While preparing for my first MSC cruise earlier this year, I had no idea what to expect. I had never sailed on a European cruise line before, and all of my previous cruises had been exclusively on Royal Caribbean.
Wanting to do something different, I booked a 7-night Western Mediterranean cruise on MSC World Europa, the cruise line’s newest and biggest ship. I was excited to try the best of the best by MSC, from the ship’s dreamy pool spaces to her international dining venues.
Despite a fantastic week onboard, I left the cruise wishing I had done a little more research before embarkation day—there were a few things I wish I knew before I set sail.
To help you prepare for your upcoming cruise, I’m sharing the 10 things I wish I knew before my first MSC cruise.
In Europe, new passengers embark the ship every day
Something interesting on select MSC itineraries is that new passengers embark your cruise ship every day.
Unlike in North America, where there is one embarkation day at the start of the cruise, European cruises on MSC allow new passengers to embark the ship every day.
During my cruise, new passengers got onboard in every port, whether in Marseille or Barcelona. Genoa, the homeport of MSC World Europa, saw the most passengers embark the ship, and this is when the ship had its official sailaway party.
Because I had embarked in Naples, Italy, Genoa was actually the last port on my itinerary, and I found it a bit funny how the sailaway party happened on the last night of my cruise rather than the first.
Although having new passengers embark the ship each day might appear chaotic, it didn’t have any impact on my cruise experience. In fact, I almost preferred this method of embarkation, as I barely encountered any crowds when embarking and disembarking the ship in Naples.
There won’t be many Americans onboard on European sailings
If you are American and booked an MSC cruise in Europe, you might be one of the only Americans on the ship. Whereas MSC cruises departing from North America see plenty of American passengers, the same cannot be said about cruises within Europe.
On my Mediterranean cruise with MSC, there were over 6,000 passengers on the ship. If I had to guess how many passengers were from the United States, though, I would estimate around 150.
If you’re used to making small talk with fellow passengers at the bar on a cruise ship, you might be met with confused looks if you strike up a conversation in English. Although English is widely spoken by many Europeans, there’s no guarantee a passenger will speak your language on an MSC cruise in Europe.
Italian food is more traditionally Italian than Italian-American
I found the Italian food on MSC to be the most consistently good overall. That being said, the food skewed to more authentic Italian tastes as opposed to Italian-American cuisine.
If you’re used to dishes like fettuccine alfredo, chicken parmesan, and spaghetti with meatballs, you might be surprised to find out that these dishes may not be offered on an MSC cruise in Europe.
Instead, you’re more likely to find authentic Italian dishes. During my sailing I enjoyed a Sicilian dish, fusilli alla norma, which consisted of al dente fusilli pasta sauteed with tomatoes and eggplant, which was then topped with salted ricotta cheese.
Related: What's included on an MSC cruise?
Other Italian dishes included a traditional lasagna, seafood risotto, and pasta with marinara sauce.
When in doubt, order Italian food on an MSC cruise, as it’s what the cruise line does best.
You have to print out your embarkation ticket
Something I did not expect when booking an MSC cruise was that I would have to print out physical copies of my cruise boarding pass.
Today, most cruise lines have a technology-focused approach. You can typically use a cruise line’s app for functions like showing your boarding pass, checking your onboard account information, and viewing the daily schedule of activities.
Although MSC’s app allowed you to do most of these features, one thing you could not do was show an electronic boarding pass. I was surprised that I had to show a physical copy of my boarding pass at the cruise terminal, as this felt a bit archaic compared to what I was used to with other cruise lines.
Because I was already traveling in Italy before boarding my cruise, it was stress-inducing to try and find a place to print out the boarding pass. Luckily my hotel was able to print my embarkation documents without an issue, but it still seemed like an unnecessary hassle.
Multiple languages will be spoken, but it isn’t a big deal
One of the most common complaints I’ve heard about MSC Cruises is that there are too many languages spoken onboard.
Because MSC is a European cruise line, their passengers come from all over the continent, from Germany to France, Sweden, and beyond. This means, of course, that there are dozens of languages spoken onboard.
During my cruise, MSC made announcements in English, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and occasionally German. Sure, this made announcements slightly longer, but I didn’t find it annoying—it’s a necessity when cruising with people of many nationalities.
Related: Top 20 MSC Cruises questions answered
After hearing negative reviews about constant announcements in different languages, I expected to hear announcements over and over throughout the day. I did not find this to be the case; I thought MSC kept announcements relatively minimal during the cruise.
Plus, I’ve been on several Royal Caribbean cruises where announcements were made in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, so I didn’t think it was a big deal to hear announcements in multiple languages.
There is no emuster drill
One of the biggest disappointments on my MSC cruise was that I had to attend an in-person muster drill.
A muster drill is a safety drill that must be completed by all passengers on a cruise ship prior to the ship setting sail. During the muster drill, passengers learn important safety procedures like how to put on a lifejacket and where to meet onboard in case of an emergency.
In the past, this drill was done in person, and all passengers were required to meet at a certain time in order to listen to instructions and complete the drill. As a result of the pandemic, however, most mainstream cruise lines transitioned from an in-person safety briefing to an electronic one.
Related: The cruise ship muster drill: What is it and why it’s important
Electronic muster drills, or emuster drills, are much more convenient compared to attending the safety briefing in person. For the emuster drills, passengers simply watch a video on their phone, listen to the sound of the ship’s emergency horn, and walk to their assembly station where a crew member will confirm they completed the drill.
MSC is one of the only mainstream cruise lines to still have an in-person muster drill, so I had to meet in the ship’s theater on embarkation day to listen to a safety briefing and walk to my safety assembly station with a large group.
Because only a small percentage of passengers boarded the ship on the same day I did, it wasn’t nearly as chaotic as I expected, but it was still not as efficient as an electronic muster drill.
Late dinner means really late, but you can change your dining time
When I booked my MSC cruise, I could request either an early dining or late dining time, but my basic cruise fare meant my request might not match my dining assignment.
Although I requested an early dining time, upon boarding I found out I had been assigned to a 9:15PM dinner time. If I’m being honest, I’m usually in bed by 9:15PM, so waiting so late to have dinner did not seem appealing.
On the first day of my cruise, I wanted to try out the late dinner time, but I found myself hungry around 7PM. Instead of waiting around for two more hours, I went to the dining room and was pleased to find out I could switch my dining time.
I was able to switch to a 6PM dining time each evening, which worked out much better for my internal clock. I was glad I could switch my dining time without any issue, but I still wish I could have selected an early dining time to begin with instead of just “requesting” the early seating.
While there are several smoking areas, it wasn’t as bad as I expected
I am not a smoker, and I do not enjoy breathing in cigarette smoke on a cruise ship. It’s one of my least favorite parts about cruising, and I dread anytime I have to walk through a smoking area onboard.
Based on online reviews, I expected there to be far more smoking areas on my MSC cruise compared to what I experienced. I had heard that people smoked all over the ship on MSC, but I didn’t find this to be the case.
While smoking was permitted on one area of the pool deck, at a bar in the ship’s aft, and in the casino, I thought the ship’s design did a good job of decreasing the spread of cigarette smoke.
Despite initial concerns, I did not notice more smoking on MSC compared to other cruise lines.
Internet for one device actually means one device
If you’re buying internet for an MSC cruise, you should know that a “1 device” internet package actually means it’s for just one device.
Some cruise lines allow you to sign in and out of a “1 device” internet account, which allows you to use the internet on multiple devices provided you aren’t using multiple devices at the same time.
Related: What you need to know about MSC Cruises wifi and internet onboard
Unfortunately, MSC only allows you to connect an internet package to one device, and it must remain with that device for the duration of the cruise. Therefore, if you need to use internet on more than one device, such as a phone and computer, be sure to buy a multiple device internet package.
Bars and restaurants will not give you free glasses of ice water
If there is one thing you should know before going on an MSC cruise in Europe, it’s that free water is hard to come by if you don’t have a drink package.
On other cruise lines I’ve sailed on, I’ve never had a problem asking for a glass of ice water from a bar or restaurant onboard. Within a few minutes, a crew member delivers a refreshing glass of water at no extra cost.
As a European cruise line, MSC follows the cultural practices of Italians more than Americans. In Italian culture it is customary to pay for a bottle of still or sparkling water at a restaurant, and free glasses of water are few and far between.
I was frustrated with the lack of free water available on the ship, and I wish I knew more about this policy before my cruise. While there were a few free ice and water stations in the buffet, it was inconvenient to constantly make trips to the buffet whenever I was thirsty.
Planning an MSC cruise? Check out more of our tips and tricks:
Jenna DeLaurentis
Jenna DeLaurentis enjoys exploring new ports of call around the world on a cruise ship, learning about new cultures, discovering beautiful landscapes, and trying diverse cuisine. She loves to get active while at port, whether cycling through mountains in the Caribbean or scuba diving under the sea.
