Don't go into a MSC cruise expecting anything like other cruise companies sailing out of the USA. We asked the service staff about they lack of appeal to American preferences on food and maybe they could adapt it a bit. And they said it came from above that "the American ls can adapt to us, we aren't adapting to them" pretty much sums up our experience with MSC
Embarkation
2 out of 5
Quick and easy. Just make sure you print everything off
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
Definitely geared towards the European market, limited hours, limited selection. Not the "American style - free for all indulgent eating"
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
Pools were nice, and clean. Very limited activities. Most were at an additional charge, or were sales pitches (way worse than ncl, royal, or carnival, which all three are quite a bit of up selling themselves l
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Definitely dropped their quality of shows. Used to feel more like Broadway, now it feels like community theater musicals. Also, the 4 main singers had very obvious accents which cause many mispronounced lyrics and was distracting at times.
Children's Programs
No children traveling with us
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Service was fantastic in the restaurant. Cocktail service was miserably slow... Like uncomfortably slow. Room stewards kept the rooms very clean
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Common areas were spotless, kinda difficult to get around, their on board app doesn't actually include floorplams
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Handicap accessible, as my brother needed a mobility scooter, even with it in the room it felt spacious. The balcony was huge as well
Meal service hours very limited, much like on the ship. Bar staff was extremely lax and unprofessional on the cay - at the lighthouse bar the bartender literally kept eating potato chips as he was taking our drink order. At a couple bars we stopped to get drinks it, it was obvious that they weren't supervised or on camera, as they weren't very focused
Msc changed the itinerary last minute, which put us here on a national holiday when everything was closed - unless you took a ship based/booked shore excursion
If you think the food was very European then you should have cruised with MSC when they were first in the US as the food then was extremely Italian yet we always found something to eat and it was all very good. To us over the years they have become very American in the food. I will keep cruising with MSC.
I’ve never had a “bad” experience with MSC. They will be my go to line for cruising . Have never felt there was anything wrong with food compared to a couple of other cruise lines I’ve sailed . As far as limited times for food service , I really don’t know what you mean ….unless while at Ocean Cay, Buffett open for 2 hours , food trucks around are open and if that isn’t enough , get back to the ship . A cruise is what YOU make of it , if you wanna find something to complain about and not be happy you can find that on each cruise line not just MSC ….
We had a good experience on the Divina and Seaside. Sorry your experience wast that good. I do agree on the food they need to expand along with entertainment.
Glad you found something about your cruise to enjoy. While I can appreciate MSC's desire to be authentic and true to themselves, when in Rome you do as the Roman's do. Just as RC catered Spectrum to appeal to the Asian marketplace, if MSC's goal is to successfully penetrate the North American market, they're going to need to tweak a few things. Time will tell whether or not they'll find their niche here.
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