Europe 2024 Trip Report So Far: Back from 18-day Europe Trip, Review: Iberia Business Class DFW to MAD
During our recent trip to Europe, my 13-year-old daughter and I sailed on MSC Euribia to the Norwegian fjords. Port stops included Copenhagen, Nordfjordeid, Alesund, Flam and Kiel, Germany. This cruise was quite different than any cruise we’ve been on previously for a few reasons:
- The vast majority of passengers were European. We only met one other couple from the United States. Most passengers were from Spain and Germany.
- School was still in session in Europe when we cruised, so there were very few school-aged kids on board. My daughter went to the teen club one night but was the only one there.
We went into this cruise with fairly low expectations, mainly using the ship as a cheaper and more convenient way to see the Norwegian fjords. The internet is fiercely divided over MSC reviews. However, we enjoyed our time on MSC Euribia, despite a few shortcomings.
Hits on MSC Euribia
Thermal Spa: Prior to the cruise, I purchased a week-long pass to the spa’s thermal area. I’ve enjoyed thermal areas on other cruise ships, but the one on the Euribia was the biggest and best I’ve seen. It has 6 different types of saunas, two whirlpools, several relaxation rooms with heated loungers, an ice room and several hot and cold sensory showers. I looked forward to my time in the thermal spa every single day.
Entertainment: When your audience includes multiple nationalities and languages, it’s difficult to provide entertainment. We were surprised at the variety and quality of entertainment on MSC Euribia. We did not watch every main theatre show, but we saw several good ones including a circus show, Illuminicity tech/dancing show , a magic/illusions show from CJ Illusions, and a closing night show with a little bit of everything. The main promenade also randomly featured acrobats and performers, and there was plenty of live music throughout the ship. The LEGO mascot even made an appearance (MSC has a partnership with LEGO).
MSC Euribia also offered classes about Norway history, legends and ports in several different languages.
Specialty Restaurants: As a Diamond-status MSC cruiser (which I got from matching my Disney Cruise Line status), my daughter and I were entitled to a free meal at Le Grill steak restaurant. We also paid extra to eat at the Teppanyaki/Hibachi restaurant and the Hola! Tacos restaurant. All three were delicious!
Buffet: I’m not a huge fan of cruise ship buffets, or any buffets for that matter. But, the one on MSC Euribia had just about everything you could think of. And, the food was tasty.
Ice Cream: MSC ships do not have free ice cream machines. Say what? But, I signed my daughter up for a kids unlimited drink package which included soft-serve ice cream from the bar by the pool. I joined her for ice cream on a few occasions, and we both agreed that this ice cream was better than the standard ice cream machine soft serve. It was thick and creamy and worth the extra 4 Euros.
Elevators: This may sound like a small thing, but elevators can be a huge hassle on cruise ships. Crowds are large, and people don’t tend to follow the first-come first-in rule. But the elevators on MSC Euribia had none of those issues. Instead of pressing up or down, you press the floor you need to visit and then go to the assigned elevator. The system worked very well.
Service: We received great service on our MSC cruise, and it was comparable to Royal Caribbean and Carnival (but not quite Disney Cruise Line level service). Our cabin attendant was thorough and cleaned twice a day. Other crew members were friendly and helpful.
Misses on MSC Euribia
Main Dining Room: The food in the main dining room was the biggest miss for us on MSC Euribia. Menu options were more limited than other cruises we were on, and the quality of the food was not great. For example, this is the chicken parmigiana I ordered. It might look ok in the photo, but the reality is that it was super thin and dry. The cheese and sauce were also very scarce.
Drinks: MSC Euribia had fewer included drinks than other cruise lines. At lunch and dinner, the only included drink was water. Other cruise lines include ice tea, lemonade or flavored water. My daughter had the youth non-alcoholic drink package, and we expected fun smoothies and drinks to be available in the restaurants. But nope! I guess we had to go to the pool bar for those.
Hygiene: The buffet had hand washing stations, but the only people who ever used them (as far as I could see0 were me and my daughter. The main dining rooms just had hand sanitizer at the entrances that were also ignored by most guests. No MSC crew members were encouraging hand washing. DCL and Royal Caribbean are so good at that.
Organization/Communication: There are a few miscellaneous misses that I will lump into this category. Before the cruise, the website/app was difficult to navigate without errors. I had a heck of a time getting my credit card input to work for onboard charges. On the cruise, the disembarkation deck changed for every port, but it wasn’t communicated well. The MSC app listed all the daily activities, but not other important details (like formal and dress-up nights). We had to scan a separate QR code to see a navigator (that used to be printed but no longer) to see those details.
Overall Thoughts
My daughter and I both enjoyed our cruise to the Norwegian fjords on MSC Euribia. Would I sail MSC again? Well, to be honest, it wouldn’t be my first choice, mainly due to the food in the main dining room. But, if the itinerary and price are better than other cruise lines, I would definitely sail on MSC again.
I was reading about the elevators and I have to laugh. Recently, I read an article saying that the Icon of the Seas has the newest elevator system where you press the floor button and it tells you what elevator. Unless this is something different, I have seen it on both the Carnival Panorama and the Carnival Venezia and now you are saying the MSC ship you were on. Maybe it is a new system to RCL but it has been in use for awhile.
I think the elevator system takes a minute to get used to but I do like it. The biggest problem I found was that on the ships I was on you have to push the button 2 times for 2 guests, so they can figure out the number of passengers for that elevator. Many passengers were new to the system and would push it once or just jump in an open elevator thinking that would get them there (I am sure they learned not to do that after 2-3 times- LOL). I think it will be very efficient when everyone learns how to use them. On the Venezia, they had a video for the guests to watch to learn the system.
Glad you enjoyed your cruise!
@Michelle I didn’t realize we were supposed to press the button twice for the two of us. Most of the time the capacity worked out, but it makes sense to indicate number of passengers.
gotta do yacht club!!!!!