I have been fortunate enough to do many cruises with Celebrity including onboard there oldest and smallest ships of the Millennium class to one of their biggest ships of the Solstice class whilst I sailed with MSC onboard there Virtuosa ship.

Without giving too much away before reading through all of the points in this article, Celebrity is one of my go to lines and are always one of the first that check to see if they offer an itinerary sailing where I want to visit, when I want to go.

That is something long terms readers of CruiseHols and long term watchers of the CruiseHols YouTube channel will know well, but they are not perfect.

There is lots that I like about Celebrity and lots that I like about MSC but with some things that I don’t like about both, it will be interesting to compare my experience of sailing with both lines and seeing which one offers the best experience for cruises.

That is just what I am going to look at in this post where I answer the question, Celebrity vs MSC Cruises: which is best?

To help me answer that question I will look at the pre-cruise experience, the check-in process, the entertainment offered, the onboard experience, the lines food and drink, the itineraries they offer and the value of sailing with the line.

Celebrity vs MSC

The good news is that we can start this list with a couple of positives as we have never had a issue with the pre-cruise experience of either of these two lines.

At least not in terms of things going wrong or any issues cropping up and to be honest both are quite similar as you do most things on the line’s app or website, which both lines options work well, or at least well enough.

Celebrity do give you plenty more options that you can do in the pre-cruise period including been able to easily book into shows, restaurants and plan your time on the ship.

MSC require much more to be done once you are on the ship and that is just a waste of my holiday time, in my opinion.

Winner: For that reason, we are going to give this point to Celebrity Cruises.

Once again, things are quite similar between the two as much of the check-in process is completed before you even board the ship.

This category is always difficult to rate the line for as much of the check-in process is down to the port that you sail from as the organisation and facilities that they offer can really make or break the check-in process, no matter how organised the line is.

Thankfully, I have sailed from the same terminal, at the same port for both of these 2 lines, which makes it much easier to compare the two and the two major differences are the aforementioned need to do more when onboard with MSC and also the confusion of when people should arrive at the terminal with MSC.

Whenever we sail with Celebrity, things tend to be organised, with a steady flow of people arriving at the terminal whilst with MSC, people seemed to just turn up.

It could have just been down to the sailing we were on but with so many people so confused, there must have been some sort of issue, although me and my wife new when we were due at the terminal and arrived on time.

Winner: So, with those two negatives about the experience with MSC, Celebrity gets the win in this one.

This is perhaps one of the more subjective categories in this post as what I find entertaining, you may not.

I will try to keep much of what I consider in this down to the facts of what is offered and not just the quality of entertainers on each line, although that is of course a part of it.

To start with, both lines offer a range of professional production shows, guest entertainers and musicians around the ship although we did find the acts on MSC a bit repetitive and the production shows tend to be a bit more basic, mostly down to MSC having to make it a multilingual offering.

That is also part of the reasons why they are repetitive as they have to stick to songs that people across different countries and cultures will know, so whilst entertaining, they lack that little bit extra pazzaz.

MSC offer a mix of free and pay shows on their bigger ships whilst shows have always been included with Celebrity when I have sailed with them and whilst their production shows are also decent, one aspect that I have always loved about Celebrity is the quality and variety of their guest entertainers.

No matter where we have sailed around the world, the line has always offered a number of guest entertainers including singers, comedians, musicians, magicians and more and they have also brought onboard local performers from the destinations we have visited to bring the culture of the port onto the ship.

Winner: With all of that in mind, I have no issue with the entertainment on either line, but Celebrity have gone over and above what they need to on so many occasions that they have to pick up the point for this one.

If things have been quite similar so far, this is where they split apart as the onboard experience is completely different onboard both lines and I should probably start with saying that whilst I enjoyed both and it really does come down to how you want to cruise, one line does offer an onboard experience that I much prefer.

With that out of the way, its time to try and explain the differences in the experiences we have had onboard.

It is probably easiest to say that onboard MSC, there is always an expectation to be doing something, whether that is going to a show, having some to eat, doing an activity or sitting in a bar drinking.

If you are not doing something, there is no where really to sit and relax or to just unwind whereas on Celebrity, things are a bit more laidback and there are plenty of places to just sit, relax and just enjoy been on a cruise ship.

That’s not to say there is something to do on Celebrity as there are plenty of activities happening around the ships and most bars, cafes and lounges will have entertainers, but it is just not so all-action.

If you love been busy, don’t mind having to keep splashing cash on doing things and just want to try lots of different things whilst on holiday, MSC offers the perfect ships to do just that and if you are on an itinerary with lots of seadays, that could be ideal.

Winner: For me however, the more relaxed style of Celebrity, where I can just sit with a coffee and enjoy some background music whilst spending time with my wife makes for a great time onboard my ship and then you still have plenty of things to do when you want to.

This is a category where the two lines also differ, as in the main Celebrity offer American favourites whilst MSC offer Mediterranean cuisine.

If you have an overriding preference over those two, it could really impact on which line you choose but I am happy with both, so there was no issue there.

I have found that the quality on Celebrity has remained quite consistent over the years that I have been sailing with them and whilst they do tend to stick to the same dishes in the restaurant, they offer plenty of my favourites, so I can’t complain with that.

Both do offer some global favourites in both the MDR and buffet, with plenty of pay extra restaurants where you can enjoy your favourite cuisines from across the world.

Personally, I have found the food on Celebrity to be of a higher standard, whilst drinks wise, things are pretty much the same.

Celebrity do go a bit more over and above for their gala buffets and they have a lot more themed dinners and lunches, which does take away from some of the repetitive nature of eating in the same MDR or same buffet everyday of your holiday.

The biggest difference for me between the two lines is that Celebrity offer local dishes, and drinks, based on the ports that you are visiting and as someone who loves to experience the local cultures of where they visit, including local food, this is a great option for the ports that you haven’t had a chance to grab something to eat in.

Winner: For that reason and for the better overall quality of the food, I am going to give the point to Celebrity for this one.

Both Celebrity and MSC Cruises have large fleets of ships based all around the globe and whilst Celebrity has a main focus on North America and the Caribbean whilst MSC have their main focus on the Mediterranean, as you would expect.

Despite that, there are few parts of the world that you cannot visit on either line, with MSC even offering World Cruises.

MSC do have areas that they excel over Celebrity in, including the Middle East, whilst Celebrity excels over MSC in regions such as the Far East.

It really does depend on where you want to visit as to which offers the better range of itineraries and the type of cruise that you want to take.

MSC offer a lot more options for those wanting to take an inter-porting itinerary, or an itinerary that has more than 1 embarkation port that allows for more freedom as to where you get on and off the ship.

The biggest difference for me is that Celebrity offers a lot more smaller ports and repositioning cruises visiting them, but the thing really makes the difference for me, is Celebrities offerings in the polar regions.

I love exploring cold weather places where you can see mountains, icebergs, glaciers and waterfalls right from your cruise ship and Celebrity have one of the widest ranges of itineraries sailing in the far north and far south of the globe including visiting the Arctic and Antarctic.

Winners: That gives the in to Celebrity for me and they have more of what I want, but for you it could easily be MSC Cruises with the better range of itineraries.

This is such a tricky one to do for these two lines as they have completely different business models, with Celebrity offering much more included in the base price, which of course makes it much higher than MSC as they offer most things at an extra cost.

If you are just wanting to go on a cruise ship, enjoy some decent food and entertainment and simply have a few days exploring some ports, you can do all of that and more a with MSC at an incredibly low cost.

That makes them a great option as a second cruise of the year option, where you just want a short and cheap getaway as that is just what you get when you book it.

As mentioned already, you can pay to do lots onboard when cruising with MSC and that can make them just as expensive as other lines but thankfully, there impressive ships do make them feel a lot more premium than the low base cost would make you think they are.

Celebrity on the other hand are a premium line, or at least a premium mainstream line so you do pay more to start with, but you then get more for your money.

With everything just that bit better quality, from the entertainment to the food, it really does level things up.

I have to say that the holidays on Celebrity are more enjoyable, for me at least but if you pick one of the great value getaways on offer with MSC and don’t do much on board, you can have a better value getaway with MSC but on a more like to like getaway, more value can often be found with Celebrity.

Winner: So, this one is so close that if you were to ask me one day, I may pick one line and the next day if you asked again, I’d likely say the other one but as of today when I am writing this, the win goes to Celebrity.

Overall, it may look like there is light years between the two as Celebrity have dominated it with a win in every category, the lines are actually much closer.

Just about every category came down to Celebrity just edging things on the small things that matter to me, but they likely won’t be the same for you.

I would have no issue with sailing with either line in the future if they have the itinerary I want at the cost I want, and if that is the same for you, book with them.

Winner: For the purposes of this list, Celebrity is the best and as arguably my favourite line, that is perhaps not too much of a surprise.