vancojo

We have located an attractive itinerary on MSC Cruise lines. We have cruised a few times before, and recognize that MSC is considered more of a budget line. We are however, finding many of the reviews difficult to evaluate. Specifically, we note many negative reviews that contain issues with things like not having pancakes for breakfast (instead there are more meats and cheeses) or not having the coffee people prefer.
Nearly all reviews state that the ship was beautiful and clean.

The truth is, the main thing we dislike about cruises is that no matter where you are, you come back to the USA each day. We have travelled solo quite a bit in Europe and like hearing different languages and enjoy different customs.

SO--I'd like to hear from Americans who might have travelled on MSC who like a European experience and weren't expecting it to be Princess or HAL. Are there any of you out there??

Rhea58

I'm hardly an expert having taken only 1 cruise rd-trip
on the Splendida Rome cruise which I took mainly for the different ports: (Genoa, Marseille, Malta, Barcelona, Tunis).

The ship was pristine. Excursions fairly priced.

Downside: Language problem w/personnel since English-speaking cruisers are in the minority.
Food was adequate; not salivating Italian as promised &
entertainment was weak since only certain acts (w/o speaking)
could be shown.

Biggest complaint: Only 5 hours in Barcelona which I fell in love with. Hardly time to see much.

I don't think this is a budget line. True, the base cabin price can be appealing but once aboard, there's a charge for many items that are included in US cruise lines.

Since you are mainly interested in the ports, I would check to make sure you have adequate time ashore. In some ports
MSC had to tender since my ship was too big AND they charged for shuttle bus.

vancojo

Thanks for the response. Are you saying you were charged for the tender into the port? Or that you had to pay for local transport on land to actually get into Barcelona?? I do understand that cruises can give you too little time in larger cities. Still trying to figure out the best way to travel.












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Rhea58

Sorry if misleading. Tenders are gratis to shore.
in Marseille MSC charged 10E for shuttle. However, the
stop was 2 blocks from the waterfront so quite convenient.
In Barcelona I took the ship's excursion due to time
restrictions but if I hadn't, I would have had to take a
private taxi or their shuttle - forget exact cost.

IMO, a cruise will only give you a quick overview of any
port; not enuf time for any in-depth viewing. May I
ask what route you are considering? And have you checked
www.cruiscritic as there is a plethora of info there?

charli

English friends who cruise often took an MSC cruise and said it was the worst cruise ever. Yes, it was clean, lovely ship etc. Food only adequate, language was a problem as stated above, smoking was another issue as it was all over and plenty of it. I doubt you will feel like you are coming back to the USA at night if that is the main thing you are looking for. They also said that it was obvious that company officials couldn't care less about staff or issues they had to deal with.

jacketwatch

Actually there are other negative comments inre to MSC which include mediocre food, indifferent service and poor customer relations. Personally I've seen such comments enough to know my money will be spent elsewhere. Get your foreign taste satisfied on shore but be sure to be on a ship that is more reputable. After all you will be living on her for at least a week. Why take a chance? JM2C.

Lifeman

I've heard the same about customer service on MSC and I've experienced it on Costa too. Personally I wouldn't cruise with Costa again.

vancojo

Thanks everyone. FYI, the itinerary we are looking at leaves and returns to Barcelona with stops at Cadiz, Gibralter, Alicante, Malaga, Lisbon, etc. The attraction is the way to see smaller Spanish towns--Lisbon may get short shrift. Our attitude about cruises is that they only work to get to places you might otherwise not get to--I agree that they are not a good idea for larger cities like Barcelona.

I did check cruise critic. I wanted to get past the issues of language and food choices and see if I could get a better feel for all of this. Still thinking--we might just do this on our own--I'm thinking about taking ferries in Spain--we did Alaska that way and can't imagine why we would have ever done a commercial cruise. The ferries are terrific.

Rhea58

One last comment since you posted your ports. Unless there is a firesale on cabins, you may wish to do this alone if MSC tenders at these ports which can be a hassle as ship excursions always depart first & do-it-yourselfers (as I found out) get short shrift. In ports where visiting time is shorter one does feel cheated.

3donknight

Our first and only cruise was on the Splendida at the end of March, starting in Genoa with ports in Marseille, Barcelona, Tunis, Malta, Sicily, Rome and back to Genoa. We were 3 generations of Americans traveling, my parents in their 60's, my husband and I early 40's, and our teenage children with two cabins side by side. We have all been to Europe before and my parents have travelled extensively.

We found the cruise wonderful. The ship was spectacular and CLEAN. Our cabins very comfortable and we truely enjoyed the balcony. We also read the negative reviews, but as you mentioned, many of those things we found insignificant in the grand scheme of our travels. We knew ahead of time we would have to pay for our water, drinks, etc and planned accordingly. I feel I had done enough research ahead of time that we had no real surprises.

We felt the buffet food for breakfast and lunch was just average, nothing to write home about, but enough variety that no one ever went away hungry. We enjoyed the sit down dinner each night more. Our service was always excellent, especially our cabin steward. Our main complaint arises from the difference in cultures. We say please, thank you, and excuse me if we bump into someone. Believe me, you will find none of this here. And you WILL be bumped and butted in front of in the buffet line and in the elevator and hall, but it's just difference cultures where manners apparently aren't taught like we've been taught. We met only 5 other American families the entire trip (including on the English speaking tours).

We took the cruise because we would get to visit a number of interesting ports in a short period of time. We also did a ship organized excursion at each port, feeling it was the easiest way for our three generations to get to see the highlights. Yes, your time in each is short, but it's enough to give you a taste of each place.

For us, the amazing places we visited (Rome on Good Friday!!!) and having a clean and comfortable home-base to come home to everynight was well worth it!