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MSC World America vs Norwegian Aqua
The MSC World America is a fairly new ship, being built in 2025. The World America was built specifically for the American market with customized venues like MSC's first sports bars and an onboard brewery. The ship is split into seven districts that provide unique restaurants, bars, and attractions; helping to reduce crowding. The Norwegian Aqua was built in 2025. The Norwegian Aqua is the 20th ship in the NCL fleet. It's nearly identical to its sister ship which will debut in 2026, the Luna.
Comparison Overview
- Ship Size
- Number of Passengers
- Food and Restaurants
- Bars and Drinks
- Pools and Hot Tubs
- Ship Features and Activities
- Cruise Costs
- Onboard Costs
- See Our Detailed Cruise Blog
Ship Size
The World America is considered an extra large size ship. Coming in at 1,092 feet long and 155 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3 football fields, as wide as 2.9 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 16-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Aqua, the World America is 38% larger in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
MSC World America holds 89% more passengers than the Aqua based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the World America has less space per person compared to the Aqua.
The World America uses a district layout to break up large crowds across the ship, often making it feel less crowded.
| MSC World America | Norwegian Aqua | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | World | Prima Plus |
| Gross Tonnage | 215,863 | 156,300 |
| Length | 1,092 | 1,056 |
| Beam/Width | 155 | 133 |
| Passenger Decks | 16 | 15 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 6,762 | 3,571 |
| Crew | 2,138 | 1,388 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 3.2 | 2.6 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 32 | 44 |
Food and Restaurants
Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.
The World America has eighteen different dining options like Jean-Philippe Chocolat & Cafe, Butcher's Cut, and La Brasserie Buffet. Of those options, twelve are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other twelve options have an additional fee.
The Aqua has two fewer dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Palomar, The Local, and Indulge Food Hall. Six of these restaurants are complementary and the other eleven have an additional fee.
If you like having a variety of places to eat, the World America might be a better choice. It has 13% more dining options than the Aqua.
Both ships have a similar number of paid versus included dining options.
| MSC World America | Norwegian Aqua | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Dining Options | 18 | 16 |
| Complimentary Dining Options: | 12 | 6 |
| Additional Fee Dining Options: | 12 | 11 |
| % of Included Options | 33% | 31% |
| See the options | See the options |
In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-cola family of products. That means Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.
There are also plenty of bars available on these ships. You can check out recent the bar menus for the Aqua below.
Pools and Hot Tubs
Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The MSC World America has a total of 7 pools and 13 hot tubs. 1 of the pools and 3 of the hot tubs are exclusive access, which means there's either an extra charge to access them or you need to book a certain class of cabin to have access to them.
Norwegian Aqua has fewer pools than the World America and fewer hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Aqua. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.
Tired of loud kids and splashing? Two of the pools are adults only on World America.| MSC World America | Norwegian Aqua | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 7 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 4 | 3 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 2 | |
| Pools - Exclusive | 1 | 1 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 13 | 6 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 10 | 2 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | ||
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 3 | 4 |
Ship Features and Activities
Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. On the World America, 55% of the activities below are included in the cruise fare. On the Aqua, only 50% of the activities are included, meaning you might spend more money while on board.
| MSC World America | Norwegian Aqua | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area | ✓ | ✗ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Adventure Trail | ✓ | ✗ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bumper Cars | ✓ | ✗ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cliffhanger | ✓ | ✗ |
| Comedy Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Comedy Show | ✓ | ✗ |
| Dart Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dueling Pianos | ✓ | ✗ |
| Escape Room | ✗ | ✓ |
| F1 Simulator | ✓ | ✗ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Interactive XD Cinema | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pickleball | ✗ | ✓ |
| Production Shows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shows - musical review | ✗ | ✓ |
| Slidecoaster | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✓ |
| Splash park | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thermal Suites | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thrill Slide | ✓ | ✓ |
| VR Arcade | ✓ | ✗ |
| Virtual Arcade | ✗ | ✓ |
| Water slides | ✓ | ✗ |
| Zip Line | ✓ | ✗ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
MSC and Norwegian are both considered "Mainstream" cruise lines. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.
Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year.
Onboard Costs
Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.
Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.
The table below will help you compare onboard prices to see if you might spend more on a specific ship.
| MSC World America | Norwegian Aqua | |
|---|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $16.00 | $20.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 18% | 20% |
| Soda Price | $3.50 | $3.50 |
| Domestic Beer Price | $9.00 | $9.99 See drink menus |
| Drink Package Price | $46 - $85 | 106 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $17 - $27 per device per day | $29.99 - $39.99 per cabin per day, with $5 for each extra device |
| *Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates. | ||
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a Free at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the Free at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.
We sailed aboard the Norwegian Aqua
Follow along on our sailing on the Norwegian Aqua. We take you through every aspect of our sailing, from getting to the port to debarking the ship. See the schedule of events, menus, what excursions we did, and what we really thought about the ship.
Star of the Seas - Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Sea Day
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