MSC For You?

MSC cruises are most certainly the best value for money in the cruise game.  Before you book though you need to consider what you are booking and what you want or need in regards to flexibility, amenities and cabin location.  There are three different MSC experiences, all of which have different price points.  As I have “experienced” exposure to all 3 types, I hope this short article helps you in some way to pick the option that works best for you.

NOTE – These 3 experiences are nothing to do with your room being inside/window/balcony cabin.   That’s a separate choice altogether!

BELLA EXPERIENCE

This is the “standard” experience, and is likely to be the one that matches up to the price you see on the brochure.  Bella provides the least flexibility.  Bella will be the cheapest of all 3 experiences with the best rates, and is ideal if you do not have specific requirements.  By that I mean MSC will pick your cabin location for you, and you will be assigned to a specific time for dining in the restaurant.  So, could this be an issue?   The risks are:-

You could be at the very front or back of the ship.  This will mean a lot of walking to get anywhere, and also you are much more susceptible to feel the ship moving – not great for those who get seasick

You could have a large obstruction blocking your balcony view

You may be directly underneath the pool deck or directly above a smoking area

You could end up with a very early or very late dining time

I have stayed in plenty of Bella rooms and have always been very happy, but I don’t have mobility issues and I can eat at any time of the day or night.

FANTASTICA EXPERIENCE

So let’s say you need to pick where you want to be on the ship.   In this case you need to go for the Fantastica experience.    This way you can pick where you want to be on the ship.  For me personally the best place to be if I am picking is somewhere mid-ship, with cabins above and beneath me.  This will not of course guarantee a quiet room, as you will still have neighbours, but you won’t be dealing with sun loungers being moved about at 6am, or bass thumping out of a nightclub at 2am!    Some people like to choose a cabin near/away from the elevators.  Again, with Fantastica you have this option.  

Another bonus to Fantastica is that you can have continental breakfast served to your room.  There is nothing quite like eating croissant and drinking coffee whilst watching the sea.  

You want to move your booking?  You get 1 free change with Fantastica.

You want to eat at 7.30 every night – again, not an issue.   Fantastica guests get priority when choosing their dining times. 

I would always pick Fantastica if I was travelling in a group and I wanted to ensure all the rooms would be close to each other, or if I was travelling with a person who needed to eat at a specific time every evening.  

AUREA EXPERIENCE

The third and most costly of the experiences, and to be honest this is probably the one I would never bother with again.  It is more expensive and the benefits of the Aurea package have been so downgraded over the years that I’m not sure I can see any value. I would say the only real benefit we got from it was the ability to use “any time” dining 

On paper you get access to the Spa – in reality it’s one hour a day, and you have to book that hour in advance.  A lot of the time the more desirable slots are not available.

There may be a sundeck purely for use by Aurea guests.   I personally didn’t like it here, it was far too quiet, and there was no bar!  Yes, I know a lack of a bar is a “first-world” problem, but when you have to get dressed to go downstairs and into a nice lounge every time you want a Pina Colada, it takes away the relaxation somewhat.   Also, I have heard tell of guests being able to buy day passes for this area, thus making it more crowded than it should be. 

In the past, Aurea guests were given a free massage – no longer

In the past, Aurea were given a free drinks package – no longer

On MSC Virtuosa, the Aurea sundeck has a hot tub, but no pool 

At the time of writing you will get a dressing gown/slippers and a room amenity (room diffuser), a bottle of prosesso and a little bar of chocolate

So, with the above in mind you now know your facts and can choose the “experience” best suited to what you want or need.

Happy sailing!

Yacht Club, never been, never likely to go either! But I can always dream…