Match Game 72

The spa was offering some discounts. We had prebooked massages and has no problem getting them booked. They also had some discounted offers.

Our dinner seating was 7:30 in the Waves restaurant. The first night's food was very good, but there were many guests so service was slow. It was 8:00 when we got appetizers. We did, however, already have bread and drinks. Waves' tables are set very close together. The next closest table was about 4 inches from ours. This was a bit uncomfortable. We solved it on other nights by nudging their table apart from ours before they arrived. We had blackened grouper, Prime rib, and chicken with waffles. The food was very good. I liked the fish. For dessert we had cheesecake, cheese, creme Carolina, and fruit.

Next I went to guest services alone to try to fix our key cards. When we booked two adjoining balcony cabins (12032 and 12034), it was just three of traveling. We added my father to the reservation. In order for people's card to work on the correct door, we needed to have the key cards adjusted. This was a little hairy, but it was sorted out on about 15 minutes. Or so we thought. Over the next few days we ended up with a small collection of cruise cards. Eventually, everyone's card opened the correct door. I admit I did not take pictures of the cabins. This was our third cruise on the Meraviglia, and the balcony cabins all seem the same. There is too little storage. The desk area needs shelving, or maybe the designers could consult with RV designers. But when more than 2 people are sharing a balcony cabin, storage is tight. The safety drill was quick and easy. We watched a video, dialed a number, and waited to be told to go to our muster station. Afterwards we had a drink and walked around the ship. It was a nice, warm day in Port Canaveral. When we booked the cruise, we choose the Easy Plus package and WiFi streaming for two devices per cabin.

We took an Uber XL to terminal 10 at the port. Cost was $78.03 plus tip. We had an assigned boarding time of 10:30 - 11:00 and arrived at about 11 am. Embarkation took about an hour. The process was well organized, and since there were 4,400 people boarding, the time seemed reasonable to me. A picture of the ceiling in the Meraviglia Gallery. We went to the buffet and had a very nice lunch. It was crowded, but there was plenty of room at the back of the buffet. Also, the stations repeat. The food stations towards the back of the buffet did not have a line like the ones near the hand washing stations - which I will point out were underutilized during the week. While at lunch we set up three of four devices for WiFi connection. We just couldn't set up the fourth one so we headed to the photo area and they connected it.

We cruised on the MSC Meraviglia during school vacation week in Fantastica class. Our travel party was me 50, my husband 51, our son 16, and my father 76. We started our trip by taking the bus from Portland, Maine, to Boston's Logan airport. For a school vacation week, the airport was not as crowded as I would have expected. We flew on Delta since Frontier Airlines canceled our flights. It was a smooth, no problem flight. We arrived 20 minutes early. For one night, we stayed at Wingate by Windham near Orlando International Airport. They had a shuttle from the airport. The first time we saw the shuttle, it was packed. We spoke to the driver, and he returned about 20 minutes later for us. The shuttle is actually labeled Ramada with a small window sign for Wingate. They pick up at stop B4 in ground transportation. The Wingate was neat and clean as expected. The rooms are comfortable and like many other mid market hotel chains. The included breakfast was neither the best nor the worst we have experienced. They had eggs, bacon, sausage, a waffle machine, and various bread items. It was good enough. The Wingate also has a small laundry room for guests. Only one of the two washing machines was working. The dryer left our clothes a bit damp. It cost $4 each to wash and dry.

OP, did your cruise leave on February 19th? If so, we were also on the cruise and I agree with much of what you wrote. I will be posting some details in the next week. The week of Presidents Day is school vacation week for many US school systems. That's by there were many children onboard. I can't wait to be able to pick a different week in the future. 🙂

Yes.

Yes, all of the ports listed are easily walkable in my experience. We are taking the same itinerary in February. In Nassau, pick up a map (online or from the cruise ship) and explore some of the shops and smaller attractions nearby. In Cozumel, there are two possible docks according to this website...https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/cozumel-port-26 In the past when we have been on MSC at this port, it was at Punta Langosta. In Costa Maya, there is a cruise made outdoor mall right at the port. If you want to go to town, you will need a taxi. But there's plenty to see at the port. You may get better answers to your questions by going to the Ports of call boards. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2-ports-of-call/

Do you have access to an online doctor service like Teledoc? This seems like something they could handle.

thank you for sharing your experience.

Hello, If I wait and buy laundry once we are on board, it's my understanding that diamond members get 15% off. Is a service charge (18%) also added to the rate? Thanks!

Great pictures. I like both the architecture and the food photos. Looks like you had a great time!

Here is my review with pictures onboard the Sinfonia from 2019:

I am not sure which restaurant you mean. In general your easy plus package will work in specialty restaurants up to $9 per drink. More than that you would be charged full price.

We have sailed with MSC six times. Each time we were seated with only those in our party. Five sailings were in the Caribbean.

We have cruised MSC six times in the regular (not Yacht club) cabins. In our experience the kids club is not all day. Like the hours posted above, there are closed time throughout the day. My son really loves the kids clubs on MSC. I'm not sure about the pool depths or life jackets. We really enjoy the food in both the buffet and main dining room. Some comments on the food is that the portion sizes are smaller, but asking for another item is always an option. Also, the food is less salty than typical US chain restaurants. I like this, but others may not. The evening shows were always primarily singing, dancing and acrobatics. I have noticed a marked improvement in the quality if performances since the cruise restart.

The most recent Galaxy info I found is this video I'm not sure about the alternatives for the Diamond dinner offer. Maybe someone else knows.

On the US website, access to the thermal area is still listed. https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise/experiences-staterooms#3C05B605-90A7-4FDA-979A-7856E2B9CE87

Congrats on the 50 pounds. That's quite an accomplishment.

Ocean Day is a wonderful laid back island. It's a real beach day. They have some excursions like jet skis but no water park. It's pretty and not overly developed.

We like the service. It's reserved. You will need to ask for something rather than have it offered for examp!e. We also like the food. It's less salty than typical American fare. We are not foodies either. Prior to MSC, we sailed Carnival, NCL and Royal. The food is a similar quality to NCL. I have not seen Indian food at the buffet. The shorter the cruise, the more likely people will party. So a four day is better than a 3 day. And a seven day is even better. That being said we cruised four days on Merovingian during Covid. It was a normal amount of drinking, imho. Our WiFi packages have been only two users per cabin. When our son cruised with us, we had to decide who would not get wifi. Of course, we could have purchased it but did not.

Looking forward to another entertaining review from you. Merry Christmas!

Yes, the buffet bar is open during breakfast. They serve specialty coffees and fresh juices in addition to other drinks.

In our experience (ymmv) the app knew his age and did not have the texting enabled. For some cruises, we had the free WiFi for two devices. We used one on my phone and one on DS phone. So we could use an app like Telegram instead of the free messaging in MSC app.

Yes, that was our experience. When I spoke to the front desk, they told me it was because US privacy laws required 18+. We got around this by having him logged in as his father and then he could text me.