I recently took my first MSC cruise aboard the MSC Seashore from August 4 to 11, 2024. We made a two-day stop at MSC's Ocean Cay Marine Reserve in the Bahamas, as well as one-day stops in Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. I had a great time, and given some of the negativity surrounding MSC, I felt compelled to share some of my thoughts and to ease any concerns you might have.
If you are new to cruising and have done some preliminary research, you have probably seen that MSC has a mixed reputation online, at least among North American cruisers. When I first became interested in cruising, I had never heard of MSC (they are still relatively new to the North American market), and I went on to read many negative reviews online which led to me to avoid them at first. As I became more knowledgeable about the cruising industry, I started to reconsider some of my initial reservations about this brand. Furthermore, as the prices (and single supplements) on rival brands such as Royal Caribbean and NCL have gotten increasingly egregious, I really had no choice but to give MSC another look. I am pleased to announce that MSC is a solid cruise line that I have no reservations about recommending to clients, and I will definitely be cruising with them again in the future.
The Ship
One thing that really stood out to me about the MSC Seashore is how well-maintained it is. Everything was in very good condition and appeared to be clean. The layout of the ship was mostly intuitive, and there were a good variety of unique spaces to settle in. From the outside, the ship looks stunning, and it really puts its competitors to shame when docked side by side in port. I didn't care for the decor of every single interior space on the ship, but overall, the Seashore is stunning, clean, and really has a premium look and feel to it. I also like how MSC does a good job of tucking away some of the more radical features of their ships such as the water slides and aqua parks. From the outside, you might not even notice that there is an entire water park and sports court on this ship. Other cruise lines seem to just plop these features anywhere they fit on their ships which significantly downgrades their aesthetic quality.
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| The MSC Seashore docked in Costa Maya Mexico. I took this photo from a suspension bridge part of the port's aviary. |
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| This lounge called Brooklyn was my favourite place to sit down and get a drink. It was usually uncrowded. I liked the mid-Century American decor, and these were the most comfortable chairs I've ever sat in. |
There were two unintuitive design aspects that need to be fixed moving forward: the games area with table tennis and table soccer was in the same area as the heated indoor pool which made it extremely uncomfortable to play, and there were problems controlling the humidity in the areas outside the buffet kitchens, which led to slippery floors and the need to have dehumidifiers constantly running. Other than these two issues, the Seashore is an incredible cruise ship.
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| There was a very unusual buildup of humidity on deck 16, just outside of the Marketplace Buffet. |
Food and Entertainment
Food and entertainment are two areas that people have often complained about on MSC cruises. In my experience, these were not any better or worse than other cruise lines. The buffet food was good but not great, and the specialty dining was very good and certainly worth trying given its affordable price. I enjoyed my meals at both Hola Tacos and Kaito Sushi. I also enjoyed the Venchi chocolates and gelato offerings which are available for a very small upcharge. I drink coffee at least once a day, and both the filtered coffee and espresso on the Seashore from a brand called Segafredo were excellent. Every bar on the ship had an espresso machine which made it convenient to grab a coffee just about anywhere.
I am not very interested in live entertainment, but I did watch most of the shows on the Seashore and they were all perfectly fine. I think it would be fair to say that the production value was a little bit lower than some other cruise lines in terms of the technology, lighting, and special effects, but the performers were just as good or better than those found on other cruise lines. I also enjoyed the more toned-down style of theatre entertainment offered by MSC. On this 7-night sailing, there were at least five different shows performed throughout the week, with no repeats other than the comedy show. The main theatre cast performed a Broadway "greatest hits" show with numbers from West Side Story, Wicked, and others, a rock music show with hits from the likes of Bon Jovi and Queen, and another variety show with singing and dancing from various genres. There was also a "Divas" show and a magic show which I did not see. The Divas show focused on hit songs from strong female vocalists like Cher and Whitney Houston. All of these shows would be performed twice on their given night, once at 7:30 and then again at 9:30. Some other cruise lines are only performing two distinct shows on a 7-night sailing, so if nightly entertainment is important for you then MSC deserves your consideration due to the sheer variety on offer.
Itinerary
This was a very typical 7-night Western Caribbean itinerary that is offered by every major cruise line. You might already have an opinion about Costa Maya and Cozumel. Mine is that Cozumel is great with lots of things to do while Costa Maya is one of the worst places I have ever been in my life. With that being said, the private island experience is really what distinguishes the various cruise lines from each other in this category. I have been to both Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay and now MSC's Ocean Cay Marine Reserve. They are both great, but they offer quite different experiences. MSC has decided to focus their private island more on the natural environment and sustainability. The island is also much younger and less developed than CocoCay and some other private islands. My opinion is that Ocean Cay provides a very nice beach day overall, but it is still a little bit lacking and hasn't reached its full potential at the moment. The island feels very naked. Even though MSC has planted thousands of trees, there is still a noticeable lack of shade, and the island just feels kind of dead and barren in some areas. There were some ongoing construction projects at the time of my visit in August 2024, so I hope that MSC will continue to add more amenities, plant more trees and native plants, and to do some more landscaping to beautify it. The beaches, while nice, are also a lot rockier than what you might expect, so water shoes are recommended. I appreciated having two days at Ocean Cay (no other cruise line offers overnight stays at their islands), especially since we had some inclement weather both mornings that interrupted our stay. I would certainly enjoy going back to Ocean Cay, but I would like to see more improvements in the coming years. I don't think Ocean Cay has reached its full potential yet. I was not a Yacht Club guest, so I did not get to experience the exclusive Yacht Club area of Ocean Cay, but as you would expect, it appeared to be the most attractive area of the island.
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| MSC Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, August 5, 2024. |
Onboard Activities and Service
One aspect of this cruise that really pleased me was how the solo cruiser meetups were not only well-attended by other guests, but also hosted by a crew member. I very much appreciated this since I was sailing alone on this cruise. It was nice to have this activity taken seriously and not just something thrown into the daily program, and I met some interesting people. I had a previous experience on a Royal Caribbean cruise where nobody attended the solo meetups, and they were not hosted by a crew member. This makes me even more confident in choosing MSC for any future solo cruises because I can trust that some effort and consideration has been put into guests like me, not to mention the very low solo supplements MSC charges their solo guests. Thank you to Giulia, a crew member on the Seashore, for hosting us every night and for generously giving us some gifts on the final night.
In regard to the service, it was perfectly fine in just about every instance. This is another area that MSC has received some criticism for online. All of the crew members were very polite and did their jobs efficiently. There were a couple instances in one particular bar where the service was slow and where I had to reorder a drink that was either forgotten about or given to the wrong guest. I made note of this in the customer survey at the end of the cruise. Other than this one issue, I have no complaints. The front-facing crew members on the Seashore come across as very normal people who are not trying too hard to please you. I suppose this is just a different style of customer service.
Cabin
I booked a deluxe interior cabin that would normally house two guests, and I opted for the "Fantastica experience" which allowed me to choose my own room. There were some studio cabins with a single bed available on the Seashore, but I decided to pay a little extra for a proper interior cabin and to choose my own room number. I was satisfied with all aspects of my cabin. The air conditioning worked very well, and I was able to keep the room at a comfortable temperature on every day of the cruise. The cabin steward did a good job cleaning it every day, and I also appreciated having turndown service in the evening; something that is becoming increasingly rare on other cruise lines who are cutting back on amenities. I thought my bed was very comfortable, but some other guests complained that their mattresses were too firm and caused them pain. All of the towels and linens felt of high quality. Overall, I was very comfortable in my room.
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| Cabin 10245 on the MSC Seashore. |
Final Thoughts
When I see other cruise lines raising their prices while also cutting back on service, it just makes sense to look into other alternatives. MSC offers an everyday low price with no sales gimmicks while also delivering equal or better service to any other mainstream cruise line. It's a no-brainer. I absolutely recommend MSC, and I also took advantage of their onboard open booking offer to secure a deposit on a future MSC cruise. Booking onboard provides customers with free onboard credit as well as double the loyalty points. I will be aboard the MSC Grandiosa after it repositions to Port Canaveral, and I expect that I will also be on many more MSC cruises in the future. I hope to see MSC continue to expand their footprint in the North American market to offer cruisers more options at competitive prices.
Are you interested in trying an MSC Cruise? Do you have questions or need some more help? Please visit my agency website and fill out the contact form to get in touch with me.