I Took my Friends on a CONTROVERSIAL Cruise Line | MSC Cruises 

From my perspective MSC stands for Mildly Surprising Cruise Line. This covers those pleasant surprises we experience with them as well as the occasional oddities. Cheers 🥂

As someone who has spent a significant part of the last 20 years in helicopters, planes, and onboard various ocean-going vessels, i cannot stress enough the importance of paying attention to safety drills. Unless you've done some realistic training or, worse, been involved in a real emergency, you will have no idea how easy it is to become disorientated, be it by smoke, lack of lights, or water ingress, plus potentially being woken up in the middle of the night by an alarm. In a real event (and even false alarms), people will panic, and some people will behave irrationally, even violently. Please take the safety drills seriously, and remember the emergency escape routes from your cabin - you will be far better off than those who don't.

Many years ago a couple we befriended on our first cruise suggested learning how to say common greetings in as many languages as possible. I then created a spreadsheet that I keep and bring with me on cruises. You wouldn't believe the joy you bring others by greeting them and thanking them in their own language! This is especially true with your stewards because it will reward you with better service and extras. Well worth the minimal effort required! Thanks!

Emma having watched you for nearly two years, my wife and I finally took our first cruise from Miami to Cozumel for our 34 anniversary. You are the reason why we took this trip on the celebrity summit and I can’t thank you enough for your sage advice and encouragement. We are already planning another trip in a few months and it is all because of you. Thank you!!!

For what it's worth, I have hauled many a shipping container for MSC. The freight arm of the family business. And one thing to remember about MSC is that the family owns all the stock in the company. They don't have shareholders making their lives miserable. If they decide they want to do something, they don't have to get shareholder approval or face shareholder ire at the next annual meeting. That explains some of the weird stuff they do, and how quickly they can do something else if they find something's not working. And I can't believe the Brits eat beans for breakfast.

Ketchup on pizza is a Monumentally Strange Choice (MSC)! 😜

Being "trapped" on a ship with 3500 passengers, especially with lots of screaming kids, sounds like my worst nightmare! Never being able to be alone in a quiet spot (other than trapped in my cabin).... just makes me shudder with horror at the very thought..

We've only sailed once on MSC, a few years ago on the Seaside when it was new. My wife and I agree that with all the other options available we probably wouldn't sail MSC again. The ship was absolutely beautiful with all the crystal but to me it felt like often they chose style over comfort especially when it came to the furniture. There were many chairs that were interesting to look at but not comfortable to sit in. We also found the food to be disappointing. Nice to see MSC through your eyes...always enjoy your perspective Emma! MSC=My Sparkly Cruise ship :)

I love listening to Emma, she is so reassuring and kind.

A very honest review. So fed up with hearing people moaning about MSC when they have paid just £55+ a night and then comparing it with RC, Princess et al. We went on the Divina which I think is the same class ship as the Preziosa and we found it like you, a well laid out ship and in many repects perhaps better than the new Virtuosa. We have done 7 cruises with MSC and if you go looking for faults you can always find them, but we like the continental vibe, the different nationalities on board, the European style food and portions and the lack of stuffiness often found on P&O and being English you can always read the signs/notices on board and ALL the staff can understand you, which is not always the case for our European buddies. If you have a high disposible income then other cruise lines will happily take your money, but with our more restricted budget MSC have allowed us to do some great cruises both in Europe and the Caribbean, visit some great ports and see places we would never have got to and all the time eating, drinking and sleeping our way with the minimum of fuss and effort, what's not to like?

Re kettles, having owned a hotel or 3 and been in the hotel industry for over 40 years, hotel/ cruise ship kettles are a worrying item. The things people do with their hotel kettles is scary, everything from cooking hot dogs to boiling their i]underwear. Believe me, the lack of a kettle is a bonus!

Not too sure I will sail MSC but I am interested every time Emma brings us to her experiences .. I do like they match loyalty from other lines too 😁

Emma, I wish I could express how important your videos are to keep me inspired to continue travel. Thanks for being you, and providing me with content I LOVE and cherish,❤✌

Ketchup on pizza? Who puts ketchup on pizza? Pizza already has tomato sauce on it. What are you doing, Emma? :D

That was a first for me, pizza with ketchup!! My first job was in a pizza restaurant owned by a family from Sicily. We gave the side-eye to anyone eating it with ranch dressing, which is pretty common in the US these days. I'm afraid they may have asked you to take your ketchup and leave. 😄 ❤️ Love your videos, Emma!

The best review ever made on a cruise! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ You really coverd EVERYTHING! Good AND Bad. The big mirror in front of the bed, it is for the ladies who wear a evening dress, especially at the Gala Evening (the dinner with the Captain), on the Seaday, and they need to see each detail of the outfit. And, as you could see, there is no other free space for a big mirror but, in front of the bed.

I like Emma; she takes cruises and reports on the experience so I don't have to.

I love that the newbies trusted you to help with their first cruise!👍👍A wonderful mix of people is so interesting.

I'm so glad that you and Morgan were able to get together finally! Thanks for all of your great content. I watch you both weekly! This looks like a great cruise. My experience with MSC, here in the US, has not been that successful. You have me really thinking of things that stand for MSC. Fun!

When she said she ate the pizza with ketchup I felt my soul leave my body

Totally agree about paying window washers more money. I cringe whether I see the guys cleaning my office windows, and I am only 10 stories up.

I love table sharing. I don't have a Basque heritage, but my hometown has a huge Basque population, and it's super common to share a table. I think it's fun and a great way to meet people, and as a child I learned to be a more social person.

We travel like you do-economically without feeling like we’re missing out. I think travel is affordable; you just have to be smart!

We recently had our honeymoon with MSC (the Grandiosa). We did take Yacht club as it was our honeymoon and I must say, the combination of all benefits on the bigger ships together with the quality of Yacht club is a huge plus. The service is suddenly great, the quality of food is much better, the bar and restaurant are less crowded, etc. Did you ever try Yacht club ever Emma?

We are tending to shy away from the bigger ships given the congestion at embarkation/disembarkation however your smooth experience here seems to show that MSC's way of staging customer joining throughout the cruise seems to help significantly.

I'm glad I could provide you with great weather, (which I personally organised in advance), and had fun showing you around! Sorry about the bomb. I thought you would think it was exciting ;-P

These videos are so informative and interesting, Emma! Thank you! I just discovered the channel and love it. You're an excellent presenter - hope someone at a big network sees your content and gives you your own travel show!

I have traveled twice with the Preziosa and I like it a lot , next time it will be with the MSC Euribia as a diamond card holder, that is exciting. I like your cruising videos, Emma, they are so informative and I like that you are always so positive and cheerful.

Hi Emma, something you said about the themed nights surprised me. They do tell you in the daily schedule program what the theme of the next evening is going to be. And MSC always has the same 7 themes that they cycle through over and over (like the 70s, or the floral one, etc). White nights is admittedly the most popular one. Also my favorite.

Your videos and commentary are always pleasant to watch and have tons of information! Great work Emma! 👍😎

Going on this actual ship in December. My first cruise. It's our 10 year wedding anniversary. My wife showed me your account. Thanks for the super-detailed report on the ship and your experience!

I just don’t understand the negative press that MSC seems to get - I’d maybe go as far as to say they’re currently my favourite. If not number 1, they’re right up there! I’m still gutted we didn’t overlap on this one - maybe one day…! 🤞🏼

I love the dachshund waring the cowboy hat. My grandson would love the rubber duckies hidden all over the ship, too!

Cruise Duck hider here.........I took my first MSC (Meraviglia) a couple weeks ago and not having an app was disappointing. Luckily, between signing up for the ship and time to check-in online, I did get an opportunity to put add my CC to my account like on other cruises. I also had early dining scheduled and printed on my cruise paperwork but when we got our cruise cards, late dining. Like you, we had to eat late the first night and then got it changed. The way I learn if there's theme parties, I go to the FB group for the cruise. Somehow there is someone who always seems to know.,

You do such a fabulous job of your channel! Jam packed with facts and details, photos and videos, opinions, stories, comparisons... everything! And you're such a bright and charming presenter! Well done!!! Thank you!

Aaaaah another upload! I’ve been bingeing your videos the last week. Never been on a cruise, I don’t know if I have the sea legs, but you’ve become one of my favourite content creators!

My first cruise was MSC Lyrica and it was wonderful about 30 days from Rio to Italy. It was fun to be the exotic Australians on a multinational cruise.

Binge-watching episodes. Love your channel!

I love your focus on Pizza! You know what is important!!!

Was great to get to meet you! I'm sad I didn't know about the free onion rings though, thought everything in the sports bar was extra! I've now booked 4 nights on the grandosia next month so will be interesting to see what the bigger and newer MSC ships are like.

I've never thought I would like going on a cruise but since I found your channel a couple of weeks ago, I've started wanting to go on one! Though here in Argentina it's extremely expensive to even think about going on one :(

2:15 Those steps are to die for 😱💖 I need those in my house

Hi Emma, Great video! We loved our MSC cruise on Virtuosa last summer! It was thanks to you that we took it!👍😊👏👏👏

Going on my first cruise on Saturday with TUI on the Discovery 2. Watched a ton of yours and others content and it's helped so much. Have done a couple weekend holidays on friends boats and love being on the ocean so I booked a 17 night transatlantic. Cannot wait!

We were scheduled for this itinerary (plus Rotterdam) in May of 2020, which of course got cancelled by the pandemic. Thanks to you, we finally got to see what we missed.

54 time she says “MSC!” This video is a drinking game 😂

Ive cruised a lot on carnival. I loved being on the carnival breeze! It was a lot of fun. Had storms at see. The lightening was spectacular ! We also had the diners from Guy Ferrelle so we got his delicious burgers.

Hey Emma. We’ve just got home from our 1st MSC cruise on the Preziosa. Broadly agree with your review, however a couple of small differences. The kids club on board was awesome for our 6yo. The dinners were a bit hit or miss for us but the buffet was really good. Especially the pizza. 😊 breakfast after 8.30 was chaos but before that it was nice and easy. Plenty of choice but maybe a bit of a hunt for the best sausages. 😂 all in all it was a good cruise and the little one definitely wants to go back.

Never been on MSC, but I always think of them as the Marmite Shipping Company, as people either tend to love them or hate them, but never indifference.

Watching you has really been helping me thru some difficult times thank you Emma :)

We have just got off an eleven night cruise MSC Magnifica from Marseille to the Canaries and Tangiers. Great ship 🚢 great time.

Hi, Emma! New subbie here. I am enjoying catching up with your videos and I loved this review of your MSC cruise. I have never cruised, I am single, live in the U.S. and I like being frugal. It would be very helpful to see a video on how to book a cruise and perhaps which cruise line might be best for my situation. Thank you for considering doing a video for a complete cruise neophyte. Thanks for all your informative tips!

Very interesting Emma! Definitely some things to know if we sail with MSC in the future. Love those stairs 🤩

Pizza with ketchup? Is that the same as Canadian ketchup or just a tomatoe sauce? Love these detailed cruise videos! I was so against cruises but you've made me want to try!!!!

Hi Emma. Really like the quality of your videos - very informative, good editing/"production". I have just recently got back from a cruise on MSC Virtuosa but after watching one of your previous vids about MSC Cruises, this was recommended. Was only a short cruise with 2 ports plus ending in Hamburg (started in Southampton) but it could not stop at one of the ports because of weather! Was a shame. After watching one of your vids, was expecting to hear more multiple languages in announcements over speakers or during shows but it felt like a "British cruise". After France port, I think announcements over speaker were also in French. The shows were mostly in English, apart from Mosaico show (which is Spanish theme anyway). I found service overall good. Food was alright. Some things I really liked, some well not good so overall alright. Pizza was always an option in the buffet (till about 1am I think) and you can't go too wrong with pizza! One issue is when you get your passports back. Before docking in Hamburg they needed passport to "gain entry". Then next morning you all go to same area to get it back. But it was not very well organised. Some people in a queue, some just in the area and ended up with just some woman shouting cabin numbers - because she did not have all the passports at once. She did not shout that loud either so some passengers with louder voices ended up shouting! So if you did not hear her, unlucky. And inevitably, you end up getting people just going right up to her asking if she has their passport, when order people waiting. Surely its not first time they've done this. It was poorly organised. I have not been on loads of cruises but never found getting passport back being this much of an issue. Even though not going on another cruise soon, still watched! Going to be telling people about the MSC Status match thing! Was surprised you said Hamburg was far from the port - although I guess its far compared to some where the city is basically right next to the port. Although to get to our destination in Hamburg from port did take about 25 minutes in a taxi for us because of traffic!

MSC stands for Much Safer Choices I get weird Costa Cruise line vibes from MSC. I should be brave and try one before I judge too much!

You're on fire this week Emma! Just the video I needed, as there's the same cruise in March (before they raise the single suppliment rate), and it's reassuring to see you had no nightmare situations with service, food and the like (hopefully the bomb situation was a one off😉). Thanks!

Great cruise review!!! I have to try MSC! They all have alot of bling bling...& look beautiful too!

This cute lady is an amazing presence she has a very clean look very cute, speaks clearly, consistently. The production is flawless always centered cuts are seamless. She packs 20 minutes of content in15 minute videos. Did I mention she is cute?

Another lovely video, Emma!! I'm very curious about NSC and I have heard more bad than good about them. The language issue is not a concern for me...make it work is my motto. Thank you so much for your hard work ❤️

It's fascinating how MSC has people start and finish at different times; it makes them more like the world's largest Ferry company rather than a Cruise. I'm not going to lie; I'd be ecstatic if an MSC allowed me to board from Napier, New Zealand, disembark at Auckland, and return when they return. I have plans to do something similar with NCL taking a cruise from Auckland to Sydney and back (it's a very regular service during the Cruising season) but disembark two stops early in Napier since that would save a lot on Travel to and from the ports for me. Still, having a Cruiseline as MSC do it as standard is much nicer.

I have never been on cruise but after watching your video, it is one of my bucket list!

We had this cruise booked for 2020 and never got to do it, one day we will do it. Thank you Emma for your review of the ship.

Thanks for another brilliant video Emma - fantastic as ever, and very very informative 😀 We are currently helping some friends pick their first cruise, and the pressure is very real (especially as we won't be sailing with them!). That said, we've taken a few people on their first cruise before and we are yet to meet anyone who hated it 😀 We've been looking at Preziosa lately and she certainly looks like a great ship 😀 We would absolutely eat all 4 of those chocolates as well 🤩

I'm taking my first MSC cruise in a couple weeks and I'm having some issues that are making me bit wary of ever sailing with them again. Praying all goes well. 🤞🏾

We had so many bad reports about MSC that after listening to you, we might decide to go, we are mostly Celebrity, Royal and Princess.thank you!

Wonderful video. Great narrative above nice b-roll images. excellent content with good humor. Many you-tubers should study and learn from this. They need not copy your style or content, but strive for the level of quality and engagement!

Excellent Review. I can agree with everything, this was a great cruise and it was lovely to meet you :) Greetings from Germany :) Felix :)

It would be cool if you could do a little history of each cruise line. I know from working with a few cruise lines the history of how they came to be is quite interesting. Maybe one for the cruise geeks like myself.

An influencer who repeatedly thanks other for sharing their thoughts and opinions. I can get used to this future!

A bowling alley on a cruise ship - interesting. It must be extra challenging during rough seas.

the next time you go to sweden, incase you ever do, I recommend trying viking line, they sail to finland from sweden / from finland to sweden. They're a good cruise line, but I do recommend trying one of the ship that go to Turku, Finland from Stockholm because they're newer and ''cleaner''

After more than 30 cruises including Carnival, Princess ,Costa , Royal Caribbean , NCL etc.. 7 months ago i cruised on MSC Seashore and love it ! now looking for my next one in april 2023 i have 3 or 4 options on Carnival, ncl , princess and msc and decided to cruise on the Meraviglia out of Port Canaveral on a balcony cabin for less than a inside cabin on the other cruise lines !!!

Having been stationed in Germany decades ago I got used to schedules being upended by WWI and WWII bombs being found. I watched the video on it and while it was scheduled the transpo companies could have handled it better. As a yank doughnuts are traditional breakfast food with supermarkets having people come in just to make them for people going to work.

The Preziosa is with 335 meters one of the longest MSC Ships. Longer then most newer ones. So you have one of the longest ways from one end to the other on any MSC ship.

Your cabin was near our daughers (she was 12028)! She had booked an inside and did not get an automatic upgrade to balcony. We booked an ocean view and got one on deck 13 at the back which actually had a small balcony instead of a window. :) We also saw lots of ducks around the ship.

Just started watching your videos and love them, very informative and a good way to cruise from the sofa. Your deluvery is excellent. Thank you, cant wait to watch more

This was a very informative video where I learned something I never expected to. People have KETCHUP on PIZZA! 😱

Hi Emma, Great video!! Will be on the MSC Divina in a couple of weeks, looks to be the sister ship of the one you were on. Always enjoy your British-isms.

Thank you for giving information on the smoking sections. As a smoker, I find that it’s hard finding a RU-vid video that even mentions the smoking sections on whichever ship.

I would say Many Speedos Cruising. We don't see a lot of Speedos on cruises from America... but on the MSC Divina, we did!!

Ascan American, I use "quite" in two ways. For example, "The hotel was quite nice" and "We aren't quite there, yet." The first means the hotel was nice, not great, but fairly or pretty nice. The second example means we still have a short ways to go before we get to our destination.

Emma, ketchup, pizza? hmm...Brooklyn NY pizza might change your mind on that? lol. Love your videos!

didn't know that about rewards with Msc will keep that in mind once I finish my next P&O cruise as will have qualified for peninsular then.

We dont do shows always have late dinning preferably fixed late and always request a large table! This is how you meet people! We work the menu Early buffet breakfast late sit down breakfast nibbles at the lunch buffet sit down lunch, high tea when available, snack at Dinner buffet and sit down Dinner! you have to work the menu. lol

I have a 30 day cruise next month. Multiple B2B's in the Caribbean on MSC. Thanks for this video. I love your details

Amazing your food was included in the sports bar. We payed through the nose for some wings on the Seaview in 2019. But we’re going on MSC World Europa in 2023 and are so excited 😆

Emma, I've never ever seen someone eat Ketchup with their pizza Lol! Ranch dressing yes but not Ketchup!! But we still love you!

"pizza always needs ketchup" 😯 as a new yorker my mind went blank and i had to pause the video bc like woah i did not know that was a thing. my brain just stopped working. I could ask why but i would never understand it but to each their own 😶 (Thanks for the review of the cruise as always btw!)

You might want to reconsider your aversion to shared table dining. It has always worked out well for me, although I prefer that it be different people each day so that I can meet new people! I love that polka dot dress, you look great in it! Oh, and ketchup on pizza... mama mia!

Hi Emma. I stumbled upon your channel watching random cruise videos, as we are taking our first in November. I’m really enjoying and appreciating your content! Wanted to stop by and say thanks! Lastly, the proper condiment for pizza is ranch dressing, and ONLY ranch dressings 😉

Thank you, I am thinking of booking a short cruise with a child.

Great video! Actually, MSC Preziosa entered service in 2013, not 2011 ;) The construction was on hold during multiple months after the original contract was canceled (this ship was not ordered by MSC at the beginning) Otherwise, have you considered trying Costa again on Smeralda or Toscana? The experience is quite different from what it used to be on those two ships :)

I went on the Sky Princess last month. It was a great cruise even though my family did have some mis-happenings. Everyone in my group accept me and my brother got sea sick. But then I injured my knee in Larochelle in France. Missed a step and fell on my knee. My brother banged his nose and his head and ended up bleeding a bit. Then to cap it all of the day we came of the ship I had a sore throat. Then driving back in the car got worse and worse as the journey went on. Did a test when we got back and I had caught Covid 19 and spent 8 days in bed till I finally tested negative. But apart from that is was a great cruise.

2:30 Wow, the color scheme and everything here is amazing.

I love your videos Emma. I'm just off a MSc cruise. It was brilliant, everyone in our group was happy, well fed and drank. We didn't even notice the languages announcements. We only listened to the English announcements and carried on. We will be back

I haven’t been on a cruise since 2014 and have only been on three in my lifetime. But I love your videos so much and always end up thinking - I should really take another cruise! I would love to hear tips about how to find your amazing cruise prices though. (It doesn’t help that I live landlocked in Minnesota in the US though)

I like MSC. Funny that this ship is the twin of the Divina on which we sailed in August. Everything is EXACTLY the same except for the color. Very funny!

I feel like a cruise ship's ATP score (access to pizza) should be included in all future reviews.

This is the third time that I’ve heard you make this point about ‘quite’ abs I have to point out that you’re not quite ;-) right. (I’m an English teacher.) ‘Quite’ is a difficult word for learners because it does indeed have two meanings (‘completely’ and ‘fairly’) but this distinction is not between British and American English. Both meanings are used in all dialects of English.