MSC Cruises Reviews 

The food was very bad, and most of the crew members were unfriendly; many wouldn't even say hello or smile.

Dreadful cruise from start to finish. 2 decent meals in 7 days. Far too many passengers for the available public spaces. Hard to find a space to sit in the bars, poor theatre shows, awful, crowded buffet which often had empty dishes.
Restaurant meals were very poor for the first 5 days and then suddenly, inexplicably, improved. Pool area always full and 'holding' towels never removed from sunbeds. Many, many large noisy groups took over everywhere. There weren't any quieter areas like we've had on all our other cruis ships. The staff were all very nice and we felt very sorry for them. The big spin about their 'aqua' water saving plastic bottles sounds great, until you taste the water. It's awful....turns out it's desalinated sea water you are paying to drink! Never again.

MSC Cruises have TWO Trustpilot accounts
MSC Cruises UK
MSC Cruises
READ BOTH BEFORE BOOKING

Advertised as Norway Fjords It was not a Norwegian Fjords cruise we only went to ports never seen any Fjords.

Requested help prior to cruise told I would get help being a Veteran with PTSD and disabilities got no help all cruise.

MSC took my water off me prior to boarding told me I would have to pay £35 for water for my medication disgusting 3 days without water thanks MSC…

Tried time after time to take water from Buffet & Restaurant and was stopped “ you must buy water package £35 for your medication”

Booked Butchers Cut restaurant after being highjacked by a seller, we then found out the time booked was during at port in Stavanger cancelled it 36 hours before they still billed us £60 took all week to get money back.

Refused help at dining Marketplace Buffet & Breakfast & Lunch could not stand too long due to 3 SCS because they could not see my disability they refused and ignored requests for assistance this went on all week…

We had food at the Marketplace buffet on the day of boarding the beefburger was raw and made me ill for two days if I could upload a photo on here I would, I warned other passengers to check their food it was also raw…

Staff at-least at 1 bar were double tapping your card charging twice for your drinks

Beware Timeless Studio photography is independent and charging £50+ per photo he wears an MSC tag but he fails to tell You he is independent and fails to tell you of packages which are cheaper then bang £50 each other photographers are much cheaper when you question and tell them no the assistant manager became aggressive and intolerant it took us 4 days to get our money back

Overall MSC really don't like passengers with disabilities even more so if the disability is not visible.

MSC single handedly destroyed a cruise we had waited 10 years for due to my injuries.

We only found 4 members of staff that were helpful but not in a position to resolve our issues and serious concerns.

We paid £2,000 for abuse, intolerance and disability discrimination thanks MSC for destroying our week a holiday for the first time in 10 years.

There was no compassion or understanding it was always “you have to pay for” 7 days of pure hell.

A typical MSC brush off, the evidence I have and retained including video and notes and copies of MSC my concierge will all be used as evidence.

Booked a cruise with MSC on the Virtuosa 16 of May to the fiords The cruise started with having to take your own cases off the coach which we have never had to do with any cruise line before. we had priority boarding but just told to stand in the line with the rest. There was no obvious line for priority and no one to tell you where to go staff just standing around chatting with each other. We had booked meals and a show before boarding on the MSC App to find out that the meals that I had booked were not on their system. I showed them a screenshot of our booking and was told they would fit us in and that there wouldn’t be a problem. When I arrived for one of those meals we were seated at a table outside the restaurant area with people constantly walking past us. The MSC app was more unavailable than available The MSC app is not fit for purpose as far as we can see We had to log in one day 5 different times.When we complained we where offered a bottle of wine but we just wanted it fixed MSC put extra money pending on the credit card we had registered with them that we had not spent £957 We complained to staff at reception just to be told it would be sorted out within 2 week. This wasn’t the case if took 3 weeks
The food is the same most days and often under cooked or over cooked
On their TV advert they show Effy jewellery. We decided we would go and look at Tanzanite earrings as we already have a bracelet from another cruise. Whilst we were looking having the earrings out in front of us. The manager called the assistant serving us and told her she needed to go and serve other customers. We felt that this behaviour was rude and unacceptable. We also left the shop and they lost the sale

The excursions where over priced and not worth it
We would not sail with MSC again and we have been on many cruises

Roy mcneill cabin 12152 cruise date 16 of may from Southampton

Msc Virtuosa, what can we say...
Let's start with, we have been on 2 cruises with you before and they were fantastic. Kids club were brilliant, food delicious and customer service, top notch.

This time round it was far from smooth sailing. To start we got aboard and went to register our kids for the kids club to suddenly find out you are now charging for the service for under 3s..understandably, but £15 an hour per child is a bit ridiculous considering how much people have already paid for a 7 night cruise.
Now the room...
We arrived ontime no problems, but the room clearly hadn't been cleaned properly for us. We found a lady's eye mask under the bed as well as a holdall storage bag of some kind, the top unit hadn't been cleaned with several fingerprint marks and smears, good job I carry baby wipes!
The food...
I genuinely don't understand how they could serve some of the food they did, under cooked meat, cold and clearly been sat around for a while or reused from the night before...how ever the fruit selection and healthy options were lovely.

I can't say it was all bad as we did have a lovely family holiday and made memories but sometimes little things stick in your mind and I wished we had the same experience as the times before.
Such a shame as a beautiful ship.

First time cruising with MSC, first Mediterranean cruise.
Booked with a travel agency 4 months prior, round trip from Barcelona, no drink package, specially dining or wifi package. We then tried to book excursions on the website and app but it was a nightmare. Every time we checked there were different options, some we were interested in were gone, then they were back. We ended up just booking one in Genoa. When on the ship we went to the excursion desk and there were excursions available there that were not on the website or app! So frustrating because we missed out on some excursions because we assumed the app/website was accurate. Had better luck with non ship excursions.
Boarding was smooth and easy. Love that the keys are hanging on the door knob as soon as your room is ready. We arrived at 2pm and had instant access to the room. Luggage arrived shortly afterwards so we were fully settled in by 4pm.
Balcony adjoining rooms, were spacious with lots of hanging space, drawers, a safe, a fridge and hairdryer. Rooms were clean, beds and pillows were comfortable and our cabin steward Agus did an amazing job of cleaning up and was always friendly.Both rooms had a king size bed, would have preferred one room being 2 twins, but there was no way to make this request. Bathroom was a good size too. Shower had good water pressure and maintained good temperature. Loved having the shower door vs curtain. Only thing missing was tissues.Balcony was big with 2 chairs and a foot stool/table. Even though our rooms were adjoining they weren’t able to open the partition on the balcony.
The general impression of the ship is its well maintained, beautifully decorated but a bit confusing to navigate as some areas are only accessible from certain levels so you end up going up or down the stairs vs using the elevator. The elevators were very efficient, you type in the floor you want to go, it directs you to a certain elevator. No long waits, not usually full elevator either
Restaurant is assigned, same time every day, same table. I was unsure about this as previously we cruised free style, but I enjoyed getting to know the people around us and having the amazing Joshi as our server. We didn’t do any specialty dinners as we were happy with the menu in the restaurant. The buffet was great for breakfast and late night snack. We spent port days off the ship so we didn’t think we would get our money’s worth on drink package. Our 8 pm dinner time was perfect because we could get back on the ship, rest, wash up and go for dinner.
There were daily 35 minute shows. Same cast, so you appreciated the talent. Most shows were musical, dance and appealed to a variety of languages, even though they were sung in English. We only missed one show as we had a late port days. Show times are 3 times in the evening so you can catch one either before or after dinner. The casino is small but available. There are different performances at different venues. The daily schedule is available by scanning the QR code.
The pool/hot tub areas were the biggest disappointment. You get a pool towel in your room and it never gets replaced! We left one on the floor of the bathroom because we wanted a fresh towel, it was never replaced. The others we kept hanging in the shower and they weren’t replaced either. The bathroom towels were replaced daily but the pool towel wasn’t? People kept there towels on chairs for hours so there was no room for any one else. No one was monitoring the saving of seats. Colour coded towels that you have to pick up every time, would eliminate people saving seats. 8am towels-blue, removed at 10. Pool was very cold, hot tubs were barely warm
Disembarkation was a catastrophe! We had a flight leaving at 2pm, ship docked at 9am. We got the luggage tags numbered 1, first off, but when we were in a very long queue to disembark, we saw people with 5, 12! Also there was no communication with us as we waited in the designated place. Eventually we grabbed our bags and found the way out. You have to ensure that your account is zero, even if you gave a credit card at the beginning, make sure every travellers account is zeroed. There were several people who experienced glitches and were not allowed off the boat! This is unacceptable, this ship has people boarding and disembarking at every port, there should be a smooth process.

Absolutely shocking company !!!!!! We unfortunately will never be stepping foot on the cruise line ever again. I could spend hours writing about how terrible our cruise was however I will just list a hand full. We booked a Norwegian fjords cruise, never saw the fjords unless you payed extra so it should have been called a cruise around Norway. We arrived on a Saturday and that evening a took a few drinks back to our room, by tue end of the holiday I had an army of empty bottles/glasses as the cleaners are to lazy to take them. As the holiday went on i worked out that the staff have been trained to not smile and be as rude as possible. I was involved in an incident when one other passanger had 1 to many shandy's and lost a bit of money in the casino so I raised a complaint. I then received a phone call from reception wanting to speak to me for them to tell me not to bump into this guy. Very difficult when we are on a ship together. On our last night we was served a lovely cold sloppy lasagne and we just walked out of dinner after this. I then made a complaint to there customer service team when we come home and they was nothing less than unprofessional. They didnt care how bad my experience was and if you have ever been on a cruise with this company every passanger is just a number to them and all they care about is money. I made this clear as I was demanding a refund from our holiday but they proved to me that they couldn't bare to give me a penny back as like a say the money is all they care about. I have told friends and family to stay well clesr of this company as I would call it a shocking cruising experience. I woukdnt even put them in a cruising category.

My Companion and I sailed on the MSC Seascape out of Galveston from April 12 - 19, 2026. It was our first experience with this line. We chose the Yacht Club.

We have sailed with other lines and the difference is like night and day. We were used to standing in lines for up to an hour to check our bags and go through the boarding procedure. We arrived at the Yacht Club baggage check with zero wait time; we were then ushered through the boarding procedure--we gave our documents to one of agents, then sat down with a glass of champagne. After a quick stop at the muster station, we were taken to the Top Sail Lounge. After drinks, we had lunch at the Top Sail Restaurant, directly above. Lunch done, we met our butler who escorted us to our cabin.

We spent most of our time in the Lounge--drinks, snacks, entertainment all day in into the evening. We had all of our dinners in the restaurant mentioned above. The quality of the food and service matched or surpassed specialty restaurants we've dined at in the past.

I could go on indefinitely but I'll spare you that. Suffice it to say that after our second day, we booked another cruise for February, 2027--same ship and itinerary. We couldn't care less for the excursions; we're there for the Yacht Club.

Dont book msc. If you ve a problem they dont solve it. They only want your money.

I have cruised many times with various companies, but this was by far the worst experience ever.

We had to book during a certain time period and knew, being half term, the majority of passengers would be families. This was certainly the case, but families who let their children run riot around the ship without much parental control was a game changer and not something we thought we needed to consider. Hot tubs had children in them, which on any other cruise is not allowed, so these were a 'no go' for our group. The sound levels of screaming children, was, at times awful and unbearable. I have no problem with children, but children left to their own devices and out of control was another level. The times we witnessed young children wandering around the buffet looking for their parents they had lost and crying was something we have never seen before.

The food in the Market Place was very poor, not to a standard we were expecting. The only saving grace was a meal booked in the steak house and we'll worth the extra payment for a specialist restaurant.

Some staff were lovely, but many just went through the motions. The staff in our dining restaurant worked their socks off and were endlessly taking plates back with uneaten food. We did feel for them, it's not their fault they have to deliver poor quality food on a daily basis.

The ship's information system didn't work well, no information was left in the cabins giving information for shows etc, it was all done through an app. All well and good if you use technology and could get on it. We didn't realise that all shows needed to be booked, and by the time we found this out, they were all fully booked.

I can honestly say myself and those in my party will not be booking with MSC ever again. I'd rather pay alot more and get a better standard of service all round.

I put in a complaint on may 17 th that I played a machine in casino,and didn,t realize that I had won it,abd pt in a complaint for my winnings,and it,s been 2 weeks,and have heard nothing.I need help

Booked a cruise in the evening.. but didnt realise the ship held 900 people. Im a bit claustrophobic and the reviews described the atrium as bedlam and scarily overcrowded so we cancelled the very next morning. Gave good reason but they wouldnt refund the deposit. Just quoted Ts and Cs at me. Lucky escape I think!! Terrible company.

​URGENT: I am currently onboard MSC Seascape (Cabin 10026) and the customer service has been a nightmare. Day 2 and it's just stress.
​Status Match (Voyagers #8679625) denied onboard blaming an international travel agency issue, YET a friend with the exact same agency/issue had it resolved on this ship last week!
​They refuse to let me switch my 1-device Wi-Fi between my phone and laptop just to work 2 hours a day, trying to force me to buy a 2nd package.
​Dining time was changed from 7:30 PM to 5:00 PM without notice, making us wait in a 20-min line to fix YOUR mistake.
​The front desk staff is unhelpful and dismissive. I need the Hotel Director or corporate to contact me in my cabin to resolve the Status Match and Wi-Fi immediately. I am losing my vacation time fixing your administrative errors. @MSCCruisesUSA #MSCCruises #MSCSeascape

M husband and I were so looking forward to experiencing the Norwegian Fjords on the MSC Virtuosa “Norwegian Fjords Cruise” however the only scenery we got to see was a few trees when entering one of the ports, food standard was poor, tender boat to shore was late and in my opinion unsafe when boarding/disembarking . Why sell a Norwegian fjords cruise when you don’t actually go through the fjords ! On the plus side it’s a lovely ship and was very clean and well maintained . won’t be cruising with MSC again

I was scheduled to go on an Alaska cruise at the end of May 2026 on the MSC Poesia, but I instead got pneumonia. I had purchased travel insurance for the cruise.

I submitted a claim for my refund, and as of now, the company and the insurance department have refunded one quarter of my original amount.

They will give me no reason for this, and I cannot get connected to speak to a human about it after at least ten calls.

So, I passionately do NOT recommend this cruise line. They have, as of right now, defrauded me. I will be pursuing this with the insurance regulatory commissions this week.

AS
Delray Beach FL

I recently took my first-ever cruise on the MSC Virtuosa to the Norwegian Fjords. While the scenery was breathtaking and the ship itself is visually stunning, the actual holiday experience was deeply disappointing due to poor organization, crowds, and unacceptable service in the salon.

​🛑 The Lowlights: ​The South Queensferry Tendering Disaster: This was a complete waste of a holiday day. Despite being given a boarding number and approximate time, we spent three hours queuing just to board a tender boat to get ashore, and another hour queuing to get back. There was zero communication or information provided by staff during this chaotic wait. ​
Shocking Salon Experience: I booked a hair color and cut. The stylist used so much dye that my hair turned orange. Instead of being professional, when I signed the bill I was heavily pressured to buy expensive keratin vitamins. When I declined, the stylist unprofessionally retorted, "So you want your hair to fall out?"

​Inconsistent Spa Information: After a nice embarkation massage, the therapist insisted I had to pay over £70 to access the thermal spa area. However, my friend was not required to pay this. The lack of clear, consistent information across staff members was incredibly frustrating. ​
Dining Issues: I paid extra for a lobster upgrade in the complimentary restaurant one evening. It took 40 minutes to arrive and was completely overcooked. Due to the rushed environment, I felt like a nuisance just asking for my morning Americano coffee, let alone complaining about the food.
​Extreme Crowds: The ship was at full capacity. Even though we traveled outside of the school holidays, it was a constant battle to find a seat in the main Virtuosa Promenade or the Champagne Bar. ​

The Highlights:

​It wasn’t all bad. The onboard entertainment was of a very high standard, and we received absolutely fantastic service from a bar lady named Kim, who was a breath of fresh air. Many of the frontline crew members seemed visibly stressed and overworked, yet some still managed to shine.

​ Post-Cruise Complaints:

​I raised these issues with MSC Corporate Complaints upon returning home, but it led nowhere. They hid behind their standard terms and conditions, stating that all issues must be resolved on board.

​Final Verdict: If you book this ship, be prepared for high-pressure sales tactics in the spa, massive crowds, and severe queues at tender ports. Sadly, as a first-time cruiser, MSC did not leave a good impression.

From the moment we stepped onboard to the final day of our voyage, the entire experience exceeded every expectation. The service was truly world-class — every crew member we encountered was warm, attentive, professional, and genuinely committed to making our trip unforgettable. I brought my wife, 1yr old, and parents for a Mothers Day surprise!

The ship itself was immaculate, beautifully designed, and offered the perfect balance of luxury, comfort, and entertainment. The dining experience was exceptional across the board, with incredible food quality everyday. Every detail felt thoughtfully curated and executed at an incredibly high level.

It is rare to find a company that delivers such consistent excellence across every aspect of the guest experience.
This was truly one of the best vacations we have ever taken, and we already booked our next cruise. Thank You to the entire team for creating an unforgettable experience. Extra Special Thank You to Serena, Hazel, Ajay, Suardika, Wiartini, and most importantly Ari, for making this an unforgettable experience!!!

Our family of 8 recently took a cruise onboard the MSC Meraviglia from Naples for a 7-day cruise. Our overall experience was less than we had expected from this cruise line.

From our initial check-in at Naples the staff were the rudest people we have ever encountered. My guess is that they are 3rd party vendors who had zero customer service experience and should not be at the jobs of welcoming people on board.

The cruise ship itself was nice with a relatively modern ship but their configuration of restaurants were extremely limited. They have one buffet for the entire ship which holds over 5,000 passengers. It was absolute chaos trying to get a meal with various stations serving a variety of food but it was the same food every single day of our trip. Our dinners were classified as “complimentary” dinner (they have a number of different restaurants onboard but all of them were $$$ extra). During dinner, the waiter said we had to pay for water service which is the most basic of necessities for a meal. After complaining about the water, they eventually gave us water at the table but had charged us for our first night at dinner.

They have no Live TV stations and if you wanted to watch a movie it was €10. They charge for absolutely everything and their prices for things like excursions are outrageous for what you get.

They know they have a captive audience (especially the days at sea). Everything was overpriced and not worth the money. They did have free shows at night which were (for the most part) quite good.

The one thing that stood out were the staff. From our housekeeping to our waiters, the staff were amazing. Always very polite and helpful with anything that you needed or wanted.

We felt completely ripped off at the end of the cruise and would not choose MSC Cruises again. It was similar to taking a low end Carnival Cruise with tons of kids running around (even in the Adult Only sections).

I was not on a cruise, but live in Mahahual most of the year and for a few years. We own a condo here and eat most of meals here. The cruise that came from your cruise either the 13-14 of May. When I tell you I have never seen rude, pushy people, treating the staff beyond horrible. They were grown damn adults and the kids here behave incredible. We bought in this building because of the staff and vibe of happiness. Under no circumtane would I have put up with it. ElFuete is where we live, and it is wonderful.

MSC Virtuosa
Sold as Norwegian Fjords cruise that doesn’t actually go down the fjords! I saw the itinery was 4 stops South Queensferry across to Norway Stavenger, Haugesund and Kristiansand and figured the other days would maybe go down the fjords but no it doesn’t. Whoever heard of a Norwegian fjords cruise that doesn’t go down the fjords!
Tender service to south Queensferry was a mess, on the return to ship we stood on one of the platforms/pontoons at the edge of deck 4 awaiting bag checks my 12 year old daughter leant on the railings just a little but it hadn’t been secured properly and swung towards the sea, thankfully she was able to quickly steady herself and pull the railing in the right direction onto the platform instead of falling in the water but a less able person or a younger person would have no doubt fallen in the the water, a member of staff secured this shortly after but it should NOT have happened. There’s no clear communication as to where or which deck we disembark from daily, it’s just a case of looking for exit signs, our first Norway disembarkation was carnage people crammed into deck 6 no orderly queues formed or encouraged. They could really make use of a whiteboard or matrix board with useful daily and disembarkation info on it. The food is repetitive pizza,
burgers, hot dogs and very bony chicken. We braved fine dining one night and that was very poor and slow service. One of our fellow travellers ordered a burger I assumed this maybe slightly higher end burger than what’s served in complimentary dining but no it looked like it had been plated up straight from the poolside complimentary food offerings.
The only positive….. Our cleaner/housekeeper the entertainment manager and one of the bar staff are a credit to the MSC team.