Live from Meraviglia

Sitting in the Top Sail lounge enjoying a port & brandy before freshening up to meet the captain @ 5pm. Thought you'd like a photo of the public toilets - something not normally posted here, I don't think

If you look closely, above the black band over the sink, between the 2 white lines, you should be able to make out 3 symbols; on the left looks like a Roman column - the hand dryer; in the middle, a shower - water and, on the right, teardrop - soap. I really hope you can see them in the photo!

And for the men: YES, proof positive of urinals on-board (courtesy of DH LOL)

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The first few days were good. I got to the magic 1200 points for the 30% future cruise discount AND was up €100 at the time! Unfortunately my luck ran out and I've spent my casino budget already! However the 30% + 5% discount may be worth a whopping €4700 to us if I can book the cruise I have in mind. At the moment the Voyagers Club rep isn't authorised to sell cruises onboard so I have to wait til I get home to check availability.

 

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Wow getting those 1200 points seems to have a fantastic reward!

Praying for loose slots as I type! [emoji12][emoji4]

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Hi Bea,

Just checked cruise mapper at 6:10am UK time so 7:10am in Barcelona, and noticed the ship was already docked in Barcelona.

I'd be really interested to know what time it docked this morning and what is the earliest anyone can get off if you're able to get this information. Many thanks.

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The ship docked just as you checked it @ 7.10am. I heard an announcement @ 8.15 for those with yellow tags. I'm assuming that was priority disembarkation. We're up in the dining room having breakfast so I've no idea how things are at the exit. I'll see what the info says when we get back to the cabin.

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Last night's Gala menu

DH had 2 helpings of prawn cocktail it was so good!

I had the halibut for starters - the potato crust didn't look appetizing so I removed it. DH had it as his main. He also had the beef top blade when I told him how good it was:

Luigi, the m'D made the crepe suzette - the best I've ever had!

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It sounds as though you have had an amazing cruise Bea - thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us here on CC! I'm revving up for my treat now & I really can't wait! Hope it's not too painful getting off & hope you manage to book your next cruise with all that discount! [emoji4]

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Thanks Kikki ☺

We just had a last walkabout the ship and DH commented about how wonderful a cruise we've had. And I agree, despite the fact that we don't like the layout of the ship.

But the crew have been amazing and have contributed hugely to our enjoyment - as usual! They are very kindly allowing us to stay and have lunch today so we're making the most of the extra time on-board.

Looking forward to getting home and shopping for a cruise to use the discount. If the T&Cs haven't changed, I've 2 months in which to book. If I can't get anything suitable I won't bother. We have 2 more booked for this year, anyway. I'm only interested in getting the best value from the voucher which means booking one of the higher level cabins.

I'm looking forward to following your review and reading about your thoughts and experiences. I'm sure there'll be lots of interest in your views on your cabin - I don't know if there has been any info posted on the forum about it as I haven't been following any of the threads. I've struggled at times to keep up with this one LOL.

I plan to post a couple of final things when I get home - including our excursion experiences - when I'm back on my MacBook sans autocorrect which that, coupled with thumb-typing, has been challenging to say the least! Eight fingers added to the two thumbs works a lot quicker with a lot less correcting every 2 words 😯

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Thanks Kikki ☺

 

They are very kindly allowing us to stay and have lunch today so we're making the most of the extra time on-board.

 

Why did they let you stay for lunch? May we be able to do that too?

I really appreciate all the information you gave us, thanks!

(y)

Why did they let you stay for lunch? May we be able to do that too?

 

I really appreciate all the information you gave us, thanks!

 

(y)

We had a bit of a problem early on in the cruise so they have been extra generous to us as a result. The Hotel Director instructed the YC Director to ensure that we received individual attention for the rest of the cruise which is how we ended up with the 2 extra bottles of bubbly - one being Möet & Chandon - on top of the YC 'Welcome On-board' and the Black Card bottles. I think I posted a photo of the 4 bottles?

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There are a lot of YC cruisers waiting for this. Any info for steerage cruisers will also be greatly appreciated. Thanks for posting.

 

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This made me laugh!

Thanks again for all your info and photos - I've really enjoyed and looked forward to all your posts. It's given us all a taste of what to expect - this time in 2 weeks myself and my family will be onboard!

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Thanks again for all your info and photos - I've really enjoyed and looked forward to all your posts. It's given us all a taste of what to expect - this time in 2 weeks myself and my family will be onboard!

 

 

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So glad to hear that.☺ The positive comments and good wishes have been greatly appreciated because I began this thread with trepidation and was unsure of how it would progress. Not having written a review before, let alone a 'Live' one has been a bit daunting.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise with your family and that things will have settled down on-board the ship when you sail. A lot of things were only being implemented when the ship left Genoa - we were already 2 days on at that stage and everything was still in Inaugural mode.

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Bea - really do appreciate you writing what you have & will appreciate your excursion write ups too! I had better practice writing & taking pics with my new phone - and yes 2 weeks today, we will be on board!

Not seen anything about the S3 as yet but been very busy so not really looked.

Sorry to hear you had a problem but it looks like MSC pulled out all the stops to keep you happy - look forward to hearing more from you! [emoji3]

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We had a bit of a problem early on in the cruise so they have been extra generous to us as a result. The Hotel Director instructed the YC Director to ensure that we received individual attention for the rest of the cruise which is how we ended up with the 2 extra bottles of bubbly - one being Möet & Chandon - on top of the YC 'Welcome On-board' and the Black Card bottles. I think I posted a photo of the 4 bottles?

 

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That's good to know. They seem flexible and willing to make their customers happy.

Since the ship doesn't have to be emptied before new passengers can board it's possible to stay a little longer, it's up to MSC to decide.

We are flying home in the afternoon so we will stay onboard as late as they let us.

We are nice and easy to please (as long as we get Champagne!) so I'm sure that the concierge and everyone else in the Yacht Club will like us!

Thank you Bea,

Your tips and photos have been wonderful. Myself and DW can't wait to board on the 5th Jan.

Thank you Bea!!

I have gotten up early every morning to follow your fantastic travel log. We hope your next cruise will be a Grand Voyage...at least three weeks!!! :D

Thank you. I've been reading from the beginning and really enjoyed it and found the information you provided very helpful.

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Well, folks, we've arrived home safe and well. Over the next couple of days I'll post a little more about our overall experience and share some more photos. Thank you, all, for following along.

Glad you are home safely Bea. This is the most enjoyable review we have read on here and so much help / peace of mind.

Thank you very much

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Sitting in the Top Sail lounge enjoying a port & brandy before freshening up to meet the captain @ 5pm. Thought you'd like a photo of the public toilets - something not normally posted here, I don't think

 

 

If you look closely, above the black band over the sink, between the 2 white lines, you should be able to make out 3 symbols; on the left looks like a Roman column - the hand dryer; in the middle, a shower - water and, on the right, teardrop - soap. I really hope you can see them in the photo!

 

And for the men: YES, proof positive of urinals on-board (courtesy of DH LOL)

 

 

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YEA finally urinals !!!!

Got to say they look like smart toilets as toilets go!

Glad you are home safe & sound Bea & looking forward to more info & photos [emoji4]

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Glad you are home safely Bea. This is the most enjoyable review we have read on here and so much help / peace of mind.

Thank you very much

 

 

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Hi M & J ........................ that is really good of you to say. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

I need to gather my thoughts before posting again. Now that's it's not "Live" anymore, and I have so many wonderful memories formed, I'll have to try and filter out some of them so that I don't start boring people with stuff!

Kikki ................... I have photos of the Spa area that I meant to post at the time I wrote about it. (Wifi service let me down a couple of times.) I plan to share them later today. I never did get 'round to using the facilities but, as a non-Spa person, I was really impressed by the place. I'm conscious that you're heading off very soon, yourself, so I'll talk about how our excursions went as well.

Riclop ................. I thought that little nugget of information would be of interest! ;p

Got to say they look like smart toilets as toilets go!

I thought it was a great idea to have the automatic water, soap dispenser and dryer all above the sink - an all in one job!

Glad you are home safe & sound Bea & looking forward to more info & photos [emoji4]

Cheers, Kikki. Hope you have as good a cruise as we've had - I don't believe anyone will have a better one! DH rates it in his top 3 - and we've had some fantastic trips.

Great to hear from you "live Bemafar, and I particularly share your disappointment regarding items not being available at the YC grill. We're int total 10 pax off in 2 weeks from Genoa in YC.

A couple of particular questions (As we're wine-buffs):

1. Is there a "special wines" list on board, and in YC restaurant? (Pictures?)

2. What is MSC policy regarding bringing wine on board if we find a particularly interesting buy in one of the ports?

3. How does MSC handle YC guests in ports where there is congestion to get on/off the ship?

4. Do YC guests have priority regarding reservations for shows, speciality-restaurants etc., or do we need to rush our reservations once we're onboard?

Great of you to take the time to answer and report!

1. There is a wine list of non-inclusive variety of wines. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of the list - it wasn't something I was interested in and, at the time of your request, I was having problems posting photos and answers and things moved on so I missed responding to you at the time. Apologies for that.

2. I've never attempted to bring wine onboard, so I can't answer on that one.

3. We did 2 excursions so were escorted by a butler directly to the buses. The one port that we headed off on our own was in Valletta and we didn't go ashore 'til the afternoon so no congestion then. There was no special entrance back onboard for YC in Naples, Messina or Valletta so you queue with everyone else.

4. I would recommend that you book as much as you can at embarkation. We had a problem which I intend to detail a little later which may have been prevented had we been more pro-active in booking early on. YC guests don't have priority with reservations - there is no facility on the screens to input that you're from YC so all passengers get the same access.

Your review is top notch Bea I'm sure there are a lot of people enjoying it.

Have you tried the rose wine onboard ? What's your opinion of it ?..,...Bill

Bill .............. sorry not to answer sooner. I didn't try the rosé so can't comment. I tried to keep up with the questions as they came ............. but I failed, I'm afraid. I'm just going thru' them now but there will be many more reviews from here on so hopefully you'll get an answer down the road.