Other cruise lines for Mediterranean recommendations?

[Luv2trav]

I want to do my research before we book DCL for Med cruise. We are not experienced cruisers. We have only taken 3 cruises. 2 being DCL and 1 Royal Caribbean. RC was a long time ago and we hated it. We loved our DCL cruises. In addition we have never been to Europe. DH has been to Amsterdam but that is it. We like the idea of DCL because we are familiar and know what we are getting. However I don’t want to break the bank if there are other comparable options for much less.

That being said I keep reading we should consider a different cruise line for Mediterranean due to cost and port intensive.

We are a family of 4. Me, DH and 2 DS who will be 19 and 17 at time of cruise. We will need 2 staterooms. 1 balcony and 1 ocean view or inside. We just need other stateroom for our sons for extra room. We don’t care about their view lol.

What other cruises would you recommend? Thank you.

 

[aggiedog]

You can sail insanely cheap on MSC. Like, crazy cheap. Or, you can do like we did and sail their Yacht Club concierge for still a fraction of DCL. We got a second stateroom for our teen daughters as well. It is NOT the same as DCL, but for a port intensive cruise, it was worth the savings to be able to spend that money on a week in France before the cruise. I found a great company that planned that trip out for me, so low stress for me.

Your teens may enjoy MSC, as they have a very international mix of people and several teen activities (from what I saw - my girls were happy to play switch with a Swiss kid in the concierge lounge.)

 

[Tasmen]

Another option could be NCL. That's our go to if not DCL cruiseline. And honestly, when we do Europe in a couple years, I suspect we'll end up on NCL, Celebrity or MSC.

 

[Luv2trav]

You can sail insanely cheap on MSC. Like, crazy cheap. Or, you can do like we did and sail their Yacht Club concierge for still a fraction of DCL. We got a second stateroom for our teen daughters as well. It is NOT the same as DCL, but for a port intensive cruise, it was worth the savings to be able to spend that money on a week in France before the cruise. I found a great company that planned that trip out for me, so low stress for me.

Your teens may enjoy MSC, as they have a very international mix of people and several teen activities (from what I saw - my girls were happy to play switch with a Swiss kid in the concierge lounge.)

Do I find information for their Yacht club on line? I don’t need Disney but I prefer the same level of service and quality. That is why I’m afraid to try something I don’t know with this big of trip. Thank you for sharing. My youngest son will absolutely prefer to meet teens from other countries vs other Americans lol

 

[Luv2trav]

Another option could be NCL. That's our go to if not DCL cruiseline. And honestly, when we do Europe in a couple years, I suspect we'll end up on NCL, Celebrity or MSC.

Thank you. I will look into those. Since we need two staterooms DCL is just so expensive.

 

[Tasmen]

Thank you. I will look into those. Since we need two staterooms DCL is just so expensive.

You may want to check out the 2 bedroom family suites on NCL. We've sailed in one before and have another booked for August 2021 and Alaska. They are great. Plus, if there is a Haven on the ship, you get access to it. Definitely worth checking if it is the same price or cheaper than 2 cabins.

 

[lilsonicfan]

MSC has their own website for US guests, it's here. Yacht Club is a room category you can book on many of their ships although it's sometimes also referred to as an "experience". It's their concierge level and comes with great perks - thermal spa access (like rainforest room), YC-only pool, restaurant, lounge, poolside restaurant and bar, full open bar, priority boarding, it's basically the "ship within a ship" idea meant to be very exclusive. Their other "experience" levels vary from basic room only (Bella or Fantastica) to better rooms/some other perks (Aurea). We did our MSC cruise in the Med with younger kids. They didn't go to the kids clubs much at all but honestly we were just tired from long (very long) days in port and for that reason the YC was a great place to relax.

 

[Luv2trav]

You may want to check out the 2 bedroom family suites on NCL. We've sailed in one before and have another booked for August 2021 and Alaska. They are great. Plus, if there is a Haven on the ship, you get access to it. Definitely worth checking if it is the same price or cheaper than 2 cabins.

Is Haven like concierge? What does it include. I’m very interested in this.

 

[Tasmen]

Is Haven like concierge? What does it include. I’m very interested in this.

It is! Not all NCL ships have a Haven. Some perks of the Haven:

* Haven only restaurant
* Haven only bar
* Private pool
* Private hot tubs near pool and on private sundeck
* Your own butler
* Usual suite type perks (priority embark/disembark, priority tendering, private concierge desk, etc.)

NCL also tends to give (I've never seen them NOT) suite guests all the perks they are running at the time. For our upcoming cruise in 2021, we got the unlimited booze package, 3 nights of specialty dining, some free wifi, and an excursion credit. The drink and dining perks are only for the first 2 people on the cabin (so the adults for us).

 

[Luv2trav]

MSC has their own website for US guests, it's here. Yacht Club is a room category you can book on many of their ships although it's sometimes also referred to as an "experience". It's their concierge level and comes with great perks - thermal spa access (like rainforest room), YC-only pool, restaurant, lounge, poolside restaurant and bar, full open bar, priority boarding, it's basically the "ship within a ship" idea meant to be very exclusive. Their other "experience" levels vary from basic room only (Bella or Fantastica) to better rooms/some other perks (Aurea). We did our MSC cruise in the Med with younger kids. They didn't go to the kids clubs much at all but honestly we were just tired from long (very long) days in port and for that reason the YC was a great place to relax.

This is what I am looking for. Thank you.

 

[StarSeven7]

Can I ask what you are wanting to see in Europe? And are you looking for a cruise that happens to be in Europe or are you actually wanting to see Europe? Because you will be able to see so much more if you aren't on a cruise!

 

[Luv2trav]

Can I ask what you are wanting to see in Europe? And are you looking for a cruise that happens to be in Europe or are you actually wanting to see Europe? Because you will be able to see so much more if you aren't on a cruise!

We are looking to see as much of Europe as possible. While we know cruising will only give us a “sample size” experience for each country we feel it allows us to maximize our time. Perhaps even letting us know which locations we would like to return one day for more in depth experience. Plus the ease of only unpacking once is nice.

 

[Luv2trav]

It is! Not all NCL ships have a Haven. Some perks of the Haven:

* Haven only restaurant
* Haven only bar
* Private pool
* Private hot tubs near pool and on private sundeck
* Your own butler
* Usual suite type perks (priority embark/disembark, priority tendering, private concierge desk, etc.)

NCL also tends to give (I've never seen them NOT) suite guests all the perks they are running at the time. For our upcoming cruise in 2021, we got the unlimited booze package, 3 nights of specialty dining, some free wifi, and an excursion credit. The drink and dining perks are only for the first 2 people on the cabin (so the adults for us).

Wow just priced one for 10 days June/21 and for 2 bedroom Haven was 10K cheaper and 1 night longer. Haven compared to just 1 varandah and 1 inside room on DCL. That is significant. Thank you for recommending. I have some thinking to do.

 

[lilsonicfan]

We strongly considered NCL Haven as well but it turned out to be substantially more than YC on MSC - however, that is partly because we were in one room on MSC, not two.

So while we haven't done NCL Haven, my guess is that it's a little bit more "North Americanized" than MSC is, even in Europe.

 

[aggiedog]

Not all MSC ships have a YC. You can filter for that when doing the find a cruise search on their website. We actually got a 2 for 1 deal, which made it a no brainer. All the perks were nice, but honestly the best thing was the lounge. It was frequently almost empty, and was an oasis of quiet for my introvert family after all day out on excursions. And free fancy coffees, and free drinks.

 

[aggiedog]

My only "complaint" with MSC was that it was very European dining in the YC only restaurant - read took.so.long. LOL After several days, we just had to tell our servers "look, we're tired, we're American, can we please move faster?" They were happy to accommodate us.

 

[Luv2trav]

My only "complaint" with MSC was that it was very European dining in the YC only restaurant - read took.so.long. LOL After several days, we just had to tell our servers "look, we're tired, we're American, can we please move faster?" They were happy to accommodate us.

LOL. Yes my family would be just like this.

 

[Marc D]

We strongly considered NCL Haven as well but it turned out to be substantially more than YC on MSC - however, that is partly because we were in one room on MSC, not two.

So while we haven't done NCL Haven, my guess is that it's a little bit more "North Americanized" than MSC is, even in Europe.

MSC is always European style, wherever it sails. It’s main market is mainland European travellers.

NCL’s main market is the same as DCL : US, Canada, UK. The service, food and other things follows the same pattern, and they recruit employees from the same regions.

My main problem with Haven is that the service we received was amateurish at best, especially from the concierge host. Also, the Haven restaurant has one, not very interesting, menu that never changes.

We find that Celebrity offers a better experience than NCL.

 

[StarSeven7]

MSC is always European style, wherever it sails. It’s main market is mainland European travellers.

NCL’s main market is the same as DCL : US, Canada, UK. The service, food and other things follows the same pattern, and they recruit employees from the same regions.

My main problem with Haven is that the service we received was amateurish at best, especially from the concierge host. Also, the Haven restaurant has one, not very interesting, menu that never changes.

We find that Celebrity offers a better experience than NCL.

Did you cruise Celebrity with kids? I’m not really into the idea of cruising in Europe but I did find a Celebrity cruise that includes a lot of ports that would be difficult to combine in a land vacation. My friend cruises celebrity and she loves it but they always leave their kids at home when they go.

 

[Marc D]

Did you cruise Celebrity with kids? I’m not really into the idea of cruising in Europe but I did find a Celebrity cruise that includes a lot of ports that would be difficult to combine in a land vacation. My friend cruises celebrity and she loves it but they always leave their kids at home when they go.

Yes we did, last summer on a Baltic cruise. Our son was not interested at all in their version of the kids club, but it wasn’t a problem for us. All European cruises are very port intensive, so the time onboard is used to relax and be together. He watched movies, read books, played with his Switch and we played table games. He’s a 9yo mini-foodie, so the buffet and dining room were right up his alley. The tours were not thought out for kids, but he enjoyed them none the less. We have a tendency to involve him in our visits instead of just dragging him along, which helps a lot.

If you need ‘kids food’, kids clubs and tours made for small children, Celebrity might not work out, but it’s perfect for us.