MSC Cruises Reviews 

Abysmal company right now.
Following an unexpected pregnancy of my stepdaughter, I informed msc who confirmed i could have a refund of her full booking amount provided I send them proof. I did so. (I had offered to pay a cost to change the name they told me no need we could have a full refund)
Following this, they cancelled her with no communication and when I questioned why no refund was received they told me they'd revalued the room and waved the "extra charge due". The room was booked 12 months ahead of time, this was 4 weeks before.
I complained at this. Asked them to listen back to phone calls, they came back saying they did and they would now refund me the full amount (2 weeks before embarkation)
Then they were "working on the refund" which made my boarding passes unavailable... I called every day until the day before when they finally agreed to email them over as I still couldn't get them on my account.

Fast forward a return from holiday and despite promising a full refund, ive called 6 times and each time they have refused a supervisor and told me they don't know what's happening. Now less than half of her amount has been refunded and ive asked for a breakdown of the calculation to understand why. They have ignored me completely.

How can a company get away with this when all the calls are recorded?

Well where shall I start, very dissapointed ship, poor and lack of shows,lack of staff which caused the service to be very poor they look tired and not very motivated, variety of food is very poor, buffet very disorganised, messy, when people are taking their food, looked like there was no tomorrow, the cabin are very small and outdated, plus the shuttle service is chargeable, which the service should be free, internet package chargeable which in other cruises are included once you purchased the cruise package, basically the only thing is positive is just some staff, the rest is better not mentioning , what you need do as company is to improve your service level and recruit more staff and pay them adequately, and remember that you live once like every other humans being in this world.

I am a Blue Diamond member. Over 50 cruises. MSC has fallen into the ghetto sewer. They do not enforce non smoking, drug use or vaping. Passengers freely smoke, vape or use drugs in restaurants, elevators and in open areas around children. Security and staff do do nothing. I will never go back.

Writing as sit aboard, this has been a terrible experience. Many of the services are not as advertised, the entertainers are making jokes about beating women, and the ship is over crowded. I've raised concerns with the management team, who were quick to dismiss me. In particular when I raised concerns that the punchline of a joke being 'you may now beat your wife' was inappropriate, I was accused that I couldn't take a joke and that comedy is subjective. Violence against women is no joke. Several members of my party were deeply upset about this experience and we were not taken seriously. There were also 'jokes' comparing gay men to insects and implying gay men are sexually aggressive.

The ship, while impressive looking, is lacking in space to enjoy yourself without being in a crowd of people.

I've been on a number of cruises with other providers and this is, by far, the worst. I regret spending my time and money on this trip and recommend you look elsewhere for your holiday.

Where do i start too many people onboard for the facilities mo sunbeds,no seats in the bar ,could not get in the theatre. Not enough waiters to get drinks so all these things are a necessity which we did not get there were 8 of us so was not a cheap holiday it was hell on sea days arguments and fights over sunbeds and no security to help teens running around banging on cabin doors throwing food and acting like animals. Thank goodness the food was good and the staff great we felt sorry for the staff we all think they should have been allowed to stop the teens but they told us they would get in trouble how they work for a company like that I dont know they are treated awfully. Wish I had never gone been cruising for 25 years never experienced anything like it . Never again msc money wasted . We were on virtuosa cruise ship please dont go on it

MSC Cruise Review — Extremely Disappointed

We recently took an MSC cruise from June 11–14, and unfortunately, this was not the experience we were hoping for. Overall, we were extremely disappointed with both the cruise and, most importantly, the customer service we received.

The air conditioning in our room was not working properly, and we complained about it pretty much every night. Unfortunately, we felt like our concerns were not taken seriously, and very little was done to help resolve the issue during our cruise.

The photo situation was another major disappointment. As compensation for the issues with our room, MSC removed the cost of our photo package, which we appreciated. However, we were told our pictures would be emailed to us. At no point were we clearly told that we had to go to the photo area before getting off the ship to download them.

We even went to look at our pictures while we were still on the ship, and no one told us that we needed to download them before disembarking.

After the cruise, I called and spoke with a man on the ship while we still had family members onboard. I specifically explained the situation, and I was told not to worry about it and that we would be able to get our pictures by contacting customer service after the cruise.

Unfortunately, that is not what happened.

We are now two months later, and getting someone to actually help us—or even call us back—has been nearly impossible. We were repeatedly told that someone would contact us within a couple of hours, but those calls never came. We kept getting the runaround and had to continue reaching out ourselves.

We finally received an email, only to essentially be told that we were out of luck and there was nothing MSC could do.

That is extremely frustrating, especially because we followed the instructions we were given by MSC staff. We didn’t know we were supposed to download the pictures before leaving because no one told us. Then, when we called for help, we were specifically told that we would be able to get them afterward.

At this point, it’s not even just about the pictures. It’s about the way the entire situation was handled. Poor communication, poor follow-through, and extremely disappointing customer service.

Unfortunately, after this experience, I don’t see MSC being a cruise line we choose in the future. We paid for a vacation and expected to feel taken care of when problems came up. Instead, we felt ignored and passed from one person to another.

Overall rating: 0/10 for customer service.

Very disappointed with our experience and with the way MSC handled our concerns from beginning to end.

Just got home from an MSC cruise on Meraviglia, and I’m genuinely disappointed — not what I expected after my first-ever cruise, especially given how many great things I’d heard about MSC.
The ship felt far too crowded, and the pool areas simply weren’t adequate for the number of guests onboard. The market-style dining area was chaotic — honestly like a cattle market at times — with little consideration for people trying to move around or enjoy their meal. On top of that, the food was very bland, which was a real surprise because I’d been told it was meant to be amazing.
Even though we bought a drinks package, we were still charged €1 for water, which felt petty and frustrating. The only real positives were the bar and restaurant staff, who were consistently friendly, and Bee the karaoke queen — a truly lovely person who stood out as a highlight of the trip.
Sadly, I won’t be sailing with MSC again. In my opinion, MSC really needs to up their game before their 2027 sailings from Southampton.

April 29th 2023 my wife and I went in the Merveglia out of New York, in a nutshell the next morning I was given orange juice that contained bacteria, that had me end up in the ICU at west palm beach as they had to speed the ship up to coast guard us off. I was given a 10 percent chance to live, as the doctor in the ER said what the doctor on the ship was injecting me with was actually hurting me more and having my organs shut down. After being stranded in Florida after being released we had to rent a car, and an extra overnight stay to get home. MSC did reimburse the medical and initial cost of the cruise only if I signed not to bring legal to it. Then they told me they would take care of me to enjoy the experience we missed the next time we would travel with them if we decided to try them again. Well I just had the opportunity and not only would they not honor that one lady named Simone became extremely mouthy and argumentative on the phone.

My experience on MSC Splendida was honestly not a relaxing holiday. For me it felt like a constant struggle for very basic things: having breakfast, finding a table, getting into a lift or simply finding somewhere quiet to sit.

I’ll start with the good things, because there were some. I really liked the cabin and the bed was fantastic. I slept incredibly well throughout the whole cruise.

I also want to mention the Asian crew members I came across in the restaurants, housekeeping and other areas of the ship. They were excellent: friendly, hardworking, attentive and always willing to help. For me, they were one of the best things about MSC Splendida.

But unfortunately, there were far more negatives.

There are simply too many people to enjoy the ship in any kind of relaxed way. At breakfast, lunch and dinner it was often difficult even to find a free table. Port mornings were even worse because everybody wanted to have breakfast and get off the ship at the same time.

In Malta, for example, the breakfast queue went all the way to the stairs. In the end I got off the ship without having breakfast. When I went to reception and explained this to a member of staff called Ariana, she told me they couldn’t do anything and that I should wake up earlier.

She didn’t even try to offer another option. That was what bothered me most. I wasn’t asking for any special treatment. I simply wanted to have breakfast.

The pool area was another story. It was absolutely packed with people — literally like sardines in a tin. I have photos and I think they show perfectly what I mean. For me there was absolutely nothing relaxing about being around the pools.

There are also many things you have to pay extra for: internet, bottled water, some coffees and other services. And honestly, I was lucky that I could afford to pay extra, because very often paying more was the only way to escape some of the queues, noise and crowds.

The ship is also enormous. Finding your cabin can be surprisingly difficult, especially at the beginning. There are very long corridors, turns and then more corridors, and sometimes it feels as if you’re walking around in circles. At least I got some exercise out of it 😄, but I can imagine this being quite difficult for older people or anyone who has trouble walking.

So yes, the bed was fantastic, the cabin was very good and some of the crew were absolutely excellent.

But that doesn’t change my overall experience. I spent far too much of this cruise looking for somewhere to sit, standing in queues, avoiding overcrowded areas or paying extra just to get a little peace and quiet.

For me, that is not a holiday.

I would not choose a cruise ship this size again.

I recently completed a 7-night Scandinavian & Baltic cruise with MSC together with my partner. I have to start by saying that the ship itself is beautiful, elegant, and clearly represents a significant investment. The décor, public spaces, and overall appearance are impressive and create a very positive first impression.
Unfortunately, beneath the impressive appearance lies a fundamental problem: organisation.
In fact, around ten years ago I cruised with MSC and was so disappointed by the lack of organisation that I avoided cruise holidays altogether for many years. My partner recently convinced me to give cruising another chance, and sadly I found that the very same issues still exist.
The buffet experience was one of the biggest frustrations. There appears to be little or no effort to manage passenger flow. Instead of clear queues and an organised system, people approach from every direction, cutting in front of each other and reaching over one another. At times it genuinely felt less like dining and more like competing for food. A simple queueing system with clear entry and exit points would make a huge difference.
What made this even more confusing was that additional buffet sections were often opened during lunchtime when many passengers were off the ship on excursions. Yet in the evenings, when almost everyone was back on board and demand was at its highest, sections were closed and only the minimum number of serving areas remained open, creating unnecessary congestion.
The same lack of organisation was evident around the lifts. It was common to wait 10 minutes or more, only to have people walk straight past those who had been waiting and jump in first. Simple barriers, queue lines, and signs encouraging passengers to queue properly would significantly improve the experience.
Customer service was also inconsistent. While many staff members were pleasant, our experience in the Tiger Bar Lounge was particularly disappointing. One staff member spoke to us in an unnecessarily aggressive manner and almost shouted at us regarding an area he claimed was closed, despite it being accessible and open. The interaction lacked even basic courtesy.
Another frustrating incident occurred when we attempted to purchase cigarettes. Different staff members provided conflicting information about whether sales were permitted at that time. After finally paying, confusion arose about whether the transaction had gone through, and we were left waiting around 10–15 minutes for another staff member to return and confirm the sale before receiving the product. It was a simple transaction that became unnecessarily complicated.
The spa is beautiful and the staff provide good service, but the pricing is extremely difficult to justify. We paid €115 for a couple's day pass, only to find the facilities so crowded that there was little opportunity to actually enjoy them. Charging premium prices for an overcrowded experience leaves poor value for money.
The pool facilities suffer from a similar problem. The outdoor pools are relatively small for a ship carrying thousands of passengers. They quickly become overcrowded, making it difficult to find space and enjoy what should be one of the highlights of a cruise holiday.
Even ordering drinks could be frustrating. In several bars it was difficult to get the attention of staff, often leaving us to wait for extended periods or walk to the bar ourselves to place orders.
Ultimately, my biggest criticism is that the ship appears to prioritise carrying as many passengers as possible without providing the infrastructure, organisation, or staffing levels needed to deliver a comfortable experience. Beautiful surroundings can only compensate so much when guests are constantly dealing with queues, overcrowding, confusion, and inconsistent service.
I genuinely wanted to enjoy this cruise and give MSC a second chance after my previous experience a decade ago. Sadly, while the ships may have become more beautiful, many of the organisational issues that disappointed me then still seem to remain today.

MSC Review

Unfortunately, our experience with MSC was a real mixed bag.

The cabin was an absolute dream — clean, modern and a genuinely lovely space to stay in. The ship itself was also amazing and certainly made a great first impression.

Sadly, the food was a completely different story. The quality was extremely poor, and on several occasions I found it genuinely inedible.

What really let the experience down, though, was the service. Some staff came across as rude and argumentative, which simply isn’t the level of customer service I would expect from a brand like MSC.

Would I sail with MSC again? Very unlikely. For me, there are other cruise lines that consistently deliver the high-quality service and overall experience I’m looking for.

Beautiful ship, fantastic cabin — but unfortunately, the food and service left far too much to be desired.

MSC CRUISES WANTS US TO PAY FOR THE MISTAKE MADE BY THEIR STAFF
WE LEFT OUR LUGGAGE OUTSIDE OUR CABIN THE NIGHT BEFORE DISEMBARKATION WITH ALL THE LABELS AND TAGS WITH ADDRESS.
NEXT DAY ON ,8 AUGUST 2026 WE WENT DOWN TO THE BAGGAGE CLAIM AREA AND FOUND THAT ONE BAG WAS MISSING. AFTER 3 DAYS THEY FOUND THE BAG BUT THEY WANT US TO PAY £72 TO DELIVER THE BAG TO OUR ADDRESS.

MSC Grandiosa: A very disappointing family holiday

We booked a one-week family cruise on MSC Grandiosa expecting a comfortable and enjoyable holiday. Unfortunately, our experience has been extremely disappointing.

The ship was consistently overcrowded, particularly around the swimming pools. It was extremely difficult to find space to use the facilities we had paid to enjoy. The situation became so overwhelming that my son and I experienced a panic attack while trying to access the pool area.

The buffet restaurants were also extremely crowded, with very long queues that significantly affected our holiday.

The most serious issue, however, was a four-hour toilet failure in our cabin. We contacted the ship repeatedly and made FOUR separate complaints, yet the problem was not effectively resolved for approximately four hours. We were travelling with our young son, who urgently needed to use the bathroom.

A functioning toilet is a basic requirement of a cabin. Having to repeatedly call and complain before receiving an effective response is unacceptable.

We paid for a family holiday and instead experienced overcrowding, excessive queues, significant distress and poor responsiveness to a basic cabin problem.

We have formally requested appropriate compensation from MSC. I hope the company will take this complaint seriously rather than responding with a generic apology.

Based on this experience, I would strongly recommend that potential customers carefully consider the level of service and overcrowding they may encounter before booking MSC Grandiosa.

I am very disappointed with MSC Seaside regarding the premium alcoholic beverage package because the system and all bartenders are programmed to charge for double shots and extra drinks—thereby deducting from the 15-drink allowance down to 8—and all the bartenders (including those taking orders at the Ipanema restaurant) use these same tactics. The supervisors are aware of it, too; it is a scheme designed to rip off guests who have purchased the alcoholic beverage package.

The whole issue with the bartenders went on from my first day on the cruise until the very end. It all started on day one when I was going for my 11th drink and the bartender told me I had no drinks left in my package; I explained that I had only had 10 and that it wasn't fair. I went to Guest Services and spoke with the supervisor, Alex; he checked the transactions and found two extra drink charges from the Ipanema restaurant that I hadn't actually consumed, as well as a record at one of the bars showing I had ordered two double drinks—which counted as four drinks—even though I had never asked the bartender for doubles.

So, the supervisor removed those four drinks and credited the amount back to my account, promising a refund if the charge had already gone through. It happened again on the second day: Supervisor Alex at the Ipanema restaurant charged me for two extra drinks I hadn't consumed, and at the other bar, I was charged for two double drinks—even though I hadn't ordered them, nor had the bartender asked if I wanted them. I spoke to Alex's supervisor, and those four drinks were put back on my bill.The Italian supervisor told me to ask the bartenders for receipts to verify that I wasn't being double-charged or billed for extra drinks.

The third Day I decided not to order at the Ipanema restaurant; instead, I brought a drink with me—one I had ordered at a different bar—after leave Ipanema restaurant I bought two single drinks (one for myself and one for my sister). However, when I checked the receipt from the bartender, I found that I was being charged for 5 drinks instead of the 3 I actually had. So, I was being cheated on my drink count again. I went back to Customer Service, but Alex made excuses to avoid helping me; another employee and her supervisor claimed they didn't know where those two extra drinks came from, and they kept falling back on the "ask for receipts" excuse to cover for the bartenders and the scam scheme they have going on.

I asked to speak with a supervisor, so Alex’s supervisor came over along with another supervisor—a liquor supervisor named Balhi. They kept telling me to ask for the receipts—claiming the system showed I had 10 drinks left instead of 12—and making excuses to cover up the bartenders' scam by saying the system had a glitch, as if I were an idiot; they just kept repeating the same thing—that I should ask for the receipt—so they wouldn't have to do anything about it.

My recommendation for those who have purchased—or are considering purchasing—the premium alcoholic beverage package is this: to avoid unpleasant situations and the bartenders' deceptive tactics, either skip the package entirely or insist on a receipt for every drink. Check the bottom-right corner of the receipt for the number of remaining drinks so you can keep track of what is being charged to your account. Many bartenders refuse to provide a receipt—claiming the machine isn't printing—to hide the scheme MSC uses to charge you for extra or double drinks you never ordered, causing your 15-drink limit to drop rapidly to 8. Due to this negative experience with the bartenders' deceptive practices—along with other issues—I do not recommend MSC Cruises as a good or reliable cruise line.

Recent cruise on the Magnifica. The ship looks dated, but was clean. The itinerary fit our trip perfectly. The ports stops were great!
The negatives:
Everything is an upsell. including: iced tea. soft serve iced cream. Water at the lounges????
Tours were very inconsistent. Excellent in Gransk!. So So bike tour: they guides we had travel with the ship and new nothing about the city, Riga. If you want to learn anything about the area, this tour is NOT for you. Terrible tour guide in Stockholm, The worst I have ever been on. We left the tour as the guide had a bad attitude and could not be heard,. Her response was she couldn't do anything. Several others also left the tour. We talked to 2 couples who stayed for the whole tour, they wished they had left, it did now get better. Trying to Get a refund from the cruise was more contentious and time consuming than it should have been, but ultimately they refunded the money.
Last and most important. The food was uniformly TERRIBLE..We had heard that the food was questionable but believed that those posts were outliers or exaggerated. They were not. Bad cafeteria food.
Overall would I book on MSC again?
Absolutely not.

We arrived in Southampton and was expecting a warm reception for our 7 day cruise, what we received was no welcome just there is an outbreak on board. However it's free to see our medical team. Now that's how you sell your cruise. Both my cruise neighbours were in quarantine. Try and get your money back.

Booked three suites in Yacht Club including Owners suite two years in advance.
It was practically impossible to get in touch with them, they kept denying any of it happened (luckily I had screenshots of everything), then said oh well the rooms are still available but price went up and they wanted an extra 10,000 dollars. So I just cancelled everything (never got my deposit back btw) and went on a Florida vacation.

Went from loving MSC to hating them and their terrible service.

I booked a cruise with MSC at a cost of £4866 paying a deposit of £200 the next day two travel agents quoted £3847 for exactly the same cruise i.e. a reduction of 21% . MSC refused to match the price or return the deposit. Moral of my experience DON'T BOOK DIRECT WITH MSC.

Worst Cruise ever. Where do I begin? 1) Bait-and-Switch Pricing & Hidden Fees. MSC disabled personal internet access upon boarding, forcing passengers to purchase overpriced internet packages while inflating excursion prices onboard compared to the island. 2) Allergies not properly recorded causing multiple (daily) issues with onboard dining. Despite creating an MSC account and listing all of my allergies, none of those Allergies were communicated to the ship causing issues with dining options and daily selections. This coupled with Cross Contamination put me at an increased risk for a severe allergic reaction. 3) Cross-Contamination Multiple staff members in the dining families onboard and on the MSC island confirmed with me directly that there was a high likelihood of cross-contamination due to lack of protocol and measures to ensure separate kitchens, reusing the same utensils for food with know allergies and using the same containers/serving tools for various foods that should never be combined (pork, nuts, meats in general, seafood/shellfish etc.). One managerial staff member insisted that I do not eat at all on the MSC island because it is worse and he couldn't guarantee my safety. He ensured I returned the food and did not consume anything on the island. This caused my dining options to be severely limited and I did have a reaction onboard. At times, I couldn't eat at all without fear of having another reaction. 4) Miscommunication with initial MSC reps about fees and and drink packages. MSC Guest Services began blame shifting and took no responsibility even when I provided email proof to the staff that the fees promised should be honored. 5) Undercooked meal at dining I requested my meal be cooked well done and it was served to me pink - medium rare. Despite ensuring me it would be cooked properly, it was brought back to me 4 times pink/rare. Then, I was told my seating time expired and would have to eat somewhere else and pay for the premium options. When I asked for a manager, I was allowed to eat at the second seating but they brought the same dish undercooked a 5th time. It was 9 pm and I was unable to eat that evening because it was too late and I wasn't paying for premium meal or dining. They wouldn't even comp me a premium meal at dinner so that I could eat something that wasn't a known allergen for me. I spent 3 hours that evening between managers and Guest Services. I was told I was being picky and that it was my fault the allergies weren't listed. Then they said the meal couldn't be well done no matter how many times I sent it back. This was insulting because had they said the meal could not be prepared well done, I could have at least had time to adjust and go to the buffet. I insisted on escalating the matter through Guest Services to no resolution. It took the VP of Kitchens to finally offer a $20 credit for me to eat the following day. 6) The Dining room food was bland and subpar. The fish and meat were not seasoned and the chicken and pork chops were very dry. The meat/dinner selections were horrible. You had to pay the upgraded premium dining selection (yet another fee) to get decent food. I shouldn't have to pay extra to eat a decent meal on a cruise. 7) MSC is anti-customer. I have never seen people go so much out of their way to avoid being customer centered. There was a constant line for guest services that was extremely long on a daily basis. I was at guest services daily due to numerous issues I experienced onboard. Speaking with management was like talking to a robot - no emotion, no problem solving and impersonal. There were no customer friendly solutions or accommodations. 8) MSC Island was a bust. MSC docks 2 days at their own island. Yet again, forcing you to spend more money that directly enriches their own pockets. Instead of docking for 2 days in Nassau, you have to make the most of a very limited island and pay more for excursions and be underwhelmed. There was not a lot do and we found it to be a waste of our time after day 1. 10) The Pool deck was disastrous (slippery and can lead to serious injury). Most shows were constantly overbooked and the quality of shows was mixed. The arcade is way too small for a ship this size. They had 4 actual arcade games for the whole ship (air hockey, motorcycle driving, etc.). There were 2 VR experiences and 1 small bowling alley (2 lanes). Some arcade games options were overbooked. Some arcade games were not working and there were no refunds.

Both my wife and I are in our mid fifties and have never been on a cruise. This July 26 we went on our cruise and chose MSC. We travelled on MSC Meraviglia and without doubt was one of the best holiday experiences of our lives. We went on a Mediterranean cruise and from start to finish was an absolute joy. The ship is fantastic along with the food, drink and above all the wonderful staff. In particular what really struck me was the professionalism and curtesy we experienced when we arrived and throughout the trip. The excursions we went on via MSC were first class. The ship is absolutely pristine and we would highly recommend the aurea package. The only negative is the weight I put on!!! So much food and drink on offer. We would particularly like to thank Fred, Zamik, and Gene in the Anchor Bar and Paula and Jane in the Panarama restaurant. Can't wait for the next one in 2027 with MSC. Well done all. Cabin 13177.