When it comes to mainstream cruise lines in North America, most people would immediately think of Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line.
However, the Italian-owned MSC Cruises has quickly become one of the most popular cruise lines in the U.S. market. In fact, MSC Cruises has launched more than ten cruise ships in the last decade, making it one of the fastest-growing cruise lines in the world. The cruise line’s newest ship in 2025 will be MSC World America, which will be the largest ship in the brand’s fleet to sail in the Caribbean.
Even so, some cruisers might be hesitant to try a new cruise line, especially one that’s European-based. Many MSC cruise reviews aren’t particularly positive about the cruise line, either. Low-quality food, slow service, and poorly designed vessels are among the biggest complaints from those who have sailed on the Genova-based cruise line.
However, one traveler, Nick Morrone Wright, shared his personal experience about sailing with MSC Cruises for the first time. The post, which has amassed 3.8k likes and 735 comments, was shared on social media on the MSC Seashore - Port Canaveral Facebook group.
Prior to his first MSC cruise experience, Wright explained that he had only ever sailed with Carnival Cruise Line before. Compared to MSC Cruises, which has a massive global presence with sailings around the world, Carnival mostly caters to the North American market.
In this way, most itineraries are round-trip sailings from homeports around the United States, often attracting those within driving distance to a Carnival cruise port. The self-proclaimed “Fun Ships” are also known for having the wildest parties at sea, often cultivating a lively atmosphere onboard.
Before sailing, Nick was unsure what to expect from his first MSC Cruise. “I was scared to try MSC. Reviews said it was boring. Reviews said gross food. Reviews said no choices of things to do and rude people,” he admits in his Facebook post.
After sailing on Carnival Cruise Line multiple times, Nick explains how he scored a great deal and figured he would “give [MSC] a try." He shares, “We have done five Carnival cruises and we just stepped off our first MSC cruise. Here is my unbiased opinion. Are you ready?”
Food and Dining
Although often a subjective topic, food is typically one of the biggest complaints from
Americans who sail with MSC Cruises. Some critics find the food on MSC bland and flavorless with little variety to choose from. Other horror stories included cramped, crowded buffets, and a lack of complimentary water readily available.
Because MSC Cruises is European-based, some complaints could stem from cultural differences and varying palette preferences. Comparatively, Carnival is often praised for its consistently tasty cuisine onboard, especially the quick, casual options like Guy’s Burger Joint. Fans of Carnival Cruise Line are impressed by the food available onboard, especially for the affordable price point.
Before his sailing, Nick admits how he was anxious about whether he would enjoy the food during his MSC cruise. He explains, “I [love] Carnival and Guy’s Burgers, so I was anxious. Would I enjoy any food?”
Even with these low expectations, Nick found the food to be a highlight of his MSC cruise. Surprisingly, he described how he was particularly impressed with the quality and presentation of the food served during his MSC Cruise.
He goes as far as to say it’s the best cruise food he’s experienced before. However, the variety was more limited compared to his experiences with Carnival Cruise Line. Nick states, “Highest quality cruise food, in my opinion. Less choices than Carnival, however every meal was amazing.”
Read more: Is the food on MSC Cruises as bad as they say? I gave it a try
It’s not shocking that Nick found MSC Cruises to have less variety than he was expecting. Comparatively, Carnival has a wide variety of dining options across its fleet. This even includes multiple dining options on Carnival’s oldest and smallest ships. Regardless, the food on his MSC cruise far exceeded his expectations with its quality, flavor, and presentation.
Nick writes, “The food in [the] fine dining room tasted great. Everything [was] well seasoned. The attention to detail is what you normally [would] find in a high end restaurant.”
Entertainment and Activities
Along with the dining experience, entertainment is one of the highlights of cruising for most people. For this reason, cruise lines offer everything from Broadway-style production shows to ice skating spectacles, magic shows, and variety acts.
Nick’s hesitation to try MSC Cruises stemmed partly from criticisms about a lack of onboard activities. After all, Carnival is renowned for its lively activities and nonstop parties, setting a high bar for cruise ship entertainment.
During his first MSC cruise, Nick was confused by the criticism about a lack of entertainment and activities. He explains how he found there to be many options for entertainment available with daily activities, game shows, and production shows.
Nick says his MSC cruise featured “music shows, magic shows, Love and Marriage show, karaoke, etc. - the list goes on and on.”
Ship Design and Decor
Although Nick never specifies which ship he was sailing on, it’s presumed his itinerary was onboard MSC Seashore (as this is where the review was shared online). Photos shared from the sailing also appear to be taken on MSC Seashore.
As one of the newest ships in MSC’s fleet, MSC Seashore debuted in 2020 to the North American market. The vessel measures 154,000 gross tons and holds around 4,540 passengers as double occupancy.
Furthermore, Nick did not specify which Carnival ships he had previously sailed on. Because Carnival Cruise Line operates a large fleet with a range of vessels, Nick’s other experiences might have been on older, outdated cruise ships with Carnival.
Read more: 12 things I loved and hated about my first MSC cruise
During his first MSC cruise, Nick was particularly impressed with MSC Seashore’s stylish design and elegant decor. The opulent design left a lasting impression on the first-time MSC cruiser. On the other hand, Carnival’s decor, especially on older ships, tends to feature bold and colorful aesthetics onboard.
In his MSC Seashore review, Nick writes, “The ship was the prettiest ship I’ve ever seen! Everything looked luxurious. The ship definitely gave posh and high-class vibes.”
Embarkation and Disembarkation
Boarding your cruise on embarkation day is exciting, while disembarkation day can be frantic and stressful. Some cruise lines have seamless embarkation processes while others fall short with long wait times and disorganized cruise terminals.
Nick describes in his post how he has experienced long wait times during his previous Carnival cruises. “I’ve been on Carnival cruises that have taken two [or more] hours to get on and off,” he writes.
This could be due to a variety of causes. For instance, Carnival utilizes drug-sniffing dogs to inspect passengers’ belongings for prohibited items. In particular, this can slow down the boarding process at some terminals. Some terminals are especially crowded and poorly designed as well, such as Charleston’s cruise terminal.
However, Nick was pleasantly surprised by his embarkation experience with MSC Cruises. The first-timer explains he only spent about 20 minutes boarding the ship and completing the embarkation process.
At the end of his cruise, Nick also shared that disembarkation was smooth. He said he was off the ship in less than one hour on disembarkation day. Of course, this might not be the case for every MSC cruise; however, Nick was impressed with his embarkation and disembarkation experience.
Read more: 11 Things You Should Never Do on Embarkation Day
Bars and Lounges
Most cruise ships will feature many different bars and lounges for guests to enjoy. For some sailings, a packed ship can mean slow bar service throughout the itinerary. During peak hours, you could find yourself waiting upwards of 30 minutes for a drink on some cruise lines.
Nick explains how MSC critics complained about slow bar service during their cruise, which set the bar low for his experience. For those who purchased drink packages for a hefty price, waiting excessively for bar service could be especially frustrating.
Nonetheless, this wasn’t Nick’s experience during his first MSC Cruise. He shares online, “Reviews said [bar service] was slow. I didn’t experience that. There were times I waited 5 minutes when it was busy.”
Read more: Is a drink package worth it on MSC?
Service
Speaking of service, Nick concludes his review with a positive comment on the service he experienced while sailing with MSC Cruises for the first time. After reading negative reviews about “rude people” being onboard, Nick was worried about what he could expect during his cruise.
Typically, crew members are extremely attentive to guests and aim to please regardless of which cruise line you’re sailing with. Luxury cruise lines will have more personalized service with higher standards, but mainstream cruise lines also place a heavy emphasis on delivering exceptional service to guests.
During his first cruise, Nick found the service impressive, with welcoming and attentive crew members. In his post on Facebook, Nick says, “Every guest service and employee I came across was so friendly and helpful!”
Carnival vs MSC Cruises
MSC Cruises receives some of the harshest criticism in the cruise industry, especially from North American travelers. Because MSC caters to a European demographic, these complaints could be rooted in cultural differences or mismatched expectations. Regardless, no one wants to be disappointed during their cruise vacation.
On the other hand, Carnival Cruise Line is beloved by many for its consistent food, exciting onboard activities, and fun deck parties.
Although he was hesitant to try MSC Cruises because of these bad reviews, Nick's first experience with the cruise line was overwhelmingly positive. Between the high-quality food, varied entertainment, quick embarkation, painless disembarkation, and beautifully designed ship, MSC exceeded Nick’s expectations.
The first-timer states he had “one of the most fun experiences ever” during his time onboard. Based on his cruise, Nick states he would give the overall experience a 5-star rating, especially compared to his prior Carnival experiences.
Will Nick return to MSC Cruises? Based on his first-time experience with MSC, he concludes he will be back, “Absolutely and without a doubt!”
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on over 45 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
