Is the MSC Fun Pass Worth It?

A lot of cruise lines offer additional packages and passes that you can book for your cruise to save some money or to unlock some additional perks.

MSC’s Fun Pass is one example, but I have to be honest – it’s one of the most confusing extra packages I’ve ever seen on a cruise!

There’s all kinds of different information from MSC that seems to be contradictory, but I’ve unpicked it all and made sense of it to bring you this simple, easy-to-understand guide to the MSC Fun Pass, and crucially, whether it’s worth buying.

What is the MSC Fun Pass?

The MSC Fun Pass is a pass you can book before you cruise or once onboard, though you’ll get the best deal if you pre-book. It offers you savings on lots of the onboard entertainment facilities on your MSC ship, such as the 4D cinema, bowling and more.

It’s actually two different passes, depending on which ship you sail on. There is:

• The More You Play, The Less You Pay
• All You Can Enjoy

You don’t get to pick one, and they work very differently. 

How The MSC Fun Pass Works

The two different MSC Fun Passes don’t offer the same deal, so let me explain them separately.

1. The More You Play, The Less You Pay – Explained

This pass is available on MSC Virtuosa, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Bellissima, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview. It’s also available on MSC Euribia, MSC Seashore and MSC Seascape, but the MSC website doesn’t tell you that.

This pass works by giving you free credit to use when you pay for a pass in advance – either before you cruise, or when you’re onboard. You get more bonus credit when booking before the cruise.

You’ll pay for the pass and your credit – including the bonus amount – is added to the pass. Every time you then use one of the entertainment facilities on the ship, the credit is deducted from the pass until you run out, at which point you’re charged as normal on your cruise account.

The amount of bonus you get on the ship depends on how much you pay, but before you cruise there’s just one flat fee option, which I’ll explain below.

Here’s a breakdown of the attractions it can be used with:

Attraction	MSC Meraviglia	MSC Seaside, MSC Seaview, MSC Seascape, MSC Seashore	MSC Bellissima, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Virtuosa, MSC Euribia
Interactive Cinema	YES	YES	YES
F1 Simulator	YES	YES	YES
Bowling	YES	YES	YES
Billiards	No	YES	No
Zip Line	No	YES	No
Flight Simulator	YES	No	No
VR Maze	No	No	YES
Video Games*	YES	YES	YES
Buying Merchandise	YES	YES	YES

2. All You Can Enjoy Pass – Explained

The MSC All You Can Enjoy Pass is available on the MSC Magnifica, MSC Fantasia, MSC Divina, MSC Splendida and MSC Preziosa.

This pass gives you unlimited use of the included entertainment facilities – you pay a single fee for your pass for the cruise, and then you can use the facilities as much as you want.

This pass is much easier to understand since it’s unlimited – once you’ve paid for the pass, you can then use these facilities without incurring any extra charges. 

Here are the facilities it covers:

Attractions	MSC Magnifica	MSC Fantasia	MSC Divina, MSC Splendida, MSC Preziosa
4D Cinema	YES	YES	YES
F1 Simulator	No	YES	YES
Mini Bowling	YES	No	YES
Billiards	YES	No	No
Video Games	No	No	No
Buying Merchandise	No	No	No

MSC Fun Pass Cost & Value

In determining the value of the two different Fun Passes, you need to understand the cost involved, and what you actually save by purchasing them.

The More You Play – Value

The More You Play Fun Pass can be bought onboard the ship, or you can pay for it before you travel.

If you book before you cruise, you’ll get the best value:

Currency Onboard	What You’ll Pay	Bonus Received	Total Credit
GBP – £	£100	£80	£180
Euro – €	€100	€80	€180
USD – $	$70	$70	$140

These prices may change – the information MSC provides is contradictory in places, but you get the idea – you get a lot of free extra credit when you book in advance.

If you pay for a Fun Pass on the ship, you’ll still get bonus credit, but it won’t be as much. The percentage bonus you get will depend on how much you pay upfront. Here are some example amounts – again, these may vary by sailing:

What You’ll Pay	Bonus Received	Total Credit
£25	£5 (20%)	£30
£50	£10 (20%)	£50
£70	£20 (28.5%)	£90
£100	£40 (40%)	£140
£150	£70 (47%)	£220

You still get the best value pre-booking since you’ll get between 80-100% extra credit free, but booking on the ship is still good value.

As a guide, here’s the cost of all the attractions that are included, so you can see how quickly you’ll burn through your credit:

Attraction	Cost
Interactive Cinema	£10 adults, £8 children
F1 Simulator	£12
Bowling	£25 for 30 minutes, £45 per hour, £2 shoe rental
Billiards	£20 per hour
Zip Line	£10 per use
Flight Simulator	£15
VR Maze	£12
Video Games	£1.50 to £5
Buying Merch	Various

The important thing to note is that these passes can be shared – you can buy one, and everyone in your family can use it. You don’t need individual passes.

All You Can Enjoy – Value

It’s a lot harder to judge the cost of the All You Can Enjoy Fun Pass because the cost varies depending on the demand and the individual itinerary, including the length. It makes sense for an unlimited pass that the longer you cruise, the more it should cost.

I’ve seen some people booking a 7-night cruise saying they paid around $80 or £100 but it’s not a per-night fee, and it’ll depend on how busy the ship is likely to be.

The only way to know how much it’ll cost will be to check the MSC website once you’ve booked, and try to add it on for your cruise.

You can book this pass when you’re on the ship, but you’ll save 20% on the final cost if you book it before you sail. Also these are per-person passes and you can’t share them.

The activities do cost less on the ships that offer this pass – for example, it’s mini bowling rather than full bowling lanes, and the 4D cinema isn’t as good as the fully interactive cinemas on the other ships.

Attraction	Cost
4D Cinema	£8
F1 Simulator	£12
Mini Bowling	£5 per person, per game
Billiards	£20 per hour

So, is the MSC Fun Pass worth it or not?

Whether the MSC Fun Pass is worth it entirely depends on which ship you’re sailing on (and therefore which pass you can buy), and how much you’ll use the onboard entertainment amenities.

If you’ll use them a lot, it likely is worth buying, especially on the More You Play pass, since it’s free credits – if you would’ve spent £180 on those amenities anyway, then paying £100 for the £180 of credit is amazing value!

But, if you’re likely to spend less, or if you’re on one of the ships offering the All You Can Play pass and it’s a bit out of your price range, then don’t pay for it, and just pay for the attractions as you use them instead.

For a lot of people, you’ll be too busy relaxing in the bars, sunbathing by the pool or exploring the ports you visit. However, if your family loves these attractions, then I’d definitely recommend checking them out.

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