Royal Caribbean vs MSC Cruises: Which is Best?
There are lots of differences as well including the onboard experience, the food onboard and the entertainment where Royal Caribbean have a US slant on things whilst MSC have a more Italian/Mediterranean modus operandi.
They also have two different business models where you pay much more upfront with Royal Caribbean but then you get more included, whilst with MSC you pay a low cruise fair but then have to pay for much more when onboard.
I have been fortune enough to sail with both and would look to sail with them again in the future but it would be great for me to know which is the best for me and as I like to do here, I will go through all of the aspects that I feel are the most important parts of cruising including Pre-Cruise, Check-In, Entertainment, Onboard Experience, Food & Drink, Itineraries and the overall Value.
This comparison is based on my sailings on Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas and MSC’s Virtuosa, with both been out of Southampton and both been short cruises crossing the channel.
Royal Caribbean vs MSC Cruises
With both of the voyages I am using for this comparison been my first adventure with both lines, the pre-cruise experience should have been new for both of them.
That wasn’t actually the case though as with Royal Caribbean, much of the pre-cruise takes place on the app (or the website) and they are both pretty much identical to their sister line, Celebrity Cruises, with whom I have sailed with on a few different occasions.
Thankfully, as well as been familiar with the process, it is actually one that is amongst the most straightforward I have come across and filling in your personnel details, travel documents and completing your health questionnaire etc is done in seconds.
Things are much tricker with MSC as I found both the app and website much clunkier and things that you can do before setting foot onboard with Royal Caribbean, you have to sort once onboard with MSC.
That just adds stress to boarding day, which can be a stressful day anyway and seemingly for no reason, so for this one, the point can only go Royal Caribbean and it’s a comfortable win for RCI.
Winner: Royal Caribbean
The check-in process can be a tricky one to compare for lines as it can often down to port of departure and the terminal as much as it is the line but thankfully, this is made easier in this case as I have cruised out of the same terminal for both of these at the port of Southampton.
My sailing with Royal Caribbean saw the terminal actually get changed in the days leading up to departure but despite that everything was well organised, I breezed through the whole check-in process and went from our car to onboard in 10-15 minutes.
For my boarding experience with MSC, which I only had walk on luggage with unlike turning up with a suitcase for Royal Caribbean, it can only be described as chaos.
Nobody seemed to know what time their check-in was, staff weren’t ready for us to arrive and with lots to do once you get to your departure port it just all took a long time.
That continued once onboard with lots of people needing to join long queues to book into restaurants, shows etc, or the sort of things that Royal Caribbean allow you to sort on the app well in advance and at your own pace.
The final bit of the check-in process is the muster drill and that again was a breeze with Royal Caribbean as you watch the safety video on your app and then head to your muster station when you want to.
With MSC, we all needed to go to our rooms at the same time, watch the video on your tv screen and then head to our muster station at the same time.
That once again led to chaos and to be honest a dangerous experience of hundreds pushing their way down the stairs at the same time.
So, for this one, where MSC gets it just so wrong, Royal Caribbean run out the comfortable winners.
Winner: Royal Caribbean
The entertainment on a cruise ship is one of the most important aspects for me and it can make or break the cruise part of a holiday.
Thankfully both offer decent variety in this regard, with MSC offering some included shows in the theatre and some pay extra options including a Cirque du Soleil style show that I watched.
With MSC, the included theatre shows are designed to be understood by people speaking multiple languages, as the line do mostly operate across Europe and with that, they can be a bit repetitive.
Entertainment wise, Royal Caribbean really impressed with as not only do they have guest performers and production shows in the theatre, but we also had a full production of the West End classic Grease.
Not only that but we also had a ice dancing show, street parties, parades and much more, basically with Royal Caribbean, there is just something different happening somewhere around the ship to entertain you and that is just how I like it.
So, with that in mind, Royal Caribbean pick up the win in this one and again, it relatively comfortable.
Winner: Royal Caribbean
On the face of it, both offer resort style cruising where you have lots to do, waterparks on the upper decks and plenty of bars, lounges and more spread around the ship so it should a similar experience onboard, but that wasn’t what I found.
For both of the cruises that did, the ships were sold out and had lots of kids, which gives me a fairer comparison but whilst things were relatively relaxed on RCI and you could do what you wanted when you wanted, on MSC every felt crowded.
There wasn’t really anywhere to just sit and have a moment on the Virtuosa, without the need to spend money anyway and even if you had a drinks package and wanted to go into a bar to listen to a musician whilst taking advantage of that, they were often full.
On the Indy, you can hear music and singers from across the lower decks of the ships all along the Royal Promenade, so you could sit in the café, grab a drink and here the singers in the bar even a deck below.
It was just a better all-around experience on Royal Caribbean although it should be said that all of the staff were friendly and professional.
So, for this one, Royal Caribbean pick up the point and again, it was a comfortable win.
Winner: Royal Caribbean
This is one area where the two lines really differ and it is not down to the already mentioned differences between the lines where the food is more tailored to American tyle food on Royal Caribbean and Italian/Mediterranean food on MSC.
I like both, so that wasn’t a concern for me but with both ships sailing out of the UK, there were plenty of UK food options for those who don’t like either.
Where the two lines did differ in my experience is that Royal Caribbean offer much more variety in where you can eat and where you can eat whilst MSC it more set around meals times and the MDR and Buffet.
I don’t always fancy a meal, especially if I am back between lunch and dinner on a port day and just love to go to a grab and go spot.
With Royal Caribbean there was the Fish and Ships spot on the pool deck or either the café or the pizza shop downstairs, with variants of those across their ships.
With MSC you are kind of left with just the buffet to grab food outside of main dining times, but that is limited.
Drinks wise, both have lots of bars for paid drinks and whilst they have the usual included drinks in the MDR and the buffet, Royal Caribbean had more spots around the ship to grab and included drink.
So once again, Royal Caribbean just do food and drink better for me although I did like having the different food offering in the buffet on MSC.
Winner: Royal Caribbean
This is a category that I feel both lines actually struggle with, well in ways they do, as whilst both do offer cruise across the globe and a mix of repositioning and round trip itineraries from a huge choice of departure ports, they do also tend to have a focus on the Med and the Caribbean.
That is especially true for there largest ships and that has where the two lines have really been focusing on over the last decade or so, as they have been involved in a battle to have the biggest ships at sea.
Those ships are really limited into where they can visit, and they tend to be similar types of large commercial ports that are ok but not great.
MSC do have a large fleet of ships, and they have a lot more smaller but older ships that can still get to more out of the way ports and places that are more of interest to me so for this category, MSC get the point.
Winner: MSC Cruises
This one is such a tricky one to rate for these two lines as they operate completely different business models.
Royal Caribbean have a larger up-front base fare fee but then you get lots more included whilst MSC have a low starting fare but then you have to pay for much more when onboard.
If the extras aren’t of interest to you, you can have a great value getaway with MSC but on the flip side of that, if you take advantage of all of the extras included with Royal Caribbean, you can easily get more value there.
Its really a flip of the coin for this one and it will depend on the ship you sail on and the type of cruise you are, but I am going to give it to MSC based on my experience as me and my wife paid less than £200 each for our cruise and you just cannot beat that.
Winner: MSC Cruises
Overall, it’s a comfortable win for Royal Caribbean by 5 points to 2 and that is about what I expected going into creating this comparison.
For me, Royal Caribbean are a great option for those wanting to take their main holiday or for those wanting a family getaway to remember, but if you are looking for a second cruise of the year, or just a cheap getaway, MSC are the way to go.
Winner: Royal Caribbean
