Has anyone cruised with MSC?

[Disneyloverz]

Hello cruise dibbers,

Has anyone cruised with MSC, if so, what did you think?

We usually cruise with P&O but are considering MSC fro a cruise round the MED in March/April 2021.

We are 2 adults and an 8-year-old (when we travel)

[vampiress88]

Nope we are same as you. Only ever done p&o but would be interested to see your replies.
Is it similar costs to p&o?

[Cloverlady]

I'd think about it carefully -Whereas when we'd cruised MSC from Miami around the Caribbean I would have sang MSC's praises from the rooftops (We had had a brilliant time - new ship, stunningly beautiful - English speaking mainly American clientele, English spoken entertainment, we made friends onboard etc ) however, since our recent trip around the Med on MSC we have decided not to use MSC again unless cruising from USA.
The reasons for that were several, including;
MSC's Med cruises are very often roll-on roll -off cruises which means not round trip as such with all passengers travelling from point A and get off at point B together, they have passengers joining the ship at every port which means there is not one muster drill, (with the associated shut down of the bars restaurants facilities whilst the muster drill takes place) there is a muster drill after every stop. This gets tedious to say the least.
You don't get to know fellow passengers in the same way as other cruises as all getting on/off different times, in the dining room together etc.
Vast majority of passengers did not speak English, (not a problem of course, MSC are an Italian cruise line and we were in Europe after all and are accustomed to holidaying in Europe! ) but it therefore meant none of the entertainment was in English, all shows were just music or dance based due to multitude of languages to cater to on board and it did get a bit boring after a time.
I'm sorry to report that a lot of the clientele were rude pushy shovey types, maybe typical of European culture compared to our polite ways you might argue but it seemed that lots and lots had no manners, crowding dangerously in the stairwells shoving to get off at ports, smoking openly on the cabin balconies despite it being prohibited, pushed in on queues etc. Not MSCs fault, granted, but it had an effect.
We were sorry to see no staff encouraging passengers to use hand wash on entry to eateries, whereas our MSC cruise from USA was like other cruise lines in that they politely almost insisted upon this.

I had read previous accounts of MSC European cruises on this site which had told many of the same stories as above, particularly about rude passengers, unfortunately but had hoped we didn't find the same...

Some of this above could be personal opinion of course but we had loved our cruise on MSC from USA so were very disappointed,
Their ships are stunning. THE most beautiful stylish ships visually, great itineraries, reasonable prices, WONDERFUL cocktail menu the staff were lovely, and love that they play 'Time To Say Goodbye' on deck at sailaways - but although we had a good time, yes, we would not personally repeat unless cruising with them from USA.

[Disneyloverz]

Originally Posted by Cloverlady

I'd think about it carefully -Whereas when we'd cruised MSC from Miami around the Caribbean I would have sang MSC's praises from the rooftops (We had had a brilliant time - new ship, stunningly beautiful - English speaking mainly American clientele, English spoken entertainment, we made friends onboard etc ) however, since our recent trip around the Med on MSC we have decided not to use MSC again unless cruising from USA.
The reasons for that were several, including;
MSC's Med cruises are very often roll-on roll -off cruises which means not round trip as such with all passengers travelling from point A and get off at point B together, they have passengers joining the ship at every port which means there is not one muster drill, (with the associated shut down of the bars restaurants facilities whilst the muster drill takes place) there is a muster drill after every stop. This gets tedious to say the least.
You don't get to know fellow passengers in the same way as other cruises as all getting on/off different times, in the dining room together etc.
Vast majority of passengers did not speak English, (not a problem of course, MSC are an Italian cruise line and we were in Europe after all and are accustomed to holidaying in Europe! ) but it therefore meant none of the entertainment was in English, all shows were just music or dance based due to multitude of languages to cater to on board and it did get a bit boring after a time.
I'm sorry to report that a lot of the clientele were rude pushy shovey types, maybe typical of European culture compared to our polite ways you might argue but it seemed that lots and lots had no manners, crowding dangerously in the stairwells shoving to get off at ports, smoking openly on the cabin balconies despite it being prohibited, pushed in on queues etc. Not MSCs fault, granted, but it had an effect.
We were sorry to see no staff encouraging passengers to use hand wash on entry to eateries, whereas our MSC cruise from USA was like other cruise lines in that they politely almost insisted upon this.

I had read previous accounts of MSC European cruises on this site which had told many of the same stories as above, particularly about rude passengers, unfortunately but had hoped we didn't find the same...

Some of this above could be personal opinion of course but we had loved our cruise on MSC from USA so were very disappointed,
Their ships are stunning. THE most beautiful stylish ships visually, great itineraries, reasonable prices, WONDERFUL cocktail menu the staff were lovely, and love that they play 'Time To Say Goodbye' on deck at sailaways - but although we had a good time, yes, we would not personally repeat unless cruising with them from USA.

See more...

Thank you for your detailed reply, that was really helpful

[arielrocks]

Have a scan through the last couple of pages in the cruise section of the forum. MSC have come up a few times, I did a review after we returned with them in sept.

[SHREKS OTHER1/2]

I have cruised with them ..Beautiful ships , food fine .But and a big but I don't like timed dinning .I felt every night like I was at school have a drink @ 7 meal @ 7.30 show @ 8.30 drink 9.30 . I much prefer anytime dining and sat at different tables .This is my view ..I love NCL although I am about to try Princess in March . Would I sail with them again .YES ...the itinerary would have to be what I wanted , but for their base price you cant go wrong .But start adding things and then the price rises inline with other lines

[SquishTheWhale]

Yes, in the Med and Cloverlady covered my feelings about it very well. But throw in there that we found the MDR food terrible (We are not fussy! ). The buffet was fine. MSC was a once and never again for us- they are cheap but we'd rather pay more and enjoy our holiday more.

[JudeB]

We sailed MSC Meraviglia in January 19 around the Med from Barcelona. We loved it! It was only our 2nd cruise (the other being Royal Caribbean). The ship is beautiful, cabins comfortable (ours was a balcony cabin). Staff were friendly, specialty restaurants were very good - especially the steak house! Entertainment was not as good as RCI; you could tell it was geared for a more European audience rather than USA. Excursions were much cheaper than RCI, but again, not as good as several we were on were with French or Spanish and the guide had to spend time translating both. We loved the buffet, streets ahead of RCI - fresh mozzarella made on board! Pizza, breads and salads - I was in food heaven Main dining room was fine, again probably not as good as RCI, but all very edible. I would definitely book with MSC again in the price was right.

[duchy]

Remember MSC will status match with other cruise companies so if you have status with P&O that’s worth looking at .
They matched my lowly Carnival status earlier this month and also my friend’s DCL diamond status, both like for like leading to an additional discount as well as status perks on board.

[Floridag1rl]

We have been on 2 MSC cruises, my advice would be to stay well clear especially if you are used to the high standard of P&O. The food is not very good, the service is appalling, most of the crew don't speak English so they can't communicate with you. Be prepared to not go into your port and have your excursions cancelled because there are not enough English speaking people on board. I am not exaggerating we thought the ships were beautiful but nothing else. I will only book and English speaking cruise line now (UK or American).