MSC’s First Cruise to Alaska Was Underwhelming

I became aware of MSC through the Wynn which had a free cruise benefit reward available with them. I paid extra to upgrade to a balcony cabin under the Aurea category which is MSC’s premium tier but below the Yacht Club category.

I will review various parts of the experience below.

Embarkation – I was a bit worried that their first cruise to Alaska would be disorganized, but surprisingly, embarkation was smooth with no real issues or delays. The only thing is that the signage for Aurea guests could be better. Under this category, you get priority embarkation and I had to ask about it upon arrival and at various points in the check-in process. Sometimes they had a tiny sign but it wasn’t always clear where you could go for the shorter lines.

Cabin – We had 9121 and this was the first disaster I encountered. Here is a video of the room:

First, we had purchased the premium drink package and nobody informed us how “water service” works on this ship. It was very inconvenient to get water. You basically had to go to a bar or the buffet. At the bars, I was informed that bottled water was not included and they could only give me cups of water. At the buffet, if you did not have a drink package, you have to pay $0.50 for each glass of water. If you have a package, you needed to swipe your cruise card at the machine, and then press 4 or 5 different buttons to confirm the transaction, just to get a glass of water! Its a basic thing the cruise should be providing for free without all the hassle. Apparently, there was another water option available for people without packages, at the juice machines, but I didn’t look into it and have no idea what the difference was (filtered, unfiltered etc). Anyway, after a couple of times going to the bar, I started to notice people asking bar staff to fill up MSC bottles. I had to ask 2 different guests and 2 different staff who all were unsure what qualifies one for a bottle. After a lot of research, it turns out we were supposed to get bottles in our room with our drink package. I messaged the “concierge” in the MSC app about this and the issue took hours to resolve. I was basically still sorting this out and requesting bottles into the evening. Not a great way to start a vacation.

This wasn’t the only thing missing from the room. We also had no soap in the bathroom for hours! I told my cabin attendant about this when I first met him shortly after going inside the room for the first time. Still, it wasn’t a priority and took hours to get. Around this time there was some issue on another ship with Hantavirus so I would of thought all cruise ships would pay particular attention to sanitation issues but apparently not.

Another issue with the room was that we only had one chair to sit on. The description for our room mentioned a sofa, and I know it says the rooms vary, but I peeked into any unoccupied rooms that had doors open while being cleaned during embarkation and all had couches. I asked our attendant if he could swap our chair for a couch or find another chair but he mentioned that it was only for rooms with 3 guests so that the couch could turn into a sofa. I still don’t think this was an acceptable explaination.

The other deficiencies or negatives about an MSC room include:

• no conditioner
• no lotion
• no tissues
• minimal options for in room entertainment – limited channels and no movies

I have sailed on 3 other cruise lines and have never had this issue. There is also no option to iron or steam clothes in your cabin. There is also no option for this in the laundry room. You have to request this service but if timing is an issue, then this can become not feasible.

Also, I don’t know if its because we had a room that could join to the next one, but we could hear next door talking or coughing. The insulation between rooms is very poor.

As for positives, our room was cleaned 2 times per day and always in an incredibly efficient manner. When we left in the morning, and came back, the room was always made up. Same in the evening.

Food – This was mixed but for the most part negative.

First, MSC is European and has roots in Italy. I would expect the quality of food to be high. The coffee is watered down and has weak taste/aroma. TIP: if you want decent coffee, ask them to make it strong. I was surprised given the huge coffee culture in Italy. Related to this, the ship didn’t have a cafe with coffee and pastries. Again, something I would think a company rooted in Italy would prioritize.

Next, there was not really anywhere dedicated to get ice cream. There was a soft serve station with limited hours serving very mediocre soft serve. Italy = Gelato >>> Where was this?

The pizza which everyone raves about was sometimes good and sometimes mediocre depending on who was making it. A lot of times I felt the pie was taken out of the oven too quick and the dough was still half raw. When it was done well though, it was good, and its one of the only things you can get until late in the buffet.

The room service is a joke. Here was the menu:

Unlike other cruise lines, they charge you for items AND delivery. With our Aurea booking, the delivery fee was waived, but the selection, for the all day menu, was so limited and unappealing, I never used it. I did make use of the continental breakfast option which was free for Aurea guests but that was so poor and disappointing too.

Selection was so poor and not very generous. When I ordered white bread, I was expecting at least 2 slices, but instead, I got 2 stale dinner rolls probably from the previous night!

Dinner – Main Dining Room – In general, the food in the main dining room (we were assigned Il Palladio) was very bland. Whoever was preparing the food had zero passion in it and/or did not taste it. Pasta was mushy and overcooked; I have to say it again, unacceptable for an Italian rooted company. To their credit though, if you ask for al dente, they will cook it that way.

The first night I had an unremarkable Caesar salad and a steak that was under-seasoned; even the poorly made chimichurri on top could not save it:

One positive about the main dining room for dinner (we had my choice dining with our Aurea booking which means you can go any time; if not, you will be assigned either a super early time like 5pm or a 7PM time): the service team we had was incredible. Also, aside from one forgotten item one time, our order was NEVER wrong. I thought that this was an amazing feat for the service team.

A final thing about the main dining room is that even my my choice dining, last call is at 8PM. This is incredibly early, and not something I would expect from a European cruise where dinner in Europe is usually later.

Specialty Restaurants (extra costs)

Butcher’s Cut – This was not worth it and only very slightly better than the main dining room. Crab cake was ok.

Steak was poorly seasoned, and the quality was not that different from the main dining room.

Saito Sushi – Surprisingly, this was decent for cruise ship sushi. It was also fairly priced. It obviously wasn’t amazing, but its comparable to many average sushi places on land. It wasn’t horrible. I remember having sushi on a Holland America Cruise and that WAS horrible. This was ok.

Breakfast – While the continental room service breakfast was a disaster, the breakfast in the buffet and brunch/breakfast on certain days in the restaurant (IL Fontaine) was good. The buffet had a good selection of breakfast food and the bacon was always crispy, smoky and tasty.

On disembarkation day, I also had this breakfast sandwich which I really enjoyed:

…and on one of the days, they had an international brunch menu and I had this chicken karaage with fried rice and an egg. This was well executed and quite good:

Lunch – For lunch, the buffet was poor in general. The food variety and taste were not great. However, the restaurant, had better options. One of the more memorable lunches in the restaurant was a crispy buffalo sandwich. This was the only thing that could be sold at a land based restaurant. The bread was soft and warm, the blue cheese and buffalo sauce combined to provide each bite a hit of umami. The chicken was crispy and moist. The pickles cut through the richness. The best thing I ate on board. Unfortunately, no pic. Another good lunch was this:

While the calamari was not breaded well, the shrimp was and was seasoned perfectly. I forgot what kind of fish this was, but it was also cooked well and seasoned well.

The past above was not amazing, but it was cooked al dente as requested. Desserts were very poorly executed on board. There was very little flavor. Almost no sugar used. I can understand being healthy, but if someone is going to have dessert anyway, they might as well enjoy it. Plus, there are ways to sweeten or at least balance the flavors without a lot of sugar. Cakes frequently had really poor textures. A lot of times, too dense.

Bar & Drinks – This is one area I found no flaws. Service was always fast and attentive. They had a good selection of spirits and cocktails. The orders were never wrong or forgotten. The cocktails were unique and well executed. For example, there was an Alaska martini which had hints of salmon. Sounds interesting and weird, but it was well done. TIP: you can ask for bar snacks. I don’t know if they’re available at all bars, but definitely at Pigalle.

Gym – The gym was another area that was relatively well done. They had a good variety and quantity of equipment. Free weights maxed at 20KG (45 LBS) which could be raised. The area for free weights was also small and tight when more than 2 people were working out. Lastly, water was through a very weak fountain which was not convenient for refilling bottles. I don’t know what MSC has against hydration but the water situation really needs to be fixed.

Spa – The spa is an area where they can use a significant improvement. While the facilities are modern and new, the service is poor.

First, as an Aurea guest you have access to thermal features like salt room, steam, hot tub etc, but the facilities are small (tub can accommodate 3 people max maybe and always full), and you have to book in advance. I used it once and it was ok.

When pre-booking spa services note that you can request the day and time you want, and despite two people on the phone telling me they were confirmed, that was not the case. You need to go to the spa on embarkation day and book your times. Obviously, you will wait in line as everyone else is doing this too.

On my first spa appointment, they were more than 30 minutes late. When you check in, unlike more other spas I have been too whether land or sea based, no one will show you to the changing room or give you an overview of the facility. They will simply point you to the most poorly stocked changing room I have every experienced. First, there is no where to sit to change. No bench, no chairs, nothing. Very weird. Second, zero amenities. No combs, hair dryers, lotion, not even robes or slippers.

The treatments themselves and therapists are excellent. So good that we booked a second round. However, as with anything related to MSC, make sure to check your bill.

For the problems with the room I mentioned above, they gave us free 50 minutes (we did 80 minutes and paid the diff) massages but I had to ask for the bill to be adjusted the next day. Also, my wife did a third treatment and was told the tip wasn’t included, so she gave cash, but it turns out the bill did have auto grat. I found that billing at MSC borders on dishonest in this way.

I have no problems with tipping for service and did give a many of the staff in cash, but they corporate MSC practice was distasteful. They will add a hotel service charge to your bill upon booking and tell you all fees and grat are included. No problem. However, on the third day of the cruise, I saw they billed us again for hotel services. When I asked why when we already paid it on booking, they reversed the charge after a day or two. Check your bill on MSC!

Itinerary – Very Poor.

The first day is Seattle and the second day is a sea day. The third day is Ketchikan. Its nice to walk around the town. I especially liked the well maintained historical areas.

…and then I highly recommend you book the George Inlet all you can eat dungeness crab feast for lunch.

They will drive you about 20 minutes to their facility. Once there, you will be given a salad, drink of your choice (including beer and wine) and unlimited crab and melted butter. For dessert, cheesecake. The crab was meaty and simply prepared (boiled or steamed). Very meaty. Amazing experience. All staff were amazing.

The fourth day was a complete waste of time – Icy Straight Hoonah. This is like those islands that cruise ship companies own in the Caribbean. Its a place made for tourists. There is a large zipline, some souvenir shops and overpriced mediocre food. We spent most of this day on the ship and then walked around a bit. There are some nice sights there, but not much more. This is a tourist trap place.

The fifth day was Dawes glacier in the morning which got us back on the Alaska track.

One thing to note is that we went on this cruise after doing a cruise to Antarctica a couple years ago. Seeing this glacier in Alaska was incredibly beautiful, but you should do these trips in reverse or it will seem like having the main course before the appetizer.

Excursion – we only booked one excursion on this trip and it was in the afternoon after seeing the glacier. We did the helicopter trip to Mendenhall glacier with a walk. Every part of this was incredible. The staff and organization were so efficient. The flight was breathtaking. The walk was so unique. We went into an ice cave and even drank fresh glacier water straight from a stream!

This is something you should absolutely not miss. After this we looked around downtown Juneau. There is a good outdoor place with a lot of food trucks. I recommend Deckhand Dave’s for fish and chips and fish tacos.

The rest of downtown Juneau is basically a strip of shops selling the same stuff to tourists – jewels, shirts etc.

Day 6 is a sea day and day 7 is a waste of time again. First, the ship goes to Victoria instead of Vancouver. Second, it gets into port at 8PM and leaves at midnight. I looked on Google maps and they definitely could of got into Victoria sooner. No idea why they want to arrive in the evening.

Entertainment – The talent on this ship is outstanding. First, in the lobby, there is a gentleman named Edwin who plays great songs on his sax.

The live music, especially in the Pigalle bar, is second to none. We were there every night.

The main theater had a good variety of shows every day:

No act was bad. Outside of the performances, the entertainment and activity options varied. I did enjoy the events I attended. However, I wished there was more variety. For example, more arts and crafts options would of been nice. Also, there was no dedicated library or game room.

Casino only had one Blackjack table and no craps. The gameshow was really fun. The Blackjack tourney was really fun too.

Note that for Aurea guests, there is a dedicated area which I appreciated. It was never crowded and on days like the glacier viewing when everyone was on the deck trying to get a pic, it was nice to have this area where we could view the glacier and snap pics without being crowded.

Overall, I think the negatives of this cruise significantly outweighed the positives. I feel like the management is nickel and diming passengers through costs controls rather than focusing on providing a great experience. It was annoying to be limited to 2 devices on our Internet package as it was a hassle to switch devices. We still have unresolved billing issues and staff on board cannot see your full account (specifically, stuff that was paid for or billed prior to getting on board).

There are probably better options for going to Alaska where you do not have to compromise lack of in room amenities, food, or cost controls which affect enjoyment (like getting basic things such as water). The itinerary was also not optimal with only 2 “real” days in Alaska in my opinion. The rest are sea days or a fabricated experience.