MSC's Secret Speakeasy Bar: $22 Cocktails, No Drink Package, Invite Only. Is It Worth It?
- The Walking Cruiser
- 5 hours ago
- 10 min read
Is MSC's secret speakeasy bar worth it? Yes, once. It is an invite-only bar hidden in the crew areas of MSC World America and MSC World Europa, entered through a red phone booth on deck 6. Cocktails are $22, no drink package works there, and there is live jazz. Brilliant one-off, not a nightly habit.
I got in. I loved it. But I am not going to pretend the drinks are cheap, because they are not, and half the posts you will read about this place skip straight past the bill.
So here is the whole thing. Where it is, how people are actually getting tokens, what the room is like inside, exactly what it costs, and whether I would spend the money again.
MSC Speakeasy Bar at a Glance
Ships: MSC World America and MSC World Europa
Entrance: the red phone booth on deck 6
Actual bar: a crew deck below (deck 4 on World America)
Access: invite-only token with a QR code, then a phone reservation
Cocktails: $22, sharing serves $36, shots $16
Drink packages: not accepted, no tier, no exceptions
Capacity: around 30 on World America, around 70 on World Europa
Age limit: 18 and over
In this article
What is the secret speakeasy bar on MSC?
Where is the MSC speakeasy and how do you get in?
How do you actually get a speakeasy token?
What is it like inside?
Is the World Europa speakeasy the same as World America's?
How much do the drinks cost?
Does the MSC drink package work in the speakeasy?
Is there a dress code?
So is it worth the money?
FAQ
What is the secret speakeasy bar on MSC?
The MSC Speakeasy Bar is a hidden cocktail lounge built into the crew areas of MSC World America and MSC World Europa. It is not on the deck plans. It is not in the daily programme. You cannot book it in the MSC for Me app, and you cannot pre-book it before you sail. The only way in is an invitation.
Now, MSC being MSC, they will not tell you how the invitations are handed out. When Travel With Meena asked them directly, the line's representatives declined to explain, saying they wanted to keep the mystery going. That is either very clever marketing or very annoying, depending on the day you are having.
What I will say is this. On a ship carrying over 6,000 guests, a room that seats a few dozen is never going to be a fair fight. Go in expecting to get lucky, not expecting to get in.
Where is the MSC speakeasy and how do you get in?
The entrance is the lone red British phone booth on deck 6, in the World Galleria. That is the bit that is not really a secret any more. Thousands of people walk past it every day and queue up to take photos in it, with no idea what is behind the back wall.
The bar itself is not behind that wall. Here is the sequence.
You get a token, scan the QR code on the back, and follow the instructions to call and reserve a time slot.
You turn up at the phone booth for your slot, step inside, and dial the number you were given.
A voice answers and asks for your cabin number to check you are on the list. Some guests get a password or a phrase instead.
The back of the booth opens and a crew member walks you out of the guest areas entirely.
On World America you go down two flights of stairs to deck 4. On World Europa it is a staircase and a few corridors below deck 6.
You go through a heavy door that looks like a bank vault, and you are in.
Give yourself 10 to 15 minutes before your slot. There is usually a small queue of people waiting to use the booth, and the awkward bit is that ordinary passengers are also queuing to take selfies in it. You end up loitering next to a phone box trying to look casual. Interpret that as you will.
One genuinely good tip: book the last night of your sailing. The walk down goes through the working parts of the ship, and on the final night you get a look at the luggage operation, all the cases you left outside your cabin door being sorted for disembarkation. That behind-the-scenes walk is half the fun and nobody tells you about it.
Watch: inside the secret speakeasy
I filmed the walk down through the crew corridors and the room itself.
How do you actually get a speakeasy token?
There is no reliable method, and anyone telling you otherwise is guessing. But there are patterns, and they are worth knowing.
Ways people have reported getting a token:
Left in the cabin. The most common one. You come back in the evening and there it is on the bed.
Handed over at a specialty restaurant. Butcher's Cut, Eataly, Paxos and the like.
From a crew member you have built a rapport with. Bartenders especially.
Hidden in a drink. One couple found theirs at the bottom of the glass.
Yacht Club. Not a rule, but Yacht Club guests report far better odds, and MSC almost certainly leans that way.
And people do get in without a token. One couple talked their favourite bartender into making them a reservation for the last night. Another begged their room steward. One group simply stayed on the phone in the booth long enough that the doorman gave up and let them through, which I am sure is not the norm, but it happened.
What does not work is walking up to guest services and asking. Plenty of crew do not even know the speakeasy exists, and the ones who do are not allowed to tell you much. Be nice to people, be curious, mention you have heard there is a secret bar, and see what happens. That is genuinely the whole strategy.
Two practical things. First, the token gets collected at the door, so do not leave it in your cabin. Second, one token equals one person, so if there are two of you, you need two.
What is it like inside?
Small and dark, and much better than I expected. That is the honest summary.
You come through the vault door into a low-lit room with leather seating, tables for two, wooden fittings and a little stage in the corner. There is a lamp on each table so you can read the menu, which tells you how dark it is. On World America the room takes around 30 people, and there were only about 15 in there on a typical night. On World Europa it seats around 70.
Either way, the point is the same. You are on one of the largest cruise ships in the world, with 6,000 other people somewhere above your head, and you are sat in a room with a dozen strangers listening to live music. That contrast is the whole product. It does not feel like a cruise ship bar. It feels like a hole in the wall you found down a side street.
The entertainment is proper too. A band comes on maybe 10 minutes in, then a singer in a sequinned gown, jazz numbers, duets, the odd bit of tap. Around 10:00pm a second band takes over. The set runs about 90 minutes if you stay for the lot. On World America the crew are in flapper costume and playing the part, and the doorman leans so hard into being unfriendly that some guests have found it a bit much. I thought it was funny. He dropped the act the second the door opened.
Is the World Europa speakeasy the same as World America's?
No, and this is the bit most articles get wrong. They are two different rooms with two different themes.
MSC World America's is straight 1920s American Prohibition. Flappers, jazz, the whole thing. MSC World Europa's is stranger and, in my view, more interesting: it is styled somewhere between a 1940s transatlantic cargo hold and a wartime bunker, with music to match. Same secret, different century of nostalgia.
How much do the drinks cost in the MSC speakeasy?
Here are the actual numbers, which is the part that changes the answer for most people.
Cocktails: $22 each. There are 14 on the speakeasy menu.
Sharing serves: the Aviation and The Last Word come in a larger format for $36, built for two.
Prohibition shots: $16, or $20 if you want to keep the souvenir glass.
Non-alcoholic: there is a zero proof French 75 and it is still $22.
On World Europa: two cocktails came to 37 euros, so call it 18.50 euros each.
So two people having two drinks each is roughly $100 before you even think about a shot. For context, MSC's standard bar cocktails run $14 to $16 and their premium ones around $20, so you are paying a real premium for the room and the show.
Are the drinks any good for the money? Yes, actually. They are properly built and properly presented. One arrives in a glass dispenser with a spout, one gets assembled at your table, and the server spritzes the air with an aroma to go with the citrus notes on the French 75. It is theatre, and it is the kind of thing you would pay London or New York prices for on land. The $16 shot is where I drew the line. I could not make that one make sense.
Does the MSC drink package work in the speakeasy?
No. No MSC drink package works in the speakeasy, including the Premium Extra package and including the top tier. Every drink goes on your onboard account at full price.
This is the single biggest complaint about the venue and I understand it completely. If you have paid $80 to $100 a day per person for a package, walking into the one bar on the whole ship where it does not count feels wrong. It is the only bar onboard where I had to actually pay for a drink, and it did feel odd.
To be fair to MSC, it is stated clearly on the invitation, so you know before you commit. And there is no pressure to order. I saw people hand the menu straight back and just sit and watch the show, which is a completely valid move and costs you nothing. Yacht Club guests, note that this is one of the few places where your all-inclusive does not follow you.
Is there a dress code for the MSC speakeasy?
Yes, and it catches people out. The instructions that come with the token include the rules, and the one that surprises everyone is that you cannot wear heels. That is not about the look, it is because you are being walked down staircases and through working crew corridors to get there. Same reason the venue is 18 and over only.
Smart casual is fine otherwise. Plenty of people dress up for the theme and it does add to it, but nobody is turned away for not being in a fringed dress.
So is the MSC speakeasy worth the money?
Yes, once. Everyone should do it one time if they get the chance, and I would not skip it over the price.
Here is my reasoning. You are not buying a $22 cocktail. You are buying a 90 minute experience: a walk through parts of a mega ship no passenger normally sees, a room of 30 people instead of 6,000, live jazz that is genuinely good, and a bit of theatre that MSC has committed to properly rather than half-doing. Priced as an evening out, roughly $50 a head with a drink or two, that is cheaper than most specialty restaurants onboard and considerably more memorable than another night in the theatre.
Where it stops being worth it is on repeat. Two rounds and a couple of shots and you are looking at $120 for an evening, on top of a drink package you already paid for. That is a lot for a bar you have now already seen. Go once, take it in, order one cocktail you actually want rather than the cheapest thing on the list, and leave it there.
And the honest caveat: this was one visit on one sailing. The crew and the performers make this room, and crew rotate. But of everything I have done on MSC's World class ships, this is the one I still talk about.
Frequently asked questions
Can you book the MSC speakeasy in advance?
No. It cannot be booked before you sail, and it does not appear in the MSC for Me app. Reservations are only made onboard, by phone, after you have received a token.
Which MSC ships have a secret speakeasy?
MSC World America and MSC World Europa, the line's World class ships. No other MSC ship has one. MSC World Asia is the next World class ship, so it is a reasonable bet, but nothing has been confirmed.
How do you get an invite to the MSC speakeasy?
Tokens are distributed at MSC's discretion. They turn up in cabins, at specialty restaurants, from crew members, and occasionally hidden in a drink. Yacht Club guests report better odds. There is no way to request one officially.
Is the MSC speakeasy free?
There is no cover charge and the invitation costs nothing, but the drinks are not included in any package. Expect around $22 per cocktail on your onboard account.
How long do you get in the speakeasy?
Visits are timed slots. The live music runs roughly 90 minutes with a change of band around 10:00pm, and you are escorted back out to the passenger decks at the end.
Can you take photos in the MSC speakeasy?
Photos inside the bar are fine, though the lighting is very low so expect grainy results. The crew corridors on the way down are a different matter, so follow whatever your guide tells you.
What is the dress code for the MSC speakeasy?
Smart casual, 18 and over, and no heels. The no heels rule is because you walk down staircases and through crew areas to reach the bar.
Where exactly is the speakeasy on MSC World America?
The entrance is the red phone booth on deck 6 in the World Galleria. The bar itself is two decks below on deck 4, in a crew area not otherwise open to passengers.
What happens if you turn up without a token?
You will usually be turned away, since tokens are collected at the door and cabin numbers are checked against a list. Some guests have talked their way in through a bartender or room steward, but do not count on it.
Is the speakeasy better than the other bars on MSC World America?
It is the most distinctive, but not the best value. If you want great cocktails on your drink package, the Gin Project and Elixir Mixology Bar do a strong job for nothing extra. The speakeasy is the one you pay for and the one you remember.
Before you go
If you are still weighing up which line suits you, try our Which Cruise Line Is Right For You quiz, and if you are new to all of this, Is Cruising Actually Worth It? covers the bigger question. You can check current package prices on MSC's own drinks package page before you sail.
Watch the Full Walkthrough
I filmed the phone booth, the crew corridors and the bar itself. It is worth seeing the room properly.
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Have you managed to get into the MSC speakeasy, and how did you get your token? Let me know in the comments, because nobody seems to agree on how these things get handed out.
