Understanding the Differences: MSC and Royal Caribbean Cruises

As someone who lived in the States, Royal Caribbean is a common go-to cruise, with Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival being close seconds. Lately, MSC has been getting more traction. What’s the deal with it, though? Is it worth it, is it good? Is it truly a “you get what you pay for” kind of deal?

Let’s break it down, step by step. As a note- I am specifically comparing my cruise on MSC: Splendida to Royal Caribbean: Vision of the Seas.

Cost:

The cost between the two is astronomically different, with MSC being a lot cheaper for the *base rate.* It was hard to find an accurate comparison for these two cruise lines, as they’re often not in the same port, at the same time. But, I hope this can provide a good sense of both of these cruise line prices:

MSC: A 7-night Mediterranean cruise in late April 2026 is $1,150/per person.

RC: Offers an 8-night Mediterranean cruise in late April 2026 for $1,854/per person.

Why? How?

MSC is a European cruise line, they have often larger ships, catering to a different demographic. As you’ll see below- there is less of a “party” atmosphere, but rather it’s more “classy,” meaning less entertainment, more time to relax. Additionally, MSC has different tiers, many opting to upgrade their experience (and therefore spending more money on something like Yacht Club, which offers personal butlers, private solariums, exclusive venues and more). MSC also limits people on drinks, even when purchasing a drink package, meaning if you go over that limit, you’re spending more on drinks, whereas RC offers unlimited drinks.

Location & Language Barriers:

This may not be as active depending on where you’re cruising, but I thought to mention it as MSC is largely European and it’s more likely you’ll be in countries with many languages.

MSC: I had flown to France to get on the MSC cruise, many of the passengers speak]

a mix of languages. This meant a couple things.

It can initially feel more “awkward” in public spaces or elevators, starting small talk may result in simply nods, smiles or looks if they don’t speak your language. I speak English fluently, and can get by with some French and Spanish, but before I hear them speak, I have no idea! Chinese, German, Italian, etc. were other common languages heard.
The excursions are often a mix of two languages. Usually, you get someone who can transition pretty seamlessly between both languages, giving about the same amount of each language throughout the tour, but you may get a tour guide who has a thick accent, or one that speaks much more of the other language than yours.

RC: I drove an hour to get on my RC cruise. Everyone spoke English and it was assumed that people did. This meant small talk in public spaces was easy and comfortable. All excursions were English speaking, so there was no difficult accents to decipher or feeling like my language was being overlooked by another one.

Three women posing together in a sunny outdoor setting with colorful buildings in the background. — Me and my new friends from Singapore!

Personally, I thought it was so neat to leave MSC and say, I had dinner with a lady from Prague and one from China, I met a family from Singapore and a lady from Germany. I couldn’t say that with RC and as a world traveler, I absolutely live for things like that, but I won’t lie and say being able to make friends with anyone with ease and not feeling awkward on the elevator was refreshing.

Food Variety & Quality:

This was a big one because I remember this being a large complaint on Facebook groups- the food is gross, I can’t eat anything, nothing is good, I’m starving, etc. And while I’m not a picky eater, I have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. Perhaps they were on different ships?

My food was all delicious. The buffet, the main dining room and the specialty restaurants. I even thought the hotpot at MSC (Sea Pavilion) was better than the Japanese Sushi place one on RC (Izumi).

MSC: I keep saying it, but it seems consistently relevant; MSC is a European cruise line, which means much of their food is European-inspired. Pastas, pizzas, bread, fruit, salads, etc. although they do have a small American section of hotdogs, burgers, etc. They have limited, if any, fried food.

RC: I honestly cannot say that the food was vastly different on RC. I wasn’t a blogger back in May when I had gone, so I didn’t pay as much attention, but from my recollection, it was about the same. At least the photos from my cruise had pretty much the same food on it!

Drink Packages:

I tend to not drink enough to need a drink package. Anything in the buffet for both cruises is free (coffee, tea, water, juice). The only drinks you’ll be paying for is anything alcoholic, at a bar, specialty restaurant or at the main dining room. So typically, in addition to whatever I get at the buffet, I’m drinking something additional once a day or every other day. I know, I’m not fun haha! But for those who are drinking 15+/day, this is for you!

MSC: MSC caps at 15 drinks when purchasing the drink package, meaning that you pay for your 16th, 17th, 18th, etc. drink.

RC: After purchasing the drink package, you can drink as much as you want- however, a bar tender or whoever is serving you drinks can stop you if they feel you’re getting a little too tipsy haha! Technically though, you can drink 30 in one day without paying anything additional.

Steward Etiquette:

I would call this more of a confusion than anything…

MSC: Your steward doesn’t introduce themselves. They will be there for you when you need, clean your room and give you any excursion tickets- but unlike RC, they don’t knock on your door, give you their card and introduce themself. At least mine didn’t and other passengers said the same thing. I was also not given any towel animals (RIP) although I didn’t ask for any either. You can ask, and supposedly you can get some. Maybe he didn’t think I wanted any as a childless solo traveler, but who doesn’t want them!? Either way, my steward was lovely. He did think I was French for 6 days, but we had a good laugh about it later! As your steward doesn’t introduce themself or ask when to clean- I just left my “do not disturb” sign outside my door until I left the room and typically, he would come during that time.

RC: My steward did introduce himself to me! His name was Shana, from the Philippines. He knocked on my door about an hour after I had settled and asked me whether I wanted him to clean in the morning or night. I had gotten a towel animal every other day.

A creatively folded towel resembling a cartoon-like animal with blue eyes, placed on a bed in a cruise cabin.

Entertainment:

Is it because of the language barrier and it’s hard to accommodate people with such different languages? Is it because of the cost of cruising or is it the “classy vibe?” I don’t know, but there was a difference in entertainment.

MSC: MSC’s entertainment was not 24-7 and there were ample gaps of time where there was nothing going on. The live performances were fun to watch, but short and more centered around acrobatics, dance and some singing.

Let’s look at a random day:

8am

Pilates

9am

Stretching

10am

Board Games or Aerobics
Tic Tac Toe

11am

Dance Lessons: Kizomba
Masterclass: Formula for Weight Loss
Corn Hole

–Nothing until 3pm–

3pm

Board Games
Game: Hit the Glass

4pm

Ping pong Tournament
Dance Lesson: Salsa
Game: Inflatable Basket

5pm:

Fit Dance
#MSCTeensLive Numbers Game
LGBTQIA+ Travelers

6pm:

Sunset stretching
EFFY Jewelry: Guess the Carat weight of the Tanzanite
Live music with Duo Dayanna & Dano & Marco
Live music with Atmosphera
Live music with Duo Los Latinos & Duo Latin Blend
Live music with Andrea & Alberto

7pm:

Live Music with Nearly Band
Theatre Show: Rock Royalty

8pm:

Mega bingo
Shopping raffle
EFFY Jewelry: Tanzanite Gemstone Sale & Raffle
Dancing with our Dance Instructors
Spanish Party

And you can imagine the rest. For someone new to cruising, it may seem like there is already a lot happening, so what’s the issue?

RC: Not necessarily an “issue” but when I went on RC, there were multiple things- 3+ things happening at any given time. There weren’t any gaps, so it was a change. For example, at 9am on RC- they offered:

Body Sculpt Boot Camp
Morning Stretch
Complimentary Massage Tasters
Dance Fitness Class
Sudoku Challenge

MSC seems to be heavier in the evening, with limited going on in the morning, but RC has a lot of things happening all at once. The way the schedule is set up is also different. On the MSC app, the daily planner is not active usually until the day before. Each event is individually scheduled with it’s respective time. On MSC, the activities are categorized by hour.

So, just something to keep in mind! For me, there was the pool, jacuzzi, blogging, excursions, napping (lol), and other things to do on the boat during the early hours- spa, hair, casino, etc. but I can’t say it wasn’t a change from what I was used to.

MSC (Left) and RC (Right)

Embarking/Disembarking:

The last huge difference that I noticed was embarking/disembarking.

MSC: People are embarking and disembarking at all different times. When I had first arrived, I met a lady from Prague who was leaving the next day and had been on the ship for 4 days. I was going to be there for another 6 days. This also means that we got announcements every day, letting people know where to go for their muster drill if they had arrived on the ship that day. Some people found it incredibly annoying, for me? It was 2 minutes out of my day of an announcement that I didn’t have to listen to. Once you do your muster station, you do NOT have to do it every day, so just ignore the announcement…

RC: Everyone on the ship comes and leaves at the same time… unless you get arrested on the ship and get imprisoned at the Bermuda jail, which we believe happened to one of the passengers back in May… long story! You do the muster station when you arrive and you never hear an announcement about it again.

What do I prefer?

I love how cheap MSC is and the differences are not huge to me. They are very manageable and I really love MSC, to be honest. RC also has it’s pros and was my first cruise that I fell in love with, but I can’t ignore the cost difference. I think in general, both cruise lines are pretty comparable, with minor differences. Would the drink package on MSC be a no-go for you? Do you thrive on budget-friendly vacations? Are the multiple languages a deal-breaker? These are all questions you have to ask yourself. And once you decide… let me know. Are you team MSC or team RC? Or perhaps, like me- love them both!