Following in the footsteps of Royal Caribbean and Carnival, MSN Cruises has introduced a charge for any guests ordering a second entree in the Main Dining Rooms.

From now, any guests on MSC Seaside who choose to have a second entree will be charged an additional $5. It’s also unclear from the wording whether the extra charge will be applied for each additional entree, or if you can order as many as you like for a flat $5 fee.
The charge only applies to entrees, and guests are still welcome to have as many appetizers and desserts as they wish.
Many experienced cruise travellers are used to being able to order multiple dishes for dinner every night if they are looking to indulge or they can’t decide between a couple of options on the menu.
So this move is likely to disappoint those guests, although if you’re new to cruising it may surprise you that multiple entrees were previously allowed anyway.
The change has so far only happened on MSC Seaside, and it’s not yet clear whether it’s a test for now or if it’ll be rolled out across the rest of the fleet imminently.
Carnival introduced a similar charge in November 2022, but it only applied to the third entree or more – guests can still enjoy two with every meal at no additional charge.
And on Royal Caribbean, an extra fee was added only for additional broiled lobster tails, though it is a much higher cost of $16.99 plus 18% gratuity for each extra tail.
It’s unclear whether this is a move to help curb food waste, which is seen as a major issue in the cruise industry, or if it’s an attempt to boost the bottom line for MSC Cruises and make dinner more profitable.
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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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When I want to eat more than one plate, I go to the Buffet. Food is so expensive, I do not like to waste it. We see so many waste of food , and of alcool as well when it’s free. That is very bad. My opinion.