Nothing says you’re on a megaship more than hearing the overly excited cruise director use the public address system to push everything from tonight’s tropical party on the pool deck to a 30% off fine watches event at the boutique.
Typically, megaships that sail out of the U.S. make these announcements in English, and depending on the demographics of the embarkation port, Spanish translation may follow. This makes total sense and the whole interruption usually lasts only a couple of minutes. Having spoken with many cruise directors over the course of 57 sailings, 46 aboard megaships — meaning they have at least 1,500 cabins — it’s clear that Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian really do try to keep these announcements to a minimum so as not to disturb the guests.
And then there’s MSC Cruises, a name you probably never heard of and yet is the third-largest cruise line in the world. Blared into staterooms and common areas day and night are such super-critical messages as how to activate your onboard account to pay for what’s not included in the fare, which is a lot on value-priced MSC (msccruises.com). That particular announcement is made fleetwide over multiple days and always in English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French and German — one after the other. The only boat ride with more official languages is “It’s a Small World.”
The novelty of loud incessant international infomercials interrupting a nap, let alone a vacation, gets old fast aboard MSC. The more tolerant will see this as a company simply catering to a core customer base that doesn’t speak English either as a first language or at all. Roughly 80% of guests were of that group, according to ship personnel aboard the MSC Seascape the other week on a jam-packed Western Caribbean cruise out of Florida.
MSC isn’t a household name in the U.S. — at least not yet — but it enjoys a huge following in Europe, South America and southern Africa. Such loyalty is why MSC, short for Mediterranean Shipping Company, is only topped in market share by Carnival and Royal Caribbean, and boasts a fleet with eight of the world’s 20 largest passenger ships. Remove Royal Caribbean from the list and MSC has the biggest afloat, as in the 6,762-guest World Europa that launched in December.
Impressive as that is, MSC, the fastest-growing cruise brand on the planet, has yet to commit to one corner of the globe: the West Coast. Tradewinds hint that MSC will start sailing to Alaska and the Mexican Riviera later this decade, but, officially, the company will get its sea legs in the Gulf of Mexico before dipping its toes in the Pacific. MSC is in negotiations with the Port of Galveston on a new terminal that may host cruises to the Caribbean as early as 2025. Galveston, an hour’s drive south of Houston, will give MSC four homeports in the U.S.; the Italian-founded, Swiss-based company currently sails in and out of Port Canaveral (near Orlando), Miami and just-added New York City.
The 5,714-passenger MSC Meraviglia launched the brand’s third U.S. homeport in Brooklyn in April, offering year-round itineraries to the Bahamas and Florida, Canada and New England, and Bermuda. For the upcoming 2023-2024 winter season, MSC is scheduled to sail a record five ships in the U.S. alone.
Ship life on MSC
One of those vessels is the year-old, 5,877-passenger Seascape. Homeported in exciting Miami through at least the end of 2024, the 20-deck ship offers two different 7-night Caribbean itineraries that can be booked back-to-back with the only repeat, besides Miami, being MSC’s private destination in the Bahamas. The Western Caribbean sail goes to Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Mexico and the exclusive Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve a mere 65 miles from the Florida coast. The Eastern leg visits Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and the private island.
The option to go short or long in the Caribbean is unique, but seven days on an MSC ship can be challenging enough let alone doing two straight weeks. Don’t get this voyage veteran wrong — MSC does some really cool things the others don’t, and Seascape, one of the fleet’s newest, is stunning from bow to stern. But if the cruise line wants a successful expansion into the U.S. market, it has to do better than what was experienced earlier this month.
Even with allowances for being a sold-out high-season cruise with kids galore, Seascape often felt chaotic and claustrophobic at the pools, waterpark, buffet and organized parties. Lines, if you can even call them that, were routinely 10 to 15 people deep at the one (one!) soft serve machine that took forever because the person manning it doubled as a bartender. Those hard-to-get cones weren’t even included in the fare as they are on the competition. (More on that later.)
Inconsistent and unenforced policies were more alarming as they contributed to expletive-filled exchanges among passengers — even from senior citizens dolled up on formal night. Perhaps some were on edge due to all three main elevator banks malfunctioning the entire cruise and food quality being generally poor, even at Butcher’s Cut, the ship’s pinnacle specialty restaurant. When ordering a baked potato at the steakhouse, does one really have to ask the waiter to hold the chives and strand of black hair? Even the lone pinball machine in the sports bar was broken. A stuck left flipper is a minor thing on its own, but combining that with all the other snafus could deter first-time MSC cruisers from coming back — something the company must address as it expands in a saturated U.S. market.
The current Seascape crew has some real gems among them. Sadly, the best and brightest were overshadowed by the worst and dimmest. Many workers on the cruise looked the other way when problems arose, from dropped pizza slices and spilled drinks in the middle of the busiest sections of the buffet to passengers smoking on their balconies and vaping next to children.
A handful of the staff actually was combative with guests. In their undeserved defense, these were some of the most disobedient and impolite cruisers personally observed.
Not to beat a dead seahorse, but before several shows in the large Chora Theatre, verbal threats were exchanged when families feuded over seat saving, and other passengers were abused when they politely asked that a wild child stop treating the theater like it was the ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese’s … at the 9:30 late performance, too. Shame on MSC for not taking control even after security was warned moments earlier that tempers were about to escalate. Neither security nor anyone with an MSC badge was present when boiling points were reached. Trust me, they got a mouthful from at least two victims of this maritime mayhem.
The good parts
“Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?” Well, odd as this sounds, much of this first-time MSC experience was terrific. The cabins certainly were, whatever the category. Sure, you get what you pay for, but even the standard inside stateroom looked totally livable. A few notches higher is the “Premium Suite Aurea with Whirlpool,” which sleeps four and comes with an outdoor hot tub, walk-in closet, bath-shower combo and perks at the massive and luxurious Aurea Spa — one of the best wellness centers at sea.
The production shows were excellent, though we can’t speak for the final one due to an unfortunate, but necessary pre-curtain departure. If this cast of singers and dancers is indicative of the quality staged across MSC’s growing 23-ship fleet, then bravo and brava to those behind making tired cruise standards from the ‘60s through ‘90s fresh again. Over at Le Cabaret Rouge, the parade of entertainers was headlined by the uber-talented Sammulous. Backed by a stellar international band on his rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” the 28-year-old dynamo delivered the single-most impressive cruise performance I’ve ever seen. That he didn’t win season 12 of “America’s Got Talent” is a travesty.
Also worthy of a standing ovation — in a swimsuit — is Pirates Cove Aquapark, a blast for all ages except at peak times. The ship’s mix of thrill and VR experiences is also impressive, and none more exciting than the outdoor Robotron ($10) that has riders flipping up and down and all around for several minutes 174 feet above sea level. For a free thrill, cross the glass-bottom Bridge of Sighs on the 16th deck.
Best among the ship’s five specialty restaurants, and it’s not even close, is Kaito Teppanyaki. With capable and comical chefs, a warm and welcoming staff, clean and comfortable environs, and food as delicious as it is generous, Kaito is reminiscent of Benihana’s long-gone glory days.
Average base fares on MSC are some of the cheapest in the mainstream category. Seven-night Caribbean cruises out of South Florida were going for as low as $349 per person, plus taxes and fees, at press time. Generally, MSC runs several hundred dollars less than Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian for similar cruises and cabins. Using an apples-to-oranges comparison, what a 3-night cruise in an inside stateroom costs on premium-class Disney can get you a balcony cabin on a 7-night sail with MSC. That said, with so many upcharges, such as soft serve ice cream, all room service deliveries, and too many items that cost extra in specialty restaurants that already cost extra, an MSC cruise can actually wind up costing more in the long run. Kinda like flying on Spirit or Frontier. How low can you go?
For anyone who avoids ultra-low-cost air carriers yet is curious about trying MSC, we have two words for you: Yacht Club. Strutting around the toniest parcels of real estate on Seascape and other MSC ships gives one a feeling of being on a cruise within a cruise. A standard balcony suite in this sanctuary starts at about $7,000 a couple on a 7-night Caribbean cruise. Elegance begins with a more civilized embarkation process in port and continues onboard with mostly winning meals at the dedicated gourmet restaurant and poolside buffet (both awesome), 24-hour butler and room service, special concierge desk, the ship’s best drink and internet packages, perks at the spa, afternoon tea, exclusive pools and lounges, and priority over everyone else at so many places it’s silly.
One manager at Seascape’s best address said it’s common for the ship’s most elite guests to spend most of their cruise in the safe and sophisticated confines of the MSC Yacht Club. “They’ll tell me they went outside only to come right back,” he said proudly.
Didn’t have the heart to tell him that’s actually not a good thing.
