Probably the most accurate review of MSC's food I've seen...

[Stockjock]

There are some good things and not so good things about MSC.  I've been critical where warranted (IMO), but one thing I will say is that they've held steady or improved in a number of areas where other cruise lines have cut back drastically.  I went on a Celebrity cruise last month (and again in 2 days) and the food, while edible and sometimes even very good, was a shadow of what I've had on Celebrity in the past.

I've always found MSC's food to be pretty decent.  While meals are hit and miss, they're usually good to very good.  This is one area where I've long felt MSC got a bad rap, unfairly.

Anyway, I've not seen this guy's videos before, but I thought he was fair and objective.  His experiences, more or less, mirror my own.  I'll be back on World Europa soon, so I'll be able to see if anything has changed, but we often sail MSC once or twice per year, and their food quality has been pretty consistent, in my view.
 

 

Edited October 21, 2023 by Stockjock

[ridgecrest]

We had our first cruise with MSC on the Meraviglia in April of this year.  We are not dining room folks, so all our meals were in the buffet.  We were quite pleased with our meals particularly since we had read so many discouraging reports about their food. We did 3 Royal Caribbean cruises(Anthem 1, Oasis 2) also this year and were much more disappointed in the Windjammer than the MSC buffet.

 

We are looking forward to our April 2024 cruise aboard the Meraviglia.  Always keep in mind that critiquing food is very subjective. 

[Tierun]

@CruisingWalter is usually spot on.

[Fla Mike]

Great job Walter!

[CruisingWalter]

Wow, @Stockjock thank you so very much for your kind words! I try to be fair when it comes to the food reviews because food is so subjective. I hate it when people just label an entire ship or an entire cruise line as "good" or "bad" because even when you don't have the best overall food experience, there are always nice surprises. And man that affogado in Venchi was a HUGE surprise! 🙂 

 

And honestly one of my favorite food experiences on the ship was that second MDR dinner that wasn't the best food at all, but our server was hilarious by just being honest. Her reactions when I asked about various dishes was priceless. And she pretty much told us straight up what to expect from each of our dishes and she was right. It was a weak meal, but joking about it with her made it a fun experience. 

 

We sailed MSC Seaside not long after that CDC report and honestly had no idea what to expect. We had a fun time accepting MSC for what it is and will be on her bigger sister the Seashore in December. Happy cruising everyone! 🙂 

[JT1962]

I will board my 7th MSC cruise since Jan 2022 in a week and have been pleasantly surprised by the food. Based on the reviews I read prior to sailing with MSC, I expected it to be terrible. In dozens of meals in the dining room, buffet and specialty restaurants, I have only had one dish I considered inedible and most have been excellent. 

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, CruisingWalter said:

Wow, @Stockjock thank you so very much for your kind words! I try to be fair when it comes to the food reviews because food is so subjective. I hate it when people just label an entire ship or an entire cruise line as "good" or "bad" because even when you don't have the best overall food experience, there are always nice surprises. And man that affogado in Venchi was a HUGE surprise! 🙂 

 

 

I also am a huge fan of affogato.  I always order mine with a shot of Bailey's and prefer it without the chocolate sauce that some put on it.  Can't wait to try it on the MSC Divina in February. 

 

[peder]

Critiques of food on MSC I think often come down to very simple things. Things like breakfast sausage on an MSC cruise are very far from American expectations. So when someone goes from a line like Carnival with a Guy Fieri quick service restaurant over to MSC, I can imagine it's a bit of a shock.

Edited October 21, 2023 by peder

[Captain-John]

In my opinion (and I will be able to verify for myself in a few weeks), the quality of MSC food has been maintained or increased where lately other lines are moving in the opposite direction.

 

Anyone who I have corresponded with on these boards over the years will know that I like to cruise MSC 'despite' the food, but I don't think that's accurate now especially in view of the cutbacks other lines are making. MSC have a real chance to stand out actually.

 

Thanks for the video Walter, very insightful. 🙂

 

Edited October 21, 2023 by Captain-John

[coscab]

1 hour ago, CruisingWalter said:

Wow, @Stockjock thank you so very much for your kind words! I try to be fair when it comes to the food reviews because food is so subjective. I hate it when people just label an entire ship or an entire cruise line as "good" or "bad" because even when you don't have the best overall food experience, there are always nice surprises. And man that affogado in Venchi was a HUGE surprise! 🙂 

 

And honestly one of my favorite food experiences on the ship was that second MDR dinner that wasn't the best food at all, but our server was hilarious by just being honest. Her reactions when I asked about various dishes was priceless. And she pretty much told us straight up what to expect from each of our dishes and she was right. It was a weak meal, but joking about it with her made it a fun experience. 

 

We sailed MSC Seaside not long after that CDC report and honestly had no idea what to expect. We had a fun time accepting MSC for what it is and will be on her bigger sister the Seashore in December. Happy cruising everyone! 🙂 

Thank you Stockjock for posting Walters video and thank you Walter, loved the video.  Please let us know how the Seashore is on your Dec. cruise, we will be on it in January!

[Nunagoras]

Many thanks @Stockjock and @CruisingWalter for the wonderful review I can mostly to subscribe myself.

 

The MSC food department should be as very well analysed as you did, effectively. It's worth to know the real product in face of its price tag. First of its all: Don't expect Michelin star rated food at baseline mainstream price tag. And now let us to face reality like it is: Don't expect an Italian business to be equal to an American one, like someone has suggested above.

 

Oh: And there is another concern. When coming here to Europe, you'll notice some differences in the way restaurants and EU cruise lines should to operate in relation to salt and sugar use. We have some recommendations and at least in the case of salt some in law limitations on what quantities are allowed to use. With time, us, Europeans do have become healthier in the way we make our food. You wouldn't find as sweet desserts on MSC like the ones they have on RCI, not only because Europeans want less sweet desserts, but because there are actually sugar limit recommendations at this side of the pond which by the most part are being followed. On RCI desserts your nearly unique flavor is sugar. On MSC sugar is a linking element that will to link the main ingredients you'd be able to flavor. Salt would perhaps to be even more noticeable now, once at this side of the pond we now have mandatory regulations for the restaurants to follow, and I believe there are none at the US.

 

I wouldn't compare some particular items. Those might to be just a question of taste, and that is as subjective as it can be. General quality sense, that is objective. On all travels I have made I had ones that have been hit or miss at same venues for the duration of those travels, even when we're talking about true EU 5* venues. I agree with both of you. MSC do have very decent food for the price tag, and according to the photos and videos of late, they seem to be rising up their game on that department. @Beamafar is doing a live from the Musica in Greece where she entered a photo of a "fish & ships" dish that might to be the easiest thing to deliver... And that seems like obtained from a true EU 5* standards venue, it was not!... Congrats MSC on the good job being done!...

[Stockjock]

5 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

Wow, @Stockjock thank you so very much for your kind words! I try to be fair when it comes to the food reviews because food is so subjective. I hate it when people just label an entire ship or an entire cruise line as "good" or "bad" because even when you don't have the best overall food experience, there are always nice surprises. And man that affogado in Venchi was a HUGE surprise! 🙂 

 

And honestly one of my favorite food experiences on the ship was that second MDR dinner that wasn't the best food at all, but our server was hilarious by just being honest. Her reactions when I asked about various dishes was priceless. And she pretty much told us straight up what to expect from each of our dishes and she was right. It was a weak meal, but joking about it with her made it a fun experience. 

 

We sailed MSC Seaside not long after that CDC report and honestly had no idea what to expect. We had a fun time accepting MSC for what it is and will be on her bigger sister the Seashore in December. Happy cruising everyone! 🙂 

I always appreciate honesty by the staff.  When they say, "Everything's good", you know they're either lying, or simply don't know.

I've mentioned this before, but my first MSC cruise was on Divina in 2015 or 2016.  I read over and over again about how there was pretty much no food in the buffet other hotdogs and hamburgers, and they'd then go on to show pictures of them.  I got on Divina and that was 100% false.  There was so much food, but one had to take a walk to see what was available.

I also think the MSC Specialty Dining packages are a good deal, relative to the competition.  For example, we did one last year for $70 per person for 3 specialty restaurants, which I thought was a great value.

This NYE, we'll be on World Europa, and while the price went up a bit, we're getting 3 specialty restaurants for $100 each.  Throw in our free Diamond level specialty restaurant freebie, that's 4 specialty restaurants out of 7 nights for $200 total (not per person).  I'd like to see anyone beat that.  And for those who note that one specialty night is "free" due to Diamond status, I'd also note that achieving that status on MSC is much easier than achieving an upper tier status on other cruise lines.

Anyway, good job on the video.  I found it to be well-done and objective.

[Stockjock]

5 hours ago, peder said:

Critiques of food on MSC I think often come down to very simple things. Things like breakfast sausage on an MSC cruise are very far from American expectations. So when someone goes from a line like Carnival with a Guy Fieri quick service restaurant over to MSC, I can imagine it's a bit of a shock.

I am a fan of MSC's breakfasts.  I often order the MSC Express Breakfast, sometimes with Salmon/Lox on the side w/a Cappuccino.  Yum!

 

[Stem to Stern]

6 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

And man that affogado in Venchi was a HUGE surprise!

Hey Walter.  Thanks for the video.  Some great tips.  I'll be sure not to miss out on that affogato.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

14 hours ago, ridgecrest said:

We did 3 Royal Caribbean cruises(Anthem 1, Oasis 2) also this year and were much more disappointed in the Windjammer than the MSC buffet.

we are definitely MDR folks, and we were pleasantly surprised by the Oasis MDR food this year, after the menu changed. There were only a couple of meh dishes. And the additional MDR entrees were free, unlike MSC. Now if we find a dish not to be to our liking on Seascape, we'll have to pay to sample another entree. 😞

 

Now, the quality and variety at the Windjammer buffet and Park Cafe went downhill for sure.

 

I am looking forward to judging Seascape's MDR and buffet food in person in less than 30 days.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[miched]

Thanks for the link.   Very good review.    
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[peder]

5 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I am a fan of MSC's breakfasts.  I often order the MSC Express Breakfast, sometimes with Salmon/Lox on the side w/a Cappuccino.  Yum!

 

 

I like their breakfasts a lot too. The roasted tomatoes on top of an over easy egg? Yum. But the sausage we had in our western med circuit was far from the typical sausage you'd find stateside. Wasn't an issue for us, but I see how others would use that as an example for why MSC food is not up to par.

[Anastas617]

Enjoyable review @CruisingWalter. I had seen your channel come up in my feeds before, but now that I know it's from a helpful CC poster I'm subscribed 🙂 .

 

I do really appreciate how there were a number of items that were subpar, but you had a good attitude about it when stating the flaws. There are too many overly dramatic reactions to food that didn't meet someone's expectations and I discount those opinions immediately.

 

Thanks for sharing @Stockjock

[Rhea98]

I hope food has standardized/stabilized across the fleet since spring 2022--25 nights on Grandiosa that saw, granted, imo, negative food changes for each of the three cruises. While the "guys" on the buffet serving line seemed to be consistent (and happy and funny and as helpful as permitted--ALWAYS), the white uniforms hovering around the area changed several times as did the buffet. We have our preferences (mine, in particular, is hot food being served hot!) but don't see ourselves as picky eaters. We don't cruise to eat (in fact, we are so boring that we cruise simply because we love sailing-- preferring transatlantic cruises). However, we will be absolutely delighted if the fresh-prep egg station is, again, operational during our Seashore crossing coming up this week. 

[gkbiiii]

The best thing MSC does is their Specialty Dining.

[benjaminnicholas]

MSC's food is fine if you're not expecting great food.  Or hot food, to be honest.  Or food with any spice or real flavor.  It is what it is.

 

Even YC, while plated to look more appealing, is still bland and hit or miss.

 

I was shocked that a meal yesterday in YC saw gnocchi that was highly underdone.  I left 3/4 of the pasta on the plate.  I expected a little more from a line with Italian lineage.

[joeyancho]

On 10/21/2023 at 6:48 AM, peder said:

Critiques of food on MSC I think often come down to very simple things. Things like breakfast sausage on an MSC cruise are very far from American expectations. So when someone goes from a line like Carnival with a Guy Fieri quick service restaurant over to MSC, I can imagine it's a bit of a shock.

Guy Fieri = salute to cholesterol 

[benjaminnicholas]

On 10/31/2023 at 5:22 PM, joeyancho said:

Guy Fieri = salute to cholesterol 

 

I can't stand Guy Fieri or his food aesthetic.  

 

But for many, he's a known commodity and they're impressed by his shtick.

[joeyancho]

27 minutes ago, benjaminnicholas said:

 

I can't stand Guy Fieri or his food aesthetic.  

 

But for many, he's a known commodity and they're impressed by his shtick.

Yep.  He's no Jacques Pepin

[benjaminnicholas]

1 minute ago, joeyancho said:

Yep.  He's no Jacques Pepin

Pepin?

 

Hell, Fieri is no Burger King.

Edited November 3, 2023 by benjaminnicholas