Comparing 2 Bermuda Cruises: MSC Meraviglia and NCL Breakaway
During 2024, my partner and I took 2 separate 7-day cruises to Bermuda on ships that I feel best exemplify both the best and worst of what MSC and NCL cruise lines have to offer. Given that many people have strong feelings about MSC and NCL, I feel that an "Apples to Apples" comparison should be made for 2 ships which make round trip sailings between New York (Brooklyn for MSC and Manhattan for NCL) and Bermuda.
Normally, comparing two cruise lines sailing almost identical routes will often look like comparing apples to oranges due to the subtle differences between the cruise lines, their ports, and how their fares are structured. In this case, I have come close as possible to an apples to apples comparison, because the only important differences of note are the originating cruise terminal and the internet package chosen.
Each line does a lot of things well, and each line has its own glaring flaws. I came into being able to do this review because my cruise partner had an itch to take a cruise before the end of summer, and I found a way for us to afford a second cruise within one month of the first.
Ships Compared:
- MSC Meraviglia - year built: 2017.
- NCL Breakaway - year built: 2011.
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Stateroom/Cabins:
- MSC Meraviglia - Balcony
The balcony cabin was spacious, with both a king size bed and a sofa that converts to a bed. However, storage areas in the cabin were lacking. Unlike cabins on other cruise line's ships, the only shelves available for storing clothes (and other things) were in the closet. Although this was more than enough for two people, it might not be enough if a third person is occupying the cabin. Additionally, my 28" suitcase did not fit under the bed. This meant that I had to find unused space in the room to store the suitcase. - NCL Breakaway - Balcony
The balcony cabin was just as spacious as MSC's balcony cabin. However, more thought was given to providing storage space for cruisers, as there were several spaces in the room other than the closet where cruisers could store their goods.
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Note: Neither ship provides USB ports at bedside, something which is coming more common as new ships are built and others being renovated during dry dock.
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- MSC Meraviglia - Bermuda (September/October 2024)
- Embarkation: New York (Brooklyn)
- Sea Day #1
- Sea Day #2
- Port Day #1: Bermuda (King's Wharf)
- Sea Day #3, 4 & 5
- Debarkation: New York (Brooklyn)
Note: Sea Days #3 & 4 were originally scheduled to be port days. - NCL Breakaway - Bermuda (October/November 2024)
- Embarkation: New York (Manhattan)
- Sea Day #1-
- Port Day #1, 2, & 3: Bermuda (King's Wharf)
- Sea Day #2 & 3
- Debarkation: New York (Manhattan)******************************************************************
- MSC Meraviglia.
Unlike my last MSC cruise, MSC has upped its game with meals in the main dining room and the buffet. Both my partner and I felt that buffet selections were more than adequate, although not as varied as those found on prior cruises on other cruise lines. As one might expect on an Italian cruise ship, the pizza was very good, but a little doughier than one might like if one is used to New York Style pizza.
Meals in the main dining room were good, with an adequate amount of selections available each day. The standard breakfast choices were available (eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, cereals, etc.) each day. However, breakfast service was slow, as it often took some time before a waiter came to take our orders. Lunch service was also slow. However, menu choices varied on a daily basis for this meal. Unlike the other two meals, dinner service took place at fixed times, 5:45 pm and 7:45 pm, with assigned seating from the first day of the cruise. Portion sizes were reasonable, and our hungers were sated after each meal. On gala night, lobster tail & shrimp was on the menu. I decided to order a second plate and was charged only $5.00. This is less than the $10.00 I was charged on a recent cruise on Princess cruises for a similar upgrade.
Specialty dining was where MSC shines, albeit far from as brightly as on NCL. MSC sells 3, 4, and 5 day dining packages, where one eats dinner at different specialty restaurants. We chose the 3 day package, which entitled us to meals at the Butcher's Cut steakhouse, the Ocean Cay seafood restaurant, and Hola! Tacos taqueria. At Butcher's Cut and Ocean Cay, a limited number of meal choices were available for the standard specialty dining experience. If one wanted anything else on the menu, it would be available at half price. However, at the taqueria, one could have an unlimited number of items from the menu - there were no choice or amount limits. (One item of note: The Flan served here was better than the Flan we had in the main dining room at lunch.)
- NCL Breakaway.
I feel that the quality of NCL's complementary food options has gone down a little bit after the post-pandemic cruising restart. Yet, NCL does a better job in seasoning its food than MSC. This may be rooted in the clientele sailing with these cruise lines. MSC has a higher number of non-English speaking people from outside the Americas. Therefore, it may have to adjust its flavor portfolio to a wider range of palates. NCL caters to an Anglo-American clientele, and its flavor portfolio seems geared to people with Anglo-American taste preferences.
Breakfast and Lunch offerings at the buffet are both tasty and adequate. The pizza (when found) is not as good as that found on the MSC Meraviglia. However, NCL has a greater variety of food served at the buffet, one selection being the udon noodle soup. Additionally, NCL had a buffet station where freshly tossed Caesar Salad was being prepared to order - including the anchovies that many demand in a "Real" Caesar Salad. (Note: The Original Caesar Salad did not include anchovies in its recipe.)
Unlike MSC, virtually all choices at its main specialty restaurants are available at the one fixed price for the meal. The French restaurant, Le Bistro, serves wonderful food, including classics such as French Onion Soup, Escargots, and Coq au Vin. It is impossible to get a bad meal at this place. The Brazilian Churrascaria, Moderna, is as good as any you might find on land. However, its meat selections might be slightly more limited than some of the Churrascarias I've eaten at in the NYC area. Lastly, as a New Yorker, I don't think of Italian restaurants as being that special. Yet, NCL's Italian restaurant, La Cucina, was well worth visiting, as the Osso Buco was as good as I've had in one of my favorite land based restaurants.******************************************************************
- MSC.The MSC application isn't always intuitive in its use. It often took me a while to find basic functions, such as chat. The chat function did not trigger pop-ups which would be useful when trying to reach a cabin partner. Additionally, after the first time we tried to use chat, MSC's app lost the link between our phones and we couldn't use this function for the rest of the trip
We were able to use the app to make reservations at the ship's theater. However, one had to be careful when making reservations for all in a cabin, as it is easy to make a mistake and only reserve a seat for one person from the cabin.
An item of note: One is prevented from taking a screen snapshot when viewing the billing screen for purposes of fraud prevention. However, one can download the billing information as a PDF file and then view it on one's phone. - NCL.
NCL's app worked better than MSC's app. However, my partner's cell phone often had problems connecting with the ship's wi-fi, and this interfered with her use of the app.
Unlike MSC where chatting in the app is free, NCL charges $9.00 to activate this feature. Although it would have been useful to us, we found that we could use a "free" workaround which was possible because we both purchased the unlimited, non-streaming internet package - Google Voice texting.
NCL's app does allow the user to make reservations at the specialty restaurants for dinner. However, we decided to use the services of the reservations desk, as it was easier for them to look for available dining options for the two of us on their larger screens.
Note: NCL is in the process of updating its App across its ships, so one might be prompted to upgrade the app before sailing.******************************************************************
- MSC
Embarkation:
Unlike my first MSC cruise from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, embarkation was a breeze. Could it be that we had a 2:00 pm arrival time at the terminal, instead of the noon arrival time? Instead of being on lines that snaked through the terminal area, one could cut under the line demarcation ropes and get through security and check-in in less than 15 minutes.
Muster:
The muster process for this ship is a little more awkward than that used by other ships. One is supposed to view a muster video in one's cabin, then perform the extra step of calling a special phone number to register that one has viewed the video before reporting to the muster station for a second check-in.
Debarkation:
All passengers are expected to leave their cabins by 7:30 am. They can either proceed to a dining area for breakfast, or go to one of the assigned waiting areas to leave the ship. As was done on my last MSC cruise, they assign cabins into debarkation groups. Each group leaves the ship as its number is called. "Self Assist" cruisers can take their bags off the ship as early as 7:30 am, followed by passengers with transfers or tours arranged by MSC. After these groups leave the ship, other debarkation groups are called until the last group leaves the ship. Our group was one of the last to be called. So we killed time in the "wheelchair waiting area" instead of the ship's theater until our group was told to leave the ship.
It didn't take much time to have our cruise cards scanned for the last time, and reach the baggage area in the cruise terminal. Although it seemed like a long walk, we easily found our bags and were past the US Customs checkpoint in less than 10 minutes. - NCL.
Embarkation:
NCL has embarkation down to a science. With the exception of small number of cruisers staying in Haven Suites, everyone else at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal is steered to one of two sets of check-in stations where cruisers' paperwork and passports are presented before cruise cards are given to the cruiser. Occasionally, one will need to have a new ID photo taken, but this doesn't add much to the time it takes to get on the ship. Once the cruise card is in hand, one simply walks to the assigned embarkation point and boards the ship.
Unlike prior cruises out of Manhattan, we chose to arrive at the terminal at 1 pm. We found that the lines were shorter than if we arrived earlier in the day, and we were on board the ship within 20 minutes of arrival. I wouldn't recommend that people arrive any later than 1 pm, as the ship's manifest must be complete by 2 pm, so that the ship can leave port promptly at 4 pm.
Muster:
NCL encourages people to watch the safety video at home before the cruise (as we did) instead of waiting until we have boarded the ship. Once on the ship, all one has to do is check in at the muster station. On a prior cruise, we were very lucky, as our muster station was 20 feet from where we got on the ship, and we completed our muster responsibilities before taking the elevator to reach our cabin floor.
Debarkation:
NCL directs mildly mobility challenged people to priority departure queues as they leave the ship. There were people using canes who appreciated being able to avoid being on their feet longer than absolutely needed during the luggage collection process at the pier. I was glad that our line moved quick enough to be able to get to our bags before my back started to rebel.
Having had problems with finding my bag in the Manhattan Cruise Terminal after prior cruises, I made sure to have Tile Trackers on each of our bags. Although we didn't need to use the trackers, we did need a little guidance to find our luggage pick up area. (My eyes didn't see the difference between orange and yellow zones under the pier's light.)
As done in Brooklyn, US Customs now uses facial recognition technology at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. This made it possible for us to be at the cab station across the street from the cruise terminal within 15 minutes after leaving the ship for the last time.
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- MSC
Since MSC attracts a more international clientele than NCL, one expects that the entertainment would depend less on language than song and visual elements. That proved to be the case on this trip. The first show we saw in the main theater was a magic show, with 4 different styles of magic. This show was entertaining, but we both felt that the show should have been a little longer with fewer performers. The next show we attended was with the comedian, Ken Boyd. Finally, we saw the juggler, Lucian Fuller. With the exception of the comedian's show, one did not need to speak English to enjoy the show.
(Ken Boyd performing in the ship's theater)
There is more than one theater on the Meraviglia. There is a more intimate theater at the back of the ship, the Carousel Theater. Two shows are performed here: Houdini and Rock Opera. Neither show requires an understanding of English to enjoy the performances. However, both are very loud and use lighting elements which may be a problem for some people with visual impairments.
(Rock Opera being performed in the Carousel theater.) - NCL.
NCL was been known for the quality of shows in its main theater. However, the premier stage show on the Breakaway, Burn The Floor, needs to be rotated off of this ship, having seen it last year on another Bermuda cruise on the NCL Getaway. With that being said, the Broadway Cabaret was very good, and much more entertaining than MSC's Rock Opera, as the singers' performances weren't marred by circus acrobatics going on around them. However, NCL's comedians did not make me laugh, as the one I watched in the main theater made too many jokes involving defecation, causing me to fall asleep during his performance.
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- Cruise Packages - Add-ons.
MSC Best Value + Fantastica.
When I now think of MSC, I think of this cruise line as one where prices are kept low by making things optional. In my case, I had to couple the Best Value option with the Fantastica package to get values equivalent to the range set by NCL's Free at Sea package. Yet, there are some interesting differences that I must note.
MSC offers two booking types: Best Price and Best Value. Best Price is similar to the Guaranteed Cabin option types on NCL. Best Value allows the cruiser to choose one's cabin within a category range (displayed on a later reservation screen) and includes the "Easy Drinks Plus" package, including all drinks under $10. The $10 price limit is not as bad as it might seem, as MSC's Easy Drinks Plus package includes canned sodas, sparkling waters, beers, selected wines, and selected mixed drinks (made with bottom shelf spirits). I never had to pay extra for any of the sodas or "adult drinks" I had ordered.
There are three experience types on MSC ships: Bella, Fantastica, and Aurea. The Bella experience is a basic package without specialty dining and spa options. The Aurea experience is a high end package, where the cruiser gets a specialty dining package, anytime dining in one of the ship's restaurants, a Balinese massage, and access to the ship's solarium. It is not offered to all cruisers. I chose the Fantastica option, which allowed me to select my cabin, and added a dining package which included meals at 3 of the specialty restaurants on the ship.
NCL Free at Sea (Now "More at Sea")
There is one big advantage to NCL's Free at Sea package - one gets to choose one's own cabin. (This is no longer true in all cases.) The other advantages are important, but are effectively add-ons, as they can be deselected to avoid paying gratuities on a drink package and a specialty dining package. Yet, the gratuities are a cheap price to pay for a drink package that includes all drinks (soda, beer, wine, spirits and mixed drinks) under $15. However, this package does not cover the mandated daily "staff service" gratuity fee, which is approximately $20/day/pp. Yet, it does provide the cruiser with 150 minutes of free wi-fi which can be enhanced for a reasonable fee (see below). - Photography Packages.
MSC.
This cruise line encourages people to have lots of photos taken. Facial recognition is used to identify these photos with cabins. so that they are placed in cabin specific folders and isolated from other cabins' photos. Their photo prices for 8"x10" photos are reasonable, as we were able to get 4 photos and a frame for $50. However, these prices drop significantly if even a small photo package is bought.
NCL.
Like MSC, NCL also encourages people to buy photo packages. However, their price for the 2 photos we bought would have paid for 4 photos on MSC. Given that the photo posing and quality are the same as that on MSC, I would only consider it worthwhile to buy 1 or 2 special photos from NCL's photo gallery and leave the rest unpurchased.
- Internet Add-ons.
MSC
MSC offers Wi-Fi as an add-on to the basic fare. Unlike most lines, its internet is limited to one physical device for the cruise, instead of one internet device being logged on at the same time. This little gotcha often trips up people who think they can log in first with their cell phone, then log off and then on with their laptop or tablet after the first logon. If bought before the cruise, a 7-day cruise, unlimited, non-streaming Wi-Fi was offered at $112, which was good enough for my purposes. MSC also offers streaming Wi-Fi for a few dollars more per day, and I plan to select that option on my next cruise with MSC.
NCL
NCL also offers Wi-Fi as an add-on to the basic fare. Unlike MSC, NCL gives the "Free at Sea" promotional rate cruiser (now "More at Sea") 150 free minutes. An unlimited non-streaming Wi-Fi upgrade is available for $110 (one device in use at a time). and an unlimited streaming Wi-Fi upgrade is available for $170. Otherwise, the non-streaming Wi-Fi is $30/day and the streaming Wi-Fi is $40/day. - Other items of note.
MSC Pre-Embarkation Process.
Most cruise lines lets one register a credit card to one's onboard account before boarding the ship. This is not the case with MSC, where they force the cruiser to perform this part of the check-in process while onboard the ship. This adds to the confusion most first time cruisers with the line experience, as most will not think to take care of this task on the first day of cruising.
MSC Public Areas.
Although most cruise line ships are meant to impress, MSC tends to be over the top in glitz. Nor only are the grand staircases embedded with Swarovski crystals, but the whole ship can seem "over the top" in its own way, The pathway between two of the main dining rooms is bordered with highly reflective walls inset with wine bottles. There is so much light being reflected, that people with certain visual impairments might have trouble navigating this section of the ship.
A common trend in many cruise ships is to reduce the size of reading libraries. Fewer people are seeking this kind of quiet place on cruise ships, and MSC has taken this to an extreme by making the ships' library a 2-3 meter long path of empty magazine racks off of the grand atrium.
MSC Cruise Demographics.
My cruise may have been an outlier. Many people have commented (and complained) that there was a very large number of people from one ethnic / language group on this ship not associated with South America. Several bloggers on my cruise were offended by the cultural norms of this group and noted this in their blogs. As for me, I found it awkward, as it inhibited my ability to have the quick chats one might have with people at neighboring tables in the main dining room.
NCL Cruise Demographics.
The demographics of NCL cruisers are similar to that found on Princess cruises, save that more children tend to be found on NCL cruises. Given that our NCL Bermuda cruise took place in Late October/Early November, we didn't see that many children on this cruise.
You get what you pay for on each of these lines.
If one wants good entertainment, one should cruise on NCL If one wants low cost, I'd choose MSC. Both cruise lines have their merits, and I would sail on either line again, given the right conditions.
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