In mid-October 2024, my family and I took a 10-day Mediterranean cruise with MSC, departing from Istanbul, Turkey. The itinerary included 2 days at sea, and we stopped in Greece (Corfu, Katakolon, Athens), Italy (Bari, Triste) and went back to Turkey (Kusadasi, Istanbul). It was my 4th cruise in the past 17 years – I had been on another Mediterranean cruise with Norwegian, Alaskan cruise with Celebrity X, and a Mayan Riviera one with Carnival. I was a bit weary because I had read a lot of negative reviews about MSC, especially from Americans – but even though I do agree with some of the negative reviews, my family and I were still satisfied by our experience overall. Here’s a rundown of the good and the (sort of) bad 🙂

THE PROS OF SAILING WITH MSC: Flexibility of Itinerary and Value for Money

I didn’t realize this prior to boarding, but apparently our ship, the MSC Splendida, is at sea for 9 months out of the year (March-November) on a circuit throughout the same ports of call in the Aegean and the Adriatic Sea. So you could choose when and where to get off, depending on which port is the most convenient for you and which dates you would like sail. So at every stop, we saw different groups of people disembarking and embarking. All the other cruises I have taken previously required everyone to get on and off at the same time. I thought this was really cool and it meant that there were no long lines at embarkation/disembarkation, which is typical for cruises. It was very convenient for us to get on and off the ship at our current home base of Istanbul since we didn’t even have to fly anywhere. We left on the ship and it took us right back home 10 days later!

Also MSC is known in the cruise industry as the leader in affordability and the price definitely couldn’t be beat – it cost around $2,500 for 2 adults and our 6-year-old child for an essentially ALL-INCLUSIVE vacation (transportation, accommodation, food, entertainment AND service charges/tips which are automatically charged to your card at the end of the cruise) for a 9 nights and 10 days trip. You would be hard pressed to plan a family vacation for that amount! Also if you consider how much it would cost for a family of 3 just to go out to a nice dinner and a show these days in a large metropolitan city anywhere, $250 per day seems like a steal. Every night on the cruise you can have a sit-down 3-course dinner at a restaurant and enjoy a fabulous Broadway musical revue, a magic show, etc. Even the kids’ club is included – they will babysit and entertain your kids if you want to leave them there for the various activities throughout the day. Our son didn’t want to be separated from us but we did participate in some family-oriented contests hosted by the kids’ club together and they were really fun, and the child minders were very friendly and caring.

THE CONS: Slow Elevators, Lack of Food Variety and European-Style Service

The downsides of MSC were not dealbreakers for us but it could be for some folks. They had several elevators on the ship but they were pretty slow, and they would get packed during busy times. So we mostly hoofed up and down the stairs (good for burning off all those calories from the buffet 😉 but for the mobility impaired, I can see how it could be a huge inconvenience.

And even though the food quality was definitely more than decent (especially in their freshly-made pizza and pasta department, roasted meats, fresh vegetables, vegetarian dishes, seafood and fruits) it could get a bit monotonous. It was mostly the same array of Western cuisine everyday and very little offerings of other types of cuisine (Asian, Mexican, etc.) were available. Also you had to pay for bottled water anywhere outside the sit-down dining room. But tap water as well as hot water at the buffet were free of charge. Also if you want soft drinks or specialty beverages/cocktails, that was also extra. So if you’re someone who cannot live without their daily soft drinks, purchasing the extra beverage package would be a must.

Additionally, I noticed that the crew members were not as over-the-top, enthusiastically nice as the other companies that I have cruised with. They were certainly cordial enough, but they all just seemed pretty tired – which I TOTALLY understand having been at sea working super long hours for the past 8 months! If you’re someone who enjoys a lot of small talk with your room attendant, waiters/waitresses, etc. on the ship, or the so-called “American-style” service, I would say MSC may not be for you. The dining room service could be very slow as well at times (just like in Europe!). Also because MSC is an Italian company catering to mostly European passengers, whenever there was an announcement made it was in like 8 different languages, which could be annoying for some.

Deciding When To Go & Selecting Your Room

I strongly recommend cruising off-season like we did in October or April, because the summer heat and the crowds in the Mediterranean can get unbearable. The outside deck, pools and hot tubs on the ship were still pretty full when we went so it must get JAMPACKED in the summer, not to mention all the tourist attractions on land. We did have a couple of days of windy and drizzly weather (when we were in Corfu and Bari) but the weather was gorgeous after that (temperature in low to mid 20s Celsius or 70s Fahrenheit). Be sure to check the weather before you depart on your cruise and pack layers of appropriate clothing. We packed rain coats and waterproof jackets so we weren’t cold at all but we saw many passengers in summer clothing suffering!

We were a bit torn about selecting our rooms on the ship, about whether to choose one with a balcony (exterior stateroom, which cost more $$) or without (interior). But from my previous experience, you just don’t spend that much time in your room on a cruise – you’re always out and about enjoying all the food, events and activities going on around the ship at all times, and the room is just for showering and sleeping in. Also we would rather spend the money on experiences on land, like dining out, rental cars, private guide and driver (like we did in Kusadasi, Turkey to go to Ephesus), etc. So we chose an interior stateroom and it was cozy and well-designed. There was a double bed for a couple, and two pullman beds that can be pulled out from the ceiling and accessed with a ladder for a bunk-bed feel for up to 2 children. Our 6-year-old loved it! Also the climate control worked really well inside the room so it didn’t feel stuffy, and the room was well ventilated with a superb ventilation system in the bathroom that was always on. So there was no moisture build-up or moldiness happening at all despite the lack of windows. We were very comfortable!

Choosing the Right Itinerary & How to Make the Most of Your Time on Shore

If you want hit up all the biggies (the most popular destinations) for international travelers on a cruise, such as Venice, Rome, Santorini, etc. definitely be sure to choose itineraries that includes those destinations specifically and research how long it would take to get to the historic city center and attractions from the cruise ports you will be docking at. For example, one of our ports of call was Trieste, Italy, which was marked as ‘Venice’ in parenthesis. However, in order to reach Venice from the port of Trieste, you must take a 2.5 hour train ride. Since we would be on shore for only 10 hours (9am-7pm), after burning 5-6 hours on the train ride back and forth, we would hardly have a few hours to spend in Venice itself. I had already been there before so it wasn’t a big deal for me but it was a bit of a disappointment for my husband who had never been. Since Venice is a cultural treasure that definitely merits an overnight stay, so we decided to visit it separately in the future and spent our day exploring Trieste, which was an unexpected gem! I was happy to be able to explore lesser known Italian cities like Bari and Trieste on this trip, which had a lot to offer in terms of history and culture.

Also consider renting a car if you can at ports of call like Katakolon, which has no public transportation option to get to the main tourist attraction in the area, the Olympia Archaeological Site and Museum (the birthplace of the Olympic Games). The cheapest bus transfer option to Olympia from Katakolon cost around $30 per person (so for a family of 3, $90 total), but renting a car was half that price and we had the freedom to depart and return back to port on our own schedule. The local car rental agencies are on the right as you exit the port of Katakolon and the whole rental process and the drive to Olympia was super easy.

We rented a car at the port of Piraeus as well, because we wanted to visit the Athenian Riviera instead of going into Athens city center (we were just there last year). If you want to visit Athens from Piraeus, I would not recommend renting a car because there are efficient public transportation options and it’s a very congested city. But if you want to explore the sparkling coastline just south of Athens, renting a car is perfect for this! I highly recommend visiting the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion, which offers incredible views and history.

I have to say, this was the most relaxing trip I have taken in recent years. I didn’t have nearly as much planning to do as for other vacations (booking hotels, flights, local transportation, excursions, deciding where to go, etc.) since the cruise includes most of that. Aside from booking a couple of rental cars and researching what to do for the 7-10 hours we would spend at each port of call, I didn’t have to worry about anything at all. I just enjoyed the cruise ship life onboard with my family and the next day I woke up ready to explore another city. This the most fabulous aspect of a cruise! My dream is to go on a world cruise one day, which I think would be very exciting. I hope this article will help you plan a wonderful family cruise in the near future – happy travels 🙂