I just recently discovered a deep passion for cruises. Who knew an unlimited supply of food and beautiful views would do wonders for your personal relaxation and mental health? However, I still am very much an amateur in the cruising world. I’ve only been on two, both three nights from Miami to the Bahamas. One was with MSC Cruises onboard the MSC Magnifica, and the other with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) onboard the Norwegian Pearl. Here I will be comparing the two, so you can have more perspective when YOU choose your next cruising vacation!
1- The itinerary
MSC stopped at Key West, FL and their private island in the Bahamas, Ocean Cay. NCL also stopped at their private island, Great Stirrup Cay, and in Freeport, both in the Bahamas. For this one, I gotta say, NCL wins. Both private islands were insanely beautiful, with tons to do and see. However, some very small things led to NCL winning. They used a tender disembarkation system, where the ship anchored further from shore, and we had to take small ships to get to the island. That led to a nice relaxing boat ride with a great view of the ocean. Additionally, I was hypnotized by the beautiful view of the ship in the distance. Great Stirrup Cay is also located right next to Royal Caribbean’s island, Coco Cay, which led to incredible views of their ships and amenities, but this might not be as exciting to those who aren’t cruise enthusiasts. I also thought the food at GSC was a lot better than Ocean Cay, with rice, beans, meat, jerk chicken, fruits, salads, etc. I just had chicken tenders and fries at Ocean Cay. Meh. The one advantage MSC has in this one is that their island is NOT currently under construction (I know, boo), so no weird cranes or bulldozers were welcoming you in. Additionally, we had to share GSC with another Norwegian ship with over 4000 guests, so it was a lot more packed, but this is a very common practice in the industry. GSC also looked a lot more industrialized, with MSC keeping a more natural feel. But overall, I enjoyed GSC more. Their other ports were equally inaccessible, very far away from everything else. But I guess that’s all ports.
2- The stateroom
MSC wins. For both cruises, I had a balcony room shared with two people. The NCL room was SUPER small. I swear my dorm room is bigger. Besides, for MSC I had a bunk bed and in NCL I had a sofa bed. The bunk bed was a lot COOLER! The NCL room felt like a cryogenic freezing chamber, it was so cold I was literally SHIVERING at night :( The bathroom was also very small at NCL, with MSC having a lot more space. MSC also gave us much better blankets and linens.
3- Dining
MSC wins. Their buffet had so many more options and their sit-down restaurants were a lot higher quality. Don’t get me wrong, the NCL buffet was absolute fire, but they had much fewer options. In terms of sit-down dining, ⅔ nights I had a terrible Ceasar salad at NCL (who screws up a Ceasar salad?!) while MSC did it BEAUTIFULLY every time. Overall, MSC was a much better dining experience, with tons more flavor and options. NCL’s dining was only better in terms of presentation (their restaurants looked a lot more beautiful) and their island eats were better than MSC’s as well. But that’s basically it. Besides, NCL’s beverage package didn’t include water?!
4- Ship amenities
MSC wins. Their entertainment options were a lot more obvious; NCL did a bad job of advertising them and getting people excited about it. While at MSC, we attended karaoke and concerts nightly. The events we did go to at NCL were so empty it was kinda awkward. The entertainment staff also didn’t seem to care. Another big win for MSC was their Wi-Fi package; unlimited service for the entire trip. NCL gave us 75 minutes for the whole cruise; so thoughtful! Additionally, at the end of the cruise, NCL overcharged EVERYONE by several hundred dollars, leading to a big pile up at the customer service desk. The lady behind us in line got charged for a $500 spa treatment she didn’t even go to. I hope she got that sorted out. The one thing NCL did better was their outside ship presentation; the Pearl had beautiful illustrations of colorful pearls all around, while the Magnifica was just plain white.
5- The ~vibe~
MSC wins. The vibe I got from NCL was lots of drinking, lots of couples, and lots of single adults looking for some action. MSC was a lot more family-oriented. It’s just a tad bit awkward when your dad gets hit on EVERY SINGLE NIGHT of the cruise! I found MSC to be a lot more my vibe. At MSC, I didn’t have any drunk people trying to cut in line in front of me. At NCL, I had so many odd interactions with drunk strangers; props to the time a 60-year-old in a cowboy hat hit on me at the bar, asking if I “wasn’t too young to be served here”. Babe, if you think I’m not old enough to drink, maybe I’m too young for you to hit on me? Just a thought.
OVERALL: MSC was overall a better cruising experience, but I wouldn’t say NCL was necessarily bad. I would totally recommend both lines, but I feel MSC thinks more about the overall well-being of their customers than NCL, which at the end of the day, felt like they were trying to run you dry out of all your money. MSC definitely gave more of a vibe of being willing to make sacrifices for their customers’ enjoyment, while NCL mostly cared about the bottom line. Well, I hope my next NCL cruise is a bit better!