MSC Cruises – What You Need to Know

Here is a great blog post about what to expect with MSC Cruises. It focuses on the culture and atmosphere, if you are unfamiliar with cruising with MSC. Here are some tips and answered questions about other aspects of the cruise.

• MSC app – is it worth using?
• What to expect on embarkation/disembarkation?
• What are some helpful room tips?
• Should we purchase wifi or drink packages?
• How does the dining work?
• What is the dress code for the dining room?
• What is there to do?
• What are the shows like?
• What else should I know?

MSC app – is it worth using? YES! It made the process so easy. We did our cruise check-in through the app and it was very smooth. Check-in can be done 30 days up to the few days before the cruise. I would recommend doing it early, so everything is sorted and you know what to expect. You’ll need to put in your passport details, and you can select some of the items you might want to add to your cruise package. You can also select what time you’d like to embark. You can see the port schedules, daily activities, specials/promotions, and free events on the app. And you can also use the app to text others in your party. When you arrive on the cruise ship, be sure to add your credit card to the app so you can purchase items on the ship. You can link others in your room to use the same credit card, and set spending limit for others.

What to expect on embarkation/disembarkation? Since many MSC cruises have multiple port stops, embarkation and disembarkation don’t take as long as a typical cruise. We appreciated this aspect of the cruise.

Let me explain embarkation first. We were told there may be traffic at the cruise terminal. I would recommend going around midday because the terminal is less crowded. We arrived an hour before our 1:30pm time slot, and they let us go through. The process was very smooth. They directed us from one station to another. We checked our bags (be sure you have the luggage tags printed and put on your luggage from when you checked in), showed our passports, received our cruise cards, and continued through each station to make sure they had everything they needed from us. Everyone was helpful in explaining what was needed and moving us to the next steps until we arrived on the ship. Often cruise rooms are available about 1-1:30p, so once we went through the process, we were able to go directly to our room.

Since MSC has many port stops, the whole ship isn’t trying to leave at the same time. The night before you are disembarking, you’ll receive a number that indicates what time you can leave the ship. You can leave later than that time, which we didn’t realize. Any luggage you don’t want to carry off yourself will need to be put outside your room the night before you are leaving. Be sure to put the stickers on the luggage you are setting outside your room. This luggage is safe. Make sure you have enough room in your carry-on luggage to have everything you need for the night and the next morning, i.e. change of clothes, pajamas, toiletries, swim suit if you want to lounge before leaving, etc. Before you disembark, you’ll need to settle the bill at customer service or at a kiosk, if you haven’t registered your credit card through the app. The staff will direct you off the ship and to the area to pick up your luggage, which will be waiting by the sign with your number on it. It’s that simple. Collect your luggage and be on your way. 

What are some helpful room tips? There are different rooms available, so it depends on which one you booked. We booked a balcony room, which was very nice and spacious. Some poeple might say if the weather isn’t great or you’re traveling to a lot of ports, the balcony may not be worth it, but we still loved the limited time on our balcony. It was a bit cold to sit and enjoy it at night, but if you’re traveling in the warm season, it’s worth the upgrade.

A small tip, there’s a gap between the floor and the glass panel. Be careful of this gap, even though it is only about 3”. Somehow, I dropped my phone in the gap and it was lost in the ocean. This could happen with anything you might accidentally drop on the balcony, so just be careful. Magnetic or sticky removable hooks were great for all our coats, jackets, sweatshirts. Ask your cabin steward for all the hangers you want.

There are many blogs out there about what to bring to make your room more organized, but the rooms are pretty well equipped. Here are the things we found most helpful.

• Bring several magnetic hooks or sticky removable hooks were great for coats, jackets, backpacks/purses, etc. so they don’t get piled on the chairs or beds.
• Ask your cabin steward for all the hangers you want, and request to empty the mini fridge so you could put water and your own stuff in there from the buffet. This minibar is not really worth the charges.
• We didn’t bring food or drink on the ship because we were told we couldn’t, but when we bought wine at the ports, they didn’t stop us or have us check it. So you could possibly bring your own onto the ship – that may depend on the cruise or the ship, so you could ask.
• Utilize the drawers and the closet space, so you can put luggage under the beds and out of the way. Put shoes in the closet to clear the floor.  

Should we purchase wifi or drink packages? This is a personal preference. If you’re okay being disconnected while cruising, embrace the freedom and enjoy the cruise activities. The wifi isn’t great anyway. You can get an e-sim for data, so you can use that for messaging , even in the middle of the ocean. You can’t make phone calls, but the e-sim gives you the data you need to access transportation apps like Uber and Google maps when you’re at port stops, so it might be a better option than the cruise wifi.

In regards to the drink packages, you’d have to drink at least 5 drinks a day per person for the minimum drink package to be worth the cost. And each person in the cabin has to have their own drink package. For us, having an occasional drink onboard was enough, so we didn’t use the drink package. Water, and tea/coffee are available all the time in the buffet. And juice (in addition to water and tea/coffee) is available at breakfast times.

How does the dining work? There are 2 dining rooms (same food, different names), and 2 buffets (also same food, different names). We didn’t find the breakfast in the dining room any better than the buffet, so we enjoyed the variety of the buffet. As you would imagine, the buffet was crowded during typical meal times, but we often found more seating options toward the back of the ship. Plus you get a great view of the ship backing into port in the mornings. 

The dining room is worth enjoying for dinner. We thought the food was great, and there variety options that changed every night. We even ordered multiple different items (starters, main course or dessert) when we couldn’t decide which one to choose. We never ate in the dining room for lunched

There are different specialty restaurants on the cruise ships. From our experience, the Butcher’s Cut steakhouse was not worth the cost. The food in the dining room is really good, and there are specials on gala night that are much cheaper and the same quality as the specialty restaurants, if you want to splurge. I can’t speak about the other MSC ships and their specialty restaurants, so you can make that call for yourself.

What is the dress code for the dining room? There are too many mixed messages about the dress code in the dining rooms on cruises. For MSC, they are not strict. Jeans, nice tops, polos or button shirts, nice shorts or trousers, skirts or dresses, casual shoes/sandals are all fine for dinner in the dining room. Casual beach attire or swim suits are not allowed. On Gala night or theme nights, you can dress up or be casual, it’s completely up to you. You will see people completely decked out, and others just dressed up nicely. There isn’t pressure or expectations. Some MSC cruises might have a more strict dress code for the gala, so you should check with your specific cruise.

Here’s a great blog post about what to wear on cruises, in general. Unfortunately, I found it after our cruise. Hopefully it is helpful for you.

What is there to do? There are age-specific kid rooms and a teen room, and they offer different activities throughout the cruise. There are swimming pools, water slides, hot tubs, football pitch, games to check out, foosball, table tennis, billiards, and more. Plus the staff are regularly hosting different activities and games, sometimes for families and sometimes for adults only. There was mostly karaoke and dancing options in the evenings, so there could be more diversity of activities in the evenings.

Beware – There are a lot of extras! The arcade, movie theater, bowling, VR games, bingo, adventure activities, gelato, smoothies, etc. all cost extra. The casino has limited game options with a lot of computer games, and not many tables. There’s a spa on board with different options, if you would like to pamper yourself. They sometimes have specials or deals during your time on the cruise. And of course, there are plenty of promotions for shopping on board.

What are the shows like? I read a lot of mixed reviews about the shows on MSC cruises, but I would say it’s safe to expect unusual. Think cirque du soleil mixed with a light show, dancing and music. The shows are entertaining and unique, worth experiencing, as long as you know what to expect.

What else should I know? The elevators in the middle are always crowded, but the ones at the front and the back of the ship are less busy. The elevators were also a bit confusing mid-ship. You couldn’t get to one end of the ship to another on certain floors. Maybe that was just on the MSC Fantasia, but it’s worth taking the time to familiarize yourself with the ship layout when you arrive on the ship. The app doesn’t help with the ship map, although that would be something could be added to their app. The app just sends you to the MSC website with the ship layout, so not very helpful as you’re trying to get around. The app would be better if it was interactive and had “You Are Here” reference points as you’re trying to navigate the ship.

The blog posts mentioned above are from other websites, and they are in no way connected to me, but I found the information interesting, and wanted to share.