both lines will follow here the 4* (mainstream) European hotel standards in land. Tastes are subjective, effective sense of quality is as objective as it can be. I'd go with both lines with no doubt. For me MSC desserts are far better than RCI ones because MSC desserts are less sweat than RCI, making sugar to be the linking element among other ingredients rather the star of the dish, but that is personal. RCI has clearly better buffets and secondary eating venues, but that is on an Oasis class that really has no competitor to date. On smaller ships the difference wouldn't be that big, if any, and that, as a fair comparison would make MSC an, even if slightly, superior product.

 

Hope to have helped a bit in such an honest analytic way.

[deliver42]

I've been on 3 MSC cruises with a 4th booked, and never had a problem with the food quality in the MDR or buffet. The only problem in the buffet at times has limited items.

[Gatordad1967]

11 hours ago, deliver42 said:

I've been on 3 MSC cruises with a 4th booked, and never had a problem with the food quality in the MDR or buffet. The only problem in the buffet at times has limited items.

Agreed.  Their food is pretty good.  If you don't like an item, pick another one out is what I always say.

 

 

 

[MsTabbyKats]

One word....pizza (I'm an old time NYC pizza snob....I know my pizza)

I found the buffet limited....nothing compared to NCL.  

MDR...not impressed, but I'm never impressed with MDR food.

 

The last MSC cruise....I lived on pizza!

 

I found that the people "dressed well".  Not dressed-up....just they seemed to have a sense of style

[Gatordad1967]

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

One word....pizza (I'm an old time NYC pizza snob....I know my pizza)

I found the buffet limited....nothing compared to NCL.  

MDR...not impressed, but I'm never impressed with MDR food.

 

The last MSC cruise....I lived on pizza!

 

I found that the people "dressed well".  Not dressed-up....just they seemed to have a sense of style

their pizza is the bombdiggity

 

[wcook]

30 minutes ago, Gatordad1967 said:

their pizza is the bombdiggity

 

Is that a good thing, or bad? 

[no1talks]

4 hours ago, wcook said:

Is that a good thing, or bad? 

It means the pizza slaps. 🙃
(It's very good pizza.)

[Gatordad1967]

5 hours ago, no1talks said:

It means the pizza slaps. 🙃
(It's very good pizza.)

as good as any joint in NYC

 

[MsTabbyKats]

5 hours ago, Gatordad1967 said:

as good as any joint in NYC

 

As good as any joint on NYC when I was a kid....when all "the pizza men" were old Italian guys who immagrated from italy.

[Seadweller001]

If you want a great deal and an amazing pizza, order this $12 Supreme onboard.  Back home this 4 lb pizza would be $30 plus tax and tip.   We order two on a 7 day cruise delivered to our room.  Highly Recommended!

 

 

[J0Y0US]

4 hours ago, Seadweller001 said:

If you want a great deal and an amazing pizza, order this $12 Supreme onboard.  Back home this 4 lb pizza would be $30 plus tax and tip.   We order two on a 7 day cruise delivered to our room.  Highly Recommended!

 

 

 

Is this the same pizza as whats in the buffet area?

 

What free options for pizza are there around the ship?

[shipgeeks]

Pizza in the buffet is free.  We frequently went there late in the evening, or late afternoon, waited for it to come out of the oven, and grabbed some right away.  Yum!  IMO, so much better than having it delivered (here at home, or room service on a ship).

[J0Y0US]

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

Pizza in the buffet is free.  We frequently went there late in the evening, or late afternoon, waited for it to come out of the oven, and grabbed some right away.  Yum!  IMO, so much better than having it delivered (here at home, or room service on a ship).

 

How late is the buffet open typically?

 

Also if we stay Yacht Club it sounds like there is no charge for the pizza delivery (other than optional tip).

[Seadweller001]

I have ordered Pizza at 11 pm.  The Butler or Jr Butler on night duty will deliver.  Best to call the YC Concierge to order it.  I order a Supreme with extra sauce and extra veggies.

 

The buffet pizza is excellent but they are not super loaded with toppings.

 

Another version of the Supreme with difff cheeses added.  Excellent too.  (Divina, April 2022)

Neither pizza is from the main buffet area.

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2022 by Seadweller001

[Stockjock]

In my view, the food in the MDR is never very good nor very bad.  Average, is a good way to put it.  At times, you may find something to be above average.  Other times, the food might be below average.  It's rarely/never memorable and seldom terrible.

I think the buffet is average to slightly above average.

[JAGR]

10 hours ago, Seadweller001 said:

I have ordered Pizza at 11 pm.  The Butler or Jr Butler on night duty will deliver.  Best to call the YC Concierge to order it.  I order a Supreme with extra sauce and extra veggies.

 

The buffet pizza is excellent but they are not super loaded with toppings.

 

Another version of the Supreme with difff cheeses added.  Excellent too.  (Divina, April 2022)

Neither pizza is from the main buffet area.

 

 

 

You mentioned that the pizza was $12.  Was that just a generous tip?  There should have been no charge fot YC.