Have experienced the Yacht Club on any MSC sailings? Let us know if you thought it was worth the extra 💰 If you have any additional tips for enjoying MSC cruises please leave those in the comments as well! Thanks so much for watching!
Hey guys, just want to state some quick feedback about the YC experience, because there is far too less of it. All in all, it is worth every cent. I would probably stick to the internal cabins, so you could go on a yc cruise and enjoy all the privileges (private dining with 3 waiters, 24h butler service, own concierge, VIP elevator service, premium drink package (all drinks up to 15€) starting from 1300€ for a whole week. (Just join the voyagers club and gain the extra 10% + 50€ onboard credit) You don’t have to wait for anything. There is a private pool / jacuzzi area, and you never have to deal with crowded spaces for the whole cruise. But if you go outside the yc area, you still can use all the privileges (premium drink beverages, the butler even takes you on a private shopping trip if you want to) One downside, that apart from the internal cabins (which are sold out pretty quick - right now up to 2 years in advance), the deluxe suite (the next cabine category) increases heavily with the price. I like your videos, so if you want more information about the yc (or msc overall) you can write me anytime. I sailed with MSC way to often - mostly aurea and two times yc (one deluxe suite on the MSC Grandiosa and one internal cabin on the Meraviglia). So I think I have experienced most of it ;D
@@Alex-zt5mn wow thanks so much for the info on the Yacht Club, Alex! We agree that there isn't nearly enough content out there on it, so we really appreciate all the details. We were already wanting to try it for ourselves someday, but now we are extra excited! That's pretty wild that those interior rooms sell out two years in advance though. It sounds like we better book one soon!
Yes, we have been in the Yacht Club, both on the Meraviglia and the Seascape, and even though it is a premium we very much enjoyed it Embarkation alone is worth booking in the Yacht Club. When you add the cost of a premium drinks package and premium internet to a regular booking you are probably spending LESS money for more. Then take into account that you have priority everything; a butler; a private concierge priority disembarkation, lounge, bar, dining room, etc etc, the value is even greater. Plus it's so nice being able to get away from the chaos of "gen-pop" as we've come to call it. For us, it will be Yacht Club every time we sail with MSC from now on. Cheers
honestly, im worried that the yacht club experience has runied all other cruises for me lol. where else can you get that kind of luxury at that price point!? we paid as much for our YC balcony as we did for a regular carnival cruise!
@@TowerKenny thank you so much for sharing your experience. After we filmed this video we finally did book Yacht Club and wow did we enjoy the perks! It really is a huge step up from the standard experience. We joke that it would be hard to go back to a standard room after having access to the Yacht Club.
Its an European cruise line, and you get European service. That means: Staff will be friendly and their main purpose is to bring your food and to clear the table, after you are finished. If everything is fine, there is no need for the staff to be permanently arround you. And food: MSC is a cruise line with Italian roots, and as all Italian cruise lines, they have their focus on their main dining rooms. They want the guests to go to the (included) main dining rooms, at least for dinner and therefor the best food will be there. And the food mostly is Mediterranaen food: This will be not overspiced, no flavor enhancer, no overdimensional portions. If you have this in mind and have no problems with the European way of live, curise lines like MSC wont't disappoint you, if you can't handle this, better book another cruise line.
Yes, very European cruise line which we mostly enjoy. From our experience the Italian food in the dining rooms was great (and not over-seasoned). The non-Italian food was not so great anywhere on the ship, but we are 100% fine with eating Italian food for a few days! Your take on the service seems to be pretty accurate too. On our MSC cruise that was only around 70% full, we had no problem with the dinner service. They weren't constantly asking us if everything was ok, but they did take our food and drink orders in a reasonable amount of time. On our more crowded cruises though, the service could be very inconsistent. Some dinners it took 20 minutes for our waiter to even take our food order, and on a couple occasions noone ever even asked us for our drink orders. It definitely didn't ruin our cruise, but they do seem to be short staffed when the ships are at 100% occupancy.
Hi, I enjoyed your review… I’ve been cruising for 30 years and there is a difference from the people who are on three day cruises compared to seven day cruises… First thing on three day cruises people are usually there to party hard and possibly hookup since they’re typically younger, so I could see where the bars would be a lot busier and Seven day cruises you have plenty more time to drink and have a lot more families and older people so that may not be a bigger problem… Also RE: Food? variety of food on the three day are worst since the first day is usually just a mess anyway…Also, with the younger people three day cruise people, the RE: parties? I would be expected to be well attended since again typically again gonna be younger, and only there for three days to meet up and party on…
I've noticed on holidays to Mexico and the Caribbean that Americans are really demanding and have expectations that would get them laughed out of many European resorts. They seem to think that because they tip that they own the staff.
Just got off the MSC Seashore today. 12/10/23. We went on the Meraviglia last year and loved it. We booked the Grand Suite Aurea, room 10001 on deck 10, front middle of ship. Separate bedroom and the room was fantastic. For this 3 night cruise the only stayed at their island till 6 PM so we only saw 1 light show, 5 minutes. Buffet did suck, bars were hard to get a drink at first and room service was bad. We have been on about 30 cruises but after 2 on MSC I would and will go back on them before any other line. They are beautiful and if you hook up with the bartenders and tip properly they will take care of you.
Yacht Club is the only way to go. Totally worth it. Literally don’t have to think or worry about anything. Your glass is never empty. Service is super attentive. Priority boarding/disembarkation. Perfect cruise experience.
If you've got the budget for it, it's hard to disagree! We just (finally) sailed in the Yacht Club a few weeks back and will have a video of the experience coming out this Saturday. The service was definitely a level up, and we spent so much less time waiting in lines! And yes, the priority boarding/disembarkation was amazing! We went from our bus to drinking cocktails in the Top Sail Lounge in just 20 minutes! It was great.
nit pit.... been there done that it was flawless when I boarded in July 2023... MSC Seaside Port Canaveral ! In addition I found a good bartender who was also a casino dealer. Gambling is not my thing. However he advise on some tips when going to the casino when he's on duty but that did not happen on my part. Good job kept the info flowing! Tank you.
What a great vid, guys. You always give the best critiques, tips and reasons for why you like or dislike certain things on a cruise. This one really covered it all...thanks so much! 🙂
This makes me want to shop for a last-minute cruises right now. I love the idea of a beach party and a private beach. It looks like fun and so beautiful!
It's really a fun way to escape reality for a few days. I (Skylar) don't like being stuck on a ship for too long, but three days with one of them on the island is perfect! We hope you're able to give a last minute cruise a try sometime!
Another great video from you two!! And WOW!!!....the story of you booking the room 48 hours in advance and someone was already in that cabin and your (thankful) upgrade to balcony. I would have been panicked, sailing at 100% capacity, that they were going to kick me off the ship!! Lucky you!!
YC is absolutely amazing! It's worth every penny. At the terminal they have a special white tent check-in for your luggage. From there, you are escorted past all the lines to check-in area where a Butler whisks you up to the YC. You have your choice of indoor dining in the YC restaurant or outdoor at the 1 pool deck . Premium alcohol package and 2 device per person internet is included as well. YC has it's own: pool and sundeck with daybeds. Restaurant, lounge, concierge and reserved seating in theater. Priorty embarkation in all ports.
Love both your vibes! Just booked our family for the Meraviglia next August in honor of our 25th wedding anniversary. The private island in the evening sounds amazing! Will continue watching your vids! 🎉
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write this kind comment! That's so great that you are able to bring your family on a cruise for your big anniversary. We hope you love the private island every bit as much as we do! Congrats on 25 years!
I have been contemplating pros and cons of two different ships for a cruise next year, one of which is the MSC seashore. I must tell you that your video has convinced me that MSC is the way to go. From its Italian roots, to the food and coffees to the size of the rooms, I am fairly 99% sure that I will be on an MSC cruise next year. Year. Thank you so much for your excellent breakdown of the various features and your honest opinions. Bon voyage and caio 🎉🎉🎉
We're so happy to hear that you found our video to be helpful, Stephanie. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. We really appreciate it! We really hope you do find yourself on an MSC cruise sooner than later, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed ours!
I love the name of your channel and really appreciate your honest reviews. I am a first-time cruiser and have found your testimonial so helpful! Thanks for going into so much detail. I really appreciate your love of travel and cruising!
Thank you so much for watching our channel and taking the time to post this thoughtful comment! We definitely make these videos with first time cruisers in mind, and we're so happy to hear when new cruisers find our videos to be helpful!
The Yacht Club is definitely worth the money!! My butler was amazing, the food was amazing, the drinks were great and the service and special treatment was worth every penny!
We are heading on our first ever cruise in 27 days....aboard MSC Seascape! I cannot wait, I have been watching these types of videos to get as much info as I can to make the most of our trip. I will post my thoughts when we get back Thanks for this video, very informative.
Thank you so much for watching our video and taking the time to comment! We hope you have a great experience on the Seascape and will look forward to haring about your experience!
I find this video so helpful! I am going on my first 3-night MSC cruise with my college friend from Germany who will be visiting me in Florida in January. After booking the cruise I read some horrible reviews and thought I had made a bad mistake. But after watching your video I feel so much better. For the price of the cruise, I am not expecting the Ritz Carlton, and it is good to know that there are food options that are not entirely bad. All I want is to have some fun days with my friend and have a good time without spending an arm and a leg. The private island looks lovely. Thank you for putting this video together.
We're so happy to hear you found this video to be helpful. If you are going into your cruise with reasonable expectations (which it sounds like you are) then you and your friends should have a great time!
We're so happy to know you found this video to be helpful! If you are going into this cruise with reasonable expectations (which it sounds like you are) then you and your friends should have a great time!
im only 16 but i can tell you this right now, if you know how to be grateful for the holiday youre on and you are fully aware that booking with msc is value for money, you will definitely enjoy it. of course since its cheaper than we arent going to get broadway performances but it still is an amazing experience. i had an amazing time on all 3 of my msc cruises and would do anything to relive those memories. i hope you have an amazing holiday.
I went on MSC for the first time last spring, on seascape out of Miami. I loved it. Our waiters were amazing and as you mentioned tip the bartenders in the beginning and they'll remember you!! Going on the Divina this spring!! Also Midnight pizza!!! I'm also too poor for the yacht club, but maybe one day
Thanks for watching, we are so glad you had a good experience :) We've heard good things about the Divina but have yet to try it ourselves. Midnight pizza is the BEST 😁🍕 don't give up on your Yacht Club drams! After this episode we booked on another ship and were emailed an option to bid to upgrade to the Yacht Club. I think because we were sailing during peak hurricane season the ship was not full and we won the bid and it wasn't very expensive. Now I know this doesn't happen all of the time but it may be something to try to get into the Yacht Club at a reasonable price!
Great assessment of MSC. I agree with you on just about everything. I've cruised on Meraviglia twice, Divina and Seashore once. I'll still cruise with MSC since all in all MSC is a great bargain and beautiful ships.
Hey guys. Just stumbled across your video. We have been on 2 MSC cruises and enjoyed the first one much more than the second one. We just booked the Seashore for late next year. Good tips
Glad to hear you gave MSC a second chance and enjoyed it. We loved the Seashore and hope you have an awesome time on it late next year. Thanks for watching!
Your proximity to so many cruise ports makes me want to relocate! And the negative aspects didn't scare me away from MSC considering all the pros and the value. We never like the buffets on cruise ships anyway. The pizza and mozzarella station sounds amazing. And great tips! Will look into this line for future.
It is honestly probably one of the top 3 reasons we moved to Florida! When you don't have to pay for flights and can take advantage of last minute cruise deals, it really can be almost unbelievably cheap! And the pizza and mozzarella really was amazing. Almost hard to believe you can get it on a cruise ship buffet.
Wow, $135 per night for all that does sound really good for a cruise. With good coffee, pizza and a beach party with the drinks package sounds like we need to book!
Yeah, most people who aren't avid cruisers have never heard of MSC. They've been increasing their presence in the US over the years, and we are quite happy about that!
Yeah we did find that the service was generally a bit faster if we ordered through a drink runner, but there were also a couple times when we ordered a drink through them and never saw them again!
Thanks for sharing the video! I have been MSC Seascape on May /23 we all love it and too much fun, and the price is so cheaper the Royal Car, I agreed with you 5 things we also love from MSC .We will sailing for the next one in Aug/23 to Europe. We love video.
We are really hoping to get on the Seascape sometime soon. It looks like an incredible ship! We're so happy that you discovered our channel, and we hope you have a great time on your cruise in August!
Just found you guys....looking forward to watching more. We were on Seaside several years ago when it was fairly new. The sports bar was our favorite spot for drinks. Your advice about finding a bartender you like is spot on for any ship. Get to know them early on, don't be a jerk, tip them and they can't do enough for you! Cheers!
We're so happy that you discovered our channel, Dan! We're going to be going on another MSC cruise next month, and can't wait to see how it compares to the Seaside and Meraviglia. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment. Cheers!
Thank you for your thoughts and posting this video. I've never been on a cruise, have been curious but unsure if I would enjoy it. I understand the negatives and feel like for the price, I can definitely live with them. You sold me on this. I intend to give them a try! Thanks again.
We're so glad to hear that you found this video to be helpful. We try to give our honest opinion and let people decide for themselves. It's definitely not the right vacation for everyone, but we sure do enjoy it!
Thanks for the video and a very accurate review. As well, they have a status match with their loyalty program. They matched my Hilton Honors Diamond status with the MSC Voyagers Club at Diamond level. That provided us all the perks of the top status of the loyalty privileges on our first cruise with MSC. As well, we sailed in the Yacht Club on our first sailing. We have done RC in the past, but looking at the price, then about the same but all the luxury with MSC. The Yacht Club was great, premium drinks, express elevator, butler service, premium seating in the theater, as well when boarding / disembarking being lead by butler straight through the lines. 5-star all the way in the Yacht Club. We already booked again for the MSC World Europa in the Mediterranean.
Thanks so much for sharing the information about the Hilton Honors status mach. That's a pretty incredible deal! We are excited to say that we will be sailing with MSC again pretty soon, and will finally get to experience the Yacht Club for ourselves. Your great review of the Yacht Club makes us even more excited for that cruise. We haven't been this excited to go on a cruise for a long time!
Shout out to you both! What a great review of our beloved MSC Cruises! Fair and balanced! Love it! I used to work on Royal and Cunard on board. My wife was a frequent Carnival guest. And, together we have sailed 11 times total with MSC across four of their ships - Divina, Seaside, Meraviglia, & Seashore. #12 is NYE cruise on Seashore upcoming! This will be our 3rd time in the Yacht Club and we highly recommend it! It is most assuredly worth the investment! But, totally agree with your tips for success on board! I tell people if you invite the crew on board into your cruise and love on them, they will love on you! We have so many friends on board now across the company and it is always fun to see them again and we never want for fab service. We have done a number of Fantastica & Aurea sailings and the couple Yacht Club. Where we save, is we enjoy interior cabins and my wife is concerned disabled due to multiple ankle surgeries from soccer injuries. So, we are able to book ADA cabins, which work for us well and provide more room. But, loved this video! Have subscribed. And, hope we can meet you all some day! Cheers! Norm & Deeana Cole
Thank you so much for watching our video and for taking the time to write this thoughtful comment! It's been a challenge for us to find many people who have actually experienced the Yacht Club, so we really appreciate you sharing your experience. We will definitely book the Yacht Club sooner or later, and when we do, we'll plan on booking an interior room. We don't mind them, and always sleep like babies in the pitch black room! Thanks so much for the subscription and we hope to meet you guys someday too. Cheers!
@@Explorcation Quite Welcome! And, yeah, interior Yacht Club, you will get the same exact level of service as a balcony. And, I tend to go hang out in Top Sail or on the YC pool deck in place of what would be a balcony. Cheers!
@@Explorcation My wife and I have sailed 5 times on MSC ships; Divina, Meraviglia and Bellissima. All in the yacht club. And all at the least balcony suites (we had a two story with our own hot tub on Meraviglia, a little overkill for us). It's the only way we will sail now. (MSC Seaside coming up in October). To me, it is worth the extra cost. Wife is somewhat claustrophobic, so she needs a cabin that looks out. The balcony suites are only somewhat larger overall than inside cabins, but storage, bathroom size, general room size and balcony are worth it. The benefits of private restaurant (our experience has been a waiter and helper assigned to our table so service was never a problem), private pool with bar service and mini buffet readily available, drink package (no or at least very little waiting for bar service), private lounge (albeit the evening entertainment in the lounge is very laid back, but you can always take a drink with you and hit a party somewhere else on the ship), and priority boarding and disembarkation with a butler escort make yacht club well worthwhile for us. You should give it a try at least once.
@@richardm2130 thank you for sharing your experiences with the Yacht Club. It does sound like a whole different level of service. I think we would really enjoy the private restaurant, pool and lounge. I could see us grabbing a drink at the private lounge and heading out to one of the parties. After everyone's feedback we do want to try the Yacht Club, but will have to monitor for a good deal!
Wow that's great! We got a ways to go before we hit ten, but with any luck, we'll get there within the next couple of years! Glad to hear you haven't starved to death on any of your cruises so far!
Loved this video! I cruise a lot and try all the different lines. Went on MSC Meraviglia in May, beautiful ship! Different then the other lines, in a good way.
We're so happy to hear that you enjoyed the video, and we really appreciate you taking the time to comment. We agree 100% that it is different but (mostly) in a good way!
Wow!! In my top 10 fav reviews!!! I get bored so easily with most...you guys ROCK at great coverage for MSC. Like you, I've been on several other lines (Princess...NCL....Carnival....Royal Caribbean) so contemplating MSC; this was so helpful!!! THANK YOU!!!
Thank you so much for the encouraging comment! We are far from a full-time cruise channel or resort based channel, but it's always nice to hear when our tours stack up well against those who are!
So I’m going to Punta cana in a few weeks and watched a review of the resort (and decided to go for it based on your review) and I’m going on a cruise a few months after that and see this. Great thing about your channel is you’re FAIR. I really dislike that so many channels harp on the negatives and don’t consider price of things. Really love your channel!
Wow thank you so much for watching our videos and taking the time to comment, Tiffany! We really do try to be fair on our channel. Sadly being overly dramatic and negative does seem to get some channels a lot of view, but that will never be us. We try to make videos that we are proud of and will help our viewers, and we're so happy to hear that our videos have helped you!
Msc is a really good cruise I’m going back on them I’ll definitely recommend to everyone from the first time traveling or not so much things to list just book and enjoy your self well deserve 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲
Loved the Napoleon Dynamite take! 😂 This is just my second video of yours and it is getting me well-prepared for my MSC cruise now just 10 days away. My understanding is MSC’s price is lower because they are choosing to have fewer staff on board, or a higher, passenger to staff ratio. Your tips and suggestions will help me work with that yet as Skylar mentioned, if you’re happy with cheeseburgers, pizza, and beer… it won’t be a problem. Therefore for me, it won’t be a problem! 🚢
Glad you enjoyed it. I (Skylar) always try to drop in Napolean Dynamite clips when ever possible😂There's so many great ones. It sounds like you're easy to please like me I am, so yeah, you shouldn't have any problems. To limit your time waiting in lines, I'd recommend ordering a bucket at a time!
I was on the Seashore in November. The ship was sold out, but i never experienced any of the bar waits that you describe. The muster drill was no big deal....not that much time involved and it wasn't a bother to me at all. I would book with MSC again without hesitation. As far as the specialty dining, give HOLA!, the Mexican venue a go...it was fantastic. Oh....I highly recommend the LAVA FLOW...ask your bartender!!
We've heard good things about a lot of the paid restaurants, but this is the first review we've heard on HOLA specifically. We remember their menu looking really good on the Meraviglia, and we'll definitely give them a try sometime!
From what we've heard Disney is definitely the best for kids... but also very enjoyable for adults. We've never sailed on it because we have no kids and the prices are quite high, but we'd love to try it out someday!
Been on 2 MSC cruises so far..On, coincidentally, the Meraviglia and the Seaside...LOL..Really enjoyed them both, but both ships were a little 'quirky' for us.. On Meraviglia they put us in the late dining, which was at 8:30PM, who eats that late? Plus, that is bedtime for my then 4 year old grandson! Tried to change it but dining manager said there was no flexibility..So, no main dining for us on Meraviglia, and we experienced the buffet chaos..Then, we discovered that there is a section on the port(left) side of the ship towards the pool area which they designated as the 'Family Area' with a small buffet counter for the kids. It was generally less crowded and a lot quieter then the other areas of the buffet..This was in January 2023 We were most recently on the Seaside in May..Very beautiful ship(they both are)..But I think I liked the layout of the Meraviglia a little better with the Grand Promenade..Again, they put us in the 2nd seating for the main dining room..However, this time we were able to get with the staff as soon as we boarded and got it changed to 1st seating! YAY! :) Got to experience the main dining room and really enjoyed the food! All in all, we have really enjoyed our cruises with MSC and will be sailing on the Seashore in May 2024.. Thanks for the fair review of MSC and the valuable tips! :)
Thank you so much for watching our video and for taking the time to share your story. We do agree that MSC is a bit quirky, but mostly in a good way! We are a bit torn on which ship's layout we like better. We absolutely love the Promenade, but we loved that the Seaside had more outdoor space on the sides of the ship. But yes, both are absolutely beautiful and we'd gladly sale on either again. And yeah, we've been put in the 8:30 dining on 2 of our 3 cruises as well. It really makes it hard to do anything after dinner when you eat that late. It was generally dinner and straight to bed for us!
Yacht club is the best! The quiet sun deck, private pool, exclusive restaurant en butler are the cost more than worth. We sailed 3 times with MSC so far en 2 times we booked yacht club, even with our kids.
You'll get no argument from us on that! We finally got the chance to experience it a couple of months back (after making this video), and wow.... definitely a whole other type of experience.
Hello fellow Floridian !! So I’m with you- with the sun and heat I don’t think I’d be drinking that much. Maybe for dinner - but that’s a great tip !! I haven’t been on a cruise yet so these vids have been really helpful !!! And boy I boy what a great job you guys have ! ❤️
Hello Leanne! We're so happy you discovered our channel and we hope this video inspires you to hop on a cruise ship some day! Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment.
Hey guys! We're not much into cruises but we are missing the st PETE vids that you all do such a awsome job making! Recently became back from Saint Pete and tried all restaurants that you guys recommended and we loved each and every one.👍👍👍
We're so happy to hear that our channel helped you make the most of your time in St. Pete! We have to get out of Florida to make some content and switch things up every once in a while, but we're going to back to recording in St. Pete very soon!
Wow glad they have espresso everywhere and that it’s good. I could only get the cold espresso on the carnival pride and it was still not any good. Everything else was really bad. As was the food. Don’t know if it was just this particular ship I was on.
We've only sailed on one Carnival ship, and it was probably our least favorite cruise. That said, it was an old ship, and we'd love to try out a new one someday.
Great video. I’m trying MSC in May, going with an open mind. The buffet on Princess to me is pretty bad. I like carnivals better. When it comes to muster station. It’s really about safety. In MSC if something happens, you will be able to find your muster station from your cabin. Princess was seamless but couldn’t tell you from my cabin how to find my Muster station. Thanks , really liked your straightforward video. I’ve heard also MSC is trying to retool for an American cruise population in the US.
Thanks for sharing you experience, George. We're really glad that you enjoyed the video, and find it interesting to hear your experiences on Princess as we have yet to sail on that line. We've heard the same about MSC trying to appeal to the American cruise population. It will be interesting to see what changes they make going forward.
I can’t believe I have been on both exact cruises you have been on with MSC 😂 I met you both on the Meraviglia in November and saw you on disembarkation day in the seaside. Keep up the great work!
What?!!! That is completely insane. We are thinking about doing another MSC cruise in January or February... So we'll probably see ya on that one too! 😂
Hi! Question related to one of your other cruise videos. You ordered Mead Wines for one of the cruises. I also prefer Mead over regular wines & have a RC cruise coming up w/ no drink package. I'm in greater Tampa Bay area. Did you order your Mead direct from some place or go to Total Wines and More? Thanks for the Coffe Punch Card info!!! Definitely going to do that. Been enjoying your content, especially the FL Springs!
We purchased our Viking Blod mead at a local liquor store, but we do know that they sell it at Total Wine as well. It is fantastic if you have never tried it. We hope that they still let you bring mead onto the ship and are doing the punch cards by the time you go on your RC Cruise. Have a wonderful time!
My preferred line is Royal, NCL, MSC in that order. Carnival is way down the list mainly for lack of live entertainment and shows. I would sail on MSC again. Nice video.
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment. It's always interesting to hear what different people prioritize in their cruising experience.
We've never sailed with MSC. We have heard the MSC food was not very good. Cruises can be such a great deal in general when you factor in what's included: food, entertainment, bedroom for each night and the travel itself. We are doing back to back cruises in late 2024 on Carnival. Looking forward to it and the travel is usually pretty stress free. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!
Yeah, lots of negative stuff out there on MSC. Some of the food is definitely not good, but some of it is great. After a few cruises, you learn what to get and what to avoid! But yeah cruising can be such a reasonably priced vaca, especially when you live down here in Florida!
@@Explorcation yes we are blessed to be able to go last minute. Once we booked a 5 day cruise cheap on a Friday at like 11am. Had to be in Miami the next day by noon. 😂
Omg! I just got back from my European cruise on MSC, and I agree will all your points. BTW, I was on the new mega ship (which was not why I booked because I wanted a smaller one) "World Europa", and apparently they will be launching a few more of these. It's very neon, glass and chrome and I was able to find my favorite places on the ship; Coffee Emporium, Jean Philippe Chocolate shop, the Tea Room and the Aura spa. The food was very meh, to me. Not seasoned nor any higher end selections, not even shrimp!! But the COFFEE AND PIZZA, AMAZING!!! In retrospect, after being a bit disappointed, I would consider another MSC. BTW, my Steward was amazing and made my stay comfortable... Thanks for your very inclusive review, it was great!
We're so happy to hear that you found or suggestions to be on point, and that you would at least consider going on another MSC Cruise. I have a feeling you'll enjoy the next one more, now that you know the ropes of cruising with MSC.
The elevators don't work well because of the Yacht Club. They scan their wrist band at the elevator and get one immediately. I assume it also doesn't stop for others during their lift.
You are absolutely right. When we recorded this video we had not yet sailed in the Yacht Club and had no idea about their privileged elevator usage. After sailing in the Yacht Club and being told about it, we immediately realized why the system is so inefficient for everyone else. We felt quite guilty swiping our wrist bands for elevators during the time we were in the Yacht Club, but gotta admit we still did it a few times!
I have a non-cruise related question. I noticed the multi-canvas sunset picture in the upper left corner of the video. What service did you use to order that? I have a few pictures I might want to do that with. Thank you!
Seriously? That sounds crazy. Does the loudest/most aggressive person end up always getting served first? Or are bar patrons in England just respectful enough to actually point out the person who's been waiting the longest?
Thank you for your thorough review! Really helpful. I'm considering cruising with MSC in May 2024. I am wondering how you managed to find such good deals for your cruises? Since the 7-night cruise i'm looking at will cost more than 2400 which is the total you paid for 3 cruises!
We have a few tricks to getting cheap cruises. #1 is we often cruise during hurricane season... there's a lot less demand in this time because kids are just getting back into school and many people are afraid of cruising during hurricane season. #2 we often book our cruises last minute (generally within a month of sailing, sometimes within a week). If you are looking to book during a more high-demand time several months out, the deals are definitely going to be harder to come by.
Wow, that muster drill sounds hectic. I worked on Carnival years ago and had to do the drill every Saturday (sail away) it wasn’t even that hectic then. The wifi situation sounds like us attempting to get wifi anywhere in Thailand, it’s such a fiasco 😅
Glad to hear that someone with your cruising experience agrees that MSC's muster drill is a hectic. And as much as I (Skylar) do like to be disconnected at times, dealing with spotty wifi does get frustrating rather quickly when not on a cruise... especially when you have videos to upload!
Just come back from msc cruise drinks were £9 pint , seatings were very hard to find and we found not a cheap cruise as you have to pay for everything extra
Before covid we would have to get our life jacket in our state room & take it to our muster station and wear it the whole time during the drill. Then take it back to your room
@@courtneyharris4524 you definitely need to do this! You can definitely be everyone's favorite person on the cruise if you play your cards right... not saying you won't be already 😅
Thanks, Johnathun. That's a great question, and it really depends on how much you drink and how much you can get he package for. If you are going to be drinking 8+ drinks on each day of your cruise, it will almost surely be worth it. But if you're only drinking say 5 or less, you'll probably be better off just paying for them on the ship, unless your cruise comes with a drinks-inclusive package at a really good rate. I hope this helps!
Thank you so much for your comment. We've actually been on a couple more MSC ships since filming this episode. We have been impressed with the entertainment. Now they don't offer anything crazy like the high dive shows or ice shows like you may find on the newer mega ships, but we enjoyed the theater shows. We also had a lot of fun at their themed party nights.
For the specialty restaurants, can you make reservations prior to the cruise? Or do you have to wait until onboard? Also, I’ve seen things where the ocean view room isn’t an actual window but instead a TV screen with almost like a screensaver view. Is that true or not? Thinking of sailing with Meraviglia.
We just sailed the Seaside from Oct 1 thru Oct 8. Beautiful ship. Ocean Cay was amazing. We might be returning to get married in the marriage gazebo. Great entertainment. Great staff. Food in the main dinning rooms was very good. Buffet was ok. Biggest complaint: what is up with only offering ice cream from 12 to 4 in one location?? If MSC wants to attract more American customers you need to have ice cream all the time!! In every buffet.
We're so glad to here that you had a great time on the Seaside! Ahh yes MSC does have a weird ice cream schedule. We've seen this on some of the other ships as well. I guess they really want you to pay extra for their gelato!
Yes, there is free coffee at the buffets in the morning, at least there was on our last couple of cruises. Sorry we were late getting to this comment. We hope you're having a great time on your cruise!
Looking to book Nov '24, but have a few questions. How late do the restaurants/buffet stay open? Is there a late night snack options available? Now for entertainment, I know I have seen they do trivia nights but do they have nights like Bingo or game show (Deal or No Deal, Family Feud, etc) nights? MSC looks & sounds great, just trying to find the right cruise for us. Thx for any info!!
Hi Susan. Every MSC ship we've sailed on the main buffer was open pretty late (we think at least till 9 or 10) and you could also pizza well past midnight. We do believe that exact hours can vary by ship though. If there's a certain ship you are considering sailing on, we'd recommend checking to see if they have a Facebook group designated for that specific ship (most do). That would probably be the best place to get your nightly entertainment related questions answered as well.
How did you find the last minute discount, on msc's site or did you call? Did you know how much of a discount it was? Did you book online? We live in Florida so we are always ready to jump on a cruise!
We found the last minute rate online. We had another trip plan fall through last minute, so we hopped on MSC's site and booked a cruise less than 48 hours prior to sailing. We honestly don't know what the rate of the cruise had been leading up to the time we booked... but based on what the prices were for same cruise the next few weeks, we'd say that the discount was probably around $100-$150 per person.
Me and my family will be boing to msc seaside in a couple months or a year or so but i am a bit worried about food posing, can you guys tell if you got sick or anything while u were there?
In the old days all the mustard drill was together and you go up on deck after the everybody was embarked and what was fun is you'd beat your neighbors
Thanks. This was a very informative video. I'm going to pass on MSC. My wife and I prefer higher end experiences and MSC isn't it. It seems best to pay more $$$ for the better experience. Thank you!
thank you for watching and for your comment. After we filmed this episode, we finally booked a room in the Yacht Club on a MSC ship. The YC experience was on a much higher level compared to a standard room. There is a whole area of the ship just dedicated to YC guests, but of course it comes with a much higher price tag (typically). We did post a video about our YC experience, if you haven't seen it and are interested, let us know and I will share the link.
With Celebrity, we don’t need a drink package because we only drink water, juices, basic coffee, and tea which are provided free in the buffet 24/7 Does MSC provide any free drink options or do we need to buy a drink package? Great video! Thanks
Thanks so much for watching. MSC does provide some complimentary drinks similar to Celebrity. We talked more about the complimentary drink options in our food review episode. If you haven't found that one yet here is a link to it: th-cam.com/video/MaVXwM6J5vQ/w-d-xo.html We cover both the food and drinks. We you find it helpful!
I agree with 1 out of the 5 complaints that you had... for me the wifi the was perfect, the muster drill was the easiest muster drill Ive ever done on a cruise, the waiters were great and fast, the food quality and variety can def improve but it was still good
@@Explorcation I sailed on the msc meraviglia I enjoyed it beautiful boat food was good overall certain dishes weren't that great but I had a good time I'm looking to book another on soon... my complaints were some of the odors on the decks I've heard with msc some decks carry odors from the backup with the bathrooms but besides that I would gladly do it again... Ididnt do yacht club regular inside
@@Gibson-md9yi yeah we agree the Meraviglia is a stunning ship. We never had any issues with the odors on our MSC cruises, so we are thankful for that! We will say that the muster drill was much easier on our most recent MSC cruise. They do seem to have improved it recently.
@@Explorcation I didn't have to make a phone call lol.. I don't remember doing that but it was just watch this video go downstairs let them scan u in and your good to go
Looking to book our guest European cruise with NSC Poesia next September.. Do they offer any loyalty points for Amex platinum card holders? Nov. 6 2023
Unfortunately we're not experts on the differently loyalty points that MSC offers. We do know that they are really good at matching points/statuses from other cruise lines though. Whichever cruise you end up going with, we hope you have a wonderful time!
Hey guys! I wanted to ask about the internet package, I would like to get one but I’m unsure which one to choose, the browse option or the browse + stream one. I would use it mainly to upload instagram stories and posts, and to send some WhatsApp’s. Is it worth it? If we don’t get it, is there any signal/data when the ship gets to the different destinations? Thanks for the video!
Hi, thanks for watching. It really depends on how much you plan on using the internet on the ship, and also what your itinerary is. If you are going to countries that your cell phone plan offers data coverage then you could plan on posting and sending messages when in port at those countries. We would recommend taking a look at your cell phone data coverage to make a decision if the ship's internet package will be worth the cost for you.
Thank you so much for watching. Dining times are assigned, and you will have the same time every night in our main dining room, unless you book in the Yacht Club or the Aurea Class. Both of those are any time dining. Regarding tips, it really depends who you ask. There are gratuities automatically added to your bill, but some people still chose to tip extra when they get good service. I've heard others say that you can actually have the automatic gratuities removed from your bill, but we've never tried to do that and can't confirm whether or not they would actually do it. We hope that helps!
@@Explorcation perfect timing thx for answering i just booked for 4 days Bahamas as a trial before a long one we are not a drinker so was thinking of not taking the drink plan rather use the money for excursion lol hope i don’t get sea sick i am excited and very nervous
@@inandoutnature5127 there is a non-alcoholic drink plan as well, so if you enjoy specialty coffees, juices, gatorades, etc... you may want to look into that, but if you are fine just drinking primarily water, tea, or regular coffee then I'd definitely recommend saving the money and spending it on excursions or maybe a specialty restaurant. I am fairly prone to sea sickness, but have never gotten sick on a big MSC ship, as they are so massive and really don't rock too much unless going through some really huge waves. We hope you have an awesome time on your cruise!
Hi, was wondering next time you are in Seminole that you would check out dwellings on the Blvd and Seminole Diner next door, two great places in Seminole Fl.
I was on the MSC website. I'm trying to figure out the drink packages. Do you know how much the Premium Extra drink package is? apparently they don't want to be upfront with their pricing. I really enjoy the vacation rental series you have been doing!
Yeah, it's hard to ever find a set price for the drink package. We've heard that it can vary cruise to cruise. One thing we do know though is that you can save a lot of money by booking with MSC when they offer a deal with the drink package included. Even though a lesser drink package comes with the cruise, it's likely going to be far less expensive to upgrade that drink package to premium when you get on the ship than to purchase the premium package outright.
Haven't experienced the YC but booked Aurea last time with MSC and again for this October. Aurea has a private kid-free deck area with bar and priority boarding. YC seems a bit too fussy for us but we might give it a go if we get a good deal.
Wow we'd never heard of Area guests having their own private deck area with a bar. That seems like it would definitely be worth the extra charge. What ship was that on?
@@Explorcation that was on the Seaside. It was really good because there were no kids whereas kids are allowed on the YC area. We're 'empty-nesters' and are enjoying kid-free vacations hahahah
@@donnaelliott5772 that is totally understandable 😁 thanks for sharing. It is good to know there is an adults only option for those who are looking for it!
I have a Euribia cruise in December coming up soon it was quite cheap (around £60 per person per night) so I’m assuming that there won’t be as many people as in summer should I be worried about the crowds?
The only included food is in the buffets and the main dining rooms. To our knowledge, each of the a-la-carte restaurants is extra. There is a cantina that may be somewhat similar to Blue Iguana. Other than on the buffet, the only spot for burgers may be the steakhouse.
Have experienced the Yacht Club on any MSC sailings? Let us know if you thought it was worth the extra 💰
If you have any additional tips for enjoying MSC cruises please leave those in the comments as well!
Thanks so much for watching!
Hey guys, just want to state some quick feedback about the YC experience, because there is far too less of it. All in all, it is worth every cent. I would probably stick to the internal cabins, so you could go on a yc cruise and enjoy all the privileges (private dining with 3 waiters, 24h butler service, own concierge, VIP elevator service, premium drink package (all drinks up to 15€) starting from 1300€ for a whole week. (Just join the voyagers club and gain the extra 10% + 50€ onboard credit)
You don’t have to wait for anything. There is a private pool / jacuzzi area, and you never have to deal with crowded spaces for the whole cruise. But if you go outside the yc area, you still can use all the privileges (premium drink beverages, the butler even takes you on a private shopping trip if you want to)
One downside, that apart from the internal cabins (which are sold out pretty quick - right now up to 2 years in advance), the deluxe suite (the next cabine category) increases heavily with the price.
I like your videos, so if you want more information about the yc (or msc overall) you can write me anytime. I sailed with MSC way to often - mostly aurea and two times yc (one deluxe suite on the MSC Grandiosa and one internal cabin on the Meraviglia). So I think I have experienced most of it ;D
@@Alex-zt5mn wow thanks so much for the info on the Yacht Club, Alex! We agree that there isn't nearly enough content out there on it, so we really appreciate all the details. We were already wanting to try it for ourselves someday, but now we are extra excited! That's pretty wild that those interior rooms sell out two years in advance though. It sounds like we better book one soon!
Yes, we have been in the Yacht Club, both on the Meraviglia and the Seascape, and even though it is a premium we very much enjoyed it
Embarkation alone is worth booking in the Yacht Club. When you add the cost of a premium drinks package and premium internet to a regular booking you are probably spending LESS money for more.
Then take into account that you have priority everything; a butler; a private concierge priority disembarkation, lounge, bar, dining room, etc etc, the value is even greater.
Plus it's so nice being able to get away from the chaos of "gen-pop" as we've come to call it.
For us, it will be Yacht Club every time we sail with MSC from now on.
Cheers
honestly, im worried that the yacht club experience has runied all other cruises for me lol. where else can you get that kind of luxury at that price point!? we paid as much for our YC balcony as we did for a regular carnival cruise!
@@TowerKenny thank you so much for sharing your experience. After we filmed this video we finally did book Yacht Club and wow did we enjoy the perks! It really is a huge step up from the standard experience. We joke that it would be hard to go back to a standard room after having access to the Yacht Club.
Its an European cruise line, and you get European service. That means: Staff will be friendly and their main purpose is to bring your food and to clear the table, after you are finished. If everything is fine, there is no need for the staff to be permanently arround you. And food: MSC is a cruise line with Italian roots, and as all Italian cruise lines, they have their focus on their main dining rooms. They want the guests to go to the (included) main dining rooms, at least for dinner and therefor the best food will be there. And the food mostly is Mediterranaen food: This will be not overspiced, no flavor enhancer, no overdimensional portions. If you have this in mind and have no problems with the European way of live, curise lines like MSC wont't disappoint you, if you can't handle this, better book another cruise line.
Yes, very European cruise line which we mostly enjoy. From our experience the Italian food in the dining rooms was great (and not over-seasoned). The non-Italian food was not so great anywhere on the ship, but we are 100% fine with eating Italian food for a few days! Your take on the service seems to be pretty accurate too. On our MSC cruise that was only around 70% full, we had no problem with the dinner service. They weren't constantly asking us if everything was ok, but they did take our food and drink orders in a reasonable amount of time. On our more crowded cruises though, the service could be very inconsistent. Some dinners it took 20 minutes for our waiter to even take our food order, and on a couple occasions noone ever even asked us for our drink orders. It definitely didn't ruin our cruise, but they do seem to be short staffed when the ships are at 100% occupancy.
Hi, I enjoyed your review… I’ve been cruising for 30 years and there is a difference from the people who are on three day cruises compared to seven day cruises…
First thing on three day cruises people are usually there to party hard and possibly hookup since they’re typically younger, so I could see where the bars would be a lot busier and Seven day cruises you have plenty more time to drink and have a lot more families and older people so that may not be a bigger problem…
Also RE: Food? variety of food on the three day are worst since the first day is usually just a mess anyway…Also, with the younger people three day cruise people, the RE: parties? I would be expected to be well attended since again typically again gonna be younger, and only there for three days to meet up and party on…
I've noticed on holidays to Mexico and the Caribbean that Americans are really demanding and have expectations that would get them laughed out of many European resorts. They seem to think that because they tip that they own the staff.
@@jurgenmuck3102 thats true
Such a well organized travel channel. They don't miss a beat!
Thank you so much, Scully!
Just got off the MSC Seashore today. 12/10/23. We went on the Meraviglia last year and loved it. We booked the Grand Suite Aurea, room 10001 on deck 10, front middle of ship. Separate bedroom and the room was fantastic. For this 3 night cruise the only stayed at their island till 6 PM so we only saw 1 light show, 5 minutes. Buffet did suck, bars were hard to get a drink at first and room service was bad. We have been on about 30 cruises but after 2 on MSC I would and will go back on them before any other line. They are beautiful and if you hook up with the bartenders and tip properly they will take care of you.
Thank you so much for sharing your tips and experience. We're so happy to hear that you guys had such a wonderful time!
Yacht Club is the only way to go. Totally worth it. Literally don’t have to think or worry about anything. Your glass is never empty. Service is super attentive. Priority boarding/disembarkation. Perfect cruise experience.
If you've got the budget for it, it's hard to disagree! We just (finally) sailed in the Yacht Club a few weeks back and will have a video of the experience coming out this Saturday. The service was definitely a level up, and we spent so much less time waiting in lines! And yes, the priority boarding/disembarkation was amazing! We went from our bus to drinking cocktails in the Top Sail Lounge in just 20 minutes! It was great.
How much is it?
nit pit.... been there done that it was flawless when I boarded in July 2023... MSC Seaside Port Canaveral ! In addition I found a good bartender who was also a casino dealer. Gambling is not my thing. However he advise on some tips when going to the casino when he's on duty but that did not happen on my part. Good job kept the info flowing! Tank you.
Thanks so much for the feedback and for sharing your experience, David!
A good attitude and realistic expectations go very far. Great video!
We agree 100%. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment!
What a great vid, guys. You always give the best critiques, tips and reasons for why you like or dislike certain things on a cruise. This one really covered it all...thanks so much! 🙂
Thanks so much, Rhonda. We do our best to be honest and fair. MSC is not for everyone, but it's definitely for us!
This makes me want to shop for a last-minute cruises right now. I love the idea of a beach party and a private beach. It looks like fun and so beautiful!
It's really a fun way to escape reality for a few days. I (Skylar) don't like being stuck on a ship for too long, but three days with one of them on the island is perfect! We hope you're able to give a last minute cruise a try sometime!
Another great video from you two!! And WOW!!!....the story of you booking the room 48 hours in advance and someone was already in that cabin and your (thankful) upgrade to balcony. I would have been panicked, sailing at 100% capacity, that they were going to kick me off the ship!! Lucky you!!
Thank you! Yes... there was definitely a little bit of panic initially! It was a pretty crazy situation... but could have been much worse 😂
YC is absolutely amazing! It's worth every penny. At the terminal they have a special white tent check-in for your luggage. From there, you are escorted past all the lines to check-in area where a Butler whisks you up to the YC. You have your choice of indoor dining in the YC restaurant or outdoor at the 1 pool deck . Premium alcohol package and 2 device per person internet is included as well. YC has it's own: pool and sundeck with daybeds. Restaurant, lounge, concierge and reserved seating in theater. Priorty embarkation in all ports.
We actually just experienced Yacht Club for the first time a couple weeks ago, and everything you say is 100% accurate. It was an awesome experience!
Love both your vibes! Just booked our family for the Meraviglia next August in honor of our 25th wedding anniversary. The private island in the evening sounds amazing! Will continue watching your vids! 🎉
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write this kind comment! That's so great that you are able to bring your family on a cruise for your big anniversary. We hope you love the private island every bit as much as we do! Congrats on 25 years!
Thank you! Everyone’s excited. 🎉 Happy cruising!
I have been contemplating pros and cons of two different ships for a cruise next year, one of which is the MSC seashore. I must tell you that your video has convinced me that MSC is the way to go. From its Italian roots, to the food and coffees to the size of the rooms, I am fairly 99% sure that I will be on an MSC cruise next year. Year. Thank you so much for your excellent breakdown of the various features and your honest opinions. Bon voyage and caio 🎉🎉🎉
We're so happy to hear that you found our video to be helpful, Stephanie. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. We really appreciate it! We really hope you do find yourself on an MSC cruise sooner than later, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed ours!
I love the name of your channel and really appreciate your honest reviews. I am a first-time cruiser and have found your testimonial so helpful! Thanks for going into so much detail. I really appreciate your love of travel and cruising!
Thank you so much for watching our channel and taking the time to post this thoughtful comment! We definitely make these videos with first time cruisers in mind, and we're so happy to hear when new cruisers find our videos to be helpful!
Happy Cruising... Sail away Party.... Looking forward to see what they have to offer!...
The Yacht Club is definitely worth the money!! My butler was amazing, the food was amazing, the drinks were great and the service and special treatment was worth every penny!
That's what we've been hearing, Audrey! Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
Loved the meravigia, even though the last two days were stormy on our way home to NY. Booked on world America inaugural. Can't wait
We are heading on our first ever cruise in 27 days....aboard MSC Seascape! I cannot wait, I have been watching these types of videos to get as much info as I can to make the most of our trip. I will post my thoughts when we get back Thanks for this video, very informative.
Thank you so much for watching our video and taking the time to comment! We hope you have a great experience on the Seascape and will look forward to haring about your experience!
This video was very helpful! Thank you. I am traveling on the MSC Magnifica over the summer
Our pleasure! We're really happy to hear you found our video to be helpful. Thanks so much for watching.
I find this video so helpful! I am going on my first 3-night MSC cruise with my college friend from Germany who will be visiting me in Florida in January. After booking the cruise I read some horrible reviews and thought I had made a bad mistake. But after watching your video I feel so much better. For the price of the cruise, I am not expecting the Ritz Carlton, and it is good to know that there are food options that are not entirely bad. All I want is to have some fun days with my friend and have a good time without spending an arm and a leg. The private island looks lovely. Thank you for putting this video together.
We're so happy to hear you found this video to be helpful. If you are going into your cruise with reasonable expectations (which it sounds like you are) then you and your friends should have a great time!
We're so happy to know you found this video to be helpful! If you are going into this cruise with reasonable expectations (which it sounds like you are) then you and your friends should have a great time!
we just came back from a 7 day cruise. It was great! Worry not!
@@garyK.45ACP we are so glad you had a great time!
im only 16 but i can tell you this right now, if you know how to be grateful for the holiday youre on and you are fully aware that booking with msc is value for money, you will definitely enjoy it. of course since its cheaper than we arent going to get broadway performances but it still is an amazing experience. i had an amazing time on all 3 of my msc cruises and would do anything to relive those memories. i hope you have an amazing holiday.
Excellent tips! I'm sailing next month and your Seaside and this video are so helpful!
We're glad you found this video to be helpful, and we hope you have an amazing cruise on the Seaside!
Every time drink package was mentioned-I took a shot. I LOVE Skyler!
Oh wow that's a LOT of shots. We hope your hangover wasn't too bad today 😂
I went on MSC for the first time last spring, on seascape out of Miami. I loved it. Our waiters were amazing and as you mentioned tip the bartenders in the beginning and they'll remember you!! Going on the Divina this spring!!
Also Midnight pizza!!!
I'm also too poor for the yacht club, but maybe one day
Thanks for watching, we are so glad you had a good experience :) We've heard good things about the Divina but have yet to try it ourselves. Midnight pizza is the BEST 😁🍕 don't give up on your Yacht Club drams! After this episode we booked on another ship and were emailed an option to bid to upgrade to the Yacht Club. I think because we were sailing during peak hurricane season the ship was not full and we won the bid and it wasn't very expensive. Now I know this doesn't happen all of the time but it may be something to try to get into the Yacht Club at a reasonable price!
Great assessment of MSC. I agree with you on just about everything. I've cruised on Meraviglia twice, Divina and Seashore once. I'll still cruise with MSC since all in all MSC is a great bargain and beautiful ships.
Thank you so much, George! We're glad you found our assessment to be accurate, and we couldn't agree more regarding MSC being a bargain.
Hey guys. Just stumbled across your video. We have been on 2 MSC cruises and enjoyed the first one much more than the second one. We just booked the Seashore for late next year. Good tips
Glad to hear you gave MSC a second chance and enjoyed it. We loved the Seashore and hope you have an awesome time on it late next year. Thanks for watching!
Your proximity to so many cruise ports makes me want to relocate! And the negative aspects didn't scare me away from MSC considering all the pros and the value. We never like the buffets on cruise ships anyway. The pizza and mozzarella station sounds amazing. And great tips! Will look into this line for future.
It is honestly probably one of the top 3 reasons we moved to Florida! When you don't have to pay for flights and can take advantage of last minute cruise deals, it really can be almost unbelievably cheap! And the pizza and mozzarella really was amazing. Almost hard to believe you can get it on a cruise ship buffet.
Wow, $135 per night for all that does sound really good for a cruise. With good coffee, pizza and a beach party with the drinks package sounds like we need to book!
It''s definitely a fun way to escape reality for a few days without breaking the bank!
I didn’t even know about MSC before…lol. I knew about the Carnival, Royal Caribbean…etc
Thanks for sharing your insight.
Yeah, most people who aren't avid cruisers have never heard of MSC. They've been increasing their presence in the US over the years, and we are quite happy about that!
@@Explorcation I like that weekend trip to Ocean Kay, and they have other nice packages as well.
@@Victory1981 that short Ocean Cay itinerary is a nice quick getaway!
We sailed with MSC and almost always ordered drinks thru a drink runner/server
More than a few people complaining but we had a great time
Yeah we did find that the service was generally a bit faster if we ordered through a drink runner, but there were also a couple times when we ordered a drink through them and never saw them again!
Great review! Very true and fair! - awesome tips at the end! Thank you!
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment! We're glad you enjoyed the tips!
Thanks for sharing the video! I have been MSC Seascape on May /23 we all love it and too much fun,
and the price is so cheaper the Royal Car, I agreed with you 5 things we also love from MSC .We will sailing for the next one in Aug/23 to Europe. We love video.
We are really hoping to get on the Seascape sometime soon. It looks like an incredible ship! We're so happy that you discovered our channel, and we hope you have a great time on your cruise in August!
Thanks ! We just booked another one MSc Meraviglia on August to Bermuda for 6 days . I hope I will enjoy the ship too.
@@tinale9458 we hope so too!
Just found you guys....looking forward to watching more. We were on Seaside several years ago when it was fairly new. The sports bar was our favorite spot for drinks. Your advice about finding a bartender you like is spot on for any ship. Get to know them early on, don't be a jerk, tip them and they can't do enough for you! Cheers!
We're so happy that you discovered our channel, Dan! We're going to be going on another MSC cruise next month, and can't wait to see how it compares to the Seaside and Meraviglia. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment. Cheers!
Thank you for your thoughts and posting this video. I've never been on a cruise, have been curious but unsure if I would enjoy it. I understand the negatives and feel like for the price, I can definitely live with them. You sold me on this. I intend to give them a try! Thanks again.
We're so glad to hear that you found this video to be helpful. We try to give our honest opinion and let people decide for themselves. It's definitely not the right vacation for everyone, but we sure do enjoy it!
Thanks for the video and a very accurate review. As well, they have a status match with their loyalty program. They matched my Hilton Honors Diamond status with the MSC Voyagers Club at Diamond level. That provided us all the perks of the top status of the loyalty privileges on our first cruise with MSC. As well, we sailed in the Yacht Club on our first sailing. We have done RC in the past, but looking at the price, then about the same but all the luxury with MSC. The Yacht Club was great, premium drinks, express elevator, butler service, premium seating in the theater, as well when boarding / disembarking being lead by butler straight through the lines. 5-star all the way in the Yacht Club. We already booked again for the MSC World Europa in the Mediterranean.
Thanks so much for sharing the information about the Hilton Honors status mach. That's a pretty incredible deal! We are excited to say that we will be sailing with MSC again pretty soon, and will finally get to experience the Yacht Club for ourselves. Your great review of the Yacht Club makes us even more excited for that cruise. We haven't been this excited to go on a cruise for a long time!
Shout out to you both! What a great review of our beloved MSC Cruises! Fair and balanced! Love it! I used to work on Royal and Cunard on board. My wife was a frequent Carnival guest. And, together we have sailed 11 times total with MSC across four of their ships - Divina, Seaside, Meraviglia, & Seashore. #12 is NYE cruise on Seashore upcoming! This will be our 3rd time in the Yacht Club and we highly recommend it! It is most assuredly worth the investment! But, totally agree with your tips for success on board! I tell people if you invite the crew on board into your cruise and love on them, they will love on you! We have so many friends on board now across the company and it is always fun to see them again and we never want for fab service. We have done a number of Fantastica & Aurea sailings and the couple Yacht Club. Where we save, is we enjoy interior cabins and my wife is concerned disabled due to multiple ankle surgeries from soccer injuries. So, we are able to book ADA cabins, which work for us well and provide more room. But, loved this video! Have subscribed. And, hope we can meet you all some day! Cheers! Norm & Deeana Cole
Thank you so much for watching our video and for taking the time to write this thoughtful comment! It's been a challenge for us to find many people who have actually experienced the Yacht Club, so we really appreciate you sharing your experience. We will definitely book the Yacht Club sooner or later, and when we do, we'll plan on booking an interior room. We don't mind them, and always sleep like babies in the pitch black room! Thanks so much for the subscription and we hope to meet you guys someday too. Cheers!
@@Explorcation Quite Welcome! And, yeah, interior Yacht Club, you will get the same exact level of service as a balcony. And, I tend to go hang out in Top Sail or on the YC pool deck in place of what would be a balcony. Cheers!
@@odkbull thanks so much for the tips!
@@Explorcation My wife and I have sailed 5 times on MSC ships; Divina, Meraviglia and Bellissima. All in the yacht club. And all at the least balcony suites (we had a two story with our own hot tub on Meraviglia, a little overkill for us). It's the only way we will sail now. (MSC Seaside coming up in October). To me, it is worth the extra cost. Wife is somewhat claustrophobic, so she needs a cabin that looks out. The balcony suites are only somewhat larger overall than inside cabins, but storage, bathroom size, general room size and balcony are worth it. The benefits of private restaurant (our experience has been a waiter and helper assigned to our table so service was never a problem), private pool with bar service and mini buffet readily available, drink package (no or at least very little waiting for bar service), private lounge (albeit the evening entertainment in the lounge is very laid back, but you can always take a drink with you and hit a party somewhere else on the ship), and priority boarding and disembarkation with a butler escort make yacht club well worthwhile for us. You should give it a try at least once.
@@richardm2130 thank you for sharing your experiences with the Yacht Club. It does sound like a whole different level of service. I think we would really enjoy the private restaurant, pool and lounge. I could see us grabbing a drink at the private lounge and heading out to one of the parties. After everyone's feedback we do want to try the Yacht Club, but will have to monitor for a good deal!
MSC cruise number 10 coming up over Labor Day weekend; can't wait! I'm a meat and potatoes person and have somehow managed to survive on MSC. Nom Nom!
Wow that's great! We got a ways to go before we hit ten, but with any luck, we'll get there within the next couple of years! Glad to hear you haven't starved to death on any of your cruises so far!
Thanks for the info about MSC. we are going on the seaside in a couple of months.
Our pleasure! We hope you have a wonderful cruise on the Seaside!
Loved this video! I cruise a lot and try all the different lines. Went on MSC Meraviglia in May, beautiful ship! Different then the other lines, in a good way.
We're so happy to hear that you enjoyed the video, and we really appreciate you taking the time to comment. We agree 100% that it is different but (mostly) in a good way!
Wow!! In my top 10 fav reviews!!! I get bored so easily with most...you guys ROCK at great coverage for MSC. Like you, I've been on several other lines (Princess...NCL....Carnival....Royal Caribbean) so contemplating MSC; this was so helpful!!! THANK YOU!!!
Thank you so much for the encouraging comment! We are far from a full-time cruise channel or resort based channel, but it's always nice to hear when our tours stack up well against those who are!
MCS World America Booked!!! May 2025 Yacht Club here I come.... 5th Anniversary Cruise...!
Congrats, David! Super exciting. We hope you have an awesome time!
So I’m going to Punta cana in a few weeks and watched a review of the resort (and decided to go for it based on your review) and I’m going on a cruise a few months after that and see this. Great thing about your channel is you’re FAIR. I really dislike that so many channels harp on the negatives and don’t consider price of things. Really love your channel!
Wow thank you so much for watching our videos and taking the time to comment, Tiffany! We really do try to be fair on our channel. Sadly being overly dramatic and negative does seem to get some channels a lot of view, but that will never be us. We try to make videos that we are proud of and will help our viewers, and we're so happy to hear that our videos have helped you!
Msc is a really good cruise I’m going back on them I’ll definitely recommend to everyone from the first time traveling or not so much things to list just book and enjoy your self well deserve 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment, Phillip!
Loved the Napoleon Dynamite take! 😂
This is just my second video of yours and it is getting me well-prepared for my MSC cruise now just 10 days away.
My understanding is MSC’s price is lower because they are choosing to have fewer staff on board, or a higher, passenger to staff ratio. Your tips and suggestions will help me work with that yet as Skylar mentioned, if you’re happy with cheeseburgers, pizza, and beer… it won’t be a problem. Therefore for me, it won’t be a problem! 🚢
Glad you enjoyed it. I (Skylar) always try to drop in Napolean Dynamite clips when ever possible😂There's so many great ones. It sounds like you're easy to please like me I am, so yeah, you shouldn't have any problems. To limit your time waiting in lines, I'd recommend ordering a bucket at a time!
I was on the Seashore in November. The ship was sold out, but i never experienced any of the bar waits that you describe. The muster drill was no big deal....not that much time involved and it wasn't a bother to me at all. I would book with MSC again without hesitation. As far as the specialty dining, give HOLA!, the Mexican venue a go...it was fantastic. Oh....I highly recommend the LAVA FLOW...ask your bartender!!
We've heard good things about a lot of the paid restaurants, but this is the first review we've heard on HOLA specifically. We remember their menu looking really good on the Meraviglia, and we'll definitely give them a try sometime!
Great vlog! Have never been on a cruise, but hear Disney is the best. I know it is super expensive but would love to hear what you guys think.
From what we've heard Disney is definitely the best for kids... but also very enjoyable for adults. We've never sailed on it because we have no kids and the prices are quite high, but we'd love to try it out someday!
Been on 2 MSC cruises so far..On, coincidentally, the Meraviglia and the Seaside...LOL..Really enjoyed them both, but both ships were a little 'quirky' for us..
On Meraviglia they put us in the late dining, which was at 8:30PM, who eats that late? Plus, that is bedtime for my then 4 year old grandson! Tried to change it but dining manager said there was no flexibility..So, no main dining for us on Meraviglia, and we experienced the buffet chaos..Then, we discovered that there is a section on the port(left) side of the ship towards the pool area which they designated as the 'Family Area' with a small buffet counter for the kids. It was generally less crowded and a lot quieter then the other areas of the buffet..This was in January 2023
We were most recently on the Seaside in May..Very beautiful ship(they both are)..But I think I liked the layout of the Meraviglia a little better with the Grand Promenade..Again, they put us in the 2nd seating for the main dining room..However, this time we were able to get with the staff as soon as we boarded and got it changed to 1st seating! YAY! :) Got to experience the main dining room and really enjoyed the food!
All in all, we have really enjoyed our cruises with MSC and will be sailing on the Seashore in May 2024..
Thanks for the fair review of MSC and the valuable tips! :)
Thank you so much for watching our video and for taking the time to share your story. We do agree that MSC is a bit quirky, but mostly in a good way! We are a bit torn on which ship's layout we like better. We absolutely love the Promenade, but we loved that the Seaside had more outdoor space on the sides of the ship. But yes, both are absolutely beautiful and we'd gladly sale on either again. And yeah, we've been put in the 8:30 dining on 2 of our 3 cruises as well. It really makes it hard to do anything after dinner when you eat that late. It was generally dinner and straight to bed for us!
Yacht club is the best! The quiet sun deck, private pool, exclusive restaurant en butler are the cost more than worth. We sailed 3 times with MSC so far en 2 times we booked yacht club, even with our kids.
You'll get no argument from us on that! We finally got the chance to experience it a couple of months back (after making this video), and wow.... definitely a whole other type of experience.
Hello fellow Floridian !! So I’m with you- with the sun and heat I don’t think I’d be drinking that much. Maybe for dinner - but that’s a great tip !! I haven’t been on a cruise yet so these vids have been really helpful !!! And boy I boy what a great job you guys have ! ❤️
Hello Leanne! We're so happy you discovered our channel and we hope this video inspires you to hop on a cruise ship some day! Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment.
Hey guys! We're not much into cruises but we are missing the st PETE vids that you all do such a awsome job making! Recently became back from Saint Pete and tried all restaurants that you guys recommended and we loved each and every one.👍👍👍
We're so happy to hear that our channel helped you make the most of your time in St. Pete! We have to get out of Florida to make some content and switch things up every once in a while, but we're going to back to recording in St. Pete very soon!
Thank you for taking the time to share. Do they have "vegan" options for pizza and regular menus?
They definitely have vegan options on the buffet and the dinner menu, but I do not recall seeing any vegan pizza. Thanks for watching!
We are booked in the Yacht club in a few weeks. Was less expensive than a balcony on any of the other lines.
Wow that's amazing. We've been hearing some really good things about the Yacht Club, and we hope you have an awesome time!
I hope you enjoy your choice, we loved the YC cruise last year that were doing another one later this summer on the SeaShore.
Wow glad they have espresso everywhere and that it’s good. I could only get the cold espresso on the carnival pride and it was still not any good. Everything else was really bad. As was the food. Don’t know if it was just this particular ship I was on.
We've only sailed on one Carnival ship, and it was probably our least favorite cruise. That said, it was an old ship, and we'd love to try out a new one someday.
Great video. I’m trying MSC in May, going with an open mind. The buffet on Princess to me is pretty bad. I like carnivals better.
When it comes to muster station. It’s really about safety. In MSC if something happens, you will be able to find your muster station from your cabin.
Princess was seamless but couldn’t tell you from my cabin how to find my
Muster station.
Thanks , really liked your straightforward video.
I’ve heard also MSC is trying to retool for an American cruise population in the US.
Thanks for sharing you experience, George. We're really glad that you enjoyed the video, and find it interesting to hear your experiences on Princess as we have yet to sail on that line. We've heard the same about MSC trying to appeal to the American cruise population. It will be interesting to see what changes they make going forward.
I can’t believe I have been on both exact cruises you have been on with MSC 😂 I met you both on the Meraviglia in November and saw you on disembarkation day in the seaside. Keep up the great work!
What?!!! That is completely insane. We are thinking about doing another MSC cruise in January or February... So we'll probably see ya on that one too! 😂
Thanks for the fair review!!
Our pleasure. Thank you for watching!
Hi! Question related to one of your other cruise videos. You ordered Mead Wines for one of the cruises. I also prefer Mead over regular wines & have a RC cruise coming up w/ no drink package. I'm in greater Tampa Bay area. Did you order your Mead direct from some place or go to Total Wines and More? Thanks for the Coffe Punch Card info!!! Definitely going to do that. Been enjoying your content, especially the FL Springs!
We purchased our Viking Blod mead at a local liquor store, but we do know that they sell it at Total Wine as well. It is fantastic if you have never tried it. We hope that they still let you bring mead onto the ship and are doing the punch cards by the time you go on your RC Cruise. Have a wonderful time!
My preferred line is Royal, NCL, MSC in that order. Carnival is way down the list mainly for lack of live entertainment and shows. I would sail on MSC again. Nice video.
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment. It's always interesting to hear what different people prioritize in their cruising experience.
We've never sailed with MSC. We have heard the MSC food was not very good. Cruises can be such a great deal in general when you factor in what's included: food, entertainment, bedroom for each night and the travel itself. We are doing back to back cruises in late 2024 on Carnival. Looking forward to it and the travel is usually pretty stress free. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!
Yeah, lots of negative stuff out there on MSC. Some of the food is definitely not good, but some of it is great. After a few cruises, you learn what to get and what to avoid! But yeah cruising can be such a reasonably priced vaca, especially when you live down here in Florida!
@@Explorcation yes we are blessed to be able to go last minute. Once we booked a 5 day cruise cheap on a Friday at like 11am. Had to be in Miami the next day by noon. 😂
@@PrimeTimeTravelers yes definite one of the many perks of living in Florida!
Hey @explorcation, Thanks for the video and great tips, specially for people that are not use to go on a cruise. 😀
Our pleasure. it was fun sitting down and sharing our tips/experiences! MSC is a different kind of cruiseline, but mostly in a good way!
Omg! I just got back from my European cruise on MSC, and I agree will all your points. BTW, I was on the new mega ship (which was not why I booked because I wanted a smaller one) "World Europa", and apparently they will be launching a few more of these. It's very neon, glass and chrome and I was able to find my favorite places on the ship; Coffee Emporium, Jean Philippe Chocolate shop, the Tea Room and the Aura spa.
The food was very meh, to me. Not seasoned nor any higher end selections, not even shrimp!! But the COFFEE AND PIZZA, AMAZING!!! In retrospect, after being a bit disappointed, I would consider another MSC. BTW, my Steward was amazing and made my stay comfortable...
Thanks for your very inclusive review, it was great!
We're so happy to hear that you found or suggestions to be on point, and that you would at least consider going on another MSC Cruise. I have a feeling you'll enjoy the next one more, now that you know the ropes of cruising with MSC.
The elevators don't work well because of the Yacht Club. They scan their wrist band at the elevator and get one immediately. I assume it also doesn't stop for others during their lift.
You are absolutely right. When we recorded this video we had not yet sailed in the Yacht Club and had no idea about their privileged elevator usage. After sailing in the Yacht Club and being told about it, we immediately realized why the system is so inefficient for everyone else. We felt quite guilty swiping our wrist bands for elevators during the time we were in the Yacht Club, but gotta admit we still did it a few times!
@@Explorcation I mean it's worth the extra haha. I'm also experiencing my second solar eclipse right now! xD
@@Auxeum it sure is. Enjoy the eclipse.
Just came across your channel, Good stuff! Keep up the good work!
We are glad you found us! Thanks for stopping by, we hope to see ya again :)
I have a non-cruise related question. I noticed the multi-canvas sunset picture in the upper left corner of the video. What service did you use to order that? I have a few pictures I might want to do that with. Thank you!
Thanks so much for watching, unfortunately that photo set it one we bought...we wish it was a photo we had taken ourselves.
Bomba Shack was everything! All Virgin Islanders miss it!
It was!! We're so thankful that we stumbled upon that place when we did, as we've never seen anything else quite like it and probably never will.
Thank you for this I will book the interior room its affordable and I am a solo traveler
We hope you have a great time!
Lolling at your comment about who's next at the bar. That's standard for any pub/bar in the UK at least, with the bar staff asking who's next 😂
Seriously? That sounds crazy. Does the loudest/most aggressive person end up always getting served first? Or are bar patrons in England just respectful enough to actually point out the person who's been waiting the longest?
Thank you for your thorough review! Really helpful. I'm considering cruising with MSC in May 2024. I am wondering how you managed to find such good deals for your cruises? Since the 7-night cruise i'm looking at will cost more than 2400 which is the total you paid for 3 cruises!
We have a few tricks to getting cheap cruises. #1 is we often cruise during hurricane season... there's a lot less demand in this time because kids are just getting back into school and many people are afraid of cruising during hurricane season. #2 we often book our cruises last minute (generally within a month of sailing, sometimes within a week). If you are looking to book during a more high-demand time several months out, the deals are definitely going to be harder to come by.
@@Explorcation thanks for sharing your tricks!!!! Really appreciate
Wow, that muster drill sounds hectic. I worked on Carnival years ago and had to do the drill every Saturday (sail away) it wasn’t even that hectic then. The wifi situation sounds like us attempting to get wifi anywhere in Thailand, it’s such a fiasco 😅
Glad to hear that someone with your cruising experience agrees that MSC's muster drill is a hectic. And as much as I (Skylar) do like to be disconnected at times, dealing with spotty wifi does get frustrating rather quickly when not on a cruise... especially when you have videos to upload!
Just come back from msc cruise drinks were £9 pint , seatings were very hard to find and we found not a cheap cruise as you have to pay for everything extra
Thanks for sharing your experience. What ship did you sale on?
Thanks for sharing another wonderful video like always 👍🤗
Absolutely! It was fun to share our tips and experiences, and we're glad you enjoyed it!
Great review btw
Thank you, we really appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment!
Before covid we would have to get our life jacket in our state room & take it to our muster station and wear it the whole time during the drill. Then take it back to your room
Wow, that was quite the process, Sara! How different things are now.
@@Explorcation yes they definitely are way different! It is way easier now!
I am sailing with them in a week, thanks for the insight guys
Our pleasure, Courtney. We hope the video helps you make the most of your cruise!
@@Explorcation I honestly can see me now "No no guys, there's probably seats at the BACK of the buffet" to my family, like a psychic 😂😉
@@courtneyharris4524 you definitely need to do this! You can definitely be everyone's favorite person on the cruise if you play your cards right... not saying you won't be already 😅
@@Explorcation haha absolutely!
Great tips guys. Is the drink package worth the money, seems expensive.
Thanks, Johnathun. That's a great question, and it really depends on how much you drink and how much you can get he package for. If you are going to be drinking 8+ drinks on each day of your cruise, it will almost surely be worth it. But if you're only drinking say 5 or less, you'll probably be better off just paying for them on the ship, unless your cruise comes with a drinks-inclusive package at a really good rate. I hope this helps!
Great content, thank you. Any comments on entertainment on the ship?
Thank you so much for your comment. We've actually been on a couple more MSC ships since filming this episode. We have been impressed with the entertainment. Now they don't offer anything crazy like the high dive shows or ice shows like you may find on the newer mega ships, but we enjoyed the theater shows. We also had a lot of fun at their themed party nights.
@@Explorcation thanks for the response. I am going to give them a try towards the end of the year.
@@mariacifuentesmarrero8938 we hope you have a good experience 🚢☀️
For the specialty restaurants, can you make reservations prior to the cruise? Or do you have to wait until onboard? Also, I’ve seen things where the ocean view room isn’t an actual window but instead a TV screen with almost like a screensaver view. Is that true or not? Thinking of sailing with Meraviglia.
We just sailed the Seaside from Oct 1 thru Oct 8. Beautiful ship. Ocean Cay was amazing. We might be returning to get married in the marriage gazebo. Great entertainment. Great staff. Food in the main dinning rooms was very good. Buffet was ok. Biggest complaint: what is up with only offering ice cream from 12 to 4 in one location?? If MSC wants to attract more American customers you need to have ice cream all the time!! In every buffet.
We're so glad to here that you had a great time on the Seaside! Ahh yes MSC does have a weird ice cream schedule. We've seen this on some of the other ships as well. I guess they really want you to pay extra for their gelato!
Going on MSC cruse on dec 9 . Does the normal coffee in the morning free ? Thank you for your suggestion's!!!
Yes, there is free coffee at the buffets in the morning, at least there was on our last couple of cruises. Sorry we were late getting to this comment. We hope you're having a great time on your cruise!
Nice video. Good information and comparison. One note: We pronounce Cay as "Key". "Ocean Key". Thanks!
Thank you so much for the kind comment, and for the pronunciation tip!
Looking to book Nov '24, but have a few questions. How late do the restaurants/buffet stay open? Is there a late night snack options available? Now for entertainment, I know I have seen they do trivia nights but do they have nights like Bingo or game show (Deal or No Deal, Family Feud, etc) nights? MSC looks & sounds great, just trying to find the right cruise for us. Thx for any info!!
Hi Susan. Every MSC ship we've sailed on the main buffer was open pretty late (we think at least till 9 or 10) and you could also pizza well past midnight. We do believe that exact hours can vary by ship though. If there's a certain ship you are considering sailing on, we'd recommend checking to see if they have a Facebook group designated for that specific ship (most do). That would probably be the best place to get your nightly entertainment related questions answered as well.
@@Explorcation Thx!! We booked for Seaside in November. We r new to cruising and trying to find the right fit for us. We are excited & can't wait..
@@susanshepherd2997 yw! We hope you have a great cruise!
Thank you soo much for your input and help
Our pleasure, Darlene. Thank you for watching!
How did you find the last minute discount, on msc's site or did you call? Did you know how much of a discount it was? Did you book online? We live in Florida so we are always ready to jump on a cruise!
We found the last minute rate online. We had another trip plan fall through last minute, so we hopped on MSC's site and booked a cruise less than 48 hours prior to sailing. We honestly don't know what the rate of the cruise had been leading up to the time we booked... but based on what the prices were for same cruise the next few weeks, we'd say that the discount was probably around $100-$150 per person.
Me and my family will be boing to msc seaside in a couple months or a year or so but i am a bit worried about food posing, can you guys tell if you got sick or anything while u were there?
We never got sick from the food on any of our three MSC cruises. We had some food that we didn't like, but we definitely did not get sick.
In the old days all the mustard drill was together and you go up on deck after the everybody was embarked and what was fun is you'd beat your neighbors
Yeah that's how it was when we went on our first cruise around 15 years ago. The good ole days lol.
Thanks. This was a very informative video. I'm going to pass on MSC. My wife and I prefer higher end experiences and MSC isn't it. It seems best to pay more $$$ for the better experience. Thank you!
thank you for watching and for your comment. After we filmed this episode, we finally booked a room in the Yacht Club on a MSC ship. The YC experience was on a much higher level compared to a standard room. There is a whole area of the ship just dedicated to YC guests, but of course it comes with a much higher price tag (typically). We did post a video about our YC experience, if you haven't seen it and are interested, let us know and I will share the link.
With Celebrity, we don’t need a drink package because we only drink water, juices, basic coffee, and tea which are provided free in the buffet 24/7 Does MSC provide any free drink options or do we need to buy a drink package? Great video! Thanks
Thanks so much for watching. MSC does provide some complimentary drinks similar to Celebrity. We talked more about the complimentary drink options in our food review episode. If you haven't found that one yet here is a link to it: th-cam.com/video/MaVXwM6J5vQ/w-d-xo.html We cover both the food and drinks. We you find it helpful!
I just booked a 7 night cruise, inside cabin, taxes and port fees included under $1,000 for 2 travelers.
Wohoo that sounds like an amazing deal! We hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise!
I agree with 1 out of the 5 complaints that you had... for me the wifi the was perfect, the muster drill was the easiest muster drill Ive ever done on a cruise, the waiters were great and fast, the food quality and variety can def improve but it was still good
Glad to hear you had such a positive experience on MSC! Which ship did you sale on? Also, did you sail in the Yacht Club?
@@Explorcation I sailed on the msc meraviglia I enjoyed it beautiful boat food was good overall certain dishes weren't that great but I had a good time I'm looking to book another on soon... my complaints were some of the odors on the decks I've heard with msc some decks carry odors from the backup with the bathrooms but besides that I would gladly do it again... Ididnt do yacht club regular inside
@@Gibson-md9yi yeah we agree the Meraviglia is a stunning ship. We never had any issues with the odors on our MSC cruises, so we are thankful for that! We will say that the muster drill was much easier on our most recent MSC cruise. They do seem to have improved it recently.
@@Explorcation I didn't have to make a phone call lol.. I don't remember doing that but it was just watch this video go downstairs let them scan u in and your good to go
@@Gibson-md9yi yup that's how it was for us on our most recent one too. Much better experience!
Also an MSC tip, try the Lobster roll at the truck on the island, reasonable price and tasty!
Thanks for the suggestion! We saw being advertised at one of the trucks and did consider getting it. Next time we'll pull the trigger!
Looking to book our guest European cruise with NSC Poesia next September.. Do they offer any loyalty points for Amex platinum card holders? Nov. 6 2023
Unfortunately we're not experts on the differently loyalty points that MSC offers. We do know that they are really good at matching points/statuses from other cruise lines though. Whichever cruise you end up going with, we hope you have a wonderful time!
The Yacht Club resturaunt had wonderful food!
Great to know, Audrey. We've been hearing nothing but great things about the Yacht Club. We really hope that we get a chance to expeirence it someday!
Hey guys! I wanted to ask about the internet package, I would like to get one but I’m unsure which one to choose, the browse option or the browse + stream one. I would use it mainly to upload instagram stories and posts, and to send some WhatsApp’s. Is it worth it? If we don’t get it, is there any signal/data when the ship gets to the different destinations? Thanks for the video!
Hi, thanks for watching. It really depends on how much you plan on using the internet on the ship, and also what your itinerary is. If you are going to countries that your cell phone plan offers data coverage then you could plan on posting and sending messages when in port at those countries. We would recommend taking a look at your cell phone data coverage to make a decision if the ship's internet package will be worth the cost for you.
thx for the info
planning to go soon first time ever
what is that dining time and how its work?
also gratuity not sure if u talk about it
thx ahaead
Thank you so much for watching. Dining times are assigned, and you will have the same time every night in our main dining room, unless you book in the Yacht Club or the Aurea Class. Both of those are any time dining. Regarding tips, it really depends who you ask. There are gratuities automatically added to your bill, but some people still chose to tip extra when they get good service. I've heard others say that you can actually have the automatic gratuities removed from your bill, but we've never tried to do that and can't confirm whether or not they would actually do it. We hope that helps!
@@Explorcation perfect timing
thx for answering
i just booked for 4 days Bahamas as a trial before a long one
we are not a drinker so was thinking of not taking the drink plan
rather use the money for excursion lol
hope i don’t get sea sick
i am excited and very nervous
@@inandoutnature5127 there is a non-alcoholic drink plan as well, so if you enjoy specialty coffees, juices, gatorades, etc... you may want to look into that, but if you are fine just drinking primarily water, tea, or regular coffee then I'd definitely recommend saving the money and spending it on excursions or maybe a specialty restaurant. I am fairly prone to sea sickness, but have never gotten sick on a big MSC ship, as they are so massive and really don't rock too much unless going through some really huge waves. We hope you have an awesome time on your cruise!
Hi, was wondering next time you are in Seminole that you would check out dwellings on the Blvd and Seminole Diner next door, two great places in Seminole Fl.
Hey thanks for the recommendations, Chris. We'll definitely keep them in mind next time we make it up to Seminole!
I was on the MSC website. I'm trying to figure out the drink packages. Do you know how much the Premium Extra drink package is? apparently they don't want to be upfront with their pricing. I really enjoy the vacation rental series you have been doing!
Yeah, it's hard to ever find a set price for the drink package. We've heard that it can vary cruise to cruise. One thing we do know though is that you can save a lot of money by booking with MSC when they offer a deal with the drink package included. Even though a lesser drink package comes with the cruise, it's likely going to be far less expensive to upgrade that drink package to premium when you get on the ship than to purchase the premium package outright.
Never cruised, booked an msc Mediterranean cruise next year. Flying over from NZ, hope it's worth it !!
We hope it is too! Thanks for sharing.
Is there smoking allowed throughout the ship? I need to avoid cigarette smoke.
From our experiences on MSC there are designated smoking areas.
Haven't experienced the YC but booked Aurea last time with MSC and again for this October. Aurea has a private kid-free deck area with bar and priority boarding. YC seems a bit too fussy for us but we might give it a go if we get a good deal.
Wow we'd never heard of Area guests having their own private deck area with a bar. That seems like it would definitely be worth the extra charge. What ship was that on?
@@Explorcation that was on the Seaside. It was really good because there were no kids whereas kids are allowed on the YC area. We're 'empty-nesters' and are enjoying kid-free vacations hahahah
@@donnaelliott5772 that is totally understandable 😁 thanks for sharing. It is good to know there is an adults only option for those who are looking for it!
I have a Euribia cruise in December coming up soon it was quite cheap (around £60 per person per night) so I’m assuming that there won’t be as many people as in summer should I be worried about the crowds?
That's a great question but unfortunately we have never been on a Euribia cruise. We hope you have a wonderful time!
What free/included foods are on the ship? What is MSC included food verision of the Guy's burgers, Blue Iguna etc?
The only included food is in the buffets and the main dining rooms. To our knowledge, each of the a-la-carte restaurants is extra. There is a cantina that may be somewhat similar to Blue Iguana. Other than on the buffet, the only spot for burgers may be the steakhouse.