MSC Mediterranean Cruise

Earlier this year we decided to do a Mediterranean cruise while visiting Europe. We already had plans to visit Paris and spots in Switzerland and Italy by land, but wanted to efficiently visit several other European cities, like Barcelona. So, we looked into the various cruise lines and itineraries and had many to choose from! We were already familiar with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian and of course Disney Cruise Lines, but in the end, we decided on MSC for a variety of reasons. Here is a review of our experience, but overall I would definitely recommend MSC.

To start out, the reason we even settled on MSC was because of timing and the specific itinerary offered. We definitely wanted a stop in Barcelona (our son had raved about his visit there) and Rome. We also wanted to stop in Cannes during the film festival and MSC offered such a trip.

The first thing to know is that MSC has passengers embark and disembark at every port stop, something we had never experienced. That is, you still purchase a 7-day cruise, but you can start your trip in Barcelona or Cannes or any other port stop. You then get off where you started. I had heard that this might be seen as a negative as you have passengers coming and going at every port. In reality, we didn’t notice anything different except, our embarking and disembarking was a lot less crowded! This was because the cruise ship exit points were different for those disembarking and those going ashore for the day. We started our cruise in Genoa, Italy and made stops in Cinque Terra, Mallorca, Barcelona, Civitavecchia (Rome) and Cannes, with one day at sea.

Our ship was the MSC Grandiosa and I don’t know if all their ships are like this, but it was the most interesting cruise ship I’ve been on (except for the ships in RCL's Oasis class and the whimsy and fun of Disney ships). Some aspects of the Grandiosa, however, were superior to ANY ship. First of all, the ship is beautiful, with shimmering Swarovski crystals that filled the stairways in the main lobby. In addition, the sports complex had a bowling alley and a super large indoor sports court where guests could play basketball, tennis, or pickle ball.

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Also, this ship had several large outdoor swimming pools, a two level-indoor atrium and pool, and the numerous hot tubs. The indoor spaces were numerous and enjoyable! Every cruise ship can feel crowded at times, but we could always find somewhere not crowded and it wasn’t difficult to find chairs in public areas. The main shopping promenade was fantastic, with many shops and a ceiling with projections that changed morning and night. And my favorite spot, the huge Jean Philippe chocolate shop and café where we enjoyed a full menu of frou-frou coffee drinks (my favorite), chocolate shakes, and sweets/treats.

Most of the passengers on this ship were not American, which also made this feel like a more European experience. Every night at the shows, the cruise director spoke in five different languages. Aside from maybe experiencing a little impatience waiting for him to finish and feeling that we missed out on some jokes that everyone else clearly understood, it was actually quite fascinating (and humbling) to listen to Marco fluently and with ease switch from Italian to German! The entertainment was fine enough, on par with Celebrity, though the sound quality in the main theatre could have been better. In addition, two additional shows (Carrousel productions) were offered in a separate theatre from the main theatre. These shows required an extra fee ($15 which include an alcoholic beverage—but we purchaed our tickets at the pre-cruise reduced rate of around $12). These shows were like mini-Cirque du Soleil (really mini) and we thoroughly enjoyed them and would definitely recommend them.

Main promenade with changing ceiling.

Smoking is allowed on these ships and if you’re a non-smoker (like we are), we were concerned whether this could be annoying to us. However, because we stopped in some pretty fabulous cities, we were off the ship more than we were on it. The only time this became a problem was at dinner. We were assigned to a dining room with an 8:30 pm seating time (which was too late for us most days). The restaurant we were assigned to actually smelled a little like smoke. However, as soon as we got on board, we spoke to the dining maitre d' who told us that we could actually go to dinner at any of the dinner seatings (6:30, 7;30 and 8:30) at any of the complimentary restaurants (there are several, and while they all served the same menu, they differed in decor and whether they smelled like smoke!). We took advantage of this fact and ate at all possible times based upon our time ashore in port and what shows were going on a particular night. (BTW: the MSC app which is better than average, can tell you which restaurants, specialty or complimentary, have openings). It turned out that our assigned restaurant was the only one that smelled like smoke, so we decided not to eat there (even though it saddened us since we had a great waiter with Big Bang Theory’s Leonard Hofstetter mannerisms). So really, it turned out that the smoking concern was really a non-issue for us.

That brings me to the food—which was quite good. Fresh mozzarella, gnocchi, and other Italian dishes (no surprise since MSC was founded in Italy). The food was so good we decided not to eat in any of the specialty restaurants. The buffet was better than average, and breakfast was much better than what we recently experienced on the Norwegian Prima. We never had trouble finding a seat. I can’t speak to other eateries (other than the chocolate café) mainly because unlike the relaxing Caribbean cruises we've been on, we were too busy off the ship exploring the port cities.

We didn’t take many of the paid excursions offered by MSC, other than an excursion in Mallorca and a transfer to Rome (which is an hour and a half from the port in Civitavecchia). If I had to do it again, I would actually start my cruise in Rome so we could spend several days there before getting on the ship. Because Rome was so far from the cruise port, this was my least favorite stop as it did not give us as much time to explore this fabulous city. We did do an e-bike excursion in Mallorca, which was briefly a little dicey navigating the city streets but was overall awesome once on the designated bike path that hugged the coastline. The bike guides were friendly and helpful, and this experience was actually one of the highlights of our trip.

Our one day at sea was very much needed, having walked an average of 22,000 steps a day all week. This cruise definitely didn’t offer as many day-time activities as the Caribbean cruises we’ve been on, but that was OK as we needed to rest and recover in a hot tub. We also went to the game area and played some Italian Trivial Pursuit with the help of our iPhone translator.  And of course, we had more time to spend in the Jean Philippe chocolate café.

Bi-level atrium, pool and hot tubs.

As I said earlier the MSC app is very useful. You can easily make or change reservations for the nightly shows, which saves time. On a previous cruise on the NCL Prima, we waited 40 minutes in a line our first day aboard this ship, just to make show reservations since they were filled up on the app and online in the weeks before the cruise. I also like the MSC AI assistant—I just asked any question (like where is the Jean Philippe chocolate cafe), and she gave me the info I needed.

Ok, so far it might sound like I’m being paid by MSC (which I am not), so here is the part about the cruise we didn’t like. Most of the service we received was as good as any other cruise but we had a surprisingly less than stellar experience with our cabin steward. For starters, while we had three people in our cabin (and the room was set up for three people), we had only two towels. No biggie, right—just call and let them know. We did, 3 times! We finally had to go look through the halls for a cleaning cart to find a towel. The same thing happened with toilet paper (which was more of a biggie when we were totally out)!

Overall, however, I would recommend MSC for a Mediterranean cruise. I am now curious if their Caribbean cruise ships are equally as stunning as the Grandiosa, and have the amount of pool space and number of hot tubs (Note: the Grandiosa does offer some Caribbean itineraries). One other, MAJOR, benefit to MSC was the cost. The price was significantly less than what we typically pay for a Caribbean cruise. I can’t speak to the quality of the different cabin categories. We had a basic balcony room which was on par to what we are used to from other cruise lines. Although I tried to bid for an upgrade, the cruise leaving from Genoa was booked. For comparison, we paid less for three people on this MSC cruise than we did for two people on an upcoming RCL cruise on a smaller ship going to the Caribbean.

So overall, this cruise was a great way to add an additional five cities to our European trip in a short amount of time, while having fun on a cruise! I first thought the cruise would be relaxing, but if you are wanting to see as much as you can in each port (as we were), it didn’t turn out to be relaxing at all. But I would do it all again if given the chance!!

I’ll make future posts on each port stop and some cool ways to fabulous cities in just an eight-hour day!

Before I end this article, I’d like to comment on the European people. We were a little concerned how we might be treated as Americans and have heard rumors of rude Europeans, particularly in the larger cities. Our experience, however, couldn’t have been more opposite! We were treated with respect and kindness, even when we might have caused someone (unintentionally) to go out of their way for us. People were friendly, welcoming, helpful, interested in us, and kind. We truly appreciated the conversation, aid, and connections we made!