I just took my first MSC cruise on the MSC Euribia, and wanted to write this MSC Euribia Northern Europe cruise review. From the food to the excursions to the onboard activities, my sister and I had a good (but not great) time on this cruise. Read on to hear more!
Unlike other cruise lines, MSC allows embarkation at multiple port stops. My sister and I boarded at Copenhagen, and it all went quickly and smoothly, mostly because there weren’t thousands of people all trying to cram on at the same time. I appreciated this efficient use of port cities and was glad for the difference in this procedure with MSC!
We had a small snafu with our luggage tags and had to get new ones at the tent in front of the port. From there, we loaded our bags on the electric machine, where they later showed up just fine at our room.
We then went through security, check-in, and a passport check before finally boarding. In all, everything probably took 30-45 minutes.
The MSC Euribia is a beautiful ship! It launched in 2023, so it’s one of MSC’s newest in its fleet. Everything is bright, clean, and fresh. The main promenade is the star of the ship, with it’s LED ceiling and an ever-changing range of art and patterns.
The ship holds just over 6,000 guests, so it’s very large. In the most recent past, I’ve sailed Holland America, with ships that hold about 2,500 people. To me, this smaller size is more my speed. Larger ships just bring…more people, obviously. As a person who gets stressed out in crowds, the larger ships tend to give me more anxiety about pretty much everything. Lines are longer, service can be slower, guests tend to push and cluster up. However, it was mostly easy to stay away from big crowds on the Euribia.
For example, the Jean-Philippe Maury Chocolat & Café area was never busy, has comfortable seating, and is a great place to get a latte and look out the large windows.
The Thermal Spa was a highlight of the cruise! This was the best thermal spa I’ve seen on a cruise ship so far (in my limited experience!). There were two large hot tubs, a dozen cooling showers with aromatherapy, a salt room, two relaxation lounges, and a variety of steam, sauna, and cold rooms. It was the best part of every day to be able to go into the thermal spa at the end of each day to relax. On sea days, they require for you to make a reservation since it can fill up. But on port dats, you can go in any time. We bought a full week pass to use the spa and it was well worth it. They also had a barbershop, nail studio, and full massage services available.
The gym on board was however, the worst one on a ship I’ve been on. While all of the equipment was brand new and the area was clean, it was tiny. It was about 1/3 of the size of the Holland America gym, but there are about 2.5 as many passengers! There were lines to get into the gym every day, and not nearly enough equipment for anyone. There was only one set of free weights in the racks, and the machine circuit only had about 6 machines in it. Working out is one of my daily “must dos” and I was only able to use the stretching area once or twice since it was always so crowded.
Before taking this cruise, I had heard horrible things about the food on MSC. I don’t know if it was because this ship is newer, but we were very happy with the quality of food on our sailing! I couldn’t leave that detail out of this MSC Euribia Northern Europe cruise review.
The buffet area on level 15 was really large, and mostly able to handle the large crowds each day. There was always a wide variety of food at each meal. I really appreciated the fresh salad bar available at each meal, which really helped making healthy choices easier! There were also global cuisine options on rotation each day. The pizza was also a favorite, especially the plain cheese pizza was simple and delicious. However, the dessert selection was lacking, with kind of odd choices like mint jelly.
The main dining room was expansive and over several levels of the ship. At each meal, there were plenty of options, ranging from the simple to the complicated. But each one was tastier than I expected. One standout was the everyday pasta Bolognese. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the escargot puff, all of the soups such as a spicy gazpacho, and the main entrees such as fish and beef. The portion sizes could have been a smidge bigger, as I found myself hungry again around 9pm. But luckily the buffet area always had late night snacks from 10pm – 12am.
For coffee, the Jean-Philippe Maury Chocolat & Café was our go to area. It wasn’t busy, the staff was super nice, and the lattes were perfect any time of day. This cafe is right across from the gelato and crepe area. The gelato on board was excellent, however, it was not included in the complimentary dining options. The only way to get free ice cream was in the main dining room during meals.
We also had the opportunity to have one specialty dinner, which is an extra cost on board. We had the multi-course experience at Kaito Teppanyaki & Sushi Bar, and it was easily the best meal we had on the cruise.
The entertainment on board was mostly great, but as mentioned previously, crowded. We checked out a few minutes of the jazz show and an illusionist, but everywhere was absolutely packed. You have to make reservations for all of the theater shows and we were never able to make it work, so we honestly didn’t get to check out too much!
The itinerary stops on the MSC Euribia Northern Europe Cruise were: Copenhagen Denmark, one sea day, Geiranger Norway, Alesund Norway, Flam Norway, one sea day, and Kiel Germany.
The Norway stops were the most stunning natural landscapes I have ever seen. The Fjords, in particular, were unforgettable. Innumerable waterfalls, rainbows popping out of the mist, sunsets at midnight. The list of its beauty could go on and on. If it weren’t for this cruise, I doubt I ever would have seen Norway in this way.
The port towns in Norway were all small, quaint towns, with the largest being Alesund. The smallest was Geiranger, just a tiny town nestled in the mountains.
If you are physically active and able to participate in biking, I’d highly recommend the bike excursion in Flam! It was a LOT of hills, but the rushing waterfalls and views were well worth it.
The kayaking in Geiranger was less thrilling than I had imagined. We didn’t paddle too far or see much outside of what you can see from the ship or from land.
And the bike tour I did in Alesund was very strenuous but without payoffs of sweeping views.
We felt under the weather in Kiel, so we stayed on board that day. We heard it takes at least an hour each way to get into the city since the ship docks pretty far away. So it was ok with us to rest up and give that city a pass.
I hope this MSC Euribia Northern Europe cruise review helps you make your decisions when planning for a Scandinavian cruise with MSC or any other cruise line. I’d highly recommend going up to Norway!
Other posts you might enjoy:
