T+L’s Cruise Ship Review of MSC World Europa

The last time I was in Las Vegas, my well-connected friend scored our entourage a VIP table at a buzzy nightclub. Dipping into the crowd to dance, then slipping off to the calm and cachet behind the velvet rope made me feel like I was getting away with something.

I recently relived that privileged lifestyle (and a touch of the guilt that comes with it) when my family and I traveled aboard the MSC World Europa, the largest vessel in the MSC fleet. With the capacity to accommodate nearly 7,000 guests and more than 2,000 crew members, World Europa is the eighth-largest cruise ship currently sailing, just a touch smaller than biggies like Icon of the Seas, from Royal Caribbean International.

Yet my family and I weren’t traveling with the masses: we were booked in the MSC Yacht Club, the brand’s luxury-leaning, ship-within-a-ship section. It’s a premium class of travel — think business rather than coach — that grants guests access to special areas of the ship reserved only for Yacht Club passengers. It’s a place where members-only doors are opened with the tap of a wristband, premium tables are reserved by a dedicated concierge, seats appear for otherwise fully booked entertainment, and a whole lot of things you’d normally pay extra for are included.

Just as you’d expect from a ship this big, the 22-deck mammoth is overwhelming in scale and spectacle. The sensory stimulation, combined with the sheer number of passengers, is a bit of everything all at once, which made the Yacht Club an even more welcoming retreat. It’s no wonder that large-capacity cruise lines are going all-in with similar private enclaves on their mega-ships. Our Yacht Club experience allowed us to enjoy all the bells and whistles of a big ship — and yowza there are a lot of them — while still offering the privacy and exclusivity you’d expect from a much smaller ship.

I’ll talk more broadly about World Europa below, but first I want to share a little more of our experience in the Yacht Club, where we easily spent more than half our time.

Our cruise began in Marseille, France, where we were ushered through early, expedited check-in. Soon enough, we were escorted aboard, and prosecco and snacks soon appeared. As our bags were delivered to our stateroom, we were directed to the Top Sail Lounge, a private bar, lounge, and tea room for Yacht Club guests. A sparkly Swarovski spiral staircase led us to the loft-like Yacht Club Restaurant, a similarly private sit-down venue with not a buffet line in sight. We had breakfast, most of our on-board lunches, and some dinners there on our weeklong sailing.

Both the lounge and restaurant are at the front of the ship, as is the Yacht Club Grill and Bar, a casual outdoor restaurant connected to the private Yacht Club pool and sun deck. (We didn’t dine here, as the November weather was a little too cool and windy for sitting outside.) About midway through our cruise, we realized the ship’s Brasserie Restaurant, a large buffet eatery at breakfast and lunch, offered table service dinner exclusively for Yacht Club guests. The Brasserie’s international menu was larger, spicier, and more varied than in the Yacht Club Restaurant, and we had some of our favorite meals there.

In-room extras for Yacht Club guests include a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine, nightly turn-down service with a plate of chocolates or other sweets, free minibar drinks, bottled water replenished daily, and free Wi-Fi. Additional perks include unlimited access to the Aurea Spa Thermal Suite, 24-hour butler service, concierge services, and VIP entry and exit at all ports of call. Another benefit we loved, particularly because there are no free guest laundry facilities on this ship, was the free ironing service for up to four items of clothing.

Another major perk: MSC’s premium drinks package is included with all Yacht Club fares, and is valid in all bars, buffets, main restaurants, and specialty restaurants. The package would otherwise cost about $50 per person per day. While my husband and I may not have consumed $100 worth of booze each day, it was nice to know that we could have if we wanted to, without having to think about running up a bar tab.

That “not having to think about it” ease is what really defined the luxury of MSC Yacht Club. We didn’t have to worry about how much our drinks cost, what time slot we had to pick for dinner, whether we should buy Wi-Fi or not, or how soon we’d have to jump onto the MSC for Me app to reserve spots for evening entertainment. The Yacht Club concierge handled our reservations for World Europa’s specialty restaurants. When we wanted to see a show, there were always seats set aside for Yacht Club guests.

We spent plenty of time in the public areas of the ship, but we were always glad to go back to the relaxed, uncrowded spaces of the Yacht Club: someone was always ready to take our drink order, offer a snack, or provide a pool towel. Mega-ship experiences are fun, but they’re not always effortless or stress-free. But on a ship nearly filled to capacity, our Yacht Club privileges made for smooth sailing.

Now here’s a look at the rest of the amenities, restaurants, staterooms, and extra services that are part of every MSC World Europa sailing.

The Staterooms

There are 2,633 cabins on World Europa, with entry-level options that include single-bed interior cabins and ocean-view staterooms with porthole-style windows. More than 1,000 cabins are in the deluxe balcony category and can sleep up to four guests. An additional 200 balcony cabins overlook the World Promenade, the flashy seven-story open-air atrium. A boon for big families: flexible configurations allow for up to three cabins to be joined to sleep groups of up to eight.

Cabins booked in the Aurea Experience category offer access to the Aurea Spa Thermal Suite (where there’s usually a surcharge), spa discounts, access to a private solarium with jacuzzis, and a dedicated restaurant.

From there, the next step up is the Yacht Club. Our 269-square foot Yacht Club Deluxe Suite was one of 152 Yacht Club staterooms. Other than a handful of interior cabins, all Yacht Club rooms feature balconies of at least 50 square feet — the most expensive staterooms have larger balconies with whirlpool baths and are notably the only cabins located at the front of the ship.

Our room featured a queen bed with a premium mattress so comfy that I peeled back the sheets to check the name on the label — Dorelan, an Italian brand — and a sofa bed for our daughter. The color scheme was an unobtrusive if unremarkable mix of taupes and grays, which, in retrospect, offered its own respite from the technicolor experience on the rest of the ship.

Bars and Restaurants

It takes a lot of dining venues to feed nearly 7,000 passengers, and World Europa has 33 locations for eating and drinking. Thirteen of these are restaurants that range from a take-away pizza and burger joint to buffets to dressier restaurants with table service and nightly themed menus.

In addition to the Yacht Club restaurants, we tried four of the ship’s five specialty restaurants. Hola Tacos & Cantina was our favorite casual meal — in part because we live in Italy, where it’s tough to find a decent taco. Our best meal overall was at the more formal Butcher’s Cut steakhouse.

There seems to be a bar around every corner. On the Deck 7 Promenade, Masters of the Sea is one of the ship’s most popular, with a pub ambience and an extensive craft beer list, including three made in the ship’s own brewery. One deck up is the Gin Project, a more intimate cocktail lounge with an impressive selection of the spirit.

And I’ll let you in on a little secret: World Europa has a hidden, invitation-only spot called the Speakeasy Bar. It’s not publicized, and if you ask a crewmember, they’ll deny any knowledge of its existence. There’s no surefire way to score a coveted invite, but if you’re lucky, a friendly bartender might slip you a token to be used at the British-style phone booth on Deck 7. From there, you’re led down to the bowels of the ship and a dimly lit, vintage-style nightclub with elaborate cocktails, live swing music, and a delightfully seductive vibe. It’s hands-down the best drinking venue on board — if you can find it.

Where MSC World Europa Sails

Currently, World Europa runs a year-round loop around the Western Mediterranean, with ports of call in France (Marseille), Italy (Genoa, Rome, Palermo, and sometimes Messina and Naples), Malta (Valletta), and Spain (Barcelona). These consistent itineraries mean that, when booking, passengers can choose where they embark — something of a rarity in the world of cruise travel. On our sailing, guests would say farewell or hop on for the first time at every port.

Shore Excursions

We booked two shore excursions, one in Palermo and another in Barcelona. Both were walking tours, from the lineup of what MSC calls Protectours. These are small-group, culturally focused excursions designed to minimize the impact of big ships such as World Europa pulling into a destination and delivering thousands of visitors. I enjoyed them both and liked that we were in smallish groups, with no long bus rides and engaging guides who made the most of our few hours together. In several cities that World Europa visits — Genoa, Palermo, and Valletta, for exampe — the ship docks close enough to the city center that independent exploration is easy to do.

Amenities

There’s an exhaustive list of amenities onboard World Europa, many of which we didn’t take advantage of because we were sailing in the colder weather of November. Others, we simply didn’t have time to try — even over the course of a week.

All together, there are seven pools and 13 hot tubs on this ship. Because of the windy weather, most families with kids were clustered in the indoor Botanical Pool. We opted to stay on ship at Rome’s Civitavecchia port and in Malta, both destinations we already know well, and we were rewarded with temperatures just warm enough to try out the four waterslides, including a trapdoor slide that thankfully wasn’t as scary as I’d anticipated.

Our daughter briefly dipped into the small Yacht Club pool on Deck 22 before deciding the hot tub was a better idea. The rest of our hot-tubbing was done on the Top 20 Solarium, a quiet, adults-only area located right near our Deck 20 cabin. (Despite our daughter technically being too young to access this space, no one batted an eye.)

The World Promenade is the focal point of the ship, and it’s where most shops, arcades, and ships services, as well as many restaurants and bars are located. The aft end of the promenade opens to the sea; frankly, it’s one of the few public areas of the ship where you get a sense of even being “at sea.” Also located there is the end of the Venom Drop, an 11-story, dry, spiral slide that’s a signature feature of World Europa. It’s less scary than it appears to be, and our only complaint was the long, slow-moving line to access it.

There are two theaters where we saw several song-and-dance shows, and a third theater we didn’t have time to try. My husband was tempted by a few slot machines as we walked through the Vegas-style casino, but we didn’t really spend much time — or money — there.

We both got excellent Balinese massages in the Aurea Spa but otherwise found the area somewhat crowded, with a decided lack of Zen. There was often a line of people waiting for their treatments, as well as access to saunas, whirlpools, a salt cave, and other spa areas. Policing spa etiquette is a difficult task anywhere, and I would imagine that on a warmer-weather cruise, when people would be more likely to be out on the open decks, the spa would be more tranquil.

Family-friendly Offerings

My 13-year-old daughter, who up until now has only been on expedition cruises, was delighted with World Europa’s kid-friendly offerings, including multiple arcades, virtual reality rides, and F1 simulator cars that were, admittedly, fun for us adults, too. The ship also has bumper cars, roller skating, the aforementioned waterslides, two chocolate shops, on-demand cupcakes, and numerous other amenities for kids and teens. I may never convince her that whale-watching from a Zodiac is better than being on this ship.

There are kids, tween, and teen clubs on board, and we tried taking her to the tweens club on several occasions. But for whatever reason, there were never any other kids there. By contrast, another guest sailing with her seven-year-old son told me the kids club was packed — and that their little guy was happy to spend hours playing and even dining there.

Accessibility

There are 65 ADA-compliant cabins on World Europa, and most public areas are accessible to wheelchairs and electric scooters. On our cruise, we noticed many passengers with reduced mobility.