MSC Cruises is our preferred cruise line but even our team experiences bad experiences. However, we allow time to reflect on those experiences to see if it genuinely effected us as travelers. We've been on many cruises with experience in all major brands - if you're looking for a new adventure and something safe and enjoyable we recommend MSC Cruises.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We booked Aurea and our friends booked Bella. However, MSC understood and allowed all of us to go through the priorty boarding line together. Check-in was a breeze and only took about 10 minutes to go through the entire process. Upon entering the terminal building we waiting about 5 minutes before being let on by MSC staff for prioty access to the ship. Their new process in Terminal F is very quick & effecient!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food as always was superb. Dining rooms clean and running very smoothly. We had one slow evening which was on Night 1 but the staff realized my disappointment and quickly addressed it and never had another slow evening. The complaints I continue seeing about slow service can easily be addressed and corrected by a polite conversation. If you're looking for a quicker service just let your host know. We enjoyed Roy's Teppanyaki experience and thoroughly enjoyed it! A group of four of us all enjoyed the portions and price was reasonable. Buffets were ever changing and I kept finding new items to try - always fresh and hot!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We loved all the activities we were able to do onboard the Seaside. Our only major complaint was we felt like the activities were overlapping too much which kept us from exploring multiple things we wanted to try. It wasn't that large of an issue but we'd like to see this corrected in future sailings. Recommend checking out the daily trivia. The pools and other onboard activities such as zip line and water park were superb!
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We were blown away by the pure talent on MSC ships. I've never been disappointed with their entertainment staff. My only recommendation for the cruise line is to do better at telling the story but we still genuinely felt like these were Broadway shows.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We were given great service all week onboard the Seaside. From our room steward, restaurant staff and all the crew members in between were amazing. I've never experienced a horrible experience from their staff and everyone speaks English.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Those that travel MSC simply cannot travel any other ocean cruise line and experience what MSC offers. Their ships are beautiful from top to bottom. Daily at ports you can see maintenance painting the outside of the ship (Unlike most Carnival's you see) and they're constantly wiping down all services around the ship - even places you wouldn't imagine them cleaning! Beautiful ship all around.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Onboard the Seaside for this particular cruise we had an Aurea Balcony. We choose this experience because we thoroughly enjoy the drinks and free massages being added into the price of the cruise. The room was clean and still looked fresh and clean. My only complaint was the design of the bathrooms/closet but neither one was a big issue just a personal opinion. Overall great cabin and would recommend anyone to try Aurea Experience onboard.
Ship tip
Don't believe the negative feedback you see from reviews. The reviews are a poor representation of MSC Cruises and I'd recommend anyone to experience this brand. Are people rude? Depends if you're open minded to other cultures. What American's might consider rude is "normal" life in their culture. Lastly, if you like to cruise with only American's then stay with Carnival but if you like to learn about many cultures within 7 days then I'd highly recommend MSC.
Island still had some damage from the hurricane but they have recovered very quickly! We enjoyed our excursion on Golden Eagle Catamaran and highly recommend this excursion when you're here. Water was very "foggy" still from sand being blown around from the storm but overall still great excursion!
Overall very quick and effecient. However, my ongoing complaint is those with "larger" suitecases are made to wait for the elevator. Which is very disappointing and a pain since everyone has large suitecases. However, with the addition of a new terminal coming soon I hope that gets this corrected.
Thanks for your comment. The quick and efficient boarding process was MY experience with MSC. I have a wide variety of history with MSC Cruises and I’ve found that their boarding process is much quicker than other major brands. Anyhow, that is why I included the fact that I had priority boarding. My experience won’t apply to everyone. In regards to your issue regarding rudeness I never once said MSC staff were the rude ones. I was speaking in reference to Americans calling other internationals rude. Are there rude internationals? Yes, but there are also Americans that are very rude as well. You can rest assured that MSC treats all clientele, including Americans with the utmost respect. Ultimately, I’d love for the North American market to embrace this beautiful cruise line but they have to understand this cruise line is different - in a good way. Hope this clears any misconception about my review.
Thanks for sharing. Some good information here. Although if you had priority boarding, that quick timeline wouldn't apply to the rest of us right? I do want to try MSC. I am OK if the staff is not as friendly as Carnival but I wouldn't appreciate rudeness even if they are normally rude. I heard though that MSC is quickly figuring out that when they are cruising out of North American ports with mostly North American guests and asking for North American money that they need to rethink their normal and treat that clientel how they are accustomed to being treated. I haven't read many complaints lately so I think they are working it out. Can't wait to try them.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
