Pay Peanuts Get Monkeys

Its a saying I often use and one which I think speaks for itself. If you pay £10 for a dress would you expect it to look like it did when you bought it after its been through the wash several times? Probably not. That wouldn’t be true had you paid £100 for a similar dress from your favourite high street store and you would be returning it for a refund.

Well the same goes for cruising in some ways. Yes you do often get the odd fantastic deal with hundreds of pounds knocked off in a flash sale but generally speaking you wouldn’t expect the same level of standard, service and inclusions on a cruise (or holiday) you paid £500 for compared to that of one costing £1500 for the same duration and ports of call. Like with everything in life there are the mediocre, the great and the amazing. Its abit like Primark, TopShop and Selfridges I suppose which brings me on to the point im crawling along to…

I hear a rumour that MSC Cruises are on the brink of ordering some sparkly new cruise ships with the intentions of making a splash in the luxury market. The 4 new ships will (supposedly) carry around 750 passengers each which is a far stretch from the 5000+ passengers that their latest additions Seaview and Seaside were built to carry.

Whilst the cruising industry in some parts is crying out for a return of the smaller, more intimate ships I’m not entirely convinced that MSC are the cruise line to pull off a leap into the 6 star market. You can have the most stunning and luxurious ship on the planet, but if the crew aren’t trained in the highest levels of service nor the chefs in the most intricate and impeccable of cuisine then it was all a pointless exercise.

Whilst I cant deny that MSC are producing some fantastic ships, super itineraries and are a fast growing favourite in the industry I’m not entirely convinced they could go up against the likes of Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, Oceania and Seabourn when it comes down to the superb levels of organisation, service and the finer detail that are expected by luxury clients. Perhaps they don’t intend to and I’m waffling based on hearsay, but if what I hear is true I really do hope that they have the plans to pull this off. Good luck to them.

What do you guys think? Are MSC in as good a shape as any to move in to luxury cruising or should they stick to what they know? Id be interested to hear your thoughts.