Should You Upgrade Your MSC Cruise?

As we plan for our next MSC Cruise, I thought I would share how we’ve valued the various upgrade options there are.

How We Got Here

We have figured out how to maximize cruise travel through casino status matches, and used a recent day trip to Atlantic City to obtain status with Rivers Casino Atlantic City, which included the benefit of a free MSC cruise. Actually, it does require a $400 deposit, but that deposit is returned to you on the cruise as a $400 credit to use in their casino which means your out-of-pocket could be as low as $0 or as high as $400. Also, it’s an Oceanview cabin. But we also obtained MSC Diamond status a couple of years ago (via Hilton Diamond status), so our cruise in April was upgraded for free to an Oceanview Balcony about 2 weeks before embarkation day.

Overall, our experience on MSC was great (until it wasn’t), so we decided to give them another try (“free” travel makes you do silly things). We used miles to book our flight and hotel, so the total out-of-pocket would fit extremely well within what’s left of our 2025 budget.

One of the highlights of our most recent cruise on Carnival was their thermal spa. We LOVED that experience, as well as the ability to dine around versus having “just” the Main Dining Room” and Buffet as main choices for dinner. Also, while we’ve never been able to justify the drinks packages, we never skimp on the premium WiFi, since we both need to stay connected to the outside world (or at least think we need to). All together, we find ourselves spending ~$1,000 to $1,500 out-of-pocket on our cruise. Not a big deal, but something we wondered whether we’re not getting the best value on top of value.

Running the Numbers

So I made some calls to MSC and reviewed their website to get pricing for several of their cabin + experience choices, both retail and as upgrades to our package. I then pulled pricing for the packages we would be interested in, and made approximates for other benefits based on how we would value them (versus what their actual costs may be). Here’s the table:

The only retail price that mattered for me was Oceanview + Bella Experience, because that is what was provided to us as a “free” cruise. I subtracted $698 and reflected the $400 credit to effectively represent the true cost to us. I then asked for pricing to update to Balcony + Aurea, Premium Suite + Aurea, and Yacht Club Deluxe Suite Balcony. It’s important to note that MSC has gone to dynamic pricing, so I called multiple times over a 3wk period before settling on what seemed to be the baseline. That said, at the time of my last quoting, there were 30+ YC-class cabins available less than 8wks out, so it would be interesting to see if those prices will decrease.

Evaluating the Benefits

For some of the benefits/perks, their costs were incorporated directly, because I believe their use case is pretty cut & dry: WiFi, Thermal Spa, Drinks Package. There was a 2nd tier of benefits/perks whose value is really subjective – we may or may not use them, so I estimated what we would be willing to pay for them: Premium Minibar, In-Suite Continental Breakfast, In-Suite Expresso Machine, Complimentary Ironing, and Room Service Delivery. Lastly, the Top Exclusive Solarium I couldn’t find a price for, but I estimated how much we would be willing to pay to have this access.

Letting the Numbers Speak for Themselves

While I wasn’t surprised with our true cost for Oceanview + Bella, it did further my belief that the Drinks Package is not a good deal for anyone, and especially if you have a drinking problem! I should right a separate post on this at some time, but these types of packages encourages over-drinking and I’m surprised how many justify the expense. Putting that aside, each of the other tiers are actually relatively cost-justifiable in the value associated with each. In fact, Yacht Club becomes a bona fide steal, and can only get better if that $1,000 credit returns $1,000+ at the casino (always bet on black! Or, red!).

Conclusion

Being a spreadsheet nerd, I do these types of exercises often to help justify travel decisions, or at least go into the decision with full knowledge. In this case, it comes down to what our 2026 travel budget looks like, and whether a free upgrade may be coming our way.

I hope others find this helpful!