We’ll admit it. We love watching TV on a cruise.
Lots of people think it’s crazy to go on vacation and watch television. For us, it’s a guilty pleasure. There’s nothing better than spending all day in port, only to come back in the afternoon and have some chill out time while watching the tube before dinner.
Truth it, however, that your TV choices on a cruise are pretty limited. Most cruise lines only have a handful of stations to choose from.
That’s why we usually suggest downloading your favorite shows from Netflix or other services before you sail if you really want to make the most of your downtime.
To give you an idea of what you can expect, we recently sailed on an MSC cruise and jotted down the channel offerings. As you can see, there aren’t a ton of options; that’s what you can expect when you are at sea.
One thing to keep in mind is that cruise lines change their listings regularly. Your specific sailing may have a slightly different channel lineup.
MSC TV Channel Lineup
- Channel 1: Safety Information (English)
- Channel 2: Safety Information (Italian & French)
- Channel 3: Safety Information (Spanish & Portuguese)
- Channel 4: Onboard Activities
- Channel 5: Excursions
- Channel 6: MSC Entertainment (Shopping)
- Channel 7: CNN
- Channel 9: HGTV
- Channel 10: Food Network
- Channel 12: Discovery
- Channel 13: Classic Movies
- Channel 14: Cartoon Network
- Channel 15: Nickelodeon Onboard
- Channel 18: TV5Monde (French)
- Channel 19 ESPN Caribbean
- Channel 20: ESPN 2 International
- Channel 22: Cruise Info
- Channel 23: Ship Information
- Channel 24: Onboard Shopping
- Channel 25 ESPN Caribbean
You can see the channels offered by other cruise lines here:
