MSC Cruises has room for improvement based on customer feedback. Customers particularly appreciate service and professional, though some mention concerns about customer service and expensive.
Prima ervaring met Msc Virtuosa naar Spanje vertrokken 12 Juli tot 26 juli vanuit Southampton. Heel veel vermaak aan boord voor onze tieners. Prima personeel, het is druk maar niet te druk. Eten gewoon, maar voor ons goed genoeg. Geoliede machine ook wat betreft het van boord gaan in een stad, ik ben zeer positief, vorig jaar met Norwegian Viva was ook al zeer positief.
I was unable to travel due to illness and had purchased a drink package for my wife and myself. My wife changed cabins to go in with my daughter and grandson. My granddaughter and her friend went into our cabin. we were not allowed to change the drink package to my granddaughter and her friend. When I applied for a refund on my drink package I was told to claim the money back on the travel insurance. Also the company was told my daughter was allergic to eggs and nuts, but on the final day there was a huge selection of cakes but no egg free ones.
Hice un crucero en el msc grandiosa del 5 al 12 de junio, el barco es espectacular, pero pierde todo su glamour al meter a tantísima gente, el bufet parece Benidorm es un extres impresionante, el día de navegación es horroroso no hay amacas , los camareros del buffet no te dan descafeinado, te gritan como si fueras una oveja, a la hora de desembarcar en Ibiza nos quedamos en un pasillo afixiados más de media hora por poco no me da una lipotimia. Quieren seguir vendiendote el glamour con las noches de gala y demás, pero hay tanta gente Quevedo parece el metro, de glamour tiene poco. Me vendieron un pack de bebidas diciéndome me entraba la sin alcohol y resulta que no entraba, todo el crucero luchando por la sin alcohol los camareros me hablaban mal. En los jacuzzi tienes a los niños encima de ti. Conclusión cuando decidas hacer un crucero busca otra compañía msc está saturando sus barcos de gente parecemos piojos entre costuras.
I’m writing as a Diamond status guest, having just returned from a cruise on MSC World Europa (March 2–9, 2025, from Genoa). Unfortunately, this marks the second cruise in a row with unresolved issues — and broken promises from MSC. We purchased the Easy Plus Drink Package and a 3-restaurant dining package, but again faced missing items, bar exclusions not mentioned during booking, and unavailable drinks in key venues. This was identical to what we experienced on the same ship in February 2024 — and at that time, MSC responded by saying stock levels and communication would improve. Clearly, they have not. The lack of transparency is especially disappointing. For example, on MSC Euribia, the drink package was not accepted in the wine bar — something we only discovered onboard. On World Europa, the Elixir Bar was also excluded, even though this was not listed online before purchase. Staff simply referred us to “fine print” on the menu — which is of no help to passengers who booked from home, based on incomplete or misleading information. We expected better. When a guest is paying €54/day for a beverage package, it’s reasonable to expect the advertised items to be available, and for the inclusions/exclusions to be made clear up front. MSC offered us a €30 future cruise credit per cabin, but this feels like an empty gesture — especially since it’s not combinable with other offers, like our 10% loyalty code. It does not address the core issue: we paid for services that were not fully delivered, and our loyalty as returning guests has been met with generic replies and no meaningful resolution. After multiple disappointing experiences, we now feel compelled to warn other potential guests. We’ll be sharing this review in multiple languages across all platforms, so that others are fully informed before purchasing onboard packages. MSC needs to do better — especially for loyal guests. Johann Holzmann MSC Voyagers Club — Diamond Status
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I have just returned from a Yacht club experience with my family. I have been on 4 MSC cruises, including the Grandiousa, Virtuosa, and Europa (sorry about the spelling). I am about one more cruise away from Diamond status. This is my experience of MSC. I have also travelled in many various levels of both 5 star and 1 star hotels and resorts, throughout my life, as I used to work in travel. I will bullet point the pros and cons; Pros; MSC is very relaxed, regarding it's dress codes and dinning. (This is great, as you can dress up if you wish, and stick to your football shirt if you don't, though for heaven sake make an effort, your mum would be proud). The shows are a good length and fun. Food is good, if you step out of the buffet once in a while. The facilities, like the spa and thermal areas, including the bars and tea rooms, are excellent. The ships are beautiful and the staff, usually friendly. The cleaning staff, are always excellent, and the rooms were kept very well, with a turndown service. Speciality dinning is a must. Cons on this trip; When I booked this weekends yacht club, I did so, firstly by paying for two people, in order to book myself a room, and then for 4 people to share a room, (My Father, sister and her children aged 14, and 12). At no point was it pointed out to me this booking cost the same as a booking of Three rooms, nor that the 4 berth cabin, did not provide 4 beds, only a sofa bed which according to my sister, had a metal bar in the centre making sleeping very difficult. Sleeping on a sofa bed, when you have paid the same as all other guest, for your room, is not a premium experience, regardless of its comfort. This also meant that 4 paying adults were sharing a bathroom. All in all, I paid full price, for 6 people, and received facilities for 4 people, this is not how 5 star service, should be provided. MSC should be doing their best to ensure, we get the best they can offer. Multiple requests, throughout the trip went unmet, such as; Butler not answering my one and only call, nor meeting me except by chance at the end of the evening. (worth saying that the concierge, held most of the experience together). Room service took over an hour for a pizza, to be bought, Could they not jump the queue for their Yacht club guests? Service was slow, (which is expected in Europe, though it is generally nice to know you are being served, if the drinks do take a while). They lacked enough staff to take orders at the bar and prepare meals. All in all, it could take longer to get a drink, in Yacht Club, than during the packed bar, at the white party. Overall I feel that MSC, after several trips, does not seam to value me as a customer, and lacks the service or treatment I've come to expect from other 5 star resorts or experiences I frequent. I will be thinking long and hard about, my next cruise (grand tour, through the east of Africa), next year, and whether or not to book something else instead. It pains me to say this, but I have given MSC more than one exception throughout my time with them, I wish only to save anyone else from having to do the same. I used the Yacht Club weekend to determine if it would be worth it for a longer stay. Thinking that MSC would put their best foot forward (I'm sure other guest planned the same). Sadly they did not, and I with MSC there is no real complaints procedure or customer service you can go to, to resolve any issues (from previous experience). So ultimately, I can not recommend MSC, as a luxury cruise liner.
Date of experience: May 28, 2025
Just on an MSC Cruise around the Med. Very poor quality on the Magnifica. We are currently stuck out at sea until 7.30 pm whereas we should have docked in Naples at 8 am. Will you be compensating us for the wasted day being trapped onboard. Everything is an option we find - and costs are more than land prices unlike the MSC videos would have you believe. Food is extremely average and we have to queue all the time. Try to avoid MSC Cruises and always book your own excursions via an alternative local provider or pay the price of extremely prices. Look forward to monetary compensation gesture if good will rather than a voucher off another cruise.
Date of experience: May 20, 2025
This was how first ever cruise it was fantastic the ship is massive the cabin and the stewards were brilliant nothing to much for them the restaurant we were allocated was fantastic our waiter was fantastic we found that all the crew and staff were brilliant we loved it so much we have booked on board for next September can't wait thank you MSC
Date of experience: May 13, 2025
US
I arrived at the port with no problems, found where I needed to go, and parked for a good price — only $72 for 4 days — and even scored a great spot on the 4th floor by the elevator. Dropping off bags was quick and easy. So far, so good. Then I got to the terminal, and the escalators weren’t working. Bummer for anyone who wanted to use them. (1ST PROBLEM.) I had a kid and a stroller, so we used the elevator anyway. Inside the terminal, I found my way around, got in line, and reached the counter quickly. There were plenty of staff at the counters, and the gentleman who helped us was fantastic! After that, my wife, mother-in-law, 1-year-old son, and I made our way to the ship. Once onboard, we searched for the elevators. They use this terrible A/B/C/D system, which is confusing and painfully slow. There were way too many people needing to go up and down, forcing many passengers — including us — to carry bags up the stairs. (2ND PROBLEM.) It took us about 10 minutes to get from deck 6 to deck 12. To make matters worse, the AC wasn’t working, so it was hot, humid, and suffocating. (3RD PROBLEM.) When we finally got to our room, it reeked of bleach. It was still being cleaned at 3 PM, which was another issue. (4TH PROBLEM.) We left our bags and walked up from deck 12 to deck 16 because the elevators were so unreliable. When we got to the buffet, the lines were outrageous — 15–20 minutes per person — and there were no available tables. The buffet was overcrowded, loud, and stressful. (5TH PROBLEM.) On top of that, the buffet layout made no sense. It was arranged in a circular pattern with different stations, meaning you had to walk all over the deck chasing your food. Whoever designed that setup had no cruise experience. (6TH PROBLEM.) As for the food itself — it was average at best. Mostly fast carbs, little-to-no protein, and when there was protein, it was mostly pork. That’s a problem for people following a proper diet, not to mention Jewish guests and others with dietary restrictions. Nearly everything was seasoned with strange spices or sauces. I didn’t enjoy the taste of anything. The food director should be replaced. (7TH PROBLEM.) Back to the room — we had to use the stairs again. In fact, over the course of four days, we used the elevators maybe 10 times and the stairs around 40 times. I noticed a lot of unhappy guests on board. Every single day, there was arguing and frustration among passengers. I’ve never seen so many dissatisfied people, not even on the worst Carnival cruise. (8TH PROBLEM.) The crew felt heavily scripted, and the managers seemed clueless. If a manager has to tell staff to smile, that’s a failure in leadership. Good managers create a positive environment where people naturally enjoy their work. MSC’s forced smiles were fake and obvious. (9TH PROBLEM.) The water tasted like pure chlorine, so we had to buy bottled water. The free drinks were limited to lemonade and unsweetened tea — no juice options for kids. That’s incredibly disrespectful to families. (10TH PROBLEM.) The app was basically useless. It didn’t answer common questions, so we constantly had to ask crew members. Two staff members told me we could get off at Nassau with just our ship card, but when we returned, security demanded photo IDs. Total setup. Luckily, we all had ours, but others were forced to go to the security station to prove their identities. (11TH PROBLEM.) The private island was mostly under construction, with poor-quality facilities. The seating was in the sand, constantly swarmed by birds, and there were only a few restrooms — each with 1–2 stalls, 2–3 urinals, and a couple of sinks for thousands of guests. It was chaos. The beach had rocks everywhere, making it difficult to swim, and umbrellas had to be rented. The island staff did everything possible to ignore passengers. (12TH PROBLEM.) Every night, there were drunk people and even fights — in the rooms, by the bars, and in the hallways. We didn’t feel safe. (13TH PROBLEM.) People were loud at 3 AM, and no one did anything about it. I couldn’t sleep a single night because of the constant noise. (14TH PROBLEM.) I was hungry every day and night. I’ve never felt so starved in my life. Climbing up and down the stairs made me lose nearly 10 pounds. I’m only 165 lbs at 6 feet tall — it was miserable. When I finally got home, I ate like a man just released from prison. It took me two days to recover from this awful experience. (15TH PROBLEM.) Honestly, I could go on, but I’m tired of typing. I will never recommend MSC to anyone. And I’ll never sail with them again. The only thing I liked was that the ship was new. MSC desperately needs professional, experienced leaders — people who understand what it’s like to be a passenger. That’s how you fix problems from the inside and improve the experience for the 100,000+ future guests.
Date of experience: May 13, 2025
MSC Virtuosa a beautiful modern ship with great facilities, but that's it. Prepare to break the bank by paying for all the extras on board (Drinks including water at dinner in the main dining rooms). Service is horrible and staff seem unhappy,overworked and overwhelmed by the amount of passengers. Had dinner in Hola and to wait for almost 30mins to be acknowledged by the waitress and food was nothing special. The ship is more of a booze cruise and the atmosphere can be very rowdy with drunk, aggressive and antisocial behaviour. A fight broke out on my cruise and a passenger was killed. The food in general was average and very repetitive and boring in the buffet. Pool and decks can be very overcrowded. Not the ideal ship if you are looking for a bit of piece and quiet and want to relax, approach with caution and be prepared to spend a lot.
Date of experience: May 6, 2025
US
We just returned from our mini cruise on MSC Virtuosa over the bank holiday weekend. It wasn't all bad, but it also wasn't great in our view. We went on Marella earlier in the year, and loved it, MSC definitely attracts a different clientele. Starting with the positive first - it is a nice ship in general, especially the Galleria Virtuosa is really nice - Good sized cabins overall, we had a balcony cabin. - friendly housekeeping staff in our part of the ship - good shows, we saw one extra show (was £9 with 1 drink, which i consider good value) and 1 included show Now coming to the negative points - be aware what you pay for, if you don't get a drinks packages, you can only get water from the buffet, they even charge you for water in the main dining room and there are no water dispensers anywhere. - food was average at best. We ate in the dining room on the first evening and we had a sadly looking chicken breast with some chips and 2 pieces of asparagus. We also didn't had the chance to have our dessert, as it is fixed dining times and we had a show booked (and it was 1.30h between the dinner time and the start of the show!). Also the food in the speciality restaurant was average, we went to Hola, and it felt overpriced for what we got. Overall the atmosphere in the dining room is also loud and quite crammed and there was barely any service. - food in the buffet is also average overall, it's always the same - there are queues everywhere, the staff / guest ratio is not enough for the amount of guests. Staff regularly seemed overwhelmed - definitely more of a booze cruise, might fit a lot of people, but not really our cup of tea, as also some of them got quite rowdy in the evenings. Overall be aware what you pay for upfront and what you will still pay for once on board
Date of experience: May 5, 2025
US
Some of the 1- star reviews on here are quite obviously false and others write about issues nothing to do with MSC. We have taken four Yacht Club cruises in the last 6 months and each has been exceptional. Friendly crew, fantastic service and very comfortable accommodation. The Yacht Club restaurant offered excellent food. MSC need to start responding to these reviews because I'm pretty sure they won't have guest records for most of the comments.
Date of experience: April 27, 2025
VERGOGNOSO CHE ABBIANO UN SITO COSI INDECENTE E POI SOLO IN TEDESCO E FRANCESE, COME SE FOSSERO LE UNICHE LINGUE PARLATE (TRA L'ALTRO PER LE CHIAMATE IN TEDESCO RISPONDONO DALL'AUSTRIA, PER QUELLE IN FRANCESE DA PARIGI, PERCHE' NON DEVIANO QUELLE IN ITALIANO SULL'ITALIA ???????) APONTE E' NAPOLETANO....MICA CRUCCO O FRANCESE. DANNO UN ORARIO DI APERTURA UFFICI CHE NON E' REALE, SE SI CHIAMA ALLE 9.10 C'E' LA SEGRETERIA CHE DICE CHE GLI UFFICI SONO CHIUSI, 30 SECONDI PRIMA IL MESSAGGIO DICE CHE GLI UFFICI SONO APERTI. SVEGLIATEVI !!!!!!!!!!!
Date of experience: April 11, 2025
US
I spent two weeks on the MSC Virtuosa in the Yacht Club. While the destinations were beautiful and the Yacht Club staff were exceptionally kind, the overall experience was an absolute disaster. I strongly DO NOT recommend spending money on this cruise, and here’s why: THE GOOD • The Yacht Club staff were fantastic—attentive, professional, and kind. I wish I could list them all because they truly made an effort. • The food in the Yacht Club was excellent, and the drink selection was great. • The paid theatre show was absolutely worth it! The free entertainment was mediocre, but the premium show was incredible—though barely anyone attended. If you’re going, book in advance, as it’s cheaper. THE BAD 1. The Bed – A Joke! The mattress was beyond terrible—just a 40 cm thick piece of cheap foam with zero support. It was impossible to sleep on. When I asked for a replacement, they said there were no extra beds on the entire ship. So for two nights, I slept in a 90-degree position, unable to rest. Their “solution”? They put a dining table top of my mattress to stop it from sinking. Imagine trying to sleep on a dining table. After I refused to accept this for the price I paid, suddenly they found another bed. They placed extra mattress protectors on it for the rest of the trip. It was still not comfortable, but at least bearable. I wasn’t expecting a Hilton-quality bed, but I’ve never experienced such a horrendous sleeping arrangement—not even in a budget hotel like Hampton. Even those have better beds! 2. The Itinerary – A Complete Waste of Time • Every Sunday, the ship stopped at a French island where everything was closed—completely pointless. • Every Tuesday, we spent the day at sea, instead of stopping in a city where we could have explored, visited markets, or done something meaningful. This makes no sense for travelers. 3. Horrible Service Outside the Yacht Club • The bar staff were exhausted and unfriendly—a stark contrast to the Yacht Club. • Freshly squeezed juice? Forget it! Out of two weeks, I was able to buy fresh juice only twice. Every other time, they just said an ingredient was missing and refused to make even a simple apple-carrot juice. • The ice cream bar was a joke. After waiting in line for 30–40 minutes, I was told that I could only order one portion at a time. If I wanted another, I had to stand in line again. • We went to a yoga class, but it was in a tiny room, so guests were crammed inside while others tried to participate from the hallway. Many gave up and walked out. THE UGLY 4. The Flight – An Absolute Nightmare! I requested a dairy-free meal in advance. What did I get? • Cheesy pasta with side a block of cheese. • Later, a cheese sandwich. • Even the dry bread roll came with butter! So I had nothing to eat for 9 hours. I reported this issue on the ship. First, they told me to fill out another form. Later, they said they couldn’t do anything and that I should contact their headquarters. I did, and they apologized, promising that my return flight wouldn’t have the same issue. Guess what? It happened again! • My “dairy-free meal” was lasagna, cheese, and crackers. • They didn’t even have one dairy-free meal on board—not even a spare from business class. • This was a Virgin Atlantic charter flight, so calling or emailing them in advance was useless. 5. Passport Control – Suspiciously Nonexistent When we landed in Barbados, we were put straight onto a transfer bus and taken to the ship—without a single passport check. My passport has no stamp, no official record of me being in that country, and no border control. How is this even legal?! 6. Internet – A Total Scam! • The Wi-Fi was completely useless. • It was good enough for video calls but too slow to load a single webpage. • No YouTube, no Netflix, no Instagram videos. • Even hotel booking sites wouldn’t load! • DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS WIFI. Get an eSIM instead and use it when docked at islands. 7. Billing System – A Disaster! • You can’t even see what they’re charging you for. • The system told me to download my bill before disembarking, as it would be unavailable later. But even the staff couldn’t access it! They had to print it out manually. FINAL VERDICT – NEVER AGAIN! The Yacht Club itself was amazing, but beyond that, this cruise was a complete disaster. The horrible beds, useless itinerary, terrible service outside the Yacht Club, flight nightmare, and scam-level internet made it one of the worst travel experiences of my life. I strongly recommend against spending your money on this cruise unless you are prepared for frustration, exhaustion, and disappointment. We might take another cruise someday, but after this experience, I’ve had enough.
Date of experience: March 3, 2025
US
Avoid this cruise line at all costs. Their so-called "Yacht Club" is a complete ripoff—outrageously overpriced and nowhere near the luxury they promise. The ships are packed like sardines, and you’ll be stuck waiting in endless lines for everything. The specialty restaurants? A total waste of money. The Japanese one is downright embarrassing. Service is awful, and to top it off, their filthy air conditioning will probably make you sick. Do yourself a favor and book elsewhere.
Date of experience: February 17, 2025
