MSC vs DCL?

[mevelandry]

Hi!

I was wondering if anyone has sailed with MSC here? I’ve watched vlogs and the classic look of the ship (in our case MSC Armonia) reminds me of DCL a bit.

For all the cruising « basics » (crew members, food, comfort of cabins, spa, etc.) how would you say they compare with DCL?

Thanks in advance.

p.s.: I don’t have kids so everything that is related to kids has no impact on my cruise with the exception of the presence of kids In itself.

 

[monkeydawn]

I LOVED the on ship MSC experience. I doubt I will ever do another unless its cheap, last minute and the state of the world is settled because my cancellation experience was just *that* bad.

MSC wins for food for me. I didnt particularly care for the food on DCL. There was something funky with the omlets, always tasted bitter no matter where I got them. Buffet scrambled eggs made me sick. How do you screw up eggs multiple ways? LOL On MSC the eggs were usually a consistent quality and edible. It was a pretty big PITA to get toast on MSC but by day 4 I had a groove. Getting tea on MSC was also a problem. One day when it was sufficiently stocked I took enough to get me through the rest of the cruise. Lunch buffets were good enough on both, DCL had a slightly better salad bar for vegetarians. I also loved being able to get a bowl of nuts to be able to snack on throughout the day. Dinner was comparable on both, as were dessrts. MSC Armonia has free gelato which just wins by a factor of 5 over DCL soft serve. MSC has soft serve as well.

My MSC room steward was great, my DCL one was horrible. I dont think MSC was a fluke here but DCL was. He was so bad had I known about an incident that happened with my cabin mate before we got off the ship, I would have had words with someone.

Entertainment, if you love Disney then there is only one clear winner here. But MSCs entertainment options were very good. The dancers were fabulous, the singers were horrid, the entertainment crew was fabulous. There were movies playing and always activities that we wanted to partake in or watch.

The gyms were comparable. We arent pool people so will leave that to someone else. MSCs private island has been my best cruising day ever, period. And it was even cut short.

A couple of things happened on our MSC cruise where it was just clear that MSC wasnt being transparent about the situation. Maybe in a more dire situation they would be more open with the guests. But when you are at sea you are 100% at the ships mercy. We had a cruise booked in Italy for May of this year. After our trial cruise last December I was both excited and hesitant for that May cruise. As the news of a new virus started to surface I became more uneasy given the transparency issues we had on our cruise. Would they come out right away and inform us if they had cases aboard and that kind of stuff started swirling in my mind. I decided to cancel our cruise. It was 3 weeks after PIF so I knew I would lose my deposit. That was fine with me. I was told 14 days for my refund. 14 days later MSC canceled our cruise altogether. I had not yet received a refund and as far as I could tell they didnt know I had cancelled two weeks prior so I filled out the on line form. I was told 60 days for a full refund. After 60 more days had lapsed I still had no refund from MSC so I disputed the charge with my CC company. MSC never responded to them either so it took another 60 days before I was actually refunded by the CC company. For all I know MSC hasnt made them whole yet.

So, 4.5 months and no refund when a lot of cruise lines are refunding most in about a months timeline means I wont ever let them hold a significant amount of my money again for a longer period of time. The quasi sketchy feeling I got from them about transparency in general means I wont sail with them unless things in the world are fairly settled. But when things are settled again, if MSC is still cruising out of FL I might consider a last minute cruise.

 

[mousefan73]

You will find a more international crowd. DCL is mainly Americans- any foreigners are usually U.K., Asia and Brazilian but 100% the Disney freaks willing to pay more for that.

 

[monkeydawn]

You will find a more international crowd. DCL is mainly Americans- any foreigners are usually U.K., Asia and Brazilian but 100% the Disney freaks willing to pay more for that.

Yes, this is very true. Even sailing out of Miami Id say native English speakers was maybe 33%. If hearing every announcement, trivia, etc. in at least 4 languages is an issue for you, avoid MSC. Know that when you get into an elevator with someone, get seated next to someone, etc. they likely wont be English speaking. Customs will obviously be different as well so you may find the other guests to be "rude" when really thats just how things are for them at home.

 

[mevelandry]

I LOVED the on ship MSC experience. I doubt I will ever do another unless its cheap, last minute and the state of the world is settled because my cancellation experience was just *that* bad.

MSC wins for food for me. I didnt particularly care for the food on DCL. There was something funky with the omlets, always tasted bitter no matter where I got them. Buffet scrambled eggs made me sick. How do you screw up eggs multiple ways? LOL On MSC the eggs were usually a consistent quality and edible. It was a pretty big PITA to get toast on MSC but by day 4 I had a groove. Getting tea on MSC was also a problem. One day when it was sufficiently stocked I took enough to get me through the rest of the cruise. Lunch buffets were good enough on both, DCL had a slightly better salad bar for vegetarians. I also loved being able to get a bowl of nuts to be able to snack on throughout the day. Dinner was comparable on both, as were dessrts. MSC Armonia has free gelato which just wins by a factor of 5 over DCL soft serve. MSC has soft serve as well.

My MSC room steward was great, my DCL one was horrible. I dont think MSC was a fluke here but DCL was. He was so bad had I known about an incident that happened with my cabin mate before we got off the ship, I would have had words with someone.

Entertainment, if you love Disney then there is only one clear winner here. But MSCs entertainment options were very good. The dancers were fabulous, the singers were horrid, the entertainment crew was fabulous. There were movies playing and always activities that we wanted to partake in or watch.

The gyms were comparable. We arent pool people so will leave that to someone else. MSCs private island has been my best cruising day ever, period. And it was even cut short.

A couple of things happened on our MSC cruise where it was just clear that MSC wasnt being transparent about the situation. Maybe in a more dire situation they would be more open with the guests. But when you are at sea you are 100% at the ships mercy. We had a cruise booked in Italy for May of this year. After our trial cruise last December I was both excited and hesitant for that May cruise. As the news of a new virus started to surface I became more uneasy given the transparency issues we had on our cruise. Would they come out right away and inform us if they had cases aboard and that kind of stuff started swirling in my mind. I decided to cancel our cruise. It was 3 weeks after PIF so I knew I would lose my deposit. That was fine with me. I was told 14 days for my refund. 14 days later MSC canceled our cruise altogether. I had not yet received a refund and as far as I could tell they didnt know I had cancelled two weeks prior so I filled out the on line form. I was told 60 days for a full refund. After 60 more days had lapsed I still had no refund from MSC so I disputed the charge with my CC company. MSC never responded to them either so it took another 60 days before I was actually refunded by the CC company. For all I know MSC hasnt made them whole yet.

So, 4.5 months and no refund when a lot of cruise lines are refunding most in about a months timeline means I wont ever let them hold a significant amount of my money again for a longer period of time. The quasi sketchy feeling I got from them about transparency in general means I wont sail with them unless things in the world are fairly settled. But when things are settled again, if MSC is still cruising out of FL I might consider a last minute cruise.

Thank you! I’m sorry you experienced problems with the refunds. This pandemic is a real nightmare...

Ocean Cay is one of our stops. It looks pretty amazing.

We don’t really plan on going to the shows but I’m interested in the movies and other types of entertainment...

And that gelato sounds perfect.

 

[mevelandry]

You will find a more international crowd. DCL is mainly Americans- any foreigners are usually U.K., Asia and Brazilian but 100% the Disney freaks willing to pay more for that.

Yes I heard about it. I wonder how different it will feel since we only cruised with DCL, RCCL and Carnival before. We are Canadians if that means anything.

 

[mevelandry]

Yes, this is very true. Even sailing out of Miami Id say native English speakers was maybe 33%. If hearing every announcement, trivia, etc. in at least 4 languages is an issue for you, avoid MSC. Know that when you get into an elevator with someone, get seated next to someone, etc. they likely wont be English speaking. Customs will obviously be different as well so you may find the other guests to be "rude" when really thats just how things are for them at home.

Interesting. But also exciting, IMO. (We speak english and french.)

 

[Intr3pid]

What you are going to get on MSC really depends on where you are going.

In the Caribbeans, the experience will be similar to other cruise lines - though, of course, not quite like a themed cruise such as DCL's. Before Ocean Cay, the only reason to sail MSC in the Caribbeans would have been the ultra low prices. Not a bad reason - but the addition of Ocean Cay has given MSC a real, long-term presence in the region. Without an Ocean Cay stop, it would be just another cruise with the onus back on YOU to make an experience out of it.

In Europe on MSC, it's a very different cultural experience. Most of the passengers are Europeans with the Italians known for their...ahem...freestyle cruising. We actually wanted to experience this culturally different cruise on our two-month European grand tour last year. Sailing in the Yacht Club (concierge) removed pretty much all the negatives and made for an amazing start of our big tour.

Their newer ships are amazing and beautiful - incl. Seaview/Seaside that we have sailed, and Meraviglia/Grandiosa probably up there with RCL's mega-ships!

So, where does MSC fit in our travel plans?

In the Caribbeans, we generally stick with DCL and branch out sometimes to RCL for Coco Cay. We are hoping to check out Ocean Cay with MSC soon. In Europe, we would try MSC for more exotic itineraries - there's one that goes all the way to Svalbard while also visiting North Cape and the Norwegian fjords. That one has been on our radar for a while.

In either case, Yacht Club/Concierge would be our choice, as it is relatively very cost effective - and an amazing experience of its own.

 

[mevelandry]

What you are going to get on MSC really depends on where you are going.

In the Caribbeans, the experience will be similar to other cruise lines - though, of course, not quite like a themed cruise such as DCL's. Before Ocean Cay, the only reason to sail MSC in the Caribbeans would have been the ultra low prices. Not a bad reason - but the addition of Ocean Cay has given MSC a real, long-term presence in the region. Without an Ocean Cay stop, it would be just another cruise with the onus back on YOU to make an experience out of it.

In Europe on MSC, it's a very different cultural experience. Most of the passengers are Europeans with the Italians known for their...ahem...freestyle cruising. We actually wanted to experience this culturally different cruise on our two-month European grand tour last year. Sailing in the Yacht Club (concierge) removed pretty much all the negatives and made for an amazing start of our big tour.

Their newer ships are amazing and beautiful - incl. Seaview/Seaside that we have sailed, and Meraviglia/Grandiosa probably up there with RCL's mega-ships!

So, where does MSC fit in our travel plans?

In the Caribbeans, we generally stick with DCL and branch out sometimes to RCL for Coco Cay. We are hoping to check out Ocean Cay with MSC soon. In Europe, we would try MSC for more exotic itineraries - there's one that goes all the way to Svalbard while also visiting North Cape and the Norwegian fjords. That one has been on our radar for a while.

In either case, Yacht Club/Concierge would be our choice, as it is relatively very cost effective - and an amazing experience of its own.

I've done the Bahamas & Caribbean with DCL, Carnival and Royal Carribean. I love all of them for different reasons.

I think what attracts me the most about MSC is the idea of a ... more laid back cruise, possibly more adult oriented (than family oriented) cruise.

The MSC Armonia is an old ship but from what I understand, it still looks good.

And Ocean Cay being one of the stops was definitely the main reason I booked. It looks amazing.

I have 4 cruises booked within 18 months so I'll stick to "Bella" instead of Yacht Club for this one but I can't wait to get to know MSC better.

 

[LoveMickey]

I did not like that all of the announcements were in six different languages

 

[mevelandry]

I did not like that all of the announcements were in six different languages

Do you know what languages? I could use it to learn a little bit other langages...

 

[monkeydawn]

If Ocean Cay is a main reason for trying MSC, know that the bigger ships have about a 50% success rate of actually stopping there. The Armonia was closer to 80% success rate. I know no stops are guaranteed but definitely should consider ship type if OC is important.

MSC will status match. Go to their website to find out more info if needed.

 

[Bonnie1222]

MSC will status match. Go to their website to find out more info if needed.

DH and I were looking at MSC and I saw the status match. I am guessing it is only for 1 cruise line so you pick the one you have the highest level? We are platinum with DCL, I saw the form to fill out, but couldn't find anyplace that told you what you "got" for the status match. Have you gotten your status matched with them? I would love to hear more about how that worked for you.

 

[DCLDVC1]

If Ocean Cay is a main reason for trying MSC, know that the bigger ships have about a 50% success rate of actually stopping there. The Armonia was closer to 80% success rate. I know no stops are guaranteed but definitely should consider ship type if OC is important.

MSC will status match. Go to their website to find out more info if needed.

It's tempting to book one of the MSC cruises that has an overnight stop at Ocean Cay.

 

[mevelandry]

If Ocean Cay is a main reason for trying MSC, know that the bigger ships have about a 50% success rate of actually stopping there. The Armonia was closer to 80% success rate. I know no stops are guaranteed but definitely should consider ship type if OC is important.

MSC will status match. Go to their website to find out more info if needed.

We're on Armonia. That's encouraging.

Thank you for all the info!

 

[monkeydawn]

DH and I were looking at MSC and I saw the status match. I am guessing it is only for 1 cruise line so you pick the one you have the highest level? We are platinum with DCL, I saw the form to fill out, but couldn't find anyplace that told you what you "got" for the status match. Have you gotten your status matched with them? I would love to hear more about how that worked for you.

Yes, you choose one line or hotel and status match to that. The different levels and what you get at each level were available on the MSC site, look closer. If its no longer there then maybe a google image search would get you the info you want? I dont have the levels saved anywhere so I cant help with that.

I did match for our December cruise. I decided to not match my husband in case we happened to do something that got us to a higher level elsewhere so that I could then match him later. Most of the benefits are per stateroom so we didnt both need to match anyway. You get one shot at matching so make sure you choose the highest level or do what I did and dont match everyone in your typical travel party.

MSC CS is atrocious in the best of times. Follow up was necessary back then, I think it was just once but may have been twice. I cant even imagine trying to status match now. If it were me, Id wait until closer to the cruise. Id also wait to book the cruise because I will never let MSC hold a significant amount of my money for very long again. You do get a % off with status so waiting on both seems like the most solid plan to me for right now.

 

[aggiedog]

I've only done DCL to the Baltic and a 4 day Merrytime to Cozumel, both on the smaller ships. I've only done MSC in the Med, on Splendida, so neither were your traditional Caribbean cruise. We also did the Yacht Club on MSC and it was fantastic. I'm not sure I would have liked MSC without it. The ship felt very crowded, partially because of how it was designed, with no real hallways. Each room/bar/lounge was just adjacent to the next, so you had to walk THRU everything. It got annoying, but only on certain nights. In the Med, there is embarkation/debarkation at every port, so crowds were really irregular. I didn't mind the various languages and just tuned out the announcements. The pools are miles away better than DCL, if simply for the virtue that there's more than one. LOL There were several, maybe 4-5?, on our ship, in a variety of configurations, including one large indoor pool. I'm not into entertainment either way, so that's a wash. We ate in the concierge dining all but one night. The food was 90% good, with a few misses. The dining was very European and took forever. We finally had to tell the waitstaff we were exhausted and could they please excuse our American-ness and bring everything faster. I LOVED, LOVED the YC lounge. It was frequently practically empty, with free coffee and drinks and snacks. My little slice of heaven.

Probably the best part of MSC was the price. We did a week concierge on MSC for about 40% the cost of a similar itinerary, non-concierge, in the Med with DCL. We saved enough money to do a week land trip in France prior. DCL is definitely not over twice as good as MSC, so for us, it was a win. The non-concierge prices are even better. If you don't mind crowds, I think it would be a no brainer.

 

[wildcatwmn]

I was told 60 days for a full refund. After 60 more days had lapsed I still had no refund from MSC so I disputed the charge with my CC company. MSC never responded to them either so it took another 60 days before I was actually refunded by the CC company. For all I know MSC hasnt made them whole yet.

I don't think this was unique to MSC. We had a family reunion cruise planned on RCCL (would have been my first) and I received the deposit back (I was surprised it was refundable) through the agent within 7-10 days. The excursions and beverage package (we cancelled days before PIF) they said 30, then 45, then 60...I was patient given the circumstances to a point but had cancelled before the shut-down and real craziness in March and it was now June. I ultimately filed a claim and was refunded through the credit card company. I think they do (or in my case did) get their money from the cruise line as they closed the case a few weeks after giving me the funds upfront (once I filed the claim).

 

[monkeydawn]

For the PP looking at the Armonia, be aware that ship has no YC. We didnt feel it necessary on the smaller ship but it will affect some things, such as about a quarter of Ocean Cay being closed off. We had plenty of room but we had wanted to walk the whole non YC island and apparently when a ship doesnt have YC its easier for them to just close the mini isle off at the bridge even though about half should be open to non YC guests (which I get since the ship has less staff and thats an easier choke point to seal off with just one or two people but it still stunk that we couldnt access LOL)

OC is the only private island we have been to. We live at the beach so we are accustomed to seeing sharks. Maybe its the practice of all private islands but they closed several beaches with the reason that the water was too rough. There were clearly at least 2 sharks inside the shark net area. We asked point blank if they knew what kind of shark that was. What shark, no sharks here. And then they start discussing the tiburon, shark in Spanish, among themselves. They were clearly following the sharks all day and closing beaches as the sharks made their way to the next beach. Maybe this is operation normal at cruise line private islands with respect to shark sightings but do have someone vigilant in your party and do not rely on the shark netting if you go in the water. Just yesterday someone in Australia was killed inside of a shark net zone. We dont have shark nets where I live (not even lifeguards at our favorite locals beaches) and we still get in the water. But you do want to be vigilant.

This wasnt the only seemingly blatant lie about a potential safety issue told to us that cruise. So my issues with MSC extend beyond my refund issue. I was already wary before the refund became an issue. And as strange as it sounds since I am highlighting a ton of bad stuff, this was the best cruise we had ever taken. But if you are used to being taken care of at a DCL level, that's not the trust level you should have in MSC. Be savvy, be prepared to take care of yourself.

I don't think this was unique to MSC. We had a family reunion cruise planned on RCCL (would have been my first) and I received the deposit back (I was surprised it was refundable) through the agent within 7-10 days. The excursions and beverage package (we cancelled days before PIF) they said 30, then 45, then 60...I was patient given the circumstances to a point but had cancelled before the shut-down and real craziness in March and it was now June. I ultimately filed a claim and was refunded through the credit card company. I think they do (or in my case did) get their money from the cruise line as they closed the case a few weeks after giving me the funds upfront (once I filed the claim).

MSC did not contact my CC and reply to the complaint, they allowed the entire extra 60 days to lapse. Unfortunately I am seeing now on CC that MSC has strung some people along for so long that disputing via CC isnt even an option anymore if that tells you how long they will let it go on. Only one other line is getting the same F rating by the BBB for the absolute cluster they have allowed refunds to become. There may be cases here and there from the other lines that have slipped through (and thats cold comfort if you are one of those cases), for MSC it seems the process is to delay, delay, delay.

 

[mevelandry]

For the PP looking at the Armonia, be aware that ship has no YC. We didnt feel it necessary on the smaller ship but it will affect some things, such as about a quarter of Ocean Cay being closed off. We had plenty of room but we had wanted to walk the whole non YC island and apparently when a ship doesnt have YC its easier for them to just close the mini isle off at the bridge even though about half should be open to non YC guests (which I get since the ship has less staff and thats an easier choke point to seal off with just one or two people but it still stunk that we couldnt access LOL)

OC is the only private island we have been to. We live at the beach so we are accustomed to seeing sharks. Maybe its the practice of all private islands but they closed several beaches with the reason that the water was too rough. There were clearly at least 2 sharks inside the shark net area. We asked point blank if they knew what kind of shark that was. What shark, no sharks here. And then they start discussing the tiburon, shark in Spanish, among themselves. They were clearly following the sharks all day and closing beaches as the sharks made their way to the next beach. Maybe this is operation normal at cruise line private islands with respect to shark sightings but do have someone vigilant in your party and do not rely on the shark netting if you go in the water. Just yesterday someone in Australia was killed inside of a shark net zone. We dont have shark nets where I live (not even lifeguards at our favorite locals beaches) and we still get in the water. But you do want to be vigilant.

This wasnt the only seemingly blatant lie about a potential safety issue told to us that cruise. So my issues with MSC extend beyond my refund issue. I was already wary before the refund became an issue. And as strange as it sounds since I am highlighting a ton of bad stuff, this was the best cruise we had ever taken. But if you are used to being taken care of at a DCL level, that's not the trust level you should have in MSC. Be savvy, be prepared to take care of yourself.


MSC did not contact my CC and reply to the complaint, they allowed the entire extra 60 days to lapse. Unfortunately I am seeing now on CC that MSC has strung some people along for so long that disputing via CC isnt even an option anymore if that tells you how long they will let it go on. Only one other line is getting the same F rating by the BBB for the absolute cluster they have allowed refunds to become. There may be cases here and there from the other lines that have slipped through (and thats cold comfort if you are one of those cases), for MSC it seems the process is to delay, delay, delay.

Taking notes about the sharks.

I honestly can't say I've noticed a huge difference between DCL - Carnival - RCCL when it comes to how the staff is taking care of us. I don't have huge expectations except the basis (having cabin cleaned, being served at the restaurant, receiving answers from Guest Services).