12 things I loved and hated about my first MSC cruise
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- čas přidán 22. 06. 2024
- When I boarded my first MSC cruise, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Most reviews I had read of the cruise line were subpar at best, and although I usually don’t put too much faith into reviews, I couldn’t help but be a little apprehensive.
MSC Cruises, an Italian based cruise line, is controversial amongst many cruise fans. Long established in the European market, the cruise line has recently been gaining popularity among North American cruisers, promising low prices, trendy ships, and world-class destinations.
Despite its growth, MSC has been subject to negativity, with many cruisers complaining about the food, service, and programming onboard its ships.
While weighing the positives and negatives of the cruise line, curiosity got the best of me and I booked a 7-night cruise on the fleet’s biggest ship, MSC World Europa.
Here are 12 things I loved and hated about my first MSC cruise.
Nice video and review! I have cruised on MSC World Europa on July and simply loved it (watched the video to go back at that week 🥰) . I had high expectations but I didn't get disappointed. Very surprisingly, the ship never felt (over)crowded except for the buffet during peak hours and the swimming pool on the navigation day, but both situations can be easily avoided and my whole family had a wonderful time.
Just a quick note on the (non) free water, which is something typical European (as an European myself, I'm actually glad to find free water at the buffet!), the pizza & burger offers complimentary water as there's a water dispenser next to the coffee machines (no idea why you missed it). It's a detail that makes a big difference, as it is located on deck 6, compared to the two buffets located on deck 18 and 19.
This was a really good and thorough review. Thinking I will give MSC a try. THANK YOU!
I love cruising with MSC. Really no complaints. You can't beat the price and always lots to do and food is really good . Going again in Feb of 24
Totally agree! Going in Feb as well on seascape.
This was a very helpful review - thank you - I am sailing in October on a MSC ship and have no idea what to expect as it is also my first cruise. I have done lots of research via these types of blogs which have proved invaluable. The ship you reviewed looks beautiful, as does the one I am using, so fingers crossed all goes well.
If you are a 1st time cruiser - IGNORE ALL THE REVIEWS. You will have an INCREDIBLE time on MSC cruises! Especially if you are from North America.
Great review. I love the cons en pos of the MSC World Europa.
Hello, and thank you for your wonderful videos ! I just "discovered" your channel, and what a pleasant surprise ~ (so nice... that I suscribed) ! Have a lovely day !!
Really now?! No free water? Crowded buffet? With 4000 guests on board? Girl, I really think it was truly your first cruise.
That’s what I thought… her complaints are silly. One devise wifi ONLY gave her wifi on one devise 😱
Also i never get people paying to eat at a restaurant on a cruise when they are already paying for unlimited food at the dining room on top of the buffer and dining venues.
@@sylvainh2oThe Grill serves superb steaks so nice for a treat. Didn’t think MSC food was great.
Thanks for uploading I am going to do MSC on MAY '24' super excited. In my opinion most cruisers are pretty much spoiled by carnival and Royal Caribean. Just think out of the bun and you will be happy and enjoy . There is nothing in the world picture perfect but you can't beat the price
We did world Europa in September. First cruise we’ve done, got the premium extra drink package as I’m rather fond of the odd beer or 10! The buffets were absolute mayhem and also the pushing and shoving getting in and out of lifts drove us mad! Apart from that the ship was awesome, staff were excellent and loved the food (especially the specialty restaurants!) hola tacos and butchers cut were epic! Next time we’re gonna upgrade to yacht club for a bit more peace & quiet!
Really like your video. My friends and I will be on the ship for Christmas. Do you know how many elegant/formal night is a 7 nights sailing?
Omg! If I’m on a cruise ship looking out at a beautiful ocean, that’s all I need! Sorry if you need more then that? You’re so silly girl! LMAO 🤣
thanks for an objective review
Nice video 🥳
We will travel with the Seashore on 28.October from Genua (Italy) to Florida / 23 nights on board 🚢
Oh, that Speakeasy bar looks amazing! I want to try this cruise line, I've lived in Europe so I'm familiar with water not being served (and having to pay for it) but I got spoiled coming back to the US where it's automatically included with meals. We typically get the drink package on cruises anyway.
Cool! What type of MSC cruise is it? I found it interesting and I'm interested in going in the spring.
We have our 1st MSC cruise coming up in April. Thanks for the tips about the drinking package. I didn't think of that because they said, there are water bottles in our stateroom and will be filled all the time.
Thank you!
Im biased because Im so grateful each time I sail.
Ma"am I was wondering did you take any of the Bahamas cruises?
The way to get around the 1 device internet package is to put it on a cell phone then use the hotspot ...workaround
Free water is always available in the buffets on all MSC ships and on World Europa it's available on the 6th floor burger joint too
I don't agree with the MSC drinks. The MSC drink package ... even if non-alcohol ... is ridiculously expensive. And they are being nasty by hiding the free water in the ship to force you buy their drink package. I can see it makes sense if you join a Mediterranean cruise where you can visit multiple European countries. But for Caribbean, I don't see the point if I can go to the all-inclusive resorts. They are much cheaper and you can get drunk from sunrise to sunset without conscience. The cruise excursion in the Caribbean are lackluster to be honest. The activities are the same no matter which island you go and the buildings are the same.
I believe it is the same for every cruise line to get people to buy the drinks package
Bro I’m probs gonna enjoy because it takes so little to surprise me idk I’m British I don’t expect much in the first place
Too much complaining about lack of free water! Just take an empty water bottle with you when you cruise and fill up at the buffet. You can go there when it's quieter if you want to avoid large crowds. That's what I always do.
With the internet.. what I do is have Internet on my phone and turn on the phone's hotspot. I use that hotspot to connect my laptop, Streaming stick and iPad to the internet through my phone..
Thank you in advance for any response you can give me to this question I’ve never done MSC I’ve done royal carnival Norwegian cruise lines. I have heard unlike those cruise lines which have every night three or four bars with one will have a Latin band one will have a guitar player. One might have an actual rock band the other might have a piano player till midnight or 1 AM. Does MSC do the same thing? I have heard that they do not I will be patiently waiting for your response. Much appreciated. Thank you the more detail the better.
On MSC World Europa there were many live musicians on any given night! I also went on MSC Seaside and there were always live musicians, too, such as piano in one lounge, a singer in another, etc.
@@CruiseBlogGuide thank you for your reply, but did they play till about midnight every night like three different entertaining singers in three different venues every night? Thank you in advance for this reply again for clarification.
What do you mean no free water you may know bottled water in your room or do you mean in the Buffay or the restaurant? They actually said water cost extra surely not. Would you explain please
On the MSC cruise that I was on in the U.S. , the buffet area had free water , ice tea and lemonade 24 hours a day. Not sure about the dining rooms or your cabin. Bring your own plastic bottle and fill at the buffet.
Yes absolutely on the negative side the company still owes me £100 for my cancelled cruise during the pandemic.
Many time I have chased this up , with no response whatsoever. Customer service rubbish you are more likely to have issues getting money back if the company owes you money.
Go to your bank and ask them to counter the payment. Then it's between the bank and msc
Is the entertainment provided or is it an extra charge?
It's provided!
Was there any free water
She mentioned the buffet. Also ship water from a bathroom sink is safe to drink on every major cruiseline even if it tastes lousy.
I was thinking about my first cruise and was thinking about the msc world Europa but im really not sure i honestly like the ship and found others to be quite bland looking but im not sure after watching this
Wonderful review, congrats!...
Really most of the complaints come from the ones that don't do their homework. It's an Italian owned and operated line running primarily for the EU market, as you explain on the beginning. What would one to expect: an American product???... Well...
Finally as the other comment said: Crowded buffet?... Of course: It's a mega ship!... :) Tons of premium to luxury smaller ships to chose from if one wants to escape that. MSC dinner buffets were always lacking though as Europeans prefer sit down table service for dinners on holidays. Poor dinner buffets used to be a feature, not a bug back in the day. It seems they're improving it lately.
Have a wonderful day!...
I’m British and I’m going on the cruise ship in a few days, I don’t expect much disappointment because us get amazed by some of the littlest things and I can’t wait to go into the British pub like bar. Also this girl is American and America is pretty different from Europe in things like daily life
I often find it's Americans specifically that don't vibe well with MSC, in the same way Americans complain about European customer service in general, such as the water thing ( why do you guys need so much 🤣) staff not as friendly or chatty, etc.
Oddly very American style cruises put me off because of the American customer service style and I can imagine lots of Brits or Europeans would feel the same?
Owning a printer really should not be uncommon… I don’t know a single person who doesn’t own one and I’m in my 20’s.
Yes, I too thought that was strange.
In fact, with her not actually appearing in the video, I wasn't entirely sure whether she hasn't got a printer because she's too young or too elderly?? 😁
I always take a printed copy of a boarding passes etc, in any case. Phones, batteries and mobile coverage are all prone to problems, whilst paper is pretty much 100% reliable.
I feel like young people from cities are less likely to own printers.
Just went on MSC Magnifica out of Miami for a 3 day cruise. January 2024. My first ever cruise for a family reunion. I had the premium Aurea experience.
Total garbage. The food was terrible the service was terrible except for a couple instances and the place looked like a gaudy 80s dive bar. They ran out of lemons and limes with a full day left. Massive disappointment. Didn’t stop at Ocean Cay private island because of wind. Stayed at sea for a day instead. And confirmed exactly what I thought would happen if I ever took a cruise. MSC is trash. And I’ll never cruise again.
It’s almost like you could have a water bottle with you. Who expects a glass everywhere they go…? Sheesh.
I'm sorry. But before I start a cruise, I find out what to expect. The fact that you're so upset that there was only free water in the buffet restaurant... that's childish. What normal person only drinks mineral water on a cruise? Simply book the Easy drinks package.
Sorry, but I have been on 30 cruises, and I can tell if this was not her first cruise. Also, she sound like MSC sponsored her because they suck. Look at other reviews before you listen to her.
How about judge your MSC experience on older ships? 😂 Of course service and food is going to be at least DECENT on newer ships.
Great review, except your critique of the overcrowded buffet. As you said earlier in the video, this is the 6th largest ship in the world, what were you expecting, small crowds? If large crowds are a turn-off for you, sail on smaller cruise chips. That was a silly critique in my opinion, otherwise great job, very educational.
This reads as very condescending and unnecessary. It is a fair critique because a ship that big could have additional buffet locations to spread out the crowds. Your comment is a silly critique.
@@mynameistaken99 Ha Ha Ha, you're funny.
We had to wait for a table most mornings and lunch times or walk around and around looking for a table, 5000 on board when we went in June , way too many people plus couldn’t get served or find a seat in the bars in the evening on the virtuousa. We are going with Virgin shortly, same size ship but only a maximum of 3500 guests so hopefully will feel less crowded plus no kids
It’s a fair critique. I’ve been on larger cruise ships and you must have more options for people to choose from so one area isn’t overcrowded. Maybe you are used to low standards but some of us have no intention of lowering our standards and basic expectations.
The No Water sucks.
Hey cheapo! Spring for a Coke once in awhile.
The beauty of a cruise ship doesn't mean much. NCL has beautiful ships, but, they turn out a bad product. Lack of free water is a big thing. In Europe I believe they charge for everything. Did you try going to buffett on off hours? Instead of eating lunch at 12 go at 1330 hours. Carnival has an elevator system like that. How about enforcement of smoking policy? Lack of enforcement is a fire hazard and could lead to evacuation of the ship.
Printing your ticket is logic... If u don't own a printer ur a cheap ass lazy person.
It's tradition in Europe to pay for bottles of water and no FREE REFIL. So don't be surprised on a European shipping company...
Internet issue that's true, again it's something you know before you go aboard.
It's almost like she's not European and other places in the world do things differently, so she's sharing the things she learned for others 🙄 I'm surprised people are being assholes about this totally innocuous video.
I don’t think it’s that hard to print and older generations like mine prefer having a hard copy in hand anyway. But I will say MSC claims to be the environmental friendly line so it would make way more sense for them to be 100% paperless. Ijs
Judging off this video, this ship looked boring. It come across as a ship for old people.
So on one device package if you used your phone usb hotspot wouldn't work? Or you don't know about it? Or even wifi hotspot?
how's the gym? going on an msc cruise next month to the caribbean...last cruise i went on was virgin voyages from barcelona had a pretty decent fitness centre with 100lb dumbbells even. hopefully not too crowded on this gym as most cruises have fat people stuffing their faces lol