Is MSC losing some of it's value appeal?

[JoLoca2208]

5 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Do a price comparison with the newest ships that each line is offering.  Wonder OTS, NCL Prima, Carnival Celebration and World America.  World America is 449 plus tax for it's cheapest sailing without drinks package.  None of the other three can come close.  And of course I didn't mention Icon OTS, whose pricing is in the stratosphere.

World America is in construction and will not be ready for another two years. The starting-off prices will always be lower, so I wouldn't compare that with other ships already sailing. 

[JonoBhoy]

We sailed in Retreat on Celebrity in January, out of Fort Lauderdale. We were fortunate enough to have booked it pre-world-meltdown. Although the price we booked it at was what I would call expensive, we re-priced it (out of interest) a few months before sailing and our expensive cruise was now astronomical (+~40%).

 

However, Celebrity pricing for this and next year (especially for their Retreat product) has gone wild (+60/70% on what we paid for out last sailing). It's not an option anymore for us, unless it comes back down significantly. over the course.

 

What this has done is brought us back to MSC's table. We have only sailed MSC once, in YC back in 2019 and had a great time. We have just booked up on Seaview in YC for September. I look forward to making a comparison to the product we have just experienced on Celebrity, with eyes wide open and taking into consideration the significant cost difference when doing that evaluation. MSC may not be for everyone, and I don't expect everything to be quite as high end as what was experienced on Celebrity. 

 

It's obviously all relative, but for us we think MSC does provide a good value proposition versus the cost of going Celebrity (at least for now). One downside of MSC I do seem to come across is their lack of niche/appealing itineraries, which is where we may look at other lines for specific trips.

[CruizinSusan70]

3 hours ago, JoLoca2208 said:

World America is in construction and will not be ready for another two years. The starting-off prices will always be lower, so I wouldn't compare that with other ships already sailing. 

In general MSC is far and away the value price leader in the US market with Carnival a close second.  They can afford to do this because they are trying to make inroads on this side of the pond.  They are now embarking from NYC besides Miami and Port Canaveral.  They will eventually go to Galveston and probably LA as well as Alaska as they attempt to increase their North American presence and market share.

They have the most new ships in their pipeline compared to their competition, they don't have to deal with stock holder hassles since they are privately held and of course they are in a substantially better financial situation since they did not bleed billions during the shutdown because of their shipping division.

 

[KennyFla]

Book now while the value is good.

[ready2cruzagain]

We have had our last 12 out of 14 cruises on an MSC cruise out of Florida and have 2 more booked for next year.  We are tired of the same ole itineraries. 

 

We discovered that NCL this year started honoring military and give a 10% discount and a TA that we have used in the past gives free gratuities on NCL. This made us check out their cruises for 2025.

 

Will miss MSC's MDR food which we love but will enjoy going to different itineraries.  NCL has changed their menus since we last sailed them right as the pandemic hit so hoping the new menu will work for us.  Good thing is we will get 4 free specialty dining meals included on a 7 day cruise which works great since we love their specialty dining venues.

 

So, we will be jumping ship from MSC back to NCL for 2025.

[blueslily]

10 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

In general MSC is far and away the value price leader in the US market with Carnival a close second.  They can afford to do this because they are trying to make inroads on this side of the pond.  They are now embarking from NYC besides Miami and Port Canaveral.  They will eventually go to Galveston and probably LA as well as Alaska as they attempt to increase their North American presence and market share.

They have the most new ships in their pipeline compared to their competition, they don't have to deal with stock holder hassles since they are privately held and of course they are in a substantially better financial situation since they did not bleed billions during the shutdown because of their shipping division.

 

 

I'm looking and just not seeing what I consider value or good deals. Their pricing has increased. I guess it looks good because other lines have increased a lot so MSC looks good in comparison to the current prices on other lines. For context, I'm looking at sailings out of the US and at least 7 day. Maybe the short cruises are pricing different. Im not sure. And, i just mean recent pricing. I sailed with MSC in 2022 and was a happy camper with those prices. But for 2023 sailings, just not that happy. Not looking that far into 2024 yet. I will keep looking to see if a good deal pops up for adding another cruise for this year.

 

I'm not comparing MSC to other lines. Just comparing MSC to historic MSC pricing. I dont really put them in the boat with other cruise lines. LoL, thats funny, lol.  I totally get that tons of things in life have increased.  When I think of a good deal, i dont see value in comparing it to a price offered elsewhere, especially when I know that price is inflated.

 

Happy cruising everyone.

 

[CruizinSusan70]

23 minutes ago, blueslily said:

 

I'm looking and just not seeing what I consider value or good deals. Their pricing has increased. I guess it looks good because other lines have increased a lot so MSC looks good in comparison to the current prices on other lines. For context, I'm looking at sailings out of the US and at least 7 day. Maybe the short cruises are pricing different. Im not sure. And, i just mean recent pricing. I sailed with MSC in 2022 and was a happy camper with those prices. But for 2023 sailings, just not that happy. Not looking that far into 2024 yet. I will keep looking to see if a good deal pops up for adding another cruise for this year.

 

I'm not comparing MSC to other lines. Just comparing MSC to historic MSC pricing. I dont really put them in the boat with other cruise lines. LoL, thats funny, lol.  I totally get that tons of things in life have increased.  When I think of a good deal, i dont see value in comparing it to a price offered elsewhere, especially when I know that price is inflated.

 

Happy cruising everyone.

 

To perceive value you need to compare at least two different items so you can judge whether A or B has the better value to you.  It could be MSC versus a land vacation, or, it could be MSC versus their competitors on this side of the pond, RCI, NCL and Carnival.  Comparing bare bones cruise only fares, Carnival and MSC are the price leaders in general.  There will be occasional cheaper fares on the other two, but Carnival and MSC are lower the majority of the time.  It was even clearer that MSC was the value leader 5-6 years ago when they first made a big attempt to expand their foothold and presence on this side of the pond.  If you don't care about the competition and you no longer see MSC as a value to you, then enjoy your land based vacations.

Edited April 25, 2023 by CruizinSusan70

[blueslily]

2 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

To perceive value you need to compare at least two different items so you can judge whether A or B has the better value to you.  It could be MSC versus a land vacation, or, it could be MSC versus their competitors on this side of the pond, RCI, NCL and Carnival.  Comparing bare bones cruise only fares, Carnival and MSC are the price leaders in general.  There will be occasional cheaper fares on the other two, but Carnival and MSC are lower the majority of the time.  It was even clearer that MSC was the value leader 5-6 years ago when they first made a big attempt to expand their foothold and presence on this side of the pond.  If you don't care about the competition and you no longer see MSC as a value to you, then enjoy your land based vacations.

 

Thanks. My post wasnt offered as a challenge to what you posted. I quoted your reply to keep the context for my reply.

 

I dont sail on Carnival so I dont compare to that line. Yes, 4-5 years ago, MSC had awesome pricing, but I'm most interested in current sailings and pricing. 

 

I enjoy Royal and NCL, but just not right now with their increased pricing. I sailed with them both in 2021 and 2022. 

 

Yes, I do compare as shared above for value.

 

Also, yes, I will continue both land vacations as well as cruising. I enjoy them both, as long as the price is right for both. To me, tavel planning is as fun as the travel itself. So, searching for good deals is what I do as part of the adventure. 

 

Thanks, and happy cruising to you. 

[CruizinSusan70]

14 minutes ago, blueslily said:

 

Thanks. My post wasnt offered as a challenge to what you posted. I quoted your reply to keep the context for my reply.

 

I dont sail on Carnival so I dont compare to that line. Yes, 4-5 years ago, MSC had awesome pricing, but I'm most interested in current sailings and pricing. 

 

I enjoy Royal and NCL, but just not right now with their increased pricing. I sailed with them both in 2021 and 2022. 

 

Yes, I do compare as shared above for value.

 

Also, yes, I will continue both land vacations as well as cruising. I enjoy them both, as long as the price is right for both. To me, tavel planning is as fun as the travel itself. So, searching for good deals is what I do as part of the adventure. 

 

Thanks, and happy cruising to you. 

Check out the 3 Excel Class ships on Carnival, the Mardi Gras out of Port Canaveral, the Celebration out of Miami and the Jubilee out of Galveston.  Totally different from the rest of the fleet and a major upgrade.

[blueslily]

41 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Check out the 3 Excel Class ships on Carnival, the Mardi Gras out of Port Canaveral, the Celebration out of Miami and the Jubilee out of Galveston.  Totally different from the rest of the fleet and a major upgrade.

 

Thank you

[Elkins45]

I looked back at the cost of my two sailings in 2021, both four days cruises from Port Canaveral. The first was an interior room on the Divina with drinks and wifi for $269. The second was a balcony on Miraviglia for $160, no other perks. In May of 2022 I did a seven day interior (drinks and wifi) on Divina for $480.

 

I can't imagine ever getting prices like those again.

[insidecabin]

On 3/27/2023 at 4:20 PM, JoLoca2208 said:

I've noticed that on the European market a couple of years back. When I started sailing with MSC in 2013, they were selling dirt-cheap cruises with equally cheap drink package (€20 per day). This was ongoing for a couple of years, but as they grew in the American market, they hiked up prices in Europe. At the moment they are not any cheaper than NCL or Royal. 

That's not our experience with Virtuosa they are still undercutting NCL by quite a bit(MSC last week, NCL 3 weeks).

 

UK get premium drinks with MSC and grats included.

 

MSC just banged out a SOLO with drinks 7n in June for £479 

 

7n 2pax has been regularly under £500pp with drinks

 

Dawn and Star are getting cheaper 10n starting at around £830pp (inc drinks&grats)