In recent years, cruise ships have not only grown in size but also in the incredible variety of restaurants they offer. I remember my first cruise with that same MSC in 2007; there was basically only one restaurant at night, and that was it. Nowadays? Seriously, you can find far more restaurants on a cruise than in a shopping mall.
However, dining on a cruise ship raises many questions. Is everything complimentary? What do I have to pay for? Are there plenty of options like seafood, Japanese restaurants, and pasta? Does MSC have a main dining room? Let's delve into some of the most popular questions and topics.
If you have any questions about restaurants onboard MSC Cruise Line, make sure to send us a message by clicking the Request a Quote button above or by sending an email to [email protected]. Contacting us is free of charge and we will reply back as soon as possible!
Dietary Needs
Guests can inform MSC Cruises of any special requirements by filling out the relevant form (Special Needs Form) available online, or by contacting Famvia for assistance. This information should preferably be provided at the time of booking or, at the very latest, two working days before departure. This allows MSC time to provide the best possible service and accommodate your dietary needs once you are onboard.
Dress Code
There is, in fact, a dress code when traveling with MSC Cruises.
During the day, you are generally free to wear whatever you like. Shorts and a simple t-shirt are more than acceptable.
For evening wear, according to MSC Cruises, “a more polished look is recommended when dining in the Main Dining Rooms and Specialty Restaurants, and while enjoying entertainment in the theater, bars, and lounges. Collared shirts, tailored pants or shorts, skirts, and dresses are suggested”.
Room Service
A room service delivery fee of $4.99 per order applies to the standard Bella Experience. Fantastica and Aurea Experiences include complimentary delivery. The room service menu features both free items and paid options.
Guests staying in MSC Yacht Club suites enjoy free room service with no delivery fee and have access to complimentary in-suite mini-bars.
Does MSC Cruise Line have a Main Dining Room?
Yes, MSC ships do have Main Dining Rooms. In fact, most of their recent ships feature several Main Dining Rooms, though interestingly, the menu is the same across all of them.
For example, the MSC Seashore has four Main Dining Rooms: 5th Avenue Restaurant, Tribeca Restaurant, Central Park Restaurant, and Manhattan Restaurant. Despite the different names, they offer the same three-course menu. These dining rooms are smaller than those on many other ships, providing a more intimate dining experience and a less crowded, more peaceful atmosphere.
Guests on MSC Cruise ships have assigned dining times. At the time of booking, they can select either an early dining option (typically between 5:30pm and 7:30pm) or a late dining option (typically between 7:45pm and 9:45pm). They will then be assigned a specific dining time within their chosen range.
Restaurants & food aboard MSC Cruise Line
Let’s get one thing out of the way, friends: food on MSC Cruise Line can be very hit or miss. If you browse a lot of forums online, you will see that most people aren’t fans of the food on older ships, even if the new ones offer better dishes. However, a common issue is the limited number of complimentary dining options on their ships, which are generally confined to the Main Dining Rooms, the main buffet, and a few quick-service kiosks.
We also have some good news to share: the pizza on MSC Cruises receives high praise from almost everyone. A lot of people say that their pizza (yep, the one offered in the buffet) is the best one amongst all cruise lines. I mean, I will never say no to a good pizza, so that’s always a good thing to hear. Pizza goes well with a cruise and a nice tan! …err, pizza goes well with everything, let’s be honest.
Another piece of good news is that Yacht Club Members have access to their own exclusive restaurant and buffet, both of which are highly praised by guests.
There you have it. Food is very average on the Main Dining Rooms, but it’s a step above if you are paying more to be a Yacht Club Member. The pizza is good everywhere. This is all expected, by the way (well, except the good pizza, but I’ll take it). Given that MSC offers some of the lowest cruise fares, it’s understandable that they might not excel in every area.
Buffet aboard MSC Cruise Line
Every MSC ship features a major buffet restaurant, often called “Marketplace Buffet”, which typically opens at 6:30 AM and remains open late into the night. Along with the Main Dining Rooms, this is where you can enjoy breakfast. The pizzeria is usually located within the buffet area, so you can grab a delicious pizza right after waking up.
The buffet can get quite crowded, especially during breakfast hours, due to the limited restaurant options available. MSC, being a Mediterranean-based cruise line, does not focus on offering a wide variety of breakfast choices, as a large breakfast with many options is not part of their culture.
Our tip? To avoid the crowds at breakfast, consider heading to the Main Dining Room. It’s generally much more peaceful in the early hours compared to the buffet.
Specialty Restaurants aboard MSC Cruise Line
If the complimentary options don’t appeal to you, the food at the specialty, paid restaurants is definitely a step up. Recent MSC ships, like the MSC World Europa, feature a greater variety of specialty restaurants compared to older ships, with options ranging from Mexican to Japanese and more.
One advantage of these specialty restaurants is that they are often more affordable than those on other cruise lines. For example, the excellent Hola! Restaurant typically offers an all-you-can-eat dinner for $20, making it a fantastic choice for Mexican food lovers.
The Best Restaurants aboard MSC Cruise Line
The Yacht Club Restaurant
Type: free for Yacht Club Members, breakfast, lunch, dinner
Available on: ships that offer Yacht Club suites.
Are we cheating if we are including the Yacht Club restaurants here? Eh, it doesn’t matter. The Yacht Club restaurant is often considered one of the best dining options on MSC Cruise ships for a simple reason: it’s complimentary for Yacht Club suite guests, it’s not crowded, and it offers excellent food. You can enjoy filet mignon, roasted duck, octopus soup, and many other gourmet options. If you’re already paying for the Yacht Club experience, you’ll likely find yourself dining here frequently.
Hola! Tacos & Cantina
Type: paid, Mexican food, lunch, dinner
Available on: MSC Bellissima, MSC Euribia, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Seashore, MSC Virtuosa, MSC World Europa.
This is often considered one of the best restaurants onboard MSC. It offers authentic Mexican cuisine in a lively and energetic atmosphere, with an affordable a la carte menu featuring tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos and a wide selection of margaritas and tequila. You can enjoy a full meal here for less than $50, which is a great value given that dining on cruises can be quite expensive.
Butcher’s Cut Steakhouse
Type: paid, steakhouse, lunch, dinner
Available on: MSC Bellissima, MSC Divina, MSC Fantasia, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Preziosa, MSC Seashore, MSC Seaview, MSC Seaside, MSC Seascape, MSC Splendida, MSC Virtuosa, MSC World Europa.
Butcher’s Cut is a decent steakhouse option, especially if you’re not in the Yacht Club. While it might not be the best steakhouse at sea, it receives good reviews online. The meat is generally considered very tasty and of good quality. The filet mignon is priced at $38 with one side included, and they also offer American Bison for $46 and Rib Eye for $45.
More Specialty Restaurants aboard MSC Cruise Line
Here is a list of the other specialty restaurants available aboard MSC Cruise Line:
- Ocean Cay Seafood Restaurant (seafood)
- La Pescaderia (seafood)
- Galaxy Kaito (sushi)
- Sushi Bar (sushi)
- Teppanyaki (teppanyaki)
- Sushi & Robatayaki (sushi & robatayaki)
- Oriental restaurant (japanese, chinese & thai)
- L’Atelier Bistrot (french)
- Le Grill (french)
- Indochine Restaurant (vietnamese & french)
- Chef’s Garden Kitchen (nordic)
MSC Cruise Line Drink Packages
We are happy to say that MSC Cruise Line offers traditional beverage packages for those that either love drinking soda all day or just enjoy a good beer… or wine… or a cocktail… or vodka… it’s all up to you. They actually offer five different drink packages for guests of all tastes (and ages).
Remember that you get the Premium Extra Package if you are a Yacht Club Member.
One benefit of MSC Drink Packages is that you only pay the difference in price for any beverage not included in your chosen package. The Drink Packages are also cheaper if purchased in advance rather than onboard.
These are the available drink packages:
- Easy Package
- Easy Plus Package
- Premium Extra Package
- Alcohol-free Package
- Minors Package
Let’s check them out!
Easy Package
Price: $46 per day, per guest
If you’re a heavy coffee drinker who also enjoys bottled water and a few beers throughout the day, the Easy beverage package is likely a good choice for you. However, it's worth noting that the Easy package cannot be used in specialty restaurants (that is definitely weird).
This package covers most beverages up to $7.50. To simplify things, menus throughout the ship include a section specifying what’s included in the Easy beverage package.
Let’s see what you get.
- Most drinks up to $7.50
- Selected classic or international cocktails
- Non-alcoholic cocktails and mixed drinks
- Spirits (whisky, vodka, gin, rum, tequila, brandy - one brand per type)
- House wines (red, white, sparkling, rosè)
- Draft beer Heineken and bottled beer Heineken
- Soft drinks from the fountain, canned soft drinks, fruit juices by the glass and bottled
- Bottled Mineral Water
- Classic hot drinks (espresso, cappuccino, caffèlatte, hot tea, hot chocolate)
- Beverage gratuities are included
Easy Plus Package
Price: $61 per day, per guest.
This package covers any beverages up to $10, including a wider range of beer options, more wine selections, and some specific drinks not available with the most basic package. This package also applies to specialty restaurants.
This is often regarded as the best, most useful drink package aboard MSC Cruise Line.
You get:
- Every drink up to $10
- Variety of frozen and classic cocktails
- Fresh fruit cocktails and protein shakes
- Well spirits, liqueurs and cordials
- Variety of draught and bottled beers
- Non-alcoholic cocktails and all non alcoholic drinks
- Bottled Mineral Water
- Wide range of hot drinks
- 10% discount on bottles of wine purchased on board
- Selection of wines by the glass
- Beverage gratuities are included
Premium Extra Package
Price: $85 per day, per guest
This package is similar to the Easy Plus Package but covers all drinks up to $16. It offers a broader selection of cocktails and wines. It’s worth considering if you’re interested in cocktails and specific drinks priced between $12 and $16. However, some wines and champagnes are priced above $16, so the package isn't entirely all-inclusive. You can, however, pay the difference for any of the more expensive drinks.
It includes:
- All drinks up to $16
- Wide Selection of Premium and International cocktails
- Non-alcoholic cocktails and all non-alcoholic drinks
- Fresh fruit and protein cocktails
- Premium brand spirits, liqueurs and cordials
- Wide selection of fine wine by glass
- Champagne by glass
- Wide variety of draft and bottled beer
- Bottled Mineral Water
- Wide selection of classic and specialty hot drinks
- 25% discount on purchased of bottled wine and champagne
- Beverage gratuities are included
Alcohol-free Package
Price: $28 per day, per guest
This is a great drink package for adults who don’t drink alcohol. Similar to the Easy Package, it doesn’t apply to specialty restaurants. It provides free soda and specialty coffee for those who need their daily caffeine fix.
It includes:
- Non-alcoholic cocktails
- Fresh fruit and protein cocktails
- Energy drinks
- Sodas
- Energy drinks
- Flavored water
- Mineral Water
- Soda by glass and bottle
- Wide range of hot drinks
- Soft serve ice cream
- Beverage gratuities are included
Minors Package
Price: $19 per day, per guest
The Minors Package is similar to the Alcohol-Free Package but is specifically for minors. It can be purchased for guests aged 3 to 17 on European itineraries and aged 3 to 12 in the Caribbean and North America. This package must be purchased if underage guests are traveling with adults who have bought any other beverage package.
It includes:
- Non-alcoholic cocktails
- Fresh fruit and protein cocktails
- Energy drinks
- Flavored water
- Soda by glass and bottle
- Wide range of hot drinks
- Soft serve ice cream
- Beverage gratuities are included
As you can see, there are multiple dining options on MSC, from complimentary restaurants to specialty dining. If you want to know more about MSC you can check out our other guides, or click the Request a Quote button above. Remember, contacting us is free of charge!
