Luxury Cruising Editorial - Luxury Cruising

Coral Princess Cabins To Avoid

June 11, 2025

by Luxury Cruising Editorial Choosing a cruise Cruise Lines Cruise News Cruise Tips Princess Cruises

Coral Princess is one of the older ships in the Princess Cruises fleet, and one of the smallest too. She was built to the older Panamax dimensions, meaning she is capable of sailing the original Panama Canals (larger canals have since been built).

The Coral Princess cruise ship also has a few quirks, including some related to her accommodations.

This means you need to be a little bit careful when selecting your stateroom for your cruise. It’s not that these rooms are bad, just that some may be better than others.

I’ve spent several hours studying the Coral Princess Deck Plan in detail – and trust me, there are some cabins that some people will definitely want to steer clear of…

Coral Princess Cabin Types

There are eight main types of cabins on Coral Princess. I’ve listed these in a handy table so that you can compare the sizes…

Accommodation	Sleeps	Size (incl. balcony)
Interior	2 to 4	156 to 166 sq. ft.
Oceanview	2 to 4	162 sq. ft.
Premium Oceanview	2 to 4	212 sq. ft.
Balcony	2 to 4	210 to 234 sq. ft.
Premium Balcony	2 to 4	248 sq. ft.
Mini Suite No Balcony	2 to 4	300 sq. ft.
Mini Suite	2 to 4	280 to 302 sq. ft.
Suite	2 to 4	470 sq. ft.

Not every ship in the Princess fleet has Oceanview rooms, but Coral Princess does. In fact, it’s also one of the few ships to have Premium Oceanview rooms, and Mini Suites without a balcony too.

Of all the Princess ships, this one (along with sister ship Island Princess) has the widest choice of base category.

However, the decision of which room you should book is a lot more than just picking a cabin type.

There’s a lot to consider, as within each type there are different categories, some of which are better than others, and then you also need to think about the location on the ship as well, and how close you want to be to certain facilities (or how far away, if you want a quieter room).

Because there’s a lot to think about, I’ve made a checklist that tells you everything you need to be aware of. And you can get it free here:

Coral Princess Inside Cabins

On most cruise ships, the most ‘basic’ accommodation you can book is an interior or inside cabin, and Coral Princess is no different. These rooms are on the inside of the ship, as the name suggests, which means you don’t have any windows for natural light.

They’re normally designed for two people but there are some that can sleep four. Inside cabins tend to be the smallest on a ship, and that’s generally correct with Coral Princess, although there are some that are very slightly bigger than some of the Oceanview cabins.

These rooms are ideal for anyone who either doesn’t like to be woken up by sunlight, and thinks they may get a better night’s sleep without any windows. Or for anyone who just isn’t too bothered by having a nice view. After all, there are plenty of open decks where you can go when you do want to see the sea.

And interior cabins are the cheapest available, which frees up more of your budget for onboard activities or even for your next cruise. There are some wheelchair-accessible interior cabins on Coral Princess, and they’re some of the most spacious rooms on the ship that aren’t suites.

Beds are flexible – they’re normally twin beds that can be converted into a double – while the cabins that sleep up to four will have Pullman beds that are more suited to children but can support some adults so long as you’re not too heavy.

Pullman beds are either fold-down from the wall, or they’re hidden in the ceiling, and on Coral Princess, it’s the fold-down from the wall version. These aren’t as good, because people in the twin beds can bump their heads on the Pullman even when folded up.

I took this photo of a Pullman bed in an inside cabin on Ventura, but it’s the same thing on Coral Princess…

Coral Princess Inside Cabin Grades

Every cabin on Coral Princess has a two-letter code that tells you the grade. The first letter makes clear the cabin type, while the second character (a mix of numbers and letters) tells you where it is on the ship, and what sub-type of room it is.

Inside cabins begin with I, and the second letter runs from A to F. A is considered the best due to the location, while F is the worst. Costs vary, so an IA will cost more than an IF – if you want the best location, you have to pay a little more.

Grade	Sleeps up to	Average size (sq ft)
IA	2	156
IB	4	156
IC	2	156 – 166
ID	2	156
IE	2	156 – 166
IF	4	156

Coral Princess Oceanview Cabins

If you want to enjoy a view from your room, or the thought of no natural light leaves you feeling a bit cramped, then an Oceanview is the next step up. Cheaper than a Balcony, you tend to get just a little more space than an Interior cabin, but more importantly some view of the ocean.

Bear in mind that some of the Oceanview cabins on Coral Princess have an obstructed view, either caused by the lifeboats or other obstructions at the aft of the ship. These are cheaper, so if you’re not so worried about the view and just want some sunlight, these could be ideal.

There are also Premium Oceanview cabins available on Coral Princess, which are larger rooms situated towards the front of the ship. There are only a handful of these available, but if you want a better view (being higher) and more space, they’re a good option without having to upgrade to a Balcony.

Coral Princess Oceanview Cabin Grades

This table shows the different grades of Oceanview rooms on Coral Princess:

Grade	Type	Sleeps up to	Average size (sq ft)
O5	Premium Oceanview	2	212
O6	Premium Oceanview	2	212
OB	Oceanview	2	162
OC	Oceanview	2	162
OD	Oceanview	2	162
OE	Oceanview	2	162
OV	Oceanview Obstructed	4	162
OW	Oceanview Obstructed	2	162
OY	Oceanview Obstructed	2	162
OZ	Oceanview Obstructed	2	162

Note that families only have the option of the obstructed view with this room type. Interestingly, the larger, Premium OceanView rooms are just for couples. I suppose that’s because if you are a couple, you wouldn’t want to pay extra and then have to contend with the awkward Pullman beds that you would likely bash your head on in the night.

Coral Princess Balcony Cabins

Looking for a little more space again, and the chance to soak up some fresh air from the comfort of your own room? That’s when you want a Balcony cabin. These have sliding doors opening onto your own miniature veranda where you’ll have a couple of chairs and you can sit and relax with a view.

Within the Balcony category, there are a couple of different options available – Balcony and Premium Balcony. Premium Balconies have more space and are in some premium locations, although Coral Princess does have regular Balcony cabins that have aft views too.

There are also obstructed-view Balcony cabins on Coral Princess, so if you don’t mind the lack of view and just want a private space to enjoy the sea air, these are the cheapest Balcony cabins on the ship.

Coral Princess Balcony Cabin Grades

Grade	Type	Sleeps up to	Average size (sq ft)
B1	Premium Balcony	4	248
B2	Premium Balcony	4	248
BA	Balcony	4	248
BB	Balcony	4	210 – 234
BC	Balcony	4	210
BD	Balcony	3	210 – 234
BE	Balcony	2	210 – 234
BF	Balcony	2	210
BY	Balcony Obstructed	2	210
BZ	Balcony Obstructed	2	210

Coral Princess Mini Suites

The Mini Suites on Coral Princess are a middle step between a Balcony stateroom and a full-size suite.

This has some plusses and some drawbacks – you get more space, and you get a few extra benefits, but not as many as if you were to make the step up all the way to a full suite. However, you’re also not paying the same price as you would be for a Suite, so there is that to consider as well.

The perks you get in a Mini Suite on Coral Princess are:

A separate sitting area in your suite, with a sofa bed and a coffee table
A curtain so that you can separate the sofa bed from the main bed area, creating two bedrooms
An extra TV – the usual one facing the bed, and a second in the sitting area
A better bathroom that has a bathtub and a massage shower
An upgraded bed, that has better pillows and a plump mattress topper
Additional balcony chairs – up to four (instead of the normal two)
A glass of sparkling wine as you board the ship

There are some Mini Suites on Coral Princess that don’t have a balcony, but instead are oceanview only. Obviously, these don’t come with any balcony chairs.

They’re a good choice if you want the benefits that come with a Mini Suite, but your budget doesn’t quite stretch to one with a balcony.

Take a look at this video to see what the unusual cabin type of Mini Suite with No Balcony looks like…

Coral Princess Mini Suite Grades

Grade	Type	Sleeps up to	Average size (sq ft)
M1	Club Class Mini Suite	3	280 – 302
MB	Mini Suite	4	280 – 302
MD	Mini Suite	4	302
ME	Mini Suite	4	302
MY	Mini Suite No Balcony	4	300

Club Class Mini Suites

If Mini Suites are a halfway house between Balcony cabins and Suites, then Club Class are a two-thirds house. They’re a premium subclass of Mini Suites that have some additional perks, despite not being any larger.

Coral Princess Club Class Mini Suite perks:

Priority embarkation and disembarkation queues at the start and the end of your cruise
An even comfier bed
Bathrobes provided for each guest for the duration of the cruise (don’t steal them!)
A half bottle of red wine and a half bottle of white wine in your Mini Suite on embarkation day
Evening canapes served in your room (on request)
Access to an exclusive seating area in the Main Dining Room, with additional menu options to choose from.

If you’re thinking about making the step up to a Mini Suite or a Club Class Mini Suite, it’s worth taking the time to consider whether these extra benefits are worth it to you. And if they are, then you might also want to pay a little more for a full-sized Suite.

If the perks aren’t something you want to pay more for, then it’s not worth booking a Club Class Mini Suite, although you may prefer the extra room that a regular Mini Suite gives you compared to a Balcony cabin.

Coral Princess Suites

If you want to really live the high life, or you just want the most space to be able to relax in the privacy of your own room, then a Suite is the way to go. Coral Princess has some pleasant Suite options, giving you all of the perks of a Club Class Mini Suite, as well as a long list of additional extras as well.

However, Coral Princess does only have two classes of suite – the least of any ship in the Princess fleet.

Coral Princess Suite Perks:

Priority queues for embarkation and disembarkation, and for shore excursions/tenders
Priority lines for booking shore excursions and for guest services desks
Priority booking for the speciality dining venues
Access to the Club Class Dining area of the Main Dining Room with its extra menu choices
Access to the exclusive Lotus Spa Thermal Suite
An upgraded room service menu to choose from
Your boarding drink is upgraded to Champagne
A free mini bar in your room, a fruit bowl (topped up on request) and a fresh vase of orchids in your suite for your arrival
A free mimosa served at breakfast every day
A twice-daily ice service
Tea served in your suite
A cruise card wallet
Complimentary use of umbrellas as necessary
Free laundry, dry cleaning and shoe-shining
One free private portrait photograph taken by the ship’s photographer

Coral Princess Suite Grades

Here are the different suites you can choose on Coral Princess…

Grade	Type	Sleeps up to	Average size (sq ft)
S5	Premium Suite	3	470
S6	Vista Suite	3	470

So, which is the best? Read on to find out…

Premium vs Vista

There are just two types of Suite on the Coral Princess, which is a more limited range than there are on other Princess Cruises ships – even more so than sister ship Island Princess, which had a third class (Penthouse).

Not only that, but both the Premium and Vista class of suites on Coral Princess are the same size, and they come with the same perks. So which is better?

Honestly, the only difference is location. The Vista Suites are situated towards the aft of the ship, but they don’t have aft views. The Premium Suites are therefore slightly better since they’re in the middle of the ship.

If there’s a major price difference between them, I’d suggest you book the Vista since you essentially get a very similar suite and only a marginally worse location.

Special Cabin Types

Coral Princess Aft Rooms

Most people covet an aft room because of the views you can enjoy. Looking out of the wake is pretty exciting, and you’re sheltered from a lot of the winds that stream past the ship while you’re sailing too. Plus the rooms tend to be larger, so you’re getting more space and a wonderful view every morning.

But Coral Princess is not designed for aft views – the rear of the ship doesn’t have any balconies at all. Because of that, you’re very limited in your choices if you want an aft view. And if you’re looking for a balcony, you’ll need to look elsewhere on the ship.

On the Coral Princess, the aft-facing rooms are:

OD Oceanview cabins on Deck 11

OE Oceanview cabins on Deck 8

Coral Princess Accessible Rooms

While the public areas of the ship are fully accessible for wheelchair users, not every cabin is really suited. There are a selection of dedicated accessible cabins though, which have wider doorways, more floorspace around the bed to allow a chair to manoeuvre, and a wet room.

These are really popular and will often book up quickly, so if you’re interested then you should definitely try to book in advance. And if you don’t need an accessible cabin, try not to book them so that those who do require the space don’t miss out.

The accessible cabins on Coral Princess are:

Interior Cabins – Decks 5

Oceanview Obstructed Cabins – Deck 8

Balcony Cabins – Decks 10 and 11

Coral Princess Connecting Rooms – There Aren’t Any!

Connecting rooms are designed for any groups that are travelling together that either can’t fit into one cabin, or that want a little more space.

They’re two cabins side-by-side that have a door between them. This door is locked by default, so that any guest can book these rooms without a stranger wandering in. But if you book both rooms you can have this connecting door unlocked so that you can wander between the two rooms freely.

And yet, Coral Princess is a very rare ship in that she doesn’t have any connecting cabins at all! So if you wanted to share two cabins as a group, you can’t open a door between them.

NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!

See the latest Princess Cruises offers…

Coral Princess Cabins to Avoid

Now that we’ve run through every type of accommodation you can book on Coral Princess, it’s time to pick out those individual cabins that maybe aren’t the best choice.

Obviously, I haven’t stayed in every room on Coral Princess. I mean, who has? But, what I have done is spent many hours scouring cruise forums and Facebook groups as well as the deck plans.

I’ve found the rooms on Coral Princess that people haven’t been too happy with, and made a note of them for you here.

But remember that a lot of this is subjective, and some of these might actually be a good choice for you. None of the recommendations here are down to a ‘bad’ room. These are all tips based on the location of the rooms, and what surrounds them.

With that clarified, here are the Coral Princess cabins you might want to avoid.

1. Cabins That Are Under the Lido Deck

A311 to A623 (Deck 12)

A common thread you see on forums and Facebook groups about cruise ships is problems with the noise from pool decks. There are a lot of rooms that are situated directly underneath the wooden decking of the pools, and when guests wake up nice and early to secure themselves and deck chair, they will often scrape it along the floor to get it into position.

And that sound carries through the floor.

What was interesting was that it wasn’t just complaints about the passengers in the morning that I read about, but also about crew working late to clean the Lido, scraping the deck as they cleaned it as late as almost midnight.

When the guest in question complained they did get an apology, as well as a credit to their onboard spend account, so that should show it’s not a super-regular thing. But if you are someone who appreciates a lie-in then definitely consider booking a room that isn’t underneath the scraping deck chairs.

2. Balcony Cabins Near the Front of the Ship

A209 & A214, B205 & B206, C205 & C206, D205 & D206, E207 & E208

A few cruise lines have balcony cabins situated in a forward position on the ship, but they’re rendered completely unusable while the ship is sailing because of the high winds – barring some that have special reinforced panels in place.

While Coral Princess doesn’t have forward-facing balconies, it does have some that are situated close to the front of the ship. These balconies may be out of bounds during particularly high winds, but even when you are allowed to use them I saw a couple of people saying that it wasn’t a pleasant experience – it was too breezy to be able to relax.

If your idea of a balcony is one where things are peaceful, a mid-ship location may be a better choice.

The good news is that, on Coral Princess, there are only a few of these rooms. The ones on deck 12 (Aloha) are certainly the worst because other balconies near the front of the ship on lower decks are sheltered by either Oceanview rooms or Mini-Suites with ocean views.

3. Cabins That Can Make Seasickness Worse

A209 to A321 and A618 to A722, B201 to B310 and B618 to B737

If you’re someone that’s worried about potentially getting seasick, then you’ll want to avoid cabins where you will feel the motion the most. Those are the cabins on the higher decks towards the front and aft of the ship.

Aim for a mid-ship room on a lower deck if you are concerned, as you’ll feel the rocking of the ship less.

4. Cabins Directly Adjacent to the Laundry

B711, C710, D720, E717

There are a handful of laundry rooms on Coral Princess, meaning guests don’t have to cart their dirty clothes up many floors in the elevator. However, there are a couple of staterooms that are directly adjacent to these rooms, and you may want to avoid them.

And there are two reasons – firstly, the obvious noise of the machines. This isn’t terrible but it can also cause vibrations in the room. This is less of an issue for B711 and E717 as while they are next door to the laundromat, they run perpendicular and so the machines aren’t all sharing a wall with the rooms – unlike the other cabins I’ve listed above.

The other issue is just traffic – you may have a lot of noise from people coming and going, especially as each of the cabins I’ve listed is between the laundromat and the lift.

5. Obstructed View Rooms if a View Is Important to You

Any OV, OW, OY or OZ Oceanview cabin or any BY or BZ Balcony cabin

There are a number of Oceanview cabins and Balcony cabins that have an obstructed view. Most of the obstructions are caused by the lifeboats but others are just due to the layout of the ship.

This isn’t a problem if you don’t want a view and only want some natural sunlight – you’ll still get that, and you can save money. But if you want a good view, it’s best to book an unobstructed room since you don’t know just how much you’ll be able to see.

In this video, my friends Richard and Helen from Visit With Us discuss whether booking an obstructed view on a Princess cruise ship is a good idea or not.

6. Overlooked Balconies

C311 to C415, C505 to C633, D311 to D415, D505 to D623

Decks 9, 10 and 11 of Coral Princess have a tiered design. This means that if you book certain cabins on Deck 9 (Dolphin Deck) or Deck 10 (Caribe Deck), then your balcony will be overlooked from above.

This isn’t a problem for everyone. But, if you book one of these rooms then be sure that you’re fully dressed before heading out onto the veranda!

These overlooked balconies do have their advantages though, as they tend to be much larger than those on higher decks. So you may decide that the compromise in terms of privacy is worth it for the extra space.

Larger balcony on Coral Princess

Coral Princess has ‘bump outs’ in the design – wider points where the cabins stick out more. This location doesn’t have the same issues as the recessed areas – but you also won’t get the extra balcony space.

7. Cabins With Late-Night Noise

Plaza Deck (Deck 5)

If you’re someone who likes to get an early night, you may wish to avoid the staterooms on Deck 5 of Coral Princess.

They are all situated underneath the casino and nightclub, which are two popular venues for people to while away the hours in the evening. The noise can carry down into your room, and if you prefer silence then you might struggle to shut it out.

It’s not an issue if you’ll be joining people in the casino or nightclub – in fact, you might prefer the proximity at the end of the night – but for ‘early-to-bed, early-to-rise’ folks, you may prefer to look elsewhere on the ship.

The Best Cabins on Coral Princess

1. Premium Suites

The best accommodations on Coral Princess are the Premium Suites, and if you want the most spacious room and the full list of suite perks, these are the ones to go for – unless the Vista Suites are significantly cheaper (they shouldn’t be).

Coral Princess doesn’t have suites in the typically ‘best’ locations since there are no aft-facing suites on this ship. But the mid-ship location means its easy to reach every different feature of the ship without walking end-to-end, and the suites themselves are comfortable and attractive.

2. The Cheapest Cabins

The cheapest cabins on Coral Princess are some of the inside cabins, especially those situated towards the front of the ship. They’re not the biggest, and they’re a decent walk from many of the amenities, but for someone who plans on spending a very small amount of time in their room they are ideal.

Take a look at this video for a tour of an Inside Cabin…

You’ll save a lot of money – often paying half of what a guest in a Premium Balcony or Mini Suite may be paying – which can go towards all your onboard experiences or even your next cruise holiday.

3. Aloha Deck Rooms if You Enjoy the Pool or Have Kids

There are a handful of cabins situated at the rear of the Aloha deck towards the aft, all of which are Balcony cabins. And they’re perfect if you have kids, as they’re situated close to the kids clubs – meaning those walks at the start and end of the day can be very short.

The Sanctuary Pool is also close at hand, so you can drop the kids at the clubs and then go relax for a while. Or, just one flight of stairs up, you can enjoy the Spa and the pools, so you never have far to travel to get changed.

NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!

See the latest Princess Cruises offers…

To Conclude

There really aren’t any bad cabins on Coral Princess, but depending on your preferences for noise, location and how prone you are to feeling seasick, there may be some that are better for you than others.

I took a lot of this feedback from Facebook groups and forums, and by reading Coral Princess reviews, so it’s always a good idea to check those out yourself too. You can even ask about a specific room – someone on the groups will normally be able to tell you about their own experiences, and people love to share their own Coral Princess cabin photos too.

Remember to check out the Coral Princess deck plans if you want to do your own research too – it’s always worth checking where your room is before you confirm.

NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!

See the latest Princess Cruises offers…

Coral Princess Accommodation FAQs

When was Coral Princess last refurbished?

Coral Princess may be an older ship but she was refurbished as recently as January 2019. The refurb updated the decor in many areas of the ship, including some of the bars and restaurants, and crew areas too.

How many cabins does Coral Princess have?

Coral Princess has 1,000 cabins in total including 6 suites. She has a maximum guest capacity of 2,000 making her one of the smaller ships in the Princess fleet, due to the Panamax spec she was built to.

What class is Coral Princess?

Coral Princess is part of the Coral Class, the smallest class of ship for Princess Cruises. The only other ship in the class is the Island Princess, which was built one year later.

Is Coral Princess a MedallionClass ship?

Yes, Coral Princess is a MedallionClass ship. All Princess Cruises ships have received the MedallionClass upgrades, which allows guests to use their medallion as their room key, or to add purchases to their account, or track their travelling party around the ship.

What is the best deck on Coral Princess?

There’s no single answer – the best deck depends on your preferences. Decks 9 to 11 have only cabins above and below them, which tends to make for less noise. Higher decks will have a better view, but are also worse if you tend to get seasick.

Related Posts:

More Princess Cruises Cabin Guides

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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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The Best Cruise Ships For Kids (2025)

June 11, 2025
by Luxury Cruising Editorial Choosing a cruise Cruise Lines Cruise News Cruise Tips Kids

It’s crazy to think that it was only maybe 25 years ago or so that cruising was still seen as the kind of holiday that you took when you reached retirement age. Things have changed dramatically.

Cruising is now hugely popular as an option for families. Obviously, I have kids (or ‘Cruise Mummy’ would’ve been a weird name to choose) and we have a great time on our cruise holidays. And there are some amazing ships designed with younger guests in mind too, whether it’s the food, the live shows, the kids clubs or the facilities.

But what are the best? Here’s my take. I’m sure it’ll be controversial to some.

The Best Ship For Kids

There is no single best cruise ship for kids, as it depends on their interests. If they love Disney then Disney Treasure is likely the best, while Carnival Celebration has a roller coaster and Dr Seuss at Sea. Icon of the Seas is the biggest and is packed with so many things to do.

You can’t single out one ship and say “that is the best ship for kids”. You can’t even single out a single cruise line. But, I’ve looked at all the cruise lines in the world and chosen some that are great for kids, picking the best ship from each.

The 11 Best Cruise Ships For Kids

1. Disney Treasure

Many kids dream of going to Disneyland/Disney World, so why not let them enjoy the equivalent experience, but on a cruise ship? Sure there’s no Space Mountain to ride, but you get all the Disney magic on a floating resort that moves.

Enjoy the theatrical dining experiences themed around Coco and the Avengers, all taking place around you while you eat. There’s AquaMouse, a ‘Disney attraction’ at sea that combines a water ride with interactive elements.

Live shows that you can enjoy in the theatre include Beauty and the Beast, Disney Seas the Adventure, and The Tale of Moana. There’s a Hero Zone with a sports court and a movie theatre. A Toy Story-inspired splash park. And some of the best kids’ clubs at sea including Star Wars: Cargo Bay and Marvel Super Hero Academy. Kids can even become an Imagineer for a day, and design their very own roller coaster.

This just scratches the surface of what Disney Treasure has to offer for families, and she’s definitely a contender for best kids cruise ship. She sails around the Caribbean from Port Canaveral, with itineraries including calls at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island.

Disney Wish is very similar, if you want an alternative. I just picked Treasure as she’s newer.

Read my Disney Wish review.

2. Icon of the Seas

Shoutout to Wonder of the Seas – she used to be on this list, but if I’m limiting myself to one ship per cruise line then I can’t not include the biggest ship in the fleet which is Icon of the Seas.

What really makes Icon of the Seas so special for families is that she isn’t just ‘bigger’, she’s been designed to offer the best cruises for kids possible. That means more family accommodation options (she has fewer cabins than Wonder of the Seas overall, but space for 600 more guests overall), and some exciting new features that kids young and old will love.

That includes the water slides – six brand new ones, breaking many of the record for slides at sea. If your young ones (or you) love thrills then you can’t go wrong here.

Then there’s Surfside – a whole neighbourhood on the ship that’s aimed at younger families, including fun activities and dedicated eateries with a real focus on kid-friendly fare.

If you’re sailing with slightly older kids, check out Star of the Seas – the sister ship to Icon. The Surfside neighbourhood on that ship has a slightly different vibe, more for kids up to 10 years old rather than six.

This is only a tiny part of what the ship has to offer. The Adventure Ocean kids club offers a wide range of fun activities, and there are dedicated teen spaces too. There’s the surfing simulator, climbing wall, mini golf, ropes course, carousel and so, so much more.

3. Carnival Celebration

Carnival ships are always packed with fun features, and the incredible Carnival Celebration is no different. One of the main highlights is Bolt, an actual roller coaster at sea which weaves around the top decks – the perfect thrill for your older children.

Younger kids will also love Space Cruisers, which debuted on Carnival Celebration. This unique experience is part of the Camp Ocean kids club and is a partnership with the Kennedy Space Center – kids ages 2 to 11 will love learning all about space using NASA-inspired activities.

The WaterWorks area has larger slides for the big kids and plenty of smaller ones for the youngest water babies too, including loads of interactive elements suited to smaller children.

With Carnival’s ongoing partnership with Dr. Seuss, there are character meet and greets and special breakfasts the kids can attend too – yes, with actual green eggs and ham.

Carnival Celebration sails around the Caribbean from Miami. Sister ships Carnival Jubilee and Mardi Gras offer a similar experience too, so there isn’t really one clear best Carnival ship for kids. Even the smaller ones are packed with fun experiences!

4. MSC World Europa

MSC World Europa is one of the most futuristic-looking cruise ships in the world, both inside and out. And there are some seriously cool features which the family will love as part of that, including interactive games in the kids’ clubs, and a stunning futuristic dry slide inside the ship for the thrill-seeking teens.

In summer 2024, the teens club started offering extended hours too and is open from 3pm until midnight every day, with a morning session also available on sea days.

But with MSC, a lot of the focus isn’t on just the shiny attractions, but on how they approach family cruising – the extra touches of care. The cruise line partners with the renowned brand Chicco, so that the junior kids’ clubs have the best selections of interactive toys.

And the baby club ensures that even the youngest passengers will be taken care of. Unlike most cruise lines where the kids’ clubs only start from age 3, there are facilities on MSC World Europa for those that haven’t even turned 1 yet. You can leave a six-month-old with the staff for a nap, if you want to go an explore the ship!

They even have a special baby laundry service, where baby clothes are washed separately from other clothes on a more sanitising and gentle cycle. That’s thoughtful.

MSC World Europa offers Middle East itineraries in winter, and Mediterranean cruises from various departure ports during the summer. MSC World America is a sister ship sailing the Caribbean, if you’d prefer that.

MSC World Europa review.

5. Norwegian Prima

Some of the best cruise ships in the world for kids are those which have special unique features. And with NCL there were a couple of options.

I could’ve gone with the newer Norwegian Aqua with the Aqua Slidecoaster, but I think Prima’s feature is more unique. NCL introduced the first go-kart track at sea with Norwegian Joy in 2017, but Norwegian Prima takes it to a whole other level with a three-storey karting track that is absolutely epic.

Prima also takes the standard mini golf that you’ll find on some cruise ships and gives it a complete tech makeover, for a much more exciting course that is highly immersive. There’s also a virtual reality arcade!

NCL was one of the first cruise lines to introduce the idea of Freestyle Cruising, with no set dining times and the freedom to eat dinner when you want, which obviously helps when travelling with kids. Other ships have caught up to the concept, but Norwegian Prima does have a huge wealth of dining venues so it is still a top option for family eating.

And it of course has a fun-packed water park and kids clubs too. But really, Prima’s standout features are the karting and mini golf – if your kids love these activities then they’ll love this ship.

Norwegian Prima offers Caribbean cruises in winter and European cruises in summer, including some Northern Europe itineraries from Southampton.

6. P&O Arvia

Most cruise lines pitch themselves at a single market – families, or adults. P&O Cruises is slightly different in that they have some ships that are adults-only, and some that are family-friendly. Arvia is one of the latter.

She is also the newest ship in the fleet, meaning you get one of the most contemporary and up-to-date ships for your holiday that looks stunning inside and out.

The kids club on the ship is suitable for 2 to 17-year-olds and is split into four age groups, with a wide range of activities available for all ages. P&O also has a partnership with Aardman, so there are live shows featuring Wallace, Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, along with the chance for the kids to meet the characters.

Arvia is offering Caribbean sailings during the winter, and Mediterranean cruises from Southampton in the summer. However, parents of younger children should note that children in swim-nappies

7. A-ROSA Sena

I said at the start of this guide that cruising was, up until recently, seen as a holiday for older guests. With river cruising, that’s still very much the case, and it is only in the last couple of years that family-friendly river cruises are starting to be offered.

A-ROSA is without a doubt the pioneer for this market, and their modern ship Sena is beautifully appointed, packed with great tech and fantastic for kids. It has spacious family cabins that can sleep up to 5, and a kids club with dedicated spaces on-board – something you won’t find on most river cruises.

It even has a separate kids’ pool from the main pool, and a variety of different games that the kids can play.

River cruising is a good choice for kids since the ships take you right into the heart of every destination – you don’t spend as much time transferring from the port to the city, so they’ll love the variety in what you can do while ashore too.

Check out this video of our cruise:

A-ROSA Sena offers cruises on the Rhine from Cologne.

8. Costa Toscana

Costa tends to be one of the cheaper cruise lines, which can be useful for families who are on a budget. It’s a fun-packed cruise line with Italian heritage, but the ships are very international – so your children will mingle with kids from a lot of other countries, which can be really interesting for them.

While P&O have Wallace & Gromit, and Carnival have Dr Seuss, Costa has partnered with one of the biggest names for younger kids – Peppa Pig. If your kids are obsessed with Peppa and George, they’ll love the chance to meet them aboard Costa Toscana.

Toscana is the newest ship in the Costa fleet and it is packed with other great features too, including an expansive waterpark with racing slides. But while there is a lot of variety, this is still a better ship for families with younger children – teens will probably find that other cruise lines are better suited.

Costa Toscana offers various Mediterranean and Middle East sailings from a number of departure ports.

9. Sun Princess

The newest ship in the Princess Cruises fleet, Sun Princess has fantastic live entertainment, great food, and plenty of places to relax. But for the kids, they’ll care more about what is laid on specifically for them.

The kids’ clubs are split into three age groups, with Camp Discovery offering some fun activities for kids 3-7 and 8-12 – the older group even get arcade games such as skeeball and air hockey. Teens can instead relax in The Beach House, a much more contemporary space with late-night movies and video game tournaments.

There are also a number of hosted events during the evenings for younger guests. Teens can relax at their own Rock the Boat party, while there are themed nights for younger kids too that incorporate things like talent shows.

I think Sun Princess might be one of the best ships for multi-generational cruises:

10. Celebrity Ascent

Celebrity Cruises is a premium cruise line that tends to be associated more with the adult market, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great choice for kids – and with their newest ship Celebrity Ascent, families will find a fantastic range of modern, luxury features.

But it is definitely not the same kind of cruise ship as you’d get with Royal Caribbean, Carnival or other family-first lines. There are no waterparks, or slides, or kids’ pools.

The kid’s clubs are tucked away in the lower parts of the ship, with Camp at Sea aimed at tweens and The Basement for teenagers. Celebrity Ascent is definitely a better ship for kids that can entertain themselves, more than enjoying a tonne of thrilling features.

Where Celebrity Ascent does excel is in its autism-friendly initiatives. There are film showings with lower lighting and lower volumes, and a toy-lending program for sensory toys. Kids club age groupings are flexible for autistic children too, if they want to stay with their older or younger siblings, and priority boarding is available too.

Celebrity Ascent sails from Rome, Barcelona and Athens in the summer around the Med, including the Eastern Med with Turkey. In winter she sails the Caribbean.

11. MS Rotterdam

MS Rotterdam is the newest ship in the Holland America fleet, and similar to Celebrity Beyond, she is a ship that is slightly more premium and definitely targeted more at adults, but one that has some good initiatives for kids.

This includes special provisions for children with special needs. While other cruise lines will also likely accommodate children with special needs in their kids’ clubs, Holland America clearly states that they are able to support them and can provide suitable activities in their Club HAL kids clubs.

Club HAL is also open on port days, to allow parents to go exploring in destinations that might not interest the kids as much. And there are a good selection of activities available at the clubs, including treasure hunts for kids, themed parties for tweens, and poker nights for teenagers.

Rotterdam accommodates families of five with Ocean View Staterooms that sleep five guests.

Read more: MS Rotterdam Cabins Guide

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More Great Cruise Ships For Families…

So far, I’ve showed you the newest and best cruise ships from each of the most family-friendly cruise lines.

Of course, you aren’t just limited to these! Cruise lines like Disney, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL are all perfect for kids, and several great cruise ships to choose from. Each ship in the fleet will have a range of facilities to entertain all ages, and great dining choices too.

I’ve taken my children on lots of cruises, on older as well as newer ships. Here are some more of the ships that my kids particularly loved…

Anthem of the Seas

Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas is packed with facilities that kids love such as bumper cars, roller skating, rock climbing. It even has surfing and sky-diving simulators on board.

In fact, there’s so much to see and do onboard this mega-ship that a isn’t long enough to experience everything.

The kids’ club, for ages three to eleven, has activities on offer from right after breakfast until 10 pm. Babies and toddlers can attend play sessions accompanied by their parents. And teens have their own cool hangout space which includes a teens-only nightclub.

You can sail on Anthem of the Seas from Southampton to a variety of destinations across Europe and the Mediterranean. We loved our cruise to Norway. The rest of the year she sails out of New York to the Bahamas and Caribbean.

Once on board, almost all the activities and entertainment are included, but you will have to budget for money to buy drinks, and also for gratuities (tips), which are added to your bill.

Read more: Anthem of the Seas – Everything you need to know

Ventura

Those looking for a more chilled-out cruise on a smaller ship may feel more at home on board P&O Cruises’ Ventura.

This ship, which is very popular with British families, features six swimming pools, including one with a retractable roof, two children’s pools and an adults-only pool. Children can dine with their parents, or enjoy a special children’s tea at 5 pm.

The kid’s club is open from 9 am to 11 pm, offering a huge range of activities for children aged two to 17. There’s also a night nursery, which offers complimentary childcare for under-fives from 6 pm until 2 am.

P&O Ventura sails from Southampton all year round. Whether you want to dip your toe in the water, so to speak, with a two-night taster cruise, or take your toddler on a 35-night adventure, there’s something for everyone.

You can choose from a great range of destinations across Europe, the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, the Norwegian Fjords or even enjoy a round-trip from the UK to the Caribbean!

P&O Cruises are very reasonably priced, with some great deals to be had. I have managed to book cruises onboard P&O Ventura for less than £40 per person, per night, based on four people sharing an inside cabin.

What’s more, P&O Cruises do not charge for gratuities (tips) as most other cruise lines do. And drinks on-board are fairly priced too – expect to pay a similar amount to what you’d pay in a pub at home.

Suggested read: P&O Ventura cabins to avoid

3. MSC Preziosa

MSC Cruises is an Italian family-owned cruise line with a real glamourous atmosphere on-board.

Kids will love the Vertigo water slide, which is one of the longest water slides at sea and extends over the side of the ship. There’s also a great splash area for younger tots and a pool with a retractable roof which is perfect to enjoy in cooler weather.

The kids’ clubs, for those aged 3-17, have great facilities, including lots of Lego for the younger ones and Wii, Xbox and PS3 tournaments for older children.

During the summer, MSC Preziosa departs from Southampton as well as ports such as Barcelona and Genoa. In the winter, you’ll find her in the Caribbean.

MSC Cruises are reasonably priced. If you want to upgrade to all-inclusive, you’ll find the drinks packages to be cheaper than most other cruise lines. Some activities such as the Formula One simulator and the 4D cinema have an extra charge.

Disney Magic

Disney fans of all ages will love everything about Disney Cruise Line, from the Mickey Mouse-shaped swimming pool to bumping into Daisy Duck in the lift.

The entertainment onboard Disney Magic is fantastic and adults will have plenty of opportunities to enjoy a little alone time with adult-only dining, an adult-exclusive pool and a great nightclub.

For the most relaxing experience, during the summer holidays, you can sail from Dover to Northern Europe. Or for something a little more exotic, explore the Mediterranean sailing from Barcelona or the Caribbean sailing from New York.

Disney cruises are certainly more expensive than other cruise lines. Just like visiting a Disney theme park, a Disney cruise is a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience which comes with a price tag to match.

Get Help Booking Your Family Cruise

Cruise Family are the only UK specialists in cruises for families of 5+ (and smaller ones too!)

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Which Is Your Favourite Family Cruise Ship?

The ships I’ve listed here should give you an example of some of the best cruise ships for British families looking to book their first cruise – there are lots more ships (and cruise lines) which may be ideal for your family.

It’s impossible to pick a best cruise for kids or even the best cruise line for kids, because all families are different. You might only want to try Disney, or you might hate the loud atmosphere of a Carnival cruise.

But this guide should’ve at least given you an idea of the options for the best cruise lines for kids, and now you’re able to find the one that best fits you.

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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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MSC Cruises Status Match Charts

June 11, 2025
by Luxury Cruising Editorial Cruise Lines Cruise News MSC Cruises

Being enrolled in a cruise line’s loyalty programme is great for getting extra rewards, but the best perks are locked behind higher tiers – which means you feel like you’re locked into one cruise line.

MSC Cruises has a ‘Status Match Program’ that’s designed to attract guests who are already loyal to other cruise lines, hotel brands, or tour operators.

It acknowledges the loyalty status that you may have earned with other travel brands by offering a matching status in the MSC Voyagers Club, which is MSC Cruises’ own loyalty program.

But is it any good?

First, choose your cruise line below to see what level your loyalty status matches to with MSC Cruises

AIDA Cruise Line

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Blau ✔

Rot ✔

Gelb ✔

Grün ✔

Azamara Cruises – Le Club Voyage

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Adventurer ✔

Explorer ✔

Discoverer ✔

Carnival Cruises – VIFP

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Blue ✔

Red ✔

Gold ✔

Platinum ✔

Diamond ✔

Celebrity Cruises – Captain’s Club

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Classic ✔

Select ✔

Elite ✔

Elite Plus ✔

Zenith ✔

Costa Cruises – Costa Club

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Aquamarine ✔

Coral ✔

Pearl ✔

Gold Pearl ✔

Pearl Diamante ✔

Cunard Cruises – World Club Cunard

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Silver ✔

Gold ✔

Platinum ✔

Diamond ✔

Disney Cruise Line – Castaway Club

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Silver ✔

Gold ✔

Platinum ✔

Holland America – Mariner Society

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Star mariner ✔

2 Star mariner ✔

3 Star mariner ✔

4 Star mariner ✔

5 Star mariner ✔

President’s Club ✔

Norwegian Cruises – Latitudes

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Bronze ✔

Silver ✔

Gold ✔

Platinum ✔

Platinum Plus ✔

Ambassador ✔

Oceania Cruises – Oceania Club

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Blue ✔

Bronze ✔

Silver ✔

Gold ✔

Platinum ✔

Diamond ✔

President’s Circle ✔

Ponant Yacht Cruises & Expeditions

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Major ✔

Admiral ✔

Grand Admiral ✔

Princess Cruises – Princess Captain’s Circle

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Gold ✔

Ruby ✔

Platinum ✔

Elite ✔

P&O Cruises – Peninsular Club

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Pacific Tier ✔

Atlantic Tier ✔

Mediterranean Tier ✔

Caribbean Tier ✔

Baltic Tier ✔

Tier Ligure ✔

Regent Cruises – Seven Seas Club

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Bronze ✔

Silver ✔

Gold ✔

Platinum ✔

Titanium ✔

Royal Caribbean – Crown & Anchor Society

Seabourn Cruises – Club

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Seabourn Club ✔

Seabourn Club Silver ✔

Seabourn Club Gold ✔

Seabourn Club Platinum ✔

Seabourn Club Diamond ✔

SilverSea – Venetian Society

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Venetian Society member ✔

Shipper Milestone ✔

Emerald Milestone ✔

Ruby Milestone ✔

Diamond Milestone ✔

Star Cruises – Resort World at Sea

Classic Silver Gold Diamond

Silver ✔

Gold ✔

Platinum ✔

Black ✔

As well as matching cruise line loyalty status, MSC Cruises also matches loyalty status with various hotels and casinos like Hilton, Marriott, Best Western and many more.

MSC Voyagers Club Levels

Once you know what status you’ll be matched to in the MSC Voyagers Club, you’ll want to know what that gets you…

All the MSC loyalty perks are shown in the following table:

Classic Silver Gold Diamond Blue Diamond

5% cruise discount ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

10% cruise discount on advance bookings ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Email newsletter ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Personalised luggage tags ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Welcome back cocktail ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Onboard discounts ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

$50 credit on advance bookings ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

One hour in the thermal area ✔ ✔ ✔

Free gift ✔ ✔ ✔

Priority disembarkation by tender ✔ ✔ ✔

Free photo ✔ ✔ ✔

Birthday cake ✔ ✔ ✔

Priority line for embarkation ✔ ✔

Free speciality restaurant dinner ✔ ✔

Priority disembarkation at end of cruise ✔ ✔

Bathrobe and slippers ✔ ✔

Dance class ✔ ✔

Diamond Party ✔ ✔

Late check-out ✔ ✔

Sweet chocolate gift ✔ ✔

Free WiFi package ✔

Flexible check-in times ✔

Free tickets for shuttle services (select ports) ✔

Exclusive event invitations with officers ✔

You’ll notice that Blue Diamond doesn’t appear on the status match charts above. That’s because it’s a new tier introduced in November 2024 that is only achievable with MSC – you can’t get it via status match.

How To Register For Status Match

To claim your MSC Status Match perks, you’ll need to fill in a form on the MSC Cruises website.

You can ask your travel agent to do this for you if you prefer. If you’re a member of multiple loyalty programs, be sure to pick the one with the greatest benefits.

MSC Status Match usually takes around 72 hours to be completed, so don’t leave it too late before your cruise to apply. You’ll receive an approval email with your MSC Voyagers’ Club Number.

My Opinion

The aim of the MSC Cruises Status Match Program is to tempt frequent cruisers of other cruise lines over to MSC by matching the benefits that they usually get with their favourite cruise lines.

Of course, the loyalty perks should never be a reason to book a cruise, but they can offer a nice bonus. With the MSC Voyagers Club, it’s not until Gold and Diamond Level that you get any perks that are really worth having.

I’ve cruised with MSC Cruises four times, so I am a Silver Member. But I’ve never noticed any of the perks that come with that, and I don’t recall ever receiving the free cocktail either!

It wouldn’t surprise me if you need to queue at guest services to ask for a voucher to claim it or something. I don’t fancy doing that, especially if I have a drinks package!

So, if you have a high loyalty status elsewhere, then it’s worth spending a few minutes filling out the form so MSC Cruises will match that. But don’t get too excited, loyalty perks usually aren’t all that great until you reach the highest tiers.

NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!

Don’t miss the latest MSC Cruises offers…

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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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Can You Actually Sleep on a Cruise with the Balcony Door Open? What Carnival Says

June 10, 2025
by Luxury Cruising Editorial Diplomacy

Sleeping with the balcony door open on a cruise has always been an indulgence I was never quite clear about. It felt like a grey area. Some cruisers would say it’s very much frowned upon, and others would say it’s the only way to sleep.

Wind tunnels, humidity, AC concerns—all of them legitimate factors while sleeping to the tune of the ocean.

So, what’s the real answer? At least one cruise line has set the record straight

Balcony cabin on Carnival Celebration. Photo: Cruise Fever

Cruise passengers have long debated whether it’s okay to sleep with their balcony doors open, and Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador John Heald recently addressed the topic head-on during a Facebook Live video, clearing up some common questions.

One Air Conditioning Myth, Debunked

One of the biggest rumors floating around is that leaving your balcony door open somehow affects air conditioning in neighboring cabins. Heald was quick to shut this down, stating he had “confirmed with the highest level chief engineers on the ships” that this simply isn’t true.

“If the balcony door of your cabin is left open, it only turns off the conditioning in your cabin—it does not affect those around,” Heald explained. So, you can rest easy knowing that your choice to sleep with fresh ocean air won’t make your neighbors uncomfortable.

Yes, You Can Sleep with Your Door Open (But Be Smart About It)

The good news? Carnival doesn’t prohibit sleeping with your balcony door open. Many passengers love “to hear the sound of the sea,” as Heald put it, and there’s something undeniably romantic about falling asleep to ocean waves.

However, there are some important safety considerations to keep in mind. Heald emphasized being careful about the door potentially slamming shut in ocean winds, warning passengers to “watch your hands” and “find a way to put something in front of it so that it doesn’t blow closed and hurt you or trap your hand.”

The Wind Tunnel Effect and Noise Concerns

Beyond personal safety, there’s the courtesy factor. Heald pointed out that “the noise echoes around the whole cabin section” when balcony doors slam, so securing your door is as much about being a good neighbor as it is about protecting yourself.

There’s also a surprising safety issue most people don’t think about: “If your balcony door is open and you open the door into the corridor of your cabin, it can cause something like a wind tunnel,” Heald noted, along with his usual humor.

This cross-breeze effect “could also be a little bit dangerous.”

I’ve seen first-hand just how strong this wind tunnel effect can be and if any lose papers are in the cabin they will end up all over the place.

What You Absolutely Cannot Do

While sleeping with your door open is fine, Heald drew a hard line at one particular behavior: moving your mattress onto the balcony. He recounted a recent incident where a passenger “decided he wanted to sleep on the balcony” and “put his bedding on the balcony.”

“That is not allowed for safety reasons, planning reasons, for all sorts of reasons,” Heald stated firmly. Please don’t be “that guy”.

The passenger in question “was very much told off,” and Heald made it clear this isn’t an isolated incident—”a few people have done this in the past.”

The Bottom Line

Carnival’s position is pretty simple: sleep with your balcony door open if you want to, just do it responsibly. Secure the door so it won’t slam, be mindful of noise carrying to other cabins, and remember that your air conditioning will turn off in your room (though it won’t affect anyone else’s).

Also remember that with the AC off, this will make your cabin quite humid even if the temperature is to your liking. And it make take some time before the AC can recycle the air after you shut the outside door.

As Heald put it, “Please be very gracious and please think of others and yourselves as well.”

The ocean breeze is free, but common sense? That should come standard with every cruise.

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Viking Combines Popular Itineraries Into Longer Cruises

June 10, 2025
by Luxury Cruising Editorial Diplomacy

Viking has announced 14 new ocean itineraries for the 2026-2027 season that range from 15- to 36-days in length and are now open for bookings.

These new cruises combine some of Viking’s most popular itineraries into longer voyages. They will visit the Mediterranean, Scandinavia, Ireland and the U.K.

The new itineraries visit celebrated cultural capitals—as well as emerging destinations—throughout Europe and beyond.

The cruises will set sail in 2026-2027 and are as follows:

Jewels of the Mediterranean: (15 days; Rome roundtrip)

Gems of the Mediterranean: (15 days; Barcelona roundtrip)

Spain, Portugal & the Mediterranean: (15 days; between Lisbon – Rome)

Iconic Western Europe: (19 days; between London – Barcelona)

From Iberia to the Northern Lights: (20 days; Barcelona to Tromso)*

Mediterranean & Atlantic Crossing: (21 days; between Rome – San Juan)

Adriatic & Mediterranean Discovery: (22 days; between Venice – Lisbon)

Iberia & Mediterranean Antiquities: (22 days; between Lisbon – Athens)

British Isles & Viking Shores: (22 days; between London – Amsterdam)*

Viking Homelands, Shores & Fjords: (22 days; Stockholm to Amsterdam)*

Iberia, the Mediterranean & Aegean: (29 days; between Lisbon – Istanbul)

Iceland, Norway & British Isles: (29 days; between Reykjavik – London)*

Mediterranean Explorer: (30 days; between Athens – Lisbon)

Grand Mediterranean Explorer: (36 days; between Lisbon – Istanbul)*

*These cruises are only offered in 2027.

Ísafjörður, Iceland. Photo Credit: Cruise Fever

Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking, gave the following statement about these new cruises:

“Viking guests are curious travelers who are interested in enriching their lives by exploring and learning about the world.

“With our destination-focused approach and elegant small ships, our voyages have always been designed to bring guests closer to their destination and provide opportunities for cultural immersion. These new voyages offer even more choices for guests who wish to extend their time abroad with one seamless itinerary.”

For anyone interested in booking one of these new cruises, Viking is currently offering FREE airfare and savings up to $4,000 per couple. Cruise deposits are also lowered to just $25 each.

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Waste Management At Sea Explained

June 10, 2025
by Luxury Cruising Editorial Cruise Lines Cruise News First time cruisers

Modern cruise ships can host as many as 7,600 passengers on a single sailing. That’s a lot of people – and a lot of waste being produced.

Think about it – ships aren’t like hotels, where there are plumbing systems connected to main sewer lines. So, what happens to all the sewage generated by a cruise ship?

Surely, it’s not just dumped in the oceans, right? Right???

Modern Cruise Ships Only Dump Treated Waste In Oceans

Cruise ships do dump sewage into ocean waters, but with modern ships, it will only be after that sewage has gone through extensive treatment to remove anything harmful. Certain waste waters are released without treatment but only those that haven’t come into contact with biohazardous materials or chemicals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nly_imD4_6U

In the past, cruise ships would dump untreated waste into ocean waters, and there may be some older cruise lines that still do.

But modern cruise lines are wising up to their impact on the planet – and their impact on their profits if they don’t listen to the growing clamour from guests for ships to become more environmentally friendly.

Therefore, most of the big cruise lines don’t release any water into the oceans that hasn’t been treated onboard. All waste will be treated before it is released, and even then it won’t be released in environmentally volatile areas.

There isn’t a standard for where treated sewage water is released, as it depends on the waters where the ship is sailing. Different areas that have protection status can also have different rules – for example, there is a no-discharge zone covering the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget sound near Seattle in the US.

Beach on the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Generally, treated water is permitted to be dumped in many areas that aren’t too close to land, while untreated waste can still be dumped according to regulations, but it must be further from shore.

Despite this freedom to dump waste off-shore, modern cruise ships are equipped with the necessary treatment facilities to be more responsible with sewage.

Friends of the Earth – an environmental organisation – last posted a ‘report card’ for cruise lines and their environmental impact in 2024, which included details of which cruise lines had installed these advanced sewage treatment systems, and on how many ships. In it, it scored cruise lines such as Carnival, P&O and Costa as the lowest.

Costa Fortuna in Norway

It’s worth remembering that the information is a little outdated now, and more ships are adding wastewater treatment centres when in drydock.

Cruise lines that have installed wastewater treatment facilities across their entire fleet already include:

Celebrity Cruises

Cunard Line

Disney Cruise Line

Holland America Line

Norwegian Cruise Line

Oceania Cruises

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Royal Caribbean

Seabourn

Viking Ocean Cruises

Virgin Voyages

Cruise Ships Get Rid Of Human Waste Safely

Cruise ships get rid of human waste by treating it extensively in an onboard treatment plant. Leftover solids are either processed once the ship returns to shore or incinerated onboard, while the treated liquids are then dumped in the ocean where suitable.

Black water – this is the heavily contaminated water from toilets and urinals

Grey water – this comes from drains, such as showers, basins and baths – it’s still unclean water, but it doesn’t contain harmful sewage

When we talk about human waste, we’re generally referring to black water. So, where does toilet waste go on a cruise ship? Not straight out into the water, don’t worry.

It used to be that waste would be dumped in the ocean but typically out at sea. But now, waste is sent to a treatment centre on the ship where the harmful materials are removed before the treated water is released.

It’s quite an intensive treatment process, which leaves water much safer to dump in the oceans.

Also, on grey water – while it doesn’t undergo the same level of treatment as blackwater, it will often be sterilised before it is released into the oceans.

There are some concerns over grey water though, particularly that which comes from the laundry facilities on the ships, as it could contain a high volume of microplastics.

How Cruise Ships Handle Sewage

Here’s the process that sewage goes through on a cruise ship in the onboard treatment plant:

1. Bioreactor Aeration Chamber

The first step for sewage on a cruise ship is to enter an aeration chamber. This chamber is filled with bacteria which work to break down some of the organic compounds in sewage that contaminate it, removing them from the wastewater.

2. Membrane Filtration System

After aeration, the wastewater is passed through a filtration system which will capture a lot of the solid impurities. These solids are passed back through the aeration chamber to further break them down – the aim is to remove as much of the contaminants at possible through bacteria.

3. Settlement Chamber

In the settlement chamber, the remaining solid materials are captured. This is done via settlement – the sludge-like solids sink to the bottom of the chamber and are captured for further re-processing, while the liquids move into the next stage.

At this stage, all solid materials will eventually be removed from the sewage, once they have been passed through the first three steps multiple times.

The solid matter will be a lot lower in volume than when it first entered the plant, and it will now be incinerated in a low-emission incinerator, minimising the release of harmful chemicals. It may also be stored until it can be disposed of properly when the ship returns to port.

4. Disinfection Chamber

The liquids that remain following the settlement chamber are passed into a disinfection chamber where UV radiation is used to remove the remaining pathogens and chemicals. At this stage, the water is almost as pure as tap water, although you still shouldn’t drink it, since actual cruise ship tap water has to go through stringent, certified tests.

5. Storage Tank

Once the sewage has been completely processed, it will enter a storage tank until it can be disposed of, either on land or released into the sea at a safe distance from the shore.

Food Waste Is Processed In An Environmentally Friendly Way

As much of 30% of the food served on cruise ships is wasted. This is usually a result of the guests ordering more dishes than they can eat, or loading their plates heavily at the buffet and not finishing everything.

A large cruise ship typically has 1.5 tonnes per day of food scraps to dispose of.

Each galley has a grinder that purees the food waste. Then, at night, when the ship is out at sea, the food waste is discharged into the ocean below the waterline. Fish and other marine animals often follow the ship, feeding on the scraps.

Sometimes, food waste collected on a cruise ship is treated through a dehydrator to remove moisture, and then once all liquid has been removed it is incinerated. This is considered the safest, most environmentally friendly option for cruise ship food waste.

Burning anything is never ideal, since you’ll always be releasing some form of harmful gasses. But then neither is dumping anything into the ocean, as it’s not a natural diet for marine animals.

To reduce the environmental impact of food waste (and the cost) cruise ships take great strides to minimise the amount of waste they produce.

It’s not just about how food waste is disposed of, too, but also how it can be reduced in the first place. After all, wasted food is wasted money from a cruise line’s perspective, so anything they can do to reduce the amount of wastage being created not only helps the environment but also helps their bottom line.

Some of the methods used to tackle food waste include:

1. Getting Rid of the Midnight Buffet

Just like skeet shooting, and hitting gold balls off the side of the ship, the midnight buffet is an old cruise line tradition that you don’t see on ships anymore.

It’s a nice idea – being able to pop along for some midnight snacks and choose from a wide range of foods – but realistically most guests were either asleep or still full from dinner, and so the buffets would just create unnecessary waste.

Cruise ships do still have buffet restaurants but they tend to close between 8 pm and 10 pm on most ships. For those who get hungry later, there’s usually somewhere to grab a bit to eat later on, whether that’s a café or a small section of the buffet with a few sandwiches and cakes.

2. Using AI to Manage Menu and Food Production

Some cruise lines including Carnival and Royal Caribbean have started to work with artificial intelligence technologies to help manage menu options and food production, in a bid to reduce wastage.

AI is still an emerging tech but if cruise lines can use it to predict when certain meals are going to be needed and to manage the freshness of ingredients, there could be some fantastic strides in the reduction of food wastage.

3. Charging for Additional Courses

In most cruise dining rooms you can order as many dishes as you wanted. Stuck between two or three options on the menu? You can just order them all.

Of course, this often leads to increased wastage. Not only is one person now having multiple meals, but they’re less likely to finish them all, so there are more leftovers generated.

Some cruise lines have started to introduce a nominal charge for additional entrees, either for the second or starting at the third. The charges tend to be small but it will help to deter guests with bigger eyes than stomachs from unnecessarily ordering extra meals.

Beyond wastage, cruise lines are also looking at other environmentally-friendly technologies that could be better for the environment and either be more profitable in future, or ensure that people are still happy to cruise.

Fuel technology advancements, such as Royal Caribbean’s investment in biofuel, is one of the prominent areas of research.

How Much Waste Is Dumped by Cruise Ships?

It’s worth clarifying that typically human waste refers to toilet water, but there are different types of water on a cruise ship that must be disposed of…

It’s estimated that an average cruise line dumps around 30,000 gallons of sewage into the ocean each day. Larger ships will be above this average, but specific figures are never released.

As a guide, a four-minute shower uses around 8 gallons, while a toilet flush uses just under 2 gallons. So for 3,000 guests, that’s one toilet trip and one four-minute shower each day – it’s not as much as it might sound.

Bear in mind as well that this average includes the water that has been treated. It’s not 30,000 gallons of contaminated sewage.

And to put the figure into perspective, the world’s oceans contain around 352 quintillion gallons. So if there are around 250 cruise ships producing 30,000 gallons of sewage every day, that’s 2.737 billion gallons each year.

Or, as a percentage of the world’s water, it’s 0.000000000008%.

A drop in the ocean.

Final Word

Cruises are not a beacon of environmentally responsible transport, but cruise lines are working hard to improve their standards, in terms of waste and other ways they can cause pollution.

They have to – people are becoming more conscious of the impact we’re having on the planet, and any industry which doesn’t try to improve will only be left behind in future.

The more widespread use of sewage treatment and food waste reduction on ships will massively cut the impact that cruises have on the oceans, but more research and investment are needed if cruise lines want to move towards net zero emissions and being more friendly to the environment.

If you found this interesting, please share!

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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40 Handy Cruise Abbreviations and Acronyms Explained

June 10, 2025
by Luxury Cruising Editorial Cruise Lines Cruise News First time cruisers

Isn’t it frustrating when you’re reading something that uses abbreviations or acronyms that aren’t explained, and you don’t understand what they’re talking about?

While they can be really useful for cramming a lot of information into a small space – you might see them used on adverts for cheap cruises, for example – if you don’t know what they stand for, then they’re frustrating and useless.

So, I’ve compiled a list of some of the most common abbreviations and acronyms used in the cruise industry. There are one or two that still confuse me even with the explanation, though…

1. ABTA

Association of British Travel Agents. A UK-based travel association that helps ensure quality and reliable services from its members, including cruise lines.

2. AFT

This isn’t actually an abbreviation or acronym, it’s just a word – “Aft”. Some people think it’s an abbreviation, though. It refers to the back of the ship. Staterooms labelled as “aft” are located near the rear of the ship.

Read more: Bow Vs Stern Vs Aft – Why Are They Called That?

3. ATOL

Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing. A UK financial protection scheme that covers most air package holidays sold by travel businesses based in the UK.

If your cruise has flights included in the package, you want it to be ATOL-protected. Then you’re guaranteed to be looked after if the airline goes out of business while you’re on your cruise.

4. B2B

Back to Back. Refers to booking consecutive cruises, where a passenger remains on the ship for the next voyage.

5. BPG

Best Price Guarantee. A policy offered by some cruise lines ensures that if a lower price is found for the same cruise, they will match it.

6. C&A

Crown and Anchor. Royal Caribbean’s loyalty program, offering rewards and benefits to frequent cruisers.

Read more: Royal Caribbean Diamond Benefits

7. C&S

Cruise & Stay. A package that combines a cruise with a land-based hotel stay either before or after the voyage.

8. CC

Cruise Critic. A popular online forum and review site for cruise-related information.

Visit the Cruise Critic website.

9. CD

Cruise Director. The staff member responsible for all onboard entertainment and activities.

Read more: Carnival Cruise Director Schedule

10. CCL

Carnival Cruise Line. This popular cruise line is known for its fun atmosphere and wide range of destinations. Because it’s typically shortened to just “Carnival”, people sometimes don’t realise that CCL means the cruise line.

11. CO

Cabin Occupancy. Refers to the number of people staying in a cruise ship cabin.

12. DBP

Deluxe Beverage Package. A beverage package offered by some cruise lines that includes a variety of drinks, usually this is the top drinks package. Sometimes called a Premium Beverage Package though PBP is less commonly used.

13. DCL

Disney Cruise Line. A cruise line that offers family-friendly cruises with Disney-themed entertainment – and that charges pretty hefty prices (but they are good cruises…)

14. FCC

Future Cruise Credit. Think of it as money to spend on a cruise – usually awarded when a cruise is cancelled or adjusted, in lieu of a refund, so you can use the FCC towards another cruise instead.

Read more: Future Cruise Credit: 12 Vital Things to Know

15. FOD

Friends of Dorothy. A term used to refer to LGBTQ+ gatherings or meetups on cruises.

16. FTTF

Faster to the Fun. A program offered by Carnival Cruise Line that provides expedited boarding, priority luggage delivery, and other benefits.

17. GS

Grand Suite. While most cruise lines will have their own choice of suite names, there are a handful that are common across multiple cruise lines – and this is one of them.

18. GTY

Guaranteed Stateroom. A type of booking where the guest is guaranteed a room in a specified category, but the exact room is assigned at a later time.

Where the Y comes from, I actually don’t know. Some people think it comes from “Guaranty” or that it’s a shortened form of “GuaranTee categorY”.

19. HAL

Holland America Line. This premium cruise line is known for its elegant ships and exotic destinations.

Read more: Holland America Ships Ranked From Best To Worst

20. INT

Interior. A cabin on the inside of the ship that (usually) has no windows, and is typically the cheapest option available. Sometimes called an Inside cabin.

21. ITIN

Itinerary. The planned route or schedule of a cruise, detailing the ports of call and durations.

22. JS

Junior Suite. See Grand Suite – one of those popular suite categories found on a lot of ships.

23. MDR

Main Dining Room. The primary dining area on a cruise ship where guests can enjoy meals included in the fare.

24. M&M

Meet and Mingle. Social events are organized on cruises, often for specific groups like families, singles, or loyalty program members.

25. MSC

Mediterranean Shipping Company. A global shipping company that also operates a cruise line, known for its Mediterranean cruises. Pretty much always referred to as MSC.

Read more: MSC Cruises Cabins to Avoid

26. NCL

Norwegian Cruise Line. A cruise line known for its “Freestyle Cruising” concept, offering flexible dining and entertainment options. There’s also NCLH which is less commonly used, standing for the parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

Read more: NCL Ships By Age And Size

27. NT

Nights. Refers to the number of nights included in a cruise itinerary.

28. OBC

Onboard Credit. A credit that’s provided to guests to spend on additional amenities while on the cruise, like spa services or excursions. Can sometimes be referred to in the UK as OBS or Onboard Spend(s).

Read more: Carnival Onboard Credit

29. OV

Ocean View. A type of stateroom with a window offering a view of the ocean.

30. P&O

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. A British cruise line that’s known for its history and global destinations. It’s definitely better to stick with “P&O” for short.

Read more: 6 Things That P&O Cruises Does Better Than Other Cruise Lines

31. PAX

Passengers. AKA you. If a ship has a capacity of 3,000 PAX then that’s 3,000 passengers – not counting the crew working so hard to look after them.

32. PCC

Personal Cruise Consultant or Personal Cruise Concierge. A dedicated representative from a cruise line (or sometimes from a travel agent) who assists with bookings and inquiries.

33. PP

Per Person. Pricing or costs on a cruise that are calculated for each individual passenger.

34. PPPN

Per Person, Per Night. Refers to pricing or costs on a cruise calculated on a nightly basis for each passenger.

This is the best way to compare cruise costs, though make sure it includes all port fees and taxes, too – sometimes they’re listed separately.

35. RCI

Royal Caribbean International. This very popular cruise line is known for its innovative ships and wide variety of destinations.

Read more: Who owns Royal Caribbean?

Regent Seven Seas Cruises. An ultra-luxury cruise line known for its all-inclusive cruises and exotic itineraries.

37. SOLAS

Safety of Life at Sea. An international maritime treaty ensuring the safe operation of ships, primarily focusing on the safety of passengers.

Read more: Do Cruise Ships Have Enough Lifeboats?

38. TA

Travel Agent. A professional who assists in booking travel arrangements, including cruises.

Read more: The Best Way To Book A Cruise (Online, Phone or In-Person)

39. VIFP

Very Important Fun Person. Carnival Cruise Line’s loyalty program offers benefits and rewards to repeat guests.

Read more: Carnival Cruise Card Colors Explained

40. YTD

Your Time Dining. A dining option on some cruise lines where guests can dine at any time during dinner hours, rather than at a set time. Also called ‘My Time Dining‘ on some cruise ships.

Final Word

There you go – a long list of abbreviations and acronyms related to cruising, explained. If you think of any others, or you come across one that you don’t understand, drop it in the comments and I’ll add it to the list.

TODAY’S BEST CRUISE DEALS!

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If you found this interesting, please share!

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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Carnival Announces Significant Reduction in Food Waste on Their Cruise Ships

June 10, 2025
by Luxury Cruising Editorial Diplomacy

The world’s largest cruise company, Carnival Corporation, announced a significant reduction in food waste compared to five years ago.

Carnival currently operates eight cruise lines and over 90 ships. In 2024, they saw a 44% reduction in food waste compared to 2019, beating their goal of a 40% reduction a year early.

The cruise giant has a target reduction goal of 50% by 2030.

How has Carnival Corporation been able to reduce food waste? They launched a “Less Left Over” food management strategy to ensure food and ingredients don’t go to waste. This has also helped them save $250 million in food costs over the past five years.

They use real-time analytics, dynamic menus, and prep-to-plate operational precisions to reduce good waste.

Carnival Corporation leverages AI-powered systems and real-time data tracking to align food prep with live guest and crew meal service flows and dining patterns.

The crew are also trained to help reduce food waste and loss across every aspect of the operation.

When there is left-over food, Carnival uses their 630 biodigesters to treat and manage it. These “metallic stomachs” use natural bacteria to organically break down and liquify uneaten food to a tiny fraction of its original volume.

A food digester on Carnival Panorama. Photo: Cruise Fever

Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation, gave the following statement:

“Our Less Left Over strategy is powered by dozens of large and small programs and technologies across our cruise lines to cut food waste by 50% by 2030.

“But more than that, it’s also a global rallying cry that is turning everyday actions into lasting impact by nurturing a shared mindset among our 160,000 talented team members – a mindset that values creativity in delivering amazing meals for our guests and crew while getting the most out of our resources. It’s great for the planet and our bottom line.”

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Why MSC Cruises Are So Cheap

June 10, 2025
by Luxury Cruising Editorial Cruise Lines Cruise News Cruise Tips MSC Cruises

When you search for cruise deals online and order the results by price from lowest to highest, MSC Cruises usually appear at the top of the list. They’re one of the cheapest cruise lines.

According to my research about how much cruises cost with each cruise line, MSC Cruises cost around 25% less than the average cruise.

But why are MSC Cruises so cheap? Are MSC Cruises bad? Or just great value for money?

My Experience

I’ve cruised with MSC Cruises four times. On our first cruise with MSC back in 2018, we paid just £798 for two adults, a toddler and a baby for a week on MSC Preziosa.

That works out at just £28.50 (around $40) per person, per night. Unbelievable, right?

Then in 2024, I paid just £99 for a two-night cruise on one of MSC Cruises’ newer ships, MSC Euribia.

As well as taking cruises with MSC, I’ve worked in the cruise industry since 2015. During this time, I’ve become very familiar with what MSC Cruises offers compared to other cruise lines, what people like about MSC Cruises, and what they often complain about.

So why are MSC Cruises so cheap? Let me explain…

How MSC Compares With Other Cruise Lines

MSC Cruises are very glamorous with Swarovski crystal staircases, elegant Italian-styled decor and lots of fun facilities for the whole family to enjoy.

MSC Cruises has copied many of the popular features from Royal Caribbean ships, so on the newer ships you might see robot bartenders, huge slides and the newest ships like MSC World Europa even have hollow middles like Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class ships.

Suggested read: Royal Caribbean Vs MSC Cruises Compared

Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate Abyss slide and MSC Cruises’ Venom Drop slide

I think that what MSC Cruises does is pretty clever – they take the most popular features from other ships, any apply them to their own. First-timer cruisers would never notice.

Don’t Expect a High Space-to-Guest Ratio

One of ways MSC Cruises can offer cheaper cruises is by packing more passengers into the available space on each ship.

The table below shows how many cubic feet of space each guest has on board some of the world’s most popular cruise ships…

Ship Cubic feet per passenger

MSC Virtuosa 29

Carnival Mardi Gras 29

P&O Cruises’ Iona 29

Sky Princess 32

Norwegian Encore 32

Icon of the Seas 32

Disney Magic 34

Cunard Queen Elizabeth 36

Marella Discovery 36

Celebrity Edge 37

Scarlet Lady 39

Azamara Quest 39

Cubic feet per passenger is worked out by dividing the gross tonnage (internal volume) of a ship by the maximum number of guests. For example, MSC Virtuosa has a gross tonnage of 181,541GT and can accommodate up to 6,334 guests (181,541 / 6,334 = 28.7)

MSC Virtuosa

The cruise ships towards the bottom of this table are much more expensive than MSC Cruises.

You may wish to note that Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady and Azamara’s Azamara Quest are adult-only ships, so there will naturally be more space per guest with a maximum of two people in each cabin, rather than families of four.

On cruises in the school holidays, MSC Cruises ships can feel very, very busy. But, outside of this time, if the ship isn’t full and there aren’t many kids on board, then this isn’t an issue at all.

So, the cheapest MSC Cruises are actually the best, because a low price last minute means that it’s not sold out.

MSC Cruises Offers Cheap Deals on Their Older Ships

MSC Cruises has 23 cruise ships in the fleet. The newest is the 6,000+ passenger MSC World America, while the oldest is the twenty-year-old MSC Armonia which accommodates 2,500 guests.

As with any cruise line, cruises on the smaller, older ships are usually the cheapest. You’ll often find that MSC’s Lirica-class ships (MSC Armonia, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Lirica and MSC Opera) offer the cheapest deals.

MSC Armonia and MSC World America

The difference between the oldest and newest ships in any fleet can be quite stark. Not only are the newer ships bigger and more modern, they also have a lot of facilities.

The older MSC ships don’t have much to do besides swimming, the casino and the gym. This makes them better suited to port-intensive itineraries where you’ll be off the ship each day exploring new destinations.

Cruise ships are generally refurbished every two to three years, although that is sometimes stretched a little longer with MSC Cruises. In MSC’s Mistral Class, some ships underwent a significant upgrade in 2014-2015 but haven’t been touched since.

For more information about each of the MSC Cruises ships, take a look at my guide to MSC Cruise ships by size, age and class.

On the whole, the MSC Cruises ships are comparable to most other cruise lines in terms of the size of the ships and the facilities you can expect on board.

However, it’s important to know that many things that are included in the cruise fare with other cruises have an extra fee on MSC Cruises. More on that further in this guide.

MSC Cabins

MSC Cruises offer a choice of budget and luxury accommodation with a choice of inside cabins, sea view cabins, balcony rooms and suites. Some ships even feature duplex suites with private whirlpool baths on the balcony.

On the newest MSC Cruises ships like MSC World Europa and MSC World America, the cabins are fresh, modern, and very spacious.

Our standard balcony cabin on MSC Virtuosa was the largest cruise cabin I’ve ever stayed in at 205 square feet. This is 20% larger than standard balcony cabins on P&O Cruises’ Iona.

Balcony cabin on MSC Virtuosa

Even the inside cabins are much larger than you would expect. Look how much floor space there is in this inside cabin on MSC Euribia…

Not every cabin is this nice though! Be sure to check out my guide to MSC Cruises Cabins to Avoid before you book because some of the cabins are super weird. Some don’t even have proper beds!

MSC Cruises Cabin Upgrades

On MSC Cruises, the cabins and suites are also grouped into something the cruise lines calls ‘experiences’. These are Bella, Fantastica and Aurea.

The Bella experience is the standard cruise package. You can choose from inside, outside or balcony cabins, although these will be located in less-desirable areas of the ship, such as right at the front or above the nightclub. Bella balcony cabins may have obstructed views or be very windy.

If you choose to upgrade to the Fantastica package, you can choose from the more desirable cabin locations like midship. You’ll also get a few extras the first choice of dinner sittings and a free photo. Of course, this comes with an extra cost.

The Aurea package comes with yet more perks, like priority boarding and access to exclusive areas of the ship so you’ll be able to find an empty sun lounger more easily.

The price that you see listed for MSC Cruises is almost always based on a Bella Inside cabin. When you proceed to book, you’ll see how much extra it costs to upgrade.

As most people upgrade to a different cabin type and/or a different experience, it’s rare to pay the price that you actually see advertised. Although being a budget cruiser, I usually do!

To help you decide which MSC Cruises experience is the best for you, take a look at this guide to what’s included with MSC Bella, Fantastica and Aurea.

NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!

Don’t miss the latest MSC Cruises offers…

The Food on MSC Cruises Can Be Hit-and-Miss

MSC Cruises offers a variety of cuisine from Italy, the Mediterranean and around the world. You can dine in the main dining room or buffet for free, or pay extra to eat in a speciality restaurant.

A question that I get asked a lot is what is the food like on MSC Cruises. The food is often mentioned in negative reviews, but that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily bad. It can be hit-and-miss though. It’s really hard to please everyone when it comes to food!

I’ve enjoyed some delicious food on MSC Cruises and I’ve also had some food that I couldn’t bring myself to eat.

In the main dining room, the portions of food are very sometimes small. I don’t actually mind this as it means that less is wasted. Just be sure to order side dishes like vegetables, potatoes or fries because these don’t come unless you ask for them.

A main course on MSC Cruises (it didn’t come with anything else)

If you have a large appetite, don’t hesitate to order more than one dish for each course or to choose another main for your starter. The staff don’t mind at all.

One great thing about the food on MSC Cruises is that it’s tailored to the nationalities of the guests.

On my recent cruises on MSC Virtuosa, everyone on board was British. The buffet featured real English bacon and sausages, baked beans, roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. There was even a kettle in each room with Yorkshire Tea.

Tea and coffee-making facilities are popular with British cruisers

If you take a cruise where most of the other guests are European or American, you can expect cuisine that’s more tailored to what they enjoy. So don’t expect English bacon in the Caribbean!

MSC Cruises has recently introduced a vegan menu, and there are usually vegan items on the regular menu too, so there’s always plenty for vegans to eat.

This vegan burrito was incredible!

You can read more about how to eat vegan on MSC Cruises here.

All the food on MSC Cruises ships is really fresh and the pizza, pasta and bread are made on board. On some ships you can even watch as the crew make their own Mozzarella cheese!

The Mozzarella factory is visible from the Marketplace Buffet on MSC Virtuosa and MSC Euribia

Just like other cruise lines, MSC Cruises offers speciality dining restaurants for an extra charge. So if you want a special treat or get bored of the main dining room and the buffet, you have more options.

Included Drinks with MSC

Most MSC Cruises do not include drinks, although you may sometimes get a drink package included as part of your cruise fare, depending on the deal that you booked.

Even if your cruise does not include drinks, you’ll always be able to get free water, coffee, tea, iced tea, lemonade, milk and chocolate milk as well as fruit juice at breakfast time.

The free drinks aren’t available in the bars though, usually only in the main dining room or buffet at set times. This is similar to the offering on most other cruise lines.

Just like other cruise lines, MSC Cruises offer a selection of drink packages that you can purchase to transform your cruise from full-board to all-inclusive. The prices vary depending on what drinks you’d like to be included and also where in the world your cruise takes place.

You’ll find more info on MSC drinks packages here.

My favourite cocktail on MSC Cruises is Jamaican Paradise

The drinks on MSC Cruises are priced similarly to other cruise lines – which means that they’re a little more expensive than you may expect in bars and restaurants on land. Take a look at these MSC drinks menus with prices to get an idea of how much you might pay for drinks.

Drinks Package – Worth It?

If you need help deciding whether a drink package is worth it for your cruise, feel free to use my drink package calculator which will work it out for you…

While some other cruise lines allow you to bring a certain amount of alcohol on board with you, MSC Cruises does not allow guests to bring any drinks at all. Bottled water is only allowed on board if you need it for medical reasons.

I did accidentally bring a bottle of Dr Pepper that was in my backpack, which gives me the impression that they don’t always check.

One thing to consider when buying a drink package is that if your cruise is very busy, you may get tired of lining up to order drinks, so this can limit how much you actually drink.

On very busy cruises, waits of 30 minutes or more for a drink were common. By the time you have your drink, you’d basically have to rejoin the back of the queue at the bar for another. And that’s not a fun way to spend your cruise! I didn’t drink as much as I would if a waiter were to come around regularly offering drinks.

I can understand why MSC Cruises don’t have many bar staff or waiters on cruises where everyone has a free drink package. The more staff they have, the more drinks they would make which would mean less revenue for them. But it’s not the best experience for guests, in my opinion.

One great thing about MSC Cruises drink packages is that you can get one even for a two-night weekend cruise, whereas many other cruise lines only let you buy one for a longer trip.

MSC’s Entertainment

Each MSC Cruises ship has a theatre where you can enjoy shows on most evenings. You’ll often find live music in other venues around the ship as well as trivia and quizzes and street artists.

I’ve found the entertainment on MSC Cruises to be pretty good. If you take a cruise in Europe, you’ll probably find that the shows aren’t in English – rather a mix of lots of different languages so that everyone can enjoy them.

MSC Cruises does charge extra for some of the shows. That’s something that you’ll rarely find on other cruises.

On our MSC Virtuosa cruise, the extra shows cost £15 each and included a free cocktail. This can be a good deal for some, as the cocktails cost around £10 anyway.

As we already had a drink package and the price was the same for kids and adults, we felt that £60 for a 30-minute show was over our budget. However, other cruisers reported that the paid shows were well worth the money.

If you want to see the shows, I recommend that you book them online before you go, as the prices will be cheaper.

Comedy show on MSC Virtuosa

Things to Do Onboard

I’ve always found that the daytime entertainment to be lacking on MSC Cruises. With no free activities on offer, people are encouraged to visit the boutiques, casino and spa – all of which provide extra revenue to supplement the low fares.

At first glance, the daily planner looks like it has a lot of activities, but on closer inspection, many of these are things like ‘David Beckham Sunglasses’ (that’s just shopping), ‘The Modern Assessment of Health’ (that’s a sales pitch) or paid activities like yoga.

If you’d rather not spend more money on board, I recommend bringing a few card games on board. Our favourite is Monopoly Deal.

My family

The newer MSC Cruises ships are packed with exciting activities that kids and adults will love. However, while similar activities are included in the cruise fare on other cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises charge extra for these things.

Here’s a rough guide to what you can expect to pay to use the facilities on MSC Cruises ships:

Activity Cost Ships

Zip Line $10 MSC Seaside, MSC Seaview

Bowling $45 MSC Grandiosa, MSC Bellissima, MSC Seaview, MSC Seaside, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Magnifica, MSC Divina, MSC Splendida, MSC Preziosa, MSC Virtuosa, MSC Euribia

Arcade $3 All ships

Formula Racer $10 MSC Grandiosa, MSC Bellissima, MSC Seaview, MSC Seaside, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Divina, MSC Splendida, MSC Fantasia, MSC Preziosa, MSC Virtuosa, MSC Euribia

4D Cinema $10 MSC Seaview, MSC Seaside, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Preziosa, MSC Divina, MSC Splendida, MSC Fantasia, MSC Magnifica.

Billiards $30 MSC Seaview, MSC Seaside, MSC Magnifica.

Flight Simulator $15 MSC Meraviglia

Read more: What’s Included in MSC Cruises (And How Much is Everything Else?)

The cost may vary depending on the currency of the ship and the prices may vary slightly for kids or if two people do the activity at once.

To save money on these activities you can buy an MSC Fun Pass before your cruise. If you pay a certain amount for the pass, you get extra credit which you can use to pay for the activities. The pass can be used by everyone in your family.

You can also buy the Fun Pass on the ship, but you’ll usually get a better deal by buying it in advance.

Things like swimming pools, waterslides and the high ropes course are free of charge. But as these are so popular it can be very tricky to get a place. Depending on your sailing, you may have to queue for a very long time to get a ticket.

Read more: Is the MSC Fun Pass Worth It?

Service

In my experience, one area where MSC Cruises falls a little short of other cruise lines is the service. It just doesn’t have the wow factor that you may be used to if you’re a regular cruiser with cruise lines such as Disney.

But remember, MSC Cruises are cheap and you get what you pay for. If the service were better, you would expect to pay more!

Suggested read: How much is a Disney cruise compared to other cruises?

The guest-to-crew ratio on MSC Cruises is pretty high, with an average of 3.4 guests for each crew member. The actual number varies depending on the ship and how full it is.

MSC Cruises’ newest ships, MSC World Europa and MSC World America, accommodate up to 6,774 guests with a crew of 1,413, giving a ratio of 4.8 to 1.

By contrast, some ultra-luxury cruise ships actually have more crew than guests, meaning that a higher level of service can be offered.

MSC World Europa

Suggested read: MSC World Europa Review

The following table shows the guest to crew ratio on some popular cruise ships:

Ship Guest-to-Crew Ratio

MSC Virtuosa 3.70

Carnival Mardi Gras 3.63

P&O Cruises Iona 3.63

Sky Princess 3.26

Norwegian Encore 3.01

Cunard Queen Elizabeth 2.78

Marella Discovery 2.73

Symphony of the Seas 2.66

Disney Magic 2.59

Celebrity Edge 2.56

Scarlet Lady 2.47

Azamara Quest 1.91

Because there are fewer crew members in relation to the number of guests, the MSC Cruises crew really have to work their butts off. They do so with a smile, but they don’t usually have time to chat as their next guest is waiting.

I noticed that one bartender was wearing a jacket on a very hot day when I went to the bar in just a bikini. “Aren’t you hot?”, I asked?

“Yes”, he replied, “But I don’t have time to remove my jacket.”

Because the crew are so busy, there’s not always time for them to collect glasses, so you may see areas like this appear where guests dump their stuff and it’s not moved straight away…

The lower number of crew members means that you may also have to wait a little longer for things than you might be used to. Lunch in the main restaurant could take up to two hours.

In my experience, MSC Cruises crew members rarely enforce the cruise line’s rules. So you may see babies in nappies in the swimming pools, even though this isn’t allowed for hygiene reasons.

The cruise line’s rules state that sun loungers should not be reserved for more than 30 minutes when not in use. But, as the crew members never remove towels, this can create a chain reaction of no sun loungers being available, which in turn encourages people to get up before 7 am to lay down their towels the moment the loungers are laid out!

Scenes like this are common in summer (this was 11am)

Gratuities – It Depends

MSC Cruises include gratuities for some people, but others will pay up to $14 per person, per day. Whether you have to pay gratuities on your cruise depends on where in the world you live.

As British people aren’t generally used to paying tips, MSC Cruises include the gratuities in the cruise fare. This means that if you compare the price of an MSC cruise with an American cruise line that adds gratuities, the MSC cruise will come out even cheaper once you factor that in.

For more information on how much MSC gratuities cost in each country, check out this guide to MSC gratuities by Emma Cruises.

Of course, you’re welcome to tip individual crew members for great service if you wish, but the cruise line doesn’t do anything to encourage this.

So, Are MSC Cruises Good?

In my opinion, MSC Cruises offer great value. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for, so if you want the very best service, food and entertainment, you may wish to go for a slightly more expensive cruise with a cruise line such as Royal Caribbean or NCL.

Suggested read: What’s included in a Royal Caribbean cruise?

If you’re on a budget, MSC Cruises is a great option. Although a lot of the activities cost extra, they’re all optional so you don’t have to spend a penny more than the advertised price if you don’t want to.

I usually leave with a zero balance at the end.

That said, I think that some people forget just how little they paid for their cruise when they write reviews online. And this has led to MSC Cruises being named among the worst cruise lines online.

Don’t Expect Luxury

MSC Cruises is not a luxury cruise line, it is very much mainstream. However, the MSC Group does also have a luxury brand called Explora Journeys. This luxury cruise line sailed for the first time in 2023.

Explora Journeys

When it comes to cruising, it’s important to consider the definition of luxury. Even budget cruise lines like MSC Cruises offer something akin to a luxury five-star hotel.

Across the cruise industry, standards are generally very high. Even on the cheapest cruises, you can expect everything to be perfectly clean, in good working order and the service to be very good. You shouldn’t ever experience tired furnishings or outdated facilities as you may do in accommodation on land.

When it comes to cruising, the word luxury is usually reserved for ships offering a ‘six-star’ experience, with private butlers, free-flowing champagne, lobster dinners and caviar canapes.

If you like the sound of MSC Cruises want a more luxurious experience, then I recommend that you look into the MSC Yacht Club.

The MSC Yacht Club is like a ship within a ship. It offers exclusive areas where you can enjoy fine dining, panoramic views from the top of the ship, luxurious suites and dedicated concierge service.

Of course, the Yacht Club costs a lot more than your standard MSC cruise, but it’s certainly an option to consider if you like the sound of MSC Cruises but want a more luxurious experience.

NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!

Don’t miss the latest MSC Cruises offers…

To Conclude

In my opinion, MSC Cruises offer good value cruise holidays for a relatively low price. Of course, there are things that could be done better, but fixing these issues would push up the price.

If don’t have a lot of money to spend and are wondering if you should try MSC Cruises, I would say yes. However, if you can afford to spend a little more, you may find that you have a better experience by cruising with a slightly more expensive cruise line such as Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises or Norwegian Cruise Line.

If you want to cruise as cheaply as possible, taking an MSC cruise in the off-season and choosing an inside cabin is the ultimate way to do it.

Related Posts:

If you found this interesting, please share!

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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How to Eat Vegan on MSC Cruises (With Real Food Photos)

June 10, 2025
by Luxury Cruising Editorial Cruise Lines Cruise News Cruise Tips Food and drink MSC Cruises

As a vegan, I’ve found that most cruise lines are excellent for providing a range of vegan options. Most, but not all.

So, can you eat vegan on MSC Cruises?

I’ve cruised with MSC Cruises four times between 2018 and 2024 and the vegan catering has certainly changed – but for better or worse?

Eating Vegan with MSC

MSC Cruises caters for vegans very well. You can request a vegan menu in the main dining rooms and you’ll find plenty of options in the buffet too with mock meats used in certain dishes and plant-based milks available on request.

Like most cruise ships, MSC Cruises’ ships have three dining options:

Main Dining Rooms – Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, here you can enjoy three-course sit-down meals in elegant surroundings.

Buffet – A casual self-service restaurant that’s open around the clock for meals and snacks

Speciality Restaurants – For an extra charge, you may opt to dine in a special restaurant such as Japanese or Mexican

Booking an MSC Cruise as a Vegan

When you booked your cruise, just advise your travel agent you’re vegan and they will add a note to the booking. This is always a good thing to do with any dietary requirements or other special requests.

NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!

Don’t miss the latest MSC Cruises offers…

Vegan Options in the Main Dining Rooms

The main dining rooms on MSC Cruises are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

When I cruised in 2023 there was no vegan menu, so on my latest cruise on MSC Euribia in 2024, I was really surprised to see that there was indeed a vegan menu available!

The menu shows today and tomorrow, which is perfect because you can base your decision about where to eat tomorrow based on what’s on the menu.

The food was delicious and the portion sizes were very generous too.

Here’s an example of the food at dinner… Yum!

Even if you have the vegan menu, ask to see the regular menu too. You’ll often find that there’s a vegan option on there too, so you’ll have a nice choice.

Here’s an example of a dinner menu…

As my 2024 MSC Cruise was only two nights, I didn’t eat breakfast in the main dining room. So I can’t comment on if they have any thing special for vegans there now.

But, here’s an example MSC breakfast menu from last year…

Possible vegan breakfast options in the main dining room:

Bread or toast with margarine or jam

Cereal with soya milk

Vegetables and potatoes

Fruit

Again, I’m not sure if there’s a different vegan menu for lunch, but I expect there would be. I did eat in the main dining room for lunch on the first day, but I had no idea to ask for a vegan menu as it’s not mentioned anywhere online.

Still, I managed to find accidentally vegan options on the regular menu – spring rolls, a veggie burger and fries (minus the cheese) and some sorbet.

The three-course lunch menu in the main dining room changes every day. Anything vegan is labelled as such, and you can ask the waiter to adapt anything else.

Usually, a starter could be adapted to be vegan. This usually meant a salad without any meat, cheese, and substituting the dressing for olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sometimes, the soup is accidentally vegan, but not labelled as such.

Here’s an example MSC menu for lunch:

Example vegan mains at lunch

Stuffed calzone with vegetables, tomato and soft tofu

Steamed jasmine rice with red beans, crispy tortillas and sweet potato puree

Couscous Moroccan-style with vegetables, raisins and almonds

This vegan calzone I had was lovely. It was more like a pasty than a pizza, but I really enjoyed it.

The Bread Basket

At the start of your meal, a basket of bread rolls will be offered.

On my 2024 cruise on MSC Euribia, the waiter would just leave the whole basket of bread on the table for us to enjoy!

The bread is so delicious that I sometimes opted for two or three pieces of bread instead of a starter.

Butter is given by default, but you may instead request vegan margarine or olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The oil and vinegar are delicious with the freshly-baked bread.

TIP: Ask for oil and balsamic vinegar with your bread

MSC Cruises Main Dining Room Food Photos

The food in the main dining room on MSC Cruises is almost always delicious, in my opinion.

I found that servings can be a little on the small side sometimes, so if you have a large appetite you may wish to ask for a side serving of vegetables or chips. The chips are really good!

Here are the vegan dinners I enjoyed in the main dining room during my cruise MSC Virtuosa…

Day One:

Nordic salad

Tuscan-style legumes

Lemon sorbet

Coffee with soya milk

Day Two: Elegant Night

Bread with oil and vinegar

Asparagus soup

Vegetable strudel

Fruit

Day Three: Mediterranean Night

Gaspacho

Raspberry sorbet

Baba ganoush

Day Four:

Vegetable tortillas

Sorbet

Vesuvius salad

Kids Menu

There weren’t a whole lot of vegan-friendly options on the kids’ menu, which is the same every day. If you have vegan kids you’ll want to speak to the main dining room staff to make sure that they can make something for your children for the following day.

Aside from the vegetable soup, mixed vegetables, roast potatoes, chips and fruit, you could always request something from the adults’ menu if you wish.

My kids are vegetarians and very fussy eaters. So my usual plan is to take the kids to the buffet early in the evening, and then drop them off in the kids’ club while we head to the main dining room for late dining without them at 8.15 pm.

My Review of MSC Main Dining Room Vegan Options

All of the food that I ate in the main dining room was delicious. Everything was very fresh and healthy.

A few times I have had non-vegan food placed down in front of me by mistake, so I would advise anyone to always check before tucking in if you’re unsure of anything.

The first time you visit the main dining room, be sure to ask your waiter to see a vegan menu. It’s also good to plan your meals for the next day. If you’re not keen on salads and sorbets, you can ask in advance for something else.

Vegan Options in the Buffet

Another fantastic change that I’ve noticed on MSC Cruises is that there are now vegan labels in the buffet. Hooray!

I’m so happy that MSC Cruises has made this change, as it makes choosing food so much easier.

Some things that you would expect to be vegan, are labelled as vegetarian. Sometimes, I would think – “What on earth could be in this that’s not vegan?”

I wonder if some of these may be a mistake, or perhaps cross-contamination by being prepared in the same area as milk products that has led to vegetarian rather than vegan labelling on some items.

The breakfast buffet is the same every day, so this can get a little boring by the end of a longer cruise. That said, I do like a vegan full English so I could have explored more of the cereal and pastry options.

Vegan breakfast

On MSC Cruises you can get soya milk or rice milk for your coffee or cereal but there are no other kinds of plant milk like oat milk or almond milk, which would have been nice.

The free coffee in the buffet isn’t great, so if you have a drinks package I would request that you order a latte or Americano coffee with soya milk and they will make you one which tastes much better!

There are lots of different kinds of bread which can be toasted for you. If you ask you can also get vegan margarine instead of butter.

Buffet Lunch

The lunch options in the Marketplace Buffet change every day and on our cruise there were always lots of different vegan things to choose from.

I always like to look along the whole buffet to decide what I want before I start adding things to my tray to avoid ending up with a random selection that doesn’t go together.

Here are photos of the vegan lunches that I ate in the buffet on MSC Virtuosa…

Penne arabbiata

Asian buffet

Mexican salad

There’s a pizza station and the pizza is absolutely delicious. There was always one without cheese, which is great because pizza this good doesn’t need cheese in my opinion.

Vegan pizza and pasta

If there’s no vegan pizza available, just ask the pizza chefs if they can make a pizza without cheese.

On a previous cruise, they were happy to oblige and even asked what toppings I would like.

Vegan pizza with no cheese

I didn’t eat dinner in the buffet, but I expect it would be similar to lunch.

Buffet Snacks

On MSC Cruises, the Marketplace Buffet is open for around 20 hours per day. Between meals, you can get snacks and freshly-baked pizza slices.

Aside from fruit, I didn’t really see any vegan-friendly snacks like cakes or cookies.

Vegan Options in the Speciality Restaurants

Each MSC Cruises ship has a number of different speciality restaurants in which you can dine for an additional charge. The exact restaurants vary depending on the ship, but on MSC Virtuosa there were four.

Speciality restaurants on MSC Virtuosa:

Indochine – French-Vietnamese

Hola! – Latin American and Mexican

Kaito – Japanese Teppanyaki and Sushi

Butcher’s Cut – American steakhouse

I didn’t eat in any of these restaurants. As I like to cruise on a budget, I thought that £50+ per head for a meal was very expensive when there is plenty of food that I could enjoy for free.

The MSC speciality restaurant menus didn’t have any vegan options. However, if you speak to the restaurant manager on board, they will be able to advise whether any of the dishes can be adapted to suit your plant-based diet.

Vegan Drinks

As our cruise ship departed from the UK, we had a kettle in our cabin to make tea and coffee. You won’t find this on every ship, but MSC Cruises recognises how much Brits enjoy a cup of tea!

If you’d like soya milk, you can request it from room service and they will give you some to keep in your fridge.

None of the drinks menus had vegan labelling and the staff were (understandably) not trained in which drinks were suitable for vegans.

Suggested read: MSC Cruises Drinks Menus with Prices

I would advise checking which beers are vegan before you go, so that you know what to order.

With wines, it’s much more tricky. If you have WiFi, you can use a website such as Barnivore.com to look up wines on the wine list. Otherwise, you may wish to steer clear of wine during your cruise.

While some cruise lines allow you to bring your own wine on board, MSC Cruises does not.

My personal choice (no judgement, please) was to drink the wine regardless, knowing that I try my best most of the time and I’d rather have wine than no wine on a cruise.

Similarly, with fruit juice, there’s no way to know if the fruit was waxed with beeswax before being juiced. My choice was to drink it anyway rather than worry about the orange juice in my cocktails.

As nobody can be 100% vegan, I believe that all we can do is make our own decisions about what is acceptable to us as individuals given our circumstances. On the whole, I felt that MSC Cruises made it easy enough for me to make those decisions.

The Verdict

I was very happy with the vegan options on my MSC cruise and thoroughly enjoyed the food. I’m SO happy that MSC Cruises has added vegan menus and labelling in the buffet. These things make such a big difference to plant-based cruisers.

If you’re a vegan who has cruised with MSC, I’d love to hear about your experience or any tips in the comments below…

Want to see how MSC Cruises compares to other cruise lines? Check out my list of the best cruises for vegans, based on my experience of taking 40+ cruises.

NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!

Don’t miss the latest MSC Cruises offers…

Related Posts:

If you found this interesting, please share!

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

Read more about me

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	Classic	Silver	Gold	Diamond	Blue Diamond
5% cruise discount	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
10% cruise discount on advance bookings	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Email newsletter	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Personalised luggage tags	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Welcome back cocktail	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Onboard discounts	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
$50 credit on advance bookings		✔	✔	✔	✔
One hour in the thermal area			✔	✔	✔
Free gift			✔	✔	✔
Priority disembarkation by tender			✔	✔	✔
Free photo			✔	✔	✔
Birthday cake			✔	✔	✔
Priority line for embarkation				✔	✔
Free speciality restaurant dinner				✔	✔
Priority disembarkation at end of cruise				✔	✔
Bathrobe and slippers				✔	✔
Dance class				✔	✔
Diamond Party				✔	✔
Late check-out				✔	✔
Sweet chocolate gift				✔	✔
Free WiFi package					✔
Flexible check-in times					✔
Free tickets for shuttle services (select ports)					✔
Exclusive event invitations with officers					✔

Ship	Cubic feet per passenger
MSC Virtuosa	29
Carnival Mardi Gras	29
P&O Cruises’ Iona	29
Sky Princess	32
Norwegian Encore	32
Icon of the Seas	32
Disney Magic	34
Cunard Queen Elizabeth	36
Marella Discovery	36
Celebrity Edge	37
Scarlet Lady	39
Azamara Quest	39

Activity	Cost	Ships
Zip Line	$10	MSC Seaside, MSC Seaview
Bowling	$45	MSC Grandiosa, MSC Bellissima, MSC Seaview, MSC Seaside, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Magnifica, MSC Divina, MSC Splendida, MSC Preziosa, MSC Virtuosa, MSC Euribia
Arcade	$3	All ships
Formula Racer	$10	MSC Grandiosa, MSC Bellissima, MSC Seaview, MSC Seaside, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Divina, MSC Splendida, MSC Fantasia, MSC Preziosa, MSC Virtuosa, MSC Euribia
4D Cinema	$10	MSC Seaview, MSC Seaside, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Preziosa, MSC Divina, MSC Splendida, MSC Fantasia, MSC Magnifica.
Billiards	$30	MSC Seaview, MSC Seaside, MSC Magnifica.
Flight Simulator	$15	MSC Meraviglia

Ship	Guest-to-Crew Ratio
MSC Virtuosa	3.70
Carnival Mardi Gras	3.63
P&O Cruises Iona	3.63
Sky Princess	3.26
Norwegian Encore	3.01
Cunard Queen Elizabeth	2.78
Marella Discovery	2.73
Symphony of the Seas	2.66
Disney Magic	2.59
Celebrity Edge	2.56
Scarlet Lady	2.47
Azamara Quest	1.91

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