Is it me is it msc or is it them? Bad reviews

[Ryan82]

I nearly cancelled my first MSC cruise booked in October 22 reading the horrible reviews and seeing comments on the book of faces.

 

7 cruises in - I love MSC to the extent they now take most of my disposable cash like a nagging teenager. I refuse 100% my partner's suggestions that we try a new line...

 

It genuinely puzzles me when I read comments and revies of itineraries I've recently completed like "the staff are rude", or 'impossible to get a drink" , "all the food was terribl" when that's not my experience at all.

 

What do you think the underlying cause is for the bad reviews?

 

1. MSC over-sell their experience

2. Some passenger's have unrealistic expectations?

3. Some people innately like to whinge

4. Something else

[Two Wheels Only]

Of your choices, "3" is probably the main reason for the bad reviews. 

 

Some complaints are valid.

Some complaints are exaggerated.

Some complaints are not true. 

 

Being able to decipher reviews and being able tell what is legit and what is not takes time and experience. 

[RandomUser123]

I did meraviglia in November 2023 and will be back on the ship in October 2024. I enjoyed the cruise. So much cheaper compared to the others. Heck the fare with easy plus and wifi included is basically similar or cheaper than the base fares of the other comparable cruise lines without the packages. I like the food, the shows are good, i did not have issues waiting for drinks. But then again i am not picky, i go with the flow and have a good time. Also i am non YC. So yes all you YC “snobs” us non YC people have good times too. 

[JimR24]

We are normally NCL people.  In the past year we have taken 2 3 days cruises on MSC and had no issues at all.  We are really low maintenance and kind of just go with the flow.  Yes, we expect good customer service but are realists.  Our vacations are our time to get away and destress.  We are not going to go and look for things to complain about.  

 

I would never cancel a trip based on someone's online opinion.  Everyone is different and you need to see things for yourself.  

[MsTabbyKats]

Jointly #2 and #3.

 

There are people who expect "champagne service for the cost of beer".  And...they expect the crew to be their servants.

1. Many years ago, I was on a Carnival cruise, inside cabin.  The people across the hall from me were complaining about the quality of the steak (included) and that it wasn't as good as "Blah blah blah Steakhouse".  My response was, a good meal at Blah Blah's is probably about $XX.  Your cabin (it was a 4 day cruise) for the enire trip, probably didn't cost that much more.  So what did you expect?

[showingdiva]

7 hours ago, Ryan82 said:

I nearly cancelled my first MSC cruise booked in October 22 reading the horrible reviews and seeing comments on the book of faces.

 

7 cruises in - I love MSC to the extent they now take most of my disposable cash like a nagging teenager. I refuse 100% my partner's suggestions that we try a new line...

 

It genuinely puzzles me when I read comments and reviews of itineraries I've recently completed like "the staff are rude", or 'impossible to get a drink" , "all the food was terrible" when that's not my experience at all.

 

What do you think the underlying cause is for the bad reviews?

 

1. MSC over-sell their experience

2. Some passenger's have unrealistic expectations?

3. Some people innately like to whinge

4. Something else

 

I completely concur with this.   Aside from being a passenger, I work on dozens of cruise ships every summer in my home port, from the luxury boutique to the huge floating blocks of flats, and everything in between.   Trust me, I've seen a lot over the last decade.

 

I just don't get some of the reviews of Virtuosa and Euribia ex-UK.   Of the above list I would place 2 and 3 very close.   

[Langoustine]

2 & 3. I recently (January 6) sailed solo on the Meraviglia and for the right demographic it's a great cruise line. It just wasn't for me, and I will be returning to HAL.

[sammee]

Gotta laugh at some of the complaints. You just have to wonder if they read what they typed.

[Fogfog]

We have wondered about this--and actually I hope the whiners and skeptics stay away...

It is THEM.

 

MSC offers a different style of sailing and offers an a la carte experience -- and cruisers chose what they where want to spend $: room, experience, bev, specialty dining etc.

What is a bit sad is that MSC changes the menus for sailings out of the US instead of keeping the menus that they use in the Mediterranean. Which IMHO loses some of what makes MSC special (the Italian/European flavor)

 

Perhaps too people complain because they want to be living the "suite" life yet only want to pay $300 for a week. Clearly that won't happen. 

 

Also-- I think a lot of what is on social media/video etc. is just trolling for clicks. 

 

 

[FSHLOT]

I am not a "Cheer leader" for any cruise line, but i can tell you that our first MSC cruise in Dec. was fantastic. We were on the Mera and the food was just as good, if not better, then any other company, and we cruised just about all the Main lines.

 

The crew were friendly, professional and hard working. 

I been reading reviews on here (other sites too} for a long time. I learned to take most reviews with a grain of salt.

 

MSC was the perfect example of why you should just ignore the bad reviews and just GO!! I'm glad we decided to go. Now we have to wait till October to do it again. 😆

[Beamafar]

2 hours ago, Fogfog said:

What is a bit sad is that MSC changes the menus for sailings out of the US instead of keeping the menus that they use in the Mediterranean. Which IMHO loses some of what makes MSC special (the Italian/European flavor)

 

 

The menus on US sailings did tend to be similar to those on Med sailings in the early days, but they weren’t popular with a lot of US passengers, so they adjusted them to cater more to the US palate as they grew their market share in the region.  Let’s just say that there’s no way you’ll see chicken and waffles on a Med cruise on MSC.  🙈

[no1talks]

5 hours ago, Fogfog said:

"What is a bit sad is that MSC changes the menus for sailings out of the US instead of keeping the menus that they use in the Mediterranean. Which IMHO loses some of what makes MSC special (the Italian/European flavor)"

This is why I'm looking forward to cruising non-US MSC itineraries after my retirement.

[Ryan82]

8 hours ago, Beamafar said:

The menus on US sailings did tend to be similar to those on Med sailings in the early days, but they weren’t popular with a lot of US passengers, so they adjusted them to cater more to the US palate as they grew their market share in the region.  Let’s just say that there’s no way you’ll see chicken and waffles on a Med cruise on MSC.  🙈

I'm agree. It was definitely noticeable on my US sailing on Seascape the menu had been adapted for american markets. I still managed to find good options available though.

[cublet]

Hello,

 

I'm sure most of the complainers are either American or used (exclusively) to American cruise lines. MSC is, sort of, Italian (too complicated to go into).

 

There are several things that are different but are raised time and time again on this forum - proof, if any was needed, that not many read these pages before they post. On my last Virtuosa cruise I sat next, or close to, an American complaining there was no 'Lobster night' or 'Filet Mignon' night - neither are 'big' in Italy. There is also no dishwater masquerading as 'coffee' or something called 'half and half' to disguise the vile liquid further. As most milk is 'foamed' in Italy before it is put in coffee, I don't know how 'half and half' would fare when subjected to a steam wand. Don't get me started on 'wash cloths' either - they must be important to many as three threads on their availability were running here concurrently a couple of months ago. Don't ask for a 'Pepperoni' or 'Hawaiian' pizza unless you want to be laughed/snarled at as they are not 'Italian'. A 'positive' for me, is when I ask either for Champagne or Prosecco on MSC that's what I get; on Royal or Celebrity I am initially served some sparkling swill that I reject, quite forcefully, every time.

 

On the subject of 'manners', I think that few of the complainers will have visited Italy itself either. If they had, they would have discovered the Italians (and Spanish) to not embellish their speech with 'please' or 'thank you' as much as we Brits and Americans always do - it is not 'ignorance', it's just the way the language is - one 'bene' (or 'vale') might be all you get.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[bucfan2]

3 hours ago, Ryan82 said:

It was definitely noticeable on my US sailing on Seascape the menu had been adapted for american markets. 

We were grateful that our U.S. sailing was adapted for the American market, as that's where we chose to sail from.  Be a pain to choose to sail from one country, and have to research what other country the sailing was based on.  Food was excellent.

Edited February 14 by bucfan2

[JAGR]

On 2/13/2024 at 3:20 AM, Ryan82 said:

I love MSC to the extent they now take most of my disposable cash like a nagging teenager.

🤣 Loved this line! What a perfect descriptor!

[MsTabbyKats]

Our first cruise on MSC was the Davina, in 2015.  I told people that it was "like being in Italy, without having to fly there".

[Fogfog]

@cublet

Amen

We lived in Italy for a bit (Umbria) Yes, we realize it is very regional in cooking, accent in language etc And yes we had the opportunity to travel around the country a bit while living there.

And so know exactly where you are coming from. 

You post made me smile--so true

 

 

 

[mawvkysc]

I had likes and dislikes on my Meraviglia cruise. When I wrote my review I mentioned it all. I think it’s good to be balanced when writing a review so that others can go into a cruise with the right expectations.

 

I would definitely cruise MSC again, but you know what? I did have problems with the drink service 😉 I also had my favorite cruise entree ever and my favorite cruise dessert ever and my favorite pizza ever. Food trumps drinks for me. 

[NCMtnBoys]

Of the 34 cruises I've been on, 4 were MSC (2 Divina, 1 Seaside, 1 Meraviglia). Each of them were as enjoyable as all the other cruises we've been on. My favorite of the 4 MSC cruises was Meraviglia. That's a great ship! We'll be sailing MSC again next year, Seashore in May and Musica in October. No complaints and, no, we don't sail in YC and never will.

[miched]

I think it is the nature of some people to be miserable and complain.   Eventually it is expected for them to be like that.    The problem is when they are like that they are happy.  If you gave them a twenty dollar bill they would complain if it was dirty,  or wrinkled,  or not enough.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[barbaro_3003]

Funny to read this, as I posted something similar on an MSC centric group on FB. The reviews tend to be horrible, and I was curious. The consensus was that people who had a bad experience were more motivated to vent on a review site. Diving into those reviews brought up a few trends; bad experience with customer service, ships were too crowded/too many queues. The customer service thing I get. You are given one avenue to resolve issues and if that issue fails it is infuriating. However, given the sheer volume of customers that MSC handles, if you take the gross number of CS complaints VS the assumed number of customers, it's almost a rounding error. The too crowded thing I can't understand. You are boarding a ship with a capacity of over 6000 passengers, most of which want to do the same thing you do. I think those people need to temper their expectations. In any case I agree with a previous poster who said perhaps they had unreasonable expectations. I've cruised on several lines, and can honestly say my expectations are directly impacted by what I paid to get on board. I don't expect DCL service at Carnival prices. 

[Markanddonna]

I've been on about 7-8 MSC cruises, and most were very good/fine except one out of Miami. They were overbooked and had the rudest group of passengers ever. 

 

We just got off a meh Celebrity cruise with food in the buffet and MDR at about the same level as MSC. Twice the expense for the experience. I have concluded that as the years go on, each cruise and ship can be as different as night and day.  I have noted that much discontent happens with drink packages. 

 

One difference I have noted is where you disembark. After that experience on the Divina, we will avoid Miami crowds. Interesting that the Miami sailing was a ten day and a much better passenger experience was had out of Port Canaveral on just a three day.

 

Reading reviews can be helpful, but so much depends on little details, like, are you in the Yacht Club? For the average passenger, reading their reviews really isn't worth it and skews one's perception.

 

 

 

[Fogfog]

True, we can't blame MSC for the pax sailing and their behavior- that can vary for week to week. 

We sailed a B2B on Celebrity and the one Officer told us to expect a big difference with the 6 day vs the 6 day--and yes he was very correct. Difference in tone, demographics etc.

So length of sailing, time of year, port of embarkation all impact who may be sailing.

Booze cruise vs longer sailing. Spring break, holidays, summer vs "in school", port intensive vs lots of sea days, does the ship have lots of "attractions" (surf-riders/race cars/arcade), is it a big casino draw etc

 

[Jamie7777]

On 2/14/2024 at 3:38 AM, cublet said:

Don't get me started on 'wash cloths' either - they must be important to many as three threads on their availability were running here concurrently a couple of months ago.

I'd really like to know how they clean their bodies over there.  Do they just use their bare hands?  If people don't use a washcloth over here they may use a loofah.  Do they use those?  I've never not used a washcloth and tend to bring my own even if they're supplied at my resort.  I'm not being facetious.  I just don't know what people use to get in all the "nooks and crannies." 

Edited February 15 by Jamie7777