After the pandemic made cruise ship attendance dwindle to near-zero, many speculated that the industry would not recover.
However, the years since the pandemic have proved the opposite. Cruise ship attendance is now higher than it was before 2020, and recent data shows that the industry is continuing to grow.
One of the reasons for this is the tendency of cruise companies to offer good deals for passengers. This lets passengers travel to warm, exotic destinations without breaking the bank.
That said, these deals can come with a different sort of cost. One couple learned this the hard way on a recent MSC Cruises trip, sharing their experience to TikTok.
What Went Wrong On This MSC Cruise?
In a video with over 2.6 million views, TikTok user Chris (@christhepainter710) says his cruise ship “f—— sucks.”
“This food sucks. The service sucks. Like, it’s not good,” Chris starts.
Chris’ partner reiterates that the food is bad, calling it “underwhelming.”
“It’s literally like cold, hard prison bread,” Chris adds. “I can’t express this to you enough. Like, we’re literally surviving off cold sourdough and French fries.”
Hearing this, Chris’ partner says, “You could give me the same trip again for $100, and I would not take it.”
Chris answers by saying he wouldn’t even take the trip for free.
“We just gonna pay the money to go on Carnival,” he states. “It’s wild work.”
The couple concludes by saying that they are “Carnival forever.”
“We’re never coming back on this ship again,” Chris declares. “MSC, you owe us our godd— money back. This f—— s— was terrible.”
In a comment, Chris reveals that the ship is the MSC Seascape.
Is This A Common Complaint?
Chris isn’t the only one to complain about the food on the MSC Seascape.
Several reviews on CruiseCritic claim that the quality of the food on the MSC Seascape is poor. One review simply states that the food is “not good,” saying that the buffet was “mainly pizza and potato salad every single day” and that “lunch and dinner [are] the same.”
Other reviews echo this sentiment.
“The food was truly very terrible. The buffet was bland, some of the food was not fresh (salad was wet and brown most days) and the options were very limited. Seemed the food was the same each day and there was absolutely nothing exciting or good about it,” wrote another reviewer. “Heard many other couples walking by and saying how disgusting the food was or looked (so we know we are not the only ones disappointed by it).”
This latter reviewer shared Chris’ thoughts on the service.
“When you spoke to some staff they appeared miserable and that you were bothering them,” the reviewer detailed. “We dont need staff to be smiling and greeting us all the time but their attitudes truly did affect how we felt each day.”
Commenters Are Divided
In the comments section, some users agreed with the TikToker’s assessment of MSC Cruises.
“I hated MSC cruise! I understand them completely!” exclaimed a user.
Others had conflicting experiences.
“We went in the MSC Seascape about a month ago and had the exact opposite experience. The food was amazing and the service was incredible! Maybe it’s the ship you were on?” questioned a user.
Even more commenters asserted that, while MSC may not be the best, there’s considerable disagreement about which cruise ship is better.
“Carnival forever? That statement alone has me questioning this review,” said a commenter.
“We just got off carnival yesterday. Will never, ever cruise Carnival again even if they paid us,” declared another.
BroBible reached out to @christhepainter710 via TikTok direct message and comment, and MSC Cruises via email.