If you’re looking at Mediterranean cruises for you or your family, it’s likely you’ve found options with MSC (otherwise known as Mediterranean Shipping Company). The third largest cruise line in the world, and the largest in Europe, MSC is a major player in the large cruise market. I honestly knew nothing about them until about 4 years ago. At that time, they were not big in the North American marketplace, but have since launched several dedicated ships here, including the most recent and largest MSC World America.
While I haven’t been on the World America, I did have the opportunity to sail its sister ship, the World Europa. It is the largest ship that sails the Mediterranean year-round. At the time I sailed, it was the 7th largest ship in the world and held 6700 passengers. Although you would never feel like there were that many people on it.
Boarding The Ship
What makes sailing on an MSC ship in Europe different than other ships is that you can embark and disembark at any of the port stops. You just have to do both at the same port. For example, we embarked and disembarked in Civitavecchia (Rome). But there were others who embarked and disembarked at each of the other ports. To me, this is a huge advantage as not all 6700 passengers are trying to get on and off the ship at the same time.
Rome is a popular option to board the ship as it offers a major airport nearby. Barcelona is the other port where many people got on and off the ship. The advantage of boarding in Barcelona vs Rome is that the cruise port is right in the city of Barcelona, whereas it is about an hour train ride from the cruise port to the Rome city center.
If you do decide to stay in Rome before boarding a cruise, just know you will have to give yourself extra time to get from the city to the cruise port. Then the train station isn’t right next to the cruise port, it is still a little over half a mile to get from the train station to the ships. There is a shuttle bus that runs regularly when there is a ship in port that you can take for a few Euros. Or there are taxis that will take you. We ended up hopping in a taxi van that fit us and a couple of others.
When we got to the ship the process to get on was super smooth and quick. Like I mentioned, not everyone is embarking on the same day so there weren’t really any lines for security or check-in. The entire process took 15-20 minutes from the time we got off the bus to the time we were on the ship.
Getting on the ship a little after noon we were able to get into our room right away. Another advantage of the embarkation on different days, the cleaning staff can prioritize the rooms that are turning over. We didn’t have to wait in long lines at the elevators because the entire ship was getting on. And we didn’t have to try to navigate the buffet with our carry on bags with everyone else.
The Ship Experience
I’m not an avid cruiser and have only been on a handful of ships. But I can say that the MSC World Europa was the most elegant ship I’ve been on. For a large cruise ship, the decor made it feel luxurious. The ceiling in the promenade was even a screen that my kids marveled at as it changed. The color scheme throughout the ship was simple, and the artwork matched the decks of the European cities they were named after.
We had booked a veranda room for four people. The room was a typical cruise ship cabin. For four people, it had bunk beds for the kids and a king-size bed for my wife and me. The balcony was big enough for the four of us to be out there at a time. And the bunk beds made it easier to get out to the balcony vs the sofa beds you might find on other ships. The downside to our balcony was that it was in the middle of the ship. With the way the ship was laid out, this meant we couldn’t see the front or back of the ship.
At the time we were on, the World Europa was the largest ship in MSC’s fleet. Since the World American has overtaken it as being slightly larger. It has 20 decks, of which 15 are available to guests for rooms, restaurants, pools and entertainment. You won’t run out of things to do and see on this ship. It even has a craft brewery onboard, which is where I spent a fair amount of my evenings. I’ll get into more details about all there is to see on the ship in a little bit.
Navigating your way through the ship is fairly easy. The elevator system consists of selecting your destination floor from a screen in the elevator lobby, and then it tells you which elevator to go to. This makes for a more efficient experience traveling between floors.
The layout of the ship is similar to other large ships. The buffets are in the back of the ship toward the upper decks. Pools are obviously located near the upper part of the ship. While the main dining rooms are on the lower decks. And staterooms are located throughout the ship, but mainly on the middle decks.
Kids Activities
There are plenty of activities for kids to do on the World Europa. From the kids club, to the splash pad, to an arcade and a dedicated Lego room your kids will always find something to keep them active. I know mine did. If you want travel to Europe with kids and aren’t sure how they’ll handle the sightseeing, this cruise ship is the perfect opportunity to give them at least part of a day that focuses on fun and active kids entertainment.
We took our cruise in March when the weather wasn’t great for outdoor swimming. The splash pad was open while we were onboard, but it was really too cold to be enjoyable. Even if it was warm enough, the location of the splash pad on the World Europa doesn’t make a ton of sense. It is not near the other pools. To reach it, you need to walk up a set of stairs from the pools and it is located on the side of the ship where it can get windy. This was also the case for the waterslides, which, while fun, are located away from pools.
The Lego room is only open certain hours for anyone to use, otherwise it is part of the kids club. So you aren’t able to use it whenever you please. There are plenty Legos to build with and the couple of times we went there, it actually wasn’t too busy.
My kids did take advantage of the kids club a couple of times. It went ok for them, but they didn’t have as much fun as they’ve had on other ships. This was due more to a language barrier than anything else. Since the World Europa sails in Europe, there are kids from all over who speak different languages. So they weren’t able to make friends. But they did enjoy getting dinner there as it was the only place on the ship that served chicken nuggets.
Other Activities
Being one of the largest ships in the world, there are numerous activities for everyone to partake in. I already mentioned some of the water features of the ship, the indoor pool area was great during our time when it wasn’t warm outside.. But there is also an arcade, a multisport complex that is used for everything from basketball to rollerskating to bumper cars.
The shows onboard were just alright. Being an American, it was different than what I was used to for shows. But if you like a European style to shows you will probably like them. Some of the shows and activities are in what is called the Luna Park Arena. We were never sure what to expect here as some of the shows were completely interactive and some of them were just to be enjoyed. If you go on the ship, my advice is to go if a show sounds interesting and you can always leave as they are all free.
The Food
The food is the most disappointing part of the ship. Having taken numerous trips to Europe, I always look forward to the
food while there. However, the majority of my experience with food on World Europa was unlike what I’ve experienced elsewhere in Europe. The unpleasant food experience went across the board from the buffets, to the main dining room, to the included restaurants like the burgers and pizza.
There are a couple of bright spots, though, when it comes to food on the ship. We had a chance to eat at a couple of the specialty restaurants, La Pescaderia Fish Market and Hola! Tacos and Cantina. The food at both of these restaurants is excellent and I would highly recommend them. Honestly, if I did this cruise again, I would strongly consider budgeting to eat at the specialty restaurants every night. I think it would be worth it.
Should You Sail on MSC World Europa?
If you don’t have much experience with Europe and want to get a taste of what a trip there is like, then World Europa is a great option for you. If you have kids and want a trip that combines historic sightseeing and kids’ activities, then this ship is a great option for you. If you are limited on time and want to experience multiple European countries in one trip, then this cruise is a great option for you.
People who I don’t think this is a great option are those who want a real European food experience. You’re not going to get it on this ship. Those who don’t like a big ship atmosphere aren’t going to like this ship. Although you’ll never feel crowded on it.
