MSC vs other cruise lines such as Holland America, RCL or Celebrity - Please PM me

[Longwood50]

I am considering booking an MSC Cruise but a bit concerned.  I have in the past stuck with the major cruise lines because of their consistent good reviews.  The MSC ships look fabulous.  I am wondering if someone who has had experience on MSC versus the other major lines can private message me and let me know of their first hand experience.  There are some wonderful itineraries on ships like the MSC Orchestra and Sinfonia but I see they are rated as only a 3.5 star as contrasted to the many Holland America, RCL, and Celebrity ships that are 4.5 to 5 star.  

Specifically how were the ships, how was the entertainment, and how was the food. 

[emmas gran]

You may find this thread helpful and by searching find more info --this was 3 topics from your post.

The message function does not work.

[Longwood50]

1 hour ago, emmas gran said:

You may find this thread helpful and by searching find more info --this was 3 topics from your post.

Thank You 

Yes I see the ships and they look wonderful.  Obviously they use the same ship builders as the other lines.  When you see the negative reviews it does put you off since you don't want to spend thousands to have a poor experience.  

Hopefully more people who have sailed recently on MSC will also respond. 

[emmas gran]

I have sailed on Preziosa and Splendida also Meraviglia and Bellissima all in YC 

personally we would only sail in YC

[kernow]

This was a recent thread on the RCL board, you will probably find similar if you search. 

I posted my thoughts on there but basically I always think of MSC as a European experience (probably even on US cruises) whereas the other lines you are comparing too are more American. Most of the differences in things like food, service and entertainment are down to this and what people on either side of the Atlantic prefer.

There are subtle differences but we enjoy both.

 

 

[Gatordad1967]

We love MSC.  They are on par with NCL, RC, Celebrity etc.  Go in with an open mind....

 

and by the way, they have more ships than most lines.

 

[Longwood50]

On 8/25/2022 at 8:07 PM, Gatordad1967 said:

We love MSC.  They are on par with NCL, RC, Celebrity etc.  Go in with an open mind....

 

and by the way, they have more ships than most lines.

What category did you book and what itinerary were you on.  My travel agent said Yacht Club was outstanding but cruises in Europe in the basic categories provided "European Service" which was shall we say not as responsive to passengers as we are accustomed on with the NCL, RCl, Celebrity and Carnival lines.  

 

[Hlitner]

I do not private message since the entire idea of Cruise Critic is to offer a public forum where lots of folks can share (and criticize) information.  Public posting keeps us all honest :).  I will tell the OP that we have been cruising for over 45 years,  often spend over 100 days a year on cruise ships, and have been blessed to have cruised on 16 different lines (including MSC).  So how does MSC compare?  They are somewhat unique because of their very diverse international clientele, and the way they operate in European ports allowing passengers to embark/disembark at almost any port.  

 

MSC is also two cruise lines in one!  There is the Yacht Club and then you have the rest of the ship.  The Yacht Club is a "ship within a ship" and quite expensive (often about $400 per person/day).  We think the Yacht Club competes with some of the best luxury lines in terms of space and service, although the cuisine is not up to luxury line standards.  The rest of the ship is somewhat akin to lines like Carnival and RCI.  I would also suggest that every cruise line has its pros and cons and this can vary depending on the ship.  So the huge mega ships of lines like RCI, Carnival, and NCL may have lots of "toys and amenities" that appeal to younger families.  I am talking about water slides, bumper cars, and even zip lining.  Other lines, like Oceania, have very little for kids but emphasize excellent cuisine.  Luxury lines like Seabourn, Silverseas, and Regent offer lots of space per passenger, no crowding or lines, and an overall luxury experience (like staying in a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton hotel).  

 

As to booking MSC, for those who have the money (and are willing to spend it), the Yacht Club (which is only on some MSC ships) is an amazing product and a favorite option of ours.  Outside of the YC, the "experience" you choose will likely be budget-driven.  If you want more (in terms of a nicer cabin/suite and better dining options) you will pay more.  If you are on a very tight budget than MSC offers some amazing deals in their lower cost experiences.

 

Hank

[mscdivina2016]

On 8/24/2022 at 1:11 AM, Longwood50 said:

I am considering booking an MSC Cruise but a bit concerned.  I have in the past stuck with the major cruise lines because of their consistent good reviews.  The MSC ships look fabulous.  I am wondering if someone who has had experience on MSC versus the other major lines can private message me and let me know of their first hand experience.  There are some wonderful itineraries on ships like the MSC Orchestra and Sinfonia but I see they are rated as only a 3.5 star as contrasted to the many Holland America, RCL, and Celebrity ships that are 4.5 to 5 star.  

Specifically how were the ships, how was the entertainment, and how was the food. 

Use a travel agent!!!

 

When things go wrong which they seem to do, the travel agent can fix it.

If you pick a cabin, expect to lose it at some point. 

Great product, lousy IT and customer service.

[kernow]

8 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

What category did you book and what itinerary were you on.  My travel agent said Yacht Club was outstanding but cruises in Europe in the basic categories provided "European Service" which was shall we say not as responsive to passengers as we are accustomed on with the NCL, RCl, Celebrity and Carnival lines.  

 

Yes they have 'European' service which basically means if you shout and demand and wave dollars in their face they will likely ignore you whereas if you are polite, respectful  and friendly you will usually get what you require.

[MISTER 67]

We have been on 67 cruises and have sailed with most of the cruise lines except NCL. 5 times on MSC and have never had a bad cruise, we love the Divina, it's beautiful but didn't care for the Seaside as that ship is marketed towards a younger crowd, they have a DJ in the Atrium playing ear shattering EDM tunes all day long. Too much glass and mirrors in the interior lounges, restaurants and other public rooms.

We have always found the food on MSC to be good but not as good as Celebrity, Holland America and Princess though MSC has great Italian food and Pizza. 

Service is very good and the ships are spotless.

Entertainment is excellent in the main showroom on MSC ships with a lot of visual acts because of all the different nationalities on board, Italian night is always great with all the favorite Italian songs with the finale being "Time To Say Goodbye" which gets a standing ovation. The Michael Jackson Show was amazing but has been replaced with I believe an Elton John show.

It bothers a little that they don't have a live band or orchestra in the main showroom, though the singers are out there the actual music is canned.

One of our favorites is the shorter versions of various operas, we have seen Madame Butterfly and La Traviata, both were excellent and Madame Butterfly brought tears to our eyes. Entertainment in other lounges and the Atrium have always been excellent.

If you sail in the summer, the ships are packed with a lot of kids as they sail for free, not sure how crowded they are these days as Covid is still around.

If you have any questions, just ask away.

 

[blueslily]

10 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Use a travel agent!!!

 

When things go wrong which they seem to do, the travel agent can fix it.

If you pick a cabin, expect to lose it at some point. 

Great product, lousy IT and customer service.

 

I have been lucky to not have any problems like that with MSC. Booking was fine. Cabin did not change. IT was not an issue. Customer service prior to cruise and during cruise were both great. Will be on another MSC ship in a couple months. So far, no issues for this sailing either.  Looking forward to it. Happy sailing. 

[mscdivina2016]

10 hours ago, blueslily said:

 

I have been lucky to not have any problems like that with MSC. Booking was fine. Cabin did not change. IT was not an issue. Customer service prior to cruise and during cruise were both great. Will be on another MSC ship in a couple months. So far, no issues for this sailing either.  Looking forward to it. Happy sailing. 

I must be special 😂.

 

I have 5 coming up in the next 8 months and currently 3 are messed up in one way or another.

 Just last week my 17 night Saudi Arabia cruise went to a guarantee.

[blueslily]

44 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

I must be special 😂.

 

I have 5 coming up in the next 8 months and currently 3 are messed up in one way or another.

 Just last week my 17 night Saudi Arabia cruise went to a guarantee.

Ok. I hope the issues get worked out. Enjoy your 5 cruises. That's so awesome!

[Nunagoras]

Kernow and Hlitner have said most of it. Thanks! To note:

 

MSC is different because it is Italian owned and influenced. If you want HAL or X service quality pick ships with an YC. The older ones like the one you showed interest in doesn't have it. Though they happen to have very port intensive cruises where probably you really will be most of the day out of the ship. IMHO: For those even a baseline Bella inside may suffix!

 

Definitely pay attention to the experience level. YC, if available, is great, but sort of expensive (like flying in First or Executive class). Aurea is not that great these days, simply the value is not really that there (Premium Economy in paper). Fantastica is your regular crruise ticket (like flying Economy class on a long haul historic line). Bella is a no frills baseline guaranteed cruise fare (like flying on a short haul European low cost).

 

Take the naysayers with a grain of salt. They have a nice mainstream service that's not on your face. Similar to going on a 4*/4*+ land hotel in Europe.

 

Have a nice day and sailing!...

[Hlitner]

21 minutes ago, Nunagoras said:

Kernow and Hlitner have said most of it. Thanks! To note:

 

MSC is different because it is Italian owned and influenced. If you want HAL or X service quality pick ships with an YC. The older ones like the one you showed interest in doesn't have it. Though they happen to have very port intensive cruises where probably you really will be most of the day out of the ship. IMHO: For those even a baseline Bella inside may suffix!

 

Definitely pay attention to the experience level. YC, if available, is great, but sort of expensive (like flying in First or Executive class). Aurea is not that great these days, simply the value is not really that there (Premium Economy in paper). Fantastica is your regular crruise ticket (like flying Economy class on a long haul historic line). Bella is a no frills baseline guaranteed cruise fare (like flying on a short haul European low cost).

 

Take the naysayers with a grain of salt. They have a nice mainstream service that's not on your face. Similar to going on a 4*/4*+ land hotel in Europe.

 

Have a nice day and sailing!...

I would just add that we find the service in the Yacht Club far superior to anything on HAL.  But comparing to Celebrity is tough since Celebrity has different levels of service.  So one might say that the "Retreat" (especially on the Edge Class) is superior to the YC, but outside of the Retreat category you could make a good case that the YC is superior.

 

Hank

[Shippy]

We started sailing MSC before the Yacht Club started.

Basically because of price & itinerary.

   Most differences because of culture things that a lot of Americans are not used to.

Entertainment.... You will not see comedians because of language difference among the passengers.

   Coffee was always VERY strong for me. Now they have added 'American' coffee.

Their egg dishes seemed a bit different. It was then explained to me that they cook/fry their eggs in olive oil, not butter. Pasta , al dente, etc.

   Now their ships have gotten a bit bigger & more Americanized (we only sail in the Caribbean)

Because of some of the changes, including the ships seeming to be  much more crowded. We ONLY sail in the yacht club. It is really over the top & worth the extra $$....remember it also include your drink package & wifi.

   AND....if you play in the casino...after a few days you get a 30% off your next cruise certificate.

It does have an expiration date on it but we always immediately book another YC cabin with it.

AND, if problems with your booking, you can call the casino people for help and not the main MSC phone number.  These people are amazing. Awhile back, I had to cancel our cruise just a few weeks before sailing because I had to get a knee replacement.

we ha NO insurance. They were very nice & pushed out our date with no penalty.

I am sure if I called the main number, they would have been very sympathetic, & then explained to me the value of insurance before telling me I lost everything.

 

[Gatordad1967]

On 8/27/2022 at 4:23 AM, Longwood50 said:

What category did you book and what itinerary were you on.  My travel agent said Yacht Club was outstanding but cruises in Europe in the basic categories provided "European Service" which was shall we say not as responsive to passengers as we are accustomed on with the NCL, RCl, Celebrity and Carnival lines.  

 

Did 1 bella, 2 yacht club..... all out of FL to Caribbean...... Loved all 3 cruises....

 

Just got back from Seattle on Celebrity.. DId Concierge class balcony.  Was a nice cruise, but a few things I would have done better (only option for food after 9pm was 1/2 closed buffet).... 

 

Service excellent on both lines....If you aren't a good customer facing person, you probably don't last long in the industry.

 

 

 

 

 

[Longwood50]

On 8/27/2022 at 8:59 PM, mscdivina2016 said:

Use a travel agent!!!

 

When things go wrong which they seem to do, the travel agent can fix it.

If you pick a cabin, expect to lose it at some point. 

Great product, lousy IT and customer service.

My travel agent said exactly the same thing.  She stated that she had a customer that required an accessible cabin.  Despite not being able to book it online, she spent hours with MSC finally getting a specific cabin only to have it disapear the following day. 

She stated that it is a nightmare trying to get anyone in the event of a problem to be responsive.  Now having said that, I have not had many goof ups in the 31 cruises and I can't say that the major cruise lines were all that responsive either.  

 

[GOLDENBONNY]

On 8/27/2022 at 9:59 AM, mscdivina2016 said:

Use a travel agent!!!

 

When things go wrong which they seem to do, the travel agent can fix it.

If you pick a cabin, expect to lose it at some point. 

Great product, lousy IT and customer service.

I cruised with MSC and never my cabin was lost. I just booked 2 cabins with Princess and both been changed in a week. 

[mscdivina2016]

7 hours ago, GOLDENBONNY said:

I cruised with MSC and never my cabin was lost. I just booked 2 cabins with Princess and both been changed in a week. 

 

I can't seem to go a week without a new issue with MSC.  As a matter of fact, I booked another family cruise in Yacht club on Monday and they already changed my room.  

TA is on it.

 Princess, that's another issue with me as well.  Had 2 booked next September and October on emerald and they switched ships.

 That worked out well actually as I have the big aft corner suites.

[Hlitner]

On 9/3/2022 at 8:01 AM, mscdivina2016 said:

 

I can't seem to go a week without a new issue with MSC.  As a matter of fact, I booked another family cruise in Yacht club on Monday and they already changed my room.  

TA is on it.

 Princess, that's another issue with me as well.  Had 2 booked next September and October on emerald and they switched ships.

 That worked out well actually as I have the big aft corner suites.

It seems like you are often posting about your problems with MSC and yet you keep using the line.  Kind of like the definition is insanity :).  We have cruised on 16 cruise lines (including MSC) with few problems.  But we do use a decent discount high volume cruise agency that we happily let deal direct with most lines.  Have also cruised about 30 times on Princess with no problems until a COVID cancellation.

 

Hank

[mscdivina2016]

12 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

It seems like you are often posting about your problems with MSC and yet you keep using the line.  Kind of like the definition is insanity :).  We have cruised on 16 cruise lines (including MSC) with few problems.  But we do use a decent discount high volume cruise agency that we happily let deal direct with most lines.  Have also cruised about 30 times on Princess with no problems until a COVID cancellation.

 

Hank

They have a great product! I really like it.

I use a concierge Travel agency now for MSC. 

I used to use them for my business travels.

 I just need them to make good on their promise to make a prior screw up right and then I will move on.

 Everything is factual that I post. As you are probably aware from my posts they did me bad and handled it like crap.

 

[phissy]

On 8/28/2022 at 5:01 AM, mscdivina2016 said:

I must be special 😂.

 

 

I’m special toooooo! 😁

 

I have had cabins changed without notice. Had same cabin for B2B and MSC changed the one for second week. TA to the rescue.

Had cruise cancelled without notice. No email .
Someone on our RollCall noticed they could not access excursions for our cruise. It was no longer on MSC site.

When I looked at my bookings, there was a new cruise listed for us.    New itinerary, new date and different ship. WOW.

Cruise fare stayed the same.

Problem, we had a 14 day cruise that was now a 7 day cruise.

TA cancelled for us .

I know I need to always check our bookings online just as I do with airline bookings. There are always changes. 
As has been posted repeatedly….

use a TA.