Reviews - Ignore or not?

[babs135]

I've just seen a 7 nights cruise on the MSC Preziosa out of Southampton in a couple of months time for under £500 pp, but the reviews are not great for this particular ship.  Where there is a grumble, it is with the standard of the food, both in the mdr and buffet.  Would like to hear from anyone who has recently sailed on the ship and what their thoughts are.  

It may well be a great price, but have they sacrificed quality to achieve it?

[showingdiva]

 

Most reviews of any ship belonging to any cruise line are negative, because people by nature only like to mention negative things.  Social media has just facilitated this +++.

 

Do remember that MSC is an Italian owned / Swiss head office / Maltese registered cruise line (I notice you have previously cruised with P&O and Cunard).   All the ships have a Mediterranean atmosphere - including the food.

 

I've yet to disembark a MSC cruise feeling hungry.

[Georgia_Peaches]

I always read the reviews but take what I read with a grain of salt. It’s good to go in with eyes wide open but most anything will be exactly what you make it!  

[NightWoman]

MSC price their cruises to ensure full ships, so depending on the size and number of passengers on the ship there could be delays in certain areas, however the crew do work hard to ensure everything runs smoothly, personally I don't think they have enough staff. 

Food is always subjective as is the length of time some people have to wait for a drink. 

I would recommend reading all the reviews, take most of them with a pinch of salt and look at everything positive that's included in the cost of the cruise.. 

Edited Saturday at 12:43 PM by NightWoman
Spelling error

[AwesomO]

I can't say from experience as I haven't been on an MSC cruise yet, but as a fellow customer who was debating on taking the cruise because of the reviews, I decided to go for it. The price absolutely cannot be beat. We got a balcony room for a family of 4 during a school break week for just under 3k (including the trip insurance, but didnt include the drinks package because we never have more than 2-3drinks a day, and we don't care for soda). A week on a ship still seems better than a week in NYC in February. If the food is bad, so be it. We can get something in ports, if needed, but I can't imagine there won't be SOMETHING we find palatable. If service is slow.. well, so be it for that too. We're on vacation, nothing is super urgent. If crew is less than friendly (as I read in some reviews), well, it's still friendlier than the crowds of NYC haha. I've also read that MSC cruises nickel and dime you, but we felt that way on our last cruise with NCL too, so it's to be expected anyway. With the money we're saving, we can use it towards other fun stuff for excursions or nice meals off the ship or things of that nature. For us, we can only do this trip because of how cheap it is (we're saving for another bigger vacation the following year). Everything else was double the price, if not more, so it was this or nothing and this still seems way better than nothing! 

[Sleepybluegiraffe]

Similar to other replies I haven’t been on MSC for a long time (12 years) and have cruised with Celebrity in recent years. We're sailing from Southampton in a few weeks because of the price - we only went on our last Celebrity  cruise in July and there’s no way we could afford that again already. MSC offers the opportunity to go again already! Reviews do say the food has improved in recent years. An upbeat review I read suggested taking everything at face value, which sounds like a good approach to me. I’m looking forward to it 

[lahlah57]

1 hour ago, Sleepybluegiraffe said:

Similar to other replies I haven’t been on MSC for a long time (12 years) and have cruised with Celebrity in recent years. We're sailing from Southampton in a few weeks because of the price - we only went on our last Celebrity  cruise in July and there’s no way we could afford that again already. MSC offers the opportunity to go again already! Reviews do say the food has improved in recent years. An upbeat review I read suggested taking everything at face value, which sounds like a good approach to me. I’m looking forward to it 

Every cruiseline but 1 we have been on had it's negatives. 

Princess, Holland, Celebrity, Carnival, Viking.

The one and only that we found was perfection in every aspect was Crystal.

As of now it has been priced way out of our range! ☹️

Take negatives but isn't it funny the positives are mentioned less?!

Take every cruise or trip with an open mind and no lingering opinion good or bad.....only then will you not be disappointed.

[Nunagoras]

As most of the others say: Take it with a grain of salt and bear in mind it is an Italian line with a very Italian/Mediterranean style attached to it, even though they've been trying to adapt to where the ships are sailing, if Southampton they'll tailor it the best they can to the UK market. Either way it's Mainstream or EU 4* land hotel standards on steroids here and there. If you study a little bit what the product is about it will be fine. If there is availability and it is not far away from your budget you can consider going YC. If you can also status match with other companies and receive 5% off your baseline price. You'll be fine! Have a wonderful day and sailings!...

[chrisgp999]

11 hours ago, babs135 said:

I've just seen a 7 nights cruise on the MSC Preziosa out of Southampton in a couple of months time for under £500 pp, but the reviews are not great for this particular ship.  Where there is a grumble, it is with the standard of the food, both in the mdr and buffet.  Would like to hear from anyone who has recently sailed on the ship and what their thoughts are.  

It may well be a great price, but have they sacrificed quality to achieve it?

While the Cruise Critic site contains many accurate reviews, do not believe everything you read.   Here are some “entertaining” excerpts from questionable MSC reviews that were posted on Cruise Critic.

 

“once you arrive to embark I was charged $5USD a bag just to put then in the trolley then don't expect to have your bag at the front of your room as other cruise companies do.  I had to walk around the floor looking for my bags they were piled up about 4 room away from ours . it was chaotic as every one was doing the same”

 

“food was very very basic everyday such as pizza chicken salad chips or deserts nothing really for adults”

 

“The buffet is mainly pizza and potato salad every single day, lunch and dinner the same”

 

“I never want to see a slice of pizza again. It was the only option at the buffet”

 

“No one really spoke English,  if they did they had an attitude or was clueless if asked a question

 

“Number 1 reason for not liking the cruise is crowd of people that are on board. Talked to multiple people who bragged about being in prison, selling drugs, or being part of a gang.”

 

“The shows were very sexual (there were many instances of pole dancing) and I would warn anyone with children to steer clear of them.”

 

Based on the above comments , embarkation day on a typical MSC cruise will be as follows:

 

Upon arriving at the terminal, MSC will immediately extort $5.00 per bag to move your luggage onto the ship.  You will then have to roam the corridors in search of your belongings and, when found, drag such belongings back to your cabin.   

 

Once the luggage task is complete, I’m sure you’ll be hungry so you can proceed to the buffet where all you will find is “pizza chicken salad chips or deserts nothing really for adults”.  Unless you happen to be there on the day when they are serving “pizza and potato salad every single day, lunch and dinner the same”. But you’d better move quickly.  They may run out of potato salad and all you will have is “pizza again. It was the only option at the buffet”

 

You may try to ask a crew member if there are additional food options.  However, you probably won’t understand their response since “No one really spoke English”

 

Of course you might be safer if you remained in your cabin and ordered room service.  This way you can avoid the “multiple people who bragged about being in prison, selling drugs, or being part of a gang.”

 

If you gather up the courage, you may want to venture out your cabin and enjoy the “very sexual (there were many instances of pole dancing)” shows in the main theater. Don’t bring the kids, but Gentlemen, please remember to bring a generous supply of dollar bills.

 

 

The review excerpts posted above were cut and pasted, as is, from actual member-written MSC reviews on Cruise Critic.  I did not edit or alter them in any way.  I tried to maintain the context of the review as best as I could.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this bit of humor, admittedly sarcastic humor.  That said, one must seriously question the veracity of these excerpts and of the reviews from which they were extracted.

[Heartgrove]

We sailed on the MSC Preziosa last September (exactly one year ago) RT leaving from Hamburg. It was a 10-Night cruise to the Scotland and Ireland. I have to say it was one of our better cruises. We had the "Fantastica experience" in 11135 and 11139. Food was very good and actually ate in the MDR 9 of 10 nights. We ate in the buffet the evening we sailed away from Cobh so we could be on deck.

 

I would disregard most of the negative comments about the ship, MDR and buffet food, and anything else people complain about. I never saw any corner cutting. Hamburg was one of the most orderly embarkation/disembarkation we have been in. I would enjoy sailing on that ship again as the Fantasia-class are my favorite.

[perakcruiser]

16 hours ago, babs135 said:

Would like to hear from anyone who has recently sailed on the ship and what their thoughts are.  

Been on the Preziosa before and will be again in November. 100 percent sure that it will be a great cruise. Indeed the prize is amazing. Certainly need luck with the weather, it really can be very grim at this time. Which is the reason for the great prices obviously.

 

The reviews, well, listening to them it like ask a random passerby for stock market recommendations and follow him. 

[MeiFong]

DH and I really liked our cruise on Preziosa last July. It did take longer to find my way on the ship. If you look at the deck plans you'll notice, for example, that you can't get to the aft of deck 6 from the front of deck 6. But deck 6 also has the Phoenician Plaza and many passengers don't realise that you can get complimentary food there such as cakes and sandwiches (the gelato is additional charge).

 

Is the food on the ship exceptional? No, but as long a you realise it will not be the same as your favourite restaurant back home that can seat 40 people max at once (so set your expectations right), I doubt you will go hungry. And if there is something you don't like you can always get something else. That's the beauty of being on a cruise.

 

On cruises to Northern Europe most people will avoid the outside decks. It might, therefore, be busier indoors, but there are enough places to go if you are willing to look for them.

 

I didn't notice any unfriendly crew, as long as you are friendly to them they will be friendly in return. The waiters did always seem to time their 'Is everything okay?' at the exact moment when my mouth was full. Not sure how they do that, but I also often have that issue in restaurants on land 😉 

 

My advice is to take the reviews with a grain of salt. Especially reviews, like chrisgp999 showed, that are just plain lies. If it really is that bad the ship wouldn't still be sailing after all these years and not all passengers on Preziosa are first time MSC cruisers, some choose to return 🙂.

 

Enjoy the cruise!

[chrisgp999]

49 minutes ago, MeiFong said:

DH and I really liked our cruise on Preziosa last July. It did take longer to find my way on the ship. If you look at the deck plans you'll notice, for example, that you can't get to the aft of deck 6 from the front of deck 6. But deck 6 also has the Phoenician Plaza and many passengers don't realise that you can get complimentary food there such as cakes and sandwiches (the gelato is additional charge).

 

Is the food on the ship exceptional? No, but as long a you realise it will not be the same as your favourite restaurant back home that can seat 40 people max at once (so set your expectations right), I doubt you will go hungry. And if there is something you don't like you can always get something else. That's the beauty of being on a cruise.

 

On cruises to Northern Europe most people will avoid the outside decks. It might, therefore, be busier indoors, but there are enough places to go if you are willing to look for them.

 

I didn't notice any unfriendly crew, as long as you are friendly to them they will be friendly in return. The waiters did always seem to time their 'Is everything okay?' at the exact moment when my mouth was full. Not sure how they do that, but I also often have that issue in restaurants on land 😉 

 

My advice is to take the reviews with a grain of salt. Especially reviews, like chrisgp999 showed, that are just plain lies. If it really is that bad the ship wouldn't still be sailing after all these years and not all passengers on Preziosa are first time MSC cruisers, some choose to return 🙂.

 

Enjoy the cruise!

Unfortunately the excerpts included in my post are only a small sample of what is posted on CC.

[kad56]

I've sailed with MSC in the Caribbean, and there's a bunch of things I loved about the cruise:

* The evening entertainment

* The pizza

* Good long time in ports

* got a bunch of freebies out my status match

* Ocean Cay

* low, low, low price

 

Now, there were some things I disliked. Mainly the inflexibity with table assignments and dining times, and some issues around resolving basic problems, but it was a very good vacation overall. If were to choose between staying home, and going on an MSC cruise, I'd definitely choose the cruise.

[luckyinpa]

for that price for 7 nites, you cant have high expectations. from what i read about NON YC cabins, if you sailed before you will have issues since it's not like other lines. so be aware.

 

that being said i did a YC cruise recently and it surpassed everything i ever read about YC. much better service and perks than any other line ive been on.

[Preziosa]

I have been sailing MSC Preziosa 7 times.

so I Can just say that you Will have a fantastic cruise

[amurray88]

Can't talk about preziosa and normally I would say don't listen to reviews....but having sailed on Virtuosa in the summer, the food was truly dreadful. And I don't mean bad ...I mean awful

[amurray88]

On 9/21/2024 at 10:49 PM, chrisgp999 said:

 

While the Cruise Critic site contains many accurate reviews, do not believe everything you read.   Here are some “entertaining” excerpts from questionable MSC reviews that were posted on Cruise Critic.

 

“once you arrive to embark I was charged $5USD a bag just to put then in the trolley then don't expect to have your bag at the front of your room as other cruise companies do.  I had to walk around the floor looking for my bags they were piled up about 4 room away from ours . it was chaotic as every one was doing the same”

 

“food was very very basic everyday such as pizza chicken salad chips or deserts nothing really for adults”

 

“The buffet is mainly pizza and potato salad every single day, lunch and dinner the same”

 

“I never want to see a slice of pizza again. It was the only option at the buffet”

 

“No one really spoke English,  if they did they had an attitude or was clueless if asked a question

 

“Number 1 reason for not liking the cruise is crowd of people that are on board. Talked to multiple people who bragged about being in prison, selling drugs, or being part of a gang.”

 

“The shows were very sexual (there were many instances of pole dancing) and I would warn anyone with children to steer clear of them.”

 

Based on the above comments , embarkation day on a typical MSC cruise will be as follows:

 

Upon arriving at the terminal, MSC will immediately extort $5.00 per bag to move your luggage onto the ship.  You will then have to roam the corridors in search of your belongings and, when found, drag such belongings back to your cabin.   

 

Once the luggage task is complete, I’m sure you’ll be hungry so you can proceed to the buffet where all you will find is “pizza chicken salad chips or deserts nothing really for adults”.  Unless you happen to be there on the day when they are serving “pizza and potato salad every single day, lunch and dinner the same”. But you’d better move quickly.  They may run out of potato salad and all you will have is “pizza again. It was the only option at the buffet”

 

You may try to ask a crew member if there are additional food options.  However, you probably won’t understand their response since “No one really spoke English”

 

Of course you might be safer if you remained in your cabin and ordered room service.  This way you can avoid the “multiple people who bragged about being in prison, selling drugs, or being part of a gang.”

 

If you gather up the courage, you may want to venture out your cabin and enjoy the “very sexual (there were many instances of pole dancing)” shows in the main theater. Don’t bring the kids, but Gentlemen, please remember to bring a generous supply of dollar bills.

 

 

The review excerpts posted above were cut and pasted, as is, from actual member-written MSC reviews on Cruise Critic.  I did not edit or alter them in any way.  I tried to maintain the context of the review as best as I could.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this bit of humor, admittedly sarcastic humor.  That said, one must seriously question the veracity of these excerpts and of the reviews from which they were extracted.

In fairness... The bag thing (not $5...but we did have to hunt the full length of Virtuosa for ours). They put them on the correct side of the correct deck...the rest really was a hunt.

 

It didn't bother us...but it wasn't the best first impression 

Edited Tuesday at 09:42 PM by amurray88

[morpheusofthesea]

15 hours ago, amurray88 said:

The bag thing (not $5..

I guess I got away cheap for $50 for DW’s 12 suitcases. When the first two arrived I tipped the room steward another $10 bucks to find the other 10 bags.It worked. Got them all after lunch. Every time.

Edited yesterday at 12:46 PM by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

On 9/21/2024 at 5:49 PM, chrisgp999 said:

“Number 1 reason for not liking the cruise is crowd of people that are on board. Talked to multiple people who bragged about being in prison, selling drugs, or being part of a gang.”

There is a grain of truth to this statement. MSC has the lowest prices to cruise in the industry. It cost most US cities more to house and feed their homeless populations. These low prices attract the lowest class to steerage. Cruise Critic survey found the 3 worst cruise lines by tallying all their reviews. The worst is Costa, followed close behind MSC,

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcSnC9wihD4

This poster got stuck with the "old maid" playing card. Sure a great many of us get tables for two, and only have to watch out at the buffet.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

These low prices attract the lowest class to steerage.

Now the exact opposite is also found in MSC's Yacht Clubs being the best luxury style cruising in the Industry. Better than Regent Seven Seas and even their own Luxury line Explora Journeys. We go on Explora only to get away from the riff-raff, see different shows and experience even better cuisine. Explora has the only sanitary buffet at sea. (Will be checking out Oceania buffet and compare).

[chrisgp999]

On 9/24/2024 at 4:42 PM, amurray88 said:

In fairness... The bag thing (not $5...but we did have to hunt the full length of Virtuosa for ours). They put them on the correct side of the correct deck...the rest really was a hunt.

 

It didn't bother us...but it wasn't the best first impression 

Sorry you had a problem with your bags.  I surmise that despite this problem you did not post a negative review on CC that 1.) purported that such an occurrence is standard operating procedure on MSC, and, 2.) this problem completely ruined your entire cruise.

[amurray88]

14 minutes ago, chrisgp999 said:

Sorry you had a problem with your bags.  I surmise that despite this problem you did not post a negative review on CC that 1.) purported that such an occurrence is standard operating procedure on MSC, and, 2.) this problem completely ruined your entire cruise.

I did not 🤣... 

[amurray88]

54 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Now the exact opposite is also found in MSC's Yacht Clubs being the best luxury style cruising in the Industry. Better than Regent Seven Seas and even their own Luxury line Explora Journeys. We go on Explora only to get away from the riff-raff, see different shows and experience even better cuisine. Explora has the only sanitary buffet at sea. (Will be checking out Oceania buffet and compare).

I have only ever done budget cruising (well, NCL and RCCL quite alot, MSC or P&O for the rest) and typically inside cabins (one free upgrade to outside and one free upgrade to balcony). BUT if budget was no option I have to admit I wouldn't even be tempted with YC - I'd definitely be going with Explora, Seven Sea, Oceania or similar... Is YC really better than these? 😲

[luckyinpa]

55 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Now the exact opposite is also found in MSC's Yacht Clubs being the best luxury style cruising in the Industry. Better than Regent Seven Seas and even their own Luxury line Explora Journeys. We go on Explora only to get away from the riff-raff, see different shows and experience even better cuisine. Explora has the only sanitary buffet at sea. (Will be checking out Oceania buffet and compare).

 

i just did my 1st YC cruise in may in a deluxe balcony. smallest room ive had in years compared  to all the large suites i normally have. but i wanted to try out the service. the royal suite in liberty of the seas was the most elegant room ive had but there was no service on that class of ship. not even free wifi. to spend a mere 2700 PP for a balcony YC cabin i got so much included in the fare, PLUS the great service. i dont know if i'm ever gonna go on another cruise line again (after my november cruise this year that was booked 18 mo in advance. i just hope MSC rotates a ship out after 2 or 3 years in NYC.

 

but i am curious why YC was better than explora because i looked at those fares and it should be better. i do see they have fancier cabins though. but an entire ship of YC sounds delightful on paper.

 

i never researched regent beyond their website but it appeared too much dressup /formal for me.