Loyal Royal & MSC virgin - RCCL Allure or MSC Seaside?!

[RachLovesSteak]

Hi cc friends!

 

I've been comfortably back in my cc lurking ways for a couple of years now, but coming out of hiding to seek opinions from the pros 🙂 We are debating booking a fairly last-minute cruise this fall. We have one week to work with and were planning to go for the RCCL Allure since it's driveable for us. The price for an OV balcony has been fluctuating almost daily, and today it's back at a price we consider a good deal. However, during all the fluctuation (and several days of it being "sold out") we found a steal of a deal on MSC Seaside. I have never been on MSC, but I'm always down to try new things! All variables considered, MSC Seaside is around $1,000 cheaper when priced out apples to apples (drink package, wifi, flight vs. no flight, etc.)

 

I've been lurking around here on the MSC board and doing lots of Googling, but thought I'd see if anyone has any insights to share. I love learning from you all and sharing in your vacations, and am grateful for your guidance!

 

**important to note - SO must have good WiFi, so if you happen to have insights on Allure or Seaside wifi quality, that would be hugely helpful. Also how MSC's drink package compares to RCCL or NCL.

 

Thanks in advance!!

[wayne_trisha]

We are diamond on Royal with 3 Allure cruises and completed 3 cruises on MSC including the Seaside in June. I think the June cruise was one of my favorites. Private island is beautiful and not built up like Coco Cay. I definitely prefer Coco Cay when it was beaches and chickens! The ship is beautiful and the staff super friendly and helpful. Drink package includes nearly all drinks. You can upgrade to the next package up to get all the drinks. Hard to find an IPA outside of the sports bar. Wi-fi worked fine for me but I try to avoid using technology except my Kindle while on a cruise. It pisses me off that cruise lines are going more and more into having to use a phone to make reservations, look at menus, etc onboard. Food is great with lots of variety.  I liked the water slides. Did not attend any shows.

 

Some things Americans find irritating are the slow pace of dinner, hit or miss getting washcloths (this is a personal item in Europe and MSC is an Italian cruise line), or what people perceive as staff not being attentive to them but this is how things work in Europe. You don’t have a waiter coming to ask you questions every 10 minutes. Some venues have weird hours.

 

We did a 7 day cruise. Our daughter and SIL did a 4 day cruise a few weeks after us. While we had a great time they were disappointed. The next cruise after them was a charter for a Brazilian music festival and some venues were closed and part of the pool deck also off limits. We had an excellent MDR experience with my choice dining and theirs was not good.

 

Oasis class is our favorite ship but until Royal gets back to reality with their pricing we will continue to sail other lines and MSC is the first line I look at. Our June cruise was $2700ish in a balcony with the included drinks and Wi-fi. Royal wanted more than $8,000 for an inside room once drinks and Wi-fi were added.

[RachLovesSteak]

13 minutes ago, wayne_trisha said:

We are diamond on Royal with 3 Allure cruises and completed 3 cruises on MSC...

This is SO helpful - thank you! I definitely prefer the itinerary of MSC Seaside, especially the overnight stay at the private island! I'm a beach girlie, so any itinerary that includes two days on a private island with a drink package is a win for me!

 

Great to hear about the inclusivity of the drink package. I'm always hesitant about the "tiered" drink packages (NCL limitations got annoying real quick), so very happy that it sounds like MSC's promo drink package includes most everything.

 

All of this sounds pretty positive! I'd say we're easy to please - give me an ocean view and I'm happy! Mainly just want to make sure we won't be wildly disappointed wishing we'd stuck with RCCL, and it doesn't sound like that would be the case. Greatly appreciate you taking the time to share your experience!

[wayne_trisha]

On 8/18/2023 at 5:22 PM, RachLovesSteak said:

This is SO helpful - thank you! I definitely prefer the itinerary of MSC Seaside, especially the overnight stay at the private island! I'm a beach girlie, so any itinerary that includes two days on a private island with a drink package is a win for me!

 

Great to hear about the inclusivity of the drink package. I'm always hesitant about the "tiered" drink packages (NCL limitations got annoying real quick), so very happy that it sounds like MSC's promo drink package includes most everything.

 

All of this sounds pretty positive! I'd say we're easy to please - give me an ocean view and I'm happy! Mainly just want to make sure we won't be wildly disappointed wishing we'd stuck with RCCL, and it doesn't sound like that would be the case. Greatly appreciate you taking the time to share your experience!

Make sure you understand what Bella, Fantastica, and Aurea give you. We definitely loved the private island. We live maybe 20 minutes from the beach but very rarely go. Having a nice pool and blender make beach trips unnecessary and who wants to clean up all that sand. I did standup paddleboarding then we found chairs near a bar. enoyed sun/shade and the drinks.

[psmarkle]

I have not sailed any of the Oasis class ships yet, but I do enjoy a Royal cruise when it fits our agenda. Meaning, activities. Royal wins hands down if we have kids traveling with us. However, now that we're nearing empty nester status, we are devout MSC cruisers and we've sailed the Seaside 2X, both in the Yacht Club. Still plenty to do onboard, just hard to beat Royal if you're looking to keep occupied.

 

If you can spring a few extra $$, I'd recommend at least getting the Aurea experience as it comes with the thermal spa pass (awesome!) and the private Top 19 sun deck lounge/bar so you don't have to fight the pool deck chair hogs and you have your private bar!

 

On Ocean Cay, the wave runner excursion is well worth it and a good value for the amount of time.

 

Bottom line: We enjoy Royal and MSC, don't think you'll be disappointed. It's just two different experiences to me.

[RachLovesSteak]

On 8/20/2023 at 12:23 PM, psmarkle said:

Bottom line: We enjoy Royal and MSC, don't think you'll be disappointed. It's just two different experiences to me.

Thank you so much! This is extremely helpful. Does Aurea always include the thermal suite pass or does it vary by sailing? I don't see it listed as a benefit, only the 10% discount on spa services booked while onboard.

[perakcruiser]

14 minutes ago, RachLovesSteak said:

Does Aurea always include the thermal suite pass or does it vary by sailing?

Actually "Aurea" is the "spa category" and certainly the spa pass is including always. As shown here: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise/experiences-staterooms

[Essiesmom]

The Aurea cabins on deck 9 have awesome balconies.  Try to get one on the starboard side as the ship usually docks at Ocean Cay with starboard side to the island, and you can view the nightly light show at the lighthouse from your balcony.  This is my balcony in 9029.

 

 

[xcell]

Who is going?   If kids -- Allure all the way.  Adults -- it is a coin toss.

 

Entertainment -- Allure wins, hands down.

 

Actually, I would probably prefer RCCL to MSC but if it is MSC YC (so try to bid for an upgrade), that would bring me back to MSC.  At the end of the day, it is a vacation, you are being fed, drink package in hand, etc... and if you keep that mindset, I'd pick the one that saves me the most money.

Edited September 1, 2023 by xcell

[UPNYGuy]

Thing is, seaside feels more like a ship (tons of outside space), whereas the oasis class feels much more like a land based vacation. Keep that in mind as well. Many people do not like the oasis class because they are so large, and do not feel like ships, but floating 'vacation factories' . YMMV, but they are two totally different experiences. Even within the Royal communities, there are certain pax that will not sail on anything larger than the Radiance and Vision classes. 

[JamieLogical]

I highly prefer MSC's included drink package to NCL's. First of all, it includes bottled water and espresso-based coffees from the bars. Second of all, despite MSC's package "only" covering drinks up to $10 and NCL's allegedly covering drinks up to $15, the drink prices on NCL are so over-inflated as to be ludicrous. A shot of Bailey's on NCL is priced at $16 now, so you have to pay an extra $1.20 for a shot of Bailey's in your coffee! On MSC, a shot of Bailey's is $8.

 

I sailed the MSC Meravilia with the Easy Plus package, shortly after they had implemented their new policy that you only have to pay the difference on drinks priced over your package. I wanted to test that out, but I actually had a really hard time finding a drink over $10 on their menus that I even wanted to try. I settled on one and paying the difference worked as expected, but I didn't like the drink at all, so stuck to the items under $10 for the rest of the cruise.

[ReneeFLL]

52 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

I highly prefer MSC's included drink package to NCL's. First of all, it includes bottled water and espresso-based coffees from the bars. Second of all, despite MSC's package "only" covering drinks up to $10 and NCL's allegedly covering drinks up to $15, the drink prices on NCL are so over-inflated as to be ludicrous. A shot of Bailey's on NCL is priced at $16 now, so you have to pay an extra $1.20 for a shot of Bailey's in your coffee! On MSC, a shot of Bailey's is $8.

 

I sailed the MSC Meravilia with the Easy Plus package, shortly after they had implemented their new policy that you only have to pay the difference on drinks priced over your package. I wanted to test that out, but I actually had a really hard time finding a drink over $10 on their menus that I even wanted to try. I settled on one and paying the difference worked as expected, but I didn't like the drink at all, so stuck to the items under $10 for the rest of the cruise.

Do you mean Royals drink package compared to MSC’s? Not sure since they were asking about Royal and MSC and not NCL.

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, ReneeFLL said:

Do you mean Royals drink package compared to MSC’s? Not sure since they were asking about Royal and MSC and not NCL.

 

The OP said, "Also how MSC's drink package compares to RCCL or NCL."

[ReneeFLL]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

 

The OP said, "Also how MSC's drink package compares to RCCL or NCL."

Must have missed that one. I was paying more attention to the title since I’m trying to learn about MSC. Looking to branch out since Royal has some crazy prices and MSC will status match Royals Pinnacle.

[JamieLogical]

Just now, ReneeFLL said:

Must have missed that one. I was paying more attention to the title since I’m trying to learn about MSC. Looking to branch out since Royal has some crazy prices and MSC will status match Royals Pinnacle.

 

I don't have any experience with RCCL. All I know is that they don't have an included drink package option like NCL and MSC do and that their drink package pricing varies by sailing.

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

I highly prefer MSC's included drink package to NCL's. First of all, it includes bottled water and espresso-based coffees from the bars. Second of all, despite MSC's package "only" covering drinks up to $10 and NCL's allegedly covering drinks up to $15, the drink prices on NCL are so over-inflated as to be ludicrous. A shot of Bailey's on NCL is priced at $16 now, so you have to pay an extra $1.20 for a shot of Bailey's in your coffee! On MSC, a shot of Bailey's is $8.

 

I sailed the MSC Meravilia with the Easy Plus package, shortly after they had implemented their new policy that you only have to pay the difference on drinks priced over your package. I wanted to test that out, but I actually had a really hard time finding a drink over $10 on their menus that I even wanted to try. I settled on one and paying the difference worked as expected, but I didn't like the drink at all, so stuck to the items under $10 for the rest of the cruise.

This, all the way ^^^^

[RachLovesSteak]

On 9/1/2023 at 8:49 AM, JamieLogical said:

I highly prefer MSC's included drink package to NCL's.

 

This is super helpful! We found NCL's included drink package to be frustratingly limited at times, so it's great to hear that MSC's seems to be more inclusive! Definitely love that bottled water and espresso is included. Thanks JamieLogical!

[RachLovesSteak]

On 9/1/2023 at 9:49 AM, ReneeFLL said:

MSC will status match Royals Pinnacle.

I just completed MSC's status match form the other day - super easy! Had confirmation within 24 hours.

[RachLovesSteak]

On 8/31/2023 at 9:31 PM, perakcruiser said:

Actually "Aurea" is the "spa category" and certainly the spa pass is including always. As shown here: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise/experiences-staterooms

Thank you for sharing this! Would you consider the Aurea upgrade to be worth it at an extra $400 pp? I think the perk we'd appreciate the most is the thermal suite access, but it sounds like you can purchase passes in the $100 - $200 range.

[RachLovesSteak]

On 9/1/2023 at 5:53 AM, xcell said:

I would probably prefer RCCL to MSC but if it is MSC YC (so try to bid for an upgrade)

Is MSC's bidding process similar to RCCL and NCL? Booking YC is not in our budget for this trip, but I always love to try my luck with the upgrade bids!

[xcell]

Just now, RachLovesSteak said:

Is MSC's bidding process similar to RCCL and NCL? Booking YC is not in our budget for this trip, but I always love to try my luck with the upgrade bids!

I think it is all the same -- there's a  min bid...

 

Best is to know your prices before to see if it is feasible.

[UPNYGuy]

On 9/1/2023 at 9:49 AM, JamieLogical said:

I highly prefer MSC's included drink package to NCL's. First of all, it includes bottled water and espresso-based coffees from the bars. Second of all, despite MSC's package "only" covering drinks up to $10 and NCL's allegedly covering drinks up to $15, the drink prices on NCL are so over-inflated as to be ludicrous. A shot of Bailey's on NCL is priced at $16 now, so you have to pay an extra $1.20 for a shot of Bailey's in your coffee! On MSC, a shot of Bailey's is $8.

 

I sailed the MSC Meravilia with the Easy Plus package, shortly after they had implemented their new policy that you only have to pay the difference on drinks priced over your package. I wanted to test that out, but I actually had a really hard time finding a drink over $10 on their menus that I even wanted to try. I settled on one and paying the difference worked as expected, but I didn't like the drink at all, so stuck to the items under $10 for the rest of the cruise.

 

the other thing to keep in mind is that you can upgrade the beverage package on MSC right through the website. you can go from Easy Plus (which is included in the promo) to the premium one and just pay the difference.

[JamieLogical]

6 hours ago, UPNYGuy said:

 

the other thing to keep in mind is that you can upgrade the beverage package on MSC right through the website. you can go from Easy Plus (which is included in the promo) to the premium one and just pay the difference.

 

Definitely don't see any necessity to upgrade the drink package as I had a hard time finding even one drink that was an upcharge that I was interested in trying I guess it I were a big wine drinker or straight liqueur drinker, it might be worth it.

[JamieLogical]

6 hours ago, RachLovesSteak said:

Is MSC's bidding process similar to RCCL and NCL? Booking YC is not in our budget for this trip, but I always love to try my luck with the upgrade bids!

 

It is exactly the same process. They even use PlusGrade like the other lines do, so the interface is the same.

[perakcruiser]

11 hours ago, RachLovesSteak said:

Thank you for sharing this! Would you consider the Aurea upgrade to be worth it at an extra $400 pp? I think the perk we'd appreciate the most is the thermal suite access, but it sounds like you can purchase passes in the $100 - $200 range.

Difficult to say. There are definitely embarkation days where you will find the priority check-in so wonderful. Depending on the ship the Aurea cabins also can be a very worthy upgrade. Certainly Aurea is no use if you not intend to take the advantages of the Spa pass.