Somehow, I’ve turned into quite the cruising connoisseur. With over a dozen cruises under my belt and 4 more planned for the rest of this year, I’ve enjoyed experiencing different ports and different cruise lines.
But, I surprised even myself when I booked a new-to-me cruise line for a Norwegian Fjords cruise next year. Why did I book an MSC cruise?
Itinerary
As I mentioned in a previous post, Norway is increasing regulations for cruise ships in its UNESCO fjords starting in 2026. So, for this trip, I really wanted a cruise itinerary that visited Flam. Surprisingly, many fjord cruise itineraries don’t visit Flam. I also wanted to see at least one other fjord on this cruise, preferably Olden.
MSC was one of the few cruise lines that offered an itinerary that visited both Flam and Olden. The itinerary I picked also visits Stavenger, which is close to Lysefjord and Pulpit Rock.
For most of my family cruises, itinerary isn’t necessarily the biggest decision factor. But in this case, it’s the most important factor.
Price
MSC has the best price for the itinerary I wanted. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean also offer a similar itinerary. But, even an inside cabin on Celebrity costs more than what I’m paying for a balcony suite on MSC. Royal Caribbean is also more expensive than MSC. Since this cruise is all about the scenery through the narrow fjords, having a balcony room is important to me.
Yes, I know the saying, “You get what you pay for.” But again, I’m going on this cruise primarily for the itinerary. Everything else is secondary.
Status Matching
Last month, I was able to match my DCL Platinum Status to MSC Diamond Status. This gives me several free perks including priority embarkation and a free specialty restaurant dinner. Woohoo!
Bottom Line
MSC was the best choice for my Norweigan Fjords cruise. People tend to either love or hate MSC, and I’ve researched all the inclusions/exclusions in this bargain-priced cruise. I’m curious to find out for myself how MSC stacks up to the other cruise lines I’ve experienced.
Speaking of cruises….I’m on a cruise right now! I’m visiting 9 different islands in the Southern Caribbean. I’ll be sharing details next week. While I’m gone, my responses to comments on the blog and emails will be delayed. Have a great week!
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
There is a lot of unwarranted “ugh, MSC sucks” on a lot of travel/cruise sites. I’ve travelled as a young couple and then as a family on many lines including Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Holland America, and MSC. I like MSC, I don’t prefer NCL or RCL over them as a large mid tier line. Pricing is good with kids often only paying port charges. I’d avoided Carnival initially for their probably unfair “party cruise” stereotype but am going in July to the Baltic on the Carnival Pride. I haven’t done Disney because I can usually get on 2-3 cruises on other lines for what it would cost, I find it hard to believe its 300% better than the others but hey they say you get what you pay for!
Happy cruising!
I am floored by how expensive travel has gotten lately. Grateful I have a stash of miles and points to use, but still!!
It’s hard for me to want to book something that isn’t a great “value” these days, but it may be awhile before value travel truly returns.
We went on 4 trips in 2022 (making up for lost time) and don’t have anything booked for 2023 yet. I’d like to get something on the calendar for summer.
Because we’re a family of 5 (and are tall people and need more than darn double beds if we’re sharing, haha), we tend to do better with either renting a villa or something rather than a hotel room.
Have you seen any locations that seem a good bang for the buck lately?
Between flights, lodging, rental car, food, and entertainment, a basic trip can suddenly cost a toooon, even if offset with miles.
I’m a little discouraged!
@Kacie Nancy is on a cruise and likely doesn’t have internet. So I figured I’d chime in. If you want lower prices on AirBNB etc, I recommend Florida beaches in the early summer. The same goes for Colorado and other ski destinations. If you haven’t looked into Vacasa deals via Wyndham, I highly recommend it as well. You Might be able to reserve a 1-bedroom mountain cabin with a loft that will fit your entire family for only 15k points per night. See my post on Vacasa https://milesforfamily.com/2023/02/07/using-wyndham-points-on-yet-another-vacasa-redemption-st-augustine-beach/
If you feel like splurging, Hyatt offers suites that sometimes have two bathrooms and enough room to fit 5. But those won’t usually be cheap. Look into Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa ( offers huge suites for 29k-35k points per night if you can find availability).
Thanks! Will check into that!
Looking forward to hearing about your current Cruise
Having the read the short piece above, I am no clearer to having an understanding of “Why I Booked an MSC Cruise”