HAL vs MSC

[LuckyStar]

I've never sailed on either but would love to hear the good, the bad and the ugly.  We have two choices of 10-11 day Caribbean cruises and are torn which line to choose.  On the face, the itineraries are both good and the prices are comparable.  I have mostly sailed Carnival but also RC and NCL. We are not crazy party people (early 60s)  but both HAL and MSC seem very upscale. Can you tell me your opinions?  Thank you in advance.

[doone]

What HAL ship are you sailing?  If you haven't already, I would also post this question on the MSC board.

[Hlitner]

WOW, it is almost a crazy comparison.  We are 5* on HAL and have also cruised on 5 MSC cruises (all out of Florida).   If you are willing to pay for MSC's Yacht Club, I think there are some interesting comparisons and would rate MSC bette irn terms of service and amenities.  Cuisine is a tougher comparison, but I would give the edge to MSC Yacht Club's dedicated restaurant while we think that some regular HAL cruisers would prefer HAL's cuisine.  In terms of entertainment, it is not even close....MSC blows away everything HAL.  

 

But what if you want to cruise on MSC outside the Yacht Club (the normal part of the ship).  In that  case we think that MSC is not even close to HAL in any category except entertainment and amenities.  Outside the YC, MSC is a line that one would compare with Carnival, RCI and perhaps NCL.  

 

Just a word to our HAL friends why we rate MSC's Yacht Club service above HAL.  Most HAL cruise lovers think the world of HALs amazing Indonesian and Filipino crew.  They are terrific and among the best of the best within the mass market cruise world.  But MSC's Yacht Club (about 5% of the cabins on their ships) comes with Butlers for all, and a very large, dedicated crew.  From the moment you check-in (at a special tend outside the cruise terminal) you will have personal service and even be guided onto the ship by a Butler.  On most of the MSC ships, those in the YC even get elevator priority!  Want to get off at a port....your Butler will escort you to the gangway (bypassing the lines).  Want to go to the main show?  Your Butler will take you to reserved seating in the er main theater.  Ready to disembark the ship after your cruise?  The Butlers will escort you from the YC's lounge down to the gangplank....bypassing the long lines.   Even the HAL cruisers in the most expensive suites do not get that kind of service.  

 

Hank

[Reds4life]

We are Diamond on MSC and getting ready for our first cruise on HAL. I can't compare yet, but I can tell you MSC has amazing pizza 🙂 Shows are good if you are ok with more theatrical type visual performances. They don't have much dialogue but lots of dance, acrobatics, music, and elaborate costumes. Many different nationalities on MSC ships. MSC ships are very well kept and clean. MSC does have some evening deck parties and an active nightlife, but not a "party" ship like Carnival. 

[RICHARD@SEA]

I have sailed both lines several times....and I am of similar age of the OP.  I have moved away from HAL as I found I wasn't ready for a nursing home yet....tho I am not a party animal - I find the entertainment on MSC more varied & livelier.

 

MSC has newer ships - tho I am not a large ship person - I found the design agreeable in that I could find quiet when I wanted, music to listen to while having a cocktail & even go dance once every so often.  HAL has cut back on much of the live entertainment & was very much geared to an older / senior crowd,

 

I always book a midship balcony cabin & find both lines to be comparable on the newer ships as far as cabins are concerned.

 

Food is up to an individual's taste.  I like the more international atmosphere, style & taste of MSC over HAL.  On my last 13 day cruise I only ate in the dining room once - I'm not one for buffets but MSC variety was large enough (and being in the Caribbean) I preferred to be more casual & spend more time later on in the day by the aft pool & then have dinner at the buffet.  I usually stopped for a drink & a nosh around 4 pm - Guac & chips or a slice of the delicious pizza.

After dinner I always made it a point to stop at the gelato bar on the promenade.... great gelato.

I did eat at various restaurants while in port.

 

Two points that help me decide which line to choose are - itinerary (when I want to visit a specific port or if I don't care to return to certain ports).

 Also the size of the ship / crew -  I find that once there are several thousand passengers on a ship the experience changes - once upon a time HAL did have smaller ships that were wonderful - those days are gone.

The crew onboard on both lines have been very hard working and willing to go the extra mile.  One other point is that it seems MSC is willing to spend more $$$ on their product to expand build a broader passenger base.  Where I believe HAL  - which is owned by Carnival Corporation - has made continuous cutbacks (even pre covid) much to the passenger's loss.

 

Enjoy whichever line you choose - there's nothing better than a day at sea - its what you make that counts!!

[Tracey/Thom]

We sailed MSC Divina to the Caribbean prior to Covid, and just returned from a HAL Niew Amsterdam cruise to Alaska.  If itineraries are the same, I'd go with MSC.

 

Divina was the most incredibly elegant, beautiful ship we've ever sailed on. The clientele were varied (not just majority Americans), Germans, Australian, Brits, Italians (which we absolutely loved. The entertainment on Divina was Vegas quality. Opera, professional dancing, far surpassed anything we experienced on the HAL ship.

 

The food on both cruises was very good, but MSC Divina had a bit more of an international flair.

 

The dancing/evening choices were better on MSC Divina. We found HAL to be more suitable for people older than us (those who've been retired for a few years). While we 're not clubbers, the Divina had a lot more lively things to do. 

 

Both were full of hardworking, gracious, friendly staff who earn every dime they work for. We preferred our Alaska itinerary over the Caribbean, but there's really no comparison, apples and oranges. 

 

Go with MSC!

[rkacruiser]

Entertainment variety on MSC was better than HAL even with Music Walk.  (When was the last time that you heard an abbreviated version of an opera, with male and female leads whose voices were opera quality, during a cruise?)

 

Pizza was better on MSC.  A New York Deli and Pizza on a HAL ship might be an equal.

 

As a YC guest, if one wishes to be one, the price differential between a Neptune Suite and my YC Suite--and the benefits that I received as a YC guest--made my choice of Yacht Club a beneficial decision.  

[Stateroom_Sailor]

If you are happy with Carnival, NCL, and RCCL, and just eyeballing new itineraries, I would definitely choose MSC.  HAL may seem dull in comparison, especially later into the night.  If you are fine with live music, trivia, and cooking demonstrations, HAL is a step up in luxury at an incredible price.

[dwc13]

My wife and I returned home a few days ago after taking 2 cruises during a month long trip. The first was a 10 day repositioning cruise aboard Holland America Line Zaandam (Montreal, Canada to Fort Lauderdale, FL). We had an Oceanview cabin. After a few days in Miami, we took by a 7 day Caribbean cruise on MSC Seashore (Bella balcony cabin).

 

Zaandam Good:

1. Overall very friendly, helpful crew.

2. Very easy to get around the small ship. Able to walk most of the perimeter of the ship on 1 deck outside. Great for doing laps. 

3. Very good buffet with an excellent salad bar. Awesome ice machines that dispense pellets (think Chick-fil-A). 

4. Good room size with lots of storage.

5. Check-in was literally a minute. Helps there were only @900 passengers when the ship departed Montreal. 

6. Made friends with several people we met.

7. Pickleball!!

 

Zaandam Bad:

1. No electrical outlets near the bed.

2. Port cancellation (Sydney) after we made reservation -- not caused by hurricane/weather. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island was cancelled after Hurricane Fiona damaged port facilities. So the ship stayed overnight in Quebec City -- not a bad consolation, but more time in Boston or a stop somewhere along the east coast (NYC, Norfolk) would have been better. 

3. In-room lighting wasn't very bright.

 

Zaandam Ugly:

1. Pizza. Consistently burned, unappealing. 

2. Internet. AOL dial-up might have been faster. Streaming? Lol, good one. 

3. Some funky smells coming from the bathroom. It's an old(er) ship and the pipes throughout the ship have had plenty of use over the years...

4. Lack of TV stations, on-demand options.

 

MSC Good:

1. Seashore is a modern, well-appointed ship. Very nice multi-floor atrium.

2. Internet was a bit pricey but worked very well. No issues streaming college football games with the appropriate service. 

3. Hola! Tacos & Cantina. Good stuff. Easily our favorite specialty restaurant. 

4. Ocean Cay, the MSC private island marine reserve. Walk off the ship and you're so close to a very nice beach. Walk 10-15 minutes and you can be at one of the less crowded beaches on the island.

5. Marketplace Buffet has pretty good food (variety, taste). The pizza was excellent, the doughnuts were very good. Fruit selection at breakfast was really good.

6. Excellent pool areas for families with children.

7. Nice casino that has a single 0 live roulette table. There was a live baccarat table, although it was $25 minimum. No live/electronic craps, though -- not surprising, given the game is basically non-existent in European casinos.

8. Loved having a balcony. 

 

MSC Bad:

1. Unless you're in Yacht Club or Aurea, you won't be able to get a view from the forward part of the ship while outside. Also, you can't complete a lap around the ship on the same floor unless you're in Yacht Club or Aurea. 

2. Long wait times for elevators during the busiest periods. Most elevators banks feature 4 elevators (A, B, C, D). Your 'assigned' car is determined by the floor you select on the console and what floors have already been selected by others who are waiting for or already riding in the elevators. This concept works well when usage is average; it fails when demand is heavy.  

3. Having to order iced tea and soda from a bar/server rather than having it available from a beverage fountain at the buffet.

4. The ship has a highly-compartmentalized layout.

5. The calamari on Italian night at MDR. Such a big disappointment.  

6. Arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico later in the day (after 5pm, when many tourist attractions had already closed). 

 

MSC Ugly:

1. Check in for the masses -- An absolute joke. MSC should seek assistance from Department of Motor Vehicles on ways to improve the queue/experience. It was that bad. We were given wrong information about the priority line for Voyager Club Diamond passengers by someone at the Yacht Club tent, which didn't help matters. We eventually received the correct information from another MSC employee, but by that time we had already wasted an hour or so standing in the wrong line. 

2. Day 1 (embarkation, 'muster drill' during sail away, 5,000+ exploring the ship at the same time).  

[MISTER 67]

If you sail with MSC in the summer there are going to be a gazillion kids as they sail for free as 3rd and 4th passengers in a cabin. Both lines have beautiful ships but we prefer the smaller HAL ships. MSC has great entertainment, more visual because of the many different languages on board but the Italian show is great as is the Michael Jsckson and Elton John shows. MSC also offers shorter versions of great operas such as Madame Madame Butterfly and La Traviata which were unbelievably good. Food is good on both lines with MSC getting extra points for their Italian dishes and Pizza. 

 

[LuckyStar]

22 hours ago, doone said:

What HAL ship are you sailing?  If you haven't already, I would also post this question on the MSC board.

The Rotterdam and yes, I did post the same question on MSC.  Thanks!

[LuckyStar]

18 hours ago, RICHARD@SEA said:

I have sailed both lines several times....and I am of similar age of the OP.  I have moved away from HAL as I found I wasn't ready for a nursing home yet....tho I am not a party animal - I find the entertainment on MSC more varied & livelier.

 

MSC has newer ships - tho I am not a large ship person - I found the design agreeable in that I could find quiet when I wanted, music to listen to while having a cocktail & even go dance once every so often.  HAL has cut back on much of the live entertainment & was very much geared to an older / senior crowd,

 

I always book a midship balcony cabin & find both lines to be comparable on the newer ships as far as cabins are concerned.

 

Food is up to an individual's taste.  I like the more international atmosphere, style & taste of MSC over HAL.  On my last 13 day cruise I only ate in the dining room once - I'm not one for buffets but MSC variety was large enough (and being in the Caribbean) I preferred to be more casual & spend more time later on in the day by the aft pool & then have dinner at the buffet.  I usually stopped for a drink & a nosh around 4 pm - Guac & chips or a slice of the delicious pizza.

After dinner I always made it a point to stop at the gelato bar on the promenade.... great gelato.

I did eat at various restaurants while in port.

 

Two points that help me decide which line to choose are - itinerary (when I want to visit a specific port or if I don't care to return to certain ports).

 Also the size of the ship / crew -  I find that once there are several thousand passengers on a ship the experience changes - once upon a time HAL did have smaller ships that were wonderful - those days are gone.

The crew onboard on both lines have been very hard working and willing to go the extra mile.  One other point is that it seems MSC is willing to spend more $$$ on their product to expand build a broader passenger base.  Where I believe HAL  - which is owned by Carnival Corporation - has made continuous cutbacks (even pre covid) much to the passenger's loss.

 

Enjoy whichever line you choose - there's nothing better than a day at sea - its what you make that counts!!

Thanks very much, this has been very helpful.  I think we've decided to go with the HAL this time around.  I am more intrigued by the ports on their itinerary this go round.  It's nice to have choices and I have honestly never had a bad cruise.  🙂

[tpwolfe]

We been on HAL 7 times and MSC twice and enjoyed both.  Most of the time we get an inside cabin on both cruise lines because we look at the cabin as a place to sleep, shower, and dress and we would rather spend the money we save on the cabin for other things like the thermal suites on the ships.  The inside cabins were about the same other then there was a lot less storage space on MSC.  The dining room service go’s to HAL.  Our waiter on our first cruise on MSC was terrible.  The pizza on MSC is the best I have had at sea.  The HAL Dive in hamburgers and hot dogs beats MCS burgers and dogs  HAL is a much slower pace but that’s not a bad thing.  We enjoyed the entertainment more on MSC.  It was different but enjoyable.  If you want to hear ship announcements in 6 different languages MSC is for you.  We will sail both again. Here some images  I took on the MSC Seaside.

[mcrcruiser]

  Nice photos of MSC Seaside  .  We are  located in north coastal San Diego county & it is a easy 35 minute Uber  ride to the port where we board Koningsdam  .Never had a problem 

 The problem we have is that since we do not want to fly any longer ,MSC  ships do not frequent any west coast cities    .So if we can not cruise either from San Diego our home port or even San Pedro ,LA County Ca we don;t cruise 

 Just seems to me all of MSC ships are based in the Eastern coast of US &Canada   . Ig MSC ever were to sail from out 2 favorite ports we would go with them in their   Yacht Club   inly  ;as  my wife's cousin who lives in Florida said   she feels MSC  food is no good  & they cruise a great deal  on Princess & Carnival ships .They are foodies 

[Hobby3333]

I have cruised MSC in YC three times and had a really good experience .  Our first two MSC cruises we thought that the food in YC dining room was very good.  The cruise in July we both thought the food was just ok and nothing to write home about.  The service in the YC area was excellent.   The YC lounge is a great place to have a drink and light snack.  The One Deck area is great.  We also experienced very good bar service throughout the ship.   I enjoyed the shows.  Butlers service has been outstanding.  Great pizza delivered to you room in YC.   If I am going to cruise MSC again it will be in YC because of all the perks with the exception of eating in the main dining a couple of times.

However, my wife and I sailed on the Westerdam in September and fell in love with HAL. We thought the food was really good.  We went to the dueling pianos every evening and BB King.  We booked the Rotterdam for next July and are very excited about the ship and sailing from Amsterdam.  
We will sail MSC again but HAL is our choice ( for now)

[jeh10641]

Hi, Lucky Star,

I have never cruised with MSC. I did cruise on Rotterdam last December (and other HAL and RCCL ships). The food on HAL ships is very good, probably 4.5 to 5 stars. The service has been impeccable on all five HAL cruises. We are both around 80 and moderately active. On my first two HAL trips I was almost 18 and just past 25. We loved Cantare in the main theater on Rotterdam as well as the Music Walk (blues, rock n' roll, sing-alongs and classical music). We tried all four of the specialty (extra fee) restaurants and were wowed by them. Loved the Promenade deck where you can circumnavigate the entire ship, under cover, outside. 2500 passenger capacity is the perfect size for a cruise. The Grand Dutch Cafe is really nice and unique to Pinnacle Class ships (Rotterdam, et al). I believe you made the right choice. I have read and watched many reviews of MSC and HAL. In my opinion, it is like comparing apples and steel beams for a snack

 

Jim.

[rkacruiser]

12 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

MSC also offers shorter versions of great operas such as Madame Madame Butterfly and La Traviata which were unbelievably good. 

 

La Boheme was the production when I sailed on Meraviglia and it was excellent with the male and female lead having the operatic voices required for such a production.  

 

12 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

Food is good on both lines with MSC getting extra points for their Italian dishes and Pizza. 

 

Agree.  How many different kinds of risottos can a Chef create?  And, a Ravioli with a Pesto Sauce?  Delicious, but never consumed a green pasta dish.  

 

9 hours ago, tpwolfe said:

We enjoyed the entertainment more on MSC.  It was different but enjoyable.

 

Music Walk on HAL is an improvement.  But, for more variety and for main theater entertainment, MSC is better.  

 

5 hours ago, jeh10641 said:

We loved Cantare in the main theater

 

The concept made their debut when the Nieuw Amsterdam entered service and was and is a stellar musical group.  

 

5 hours ago, jeh10641 said:

The Grand Dutch Cafe is really nice

 

Agree.  Somehow, the "suits" in Seattle need to find a way to retrofit the Vista and Signature Class ships to include this venue.  It would be a revenue producer as well as non-revenue items being enjoyed by HAL guests.